GMM Apocalypse Video

This is my last post on this blog, at least for a while, so I thought a good way to go out would be to share one of my favorite Good Mythical Morning episodes, their apocalypse video.

Love, Mackenzie

A Great New Song

Love, Mackenzie

UUGH.

... Our washing machine stopped working last night......... it didn't drain and now we have to open it up and fix the drain. Which means I have to wait to wash any more clothes.

UUUUUGH.

Love, Mackenzie

UGH.

My dishwasher broke just before my boys went to bed so I had to hand wash all of the dishes in my dishwasher. This included; seven big plates, two small plates, thirteen cups, two cutting boards, a dozen kid bowls, my one and only pot, my blender, and my one and only 9x13 pan. That does not include all of my silverware which was dirty too.

For anyone who doesn't know, my worst nightmare is not having a dishwasher. AND IT HAPPENED.

Hopefully we can fix it soon... Otherwise I might go mad...

Love, Mackenzie

Film Theory: Is Dory Faking??

Enjoy!

Love, Mackenzie

Still Sick

Still feeling sick, going to take another day off...


Love, Mackenzie

I'm Sick

I'm running a 101 temperature and I've felt like crud all day, so I'm taking a break.

Love, Mackenzie

#1-Patrick at Work

     "Love ya," Caitlyn told him with a kiss to his cheek as she went to the back desk.
     Patrick replied the sentiment and sat behind the front desk and found the keys to open the library doors where three people were already waiting. The sliding doors parted and they all darted inside like flies into a kitchen window. Patrick smiled when he saw a mom and two kids heading for the doors and he went back to his post.
     Patrick pulled out a copy of The Giver from it's place where he left it the evening before and he started reading when a woman, Marci, approached him.
     "My account online said Twilight would be in the 'on hold' section today. Where is it?"
     "Umm I'm not certain, but let me check my computer real quick. . . Could I have your library card, please?"
     The woman rolled her eyes and pulled out her walled, sliding the card across the desk toward him. Patrick picked it up with his fingernails and flipped it over so he could input her member number into the computer. Once he did, he was a fast typist, her account popped up on the screen and she began tapping her fingers on the desk.
     "It says here that you don't have any holds, Ma'am."
     "You're joking, right? 'Ma'am'? I only have, like, five minutes to be in my car to get to work on time, I need to pick it up now."
     "I can have it ready for you by the end of the day or you're welcome to pick up a copy from our young adult section, it's just over there." Patrick said.
     Marci scoffed and ripped her card from his hand, rushing over to the teen section.
     Patrick returned to his book and Marci clouded his thoughts. He'd never really enjoyed being with her as a couple and it was even worse since she knew he was working at the library until he graduated. He was, however, was distracted when Caitlyn walked by his desk on her way to the back room. He knew he'd never get sick of staring at her. She winked at him as she went into the back.
     He wasn't expecting to see who walked through the door next.
     It was the gentleman he'd bumped into earlier that day on his run, only he looked even more pissed off than before. He practically huffed and puffed when he caught a glimpse of Patrick, who felt himself sink into his chair just a little...

More tomorrow...

Love, Mackenzie

#1-Patrick's Morning Run

     Patrick leaves his apartment, locking up before he goes. He slips his keys into his pocket and goes downstairs before realizing his left shoelace wasn't tight enough. He sat on the bottom step (he lived on the fourth floor) and tied it tighter.
    Then, he was off into the brisk autumn morning. He had his arms up at a 90 degree angle, the cords on his headphones whacked his chest at each step. He felt the slow burn building in his chest the more his heart raced. Air whipped his cheeks and he traveled the familiar path he'd jogged for the past three years.
     He passed the same female runners on his way that he'd passed before, and even though he checked them out, neither of them were at the top of his list. He turned his thoughts to Caitlyn. The beautiful blonde he'd left at the apartment. Those blue eyes that captivated him since his first day at the Library. The thought made a smile creep onto his face and he kept on going, running faster so he'd be in front of the women.
     Later he runs past an old woman who carries hand weights and wears enormous ankle weights as her fluffy permed hair bounces up and down. He waves and bumps into someone.
It's a middle aged man who he's seen a time or two, but he hadn't known his name.
     "Sorry 'bout that." Patrick said before stepping out of the gentleman's way.
     "Watch where you're going. . ." The guy said softly as Patrick ran off.


More tomorrow...

Love, Mackenzie

#1-Patrick's Average Day

Patrick is an early riser, around 6 AM, where he has a morning run. After his run, he showers and eats his egg white and salsa on toast breakfast. He begins his shift at the library at 8 AM where he runs the front desk. He loves his job and he loves it even more since his girlfriend Caitlyn works there too, they actually met each other there. They take a lunch break together and they often enjoy walking to the Subway down the road.
After his shift, he goes home before class. Then he comes home afterward and waits for Caitlyn to come on over. They watch an episode of The Walking Dead or Grey's Anatomy before turning in for bed.

More to come tomorrow...


Love, Mackenzie

#1-Family and Other Stuff

Patrick is the second of five children, born to Don and Marie Huff. He's the only boy and he's going to school to become a psychologist. He's a hardcore bibliophile and he has a pet African Grey parrot named Barney who keeps him company since he lives two states away from his family.

Love, Mackenzie

#1-Basic Character Profile

Patrick James Huff
Born: August 8, 1990
Occupation: Librarian
Hobbies: Riding a motorcycle, he belongs to a local motorcycle club
Height: 5'8"
Hair: Chestnut brown, parted
Eyes: Green
Defining Features: Roman nose and a sunny smile

...That's all for now.

Love, Mackenzie

#1-The Name

Patrick Huff is his name.

More about his story tomorrow...

Love, Mackenzie

A New Concept

My dearest husband Josh has given me the best idea to rejuvenate my love of this blogging project. And it's a little twisted, but needless to say I'm all over it.

Every week (or so) I'm going to create a new character for ya'll to learn about and hopefully learn to love (or hate) and then on Sunday-ish each week I'll decide their fate at the end of the week.

I think this idea will really help me with my character creation, making lots of depth and stuff, and also it helps with my upcoming murder mystery series. I've been struggling with coming up with who I can kill for my sleuth to solve the crime... Great grammar, Mackenzie. 

WHAT I MEANT TO TYPE WAS,

I've been struggling to come up with a victim of a murder that my sleuth can help solve...

UGH.

YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING.

. . . . . .

. . . . . .

. . . . . .

ANYWAY.

So I'm going to try this out and see how it goes.

The End.

Love, Mackenzie

Picture Prompt Saturday

Here's this weeks picture prompt, complete with the link!

Happy writing!

Love, Mackenzie

UGH.

My writing has stalled once again, and I'm super distracted by my figure skater romance, but I know I need to finish drafts 4 and 2......... UGH.

And a couple people who I'm close to in life didn't invite me to something and I'm a little bitter about it. UUUUUUUUUGH.

...........
...........
...........




UGH.

Love, Mackenzie

Getting My Groove Back

After about a week of writers block wreaking havoc on my brain, I feel like the fog is clearing up and the words are flowing better.

Oh, and I've decided to pursue two new romance novels once All I Wanted and Last Ditch are done. (The figure skating one I've talked about in past posts is my NaNo project for this year so that is my deadline for finishing the current drafts of the above listed ones)

Love, Mackenzie

Writing Prompt Wednesday

Here's this weeks writing prompt, complete with the link!

Happy writing!

Love, Mackenzie

WAITING.

Waiting... Waiting... Waiting....

Love, Mackenzie

The Village

Tonight Josh and I watched my favorite movie of all time, THE VILLAGE.

The more I watched it, the more I remembered why I love it. It combines some of my favorite things. Romance. Tasteful Drama. MONSTERS.

AAAAAAH.
It's pure perfection.

Love, Mackenzie

Stupid Period

My stupid period. I haven't even started, but my daggum hormones are flipping out.

Normally I'm logical and rational, but today, I've been snapping at Josh left and right and I started an argument at 10:30 at night over something I don't even remember. And it's only been 10 MINUTES since that happened.

I HATE BEING A WOMAN SOMETIMES.
STUPID. PERIODS.

My mood starts like,

And then it goes,

And then,

And after that,

And then I finally realize I've been irrational, rude and hormonal, I look at myself like,

Love, Mackenzie

P.S. I don't really toss tables but I feel pretty damn close to doing so.

Picture Prompt Saturday

Here's this weeks picture prompt with the link! I must admit, I am smitten with this piece of art. . . I think I'll claim him as my own but I don't know where I'd put him. . .

Happy Writing!

Love, Mackenzie

Well, Crap

I MISSED A DAY.

DAMMIT.

I'll do better later... Although I'm kicking myself because I went 153 days straight, so crap.

Love, Mackenzie

Writing Prompt Wednesday

Here's this weeks prompt, complete with the link!

Happy writing!

Love, Mackenzie

Swap.com--First Order Review

I'll admit it.
I hate clothes shopping.
My wardrobe shows a lot of sad looking, well loved pieces, but last month I realized I needed something else.
But my issue was with going to stores, feeling judged for being in the large and XL sections, and leaving with nothing I liked.
BLAH.

But then I came across a website that I decided to try out. It's called swap.com

and I couldn't believe the ease of use! Their filters are crazy specific (although I wish they always had the option to narrow down by color...) and there is literally something for everyone, even me. I don't know what I want most of the time, but when I see it, I know.

Anyway, I received my first Swap shipment this afternoon and I'm very pleased with what I picked out!

I ordered a hoodie, a pair of jeans (dark green jeans, I might add,) grey yoga pants, a black shirt, a black and white striped shirt, and an Aztec patterned shirt.

I tried all of them on and they all fit me the way I'd hoped. And the best part about buying gently used clothes is that they've already shrunk in the wash. There's nothing worse than buying something that fits you like a dream only to have it be too small after three washes. (Story of my life.....)

The box was well packed, the clothes were carefully folded and sealed in plastic, which I felt was very professional, and I liked that everything was in good condition, just as advertised. Buying from them has taken quite literally all of the stress of clothes shopping out of the picture for me and that's like a dream come true.

To be brief, I plan on using their site next month.

Love, Mackenzie

Currently I'm. . . (First Installment)

Reading. . . A Whispered Kiss, a romance novel recommended to me by my brother-in-law's girlfriend, Bri, and Love, Lucas. Love Lucas is one of my favorites so I recommend you check it out.

Playing. . . Pokemon X and Animal Crossing: New Leaf. I love both of them and once I beat Pokemon X, I'll move on to Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I LOVE my 3DS.

Watching. . . Josh and I are going to finish up Arrow (at least everything that's on Netflix) and then we'll move on to Breaking Bad... I'm wildly excited for it.

Trying. . . To eat better and work out more. But I already posted about that a few days ago... Maybe I'll make a day of the week dedicated to my progress with this??

Cooking. . . I'm wanting to learn more techniques when it comes to baking. It's something I was never surrounded by as a kid, my mom avoided sweets like the plague, so it's something I'm practicing.

Eating. . . Lately I've been eating a lot of Poptarts and puffed Cheetos.... I think it's been stress eating over the weekend, but that's okay. I've been balancing it by working out to compensate for the extra calories.

Drinking. . . I don't drink a lot of things other than water..... It's honestly so yummy, especially when it's icy cold.... AAAAAAH.

Calling. . . My side of the couch.

Texting. . . I've been getting bombarded with texts since Josh's accident. I hope that things will die down even more quickly so I can get back to my quiet days. I'm not a planner so having things going like crazy has been less than favorable.

Pinning. . . I've been pinning a ton of Cake Pop ideas, I've wanted to make some, I think I'll try it next month.

Loving. . . The feeling of working out and making sure I don't eat enough. I never thought I'd say it, but it feels good to get fit.

(Just to clarify, I DO NOT GIVE A DAMN about becoming skinny. I want to feel healthy and confident, and I'm fairly confident that will come when I hit a size 12, and I'm currently a 16)

Discovering. . . I'm getting back into my vocabulary studies and Josh introduced me to H.P. Lovecraft's work. We're reading to each other at night and it's so fun and bonding for us.

Finishing. . . Judging myself too harshly. Life's too short to hate myself.

Starting. . . Loosely planning for NaNoWriMo in November. I'm so stoked!

Love, Mackenzie

BLACK

Something odd happened just now. I pulled out my laptop, opened it up and thought about what to write about. I drew a blank.

How odd, I thought. This hasn't happened in the history of this blog.

Normally I can just think of something in my life that's interesting and write about it but there's nothing. Maybe its because I'm coming off the high of Josh nearly drowning last week. But I can't be sure.
So I decided to turn to my good buddy Pinterest for an idea. I have a blogging board there and I looked at the first post I have. I went down to the tenth day (it was one of those idea posts for one post each day of the month) and it said what did you wear today?

WELL.

I've had an issue with struggling to have clothes that fit. This has gone on for far too long and I'm finally remedying the situation. I have a package in the mail with three shirts, two pairs of pants and a hoodie. Take a moment and guess which part of that I'm most excited for.
Anyway, the package shouldn't arrive until later this week and so I was forced to wear an outfit that I like but it's not my favorite. It's a shirt that has white and pink stripes and a grey maxi skirt with a pendant necklace and CZ stud earrings.
It's not a bad outfit, but I have a specific look I L.O.V.E.

Black.
All black.
Everything, all black.
Black pants.
Black shoes.
Black shirt.

EVERYTHING.

I've tried basically every style over the years and the style that makes me feel most comfortable and confident is all black everything. So at this point, I'm trying to expand my wardrobe so every shirt in my wardrobe contains at least a little black. Eventually I might get through my pants and make all of them black too... But we'll see.
I also have a dream of owning solid black high-top chucks. Like the rubber and laces and everything.

I realize that an all black wardrobe is a bit restrictive, so one of my shirts in the incoming order is solid black, another is black and white stripes, and the third is black, white and red, sort of an Aztec type pattern on it. All size large so they should fit me well.

So there you go. I wear color, but I prefer black.

Love, Mackenzie

Picture Prompt Saturday

Happy 150th post! Here's this week's picture prompt with the link!

Happy writing!

Love, Mackenzie

P.S. Josh is home, he's doing well, taking lots of naps and generally his normal self. God is good.

Drowning

I've already written about what exactly happened to Josh yesterday afternoon in my journal, so I don't feel the need to write the whole thing here.

Instead, I've decided to vent my feelings a little, since nobody reads this thing anyway.

To be brief, I'm extremely stressed about the whole situation. Even though I know he's safe, he's with me and he's doing better than I expected, I'm still beyond stressed about everything. I was being driven insane by my children today and I wished I hadn't acted so nasty but I will admit that I wasn't then nicest person. I thought I was okay yesterday, but I'm realizing I'm not.

This type of thing hasn't ever really happened to me before and I think that I can't deal with another one of these situations.

But I did learn something important. I learned that my Father in Heaven is in fact looking out for me and I'm undeniably in love with my man.

Love, Mackenzie

My Chipped Tooth -- Well, Sort Of

On July 4th, I was flossing and something hard and white came out of my mouth and landed in the sink. Upon closer  examination, I realized it looked like a piece of tooth! If you remember a few months ago, I chipped my front tooth while flossing.
Anyway, I got an appointment set up for this morning and they check me. I'm sweating some I hate getting dental work done (except for cleanings, those are awesome)
WELL.
They checked me and they took an x-ray and lo and behold, there wasn't any issues. No cavities, no cracks, no lack of filling. NOTHING.

. . . . . . .

I think my mouth is trying to freak me out.
But there is a plus to all this. I was in and out in ten minutes, and now I'm sitting at the library waiting for it to open and my mom had my kids. This is like a dream.
. . .or maybe even heaven.

Love, Mackenzie

P.S. I do love my children but trying to run basic errands is a challenge so going alone is amazing. But I do love them. ❤

Writing Prompt Wednesday

Here's this week's writing prompt, complete with the link!

Happy writing!

Love, Mackenzie

My Fitness Pal-Day 1

I've signed up with My Fitness Pal and I've been loving it!

.......

Yes, I know I've only been doing it for a day but I still think that it's going to be wildly effective, especially since Josh is going to sign up with me and I'll have him to be accountable with. It also makes me super aware of what I'm eating so I don't go crazy with the snacking.

Currently I'm trying to lose 1 lb a week and I hope I won't feel too deprived at my calorie restrictions.
We'll see just how Hangry I get when I make it to next Tuesday and I'll check back in with ya'll. ALSO. I'm super proud of myself because I forced myself to get on the stationary exercise bike in my living room for a whole 30 minutes this morning.

Thanks for reading!

Love, Mackenzie

Independence Day

Happy July 4th!

God Bless America!

Love, Mackenzie

Last Ditch

My second draft of Acts of Day (now renamed Last Ditch) is going so well! I've been writing like crazy and I'm making great progress. My cousin told me not to over think it and I'm taking her advice as best I can. I'm tweaking each scene a little here and there but for the most part I'm just zipping through this.
UGH.
This is amazing. I love falling in love with my work again. <3 <3 <3

Love, Mackenzie

Picture Prompt Saturday

Here's this weeks picture prompt with the link!

Happy writing!

Love, Mackenzie

Full Speed Ahead

Camp NaNoWriMo is afoot! So far today I've written 1,315 words which is great since I've been taking a break from writing for about three weeks. It also helps that I'm working on the second draft of my super hero novel and I've decided to not change too much. My cousin Kelsie has had to remind me to not over analyze everything and I'm taking her advice.
So obviously that means I'm saving my figure skater romance novel for November, and I'm super excited to start drawing out the plot on post-its.
...get it?
Super excited??

...
...
...

Nevermind.

Love, Mackenzie

"Dating" My Character

Last night I had a bizarre experience in my dream. I've discussed Lucid dreaming in a past post and I've kind of stopped focusing on that for a couple months so what happened last night surprised me even more. Nothing like this has ever happened, but I hope it happens more frequently in the future.

So I don't remember my dream starting but I remember toward the end I was at a pet store looking at fancy betta fish and a hand was put on my shoulder. I turned to see who it was and it was a character from my next romance novel. He looks just like Evan Peters from the third season of AHS. So Evan's face with shaggy, curly, blond hair.

We watched fish for a while and then saved a fish that had jumped out of the tank. I felt pretty awesome after that and he invited me to go to the movies with him so I did. But the thing is, in my dream I knew it was my characters, not Mr. Peters, (I just knew, okay? Even though they look identical.) and I was a little confused when we first began interacting.

Rhett is supposed to be deaf. I've done tons of research for sign language and interpreters and hearing aid possibilities, and I was feeling pretty prepared to write a deaf character. But in my dream my MMC could hear me. He looked at me and responded to me during our pet store visit and smiled when I said humorous things... neither of us were signing. He stayed silent but he could definitely hear me.

After the pet store, he nodded his head to the right and I knew he meant he wanted to take me to the theatre to watch a movie. It turns out it was a horror movie, (maybe my brain is holding tight to the fact that the actor I have envisioned to 'play' Rhett in my brain is strongly associated with the creepiest show on television) and I was nervous to go inside so he wrapped my arm around his arm. The thing was, I was well aware that I was myself and not my female main character (who is yet to be named.) and I was very aware that his intentions with putting my arm in his was purely friendly. I didn't feel any kind of romantic affection when he did this, but I felt comforted and safe.

We went into the movie and my mom was there as a chaperone, don't ask me why, but I sat a seat away from him and at the first jump scare, he reached out and grabbed my hand which was holding onto the seat next to me so hard all my knuckles were white. I released my grip once his hand touched mine and I could feel his caring gaze on the side of my face while my eyes stayed glued to the screen.

As the movie became more intense, my mom suggested that I scoot closer so I'm sitting right next to him (some good chaperoning lol) so I did and he pulled my arm under his and held tighter to my hand.

It wasn't long before we moved further from the screen and on our way up, two creepy guys who weren't real possessed clowns but they were pretending to be. They came up to me with the intention of scaring us but I growled loudly at them and they cowered away from me and we were going to go sit...

And then I woke up.

So now I'm being faced with what that could mean. Like I said earlier, I've never had a dream that included one of my characters. I have a dream that includes a celebrity normally about once a week, but my characters have never actually materialized in my subconsciousness. I'm assuming this means my brain is trying to sort out a flaw in Rhett's character creation before actual writing begins, but what could it mean?? Does this mean I've been writing the wrong disability attached to his character? Is he supposed to be mute, not deaf? Is he really supposed to be this sweet with my female main character during the last portion of the book???

Since I'm writing this piece for NaNoWriMo this year, I have until October 31st to actually go over this dream and figure out what I'll do with it. I'm taking this as a spiritual gift, and I don't want it to go to waste.

And honestly, I've had a lot of amazing and fantastical dreams in the past, but this is the most incredible thing to happen to me dream-wise that I can recall. And I remember most of my dreams. Who gets to say they were able to "date" the person they made up??

I certainly feel blessed for this experience.

Love, Mackenzie

P.S. Don't ask me why I decided to add this GIF to this particular post, it just feels like the right thing to do at the moment.

Writing Prompt Wednesday

Here's this weeks writing prompt with the link! I thought this prompt was particularly chilling, and I think I might turn it into a short story someday...

Happy writing!

Love, Mackenzie

Camp NaNoWriMo Approacheth!

I'm preparing for Camp NaNoWriMo yet again! It starts July 1st and I have to make a big decision. Do I work like crazy on draft 2 of my superhero novel, Acts of Day, or do I pants my figure skater romance novel (which I haven't named yet)....... UGH.

I hate making decisions like this! It's like picking which of my children I love more, which is impossible. Either one will take time and effort creating/perfecting and effort takes time. Which one do I want to spend my limited time with more, though???

I suppose if I worked on my superhero novel, that would give me ample time to work on thorougly planning my romance novel, and I could write that one for November's NaNo.

UGH.

Decisions will have to be made. But I guess I can procrastinate until Thursday to decide......

Love, Mackenzie

P.S. I worked out yesterday. Gotta keep myself accountable.

A New Goal

So we have a family vacation coming up and I will be wearing a swimming suit at the beach for the day. I have a swimming suit that I like and I don't want to have to buy another one that fits me. I don't think I need to lose that much extra poundage so I'm making it a goal to work out for at least 20 minutes per day, hopefully worked up to 40 minutes by September, but I've never had a consistent workout routine so I'll be using this blog to keep myself accountable!

Last night I did my first hard workout on our exercise bike and I looked not unlike Aang in this GIF. But I'm going to press on and hopefully it'll be worth it.

Love, Mackenzie

Spiritual Thought Sunday

I'm thankful for Facebook because I'm subscribed to a few pages that post uplifting messages and blog posts on there so I can be reminded to remember the Lord on a daily basis. This is one that I found today from the LDS Missionaries page.

I always love this scripture and it's a good reminder for me to trust in God that everything will work out with his guidance. 

Here's a song I liked that I felt I would share since it gives me strength in hard times and I hope everyone has a blessed Sabbath.

Love, Mackenzie

Picture Prompt Saturday

Here's this weeks picture prompt with the link!

Happy writing!

Love, Mackenzie

Cinnamon Roll Murder by Joanne Fluke-Book Review

So I'm going to keep this brief. This is only the second murder mystery novel I've ever read, so if this sucks, TOO BAD. This is my blog.

As a whole I enjoyed this book; I finished it in two days which is CRAZY for me. Normally it takes at least a week or more, so I was pleasantly surprised.
The story kept me interested, even during the slow parts and I was impressed on the misdirection that Joanne was able to produce, even if it felt a little forced.
As for the actual writing, It was easy to read, I didn't feel like I had to pull out a dictionary to enjoy it.
I think the only thing I would say I would change was the flow of the dialogue. It felt like each of the characters sounded practically the same, but I don't know if it is actually a problem or if it's just me being overly critical of dialogue as a whole.

And there you have it. My second book review on this blog!

Love, Mackenzie

Duff Goldman Cake Mix Review

This cake mix SUCKS. I made it exactly to the recipe, and it was like eating a mouthful of sand. I won't be purchasing his products again.

Love, Mackenzie

Writing Prompt Wednesday

Here's this weeks writing prompt with the link!

Happy writing!

Love, Mackenzie

A Great Song I Just Discovered

Here's a great song I just discovered, thanks to the channel M O S T L Y Strings.

Love, Mackenzie

My Current Projects

With July fast approaching, I thought it would be best if I began thinking of my next couple of projects! I have my cozy murder mystery that I'm working on, but that's still in its infancy and I'm still super scared to write it. But I also have a contemporary romance in the works that I'm quite pumped about. It's about figure skaters that are competing with each other in the ice dancing portion, but they used to be competitors against each other. Their partners were the better of each of their pairs and neither of them are psyched to do it together, but they have to if they want a chance of making it to nationals.

ANYWAYS. 

I'm greatly enjoying the process for these two books and I hope they both turn out well. This next GIF depicts how I feel when writing most of my works.

Oh, and then there's All I Wanted, which is giving me trouble again. Maybe I'll put it away for a while again until things work better in my head. We'll see.

Love, Mackenzie

Rest in Peace, Anton

I saw some sad news this evening. Anton Yelchin is dead, and I had so much hope for him in the acting world. I pray that his family can be comforted in this difficult time.

Rest in Peace, Anton!

Love, Mackenzie

Dear Jerk Guy

Dear Jerk Guy,
Yesterday I was going to see Finding Dory with my kids and Mom-In-Law and we were having a bit of trouble finding a parking place. We circled around every aisle, hoping for a stroke of luck. After a few short minutes, we spotted someone pulling out of a parking stall. I drove off to the side to give the woman enough space to drive backward without causing damage to either people or vehicles and I was relieved to be parking so we could get into the movie on time.
WELL.
Just as the lady drove away, and just as I was making a wide circle to get into the parking spot, you drove your jerk face with your jerk girls face into the parking stall like a slimy eel. DAMN YOU.
I actually cursed, to my regret, and I pulled up alongside you and stared at you like the bitter creep that I am, hoping you'd look at me so I could shoot imaginary daggers into your eyes. A part of me wanted you to feel my wrath and I considered flipping you the bird.
I eventually decided against it and we found another parking spot, which was further away and we almost didn't make it before the beginning of the film.
So, I wanted to say to you, Jerk Guy, I hope you're proud of yourself; I was waiting for that spot and you stole it like a big fat jerk face. I hope you spilled your popcorn on the floor and your drink on the girl you were with.
Okay, that's harsh, but I kind of do mean it.

XOXO, Mackenzie

The Haunting

Having fun watching my favorite horror movie, the Haunting. That's all I'll say tonight.

Love, Mackenzie

Thank Goodness For My Phone

I checked my phone for the last time before going to sleep and saw my little late night reminder to write my blog post. Considering it is 11:53, I almost went to sleep, missing an entire day of blogging after doing it religiously for over four months straight. Thank you, Phone. I would have been pissed if I would have missed a day. I haven't ever been this consistent with my writing and that would have sucked big time.

Love, Mackenzie

Writing Prompt Wednesday

Here's this weeks writing prompt, complete with the link!

Happy writing!

Love, Mackenzie

An Epidemic

So I read about a phenomenon that's sweeping the nation. I've seen multiple articles about it, calling it out as one of the worst things to happen to our current generation. I've read even more articles that have explained why doing this horrendous thing is ruining our relationships and destroying marriages and kid-to-parent bonds.

What is this all too common situation that's sweeping the globe and wreaking so much havoc??

Electronics use.

I'm speaking from experience here when I say that too much electronics use can be damaging on relationships, but according to the articles I've read over the past few years, it's bad to use them at all whenever your loved ones are around. Let me tell you my story and then I'll get on with my point.

L was only 16 months old when N came into this world. I had been dealing with a fetus that tried to come early three times before his actual entrance, bed rest for three months, and the inability to care for my older son due to it. N developed colic at three weeks old and stayed that way for five months, and even when he got past the actual colic, he didn't stop screaming until he was 19 months old. Needless to say, I developed some pretty severe PPD and I'm fairly certain I also have some PTSD from all the noise my little one gave out.

I'm not one to lie about my habits, and I don't intend to start now even though this is going on the internet for the whole world to see.

When I was depressed and my N had his screaming problem, I was on my phone ALL. THE. TIME. The television was on ALL. THE. TIME. At the time, I felt I had no other choice but to keep the background noise going in an attempt to keep the screaming from piercing my soul. I read far too many articles that ripped apart my survivalist practices, explaining that if you did what I was doing, you're a failure as a parent and that your kids deserve better so you should do better.

I've never done well with being told what to do, but those blog posts ripped me apart. But that's a whole 'nother post entirely. Not today.

I'm well aware that constant electronics isn't healthy for you and those around you but I felt completely helpless. And it was the only thing that got me through the day for most of N's life. 

Now that he's finished his screaming phase, I've been working hard on whittling it down to only about two hours of television and a handful of times during the day that I allow myself to browse Facebook or Pinterest. I still slip some days, some days the television takes over my household and I am on my phone more often than I mean to be. 

But I guess that's not the point of this post.

The real point I'm trying to make is that you can use electronics during the day without destroying your relationships. I have an unbreakable relationship with my sons and we share hugs and kisses and games of hide and seek, and school time and building time, to name only a few examples. But I still take time to myself to breathe in between interactions because I function better with that help.

I saw a hilarious article that talked about the issue of 'Phone Snubbing', a huge catastrophe that causes marriages to crumble like a sand castle under a wave. I showed it to my husband who laughed at it along with me. The article said that people are spending so much times on their phones that it's kicking the other person out of your life so far, that it prevents the two of you communicating efficiently.

Here's the funny part. This problem has always existed. Thirty years ago, it was books. One hundred years ago, it may have been farming or chores or other hobbies. This 'epidemic' is not new, people. It's only taking on a new appearance because of the day and age in which we live. 

I am a product of such snubbing issues. My mom was an avid reader, and I would find her with a mystery novel in her hands whenever she had the chance. And guess what happened to me? I have a strong relationship with her and I find myself doing the same time every now and then. I don't blame my mother for taking the small moments during the day for some recharge time. Hell, I do it myself.

I think the real root of the problem is that people need to find something other than themselves to explain why their relationships are falling apart and electronics are a great scapegoat. It can't defend itself and it does a clever way of covering up any real emotions you should be talking about. When Josh and I have our very rare arguments, we both go to our separate corners of the house for a twenty minute cool down session but we always come back and talk it out before moving on. Don't blame the electronics for your misuse of them. They aren't responsible for your lack of communication.

But if you use your phone as an escape from life to take a breather or to wind down at night, it's not the end of the world, just don't abuse it. But if you find yourself struggling with excessive phone or other electronics use, leave your phone in your bedroom plugged in and away from the action. Tell your spouse to hide the television remote from you so you can't use it for a day or a week or (if you're really brave) a whole month. If you need to check your Facebook or Twitter accounts throughout the day, leave your phone on the kitchen counter and out of your pocket and use it while you prepare the meals for your family.

Don't blame the electronics. They don't know any better. You do, however, so make the necessary changes to make you feel content with yourself. The END.

Love, Mackenzie

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

So as you know, I recently got a Nintendo 3DS XL for my birthday and I have two games. I have Pokemon Y and Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
I must say, I'm impressed with both but New Leaf is completely addictive for me. I've played both the original Animal Crossing as well as Animal Crossing: City Folk, which both tickled me, but New Leaf is a whole new ball game.
You're the mayor, you can initiate public works projects, you can set up ordinances to govern your town and there are far more options in terms of house customization, which is my favorite part.
So far I'm loving it, maybe I'll make a future post about it really picking it apart, but for now, I'm tired and I need to get through a book since I have three others I need to get through before my books are due.

Love, Mackenzie

God Bless Orlando

My heart goes out to those affected by the mass shooting at the club called Pulse in Orlando, Florida. The last I saw, 50 were killed and 53 were injured.
Even though I don't agree with the concept of being LGBT, I'm devastated for those people who have been lost and their families and loved ones.

Love, Mackenzie

Picture Prompt Saturday

Here's this weeks picture prompt, complete with the link!

Happy Writing!

Love, Mackenzie