A Few Randoms

So I didn't find much time for writing this week. To be honest I didn't write at all. This past Friday evening I was in my room and heard an oft repeated phrase coming through the speakers of my radio. They set off a firestorm of thoughts in my mind and I knew instantly I wanted that to be my writing topic of the week. I've spent today's noontime hours writing but am not quite satisfied with what I've come up with so far; I want more time to really line out and weave together my thoughts. But, I need to write and share something this week so a few randoms...

For the past month or so I have found myself in a situation where I'm left slightly unsatisfied by whatever book I have read. In each case the writing of the author

is exquisite to the point of tears and often the turning of each page brought another phrase delicate in it's beauty or cruel in it's truth. Yet the stories themselves could not captivate my imagination, did little to hold my attention. Last weekend I closed, for the final time, the cover of one such book and instead of looking for some new unknown volume I picked up an old favorite by Neil Gaiman. I can't tell you the delight it has been to once more be reading something that excites me, that I think about when I'm forced to do something else, that is full of magic I wish I could fall into. Neil Gaiman is pure, wonderful genius and I am so, so grateful for the day that he decided to no longer keep to himself all the fantastical worlds that exist in his mind, for this world would infinitely more dreary without them.

Several years ago I got sucked up (no pun intended) into the dark, vibrant world of the TV show Trueblood. I gathered the seasons on DVD as fast as I possibly could and went through the episodes like a wildfire races through a field of dead grass. As time passed my enthusiasm for the characters and their stories ebbed somewhat but I would return to the show every few months and fall in love with it all over again. But since it's a show full of strong language, graphic violence, and quite a bit of sex, I haven't even considered watching it since arriving in Utah, much less actually done so. Last Sunday though I woke up with it on my mind, decided it was time to revisit it again, and managed to squeeze in a couple episodes in the few hours the kids were at church. It was awesome. So I'm doing that again today, as I type actually, and this might have to become my new Sunday tradition.

This morning, NPR's Weekend Edition interviewed two members of the band SHEL. There are four members total, sisters who were home schooled as kids. They have just released their second album and among the songs is a cover of the Metallica song "Enter Sandman" . I really liked it, enough to go listen to some more of their songs on Youtube and I think I just may have found a new favorite band to listen to!  

Lastly, this ~ "You could rattle the stars," she whispered. "You could do anything, if only you dared. And deep down, you know it, too. That's what scares you most"

Take it as another reminder to not listen to fear, to refuse it the opportunity to take over your dreams, and in so doing your life. Please, whenever fear faces you, knock it down, discover your dreams, and find what it means to be truly alive!

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