Letters For Lucas

Wonders, Mishaps, Blunders and Joy.. commentary on my life as a mom in the form of letters to my son

For The Love Of All Things Pinned

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Pinterest is all the rage. If you still don’t know what Pinterest is, good. Stay away for your own sake. There’s an app, people so you can pin anywhere, anytime and it’s as addicting as crack. I am not exaggerating. Not that I’ve ever tried crack.

It has become one of my favorite ways to waste precious time pastimes.

I have gobs of fun finding new things to pin, repinning others, attempting to make, bake, cook or create things I’ve pinned and of course poking fun at the whole damn pin thing.

With 41 boards, almost 3500 pins and over 500 Pinterest followers, I pin a lot!

I pin stuff I like to look at, products I want to check out, words and photographs that inspire, comfort or make me giggle, ideas for arts and crafts and other activities to do with Lucas, clothing I wish was in my closet, places I hope to see someday, celebrity crushes (both male and female) and an ever growing wish list. The Internet is your oyster!

These are my five recent pins as of Wednesday, February 1, 4:27 PM. NO JUDGING!
I have no idea how to credit this pin… I found it on my friend Rachel’s board, Wine Humor, repinned it to my board, Cheers and followed it back six pinners deep and still found no original link.

Who knows how many times it has been pinned? I’m guessing a lot because it’s hilarious. My point is, this is a big no-no in pinning! Always give proper credit to pins is the #1 rule of pinning!

Rule #2 Never pin when you’re hungry. It’s just stupid. I am SO making these!

OMG, YUM! Click photo for source.

Rule #3 Just because you haven’t been out of the country in years, doesn’t mean you won’t again someday. A girl can always dream. Can’t she? And make sure her Passport is valid.

Shangri-La Vilingili Resort, Maldives. Click on photo for source.

Rule #4 A Wish List is just that! It doesn’t mean you’re going to rush out and buy whatever you’ve pinned, but one of your many kind followers could. Just sayin’!

I heart DMB and must have these! Click on photo for source.

Rule #5 It’s my time to waste. As long as there’s a carton of milk in the fridge, the laundry is done, everyone else in the house is asleep and I have absolutely nothing better to do. So there.

The Ryan Gosling "Hey Girl" series cracks me up! Click photo for source.

This post was written for Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop Prompt 2.) Are you on Pinterest? Share the last five items you pinned, choose one and let it inspire a blog post.

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An Inherited Love

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Home: the place where my husband and son are.

Both people bring so much comfort and joy to my life, but I am truly at my happiest in one of two other places; walking along the beach with the warm sun kissing my face, watching seagulls fly overhead, getting lost in my thoughts while at the same time completely clearing my mind. The salt air does wonders for my soul and the sound of the waves calm me.

My third favorite place to be, the place I find the most relaxing is a bookstore.

I miss the independent shops and the knowledgeable sales staff, the ones that actually read and can recommend something you’ve never heard of and fall completely in love with after the first chapter.

Books are magical; the way they feel and smell and line up against one another on shelves. I appreciate their ability to take our hand and transport us to another place and time.

Being in a bookstore is peaceful and I have spent hours walking up and down the aisles searching for inspiration, discovering it, exploring new topics, taking in the faint scent of print and coffee and relishing the quiet.

My love of bookstores, I inherited from my father. Sometimes he’d walk out of a one having spent hundreds of dollars and others, not one cent. The smile on his face was detectable either way.

Image courtesy of Pinterest. Click photo for source information.


This post was written for Write on Edge’s writing meme, RemembeRED. This week’s prompt: write about a (real) place that makes you feel peaceful. Where is your quiet place? What does it look like? What happens there? Word limit is 200. Constructive criticism is welcome.

 

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Two Years Old

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Letters For Lucas is two years old today!

I can’t believe I’ve been at this for two years.

There have been two redesigns, 682 posts, 12 guest posts, two blog conferences, many communities joined, countless photos shared, lots of self promoting tweets, tons of supportive retweets and some of the greatest friends made.

Over the past two years, I’m proud of how my voice has shone through in my writing and my writing has helped me explore my emotions regarding being a mother, sister, parentless parent and softie at heart.

I love my little space on the Internet. I love my readers and all the connections I have made through blogging, but the real reason I do this, aside from maintaining my sanity, is this precious little boy:

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Lucas is the inspiration for every single post I write and I hope someday he enjoys reading Letters For Lucas as much as I enjoy writing it. I hope my words give him greater insight to all of his mother’s complexities and offer us hours of conversation.Here’s to another two years and beyond!

A very special thank you to Morgan for these lovely photos of Lucas. She captured him to a tee; all of his sweet, mischievous, wonderful, curious, M&M and dirt loving magic. Thank you!

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Lesson Plans

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My son has already taught me so much in his short 26 months on earth; lessons I didn’t even realize I had learned until after the fact, some I desperately needed to learn and many I’m still struggling to embrace. I know my teacher has only just begun and there is much more wisdom to be gained, but in 26 months, here’s what I’ve learned so far:  

  1. Play, dance, sing, run, eat – essentially, do everything with abandon! 
  2. Find pleasure in the small things. There is wonder all around us, whether it’s an ant moving along the sidewalk, a water fountain, an orange tree, a song I’ve heard a hundred times or literally stopping to smell the roses. 
  3. Playtime and imagination are necessary for survival. Laundry, dishes and errands can wait, being silly cannot.
  4. Love. As boundless as I think my love for Lucas is, it grows each and every day surprising and touching me in ways I never thought possible.
  5. Roll with the punches, go with the flow and realize that plans change. Toddler time is different that real time and that’s okay. I’m learning to plan accordingly.
  6. Laugh more. Some words and sounds (typically of the bodily function variety) are funny.
  7. Patience is most definitely a virtue. This is one of those teachings I struggle with. Daily!
  8. Connection is key. Sitting down and communicating with others helps to see things from a different perspective and lets you know they care.
  9. Time flies when you’re having fun. Toddlers are only toddlers for a short period of time and every single moment should be appreciated.
  10. Every now and then, a time-out is in order. Breaks are good. Counting to 10, breathing deeply and full bodied Cabernets aren’t bad either!

What is your child teaching you?

 This post was written for Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop,
Prompt 4.) 10 Lessons your child could teach you.

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BlogHer ’11: My Recap

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It wasn’t about the swag, the parties, the sessions, or even the networking.

Even though the swag was nice, the parties a lot of fun (especially Dance Party USA at Sparklecorn), the sessions I attended (Essential Writing and Editing Skills, Essential Blog Content Development Workshop, How to Pitch Freelance Editorial Work and Malcolm Gladwell is Missing the Point: Revolutions are Happening Online) extremely informative and the networking a great step towards furthering my freelance writing career, for me, BlogHer ’11 was more about finally meeting so many amazing women that I have been getting to know on the Internet through their blogs and on Twitter for months.

It was about the connections I have built online with women I had already considered friends, but wanted to hug in person and tell how much they mean to me. It was about surrounding myself with like-minded mothers, seeking their advice, sharing a laugh and a glass or two of wine and maybe even shedding a tear as they worked through an emotional moment. 

I did all of the above and in turn, BlogHer ’11 met and exceeded my expectations.

Thumbing through the stack of business/blog cards I collected from everyone I encountered makes me smile. Many of these women I already classified as members of my tribe and a few I had been fortunate enough to meet once or twice before, or talked to on the phone. Being able to spend an entire weekend with them was pure magic. There are also lots of new names in the stack and I’m looking forward to getting to know them and their writing soon.

I met most of the women on my “must meet at BlogHer ’11” list, but didn’t get to spend nearly as much time as I would have liked with anyone.  

The weekend moved much too fast and in a lot of ways felt like being back in school, shuffling from one event to the next, saving seats, checking in, wardrobe changes and cute shoes, gossip and laughs. It will surely be a weekend that I won’t soon forget and I’m already missing Natalie, Nichole, Katie, Sherri, Gigi, Morgan, Lori, Poppy, Robin, Yuliya, Galit, Cheryl, Tracy, Jessica … this list could go on and on and on.

All I can say is, thank God for Twitter!

Feeling more inspired and focused about my writing and my little corner of the Internet than ever, I am planning to attend BlogHer ’12 in New York!

I took copious notes during the sessions I sat in and will be sharing a few tips over the coming weeks (although I believe the bulk of the information covered will be available on the BlogHer Web site), but if you’d like to know more about my BlogHer experience or have a specific question, please ask.

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Pinterest

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First it was MySpace, then Facebook, followed by Twitter and now, my new latest obsession is ~ drum roll, please…. Pinterest.

What is Pinterest you ask?

Think of Pinterest as a virtual pinboard — a place where you can create collections of things you love and “follow” collections created by people with great taste.

People use Pinterest to collect and share all sorts of things — wedding inspiration, favorite T-shirts, DJ equipment. You name it, people are pinning it.

We know you have great taste in something. Our mission is to make Pinterest the best place for you to share your taste with the world.

Over the last week I have spent HOURS on this site pinning favorites faces, places, products, pretty things, quotes, gift ideas, and items on my lust after list.


Things like:

Anything goes and the best part is that every image links back to original source/site for more information.

What an awesome idea and a HUGE wonderful waste of time. If you pin, come find me!

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Self Help You’ll Never Find In A Book

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Two heads are better than one. – John Heywood

Every two weeks for several months now, I have been meeting with a small group of women that I have grown to respect, admire, come to rely on and find incredibly helpful in achieving my personal goals.

Ironically, we all have marketing backgrounds, but not one of us work a 40+ hour week desk job anymore. We are in various stages of career transition, trying to get our own businesses off the ground or are stay-at-home-moms (yours truly) with a hobby that has become a passion.

Our group is small and we may not have a catchy name, mascot or matching T-shirts…yet, but what we do have is invaluable.

We all possess obtainable entrepreneurial goals for ourselves and support one another by holding each other accountable for various action items that will help us reach these goals.

We encourage one another to keep our vision(s) in mind as we brainstorm, collaborate, share past experiences and current contacts.

It was through this group that I finally accepted that I am a writer and not just a “mommy blogger” and that I would like to find a freelance writing position.

Just three weeks ago, I started working with the owners of a local hair salon to help build their brand, Website and blog. This is the first of many clients, I hope!

Women rule and I am very thankful to be a part of this group.

Do you belong to a similar group or organization? If so, how has it helped you?

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Maximum Love

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Yesterday I had the distinct pleasure of listening to the Dalai Lama speak about compassion and positive thinking.

The Buddhist leader, wearing his traditional red and orange robes and a UC Irvine Anteaters visor cracked himself up more than once as he shared his message of peace and understanding. He explained that the problem we face with unhappiness is of our own creation, fed by too much stress, worry and frustration. He said we need a calm mind to see reality clearly.

According to the Dalai Lama, the goal of education should be to “develop sensible, compassionate leaders who are realistic and warmhearted.” He also stressed the importance of respect for all religions – and nonbelievers as well – which elicited cheers from the crowd of almost 5000 people.

When asked by a UC Irvine student how to obtain world peace, he fondly recalled his own mother being very kindhearted and said that “family has the real responsibility for making the world a better place and that we should make our homes a warm atmosphere, pay attention and provide maximum love, affection and compassion to our children”. I love this, believe it wholeheartedly and I’m going to put it on my refrigerator.

What a delightful afternoon.

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Goodwill Among Moms

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It was either Facebook or Twitter where I first learned about The Mom Pledge. Either way, I am all about it and I hope you will be too.


Being a mom is the hardest job I have ever had and I need all the support I can get and I don’t care where it comes from, as long as it’s honest. Let’s whine, complain, cry on each other’s shoulders, offer advice and then tell one another to put on our big girl pants and get over it.

For the most part I have had nothing but positive interactions, made meaningful connections with other moms and truly value the relationships I’m building through Letters For Lucas and other social media outlets.

I have been the victim of negative anonymous comments on my blog and it was very disheartening.

It’s easy to let our words get the best of us, but life is too short to try and keep up with the Joneses, put each other down or hide behind our computer screens.

The Mom Pledge is about bloggers standing up, speaking out, and coming together to eradicate online bullying of moms by other moms. The time has come for us to take the power back and own this issue.

The Mom Pledge

I am a proud Mommy Blogger. I will conduct myself with integrity in all my blogging activities. I can lead by example.

I pledge to treat my fellow moms with respect. I will acknowledge that there is no one, “right” way to be a good Mom. Each woman makes the choices best for her family.

I believe a healthy dialogue on important issues is a good thing. I will welcome differing opinions when offered in a respectful, non-judgmental manner. And will treat those who do so in kind.

I stand up against online bullying. My blog is my space. I will not tolerate comments that are rude, condescending or disrespectful.

I refuse to give those who attack a platform. I will remove their remarks from my blog with no mention or response. I can take control.

I want to see moms work together to build one another up, not tear each other down. Words can be used as weapons. I will not engage in that behavior.

I affirm that we are a community. As a member, I will strive to foster goodwill among moms. Together, we can make a difference.

I have committed to the principles of The Mom Pledge because I believe that it is important to be supportive and respectful to each other. If you do too, please visit: http://www.efloraross.com/

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