November 2010
5 posts
““…My brother and I weren’t really “why?” kind of kids. If we asked...”
– ~ a quote from my book
Help Me Sexy-Up this Dialogue:
I pay the clerk and head over to load my coffee with cream and sugar. ”Long day already, hu,” says the gentleman at the creamer station as he slowly stirs his coffee with one of those oversized wooden toothpicks. ”It’s gonna be,” I sigh. “My flight’s delayed.” ”Really, that never happens,” he says in a sarcastic, but sweet...
Chapter One
Chapter One (excuse errors and my personal notes)
Heather
“Miss, please put your seat in its upright position. We’re about to land.” Six strait hours on this plane and I am beginning to lose feeling in my left leg. Even though my bladder is the size of a thimble, I usually opt for the window seat on cross-country flights. At least then I can pop some sleeping pills,...
About the Book
So here is the basic concept. I’m writing this book with my cousin Kaitlin. Kaitlin and I share the same maternal grandmother (aka our mom’s are sisters and we’re both the first born). Anyway, we’re writing a sort of “mother-daughter, generational, coming of age type story” about the lessons we’ve learned over the years.
Kaitlin likes to call it...
Step One: Just get started... →
So, I took the plunge and signed up for the National Novel Writing Month site. Oh boy…
October 2010
10 posts
Things I Loved About Your Wedding
In no particular order:
The vintage typewriter and “better-than-a-photo-booth” photo area
The lanterns hanging outside in the patio
The “story” feel of your wedding ceremony
The way your friends played your first dance song
Patrick
The cider at your after party (even though at first I thought it was coffee)
Your dress, your hair, your entire outfit(s)
The fact that...
Post it, Win it: Vintage Jewelry
I love this Vintage style cocktail ring from VintageYard.com. The cool thing is that if you become a fan of VintageYard.com on facebook and then post an image/link of your favorite ring from their site, you can actually win the ring of your choice! Way cool.
Love that!
While We're on the Topic of Things We Love →
followers, please click the link above and recommend “It’s Just a Month” as an inspirational blog.
a beautiful new love
maybe it’s the wedding coming up and the thought of ALL THAT PRIMPING, but recently i’ve gotten into makeup. i was never a huge makeup person (the thought of heavy foundation makes my skin crawl) but always wore at least some. now, it almost seems fun, to watch your face transform through color, shadow, matte and shine.
but, if you know me, you know i’m not the type to spend $20...
So Miss Massa (but not for long)...what are your...
In celebration of your pending nuptials, I thought a good theme would be playing off the idea of compliments. We can use our “It’s Just a Month” challenge blog to celebrate all things loved by the two of us. Additionally, I’d like to encourage others to post images and comments of things they love as well. To start us off, here’s a little list:
I love:
this time...
September 2010
15 posts
Failure to Launch
I guess one of the hardest things about challenges is when you break your routine and have to come up with another way of accomplishing the same thing. I’m pretty sure we maintained the challenge while in Vegas, but I’m wondering if all our letters got sent.
I still have a postcard or two, so I think I’ll send those in addition…just to be safe.
Estrangement
So I didn’t really research the etymology of the word “Estrangement,” but if you ask me the word “strange” is pretty clear. I agree with you about the “being proud,” of your mom. I mean, I know it is human nature to think we are in the right and that others are naturally the “wrong” ones, but the fact that she hasn’t chosen to shun you...
oh lisa frank! take a seal, give it huge eyes and some purple embossing, and entrance girls everywhere. haven’t thought about that wonderful junk in a long time!
yeah, i’ve been using a mixture of cards and paper we having hanging about in random desk drawers. i burned through a stockpile of blank cards pretty quickly. one of dave’s co-workers has an adult autistic brother who...
The Price of a Letter
This month our challenge is to write letters home to our grandparents. Meagan and I encourage all of you to do the same if you can. I started by writing my father’s mother, and then moved on to including my mom’s parents. Hum, I wonder if I should learn a new language and start writing to my step-father’s parents…
Anyway, it is day 10 of this challenge and I have...
grab your hankies →
ok, so this is about romantic love instead of familial love. but still, you gotta give it a watch.
Not Jewish
Dear Grandma and Grandpa,
I am writing a blog (it’s sorta like an online journal) with my friend Meagan -> www.itsjustamonth.tumblr.com. The theory is that you can do anything for one month.
This month’s “challenge,” we decided, is to write a note home to our grandparents every day. I started with Gma Broeker as I thought a daily note would brighten her spirits,...
6 tags
The Joys of Getting Old
So I wrote my father an email to see if Grandma has been getting my letters. I included a note about x-mas and bringing the new BF to meet the family. He had this to say in response:
Heather,
Grandma did not get your call on her birthday. Something is wrong with our phone. But she did get the letter; it made her day.
Do you think I will like this new guy? I go in for a double hernia surgery...
confessions
heather, it’s funny you mention that, because i just ‘fessed up in my letter today. i mean, they have to know something’s up when their mailbox is flooded. no communication for a year and a half and then all of a sudden i’m penning notes every day? they’re going to think i’m on drugs. well, they probably already think that. but you know what i mean.
put it...
Filling Them In on the Secret...?
Was wondering if you’re going to tell your G’rents about the challenge. I just wrote my third note to gma and I was thinking - what’s going to go through her head after a month of consistent notes and then nothing. I think I’m going to have to let her know. Now, that being said, maybe I’ll keep it up as much as possible afterwards. That’s sorta the point...
Grandmommy, Paw and Gma
It’s cool that we have different names for our g’rents. Yours - Grandmommy and Paw? I have Grandma and Poppi - more specifically, Little Grandma and Poppi (Hecklau) and Big Grandma and Poppi (Broeker). Grandpa Broeker passed away in 2007.
Is that the first letter you wrote Grandmommy and Paw? It’s perfect, in my opinion.
Mine was to Big Grandma. It went something like this...
september first
grandmommy and paw,
i know that we haven’t talked in a while and that we have many differences. yet, this doesn’t mean that i don’t love you, because i do. i keep thinking, “what would dad tell me to do in this situation?” i think his answer would be—- “reach out.” so that’s what i’ll do.
love,
meagan
3 tags
“It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us family. ~Johann Schiller...”
– Meg, well, I’m proud of you. It would be easy to give up on this next challenge considering your specific circumstances, but I think that the month you are about to embark on will be many things - a learning experience, a healing experience…perhaps a changing experience. I commend you...
August 2010
22 posts
this is the end
are you sad a little? i’m not sad about 6am, and i’m not afraid to admit it. but, i’ll have to give you kudos about allowing the walks to overlap with the beginning of p90x. a buddy at mine went through it and got great results. i gave it some thought to get into shape for the wedding, but we just don’t have the proper amount of space in our tv room. then, i got into the...
2 tags
Nearing The End
Well Schmeg…I’d consider the first month pretty successful. Only five more days and the next three will be pretty easy for me to get the walks in.
On Monday I’m starting p90x (like the rest of the world), so I’m glad next month will involve moving no more than my right hand.
Our post on Survive the City →
4 tags
8 tags
when brunch backfires
hef, i do have to say that i believe debbie would be proud with your outfit inventiveness. it’s the hecklau (spelling?) in you!
today i experienced the first negative effects of our little experiment….
dave and i walked to one of our favorite neighborhood spots, steinbeck’s, for a little sunday brunch. for a while now, i’ve been trying to eat on the healthy side but...
10 tags
Inspiration!
Holly Hobby is right!!! - I do love that blog you sent me. It was choice timing too, btw, because the day you posted it I took an old sundress out of the back of my closet - now, it was not a freakin’ moo moo (I can’t believe those dresses even existed), but it needed an update.
This dress of mine was a bit too long (a few inches below the knee so it hit awkwardly) and it was just...
holly hobby
you, of all people, will appreciate this. my love of thrift stores and (don’t cringe) yard sales makes me love it too.
http://green.yahoo.com/blog/guest_bloggers/60/turn-ugly-dresses-into-nice-ones-for-1.html
i have a sewing machine. too bad i’ve never learned how to use it!
xoxo,
m
Change is Real
I was worried today would be the hardest day to keep up with the challenge, so far. We woke up at 5:30 to head down to carlsbad (about a two hour drive) to go water skiing and wake boarding with some friends. Upon returning at 7pm, I was exhausted and dreaded the idea of walking. But,alas, we needed almond milk. On a night when I would have otherwise jumped in a car, I ventured out on my walk and...
Hey soul sister... Hey now Mr., Mr.
Just wanted to say I dug your kitchen sink post. As I was reading I felt, first, that I could relate to your mother cleaning at all hours, then second, slightly embarrassed that she was the one I was relating to as you were poking fun of her behavior, then finally relieved to hear that we both find ourselves with the slightest element of obsessive-compulsive behavior clearly passed down through...
um... crap.
so, yah. i was playing with our settings, and somehow i changed everything.
oops?
5 tags
bbpgiggles asked: Schmegg and Heather,
Im such a sucker for challenges like this! Love what you two are doing. I have a suggestion for a good easy challenge. One Sign your self up to Volunteer every saturday for a month. And when you Volunteer do something that you are passionate about. For instance i have a group of 4 good girl friends and each month one of us organized a volunteer effort. The...
Im such a sucker for challenges like this! Love what you two are doing. I have a suggestion for a good easy challenge. One Sign your self up to Volunteer every saturday for a month. And when you Volunteer do something that you are passionate about. For instance i have a group of 4 good girl friends and each month one of us organized a volunteer effort. The...
an empty sink
an introspective person recently told me (really, he told you and then i read it, but it kinda counts, right?) that a rabbi once told him:
changing yourself is almost impossible, but when you do, it’s the one way of causing God to change the world.
now, i’d like to say that these sorts of thoughts are what i’m contemplating during my morning walks, but that wouldn’t be...
Toastmasters
Tonight I’m giving a Toastmasters speech about our newest endevor. The great thing about our daily walks is that today I can practice my speech while on my walk. I think the thing I struggle most with in speeches is adding humor or a certain sense of lightheartedness - ironic considering the people closest to me find me fairly humorous these days (and I’m always surprised when they...
The most awesome healthy pancakes →
iPads and Pancakes
I’m writing this post from an iPad. Truth be told I’m still not sure about this thing. So my morning walks have been going well. Yesterday I did thirty minutes before breakfast- blueberry pancakes made from cottage cheese and oats. They’re so much healthier than regular pancakes but honestly they don’t taste much different. I’ll post the recipe link below.
After we...
Time Gauging
Megsie,
I don’t have a watch either. I faced the same challenge you did on the first day (minus the Roosters). I was worried that I wouldn’t walk for a full 30 minutes and, as it turns out, upon returning I learned that I had walked for almost 45 minutes. So…do I get to bank that time?
Hethro
all by myself
well heather, i didn’t exactly get the same reaction on my first walk around the neighborhood. in fact, i didn’t see another car or person the entire time! as i groggily laced up my sneakers in the dark bedroom, i wondered aloud to my half-asleep fiance how in the world i’d be able to tell the time, as i don’t have a watch. (i know, i know. i’m an “adult” now. i SHOULD own a watch. i can’t exactly...
6 tags
Accountability
Accountability is huge in my book. For the past week I’ve been waking up every morning to do my 30 minute walk with Berkeley. Some mornings I don’t want to, other mornings it almost doesn’t make sense to complete the task (for example, one morning I had to go to the gym and Berkeley was going do “Doggie Camp” so the walk wasn’t exactly necessariy). However,...