New Pictures

We took the girls on a picnic yesterday. Fall is finally starting to make an appearance. It's my favorite time of the year. Comfortable days, cool nights. Perfection. So, we got out to enjoy the day. Hard to believe looking at this picture that they can fight so much. Sisterhood.... Jon and Erin had some fun on the swings. I absolutely love this shot of Cailyn. I managed to catch her between her primping and preening to get a picture that really captures her.

Surprise, Surprise...

I mentioned last post that I've been dragging my feet lately when I comes to my writing...self-doubt, fears, etc. Won't get into the whole thing. Jump to today: I read in the online version of the Sun Journal that the paper won 43 Maine Press Association awards. "Cool!" I think and then decide to go to the MPA website to see who won (and mostly how many of them I know! LOL). So, I click to the site and scroll over/down to this: Click here and then scroll down to the first Weekend 1 listing (under Arts/Lifestyle story) There, among names I know and respect, I saw MY NAME! WTF?? I stared for at least a minute or two, thinking, "I'm seeing things." I called Jon and asked him to tell me what he saw. Indeed, it was my name. He asked if I even knew about the nomination. I had to stop and think for a moment. Eventually, I remembered that Ursula, one of my editors, did tell me months ago that she would be submitting one of my story packages...kinda said, "Whatever" and didn't think much of it... Until today. This development has caused me to stop and think...I'm not sure what to think about the award--3rd place is incredible and I'm so humbled...and wonder how the heck my name got there among these people that I know... Unless, I really am a writer--this is no fluke. Maybe I need to start acting like it, huh?

Catching Up

Today feels like one of those catch up days. You know, those days when you know you've let things go a little and suddenly there's this "Oh, Shit!" moment that drags you kicking and screaming back into reality. Lots of little things to catch up on today, and my blog was one of them, so here I am. My updates will be in no particular order; if I wander aimlessly, I accept it and admit it wholeheartedly. 1. The Experiement Update: It's been about two weeks since the start of my great "limit TV" experiment. A few of you have asked how's it turned out. Believe it or not, we're still going pretty strong. The weekends are hard, because there is just so much for time to plan around; so Jon and I are working on fixing that. However, during the week, I must say that the girls are watching about a 1/4 of the TV they were before school started. Between their lessons, and the other things I've been planning, they just don't have the time to watch it. But, when they do, they truly enjoy it now. (as do I, for the break). They are also a lot more subdued than they were when they were just sitting in front of the tv all afternoon. Could some of those studies be true about how tv affects kids? I'm not jumping fully onto that bandwagon, just yet, but I do notice some changes in the girls. This is especially true at bedtime. Before, the girls would watch tv right up until bedtime, and then getting them down to bed was a chore because they were bouncing all over the place, didn't want to turn the thing off, etc. But, now, the tv goes off a 1/2 hour before Erin's bedtime and what a difference it's made. Oh, there are still some nights that are a challenge, but overall (I'd say about 80% of the time), Cailyn and Erin settled down much quicker than before, and are getting to sleep a little earlier--which makes them less grumpier in the morning. Thank heaven for small miracles. I have been running ragged, though, by keeping the girls entertained and not giving into the temptation of letting them watch what they want/when they want it. So far, then, I'd have to say the Experiment has been rather successful. Who'd a thunk it? 2. With all of this work being a mom, I haven't had a lot of time for writing. Jon was gone most of last week, so that left precious little time. And, once I get out of the habit of doing something, it can be so hard to climb back in the saddle. Still, I'm determined to keep at it. 3. I've been taking Ambien for quite a while--when I started my antidepressants, actually, it's been almost a year. Insomnia runs in my family like a race horse, and since I became a mom for the second time, it finally caught up with me. After a couple of years of suffering with little sleep, I caved in and got some help. The Ambien has worked well, but lately, I've noticed that I'm very groggy in the morning and it takes me a long time to bounce back. So, I quit taking the meds--cold turkey. Supposedly, this is supposed to make me do some wacky shit. While I have had some wacky dreams, and some up and down nights, overall, I've been fine. I'm pretty tired right now, but last night was the first decent night's sleep I've had in days. Maybe I can do it without the drugs. The antidepressant, well, that's another story. Let's not be hasty about that ;) 4. More pictures from me: As I was coming home from an interview/photo shoot over the weekend, I drove up a hill in the "extremely nice" (i.e.: rich) part of Auburn. As I crested the hill, a sight caught my eye that I just had to stop and get: This is a view of Lewiston, Maine, Auburn's "twin city". I can say with relative certainty that those who live (or have lived) in this area would tell you that Auburn is the nicer of the two, for a variety of reasons. Lewiston is trying to make a comeback, though, both economically and visually. Still, when I saw this view of Lewiston, I couldn't believe how beautiful she looked from my vantage point. Guess it goes to show that beauty is all about from where you look. Looking at this shot, I think the city has some potential... Maybe I need to go around to other places in my hometown and see what beauty is out there. It's so easy to take things for granted. Ok, enough soapbox from me...I gotta get busy! Have a great day all!

The Last Rose of Summer

I believe this will be the last bloom on my rosebush until next year. When I got home from dropping the girls off at school, it was too beautiful to just walk by--so, I figured instead of just stopping to smell the roses, I'd capture it so I could hold onto it for more than just a few days. Same bloom below, except I'm playing with shadows, settings and color (or lack thereof, in this case). I have a confession to make about my roses. Friends who have seen my roses this year (and in years before) have asked what my secret is. Heck, I was even hired to ghostwrite an ebook on growing roses. ME! My secret: ignore the blasted things. Nature is a fascinating thing. Jon and I have tried to grow other flowers in this side area of the house--everything dies. The rose bushes we planted, though, have grown bigger and heartier every year. We cut them back in the winter or early spring. We don't cover them. We don't water them. We don't feed them. Heck, we don't even weed that much.They grow like the dickens. I think it's Mother Nature's way of reminding us poor schmucks that she doesn't need our help. After writing over 80 pages on the history and care of roses, I figure out that I could have summed it up in three words. Leave Them Alone. Somehow, I doubt that would have sold very well, though.

The Experiment

This could be the true test that determines whether or not I need a nice little trip to a room without a view and has rubber walls in a nice shade of pink... The insanity of the last few weeks of summer brought to light a number of things about how things in our home are going. I noticed that both of my children were watching a lot of tv and while my husband and I spent time with the girls, it wasn't quality time. Also, Cailyn and Erin, who once knew how to occupy themselves other than watching the boob tube, decided that it was better to argue over who was watching what rather than playing. The end of the summer came and with school starting, it seemed like the best time to try a different approach to life in the Rossiter house. Some may see it as micrmanaging, but for now at least, I consider it simply some much needed structure. The experiment is limiting my girls to only an hour and a half of tv a day--combined. Most days, it shouldn't be too hard, as Cailyn has lessons twice a week and Erin once (Wednesdays/Fridays). That will keep the majority of the school week busy. That still leaves three days of the week to keep my two active daughters from killing each other and driving me nuts. ;) So, in true planning form, I've come up with how our afternoons are going to go for the next few weeks: From 3:30 to 4 the girls can watch TV when they have their snack. At 4:00 we either play a game, do an activity/craft or go out (park, library, etc). By 5, we're back and making dinner. After dinner, the girls have their hour--then it's tv time for their hour. By 7, Cailyn has HW time and Erin gets ready for Bed By 8, Erin is asleep and Cailyn gets ready for bed Lastly, it's reading time for Jon, me and Cailyn. Bedtime for Cailyn at 8:30 It sounds pretty simple, but it isn't easy to break old habits. Still, it's been a week and we've managed ok. Jon's in Tennessee for the week, so I'm on my own. Sigh...bad timing to get this up and going. How will The Experiment turn out? Check back and see how we survive with only a fraction of the tv that we're used to. :)