Fresh Paint!

Our home went from faded & peeling green to a crisp putty-cocoa color, trimmed with cream & black!

I love it a lot!

I Never Knew.....

I never ever knew how really, really fun it is to

shock people!

I am having so much fun with this

tattoo!

All my life I have been a people pleaser & my main goal was to

not be noticed.

Not anymore!

It has been a blast to watch people suddenly notice my beautiful

butterfly wrist art.

They say how cute it is while thinking it is a sticker.

As if I would wear a huge colorful sticker on my arm!

Then they look closer & look at me and ask if it is real.

When I grin I say yes, the main reaction

has been

"Wow, that is so cool, I am so proud of you!"

And I reply by saying

"Me too!"

I've Been Marked!

Yes, I did the deed at last! I just looked back over my old posts & I have been talking about this idea for a looong time! I was hoping to go with Rocker Son & make it a special Mom & Son day, but by the time I finally managed to get in contact with the vacationing tattoo artist it was on a day that my son was working. So Hubs & I did it together. He did not get tattooed but he took some fun pics of me during the process!

Can you picture this? Mom & Pop Fifty+ walk into a tiny tattoo parlor & greet the Receptionist, a 22 year old skinny guy with ear lobes that TOUCH HIS SHOULDERS!! I wanted to reach over & tuck them up where they belong. Then we sit in the waiting area with 2 young guys who are so covered in ink that I am afraid to guess where they are getting more art today. :0

My artist was just finishing up the entire back of a young lady, 4 hours of work & more to be done at another time. The customer left with one had holding a halter top over her "girls" & a completely bare back. Well, not "bare" totally cause it was covered in ink. Very pretty picture back there though!

I then filled out a sheet that verified that I was "in my right mind & not drunk or drugged. I was doing this of my own free will." And that I would not bring any lawsuits against the business or artist for any damages done. :0 She made a copy of my Drivers license to verify that I was "of age"! Ha! I was not scared or hesitant at all but my stomach was kind of nervous & twisty-ish until we actually got started.

Pain? Um Yep! But not unbearable....obviously. Lots of teeny tiny needles punching you for an hour...that's all. The artist who looked about 12 years old was very sweet & asked about my reasons for the butterfly & why now. When we first met her, Hubs whispered to me "You gonna let a pre-teen make permanent markings on your body?" Very helpful honey!

I was actually so excited that it was a struggle to sit still for her. Which is pretty important I believe! I tend to giggle & jiggle when I am happy or excited, so it was an effort to be unmoving for that long! She was wonderful; very carefully copying the exact shape & colors of the picture I had brought in. And I could not be more pleased with the finished result! I really love my butterfly! There is so much more I could say about the reason behind the butterfly & what it means to me. But I will save that for another day. Thanks for all your encouragement as I have contemplated this crazy idea. This next weekend I am seeing my Mom & Dad....and even at 50+ years of age....I am going to have some 'splainin' to do! :)

Her name Is BB!

Beautiful isn't she?

More about her tomorrow!

My Big Day is Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, Wed. Aug whatever I am getting my

little butterfly tattoo at

5:30 pm!!!!!

I am so very excited & happy to finally be DOING IT!

At the Lingerie shower last week I chatted with a former student who is 22 & has a gorgeous, delicate flowery design between her right elbow & wrist. She asked why I was doing it & as I talked I heard myself say that the idea of something being "too late" to do just really bugs me.

(Don't you love that when you get really inspired by your OWN WORDS!?) Ha!

The thought that I, or anyone is "too old" to do something they want to do is wrong & should be fought against. Who makes those random rules anyway? OK I can understand the mini skirt rule for oldies but that's about it!

So I'm doing it!!

Bridal Jammies!

The earlier mentioned Lingerie Shower was a really fun & silly evening after all. There had to be at least 40 women in that house, filling every couch, chair, dining room & livingroom. We were on the stairs & up above the crowd on a second floor loft!

After a wonderful snack of the ever-popular seven layer dip & chips, amazing guacamole, salsa & the yummiest little torte thingies along with punch, sangria or margaritas, the girls all went outside to watch the bride-to-be hit a pinata! (Condoms & candy could come in very handy!)

Gift opening began with the explanation that the undies & lingerie were going to be hung up around the room after being opened & at the end the bride would choose her favorite & that gift giver would get a prize! I think it may have been their own made up game because to me it seemed a little awkward to be rooting for your gift to be her favorite. Talk about competition! But it certainly made for an interesting decorating theme by the end of the night!! I was sitting on the stairs & had to peek between a pair of plaid skirted panties & a gorgeous lemon yellow see through nighty to watch the bride open the rest of her gifts!

The adorable Bride remained pretty unflustered by the sexy packages she was opening, which included 3 books on creative ways to have an orgasm, flavored nipple cream, a huge bottle of chocolate syrup & thong after thong after thong! Ha! I really loved the beautiful & fun nighties though! So many luscious colors & fabrics. It made me picture my ugly tank top that is my only sexy nightwear. I heard someone say that we ought to require a Lingerie Shower every 10 years at least! I agree!

The funniest thing to me, besides the fact that those orgasm books never made to me as they were passed S L O W L Y around, was that the bride only got embarrassed in an obvious way at one gift. It was not any skimpier than the others, just a cute baby doll nightie with a string like bottom pantie that she held up for all to see. As she held it up she asked who it was from & a voice back in the kitchen called out that it came in the mail from her mom who lives out of state. Oh my gosh, did her little face turn bright RED!!!

I guess the idea that her own mother bought such a thing for her was really embarrassing. That cracked me up! Do they think we stop living once we hit 45 or what?

Lingerie Party

In a couple of hours I am off to an evening of possible extreme discomfort. But I've got to get over it, NOW, before I am sitting in a house full of 40 - 50 twenty-somethings!

I have been invited to the wedding shower for one of my former students. She is a lovely & delightful 21 year old who will be married to another former student in about 2 weeks.

That is all wonderful & I am really very happy for them & I know they are meant for each other & all that.

What I have managed to avoid until now is attending a bridal lingerie shower. I know, I know! Of course the excited & anxious young couple are going to have sex for the first time (possibly) very soon! No surprise there. But.........it just feels so weird to be kind of a third party to it, ya know? My old lady fuddy-duddiness is showing, I see that. But still, an evening of watching that sweet young thing open gift after gift of barely there jammies sounds kinda creepy to me.

I am so tempted to package up some items like the ones pictured above. I didn't though. I actually bought her a set that includes a see through garter belt with bows! I am going totally against my normal instincts...it will be the only way to survive this night!

Letter To Self

Letter to my High School Self,

Girl, you are beautiful! You have no idea do you? You spend a huge amount of energy worrying about the perfect curl & the freckles that you detest. What a sad, sad waste of time! You hate how your eyes disappear when you smile, and you are convinced that you have inherited the "family nose".

Can I give you some advice from where I am now? If you would relax & enjoy your friends & even your sister & pesky little brother, you would be having so much more fun. Freckles do not make a difference in your life, so stop putting lemon juice on your nose to fade them, they are adorable.

Who cares that your best friend has thick red hair, your fine brown hair is really kinda pretty.

Oh, and that missionary's son with the great South African accent? Step away, step away, step away!

Are you listening to me?

No you're not listening, you are convinced that I don't know what I'm talking about, right? Well, you may have a point there....because I am STILL obsessing about my/our hair. At the shocking age of 54!

Will I/we ever learn?

Loved This Movie!

This movie had us laughing our heads off! Julie (Amy Adams) feels lost in her new city & has a sad job that depresses her so she gets the idea to cook her way thru Julia Child's famous cookbook & then blog about it. (True story!) Meryl Streep as Julia Child was hilarious all the way thru the show.

The best part to me & the part that made me anxious to share this with you all is that the blogging segments & her feelings about blogging were so right on & familiar. It was all I could do not to stand & cheer when she got her first comment!! Her hubby gets a bit jealous & worries about being in the blog, & I know some of you face the same situation at home. :)

My 3 friends & I laughed a lot, then sat in the empty theater talking long after it was over. It was a special day because it was actually planned to get our friend who recently lost her 31 yr old daughter out & about. It has been 2 months since the death & she is very fragile & feeling pretty lost herself. She told us about being in the store, Marshall's the day before & having a meltdown because her mind kept tricking her into thinking that her daughter would love this blouse or those jeans & she was ready to call her daughter about them.

A bit of escape & giggling at a movie screen is about all we can offer but it is a valuable thing, one day at a time.

Book Review

In reviewing the Christianity Today book, "Faith & Pop Culture" I have to admit that I lost interest & actually forgot to finish the small study guide & write my review. But it may be of interest to small groups that are looking for a specific subject to discuss over a matter of weeks together.

The 8 chapters include these topics:

• Are movies the art form of our day? And if so, how do they connect with Christian faith?
• How can great books pave the way to faith?
• Do we take sports seriously enough?
• With hundreds of channels screaming for our attention, how do we decide what or whether to watch?
• Must all entertainment Christians enjoy be "family friendly"?
• Can violence be entertainment for Christians?
• Can Christians influence the entertainment industry?
• It's the cry of our culture, but is it compatible with a life of faith?

I was pleased to find the collection of writers for this study guide did not all agree with one another. The book gave differing views to stimulate a group discussion. I also was relieved to find that it was not a book about how totally horrible media was & that true people of faith should run away from it completely. The writers actually admitted to watching & loving TV & going to a variety of movie styles. It is possible that my reluctance to complete this assignment was a pre-conceived idea that the book would be telling Christians to turn off their televisions & spend their evenings praying for the "far-left media monsters". This book did not do that at all. It could be a stimulating discussion starter. Unfortunately, in my experience most people who would come to a group that gathered for this subject specifically, would be of the mind mentioned above.

"One of These Things Is Not Like the Other...."

"Which of these things doesn't belong?" Do you remember that song from Sesame Street? My living room has been going through a change (while I am going thru THE change! Ha!) in the last year. I have slowly but surely discarded all my 'country" style decorations & furniture which I loved for years but I needed a change & started to be drawn to a cleaner & more open way of decorating.

This blue calico tin tray was one of my first purchases for my home over 30 years ago. For a long time it decorated my kitchen wall & then it moved off the wall & I still use it for a TV tray on the nightly rare occasions when I eat in front of the telly.

Now we have arrived at the moment I have been dreading. My beloved blue & white chair just does not belong in this room any more! I have spent countless hours in this huge nest of a chair, writing, phone chatting, praying, visiting & enjoying our fireplace on cold evenings! I did not give you a close up pic but it is extremely frayed around the edges & kind of gray where it used to be white. Let's see when did I get it? About 1994 maybe. It has led a happy & fulfilled life, but the end is near I'm afraid. When I looked into getting it re-upholstered my heart just about did a back-flip. It will cost less to totally replace it at this point. And the experience I have had with slip-covers is not where I want to go again.

We have been making these decorating changes slowly over the last year as we have the money or find a great deal on eBay or Craig's List. It feels so refreshing & invigorating to imagine different colors & textures after so many years of collecting only blue & white things. I still dearly love the deep cobalt blue & navy blues. I use them as accents against our butter yellow walls in one room & a dark brick red in another room.

The chair may go to goodwill most likely. Right now we have moved it to Rocker Son's room. No, the flowery pattern does not bother him one bit, it is already totally covered in clothes & guitars...can't see one single blossom! Now we could really sing that song! "One of these things doesn't belong!"

Happy 88 Years!

I am waiting anxiously for the tattoo shop to return my call asking if there is an opening today. They are open from Noon to 9pm & it is now 4:40pm and no call! Making me crazy, because I got myself all revved up to do it today if they would. Guess they are kinda laid back & I had better just relax about it.

In the meantime I am going to let you in on the fun we had on Nana's 88th birthday at Chevy's Restaurant yesterday.. Nana is my best friend's mom & she is a lovely, always smiling lady! This year she is not always aware of what is going on exactly. Last year she was much sharper so it is sad to see the change in only one year. I would love to have her smiling attitude when I am that age.

I'm Gonna Do It!

No, this is not mine yet! It is the pic I am showing the tattoo artist either tomorrow or next week. I am so excited to get this done, I break out in a big smile every time I think of it or glimpse at this colorful butterfly. The person I want to do it is on vacation so I have had to wait for her return to the shop. If she has room for me tomorrow, Friday, that would be great, otherwise it will be one day next week. Rocker Son & I will have a fun outing together! Ha! He chose the place & the artist, all I have to do is endure the pain & put out the bucks for it. Cannot wait!

Wounder if I'd be pushing it to ask him to take pics of me getting it done?

Wordless Wednesday (Mostly!)

Yay for Craig's list! Like new couch & love seat

for $550.00

including delivery!!

Woop woop!

Vodka Mom just posted about getting an award that asked her to list what she has learned from her boys & it is hilarious, you must go read it...but come right back OK? Isn't she funny? She mentioned that any mom of boys could steal the award & do the same. I am wondering though....do a 23 yr old & a 26 yr old count as "Boys"? My conclusion is if they still ACT like boys, TALK like boys & CLEAN like boys, they are still boys! Right? Right.

I have learned:

• Boys think that if they actually go to all the trouble of picking up something in the bathroom, that counts as cleaning the bathroom.
• Boys believe in super heroes even if they make no logical sense at all. Mutant Ninja Turtles???
• Boys leave dirty soap behind.
• Boys are more honest than girls. They are! They tell on themselves all the time, girls can be sneakier about their misdeeds.
• Boys don't really need toys to have hours of fun. Sticks, rocks & a gutter can be mesmerizing.
• Boys that really are men believe that they can iron some pants & a long sleeve shirt in about 1 minute. Actually he did, by the time I went to see if his iron had heated up enough he said he was done & had put it away!
• Sons like hugs but usually will not initiate.
• Sons get extremely uncomfortable with a women's tears.
• Sons love mom's cooking even if it's not that great.
• Sons still have messy, stinky bedrooms. (Until a wife is in the picture. ) (I hope!)