Posted in Life

What Advice Would You Give To Your Teenage Self?

Posted on by jennrae

I would probably tell myself that things will get better. That it isn’t the end of the world when a relationship doesn’t work out, that none of these guys are the “one.” Also to enjoy life, and that when you make a mistake it just takes you on a detour.

It isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just an alternate sometimes longer or more difficult route that may end up in a similar destination. Our experiences are what makes us, us. And I wouldn’t waste too much time trying to convince myself on making better choices.

Maybe just help myself understand how to navigate things and how better to pick myself up. Your parents try to show you the way and tell you what you should do. Most teenagers do not listen to parents or teachers.

I think it is more important to give them the tools to make the decisions themselves and figure it out, because the one person they will listen to is themselves or their friends. The one factor that you can steer or control is your own mind, and that would be where any advice that is actually implemented would come from.

I wasn’t the type to just go along with what other’s said anyhow, friends or not. I was more likely to listen to my friends than others, but my actions were always my own, for good or bad. I would go my own way.

Do I have regrets? Yes, of course. Would any advice have made a difference? Probably not. Whatever will be, will be. Or to quote Lost, “whatever happened, happened.”

So, I have made peace with my past, the ugly parts, the petty parts, and the downright stupid parts. I am glad I am hear to continue my story, and relatively unscathed at that. So, I consider myself pretty lucky overall.

Daily writing prompt
What advice would you give to your teenage self?
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Posted in Life

What Is Your Favorite Drink?

Posted on by jennrae

My favorite drink would have to be coffee. I do not drink much alcohol. Not in many years anyhow. I like most beverages, but I am not super into soda either. Although I do enjoy an occasional Dr. Pepper. If I can’t get Dr. Pepper I will drink Mr. Pibb or Cherry coke.

Mostly though, coffee with some creamer. I like an occasional latte or mocha, but I try not to get them all the time just because of the cost. It is like dessert coffee. I usually have no whipped cream just to cut down on the sugar. I also like smoothies. I never got used to beer, but most beverages I enjoy occasionally. I should drink more water than I do. Maybe I will set a goal for that. I do drink a water bottle at the gym, but that isn’t that much for the entire day.

Daily writing prompt
What is your favorite drink?
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Posted in Life

My Favorite Pair of Shoes and Where They Have Taken Me

Posted on by jennrae

My all time favorite pair of shoes would probably be a pair of sketchers I had a few years back. They had a light blue green stripe. Eventually they wore out just from use and time, but I walked everywhere in them. I was sad when I had to throw them out.

Currently, I have a few pairs I wear. I have work shoes which are Florsheim, and they are tough. They last a couple years or more. But I wear them to work and back, and then I have my workout shoes I wear to the gym. They have more shock absorption. They are still pretty new, so time will tell on how long they will last.

And, then there are my free time shoes, which the main one is a pair of polka dot flats. I have some boots and some heels as well, but I wear them only on the rare occasions I am going out somewhere or trying to achieve a specific look.

Out of the three pairs I wear on a regular basis, the workout shoes are my current favorite because my son bought them for me for Christmas because my feet hurt. He figured out my work shoes weren’t good for that and he notices little details like that. He has a good heart. But, they are my favorite mostly for that reason.

I wear them to the gym and at the gym mostly, but I will occasionally wear them to the store if I am going out for a quick trip. I try to use my polka dot shoes for walks and random things when I am not working though. If nothing else so the other shoes last a little bit longer.

I used to have some nice hiking boots that I used for winter and excursions, but my feet have gotten wider, or they just don’t fit the same. I got a pair of waterproof winter boots but it doesn’t look like I’ll need them this year. Things seem to be warming up where I am at.

I go for a long walk at least once a week, possibly more. If It is close enough where I don’t need a car and the weather cooperates, then I will walk. It helps me think and the fresh air does me good. It has a way of resetting my mind. I can get stuck on things or moods and sometimes a good walk can get me out of a rut. I find walking therapeutic and kind of necessary.

Daily writing prompt
Tell us about your favorite pair of shoes, and where they’ve taken you.
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Posted in Life

Are You Patriotic? What Does Being Patriotic Mean to You?

Posted on by jennrae

Do I consider myself patriotic? Well, let’s define patriotism first I suppose. I see patriotism as having a love of one’s country, native country, adopted country, or you can even be patriotic to a region. I happen to live in the Pacific Northwest part of the US. I am a Washingtonian. Do I agree with everything my state does? Or everything the US does? No.

As an individual I have personal opinions, and ideas of what is good and what is not. I don’t neatly align with any political party. Even if I could be put into one bin per se, would I agree with an agenda wholeheartedly? I highly doubt it. I am a bit of a cynic, and I am also a bit contrarian. So, I don’t and won’t fit neatly into a category, and I am more than okay with that.

If something terrible, like a sept. 11th incident were to happen right now in my country, I would be very upset and distraught. If my state were to slide into the ocean tomorrow, I would be very upset and obviously troubled by it. Do I love the US? I do like the idea. As a reality, it falls short, but the possibility and promise are there. I don’t wish I was born elsewhere, there isn’t another country where I would rather be from. I don’t have any desire to be Canadian, although I met someone in the past whose dream was that, it isn’t mine.

Do I love my country? Sometimes. I love what it stands for, I love the idea of the American Dream, I love the idea of the possibilities. Intellectual freedom, the ability if you try hard enough if you do enough, you can get where you want to be. Is the dream real, though? I am not naive to think it is the same for everyone.

If English isn’t your native tongue, or if you grow up in an impoverished or educationally dismal area, the dream is a bit harder to obtain. Not impossible, but difficult. Some are born with a leg up and don’t have to work as hard. The US, much like life, isn’t fair, and not everyone has an equal opportunity. For those with what is oftentimes called grit or fortitude, it is there. You do have to want it, you do have to work hard for it.

I want to believe it is still possible to achieve, but I think everyday it gets harder and harder. The disparity between those with money gets wider and farther, and the bigger the gap the more of a dream the American Dream becomes. I know this is happening around the world, not just in the US.

But the US is a country that has always promised a chance to succeed where one could go to start over or start again. So, it is especially sad to see this country get so divided.

Am I patriotic? I guess I am, I am in love with the dream, the promise of the US. Am I in love with the reality? I want to be, somedays I believe more than others.

It is like an old crush you once thought you couldn’t live without, but now you are okay. You wonder what happened to them, if they are happy with their life, if they did anything momentous or important?

If they didn’t, are they happy anyway, did they find their true love, or some passion worth living and fighting for? I guess a more accurate answer to a complicated question is, sometimes. I am sometimes patriotic. Sometimes I wish things were different, sometimes I wish we could rediscover a middle ground where politics weren’t such a toxic subject matter.

Daily writing prompt
Are you patriotic? What does being patriotic mean to you?
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Posted in Life

What’s Your Favorite Thing To Cook?

Posted on by jennrae

I probably enjoy cooking eggs the most, scrambled or like an omelet. Or over easy. It is a fun challenge to not break the yolk. You can add whatever you feel like to it, like peppers or mushrooms and of course tons of cheese. I like to eat it with salsa and sour cream too. Jalapenos, just add those to everything. It is like a kitchen sink food, there isn’t a right or wrong way to make it.

I also like to make enchiladas and Huevos Rancheros, I guess I like Mexican food, especially the Tex-Mex versions. I like Italian food as well, but I admit that I cheat and buy the sauce. Maybe I will try my hand at a home made sauce someday.

I’m trying to live a little; be more adventurous. Wasted too much time playing it safe and I feel like I haven’t really lived much. Never too late though to start. I guess I do prefer winging it, and grabbing whatever I happen to have laying around to throw into things as far as cooking goes.

Recipes are good occasionally, they help when I feel like I am doing something new, but I like experimenting a bit, straying from the set path and discovering something new. New can be scary, but it also can be exciting. I will even randomly throw chipotle seasoning or chili seasoning in stuff, because why not?

Daily writing prompt
What’s your favorite thing to cook?
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Posted in Uncategorized

What Books Do You Want To Read?

Posted on by jennrae

I am in the middle of so many books right now, but I want to re read several books I used to own: Dracula, Frankenstein, Dune. I started the Death of Bunny Munro by Nick Cave, but I got distracted by other things and haven’t gotten back to it yet. I do want to finish reading soonish because I hear they may be making a movie of it.

I would like to read some aspiring writer’s work, I feel like I should help promote the indie writers more than I do currently. But I am unsure where to go, I see them advertised on twitter, but there are so many and I will have to choose some so I can maybe leave a review. Get some goodwill in the writing community. In theory someday I might actually take the plunge and try to publish something and it would be nice to be involved in the writing community and get the support, which of course, I should be giving in kind.

So, I will try. I will go on there today and try and pick some books that intrigue me. I prefer science fiction and fantasy, but I also like literature, historical fiction, and a good mystery suspense novel of course. Not into romance, but you never know, maybe I just haven’t read the right story.

If you have any recommendations, I am all ears, or typewritten clicks I suppose.

Daily writing prompt
What books do you want to read?
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Posted in Life, Writing

List Five Things You Do For Fun.

Posted on by jennrae

I enjoy drawing. I have a cartoony style that is unique and unpolished. I have used it to create portraits for characters in the past. But it is mostly just fun doodles. I’d like to try my hand at painting, I used to paint years ago.

I write short stories or character studies for fun. I like to write short fiction. It is fun to wrap up the story quickly. Short timed writes are especially fun because there is no pressure for it to be perfect.

I also listen to music for fun. It is also fun to see live music. I think music is the secret to changing a bad mood to a good mood. I can change my energy based on what I am listening to. And live shows are especially fun because it is like you are one with the crowd. It is a different kind of energy.

I also like to get out of town and see new things, find new experiences. Sometimes we will pick a place to explore and see what’s there. Get to know a different place. We found a virtual arcade that way and go carts, drive in theaters too. It is kind of cool to research a place for fun things to do that isn’t typically a tourist spot. You can find some fun shopping areas too with unique finds. And I enjoy bargain hunting and finding treasure.

I also like to walk or hike for fun, or just be out in nature. Camping is awesome for getting away and recharging the soul. We hiked to the lighthouse one year which is five miles one way. Walking in sand that is also cold and rocky with the sun on your back was a unique experience, but the tour of the lighthouse was well worth it. I need to do that again. It has been awhile.

Obviously I enjoy movies and books of course, and going to the theater or even the local playhouse is also very fun for me.

Daily writing prompt
List five things you do for fun.
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Posted in Uncategorized

Write About Your First Name: It’s Meaning, Significance, Etymology, etc.

Posted on by jennrae

My first name is actually Jennifer. I do not go by it generally. At Doctor’s offices, or a substitute teacher may call me that, but I have always been a Jenny for as long as I can remember. I was actually named after a Virginia, who went by Ginny. So, it was confusing as a kid when my Mom would be talking on the phone to her sister, and I would hear Ginny and to me it sounded a lot like Jenny, and I would be like huh? And then she would be like, I am on the phone!

But, technically, it is Jennifer which I had always read was Teutonic, Germanic, meaning white wave, whatever that means. And then later when I was in my twenties or thirties, someone told me it is actually the Germanic translation of the name Guinevere, which is the French translation of the Welsh name Wanaver. I was into Arthurian legend, of course, so, yeah King Arthur’s wife obviously the most well known Guinevere there is was the ultimate Jennifer.

That did make me like my name more. Part of the reason I hated it, is I only started getting called it when I started school, and the other part was that in the seventies everybody collectively decided to name their daughter Jennifer so there were several in every class I attended in school so I had to go by Jenny N, because there all ready was a Jennifer S, and a Jenni R, and a couple Jenn’s.

It was the name, and I always wanted to be unique and different, so it was sort of a downer that I had the most common name ever. Of course, now it isn’t. My son doesn’t have a single one in his class. But at the time, it was all over the place. I tried to go by my middle name in high school but it never stuck. Although, my family does call me by it sometimes.

Jennisfora is actually one of my oldest characters I ever made up, and I realize now a pretty obvious fantasy stand in for me anyway, so my first email was jennisfora@hotmail.com, still use it. So, I have been Jennisfora for a very long time as well, although it is not my legal name.

I have always had a hate love thing for the name Jennifer, but I have made my peace with it. I used to get angry at people calling me it, my name badge at work even says Jenny, but people will still do it anyway, and now I get it. It is a decent name and it is mine. Even if it isn’t my preferred choice.

Daily writing prompt
Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc.
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Posted in Uncategorized

If You Could Make Your Pet Understand One Thing, What Would It Be?

Posted on by jennrae

I would love it if she understood that sometimes I need to use the laptop, and that it is temporary. I am not sure what goes through her mind, but somehow me moving a mouse triggers unreasonable violence in her. She does it if I play games as well, she just doesn’t want me to use the computer.

I also wish she wouldn’t waste her food so much. She pretty much just eats the gravy off the top and leaves the meat. She used to be the most un-picky eater ever. But now she hates everything, even cat treats. She only wants gravy, and she eats her kibble. Keep in mind, I only got the canned meat to encourage my older cat Wuffles to get more fluids.

That sure backfired, as KitKat eats all the fluid out of it. I guess those are two things, not one. I guess, if I could only impart one thing, it would be that I love her despite all the destructiveness, that I love her no matter what. Unconditional love. I hope she does understand that, but who knows.

Daily writing prompt
If you could make your pet understand one thing, what would it be?
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Posted in Life

Can You Share A Positive Example Of Where You’ve Felt Loved?

Posted on by jennrae

A recent example of where I have felt loved was probably when my son noticed that one of my favorite coats was missing a button, and so he made it his mission for mother’s day to find a button and sew it on the coat, and he did just that. I can honestly say I was very touched. It meant more than a card, flowers, or candy. It was the most thoughtful thing. I hope his girlfriend realizes how lucky she is, because he is a good soul and has a kind heart.

There have been many times where I felt loved by someone for various things, but that is the one that stands out for me. It brought a tear to my eye because it was unexpected and I didn’t think he would really do it. Sometimes just noticing something and fixing it is worth more than spending a ton of money.

Daily writing prompt
Can you share a positive example of where you’ve felt loved?
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