See the letter "T" to find out who I tagged.
A-Attached or Single: Single but not willingly.
B-Best Friend: Ruth
C-Cake or Pie: if I have to choose – chocolate chess pie
D-Day of Choice: I like them all.
E-Essential Item: water
F-Favorite Color: purple
G-Gummi Bears or Worms: YUCHY!!!!
H-Hometown: Durham, North Carolina
I-Indulgence(s): not really, more essential -reading, scrapbooking, traveling to see my children and grandchildren
J-January or July: January – you can always wear more clothes but North Carolina in July? PLEASE!? Are you kidding me? Hot, Humid, Hazy – notice how they all start with “H” – wonder what else starts with “H”.
K-Kids: 4 + 4 + 6 (and counting)
L-Life is incomplete without: my testimony, my family
M-Marriage Date: April 24, 1976 and November 14, 1981
N-Number of Siblings: 1 younger brother (now deceased)
O-Oranges or Apples: depends on the mood
P-Phobias or Fears: YES!
Q-Quote(s):
1- “Have you seen all the NUTS in my family tree?” seen on a t-shirt
2- “Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away.”
from “Captain Correlli’s Mandolin”
3 - “When you fall in love it is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then it subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part.
from “Captain Correlli’s Mandolin”
R-Reason to Smile: Chloe, Carter, Jared, Kayleigh, Tyler and Reba
S-Season: Spring and Fall
T-Tag someone if you want to do so – I’m tagging Vicki
U-Unknown fact about me: There is a very shy, insecure little girl that lives inside me. I sit on her most of the time but she is the real me. The fake me is the persona you know.
V-Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals: working on becoming a Vegetarian but every now and then a ribeye steak speaks to me until I eat it. (It’s the only way to shut it up.)
W-Worst Habit: getting distracted – why do you think I had two kids with ADD? They got it from me.
X-X-rays or Ultrasounds: Neither – AND I don’t like mammograms, colonoscopies or endoscopies – keep it all away from me!
Y-Your Favorite Food: a really good salad
Z-Zodiac: Taurus – and it actually does sound like me.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Being orgainzed
Organization is over-rated. It's something I've wanted to be as long as I can remember. I've read tons of books and checked out web sites and let me tell you I'm an expert on how to become organized. I've even taught classes where the students have raved over my expertise. The hilarious part is that I am not now nor have I ever been what I consider organized.
I think being organized is a goal but may never be something that can be completely reached. I've spent the last couple of weeks orgaizing my office area and I'll tell you - it looks pretty cool. Now if the rest of the house could just catch the fever, I'd be set.
One reason for my failure is the fact that I have ADD. Attention Deficit Disorder. Just a fancy way of saying that you can lure me away from what I'm doing very easily. I mean, right now the beautiful sun outside my window is distracting me and I feel this pull . . .
Anyway, being organized is something that magazine make tons of money on. Have you ever noticed how all the magazines, especially at the beginning of the year when everyone makes New Year's Resolutions, are all putting it on the cover to entice you. Go to Wal-Mart and look at the magazines that focus on home and health - organization.
Speaking of distractions, Wal-Mart is my favorite place on earth yet when I walk in the door they immediately distract me from what I came in to buy. How many times have I either almost left or actually left the store to find that I didn't get what I went in for in the first place. ADD and they thrive on MY ADD. Oops, got off the topic.
There are so many areas of my life that I want to have organized but I don't seem to be able to concentrate on it long enough to get it done. If I work on one area, I neglect another and the visious circle continues. My kids had better hope I live for a long time or they are going to have to hire a bulldozer to deal with my house.
There is such a pretty bird outside my window. A cardinal that is so red it almost hurts to look at him. I wonder if his mate is nearby. Does that mean spring is near? I wonder if the daffodils are blooming in my . . . . . . . . . . .
I think being organized is a goal but may never be something that can be completely reached. I've spent the last couple of weeks orgaizing my office area and I'll tell you - it looks pretty cool. Now if the rest of the house could just catch the fever, I'd be set.
One reason for my failure is the fact that I have ADD. Attention Deficit Disorder. Just a fancy way of saying that you can lure me away from what I'm doing very easily. I mean, right now the beautiful sun outside my window is distracting me and I feel this pull . . .
Anyway, being organized is something that magazine make tons of money on. Have you ever noticed how all the magazines, especially at the beginning of the year when everyone makes New Year's Resolutions, are all putting it on the cover to entice you. Go to Wal-Mart and look at the magazines that focus on home and health - organization.
Speaking of distractions, Wal-Mart is my favorite place on earth yet when I walk in the door they immediately distract me from what I came in to buy. How many times have I either almost left or actually left the store to find that I didn't get what I went in for in the first place. ADD and they thrive on MY ADD. Oops, got off the topic.
There are so many areas of my life that I want to have organized but I don't seem to be able to concentrate on it long enough to get it done. If I work on one area, I neglect another and the visious circle continues. My kids had better hope I live for a long time or they are going to have to hire a bulldozer to deal with my house.
There is such a pretty bird outside my window. A cardinal that is so red it almost hurts to look at him. I wonder if his mate is nearby. Does that mean spring is near? I wonder if the daffodils are blooming in my . . . . . . . . . . .
Thursday, February 21, 2008
The word "No"
See - I know how to spell it. I even hear myself say it sometimes, unfortunately with the word problem afterwards - oh well.
This is a word that women should use - more often than they do. We want to please. We want to be helpful. We want to be useful. However we also forget that we need to take care of ourselves or there won't be anyone to take care of everyone else.
So, all men reading this - teach all the women in your life that it is ok to not do everything that we are offered and that you support us in the effort to take care of ourselves.
And all women reading this? Repeat after me . . . it is OK to say no. We do not have to take care of the entire world without taking care of ourselves.
EXCELLENT. I've changed the world today.
This is a word that women should use - more often than they do. We want to please. We want to be helpful. We want to be useful. However we also forget that we need to take care of ourselves or there won't be anyone to take care of everyone else.
So, all men reading this - teach all the women in your life that it is ok to not do everything that we are offered and that you support us in the effort to take care of ourselves.
And all women reading this? Repeat after me . . . it is OK to say no. We do not have to take care of the entire world without taking care of ourselves.
EXCELLENT. I've changed the world today.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Badminton
I typed the following blog entry on Monday and when I went to check the spelling before I posted it - poof – it vanished. So, I’ll try again. If it vanishes this time? Tough.
When I was in my early teens, my dad made a badminton court on the far side of the creek. It was actually part of the woods behind the house so he had to clear the land first. In the beginning it was just a place to leave the badminton net set up and it not be in the way. It quickly became the entertainment spot for our family and my parents’ friends. On Saturday around noon folks would start showing up to play. Soon people were buying their own rackets – to be more professional, yeah, right.
The afternoons would evolve into cookouts with everyone bringing stuff to help make the dinner. Dad got really good at cooking outdoors and starting building his own pits for slow cooking roasts and other stuff. His specialty was Barbequed Beef Brisket. Yummy.
The badminton court started improving. It was leveled and maintained and Dad put lights around so that we could play into the night. I was the only person I knew who attended parties with adults (no one seemed to have kids) and stayed up till all hours of the night playing badminton or Crazy Rummy. Sometimes the group would decide to go to an all-night diner for breakfast around 3 or 4 and if my brother and I had already gone to bed, they’d wake us up and take us. It felt downright sinful eating pecan waffles at 3 in the morning.
These parties went on for a few years and were mostly fun. (There were a few times that someone would have too much to drink and they wouldn’t be as much fun as they thought they were and I’d go to my room to get away.) One thing happened that I never told Mom or Dad because they would have tracked the dude down and killed him dead. I was 14 – 15 and one of their friends was in his early to mid 20’s. He’d been flirting with me for weeks, which I found flattering but wasn’t worried. After all, it was my parents’ house and there were tons of people around. Anyway, one night he grabbed my arm as I went by him in the living room and he kissed me. This was technically my first kiss but I wasn’t as happy about it as he thought I would be. I got away and from that point on made sure I was never alone with him again. I don’t think my parents noticed that or the fact that I didn’t have conversations with him anymore. If they had ever known – yikes – that guy would have been pushing up daisies and one of my parents would have been in jail. Yep, that’s one secret that couldn’t come out until after they died.
Overall I have great feelings when I think about the fun times we had with that badminton court and the fact that I was part of the grown-ups even if it WAS by default since I lived there. I had a great sleep-over for my birthday during that time period where we stayed outside all night long. It was a blast.
When I was in my early teens, my dad made a badminton court on the far side of the creek. It was actually part of the woods behind the house so he had to clear the land first. In the beginning it was just a place to leave the badminton net set up and it not be in the way. It quickly became the entertainment spot for our family and my parents’ friends. On Saturday around noon folks would start showing up to play. Soon people were buying their own rackets – to be more professional, yeah, right.
The afternoons would evolve into cookouts with everyone bringing stuff to help make the dinner. Dad got really good at cooking outdoors and starting building his own pits for slow cooking roasts and other stuff. His specialty was Barbequed Beef Brisket. Yummy.
The badminton court started improving. It was leveled and maintained and Dad put lights around so that we could play into the night. I was the only person I knew who attended parties with adults (no one seemed to have kids) and stayed up till all hours of the night playing badminton or Crazy Rummy. Sometimes the group would decide to go to an all-night diner for breakfast around 3 or 4 and if my brother and I had already gone to bed, they’d wake us up and take us. It felt downright sinful eating pecan waffles at 3 in the morning.
These parties went on for a few years and were mostly fun. (There were a few times that someone would have too much to drink and they wouldn’t be as much fun as they thought they were and I’d go to my room to get away.) One thing happened that I never told Mom or Dad because they would have tracked the dude down and killed him dead. I was 14 – 15 and one of their friends was in his early to mid 20’s. He’d been flirting with me for weeks, which I found flattering but wasn’t worried. After all, it was my parents’ house and there were tons of people around. Anyway, one night he grabbed my arm as I went by him in the living room and he kissed me. This was technically my first kiss but I wasn’t as happy about it as he thought I would be. I got away and from that point on made sure I was never alone with him again. I don’t think my parents noticed that or the fact that I didn’t have conversations with him anymore. If they had ever known – yikes – that guy would have been pushing up daisies and one of my parents would have been in jail. Yep, that’s one secret that couldn’t come out until after they died.
Overall I have great feelings when I think about the fun times we had with that badminton court and the fact that I was part of the grown-ups even if it WAS by default since I lived there. I had a great sleep-over for my birthday during that time period where we stayed outside all night long. It was a blast.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Elvis Fans
My mother and I were somewhere on either side of the proper age to be an Elvis Nut. We did it anyway. She was too old and I was too young. It was probably the first thing we both agreed on in life. I didn't understand why she thought he was so cute - at least for a few years - this changed when my teen age years kicked in. Woo hoo!
We both enjoyed his music. OK, so that was an understatement. We adored his music. I wish I still had the albums we shared. The funny thing was that we didn't really buy records that often but I think we had most of his albums. There was another thing we agreed on - our favorite album was "How Great Thou Art". Most of the songs on this album were awesome.
Mom and I didn't always agree as I was growing up. Finally I did - grow up, that is. Once I grew up we tended to agree on most things. Funny how that happens.
We both enjoyed his music. OK, so that was an understatement. We adored his music. I wish I still had the albums we shared. The funny thing was that we didn't really buy records that often but I think we had most of his albums. There was another thing we agreed on - our favorite album was "How Great Thou Art". Most of the songs on this album were awesome.
Mom and I didn't always agree as I was growing up. Finally I did - grow up, that is. Once I grew up we tended to agree on most things. Funny how that happens.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Guess What?
That's Right!
I heard the forecast for last night. Lows around 33 and a chance of showers - maybe a a few snow flakes if the temp was a little lower. Well at least the part about the highs today going into the upper 50's to low 60's will probaly be right.
Monday, February 11, 2008
1 Step Forward . . .
2 steps back. SIGH.
We had wind this weekend - lots of it. Power outages, trees and limbs down, gusts up to 75 mile per hour.
For those who are not familiar with my home, my yard is full of oak trees. Trees that love to drop limbs onto my property when there is a little wind. I got home from church yesterday afternoon to a yard and driveway full of huge limbs. I didn't see any sticking out of my roof, so I took it as a good sign. Then I looked beyond the limbs in my driveway and felt sick to my stomach. I had one of those heavy duty car shelters in my driveway where I was gathering stuff for a yard sale. Can you say upside down and scattered? SIGH!
After clearing the driveway (no easy feat) and my friend Ruth coming over, we were able to take it apart partially. Metal legs were bent and canvas torn but I think it will eventually be fixable. I took some things back in but the rest we placed the roof of the shelter over and left it for me to work on today.
So here it is almost 6 pm and I've not gotten nearly enough done. After working all day, you'd think I'd be finished, right? Just when you least expect it - I've had a bad case of vertigo since midnight last night. Hence the 1 step forward, 2 steps back statement.
Now I could look at this as an awful event and get all depressed or I could look at it another way.
- no damage to my house, Willow or me
- I didn't lose power and was warm all night
- there wasn't any ice, snow or sleet with the wind.
See? Isn't life peachy?
PS: to give you a clue as to the size of some of these limbs. As I was gathering the limbs from the yard something kept bothering me. I finally realized that I had an extra tree where there wasn't one before. At first I thought that I had been totally unobservant and a tree had sprouted up this year when I wasn't paying attention. Then I looked closer and realized that the "tree" was a limb that was standing straight up. It was very deep in the ground and I am VERY grateful I hadn't been standing in that spot when it decided to fall. I bet if there had been a rabbit or squirrel standing in that spot I would never know it cause even the bones would have been pulverized. SHUDDER!
We had wind this weekend - lots of it. Power outages, trees and limbs down, gusts up to 75 mile per hour.
For those who are not familiar with my home, my yard is full of oak trees. Trees that love to drop limbs onto my property when there is a little wind. I got home from church yesterday afternoon to a yard and driveway full of huge limbs. I didn't see any sticking out of my roof, so I took it as a good sign. Then I looked beyond the limbs in my driveway and felt sick to my stomach. I had one of those heavy duty car shelters in my driveway where I was gathering stuff for a yard sale. Can you say upside down and scattered? SIGH!
After clearing the driveway (no easy feat) and my friend Ruth coming over, we were able to take it apart partially. Metal legs were bent and canvas torn but I think it will eventually be fixable. I took some things back in but the rest we placed the roof of the shelter over and left it for me to work on today.
So here it is almost 6 pm and I've not gotten nearly enough done. After working all day, you'd think I'd be finished, right? Just when you least expect it - I've had a bad case of vertigo since midnight last night. Hence the 1 step forward, 2 steps back statement.
Now I could look at this as an awful event and get all depressed or I could look at it another way.
- no damage to my house, Willow or me
- I didn't lose power and was warm all night
- there wasn't any ice, snow or sleet with the wind.
See? Isn't life peachy?
PS: to give you a clue as to the size of some of these limbs. As I was gathering the limbs from the yard something kept bothering me. I finally realized that I had an extra tree where there wasn't one before. At first I thought that I had been totally unobservant and a tree had sprouted up this year when I wasn't paying attention. Then I looked closer and realized that the "tree" was a limb that was standing straight up. It was very deep in the ground and I am VERY grateful I hadn't been standing in that spot when it decided to fall. I bet if there had been a rabbit or squirrel standing in that spot I would never know it cause even the bones would have been pulverized. SHUDDER!
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