NaBloPoMoem

In honor of me completing this year's NaBloPoMo, I have written a poem.

loves of my reading life

Reading is my absolute favorite past time. Often I neglect performing necessary chores - such as washing my hair, cooking or cleaning - because I get lost in a good book. Many of the books I read are part of a series, and over the years I have developed "crushes" on several of the main characters. If only the men of the real world were like the ones in the books I read. I promise I would get my act together to be on their team. My book loves include:

bun head

This week I have been experimenting with wearing a bun every day. Every. Single. Day. Who knew there were so many different bun styles to wear? It's partially out of not wanting to wash my hair every week. I'm trying the every other week approach for the winter.Basically I wear it twisted week one and loose during week two. The buns have helped me stretch not washing my hair.

the faux beau

One of my male friends has this annoying habit of always asking about my love life. It was non-existent last week. It's non-existent this week. More than likely it will be non-existent next week. Maybe if I was beating guys off with a broom I could understand the perpetual interest in my love lack, or lack thereof. No, I'm perpetually dateless, and he knows this. So during one umpteenth time of him asking about me dating someone I decided to make a faux beau up.

the ghost writer

Recently I was asked by one of my dad's friends to edit a Lenten devotional featuring writers from within their church association. Devotionals were due to me Nov. 11. Guess which writer has yet to turn one in. Yes, my own dear old dad. I've been bugging him about his devotionals for more than a month but to no avail. His excuse is being too busy. Yeah right. Just because you pastor a church, serve as moderator for a church association and as a vice president for the state convention doesn't mean you're busy. Well maybe just a little.

baby it's cold outside

Sometimes I forget which season is the current one we're in at the moment. Blame it on Florida weather. The weather ranges from hot to really hot. Occasionally we try to throw in something else called less hot. When it's "less hot," natives know to dress in layers for it will indeed be "cold" in the morning, but by noon the temperature will rise to 75 degrees again. That wool coat will be overkill come lunchtime when you are sweating like a pig. At least that was the case last week.

family holiday traditions

I've always said once I have my own family we would start our own holiday traditions. My parents don't really listen to my suggestions for traditions.And trying to get the rest of my family to follow would nearly be impossible. So I need a familyof my own. Well marriage is pretty far away and children are definitely not on the horizon anytime soon, but I do have a family of sorts - my roommates.

Character death

I'd like to think I don't typically get too attached to a book, movie or TV series character. The key word here is "Think." The reality is I get attached to characters easily. When Mufasa died in The Lion King my face was covered in tears. I still don't think I'll recover from Paul's death on Dollhouse. My lastest major blow was the death of Sirius Black in Harry Potter. Yes, I am tardy for the party, but the loss is still felt just as fresh as if I had read the books when they originally came out.

Being thankful

Things I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving:

1. Two awesome roommates
2. My circle of close friends
3. My family
4. Ozzy, who is NOT my cat
5. My job
6. My play family
7. God's grace and mercy
8. You my five followers
9.  My bestest friend
10. Thanksgiving leftovers!

pre-thanksgiving poem

With the help of my Play Cousin I wrote a special Pre-Thanksgiving poem. Share it with your family and friends next year.

The night before Thanksgiving.

Spoiler Alert

There is something about a good spoiler that just makes you want to read or watch whatever it's in regards too. Oh wait, am I the only person who likes spoilers? OK, my name is TONI and I like book and movie spoilers. Knowing the ending first makes it all worthwhile for me.

n-word too deep

Yours truly is a mentor to several young people. I try to keep an atmosphere that is accepting and allows them to be who they are. For the most part they are respectful when around me. If they should slip up and say a bad word, I don't wash their mouth out with soap. I do say, "Language," and they get the message to keep it clean. But the other day I had to put one in check (in a nice way of course) about her word choice. Instead of cussing, she used the dreaded N-Word.

when bridezillas attack

I have a confession. I am addicted to watching Bridezillas. I blame my roommate K. She is always watching it on Netflix, and being the nosy person that I am, I have to watch it too. The chicks are CRAZY. And not in a good way. These women are demanding, rude, inconsiderate and just plain evil. It sort of makes you dread every being a part of a wedding.

Play to win

I play to win.

There is one rule I live by when going to a shower event: play to win. Whatever game is thrown my way at a shower I play to win. It doesn't matter if it's a baby or bridal shower. Games can range from a bridal shower word search to baby shower bingo. There might even be 100 hundred other guests. Regardless of the situation there is one thing to keep in mind - I PLAY TO WIN!

the hair extravaganza

It's time for me to have a hair extravaganza. I say extravaganza because my hair process takes anywhere from two hours to two days to complete (it depends on how I am feeling). The extravaganza only occurs once every week (actually it's more like every other week), otherwise I would go broke from buying hair products (and never have time to do anything). From start to finish this is my hair extravaganza:

Coming soon: New American



For voters who've considered suicide when the election is too much.

 It looks like the South wants to rise again (because we all know how well that turned out the last time). There could be a “New America” in the future. The other day I was talking to my Play Cousin about the people that want to secede from the U.S. Residents across the nation have signed petitions requesting that their state – mainly Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas and yes even my Florida – be allowed to peacefully secede from the country because of the presidential election. PC and I can find foolishness to talk about even with the most serious of topics (much like Cee and I did during election night). We began to ponder many things if the people were allowed to secede.

children on strike

What's a living wage for a child these days?

Parents beware! Your children might go on strike if you don’t pay them enough for doing chores. Several weeks ago I read a Dear Abby column regarding allowance pay. The writer said she received $3 a week to do household chores such as taking out the garbage, washing dishes, vacuuming and setting the table every night. The child felt her pay was too little for all she did. She was tired of being her mother’s “slave” and declared herself on strike until the pay increased. At that point I had to put the paper down.

No Shave November

You won't catch me out in public with my hairy legs showing.

“Sometimes I shave my legs, and sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I comb my hair, and sometimes I won’t. Depend on how the wind blows I might even paint my toes. It really just depends on whatever feels good in my soul ...” Video by India.Arie

Dreamland inspiration

I wonder what he's dreaming about.

Within the past four days I’ve had several weird dreams. Unusually I might have one weird dream every quarter. To have four in just a week has got to be a record.  I once read that dreams mean something. Mine make no sense; however, they are fairly entertaining.


I shared a dream a year ago with some friends. One of them used it as a basis for a book (Roller Derby Vampire Girl) which he wants to get published. Another of my weird dreams would make a good TV or novel series in the fantasy realm. Maybe one of the dreams I had this week could be the basis of another artistic venture.

I’m too lazy to pen a book, script or play myself. Perhaps you, my four readers, might be inspired to create something. Below is a quick synopsis of what I remember from the weirdest dream. Just give me a shout out in the book, moving credits or show premiere (and a check would be nice too). If by chance you have an interpretation of my dream, please share it.

God save the small town

Growing up I lived in a major city, but after high school I started living in smaller and smaller places. These days I live in a small town. There are a lot of downsides to a small town, such as the lack of a dating pool, cultural diversity and just having something to do on the weekends. My current location is three times bigger than the last one so I will survive (just like Gloria Gaynor) However, living in a small town isn’t all bad. There are also many some a few advantages. People are generally friendlier, and everybody knows your name. It’s like Cheers all over the place. Traffic is practically nonexistent, and I can typically get from one end of town to the other in 15 minutes. That never happened in my hometown.

The cat and the maiden

The cat in his favorite spot - the maiden's bed.

Once upon a time there was a beautiful maiden named Antonia who lived in a magical City filled with Lakes. For many moons Antonia lived alone with just a betta fish, Ralphie, but no friends in the city to really call her own. One day she met another fair maiden, K, who offered the promise of friendship (and cheaper lodging). Antonia packed her belongings and immediately moved in. And soon her days were filled with roommates – and cats.

Lunchtime change

Just a bunch of twists hanging freely.

Some mornings I can’t decide on how I want to wear my hair. I get up about 40 minutes before work (I literally work five minutes from my house). Once I’ve showered, gotten dressed and so forth, I usually have about 10 minutes to spare on my hair. In such a short amount of time I might not have a clear hair vision for the day.

Oh, am I late?

The start of it all.

Usually I’m late for whatever is the biggest TV show, film or book craze. I completely missed watching Lost. I didn’t see Batman Begins or the Dark Knight until the Dark Knight Rises came out. And The Hunger Games series is at the bottom of my reading priority list. I’m not anti being in the mainstream. You know how some people avoid the latest trend because everyone is on the bandwagon. I just don’t have the time to devote to everything as soon as it comes out. Eventually I want to get around to watching or reading whatever. Granted it might be several years later.

Final election thoughts

An interesting exchange happened between an 8-year-old girl and me today.  While sitting next to me (and working my nerves) during a luncheon, she asked who I voted for.

"That's a personal issue, and I don't share how I voted," I said.

"It better not be Obama," she said. "He's a liar. Did you  vote for him?"

"Like I said, it's personal, and I'm not sharing."

the end is near

I hope everyone exercised their right to vote today.

At long last election day is here. I feel like both parties have been campaigning for four years. Right now I am so happy this day has arrived. Once that last vote is tallied I might just do a dance of joy. There have just been so much negatvitiy with this election. Of course that probably is the case with every one. Can't we all just run without having to bring each other down? I won't bore you with an analysis on this year's election season, mainly because I'm just not that deep into politics to accurately give one. Seriousness is not an area I handle too well. So today's post will instead provide a list of some of my favorite election/political
/president/whatever movies. While you're waiting to hear the election results, pass the time watching one (or all) of them.

X marks the spot

Who can still write like this?

Apparently writing in cursive is starting to be a lost art. Do the children even know what cursive is anymore? The other day one of my students was signing a form, and I had to say, "What is that?" when I saw her signature. It wasn't like a doctor's signature, which is usually unreadable. Instead it looked like a first grader's attempt at writing in cursive. My best friend, who is a teacher, says students aren't taught penmanship anymore. Then what are they teaching the children? Testing?

Praise and Worship Mix

My worship is for real.

Some days I like to have random praise sessions. One day it might be at midnight on a Thursday. On another day it’s at 5 p.m. on a Wednesday. The days and times vary but the songs usually are the same. I never know when a desire for a praise break might hit. When it does, I simply answer the call and start playing my praise and worship mix. I enjoy a good sermon at church, but at home it's just the music and me. Like a good sermon, the words of a song can speak to my heart and move me to tears from hearing about how good God is to me even when I don’t deserve it. Therefore I present to you my praise and worship mix. Play any of these songs when you want an intimate time praising and thanking the Lord.

A fair account

Yay for the fair!

The fair is in town this week! That can only mean one thing, or three – corn dogs, funnel cake and frozen lemonade galore. Last year was the first time I actually had the opportunity to simply enjoy the fair. During my reporting days I always had to cover it. Every day was spent at the fair writing about some angle. Then I switched jobs and participated in the fair fun. A couple of friends and I hit up the rides until our hearts were content. This was of course followed by a feast of fair food. I felt like a kid again enjoying all the fun.

Direct approach

Subtlety is not a concept I comprehend. While most women can instantly recognize when a guy is flirting with or even interested in them, I sadly don’t notice. Usually a friend has to point it out to me, or it’s not until months later that I realize he likes me a little more than just a friend.  It would save me a lot of confusion if guys could just be a little more direct. Don’t beat around the bush because I won’t get it. For instance a male acquaintance recently revealed I rejected his request for a date. Me? Reject a date? I haven’t been on a date in several years. I promise if someone asked me out I would accept (in most cases).

NaBloPoMo - Guess who's back?

Visit www.nablopomo.com!

Welcome to the start of another National Blog Posting Month. Yours truly will be writing something new each day for the entire month of November. Think of this as a special treat for my followers, (all four of you if you're still there).

 This is my second year participating in NaBloPoMo. It was challenging of course the first time around. Imagine having to figure out a new topic to write about every day.  There’s not that much to talk about on a daily basis in the LC. The struggle was real in trying to avoid Writer’s Block throughout the month