Tag Archives: WordPress

Jul21

You’re Never There

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You’re Never There

I disagree. I can’t say I’m never there, but I definitely can say that I’m seldom there. And just where is there? Why, it’s Facebook of course!

Just why am I seldom there? Because life is to be lived. That means up front and personal. That means interacting with other people. It doesn’t mean staring at a screen on my phone or on my laptop all day. That isn’t living.

Basically, I share my WordPress blog on Facebook. I belong to three writers groups on Facebook which I don’t always check out as often as I would like to. I’ve learned a lot about writing and publishing from these groups. As I’ve said many times before, send me a private message if you want me to be aware of something important going on in your life. With hundreds of friends on Facebook, I don’t have time to waste scrolling and sifting through far too many shared posts every day to find the ones that may truly be worth reading.

Occasionally I read posts on Facebook from a group called If You Grew Up In Winnipeg. There are two types of people who post here…those who still live there and haven’t experienced life outside of Winnipeg and those that have escaped Winnipeg when they have discovered the adventures that can be found elsewhere. However I must admit that I do find some of the photos quite interesting.

I had a stimulating conversation with a friend in Winnipeg last night. We’re both divorced, have adult children and grandchildren. We both concluded that our lives have not turned out the way we envisioned them years ago. But we do find our lives challenging as well as fulfilling.

And I wholeheartedly continue to embrace this philosophy…………………. First Coffee, Now What?

And you?

Dec9

My Writing Goals For 2025

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My Writing Goals For 2025

It’s almost the end of December and that means 2024 is almost over. It’s time to set some goals for next year. I don’t do resolutions. I do goals. They’re more meaningful to me and I’m more likely to strive to achieve them.

First and foremost are my writing goals. When I’m here in Mexico, I have more time to write. More importantly I have more time to write without interruption. This means I sometimes boot up my laptop at midnight and write for a few hours. Breakfast can sometimes be at two in the afternoon or later. My time is my own.

I’ll start with the novel I’m writing. It’s actually turning into a trilogy. While there is some fine tuning I still have to do on all three parts, I’m into the homestretch now. My goal is to have this ready for publishing in the spring when I return up north. Then I need to decide which country to publish it in. My first two books were published in the USA but now I’m leaning towards having the next one published in Canada.

WordPress is presenting its annual bloganuary again this year. I’m going to attempt it. This means a writing prompt a day for thirty-one days. I won’t post all of them to my blog, but I do intend to post a few of the more interesting ones. Sometimes these writing prompts can be quite bizarre.

Another goal I have is to write in Spanish. Until now I have primarily been writing in English. My writing in Spanish tends to be on What’s App, Facebook and texts. While my main focus in Spanish has always been in speaking, I want to do some writing to improve my grammar rather than merely the exercises on Duolingo.

And when I’m not writing, I still have all those pics I scanned last summer that need to be organized………….

Jan26

Bloganuary on WordPress

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Bloganuary on WordPress

Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc.

The above is one of the writing prompts this month on WordPress. It intrigues me as I’ve never really delved into the meaning of the name “Karen” before. So here goes.

I’ll start with present day. For some reason the name “Karen” has become synonymous as referring to an extraordinarily unpleasant person (I’m being tactful) and has quite a negative connotation. On social media people are constantly being attacked – “You’re such a Karen!” For the record, I do not consider myself to be either entitled or demanding. I also take offense that so many people are using my name to insult or hurt other women.

When I was growing up in Winnipeg it was not a common name. When I arrived in Mexico back in 2010 I met a couple of other Karens, although the pronunciation is different. But when I arrived in Leavenworth it seemed like everyone was named Karen.

I’ve done some research. Karen is a shorter version of the name Katherine. It originated from the Danes and the Greeks. It means “pure” or “innocent.” Okay, readers. If you know me personally you can stop laughing right now. Those two words probably best describe me when I was a newborn or an infant.

Then I found a reference to the Viking name Katrin which also means “pure” or “chaste.”

Next we have a biblical meaning. Keren-Happuch appears as the name of Job’s youngest daughter. The meaning here is “child of beauty.”

Then there are a group of indigenous people in southeast Asia on the Thailand-Burma border who are called Karen.

Here’s a rather unusual one. St. Karen is the patron saint of those suffering from miscarriages.

And I wonder what my parents were thinking when they chose the name “Karen” for me.

Dec14

Another Writing Prompt From WordPress

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Another Writing Prompt From WordPress

Have you ever performed on stage or given a speech?

That was yesterday’s prompt and I decided to go with it. So here goes……………..

As a child, the only acting I ever did was plays in class. I was never into drama or musicals or anything like that. There was the odd ballet or piano recital but that’s about it. In junior high I sang in the choir and we performed at a music festival. But a few years ago I did something completely different that was totally out of my element.

I was living in Mazatlan at the time and saw an ad for auditions for a dinner theater at one of the local hotels. It was a murder mystery and it sounded intriguing. And the pesos were also a lot higher than they were teaching English. So I went for an audition. Brace yourselves………….I got a leading role! It was different and it was fun. But it was also short-lived. The audience wasn’t overly impressed with the plot or the food at the hotel. Oh well! It was great while it lasted.

Now we come to speeches. I guess I’ve done a few of those as a teacher. And then there were the more tedious ones when I conducted staff meetings while managing group homes. But there is one speech I gave that stands out in my mind.

I was still living in Winnipeg at the time and delivered a speech at the annual Manitoba Hospice and Palliative Care Conference. It was quite the challenge as I hadn’t really expected my proposal to be accepted by the committee. But it was and I was allotted a half hour plus additional time for questions. Thirty minutes. I had never given a speech that long before and it was quite a challenge, especially when you’re talking about caring for people who are dying.

So there you have it. I wonder what the next writing prompt will be.

Happy Humpday!

Dec11

WordPress Prompt Of The Day

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WordPress Prompt Of The Day

I don’t usually do the prompt that WordPress puts up daily. But today I decided to do it. The prompt is “What’s your favorite cartoon?”

I have always loved cartoons. There’s nothing better than laughter to get your serotonin levels boosted. As children we smiled and laughed way more than we do as adults. Of course back then we were carefree with few responsibilities. However, smiling and laughing are important. And yes, I still do watch cartoons quite regularly.

My favorite cartoon has always been Beep Beep The Roadrunner, ever since I was a child. The antics of Beep Beep and Wile E Coyote amuse me to no end. Apparently this cartoon debuted back in 1949 before I was born. I love watching boulders crush Wile E and seeing him blasted by dynamite. He’s always trying to catch Beep Beep, but that roadrunner constantly outsmarts him.

I do watch other cartoons from Disney such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. The other day I was surfing the net and found vintage cartoons of Mighty Mouse. That brought back memories of Friday afternoons after school when my cousins and I would munch on challah and watch this cartoon series. I also watch The Muppets, and this brings back memories of when my son was young and this was one of his favorite shows.

I like to watch cartoons at night after I’ve put away my writing for the night. It’s a great way to relax before heading for dreamland, especially when it’s far too late to begin watching a two hour movie.

I sometimes watch cartoons on TV in Spanish. Two of my favorites here are Peppa the Pig and Dora the Explorer.

So if you’re looking for some great stress relief, I highly recommend Beep Beep and Wile E. This characters are sure to give you a chuckle.