My Life With Seashells

When I first started this blog the main purpose was to use the medium of writing for a creative outlet.  I could put my thoughts out there for all the world to see, wear my heart on my sleeve, be as real a possible - of course, all the while working on those creative thoughts and processes that are always going through my mind.  


Why would anyone really want to ready about me - a forty something chick who lives in Florida, collects seashells, has a bum ankle and likes to read?  What do I have to offer?  So, I trudged along like I always do, and when the transition from an old year to a new year came around I decided that I actually DO have something to offer.  I'm a forty something chick that lives in Florida who loves to read, who has a bum ankle, and I collect seashells.  Wait?  What?  Didn't I just say that not three sentences ago?  Yes, yes I did.  


I sat around for almost a month and wrung my hands and clutched my pearls with worry that I wouldn't be able to pull it off.  I thought that I would just let this blog fade away and swirl down the toilet bowl of where blogs go when they die.  I second guessed myself, then third guessed myself, then asked myself "what do I have to lose"?  Nothing really.  Either I go for it and succeed or fail or never go for it and that in and of itself is a failure without even trying.  Then I would kick myself in the tush for not giving it go.  More hand wringing, more pearl clutching, then a eerie sense of calm.  Nike said it best - "Just do it"


I've often thought of going to all the blogs I stalk follow and stumble across and asking in the comments section, what motivated you to start blogging?  What was your creative inspiration and desired outcome for having a blog?  Did it change part way through?  


Here it is:


I read.  I read a lot, probably a lot more than many people.  Besides searching for the end of the Internet,  reading is my main source of entertainment.  I don't have cable television, so the day-to-day drama of reality television and commercials escapes me.  While the books that I read aren't profound, and most of them are picked up in an extremely economic way - they are entertaining for me and give me a way to escape daily stress.  I actually do read a lot of Indie books that I pick up as freebies on Amazon, and what better way to give back and say thank you to the author of that book than to give them a true and honest review of their labor of love?  The Internet is powerful and through the mediums of blogging and Twitter and Goodreads and other social media I could possibly help these authors out by reviewing their work and letting the communities that I follow know.


I have a bum ankle.  For my entire adult life I have dealt with the worsening progression and disability of my right ankle.  I have belonged to a couple of communities of other people who share a similar plight in their lives, but as someone who craves information, I know that the more information there is out there, the more calming effect it has.  I believe that I can provide that information as a historical summation of how my ankle problems started and how I have been able to maintain a pretty active and normal lifestyle while losing a part of myself in the process and not going [totally] insane.


I collect seashells.  I've always had an affinity for rocks and the little things that the earth leaves us I see as gifts.  I am not really sure why, but I keep my eyes to the ground when I am walking, because I never know what I might stumble upon and be able to pick up as a treasure.  I've collected a lot of rocks and seashells and sea glass and shark's teeth along the way, and I would like to share those trips of finding such treasures with everyone.  They are special and have meaning to me.




So, that's the 2012 "Attainable Goal" for My Life With Seashells.  I hope that you will enjoy some part of it, give me honest and truthful feedback, and come back again and again.

Resolutions? Nah, I Prefer Attainable Goals

The holidays have come and gone.  I have enjoyed some well deserved and much needed time off during the last few weeks.  We had the ultimate Florida weather for the season with temperatures pushing the 90-degree mark for a couple of days.  As the reality of heading back into my routine tomorrow sets in, a massive cold front has moved south and has moved me to the comfortable warmth inside.  This has given me an opportunity to reflect back and look forward.

Year In Review 

2011 was a jam-packed year for me, and while only a couple of major things happened, those things were very important to me and will impact me for many years to come.

The most important thing that happened in 2011 was that I married the love of my life.  We met almost 22 years ago on a blind date.  I knew that summer that he was the person I would spend the rest of my life with.  We have had so many wonderful years together, and we finally sealed that bond with the ultimate bond of 'till death do us part.  We had a very private, very quick ceremony on a local beach performed by a work colleague who is a notary public.  It was simple and sweet, and I am so happy to be a Mrs. now!

The other very important part of my life this year was my sub talar ankle fusion surgery.  My latest ankle fusion surgery was the fifth ankle surgery to my right foot.  Needless to say, it's been a journey of sorts for me. You can read about my latest surgery:  the history of my ankle fusion surgery, the downs of ankle fusion surgery, and the ups of my ankle fusion surgery.  I've faced many difficult realizations regarding my ankle in these last 9 months, and I am working toward coming to terms with and accepting those realizations.


Oh, yeah, I also turned 40.  I had a bit of an issue with that one, but I'm embracing it now.  

2012

I don't want to sit here and say I resolve to do this, or this, and that and this.  It's so blah, it never works, and honestly for me, it only leads to disappointment in, oh, say, about three weeks.  But, I do have some goals for the upcoming year.  Goals are attainable.  Goals can be worked toward, set aside, built on and subtracted from.  

Just to throw a couple out there for all the world to see:  

My blog.  I finally have an idea of what direction I want to go with my blog.  The mindless ramblings are a great outlet, but I do want to make this into something more.  I have a small plan in place, and will be putting it together and rolling it out in the weeks to come. 

My career.  Everyone wants to better themselves in their careers.  Professionally I have grown a lot in the last year.  I want to continue that growth.

My life.  I love my life.  I can honestly say that I am very happy.  I want to continue this happiness for the next year.  

Seashells.  I want to collect more seashells, doesn't everyone?

Happy New Year!!!

Another Week!!!

I am happy to report that I actually followed through and accomplished a couple of my goals from last week.  I totally ditched the crutch AND the cane.  The cane was just not working for me, and I ended up carrying it like little old ladies do and not using it for what it was intended.  I'm able to really get around well this week.  Had some pretty bad nerve regeneration pain this week which I haven't had in awhile, but that just means I'm healing.  I will see my surgeon this Thursday, so hopefully I will be booted from my boot.  This thing is literally a drag.  


I found my desk - for about an hour on Wednesday, but unfortunately lost it again.  It's better than it has been in the last 2 months since returning to work, but still not my normal OCD standards.  I guess I'm destined to be one of those messy work desk people. 


I did not finish my USF course, but I have actually been really sick - still.  So sick that I dragged my ass to the doctor on Thursday morning.  My little allergy attack turned into a nice little sinus  infection.  I'm now taking Amoxicillin and praying my intestines don't turn inside out.


I am figuring out my new phone.  


Spent a few hours checking out some local yard sales yesterday.  Came away with a cool vintage necklace and some clamp lid mason jars that I've been wanting for my buttons and a gift idea for the sister of the love of my life who turns 50 in November.  Today was a lazy day.  We were supposed to hit the Tampa ComiCon, but due to my illness and gimpyness, we settled for Gone With the Wind.  The love of my life has never watched it, so while we still have streaming Netflix, he indulged me and checked it out.  I never get tired of it, but am certain he'll never watch it again.


So for the upcoming week I want to get that USF course completed, get de-booted, start photographing my thrift and yard sale hauls, and get a little better at this blog thing.

Might As Well Face It I’m Addicted to Blogs

There, now you have an ear worm too!

Over the last few weeks, just when I thought that I was finally getting around to reading the end of the Internet, I started reading blogs, lots of blogs.  I’ve had one or two saved over the years that I follow pretty religiously, but this recent craze of mine is, well, blog-a-lishous!  I’ve found stuff that interests me, stuff that doesn’t, people who are living out their dreams, and those who are having a tough time with life.  I’ve learned new ideas, new techniques, and new trends.

The best thing I have found from reading blog after blog after blog is inspiration.  It’s funny that in this world full of billions of people that you can find something to read, by a real person, about something that you are interested in all the while gaining a new and different type of perspective other than the same old boring one you’ve been dragging around for years.

What’s that definition of insanity; doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results?  Is that totally true?  For the most part, yes it is, but in the world of blogging there can be 50 (or even 5000) of the same type of blog, but each one will have a different outcome or result.  Why is that?  I believe that it’s one trait that we are all born with, but some people never realize it while others take it and amazing things happen.  It’s called creativity.  I’m sure there’s some study out there about creativity and the traits that one has to hold to gain maximum potential.  I mean, there really is only one Sistine Chapel, right?

I really want to work on my creative traits that I know are lurking just below the surface.  I want to be able to push back from my desk and look at my blog and see something that probably a gaggle of other people have out there, but is uniquely mine and it stands out for me.  I want to be proud of what has grown out of a whim and hopefully into something great, something that I can cultivate like a garden and watch thrive and grow. 

I want the finished product to be kind of like a piece of sea glass.  You throw broken bottle pieces into the sea, and on a beach somewhere thousands and thousands of miles away the most beautiful piece of tumbled glass that is as unique as I am is found by another creative soul who will use that piece of glass for inspiration.