NaNoWriMo: We’re Back Baby!

November 1, 2020 Little Journeys EverywhereLeave a comment

Omgomgomgomgomg-! It’s NaNo time again! how did this happen?!

Full stop.

For those of you who have no earthly idea what I am currently in the process of becoming a raving lunatic about, this is November.

November first. Does this mean elections? Christmas decorations out way too early? Football.

Hell no, son! It’s wording time!

NaNoWriMo is best summed up as Mad Max’s Fury Road meeting the over-caffeinated, under-slept creative madness that exists solely in the deadline of November. In their own words:

‘National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand new novel.’

That’s right, fam. No previous writing experience needed. NaNoWriMo became an official non-profit in 2006 and now, they host live, in person writing events (Affectionately called ‘write-ins’) all over the world!

‘It’s hosted authors drafting novels like Water for Elephants, WOOL, and Fangirl. It’s a teaching tool and curriculum taught in 5,920 classrooms, and NaNoWriMo’s programs run year-round.’

How amazing is that?! Not much of a writer? It’s spurred creative minds to come up with alternatives like the Photograph a Day challenge. Me personally? I want to do a ‘Minecraft build a day for 30 days‘ challenge. 😉 Who knows? Maybe I’ll even be a NaNo rebel and do both of those this month!

That’s the beauty of NaNo though and the amazing community that has grown around it. Every day of the month, there are forums and chat rooms dedicated to those doing traditional NaNo projects or the rebels, who are doing alternatives or even finishing up an already existsing work. It can be whatever you need it to be.

NaNoWriMo is something that I have done for nine years now. Every November. There are so many familiar faces and friends that, no matter how insane the year has been and no matter the existential crisis you may be facing, every year, they are there to help see you through the month. There have been times where fellow Wrimos have even babysat unruly toddlers, just to help get their mom over that finish line.

How amazing is that?

Now let’s talk about that not-so-fine print.

50,000 words. 30 days. That sounds insane right? Well, let me educate you, friend!

It is. It is totally and completely insane and you’ll probably be insane by the time it’s over, just like the rest of us. But hey! At least you have good company!

It ends up equalling out to 1,667 words each day. When you break it down, take it day by day, it’s quite a bit more doable, yeah? And fear not, dear writer-to-be! There are all kinds of fun ways for you to make it over these hurdles! A good example are the word sprints and a wonderful thing called a Word War.

The wars aren’t competitive (though you can certainly race with a friend if you like!), despite their name. They are races to see how many words you can write in a set timeframe, usually fifteen minutes. There are also challenges that follow your favorite movie, book, etc. These can be found on the NaNo forums.

All in all, it’s a fun, creative experience meant to get your creativity flowing and get you to pump out that novel you’ve been meaning to write for years but never got around to. Well now you can! And the best part is that NaNoWriMo doesn’t have to be once a year! They also have two different Camp NaNo’s that are the summer editions of the November event!

And for those completionists and gamers out there, NaNoWriMo has their very own achievements for reaching certain milestones on your writing journey. I love these. I love breaking down larger tasks into smaller, more manageable ones, and then getting a special badge for it! Achievements are basically kindergarden for grown ups.

We love that sweet, sweet positively reinforced validation.

So what are you waiting for? 1,667 words isn’t so hard, right? Hell, just in this article, do you know how many I’ve written so far? 700 exactly! See? And you can do it too! So hop on board this crazy train because the words are flying and there’s no such thing as backspace!

With Peace and Passion and A Thirty Day Committment To The Gods Of Creativity!

Ta!

Bliggety Blogs · Primary

It’s International Week of the Deaf! (Also I’m not dead!)

September 22, 2020September 22, 2020 Little Journeys EverywhereLeave a comment

Yes, I know what you’re thinking and yes, I have in fact risen from the dead in search of at least one brain together among the masses.

Yep. 2020 has hit us all like a case of violent, explosive diarrhea.

I haven’t posted in quite a while because, honestly? What could I write that hasn’t been expounded upon in every possible way? What could I say that hasn’t been beaten to death already? This year has left me with a sense of perpetual disappointment, discontentment, and discouragement. Every time I’ve sat down to blog especially, I’ve felt myself get stuck on all the things I don’t want to talk about.

I think most of us have probably been left feeling that way lately at some point.

It feels really strange in this year to talk about celebrating something (coming from someone with a birthday this week). The West is on fire, the coast is drowning, there are riots in the streets, and a pandemic has caused death and sickness on a global scale. For once though, just this once this year, let’s celebrate something. And this week has brought us something to celebrate.

September 20th marks the beginning of the International Week of the Deaf. Most of you are probably wondering what that is and what it means and probably why you should care. This week I’m going to be breaking it down for you! After all, you don’t have to be deaf to get in on this celebration.

So, join me this week for a few days to celebrate our deaf community members, what deafness is and the strides and hurdles that the deaf community has had to struggle against and overcome even to this day.

I’ll tell you about my experiences in the deaf community and answer some of your most burning questions that you always wanted to know but were too embarrassed or cautious to ask.

You know we all have them, even me!

We will learn, laugh, we will get mad and we will even, maybe, make a difference in someone’s life.

So grab some ear plugs and drag-up that ABC finger spelling knowledge from kindergarten because this week, we are going Deaf or going home!

With Peace and Passion,
Ta!

Bliggety Blogs · My Medical Journey

The COVID Diaries: Chapter 1

May 11, 2020May 11, 2020 Little Journeys EverywhereLeave a comment

Chapter 1

Isolation

It isn’t too bad in here. It’s quiet. Relaxing almost compared to the hecticness of my typical days. I stayed up binging a new Netflix show until almost 4:00 a.m. because what else did I have to do?

It’s funny to think that during the everyday shuffling go we would typically be dying for moments of quiet like this. But right now all I want to do is hold my little girl. Just to touch her and kiss her and tell her that everything is going to be okay. That Mommy is going to be okay. That I’m still here, right here, on the other side of this door.

Some people have said, ‘Well you all live in close contact and you’ve given her kisses. If you have it, she definitely has it by now.’

But if it were your baby girl or baby boy and you had the chance, even the smallest chance, of protecting them from something like COVID, wouldn’t you do it? Isn’t a few days in a room to yourself worth even the smallest chance that you could protect your baby from that?

There’s a little blue bunny that Little Maxwell was given by a nurse when she was about 3 months old. We were at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. We’d had to take her in to have scans done on her brain because they were concerned that she was having seizures. It killed me to see all of those little electrodes waxed on to the entirety of her head. They’d wrapped her whole head with gauze to keep them all on, even underneath her little chin. The nurse had given her the bunny after it was all over to cheer her up after they’d removed all of the electrodes.

It’s a cheap little thing. They probably get them in by the dozens in the children’s hospital But all this time I kept it. Something about it just made me think back to that time and her wrapped up in that gauze and how I would do anything, anything in the world, for my baby girl.

Tonight, just after dinner, she brought the bunny to me just like the nurse had brought it to her. She said it would keep me company and that I could sleep with it.

It was one of those significant moments. So small and so tender, yet it strikes you down to the very quick of your spirit. It has the power to move whole mountains. The love between a child and a mother. When I get out of here, I’m going to think of this bunny a lot differently from here on out. It’s odd to think that such simple things can come to be cherished so much, a symbol of love and hope and looking ahead to a better future.

When I get out of here, I’m going to be able to give it back to her myself.

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From quarantine solitary confinement,

With Peace and Passion.

Ta.

Bliggety Blogs · Primary

Grocery store manager in Canada pens heartfelt letter to shoppers pleading for kindness

April 12, 2020 Little Journeys EverywhereLeave a comment

https://www.freshdaily.ca/food/2020/04/grocery-store-manager-canada-letter-shoppers-pleading-kindness/

This is so important for all of us to remember. People working at or grocery stores are doing the best they can with the shitty situation we’re all in. They’re scared of getting sick too. They have children and elderly parents that they could potentially be exposing themselves to just by coming to work but they keep coming, so we can get the groceries that we need.

So be kind, please. And for heaven’s sake, throw your damn cart wipes in the bin. Thank the people that risk their lives so that you can eat everyday. Maybe take a cake or some lunches up to your local store as a way to thank them for their service. Perhaps even a bag of TP, individually wrapped with little ribbons and sweet words. You never know how much abuse your local grocery employees have had to deal with amongst all of the growing fears. So do something kind. They are truly some of our biggest community heroes right now.

With Peace and Passion.

Ta!

Bliggety Blogs · Poems, Songs, and Shorts

Quarantine: a poem about finding peace in isolation.

April 12, 2020April 10, 2020 Little Journeys EverywhereLeave a comment

Quarantine

Banging my head against the bricks.
 Setting up houses made of sticks.
 Quaking in quarantine, so very queer,
 Fighting off anxiety and fear.
 Letting in the early days of Lent.
 Seeing the sun in days I've spent,
 Wandering within my enclosed world,
 Turning and burning as I whirled
 Doing the things I should have done,
 Waiting to see if the virus has won.
 Hating that I have to stay at home,
 Lighting up life within the loam,
 Pots and seeds of fennel and pansies,
 Testing out freedom in gardening tansies.
 Pumpkins, grains, peppers and peas,
 How will you find your inside peace? 
As tiniest leaves begin to appear, 
I find inside a quiet, 
So clear.

With Peace and Passion.

Ta! ❤

Bliggety Blogs · Poems, Songs, and Shorts

Ode To A Sad Taco

April 8, 2020 Little Journeys EverywhereLeave a comment

No meat, no beans
Not a single cheese shred.
It’s quarantine delivery,
Too late to flag red.
With a sigh I dig in,
Disappointment is strong.
Even during COVID,
My Taco Bell order’s still wrong.

-___-

With Peace and Passion.

Ta!

Bliggety Blogs · Poems, Songs, and Shorts

The Ides of Marches

April 5, 2020 Little Journeys EverywhereLeave a comment

I do’s and don’ts.

Your can’t and won’ts.

His dates, Her greats.
Create,
Blank slate.
We are all
Whirring, whirling,
Whoring, twirling.
In space and time,
Between these lines,
That brought me here to you.

❤

With Peace and Passion.

Ta!

Adventures In Unschooling · Bliggety Blogs · Parenting · Primary

My COVID Daily Quarantine Challenge Part 2!

March 25, 2020March 23, 2020 Little Journeys EverywhereLeave a comment

Here we are at Part 2!

Feeling a little less stir-crazy? No? Well, at least you’ve entertained those restless natives for a bit! Read on, Journeyer!

Day 16:

Create a plan for your dream vacation and draw, collage, build, write, paint or whatever a piece about it! Show them off to friends online and tell everyone about them.

Day 17:

Skip out on sugar for a day! Is it difficult? Why or why not? Try it out longer if you feel you can and see how long you can go! Tell us here in the comments!

Day 18:

Make a list of the things you’re grateful for today and share it with someone. Reflect on ways that you can let those around you know that they are appreciated.

Day 19:

Make cards for those at your nearest assisted living facility or retirement community and send them in the mail. Use a single large manila envelope or a few envelopes with several cards inside each to save on postage! Many of those in elderly facilities don’t have family to visit and/or get visits very often. These facilities are also one of the places where the COVID virus is hitting the hardest. Receiving a letter could really make the difference in someone’s life today.

Day 20:

Make a meal together and then eat it around lit candles for a cozy time!

Day 21:

Have an electricity free hour each day! That’s right. Think of it like Earth Hour but once a day! It can even be during the day instead of at night, if you want. Not only will it save you money on your electric bill but it can have a positive effect on the environment! Was it difficult for you to do? Is it something you would do more often? Write it down in your journal!

Day 22:

Organize your most cluttered space! Follow the Kondo method! What were you able to say goodbye to?

Day 23:

Family video game tournament! What did you play? Who won? Which game was your favorite and why? What would you play if you had another game tournament together?

Day 24:

Make a giant floor game board with tape or other things! Play tic tac toe, hangman, etc

Day 25:

Family photos! Try different outfits, photo styles, maybe even a fashion show!

Day 26:

Paper ball basketball tournament!

Day 27:

Look through old family photos! Talk about where you were, how you were feeling then. It’s it different from now?

Day 28:

Write a Family Constitution including a mission statement and each person helps contribute a “law” as well. This helps even the littlest find a way to communicate what is important to them and what issues have been weighing on them. Lately, choose a motto! Everyone should help contribute in it’s creation!

Day 29:

Have a chore race or Olympic Chores! Turn each core into a race or game like the Olympics and at the end, vote on gold, silver, and bronze awards!

Day 30:

Unsubscribe from stores and unwanted emails! This will save you so much time, thought energy, and aggravation in the long term.

Day 31:

Clean out a junk drawer or bathroom cabinet!

Day 32:

Focus on Love today! Being stuck inside with stir crazy people for extended periods can be trying on the nerves and patience. Give each other three hugs throughout the day to let each other now that even in the trying times, love is still there.

Day 33:

On a not too cool day, if it’s an option geographically, open the windows, turn on fans, and air out the house! It’s been just as quarantined as you after all!

Day 34:

Try something you’ve never done before! Never done a headstand? Gone backyard foraging? Identified birds in your yard or flowers? Never jogged a mile? Try running around your yard with a step counter! If you don’t have one, there are apps that will act as a (dubiously correct) counter for you.

All of these are things that are not only good for beating that isolation blues but many are also great for you, your household, your pocketbook, or your mental health. Did you finish the challenge? Let us know what you were and weren’t able to do! Did you enjoy it? Let us know in the comments and stay positive, Journeyers!

With Peace and Passionate Hope.

Ta!

Bliggety Blogs · Primary

My COVID Quarantine Daily Challenge!

March 22, 2020March 23, 2020 Little Journeys EverywhereLeave a comment

Stuck inside because of quarantine and isolation? Thanks, Corona, I hate it. However, Journeyers, there are plenty of ways that you can make your time trapped within the ever shrinking walls of your home just a little more bearable! How?

Make it a challenge!

We all love a good challenge on the internet. Let’s face it. We’re kind of suckers for it. This one is geared for not only your own self care but for the good and sanity of your whole household. Here is the LJE COVID Quarantine Daily Challenge!

Day 0

Before you begin this challenge, create or choose a journal! Many of these challenges can involve things like drawing, writing, even Mad Libs for one! Do these in your journal so you can look back on all that you’ve done over the month!

Day 1: Find a Quiet Time Spot!

Somewhere in your home, whether it’s a corner, closet, office, or garage. Even an attic will do! Somewhere that says to you and to your housemates: this is my alone spot and I need space to process and decompress.

Even grown ups need this and when your kids or siblings start to frazzle you, simply remind them kindly that the Quiet Time spot is there. Maybe they could use a cool down? DO NOT use this as a time out corner! Quiet Time is not a punishment! If your family sees it as a negative then they will never use it of their own volition!

A few things that would be good to keep in the Quiet Time spot would be headphones, books or magazines, having a window to look out of or open up for some fresh air, or art or crafting supplies.

Day 2: Learn A New Skill!

Housework, drawing, baking, or a craft are all some simple and great ideas for kids! One resource for drawing is actually YouTube. We watch the channel Draw So Cute when we do drawing and each video walks you through a different character, celebrity, or item with a sort of chibi style to it.

Day 3: Find A New Book (Or One You Just Haven’t Gotten To Yet) To Try Out!

The Overdrive App is amazing for this because they have a lot of great audiobooks too, as well as read-along books for kids who aren’t reading yet, like my own little! She loves the Pete the Cat read-alongs that read it to her while also highlighting each letter as it does!

Day 4: See A Museum or Famous World Landmark digitally!

There are a metric ton of these available, especially right now! One example is Expeditions, an app by Google, but the amazing team over at eschoolnews.com have compiled a list of their ten best virtual field trips! Also the vr field trips over at Discovery Education are a pretty fantastic selection themselves! Check them out here!

Day 5: Pin On The World!

Play pin the pin on the world map! Whatever or wherever you pin, discover something interesting about it from that place! This even works for oceans and can even utilize that Day 4 tech!

Day 6: Have An Indoor Picnic!

Day 7: Do Mad Libs Together!

Day 8:Mad Libs Theater!

Use your favorite Mad Lib stories from yesterday and enact them in a creative performance or puppet show!

Day 9: In-Home Karaoke!

There are karaoke versions of your favorite songs aplenty on YouTube!

Day 10: Rocking the Recycles!

See what you can create from throw away items! Is it creative? Practical? Useful? Decorative? You decide!

Day 11: Screen-free Day!

What kind of fun can you make without your attention taken up by the screen? What sort of things will you discover or create?

Day 12: Try Yoga!

I recommend Yoga With Adrienne. Did you feel any differently after? Wow about it in your journal!

Day 13: Try out Tai-Chi!

Day 14: Gettin’ Down Dance Party!

Day 15: Do A Meditation!

So you may be noticing that several of these are catered towards physical movement and exercise. For a good reason! Getting a lot of that cooped up energy out of you and your tiny overlords will help curb irritability, behavior issues, and contributes to better physical and mental health. When you’re able, open all of the windows! Air out the home to let some of that stale, anxious air out and give your entire household a literal breath of fresh air. It can be overall pretty rejuvenating!

This is just the first half of our Daily Challenge so stay tuned for Part Two!

With Peace and Passion,

Ta!

Bliggety Blogs · Poems, Songs, and Shorts

A Little Mennonite Songbook: Weep No More by the Late Esh Family

March 18, 2020March 6, 2020 Little Journeys Everywhere

**ADDS LOCATION OF ACCIDENT** This undated family photo provided by Jessie Crabtree shows back row from left: Anna Esh, John Esh, Amos Esh and his wife Mary and Abner Esh. Front row from left: Rachel Esh, Sadie Esh, Betty Esh and Rose Esh. Anna, John, Rachel, Sadie and Rose all died in the fatal vehicle accident on Interstate 65 early Friday morning March 26, 2010, near Munfordville, Ky., involving a tractor-trailer and a van.

There is a concept among those who honor their ancestors that a person can have bloodline ancestors and spiritual ancestors. Spiritual ancestors are people who you hold close to your heart, so close that you honor them as ancestors of your own.

Think adoption but with more grave dirt.

The Esh Family was one of these for me. They are among those that I hold as spiritual ancestors because of the deep and life changing connection that I found with them. I found a sort of delight in the simple acapella music that they created that had been released on both cd and YouTube. Unfortunately, the song that brought me to them was one played in a memorial video by YouTuber thevineyardworker after their tragic deaths on March 26, 2010. We’re almost upon the tenth anniversary of their loss and even now, their community and far beyond (evidence, yours truly) remembers that awful day. With that, I will put all levity aside from here. Their loss is not something I will embellish with humor.

The Esh family lost their lives when a tractor-trailer stuck their van while they traveled through Kentucky. They were on their way to a friend’s wedding in Iowa. Their two sons, Josiah and Johnny, were the only ones to survive the crash.

Still, that song and their story touched me in a way that I will carry with me forever and today I want to share it with you. This is their song Weep No More from their album Home. I hope that when you hear their song, you remember the Eshes and that life is a precious gift not meant to be squandered or wasted. How will you impact someone with your life? Maybe even your death?

Weep No More

We’re nearing the time when the pearly gates, Are closer than ever before.

I’ve seen just enough I can hardly wait to walk on that golden shore. Children of Zion, Weep no more.