I cannot swim. It's something I've always wanted to learn, and so I decided to do something about it. Step one was a verbal declaration… wrong move!

I recall the first time I voiced this desire. Reaction to my news was varied. There was the typical raised eye-brows and other unreadable forms of body language. A sign of things to come…

The verbal responses yielded an array of interesting, mainly 2-word phrases, which I have translated for my readers. This was accompanied by interesting facial expressions and mixed voice tones.

_______________________________________________________________________

LISTENER NO. 1

"Swimming lessons?"

Now I wondered if the two words indicated a loss for words…

A look of utter confusion followed the words. Like, duh-uh, why so late in your life? Well, I wasn't aware of a specific time-frame to learn specific things – excuse me for being so stupid!

TRANSLATED: Are you feeling okay? 

(Am I feeling okay? I was just about to ask you the same thing…)

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LISTENER NO. 2

"That's nice."

Very cautiously. Bland facial expression.

Nice. Nice? Nice! Mrs. Smith, the kindergarten teacher who lives down the road, is nice. Tea, is nice. That yellow dress you are wearing, is nice. (Remember that TV advert? Comprehendo? Exactly!)

TRANSLATED: I'm not so sure but I hope it works out for you…  

(Read. My. Lips: So do I… so do I…)

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LISTENER NO. 3

"Why now?"

Smirk. In a nasty, you-were-always-a-dry-stick-sort-of-way.

Why not now? Answer me that.

TRANSLATED: Where were you when every teenager was going to the pool every summer?

I was at home, dudette. Reading up a storm. Preparing for the day I would write this blog that you are now reading (with such excitement, may I add… I can blog and swim, you can ONLY swim – so there! Eat your heart out Miss High-School-Freestyle-Champion-Swimmer!)

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

And so my lessons began. I was nervous at first (actually an understatement ). I was tense. AND traumatized. The idea of putting my head under water (and keeping it there), was terrifying!

SINCE THIS BLOG POST IS GOING TO TAKE MUCH LONGER THAN I BARGAINED FOR, YOU'LL HAVE TO LOG IN LATER ON THIS WEEK, FOR THE CONTINUATION OF MY STORY…

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Tomorrow is International Be Positive Day. So I'm including my contribution in this post. For more info go HERE

So here are some positivity quotes.

In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision – Dalai Lama

You can't make positive choices for the rest of your life without an environment that makes those choices easy, natural, and enjoyable – Deepak Chopra

Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be – Khalil Gibran

When you are enthusiastic about what you do, you feel this positive energy. It's very simple – Paulo Coelho

A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results – Wade Boggs

Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: "I'm with you kid. Let's go." – Maya Angelou

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared – Buddha

           So go on… spread some love & happiness!

                                Positivity Rocks!

It's time for the weekly instalment of Celebrate The Small Things, hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings Of An Aspiring Author.

The aim of this bloghop is simple: each Friday we celebrate a small thing from that week. It can be the sun coming out, the cup of tea just when you needed it, your child ate some greens, you finally took that rubbish to the dump, or that you finished a chapter of writing which was difficult.Whatever you like! Sign up on the linky, post a celebration, and GO CELEBRATE with other participants who have signed up. See here for more info.

 This week I'm celebrating the following:

~I completed 2 books by blogger buddies: a dystopian novella/novelette and an anthology of stories and I posted reviews on Goodreads

~My junior choir (grade 1-3) did so well with their Mother's Day song at the Monday morning assembly… do you remember M is for the million things she gave me… that's what they sang…

~I went for a snazzy short hair-cut, complete with short fringe (I last had a fringe when I was about 12 or 13 years old… that's ages ago)

~It felt so good slotting an envelope through the opening into the post box, when I posted a handwritten card…

~My Amazon shopping spree with the $75 gift voucher I won in April, during an A to Z challenge competition…

~INTERNATIONAL BE POSITIVE DAY… as voted by some blogger buddies… want to know more? Go HERE

So what are you celebrating? Please share with us… or sign up for this bloghop!

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                                 THE MOVIE REMAKE BLOGFEST

FAME 1980 vs. 2009?

The remake was a disappointment!

It was not as gritty or realsitic as the original.

Nobody dancing on a car to the theme song??? That's not on! Unbelievable… that scene is the "essence" of Fame…

What happened to the leg warmers? I want leg warmers! Give me more leg warmers!!

The absence of that bittersweet feeling during the graduation scene??? *shakes head in disbelief* Give me "body electric"…

I think that I must have been traumatized by the remake, and that's why I can't remember (or don't want to) any other details… rather leave me with the original version stuck in my memory… in this case, ignorance is bliss!

ADDED BONUS - I Will Always Love You has to be amongst one of the best song remakes – original by Dolly Parton and revamped by Whitney Houston.

And now I'm off on a blog-hopping spree! Have a great week-end!

I've been given the Sunshine Blog Award from Murees over at Daily Drama Of An Aspiring Writer

  And since this is the sunshine award, I'm going to mention 7 great "sunshine songs"…   

      1. Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone… Bill Withers

      2. You Are The Sunshine Of My life… Stevie Wonder

      3. Don't Blame It On The Sunshine… Michael Jackson

      4. I've Got Sunshine, On A Cloudy Day… The Temptations

      5. Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me… George Michael/Elton John

      6. I'm Walking On Sunshine… Katrina & The Waves

      7. Walking Into Sunshine… Central Line

Did I leave out any "sunshine songs"? Please feel free to add them in the comments… = 7 sunshine smiles…

I've also been given The Very Inspiring Blogger Award from Tangent Shell

I like how Tangent Shell provided 7 links to sites dealing with helpful writing advice. So I'm going to use this idea in my own way. I'm going to list 7 "writerly gems" that keep me going… inspire me…

1. BICHOK – the first piece of advice I was given, it's the most important… most basic… most logical… supersedes everything else…

2. Read outside your preferred genre!

3. DO NOT compare yourself to other writers! Your writing journey is unique.

4. Write what you know – a good starting point HOWEVER don't be afraid to think-out-of-the-box…

5. Writer's block is often a state of mind…

6. Everything you write is valuable, whether the stuff makes it into your WIP or not…

7. Writing is an exciting journey… the destination is simply a bonus!

If you have any to share, please add your favourite "writerly inspirational gem" in the comments below…

                  THANK YOU LADIES! YOU ROCK!

(Over the past 2 months, I received 3 other blog awards. Since I didn't want this post to turn into a full-length novel,  I'll post those next week…)

SINCE SO MANY BLOGGERS HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED THESE AWARDS, OVER AND OVER AGAIN,  I"M GOING TO BREAK/BEND THE RULES SLIGHTLY. IF YOU HAVEN"T RECEIVED EITHER OF THE ABOVE AWARDS, THEN FEEL FREE TO CLAIM THE AWARD AND SHARE SOME STUFF BY POSTING ON YOUR BLOG… IT CAN BE RANDOM STUFF, PERSONAL STUFF, WRITERLY STUFF… IT'S UP TO YOU…

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FEAST YOUR EYES ON THE FOLLOWING============

                                ISN'T IT GORGEOUS?            

Book Info:

POP TRAVEL by Tara Tyler

Cover Reveal: May 13, 2013

Release Date: July 7, 2013

Publisher: Curiosity Quills

Bio:

Math teacher by day, sports mom by night,

When does she have time to write?

Good question, but the Lazy Housewife makes time! Tara Tyler writes sci fi, thriller, and fantasy, with dabs of romance and humor and tips for efficient living. Something for everyone.

Mini Blurb:

Pop Travel is sci fi noir, a cat and mouse game where the hard-boiled detective is chased across the world, “popping” with teleportation, which has a deadly flaw he is determined to expose.

Back Cover:

Private Investigator J. L. Cooper always knew pop travel laser teleportation was too good to be true. Finding video proof of a disintegrating traveler is the stomach turning “I told you so.”

Cooper can’t broadcast the video on the nosy, government monitored Qnet, so he digs around, revealing more suspicious traveler disappearances, the death of his client, and threats to his political little brother, who is in jeopardy of turning to dust anyway for disregarding Cooper’s warnings not to pop. Cooper has to do everything himself.

To stop the disappearances and save his brother he must shut down the ruthless mega corp Pop Travel International (PTI). And that means convincing HasanRakhi, the celebrity Creator of pop travel, to publicly admit the deadly flaw. No problem. Under constant surveillance, Cooper will have to be unpredictable, facing his fear of popping to crash a party at Hasan’s well-fortified plantation compound. Yes, the laser fences are real. As long as he survives his next pop, Cooper won’t let anything distract him from getting the job done. Not the android security guards, who aren’t as bright as they look, or even Southern Comfort in a purple dress, Geri Harper (an undercover Agent). Nothing Coop can’t handle.

                                      CONGRATULATIONS TARA!

It's Friday again, which means it's celebration time. This is a weekly hop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings Of An Aspiring Author.

Before I reveal the winner of my A to Z "whacky definitions" competition, I'd like to make mention of the fact that during April, I participated in another A toZ contest over at DL Hammons' blog, Cruising Altitude 2.0… and I won… wait for it… *drum roll*

                         A $75 AMAZON GIFT VOUCHER! WOO-HOO!

Now you know what that means, dontcha? One guess? Anybody? Yes, my TBR pile has just skyrocketed==================== WHOOSH=============

                                    THANK YOU DL!!

And now it's time to wrap up my AtoZ competition. Twenty two bloggers voted, and there was a total of 48 votes. Thanks once again to all who participated and voted!

Voting results are as follows:

ONE VOTE EACH GOES TO=====

1. Mary Aalgaard (dashpot)
2. Lexa Cain (expergefaction)
3. C.Lee Mackenzie (hebesphalmology)
4. Carol Kilgore (nidification)
5. L.Diane Wolfe (rhinotillexomania)
6. Michael Di Gesu (slumgullion)
7. Nancy LaRonda Johnson (vesicouterine)

 TWO VOTES EACH GO TO=====

1. Tyrean Martinson (nidification)
2. Mina Burrows (oxyacanthous)
3. Nick Wilford (ucalegon)

  THREE VOTES EACH GO TO=====

1. Clarissa Draper (amazia)
2. Mina Burrows (paizogony)
3. Pat Hatt (rhinotillexomania)
4. Alex J. Cavanaugh (waqif)

   FOUR VOTES EACH GO TO=====

1. Nick Wilford (gewgaws)
2. Michael Di Gesu (lalochezia)
3. C.Lee Mackenzie (tracasserie)

    FIVE VOTES GO TO=====

                 Lexa Cain (quisby)

                           …..AND THE WINNER IS…..

                                                     *drum roll*

                            NANCY LARONDA JOHNSON

    …who scored 6 votes for her “whacky” definition of the word slumgullion! Congratulations Nancy! And since the letter "S" is 19th in the alphabet, that means Nancy's hamper will contain 19 units/items…

                         …..AND THAT'S A WRAP!

So what are you celebrating? Please share with us! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

I'm slowly winding down from my A to Z high…

I have never ever had so much fun, or laughed so hard, like I did during the month of April. I'm talking about ROTFL moments. Tons and tons and tons of ROTFL moments. I think I had the most fun during the challenge. And that's what consumed most of my time. As a result, I didn't get a chance to visit too many new bloggers. I just about managed to keep up with my regular blogging buddies. A positive note: I forged stronger connections with certain bloggers who I've known for a while, but never visited on a regular basis. I look forward to maintaining better contact with these bloggers. I did find a few brand new blogs, which I will be visiting on a regular basis…

A strange thing happened during the challenge. I began to respond to blogger definitions by posting my thoughts; or what I imagined the commenter was trying to say. (that sounds crazy… I know). I certainly didn't plan to do so. During the challenge, time is soooo precious. You never have enough.  But I just couldn't resist. It was spontaneous and in the moment…. and sucked most of my time. But the interactivity was PRICELESS and I had a blast doing so, and wouldn't go back and change anything! This is the main reason why I didn't get around to many blogs. (… my minion duties also meant that I was responsible for checking in on a certain section of the A to Z list…)

I'll share some of these whacky and wonderful definitions in a later post… Plus, I can always get around to other blogs by signing up for the AtoZ road trip later on… if time permits…

You may or may not know that my theme was based on bloggers providing their own definitions for the words that I posted. This included a competition which you can read more about HERE. If you want to vote for your favourite definitions, go HERE.

You are welcome to vote, even if you didn't play along during the challenge. You'll get a chance to read some of these wonderful definitions too!

One last thing I forgot to mention… the prize! For want of a suitable word, I'm calling it a hamper. It will be filled with————

     OODLES OF CABOODLES OF SOUTH AFRICAN ITEMS ! (dependent on which letter of the alphabet is the winning letter… sounds cryptic? Now, you'll HAVE to go and check it out…)

So what are you waiting for… off you go… it's voting time!