ADD, Of Mice and Men, and Mrs. X

Filed Under: ADD, Mrs. X can suck it, STAY

In high school, my English teacher accused me of cheating on a test on Of Mice and Men. Obviously, my memories of this are tainted by emotion, but the gist of her accusation was that she didn't think I was smart enough to get all the answers right on the test by myself. I was a horrible student, but I wasn't a cheater. I read voraciously, but I read the books I chose, not the books that were assigned in school. I skimmed Frankenstein, but stayed up past bedtime with a flashlight to read Phantom of the Opera. I didn't make it past the second chapter of A Separate Piece, but I wore out the … [Read more...]

I think the hubs and I need to have a talk

Filed Under: sleep talking

The other night, J fell asleep while we were watching TV in bed. His glasses were still on. I tried to take them off without waking him, but they got stuck on his ear. He grabbed my wrist, opened his eyes and shouted "No!" as if someone was attacking him."It's just me," I said.He looked at me and laughed, but he had that far away, 'I'm still sleeping' look in his eyes. "Oh, thank god," he said. "I thought it was a human!" … [Read more...]

Random thoughts about music

Filed Under: lists, music

1. How did the Bee Gees decide to sing in falsetto? What would possess them to take it to that register? And who told them it was good? I heard You Should Be Dancing (Yeah!) in Staples the other day, and suddenly thought of the Bee Gees as three young guys in a basement somewhere working on their first song. It just wasn't working, until one of them starting singing in a whiny falsetto as a joke, and the other guys were like, "Yeah, dude, do that!" I hope that's how it happened. Or maybe there was helium involved. 2. Have you ever noticed how many lyrics to songs aren't romantic when you … [Read more...]

I totally want to produce a 10 Minute Booty Blast-Off Cardio Atomic Kickboxing Yoga-lates video

Filed Under: working out

I am so over winter. I'm bored. I have cabin fever. I want to go kayaking. I want to go trail running. I want to sleep in a tent. I want to ride my bike. And I'd like to skip the upcoming mud season to get there, thank you very much.As much as I usually like running and I like the treadmill and I like working out, this week I have been fighting some kind of internal treadmill rebellion. The very idea of running - of hurling myself forward - is exhausting, and I don't want to do it. And lately, the rowing machine just feels like a pathetic approximation.So, instead running or fake … [Read more...]

Don’t Look Back . . .

Filed Under: life

I don't know if it's a personality quirk, a survival mechanism, or a symptom of the fact that I spend so much time living in my head, but wherever I go, there I am and I just accept the parameters of it. I'm insensitive to being uncomfortable. Sometimes, J comes home from work and complains that the house is freezing, and I suddenly realize I can barely feel my fingers and my teeth are actually chattering, but it hasn't occurred to me to turn up the heat or put on an extra sweater. When I'm sick, I have a hard time recognizing that I'm sick - I'll carry on like everything is fine until I … [Read more...]

I Suck At Sleeping

Filed Under: Argo the wonder dog, sleeptalking, the cat

I've never been a good sleeper. It is not one of my special talents. Dog snoring and husband sleep talking (and once sleep truck driving) doesn't help that much either. A few months ago, in the middle of the night, J nudged me awake, laughed and said, "That's so typical of night," in his sleep talking voice. "You're sleeping!" I said, hoping to fall asleep again before I shifted into wide awake. "But it's so typical of night," he said. "No, it's not!" I said. "Go back to sleep!" "It's not? It's not typical of night?" He was annoyed. "It's NOT typical of night?" "Fine," I … [Read more...]

Things that make me happy

Filed Under: Argo the wonder dog, dogs, German Shepherds, the cat, This is what you get when I can't come up with a real post.

I think I've got a little case of the winters. We had a little thaw out time and I jogged outside with the dogs and got to leave the house without six layers of clothing and it was awesome. Then it got crazy cold and we got more snow. That little reminder of what life is like in other seasons made it all the harder to go back to winter. So, instead of bumming you out with a long list of little nitpicky things that have been getting on my sunlight-deprived nerves, I'm going to give you a list of things that have been making me smile. My dogs having a blast playing together in the back … [Read more...]

Writing Exercises

Filed Under: writing

I've been getting a lot of questions about what writing exercises I do and how I do them, so I figured I'd post my current favorite writing prompt: Take a song lyric, use it as your first line, and free-write for three minutes. Pick a short phrase – ex. “Come on, baby” instead of “Come on, baby, light my fire,” so it will be easier to allow yourself the freedom to go in a different direction from the actual song lyrics. If you decide you like the ideas you've come up with, make sure to take out the song lyric in the next round of edits. My personal preference is to write in … [Read more...]

New Website!

Filed Under: STAY

Hey, check out the new website for STAY at AllieLarkinWrites.com! This blog is linked in, and I'll continue to update from here. … [Read more...]