Why was Kid 1 wearing shorts in cold weather?
She wore shorts because she was in the kitchen drinking coffee, comfy and warm, and I dragged her to the back yard to model the shawl for me for about a minute. 🙂
Is there anything you can’t do?? Seriously!?
Ilona, you are this uber tea connoisseur, chef extraordinaire, knitting freak, research guru and writing goddess… you save puppies, deserve mum of the year accolades, and still find time to keep your legion of fans happy on the speaking circuit and online!
It’s rather intimidating! Develop a flaw, so the rest of us mere mortals don’t appear so lacking in comparison! 🤣🤣
Rebecca
So let’s talk about this a little bit. What you see on this blog is a small slice of my life, carefully curated and chosen for the maximum entertainment value.
A few days ago, Gordon opened the garage door and a red eared slider ran into it. This turtle saw a human and ran toward him. Its shell was broken at the edges. It looked like something gnawed on it. It had parasites. Flies laid eggs inside the broken shell and maggots were swarming. We put him into a spare terrarium, called Kid 2, who dropped everything, drove down to San Marcos, picked up the turtle, and took him to wild life rescue. They accepted it and are cautiously optimistic about its chances.
You didn’t get the pictures of the turtle because Gordon still can’t get the image of swarming maggots out of his head. That slice of real life was too ugly for the blog. Yesterday Kid 2 came over and cried in the living room, because someone she knew died. That didn’t make it to the blog either.
What you see online, on the blogs, on Instagram, on Twitter, is not the complete picture. Sure, I finished a shawl, but I have a sweater in the craft room which has 1/2 of a sleeve and I will likely never finish it. And yes, I’m a good cook, but we’ve been ordering out a lot in the past couple of weeks because we are on a deadline, so instead of yummy dinners, we get Firehouse Subs.
There are empty bags in my bedroom on the side of my bed. I’ve been meaning to throw them away or put them up for months now. I will have to do it today now that I wrote about it. I just never gotten to them. Why? It would take a grand total of 5 minutes.
The point is, I am a real person with loads of flaws. I’m not a perfect mother, not a perfect wife, not a perfect friend, and if you piss me off, I can be a horrible bitch. Never let yourself feel inadequate because of what you see online. Never put anyone on a pedestal just because they appear to have an orderly life and their house seems perfect on Instagram.
My work desk down in the office is pristine. I’m typing this from our study, where Gordon and I play computer games. This is what my desk here looks like.
Life is messy. That’s okay. We all do the best we can.
Life IS messy!! Love this quote “The point is, I am a real person with loads of flaws. I’m not a perfect mother, not a perfect wife, not a perfect friend, and if you piss me off, I can be a horrible bitch.” Life happens it is how we deal with the good and the bad, defend the defenseless, and ask ourselves at the start of each day — ‘What good can I do this day’– That is what counts, not how spotless our house is.
Thank you. This falls into the category of things we all know but sometimes we need to hear them from someone else. It doesn’t take much to make us feel inadequate, and its reassuring to know that people we admire also struggle with the bags beside the bed.
Yes! This!
Thank you!
I know you’re not perfect cause no one is.
I will say, in my opinion, you make all your work pretty damn perfect ????
What I do really like about you is you’re AUTHENTIC.
(I’m a horrible bitch if you piss me off) ????
In this day and age, that’s becoming more rare…
I see you and appreciate you..
Don’t ever change ????
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We still love you and are grateful for everything you’ve given us so generously and for everything you do that keeps brightening our lives.
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Thank you for not being perfect and admitting it. Too often social media and media in general shows a moment in time when we hopefully look good. Right now I am rather ragged and most of the people I know are in the same boat. You are realistic and down to earth and that is why your writing is fun. Again thank you
Thinking about your daughter and her friends family. She sounds like such a loving, empathetic person.
I used to have a sign on my desk that said “Mother of Dragons”. If you knew my daughters, you’d know why. I got rid of it when Game of Thrones became popular, because it had absolutely nothing to do with that.
I still have several of my collection of frogs, my glass pens, my necklaces and my scarves, not to mention a whole bunch of other stuff on the desk. The only things I can consistently find are my writing pens and my financial paperwork, which are the only things I actually need to find.
Well, sometimes I need my God jar – but that’s been sitting in the same spot on top of said desk since I got it. It really helps to write a matter down if the only thing left for me to do is worry and put the note in the God jar. That’s done more good for my nerves than paying my last loan off did.
And even your messy desk is a good deal neater than mine.
and if you piss me off, I can be a horrible bitch
LOL!!!!!
Thank you for this.
totally get this. plus your desk looks way better than mine. (and i cleaned it recently)… people are full of wonder and of flaws.
All your flaws make you (universal you) who you are and as long as you try you best, and be as kind as possible, you will be able to live with yourself. That’s the story I tell myself so my head won’t explode from all the inner voices having a go at the mistakes I make. The rules of the Baylor Agency do have a tendency to run through my head along with the the laws of robotics to do no harm as often as possible.
Your flaws and how you deal with them made you my favorite set of authors. I know you can do wrong but generally expect you to be amazing.
Love to you, Gordon, Kid 1 and Kid 2 to deal with all the issues in your life.
Thank you, as always, for being you ❣️
You will see regular people in MN wearing shorts during the winter. We pretend we live on the beach ignoring our freezing reality all the time. Nobody complains or makes comments. As a kid I use to walk to school with my hair wet so that it would freeze — it was fun.
I tell my children and more sensitive friends that social media and blogs are a carefully selected highlight reel. It’s not reflective of any kind of whole picture. We all have our own flaws and issues. Most of us don’t care to share those parts on the daily. Enjoy them for the entertainment they are and don’t use them as a model for comparison.
You two are great, everyday people and that is why I have enjoyed your blog so much for all these years. Other authors – mostly – use their blogs for advertising only. I have been concerned that yours would drop to that due to increase in business and fan base. I’m glad it hasn’t as of yet. Your snippets of life are fun to share. I truly hope that turtle makes it and I greatly appreciate the effort your family went through for a single little life. Virtual hugs to your daughter. It’s so horrible to lose someone you care for! Thank you Ilona and Gordon for your work and for sharing.
Ilona,
Please continue to be an imperfect being. This is one of the reasons why you and Gordon write such wonderful books that I gift to my friends and re and reread them. That slice of realism makes all the difference in your novels, as your characters come across as individuals with depth instead of cardboard cutouts. With all of their faults, Nevada, Catalina, and Dina fascinate me. They accomplish so much, but at remain so human with their depth of concern for other living beings.
Warmest regards,
Judith
Kid 2 has my deepest sympathies. It’s been a hard year
I was very encouraged by your blog.
Thank you. 🙂
Thank you for your picture of coffee table. You have made me feel better about my house and all those crocheted market bags that just need the yarn woven in to be finished.
I buy all your ebooks, thank you. Just write as fast as you can, no pressure but I am 80 years old. ???? My Mother would have loved your books.
Where is the love …
I hear what you’re saying & have to confess it gave me a develop a flaw moment …
The love is … in those soundless screams … when you were by your childs side … when you shared daddy’s coming … etc
Thanks for sharing paths of sanity with us AND getting us to smile while we’re trekking … ???? ???? 2 ???????? …
hippo birdie 2 ewes
Amazingly said, and thank you for this slice of reality. We may all feel great some days, bad others, envy the neighbor or the close friend but ultimately we are who we are and personally, I feel great about who I am. Life is good ????
I love this desk picture. I’m thinking how I can make my desk look like it. I love the colors, the calendar book, the tea cup (which I now have). It is the perfect look for a desk. Ok, I’m ignoring your point. But I really like your desk.
That reminds me. I gotta make sure I get that bag of plastic grocery bags in the car so I can recycle them at WM. ????
Thx!
P.S. I won’t tell you about the dozen or so plastic sweater bags of sweater knitting projects begging for some knitter (ahem, me) to pick them up, finish them and find them a forever home.
Your readers have the best comments! So entertaining. I needed those laughs. Thanks for being as normal as the rest of us and reminding us, in case we missed it, that real life is supposed to be messy. Well, the exception to being ‘normal’, might be that amazing writers brain! Oh yeah!
I understand what you are doing and I appreciate it. However leave me my fantasies 😉
Tell Hubby not to feel bad about itching over the squiggles, I’m a CNA and deal with all sortS of nasty ….fluids and the one thing I can’t do is deal with maggots, there a big Nope for me!!! Even writing/reading about them gives me the heeby-jeebees!!!
Thank you for sharing that 🙂 Great thoughts for life and also… I love when people share their unfolded laundry or cluttered desks like this in little moments when someone else is having a hard time because I think it helps everyone feel like it’s okay to be human and to feel comfortable passing the favor on later with others when they feel overwhelmed. Curating normally makes great sense, but I absolutely love this post! Thanks
Ilona, I don’t care…
Thank you for sharing your little slice of life with ‘the rest of us’ because it helps me feel a bit more connected and human.
I don’t blog or knit or write very well and my life is in shambles… yet, no one sees my problems because they only enjoy trumpeting it to their friends about how much better off they are than I am. I shut people out because of the jerkishness that happens.
Thank you for making me laugh, for helping renew my connection with emotions and for sharing your little bit… it helps me to know that things aren’t all bad and aren’t perfect, either… it helps me to grasp reality and enjoy fantasy stuff when it comes my way.
Thank you 🙂
The worst part about self-isolating for over six months is that we live in echo-chambers populated by our insecurities, misconceptions and flaws.
I’ve been working the entire pandemic because I’m an essential worker. The isolation is because of people and activities that I decline to be included in (drinking, carousing, etc.)
When I took the job I was separated from friends because they took a different one, as well. We gamed, hung out and were at least social… now we don’t even chat and our days off are so different.
And the new job has everyone in a town that is 30 minutes away and we are put on furlough if the bosses even THINK we have been “in contact.”
Yeah, it all sucks…
And, thanks for the reply 🙂
I looked in on the blog because I needed a break from the pressure I was putting on myself today. On top of real life interrupting my perfect little plan, I hit a wall writing a short paper as part of a group project. Normally I can pound out a cohesive idea, but not this morning. Thank you especially for sharing the picture of your desk and for reminding everyone that life can be messy. It’s easy to forget that daydreams are pleasant diversions and that reality isn’t always bad or good , it’s just life taking us in unexpected directions. I hope you’re having a lovely and productive day.
I rarely post commons on websites but this post drove me to post. Thank you, thank you, and thank you again.
Thank you for the wonderful books, I read you books over and over whenever I run out of new books to read.
Thank you for taking the time to blog and let us readers into your life just a little bit.
But the biggest thank you is for this specific post. Thank you for reminding us that no one is perfect and usually only the best parts are posted online. Thank you for giving us a tiny glance into your “real life” it was greatly appreciated.
A different turtle and maggot story – maybe even more gruesome? Several years ago I had several Ornate Desert Box Turtles. They are probably the most carnivorous and scavenging of the box turtles. They came running when they were fed live grubs or meal worms. One day they didn’t come out from under a thick hedge. I could hear them rustling the leaves. Later that afternoon a strong smell emanated from the hedge, something was dead. I couldn’t see what was in there. Using a rake, I pulled a reeking White Wing Dove out from under the hedge. It was full of maggots. My turtles were devouring the maggots and what remained of the carcass.
Uwu! I saw an Umaru-chan on your desk!! That’s cool.
My desk is a mess; my room is a mess. It was agreed unanimously that said chaos be moved to the garden enclosure. Now my messy desk/workstation is located in my garden surrounded by Papaya, pomegranate and lemon trees.
Voila, controlled chaos!
On a serious note, thank you for the grounding post.
I love your little “Himouto! Umaru-chan” figurine. Too cute!
We support you. Everyone is flawed, we wouldn’t be human if we weren’t. It’s why I love your characters so much. They have glaring personality flaws but their intentions are good. That’s normal for most people. I was explaining to a good friend what I find attractive in books, is reading about characters who are neither fully light or dark. People are messy, emotions are messy and you capture that so well in your writing.
Keep fighting the good fight and take care of yourselves.
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I couldn’t take working from home in my dining room and not having a dining room anymore, so I converted the weird little sitting room in my bedroom into an office. It looks amazing, especially in my teams meetings.
But, I had to move nearly 5 years of “I’ll just deal with disposing of this later” stuff out of that room. Which means right now, my living room looks like a hoarder house and I can’t even tell you how much it is stressing me out.
So, yeah, totally get it. Thank you for sharing what you do. And not sharing the maggots. *shudder*
Thank you so much for the flaws post! We are home in our little boxes doing the best we can and thinking that everyone is doing a better job. As usual, I appreciate your words.