Haiku for Lunch

 Lunchtime corny dog 

And two packets of mustard

Do not fill me up

The Back 40 of Technology

My timing is off when it comes to technology. I’m always discovering things that have been around for years when it comes to settings and functions. I look at it this way, I’m just saving stuff for me to do when I get bored. Look at these awesome pics I took and edited on my phone. This may be old news for some, but for me, this is FANTASTIC. What is so wrong with being behind??? I think a person gets a better perspective from the back end of life. LOL 

Later, 

T:)

16 Minutes a Day

16 Minutes a day. 

That is all I need. 

To write a thought.

To draw a picture.

To pray to God.

To call a friend. 

To scrub a toilet. 

To pick up the trash in my car. 

To walk. 

To do sit ups. 

To wash dishes. 

To feed the dogs. 

To eat an apple. 

To write a song.

To snap a photo.

I only need 16 minutes. Sometimes, I don't even need that long. 

T:)

Word by word, Step by step

Oh to write like Mark Twain or William Shakespeare!
Would people get it if I did?
A few would.
No abandonment, no blockades, no fears.
Pure writing from the head and heart.
How deep is a person’s soul?

About writing: it takes time and thought. One must get alone in their heads to do it.
Commitment. It takes that too.
Talent? I guess that is involved a bit.
Insight? YES...
Word to word, line to line, paragraph to paragraph....it’s kinda like walking. Each step brings you closer to each mile that brings you to your destinations.
Maybe this is why Stephen King and Mark Twain like/liked to walk.

Writing.

2020, 1st blog’o the year

I am sitting on my couch typing from my new phone. For some reason I do not feel as creative working from a phone as I do from a computer. It is like trying to look at the Grand Canyon through a straw. Pitiful in a mug!!

What is keeping my brain working these days? Walnuts. I eat’em every day. The problem is that nuts are like a laxative, if you eat too many at a time, and I haven’t quite got the correct portion size down yet. I don’t know how squirrels do it! It doesn’t matter, cuz I’m gettin’ smarts. Smarts and farts! LOL Pardon the crudeness.

I am seriously thinking about starting a real blog because of the book that I wrote, Enchanted, Poetry from the Woods. The sales have been great, I won an award for it, and I’m working on my second book with lots of ideas for many books. I need one place that people can go online and check out the world of T.

God has been good!
T:)

Some drawings for my next book:)

One Post for March

As March is ZOOMING by, I find that this entire YEAR is traveling faster than I can keep up.

Next month will find me at book signings, music festivals! How FUN!

I have started writing my NEXT book. The idea for this book came to me in 2011 on the way home from vacationing in New Mexico, somewhere in the vicinity of Dalhart, Texas. If anyone has ever been to Dalhart, you know that vast, flat, dry, dusty land is all you can see for miles. In fact, one can see an entire train on the tracks (front to end) as it is going down the tracks. What the HECK???

The book I am writing is going to be AMAZING! It is a chapter book. It has two story lines going at the same time. It spans from 1892 to present day. It has taken me 8 years of living to collect life so that I can proceed with writing this book.

WAIT FOR IT!

It will be worth it :)

T:)

Happy Saturday

HAPPY!! 

This is a picture that I am working on. Can you guess why I named it “Happy”? Drawing is a cool thing to do at ANY age:)

I would encourage everyone to pick up a pen or pencil and get lost in the moment of drawing! 

It’s MAGICAL!

T:)

My Work Area!!

MY WORK AREA!!

I know EXACTLY where everything is!!

T:)

Sunshine and Manure?

I told a guy that I work with today that I was Sunshine and Rain and he was Dirt and Manure. It takes all of it combined to make things grow.

He said that he would wear his badge proudly.

I got to thinking about it in regards to life.

I don't know why there has to be a mixture of the fabulous and the wretched, but there just does! Growing hurts. Life hurts. Manure stinks. Sunshine is light! To me, it is common sense and not right or wrong. When bad things happen to me, that is the manure. When good things happen to me, that is the sunshine and rain. It all works together for growth and enrichment. It is not God's fault or the fault of any one person. Some people get more manure dumped on them than others. Does that mean that they will grow stronger?

It's life.

It's the way it is.

Once a person understands this, it changes the entire flow of things. I watch the animals behind our house. Many times since we have lived there, I have seen cardinals fly into our back window, fall to the ground, and die from a broken neck. It is brutal! Do you know what the other birds do?

They keep on eating the bird seed in the feeders and flying around from tree to tree and chirping and whistling and mating and living. Some cardinal just lost their husband or wife or child here! They don't even stop to have a funeral. The ants immediately start to feed on the carcass. It is LIFE! (well, not for the dead cardinal)

Pay attention to the sunshine and manure all around us. It'll make ya grow:)

T:)

Happy New Year!!!

I keep wrestling with the idea of starting a new blog, but this one has a little history and I find it hard to let it go.

Happy NEW YEAR to my 15 a month readers! Hope you all are doing well. My new book: Enchanted, Poetry from the Woods is alive and well and selling nicely. You can purchase it on Amazon. Just put the title of the book and my name, Theresa Arnold, and it will come up. You click a button, pay the fee, and in a few short days, the book will arrive.

https://www.amazon.com/Enchanted-Poetry-Woods-Theresa-Arnold/dp/1729496113/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1546457538&sr=8-1&keywords=theresa+arnold+enchanted

That is a HUGE link there. Maybe it will take you directly to the site.

I have to run, but wanted to get something up for the new year. I will type more later.

2019 will be AWESOME!!!

T:)

Is November Almost HErE??

October 19, 2018

This is an entry to my journal today.

Finished my "Native American Son" picture. I was scoping out pictures to draw one day on the WWW and I searched "native American children". This child came up, so I drew him. I am now going to start a collection of these kinds of drawings from my own hand (from pictures that other people have taken). All copyright laws cease to exist as soon as I enter my private domain creative room. Now, if I was going to try and sell these, then I would have to get permission from the creator of the picture to do so. I would and will never claim a picture as my own unless it WAS my own.

Here is the picture that I drew from a photo of the child I call Native American Son (he has to be SOMEONE'S son...)

Pretty nice looking son there! This morning I was looking up other sons to draw:
Hot Cops
Sexy Fireman
Cooks!!

Fun!! The human body is most AMAZING and absolutely the coolest thing to draw! This could become a habit! T:)

Well Well Well....

SO much has been going on the last few months! What am I saying? I mean the last YEAR!

I finally submitted my book of poetry with illustrations to my publisher to get it going and it should be out by the first part of November. I was hoping by October 17th, and that MAY still happen. I won't hold my breath on that though.

I rarely get on this blog anymore and my publisher (I say "my publisher" like that's such a big deal. Actually, I am self publishing and the people helping me are HELPING me by doing all the set up work and the cover) thought that I should look into getting my own website like Theresa Arnold dot something.... I could blog from there and put my CD's and my books and my artwork out there for sale or amusement. Question, what is the exact number of people that have done that and have put their art online? Just wondering. HOW do people FIND such things? Still kicking around the idea though as I plan on writing more books and starting a series of brainless ramblings about life and death and flowers and animals and inanimate objects talking and horribly gross stuff. I really flock to the gross stuff of life. Not sure why. One time, I was going to take a series of pictures (yes, I dabble in photography a little) of dead animals that I found on the road. I took a picture of a squashed squirrel that was petrified flat to the road and thought 'agin it as it was pretty gross. I thought people might think I was weird for doing that. Is that weird? Taking pictures of dead animals on the road? What if it were tastefully done? Not sure how, but what if it were?

Anyway, I am proud to announce that after almost 3 years of working on and off on this poetry project, I am seeing the light at the end of the literary tunnel. YEAH!! The next project can't be this long to write. I have learned a lot in my writing, storing info, illustrating, and communicating with other folks about this project. God is GOOD! Some people say that Jesus was a good teacher. I say he was the best. I asked him about 3 years ago to not only be my Savior but also my teacher and to please give me an assignment to do. I wrote down a list of three books that needed writing. This first one was one of them. THREE YEARS LATER....it looks like it may be finished. When I turned in this book to what I call "my publisher", I felt relief, and discouragement. What do I do now? I have been worrying and working, slaving and sweating over this project and I felt emptiness. WEIRD! NOW, my imagination is starting to come back and I would like to say "THANK YOU JESUS!!" I would have never finished this project if my imagination button was not pushed off for a while. He knows me and He knows my problem with starting projects, I mean FINISHING projects. I am a master at starting them. I am a novice at finishing them. I like the way it feels when things are finished. Perhaps this will be the start of an entire new way of being!! Wow, finishing things could become a habit or something. That would be nice. I want to be Queen of the Finishers!! Majesty of the Wrap-Up! Princess of Accomplishments! This will be a magnificent road to travel down in my second half of life:)

Excited to see the fruit of my labor starting to bud!!

Later,
T:)

HUH?

Contrary to popular belief. . .

They say that. . .

Once upon a time. . .

Tomorrow is another. . .

All is fair in. . .

Life's timing has been OFF a few beats for me since October 17, 2014. Rhythms are necessary for life. Our heart pounds away in 440 timing. The sun and moon have their times of ups and downs. Animals know WHEN they have to do things like eat, kill, run, mate, build, hide. Isn't it strange that a lot of human beings don't get it or do it?

There really is a time for everything under the sun.

How do I feel about that?

It doesn't matter HOW I feel about it because the reality of it is in my face all of the time. It doesn't matter. But, it DOES matter because the "how I feel about something" is the boot that kicks me in the butt to act/perform/accomplish/complete physical tasks and duties. It's the DOING that matters more than the ponderings in life. It's the DOING that DOES all the accomplishing and changing. Not the THINKING or musing about life. And yet, we have to have thinking to do the doing.

Isn't THAT strange?

Let me think on that as I do my tasks. . .

:)

Cory's Day by Theresa Arnold

Cory fell and hit his head.
When he rolled out of his bed.

Hit his toe upon a wall
When he walked into his hall.

Electrocuted his right thumb
Now his tingling hand was numb.

Bathroom sink sure hurt his pride
When he hit it, bruised his side.

Left his driveway, backing up
Hit and killed his neighbor's pup.

Morning coffee burnt his lip
When he stopped to take a sip.

Office chair was on the ground
Loud "KABAAM" and then fell down.

When he grabbed the desk to rise
Something flew into his eyes.

He said, "How much more of this?"
Then he heard a cobra's hiss.

Bit his leg and crawled away
Cory on the floor did lay.

Sirens wailed there was a crash
Cory's ambulance was smashed.

Got him out, for Heaven's sake
How much more can this man take?

One Post in March

I read the last post that I wrote in February and DANG, that thing sure rambled on!

I had to get at least ONE post in for the month of March before it dissipates. March, not my post.

So, here it is.

One post.

In March.

2018.

Yep!

Do I have any words of wit for this month?

ABSOLUTELY!

The words are:

Get your ducks in a row.
Dreams Don't Work Unless You Do.
Call your mom.
Happy Easter (even though that is in April this year).
Don't wait. . . for ANYTHING!
Take a different route home from work at least once a week.

Goofy things I wonder about at times:

Wouldn't it be fantastic if there was a phone line to Heaven? Wouldn't it be not so fantastic if there was only ONE phone in ONE location in the world to make those calls from?

How HARD would it be to invent chocolate that tasted good AND didn't make a person fat??
Is that too much to ask? Oh yeah, and also how hard would it be to let loose the CURE for cancer to those that have the cure? Does one person hold the magic answers? Also, has someone actually been aborted that DID have the cure? I hear people say that about babies that are aborted? People say that we may be killing the people that have the answers to life's problems. Maybe that is why we have dadgum TRUMP as President here in the good old USA....someone got rid of who was SUPPOSED to be the President and our punishment is Trump. This COULD be true....no way to prove it though. No way at all. That is why I like to ask questions that can't be answered. I especially like to ask these questions to people that are the SMARTEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. I know quite a few of these folks and their intelligence blows me away and down a sewer hole sometimes. Lots of smart people with lots of answers in this world. I am sarcastically amazed by their wit:)

All for March.
T:)

Appreciate EVERYTHING!!

Blink and a day is gone.
Sleep and a week is gone.
Do something you love to do and a lifetime is gone before you know it.

There is NOT enough me to do all that needs doing.

Does anyone have enough of themselves to do what they want to do?

I think of people that are homeless. Do their days seem long or short to them? I am going to ask this question to the next homeless person that I see. It seems that there are more and more homeless people popping up in the area that I live in. Someone told me that Dallas has kicked out a lot of their homeless that are living under bridges and in the streets and they have hopped on the northbound trains and ended up in Denton, TX. I would hate to be a homeless woman in a sea of homeless men. It has to be harder for women than men. I would think. If I was a homeless woman, I would pretend like I was a man. I guess that I would blow my cover when it was time to pee though. Homeless women seem crazier than homeless men. Are they? I don't usually see homeless women standing on street corners with signs for donations. It seems to be men only. Is that because they beat the women up? These are things I ponder. It has been so cold here the last few months. Where do they go when it gets cold? I hate being out for a few minutes. Imagine if that is the ONLY place you can be....outside when the temperature is below freezing. Imagine being limited to having and owning only the things you can carry. What would I carry? Where would I get food? What are the most important things in life to carry on you at all times? Do these people give a rip about cell phones and social media? This may secretly be heaven on earth for folks.

Things I would carry with me if I was homeless:
*my ukulele
*my backpack

What would be in my backpack?

I read a story one time about the Jews during pre WWII when they were being taken to the ghettos to live. They could only take what they could carry. One girl's mom told her to put on her heavy winter boots even though it was summertime and very hot. This girl ended up in a concentration camp and survived the winters. She later wrote that it was her boots that kept her alive. She had warm boots to keep her alive. The small things that we take for granted could be the things that help us survive tragic events.

Small things that I take for granted:
*toe nail clippers
*good knives
*running water

I could have a million things on this list and not begin to list all of the small things that are a blessing. Let's not even begin the list of sight, sound, touch, taste, speech, the ability to think and process information.

Is this world turning into a place of people that do not know how to appreciate anything?
The ability to appreciate and be grateful for life (let's be general here) is paramount in establishing the quality of life we live.

Do something good with the gifts given to you!! If you have breath, appreciate EVERYTHING!!

The Beginning of a Story

They said that she looked NORMAL on the outside. She had a bright and cheerful disposition most days, but no one knew the internal hysteria that thundered throughout her soul as she robotically worked through her mundane job. She hid it well. Inside herself, she was insane. The voices in her head tormented her all hours of the day and night as she attempted to live a NORMAL life. She had never revealed to anyone her cavernous thoughts and manic desires.

But one day, she decided that she would share her wickedness with THE WORLD!!!

The beginning of the end so to speak.




This story could go so many directions....

Where shall I take it?

T:)

Telephone Operators

I was sitting at work today and I wondered,

"Are telephone operators still around?"

I picked up the phone.

Dialed "9" to get an outside line.

Dialed "0" because that use to be how to get in touch with an operator if you had questions.

You know what I got?

A busy signal.

I guess phone companies must have cut down on staffing and the four or five people they have working were busy with other calls.

There used to be songs written about operators.(Google for a list of operator songs because I am pressed for time).

I guess songs will now be written about real live non people that don't exist like Echo and Alexa.

Has anyone ever thought about the people that actually PROGRAM these devices?? Who are THEY? Is that where all the operators have gone?

It boggles the mind, "it" being obsoleteness.

:)

5-4-3-2-1....

I saw a story about a lady that has come up with a theory about tricking your body into doing stuff before your brain has time to react.

When her alarm goes off in the mornings, instead of hitting her snooze button, she starts counting down from 5 and then she jumps out of bed before her brain has time to tell her to stay in bed.

I tried it.

This morning.

My alarm went off at 4:00am.

I counted down...

5
4
3
2
1

Guess what happened?

I think I need to start my countdown at 25 or 30. Five seconds isn't long enough to jump out of bed when your alarm goes off.

This lady has super powers if she can hop out of bed at 4:00 in the morning in 5 seconds. That's Olympic speed!!!!!!!!!!!!

She must not have any ailments or body part problems.

Lucky her.

That is all:)

Wit Wall

I have 11 minutes to type.

Timed writing is race writing is good writing or bad writing.

I'm not so sure that working under pressure always produces the best results.

Wit Wall.

Say it out loud.

And quickly too.

It sounds like you have a speech impediment. (a little bit)

I am making a Wit Wall in my loft room. One wall will have paper all over it with Sharpe pens near by and every thought that comes to my head will be written down. I've seen this in movies when they lock people up in those padded rooms. Crazy people write on walls. Is it that crazy? What is wrong with getting the things in your head out for you to visually look at and see if it makes sense? Sometimes, it doesn't make sense. Is that wrong? I think it is a magnificent idea to have categories and separate boxes, lines, circles, or WHATEVERS to divide out what you are thinking about.

For instance, my wonderful inventions. I can have an entire section to put all of the ideas that pop up in my head about certain things that need to be invented (or don't need to be invented). Maybe a list of things that should never be invented. Don't EVER invent a gas can made up of compressed grass coated with kerosene. You know, things like that.

Some people may not even need an entire wall. Maybe they only need a Wit Stamp or a Wit Copy Machine Paper. I don't know. I think I will need an entire wall.

Einstein probably needed a house....with lots of walls.

Wit Wall!!! (my battle cry for today).

T:)