I couldn't fall asleep tonight so I decided to write. I've always been a night owl, preferring to stay up late than to get up early. Believe me, most people I know, know that I am a zombie in the mornings. But, as I sit here writing tonight, or rather early morning, I am wide awake, thinking clearly.

I think that's my problem - I have so many thoughts at night that I can't sleep unless I mull them over in my mind thoroughly enough or over and over until I fall asleep. Yet, it didn't work tonight.

I do my best work at night. Some of my best essays in college were written at about this time. Some of my best ideas came right before I fell asleep. I can remember countless times, I've actually taken the time to turn on a light, find a pen and write out my thoughts. It feels so good to capture these thoughts on paper. These are the good ones.

I guess it makes sense that my thought process from the day should be complete before I try to fall asleep. Sometimes I think it would be a lot easier to just be able to fall right asleep like everyone else. I also wish I could wake up easier in the mornings too.

I guess I like the serene quiet of late night. It's almost like I can hear my thoughts out loud when I stay up late. The world is quiet. I like being the only one awake. Yet, I regret all the beautiful sunrises I have missed. Sometimes I think it would be nice to wake up with the birds, having a clear mind. But no such luck for me.

I just wanted to address the Radiant Times subscribers and readers: I will be posting future issues of the newsletter on this website, and an archive of previous issues. It is in the works but not sure when it will be completed. For now, please feel free to read my posts and contact me if you have any news, or written contributions. Thank you for your support.

My family blog is still up and running, even though I would prefer to use this website blog solely. The family blog site link is included at the bottom of this post.

This time of year, we're reminded of the sacrifice Jesus made for all of us. I guess its impact didn't hit me until I was in church last Sunday. I knew that the Easter season was here but I wasn't ready for its effect on me.

There I was, sleepily attending our church, thinking about how tired I was, and about all the things bothering me in life. I was wrapped up in myself, and how I felt. I didn't want to associate with other churchgoers or greet anyone. I just wanted to sit through the sermon, hoping to receive a message of hope.

I was aware of my actions, aware that my bad attitude reflected on my husband and the others around me. As I chose not to greet those around me, because I didn't want to spread my bad mood, I saw that it did indeed pass on. I sat with my arms crossed, hoping no one noticed me. In actuality, I probably wanted everyone to notice, and feel compassion, wondering what was wrong. I knew it was wrong, but I did it anyway.

So, as the worship music started, I stood quiet. I didn't want to sing when I wasn't happy. Yet, I knew the music would get to me, welling up inside of me, ready to change my attitude. I feel God through music. I can usually feel Him in the music at church. His presence was very clear on Sunday, taking only moments to break down my walls.

As I closed my eyes, listening to each voice singing, the words touched my heart. I could feel the love for God rise up through my chest. Slowly tears formed, as I knew I was wrong, and unworthy. The sacrifice of Jesus at Easter came to mind, and urged the tears to spill down my cheeks. How could I think of myself at this time of year?

I realized I had been thinking only of myself. Yet, I knew that my personal relationship with God had been suffering lately, not a priority on my list. I knew I had to fix this part of me, before I could worship in church with others.

So, I mended my relationship with God, asking for forgiveness for my selfish ways. I filled my God-shaped hole, as Audio Adrenaline calls it, with God's love. He knows I have the best intentions in mind, to love others like Jesus did, without judgment. I guess He also knows that I'm not perfect.

I hope that my selfishness did not affect others in adverse ways, yet, I'm glad I realized my wrongdoing in time to genuinely experience Easter this year.

As you may know, I am the Feature Writer for Meteorology & Climatology at Suite101.com. I am in charge of this section, monitoring contributing articles and discussions. However, my discussion topics have little to no activity. I would really like to see my section become more interactive. I want to write articles that interest my readers.

So, if you have a question or interest in any particular weather or climate topic, please feel free to ask it at my Suite101.com Weather Page or contact me here.

Otherwise I will continue to write about what interest me, which I don't mind doing. However, it would be nice to have some interaction with my readers.

I think it's ironic how sometimes I sit down to write and the words just flow out of me, as rapidly as a river after a spring rain. But then other times, I sit, starring at the blank page, waiting for a single sentence to form. I'll even close my eyes, trying to concentrate and make the thoughts form, like the character Hiro from "Heroes". I know the thoughts are in my mind but why can't they form when I have the chance to actually spend time writing?

It seems like my most creative thoughts flow freely when I'm busy doing something else, at work or just before I fall asleep. The last time I had a whirlwind of creative thoughts was just after my visit to Eugene for the Willamette Writers presentation . The speaker, Melinda Dille, had inspired me with her personal journey in publishing her book. I was intrigued at her persistent and confidence in her idea. So, as I drove home that night, my mind was going about as fast as I was traveling, and I wasn't even speeding! I wished at that moment that I could pull over and just write down all my thoughts. But it was dark and I wanted to get home. I told my husband when I got home that I wished I could download my brain, without losing a single thought! I had so many good ideas, all flowing at once. I did manage to get some of the best ideas into written form, and I still remember the majority of content from my 65 mph brainstorm!

The experts say to begin brainstorming by writing down whatever comes to mind. Well, sometimes that works for me. But other times, I go off on strange tangents, never to return to my primary objective for sitting down to write at all. But it can be fun.

I guess my problem is that I want to start writing my book content so badly, or a genuinely good article that sometimes I put too much pressure and stress on myself to be productive at writing. I need to remember that I do have a full-time job, a new marriage and a yard full of weeds, grass, and a jungle of beautiful plants. I just wish my creative thoughts would suit my available time for writing. I think I just need to work on those writing habits again!

Today turned out to be a pretty nice day, weather-wise that is. The forecast had been mentioning rain for the weekend. But we woke up to sunshine. There were a few showers but not enough to send us back into the house.

We spent most of the day out in the backyard. I tried to conquer the grass in the flowerbeds, again. Grass 2, Aurae 0. But actually give me at least a half point for trying. Last weekend, I sprayed Round-up on the persistent grass in the back flowerbeds, because I absolutely did not want to pull it out by the roots, like we tried to do last summer. It was horribly hot, back-breaking work. So, I resorted to weed killer. It seemed to do the job, for the most part. But even though most of the grass is brown, the roots still have a strong hold.

Today, I ended up using a shovel to dig out the grass and sort of till the soil. My objective was to plant the ground-cover plants we bought, but the grass really needed to be gone in order to do that. So, I spent hours cultivating the soil with my shovel. After awhile, I seemed to be winning the battle. I was amazed at how deep those grass roots go! I happened to get most of them.

So, I planted the ground-cover, and it looks really nice. You're probably thinking, "then why didn't you get a point today?" The reason I didn't win the battle against the grass today, is because I spent 2-3 hours digging and turning the soil, picking out the grass roots, and if you look at the backyard from the house, all you see is grass! I happened to clear 2 5x5 foot squares of ground. Plus, I don't even know if the ground-cover will survive. I'm sure the grass will be back.

So, even though I may have lost today's battle, I feel pretty good, other than my aching back and feet. It feels good to be able to work in my own yard, with my husband. We take pride in our home and garden.

Now, if this rant was about the front yard, which I happened to work on today too, then I would give myself a point. The front yard isn't as plagued by grass. In the front yard, the grass just happens to peek up through the bark dust, but it's a lot easier to pull out! Today, I spent some time yanking on those grass shoots, and pulling out dandelions. I successfully planted several flowering bushes and bulbs in the front yard, so give me a point for that!

Off to soak my feet I go!

Writing for the Internet sure is different than most of what I learned while studying Journalism writing and style. Sure, we use the basic, who, what, where, when, why and how when introducing an article. Yet, titles are quite a bit different.

I started writing at Suite101.com about travel and healthcare, and whatever I could think of, like sports and nutrition. I would try to title my articles with something flashy or witty, like I did in college. But then my articles would get flagged by the editor, requesting that I change my titles.

You see, writing for the Internet is all about the keywords. Articles don't get popular or even read with witty titles. Articles get read if they contain keywords that match what a reader searches for. We get most of our matches from Google. We are advised to write our articles at Suite101 based on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) richness, meaning the more unique and special the keywords, the more closer the article will be to matching what a reader searches for.

It's very interesting, and I am still learning. I like learning new things. I'll let you know when I learn something new.

So, I've wanted to write a book for a long time now. I've actually written books in the past, back when all I had was time and a creative mind! I think I still have various horse stories, and even a children's book about a bee. I even illustrated them then!

So, now I'm getting back to what I've always dreamed of doing - writing a book. A few years ago, I had a book idea and actually did some research. I'm not sure what happened to my motivation or intent. I guess it could be that I was busy studying for my graduate certificate in healthcare administration! I guess that did take up most of my extra time.

My preliminary book ideas or themes are:
Planning a Missions Trip from Start to Finish
Living a New Life: Steps for Women in turning your life around, with focus on God, self-affirmation and successfully reaching your goals and dreams
Early Settlements in Oregon, an in-dept view of pioneer life from the viewpoint of a young woman

My first book idea was to research everything it takes for the average person to plan on going on a mission trip. It was going to be like an Idiot's guide but with a more positive title, ha ha! So, I did some researching online, read some books and even met a few people who talked about missions. I will have to find my notes, and keep this idea going.

My current book idea is more personal but it's something that needs to written. I think there's an audience out there and I hope to write for them. I would like to write a book for women, on how to start a new life, for those who are still struggling to those who have begun to change their life around. I would pull ideas from what I learned in my challenges, mistakes and how I succeeded. I know that when I went through hard times, I felt alone, like there was no one else like me. So, I want to let other women know that they are not alone. I would like to share what I learned, how I turned my life around, give useful information and share my thoughts and my hope.

My other book idea would be a creative non-fiction, taking a moment in history and adding more to it, making it more like a story we can connect to. I've always wanted to write about early life in Oregon, when the pioneer arrived, and the conflict with the native Oregonians. I am also interested in how Oregon and California were a part of Mexico, and how that worked. So, this book idea would take a lot of research but it really interests me.

It feels good to get these thoughts out in the open. I guess that writing them down makes me feel like I'm more committed to writing and researching these ideas.

I am excited to share my four Editor's Choice award-winning articles from Suite101.com. An Editor’s Choice Award means that my article “exemplifies the quality content, excellent presentation, and high standard we are striving for at Suite101.” I feel very proud that my writing is being recognized, even at a small level.

Here are the articles:
Winter Snow Facts and Records
The Importance of Greenhouse Gases
Defining Climatology Terminology
Boeing Dreamliner in Final Stages

Hello!
Welcome to my blog. This will be a place for my ranting, raving and everything in between. Join me for thoughts on writing, weather and life.

-Aurae