A.J. Lauer's Blog, page 13
April 22, 2014
A to Z Challenge: Sugar
This post is part of the April A-Z Blogging Challenge. This year my theme is simply, "things I know." Some posts will be informational, some about life lessons, some about things I've learned as an author/blogger.
Sugar is not my friend (neither is caffeine).I'm not going to get on some high horse and tell everyone they should give up sugar, I'm just going to tell you my experience. Sugar makes me feel bad. About five years ago I had a series of infections for almost four months. The doctor would treat me for one, and I'd get another. Another treatment, back to the first infection, first treatment, back to the second infection. Round and round.. After three months of that I got frustrated and started to look for other treatments - there HAD to be something out there that would help me feel better without just giving me yet another infection. The answer - quitting sugar. I went cold turkey and after about 10 days, no more infections! Hooray! I remained sugar free for about 5 months, and then started allowing it back in (it was the chocolate chips. I MISSED them).
Now I still don't eat very much sugar, and have been able to remain free of infections for the last five years. I can feel it when I eat too much. My body doesn't like it, and it's pretty clear when I've crossed a line. As for caffeine? Well, that just makes me jittery and it's not fun, so why drink it?
What about you? Are you a sugar-fiend? Or a paleo-person? Or halfway in between?
Sugar is not my friend (neither is caffeine).I'm not going to get on some high horse and tell everyone they should give up sugar, I'm just going to tell you my experience. Sugar makes me feel bad. About five years ago I had a series of infections for almost four months. The doctor would treat me for one, and I'd get another. Another treatment, back to the first infection, first treatment, back to the second infection. Round and round.. After three months of that I got frustrated and started to look for other treatments - there HAD to be something out there that would help me feel better without just giving me yet another infection. The answer - quitting sugar. I went cold turkey and after about 10 days, no more infections! Hooray! I remained sugar free for about 5 months, and then started allowing it back in (it was the chocolate chips. I MISSED them).
Now I still don't eat very much sugar, and have been able to remain free of infections for the last five years. I can feel it when I eat too much. My body doesn't like it, and it's pretty clear when I've crossed a line. As for caffeine? Well, that just makes me jittery and it's not fun, so why drink it?
What about you? Are you a sugar-fiend? Or a paleo-person? Or halfway in between?
April 21, 2014
A to Z Challenge: Running
This post is part of the April A-Z Blogging Challenge. This year my theme is simply, "things I know." Some posts will be informational, some about life lessons, some about things I've learned as an author/blogger.
Running (or any exercise, really) can be wonderfully meditative.I started running the summer I lived in South Korea. I'd had a pretty rough year my first year of grad school (due to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, a friend going missing, and other calamities) and by the time I finished the year was determined to spend some time getting more fit and allowing my mind and emotions to recuperate. My older brother has always been a runner, so he spent some time coaching me and by the end of the summer I was able to run a couple of miles in good time. That summer was the first time that I was intentional about minding my mental and physical health, and I learned so much about the movements that serve me the best.
Before last year's
Downhill Mile race on the 4th
of July
Now I try to get out to run at least once a week, and exercise in some way at least three times per week. It's important to my mental and physical health, especially during stressful times.
What movements do you find soothing? Any fellow runners out there?
Running (or any exercise, really) can be wonderfully meditative.I started running the summer I lived in South Korea. I'd had a pretty rough year my first year of grad school (due to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, a friend going missing, and other calamities) and by the time I finished the year was determined to spend some time getting more fit and allowing my mind and emotions to recuperate. My older brother has always been a runner, so he spent some time coaching me and by the end of the summer I was able to run a couple of miles in good time. That summer was the first time that I was intentional about minding my mental and physical health, and I learned so much about the movements that serve me the best.
Before last year'sDownhill Mile race on the 4th
of July
Now I try to get out to run at least once a week, and exercise in some way at least three times per week. It's important to my mental and physical health, especially during stressful times.
What movements do you find soothing? Any fellow runners out there?
April 19, 2014
A to Z Challenge & Six Word Saturday: Quick Oats
This post is part of the April A-Z Blogging Challenge. This year my theme is simply, "things I know." Some posts will be informational, some about life lessons, some about things I've learned as an author/blogger. This post is also part of the Six Word Saturday blog hop! A chance to be a little less verbose, and use your weekend for other things. Lovely :)
Quick oatmeal - totally legit for lunch.
Quick oatmeal - totally legit for lunch.
April 18, 2014
A to Z Challenge: Planners vs. Pantsers
This post is part of the April A-Z Blogging Challenge. This year my theme is simply, "things I know." Some posts will be informational, some about life lessons, some about things I've learned as an author/blogger.
A fun debate that comes up from time to time in the writing/blogging/NaNo world is whether it is better to be a Planner or a Pantser.
A Planner is a writer who lays everything out, knows just where the story and characters are going, has done all the research in advance before they even start to write. For those of you Meyers-Briggs fans, Planners are J's. A Pantser is someone who 'flies by the seat of their pants' while writing. They maybe have a first line, or a basic plot they're thinking of, but in the end they're just going wherever the story takes them. Pantsers are P's on the MBTI. There was a great blog article over at NaNoWriMo a couple years ago that had 280 comments of people debating and sharing their preference. Good stuff.
So after yesterday's post on being organized, you're all probably thinking I'm a total Planner. Nope! While I am organized in every other part of my life and am a total J on the MBTI, I actually write better when I go wherever the story takes me. When I plan too hard the writing starts to feel like homework. And remember back in school when you'd do anything to not do homework? Yeah, me too. For me the writing is better when it's a process of discovery, and I just don't get the same rush when I'm outlining and planning ahead. This was a very good thing to discover, and why it falls into my theme of "things I know" - I've killed a couple good stories by overplanning them. Lost my steam, the thrill of discovery. I know that I write better when letting the story write itself.
I'm about halfway through Steven King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (which I highly recommend, btw), and it turns out he feels similarly. He starts with an idea for a situation and then just sticks a couple people into it and sees what happens.
How about y'all? Are you Pantsers, or Planners?
A fun debate that comes up from time to time in the writing/blogging/NaNo world is whether it is better to be a Planner or a Pantser.
A Planner is a writer who lays everything out, knows just where the story and characters are going, has done all the research in advance before they even start to write. For those of you Meyers-Briggs fans, Planners are J's. A Pantser is someone who 'flies by the seat of their pants' while writing. They maybe have a first line, or a basic plot they're thinking of, but in the end they're just going wherever the story takes them. Pantsers are P's on the MBTI. There was a great blog article over at NaNoWriMo a couple years ago that had 280 comments of people debating and sharing their preference. Good stuff.
So after yesterday's post on being organized, you're all probably thinking I'm a total Planner. Nope! While I am organized in every other part of my life and am a total J on the MBTI, I actually write better when I go wherever the story takes me. When I plan too hard the writing starts to feel like homework. And remember back in school when you'd do anything to not do homework? Yeah, me too. For me the writing is better when it's a process of discovery, and I just don't get the same rush when I'm outlining and planning ahead. This was a very good thing to discover, and why it falls into my theme of "things I know" - I've killed a couple good stories by overplanning them. Lost my steam, the thrill of discovery. I know that I write better when letting the story write itself.
I'm about halfway through Steven King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (which I highly recommend, btw), and it turns out he feels similarly. He starts with an idea for a situation and then just sticks a couple people into it and sees what happens.
How about y'all? Are you Pantsers, or Planners?
April 17, 2014
A to Z Challenge: Organization
This post is part of the April A-Z Blogging Challenge. This year my theme is simply, "things I know." Some posts will be informational, some about life lessons, some about things I've learned as an author/blogger.
Sometimes, being organized just isn't enough.
Sometimes the chaos wins and there's nothing you can do but go with it. I am a pretty organized person. Not "the clothes in the closet hang in rainbow order" organized, but "the clothes in the closet at least have to hang grouped by sleeve length" organized. Not "the cereal boxes are alphabetized" organized, but "the pantry has sections based on food groups" organized.
I've always made the best attempts at staying on top of my schedule (and that of my siblings, at times! My brother gave me a gift for Secretary's Day once...) and on top of the tasks I need to complete. And usually, it goes swimmingly - everything happens on time, I get the work done in a 40 hour week, I am able to write books in my spare time. But once in a while *ahem* this month *ahem* things just go nutty and there's not a damn thing to do about it. Well there is - throw out the organizational plans and roll with the punches. Get everything done that you can, try not to stress about it, get organized again later when you can actually breathe.
Organization - love it when ya got it, try not to stress when ya lose it.
Any other organized folks out there? Anybody got any hints for when things go nutty? :)
Sometimes, being organized just isn't enough.
Sometimes the chaos wins and there's nothing you can do but go with it. I am a pretty organized person. Not "the clothes in the closet hang in rainbow order" organized, but "the clothes in the closet at least have to hang grouped by sleeve length" organized. Not "the cereal boxes are alphabetized" organized, but "the pantry has sections based on food groups" organized.
I've always made the best attempts at staying on top of my schedule (and that of my siblings, at times! My brother gave me a gift for Secretary's Day once...) and on top of the tasks I need to complete. And usually, it goes swimmingly - everything happens on time, I get the work done in a 40 hour week, I am able to write books in my spare time. But once in a while *ahem* this month *ahem* things just go nutty and there's not a damn thing to do about it. Well there is - throw out the organizational plans and roll with the punches. Get everything done that you can, try not to stress about it, get organized again later when you can actually breathe.
Organization - love it when ya got it, try not to stress when ya lose it.
Any other organized folks out there? Anybody got any hints for when things go nutty? :)
April 16, 2014
A to Z Challenge: Neutron Pea
This post is part of the April A-Z Blogging Challenge. This year my theme is simply, "things I know." Some posts will be informational, some about life lessons, some about things I've learned as an author/blogger.
neu·tron pea/ˈn(y)o͞oträn pē/noun1. That one pea in the TV dinner that is still frozen even after the rest of the dinner has been microwaved beyond all recognition."Aw man, I just broke a tooth on the dang neutron pea in my soup!"
Another made up word for you, to help with the mid-alphabet slump!
How's it going? Anybody found someone cool through A-Z?
neu·tron pea/ˈn(y)o͞oträn pē/noun1. That one pea in the TV dinner that is still frozen even after the rest of the dinner has been microwaved beyond all recognition."Aw man, I just broke a tooth on the dang neutron pea in my soup!"
Another made up word for you, to help with the mid-alphabet slump!
How's it going? Anybody found someone cool through A-Z?
April 15, 2014
A to Z Challenge: Marshmallows
This post is part of the April A-Z Blogging Challenge. This year my theme is simply, "things I know." Some posts will be informational, some about life lessons, some about things I've learned as an author/blogger.
Marshmallows taste best au flambe :)(or at least... very recently flambe!)
Image from kitteh-pawz on Deviantart:
http://goo.gl/qGgax2
How do you like your marshmallows?
Marshmallows taste best au flambe :)(or at least... very recently flambe!)
Image from kitteh-pawz on Deviantart:http://goo.gl/qGgax2
How do you like your marshmallows?
A to Z Challenge: M
This post is part of the April A-Z Blogging Challenge. This year my theme is simply, "things I know." Some posts will be informational, some about life lessons, some about things I've learned as an author/blogger.
Marshmallows taste best au flambe :)(or at least... very recently flambe!)
Image from kitteh-pawz on Deviantart:
http://goo.gl/qGgax2
How do you like your marshmallows?
Marshmallows taste best au flambe :)(or at least... very recently flambe!)
Image from kitteh-pawz on Deviantart:http://goo.gl/qGgax2
How do you like your marshmallows?
April 14, 2014
A-Z Challenge: Listen
This post is part of the April A-Z Blogging Challenge. This year my theme is simply, "things I know." Some posts will be informational, some about life lessons, some about things I've learned as an author/blogger.
Listening can be the greatest gift we give someone.
This was a hard one for me to learn as a kid! I was a talker. A classic extrovert, who wanted everyone's attention to be on me ALL the time. I still struggle with it at times, especially if I'm in an intense mood and need someone to listen to me.
But I've found that so often, sitting and listening to someone's stories or their thoughts can be more rewarding than doing the talking myself. I know what the litany in my own head sounds like. On a personal level, hearing someone else's thoughts can not only be reassuring ("oh good! I'm not the only one losing her mind right now!"), but also a great source of stories to draw from for writing. But then in the larger scheme of things listening can be doing something good for someone else - giving them the knowledge that someone has truly paid attention to them for a while. Haven't we all thought, 'I wish someone would just listen to me!' How great to give that gift to someone else!
Here is a great quote about listening that I pulled from a quote list on Goodreads:
“Friends are those rare people who ask how we are, and then wait to hear the answer.”
― Ed Cunningham
Love it :)
Who have you listened to today? Is there anyone you'd like to reach out to as an interested listener?
Listening can be the greatest gift we give someone.
This was a hard one for me to learn as a kid! I was a talker. A classic extrovert, who wanted everyone's attention to be on me ALL the time. I still struggle with it at times, especially if I'm in an intense mood and need someone to listen to me.
But I've found that so often, sitting and listening to someone's stories or their thoughts can be more rewarding than doing the talking myself. I know what the litany in my own head sounds like. On a personal level, hearing someone else's thoughts can not only be reassuring ("oh good! I'm not the only one losing her mind right now!"), but also a great source of stories to draw from for writing. But then in the larger scheme of things listening can be doing something good for someone else - giving them the knowledge that someone has truly paid attention to them for a while. Haven't we all thought, 'I wish someone would just listen to me!' How great to give that gift to someone else!
Here is a great quote about listening that I pulled from a quote list on Goodreads:
“Friends are those rare people who ask how we are, and then wait to hear the answer.”
― Ed Cunningham
Love it :)
Who have you listened to today? Is there anyone you'd like to reach out to as an interested listener?
A-Z Challenge: L
This post is part of the April A-Z Blogging Challenge. This year my theme is simply, "things I know." Some posts will be informational, some about life lessons, some about things I've learned as an author/blogger.
Listening can be the greatest gift we give someone.
This was a hard one for me to learn as a kid! I was a talker. A classic extrovert, who wanted everyone's attention to be on me ALL the time. I still struggle with it at times, especially if I'm in an intense mood and need someone to listen to me.
But I've found that so often, sitting and listening to someone's stories or their thoughts can be more rewarding than doing the talking myself. I know what the litany in my own head sounds like. On a personal level, hearing someone else's thoughts can not only be reassuring ("oh good! I'm not the only one losing her mind right now!"), but also a great source of stories to draw from for writing. But then in the larger scheme of things listening can be doing something good for someone else - giving them the knowledge that someone has truly paid attention to them for a while. Haven't we all thought, 'I wish someone would just listen to me!' How great to give that gift to someone else!
Here is a great quote about listening that I pulled from a quote list on Goodreads:
“Friends are those rare people who ask how we are, and then wait to hear the answer.”
― Ed Cunningham
Love it :)
Who have you listened to today? Is there anyone you'd like to reach out to as an interested listener?
Listening can be the greatest gift we give someone.
This was a hard one for me to learn as a kid! I was a talker. A classic extrovert, who wanted everyone's attention to be on me ALL the time. I still struggle with it at times, especially if I'm in an intense mood and need someone to listen to me.
But I've found that so often, sitting and listening to someone's stories or their thoughts can be more rewarding than doing the talking myself. I know what the litany in my own head sounds like. On a personal level, hearing someone else's thoughts can not only be reassuring ("oh good! I'm not the only one losing her mind right now!"), but also a great source of stories to draw from for writing. But then in the larger scheme of things listening can be doing something good for someone else - giving them the knowledge that someone has truly paid attention to them for a while. Haven't we all thought, 'I wish someone would just listen to me!' How great to give that gift to someone else!
Here is a great quote about listening that I pulled from a quote list on Goodreads:
“Friends are those rare people who ask how we are, and then wait to hear the answer.”
― Ed Cunningham
Love it :)
Who have you listened to today? Is there anyone you'd like to reach out to as an interested listener?
