Today I am starting my Adventures of the Ice Cream Lady Book.

I just finished writing a short piece of software to do what Natalie Goldberg, describes in her book, "Wild Mind, Living the Writer's Life" as writing practice.

She talks about writing for 10 minutes, taking a short break and going 10 more, and she gives about 10 different sentence starters to get you going. These starters are very broad and can pertain to anything you are dealing with or wanting to write about.

I have this piece of software that actually creates simple .exe programs, that output your results into an html or copies it to your clipboard as text. I have used it many times in the past to create what I call "self improvement software."

I have actually sold that software in the past, but it is not anything fancy, nothing compared to Microsoft Word, or stuff like that.

But if you are reading this post and would like a copy to check it out, or just to see what I am referring too, just comment on any post on my blog and let me know you want my "writing practice software" and I will send you the download link.

In the meantime stay tuned, I figure I might as well use the publicity from my stolen ice cream truck to start to launch my book. I had created an outline, I actually jotted down most of the chapter titles during stops while I was driving my ice cream truck.

It was going to be titled "101 Lessons Learned by an Ice Cream Lady." That title may change, but I already have about 89 chapter titles.

So that is where I am going to begin.

I plan on creating another more positive youtube video, but my heart isn't in it, I haven't quite got to that place yet.


I am trying to stay positive,

Love,
Laurie

Kids Back in School, Life isn't getting back to normal for me.....

I just announced on both Twitter and Facebook that I am going to create another video.

I guarantee it will be better than the first one, because I found a tripod I knew I had out in the garage so I won't have to hold the camera at an arm's distance. LOL

I also am focusing on the good, in each moment, and plan to share how I feel when I drive my truck.

But my 17 year old daughter just showed me how to make a QR code for my blog. See the side bar.

That black and white square thingy over there. Take a snapshot with that and it will put all the information you need to come to this blog or send someone else to this blog in your smart phone. Too bad I don't have one of those thingies yet. :o(

Anyhow, so tonight after playing, mom the taxi most of the day, I am updating a few things here. Tomorrow I will be spending all day volunteering at the Food Bank so Thursday is probably the day I will do the video, while the kids are all at school.

So, a new QR Code, a new soft background to my blog of my "dearly beloved and miss seeing everyday baby", and I am going to go catch up on housework.


I also printed out several huge colored signs of my stolen image, haven't got it on a sweatshirt yet, because I can't find my iron on t-shirt transfer packages in my disorganized house. LOL.

But I did make laminated buttons and clipped them on all our collars today. They made it easy to spread the word, peopled asked me about them instead of me having to start the conversation. You will see them in the video.

I want to thank each and every person who is reading and following along with me through this journey, even if you aren't subscribing or joining through google. :o) Maybe I could get you to follow me on Twitter. Oh yeah, I added that, see the left side. :o)

All is well, and I am pretty good tonight,

Love,
Laurie

Digging Out My Happy Ice Cream Driver Feelings through Journaling!

 A kind sweet person from one of my email gratitude lists, sent me these questions to help me get back to better feelings. As I said it is my nature to be optimistic and this mailing list helps me stay in that mood and attitude. I felt sooooo much better after generating these answers today, so I wanted to share them with you all.

You know what? Some of the same questions were asked by the interviewers from both Q13 and The News Tribune, but I was so far the other way I couldn't even get to these memories a few days back. I am slowly working my way back to the real me. :o)

Edit-- 01-10-2012--

I been playing around with a site called tagxedo.com and came up with this using this posts url.

What do you like best about your ice cream truck?
What I like best about my truck is the feeling I have when I drive it.

• I feel free.
• I feel wonderful.
• I love every minute driving down the road.
• I love the way the kids look for me as I come driving down the street.
• I love seeing their sweet smiling faces.
• I love the power and control it gives me to always have some cash in my pocket.
• I love the way I get to do decide how much ice cream and what flavors the to buy the next day.
• I love having the resources to give a child who is short on change an ice cream and light up their world.
• I love the feeling of sunshine on my head and shoulders.
• I love to listen to my stereo, and sing along to my favorite uplifting music as I drive between neighborhoods.
• I love the waves, smiles and attention I get from everyone that sees me in my cute little truck when I stop at red lights.
• I love the comments others say when they hear what I do, they reply, "That must me a really fun job!" it really is, most all of the time.

Where do you go with it that you enjoy most?

• Since the best sales are in the poorest neighborhoods, they are my favorite areas. I have several culdesacs where I have regular kids, I know by first name and they always smile and say__

•  Hi, "blue jeans ice cream lady?" where have you been, we miss you!" you are are favorite ice cream truck?
• I like the little kids who are patient and quiet and wait until everyone is done and say, I don't have any money, when it is only one or two, and all others have walked away I give them one of my cheapest ice creams, and love to see their smiles of appreciation.
  
• It is a feeling that cannot be imagined unless you have experienced it.
• I get asked all the time  for free ice cream from kids, but I really love to give it free to the ones that don't expect it.

 What kind of encounters/relationships does doing business in it bring you?

• I have met so many kind wonderful people. I have lots of regulars who stand and chat with me. We talk about our kids and all sorts of other things.
• I have got to watch little babies grow into toddlers and little kids to preteens.
  
• I have one neighborhood where one of my little kids that bought from me is now over 6 feet tall, way taller than me (I think he is now a junior or senior in high school) and he smiles and lights up every time he sees me.
• I enjoy shooting the breeze with my supplier every morning, sharing my sweet stories and watching his kids grow up as well.
• I even enjoy chatting with the other vendors while waiting sometimes in line on busy days at my supplier.
• I enjoy the jokes my supplier makes about me driving around in a pair of dungarees.
• Writing all of these memories brings joy and a smile to myself, I don't want to think about all of this being gone now.
• I park at several schools for about 10-15 minutes waiting for the bell to ring,
• I have received so many thank yous of appreciation from my kids who are really grateful I am there almost every day.
• I have actually given some of them a day or two credit, and they always remember they owe me and pay me the next day. It lets me see the best in these bright young minds.
• I love the compliments I receive on how unique and creative my truck is.
• I use to joke with older kids and adults who laughed at themselves for getting excited to see me that "I sell ice cream to kids of all ages."

If you could make absolutely any refurbishments and modifications to the truck, what would you do, and how would this affect your operations?

• I had made a lot of refurbishments. 
• I painted it to look like blue jeans.
• I have the little family sticker of my kids and I on the window.
• My sticker magnets looked like blue jean pockets.
• I had scanned the dollar items in a faded pocket frame different from the other frame so the young kids could tell the difference easily.
• The seat was longer and I had an extra seat belt so I could bring along one of my children occasionally.
• Of course I had covered my bench seat cover with denim fabric.
  
• This extra seat came in very hand because a few winters, my ice cream truck was the only vehicle I had for transportation.
• I used it then to run my errands instead of getting groceries on the bus I could get them in my ice cream truck.

If I couldn't get it back and money wasn't an issue, (I mean in a dream world) this is how I would want to replace it.

I would buy one of those new SMART cars and get the people that paint the ads on the side of buses to customize it with pictures of various blue jean patchwork.
(update on Jan 9, 2012, what this dream car actually looks like)

• I would have my website, facebook page and twitter printed on it.
• I would also own a smartphone :o)I would have a customized freezer and another compartment for cold water, soda, snacks and candy. 
• Even if that meant pulling a tiny little trailer with it.
• I would have it set up so I could switch from the music box on the outside to my car stereo on the inside. 
• I would have a microphone speaker worked into it so I could interrupt the music with a "Hi its Laurie the blue jeans lady" or any other comment I wanted to make anytime I felt like it as I was trucking through the hood.
• I would order a customized ice cream music box with some of my favorite songs digitized to be ice cream music. 
• There is a company online that does this. One of those songs would be "Raindrops keep falling on my head" I would play that on rainy days, and it would be unique to my truck and everyone would chuckle and comment about it when I came down the road.
• I would also digitize some of the kids favorites like, "I want candy" "Me Love"
• Actually before I ordered the specialized music box I would survey my ice cream kids and ask them what songs they would like to hear the most. 
• I would mix it with some from every generation over the last 50-60 years so there would be songs for my kids of all ages.
  

What are your best moments of working with it?

I would have to search through my gratitude journals to find the best stories, but I think I covered a lot of these in the questions above.

I am so appreciative for these questions. I was trying to get to this feeling where I am today, right now, last night and I didn't quite reach it. 

His questions have helped me jump right up to those feeling where I want to feel. I am going to print this out and carry it in my hip pocket to read during these days of discouragement and frustration that I am currently dealing with. I know rereading it will help me keep my spirits up.

I am feeling so much better and well this afternoon,

Laurie

Today's Appreciation List despite my missing Ice Cream Truck

The theft on Christmas day of my beloved Blue Jeans Ice Cream Truck means a lot more to me than money.

 My oldest daughter often jokes that I loved my ICT* more than I loved my kids. It isn't true but I did treat her like one of my kids, I even had a name for her. I called her Amy. (That is what I would have named another daughter if I had one.)

Anyhow, my ICT brought me so much more than money.

She taught me so many lessons in life.

That is why I started writing an outline to write a book, I planned on titling something like 101 Life Lessons Learned by An Ice Cream Lady.

Well that's about how far my goal for writing the book had come. An outline with about 82 of the 101 lessons mapped out.

But 3 important lessons I have learned in the past 4 years are encouragement, appreciation and joy.

Appreciation is the big one. I will go into the next two in my next few posts.

People make all kinds of judgements and comments about others without knowing the facts. They do it even though most of them have never even lived in the kind of lives of the people they criticize and judge for even a minute of their lives.

It is not easy living on a fixed income. Especially one below the poverty line.

You have to get really good at utilizing resources. It takes time. It takes patience.

For many years I have lived dealing with illness, pain, and worrying about how to make the money last til the next payday. I even  lived this way when I worked full time. Before I became disabled I actually worked 70 hours a week to make ends meet.

But something I have learned is gratitude.

Every day no matter how difficult life becomes I make lists of what I appreciate. It isn't hard to do. Even when you don't have much.

For example,  some jerk stole my ICT on Christmas day.

Well, I realized last night, that the past week has drawn me away from my appreciating and ricocheted me right into the pessimistic type of thinking that I hate to see in anyone much less myself.

I have never been much of a worrier either. So I am going to make a list of things I appreciate despite what has happened.

Today, right now I appreciate---

• that the jerks only took the ice cream truck and not both my vehicles. (I wouldn't have any way to get around now except bus if that had happened. )
• that they didn't try to invade my home or hurt any of us.
• all the loving comments, help, support and publicity that has come my way to help me recover my stolen vehicle.
• my warm home.
• I have met some really neat, kind, and wonderful people because of what has happened.
• all the food we have to eat.
• that it happened the night after Christmas day instead of on Christmas eve. (for some reason to me it makes it just a tiny bit easier to swallow how someone could do this during the holiday season)
• the love I have for and from my wonderful children.
• that I have had four wonderful years of using this truck that have brought me bountiful good wonderful memories.
• that during these years, I have met, served and enjoyed lots of wonderful people while doing my Ice Cream Truck routes.
• that even though it looks bleak now, we are starting a brand new year, and with it comes hope of better days to come.
• it only took me a week to realize I needed to jump out of the pessimistic slump and get back into being appreciative instead. :)
• the internet and the power I have with the tools it provides to all of us. (ie, facebook, blogs, google, etc....)
• my computer, printer and creative skills.
• today I appreciate that although there isn't much left after paying the bills to survive the month, I was able to get the important things paid.
• as Annie, so cheerfully says, "Tomorrow, is only a day away!" (we never know what tomorrow will bring and it can always be filled with wonderful surprises but they are especially more likely to happen if you expect them too.)
• despite whatever happens things always have a way of working out somehow.
• that last night or should I say this morning, or since last year, I had the joy of reading over 26,000 words of optimism, joy, encouragement and memories in my gratitude journals of how my ice cream truck helped me grow in joy, love, and spirit despite the many breakdowns, repairs and obstacles I dealt with over the past 4 years since I got it.

How you can help, in time, knowledge or money

*ICT abbreviation for Ice Cream Truck.