phantom

I broke my blog the other day.  I tried to upgrade my version of WordPress and instead, it wrote over my previous database as a new installation and, in the blink of an eye, I lost almost four years worth of writing.

Thanks to Leanne’s advice and Bluehost’s excellent customer service, my blog was restored by the next day.  I lost a lot of comments on my most recent post, though.  So, if you left a  comment and now it’s gone, that’s why.

******

I’m going to Las Vegas tomorrow.  My birthday present from my mother last year was a promise that she would take me to Las Vegas to see The Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian.  Due to life being life, we are just now getting around to taking the trip –a month before my next birthday.  It will be a whirlwind trip.  We’ll be there less than 24 hours.  But we will have fun.

I’ve wanted to see Phantom of the Opera since I was a teenager.  I kept the Phantom soundtrack in the cassette player in my truck when I was in high school.  I was that kind of kid: the kid who marches to her own beat.  I never cared if listening to Broadway soundtracks in the 11th grade was cool.  I liked it so I did it.

I remember turning up the overture because I loved how the blasting pipe organ made my hair stand up on the back of my neck.  I listened to Sarah Brightman as her voice scaled up into octaves I could only dream of reaching and I loved it when my friend Beverly would sing along because she kept up with Sarah Brightman, effortlessly.  I drank up the romanticism in the lyrics of All I Ask of You like it was nectar and yearned for such dramatic emotion in my life.  Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again seemed so poignant and sad to me that I sometimes listened to it just to induce that exquisite, tender melancholy in which feelings seem so heightened and wonderful and awful all at the same time.

I am excited to finally see the show on stage.  That’s for sure.  I never even watched the movie because I was certain I would be disappointed.  For me, a great deal of the excitement lies in the nature of the live performance.

I have more to write but it can wait.  I have some packing to do.

Until then, take care of you.

you know you want to . . .

I visited Sweetie today only to learn that today is National De-Lurking Day!

Like Sweetie, I know who many of you are that read on a regular basis. But I confess that there are hits on my sitemeter that leave me baffled. I have no idea who some of you are who read and don’t comment.

Not that there’s anything wrong with lurking. After blogging for over three years, I confess that I am an infrequent commenter even though I read most of the blogs in my sidebar on a regular basis.

But it would be fun to have all of you de-lurk — at least just this once.

Pretty please? With sugar on top?

perfect post

Ever so rarely, I get my act together in time to nominate a blogger for the Perfect Post Awards. Kimberly and Lindsay were the masterminds behind this feel-good, ingenius idea.

I am nominating a post by a blogger who is new to me. I have only been reading Maria’s blog for a month or so but I love every. single. post. I am constantly sharing her writings in the Google Reader sidebar over there —–>

It was difficult to choose just one post but, in the end, I decided upon School’s Back in Session because her personality assessment of the different types of moms we all encounter on the first day of school was so DEAD ON. And pretty hilarious too.

Thanks for a perfect post, Maria.

Go see Kimberly or Lindsay to see all of the other Perfect Posts!

 

I’ll be back to writing soon . . .

100 things (that you think) about me

So, a long time ago, I posted a 100 things about me list. But that was over two years ago and people grow, people change, and I’ve never been too crazy about that list because it was more like a stream of consciousness rambling type of a post rather than a list (much like this rambling run-on sentence), not to mention the fact that I got a comment on it from someone I don’t even know who asked something like, Do you talk really fast in real life? Because it seems like it.

(The answer to that question is yes, but still.)

Anywho, I don’t like the old 100 things list and I apparently suck at writing them. So, guess what? I’m going to let all of you people who love and adore me (just pretend for the sake of this post, okay? sheeesh.) help me write my 100 things about me list!

Pretend to be excited.

You can contribute as many or as few “things about Heather” to the list as you wish. My hope is that I will be left with precious few to fill in myself. Only, please don’t be mean. If you’re mean to me, I might cry. And I won’t add your two cents to my list. So there. Pfffffffft.

And if you’re considering NOT leaving a tidbit for my list, keep in mind that I am not above begging or bribing. I’ll do anything if you’ll help me. And I do mean anything.

You can leave your “things about Heather” in the comments or e-mail me at nurseblogger[at]yahoo[dot]com.

lifting my voice

The thing I love most about blogging is the sense of community. My blogroll is full of links to other moms, nurses and medical professionals, bloggers who are about my age, and, of course, some of my lovely real-life friends.

If ever I start feeling like the challenges and speed bumps in my life are unique to me, all I have to do is click around for a few minutes before I am reminded that 1) there are very few new problems in the world, 2) there’s always someone whose challenges are greater than my own and 3)those someones usually deal with their challenges more creatively and less hysterically than I deal with my own.

The other thing I always notice when I click around? Damn, there are some awesomely talented writers out there!

Being a word nerd from the time I was knee-high to a grasshopper, I can definitely appreciate good writing. Being someone who aspires to be a mediocre writer and who knows exactly how difficult it can be to get one’s point across in print, I can also go green with envy when I read good writing.

I’ve been surfing around lately, looking for some new and interesting reading, and have not been disappointed with my finds. In fact, see my new Blogger Chicks blogroll in the sidebar. It is jam packed with insightful, funny, poignant, and entertaining blogs.

I could easily become a whacko blog groupie to Her Bad Mother, Slouching Mom, and Redneck Mommy. Then of course, there are the bloggers I’ve stalked admired for years like Sharon, Monty, Pammiecakes, and Jellyhead.

I’m rich, indeed, with so many fabulous blogs to read. The problem is, I could write every day for the rest of my life and come nowhere near having the talent that many of those bloggers have. The ease with which some of these writers can drag me with them through despair and sadness and, somehow, leave me inspired and challenged and, oftentimes, grinning or flat out belly laughing by the end of the post simply amazes me.

Writing a post in which one’s point is made, clear and true, and the reader’s attention is held until the very end is not as easy as it looks, I’m sure. The mark of a really good writer, I think, is when their readers are convinced that, given the opportunity, they could be best friends.

More times than I care to admit, I have found myself staring at my monitor, fingers hovered mid-air over the keys whilst chewing my bottom lip just waiting for inspiration to strike. Most often, it’s not inspiration, but anxiety and self-doubt, that strikes. I close my eyes, cradle my head in my hands, and slowly lower the screen on the laptop. It seems so overwhelming to write when I feel that I am a mediocre writer adrift in a sea of literary excellence.

I am trying to take a more positive approach starting here and now. I’ve yet to meet a writer who doesn’t suffer a little bit of anxiety before putting their work out for God and everybody to read and comment on. I’m certain that every single blogger whom I admire also admires other bloggers and writers and feels slightly inadequate in comparison.

So, I am going to try to remember that the beauty of the blogosphere is that there are so many unique voices and personalities in the mix. The bloggers I relate to most may not strike a chord with someone else. And as insecure as I am about my own writing (in)ability, someone else may read my site, relate, and feel a little less alone in the world.

I’m going to keep writing, keep asserting my personality, and keep lifting my voice for anyone who might want to hear it.

And for anyone who isn’t all that fond of my particular tone or style of writing, I’ll refer them to any of the talented writers in my sidebar in the hopes that they are lucky enough to find a writer to stalk admire, just as I have.

Bloggy Hoss Awards!

Jill from Charming and Delightful nominated me for a Bloggy Hoss award over at An Island Life. Most Likely to succeed. Huh.

Bless her little heart. She’s pregnant, you know. And pregnant women sometimes don’t think clearly.

Whether it was a moment of pregnancy insanity or, more likely, just Jill being (duh) charming and delightful, I am honored to be nominated. But I’d be even more honored if you all voted for me.

Go see for yourself and take a look at all of the other blogs nominated too!

(And don’t forget to vote!)

detour

I posted at Sharon’s blog. I thought I’d re-direct you since my posting has been pretty spotty around here lately.

If you want to read what I have to say, go here.

My world is bigger and brighter because all of you are in it!

 MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Perfect Post

Â

I’ve been wanting to participate in the Perfect Post Awards for months and months –ever since Momma K first e-mailed me at their inception. Alas, I can never seem to get my act together in time. The months seem to fly by and, before I know it, it’s time to choose a perfect post and I haven’t given any thought to the matter.I had to participate this month, though. This post, I Will Write You A Song, by Sharon at Adventures of a Domestic Engineer is sheer beauty. Go read it. You will see that I am right.ÂI will wait.*drums fingers on table*

Did you read it? Do you see what I mean? It’s the type of story that’s far better than a fairy tale, at least to me. It’s about Life and how hard it can be and how we are sometimes pruned back to ugly stumps, against our will, before we can bloom and grow to be more beautiful than ever.

I could say more. But the post says it all.

Thank you, Sharon for blessing us all with your beautiful writing and art.

For more Perfect Post awards, visit Momma K or Suburban Turmoil.