AmyMaidaWadsworth

Book Tag--here are the rules. Grab the book nearest you. Right now. Turn to page 56. Find the fifth sentence. Post that sentence along with these instructions. Don't dig for your favorite book, use the CLOSEST Here's mine: "Which he did over the next twenty minutes, calling only one witness, Master Chief Riley, who recounted the boarding and gave a color commentary to the video tape record of the boarding." "Clear and Present Danger" by Tom Clancy Nowhere near as cool as Patty's! If you haven't done this yet, tag, you're it!

Maida is taking a creative writing class at school right now, and it reminded me of the days when I was discovering my ability and desire to write. I wrote poems in the beginning, and I thought it might be fun to post some of them. I'd love to hear what you think! This one is based on the above painting by Rousseau. I'm sure I didn't interpret the painting the way Rousseau intended it, but then again.... I like this one because of the symbolism, even though it's kind of depressing. Plus, the being in the painting is clearly a woman.... I guess sometimes you see with your mind's eye. Naked (After Rousseau's "The Snake Charmer") I The dark man stands between a deep, wide river, and a jungle. A cowl hides his face. He coaxes currents into small pools at his feet with the flute he holds to his lips. A serpent's body ribbons around a mahogany arm. It's head hovers just above the charmer's left shoulder. II The charmer is trying to climb into...

Yesterday was a full day! Because we are down to one car and Jason had to work, which meant he would be hurrying downtown for the concerts, I left the house at 11:30 to catch the bus. It's been a long time since I rode the bus alone downtown. It wasn't bad, but I felt pretty silly wearing my formal with tennis shoes. (I didn't want to walk to the bus and then to temple square in my heels--probably a good decision given the fact that my feet were killing me and I could barely walk by the end of the night!) We met at the Tabernacle at 1:00 and rehearsed until 4. After an hour break for dinner, we had our first concert. This concert was added because the Tickets to the first scheduled concert (7:30) were gone so quickly. I took a few pics while the band was warming up. How often does someone like me have the opportunity to get this close to the pipes? A little way into the first concert, Kelly DeHaan, our director, left. I wondered if he was sick or something, but he was direc...

I've been debating on creating a fake identity for myself and getting on an LDS singles site so that I can look at the profiles and stuff. I'm not sure it would be good, though. I don't want anyone asking me out. (yikes!) Anybody willing to share their experiences with me? What's it like looking at the profiles? I was at a nail salon a while ago with Maida and a bunch of the girls there who weren't working at the time were looking at myspace profiles and talking about the guys in Vietnamese. It was rather humorous to watch them chat about these guys even though I didn't understand a word they said.

So, I officially started the singles novel today. It's shaping up in my head as a "Jane Austen Book Club" type of book--several different characters with the same goal who meet together once a month for dinner and a good venting. I've only heard two stories so far, and I'd love more! Hopefully it will come together well and I'll be able to do the stories justice.

So, I've really been feeling the need to write lately. I've got this idea that I think could be fun, but I need help to do it. When I tell people I'm a writer, so often the people I talk to say something like, "Well you should hear some of my stories." I think most of them have no intention of ever writing their stories, but they just want to tell me their stories. So, I'm inviting stories. I'd like to write a fictionalized collection of short stories about being LDS and single. Since I haven't been there in a while and I only have my imagination to go from, if you've got anything you'd like to share, I'd be thrilled to hear it! I will fictionalize the stories, of course, and share them with you before I attempt publication. I'm hoping to get stories that can have a positive spin. Spread the word! And e-mail your stories to amymaidawadsworth@gmail.com!

Thanks, Rach! Let’s play! Eight TV Shows I love to watch: 1. Heroes 2. Battlestar Gallactica 3. Chuck 4. The Office 5. 24 6. Scrubs 7. Deadliest Catch 8. Science Channel Eight favorite places to eat: 1. TGI Fridays 2. Cheesecake Factory 3. Café Rio 4. Taco Bell 5. Noodles & Co. 6. Village Inn 7. IHOP 8. My parents’ house Eight things that happened yesterday: 1. I took the kids to school. 2. I went to a CLA (computer lab assistant) training session and learned about thinkfinity and social bookmarking 3. I finished the critique I was working on for Covenant. 4. I made nachos and spinach dip for dinner. 5. I wrote a chapter in my latest attempt at a novel. 6. I read Alma 17:13-18 with my kids. 7. I talked to my mom on the phone for ½ hour. 8. I went to bed by 11:00. (amazing!) Eight things I look forward to: 1. Jason’s play being done so he can take a break. 2. Maida’s production of Grease. 3. Halloween 4. Thanksgiving 5. Christmas 6. Our Sterling Singers concert in the Tabernacle...

Here are my 10 favorite things that start with the letter F. (Thanks, Rach! I love to play!) 1. Number one is easy! Family. I love, Love, LOVE my family. 2. Freedom. I love the fact that I live in a country where the thing that holds me back most is myself. I am free to live my religion according to the dictates of my conscience. I am free to vote for whom I choose and to spend my money at the establishments I wish to support. Freedom is awesome! 3. Fiction. (I'm predictable, yes?) I love fiction because it has an uncanny way of telling the truth. I love to read it, write it, critique, and revise it. I love it in book form, play form, and film form. Fiction is awesome! 4. Friends. I have such wonderful friends! I don't see them often enough, but now with the joy of blogging, I'm able to keep in touch! (Plus, I get to write! Yeah, love the blogging thing. But that starts with b....) 5. Fresh Flowers. I especially like daisies because they are simple and ha...

I posted a new 1/2 hour activity on my school blog . Check it out. Makes me laugh!

Jason taught gospel doctrine today, and talked about one of the most interesting topics--the essence of mortality in one word--entropy. For those who don't know what it means, here's the Webster definition: entropy 1 : a measure of the unavailable energy in a closed thermodynamic system that is also usually considered to be a measure of the system's disorder, that is a property of the system's state, and that varies directly with any reversible change in heat in the system and inversely with the temperature of the system ; broadly : the degree of disorder or uncertainty in a system 2 a : the degradation of the matter and energy in the universe to an ultimate state of inert uniformity b : a process of degradation or running down or a trend to disorder This truly is the measure of mortality, isn't it? Constant decay. We reach cleanliness, but with time, that cleanliness decays into disorder. This applies to our spiritual lives as well as our physical lives. ...

So, I'm neck deep in projects again. Sewing 16 musette bags for South Pacific, which opens on the 15th. Sewing two pairs of red polka-dotted shorts for South Pacific, one for Jason and one to be used only as a prop. I'm also sewing book bags for the Humanitarian Center. I'm either sewing constantly or not at all. Right now, it's constant. I'm also trying to keep up the good work on organization. Still busy shredding years of paperwork, but I'm checking and shredding my mail every day now so it doesn't build up like it has for the past seven years. As soon as I can, I'll get more paint and finish the rest of the kitchen. I'm also planning on doing something with the cupboard doors--a cute, bright-colored daisy motif. I'm going to stencil the daisies from a wall quilt pattern I've got. I love doing stuff like that--taking something that would typically be used in one type of craft and using it in something else. I also went to DI las...

History does not repeat itself. We repeat history.

So, I started reading one of Orson Scott Card's new novels, Invasive Procedures. I'm only 47 pages in, but I love it. I love his style, I love the way he changes POV, I love his voice. He's awesome and such a talent. I want to grab an audience the way he grabs me. I want to spark the mind the way he sparks mine. I told Maida about the dream I had the other night, and she said she thought it would make a good novel too. I want to write, but every time I look around my house, I'm reminded that writing probably shouldn't be a high priority right now. Sigh. But it's burning a hole in my brain.

I want to get organized. I woke up early this morning without setting an alarm, and all I could think about was how to organize the girls' bedroom. I moved furniture around in my head, tried to picture different colors of paint on the walls, tried to figure out a way to keep as much of our furniture as possible without encouraging the cluttered feeling that permeates my entire house. I'm not sure it's possible. The house is small and I have no storage and everyone in my house is a packrat. It doesn't help that none of us like to clean. I have to get creative because I have to make due with what I have. Limited budget, limited strength, limited energy. I've got three dressers downstairs that are entirely different in style and color. The carpet needs to be replaced. I would love to gut the place and start over, but that's just not an option. I feel like my house is a reflection of how I feel personally. I feel cluttered. It's time to clean the cob...

I've been thinking a lot about identity. Partially because it's a theme in my next book, and partially because my credit sucks. If someone tried to define me by what they saw on paper, how accurate a definition would it be? Are we defined by our spending habits, our surfing habits, the little digital and DNA trails we leave everywhere we go? If all of that information was collected into one area, would that completely define us? It would certainly say a lot. It would reveal our bad habits, our addictions, what we find relaxing, what we believe in. It would show us how we let off steam and how we deal with stress. I complain that I have lots of bills, but I'm guessing 70% of my money last month went to food and gas--after the mortgage payment. It's sad how many times I go to Burger King. I think the one, and perhaps most important, thing that digital and physical information wouldn't define is potential. The evidence against us can't crush who we are be...

I like being married. I really do. It's not always the easiest thing, don't get me wrong, but it's so wonderful to have someone to grow with. Someone to be vulnerable with who won't take that vulnerability and use it against you. My husband and I had a bit of a tiff last night, AFTER he bought me roses and didn't tell me about them. We made up, and he gave me the roses. He could have held that against me and given them to someone else. (We're actors. He gives flowers to other women all the time.) But he didn't. He gave them to me. He held my hand and stood by me. It's so nice to feel like he will stand by me no matter what. We've been together almost 18 years, and I am more sure that he will stand by me than I have ever been. How wonderful is that? It's nice to be in love with someone I've been through so much with. It's even nicer to know he loves me back.

So, I've always believed in learning by trying something new. My hobbies have been many and varied. I think I'll try blogging now. I can see how this could become time consuming and addictive... Let's try it!