Posted in authors, blogging, Family, Fiction, food, friends, grammar, humor, Jansen Schmidt, short story, tv, watching tv, words, writers, writing, tagged autopsies, autopsy, causes of death, coroner, dead bodies, dead body, decomposition, dissecting bodies, fascinating, fiction writing, medical examiner, morgue, murder, murderers, on-line class, research on October 2, 2017| 13 Comments »
The writer in me sometimes needs to go on research trips. Most of those trips involve either an actual trip to the library or, a staytrip into cyber world. Research can be tedious, but it can also be enlightening. And fun. (more…)
Posted in authors, Baer House Inn, blogging, driving, Family, Fiction, friends, Jansen Schmidt, resolutions, social media, vacation, writers, writing, tagged breathe, feet, front porch, porch swing, quiet, relax, sit, sitting down, slow down, sore feet, time on September 25, 2017| 16 Comments »
Do you ever have one of those days – maybe every day – where it seems like you go and go and go and finally at 8 or 9 or 10 o’clock at night you realize that you haven’t sat down, except maybe to go to the bathroom or in the car for a few minutes to run a quick errand? It seems to me like I’ve been having a lot of those days lately. (Yes, I did just get back from vacation and yes, I was on my feet all day – going, doing, seeing. It was exhausting.)
I don’t know where the time goes every day, but it seems like every time I look at the clock an hour or six have gone by and I’m still on my feet doing this or that. Now I didn’t think running an inn was going to be a walk in the park, but neither did I expect that there’d be more days than not that I rarely have a chance to actually sit down. I even have help now and it still seems like I’m on my feet all day long. Always something to do.
I have an awesome front porch complete with swing, a cozy back porch with comfy furniture, a front balcony with a gorgeous view of the sunset and a back veranda that’s peaceful and private, yet I rarely sit in any of those places. It’s a tragedy really with cooler weather creeping in, too. Those spaces are wasted on me.
Well, not any more. We all need a little more front porch sitting if you ask me. And I for one intend to utilize those places more in the future.
I’ve decided that from now until the end of the year, I’m going to try to take a few minutes every single day to simply sit. Sitting has great benefits (in my opinion). A forced slowing of movement accompanied by some deep breaths to purge the hurry out of my system. I may even close my eyes and just listen to, feel, smell my surroundings. A new perspective for a few minutes.
Some of my cyber (and real) friends, blog about great places they go and visit, hikes they take, sunsets at the lake, wildflowers in bloom, which I always enjoy reading about. I’m always envious that they have found the time to go out and do what they love. I’ve decided to be more like them and I’m starting by simply slowing down. By slowing down I’ll be able to focus on peace and beautiful places and enriching my life more with the free gift called nature. Perhaps I don’t need to rush about all the time. Hmmmm.
So, who’s with me? Who’s going to carve out a few minutes every day to slow down and just enjoy being alive? Let’s all try to remind ourselves to sit (or get up and move around if you sit all day), relax, take a few quiet moments to reflect on your day or simply enjoy being alive okay? Come on gang! We can do this.
Word of the day: Felucca
Fun fact about me: My feet hurt all the time. A result of being on my feet all the time no doubt.
Original post by Jansen Schmidt, September 2017. Photos courtesy of Google Images.
Posted in Family, friends, humor, Jansen Schmidt, words, writing, tagged good health, health benefits, health issues, medical, medical insurance, medical procedure, medical referral, medical scheduling, medical tests, merry-go-round, referral, schedule appointment, second opinions on September 18, 2017| 9 Comments »
Healthcare is something I never gave much thought to. As a young person getting started in the world, jobs with medical benefits weren’t that important to me. Of course, I was blessed with good health and rarely went to the doctor so it was just not something I thought about. It wasn’t important. I’d rather have higher pay (more money in my pocket) than a lower check with all those deductions for medical benefits. (more…)
Posted in Family, Holidays, Jansen Schmidt, love, resolutions, success, Vicksburg, writing, tagged America, brotherhood, brothers, family, help, helping hand, love your neighbor, Patriot Day, tragedy, United States, United States of America, USA on September 11, 2017| 11 Comments »
So many ugly things are happening all around us. Hatred of our fellow Americans is at an all-time high. I don’t understand why. What happened? Yes, I’m an advocate for, why can’t we all just get along? Yes, we’ll all different, but, we’re all the same, too. (more…)
Posted in acting, beauty products, costumes, directing, Family, Fiction, humor, Jansen Schmidt, success, theater, theatre, tv, watching tv, writing, tagged actors, balance, chase, comfortable shoes, costumes, fashion, feet, female police, flat shoes, foot wear, high heels, Hollywood, jobs, legs, police, posture, ridiculous shoes, sensible shoes, shoes, Sketchers, stilettos on August 28, 2017| 14 Comments »
I don’t know about you, but I love shoes. Always have. I’m somewhat of a collector, or at least I used to be. Since high school I’ve had office jobs and since high school I’ve worn high heels. Used to be, the higher the better. Shoes make a statement and I was bold. (more…)
Posted in blogging, bucket list, Family, Fiction, friends, goals, humor, Jansen Schmidt, writing, tagged 2017 eclipse, 3D glasse, colander, dark, dark sky, eclipse, eclipse box, eclipse glasses, eclipse viewing, Hobbit, Oregon, rare, rare eclipse, rare event, solar eclipse, sun on August 21, 2017| 10 Comments »
Well – today’s the big day. The day we’ve been hearing so much about. A day no one has seen since 2009. A day not to be repeated for another two years (according to Google, if you can believe Google). Can you feel the anticipation? The sky goes dark. Temperatures drop. Birds and animals go quiet. For those of you who’ve been living in a cave, today there will be a total eclipse of the sun in certain parts of the United States. In most states, there will only be a partial eclipse, thanks to the fickle new moon, who only wishes to travel in a straight line across the middle of the nation. (more…)
Posted in anthology, authors, Family, Fiction, friends, grammar, humor, Jansen Schmidt, romance, short story, success, words, writers, writing, tagged authors, CJ Box, editing, errors, fiction, Greg Iles, Joe Pickett, Joe Pickett series, Kate Burkholder, Kate Burkholder series, Linda Castillo, mistakes, mistakes in books, novels, Penn Cage series, reading, typos on August 14, 2017| 10 Comments »
Like most writers, I am a voracious reader and have been most of my life. While I do tend to gravitate toward certain genres, I usually enjoy reading anything well written. And, like most readers, I have favorite authors. (more…)
Posted in authors, blogging, Family, Fiction, friends, goals, grammar, humor, Jansen Schmidt, success, words, writers, writing, tagged addiction, bookmarks, books, gel pens, hoarders, hoarding, journals, library, notebooks, office supplies, pencils, pens, random, stickers, writing desk, writing implements, writing supplies on August 7, 2017| 13 Comments »
It’s no secret that writers love books. Most are book hoarders if you want to know the truth. Books are our crack. My love affair with books began at a very young age. I blame my mother. She used to read to me every single night even after I was more than able to read by myself. It was our nighttime ritual. (more…)
