Passion Fruit Cupcakes & Writing

Image from Our Best Holiday

Passion Fruit Cupcakes: Why Write?

I'll admit I've never tried a passion fruit cupcake, but I've had the fruit before.  It is purple or yellow and filled with seeds and juice that runs down your chin when you bite into it.  It makes me think of us, as human beings.  You see their outside shell, but you have no idea what is inside of them until you get to know them.  You have no idea what their dreams are, their hurts, their struggles and triumphs, but once you get to know them, the essence of who they are spills out. 

Sometimes it can be scary to share the essence of who we are.  It's easier to keep our dreams to ourselves in case they never come true.  It's easier to put on a mask of "all is well in my life" when really inside we're struggling. 

Inspirational Quote of the Month

                      --Theodore Roosevelt

Too true, Teddy!  And lately I've been realizing the best way to do that is to stop comparing yourself and where you are in your journey to anyone else.  Just focus on you, what you have, and what you can do.  Take baby steps in the right direction.  You can do it!

Check back on Wednesday for the next Cupcake and Writing post for more on this concept. :)

Quote of the Month

Love this!  Here's to enjoying the book we're in!  Happy September all!  :)

Quote of the Month

Wise advise Christopher Robin!  I must remember this and tell my children often. :)

Quote of the Month

"Believe in yourself and there will come a day when others will have no choice but to believe in you." 

      -Oscar Wilde

Thanks Mr. Wilde for the inspirational words of wisdom!

Quote of the Month

“Where the mind goes the man follows.” 

― Joyce Meyer

Totally needed this reminder.  I tell myself "I'll just write later," and later never comes.  I tell myself "I don't have time to write today," and so I spend my time stalking seeing what all my friends on Facebook are up to, and checking my email for the 7th time.  I tell myself "I don't have a good story to write, no one's going to read it", and I avoid working on it like it's the plague.

But other days I think, "Ok, I'll just sit down and write for 15 minutes."  And the next thing I know, I've written for 40 minutes.  Or I think "I'll write before I check Facebook," and I do.  Or I think "Hey, this story isn't so bad."  And it isn't.

Where the mind goes, the man (or woman!) follows.  Joyce Meyer is such a smart lady. :)  

Can anyone else relate to this?!

Quote of the Month-Seuss B-day

Happy 108th Birthday Theodor Seuss Geisel!!  I'll make sure to read some Dr. Seuss to my little one today.  In honor of his special day, our quote of the month is brought to us by Dr. Seuss:

Quote of the Month-Valentine Style

In honor of Valentine's Day, I wanted to find a quote about love. And I found a lot of good ones, but I settled on this one by Ghandi.

Enjoy those you love, not just today, but every day!

Quote of the Month

 Wise words, Edwin Land!

Quote of the Month

"Art disturbs the universe and artists dare to create.  

Now, go forth laughing and disturb the universe."   

-Laurie Halse Anderson

The Comparison Trap

We all do it.  We compare ourselves to others.  We view something someone has or does as better than us.  And we feel insecure.  But then we compare ourselves to someone else.  And we find we're better at something than them.  And so we judge them and feel better about ourselves.  We're continually trying to keep the scale of comparison balanced at the expense of others and ourselves.  But the scale only keeps going back and forth.

Pride                                                   Insecurity

It's exhausting.

But this quote is a salve to my heart at times where I find myself comparing myself to someone:

"We will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse.  We have far more interesting things to do with our lives.  Each of us is an original."
~Galatians 5:26  (The Message Bible)

So, I'm off to strive to do something more interesting with my life then compare myself to another writer, to another blogger, to another mother, or another woman or ... well, you get the idea.  I'm not saying I'll succeed.  But if I want to get out my paralyzing fear, I've gotta do something.  I'm gonna try to escape the comparison trap.  I know it'll take an entire lifetime to do so.  But it will be worth the journey.

Anyone want to join me?

Quote of the Month

"It is easy to be bold from a distance."

-Aesop

Excuses and doubts...

I have writer's block.  Not from ideas for my story.  Just a block getting to my story.  I've been finding every excuse under the sun to not touch it.  You know, the laundry needs to be done, I should spend more time with my son since he's growing up so fast (he just turned 1!), I have a towering pile of books to read first, and so on.

But honestly, I think the real block isn't so much the excuses I'm making.  Fears and doubts are plaguing me, keeping the manuscript quarantined out of sight for over a month now.  The "what I'm writing is stupid", "no one is going to like it", "so why bother wasting my time?", kind of fears and doubts.  The fears and doubts that lead to more excuses....

But then, I read something that I think is totally awesome in a book called "Made to Crave" by Lysa TerKeurst. It's not a book about writing, but I found this quote applicable to the writing life/identity.  It's inspired me to get that manuscript back out into the fresh air.  I have no idea if it will touch you like it did me, but I think we all have our excuses and doubts that prevent us from becoming all that we can be.  So, without any further ado, here is The Quote....

"We were made for more than the vicious cycles of excuses and guilt and doubt and more excuses.  We can choose to stay on the path of hard work and perseverance.  We can taste success.  And we can experience victory as we claim our true identity."

Quote of the Month

-Josie Bissett: actress

Quote of the Month

It's better to have a big goal and reach half of it than to have no goal and reach all of it.   ~Joyce Meyer

Quote of the Month

Happy Birthday Theodor Seuss Geisel! 

 Find a previous Dr. Seuss inspirational quote of the month here.

As a former teacher, Seuss' b-day was one of my favorite days.  I loved planning lessons related to Dr. Seuss and reading his books.  Now, as a stay-at-home mom My Lil Monkey and I will be reading lots of Dr. Seuss today. :)  

Are you doing anything in honor of Seuss' birthday?

Quote of the Month

~Lillian Dickson

Quote of the Month

Check out my previous post to see why this quote is perfect for me right now.  :)

(I'll give you a hint.  It's my manuscript that's the caterpillar.)

Quote of the Month

Man, I love Dr. Seuss! Happy October! :)


*Update: This is my most popular post of all time, and for a long time I couldn't figure out why, since no one ever comments on it.  The reason it's so popular?  Everyone's pinning it to Pinterest!  Happy Pinning everyone!

Quote of the Month

Wise words from Ghandi. Happy September!