Welcome to 2014

I used to get reminders from BlogHer when I didn't post anything for a two week span. It helped, those reminders, sort of like a homework assignment, or a work deadline.
 Left to my own devices, I was probably spending way too much time skimming pages on Pinterest for decor ideas, or sending away for land brochures and bookmarking fashion pages for shit I don't need or can't afford.
 Or maybe I was doing this.

 There were those chunks of days I dedicated to writing, and even bigger day chunks spent editing, submitting, revising ... so, that's something, because it's all about the AMOUNT of creative work you produce over your lifetime that will lead to greatest success ... according to a recent NPR episode that I chose to listen to rather than study my Spanish lesson.
 At least I wasn't doing this.

 So, that's something.

I have managed to corrupt, I mean entertain, a whole new group of players by starting a monthly Girls Night Out. I love these ladies. We laugh. A lot.
 There's also Book Club and Bunco, Poker for the boys and of course, a regular schedule of yoga and weight training, because some days I need to go out in the world and eavesdrop to get the perfect combination of imagination, dreamland and reality into a scene.
On that note, things are progressing with the pitching of the book/s. All good news and all very exciting. I've got the right people around me and the cards are finally in place.
 And I've got a bunch more flash fiction in the stack, now that I've decided once and for all to write without the self-editing/inhibiting questions of what would that person think or how would that group of people feel... 

 I encourage you to go out there and attack life this year. Find your passion. Seek what fuels you. Enjoy life, don't merely go through the motions. Dump negativity and surround yourself with people and things- if that's your kick- that make you feel good.

I'll be back in a few. Stay out of trouble. Dance. A lot. And eat healthy.

Maybe get a Roomba.

How to sell your house. In 4 days.

Write a letter like this and leave it on your counter.

To the potential owners of XXXX,

We found this house probably much the same way you did, scrolling through hundreds of web pages, sipping wine and dreaming. Our kids were young, three and seven. We wanted a safe, family-oriented neighborhood with a pool and playground and good schools nearby. We hoped for a flat, fenced yard and beautiful big trees on a cul-de-sac, a house that we would make a home.

 That was eleven years ago. Our son is now in college and our daughter's a freshman in high school. They were born on different coasts, but this is the house they'll speak of when asked about their childhood. This is the place where Christmas magic happened, where baby birds fell from trees and were handfed until they could fly, where puppies grew into dogs, where slumber parties and birthday celebrations and over ten years of mystery parties were forged into lifelong memories.

This house has a distinct soul. You'll feel it on quiet mornings sitting on the patio with a cup of coffee, on cool evenings burning twigs in the fire pit as owls hoot, cooking and baking in the kitchen, scents drifting into the dining room where guests wait, lounging in the family room on movie night, or hosting outdoor barbeques on game day—even in those times when the pace slows and the bubbling aquarium tells you to relax.

 We have been very blessed in this house. It has, what some call "good juju." We welcomed that and tried to add special touches along the way, upgrading features whenever possible, yet always honoring the bones of the home.

This is a special community. We've made many wonderful friends here and enjoyed pool parties, bunko night, book club, and swim team. We've even kept in touch with neighbors who moved away. It's that kind of place. You'll meet people who grew up here twenty years ago and have returned with families of their own to call XXX home again.

I know we'll miss living in the yellow house on the hill. And we really hope she finds someone who will love her and care for her as we did. Maybe that's you.

*** also called, how to make your family cry***