Lydia Howe's Blog, page 18

D is for Daily #atozchallenge & April Goals

Creativity is a lifestyle for me, not an action. This month I'm exploring twenty-six quirky ways I keep my creativity flowing. 

There are hundreds (if not thousands) of opportunities to be creative on a daily basis. While walking down the road you can create an impromptu dance, while making supper you can create a new recipe, while babysitting you can create a new world for your charges to live in through a story.

You can also develop a creative atmosphere around you by doing mundane tasks in an interesting way. Take for instance sleeping: It takes up so much time, therefore I wanted to sleep in a unique way (being unique always ramps up the creativity cells in my brain). Almost two years ago I got rid of my bed so now I curl up on the floor each night and I feel creative while going to sleep. Pretty cool.

I strive to be creative daily and it really does pay off.

* * *
Monthly Goals for April:

If the Lord wills and I live I will...
1. Complete the A to Z Challenge and visit 200 other A to Z Blogs
2. Finish the first edits on SL (WLHYL #2)
3. Prepare and leave for Mexico
4. Read and review 4 non-fiction books
5. Contact 100 (___________)
* * *
What are some ways you daily develop a creative mindset? And, what are some of your goals for April? 

C is for Charts, Cutting Grass, and Words that start with "C" #atozchallenge

Creativity is a lifestyle for me, not an action. This month I'm exploring twenty-six quirky ways I keep my creativity flowing. 

Some people probably consider charts to be stifling, but I find them creative. I realized recently that I started making charts when I was five. (Yikes) I especially like to chart what I do regarding my reading and writing so I can look back from time to time and see how I've grown and what I've accomplished on specific days. 

Cutting grass is also a fantastic way I've found to get my creativity flowing. I'm not sure why, but it's so inspiring. I sometimes wish I could simply cut grass all day long, every day, in huge fields with nothing else around. 

And last but not least of all the "C" words game: Set the timer for five minutes and write as many words as you can think of that begin with C. It's a lot more difficult that it sounds, but it's fun, too. 

Here's my five minute list of 67 words:  
Carrot, Cake, Create, Creative, Creativity, Come, Call, Couch, California, Cryptic, Cry, Copy, Candy, Crown, Crayon, Cliff, Cringe, Crimson, Coke, Cyprus, Cone, Craft, Creamer, Cream, Crater, Coffee, Ceramic, Crime, Cute, Cutie, Cutest, Cuiter, Cut, Cutter, Cumin, Cough, Cat, Camera, Coat, Cable, Cater, Clip, Cloak, Clock, Clown, Cleve, Clever, Cola, Crete, Contraband, Congo, Chili , Chill, Chilly, Chile, Cancun, Careful, Care, Canine, Cart, Cypress Tree, Cave, Caved, Crave, Came, Cool

And a friend of mine made a list, which was crazily enough almost completely different than mine: 
Crayons, candy, cards, cats, cars, cows, city, crave, cringe, crack, cave, cane, cram, crevice, corn, carts, crystal, cotton candy, cycle, crow, crimson, catalog, caterpillar, cocoon, chrysalis, curls, carols, carpenter
* * *What are some of the first words that begin with "C" that pop into your mind? 

March 2016 in Review

What I Focused on in March: 
1. Editing and cutting down the word count in When Life Hands You Lymes 2. Training for the marathon - Eating healthy, tracking my food, walking/running 121 miles 
3. Working at regaining my creativity 4. My non-writing job 

Birthday Challenge and Dream List Update 
Birthday Challenge:
2. Pray the "prayer of Jebez" every day for three months {Completed in December. +3)
3. Read the whole Bible {Psalm, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi}
4. Go to Wednesday night church 24 times {3}
6. Read 12 non-fiction "spiritual" books {4}
7. Read the Proverb of the day every day for six months {Completed March 31st}
12. Go to bed at 10:30 or before 24 nights (not in a row) {Completed}13. Write a monthly review on my blog within 5 days of the end of the month whenever internet is available {6 months}
14. Blog my 3 (or more) top goals for each month within 5 days of the beginning of each month whenever internet is available {4 months}
15. Write 24 book reviews {8}17. Track my food for 24 days in a row, not counting weekends {Completed March 28th}23. Read 24 non-fiction books {7}
Dream List:  None 

Reading Update
Fiction: 8Non-Fiction: 7Reviews: 15 Audio Books: 4 (fiction)

Traveling
Nights Gone: 1New Countries or States: None 

March Goals 
1. Walk or jog 100 miles - YES (121 miles)
2. Work 80 hours on my non-writing job - YES
3. Work 100 hours on my writing work - YES
4. Read at least an hour each day - YES 
5. Read and review 4 non-fiction books - YES (7)
6. Either re-write or edit each chapter in WLHYL - YES
7. Write at least 300 words on the re-writes every day - YES (although I won't use most of them, they were more for practice)


What I've Been Learning
I spent March filling my brain with a bunch of words and it really helped me in various ways. I learned about goals, finances, technology, creativity, and living the way God wants me to live. 
It also hit me in March that although I've spent years being quite creative, creativity isn't simply a part of my life - I have to cultivate it. The last couple of months were kinda "creativity killers" so I worked at learning how to combat that lifestyle and learn how to once again embrace creativity. Thankfully it was a fun process and really helpful. 
Throughout the month it was interesting to get to study the countries I "visited" in the Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks series: Italy, South Korea, Reunion Island, Luxembourg, and Denmark. It can be hard at times to find interesting information that I can weave into a short story, so it's been a good challenge for me.
I've also been working at learning how to set realistic monthly and weekly goals that stretch me, but don't totally overwhelm me. Thankfully I'm getting better in this arena of life.  
Other
This month I celebrated Noveltea's 4th birthday, stayed home most of the month, and got to cut grass for the first time in 2016. 
I also discovered how to borrow audio books online through the library. *cue celebration music* It's been really fun to listen to books while doing mindless work and while walking. Hearing the books instead of reading them has actually helped me pay attention better. I skim read a lot and so not being able to skim read has been an eye-opening experience. 
Walking and really training for the marathon I'm, Lord willing, going to run in October was one of the best and most challenging parts of the month. Ramping my health into full gear is well-worth the pain and discipline it takes. 
I reviewed (on Goodreads) every single one of the books I read in March, so that was a new experience for me. It was enjoyable to get to review the books, and really helped me gauge them as I was reading. I'm petty sure that 15 reviews in one month is my record, but I'm not positive. 
* * *It's that time again where we get to choose where Annie goes for this week in our Friday Series,  Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks . And the destination is: Bhutan!  

B is for British Accent #atozchallenge

Creativity is a lifestyle for me, not an action. This month I'm exploring twenty-six quirky ways I keep my creativity flowing. 

I decided to spend yesterday talking only in a British accent. This didn't pan out exactly the way I had planned, and it didn't quite fuel my creativity like I had been planning on, mostly because I kept forgetting and several sentences in to what I was saying I would catch myself and slip back into character.

Someone suggested I switch Siri to a British accent, and I did that in the evening and carried on a conversation with her which was pretty fun. I think that did spark a few little flames of creativity and I was able to finish a project I'd been dragging my heels on.

What about you? Do you ever talk in a different type of accent? 

Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks Week Thirteen: Denmark

This morning I blogged for the A to Z Challenge, and now this evening we get our weekly segment of the fictional story, Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks. I hope you enjoy!
Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks Week Thirteen: Denmark  The two hours of traveling time felt incredibly short and I did a little victory dance in Denmark’s rainy city of Odense. Ever since I’d started my year-long adventure, each Monday I hoped for countries that were close together, and so far it has happened three times: Mongolia and China (which was still a fair piece to travel), the Netherlands and England, and now.  What was even better was that my friends Lisa and Demi from the Netherlands were flying over to join me and were scheduled to land at any moment. I could hardly believe they were able to drop everything they were doing and hop on a plane, but they both had time off of work and we were going to have so much fun together. (We had planned the week before when I was in Luxembourg that if my next country was nearby they’d fly over to hang out.) “We’ve got this week all planned out.” Demi’s greeting was muffled in my shoulder as she gave me a hug, a bulky backpack strapped over her shoulders.  “Egeskov Castle is a must-visit which is why we flew into this airport.” Lisa came up and pointed toward the door. “What are we waiting for? We’ve got a country to explore.”  Noting that she had a backpack also, I gave a jerk on my suitcase handle and hurried after her. A few minutes later we were driving down the road toward Egeskov Castle.  “It’s the “best preserved moat-castle in Europe,” or at least that’s what the pamphlet said.” Demi accelerated when we got on the main road. “How old is it?” I asked. It was raining gently and the sound was relaxing. “The castle? It was completed in 1554.” Lisa handed me a stack of papers. “You can read about it if you want to.” “Thanks.” I scanned the information. It was a Renaissance structure and the pictures made it look magnificent. It also appeared to be fairly big, I flipped the paper over and saw that  there were 66 rooms, 171 doors, and 200 windows in the castle.  When we arrived we paid our admission and went to explore. Demi and Lisa had both been there multiple times before and acted as my tour guides.  “Egeskov Castle was built by Frands Brokenhuus in the middle of a lake on a foundation of oak pilings. Although it’s all nice and peaceful here nowadays, it was actually built for defense, not for beauty.” Lisa gestured at the structor in front of us. “Woah. For real?”  Lisa nodded. “The castle actually consists of two long buildings that are connected by a thick double wall. People could flee from the first building if they needed to and still be secure in the second one.”  “Not only that, but the double wall is so thick that it has a well hidden in it so they’d still have water if they were under siege, plus it has some staircases,” Demi said.  “And let me guess, the walls have openings so that the castle inhabitants could rain down tar or oil or whatever they used on the attackers?” “Yes.” Lisa was serious, even though I’d been joking. “And, the only way to get to the castle was to go across the drawbridge.”  We were walking across the gatehouse to get to the castle so I asked about it, questioning if it was built at the same time as the rest of the castle.  “No, this was built in,” Demi read a sign on the wall that wasn’t in English, but I couldn’t tell what language it was written in. “It was built in 1883 by some dude named Helgo who has a weird last name.” She titled her head, reading the rest of the sign. “And it says that in 1967 they opened a Veteran Car Museum in one of the buildings that used to be a barn. I don’t remember visiting that though, do you, Lisa?”  Lisa responded in the negative. “The inside of the castle was opened to the public in 1986.” We continued toward the castle. The rain had stopped by this time and the sun had broken through the clouds and bathed the lake in a million shimmering sparkles. I inhaled deeply, the delightful scent of spring almost overwhelming me. There were daffodils blooming around the lake and I wanted to go pick a bouquet. 

The inside of the castle was fantastic. Somehow Sophie had been able to work with Demi and Lisa and had pulled some strings so we were able to have a special tour with journalist privileges which meant I could use my camera to my hearts content. Several of the rooms were especially amazing and I took my time in them, taking notes, pictures, and even doing short video clips.  The Hunting Room dated back to a guy named Count Gregers Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Billie (how’s that for a name!) and was full of trophies from countries like Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda. Seeing the creatures made me want to go to a country in Africa next. I wanted to be able to see huge wild and majestic animals out on the open plains that were their natural habitat.  There were so many crazy and elegant and breathtaking pieces of furniture and woodwork and paintings throughout the castle. It was hard to imagine that the building was so old and built in the middle of a lake. We spent the whole day wandering the halls, day dreaming, exploring, and reading all the plaques on the walls. I was tired by the time we headed to the house where we were going to stay, but it was so worth it.  We spent Tuesday hanging out with the Nielson family. They’re very distant relatives to Demi and we were staying at their house. We had a typical Danish breakfast of coffee with rye bread and cheese and then visited the Odense Zoo. When we left the zoo we ate at a restaurant which proved to be a very eye opening experience to me. The Dane’s are pretty serious about their open-faced sandwiches and there are even “rules” about how you’re supposed to eat them. The traditional open sandwich is made on small rye bread and has a lot of layers. After some kind of thin spread they added cold fish, then fried fish (with pickles), then some cold meats, and I’m not even sure what else, veggies and maybe chicken salad? By the time I had it sitting in front of me I had to remind myself that I enjoyed trying new things and it would be a good experience for me. I can’t say I especially liked the sandwich, but it wasn’t bad, either. And, I did like the rhubarb trifle we feasted on for dessert. After lunch we went to the Hans Christian Andersen Museum. I had read a book about him when I was in grade school, but hadn’t thought of him the last decade, so it felt like a journey back into time to step into his world. Hans Christian Andersen wrote fairy tales and his stories are quite common, even today. In fact, they’ve been translated into more than 125 different languages and have inspired ballets, films, and plays. The Ugly Duckling, The Emperor’s New Clothes, and The Little Mermaid, are some of the stories he wrote. 
On Wednesday we headed to Copenhagen, Denmark’s capital, which is located on the island of Zealand. The first place we visited was Tivoli Gardens, which is one of the oldest amusement parks in the world (it opened in August of 1843). We only did a few rides, opting instead to spend most of our time doing other activities like visiting the puppet theater. Copenhagen is the most visited of all Nordic cities and I could see why, there was really a lot of stuff to do there. 

Thursday we to Legoland and then drove five and a half hours to the breath-taking town of Skagen where we spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning strolling around the town and inhaling the beauty of the ocean. Sunday afternoon we drove back to Copenhagen so we would be ready to fly out the next morning. I had learned so many cool facts about Denmark that I bought a notebook to jot them down in, and decided I would add to it in each country.
*Denmark is an archipelago made up of over 100 islands, some of which are not even inhabited.*The Danish monarchy is the oldest continuing monarchy in the world and has existed for over 1,000 years.*Denmark has more than twice the amount of bicycles (4.2 million) than cars (1.8 million). Copenhageners pedal more than 1.13 million km on their bicycles each day*Denmark has 7,314 miles of coastline, which is longer than the Great Wall of China and equals almost 1.5 meters of coast per Danish citizen.*The name Lego® is an abbreviation of two Danish words leg godt, meaning “play well.” The company was started in 1932 by Ole Kirk Christiansen. Lego began producing its iconic bricks in 1958. For more than 60 years, over 320 billion Lego bricks have been sold worldwide—nearly 60 bricks for every human on the planet.*No place in Denmark is more than 30 miles (50 km) from the sea.*On Denmark's Faroe Islands, there are twice as many sheep as people.*Denmark is the world’s biggest producer of ranched minks.*The first Danish newspaper was founded in 1666 and written entirely in verse.*Around 65% of Denmark is farmland and 11% woodlands. Denmark also has many beautiful beaches around its coastline.

A is for Apple (and Artichoke and Avocado) #atozchallenge

 For the 2016 A to Z Challenge we're going to explore twenty-six quirky ways to foster and expand creativity and imagination. 


I spent a day eating only foods/dishes that started with the letter A.

Breakfast was easy, an Apple with Almond butter . For lunch I had to get a mite bit more creative, but finally came up with Antipasto , which was better than I had imagined. For supper I had a delicious Avocado, Artichoke, and Almond salad which was simply delicious.

Snacks consisted:
Apples and Almonds dipped in Apple butterApricotsAlmond milk Ants on a log and Accordion sweet potatoes. 
my rendition of antipastoEating only foods that started with the letter A was more challenging than I'd anticipated, but lots of fun. I forwent some of the easy dishes like Angel hair pasta, Alfredo sauce, Alphabet soup, and enjoyed coming up with more unusual foods. It was a yummy day. 
* * * Thanks for stopping by Noveltea! If you had to eat food that started with only one letter, what letter would you choose? 

Hitting Milestones and Celebrating

On December 20th of last year I was musing about health issues I'd been experiencing (a leftover from my years fighting Lyme disease and some chemical allergies) and I wanted to pray that I'd feel better during 2016, then I realized something rather convicting. I wasn't actively caring for my health like I should, so therefore praying and asking God to make me feel better was actually a lazy way out. Yikes.

Back when I was actively getting over Lyme disease I'd been very intentional about what I ate, making sure to fill my body with proper nutrients by eating Paleo. Paleo is a very natural diet consisting of vegetables (although not things like white potatoes, and peas), fruit, meats, eggs, nuts (not peanuts), and seeds and cutting out processed foods, white starches, grains, dairy, legumes, etc...

So, I decided to eat Paleo for 100 days and see how I felt. Not one to delay starting a challenge, I jumped on board the next day, although I did allow myself to have Christmas day free. (By the way, I don't think everyone needs to be as strict as me, nor do I plan on always being strict, it's just that overcoming other hurdles means I have to work extra hard.)

Over the next 100 days I noticed a shift. It wasn't long before I began feeling better, but even on the days when I didn't feel well, I wasn't nearly as discouraged because I knew I was doing something to make a difference in my long-term health.

Then I began walking more, wanting to get into shape. On February 15th a friend suggested I start training for a marathon, which has been a life-long dream of mine, so I jumped on board. Around that time I also began rereading Every Body Matters. I started the book feeling confident that I could breeze through it, being encouraged but knowing I was on right on track. As I read though, I realized that although I was doing well with eating and excising I didn't have healthy habits regarding sleep. Oopps. So that changed. Instead of staying up until the wee hours of the morning, I began trying to go to bed by 10:30 or 11:00 four to five nights a week.

And do you know what? Those changes have made a gigantic difference in my life. I am so incredibly, wonderfully happy that I committed myself to changing my lifestyle and I've been feeling leaps and bounds better than last year.

Take for instance my training for a marathon. At the beginning of March I set a goal to walk or jog 100 miles during the month. That was quite the daunting task since I've probably not even walked half that amount in a month before, but I was confident it could be done.


The first week I managed 25 miles and was pretty excited. Then I was informed I should jog and after doing math on how long it would take me to walk a marathon, I agreed. The next week I had a goal of jogging 20 minutes out of the entire week, 1 to 2 minute spurts at a time. It was hard folks, really hard, and I barely accomplished it. But by the end of the next week, guess what? I jogged (at 5 mph) for 28 minutes out of 60 minutes, mostly going in 3 minute spurts. I was ecstatic. Seeing the difference that less than a month of training had made was amazing. Then week 4 came and to my great surprise I ended up jogging (again at 5. mph) for 24 minutes straight, which was two miles.

I seriously never knew that I could change my health, my stamina, and my lifestyle so quickly. Each week I take two rest days from training (per the advice I've received), and genuinely miss walking on those days.

Yesterday was day 100 of Paleo, and I had told myself all along that no matter if I decided to stay on Paleo or not, I'd take day 101 as a celebration day where I could eat whatever foods I wanted. This morning though, instead of chowing down on the cheesecake I've been saving for the last week, I headed up to the treadmill with my computer to celebrate with an early morning walk/jog.

The most I've done in one day is 8 miles, and today I wanted to do 10. Two hours and twenty-five minutes later I had accomplished my goal. Excitedly marking it down in my book, I added up my miles for the entire month and... Not only did I reach my 100 miles, but I blew past it, walking or jogging a total of over 121 miles in 31 days.

It's been a good 100 days and I'll be back at Paleo soon, but for now? I think I'm gonna go and eat that cheesecake and then nibble on some white chocolate. 

Copy Vs. Create & Life in Community: Book Reviews

Create Vs. Copy By Ken Wytsma 
Find it on:  Amazon Goodreads  
First-Person Non-Fiction180 Pages

About the Book (Backcover Blurb):Today’s leaders simply can’t succeed without putting creativity in their toolbox. If you don’t think you’re creative, that may sound discouraging. But take heart: creativity can be taught and practiced, and Create v. Copy shows you how.This short, punchy book explores various aspects of creativity and imagination and leads you toward a healthy, confident, more innovative life mindset. It celebrates the good news of your God-given capacity to create and helps you harness it to take charge of your life, navigate changing times, and ultimately, flourish and succeed. Having traveled to dozens of countries, founded the leading international conference on justice and theology, and collaborated with scores of nonprofits, Wytsma is uniquely fit to help us be culture-shapers in a world of global change. He blends theology, history, and cultural observation to show us what being God’s creative image-bearers might look like today.Whether you're a parent, CEO, pastor, or politician, this fresh look at contemporary leadership will challenge the way you view your position of influence, and it will equip you to adapt and thrive in our perplexing yet exciting cultural climate.
Why I Choose this Book: It's about being creative. The title drew me in and made me curious. 
What I Thought About this Book:There were some elements of this book that I really liked, and several of the chapters hit the four star mark. I especially liked how the author pointed out that God is creative and that we are created in His image and are supposed to live creatively. The first time I heard that concept (about five years ago), I was shocked and delighted. To think of creating as a way that we can be like our heavenly Father is amazing. I still enjoy pondering that idea. 
I think that somewhere the author mentions he didn't write this book for artists, and I really got that vibe. I was imagining something whimsical and thought-provoking and, well, now that I think about it, probably something that wasn't as practical as Create Vs. Copy. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with the book, but I didn't click with the author and there were times I felt like I was sloshing through the words. The book was focused more on the theoretical side of creativity than I was prepared for. It's kinda like finding a suit when you'd been prepared for a multi-colored, twirling dress. 
Conclusion: Only a few chapters made me really sit up and take notice, but I think a lot of people will enjoy this book. It's also got a cool style going on inside with various drawings and big red boxes with words. 
Rating: I'm giving Create Vs. Copy Three Stars (five out of Ten).*I received this book for free from Moody Publishers in exchange for an honest review*
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Life in Community By Dustin Willis 
Find it on:  Amazon Goodreads  
First-Person Non-Fiction186 Pages

About the Book (Backcover Blurb):When people live in community moved by the gospel and marked by the Spirit, great things happen.  They commit to one another. They grieve together, sing together, eat, pray, and play together. They love, serve, honor, encourage, and provide for each other gladly. And they live on mission together. Hearts are healed, walls come down, and outsiders come in. No competition. No pretense. No vain conceit. Just full hearts breaking bread and giving freely.It is nothing short of amazing.Most of us live in a shadow of what God intended for us. Life in Community calls us into the light. Reclaiming Scripture’s stunning vision of gospel-centered community, it inspires us to live in love unbounded. Read it, live it, and join the movement: Help unleash the power of extraordinary community.
Why I Choose this Book: I'm trying to reach out and be more a part of the lives around me. It's so easy to huddle in my office and seclude myself at work, but I want to really live and to touch lives and be touched by other people's lives. 
What I Thought About this Book:I enjoyed the book. It was insightful, rooted in scripture, easy to read, and filled with paragraph-long real-life stories that made it easy to relate to. The author does a great job of exploring what the Bible has to say about the way we're supposed to live life. We can't pull into ourselves and live an abundant, Godly life. Instead, we're told to be involved with other people's lives. We're supposed to bare one another's burdens, not forsake the gathering of believers, be hospitable, confess our faults to one another, and the list goes on. None of those things can be accomplished if we don't interact with others. In Life in Community we learn practical ways to put these principles into practice and to live lives that make a difference and draw people closer to God. 
Conclusion: It was a good book, helpful, easy-to-read, and encouraging. 
Rating: I'm giving Life in Community Four Stars (Seven out of Ten).*I received this book for free from Moody Publishers in exchange for an honest review*

Refueling the Creative, Imagination, Idea-Generatoring Part of My Brain

The thoughts dancing around in my brain leave me smiling. Creativity. Imagination. Ideas. I've surrounded myself with a quirky lifestyle that promotes soaring thoughts and a seemingly never-ending onslaught of new possibilities. I had gotten to the point where I thought it was natural and I didn't have to work at it any more, so I stopped the constant embracing of muse. 
Instead of spending each of my days actively paying attention to the world around me and seeking out inspiration, I scurried through the hours, packing my day full and accomplishing and doing and checking off my list. 
It felt good. I was thrilled at how much I could get done and gave myself mental high-fives. I slipped into the new lifestyle and throughly enjoyed it. Until the day came when I realized my creativity had taken a nosedive and my imagination was falling asleep on me and ideas were becoming fewer and less exciting. 

That's when I knew I needed to make a change. I didn't panic. I didn't bemoan the last couple of months (after all, I had learned a lot from them). I didn't make any sudden visible changes. But I steadfastly began consciously working on my creativity, imagination, and idea generator.

While walking I listened to the slap, slap, slap of my feet hitting the gravel road. I concentrated on my half-swinging, half-jerking gait when I ran with a thumping bag over my shoulder. I took time to feel textures in the world around me. I gulped down books, reading at least an hour each day. I surrounded myself with words, paying attention to the cadence of people's speech, listening to audio books and watching them play out in my brain, cheering on authors when they used creative word pictures. I pondered the meaning of different words, wondering which ones I could add to my repertoire. I randomly said words out loud, concentrating on how fun words like kaleidoscope sounded and felt in my mouth. 

I asked questions, to myself and to others. I listened to the way other people interacted with each other, noting the exchange, what made them tick. I feasted my eyes on beauty, letting my sight, and my brain, dwell until it came up with a satisfactory description instead of rushing on.

I began searching for ways to be creative other than with writing. I bought craft supplies, letting myself take time in choosing gorgeous colors and running my hand over the merchandise, feeling smooth, rough, and bumps beneath my fingers. I splurged and bought a box with 96 crayons, something I've wanted to have every since I was a little girl and my brother would let me sit in his room and use his overwhelmingly beautiful set of crayons to color in his Lassie coloring book.

The ideas began pouring in, tickling me with their uniqueness and making me dance for joy with the randomness, yet consistency, with which they came. Opening lines to unwritten books popped into my brain. Plot holes filled themselves. My mind was in constant motion, cataloging the world around me and storing them in my idea factory.

Today my imagination, creativity, and muse are back in full working order. Little, seemingly insignificant happenings explode into huge possibilities. I've reverted back to authorish me. Something as small as wearing sparkly socks with dress flats once again make me want to skip down the roads. Looking off in the distance I see an oddly shaped branch and suddenly a whole book goes poof and arrives in my brain. Sure, life might take a bit longer to live as I dance with unheard music and make a face at myself every time I pass a mirror, but do you know what? It's worth it.

God is creative and I feel honored that He created us to be creative as well. Enough said.

* * *
How are some ways you're creative? What is your muse? 

The Game of Editing

Sitting down at my computer this morning I was excited to get into editing mode and cut out excess words. Outside the wind is blowing rather fiercely; I'd been hoping to cut grass today but the wind is seemingly intent on blowing in cold weather instead of sunshine. I'm not (too) disappointed though, because that means I can focus more of my day on WLHYL. 
I am, Lord willing, leaving with my family for a trip on April 11th. Last year my goal was to finish the first draft of WLHYL before leaving on a trip that was around the same time. The goal was a stupendously overwhelming one for little ol' me and left me feeling exhausted when it was finally accomplished. Although I'm glad I had that goal last year, I wanted to make sure I didn't do that again this year (I spent half of the trip emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted). 
As I've plowed my way through WLHYL last week, it occurred to me that I could possibly make a goal of chopping away at the second book in the WLHYL series and maybe get the first big edits done on that book before we leave. It would be a stretch, but I feel up to the challenge right now and am eager to be done with this stage of the books. (I don't remember if I've mentioned it on here, but I'm working on merging book one and two and having a standalone book which means a lot of editing and cutting out scenes.)  

I've discovered one of the best ways to get excited about editing is to make it into a game. Instead of allowing myself to dread cutting out words, I choose a word count I want to get down to and then work the delete key ferociously until I've reached my goal.

That game works wonders when it comes to taking out whole scenes, because then instead of wanting to cry at so much of my hard work disappearing, I grin at the word count jumping dramatically downward. I know it's simply a matter of mindset, but mindset is a big factor in life.

 What about you? Do you have some tips that could help make my editing and chopping easier and flow more smoothly? I'd be delighted to hear what works for you because this is really not my forte.

* * *
It's that time again where we get to choose where Annie goes for this week in our Friday Series,  Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks . And the destination is: Denmark!