Of Course I Hear Voices: I Own Parrots

Ugh...another tough one. Well usually not. Typically the song stuck in my head is somehow tied to my mood, but that isn't the case today (Pink's *aka the original version she co-wrote and recorded for her 5th album  but didn't make the final cut and is on her greatest hits album...not Adam Lambert* of Whataya Want From Me is just catchy). Plus I'm just in a weird mood, so this doesn't help. I'm a little sad (and this song is the last song that made me burst into tears) Pink: Who Knew I'm feeling kind of conflicted...about a lot of things Garbage: I think I'm Paranoid Guster: Either Way btw...best.song.ever and a little silly Brian singing Total Eclipse...so tone deaf...so classic so there you have it. It is sort of a weird mood today, but it could be much worse :-)30

I've been looking at a blank screen for 2 hours...I can't come up with the words for this prompt today :-( Instead I am going to recycle from my other blog... It was Labor Day weekend. I had gone home to see dad, and while I was there I stopped by the cemetery. This visit started like most others: 1) Park the car 2) Talk myself out of the car 3) Stand there for a minute until I'm ready to talk This time I didn't just talk. I yelled. It wasn't fair.  I didn't know what I was doing. I had no idea how we were going to pay for things once the insurance stopped paying. I couldn't find things I needed to find. Despite some valiant efforts from some great people, my first birthday without her was awful. Her choices and mistakes were now on our shoulders. I was mad. I was mad at my dad too. He is still alive, but with the stroke things had changed. He will always be my Dad, but the parent dynamic isn't the same. He can't get out and take care of ...

When I was younger, I of course went to camp.  I went on vacation with my grandparents: I went on youth group trips, band trips, even my senior trip to the Bahamas, but I consider my first time away from home to truly be college. It was my first time to live "on my own." Honestly, I loved it so much I almost never wanted to move home again. There was no one to report to. There were limited rules. There was no dog to trip over as I tried to fumble through the house in the dark. I could be as independent as I always had wanted. The only thing I missed was the extra space and the things we discovered we needed (that we always used of our parents). I made some great friends: and some became lifelong friends It prepared me for the next phase in my life: and for the next

Writing Prompts: 1.) Describe a memorable first date. 2.) Write about a child you find inspiring. 3.) What do you find most challenging about blogging? 4.) Name a pet peeve you have about how other parents raise their kids. Go on…stir the pot. 5.) We often spend time and energy talking about people in our lives we don’t see enough of. Describe a person in your life you are in contact with often. What does he/she mean to you? Oh dear, another week where it is hard to choose (and another week where I can't do the vlog because it will make me cry). Ummmmmm: Prompt Number Three  I love blogging. While my dreams of being a writer are pretty much pushed to the back burner, I still have my crazy random blog (the one you are reading now) and my more serious blog as my writing outlet. My biggest issue is staying consistent with my posting volume. I will post daily for a while and then I will  not post for weeks at a time. I am trying things like this writing workshop and some blog chal...

This is actually the second name of my blog. It used to be  A Little Bit Of Everything...and I hated it. The catch was, I couldn't come up with anything better, so the title stuck. About nine-ish months ago, I changed it to something a little more fitting: Of Course I Hear Voices, I Own Parrots. I'm always running and doing something these days, and I'm sure I appear crazy. I have been known to talk to myself. The good news is the only voices I hear come from my pets: my parrots They talk. They even talk back. My flock is a shy bunch, and they typically do not talk in front of strangers, but occasionally Popcorn and Batty  will oblige. I had one cockatiel that said "hello" every time I opened my old flip phone. Actually, he would get agitated when I would get a text and not say hello. I think it is fitting.

This is what midterms has done to my desk. This week is insane. I will probably make someone cry by the end of the week...but it is an unfortunate reality. Next week will be better, and we will have enough staff to get caught up.

As many of you know, my name is Jenni. I am from Ohio, went to school in Michigan and about a decade ago thought Indianapolis was just a stopover...I'm still here. I'm the girl with the dark hair and glasses frames 15 things you need to know: I hate having my picture taken I'm particular about who I let get close to me (emotionally or physically: see the people who can touch Jenni list) I'm not a huge fan of surprises I have a short attent...wait. What was I talking about? I'm dyslexic I'm an insomniac I'm sort of the mom of most any group I'm a little protective of my friends (and by a little I mean if you mess with them I will release the hounds on your arse) I'm a textbook "fixer" I wish I had more time to travel If I'll write a blog post about it...and it pertains to you...I won't say anything in my blog that I won't (and in most cases haven't already) said to your face Aside from Google maps, I use my ...

It is time to step up my game here on the blog. More regular blog posts Continuing to do the weekly writing workshop Start doing wordless Wednesdays More posts from the phone And...the 30 day challenge: Day 1: Introduce, recent picture of yourself, 15 interesting facts Day 2: Meaning behind your blog name Day 3: Your first time away from home Day 4: Your parents Day 5: A song to match your mood Day 6: A picture of something that makes you happy Day 7: Favorite movies Day 8: A place you've traveled to Day 9: Best movie quotation Day 10: Something you're afraid of Day 11: Favorite tv shows Day 12: Something you don't leave the house without Day 13: Goals Day 14: A picture of you last year - how have you changed? Day 15: Favorite saying Day 16: Dream house Day 17: Something you're looking forward to Day 18: Favorite Place to Eat Day 19: Something you miss Day 20: Nicknames Day 21: Favorite Picture of yourself ALL TIME Why? Day 22: What's in your car Day 23: Fa...

Okay folks, despite my fear of needles, I'm finally buckling down and getting a tattoo. I'm shooting for my birthday, but it may have to wait until later. It will be going on my back...either at the top and in the center or n the back of my right shoulder. Oh and it is going to be small. That is about as far as I made it in my decision process. At first I wanted an angel, but then I thought just the wings, halo, and the date of our accident would be better. I haven't really found anything I really want yet though. I know I will probably just go with a design the shop already has in their books, but I want to have an idea of what I want before I go in there. I sort of like these http://t.co/Tjsn7EL http://mytattooink.com/images/tribal-tattoo-angel-wings.jpg http://t.co/tVvjlAC http://t.co/ZYmxa0d But I'm not sold on anything quite yet.

Okay readers, what do you want to know? Shoot me a question on formspring and I will answer it here. http://formspring.me/jhammitt

view more detailed instructions on how this weekly meme works, check out the  Writer’s Workshop  FAQs. Writing Prompts: 1.) List 10 things you wish you could say to strangers who share unsolicited advice about your parenting skills. 2.) Write a poem inspired by a picture you took last week. Share both! 3.) Create a bucket list of 50 things you want to do this summer (with or without the kids!) 4.) A country you would like to visit. 5.) What is something you could stand to learn from your significant other? After much deliberation, we are going with prompt 3 Let's see how this goes I will get a tan...it will take all summer,  but I can do it I will spend more time with my friends I will go to Cedar Point I will have a non-craptastic birthday I will grow out my hair no matter how hot and miserable I get I will go to Chicago just to shop up at Clark and Belmont I will run every day that I can...even when it is balls hot  I will take at least one friend home with...

When I was younger, I was fearless. I would jump head first into things without the fear of failing, not being good enough, or any of the other things that bog the grown up me down. By the time junior high came around, I was more cautious, but I was still always looking for my next big adventure. High school did nearly kill the fearless me, but she survived . College took its best shot at her, but she hung in there. Hey..lets move to Indiana without any real plan or a back up plan! Yep. I sure did. I made that choice without a moment of hesitation. I had no idea what I was doing, but somehow it all worked out. Let's go to Chicago for my 25th birthday, alone...meet random strangers at the concert and spend the whole weekend with them. Guilty. Let's go to California, alone, and again meet random people...and then go back to spend Halloween with them in San Francisco. Yep, that's me. How about going to a Goth Club in San Francisco befriending 2 filmmakers from V...

This Week's Prompts 1.) Girls Night Out! Describe the last time you got to hang out with your friends? What stops you from doing this more often? 2.) If Social Media died tomorrow, describe another hobby you might get into. 3.) Share a Summer Camp memory. 4.) We're too old to be getting in trouble...aren't we? Write about a time you were scolded...as an adult. 5.) Barefoot and hormonal...describe an incident that upset you when you were pregnant, but now looking back makes you laugh. While this may be cheating...since I did a similar post recently, I think my best bet is to run with Prompt 2 (mainly because I'm not quite ready to share my summer camp stories...yet) There is one hobby that I have always been in to, but I have not taken the time to really develop it. Other shiny things keep distracting me from digging in and becoming excellent at it. That is photography. I love taking and editing pictures. It is something I really enjoy doing.  As a kid I always h...

The summer I graduated from college, my mom's dad passed away. From then on, we just pretended Father's Day didn't exist. Last year was the first time we had celebrated the day since 2000. Dad was still in UTMC for therapy. I was gearing up to head back to Indy for the first time since our accident. Dad was surprised, but it seemed to lift his spirits. This year it is easy to feel sorry for myself and dwell on everything I've lost with my father. I joke and say he's  my 62 year old child...and maybe there is more truth to that than I would like to admit. Instead of dwelling, maybe I should just be grateful for the good memories I have: Christmas on duty at Bucky's the week before my 30th birthday our cruise even towel animals judged him super sunburned Charlie loves Dad High School Graduation Party normal Christmas Senior night the original rubber duckies