My Creatively Random Life

It has been a while since I have been here on the blog but I decided that since I was home and unable to do much else I would throw down for the A to Z Challenge this year.  I know that I have tried specific themes in the past, usually reading related but themes very much seem to hold me back. This year my theme is random, literally, I went to randomwordgenerator.com and put in the letters and picked the first word that came up.  It has made for an interesting list, one that has come up with a lot of topics for posts that will hopefully inspire myself writing them and anyone reading them this year. I know that we are all going through varying degrees of tough times right now but we need to find the bright spots when and where we can. I look forward to reading everyone's blogs in April. Melissa

Every now and then I run across something on the internet that is truly awesome, or at least amuses the heck out of me.  My most recent finding was the Time Lord Name Generator  which as you can imagine I very excited to see what my Time Lord name would be. Your time lord name is: The Poet Your original Gallifreyan name is Vangothdanboradruchardath, or Vangoth for short. Back on Gallifrey, you led a dull and uninteresting life, working as a Weapons Keeper for the Chancellery Guard – but now, you travel Time and Space in search of adventure! Your Type 101 TARDIS is currently stuck in disguise as a monster truck called 'The Destroyer', and your latest travelling companion is a Sontaran Lieutenant, who is attempting to learn more about the difficult art of Not Killing People. Get your own time lord name from the time lord name generator! I am very excited that my TARDIS is a monster truck, I think it's fitting.  What did you think of the test?  Are you a Do...

Sometimes when the kids stay home for the weekend we get up to some pretty random stuff.  Today we joined Richard of Muddy York Walking Tours for a Battle of York Battleground tour.  We then popped over and wandered around Fork York for a bit.  The weather was a bit blustery (or a lot) but apparently that is historically accurate for April of 1813.  The tour started at the western edge of Toronto's exhibition grounds, where Richard explained to us in detail how the American ships landed (west of where they intended due to the wind) in the harbor and around 1,800 soldiers ended up on the shore.   The Americans fought their way Eastward against the British and Canadians from there.  The Battle of York marked the first victory for the Americans in the War of 1812. The tour took us across the Canadian National Exhibition grounds which are littered with monuments.  We got to see Scadding Cabin which is the oldest building in Toronto.  It was origi...

Okay, so I received this in my e-mail and decided that it was awesome.  Since I am horrible at following rules of any sort (plus I thought it would make a great if long winded post) here goes my answers.  Er, the original instructions are here as well.  Bucket List - please play along -- you will be surprised at the responses. Whether you've done this before or not, be a good sport. Do it again (and take a brain break from your job for a minute)! Bucket List...Hit forward and place an x by all the things you've done, remove the x from the ones you have not, and send it to at least six of your friends (including me).  This is your life: ( ) Shot a gun   ( X )  Skipped school -at least a class a day from the middle of grade 10...I was a bad, bad girl.  ( ) Watched someone die ( ? )  Visited Canada -I'm not sure if this one counts as I live in Canada, but I have visited other places in Canada.  ( )   Visited Ha...

Lately life has been doing a lot to get in the way of the flow of my creative juices, I am sure you have probably noticed from my major MIAness (that should totally be a word) in the past month.   It's been a little bit depressing to say the least. Anyhow, the other day I got a text from a friend that provided a jolt of creative inspiration.  (Who knew?  I mean, probably other than him.  He is useful like that.  It's probably why we are friends.  Other than the fact that he encourages my shoe addiction.  I will happily be friends with anyone that does that.)  Er, back to my point I think. He sent me this link  which deals with taking the things in life that don't go your way (which tends to happen more often than not) and turning it into something positive.  Which is something that I think every artist does, whether they be a writer, painter, designer, singer, etc.  Otherwise we drown in the pain that li...

I have a lot of ideas for things to blog about; craft tutorials, random parenting rants, recipes, writing, poetry etc.  But one thing I could never settle on was how to go about introducing myself to my audience (assuming anyone ever reads it).  It's something I struggle with a great deal as a writer, I can tell a very complex story, with wonderfully formed characters but the beginning is agonizing for me. No time like the present however to take the plunge and put it out there I have decided.  The ideas, the photos, they are all piling up and really...if everyone else can do it why can't I.  Even if nobody reads it at least I will feel the accomplishment of having done it. As for the actually introducing myself part: Hi, my name is Melissa.  I am an avid writer, reader, sewer, crocheter, sometimes knitter, occasional any other craft you can think of er.  I am a mom to two cute and mischievous children.  Cat, 2.5 and Ace, who will be 7 in about an ...