Tag Archives: wrist to forehead

Tired of Not Writing

Posted on October 29, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I just looked back at my posts for the past week and see that last week I had a Tired Tuesday. I am mortified to admit to being tired again today. I am further mortified to notice that last Tuesday I at least had the excuse that I had just done laundry. Today all I did was come home and take my dog Tabby for a walk. I had thought to write a Pedestrian Post, but my brain seems uncooperative.

In fact, all my brain seems to want to write is Wrist to Forehead Tuesday. After all, I did not have Wrist to Forehead Sunday, I wrote about something! Then yesterday I didn’t have Middle-aged Musings Monday, I wrote about something! Couldn’t I have gone three days in a row writing about something? Apparently not. That is why my wrist is inclined to go to my forehead in the usual dramatic gesture.

I’ve been having a bad writing day all day. When I got to work this morning (arriving early to have writing time, as usual), I opened my notebook and looked at it. Then I reached for my puzzle book. Many years ago, i would always do a puzzle before working on my novel (whichever novel I was working on at the time). It would clear my brain, since I was always reading somebody else’s fiction at the time. Today, however, reaching for my puzzle book was not a good idea. I have done all the puzzles I like. I am reduced to looking at the “Hard” crossword puzzles, which are, I admit it, too hard for me. Alas.

On break and at lunch I couldn’t write either. My brain rebelled. I had been thinking about my novel a lot while I was working. This usually helps. Today not so much. So here I am, writing this ridiculous blow-by-blow of me not writing. How embarrassing is that!

But what can one do? Hit “Publish” and try again tomorrow, as usual. I hope my readers are all having a pleasant Tuesday.

3 Comments

Posted in blogging, commentary, humor, personal, Tired Tuesday and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Do You Like Me?

Posted on October 20, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I purposely kept my wrist off my forehead yesterday so I could indulge in Wrist to Forehead Sunday today. Of course it might not have been necessary. I had planned a couple of Mohawk Valley adventures I could have written about. Unfortunately, they fell through. Blame the weather, blame my sinus headache (which was perhaps caused by the weather), or blame me. Whatever. The fact is, my husband is due home from work in about ten minutes and I want to have my blog post done and published so I can enjoy some time with him.

I’ll just mention as an aside here, we are celebrating our Anniversary Eve today. It’ll be 24 years tomorrow. In your face, divorce rate! As I think about this wonderful man with whom I share my life, my house, my dog, and my wine, I feel increasingly less wrist-to-foreheady. However, I felt marginally distressed earlier, so I’ll just rattle off a paragraph or two about that.

I was reading some other blogs. I don’t always have the time to do this, but I have a few I Follow, and I try to check out bloggers who have Liked my posts. I always feel so flattered to get Likes. Almost like I’m doing something right, which regular readers know is something that rarely happens. WELL, there I was reading a post when I discovered that SOME bloggers Like posts without actually reading them. Can you imagine such a thing?

This does explain a couple of times when I have gotten a Like almost immediately after hitting Publish. While it affords a certain satisfaction to have something explained, I can’t help feeling a certain dissatisfaction with the explanation. Luckily I don’t feel too awful about it. With my low self-esteem, I could easily flash back to the elementary school playground when, as too often happens in the schoolyard, someone I thought was a friend would suddenly do something mean to me.

“But I thought you LIIIIKED me!” I don’t remember if I actually wailed that line, with or without the extra syllables in “like,” but there’s a good chance I did. And you thought I was such a tough broad (nobody needs to tell me that they never thought that for one day ever in their lives).

I think miffed is a better term for the way I feel about it, now that I have reached middle age. I won’t say I’ve gained maturity exactly, but I admit to a certain level of contentment with my immaturity. We’ll call it perspective.

What was my point? Ah yes, merely to hit Publish before my husband got home. I didn’t make it. But I’ll hit Publish now, and we’ll talk more about this later.

7 Comments

Posted in blogging, humor, personal, Wrist to Forehead Sunday and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Don’t Quit My WHAT?

Posted on October 14, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yesterday I made an almost superhuman effort to make a post that was not a Wrist to Forehead Sunday. Oh dear, I can hear the critics sniffing that if that was the result of superhuman effort, I shouldn’t quit my day job. I hate that joke about don’t quit your day job. It is so overused and almost never appropriate.

Ooh, I see myself going off on a tangent that just might pass as a Monday Middle-aged Musing. Don’t quit your day job. I HAAAATE that joke! (Yes, I just said that in the preceding paragraph; it bears repeating.) If you sing a little snatch of song, somebody is bound to say it. Did I say I was auditioning for American Idol? NO! Did I even imply I thought my voice was any good? NO! You just want to be mean by pointing out the obvious fact that I am not Gloria Gaynor.

The last time a fellow at work said it to me, I said, “Don’t quit yours to become a stand-up comedian!”
It was not the devastating comeback it had seemed in my head.

Another time the line was said to me was in an employment office. I was desperate to leave my retail job for one with more human hours. The big jerk supposedly trying to help me kept saying, “Don’t quit your day job.” It wasn’t a day job, for heavens sake! I wanted to find a day job! That’s what I was hoping this yahoo would help me with!

Just listen to me, shouting at a memory. For heavens’ sake, I have a day job now. Get over yourself, Cindy!

OK, I’m better now.

And as I get over my little tantrum, I admit that currently nobody is actually advising me not to quit my day job (Shut up! You don’t need to!) (You know who you are). That was a hypothetical critic who, truth be know, lives primarily in my head. Which, incidentally, has a headache again today. That is why I am typing in this nonsense instead of writing a good blog post.

Hope to see you all on Tuesday, which I hope will NOT be Tired Tuesday.

3 Comments

Posted in commentary, humor, Middle-aged Musings Monday, personal and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Sweats On, Bra Off

Posted on October 12, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Sorry folks, but I’m taking my Wrist to Forehead day today instead of Sunday. Look at the time! It’s after 6 o’clock! I should be in my sweats on, bra off, wine drinking, movie watching portion of the day. This is what I look forward to on a Saturday night. Oh, sometimes something more exciting beckons. But this is what I like.

The sad thing is I had a wonderful Mohawk Valley adventure earlier and I wrote over 800 words about it. I could post them as a blog post, but I feel strangely disinclined to do so. Must let the words simmer. They may appear here at a later date.

What I find truly sad here is that my usual finding has been disproved. Usually if I write something, anything, I can just keep writing. I’ve done it here. My first paragraph laments that I have nothing to say, then I go at some length in fact saying something (of varying degrees of interest, I admit, but let’s not begin that argument). Instead, I feel written out. I can find no words to recount any of my recent adventures. I can find no words to poke fun at this malaise. I call that a wrist to forehead situation.

On the brighter side, dinner is in the oven, my husband is home, World’s Dumbest is on the television, and I’ve typed in at least 200 words of this nonsense. I’m going to go put my sweats on.

2 Comments

Posted in blogging, commentary, humor, personal, writing and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Brain, Where Are Your Now?

Posted on October 6, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Here we are, on another Wrist to Forehead Sunday, and I have a bad case of type it in, backspace it out. It’s worse than Writer’s Block, not as bad as Writer’s Blank. One must count one’s blessings after all.

I feel my brain has been deserting me lately. Part of the problem is the changing weather. Sinus pain is kind of hard to think around. It’s too close to the brain. Hmmm, now I’m asking myself: can I really write better with back pain, stomach pain, foot pain, pains in the ass? Must do a study. First bit of information: not easy to write with sinus pain. I’ll make a note of that. Maybe start a new Pain Notebook and get all scientific about it.

Be that as it may, I need to type in something I can publish today. Incidentally, I’m not in sinus pain right now. However, I conquered the pain with a decongestant, which dopes me out. It’s kind of fascinating, this spacey, light-headed feeling. But not easy to write.

I did write a little bit today: I finished a letter and wrote two postcards. As you may guess, that did not involve a lot of words. And I’m not convinced they were particularly memorable words. Still, with personal mail, you can get away with that. You know the recipient will be happy just to get real mail. If it’s any good to read, that’s just gravy.

And now I see I am over 200 words. Phew! I can get back to my Sunday, which will involve the viewing of Halloween movies. Happy October, everyone!

Leave a comment

Posted in blogging, commentary, humor, personal, Wrist to Forehead Sunday, writing and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Fence Post, Not Blog Post

Posted on September 29, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Every Sunday is Wrist to Forehead Sunday. I don’t think there’s any getting away from that. In fact, today there would be every chance of my being too tired to get my wrist up to my forehead. But I am not the only tired one.

Earlier this week I wrote a post about a part of my fence being down. Today we had some great help from some awesome family members in fixing it. We tore apart the panel that had fallen. We pulled down another part that was about to fall and tore that apart. We pulled out nails and stacked broken fence pieces. We put up a new section of fence. We worked hard.

In fact, the whole thing deserves a better blog post than this. I intend to write one later in the week. For now I feel tired and grateful. Full disclosure: I am also extremely grateful that it is the Bra Off Sweats On Sit On The Couch Crocheting And Watching TV portion of the day.

Further disclosure: I was afraid this would happen. I thought to myself earlier, it would be a good idea to write a blog post early in the day BEFORE people come over to help with manual labor. Well, one does not always act on good ideas, does one?

No matter, I say. It is Sunday. I shall return to my crocheting and TV viewing, whilst I turn over in my head wonderful things I can do for the folks I am grateful to. And the better blog post I intend to write.

7 Comments

Posted in humor, personal, Wrist to Forehead Sunday and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Into the Fog Once Again

Posted on September 28, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I guess Saturday Running Commentary isn’t really back, despite its appearance last Saturday (um, I did have a Saturday Running Commentary last week, didn’t I? Too lazy to check). But to expound upon my tribulations running would be tiresome. It would no doubt lead to a big long gripe, a real Wrist to Forehead Saturday. I would run out of Saturday before I ran out of things to complain about. In fact, I’d better change the subject now.

Tabby and I took a nice walk to the post office this morning. I know I just wrote about a walk we took yesterday, but, once again, I don’t want to run out of Saturday. I have to get this puppy posted (um, “this puppy” being my blog post, not dear little Tabby).

It promised to be a warm, sunny day, so I was wearing shorts. I did not wear my crazy old lady hat, because I had just showered and my hair wasn’t dry. I was going to Coffee and Conversation with a Cop later (preview of coming attractions). I didn’t want hat head. At 8:09 a.m. (I looked at my watch as we set out), it was perhaps a little cool for shorts, but one makes do.

At first I thought Tabby did not want to go for a walk. We went about ten feet and she stopped and gave me that look. I turned around, feeling sad and a little concerned. It was neither hot nor rainy. Why would my dog not want to walk? However, she bypassed our driveway and began sniffing in the front yard. I convinced her to try the walk again, this time crossing the street. She graciously consented to continue.

It was foggy, as it has been several mornings this week. I love the fog. So mysterious. I was a little sorry, though, as I looked into the distance and could not see color on trees which I felt certain was there. Oh well, you can’t have everything. I concentrated on enjoying the mystery. I occasionally saw somebody walking up ahead. Even a block away rendered them a sinister figure. Halloween is coming. I look forward to sinister figures and various hauntings.

We made it to the post office, where I mailed some post cards, then continued our walk. We went down a mysterious alley. It wasn’t so foggy there, but the backs of some of these buildings can be a little creepy, especially if you have a vivid imagination, as I do.

However, we did not encounter anything alarming and Tabby was happy to head for home. I had things to do, so was not sorry the walk was not longer. I’m a little sorry the post is not more exciting, but as I often observe, you can’t have everything. I did have a couple of Mohawk Valley adventures today, so perhaps more exciting blog posts will be forthcoming.

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, walking and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Fool for Thought

Posted on September 23, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Wrist to Forehead Sunday morphs painfully into Middle-aged Musings Monday. Well, I’m still middle-aged, but I don’t have any musings. Instead I have a bad case of “I Can’t Write About THAT!” It is paralyzing.

Ah, but perhaps I could go on for a paragraph or two about the feeling that one “can’t” write about something.

Some writers feel you should be able to write about anything at any time. We won’t deal with those annoying overachievers (and they are mostly “do as I say, not as I do” anyways). However, there is also the school of thought that the things you find scary to write about are the very things you ought to be writing about. That is where your passion and your energies lie.

Perhaps it is so. Perhaps if I wrote about my innermost thoughts and feelings I would come up with something really powerful and moving. Or I might just sound like a fool. Oh wait, I do that anyways (some of you were about to say that, if you didn’t actually beat me to it)(you know who you are).

Another school of thought says you must wait until you are ready to write about some things. Ernest Hemingway deals with this school of thought in A Moveable Feast. Only I can’t remember quite how he puts it and I’ve lost my copy of the book (yes, here’s the part where I sound like a fool). Something to the effect that he can write about this other place when he is in Paris and later on he will be able to write about Paris (yes, I did sound like a fool. Damn).

I’m afraid my reasons for not wanting to write about the things I’m not writing about today are not so writerly (I’m sure that is a word, although my computer says not). I don’t want to write about the things I mentioned earlier because, well, quite frankly, I’m afraid they would be boring. Or tiresome. Or stupid.

Oh dear, I hope what I did write was not boring, tiresome or stupid. It was foolish, you say? Oh well, I guess I can live with that.

Leave a comment

Posted in blogging, humor, Middle-aged Musings Monday, personal, writing and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

What Is This Thing You Call Subtance?

Posted on September 22, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

And what’s wrong with Wrist to Forehead Sunday anyways, I’d like to know. Why shouldn’t I spend one day distressing over the fact that I can’t write a post? Oh, I know. In the first place, I know that there are many days when I have a hard time writing a post, not just once a week. And I know that SOME bloggers are able to write posts of substance every time they choose to sit down at the keyboard (and I would be happy to be directed to any of those lucky bums’ websites) (I don’t imagine I would be able to follow their good example, but I would SO admire to see it).

I can’t say it is a really distressful day, actually. I woke up with a headache, which of course is never pleasant. However, I took my dog for a walk, did the dishes and made two salads. How’s that for productive? I’ve been re-reading an Agatha Christie murder mystery. That is pleasant and educational. You can learn a lot about plotting and hiding clues by re-reading the masters.

Have I done any writing this weekend? Um, that is kind of an awkward question. Have I had any Mohawk Valley adventures that I could write posts about in the upcoming week? Mmmmm… still awkward. Can I offer any justification to my continued use of oxygen on this planet? Ah, a half-baked philosophical question worthy of Lame Post Friday!

In fact, it seems I cling to my Wrist to Forehead Sunday even more than my Lame Post Friday. Is the angst of the end of the weekend more powerful than the exuberance of the beginning of same? More half-baked philosophy to consider.

However, I see than I am over 200 words. I shall return to enjoying the end of my weekend (really, I strive to savor every minute) (I get some enjoyment out of the week, too, never fear). I look forward to a delightful upcoming week when PERHAPS I will come up with more posts of this so-called substance.

I hope you are all enjoying your Sunday.

2 Comments

Posted in blogging, commentary, humor, personal, Wrist to Forehead Sunday, writing and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Wrist to Country Road

Posted on September 15, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had meant to write about my continued adventures on Saturday, but I’m too tired. What a surprise on Wrist to Forehead Sunday. The fact is I ran around all day doing fun stuff with my family. I can’t run around all day on both weekend days. It’s not that I’m to old for this stuff (although I am older than I was yesterday). I was only ever good for one weekend day, even in my young(er) and (more) foolish days.

One thing I did today that I found pretty cool was to ride out Higby Road out of Frankfort to Sauquoit. Steven and I got lost on that road one terrible night long ago, but that was in a severe fog in the dark. Today it was bright afternoon sunshine. My sister was driving. My niece sat in the back seat.

First I had to direct her to Higby Road. We drove through Frankfort. I like being a tour guide. I pointed out the Marina and the road to the Prayer Garden. When we reached the light at the end of Railroad Street, I told my sister to turn in the opposite the Knight Spot, where I will take them for a meal or ice cream on another visit. I was also proud to point out the Balloon Farm Bed and Breakfast. We took due note of the Herkimer County Fairgrounds then drove on out Higby.

I love the scenery of a country road. Old barns, fields of corn, farmhouses and more. As the road goes uphill, there are places where you can look out and see for miles. My sister was able to appreciate the sights while still driving in a safe manner. It was helpful, too, because we had a couple of turns to get to our destination. When we headed back to Herkimer, she remembered certain landmarks and knew we were headed in the right direction.

When I returned from a fun drive, a fun event and a fun drive home, Steven and I took Tabby for a walk. So now I’m even more tired. So I can’t write a decent blog post is what I’m saying. But I see that I’ve managed over 300 words nonetheless. I hope to see you all for Middle-aged Musings Monday.

3 Comments

Posted in humor, personal, Wrist to Forehead Sunday and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
Newer Posts →