Dreams in a Bucket

 

“The Bucket List.”

It’s a movie about two men who are given one year to live–one rich, alone, and soured on life; one poor, surrounded by family, but in possession of unfulfilled dreams. This man makes a list of things he wants to do before he “kicks the bucket” (hence the title); and to his surprise, the rich man offers to fund the adventure. So the two set out across the world to fulfill the dreams on the Bucket List.

I haven’t seen the movie (neither have many people across the world yet, so I won’t give away any spoilers!)–I hadn’t even heard of it. So when Jeff O’ Hara tagged me to write a Bucket List for 2008, the mental image I got was of all the dreams I’ve been carrying around in a bucket. Much like carrying water in a bucket, it’s truly a valuable commodity; but unless you pour it out where it’s needed, it does no good. After too long it will even turn stale or stagnant, useless for any beneficial purpose.

So what am I carrying around in a bucket? What dreams or goals do I want to achieve in 2008? Awesome thought–when you write something down, you commit to it. You can no longer avoid it, in any good conscience.

So–deep breath–here we go; mousewords’ Bucket List for 2008:

–Finish writing my mystery novel.

–Publish my mystery novel. (Those are two separate things.)

–Get many articles published.

–Move to a new location.

–Meet lots of online friends in person.

–Reach Power Seller status with my art sales on eBay

–Read the CSS books I have and actually learn it well

–Travel, for book promotion and for fun

…At least.

And I’d like to ask the same question of Melinda, Warren S., Bettina, Teeg, Akela, Belinda, Aaron, and Della. What dreams are you carrying around in a bucket?

Just after I wrote my list, I received an email from a new friend, who has just returned from the trip of a lifetime. I’m more inspired than ever now. I welcome you to visit Julie Anna’s blog and see if you feel the same.

Thinking of it as a Bucket List gives me a sense of urgency; I do want to achieve these things, so I had better hurry.

The last thing I want to do is kick the bucket when it’s full.

 

Coming Soon, and Better, Even!

Blog renovation is in progress, stand by! New theme and header art are in place, but I’m going through my pages to harmonize everything. Please forgive broken links and wiggy text formatting for a bit.

Brushing up my writing as we delve into the new year, too, so some fresh content will be ready and raring to go! And let’s see if I can come up with something wonderful to put in “The Latest” tab…no exciting news since December 4th is really too pathetic…

:-):-)

Happy New Year!

 

What Am I Thinking?

I’m new to Twitter—only discovered it last month—but already I’m realizing what an amazing tool it is.  Not only to help me meet interesting people, or keep in better touch with the ones I already know; not only to expand my realization of the world and current events, or to give me an outlet for burning off some of the plethora of minutiae-related thoughts that skitter through my brain every day. 

Not only all that, but one of the best things about Twitter is that…it…um…well, hm. 

What was my point again?  I’m fighting this cold tooth and nail, but it seized my thoughts.  Oh, wait—yes.

One of the best parts of Twitter is being able to track my thinking.

Many thoughts run through my head on a minute-by-minute basis. The sunshine sure does look pretty today, makes me feel brighter inside. I hope @susanreynolds is doing well, my heart is heavy for her but my faith is in the Lord’s healing power. I’ve seen Him do as much for others I know. Thank heavens for peanut butter, it really gives me a boost…and the two heels of bread aren’t really so bad together, it makes it kind of like a sweet roll. Oooh, Tree 63’s playing “Look What You’ve Done,” it’s soooo totally awesome. Those lyrics—I wonder that so often myself. What a pretty melody. Okay, I really need to get working on the book—I need a final target date by February, and that’s a lot closer than it seems. Been a couple months since I sat down and wrestled with it, since I’ve been working on the art and charity things. Wondering how I should start—I want to do a word count and recap, but feeling the pressure, wonder if I should fire in with writing first off? No, recap would be better, probably—get a big look at it, “see” it all at once—where it should go, how it should be—I remember working on my sci-fi book five years ago, just being able to “see” the entire thing all at once…not that I knew what all was going to happen, since ideas came as I worked along; but I could see it. It was clear. No matter how I try to push myself to be normal, sometimes I just wake up and realize what it’s like to have brain damage…it’s not the same as it used to be. It’s all furry in my head…I have to squint to see the stories now. LOL, I need brain glasses. Ah, that would be coffee. Coffee’s here, bless my Mom for bringing it in. Love my family—every one of them. But Lord, I wonder when I’ll find “HIM” and we can start a family of our own. I just know my brain will be better, come that day…not being unrealistic here, I just know. There’s something about happiness that makes everything clear. You can think with your heart, not your grey matter. I probably shouldn’t start thinking about that…I get too sobby. But it’s my heart, what should I do, lock it inside so that it can’t feel anything? Numb it like my nerves after the CO poisoning? I get into that habit sometimes…I’m so used to trying to control wild emotional swings after CO, that “emotion” has become something like “headache.” When you get a headache, you take something to make it go away. My body does the same thing with my emotions nowadays. The minute I start feeling something in my soul, my instinct wants to quickly “take an aspirin,” so to speak, to make it go away. Be strong. Steel the heart. Calm down. Think of something else. By all means don’t break down. But heartfelt longings aren’t the same thing as a mood swing. You’re supposed to feel, you know. You need to. So okay, back to square one: Lord, how do I make my day mean something? How do I not wind up wasting time bobbling around aimlessly…okay, aimlessly, that struck a chord. Write the goals down…keep following the plan. “This is my desire, to go deeper into You,” Tree 63 is singing right now, this very moment. “I am always in your heart. I am not my own.” Whoa, Twitter update, @susanreynolds is out of surgery and in recovery…bless the Lord, Hallelujah, as Tree 63 happens to be singing right now. Oh, no, don’t sing A Million Lights right now…Lord. Sob fest. No, wait, don’t turn off the heart, right?? Just grab a Kleenex. Sigh. Yeah, I knew it, crying. Blink, gulp, take deep breath. What was I thinking again? Oh, yes—oh, that melody is so pretty—I was thinking of Twitter. I read through my month’s worth of—Twitter update, @hackerjay, my baby bro, 6-foot-some-odd hunk of guy, but all baby brother to me. :-);-) Leaving work now, it sounds like he has Christmas Vacation. We had Christmas at Thanksgiving with him—wondering what he’ll be doing for Christmas Day? Gotta remember to ask. If not for IM and Twitter, I’d never know what’s going on with my siblings. :-):-) Ah, and there’s @war2d2, other younger brother, chiming in with “Merry Christmahanukkwanzaka everybody.” hehee. We’ll see him and his wife right after Christmas…oh, dang, I still have to get presents for them. Twitter update—good news about @susanreynolds! Praising the Lord wholeheartedly for that. Okay, back to the thought of Twitter…except I just thought of my book….man, I need to get going on that. I just know it will flow when I sit down and do it…get over that hurdle of facing it. Always does. Man, that will be exciting when it’s done! Will I even know what to do with myself when it is??? Uh…yeah…yes, I will. :-);-) Good Lord, there’s so much to do….writing, website, promotion…okay, yes, that voice inside just said “and WORKING,” bless it. :-):-) That means, GET BACK TO WORK RIGHT NOW. Okay, that reminds me what I was posting about to start with…Twitter gives me a way to track my thoughts in print so I can see what I need to change to make better use of my time, and make improvements in my life. Moment by moment, thought by thought, it’s hard to see the big picture. But when all those thoughts and moments are strung together, they weave a pattern and begin to make some sense. It’s not really my pattern…the Lord has a plan that He’s making. I can’t see it minute by minute…well, that’s not true, yes I can. I know the visions He’s given me for what’s in store for my future…I get too focused on my own failings and weaknesses, and don’t see that He can handle it, He can make something beautiful out of my screw-ups…I just need to keep moving, to work at it. But then I get so afraid…I feel so helpless. I don’t know where to go or what to do…

 

And that’s when all the words stop.

 

And He just embraces me in His love.

 

And He tells me everything’s going to be all right.

 

I’ll see it when it gets here. Like Tree 63 is singing: “Something invisible has become so beautiful.” And it will be more beautiful than I can possibly imagine.

So now I’m going to get back to work. And I’ll start thinking again.

 

But a little more quietly now.

 

ENTIRELY AWESOME!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot-B4V8oqPQ]

Happy Birfday!

I like to wish “Happy Birthday” to people through my blog, so that’s what I’m gonna do today!  Happiest of “Birfdays” to kellypuffs and many more! I frequently enjoy reading her blog, on my blogroll over there. Best wishes for a fabulous year!

 

 

The New Vernacular

 

mousewords is blogging Twitter via an RSS feed.

Think about that for a minute.

It makes perfect sense.

What a world we live in these days…

 

Last-Minute Shoppers, I’m Talkin’ to You!

 

Moments left!

After many weeks of preparation and ten days of stunning art and wonderful crafts on display, Art for 1000 Wells is ending shortly! Many great artists and artisans from all corners of the globe (well, a few of them, at least) have come together to participate, all with the common goal of raising funds to benefit Blood:Water Mission’s 1000 Wells Project. BWM’s quest to provide a thousand clean water projects to a thousand African communities—while working to fight the spread of the AIDS virus at the same time—is a noble humanitarian outreach, and is accomplishing great things.

With Art for 1000 Wells, artists, collectors, and holiday shoppers can help save lives in Africa!

And there’s still time left! Yes, Christmas Eve shoppers, I’m talking specifically to you. Trust me, I’ve done that run. Not many stores are open on Christmas Eve. Plus, wouldn’t you rather be sitting in front of the tree…with a nice hot cup of cider in your hand and someone you love under your arm…inwardly excited as you think about the gorgeous piece of original artwork that is sitting under the tree, wrapped in festive paper, awaiting the stunned and joyous response of its recipient…and feeling a warm glow of satisfaction knowing that you shopped wisely, and helped make someone else’s life better in the process…

Think about that. But…um…think quickly.

Ending TONIGHT! CLICK HERE!

 

See Red, Buy Art, Save Lives

 

Today is World AIDS Day.

Sounds overwhelming. The brain has a tendency to want to glaze over that…shun the thoughts it brings to mind. Sickness, suffering, death. It’s easy to pause for a moment, read the articles on the subject, look at the red web pages and red ribbons, feel sorrowful…then turn away.

33.2 million people live with HIV/AIDS worldwide. 22.5 million of them are in Africa. HIV/AIDS is currently the leading cause of death in Africa. We read that and think, “That’s really a shame.” But not knowing what we can do about it—other than feel bad and maybe say a prayer for the situation—we turn away, and move on with our lives. After a couple days, we won’t see it in the papers anymore, and it will be life as usual.

For us.

Yet in many areas of the world, mothers are living in fear that they will pass the AIDS virus on to their children. The resources that may protect them are often not readily available. And in places where AIDS is a real and present threat, something as simple as clean water can protect a child’s life…or save one.

So what does that mean for us on this side of the globe? Maybe we feel moved to do something—how can we help? One way is to keep doing what we normally do—but in a way that will make a difference.

For instance, Holiday Shopping. Have you finished your list yet? Who has?? As you do your gift shopping over the next few days, I encourage you to go to eBay.com and enter the keyword term TWBW in the search bar. TWBW stands for “Thousand Wells Blood Water,” and is the acronym of Art for 1000 Wells, an international group of artists and artisans who have come together to offer their original creations for sale on eBay—all with the purpose of raising funds for Blood:Water Mission’s 1000 Wells Project. The 1000 Wells project is building one thousand clean water solutions in one thousand African communities—they are saving lives, and actively fighting against the spread of the AIDS virus. I invite you to check out Blood:Water Mission’s website to learn more about this organization. If you would rather make a donation directly to the cause, you can do so on the website.

Art for 1000 Wells ends on the night of December 4th. There’s still time to give original art as a meaningful gift this holiday season. You can know that your gift will really be giving twice.

And you can also be encouraged in the thought that you didn’t turn away.

On the Radio–Me!

 

My nickname is “CB.” I always found it funny that I was born around the same year as the CB radio. Well, now I finally know why.

As if seeing me rattle on in the printed word wasn’t enough, now you can hear me on the radio! KLOVE will be airing a news bit with part of an interview with me sometime tomorrow (Friday Nov. 30), and will be making the rest of the interview available for download as a podcast from their website. This is me hyperventilating and trying to remember all I needed to say about the Art for 1000 Wells auction! :):)

Here’s KLOVE’s website, broadcasts can be heard there:

KLOVE.com

And here’s the page for the podcast—Click under the one entitled “Art for 1000 Wells”:

Click here to listen

And here’s what it’s all about:

Art for 1000 Wells

Merry Christmas, all!

~CB

 

Space-y

My ‘Space has a new look, in honor of the upcoming Art for 1000 Wells auction! I welcome everyone to stop by and take a look!