BTR

So on Saturday the husband and I took the girls to a BTR concert at the State Fair.

BTR?

Big Time Rush. They are a boy band with a TV show on Nick. Imagine what you would get if you mated The Monkees with the Jonas Brothers...



Awww aren't they cute? The thousands of screeching girls on Saturday night sure thought so. I admit I like them too. Their TV Show is fun, their songs are catchy, and my daughters LUUVV them (and there are a lot worse things they could LUUVV).

But as they began to play, I noticed my 13-year-old glancing around in hesitation. Young girls all around us were standing and bouncing, hands flailing, jaws open wide as high-pitched screams pierced the air. My daughter stood awkwardly as she tried to shield the homemade T-shirt she had made with her crossed arms. The mom alarm in me immediately sensed the problem. She was easily the oldest girl in our row.

"Those girls over there have to be in high school," I said pointing a few rows down from us to a group in matching homemade T-Shirts dancing and singing along. I noticed her shoulders relax and it wasn't long before she was jumping along with the rest of them.

I couldn't help but think how much she is alike me. How often when it comes to writing I have a fabulous idea that I am ecstatic about only to let my eyes drift to those around me. I start comparing myself. They are younger than me. They are smarter than me. Their blogs are better. Their writing more polished. And like a deflating balloon the excitement and passion I had for my idea leaks out of me and my writing.

I don't want that. I want to be like the little boy in the row in front of us who was dressed to the nines and sang the words to every song, despite the rows and rows of girls surrounding him. I want to be like the little girl behind us who screamed over and over "I love you guys", even though the stage was too far away and the band would never hear her. I want to be like the dad who stood up and danced right along side his little girl while all the other parents sat in their seats.

I want to be me. To be excited and passionate and not give a hoot about what everybody around me is doing.

Whoever thought I could learn so much from a boy band concert?

BTR. Be Totally Real. That's my goal this week.

Happy Writing!

Throwing Spaghetti at the Wall...

When my husband and I were newlyweds, one of our biggest disagreements was on how to cook spaghetti. I grew up with a mother who broke the noodles in half before cooking. He grew up with one who didn't. Somehow during our 'discussion', he also informed me I needed to throw a noodle at the wall to see if it was completely cooked.

At the time, I had never heard this. And no, I didn't try it that night (or any night since), and I can't say I believe my mother-in-law has either.

But I've certainly felt like I've been throwing spaghetti at the wall. Especially this week.

Right now I'm in the beginning stages of my next project. I've written a few random scenes, brainstormed various plot lines, and have several pages filled with notes and drawings.

But mostly I've been throwing noodles at the wall, one by one, in hopes that one of them will stick.

Music to My Ears

I'm not one for putting myself 'out there'.

It's easy to talk about wanting to write. A little harder to actually sit down and start writing. Even harder to commit to it day after day until you reach the end. But to take that leap and send your writing out into the world...

Harder than harder than hard..

In the past few weeks I've started this blog, I'm attempting twitter, and I even sent out my first query letters. I can't even begin to describe the sick, nauseous feeling I get everytime I press "send", or the way my heart drops when my phone "pings" to let me know I have a new e-mail.

Getting through this past week has required a lot of wine, chocolate and....music

Here are 3 songs that I've been listening to this week:

One: I have 2 daughters who love this TV show. And when my daughters love something, they watch it a lot. And I hear the same music over and over again. Like when they loved Barney, I could sing "I love you" with the best of them, and when they loved the Wiggles I pranced around the house singing "Don't Bite your Friends."

These days the songs that get lodged in my head are a little more boy bandish, such as "Worldwide", "Famous", and this one...





Two: Hello 80s. Cheesy Hair. Cheesy Clothes. Cheesy Video. Love the lyrics.




Three: If my life had a theme song, this would be it.



As much as I love these songs, they're getting a little overplayed. I could use some new suggestions. What songs motivate you to keep going despite all odds?