October Fly on The Wall

Welcome to a Fly on the Wall group post. Today 14 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house.

 



If you were a fly on my wall this week you'd get bored fast.  I've not done much of anything but write.  I did do a load of laundry or two, but the floors need sweeping and the house needs dusting.  But I don't care, I'm writing.  Like for real writing.  Not just blogging.  Not that blogging isn't writing, but it's more short story writing and I've done that most of my life. 

For the first time I'm stringing more than a few thousands words together to tell a story.  I'm not sure how many I'll end up with, I don't know the number of chapters or to be honest where the story is going.  I mean, I have a general idea, but I'm letting the words lead me to the next place in the plot.  And I have to say, I LOVE IT!

When the house is relatively quiet and I do mean relative, I sit down to a blank Word document and start writing.  Initially I would write and delete, but now that I know the characters I can tell their stories. 

That's one of the fun parts.  Like the reader I'm not certain where it's going to go.  As I said, I have a general idea and points I want to make, places I want to talk about and characters I already like in my head, but their day to day lives I don't know about... yet.

The scary part is I'm posting the chapters as I go.  Very little editing and only once have I read over the piece before I hit the publish button.  But it keeps me going.  The messages and comments asking when the next chapter will be out and the encouraging words.  

My goal is to finish this piece and see how I feel at the end.  My mind is already jumping to the next story even though I've not ended this one.  Which makes me want to push harder and faster.  But I can't, I have a story to tell and to do that I have to give details and build the characters so others will fall in love with them too.  

I mean, that's what a good writer does before they yank the fairytale away... right?

If you want to read it you can find it linked to this blog under:

Confessions of a Cluttered Mind.  

You like that?  It's a play on my organizing.  The outside is organized, the mind is cluttered... okay it's lame, but whatever.  

When I started the blog back in May I did it under the name Ariadne Hyde.  If you know who that is without Googling, let's be friends.  ;)

You wanna see my alter ego? 

She'd be all mysterious and stuff if not for the cheesy smile.   

Now buzz around and check out these links for a peek into some other homes:

                                    Baking InA Tornado

                               Just a LittleNutty

                         Follow me home . . .

                Stacy Sews and Schools

                              The Sadder ButWiser Girl

                                 MenopausalMother

                Moore Organized Mayhem

                     The Insomniac’s Dream       

                      Spatulas on Parade

                              The Rowdy Baker    

                                       TrashyBlog

                            Dates 2 Diapers

                       Sorry kid, Your Mom Doesn’t Play Well With Others

Just.One.More.Year!

Did you find you went out more when your kids were younger?  

To clarify I mean visiting friends and shopping, not drinks and dancing.  ;)

I ask because when the twins were still in carriers I went out several times a week.  We'd visit the park, the zoo, the fair, the children's museums and library.  They had the cool carriers that popped in to the car, their stroller and then swings at the house.  If I planned it just right I could feed, change, get them loaded and make it to our destination without incident.  Once there I might take them out of their carriers or let them continue to nap.  They were super handy.

Bounce house with our mom group.

School field-trip to the Zoo

West Texas Fair and Rodeo

The park, this was about the time I decided I wasn't going to chase two toddlers in two different directions again.  ;) 

Now that they are 4 they ask questions, they touch things, they play rough, they talk in loud voices and, well, they're kids.  Because of that I visit friend's houses and avoid shopping whenever I can with them.  I'm not a shut in, I just don't care to create unnecessary stress.  Ever... not kidding.  I like the simple life.  ;)

Next year they start school.  I'm still working with Little Man to make sure he's ready so I'm not overly anxious, but I do get a little giddy some days when I think about a quiet house for 7-hours, 5 days a week.  Can you imagine how clean the house will be?  How much writing I can do?  Oh and the Etsy shop... I might even work on that.  ;)

So tell me, do you get out more that the kids are older?  Or more when they were younger?

October Ten On Ten

It's been a month of running around and trying to catch up with myself.  

I tried to enjoy today while doing Ten on Ten, but found I was still rushing about.  You can see it in my hurried photos.  :(  

Tomorrow, I'll slow down tomorrow...

Tearing down broken watches and reusing their parts for steampunk pieces. 

After taking the watches apart I came back and found this guy at my work desk looking rather suspicious. 

Our 3 legged AT-AT was taking a rest on the kid's nightstand. 

I'm sorry guys, but you can't hang from the wall mounted TV.

Two of our Girl Scouts needed patches ironed on while their mom is in the hospital.   

 

The twins thought they got away with stealing candy.  ;)

Roses Marshall picked this weekend.  Still going strong. 

Tae Kwon Do tonight.  She's almost ready for her blue belt. 

She had a bad day. 

Black beans soaking for tomorrow...

Trading Fear for Faith

The Mama Bear mentality; I see it a lot in the blog world and my everyday life.  I understand the need to protect our children and to do our best to make sure those that have wronged them are set straight or punished.  I get it… I do.  But is that what we should be doing as moms?  Are we to defend them with claws bared and teeth showing?  Or are we to show them how forgiveness looks?  No claws, no teeth, just a healthy understanding of how the world works and a heart that has no room in it for hate and anger?

I pose these questions after a very trying week; a moment that started out as a simple inconvenience, later a sad revelation and finally the mouth drooping realization that my trust was misplaced.  And some of the fault was my own.  Not because I allowed someone to scam me or others, but because I knew there was something wrong.  I felt it to my core but didn’t face it because the reality is I spent the better part of my working life in an area where I dealt with these same things.  I didn’t leave the job because of that.  Truth is I liked that part.  The discovery, the puzzle pieces and the final call you made confirming all that you suspected with proof in hand.  

But this wasn’t work.  I wasn’t paid to find the bad guy.  Instead I happened upon it because of an emergency where I was needed in order to keep things afloat.  And more importantly I had to be the one to stand between the ugliness of the world and the reality of my daughter’s everyday life; a safe haven where she can be herself, the crazy kid who sees music and feels art.  And I wanted to be that shield.  I still do.  But I can’t, at least not always.

The easy thing to do is get mad.  Anger comes fast for many, slow for others but either way it still shows up as a burst of raw energy.  You can release it and in that moment you don’t care about the damage you leave behind because you feel justified.  You think there are no consequences because in your mind the person who betrayed you and your child deserves it.  It was coming to them; karma and bad vibes, the reckoning of their misdeeds.  

But I disagree.

Read the rest at Joy Comes in the Morning...

What We Saw at Comic Con

Dallas Comic Con: Fan Days
October 4 - 6, 2013

This was our first comic con.  This was our first time to cosplay.  This was the first time the husband didn't roll his eyes when I asked to do something uber lame.  He even considered going in costume, but quickly changed his mind.  He was nice enough however, not to make fun of Justice and me.  ;)

 While waiting in line to get in these are just a few of the characters we saw. 

Once inside the convention center I was so busy explaining who everyone was that I didn't take as many pictures as I should have.  Our poor daughter is sadly lacking in '70's, 80's and '90's pop culture and comics.  We have failed!

When this guy walked across the parking garage (where everyone was lined up waiting to get inside) a HUGE applause erupted.  It was one of the best moments of the weekend watching him look around and then realizing it was all for him. 

I found Waldo! 

Our first panel was Comic Book Legends with Neal Adams and Herb Trimpe.  I didn't really know what to expect, but I was hoping to get some information for Justice.  In the end I just learned that Neal was rude and Trimpe didn't care.  Very disappointing.  

Just one of about 100 contestants in the costume contest.

The contest winners: Wicked Witch and her Flying Monkey, RoboChick, Vincent, Sandman and Judge Dredd.

Sunday was John Barrowman's Q&A and it was FABULOUS!! 

I liked him in the Doctor and Torchwood, but after seeing how he treats his fans and the way he tells stories, I'll be watching anything he's in. *My videos are still not uploaded.  One day... pinky swear.  ;)

The Dalek doesn't move for 15-minutes so I thought it was a prop.  I go up to get my picture taken right after taking Tommy's and the dude inside swivels the head around.  I nearly jump out of my skin.  Justice hides behind him and to cover my near screech I laugh and talk to the guy inside.  He informs me that he won best in show in the Bay Area Comic Con.  Tommy can't hear me or the guy and is busy looking for the person with the remote.  When I continue to talk to the Dalek he thinks I've lost my mind.  I remind him later that that only happens with Cybermen.  ;) 

1979 Spider-Woman Stand Up... only $300.  Tommy said no.  <sigh>

My loot from the weekend: 20 Spider-Woman comic books (18 for just $1)  <squee!>  The other 2 half off which included Spiderman and X-Men appearances.  And then the original 1979 TV series on DVD for $25.  I was excited to find that one since most are $50 and not universal.  This one even played in the kid's DVD player... so I have them hooked.  <evil laugh> 

Preparing for Our First Comic Con

First you need to figure out who you want to cosplay.  Me, I'm a fan of Lady Mechanika, and even though there are only 4 issues it's still a great concept and hopefully will be back in publication soon.  <fingers crossed> 

The first piece, for me it was the steampunk style ring.  I've been eyeballing this for years on Etsy and finally decided to buy it using the excuse of Comic Con.  Tommy said I was cheating on him.  Sorry guy, but this is cool.  ;)

Next was the goggles.  I love goggles but the price is WAY too much for me... so I made my own.

* Completed... and soon to be listed on Etsy.

Next I made earrings... already listed on Etsy. 

I would love to one day own a leather corset, but again the price is too much and the sizing vague.  If I can't try it on I don't want to buy it.  At the Comic Con only 2 steampunk vendors were there... only 1 had corsets... and now the husband wants to try his hand at leather.  New line to OTJ?  We'll see.  

My first steampunk corset.  I have lots of room to improve, but I've got a good idea of what I like now.

Fingerless gloves... a must. 

 

The bowler and goggles.  I received many compliments on them.  One guy said, "These make me very happy."  HA!

My plan for this once Wonder Woman style cuff bracelet was to attach a compass in the style of Lady Mechankia.  But neither Tommy or I could figure out how to do it with the compass we had available.  So at the last minute I spray painted the once silver toned metal cuff copper and added gears.  Simple and fun.

 

The choker; a simple black ribbon, my grandmother's watch, cameo and a skeleton key from my collection.

The laser lights and sound gun.  Fun, but one day I'd love for my dad (retired gunsmith) to make me a real/non-functioning one.  ;)

Since I just cut a foot of hair off I used a hair piece.  Must say, it was kind of fun.  But heavy and hot.  Enjoying the short hair again.  ;)

Coming together...

An old work suit, belt and holster... these were all hanging out in my closet.  So much cheaper than buying a new dress.

I tried different shirts...

I settled on this top since it showed off the gloves better and wasn't as hot.  Seriously, I was going to be walking around in it.  It needed to be comfortable.  ;)

Then it was time to work on Justice's.  I wanted her to pick an existing character, but NOOOooo, she had to be her own character.  

Sorry kid, best I can do.  ;)

Waiting in line.  The first day I put on fake eyelashes and the bright purple eyeshadow she has on her drawing but she hated it.  So day two just the eyebrows.  Fine.with.me.  ;)

Dallas Comic Con: Fan Days... this was Sunday late afternoon.  Justice had lost a tail, me a few gears and all three of us were exhausted.  But we had to get our red carpet photo before we left.  We had a ton of fun and we'll be back.  If not the Dallas one, then another... and soon. 

*What we saw at Comic Con in the next blog...