I'm A Journal Junkie

I am trying to remember exactly when I began to keep a journal & I feel like I was practically born journaling! I still have a few fat little diaries that locked shut with the tiniest golden key. I was probably about 8 or 9 & I loved them so much, filling them up, even writing around the edges of pages to fit all my thoughts & wonderings onto paper.

Later I moved on to large spirals & I still have a stack of those somewhere in my garage. Oh the drama! I like him, but he likes her & she likes some other him. There are even some mentions of the skinny long haired blond guy that became my hubby many years later!

After High School there is a bit of a gap as working, dating & marriage consumed me & then a true "Blank Book" journal was purchased the day after I found out that I was pregnant with our first son. I wrote letters to him telling him how happy we were to finaly know that he was coming to us. (It took us 4 years to get pregnant.) That same journal became his baby book in many ways because I continued it into his infancy & up till Pre-school.

The habit was strong & I have always had a journal going ever since then, 26 years of "real" journals are stacked in my closet. One for each of the boys & my own personal ones. The picture above is a small portion of my collection. Those are the early ones which were very floral-ish compared to the more beautiful ones I use now.

Just inside the front cover of my childhood diary are some rules that I created for myself. (First born!) Mainly the rules were about writing every single day or else! Not sure what "or else!" meant but I was being very firm with myself! Ha!

Now I have one true rule: There are no rules! I write whenever, about whatever I want! That freed me up & made it such a pleasure to express myself in a safe place. Someimes I actually feel like an event did not really finish happening to me until I have written about it! Is that weird? Do any of you feel that way?

Now I am beginning to wonder if they should be left for my family after I die or should I think about destroying them. There is some pretty hard & harsh things in there, but it's all true. And sometimes when I look over them I am pleased with the way they show my whole life & the thoughts & questions I had as I lived it. There are a lot of prayers in there too & it's pretty cool to see the answers as the pages go by. Not that I am planning on leaving anytime soon though!

Now blogging seems to be replacing my journal entries & that concerns me. After all, these blog posts are not as permanent as a leather book full of ink. But I still carry my current journal with me every day & it is still my favorite place of collecting thoughts, questions & rants. I am completely honest in there & it can reveal my selfishness & jealousies pretty clearly. Which makes me often wish that it still came with a tiny golden key!

Wordless (almost) Wednesday!

Can you find me?

Too Old To Care?

Okay, I am really wanting to read all the new stuff my friends have been posting, but if I do that before writing, I may look up & see that too many hours have dissappeared & then I will have ruined my NaBloPoMo challenge of writing every single day for a month! So here's what's on my mind.....

The other day I was struggling with the fun job of eyebrow plucking. For a glasses wearer it is pretty tricky. Can't see the tiny hairs clearly without the specs on, but when they are on, they are in the way! I suddenly recalled a momment in a drugstore with my little sister when we were about 8 & 10 years old. We were looking at some crazy magnified glasses that had the ability to fold down one eye lense at a time. I remember laughing at them & telling my sister that by the time we got so old that we could not see clearly, we would not really be caring about our looks anymore!

Well, that day has arrived & I still care hugely about how I look. I'm still wanting to look put together & at least as nearly fashionable as I can. I often wonder if I care too much. A lot of energy & thought goes into my hair, weight, shoes, clothes & make-up. I don't feel guilty about it, but just try to keep it balanced you know?

I work with young people every day. Gorgeous, skinny, creative young things who look amazing even when they are late for school & still have pillow creases on their faces! Did that sound jealous? I'm not....but I now understand that old saying I used to hear, about how "youth is wasted on the young!". Ha! Maybe part of their beauty is their lack of awareness of it!

I have momments of feeling beautiful. But more often, my morning getting-ready routine ends with me looking in the mirror & saying "Oh well, that'll have to do!".
Of course if my glasses are still sitting on the dresser, the mirror is my best friend! Wonder where I can find some of those crazy glasses.

Todays Writing Prompt

Oh this is an easy one! Write about your favorite place in your home......
I have written about my favorite spot in my home before so I won't go into lots of detail except to say that it is my comfy, cozy, nest-like blue & white barrel chair.
I write in it, blog in it, talk on the phone, pray & stare out the window in it. When it is cold outside it is the perfect spot by the fireplace with a hot cup of coffee or a lovely glass of wine.

It has not looked really nice for a long time. The arms are frayed & it's a bit saggier than it used to be. (Kind of sounds like I'm describing myself there!)But it stills warms my heart & makes me feel creative & at home.
Thank you "One Minute Writer" for the fun prompt!

My Men

Today will be a bragging post. I am one of those lucky women who is surrounded by men. I am the only female in my immediate family, even the cat is male. My guys are no longer the little boys who left a trail of dirt, action figures, unbelievable sox & video games around. They are wonderful, surprising & creative young men who I love to be around!
Ok, now that I have decided to write about them, my mind is falling all over itself with ideas & stories! But for now I will simply introduce them them to you. The adventure of watching boys change into men is full of so many emotions & tests that I am happy to be where we are, but every once in a while I find myself missing the sweet little toothless grins & kisses. If given a choice to go back & do it again though? Nope!!
So here they are. My eldest is Writer Son, he is a mailman who is busy gathering stories out there every day & he would love to write screen plays for Hollywood.



My youngest is Rocker Son. As you can see his passion is metal music & he is really talented. His band plays regularly in the nearby big city & small towns in our region. He has a tough guy exterior that is covering an easily revealed soft heart.


They are amazing young men who have driven me crazy, kept me up at night, showered me with love, made me laugh & made me cry, but mostly they have made me proud.

My Closet Needs Shoe Shurgery

Sheriously! Ok, I'll stop the shilly-ness. Couldn't resist one more, sorry. My closet is full of extremely ordinary, totally functional shoes that lack an important ingredient. Personality! My husband would totally disagree, but then he hates Clinton & Stacey whom I love & often hear in my head when I go shopping. They would not be happy with my closet. Most of the shoes in there were purchased before I got to know them. Here is the evidence.......


These little beauties are very comfy & I have worn them for a few years with jeans & other pants but now I can't bear to put them on because they suddenly look so klunky & old lady-ish. But it is now getting too chilly & wet to wear my beloved flip-flops.


So I have resorted to these. But they are cotton so they really might as well be flip-flops!


I have some boots & some fun tennies.



I also have high heeled sandals & ankle boots. Bet you'll never guess what colors they are. Yep, black & black! I seem to be a bit stuck. I have been a practical woman for many years. I am not very, to use my MIL cute word: "spendy". I figure that what little I have should be spent on something that can be worn with everything. But that is getting to be boring & sad. I do love these even though they are also black. Got them from Old Navy last year.


So, my bloggy friends, I ask you for your help. Any ideas of great shoes with some color & personality for a "careful" shopper? Keep in mind that I am a small town girl who normally shops at stores like Target, Kohls & Old Navy. My poor closet is in dire need of a shome shoe shurgery! Help!
(Wow, this post was hard because my photos only show up in code until I hit publish!)

One Minute Writers' Prompt

The "writing prompt" for today is the word "child" & it immediately takes me to one sunny afternoon only about 7 years ago in my livingroom. I was listening to a new worship CD & could not resist twirling around & around because of the joy that it brought up in me. As I twirled I caught a reflection of myself in the glass of a picture over our fireplace & it looked like a little girl twirling in front of her Daddy, feeling totally loved & accepted. I stopped & pondered that for a bit & realized that I had not been a twirly kind of kid; I was always mature, responsible & cautious. But from that momment on I have intentionally gone after the fun side of life & the extravagantly free version of following after God, & it has been an amazing ride so far!

Bug Guts

Just a funny little example of how even us "mature" women have our embarrassing momments due to a busy life. Yesterday I was in line at the grocery store after spending a large amount of time all over the store gathering our needed items. I was standing in a very long line because of course there were only 2 lanes open during the busy after 5pm rush.
Wanting to avoid the stupid tabloid stories, I looked down at my black leather jacket & it had bug guts all over it from our last motorcycle ride! Yuck, gross, Oh well!

Wordless Wednesday: Our Getaway Vehicle!

Praying About The Outcome

My main prayer this voting day is about the outcome. No, I am not praying FOR a certain outcome. I am concerned for what the outcome will bring OUT of us. Specifically believers. I am a believer & I am worried about how other people of faith will react if their choice does not get into office. Unfortunately, my husband & I were deeply dissappointed in the reactions & words spoken when Clinton was voted in. We heard wonderful, loving, devoted christians totally bash him & speak horribly about him once he got into office against their wishes.

I think that once the person is placed in office we need to express prayers of honor & thanks for what God is able to do no matter who is the "king" of the country. We need to be very careful to speak only words of hope & possibility, because it is really difficult to pray FOR someone that we are verbally abusing to our friends.I'm really not a political kind of person. I don't get out on street corners & try to legislate righteousness. I don't think that holding a sign up is going to change someones' vote or values. But I do believe in prayer & in making a difference one person at a time through kindness & truth. That kindness includes how I talk about my leaders. God help us.

Obituary For A Shirt

It happened this morning & I am so sad. Almost feel like I should send out formal death notices to my friends & family. My favorite white shirt is done for. How will I ever replace it with anything so perfect & loyal for so many years?

Today I was getting ready to iron it & you should have heard the cry when I saw the two small holes on both sides of the collar! Not the kind of rips that can be mended, but actual material desintigration from so many wearings & bleachings. It has been my "go to" top since given to me as a hand-me-down in 2001. I know, most of you probably do not wear your clothes that many years, yikes it's almost a decade!!
But this little jem was special.

It is a mens tuxedo shirt. I know it's a mens because the bottons are on the "wrong" side. It is extra long & covers my butt & has saved said portion many times when my pants were too tight or the snap on my jeans would not do it's job until they stretched out a bit. (Wow, getting pretty personal here!)Anyway, this white shirt could be dressed up or casual. It has stff cuffs that required cuff links & a great collar that I used to add a little black velevet ribbon to as a tie. It looks (looked "sniff") cute & sexy with jeans too. I always recieved tons of compliments whenever I wore it!

So very sad. I will miss my faithful friend who could always be counted on to get me out the door when it seemed like nothing would work. I could wear it open with a tank or shirt underneath, or closed & pulled together looking. But maybe it won't have to be "good-bye" after all. Now that it is not wearable in public, I can enjoy it at home & not worry about ruining it. It's looking pretty good on me right now as I write this obituary to my favorite shirt. I guess it still lives on in another life. Does clothing believe in re-incarnation?

Three Photos

I was looking over my photos on my laptop to get some inspiration for writing today & came across these three pics taken last April. I really like them a lot. The greens are amazing & the memories are happy ones. I was in the Philippines on a mission trip with our students. The people were so open, kind & welcoming. The weather was awful; constantly hot, humid & sticky. I remember that it rained that day as we rode back to our abode in that crazy green bus full of twenty-somethings & lots of noise & laughter.

But I think that what I like best about these pics is that it really looks like I am the woman that I WANT to be. I am joyfully drinking a brand new, unknown thing. Green coconut apparently has the sweet white milk inside, if you wait till the coconut fully ripens then the milk is not so good. And this was good, but that is still not my point here. This was a wonderful moment because I put aside my cautious, reserved, fearful persona & just did it! The laughter is more about that than what I was drinking.

Most photos of me are evidence that I am the quiet one who is on the side observing things & I am really sick of that role. I believe that we are all born with an inner freedom & joy that allows our childhoods to be pretty fun even in bad circumstances. But life takes it's toll on us & we often grow into less than we were meant to be. Less free, confident & bold. I am learning to unlearn a lot of that old garbage that made me protect myself & thereby prevent me from having more fun as an adult.

Those shots of me in the Philippines are full of fun. Even though moments after this was taken I had to step into a heated argument & misunderstanding between a few people in my charge. Life is full of both drama & fun & I am detirmined to get it all!

Here Goes....

Okay, I have my fresh box of Jujy Fruits, a hot cup of coffee, laundry has been put away & the house is warm & cozy while the rain comes down outside my window. I think I am ready to try the NaBloPoMo contest at last! I will try to write a blog every single day for the month of November. Sounds fun & challenging! (Click on title to see.)
I just got home from our Super Walmart & it was totally crazy in there! It is a rainy Saturday in a small town & I guess that is THE place to go! I usually avoid it at all costs on the week end but we had some very urgent needs, TP & coffee! What can I say? Urgent is urgent in some cases. I think our Super walmart is the next best thing to a mall for a place to hang out & meet friends. At least for teens, they were clogging up all the lines & aisles. Pretty sad to realize that the SW is the best place to hang out in town huh?
It is pretty wonderful to be able to buy food, hair goo, hardware, garden stuff,tools, paint,craft supplies, furniture & videos all in the same place though. I don't ever find clothes there that I like, they tend to look like the same things in better stores but when you try them on it just feels cheaper & hangs weirdly on the body.
It is the main place that my hubby & I use our cell phones consistently. We split up to get the things that we need then call each other to meet up somewhere. It's a huge place & I used to get all huffy when I would circle & circle to find him staring at a motorcycle magazine. Now we just call & then I get huffy cause his phone always sends me to voicemail!

Friday Fill-Ins: #96

Friday Fill-Ins: #96#96
And...here we go!


1. My favorite food seasoning is CHOCOLATE?.
2. AN EMPTY HOUSE is music to my ears.
3. Lucky is AS LUCKY DOES (HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT MEANS!).
4. RELAXING is something I take very seriously.
5. Many people ARE NOT READING MY BLOG.
6. SUPER CUTE SWEATER YESTERDAY! was the last thing I bought at the store.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to PARTY WITH MY STUDENTS, tomorrow my plans include GOING THROUGH SOME BOXES IN GARAGE and Sunday, I want to REST( I TAKE IT VERY SERIOUSLY SEE?!)

Birthday Dinner

Today was a gorgeous sunny day & I had a great time at work with so many fun people! Now I am getting ready to make a taco dinner for my oldest sons' birthday. That little cutie (the one on the right!) has turned 26 this week! I cannot believe it at all! He is in his own apartment now & is very eager to come have a dinner at home! One of his roommates told me that it is so weird to go to the fridge & not just see that food has magically appeared there! Ha! Ah Real life!
Maybe I will do a blog about my amazing sons sometime soon. My oldest is Writer Son & his brother at age 22 yrs is Rocker Son. I'm crazy about them of course!
Well better get into the kitchen & see if I still know how to cook anymore.

What??

I'm confused! For the last 6 weeks I have intentionally & carefully changed my diet to include lots of vegies & fruit & less bad (good) stuff. I have also worked out at least 3 times a week. The great result so far is that my long lost waist line has made an appearance again & my jeans & blouses fit much better. I look less hippy than that header pic on this website. :)

That's all wonderful but I do not own a scale so I was actually excited to go to the Doc for normal lady stuff this last week & hop up on the scale & enjoy the number for a change. I HAD GAINED A POUND!! What's up with that?

Here I Sit

Ok I'm sitting here in my comfy chair & reading blog after blog after blog & laughing & smiling as I travel around to all the amazing women out here in internet-land! But just down the hall & within my eyesight the exsercise mat is calling me because we have not been together for THREE DAYS! Not good at all, because that means I'm going to be all stiff now & have to warm up longer in order to do anything harder.

So I keep saying to myself, "One more site then that's it!" But the next site mentions someone else & I may never know about them again & never get back there. This is just so fun & eye-opening to see how others live & think. I'm reading new moms & wishing I had this outlet when my boys were little. I'm seeing creative decorating ideas & dieting plans & funny stories that make me think about some of my own funny happenings & then wonder if I should try sharing them with you all.

So here I sit hanging out with unknown "friends" & being totally excited that I actually got TEN comments today! Woo-hoo! :) It's almost 5 pm on a Friday & I am not commuting or closing up a store or church office. I am in my beautiful home & hearing the birds singing out my window & wondering what to eat for dinner. I'm thinking that Mr. Yoga Mat is going to have to wait for saturday morning for our next get together.

And I blame you all.

Friday Fill-Ins: #95

Friday Fill-Ins: #95
1. Right now, I'm feeling COZY.
2. WHERE I AM is where I want to be.
3. How does one GET THEIR FLAT HAIR TO PLUMP UP?
4. POST ITS keeps me on track.
5. Please don't TALK TO ME BEFORE MY COFFEE INTAKE.
6. MY AMAZING LIFE fills me with joy.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to A GLASS OF LOVELY WHITE WINE, tomorrow my plans include SLEEPING IN and Sunday, I want to HAVE A GREAT LUNCH WITH MY GANG!

Halloween Cuties!

They are now 26 & 22, don't think they'll let me make them costumes this year!

Protect the kiddies from me! ?

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Online Dating

Yikes! I have been rated PG 13 due to using the word "suck" twice & "kill" once! Oops.
P.S. And "Slut" thanx to one of my new bloggy friends! Ha!

Friday Fill-ins!

http://fridayfillins.blogspot.com/2008/10/94.html

1. Follow the books & Jujy Fruit to find me.

2. A pile of new fashion magazines are something I always take with me on vacation.

3. To achieve your goals, you must focus & say no to any detours .

4. I believe the best about people is something I'd like you to know about me.

5. I have a freckle on my toe that looks like dirt.

6. I love root beer floats.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to chilling with my hubby, tomorrow my plans include laundry & yoga and Sunday, I want to enjoy being with my best friends!

New Yoga Room!

Yay for a new yoga room! My oldest son moved into his own apartment this last week, for the second & hopefully final time! We love him lots, he is the easiest person to live with but at 26 it is much healthier for all of us that he be on his own, right? Right!
Anyway we had his room all redone & decorated with our collected items from traveling to China, Fiji & the Phillipines, the FIRST time he moved out & then had to watch it get all full of guy garbage when he had to come back for a bit. Stacks of cds, comics, underwear, drums and computer stuff defintely changed the ambience of the space if you know what I mean. And the aroma!
Now that he is moved out, just in the next town about 8 miles away, we have our beautiful contemplative room returned to us slightly worse for wear. (That gray smudge on the white wall came off easily enough with some 409 cleaner. ) And I am happily using it to do my yoga workout in the early mornings before anyone is up! I just roll my little purple yoga mat out on the straw floor covering & I am all set.
Why does this make me so happy? Keep in mind that yoga or any exersice for that matter takes concentration & calmness to stick with it & not get distracted. I have been doing my workout in my bedroom during the day (on my days off) or evenings while the rest of our 4 person family were doing other things around the house. When I would stretch out on the mat for the floor portion of the workout it would feel so sweet to stretch this way & that until I opened my eyes & came face to face with the bunny size dust bunnies under my bed! Yuck, how do they multiply & grow so fast? I don't get it! (I have discovered that this is one distinct dis-advantage to having all hardwood floors in the house.)
I also had trouble with the balancing poses. To lean way over on one leg with both arms out by your sides can be tricky when you keep crashing into the closet door or bed on either side. Of course now I am really going to have to BALANCE! Yikes! Anyway between the grossness under my bed & the falling into my closet, it was not a terribly peace-enhancing, mind relaxing endeavor.
But now I have eliminated my last excuse for lack of exercise, oops!

Friday Fill-Ins: Friday Fill-Ins #91

Friday Fill-Ins: Friday Fill-Ins #91

I know today is Sunday but I really want to try this "Friday Fill Ins" thing. It has taken me days to figure out how to create a link to it, still don't know if this is right but I'll give it a go. Okay, just previewed it & it looks all wrong but it may still take you to the fun blog that gives us sentences to fill-in every Friday apparently. If anyone would like to tell me the correct way to create a link in a blog, that would be great! Here goes.....

1. Carmel apples & kiddie costumes are some of the things I'm most looking forward to in October.

2. Sometimes I Dream about blogging.

3. I love riding on my hubbies' motorcycle, and that's why there is a saying, "never say never"!

4. When I'm down, I refuse to stay there!

5. Laughing with friends is where you'll find me most often.

6. A rainy day is good for reading & blogging.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to dinner, tomorrow my plans include sleeping in, yoga & cleaning house and Sunday, I want to enjoy gathering with friends to love on God a bit!

Downward Dog

Downward Dog
Recently a doctor visit gave me some real motivation to get serious about getting myself healthy through more exercise. My husband & I actually walked in the park twice a day for a whole two days in a row….but I got blisters on my heels & could not continue our well intentioned regimen, long-standing though it was!

So I have come back to my favorite way of getting a work-out though I still need to add some “cardio” to it according to my health-crazed friends. YOGA! It feels great & it is more challenging than you may think. I use a DVD set that I found in the $5 bin at Wal-Mart. The teacher is Shelly McDonald & I was relieved to hear that her voice is not as high-pitched & overly cheerful as some I listened to online. Can you imagine starting your day getting screeched at? No thanks. There are some definite pros & cons for using a video instead of going to a class or gym.

Pro – A video is much cheaper than a class. Can’t beat the $5 bin at Wal-Mart!
Con – I have now memorized every single comment & joke she makes. And every mistake. “Cross your left ankle over your left leg”??

Pro – You do it alone. No one is looking at your butt while doing the downward dog.
Con – You do it alone. I went to a yoga class for a while & the laughter & communal groans are encouraging. Going out for ice cream afterwards is always a treat too!

Some of the things my teacher says make me answer her back & roll my eyes which could be considered exercising my eyes right? For instance;

“Yoga is about the journey, not the result.” Umm no, I can think of many things I could be doing right now that have nothing to do with “Being a tree growing towards the sun.”

“Yoga is all about the here & now.” Well, for me it’s about looking better in a swimsuit & not losing my breath on the stairs at work.

“Just do whatever feels right to you at this point in time.” Sitting in front of the TV watching “What Not To Wear” feels right to me at this point in time!

Another Pro - I can do it anywhere & any time of the day I choose, all I need is my laptop.
The Con – My lap top is extremely distracting. I often end up doing the warm up stretches while reading my Myspace messages. Is that wrong?

She also says, “Place your feet not too wide apart; just as wide as your hips.” That one always makes me laugh!! Has she seen my hips?

“Now send your breath to the back of your thighs.” Huh? Go breath go! Get back there, I mean it!

The worst moments are when the camera moves to a beautiful scene like the ocean or a gecko on a tree. That means she has me holding a hard pose for a looooong time! Like the one she calls “a fierce warrior position” which is actually a squatting pose that reminds me of using the squatty potty on the moving train in China. Not a peaceful memory! I get a picture of the Chinese man who leered at me when I passed him to enter the bathroom during the night on the train. I had my socks on because I had been in my bed & as I stepped into the tiny room I realized why he was snickering at me. The floor of the entire bathroom was extremely wet due to some people with really bad aim! Peaceful, tranquil thoughts people!

Shelly McDonald also has to remind me to get my heels to touch the floor. Who ever would have thought that getting your heels to stay on the floor would be so hard? But ouch, that “downward dog” feels so good but can hurt so bad!

Speaking of feeling good; my favorite phrase she purrs to me is this one;

“Ok, now rest in child position, great job, see you next time!”

What Would The Last Blog You Write say?

Recently Professor Randy Pausch died after becoming famous for giving a speech called "The Last Lecture". I began to wonder what I would say to the world (or my 3 readers) if I knew it would be the very last blog I would ever write, the first thing that came to my mind was "HAVE MORE FUN!".
I would want to tell people to let go & have lots of fun because I am regretting all the chances to be crazy that I missed due to fear. Fear of looking silly, or being wrong, or getting lost, or getting hurt, or.......on & on it goes.
I would want to tell Christians especially, to lighten up & find the humor & freedom that God is full of & wants us to wallow in everyday. I know now that he laughs much more than I ever imagined. I know now that he would not have been mad at me if I had gone to my school proms & dances. ( I grew up in a strict tradition that included no dancing .Dancing could lead to sex & we know he hates that!:) He would not have been dissappointed with me if I read a book that was not all about Him. He even enjoys all kinds of music! Duh!
I would tell my readers to take risks, spend time with little kids & old people, go to the beach on a Sunday even if it means missing church. Try out your old dreams. What did you say you wanted to be when you were 8? It could still be do-able. Stick your tongue out if you feel like it. Let someone else get credit for your work; your time will come. Write the book, record the song, paint the picture, dance the dance. Worship with abandon, why not?

Seriously, we have taken ourselves so seriously that we have been robbed of many amazing adventures.
I do not want to be twenty again, but if I were, it would look very different I think. I would wear more spagetti straps & do more swimming. I would laugh louder & cry more freely. I would risk entering new atmospheres instead of fearing them. I would affect them instead of being convinced that they would contaminate me.
My last blog would encourage everyone to go ahead & laugh at yourself & invite others to join you. It would say to jump into the ocean & allow it to throw you back up to the shore. Laugh at the taste of salt water & get used to sand in unseen places. In case you don't recognize them, the sand eaters up above are my friends Dano, Dave, Bob & my husband Curt! I only did it once!

A Few of My Favorite Things.......

A while ago I wandered around my house taking pictures of some of my favorite things. For no specific reason, just fooling around with my camera. Now, please note that I did not say anything about "favorite people" or even "favorite things to do", but just favorite things, items in my home. Do our favorite things reveal something about us as individuals? I bet they do.

I ended up with about 18 items so this blog with have to become a 2 parter most likely because I want to chat a bit about each thing. If that sounds boring, feel free to move along to the next persons blog, I'm doing it anyway! Ok here goes...........

I love my red walls! We lived with an interely white house for so many years due to the dreaded "Fear of Color!" We were so afraid of getting it wrong that we did nothing. How dumb is that? Now we have this beautiful dark red in one room & pale yellow in another & a yummy butterscotch in the kitchen! Loving all our color!

Why is that very first swallow of your morning coffee so perfect? I love my coffee in the morning, either here at this cute little pub table looking at my backyard or on my swing in the backyard. I feel sorry for all of you who have your first sip of dark delight out of a cardboard cup while driving or riding to work. I am lucky enough to have semi-leisurely mornings before work if I time it right. MMMM I can smell it now!

This is how my bedside table almost always looks. I love books! I go to the library every couple of weeks & bring home a stack to enjoy. If a book does not capture me in the first few pages it goes into the "go back" basket & I move on to the next one. I love all kinds of books, mostly fiction, sometimes silly & sometimes serious. I will not tolerate predictable plots though. If it does not challenge me with new words or new cultures to explore I'll leave it be.

The color combination of blue & white captured me when I was still in high school & I began to collect dishes in this pattern called Blue Calico. When I got married at the age of 23 I chose this pattern as my fancy "good" dishes in rebellion to the gold trimmed stuff that others had chosen. I still love it & have cupboards full of it. My house used to be so completely blue & white that my husband said he felt like he was living in a black & white movie! I have moved beyond being strictly blue & white now, because I am tired of the "country" look that I worked so hard to get years ago.

Speaking of blue & white & country! I still adore my old beat up blue calico chair! It is so comfy & totally perfect for reading & blogging. As you can see, the arms are worn so have to be covered with cloth napkins. It has great sentimental attachment for me. The first piece of NEW furniture we ever bought! (About 15 or 20 years ago. ) But as I have been slowly getting rid of all my country style things, it is beginning to look like it came to the wrong party! (Can't lose the maple table behind it. Belonged to my mother-in-law & hubby is quite attached to it!)

Believe it or not I won this beautiful oil painting at an art gallery in Hawaii! It is worth many $$$ but I got it totally free! Yah for me! It was pretty funny actually. We were in Hawaii with some friends because my husband & I inherited the trip from a friend who died & wanted us to get to go there at least once in our lives. Well, that part is not funny, but the other gallery people sure were! We had spent a day wandering through random gallaries enjoying all the crazy expensive & beautiful items & I filled out a slip for a free drawing that would take place later that night. At about 8 or 9 that evening we were done swimming & were all dirty & sandy etc. & someone mentioned the drawing in the art gallery. We debated whether to go or not but decided to stop by & see what would happen. The gallery was full of very dressed up people with their glasses of wine & slightly snooty expressions. I mean, fur-coat dressed up! In Hawaii on a warm evening! Well, you should have seen their faces when this tank-top & shorts lady won the painting right out from under them! Ha! The artist loved it & had his picture taken with me. Very cool! Plus, it reminds me of my late friend.

This pile of firewood makes me just giddy! No, we do not need it right now because the temps are hitting over 100 degrees thank you very much! But in the winter this is a life saver in our house. Our fireplace has a wood burning insert so it heats the whole house without ever turning on the heater! I am a temperature sensitive woman & hate to be either too hot or too cold, & to me "too cold" is worse than "too hot". Love that firewood!

Sure hope this isn't boring you cause I'm having a great time! I am crazy about this Yoga Video! I found a set of 2 in a bin at our Walmart store for only $5! Can you tell that I love a deal? She is easy to listen to. I have listened to some online that had voices that would cancel out any relaxation that the moves inspired! It is easy & SLOW so I can actually do it & feel really good afterwards. Love it!

This really has gotten too long I know, but gotta mentioned my loverly collection of flip-flops! Can you have too many? I don't think so! Should we do one more Favorite Thing? Okay, one more......

That large book on the bottom is my giant antique library dictionary! Isn't it amazing? I found it at a local garage sale for about $8 & lugged it down the block to my home. It really is quit beautiful to look through & it is full of unusual ancient words that we no longer use. I think it's a treasure.

Do the things we love tell others about us? We have had hundreds of fires here in California this summer & it makes you wonder what you would grab as you evacuated your home. I know I'd have to grab my laptop even though that does not sound very romantic & sentimental, but it has all my best photos on it & letters etc. What do your favorite things say about you?

Menopause Sucks!

At this moment I am grateful to myself that I have not allowed my other website to cross-pollinate with this one. Only 2 people in my daily life know about this little sanctuary of expression & that gives me complete freedom to say loudly & clearly that menopause sucks, a lot!

I am so tired of sitting in a staff meeting in a circle of 15 people & suddenly feeling the inner warmth creeping up my body from the inside out & quickly making itself visible on my neck & face! I force my hand not to reach for some paper to fan myself & just will the sweat to dry up on it’s own before anyone looks my way. My face turns bright red & blotchy & once my glasses even steamed up! It is just so embarrassing & uncomfortable. It seems like my body is betraying me after so many years of getting along pretty well with each other.

The other awful symptom that has me baffled is the unexplained weight gain. I practically live on yogurt & salad. I love them & really do eat one or the other almost every day for lunch at work & at home. But this last year I am getting puffy & soft all over the place. My neck & arms are moving when they are not supposed to, yuck! I used to be able to get rid of tummy fat with a few extra exercises in the morning & skipping desserts for a bit. Yesterday in my new swimsuit the little rolls just loved moving right into the “slimmer & shaper” panel of extra material.

But the part that is really bugging me today is the mental fogginess that is showing up lately. I am getting more forgetful & starting to not trust my memory. This can be brutal in the middle of an argument with your husband when you realize that maybe you did not do what you think you remember doing! Ack! It kind of takes the wind out of your sails.

Last week I bought a whole cartload of food at our Super Wal-Mart & as I stepped outside into our scorching heat I headed to where I had parked the car & it was not there! I circled the area with that heavy & awkward shopping cart realizing that I was probably giving someone some great entertainment. So I decided to push the car unlock button on my key & listen for the beep. Nothing! My ice cream was already getting mushy by this time & I was so not wanting to call my husband & make him come on his motorcycle to help me find the stupid car!

After several wanderings around the hot parking lot I headed back to the shade of the store & called him. Just as I hung up I saw the car……in a whole different section! I quickly called him back as I wrestled the cart of soggy food to the car. Once the trunk was loaded & I put the key in the ignition, the car rebelled at all the button pushing I had done & began to beep & honk, loudly alarming everyone to the fact that an intruder must be trying to start it. I forgot how to make it stop! I waited for it to be quiet & when I turned the key again the alarm screamed again, so I called my amazing husband for the second time, yelling above the alarm that I did not know how to make it stop & let me get back home. He told me to push the unlock button on the key & it would stop announcing to everyone that an idiot was at the wheel. He did not say the idiot part, that’s me talking to me; we were not getting along at all at this point!

The only good part of that story is that I drove home laughing at myself. A couple years ago I would have been crying all the way home. There are some good things about being over 50, & one is that I don’t take myself as seriously as I used to. I don’t expect perfection anymore. Good thing huh?

My Backyard Swing

My Backyard Swing…….
Here is my backyard swing, I love it even though it’s old & ugly & faded. I come out here early in the morning in my jammies & enjoy my coffee while listening to the birds. I usually bring my Bible & journal out with me but seldom open them. Coffee & tweeting birds…what more do you need?
My views from this spot are pretty nice for an ordinary house on the corner of a cul-de-sac. Right in the middle of my yard is a huge almond tree loaded with almonds right now as you can see.

This tree has sort of a weird shape due to my husbands’ fear of the lady horticulturist that lives behind us. The first year we lived here Hubs came out to trim the messy looking tree & after a bit of chopping away he heard an authorative voice from the other side of the fence.
“What are you doing? You are trimming that tree at the wrong time with the wrong tool & you are doing it wrong!” So now, years later it looks kinda goofy but it gives our yard some nice shade.












Here is my view while looking up from my comfy spot. I removed the canopy that came with the swing because I like the sun (I know, I know, leave me alone!) and at night I love to see the stars. Earlier today I actually fell asleep out here.
Tony is my snooze partner. (Yeah a totally original name for a tiger stripe cat huh?) He likes the birds too, but I always make a noise and ruin his hunting moments out here. That’s when he gives me this face…..!
My backyard is far from being a fancy gorgeous place even though all 17 of the neighborhood cats seem to like it. But I really love it. Obviously I am not a yard work kinda person, we’ve kept it low maintenance & barely alive. Most "yard people" really mean that they like working in the yard. Not me, I just like sitting in it!

It’s my little retreat place, early in the morning, sunning in the afternoon & watching the stars late at night. It relaxes me & helps me get my mind to slow down. It’s peaceful…at least until the people next door start screaming “Marco!..Polo!…Marco!...Polo!” Oh man!