As we were riding around Dallas, TX trying to find some good places to shop for vintage clothing, my husband and I passed a high school with some remarkable artwork on its walls. I didn’t even write down the name of the school, or on what street it was located. All I know is that the students painted this artwork of different faces. Now isn’t this a lot better than graffiti? I imagine that the kids were so delighted to be able to share their artwork that they now have no desire to junk up the walls with spray paint.

I wonder if these were self portraits? The artwork was very large, so I’m betting that they had fun splashing paint on such huge canvases. Wish I could remember where it was!

You may not enjoy modern art. That’s alright. The beauty of the exercise I am going to ask you to do, is that you don’t have to like it to see the good in it. This is a wonderful exercise to train our eyes to look for the good in the world around us. We have to be trained, you see, because we get accustomed to seeing the negative side of life.

Forget negative thoughts for just one moment, and tell me Only The Good. THEN, I want you to take this exercise one step further!

I’m betting that in your life right now you have something that is bothering you and making you irritable. If you don’t, congratulations (but are you human?). Perhaps you grouse that your spouse leaves underwear in the middle of the bathroom floor. Maybe you have a teenager who is driving you up the wall. Have you got a project that bumfuzzles you? Or, a co-worker who makes you gnash your teeth and want to rant?

Stop and think about that “irritant” for just one moment. Try to think of one thing that is good about it. Just one thing. If you can see one good thing, perhaps it will help you deal with the situation. You can comment about that if you would like, or go write a blog post about it. Then, breathe in, breathe out, and move on.

If you’d like, you can visit some other sites that participate in this exercise at Soliloquy, Inside Mo’s Mind, Life in Westcliffe, Lives Less Ordinary, and Miscellaneous Matters.

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Are you looking for a topic as a prompt for a post? Inspiration Bit has another Group Writing Project going on right now. She asks the question:

* Are you juggling a busy family life and career?
* Are you working full time and still manage to blog?
* Do you have your hands full with multiple projects but succeed in keeping all of them under a reasonable control?
* Can you still find time for your favourite hobby despite the loads of work and tons of daily responsibilities?

If so, write a post to tell us your time management tips. The deadline is Wednesday, September 26th, 2007—that’s tomorrow (sorry for the late notification!). I’ve been trying to claw my way out of a hole I had dug for myself, and remembering all the organizational tips that worked for me a long time ago. I hope to get my post in just under the wire. I participated in her last group writing project, and got a lot “hits” from it.

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The Parent Bloggers Network is having a writing contest, with the prize of a portable dvd player up for grabs in a random drawing. This was in the e-mail they sent me:

How to participate?
1) On Friday, September 28, before midnight PST, write a post about your family vacations - past, present, or future. Title it creatively and descriptively.
2) In the text of your post, link to PBN (http://blog.parentbloggers.com) and PickPackGo (http://www.pickpackgo.com/family).
3) Send us the link to your post (email to parentbloggers@gmail.com).

We’ll round up all the posts on PBN and draw one winner at random (http://www.random.org is the website we use) who’ll get an 8″ Sony portable DVD player that you can use whether you travel by plane, train, or automobile.

Are you feeling lucky?

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Any of y’all who enjoyed the Dear Abby Writing Contest should stay on the alert. I will open it for postings on October 23rd, but you will only have 48 hours to make your entry. I’m looking forward to some more good laughs from you, and “Abby” is honing her advice skills.

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Y’all go out and have a good day. I’ll see you on “the porch” another day.

Technorati Tags: Only The Good, Group Writing Project, writing contest, Dear Abby Writing Contest

When I saw this dog on the back of the truck at a gas station in Oklahoma, my first thought was, “Danger!” The dog could fall off the truck, harming himself or causing a wreck.

But, this is a farm dog; and an obviously happy farm dog, as evidenced by the twinkle in his eye (which wasn’t captured in the photograph). He has learned how to balance on the back of that truck.

I don’t want you to think about the fact that the dog shouldn’t be riding there. Just look at the picture, and tell me the good that you see in the picture. Tell me Only The Good. It’s an exercise to help you train yourself to view the world with a positive eye. You can do it.

Tell me what you see. Then, you can visit some other sites that participate in this exercise at Soliloquy, Inside Mo’s Mind, Life in Westcliffe, Lives Less Ordinary, and Miscellaneous Matters.

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Once again, I’ll try these Unconscious Mutterings in the hope of bringing forth repressed feelings, etc., etc.

1. Dork doofus
2. Refurbished renovated…architects…construction…$$$
3. Basket weave
4. Moussegel
5. Studio 54
6. 8 ball behind the
7. Masking tape painting
8. Love chocolate…no, I mean husband
9. Wilder Gene
10. Lindsey Waggoner

This just told me absolutely nothing.

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There are more entries in the Dear Abby Writing Contest. All you have to do is write a humorous letter to Dear Abby in 50 words or less. The rules (and the prizes)are here. Some other entries are here. These came in overnight. The words in bold are “Abby’s” response, and you don’t have to write that. I agonize over it. Y’all go to town with it.

Miscellaneous Matters entered:

Dear Abby,
Eleven years of marriage and three years of being first-time parents, hubby has yet to grasp reality that putting his dirty clothes in a washing machine, adding soap, and turning a knob are reasonable and customary in our current help-thyself-era. Though we may share common interests, I’m no June Cleaver!
Signed
Disobedient wife

Dear Disobedient,
Some men find it difficult to discover that Father Doesn’t Know Best. Leave his laundry until his dirty underwear can stand up and walk by itself. He will either learn to do the laundry or buy new underwear. Be glad you aren’t June Cleaver, dear. Those shoulder pads she wears are ridiculous, and her hairstyle is hopelessly outdated.
Signed,
Dear Abby

Why paisley??? submitted:

dear abby,

help!! there is a strange, matronly looking, middle aged woman living in my mirror… i have nothing against her personally,, but i believe she has stolen my reflection…. how can i send her packing,, and get ME back in my mirror?????

signed,

not my mirror image

Dear image,

Oh my, you are not alone! There is a marauding band of middle aged women and men roaming the country stealing reflections, and they have even admitted some senior citizens into their ranks! You could hide your mirror and hope they don’t find it. Or, you could hide your glasses so you don’t have to look at the thief. As you can see from my photograph, they haven’t found me yet. I look the same way I have for the past eighty years. It could be my magical helmet.

Signed,
Dear Abby

Teamouse entered:

Dear Abby,

I have two wretched step sisters and an evil step-mom. I
have to help them with their beauty regime, including much waxing!
I won a ticket to the MTV video awards! I’d love to go, but I have nothing to wear and Prince will be there.

What should I do?

All Plucked Out

Dear Plucked,
Stop whining and hoping for a fairy godmother to come and save you. That only happens in stories. These days, in fashion, anything goes. If Prince isn’t charmed by your inner beauty, then he’s a heel and you should give him the boot. Only a ninny waits around to be saved. That may seem harsh, but if the shoe fits—wear it.

Signed,
Dear Abby

Technorati Tags: Only The Good, Unconscious Mutterings, Dear Abby Writing Contest

We had been driving around town looking for garish yard decorations to photograph. I don’t know why. I think I wanted to poke fun at them, because sometimes I’m just ornery. We saw these birdhouses, and I shrieked, “Stop the car!”

My first thought when I saw this yard was, “Whooo Doggies! I bet they have some bird poo to clean up!” Yes, I laughed at the decorations. Then, I looked a little harder. Beauty is, after all, in the eye of the beholder. Someone spent a lot of love with this—-creation.

I don’t know about y’all, but sometimes it’s hard for me to look at the world and see beauty. I get cynical; I get frustrated; I get caught up in my own petty concerns. Marcia, at Tumbled Words, had the idea to practice seeing the good in things by looking at pictures and not seeing the negative, but seeing Only The Good. Nancy J. Bond took that idea and ran with it. She created a website just for this exercise, called Only The Good. You can find other people practicing this at Soliloquy, Inside Mo’s Mind, Life in Westcliffe, Lives Less Ordinary, and Miscellaneous Matters.

You might think it’s silly at first, and you might find it difficult. I did. But, the more I practice it, the easier it is. I can assure you that if you try this regularly it will spill over into everyday life.

The more I look at this picture, the more it grows on me. While I have no desire to fill my yard with this kind of decoration (much to the relief of my husband and my neighbors), I can see a lot of good here. But, I want you to tell me the good that you see. Look at the picture, and tell me Only The Good.

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A few weeks ago, I decided to try Unconscious Mutterings from Luna Nina. Supposedly using free association helps you gain a better sense of self. I’m skeptical, but I’m game to keep trying it. Here goes:

1. Scrabble dictionary
2. NyQuil flu
3. Roadtrip Stuckeys
4. Idiot Nincompoop
5. Bandages Ace
6. Series sequence
7. Summer heat
8. Prompt late
9. September transition
10. Chicken Cacciatore

Hmmm. Nope. I still don’t have any sense. Do these word prompts mean anything to you?

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I go to Roanoke, Texas today to crochet at the library for Share A Square. Yes, I know I haven’t updated in a few days. I’m trying to reorganize my postings for it, and I’m hitting a mental snag. I have new pictures, and more news. Let me catch my breath and I’ll get it posted.

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I hope y’all behold a lot of beauty today. Just for today, look for only the good!

Technorati Tags: photograph, birdhouses, Only The Good, Unconscious Mutterings, Share A Square