It's Just a Name Right?

Have you ever really thought about names and how you associate them with certain types of people or certain people in your life? Perhaps I'm the only one whose weird enough to think about names as much as I have. I've mostly thought about names regarding children. I'm nowhere near the point of having children, but I have thought about what names I would choose.

For the longest time I wanted to have a daughter and name her Lola Rose. Why Lola? I'm not quite sure, I just really liked it. Then someone so kindly pointed out that it sounded like a stripper name. Thanks. Then I thought Ava or Elle, but now those are becoming really popular with the yuppy set. Okay three down. I then had the brilliant idea of naming my future daughter after her paternal grandmother. Her name was quickly shot down by several people in my life because it "sounds too old fashioned." And then there are the names that I could never choose because I would just associate my kid with a horrible memory. For instance, I've never known a sane Marilyn. I'm sure that there are many wonderful Marilyn's out there somewhere, I just haven't had the luck of meeting one. 

What about boy names? That's a whole other can of worms. I love names such as Warren and Phillip and yes, I will admit it Huckleberry. Yes, Huckleberry sounds like a joke, but Mark Twain is one of my favorite authors and I just loved reading about Huckleberry Finn and I love the name. The jury is still out on Warren, but Phillip is a lost cause for me because of one of my least favorite television personalities. All of this name association could really drive a person nuts. I don't know what I'm going to do when I actually do start to have children. 

Maybe that will be my husband's job. He can name the kids. I'll take care of naming the animals. No one's going to care if I name my cat Lola Rose, right? And I can name my great dane Huckleberry. Oh good, I'm so glad it's settled. Now all I have to do is find a man and get married. 

Garden Phase One

Taking walks during lunch breaks, going to the gym regularly, gardening after work. Who is this person? I haven't had this much energy for years. It's absolutely incredible. I feel like getting out and actually doing stuff. And looking forward to working in the garden is something totally new. My front garden has turned into my latest project. My plan is to turn it into a mostly native plant garden. I started a couple of weeks ago by ripping out an old ficus tree and ended up cutting back spider plants, decorating with rocks, planting succulents and finding a new home for the hose. This is what I have done so far.

 After I cleared out the weeds and a lot of the dead plants, I made a place for the pot that now holds the hose. With a little effort the hose decided to cooperate and stay in the pot. Instead of being piled up in a tangled mess on top of the plants, the hose is now tucked away and out of view. When I finished with the hose I was able to figure out where the plants should be placed.

Now I'm no landscaper, but the designing was my favorite part. One of the best features of my new garden, is the design that I created with the rocks. I couldn't believe it when I found them, but the rocks were on sale for less that $2.00 a bag. I bought two, which is more than enough for the entire garden.

With the border complete, I got a little creative and poured the rocks out in two wavy lines. My garden isn't quite finished, but it's getting there. I can't wait to see how it turns out. Now I just have to decide what to do with all of the spider plants and how to make those look pretty. So many ideas. Time to go back to the nursery. I think I need a bigger garden.

Blogging Overload

My head is swimming with ideas for my blog. My highest hopes are that I start to write the most amazing blog ever written by a 20 something single woman and that it draws the attention of millions and I make enough money to retire by the time I am 30. Okay, a little farfetched, but anything is possible right? What to write? I read a few posts about blogging and anonymity and they were all good. One blogger said to go for it without any hesitation and just lay it all out there for everyone to see. The second said to hide everything, even photos. Then there was the third who said that there is a happy medium. Throw a bone here and there, but don't give it all away because mystery keeps the reader's attention. With my first blog, which was my senior project, I displayed everything. It was a professional example of my work. This blog is a bit more personal. I am writing about my weight loss for heaven's sake. I don't know how much more personal I can get. I suppose that I could share my "before" photos that a dear friend was kind enough to take so that I can look back and see how far I came, but that might just scare everyone. Heck, they scared me.

I'm going to have to think about this. I don't want to hide because I'm tired of being afraid. I'm so sick of all of the negative what ifs that constantly run through my head. I need to just take some advice that I recently received. If I am going to entertain the negative what ifs then I also need to entertain the positive what ifs. What if I get some followers? What if my blog is good? What if I'm able to become a full time writer? I like those what ifs. This might be a bumpy ride, but I'm going to give blogging about my life a shot.

Facing My Fears

Blogging, or writing for that matter, is an extremely personal experience. Will readers like what I write? Will they think it's stupid? Will they think I'm stupid? Questions like that constantly plague me when i write. But I've come to a point in my life where I'm tired of worrying about what people are going to think about me or say about me. I'm tired of being afraid. And I'm tired of doubting myself. This blog is going to be about my life and about what I think. If you've read my blog, you kind of have an idea of who I am as a writer. I would like to introduce to another part of myself.

Growing up I would look at myself in the mirror or hear myself talk and think, "Oh, I got this from Mom," or "Oh, I got that from Dad." Well I sure missed out on some of what makes my dad my dad. The man could eat an elephant and lose two pounds. I can look at a piece of chocolate cake from across the room and gain five. Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but it's almost that bad. And for years I have blamed it on different things from medication, to genes, to you name it. But blaming ultimately doesn't do me any good. It's time for things to change. So here I go. I'm starting a journey. I am a new member of Weight Watchers.

Am I intimidated? Yes. Am I afraid? Yes. But so what if I've tried dieting and losing weight countless times? So what if I make a few mistakes along the way? If I don't start now, I might never start. I'm not going to continue to put myself down and tell myself that I'm going to fail. Here's to putting one foot in front of the other and taking one small step at a time. And here's to faith that I am going to see this through by the grace of God.

A Little Gardening Inspiration

Its roots had broken through the bottom of the pot and had started to make their way under the front porch and the foundation. Godzilla, the seven foot tall ficus tree, was really getting on my nerves, so about a week ago I went outside, ripped its roots out of the ground, trimmed it and transferred it into a new pot. Four hours, a few bruises and a sore back later, the sucker was in a new pot and all of the ground where Godzilla had resided, was clear. I felt relieved, but then I realized that the garden in front of the porch needed a complete overhaul. The gardening bug really bit me.

I've done a lot of planning since last weekend. Different themes and plans have been racing through my head and I have finally decided to plant a garden filled with native plants. My inspiration came from the 8th Annual Theodore Payne Foundation Native Plant Garden Tour that I took with my mom this morning. All of the gardens that we visited on this self-guided home garden tour were colorful and full of plant life, but my favorite was a garden that featured a bright yellow flannel brush, a variety of succulents and delicate peach-colored blossoms that looked to be made of tissue paper.

I fell in love with the plants and the overall design as we walked through the front and back yards. Until today I had always thought of native plant gardens as gardens that were filled with cacti or succulents and little color. But I discovered that native gardens can be vibrant and fascinating. Watching the way that bees flitted from one blossom to another and the bugs that walked along the leaves of some of the most beautiful plants I have seen, was fascinating.

Now it's my turn to turn my ideas in to a reality using my new inspiration. I can't wait to see how my garden turns out. And I'm looking forward to sharing it.

*I would love to share the photos that I took, however, I feel that I cannot ethically do so. Photos for personal use were the only photos allowed.

Who I Am

As soon as my hands grasped the handlebars and my feet touched the pedals, it was as if I had never stopped riding. When you haven't done something for a while and you are able to pick it up again, you might say that it's like riding a bicycle. I never understood that saying when I was a child, until I rode my bicycle after not having ridden for quite some time. It wasn't something that I had to completely relearn. Everything seemed to just come back.

That's how it is with writing. No matter how long it's been, picking up a pen or touching the keys on my keyboard just feels right. My brain knows that it's time to write and the words just come. Now this doesn't mean that I have some super ability to write perfectly or that what I write is anything spectacular. It's just my way of knowing that writing is something that I was made to do.

Growing up I used to envy my younger sister's ability to pick up on mathematical equations and learn foreign languages, because I thought that would make my life easier. But acing chemistry and speaking three languages fluently just wasn't in the cards for me. Instead I was dissecting the words of Shakespeare and F. Scott Fitzgerald and spending free time filling up pages of journals and notebooks.

And though writing classes and journalism classes in particular taught me to avoid cliches like the plague, hindsight truly is 20/20. Looking back at my time in high school and college and all of the pivotal moments when choosing a major and a path were considered, I'm thankful for the way that my path was laid out. Step by step and turn by turn writing became clearer and clearer as my destination.

There have been times, many times, when doubt has plagued me; times when money was tight and when obtaining a writing position seemed impossible. But through it all one truth has stuck with me. I am a writer.

Coffee Shop Art

You don't have to go to an upscale contemporary art gallery in Los Angeles or New York to enjoy some fine art. Take a trip to The Coffee Klatch in San Dimas, and you will be pleasantly surprised with what you will find. 

Enjoy a cup of freshly brewed coffee and take a gander at the fine work of Janice Sullivan, owner of Sullivan J Photography. Janice has turned her passion for viewing things up close into a passion for macro photography. Flowers, everyday objects and more take on a whole new light when Janice photographs them and brings out the tiniest details.

Coffee Klatch

806 West Arrow Highway Ste. A, San Dimas

(909) 599-0452 

www.klatchroasting.com