SoCS: Panting in Yoga Class

Today’s Stream of Consciousness prompt is the word, “pant,” brought to you by Linda Hill at:  https://lindaghill.com/2017/08/18/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-aug-1917/

I’ve been getting back into yoga lately, going to a class about once a week. Usually I go to a “gentle” class or something called “flow.” But last week I decided to try something different: kundalini yoga. WP says I didn’t spell it right. Who cares. The class theme for that day was letting go of anger. At one point we were pounding our  fists on blankets and I almost started crying, because that’s what I often do when I’m angry, cry. There was a lot of breath work, too. At another point, the instructor had us panting like dogs with our tongues sticking out.

A photo by my daughter, Ayla, who loves dogs.

I like dogs. No, I love dogs. But I’m not that good at panting. It reminded me of natural childbirth all those eons ago. The childbirth panting helped for a while, but eventually I gave in and had a shot of stadol. With both births. Oh, well. The kundalini panting wasn’t so bad, but for the rest of the day and night, my throat was dry and scratchy. I hope I released lots of anger that I didn’t know I had all bottled up inside me.

The best thing I got out of this class was a chant that went,

“From now on, I send you only love.”

That’s for ourselves and anyone we had the anger at since I guess it’s gone now, right?  I was thinking I’d say that to myself in the mirror. “From now on, I send you only love.” And then maybe I’ll stick my tongue out and pant and laugh at myself. Laughter is the best medicine after all.

This morning I’m going to that same yoga studio (where I plan to stick with gentle and flow classes that my body has come to crave – but not to the point of panting) and I’m facilitating a workshop called, “Finding Your Soulmate While Loving Yourself.” It’s based on what I learned in my life about that, which is all in my book, Trust the Timing. One thing that I’ve clarified as I’ve thought about the workshop is I moved from being cynical to being accepting of whatever God had planned for me as far as a soulmate was concerned. I found a place balanced between cynical and desperate. Because I really did NOT want to be desperate. That gets you in all kinds of trouble, panting after some guy…nope, not for me, not anymore. Never again.

If you’d like me to come to your town and do a workshop on soulmates or loving yourself, I’d be happy to consider it, especially if there is a beach or some mountains near where you live. We can do some guided imagery about loving yourself and/or being happy and cozy with your soulmate, but we will NOT do any panting. I promise.

From now on, I send you only love. Pant, Pant.

Congratulations to J-Dub for our new SoCS Badge!

Here are the rules for the Saturday Stream of Consciousness:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!

 

Peace, Love, and Songs from the 70s

Guess who’s having a party!

Me! It’s a 70’s Book Signing Party! I wish you could all come, but here’s a taste of nostalgia.

I’m planning to sing karaoke to this. My friend Terry and I used to listen to Carole King’s Tapestry album all the time in the 70s.

The party is this evening and it’s to celebrate my book, Trust the Timing, A Memoir of Finding Love Again. But in a way, it’s like the birthday party I just didn’t feel like having when I turned 60 a year and a half ago. I guess I just wasn’t in a party mood then. I don’t know why.  But now, it’s time!

I’ll be pretty busy today getting everything ready, so I won’t have much time to follow up on the Stream of Consciousness until tomorrow. After the party, I’m hoping to go to the beach and look for meteors. Shooting stars sounds more romantic though. If it’s not too cloudy. But when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me…..

 

But I will get back to the stream eventually. Before I take off, I have to share a song by The Guess Who, since today’s prompt is the word, “guess.”  For some reason I got in my head that the Guess Who became The Who, but that’s wrong. They were two different bands. I wasn’t a huge fan of either one, just a moderate fan. But I love this song.

 

Now, I’m off to find some peace, love, and understanding. And I wish the same for you.

We can all use some more of that right about now.

For more Streams of Consciousness, visit Linda G. Hill’s blog:

https://lindaghill.com/2017/08/11/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-aug-1217/

Here are the SOCS rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!

 

Overcoming My Fear of Heights, Sort of, But Not Really.

Today’s Stream of Consciousness prompt is, “high/low.”

I am not a fan of heights. That’s a nice way of saying I have a fear of heights, or rather a fear of falling from a high place. Was it an anxious mother or something wired into my brain? I suppose it would be a good adaptation for a child to be born with. But if you’re born with it, it’s not an adaptation, except for the species.

I’ve pushed myself outside my comfort zone doing an outdoor adventure ropes course, walking on a wire in a harness. Loved the zip line once I trusted the equipment. But most heights are not a natural high for me. One exception is if I’m jumping into water. In my early twenties, I flirted with becoming a lifeguard  being trained by a lifeguard who was sort of flirting with me. I didn’t follow through on it, because I was in my twenties and….got distracted easily. But I did get to jump off of a diving platform that was about ? 35 feet high. That’s just a guess. I was scared at first, but knowing the water would catch me, it turned out to be exhilarating.

Water is my friend. The earth is my friend. My natural highs are mostly low to the ground. Water envelopes me, like in the womb maybe. It cools my fire sign – Sagittarius. I’ve always wanted to go caving, and loved scuba diving in my twenties. So quiet and peaceful down there.

I sometimes wonder what I’d do if I HAD to walk across one of those swinging bridges, miles above a crocodile-filled river. The kind of bridge with old wooden slats you can see in  between.  The only way I could do it would be to not look down. That’s what I’ve learned.  I walked on the “Mile High Swinging Bridge” at Grandfather Mountain in NC once.  Looking down made me feel nauseous. I was okay as long as I only looked where I was putting my feet, and held on to the railing. And nobody made the bridge swing. And there was no wind. Then it was a piece of cake. I was happy to get to the last step and onto solid rock.

I do like to look out across the mountain tops from a good solid piece of earth.

No outcroppings. No dangling my feet over the edge. (Unless there’s deep water below and no crocs.)

My natural highs are earthy. Riding horses. Swimming.  I don’t mind deep water I know will hold me.  Digging in the dirt. Re-arranging plants and seedlings. And dark chocolate.  Let’s not forget that! Watching sunsets. Colored glass. Singing – especially figuring out harmonies and getting them to blend. Getting a massage. Soft, steady caresses that take me to a trance.

These are things that would tend to keep my blood pressure low which it normally is. My husband on the other hand, likes to fly. He wants to re-certify his pilot’s license. He tends to have high blood pressure. He is not fond of swimming. But he goes into the ocean with me, even though he’d rather be in the sky. Some day, I’ll go flying with him.

(The first two photos are from Pixabay. The last two are from me. )

The Saturday Stream of Consciousness is brought to you by Linda at:

https://lindaghill.com/2017/08/04/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-aug-517/

Stop by Linda’s blog for more takes on high/low.

Here are the SoCS rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!

Tree Limbs > Limbo Rock > Limbo Tree

Okay, so you probably know I’m a tree-hugger. Literally. I hug trees. Not all the time, but when the feeling comes to me, more so in the winter when there are less likely to be bugs crawling on the trees, but sometimes when a hurricane is coming. It’s quite possible that some people in my neighborhood think of me as the “crazy tree lady.” They would if they knew how I feel. But maybe they can tell because I probably have more trees surrounding my little urban cottage than anyone else in the neighborhood.

It’s not like I never trim them. I do occasionally lop off a limb here and there. Back when I used to work with a lot of court ordered clients in my old job, privacy was very important to me, and I planted extra trees in front of my house. Several years ago, more like many years ago as time flies, I planted a cedar out on the city easement in front of my house in between the oak tree and the crepe myrtle. It started out as a little thing, a rescued seedling. Now it’s large, maybe 20 feet tall and sits right in line with my front door, with wide arms like a sentry, joining forces, and probably roots, with the oak and the crepe myrtle. On the outside is a little mimosa I planted and a sassafras which volunteered, and I let it stay. These five trees line up on a strip of earth about 50 feet long in front of my house between the sidewalk and the road. Maybe you think that’s crazy. And to be honest, I wish I’d pulled up that sassafras and moved it when it was little. And now that I’m not paranoid anymore about my privacy, I wish I never planted the cedar in the middle.

But I love the cedar, cause I love trees. I’ve trimmed back some of the limbs that scrape the  cars when we park them on the street and the ones that wack people in the face. There’s one more limb I need to trim because when it rains, the weight of the water brings it down to my face, otherwise it’s a reasonable height.  I’m going to have my husband cut that limb in the winter when I  think maybe the tree is sleeping. That’s when I will, might, pull up the little oak seedlings, when their sleeping. Better yet, I’ll have someone else do it.

In the meantime, maybe I’ll play limbo with the cedar arm that lowers to my face level in the rain. Remember limbo?  The idea is to go under the limbo stick without turning your head. Form a line when the stick is high and after everyone has gone under, the stick is lowered. If you fall backwards, or touch the stick, you’re out. This was a popular party game and PE exercise in the late 60s. I wasn’t that good at it, but it was still fun. You had to be limber to win.

Here’s the song that went with the game:

In listening to the song, I heart “limbo tree,” and looked that up. There’s actually a gumbo limbo tree with bark that looks like irritated, peeling skin. The bark of the tree has medicinal properties that are good for skin irritations. Hmmm. Isn’t that interesting? A coincidence? I think not.

 

Today’s prompt for Saturday Stream of Consciousness was, “limb.”

Find out other ways “limb” enters the stream of consciousness by visiting our host, Linda Hill at:

https://lindaghill.com/2017/07/28/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-july-2917/

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!

What’s That Crawling on the Ceiling?

Just a friendly visitor

I’m not a fan of staring at the ceiling, though I’ve certainly done my share. When I was a teenager, I had posters on my bedroom ceiling, and the walls were covered with posters. I think my ceiling had a “Let it Be,” poster with a serene water scene, and the words, “Let it Be,” across the bottom.

Now, I have no posters on the ceiling, but there are a few stars left on my daughter’s old bedroom ceiling. Some have fallen off and left that sticky stuff. Maybe I’ll put more stars up there. It’s my studio now, so I can do what I want with it!

I wonder how bugs walk on the ceiling. Some are better at it than others. I don’t mind spiders so much on the ceiling. Spiders catch other bugs. Spiders are interesting. But if I can reach them, I’ll catch them in a glass and slide a card underneath. But there are some bugs I do mind on my ceiling, and I don’t catch them and put them outside. I spray them and get ready to run in case they fly at me. I’m talking about the big palmetto roaches we call water bugs. Where I live, the summers are hot and humid, and they (the bugs) are prolific. I wish I wasn’t afraid of them, but I’ve been knows to scream when they fly at me.  I think this fear is something that has been passed on through generations.

Enough of the scary bugs! I’d rather think about stars on the ceiling. A skylight would be nice! But I wonder if I’d see the bugs crawling on the skylight. STOP THINKING ABOUT BUGS!

Maybe a poster on the ceiling would be better. Like the “Let it Be Poster.” When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be.  I will let the spiders be. Sorry roaches. STOP IT!

My favorite ceiling would be outside under the real stars. You won’t see any bugs crawling on that ceiling. And if I stay close to the campfire, they might not crawl on me.  Maybe if I was outside, I’d just brush them off and not be afraid of them as much.

Let it be. Let it be. Let it be. Let it be. Whispered words of wisdom, let it be…..

Some bugs don’t scare me at all. Here are a few other friendly visitors I’ve discovered in and around my house.

A visitor in my bathroom two summers ago.

This beauty took up temporary residence in the kitchen.

 

Tiny critter on the back screen door

A lovely surprise on the back porch

Cicada molting at my front door a few nights ago.

Today’s Stream of Consciousness prompt was: “sealing/ceiling.” Use one, use both, have fun! For more SoCS fun, visit our host, Linda Hill at:

https://lindaghill.com/2017/07/21/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-july-2217/

Here are the SoCS rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!

Book Title: When God Says Wait

When I saw that today’s Stream of Consciousness prompt was, “book title,” I thought, yay! I get to write about my book. Then I read the directions further: “Take the title of the book you’re currently reading or the one sitting closest to you when you’re ready to write your SoCS post and base your post on the title only.” 

On that title only? Well, that’s different. And clever. But this is my Stream of Consciousness, so I don’t know if I can keep my own book title from creeping in to the stream. You never know.

I thought about moving my book to the nightstand for just one tiny second. It WAS there just two days ago. But my usual tendency toward honesty chased that temptation away with a tsk, tsk. What I am reading now, what I’ve been reading for quite a while, because I’m such an embarrassingly slow reader, is the book, When God Says Wait. I’m afraid to look back and see if I posted about this book before, because it might tell me how long I’ve been at it. It’s a good book! But I’m S L O W. Like always the last one done on tests in school slow.

But I can’t blame the fact that I’m still reading this book on being a slow reader. Reading  books seems to be the last thing on my list – after blog posts, reading other blogs, comments, responding to comments, book marketing, book technicalities, taking my daughter to work because her car broke down, and all the other things that come before reading a book, even though I love reading books.

Oh, I’m supposed to be writing about that title. When God Says Wait. I love the title and the idea of the book.  Sometimes God says, yes, sometimes, no, sometimes, wait. Like God said, wait when I asked him (or her) to send me a partner who would be a good fit, and God sent my sweetheart to me when the time was right. I had to wait til we were ready. I had to Trust the Timing (which is the title of my book which is available on Amazon.)

When God Says Wait is very closely related to my book. It’s like the “how to”  guide to my story. I thought about titling my book, Perfect Timing…. God’s timing was perfect. But who likes to wait? Right now, I’m waiting for my e-book to be up next to the paperback. This whole thing has taken sooooo long. But I guess God knows I need to learn this lesson of waiting and trusting better, like when you pray for patience and then get all these opportunities to practice.

I’m going to finish reading When God Says Wait (by Elizabeth Laing Thompson) very soon. I’m going to schedule an appointment with this book – a date with a book – and not wait. I just put an appointment in my phone, with an alert, for Wednesday at 11:00 AM. But I might not  wait til then. Depends on what God says.

You can find more Stream of Consciousness posts about book titles at:

https://lindaghill.com/2017/07/14/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-july-1517/

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!

On Your Mark, Get Set…..STOP!

 

SoCS prompt: “ick”

So, I had this post all done about my book being published. All excited and everything. And I found another snag. Another technical glitch which has to do with publishing under my maiden name. When I discovered the error, I felt that icky feeling in my stomach.

I thought about using the post I had written about my icky rebound from hell being the ickiest part of the book, and all the things I learned from that relationship, but then I realized: I can’t edit! It’s SOC. So I’m starting from scratch.

If it’s not one thing, it’s another.

But the thing is, my book is available. That’s like a whisper. It was going to be a holler with a happy dance. So this is like a very soft book launch. I don’t want to do the holler until the glitch is fixed. It’s a minor thing, really.

But life is like that sometimes. Sometimes there’s a holler with a happy dance, and sometimes there’s a steady, slow slide into the process of whatever it is – growing up, falling in love, getting older – and then, it’s there in all it’s glory or all it’s hollering, or gnashing of teeth.

So I guess this is really about persevering though the ickiness. Publishing a book is not quick. Not for me anyway. But it is happening. And I will be hollering and dancing.

Thanks to all my blogging friends for your patience and support!

And thanks to Linda G. Hill for hosting the Saturday Stream of Consciousness. For more information, visit:

https://lindaghill.com/2017/07/07/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-july-817/

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!