Hey Lou Writes

The Grey Matters


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Chicken Nuggets

How sad! I’d never let anyone eat my little chicken babies. But I thought, you know, [evil] McDonalds aside, they are little bity cute chicken nuggets. Right?

Today’s Blog Everyday In May Challenge couldn’t be easier.

Day 14, Tuesday: Ten things that make you really happy

1) The Chicken Named Linus (named by Greg) (All of my chickens have boy names. It’s the new age thing right? I’m just being a typical parent in the two thousand tens) Linus, we suspect, might be a rooster. {S}he is the most alert, the tallest and biggest, and has different mannerisms. Always on the lookout, always scoping out whatever new thing we put in their box, always the first to explore. I’m pretty sure {s}he is at the top of the pecking order already.

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The Leader

2) The Chicken Named Ray Bradbury (named by Meredith) Poor Ray. She seems to be at the bottom of this pecking order deal, and gets pasty butt all the time. I’ve held her under the running water to get it off, and then blow dried her butt. Yes, I’ve done these things out of love. She is the most “pecked on” but seems to be getting along just fine.

raising chickens, chicks, writing

The Little Guy

3) The Chicken Named Mu’réigh (Pronounced like Murry, but hey, he’s kind of pretentious) (Named by Alex) Mu’réigh is the least problematic, calm, and normal chicken ever. So cute. She’s also becoming the fattest, or at least the widest. She’s a little ball of fluff!!!

raising chickens, chicks, writing

The No Problem Gal

4) The Chicken Named John Steinbeck (Named by Yours Truly) John is the most standoffish. She is the only one who won’t eat out of my hand. She turns around or turns her head, letting me know that the trust needs to be gained. She kind of reminds me of John Steinbeck’s writing… a bit unsure of the powers at hand. Right? I will win her love.

raising chickens, chicken nuggets, writing

The Stand Off Gal

5) Gregory Daniel Williams aka Lou He’s the kindest, funniest, handsomest (a word I made up) guy in the world. He makes my every moment worth living. I look up to him and I think we’re a perfect match.

writer, new writer, short stories, author, beard

The Love of My Life

6) Being Married (which pretty much refers back to #5, just anything to do with Greg in general!) Our winter wedding was beautiful and perfect, though I must say, life after the wedding is even better. The last three and a half years have been the best in my life. Greg and I have both changed a lot. We’re hardly the same people. But we have changed together… which is the most important part. He’s such a great guy. More on Greg here. :)

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January 2, 2010

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Our first dance!

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We were so nervous!

7) Being an Aunt to these little guys. Carson and Landon :) They are so cute and hilarious. Landon loves cars and Buzz Lightyear. Carson loves the Hulk and animals. (Carson says he wants to be a farmer when he grows up!) They know how to share, say thank you, and give great hugs and kisses. I love my nephews!!

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Carson and Landon <3

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Their trip to my house this week. They loved picking out garlic and lettuce!

8) Family  I think my parents did a pretty good job raising us all. My oldest sister, Jessica is the only one with dark hair and green eyes. She stands out in a crowd because of her exotic beauty. She’s done a great job at leading the way in this world. Emily (mother of Carson and Landon!) is so strong. She is already such a great example of an amazing mother. She is the one ALL my guy friends in high school had a crush on. Who can blame them? Meredith is my best friend. I am so lucky to be a twin… and not just to anyone, but to the best girl in the world. She teaches me so much about how to be a better person.

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Jessica, Emily, my mom, Me, Meredith

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Love them!

9) Reading (of course) If you hadn’t realized yet, I love to read. I spend most of my time doing it. I get lost in books. I get attached to characters. It’s my favorite thing to do!

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And I always do my makeup, curl my hair, and go out to the flower groves to do it. (ha)

10) Last but not least, WRITING Writing makes me happy. I feel like I have a purpose in this life every time I sit down to write. Someday you will be able to pick my books up off the shelf at your local bookstore, but for now, read my short stories here and my poetry here. I’d be so honored it you did!!!

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Me, just being me… happy :)

<3 Lou


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It’s as Simple as a Smile

Eight days in and feelin’ no pain! Blog everyday in May challenge, yes.

Day 8, Wednesday: A piece of advice you have for others. Anything at all

advice, smile, writing

Smile!

This is how I feel about giving advice. I don’t feel like I am good at it and I can be awkward as h.e.l.l. when I’m unsure of what to say (if you are, say, crying?) I guess I’ve been giving advice lately on health and eating and following your dreams, but that’s different than sitting down and laying down some advice for someone who has a specific problem. I’m just not very good at that.

Some people have great advice about motivating yourself (like when you are a beginner runner….)

Others have lots to say about other people or situations. How to deal with x situation by saying y.

I’m not going to offer that today. My only advice, which seems to be the number one thing, above all others….

Is to wake up every day with a smile.

That’s it. It will feel cheesy at first. You will wonder who you are trying to fool. Yourself? Your friends and family? If you wake up and think, “Okay, now I’m going to smile,” and you DO IT, your day will get off to a great start. Eventually, it won’t be fake at all. There is a lot to smile about.

Like these little chickens!!!

chickens, coops, writing

What I woke up to. I know. So cute.

So that’s it, ok? People have asked me how I seem so happy all the time, and this is one of the tactics I use. I smile a lot. I try to. Some days it’s hard and I don’t want to, but hey, habits form who you are. Get in the habit of smiling :)

advice, smiling, melinda

an oldie but a goodie… always smiling :)

Love Lou


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It’s Official- We Are Parents

Blog everyday in May challenge…

Day 7, Tuesday: The thing(s) you’re most afraid of

This is the girl who has nightmares all the time, cannot watch a single scary movie, and might walk down the hallway with a kitchen knife if I hear a noise and I’m all alone gets a tad nervous when I’m home alone at night.

But what am I most afraid of? Most?? 

I am most afraid of never accomplishing the goals I’ve set out to do. I am afraid of forever saying, “Someday I’ll…_____” and never, ever doing it. 

Therefore, I’m so excited that today I crossed one of those “someday” items off of my list. Ever since Greg and I got married we’ve said we want to get chickens. Welp, it was about time…..

Today we woke up. It started out like any other day. We made our coffee. We ate our breakfast.

And we knew we’d finish our chicken coop, and we knew we’d end the day with some chickens.

Building the coop was quite a process, but we got it done! All you need is this:

Time

An engineer father-in-law who helps you with your so-so coop plans

Less than $100.00 (yes, it’s true)

Patience with the stupid chicken wire!!!

A love of chickens. 

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Greg, working hard

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Frank, teaching me a thing or two about cutting wood

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I didn’t slice off my thumb! yay

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Teamwork

chicken coop

at the beginning, before getting tired from all this coop business. oh yeah, and a million ghosts in my in-law’s garage, apparently

The first half was done in my in-law’s garage. (with adult supervision)

The second half was done right at home in the South Valley. This is where the chickens will live!

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house, but needing some work

chicken coop

getting there!

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ALL DONE!!! woop woop

So we had the coop finished. It felt great. Next up: CHICKENS!

Really, we thought we’d get some grown up hens. Eggs right away, you know?

But then we got to the store and oh man, the babies. The little chicks were so cute. So, so cute.

 

So my maternal instincts kicked into high gear.

And they gave them to us in a paper bag. Kinda weird, but what do I know?

We picked out four total. Two Rhode Island Reds and two Barred Plymouth Rocks. Good egg layers!

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said paper bag

Safe at home…

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And now… we are a happy little family of 6.

 

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proud moment for this mom

I’m SO glad I’ll get to hold them, learn their personalities, and watch as these chicks grow into adulthood. I can wait six months for eggs. :) 

What goal or dream are you going to dive into? Remember, you only live once, so go for it!

<3 Lou and the chicks

p.s. once we know who’s who, we’ll name them. We already have the ah-mazing names picked out, but I’ll wait to reveal those!

 


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Three Lovely Ladies <3

UPDATE!!! CHICKEN COOP IS ALMOST READY!!! 

diy chicken coop, chickens, building, writing

I think the chickens will fit…. ;)

chicken coop, chickens, diy, writing

Greg, gettin his drill on

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It was all of a sudden freezing last night! Fun, though…..

I can’t wait for the chickens. They’ll be free range, organic, and completely loved by me. I already have their names picked out (we’re just eating their eggs! not them!) and I’ll post about it when we get them this week…yay

Anyway.

Now, business.

Blog Everyday in May Challenge

Day 5, Sunday: Publicly profess your love and devotion for one of your blogger friends. What makes them great? Why do you love them? If you don’t have blogger friends, talk about a real-life friend or even a family member

Easy! This is an easy blog to do!!

I have three. If I lived in the same place as these fabulous gals, we’d all be in a book club. I’d ask them to join me for coffee (or Earl Grey Tea) at least once a month, and I think we’d all laugh about our funny “I’m married” (or “I’m dating”) stories as well as how much we love to share bits and pieces of our lives with others. (I picture the four of us being friends like the four women in Sex and the City. Is that weird?)

I think you’ll want to be their friends, too!!

First up!!!

Olive Me Post – A Blog By Cindy Johnson

Cindy is a good friend of mine! She is so sweet and encouraging, and even cooler, I actually know her. She was at my wedding, which makes for a special bond that girls will never forget. We’ve laughed together over ridiculous things like barking spiders. We’ve slept in bunk beds together. Memories, oh memories.

But even better than all of that… Cindy is about to be a published author.

Yup! That’s right.

She has accomplished something huge. Cindy is a big inspiration to me and many others. Her faith in God is worth striving for, her kindness is rare, and her ability to write is fantastic. I have literally laughed out loud, gasped in horror and shook my head at her true stories. She’s one of those people who have weird things happen to them all the time. She can’t even go to an airport without something odd taking place.

Cindy has insightful things to say about dating, red flags (hilarious, so hilarious), Halloween, and dreaming big.

Second!!!

JenEric Generation …We Are Far Too Easily Pleased

Jenny Williams (great last name, by the way) was the first blogger to ever reach out to me.

I was SO IMPRESSED with her blog and everything she does on it, I thought only, “Wow, how does that work? How does she do it?”

Jenny is so smart/funny/witty and she always has something important to share with the world. She recently interviewed me and I’ve never felt so honored in my life. We have some common loves:

-C.S. Lewis

-Bald men (okay, we’re not super creepy, we’re both married to bald guys! I just love that!)

Style (though, look at her! she is way more stylish than I’ll ever be.)

-Pretty sketches (I don’t sketch though… only she does ;) )

I owe a lot of any blogging success I might have to her. She’s been willing to answer all of my questions and keep in touch with me as I figure out the internet and blogging in general. So thanks for EVERYTHING, Jenny!

Last But Not Least!!!

The Lady Okie…Planting My Stakes In A Flyover State 

I feel like meeting Amanda, via the blogging world, was completely meant to be. Here’s why:

I said to Greg, “How does a writer find a reputable editor? I’ve googled it and asked around, and I just can’t quite figure it out. Gosh, I really need someone to edit my stuff.”

THEN Amanda, one of the most hilarious and well spoken (well written?) people I’ve ever encountered, and I “met” via blogging. I checked out her page and there it was: my answer. She is a professional freelance editor! Can you believe it? She has already opened my eyes to ways I can improve my writing and she is perfect, just perfect, when it comes to finding errors. I love that.

Some of my favorite blogs of Amanda’s include:

That one time she…..

RAN A MARATHON… no biggie ;)

WENT SKYDIVING… also, no biggie (um, I’ve always wanted to do this.)

WAS SUPER HONEST… and it made me immediately like her. I love honesty in people!!

I could go on and on.

Just go look at Cindy, Jenny and Amanda’s blogs and I promise, your life will improve. :)

Love, Lou