Kill Rejection with Positive Motivation

Kill Rejection with Positive Motivation
by Andi Lutz

Rejection is everywhere. Every time someone unsubscribes from my website I feel it like a punch to my self-confidence. Am I really good enough for this writing thing. Why don’t they want to read what I have to say? Did I write something they didn’t like?

But you can’t please everyone. It’s going to happen, you are going to get rejected a lot as a writer. The thing is, you can’t stop just because someone tells you no, or that you need to work on so and so, or you aren’t good enough. You need to keep going, you need to write more to get to the place you want to be. You need more positive motivation and not to dwell on the negative.

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The Missing Pass

The Missing Pass
by Andi Lutz

If you’ve ever had a Pasta Pass you would know that they come in a fancy little box and it makes you feel like you are opening a present. I couldn’t bring myself to throw them away, so I kept our cards in the boxes displayed on the counter and we counted down the days until we could use them. We decided the first day it is valid we would go to dinner as a family.

That morning I get up early to make breakfast for us. I bounce into the kitchen and see pieces of one of the boxes chewed up and scattered all over the kitchen floor. I go into the living room and look at the dogs. I know exactly who did it, he looks guilty and clearly, he knows he is in trouble. But if I could have eaten the box and the card I would have too. I don’t blame him, it’s like he could smell the pasta coming from the Pasta Pass.

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Please Invade My Privacy week 6

Please Invade My Privacy
by Andi Lutz
Week 6

Today in an effort to be healthier and get out of the house and get some time to myself I went to the park and took a walk. There were a few people around, so I thought it would be a good time to corner someone and make them feel uncomfortable, because I am getting really good at doing that.

I see an older gentleman and up until now I have stayed away from talking to men because I didn’t want it taken the wrong way and have them think I am hitting on them. But this guy looks like he is doing something fun that I could start a conversation about. His back is to me, but I can see that he has a book in his hand and binoculars, looking at some birds in the distance.

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Write Now

Write Now
by Andi Lutz

I woke up early, the sun wasn’t even up. The house was silent, except for the hum of the heater, everyone was still asleep, even the dogs. I shuffled into the kitchen with the cold floor chilling my feet and pulled my robe tighter as I looked for a mug for some tea.

This is what I love, alone time, quiet time, me time. This gives me a sense of getting a jump on the day and makes me feel like I can accomplish everything that needs to be done. I could write that novel, if I just got up this early every day. If the bed wasn’t so warm and cozy, and I wasn’t so tired.

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Two Peas chapter 4

Two Peas
by Andi Lutz
Chapter 4

The next morning I woke up trying to remember a dream I just had. I hate that, you can wake up in the middle of it and not even remember what you were in the middle of. Something about being in the water, maybe it was from all the water from the toilet yesterday. I don’t know, it will probably come to me when I least expect it.

For some reason I didn’t have a very busy day today, I guess it’s dying down from the last few weeks where we didn’t even get a minute to ourselves. Everyone was calling at all hours needing us. But today I just had some accounting to do, not our company accounting but someone who hired me to do their business audit. And then maybe it’s also a good time to do some wedding money juggling to find out if I can pull some moola from thin air.

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Then she changed

Then she changed
by Andi Lutz

About the time my daughter turned 5 months old I finally felt like I had a chance to breath, go to the bathroom, and sometimes shower. After 5 months of hard work, sleep deprivation, and more sleep deprivation I felt like I might be getting the hang of this and then she changed. She wouldn’t nap for more than 35 minutes. My brain was turning to mush from doing only three things a day (breastfeeding, changing diapers, trying to get her to sleep) and not really using my brain anymore. I thought, when will this all end? When will I get my old life back? When will I be able to do just one of the things that I used to do?

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Just one wish

Just one wish
by Andi Lutz

I found out I had one wish, just one, not three. And here’s the kicker, I can’t use it on myself. That’s right, I have to use it on someone else. I have to make a wish for someone else. If that’s not a disappointment I don’t know what is. The guy who gave me the wish told me not to waste it. At first I didn’t believe him, but then he told me story after story of people he gave wishes to. He told me he could give me references if I didn’t believe him. He gave me instructions on how to make the wish properly. He sounded like he knew what he was talking about and after all that I believed him. So, now I have this one wish sitting here or wherever it is, maybe floating around in the sky, waiting for me to call upon it.

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Simple and clutter free

Simple and clutter free
by Andi Lutz

The clutter, it’s everywhere. Every surface is covered with junk that should be thrown away or recycled, organized or donated. But I just want to get rid of it all. I want a simple life with only the things I need. I don’t want to have to dig through a closet of coats that haven’t been worn in decades in order to find the one and only jacket I do wear. The clutter is littering my world and giving me anxiety.

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I let you in

I let you in
by Andi Lutz

You told me you wanted to be my friend,

So I let you in, I don’t let anyone in.

Even the people who are closest to me don’t really know me.

I let you in and you hurt me,

Deeper than I ever knew it could go.

The pain you made won’t go away,
No matter how many times I try to push it to the side.

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Please Invade My Privacy week 5

Please Invade My Privacy
by Andi Lutz
Week 5

Remember last week, Week 4, when I had to go head first into a porta potty. Well, since that nightmare I decided it would be good to visit the doctor and get checked out. Explaining to her what happened was embarrassing and I could tell she was judging me, she’s so much smarter and stuff, with her fancy degree. Anyway, she wanted to take some blood. So, here I am, sitting in the chair with one arm rest waiting for someone to suck my blood.

In walks a woman who will be the lucky vampire today. I wrack my brain for something to say. Even though I talked to the doctor I don’t count that for invading my privacy, I had to talk to her. This woman obviously doesn’t want to communicate by the look on her face, that’s why I’m going to talk to her.

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Journaling your way to writing everyday

Journaling your way to writing everyday
by Andi Lutz

Sitting on the couch with my electric typewriter on my lap, I spill my guts onto the keyboard while my daughter plays at my feet.

This is how I write, I journal first, get out the gunk that’s clogging the machine that cranks out the gems. I will journal about what I am feeling or what I want to do for the day or what is bothering me, and then I want to write more. It just takes a few minutes.

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Two Peas chapter 3

Two Peas
by Andi Lutz
Chapter 3


I was putting dinner on the table when Brooks walked in. I think I smelled the cow manure before I actually heard him.

“Honey, I’m home!” He yelled from the living room.

“I’m in here.”

“Something smells good. How was your day?” he asked rather cheerily for being outside all day struggling with animals that weigh almost ten times his own weight.

“Well, that good smell is definitely not you, you smell like a cow pie. And I’ll get into my day once we sit down.” I said, still tired and my mood didn’t seem to improve.

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The Pregnant Lady Look

& Baby Makes 3
The Pregnant Lady Look
by Andi Lutz

My belly was round and full, I couldn’t hide it anymore. I was self-conscious, and I didn’t like the attention on me. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved being pregnant. I’ve never been happier and felt better. But I stuck out and I don’t like to stick out. I just want to blend in with the crowd and not have anyone notice me.

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Waiting, and waiting, it’s finally here!

Olive Garden Pasta Pass
Waiting, and waiting, it’s finally here!


I thought the day I found out we would be getting a Pasta Pass from Olive Garden was one of the best days of my life. Now I know, the day I actually got the Pasta Passes in my hand was.

I got the email telling me I had a delivery coming in a few days. I dismissed it because I thought it was another book. I do love books and get them frequently in the mail. But then Olive Garden sent me an email saying the Pasta Passes were coming. What! So soon? Yes! I counted down the days, hours, and soon just sat by the window, eating my store-bought chocolate mints that just don’t taste the same as Olive Garden’s sweet after dinner treats, waiting for the delivery like a child trying to catch a glimpse of Santa. Then the delivery truck pulls up. I run out to meet the driver and can’t help but hug him. Once I let him go from my tight squeeze he steps back and looks at me startled, “Do I know you?"

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What is it?

Olive Garden Pasta Pass
What is it?


What if you could join an exclusive group of people who get pasta for a year, every day, for lunch and dinner and in between? And salad or soup and breadsticks. You'd never have to make dinner again, well, at least for a year. The excitement of learning that we did actually get the privilege of the coveted Pasta Passes was beyond what I could ever imagine. I danced around with my two-year-old daughter singing ‘marinara, rigatoni, spaghetti, meatballs!’ in an Italian accent. If you love pasta and Olive Garden as much as I do you would understand. My husband asked what we were so excited about and I said it was the best day of our lives, he looked at me questioningly. I told him no more burnt meals, I’m not cooking for a whole year, then he agreed and started dancing with us, it truly was the best day of our lives. A Pasta Pass is something to dance about.

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