10 Things Every 20-something Should Learn 5 Habits of Life-long Readers 13 Ways to Love Yourself 4 Things Women Wish Men Knew 39 Things Single People Should Know 8 Ways You Need to Cook Your Eggs OR YOU WILL DIE 100 LISTS THAT TELL YOU WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE BECAUSE YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY DOING IT WRONG. So, um, yes. That last headline screams at me when I see lists filling up my Facebook news feed. It makes me sad, because I really am a sucker for the lists. (BuzzFeed has … [Read more...]
cheaters never prosper.
Cheaters never prosper. Who said that anyway? Cheaters never prosper. And I am the worst cheater of all. My first love so long ago was Drawing. My sister has signed pictures from a four-year-old with my curls and exact same birthmark. But sadly, young love is a fickle thing and I cheated on Drawing when I became a reader. Reading was my true love. None of that fluff about being a famous artist. Reading required nothing from me but my time. And so I was a ferocious reader. I have a list … [Read more...]
On Shelves of Blue-Green Truth
Originally posted at SheLoves Magazine. I have a habit of collecting all things mint or aqua-colored. I line them along my shelves and my desk, even my windowsill—jars and mugs, a hand-made teapot, an antique pan, a couple bowls. I know I don’t need one more mismatched mint treasure, but vintage stores and clearance shelves have a way of turning up lonely artifacts just begging to come home with me. I think I collect people the same way. I make friends on street corners, in … [Read more...]
nostalgia and cigarettes
{ Originally posted at littledidsheknow.net } Smell and nostalgia have been best friends for eons. Like peas and carrots or peanut butter and jelly, these friends seem destined to return to each other with a loyalty I only wish I could mimic. Should I ever have children, I envision myself being the kind of mama who bakes oodles of chocolate chip cookies so that even my grown-up children want to call me whenever they smell a warm oven. But for me, cookies and memory are not intrinsically … [Read more...]
my furry companion and Deborah.
We’re sitting shoulder to shoulder. Literally. At first I sat up and leaned on my left hip, but that starts to ache in the places I injured years ago. So now I am allowing my arm to rest against his. I can feel his forearm flex as his fingers shuffle the cards on smart-phone-solitaire. He’s furry and smells of the outdoors and has said only two words, but I am sure I trust him. I swear I didn’t mean to, but I saw when he sat down he texted Deborah to let her know he boarded his plane. I … [Read more...]
The Idea: A New Name
Reposted from SheLoves Magazine. “What’s in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet …” ~William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet Last week, in front of a smiling judge, with my right hand raised, I legally changed my last name to Joslyn. (And no, I did not secretly get married … * yet *) I want to recount my reasons for changing my name, but I’m not sure my written words are going to fill the story with life the way I feel it woven into my bones. But … [Read more...]
new year.
This is not a resolution. Only ... I'm starting at the beginning of this new year. So it sort of feels like it is one. Which means it is doomed to failure. Sigh. But I'm going to try it anyway. In an attempt to save the U.S. postal service from shutting down (not the real reason), I am going to attempt to send out TWO letters EVERY. SINGLE. WEEK. this year. (Three letters when I'm feeling extra spunky.) … [Read more...]
swimsuits and red lipstick.
I usually blog when I am procrastinating. Today is only a little different. Today, I set out to get real work done, but my angry hip is extra angry and I can't focus. So I thought I'd go to bed early and get some sleep, but I also can't sleep. I can almost always sleep, but when I can't—I blog. I've had these ideas on my mind for a very long time. But I owed so many people SO many projects I said I would complete SO many moons ago ... and that left me feeling guilty about blogging about my … [Read more...]
Lessons From a New Orleans Playground
Originally posted at SheLoves Magazine. I never understood my privilege until I moved to New Orleans when I was 21. I moved because I had hands that worked and I wanted to do something good after Hurricane Katrina tore through the city. And I’m still not sure if I made much of an impact on the city, but it definitely made an impact on me. Over fried chicken and sweet tea I began to see that my world, as I had always known it, was very narrow—I constructed my world of people quite … [Read more...]
I Am From – Sychroblog
Joining the SheLoves sychroblog today, with a poem to celebrate heritage.I AM FROM I am from warm comforters and no heat.I am from hiding from the noise and dreaming of new lands.I am from small rooms and smoke from a dirty chimney.I am from a swampy backyard and a great big evergreen,sturdy enough to climb and high enough to hide in.I am from barefoot summers and somber winters.From the beach and the woods. I am from crowded Thanksgivings and restless Sabbaths.I am from tired … [Read more...]