Long Hollow

Where seeds of thought have room to grow

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Realtor, writer, blogger in Austin, TX

Birdbrained and Ridin’ Dirty…

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This bird didn't know where it was going!

Seeing its zig-zaggy tracks made me laugh – it's exactly how I feel these days, bouncing from writing my book to writing blog posts to photography to 'paycheck' work to blog-reading to my jewelry business to my personal history business to house stuff to to-do lists to emails to Facebook… and getting behind on all of them.

So last night I set the alarm to wake up at 4am this morning.

That would give me over an hour of writing time in a silent house. I hoped at 4am the wild-flying thoughts and words bouncing around in my brain would be tame enough to capture. 

Then I calculated how much sleep that would give me if I rose at 4, projected myself through the rest of the day on so few hours of rest, weighed whether getting all of those things done I needed to do but couldn't focus on at night was worth feeling miserable all day and having huge bags under my eyes.

I reset the alarm for 5:30am.

One day soon I'll have time for writing and sleeping – but much less money. Why can't time and money work together? It seems I never have enough of either one.

Speaking of droughts, it's still dry around here; my dust-covered car is once again attracting attention from random passers-by in parking lots…

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Hope today you get plenty of rain or time or money or whatever it is you need!

(And if you don't, I hope you can laugh about it! Remember, nothing ever stays the same. Just hang on!)

 

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18 responses to “Birdbrained and Ridin’ Dirty…”

  1. Hilary Avatar
    Hilary

    Aww I can relate to you.. and your dizzy bird friend. And the car dust-writing made me laugh.

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  2. Gail Avatar
    Gail

    Oh, Barbara, I feel exactly like that bird leaving aimless tracks in the dust. In addition to everything else, we’ve pretty much decided to put our house on the market and move to Baton Rouge! Oy! What am I getting myself into? Hubby tells me to trust in God and it will be okay. Maybe I need to do like you and arise early to clear some things out of the way, but I’ve never been a morning person. Can’t imagine starting at 50, but I’ve done crazier things in my life. 🙂 Take care and keep up the great writing and blog posts.

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  3. cynthia eloise Avatar
    cynthia eloise

    we’ve been relishing every bit of sun we can get here in the northwest. i’ve never seen a summer so rainy. but i still will take our rain over any other part of the countrys weather. so am i missing something here, whats the jewelry business you have?

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  4. Barbara Shallue Avatar
    Barbara Shallue

    I sell Silpada jewelry – direct marketing. Wish I could say I create my own to sell! But Silpada is really pretty – it's the only thing I've ever sold like this and I do it to get my free – or at least cheaper – pieces. 

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  5. Barbara Shallue Avatar
    Barbara Shallue

    How exciting! I know Louisiana has been calling you, so I'm happy for you! Hubby is right – trust in God and it will be okay. (Hope getting an earlier start on the morning works better for you than it is for me lately!!!) And I think 50 is a great age to be starting something new!

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  6. Barbara Shallue Avatar
    Barbara Shallue

    I love providing a canvas for dirt-artists!

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  7. brian Avatar
    brian

    haha on the bumper writing…i used to get up at 5 every day to write and it was good for a season…sleeping in a bit more now but it will be back…

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  8. Walker Avatar
    Walker

    Barbara,
    I’ve just ‘joined’ a group on Twitter- #amwriting…(which is short for I am writing) not sure where it’ll go, at the moment I”m overwhelmed w/ tweets and Google+ joinings, but I have hopes the group will inspire me.
    I prefer a.m. writing it seems that morning is better for me, but like you the list is large and driven by monetary issues.
    I have to fight back my resentment at being in the place at my age and try to accept it for what it is!
    You seem to do it very gracefully~

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  9. Wolf Pascoe Avatar
    Wolf Pascoe

    Sometimes it’s fun to get up very early knowing I can nap later in the day. I find few things more restful than an afternoon nap–but you definitely need to have the metabolism for it.

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  10. Juana Avatar
    Juana

    Shhhh don’t tell anyone… but I am that bird!!
    It’s a great photo, Barbara- it made me laugh. Thanks.
    Hope you get enough of everything your heart desires SOON!!

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  11. Martha Avatar
    Martha

    Funny you should post this…I’m feeling all zig-zaggy as well. I have so many things that I want to do and so many ideas…but I usually end up wasting a whole bunch of time looking at what other people are doing and not doing anything myself. Yikes!

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  12. Barbara Shallue Avatar
    Barbara Shallue

    I think that's what I do, too!

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  13. Barbara Shallue Avatar
    Barbara Shallue

    Thank you! I wish the same for you!!

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  14. Barbara Shallue Avatar
    Barbara Shallue

    I've never been a nap person! Once I'm up, I'm up. If I go down for a nap, I'm out of it the rest of the day. Not that I have time for naps these days. Sigh. 

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  15. Barbara Shallue Avatar
    Barbara Shallue

    Let me know how that goes. Right now I feel like I have too much inspiration and not enough time, but soon it will be enough time and not enough money. lol I need balance!!! I'm thinking of joining a writer's group – I think I need the face to face interaction again. I also prefer writing in the morning but have too many other things pulling me right then. I'm glad I at least give the illusion of handling it all gracefully. Good luck!!

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  16. Barbara Shallue Avatar
    Barbara Shallue

    The older I get, the harder it is to go on less than 6 hours of sleep. So do it now while you're young!!!

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  17. Jillsy Girl Avatar
    Jillsy Girl

    that drought of yours better get moving on it’s way…your car looks very weary from it! 😉
    I know you don’t need any new blogs to read, but this one I just have to pass on to you. It’s quite new so you can catch up on the posts very quickly. I think you’ll like it as much as I do!
    http://countingducks.wordpress.com/

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  18. Barbara Shallue Avatar
    Barbara Shallue

    Love the writing on that one! Thanks for sending me the link. I have been short on blog reading time lately, but I'll add this to my list and keep my fingers crossed I can catch up soon.

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