It definitely depends on what kind of writing I’m doing. I do more writing on the computer (at work, at home) but I will use a pen when I’m editing or taking notes. It’s rare for me to take notes using a laptop, though I know many people do it quite well.

My handwriting has worsened as I’ve become more of a computer user. I regret that. Speaking of handwriting, I have this tendency to change my writing to imitate people with awesome writing; I’ve done that since I was in grade three or four. The last time I changed my writing was about six years ago when I fell in love with the writing of one of my colleagues. I tried to copy her writing 100%, but had to settle to incorporating the way she forms a few letters.

Note to self: just blog and stop with the writing prompts!

I’m watching the news and they’re saying that you should get up at least once an hour from a seated position during the workday to cut your chance of what they’re calling “sitting-related” diseases which include heart disease, diabetes and…cancer! They’ve found that breast cancer and colon cancer in particular can be affected by belly fat because this fat affects hormone levels.

I watch the news from 11pm to midnight almost every evening and I wonder if all this depressing news is impacting me more than I think. There’s so much bad news related to health out there.

This morning the entry I was planning in my head was about my quest to figure out who I am and what I want. My home and my fashion sense should reflect who I am. I choose my clothing but there are limitations on what is actually out there in my size so that dictates to a degree what I can wear but I do just fine with what does fit me. However, with regard to my house reflecting who I am, I flop. I want to paint my living room and I want to put pictures up but I don’t know what my style is. In a perfect world I’d fill my house with things I love and trust that this will create a space that will reflect who I am and hopefully be welcoming too. But for whatever reason I haven’t done this and I don’t know if it’s my thriftiness holding me back or what.

Ugh…out of time again!

(Hi Noah!)

He’s such a compact little bundle and I loved holding him while he chomped on my shoulder.

Today’s prompt: If you knew that whatever you ate next would be your last meal, what would you want it to be?

I’m a very sentimental person, so my final meal would have to include dishes from my childhood that remind me of growing up. For sure, my mom’s akara, piping hot, would make the list, let’s make it the appetizer. Akara is made from blended black eyed peas that are mixed with onions and spices and then deep fried, like donuts. They’re spicy rather than sweet though. I will only eat them fresh from the frying pan.

I’m a big meat eater, and more than any meat I crave beef. However, there’s no beef dish that I really love so maybe I’ll have some juicy turkey (I’m feeling dark meat over white lately). And STUFFING! Oh yum! I don’t get enough stuffing during the year (not sure it’s possible to have too much stuffing) so stuffing cooked inside the turkey is a must. I need to learn my mom’s recipe but I also have a mini-cookbook of stuffing recipes from my colleague Gen that I need to try. I’d probably have a side of rice, which is by far my favourite side dish. Tonight I’m feeling chicken fried rice.

For dessert I’d have the peanut butter cheesecake that I can’t get out of my head since I had it in 2006 in a restaurant in southern Ontario, and then a couple of hours after that I’d have some candy…skittles of course!

Every day for the next 30 days I’ll try to post every day. Unfortunately I find these posts I share are often uninspired and not very interesting to read so bear with me. I will use the writing prompts found here to guide my posts. Even so, don’t expect much for the next month.

Today’s prompt: What is your favourite part about writing?
My favourite part about writing by far is stringing words together and choosing the right words for a sentence. I re-read my blog entries as I write them and edit them extensively to make them streamlined when necessary, and wordy when needed (Um, please tell me you noticed!). I love dictionaries and other references, and at work I love reading the Chicago Manual of Style, The Gregg Reference Manual, and the Canadian Oxford Dictionary. I most use the dictionary to figure out which words are hyphenated (follow-up, for example, is).

Anyway, time is up so that’s all I have to say!

My sister loves to digress. In fact without digression in conversations with her, there would be no conversation (it’s so her though so I sorta love it).

Brother #1 is a sap underneath it all (ok, I already knew this).

Brother #2 has no idea what to get his girlfriend for Christmas, and is hoping I’ll find it for him.

If I don’t stop writing right now I’m going to be serenaded by a beeping horn (well, by a telephone call).

Here’s how I’ve done so far:

Sunday night: 3 hours of sleep
Monday night: 8 hours of sleep
Tuesday night: 5.5 hours of sleep

When you add a recent development of a runny nose and watery eyes to the mix, I feel very sleep deprived.

So tonight has to be catch up night (even though apparently you can’t catch up on sleep). After work I’m going to drop the car off at my parents’ place then head home. I intend to be snoring by 11pm, so that I’ll be fresh as a daisy when I wake up at 7:30am.

While I’m here, I need to update you on Sunday’s date. The plan was for us to go to a movie on Sunday afternoon. My job was to find out movie times, and he would call on the weekend to confirm the time we’d be meeting. It was nearly noon on Sunday and I hadn’t heard from him (and I had received a dinner invitation), so I sent him a text message letting him know which show I’d like to go to. His reply was “Sorry am not feeling well maybe next week?” If we ignore the obvious lack of punctuation and my personal dislike of using “am” when “I’m” or “I am” would do (hehe, I’m joking! I don’t judge men on the quality of their text messages), I was insulted that he didn’t let me know he was sick ahead of time. Since we had agreed on an afternoon movie, when was he planning on letting me know?

I don’t mind that he canceled; my problem is that I’m not sure that he would have let me know had I not contacted him. The reason I say that is if he was planning to let me know, when I contacted him a few hours before our meeting time, he could have said something along the lines of “I was just about to call/text you”. My reply to him was to not reply. It felt like the right thing to do.

• the Hope necklace — see it here [Bella Wish]
• a book (but I was away in Nigeria at the time so another winner was drawn) [Superhero Designs]
• hair milk and a soap bar that I unfortunately can’t link to because the blog hates me right now [Amina]
• a sweet pair of earrings as a consolation prize for not winning the main prize [Stitchify]
• a clutch (well, my alter ego won it) [Gidan Nodza]
• (again, through my alter ego) a Burt’s Bees beauty set [Onada]

What this tells me is that I need to have more giveaways myself, and share the love! I had one on my other blog but I don’t think I’ve had one here. Oh yeah, I used to, a long time ago!

I love the idea of giving away something handmade (although my friend who bought my marble magnets had an issue with the glue quality — mortifying!). I have been trying to muster up my creative juices because Oh My Gosh, Christmas is almost here and I still have not designed a single card. I could make them completely by hand but I really wanted to use my snazzy new printer but the free design programs I’ve gotten my hands on are very intimidating and (insert more grumbling). Anyway, I need to spend less time reading blogs/facebook/twitter updates and spend more time with a pen and paper and the aforementioned design programs. I know I can do it if I just put my mind to it…so it’s about time I do it already!

It’s bedtime.

Anyway, I’m feeling better now, and I’m actually awaiting a dinner guest…actually I think I’m the guest because she will be cooking for me or maybe I’ll be her assistant. I’m not sure how I managed to get my own in-house cook for the night, but I’m thinking the bible verse “Ask and you shall receive” has something to do with it. Actually I didn’t hear from her today so perhaps she came to her senses and realized that leaving her own beautifully set up condo to come to my junky place, cooking me dinner, listening to me whine about body issues and my general dissatisfaction, then driving home in the rain didn’t have much in the way of benefits to her. My fingers are crossed, and I’m setting up the ingredients for chicken parmigiana anyway. Cross your fingers for me!

Today’s outfit would be the perfect picture to accompany this entry but I can’t do that to myself (talk less, to you). Suffice to say, I’m wearing navy pants that are a smidgen short with a red turtleneck that is at least six inches too short everywhere, including the sleeves. It covers my stomach but a sharp gasp or reaching to scratch my ear exposes a lovely expanse of brown jiggly belly. It’s going into the wash and onto my shelf of clothing for giveaway ASAP. The good news is a not-too-stylish, plus-sized petite person will get a lot of use out of it.

I also think this particular style of bra that has served me well for the past five plus years is no longer doing it for me, though to be fair I think gravity is also playing a large role in why I’m displeased. I am seriously seeking a permanent, non-surgical breast lift so if you have any leads in that direction, please let me know. The thought that I may lose some weight in the chest area should be reason enough to have me hopping on the treadmill but well, I have a reputation around these parts where exercise is concerned.

But enough of that: all these things I envy in others — body, hair, makeup, skin, wardrobe — come with hard work. Sure, some are blessed and come by their clear skin naturally, or they may have wash and go hair, but they usually do their part by eating food that is good for their skin, or spending extra money to get a cut that will fall just so. And crafting the perfect wardrobe is time consuming and often requires stops at many stores over many months or even years to find all the pieces required for a stellar wardrobe. And then there’s the whole eating healthy and exercising consistently to get a body that looks good in said clothing.

I have to stop hoping for a magic (and quick) pill to fix it all. Nothing I want to improve in my life has a quick fix attached to it. Annoying, sure, but that’s what real life is like.