“Words are the most powerful thing in the universe… Words are containers. They contain faith, or fear, and they produce after their kind.” —Charles Capps
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This afternoon was our McKinney Words With Friends Writing group at The MillHouse. Melissa Cantu is so sweet to facilitate the group, and she always has some creative projects for us to work on.
We had a smaller group today, which sometimes lends itself to a more conversational atmosphere of sharing ideas and stories. These ladies are so talented. I learn something new and exciting every session.
The atmosphere at The MillHouse is so colorful and inspiring. There are many talented resident artists in the cool renovated building. There are painters, photographers, potters, wellness instructors and more. But, the most impressive feature are the bold vibrant colors everywhere you look. Inspirational!
On my way out, I gathered some of the fallen maple leaves that were scattered about. I will press them for a future project.
A wonderful day with words and friends who share words.
“Writing your words down on paper turns those lumps of dark black coal into precious sparking diamonds.”
~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis
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Ah, another awesome day over at The MillHouse with Melissa Cantu and the McKinney Words With Friends writing group. It was such a beautiful day that we sat outside for our meeting.
Oh my goodness, these talented ladies offer such a variety of insight and inspiration to the group. Melissa always has some thought provoking exercises and challenges for us to work on. I especially loves her accountability challenge, where we share three goals that we want to meet in the next three months. Once you say it out loud, it makes it real, and you actually work at it. And you know that in three months, she’s going to ask us how our goals were going. 🤦♀️
One of the exercises we worked on today was to, first wander around outside or inside the beautiful MillHouse building, and take a photo of something interesting. Then, we were to write about our photo reference using as many senses as possible. The description or story should be able to let the reader or listener envision the object without actually seeing the photo. Of course, it was fun to see the photo afterwards to see how close our descriptions were.
The ladies scouted around outside and inside for about ten minutes. Some chose a beautiful painting, artwork, or a decorative display. Others chose street signs or nearby buildings. Being the goofy gal that I am, I walked across the parking lot and over by the train tracks for my inspiration. 🤦♀️ My story…
DANGER
A mammoth blue metal box rested at the end of the parking lot. Gross yellow stains trickled down from the filthy black rubber flaps that crowned the trash bin. The bold red DANGER sign was prominently plastered beneath the WASTE CONNECTIONS logo. Connections? I’m not sure what the “connection” was, but it looked pretty dangerous.
As I approached to take a picture of the nearby railroad tracks, an onerous odor stopped me cold in my tracks. Yuk! I held my breath and stepped forward for my photo op. Just as I was getting ready to snap my picture, a strange scary clown with a white painted face and spiked red hair popped out of the side bin. ”Boo!”
Yikes! His glowing red eyes and jeering grin startled me. I fell backwards and landed on my well cushioned bottom.
The clickety-clack of the slow moving freight train on the nearby tracks brought me back to my senses. As I stood up, I saw the white painted face smile, jump on top of the blue waste bin and grab onto the handle of an orange box car. He slid the boxcar door open and stood perched inside the opening with arms proudly resting on his hips, Superman style.
The scary clown didn’t seem quite so scary any more. He gave me a big wave and called out as his silhouette faded into the distance, “Have a nice day!”
How I came up with that idea in just a few minutes, I don’t know. Warped sense of humor, maybe?
See, writing can be a lot of fun, especially when surrounded by other inspirational writers. You should try it. Take a photo or one you already have and tell a story using all your senses and descriptive words.
“Words challenge us to express what the heart cannot say.”
~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis
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We had another great meeting of our McKinney Words With Friends writing group over at The MillHouse. Melissa Cantu is so sweet and inspirational. She always has a creative writing activity for us to work on and-or has a talented guest speaker to share information with us. I really appreciate it when someone goes so far out of their way to encourage other women to excel.
Last Saturday, when Karen and I visited Melissa at Native McKinney, her new wellness venture on the Square, I thought of the perfect gift for her. The shop had just opened, so there wasn’t much in the way of artwork on the walls yet. We were talking about all the old haunted buildings on the Square and the history and stories of ghosts. I told her about the poem I’d written about the old Collin Country Prison down the street, and the watercolor I had done. Ah ha! Perfect gift.
I found an extra print I had in my craft room and I had a frame that worked just perfectly. So, I framed it and I printed out the poem and taped it on the back. She loved it!
PRISON NIGHT WATCH
They gazed at stars, through prison bars
Awaiting judgment day
From days gone by, we know not why
These restless souls must stay.
Within these walls, when darkness falls
The haunted halls are filled
With eerie light, throughout the night
Perhaps for blood they spilled.
Small orbs of gold, the tales are told
Imprisoned here within
Doomed to roam, their eternal home
The night watch must begin.
Toni Armenta Andrukaitis
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A very fun group of talented writers. Now, for tonight’s amazing sunset. Wow!
I woke up early again today, deciding I was going to roll over, take the day off and not walk. My knee was acting up, I didn’t go to bed til after 1am, and I was tired. All good excuses, right?
I have this imaginary Angel/Devil on my shoulders argument thing going on in my head all the time. The Devil on my left shoulder says things like, “Don’t walk, stay in bed, or eat those brownies, or you don’t have to go to church today. 👿 Then, the Angel on my right shoulder says, “It’s a beautiful day, go enjoy the birds and get some exercise, drink more water, have a smoothie for breakfast, and I’ll see you at church on Sunday.” 😇
I’ll confess, the Angel doesn’t always win, especially the eating brownies part. But, she’s usually right, so I got up and went for a nice walk before it got too hot. I got in two miles. (Thank you Angel.)
Me and my shadow.
Today, I was really looking forward to our Words With Friends writing group over at The MillHouse at 1pm. Melissa Cantu is such a talented and inspirational facilitator/host. I am ever so grateful that she started this group.
Thank you, Melissa! 🤗Our guest speaker today was Rachel Francis (second from left) who conducted a thought provoking poetry workshop. A beautiful group of talented ladies, all bringing their own unique and wonderful ideas and insights to each meeting.
I tend to bring the comic relief, with my weird sense of humor and outbursts of silliness. I read to them my Country Western Poem/Song that just needs a catchy tune and fabulous country singer to make it fly off the charts. It’s called, “I’ll Just Have Another Beer.” I’m thinkin’ Garth Brooks or Blake Shelton should sing it. It’s about this guy, and his girl left him and stole his truck and his dog. Typical country song, but funny. I read it with a thick southern twang. 🤦♀️
Now, saving the best for last. Remember how I’ve been praying and doing my best Navajo rain dances. Well, this afternoon, I heard big thunder booms. The sky got dark, but no rain. Friends were posting on Facebook that it was pouring rain by them, just a few miles away on the other side of town. But, no rain here. So, I went outside, lifted my hands to the sky and chanted my best rain chant. Finally, a nice little down pour. (You’re Welcome!)
It only lasted about 5 minutes, but I’ll take what I can get. (Maybe someone up there didn’t care for all my singing and dancing.) I should have stuck to show tunes like, “Singing in the Rain.”
“Voice is not just the sound that comes from your throat, but the feelings that come from your words.” ― Jennifer Donnelly
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You know what is even better than writing and sharing your words? Well, it’s writing with and sharing with other writers. When a group of talented writers get together, the creative energy is amazing.
Melissa Cantu started and facilitates a woman’s writing group that meets every other Wednesday at The MillHouse in McKinney called Words With Friends. Melissa always has thought provoking and creative writing exercises for us to experiment with. Just being around likeminded writers is inspirational.
Today, we started out with a brief quiet meditation with the sound of ocean waves in the background. It’s interesting how a calm mind can facilitate creativity.
One of the exercises was to think of the lyrics to a favorite song and describe the feelings and words that the song might evoke. Then, we shared our songs and feelings. For some reason, the first song that popped into my head was the theme song from the old movie, “Friendly Persuasion.” Pat Boone sings, “ Thee I Love.” Oh my goodness, if you haven’t seen the classic movie from the 50’s, you NEED to see it.
After writing down words, feelings, and emotions about our song, we were to write a short story inspired by the song and words, and where we were in our heads when we were reminiscing about those feelings and thoughts. I chose to write about today, in the present, where I am today, and that contentment transcribed into words.
Then, we shared with the group just the last two sentences of our story. Here are my last two sentences. …
Time is fleeting, but for just a few moments, it’s so lovely to just sit here today, sit in the quiet, feel the soft breeze against my skin, and say, “Here I am. Today is the best day of my life.”
I really enjoyed meeting some new writing friends and sharing ideas and words. Thus… Words With Friends. Thank you Melissa. ❤️
After the session, I wandered around the MillHouse for a few minutes and ran into one of the resident artists setting of for a watercolor class she was teaching this evening.
Cindy Gilstrap is a very talented artist and I enjoyed chatting with her. She teaches a lot of different art mediums and it sure looks like a lot of fun. She can be found at The MillHouse or at http://www.JunqueArt.com
Oh, I forgot to mention that another thing Melissa asked us to write down and share in our writing group was, “What is your Super Power.?” I said mine was FRIENDSHIP. I enjoy making new friends and being a friend. Hey, I guess Cindy is my new friend for today.
“Take as a gift whatever the day brings forth.”- Horace
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Today, I am thankful for many things. I am thankful for my family, friends, my dreams, talents, and my gifts.
One of my childhood dreams was to be an art teacher and artist. I was blessed to be able to teach art for a few years. I continue with my art six decades later. Another dream was to be a writer, so I always wrote stories and poems and journaled as long as I can remember. I still do, as you can see.
So, the other day, I was intrigued by a writing group that popped up on Facebook and was meeting at the MillHouse in downtown McKinney. I tried registering online, but I had trouble navigating the website to register. (I’m a writer, not a computer genius.🤦♀️) Therefore, I decided to show up in person to see if I could join the group.
Yesterday morning, I was shuffling through some ancient journals, folders, unfinished stories, and stacks of my writing. It was obvious that I had a lot to say but clearly never did anything with my words. I always said that I was going to write the “Great American Novel,” but never did. So, I grabbed a brand new notebook, a black pen, and took a leap of faith.
Just a smattering of my many pages, stories, poems, and the Great American Novel is in there somewhere. I belonged to a small writing group quite a few years back, but we disbanded when some ladies moved away. Those were good times. My new writing friends at the MillHouse. (Missing one girl who left earlier)
Karen and Mellisa (on the left) facilitated the group, and we did some impromptu writing exercises and played fun writing games. Even though I was brand new to the group, they made me feel welcome, just like we were old friends. I have a feeling I found a place to make my dreams come true.
After our meeting, I had a little time before going over to the Cotter’s house for my weekly Charlatintos Spanish group. (More groups, Miss Toni?) I’m trying to work on my Spanish and our little group of four amigos has been enlightening.
As I wandered around the MillHouse, I found some old artist friends working in their studios.
Andrea Holmes is such a sweet, talented, and prolific artist. She was getting ready for one of her many art shows. She’s also famous for her awesome murals and window displays all over McKinney and nearby towns. Lisa Temple is another talented artist and friend. Then, I made a new friend. Robin Pedrero and I chatted a while. We probably have run into each other here and there, but never formerly introduced. New friend! 🤗
So, yesterday was a day of working on making dreams come true, making new friends and visiting old friends.
Then, to my delight, when I got home and checked my mailbox, there was a very sweet thank you note from the folks over at Towne Creek.
I am so thankful for all my blessings and it’s so nice to be thanked for the little things I do for others. It’s like a mutual admiration society with the world. I looked back at my journals today to see when I started volunteering doing art with the seniors at Towne Creek. I started in August of 2007. It’s been a while. Such blessings.
“Each new day is a blank page in the diary of your life. The secret of success is in turning that diary into the best story you possibly can.”
― Douglas Pagels
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It’s been a long time in the making. I’ve kept a daily journal for almost forty years now, and I’ve always dreamed that someday I’d be a famous author. It wasn’t until I became good friends with my neighbor Alicia last year, that I realized that I had an important story to share with the world.
Alicia has written over thirty best-selling novels, has been on countless talk shows and interviews, and has lectured to and hosted many writing workshops. When she heard my story, she said, “Girl, you need to share this with the world. I’ll get you in touch with my publisher when it’s ready. It’s really good!”
Well, it’s ready and the publisher loved it. I received my contract in the mail today! The printed books and e-version will be available in May. Yay!
This all seems like a waking dream. I knew my story was good when I shared it with my retreat sisters at St. Gabriel two years ago. Everyone cried and laughed and gathered round to hug me when I finished reading the final excerpt. Because, through all the heartbreak, pain, lies, and betrayal, God turned my darkest days into beautiful blessings. “Only God could do that!”
This is a “tell-all” account and journal of what really goes on behind the scenes at an exclusive Texas country club. I like to call it “The good ol’ boy network.” Anything goes, and it’s always going on. I’ll walk you through all the lies, e-mails, texts, cover-ups, call girls, sex, and slutty waitresses waiting to pounce on wealthy men. It was all a big game to them, and they tried to get all their buddies to join in on the action.
Because this is a true story, I changed the names and places “to protect the guilty.” You noticed, I said the “guilty,” not to protect the innocent. There was nothing innocent going on there.
CHAPTER ONE
I know I’m not the first woman in the world who was lied to, cheated on, and thrown away like a piece of trash. But, I thought he was the last person on earth capable of such atrocities.
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This all seems like a waking dream because it is. And, because it’s APRIL FOOL’S DAY, I thought I’d try to fool you with yet another story that really never happened. Well, all the details are true except for the fact that I don’t have a publisher or a book deal. YET…. But, who knows? Maybe someday, I’ll have that book published after all.
“Nothing stirs up old memories like a big box of old photographs, letters, magazine clippings, and handwritten stories.”
~ Toni Armenta Andrukaitis
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I was inspired by a good friend to dig out some of my old stories that I used to write when I was part of a weekly writing group. My old dusty Dell laptop that hasn’t been used since the Kennedy administration, (just kidding, not quite that old) has dozens of my old stories on there in Word documents. But, for the life of me, I can’t figure out how to forward or print them or get them out of that antiquated machine.
So, this morning, I rummaged through my cluttered jam packed closet and found an old box that housed many of the afore mentioned stories, along with magazine stories that I had written for McKinney Living Magazine, and newspaper clippings from the time I was a guest columnist for the Dallas Morning News NeighborsGo.
Wow! Talk about nostalgia.
Now, I will meander down memory lane and read some of these old stories. I’m hoping some might be worth revising and sharing. But, I have a feeling some will be a bit boring. Wait! I take that back… I almost forgot. I AM AMAZING! I’m sure all my stories are AMAZING!
“Small goals and small dreams often turn into fabulous feats of magic.”
~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis
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I’m sitting here with a cup of tea and my iPad, basking in the glow of my recent achievement. I knew I was getting close yesterday, but this morning, I turned over in bed, grabbed my phone and checked the time, then my WordPress stats. YES! 100,022 views. Amazing! Yes, I am.
Now granted, that’s the total number of views from when I first started my blog way back in 2013, but I never thought I’d keep writing and sharing. When I started my Blog about nothing. It’s just about my daily life, and I related it to the Seinfeld TV episode where Jerry tried to pitch a sitcom to NBC and based it on nothing.
When I started writing January 1, 2013, I was just the everyday average happily married suburban housewife living in the quaint city of McKinney, Texas, writing about happenings on the square, my family and friends, and my lovely life in Texas. My goal was to see if I could write a blog and post every single day for entire year. Little did I know that just a few months later, My heart and my world would plummet down from the sky, get dragged through the flaming mud of hell, and id be forced to survive an excruciatingly painful and devastating divorce after 39 years of marriage.
But guess what? I survived and I flourished with the help of family and friends. And, I never stopped writing or sharing. Through the tears and the laughter, this blog and this writing helped me get through the worst of times and open my eyes to the wonderful world I had been missing. I have written 2,235 consecutive posts, with 53,594 visitors, and have more than surpassed my goal of trying to write for just one year. I’ve made a zillion new friends along the way, and I’ve been inspired by each one. Writing about my “nothing life” just might inspire someone else. Who knows? How great is that?
I currently have 844 WordPress followers, 347 Facebook followers, 133 friends on Twitter and 42 friends on Tumblr. That’s a lot of friends. How blessed am I? Bless YOU all for being a part of it. Sending virtual hugs.
Toni Andrukaitis 