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February 27, 2017

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55 Things to do on a Rainy Day

In case you hadn’t gathered it from the title, this post is all about things to occupy your time on a rainy day. Now, the fact that I, a Wisconsinite, am creating such a list at the end of February is a sure sign that something has gone horribly wrong with winter (aka: it has rained far more than it has snowed this month). Seriously, go back to May, spring, I don’t want you here. So, without further angry mutterings, here are 55 things to do on a rainy day.

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Note: This post is set in the romantic world where none of us have jobs or school, so it’s pretty swanky.

Light some candles (with matches).
Sleep in.
Wear sweat pants.
Drink hot chocolate (with whipped cream).
Walk around the house with a blanket draped over your shoulders like it’s a cloak.
Listen to nostalgic music.
Paint.
Wish that it was snowing and not raining.
Open a window and listen to the sound of the rain, and I mean really listen to it. The softness in a gentle drizzle and the cacophony of a downpour.
Read aloud (to yourself or to a family member… or the goldfish).
Snuggle with a pet (not the goldfish).
Make a mind map.
Make a new collection in your bullet journal.
Write in your journal.
Stand (or dance) in the rain without an umbrella and enjoy getting wet and cold and being alive.
Read a book in one sitting.
Read another book.
Write a letter.
Watch a documentary.
Take a bath.
Walk through the wet grass barefoot (you can take a classy umbrella this time and enjoy hearing the raindrops hit the canvas).
Rearrange your bookshelves.
Write a flash fiction.
Call a friend—not text or email. Call. With a phone. And talk. Over the phone.
Think weighty thoughts (very concise, this activity).
Go through old family pictures
Watch family videos.
Clean something (so that you feel productive).
Take a nap (because who really wants to be productive on a rainy day?).
Try your hand at blackout poetry.
Sneak around the house like you’re a secret agent (be sure to use hand signals and bird calls).
Watch a movie that will make you cry (because crying = good somehow).
Pull on the workout shorts, lace up the shoes, and do something that makes you sweat (I was going to do say something that’ll make you sore later, but I thought that might not spur many people on to exercise…).
Set out a container to collect some rainwater. You’ll want something with as wide a mouth as possible so that you can collect as much water as possible.
Grab a shoe, some armor, and a flame thrower and go hunt your household spiders.
Make your day a musical and sing while performing random tasks.
Try some stretches.
Go through your closet and take out the clothes you don’t like much anymore.
Put your jammies on at 3 in the afternoon.
Send a surprise care package to someone.
Give your mailperson some coffee and chocolate.
Find out which Meyer-Briggs type you are.
Cross stitch a constellation.
Make a teacup garden.
Or make teacup candles.
String up white Christmas lights in your room.
Go for a drive.
Have your cat knight you and then make a grand speech about it (this one’s a must).
Talk to God, and I mean talk to Him, not at Him. Don’t just ask for things, tell Him why you love Him and why you’re thankful for rainy days and time to think and time to reflect on Him. Ask Him questions and then be quiet and listen for His answers. If you get silence, open your Bible and see if He answers you there.
Eat peanut butter by the spoonful.
Reorganize your room (and maybe even declutter a little *gasp*).
Learn how to play a new song.
Do a puzzle.
Dress to the nines and go to WalMart.
Bake something mouthwatering.

And that’s all I got for today, kids.

What do you like to do on a rainy day? Will you take any of my (clearly fantastic) ideas? Do you like rain, or would you prefer snow?

~ Rosalie out <3

P.S. – today is my dad’s birthday! So, a shout out to him because he reads every single one of my blog posts to the bitter end and is a huge encouragement to me. :)

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February 20, 2017

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Ready: a Sunday story

Typically, I wake like a dragon, slowly and with much groaning and growling and stretching. I mumble hate at my alarm clock; it offends my existence. At some point, I emerge from my pile of blankets and bliss, almost able to form a coherent sentence (but most likely not quite).

Oh, and look. I’m already running late.

So I’m off to the shower, grouchy if one of my parents has beaten me to our one bathroom (they usually do since they both wake like birds—early, quickly, and far too cheerfully). So then it’s back to my room to dig through the closet to pick out my clothes.

Wore that shirt last week.

I don’t even like that skirt.

Would it be bad to wear all black?

I wonder if I could wear a scarf with that.

These clothes are my favorite clothes. Bright colors. Ruffles. Flowy skirts. Boots and heels. Oh, and some even sparkle.

And I’m getting later by the second. I rip things off their hangers and out of their drawers before practically falling downstairs. It’s a quick shower, filled with mutterings, mental lists of all the things I have to do, and loud singing at random intervals. I only drop the soap on my toes twice before I’m out and wrapping my hair in a thick towel.

Fifteen minutes and counting before I’m supposed to be out the door. Two minutes for throwing some clothes on; five for some quick makeup; nine for looking for my black flats (I’ll probably end up in the nude heels again at this rate); three for dragging a brush through my wet tangles.

And there it is. I’m late. Again. As always.

So then I’m tripping out the door, remembering the notebook, pens, and Bible but probably forgetting something else. Hopefully, my earrings match, but let’s be real here, they probably don’t. My stomach and I grumble because we really wanted that marshmallow cereal for breakfast.

It’s a hasty drive and crooked parking job, but I don’t have time to fix it. Tumble out of the car. Hustle across the parking lot. Straighten skirt. My heels click scuff click on the blacktop as I scurry to the nearest entrance. When I finally plop down at a table, I finally slow down a little;, it’s a good class. I take notes and try to answer questions, relishing the learning, enjoying the existence of my classmates and my teacher, this group of us who come together every week at 9:00 am. The class lets out ten minutes to 10:00 am, and my fellow students and I scatter, each ticking off all we have to do and all the people we need to talk to before the next hour begins.

It isn’t until I’m sliding into a pew with my parents and sister while we’re told to turn to Hymn #11 that I pause. I’ve known what this day is all about since before I woke. I’ve known what Sunday is about for as long as I can remember. Yet, we haven’t spoken at all today. Well, He might have said a few things, but I was too distracted to hear. And there’s this sudden sense that despite my favorite clothes and hymnal in hand, I am not ready to be in this place of worship. The tang of the organ and the smooth voice of my pastor fall into the background as I sigh.

Somehow, somewhere along the line, I’ve bought into the idea that getting ready for church is only about putting on nice clothes, bringing my Bible, and being on time. In all my angst, I never put thought into what I was doing to ready my soul.

This is the story of most of my Sundays.

The realization hits me at different times. Sometimes it’s as early as the shower. Sometimes it’s in Sunday school. Sometimes it’s during announcements while I’m flipping through my bulletin. It’s always the same, somewhat sinking, sense of regret and distance, and I don’t want it anymore. I don’t want to prepare for a social engagement; I want to get ready to worship.

So that’s all I got today, kids.

I hope you wonderful peeps don’t mind this post; it’s just been on my mind a lot for the last few months, and so I thought I’d share it. What about you? What does your Sunday morning look like? Church? No church? Nice clothes or sweatpants?

With love,

Rosalie

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January 9, 2017

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About Me

I just realized that you wonderful people know almost next to nothing about me except that I love my run-on sentences and peanut butter (wait, did you guys even know that I love peanut butter?).

Hence, this page.

It’s an about me page for those of you who don’t know me (then there are those of you who do know me and read my blog. People who know me from, say, my church, catch me off-guard whenever they something remotely related to my blog; it’s like I don’t think they should know it exists or something. EXAMPLE—Me: “…and I’m also doing some rewrites in one of my novels.” Friend: “You mean Beasts?” Me: “What. How do you know that name?” Friend: “You mentioned it on your blog.” Me:

translation: strong, startled, and perhaps even disturbed reaction

cough cough Anyhoo. Now that I have that overly long intro to this post out of the way, let’s get this show on the road.

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Let’s see, where to start (prepare for some random facts).

I’m the youngest of four (I have an older sister and two older brothers). I graduated from high school last May and am currently taking a gap year to write, save up some money, and figure out how I’m going to spend the rest of my life.

I reside in the wilds of Wisconsin where I spend my days obsessing over this blog (obviously), singing loudly, hanging out with my older sister (also known as the age old, younger sibling duty called “pestering”), listening to NeedtoBreathe, nannying two adorable kids, reading not nearly as many books as I would like, lighting matches, dreaming of novels I haven’t written yet, and chilling with my wonderful parentals (that’s kid lingo for parents in case you didn’t know).

I’m an INFP (introverted, intuitive, feeling, perceiving; go to this website if you don’t know your MBTI). I’m also a Hufflepuff (which basically means I’m a loyal marshmallow. Though, full disclosure, I have yet to read the Harry Potter series; it’s on the list for this year.).

My favorite books of the Bible are Romans and Psalms.

I picked up bullet journaling recently (translation: last week), and I’m loving it. I’m a chaotic person. Procrastination is my middle name, and I find myself saying “I forgot” too many times a day. Theoretically, bullet journaling will help with all that jazz.

I play piano and ukulele. For better or worse (probably worse), I also enjoy singing. Very loudly. At random intervals. Sometimes on key and sometimes not.

We have three dogs: Levi the golden retriever, Indie the German shepherd, and Bear the German shepherd (aka: Wolfdog). We’ve had Levi and Indie since they were puppies, but we got Bear a little over a year ago when he was three. Bear is bipolar, and Levi struggles with depression and anxiety (you think I’m kidding; I’m not). Indie’s the only normal one in the bunch.

Levi is beyond cute.

And Indie is also wildly adorable.

And then there’s Bear who often looks like he needs to be squeezed.

I also have a barn cat named Graham (aka: the Grahamling or My Precious). He’s adorable and amazing and he knows it (ugh, he can be such a cat sometimes). If I could have my way, he would come live with me inside, but my dad is very allergic to My Precious. So he stays in our barn with the goats, chickens, and turkeys (the Grahamling, not my dad).

Behold, the Grahamling; he can be such a sassy baby.

Fire is my friend. I have quite the stash of matches squirrelled away in my study. I also have an impressive store of candles (tapers and votives as well as a few pillars). I like starting fires (not like arson, peeps; I’m not that crazy. I like to start fires in fireplaces… or the backyard).

Peanut butter is the glue that holds my life together. That and Subway. I’ll probably meet my husband at Subway.

I love winter and (strongly) dislike summer. I’m a hot chocolate or tea person rather than coffee, usually.

Three things that I abhor are: sloths, small talk, and insincerity.

Three things that make me happy are: handwritten notes, peanut butter, and morning light.

Well, peeps, that’s about all the almost relevant info about me that I can think of. What about you? What’s your life like? Do you have siblings? What are three things that you abhor? What are three things that make you happy?

P.S. – Does anybody else find it a little funny that I have pics of all the pets but none of my family? It shows where my #priorities are, I guess. ;)

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October 31, 2016

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The Giant No November Post 2016

November is my big “get stuff done” month (supposedly) which means I have to cut other stuff out to get that stuff done. Or I’m just cutting it because I feel like it/it needs to happen/it will make me feel more productive ~~but it really won’t~~.

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No NaNo November.

Yes. Another year of not doing the famous Nation Novel Writing Month. I’ll be in Nepal for the first ten days of the month, and I’m not in the mood to edit more NaNo words in the near future (aka: I don’t want to edit another first draft because my rough drafts tend to be plotless).

No Makeup November.

I don’t wear a ton of makeup—some concealer around the ol’ eyes, eyeshadow (sometimes), eyeliner, and mascara. Okay, true, I can go a little crazy with the eyeshadow and do all sorts of colors (purple, peeps, I can’t help it that I’m addicted to purple eyeshadow), and I like to use dark eyeshadow colors as eyeliner. And, yes, sometimes I end up looking like a raccoon on bad days, but I find makeup to be a fun thing (usually). Anyway, I usually try to take a month off from makeup every year just to remind myself to be confident without it. This year, that month is November. So bye-bye, my beloved purple eyeshadow.

No Dessert/Candy/Sweets November.

This includes that cookie dough I have stashed in the freezer. And ice cream and pie. And Grandma’s wonderful Thanksgiving apple slices. And chocolate and peanut butter cups. And frappes. And hot chocolate. Oh, it hurts. Yeah, it’s going to be rough. I thought about adding peanut butter and egg nog to the list, but the very thought made me go into withdrawal. This is a (painful) exercise in self-discipline ~~can I go cry somewhere now?~~.

No Subway November.

When it rains, it truly pours. That’s right. I’m spending all of November without my beloved Subway. I may or may not eat a tuna sub on Italian herbs and cheese from Subway at least once a week. I may or may not have had Subway three days in a row three times in October. I have a rewards card and everything. Let’s not go into how many free footlongs I’ve earned over the last year and half since I got my rewards card. Well, no Subway in November. Guys, November hurts.

No Penprints November.

Say what?

Yeah… November is my blogging break for 2016. Well, it’s my official break. We all know I’m prone to unexpected and completely random silences (like the first two weeks of this month). I know this is a painful announcement for all of us, but I have to believe that we can make it through November without Penprints every Monday (somehow, we’ll push on).

I’m taking the Penprints break because I want some time off from the blog without feeling guilty (yes, I actually feel guilty if I leave you guys hanging for weeks on end without notice), and I’m trying to focus on finishing Draft 3 of Beasts before the middle of December.

You can keep up with my ~~napping~~ adventures by following me on Twitter or liking my Facebook page (and there’s always #bookstagram).

I’ll be back the first week in December with some advent posts (I’m super jazzed about those), and they’ll be on Sundays instead of Mondays just for December because it’s advent. And that’s all for today, kids.

Are you giving up anything in November? What?

Are you doing NaNoWriMo?

Do you have any end of year goals?

P.S. – by the time you read this, I’ll be in India.

P.P.S. – I know I said this was a “giant” post, but it’s really not… less than 600 words. Yes, a Penprints post under 600 words. Shocking.

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September 19, 2016

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The Wisteria Writer’s Tag: Penprints Edition

There are a lot of writer tags running around the internet these days, and the one I’ve been seeing the most of is the Wisteria Writer’s Tag. Today I’m participating in it because the darling Alea from Elvish Pens, Fantastical Writings tagged me last week. You should go check out her blog (talk about swanky photoshop skills over there, plus Alea’s just amazing).

Here’s how this tag works: thank the person who tagged you, answer their ten writing questions, add your own set of ten questions, and tag some more people.

So here we go (hold onto your hats, ladies and gents, because Alea came up with some pretty swanky questions, and I came up with some significantly less swanky answers).

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1. If you could be the author of any published book, which one would you pick and why?

Hmmm. This one is tough. Part of me jumps immediately to A Time to Die by Nadine Brandes (surprise, surprise), but part of me wants to say Starflower by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. And yet another part of me goes then non-fiction route and says Embracing Obscurity by Anonymous. I say one of those three because I wish that I had my spiritual ducks in a row enough to write any of them.

2. Do you ever daydream about your book at school/work?

The better question is when don’t I daydream about my stories at work. One of my jobs is at an antique shop, and that place seems to be the perfect place for my muse to come out and chat. I wrote almost all of Flickering Lights in my head while I was at work. If it’s a fresh idea, I’m definitely dreaming about it in my head.

3. When do you write best?

At night. Once everyone else has gone to sleep. The house is silent and dark. I strike a match, light my favorite taper candle, and get to work. I think this works best for me because there are no interruptions or distractions; it’s just me, God, and my writing.

4. What are your favorite writing snacks?

Dove chocolate, sparkling grape juice, cream soda, gummy bears, and apple juice all feed my muse (I know, I know, the healthiness is overwhelming). Apparently (and unfortunately), my muse seems to detest healthy snacks. (For non-writer peeps, a muse is a thing we writers like to think we have, but it’s all in our heads… like our books.)

5. Is writing easier after reading something?

Excellent question! Not really. Usually, after I’ve read a book, my head is full of that story, and it’s hard to focus on my own. However, if it’s a book on writing craft, like Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, then I am eager to jump into my writing right away.

6. What does your dream book cover look like?

Covers. Oh. I honestly haven’t been able to dream up a suitable cover for my WIP (that’s a work-in-progress, my non-writer lovelies), but I’m thinking possibly red on black. Possibly some claw marks somewhere? Or a black rose? Or both? Beasts (my WIP) is the darkest thing I’ve ever written (sorry, Mom), and so I don’t think the cover would be all that cheery, but for the life of me I can’t figure out what would fit the story. Ugh, and now I really want to come up with a brilliant cover that will knock off a bunch of socks.

7. Does your writing style resemble that of your favorite authors?

Probably not. I want it to, but I’m not there (yet?). I think I have a slightly sardonic tone akin to Robin McKinley (maybe, MAYBE). I try for the richness in Anne Elisabeth Stengl’s writing but that’s a major emphasis on the try. I want to be able to pack a spiritual punch like Nadine Brandes, but alas, still working on that too. My writing style is mainly weird, and so I’m going to have to stick with my first answer that it probably doesn’t resemble that of my favorite authors.

8 . Coffee or tea as writing fuel?

Tea and hot chocolate all the way (what is that you say? Hot chocolate wasn’t an option? To which I say: whatever). I’ve tried to like coffee so hard so many times, I just…. can’t. I want to like it, but… no. It’s like coffee is an affront to my nature (shhhh, let’s keep that between you and me because some people are coffee crazies and would tar and feather me for calling coffee an affront). So I take a mug of green tea with two tablespoons of French vanilla creamer because I’m a sugar junkie in case you hadn’t noticed.

9. NaNoWriMo or Camp NaNoWriMo.

I don’t have a preference. Possibly neither. *gasp* *gasp* *gasp* (My dear non-writer peeps, it’s against some ancient unwritten law for a writer to even possibly dislike a form of NaNo.) Here’s the dealio: I participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) way back in 2014, and I won (50,000 words in 30 days, whoop whoop!)! And then I participated in Camp NaNoWriMo in both April and July of this year and failed miserably (less than 20,000 words in 30 days, less whoop whoop…). It was rough. I’m trying to figure out if either NaNoWriMo works for me or not… so, yeah… I’m just going to let this sentence trail off some more…

10. Share your favorite sentence from your WIP.

I can’t do just one, but I’ll settle for two. I’m doing my favorite descriptive sentence and my favorite sentence regarding a character.

A descriptive line: The sun drives away the clouds of the night, sparkling through thousands of tiny droplets of water, millions of tiny prisms shifting with the morning light as it overtakes the horizon. – Beasts

A character line: If purple was a creature, Faye would be it. – Beasts

And that is the Wisteria Writer’s Tag: Penprints Edition.

Thank you so much for tagging me, Alea!

Now, I tag…

J. L. Mbewe.

Brittany on New Authors Fellowship.

Gabriela over at A Heart Redeemed.

Victoria from Wanderer’s Pen.

Katie at A Writer’s Faith.

Here are your questions:

1. What was/is the inspiration for your current WIP?

2. What does your writing process look like? Plotter? Panster? A little bit of both?

3. What is one thing you do well in writing? Description? Characters? Dialogue?

4. What is one thing you struggle to do well in writing?

5. How much does your relationship with Christ impact your writing (if at all)?

6. What inspires you to keep writing and write better?

7. Do you get lots of ideas or just one every now and then?

8. What is your go-to book on writing craft and why?

9. What stage are you at in your WIP?

10. What do you think makes a book good/worth reading?

I’m officially dropping a bookend on this post, my dears!

Have you heard of the Wisteria Writer’s Tag? What are your thoughts on NaNo vs. Camp NaNo? Do you snack and write (are they sugary snacks, because if they are, we’re basically twins)?

P.S. – let’s not even begin to go into how many parenthetical phrases I used in this post.

Penprints

God. Life. Stories.

Category Archives: Uh, This is Random