I'm back .....again

I awoke this morning 6:30 am, made coffee and sat on the back porch of my cousin's house on the Jersey shore. Once again, I attained a renewed ambition to continue with my writing career. And while not published yet (don't we hate saying those words?) I document my determination to make a living at this gig. No more excuses, no more fear of failure. Because there's nothing you can't achieve when you put your mind to it. Yes you may change the course of action, the strategy and even the genre.

For example I started writing my Having Fun series with the concept in mind that it could be a step-up Sex in the City type of dramatization of professional women struggling with the vigors of single life in New York City. I still intend to publish it. However I've decided to take a stab at romance. Romance is said to sell well and has a loyal vibrant readership ....so why not? Every women's fiction story I read has many elements of romance. In fact, romance is part of just about any story. If there's a sexual relationship somewhere in there is a little romance, no?

How many times have you changed course with you own writing career? Gave up and started it again?

If it's in your blood to write you'll never give it up. And despite the rejections and bad reviews you will inevitably receive ...the only thing that matters is to never give up. The good will outweigh the bad. You have to purge all negativity.

Do me a favor, my loyal friend, remind me of that next time?

Namaste.

101 Years My Matriarch My Grandmother

We had many a happy day together my Grandmother and me. This posting is dedicated to her memory. I'm so glad for the times I've been privileged to share with her. She seemed so resilient, so alive, together and simply ...full of life. To think that Grandma would come to her end was unfathomable, yet it was inevitable and part of the natural process of life.

I have something very personal that I wanted to share. On the day of my wedding, the Big Wedding, for the marriage that unfortunately didn't last, I have the pictures of my family relatives to cherish. My loved onces were dressed exquisitely. And, to be able to witness my Grandma being buried in the dress she wore on that day as well as to have seen my mother laid to rest (close to three years ago) in the dress she wore on that day is, in it's strange way, such a great honor.  

I plan to share the following piece at her funeral. An event that has long been talking about, even anticipated in our very big Italian family. Literally over five hundred cousins were spawned from Grandma's original family of eleven siblings. And countless more family that are part of our clan, many of whom I do not know.

Anyway, here's to Grandmom Lucente --I will love you forever and revere every moment we've spent together on this earth:

Grandmom was one of the sharpest most mentally alert people I've ever known. She knew everyone's birthday, the names of their children, their anniversary dates, the major events and what people did to keep themselves busy during the day. And believe me that couldn't have been easy with over 500 cousins alone in our family.

Her greetings accompanied status checks on your latest project, you partner's whereabouts or whatever thought she'd have in mind for you ...before you had a chance to kiss her hello.

Over the course of the last several months, I've had the privilege of spending a lot of one-on-one time with Grandmom. From watching her progress in rehab recovering from hip surgery, to reading her stories, to showing her Facebook pictures of her grandchildren, cousins, grand nieces and nephews ...whoever I could find that she would know and many inspirational pictures and quotations.

We will all miss Grandmom. However, we can all be happy in knowing that she spent a long, healthy, vibrant time with us. Now close to twenty-five years of waiting and reminiscing she is rejoined in eternal love with her beloved and our dear patriarch Grandpop Lucente. May Grandmom and Grandpop Lucente rejoice in their love in our Lord's Kingdom and forever look over us. In Grandmom's words...if God spares. And He has Grandmom --- forever more and a day. 

I'll patiently await the time when we shall meet again. Love you Gram - without end. 

101 Year Strong --

Is Your Furry or Feathered Friend Your Muse?

Daron's Usual Spot

Mine is. A constant non-judging unconditionally loving grey-haired green-eyed cat I call Daron, aka Baby Boy. 

Our furry and/or feathered friends require very little of us. Fresh water, pet food and affection. All equally important to them. 

In a world, especially the writing world, but also business, medical, engineering, heck, probably every profession out there ... there’s so much competition for the Almighty Dollar, when we’re finally home with our pet we can take solace. 

A writer has one distinct advantage over the working force: we can create worlds that no one has dreamed of right there in our sanctuary and our writing room…with our pet alongside us.

Yet we must subject ourselves to high scrutiny, sometimes mean-spirited reviews and sometimes helpful, sometimes not, critiques ... with little or no pay. I frankly don't get why we, as writers, put up with so much.

However, no matter what our chosen professions is we have to look at our work with sheer pride. And know we did our very best. Our best may not be selected by the powers that be. But, then who gives them power? 

There's a place for each and every one of our works. There's a fan base for each and every one of us.

My hope is to inspire my fellow writers continue writing and the byproduct of that is, quite honestly, to continue myself.

Growing up I was amazed at my brother Sammy’s artwork. He slaved away at his various mediums of fantasy art. He dropped out of college, re-entered, dropped out again, had numerous jobs related and not related to the field of art. Yet, one thing was consistent: he never gave up on his artwork. 

 Today he is gainfully working as a full-time tattoo artist. Not bad. Especially since tattoos are so very much in vogue.

I snidely and rather ignorantly judged him as wasting his time while I toiled away at an accounting degree only to have experienced seven years of painful career agony. I then entered into what became a lucrative profession, for a while, but almost at the cost of my mental health.

 Now I'm proud to say that, like my dear-old brother Sammy, I too have joined the ranks of the artists.

 But I've digressed ... back to our faithful friends. 

 I'd love to know about yours. Either as a response to this blog or face book or twitter let me know. 
 Is your furry or feathered friend your muse? Yes or No?

https://www.facebook.com/celiaboob

https://www.facebook.com/groups/HavingFunWithMr.Wrong/

www.funwithmrwrong.wordpress.com;

www.nowmotivated.blogspot.com/

I'll tally up the responses and let you know how many of you responded.

In addition, if you don't have a pet consider adopting one today! Your local humane society or animal shelter would love to see you!

Got a Front View!

Can You have happiness in your career AND your love life?

Lifelong Question ... For Me, At Least

However if you've experienced or are experiencing the following you may relate:

Career Crisis: Circumstances beyond someone's control that causes a sudden job loss or a demotion can have a negative affect on a person's metal state and their self-confidence. However, time gives a person tremendous advantage because they can look back on their life, with pride, and review what they've already accomplished. A younger person doesn't know what they're capable of, yet but, hopefully, their determination and inherent drive leads them to goal achievement.

If you've had the good fortune to be successful in your career, received rewards both financial and intellectual, then you've established a track record. That track record will repeat itself. Manifest itself again. Have faith in yourself. You're the only person that can. No one can give that to you. Give it to yourself.

If you're in a rift or otherwise haven't yet achieved something you set out for yourself ---don't give up. Know that you will accomplish your dreams .... as you have before.

Failed Relationship: As for relationships ... if you've made poor decisions before, unfortunately unless you fix the problem inside yourself that attracts the wrong kind, you will again. There are numerous books that can help you decipher whether or not someone is right for you. My all time favorite is by Women Who Love Too Much by Robin Norwood. Other books written by Ken Keyes, namely The Seven Keys to Happiness and Stanton Peel, namely Love & Addiction can also help.

Modern-day psychologists say that you should be able to size up a potential mate and make a decision about whether or not they are right for you within the first thirty minutes of meeting them. Don't sell yourself short due to loneliness or fear of not finding a mate.

If you don't listen to your inner voice your desperation can lead you to desperate actions and you will likely find yourself in yet another loosing situation. If you've recently broken up with someone, embrace the time you have to get reacquainted with you. Who are you? Where do you see yourself going in life? What qualities need to exist in your mate to compliment your life, to enhance the quality of your life to provide the perfect breeding grounds to achieve your personal best? Because the wrong person can sabotage your every dream. Thus you'd been better off by yourself.

I believe that we learn about ourselves through the interpersonal relationships we encounter. Each "failed" relationship isn't really a failure but an opportunity for growth. When people can't grow together or take away from each others path of success ... it may be time to go your separate ways. Sometimes working through the difficulties brings you closer together. Sometimes it's the end. But, always, you have yourself. Therefore be true to thyself ....at whatever cost it is ....for your own highest self.

Namaste.

Valentine's Day is For the Men Too

So often, we, as women, think of Valentine's Day as our holiday. It’s a time when the guy we're dating, or our fiancé or husband, had better not forget. He, for sure, should be counted on for a dozen roses, a box of candy and dinner out. Right?

Oh, the pressures we put on our men.

As the historical tale tells, St. Valentinus (and there is evidence that there was more than one), wrote the first Valentine card, from prison, in blood, to his lover, the daughter of his jail keeper. St. Valentinus is said to have cured the girl, miraculously, from an incurable disease and thus was canonized.

How these fabled events turned into a widely celebrated commercial holiday, one can only speculate. However, it, nevertheless, did.

Therefore, for generations women received gifts and cards on Valentine’s Day.

But what about the men? Should they not too be the recipients of such shows of love?

I have to say that, for many years in the past, I can't remember doing much reciprocation. I accepted, with gratitude, the flowers, the dinner dates, the gifts and smiled smugly to my inner self thinking, yep, we should keep him around.

But, women's roles in relationships have changed. We are more equal the men we date, on socioeconomic and emotional fronts. It’s more as if we are courting each other. Or, at least, some men will tell us that.

Regardless, what does it hurt to show a little love in return? You don't have to spend a fortune. You could set a picnic table with wine and cheese and buy a bottle of cologne. 

He may not acknowledge all the little details but you can always point them out. And, he will appreciate the gesture.

Chili Cookoff

Yesterday was great fun as I sat in booth 208 at the Chili Cook-off at from 5:30 AM to 5:30 PM.As I watched the moon grow dark yellow and set in the west, the sun crept up in the east burning off the morning dew and creating a chill. I started the day in a T-shirt covered by a long sleeved sweater, covered by a fleece jacket and ended the day in just T. There were many vendors giving away free stuff, my favorite. Throngs of people waited outside the gate, and even camped out overnight, to get into the concert venue. Lots of partying and drinking was going on, of course, and I'm nursing the results of my own participation in that, today.

But the greatest thing about the day was the chili. Cooking it, or, rather, watching it be cooked and prepped by my fiancé and his friends from the Fort Lauderdale Fire Department and eating it. And eating it. And eating it.

We were honored to have an opportunity to speak with the chief chili judge who informed us that there were 123 red chili contestants (and "red" is a specific kind of chili, in case you didn't know) and 73 salsa contestants plus a competition for booth and showmanship. The picture above is a chili booth. 

 As a contestant, you're up against some fierce competition including both circuit cooks who make their rounds about the chili cook-off contests throughout the country and professional chefs as well. The chili is judged based on five elements: taste, consistency, aroma, color (appearance) and bite. Taste, being the most important factor, should consist of the combination of the meat, peppers, spices, with no particular ingredient being dominant, but rather a blend of the flavors. The content can be any kind of meat, vegetables and chilies. For the consistency, chili must have a good ratio between sauce and meat. It should not be dry, watery, grainy, lumpy, or greasy. For aroma, obviously chili should smell good but also give an indication of what is in store for you when you taste it. The color or appearance should be appetizing. Reddish brown is generally accepted as good. Chili is not yellow or green. The key to the appearance is to have the vegetables disappear in the mixture. I recommended blending the veggies ... but, then again, I'm not the chef. Finally, bite or after taste, that’s the heat created by the various type of chili peppers and chili spices. The heat could start immediately or have a delayed effect.

Interesting enough, there are no beans in the red chili. Chili with beans is considered a home-style chili and that's judged in a separate contest.

For more information on chili cook-offs check out the official website and maybe dare to enter yourself http://www.chilicookoff.com.