zebu

Friday Five: The Random Edition

/ Tracy Abell / 13 Comments

                 

1)  I have a piece up on Commentarista.com today. HEAVY METAL MOUTH chronicles my experiences as 
a brace-face adult, and I hope you stop by to laugh at my expense.

2)  Today is graduation day at Red Rocks and our friend Brian is graduating. He’s actually three weeks 

younger than Wildebeest but started school at a younger age in California. We’re going to his party later where 
I’m sure I’ll get teary and embarrass him. It’s Brian’s turn today, Wildebeest graduates next year, Brian’s sister 
the year after, and then Zebu is the last of the gang. Time is whipping on by . . .
  
3)  Earlier this week I ran the neighborhood loop for the first time in a month or so, and am here to tell you:
keep up with your yoga practice! I haven’t been doing yoga nearly enough and really felt the difference in my
lungs. Who would’ve thought?
 
4)  I  just realized I don’t like this type of unrelated list for Friday Five because when I read a jumbled 
assortment on other blogs, I get overwhelmed thinking I need to comment on each and every item.  So if you’re
equally neurotic and starting to freak out, DON’T! It’s all good!
 
5)  Well, now it’d be kind of silly to add anything else, wouldn’t it? Let’s end with an assortment of produce:
 

                                                                                          image by morguefile.com

Have a colorful and varied weekend, friends!

Setting Goals and Reaching Them

/ Tracy Abell / 16 Comments

                      

Just found out that Zebu made the junior varsity basketball team for summer league.


                                                                                    image from morguefile.com

The boy is a work horse.
Not naturally gifted, but an incredibly hard worker who went after what he wanted.

I could learn a lot from him.
           

Thankful Thursday: The Backhanded Edition

/ Tracy Abell / 9 Comments

                 

I’m thankful that Wildebeest’s borrowed iPod (his is MIA) provided us with a different
get-ready-for-school soundtrack this morning : Michael Jackson (rather than the usual death metal or rap.)

I’m thankful I was able to make an appointment for Zebu to see the pediatric orthopedist this afternoon
to examine his knee that popped during track practice yesterday.

I’m thankful I own a Neti pot and can clear my nasal passages that are congested due to a lousy head cold.

 

I’m thankful I have the time and space to express these thoughts.
Really. I am.
Thankful.
           
              

On Running and Writing

/ Tracy Abell / 15 Comments

                 

Zebu and Wildebeest are distance runners on the track team.

They have a teammate who started the season training with the sprinters.
One evening Zebu told me this kid (I’ll call him Whiz), accidentally missed the turnoff
for the sprinters during that day’s practice and instead ran the distance practice (4-5 miles).
With awe in his voice, Zebu said, "He kept up the whole way."

A couple weeks ago, the coach needed to fill some slots because of injuries and
put Whiz into an 800 meter race (two laps around the track which equals one half-mile).
Whiz won his heat.

 

A few days later, Whiz was on the 4 X 800 relay (each runner does two laps and

then passes a baton to the next runner on team).
The boy passing the baton to Whiz accidentally stepped on the back of Whiz’s shoe and 
Whiz spent valuable seconds trying to get the shoe back on his foot before kicking it off
and running his two laps with one shoe on and one shoe off.
Whiz’s time in that race beat Zebu’s best time.
 
This past weekend, Whiz ran his first 1600 meter race (four laps which equals one mile).
He ran it in 5:11, beating Zebu and Wildebeest’s best times.
 
Zebu is proud of Whiz, a fellow freshman and super nice kid, 
but is also flabbergasted by his ability to run so fast without all the miles
Zebu and Wildebeest have logged in their training.
 
I can relate.
Not just in my own running, but in my writing life, too.
 
I told Zebu that there are Naturals and there are Work Horses
(and, of course, Naturals who work very, very hard to get even better). 
 
I told him about the hardworking top-runner on my high school cross country team
who was knocked from her number-one spot by a freshman girl who just showed up
and blew everyone else away.
 
Then I said, "It’s a lot like the journey to publication. There are some people who write 
the perfect book at the perfect time, and their careers take off. Then there are those
who have to work hard for a long, long time to get there. I’m one of those work horses."
 
His silence told me maybe I shouldn’t have put it in those terms. 
Zebu’s had an up-close and sometimes painful window into my quest for publication,
and my unpublished status probably makes me a not-so-good poster child for Work Horses.
 
It’s true.
I’ve worked long and I’ve worked hard, and publication still hasn’t happened for me.
But whenever I wonder whether it’s time to let go of the dream, 
I think about my kids witnessing my efforts over the years.
And while I know hard work is no guarantee of success, 
I also know I don’t want them to think of me as The Work Horse Who Never Reached Her Goal.
 
So I guess that means, at least for the time being, I’ll keep doing what it takes.
I’ll be the Work Horse with one shoe on and one shoe off,
running hard for that finish line.
 
              

Mahalo

/ Tracy Abell / 15 Comments

             

Tomorrow morning (Saturday), Zippy, Wildebeest, Zebu, and I
are flying to Oahu for spring break.

We haven’t had a family vacation in about three years
because the last one we took (car trip) was a nightmare.
Arguing.
Sullenness.
More arguing.
Refusal to participate.
Bad attitudes and all-around-unpleasantness.

Zippy and I swore we’d never vacation with them again.

Well, we’ve reached a new place (as a family) and now get along much better.

All of us.
So I suggested we try one more family vacation, this time to the destination of the kids’ choice.
They wanted Australia or London (which we couldn’t afford) and then agreed on Hawaii.
 
We’re renting an out-of-the-way place on the beach and bringing lots of sun block.
 
I’ve got high hopes for our time together, and believe we’ll create lots of good memories.
In the meanwhile, I wish everyone a splendid week filled with all-around pleasantness.
 

                                                                                            image from morguefile.com

ALOHA!

Friday Five: The March Madness Edition

/ Tracy Abell / 10 Comments

      

1) Yesterday Zippy, Wildebeest, Zebu, and I watched four men’s college basketball games
from our seats in the rafters and

 
2) had great fun
 
3) despite the sound of our brackets exploding with upsets (we’re looking at you, Louisville!),
 
4) and are now looking forward to Gonzaga beating BYU on Saturday 
 
5) because in our collective opinion, BYU’s only redeeming quality is having female cheerleaders 
who sometimes do back-flips when a player makes a free-throw.

   

                                                    image from morguefile.com


Keep your eyes on those dreams and have a grand weekend!  

               

                  

Friday Five: The Numbers Edition

/ Tracy Abell / 10 Comments

              

I’ve invited these big, friendly numbers to help me quantify this week . . .


                                                               image from morguefiles.com

1)  I’m writing my new book 500-words per day. 

2)  I’m reading an incredible book about the 60s: COUNTDOWN by Deborah Wiles.

3)  Wildebeest is shooting for a 3.7 GPA this semester, and thinks he’ll
achieve it by "not screwing around on my elective."

4)  After a three-game dry spell, Zebu scored 13 points in his basketball
game on Wednesday.

5)  Right now there’s sunshine, and we’re supposed to hit 50 degrees later today.

Wishing everyone a numerically- satisfying weekend!

                

Basketball Jones

/ Tracy Abell / 11 Comments

             

Zebu is now a high school freshman 
and on the basketball team.

Last night was his first game, but I wasn’t there.
Zebu was a bit nervous and told Zippy and me
it would be better if we didn’t attend.

Wildebeest (junior) went to the game
along with three friends.

Apparently they yelled and cheered for everything
Zebu did on the court, and he played a great game.

He said he wants Wildebeest & Co at every game.


                                                                              Image from morguefiles.com

There has been a HUGE shift in their relationship,
and I think it’s because they’re in high school together.
Somehow that’s equalized their kinship,
and now they truly enjoy each other’s company.

I wanted to share this because I know some of you despair
that your younger children will ever be friends.
There’s no guarantee they will, of course, but it doesn’t hurt
for me to dangle some hope.

The hope that someday things would be better
got me through some difficult times with those boys.
                             

Friday Five: The Catching Up Edition

/ Tracy Abell / 9 Comments

               

1)  Hello, friends!  Maybe you noticed I’ve been AWOL from TracyWorld.  Why?  Busy, busy, busy.

2)  Last weekend with the help of Zippy, Wildebeest, and Zebu, I placed 12 tons of landscaping
rock around the perimeter of our newly landscaped yard.  Yesterday I spent the day with a Rug Doctor,
bringing the basement carpeting back to life.  This weekend I’ll be cleaning walls and beams in preparation
for the painting crew.  I appear to be nesting.  No, I’m not pregnant.

3)  Despite the above, I’ve been working on BIRD BRAIN revisions.  This round, I’m working off  ‘s 
comments, and am thrilled with the improvements.  I’m so grateful for all the wonderful critiques I’ve received,
and am looking forward to querying soon.

4)  Tuesday night I got together with  who was in town.  We’d never met in person but bonded 
immediately and had a wonderful time in a sports bar on election night.  Really.  If you have to suffer through a
political crap storm, you want to do it with someone smart and funny.  I’ll always remember I was with Phoebe when
I learned civil liberties champion Sen. Russ Feingold lost his re-election bid (shame on my fellow cheeseheads!)

***  IMAGINE A DELICIOUS BROWNIE SUNDAE PHOTO HERE ***
(Because we were sporting I VOTED stickers, the bar gave us a free brownie sundae but I don’t know how to
send phone pic to email).

5)  Yesterday Wildebeest turned 17.  I keep thinking I’m too young to have a child that old, but I guess the
facts are against me on that one.

I’ve missed everyone and hope to catch up on LiveJournal when I get a little more breathing room.
I wish you all a glorious, early November weekend!


 

Establishing Routines and Letting Them Go

/ Tracy Abell / 11 Comments

            

Last night I realized I felt pretty crappy.
My neck was stiff, my head hurt, and my entire body felt tight.

Wait, I thought, I recognize this feeling.
It’s how I used to go through most every day.

In fact, I felt that way for most of my adult life until I started a daily yoga routine,
and then I became relaxed and loose.
And that’s how I’ve been for the past year and a half: relaxed and loose.

Last school  year I’d get up at 6:00, put on my yoga togs, wash my face,
and then feed my kids and pack their lunches.
Zebu and Wildebeest were out of the house by 7:05,
and I’d go straight into my little "yoga studio" for my session.

I did not pass GO,
I did not loiter in the kitchen,
and I most certainly didn’t get lured to the world wide web.
I did what needed to be done.
(And then I passed GO, stuffed my face, and surfed the web).

This school year, the boys’ schedules are scrambled and by the time they’re out the door,
I’m hungry.
Really hungry. 
I don’t want to do yoga, dammit.
I want food and coffee.

And now my body is suffering from a yoga-deficit.

So I’m trying to establish a new routine,
one that allows for flexibility (pun NOT intended).
I’m telling myself it’s okay to eat in the morning and
it’s okay to do yoga at 11:00.
Really, it’s okay to do yoga at any time during the day.

And the same goes for my writing which is also suffering a disruption in routine.
It’s okay to write at any time during the day, as long as I write.
Because in the same way I now know/remember how crappy I feel when I don’t do yoga regularly,
I know how out of sorts I feel when I don’t write every day.

So.
Routines are great, until they’re not.
And then it’s time to create new ones.

Routines that can bend and flex with my daily needs.
                  

Friday Five: The School Daze Edition

/ Tracy Abell / 8 Comments

         

1)  Dropped Zebu at the high school this morning for freshmen orientation.

2)  Zebu was disdainful yesterday when I asked if he knew what he was going to wear today,
     yet this morning proudly pointed out that his shoes matched his shirt. 

3)  Wildebeest got himself up and out the door for a 6 a.m. cross country practice this morning.  Wow.

4)  Zebu and Wildebeest have a gym class together this semester, and are giddy with excitement.

5)  I cannot believe summer vacation is over.

         
                                                                     © Tracy Abell 2010

Wishing everyone a glorious August weekend!
                    

Selective Neglect

/ Tracy Abell / 16 Comments

           

I went out into my garden just now.
It’s not a pretty sight.

I’ve neglected it for the past couple months
as I focused on my writing projects.

Here’s Lamb’s Ear strangled with bind weed:

Yarrow upstaged by thistle:

Sunflower in a neck-and-neck race with incredibly tall thistles:

Yesterday Zebu came out in the front yard where I was busting sod,
a task I began a month or so ago.
I’m taking out a huge area of lawn to be replaced with rocks
and isolated plantings.

Zebu asked, "Do you expect to have this done by winter?"
I replied in the affirmative.
Zebu expressed some doubts.
"Not only that," I said.  "But I’m also going to have the kitchen all painted
and finish my book."
He said, "Something won’t get done."
I said, "Well, it won’t be my book.  I’m finishing that."

He went back inside,
and I dug out another piece of lawn.
                                

Boy Stink

/ Tracy Abell / 8 Comments

        

Seeing as I live in a house full of boys,
I think it’s fair I post the girl perspective:

AGNES by Tony Cochran

I don’t know about dead chickens,
but I’d definitely say my snorts of boy
either clear my head or knock me out.
               

Two Birds, Two Birds, Two Birds in One

/ Tracy Abell / 18 Comments

            

This morning Zippy dropped Wildebeest and Zebu at the bus station
where they got on a bus headed to Albuquerque.
They will be with Zippy’s sister for the weekend.

Which means….
I get to write and write and write.

So, in honor of my BIRD BRAIN focus,
here is a blurry pic of two birds huddled together on a branch in Kiowa.
I felt their watchful gaze as I took wildflower photos with my macro-lens,
and turned to see them in the tree.

The photo quality is poor but I still think they’re darned cute.
Whatever they are.

Happy writing day to everyone!
            

Headed South

/ Tracy Abell / 12 Comments

            

Tomorrow (Friday morning) we’re headed to Westcliffe to spend time with family.
We’ll be at 9000 feet elevation
so sunburns will be more likely,
as will being out of breath.

It’s always a challenge to run there.
Listen carefully and you might hear hear me panting.
This year Zebu and Wildebeest plan to run, too,
so if the wheezing is extra loud, know I had company.

I’m taking BIRD BRAIN with me because today some extra special friends
gave me a much-needed boost of confidence.  Thank you, all.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend.
               

Hello, It’s Another Week

/ Tracy Abell / 23 Comments

             
               

Saturday was the official end-of-Mentor-Program picnic in the mountains.
I gave my mentor, Claudia Mills, a little plaque that included this:

                        CLAWDIA

 

This morning I ran on the trails and fell.
But it was the best fall, ever.
When I told Zebu that, he asked "Did you stick it on the dismount?"
I did!

Today I start my new plan for BIRD BRAIN,
which is to rewrite chapters from scratch.
I’ve been working on voice/characterization but it feels as if I’m
nickel and diming the story.
So….time to get serious and write it anew.
Zoinks.

I hope everyone’s Monday is off to a stellar start, and that the week just keeps getting
better and better.
            

Friday Five: The Zebu Birthday Edition

/ Tracy Abell / 18 Comments

            

1)  Zebu was born in Anchorage, Alaska, fourteen years ago today
after twenty-six hours of labor from which I went temporarily AWOL.
2)  I’d planned a home birth but since Zebu was early, law dictated I had to be in the hospital,
which is one of my least favorite places on the planet.
3) But I coped by going out on the grounds with my friend, A, who coached me through
contractions as we watched a moose ramble around.
4) We found out later the nurses were paging me over and over, but I eventually returned to my room
and they didn’t yell all that much.
5)  After many more hours of labor, my beautiful Zebu was born, and today we celebrate him.

                 

One constant over the years is Zebu’s robust dislike for having his picture taken.
                        

Zebu’s Moving On

/ Tracy Abell / 16 Comments

            

Today is the end of Zebu’s school year.
His last day of eighth grade and middle school.
The last day to ride the school bus
and witness kids throwing plastic soldiers out the windows at cars,
and other acts of idiocy.

He’s happy.
Happy, happy.

So in honor of his accomplishment
and also to brighten this overcast day,
I bring you a festive American Goldfinch:


                                                                                   © 2010 Zippy

We have a new thistle feeder, and this bird swooped in on the second day.
Haven’t seen him since, though, so if he shows up in your yard,
please tell him Tracy says hello.
                  

My Bold Men

/ Tracy Abell / 6 Comments

           

As I type this,
Zippy, Wildebeest, and Zebu
are running the Bolder Boulder 10k.

They should be heading into their third mile right now.
The third mile’s the hardest on this course.
Uphill and lots of turns.

Go, men, go!
Lean into the hill and lift those knees!
You’re doing great!
        

Fun at the dentist office! Really!

/ Tracy Abell / 23 Comments

          

Who says it’s no fun going to the dentist?
I just spent an hour there and had a grand time.

Did I mention I was only in the waiting room?
Zebu had an appointment to get his braces-clad teeth cleaned,
so I hung out in the front office.

Did my figure eights,
inserted my ear plugs,
and drafted another couple pages of my final chapter.

Let’s hear it for the dentist office!
           

Zebu and The Onion

/ Tracy Abell / 3 Comments

         

              
This is what made Zebu laugh hysterically today.
He kept reading bits aloud from this "news item" out of The Onion:  Ad Nauseaum
and since life is scary right now with, well, all that stuff on the news,
I thought I’d share a portion:

McDonald’s Drops ‘Hammurderer’ Character From Advertising

March 6, 2002 | ISSUE 38•08

 
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The discontinued character.

Developed by Chicago advertising agency DDB Needham, the Hammurderer made his debut two months ago and has since appeared in a series of Saturday-morning television commercials, as well as on Happy Meal bags and activity placemats. All appearances by and references to the violent, ill-tempered prison escapee will be dropped.

"Over the years, McDonald’s has successfully introduced a number of new characters whose defining characteristic is a certain measure of comical, criminal intent," said Andrew Perlich, McDonald’s vice-president of promotions. "Such shady characters as The Hamburglar, The Goblins, and the bloodthirsty pirate Captain Crook have all fit nicely into the McDonald’s advertising universe. We had every reason to believe that the Hammurderer, with his long rap sheet of burger-related crimes and his signature cry of ‘Stabble Stabble Stabble,’ would take his place in this proud lineage of McDonaldland mischief-makers."

The Hammurderer’s Jan. 11 debut ad—in which he seizes and devours the McDonald’s Happy Meal Guys, oblivious to their frantic screams—earned poor marks from parents and child-development experts, who feared the spot might send the message to children that killing is acceptable. Several weeks later, more controversy erupted over the promotional coloring book "Shivved In The McRibs," in which the Hammurderer decapitates Mayor McCheese and eats his head. Responding to widespread public outrage, McDonald’s executives defended the coloring book as "not nearly as violent or socially irresponsible as it has been made out to be, given that the Mayor’s head is, in fact, a giant and conceivably edible cheeseburger."

……………………………..

There, don’t you feel all better now?
                    

Friday Five: The Take It From Me Edition

/ Tracy Abell / 12 Comments

            

1)  While it’s good to have teen sons responsible for the weekly cleaning of their bathroom,

2)  it’s probably best to now and again check on the actual "cleanliness" of said room

3)  because those little microorganisms can gain an astoundingly tenacious foothold on all surfaces

4) and you will need a strong stomach plus a haz-mat suit to battle them

5)  but as long as you have Jimi Hendrix on the boombox, you will PREVAIL.

Wishing everyone a happy weekend (and depending on your mental state, you may or may not want to check the kids’ bathroom).
              

Spring Break!

/ Tracy Abell / 17 Comments

          

This morning I took Wildebeest and Zebu to the airport
and left them at the curb.
They wanted to navigate DIA on their own as they head
to Florida to visit their grandma (my mother) for spring break.

They should be landing in another twenty minutes or so.

When this photo was taken in southern Colorado on spring break in 2000,
I don’t think I could even imagine the day when they’d travel alone.

They will definitely experience higher temps in Florida than we had in 2000,
and I’m almost positive Wildebeest will be in a better frame of mind.