So several months ago I found the wild and wily ways of a brunette bombshell. Yesterday Meg posted a post (?) entitled "perfect bodies, cellulite, and a little rebellion."
Thank you, Meg. Thank you for doing what you do so well - writing what I'm thinking, even though you don't know me and I don't know you. You captured it to perfection:
"i don't have a perfect body.
i have cellulite; i will always have cellulite....
my body isn't perfect. i have cellulite and fleshy hips and more moles than a person can count....
but holy hell if i don't love this body of mine....
and certainly there are mornings i wish i knew what it was to be blond with thinner hips and perkier boobs....
i lost years of my life to wanting to lose weight.
and then, not too terribely long ago, i realized that the desire to change my body was the least interesting thing about me.
(that desire is in fact the least interesting thing about every woman i know).
you see, i think to love our bodies in a world or a society or whatever-you-want-to-call-it that tells us we shouldn't is a powerful act of rebellion--an even greater act of love.
i want to know what it is to live to in a world, where we, as women, say enough. enough of this nonsense. and okay, so we're not there yet, i know that. but at least let me add my voice to my betters and my peers who have gone before me and said, there's more to life than this, and so i love my body just as it is."
The thing is, I'm 51. 51-and-a-half, yesterday, to be exact. And Meg? She's NOT 51. She's MUCH younger. And she's come to this epiphany so much earlier in her life, and that's the AWESOME part of it - she'll have a much happier, more balanced life because of it.
It took me a LONG time to realize I'm not my body. Sure, I could lose few pounds. Can't we all? I could probably lose 20-30 and still be completely healthy, not too skinny, and just fine.
But if I don't?
So.What.
You know what people need to realize? That our husbands love us. The us we are now, not the us we'll be in 30 pounds. Our families and friends love us, the us we are now, not the us we'll be in 30 pounds. And we have to learn to love us, the us we are now, not the us we'll be in 30 pounds. They love and we need to learn to love the PEOPLE we are, not the weight we are.
And I'm getting there. Yes, I'm still a WW member, I still hope to lose a few pounds sooner rather than later. But I am SO DARNED PROUD that I went for a walk with my husband yesterday, only a 1/2 mile walk around our neighborhood, but we went for a walk. THEN I went to the gym. The gym I'm paying for each month but not using. And I went inside!!! I didn't just drive by on the way to Dunkin' Donuts for a Lite Iced Caramel Latte. And I rode the stationary bike, I rode it for 4-and-a-half miles! Okay, 10 minutes at no incline, 10 minutes at a incline of 2, and 10 minutes at no incline again. But I rode it.
Slow and steady does the job. Eventually I'll be back at a steeper incline, at a faster rate (although I'll always be walking, not running). And eventually I'll even use the machines to work my upper body, those spaghetti arms (they're floppy like cooked spaghetti, NOT thin and firm like uncooked spaghetti!)...
But you know what? I'll never be skinny. I'll never be a size zero. (Which, btw, as long as we're talking here, IS.NOT.A.REAL.SIZE. It was invented a few years ago, and as far as I'm concerned, just means I'm really wearing a 10 or 12, NOT a 12 or 14! It forced me to add 2 more sizes onto my "real" size. Tell me THAT doesn't suck the big one!)
And that's okay. It's okay not to be pin-thin. It's okay to have a bit of a big butt, a stomach that's not quite as flat as I'd like it to be (and btw, Dr. K., NOT cool to tell me I can't blame my tummy on those fibroids I'm sporting! I've used that excuse for a while and no one called me on it!), boobs that aren't quite as perky as I'd like them to be (hubby says they're perfect for my body! So there!), flabby arms and thighs... It's okay.
Meg, LOVE your blog, and thanks for putting it all out there, that it's okay to have cellulite, and that the greatest achievement we could hope for would be to love our bodies as they are, not to lose those 30 pounds! If only all of us could see it your way!!!
About Me
- Krys72599
- I'm happy, married, and looking forward to sharing my world with you! If you're interested, that is!
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Monday, June 04, 2012
$24 for 8 different meals!
I'm a huge fan of John and Sherry at Young House Love and Young House Life.
They live in Richmond, VA, and these past couple of weekends they've been going to local events. This weekend was the Broad Appetit street fair where you could sample the specialties from some 60 local restaurants: $3 per sample plate; I guess it's like an outdoor tapas restaurant!
For $24 they had a wonderful selection of food, including what I'm sure would have been my favorites, seared scallops and shrimp and quinoa. Take a look!
http://life.younghouselove.com/2012/06/broad-appetit/
They live in Richmond, VA, and these past couple of weekends they've been going to local events. This weekend was the Broad Appetit street fair where you could sample the specialties from some 60 local restaurants: $3 per sample plate; I guess it's like an outdoor tapas restaurant!
For $24 they had a wonderful selection of food, including what I'm sure would have been my favorites, seared scallops and shrimp and quinoa. Take a look!
http://life.younghouselove.com/2012/06/broad-appetit/
Friday, June 01, 2012
Why my blog is subtitled "it's not much, but it's all I've got!!!"
Two or three jobs ago, I was working for a privately owned company. I could spend hours and hours and many, many blog pages telling you about the characters who worked there. [If I was ever interested in writing a book... my goodness, it would be a bestseller for sure!]
There was a day when there was a very severe snowstorm, so severe, in fact, that 40' tractor trailers were spinning out on the road in front of our office. When I saw that, I left early to go home.
Early = 4pm.
Instead of 5pm.
I'm not talking about noon, or immediately after I got to work, people! I'm talking 4pm.
I was called into the vice president's office the next day; he also happened to share the same last name as the owner of the company. He was the owner's son. I was called in and he sat there, behind his desk, and told me that he had spoken to F, the owner's secretary, and he told me SHE was authorizing the payroll department to dock my pay an hour for leaving early the day before.
I was a salaried employee.
To this day, I can feel the heat rise in my face, burning my ears. But rather than tell him to F off, I very calmly, although my voice was shaking, told him he could do whatever he wanted. He could okay the paycut, but "I had a life, it wasn't much, but it was the only one I had," and I wasn't risking it to stay another hour at work during a snowstorm when tractor trailers were spinning their wheels in front of the building... I reminded him that I was salaried, that when I worked extra hours or didn't take a lunch, I was NOT compensated, and that I'd be happy to change over to an hourly employee if he or F would prefer to pay me for the hours I worked.
He knew he was wrong. He knew F was wrong. He simply placated me, though, saying he understood my position but it really wasn't fair to pay me for time I wasn't working.
I reminded him again of the definition of a salaried employee, excused myself, and went back to my office where I didn't do a lick of work for the rest of the day (but got paid as if I did), created all sorts of new and anatomically impossible curse words, and complained to all in the vicinity about F, who thought the boss' money was hers to manage because... Oops, I'm not going there...
Suffice it to say that I was NOT docked an hour. He decided he had a pair and stood up to the secretary.
But I never forgot my comeback: "I have a life, M. It may not be much to you, but it's all I've got!"
And I thought it summarized my blog rather well. I will never have hundreds or thousands of readers, but I have you guys and while I might never be the most interesting blog you read, you'll be reading what really goes on in my little ole' life, no holds barred. Admittedly it's rather boring most of the time. We don't travel a lot. We are not fighters. We don't do anything real exciting most of the time. It's usually just breakfast, work, lunch, work, dinner, tv, sleep. And then start all over.
But I'm really happy in my life. I have family and friends who love me. I have a job I like (even though I'm playing the lottery and hope to win and retire early!). I read a lot, watch TV and scrap, and that occupies my free time. We are blessed enough to have a vacation home which is why we don't go away very much. I live in a safe and boring neighborhood, but we like it. It reminds us of when we grew up, when we knew all the neighbors and the neighbors knew us.
My stories aren't edge-of-your-seat-exciting, but they're my stories, and they're my real life. Not much, maybe, but it's all I've got!!!
There was a day when there was a very severe snowstorm, so severe, in fact, that 40' tractor trailers were spinning out on the road in front of our office. When I saw that, I left early to go home.
Early = 4pm.
Instead of 5pm.
I'm not talking about noon, or immediately after I got to work, people! I'm talking 4pm.
I was called into the vice president's office the next day; he also happened to share the same last name as the owner of the company. He was the owner's son. I was called in and he sat there, behind his desk, and told me that he had spoken to F, the owner's secretary, and he told me SHE was authorizing the payroll department to dock my pay an hour for leaving early the day before.
I was a salaried employee.
To this day, I can feel the heat rise in my face, burning my ears. But rather than tell him to F off, I very calmly, although my voice was shaking, told him he could do whatever he wanted. He could okay the paycut, but "I had a life, it wasn't much, but it was the only one I had," and I wasn't risking it to stay another hour at work during a snowstorm when tractor trailers were spinning their wheels in front of the building... I reminded him that I was salaried, that when I worked extra hours or didn't take a lunch, I was NOT compensated, and that I'd be happy to change over to an hourly employee if he or F would prefer to pay me for the hours I worked.
He knew he was wrong. He knew F was wrong. He simply placated me, though, saying he understood my position but it really wasn't fair to pay me for time I wasn't working.
I reminded him again of the definition of a salaried employee, excused myself, and went back to my office where I didn't do a lick of work for the rest of the day (but got paid as if I did), created all sorts of new and anatomically impossible curse words, and complained to all in the vicinity about F, who thought the boss' money was hers to manage because... Oops, I'm not going there...
Suffice it to say that I was NOT docked an hour. He decided he had a pair and stood up to the secretary.
But I never forgot my comeback: "I have a life, M. It may not be much to you, but it's all I've got!"
And I thought it summarized my blog rather well. I will never have hundreds or thousands of readers, but I have you guys and while I might never be the most interesting blog you read, you'll be reading what really goes on in my little ole' life, no holds barred. Admittedly it's rather boring most of the time. We don't travel a lot. We are not fighters. We don't do anything real exciting most of the time. It's usually just breakfast, work, lunch, work, dinner, tv, sleep. And then start all over.
But I'm really happy in my life. I have family and friends who love me. I have a job I like (even though I'm playing the lottery and hope to win and retire early!). I read a lot, watch TV and scrap, and that occupies my free time. We are blessed enough to have a vacation home which is why we don't go away very much. I live in a safe and boring neighborhood, but we like it. It reminds us of when we grew up, when we knew all the neighbors and the neighbors knew us.
My stories aren't edge-of-your-seat-exciting, but they're my stories, and they're my real life. Not much, maybe, but it's all I've got!!!
I don't want to KILL them, exactly...
... especially since I do have one. Admittedly I have tried reading on my Kindle Fire, but as my dear readers know, I'm not particularly enthralled. Perhaps I would have liked it better if the e-reader I got was readable in the sun, but I knew it wasn't when I got it so I can't make that the reason I hate it. Because I don't really hate it; I just don't like it for reading books. No new news there...
I am a HUGE fan of the Hay Literary Festival in Hay-on-Wye, I believe the town is called... It's a small town on the Wales border. It hasn't been around for hundreds of years, the festival, I mean, but it's made a great name for itself. I was sorry to run across this article today where a few booksellers are calling for a ban on Kindles at the Festival.
A) I H.A.T.E. that 5 of the 30 or so book indies in the town have closed over the past year.
B) Apple's iBookstore has signed on as a Festival partner for the Hay Literary Festival 2012. If you were so anti e-reader or e-books, you should have said no to Apple.
C) I really do believe that anything that makes people read, and enjoy reading, can't be all bad (Kindles, Goosebumps books, Sweet Valley High books, etc., etc.).
D) Someone in the article mentioned that people attending the Festival are buying books in all formats, including the not-available-in-e-reader-format rare, second-hand books.
THEY'RE READING, PEOPLE! How bad can it be???
Just give us the option to read REAL books, don't take them away! That's all I ask!!!
I am a HUGE fan of the Hay Literary Festival in Hay-on-Wye, I believe the town is called... It's a small town on the Wales border. It hasn't been around for hundreds of years, the festival, I mean, but it's made a great name for itself. I was sorry to run across this article today where a few booksellers are calling for a ban on Kindles at the Festival.
A) I H.A.T.E. that 5 of the 30 or so book indies in the town have closed over the past year.
B) Apple's iBookstore has signed on as a Festival partner for the Hay Literary Festival 2012. If you were so anti e-reader or e-books, you should have said no to Apple.
C) I really do believe that anything that makes people read, and enjoy reading, can't be all bad (Kindles, Goosebumps books, Sweet Valley High books, etc., etc.).
D) Someone in the article mentioned that people attending the Festival are buying books in all formats, including the not-available-in-e-reader-format rare, second-hand books.
THEY'RE READING, PEOPLE! How bad can it be???
Just give us the option to read REAL books, don't take them away! That's all I ask!!!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
New Orleans
Once or twice a year, hubby has to go on a business trip. I love it when I get to be the "plus 1." This time we got to go to New Orleans for 3 (full) days. I've been before, on business myself, but I wasn't able to do any sightseeing then, unless you count touring the Convention Center from one end to the other...
This time I got to be a tourist for the entire trip! Rather than try to caption each photo, let me just tell you what we did and then just post some pictures.
We flew down on a Wednesday night, and flew home early Sunday morning (and I mean early - our return flight was at 6:24am!). On Thursday morning we walked Bourbon Street and Canal Street, looking for a local place to have breakfast before J's 10:30 meeting. They were cleaning Bourbon Street, hosing the streets down. We saw the Harley store (closed), some girly bars (also closed), and J met some drunk people at 8:30am. They came up to us (I'm a firm believer in not meeting anyone's eyes and then you can just keep moving, but hubby is much more polite than I am to strangers) with beers in brown paper bags, either "already" drunk or "still" drunk. The man fist-pumped J and wished God's blessings on us both... At least they were nice, religious drunks...
He went to his first meeting and I went to the pool. I got some nice color while we were away (color I improved upon this past weekend!). He went to another meeting or two after registration, then we walked Canal Street again. At around 3pm we were STARVING, so we popped into Serio's. I asked the girl what was good and she said they beat Bobby Flay in a throwdown in 2007 so I tried their winning muffaletta - mm, good!!! Then as a group we went to dinner at the Palace Cafe. I had their Barbecued Shrimp starter and the Shrimp Tchefuncte for an entree. It's shrimp in a Creole meuniére sauce with green onions, roasted mushrooms and popcorn rice. I'm not a drinker but when I'm not buying I usually order a mojito - it didn't disappoint. I also had a Sailor Coffee with my Bananas Foster dessert: Malibu Rum, Amaretto Disaronno, Kahlua, Community Coffee and whipped cream. Yes, it was as good as it sounds!
On Friday, we took the St. Charles Trolley to the Garden District and walked around, looking at all the beautiful New Orleans homes. We got back on the Trolley and rode to the end, past Tulane and Loyola, both of which were graduating that day. I was amazed that they were literally right next to each other, on the same block, even!!! Later we walked over to the Mississippi River, and the Riverwalk Mall. The river I had seen before, and again, my impression was that it was not as big as I thought it would be. For some reason I've spent the last 50+ years thinking it would be too big to see across, and maybe it is in spots, but there, where we were, nope, you could see clear across to the other side, and if you squinted hard, you could even read the signs on the buildings across the way... We took one of our obligatory self-portraits at arm's length; this one didn't come out very well, but at least we have one from N'Awlins, y'all... We ate at the Commerce Restaurant for lunch: I had a delicious shrimp po'boy and J had a T-Chicken po'boy - a delicious piece of chicken breast with swiss cheese, mushrooms, onions and a wonderful gravy of some kind. [I left my visor there, dang it!] We had all agreed to go to dinner together again that night. I sort of wish we hadn't (hindsight is, after all, 50-50). Two of our party were not too steady on their feet, completely unrelated to imbibing extreme quantities of alcohol: one fell and broke her ankle and the other is simply older and not too able to walk long distances. G was in her own lightweight wheelchair and M rented one of those electric/battery scooters from the hotel. They had to take the freight elevator up to the second floor for dinner at Olivier's. Let's just say that I don't think it was an accident that the A/C system tried to freeze us out the door all dinner. M's husband didn't like where she parked her scooter so he hopped on and decided to reposition it. He did. But not until after he knocked into our table, knocked over a chair, backed into another table and knocked over the flower arrangement, then after M yelled at him to "Just park the damn thing," he happened to bump into that same table again, and the waitress at that point ran over and just removed the flower arrangement from the table entirely. It wasn't on our table, fair readers, it was on a table 6' away from ours... The food was good: I had some off-the-menu special appetizer with eggplant and some other seafood something or another, and their EXCELLENT crab ravioli for an entree. My only complaint? I wanted more! I had some pecan pie for dessert - yea, it's better in New Orleans.
We walked down Decatur Street, to the St. Louis Cathedral. Apparently there are a lot of street vendors there during the day but at night, after 11pm, when we got there, it's just a quiet, dark pedestrian walkway. You can see the cathedral all lit up, but it's locked at night. Some of the other +1s went to Mass there for Ascension Thursday but never bothered to invite G or me along... That's alright, she's my friend; they're just traveling acquaintances. THEN we walked along some dark, creepy side street until we got to Bourbon Street and hubby got his wish: he got to SEE Bourbon Street in all its (not) glory. We walk hand in hand most times, and he's learned over the years that when I squeeze his hand, there's usually something I want him to see and he's gotten pretty good at picking those things out without verbal explanation or pointing on my part. But this time, he didn't see anything I pointed out: he missed the girl with no pants, he missed the young man trying to pick up the other young man, he missed the two men dressed as women (and they were quite pretty, I must say!)... When we got out of the crowd and I asked him what he thought of those three sights, he was amazed he had missed them but confessed he was a bit obsessed with watching where he put his feet so he didn't step into pee or vomit... Okay, I forgive him for not paying attention to me... And he admitted, too, that now that he's "been there, done that," he never has to experience Bourbon Street again.
On Saturday we rode the Canal Street Trolley to the other end and visited St. Patrick's Cemetery #1 and #2. By the time we got there and walked around the cemeteries, it was too late to visit the Katrina Memorial located in the Catholic Charities cemetery. But we said a quick prayer outside the gates. The last time I was in New Orleans I saw buildings with the large Xs on them, indicating they'd been searched for survivors post-Katrina. It was disturbing, to say the least. We couldn't see any of those same buildings en route from the airport because for both arrival and departure, it was too dark.
We managed to eat beignets at Cafe du Monde while we were in town (mmm!) but I didn't like their coffee the last time, so we just got a juice. We walked along the river, watched a freight train go by (lost count of the number of cars), went into Harrah's where I lost $20, then won $33, and went home only $7 poorer than when I walked in the place. I'm a slots-lover; I wish I could play on a machine just for the sake of playing, not to try and win any money. I'd even be willing to pay a flat $5 fee to sit at the machine for a few hours, "winning" or "losing" nothing... (Yea, J thinks I'm nuts, too!)
We walked and walked and walked, post-casino and post-beignets, and finally wound up eating at The Pearl for an early dinner (early being around 6pm, which is normal for us, but early compared to 7pm and 8pm the other two nights we were there!). I thought The Pearl was a more expensive restaurant and it's famous for its oysters... Anyone reading this remember that hubby is NOT a seafood fan? But he was adamant, for some unknown-to-me reason, that we eat in this place. Perhaps because after walking literally miles looking for an open restaurant that was not expensive and not on Bourbon Street, we would have eaten almost anything, almost anywhere. I was ready to go into the nearest Subway but he would have none of that! It turns out we had a decent meal at The Pearl: I had another shrimp po'boy (not as good as the one at the Commerce Restaurant, but had I had this one first, I'd have been perfectly satisfied with it!) and hubby had some chicken/sausage jambalaya. While we were sitting there, the only other two customers left, and a pair of women came in to share a couple of appetizers. Oh, and a woman and her mom came in and asked the bartender if they could buy two limes. [cricket sounds] Yes, limes. I expressed my disbelief with an almost audible "Did they ask to buy two limes?" and J said, quietly, "Yes, they did." (Glad to hear my ears were still working just fine.) I admitted then, and I admit now, that I would never have thought to walk into a restaurant, a sit-down restaurant, even if it did have a bar area, and ask to buy limes. And I guess it was an odd thing even for that bartender because he had to ask the owner, who came out, looked at the woman and her mom, and charged them $3.00 for two limes. Which bowled me right over and eventually even hubby was surprised. He had no idea that the last time I bought a lime it cost me $.25...
We went back to the hotel room and packed almost everything we had brought, I called for a 3am wake-up call, and then we relaxed on the bed and watched some TV. He thought it was funny that I slept in my travel clothes (yoga pants, a loose blue/white striped top, and my LA Lakers sweat jacket - nope, not a Lakers fan; it was free and it's REALLY comfy!). We were able to fall asleep around 11pm-ish and surprisingly, I was not dead to the world when they called to wake us up. I managed to bring home everything I brought with me (except for my visor, dang it!), and except for a blood blister on my right pinkie finger where I caught it in my suitcase that morning (4am for a cab is early!!!), it was a rather uneventful trip - no injuries, no missed planes, no wild cab rides, nothing that might make for a more exciting but less happy trip!!
And now, without further ado, here are the photos...
Bookstores: Where You Find What You Weren't Looking For
I haven't posted a quote from Shelf Awareness in a very long time: here you go, one from today's issue, Thursday, May 31, 2012, Volume 2, Issue 1750
"As I've often said, you can shop online and find whatever you're looking for, but bookstores are where you find what you weren't looking for."
--Princeton economics professor, New York Times columnist and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman in a q&a with Wired, in which he talks at length about his love for science fiction.
"As I've often said, you can shop online and find whatever you're looking for, but bookstores are where you find what you weren't looking for."
--Princeton economics professor, New York Times columnist and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman in a q&a with Wired, in which he talks at length about his love for science fiction.
Friday, May 11, 2012
I agree with BO this one time...
Anyone who knows me knows I am NOT a fan of our current President. But in the interests of historical accuracy, I must say that I am happy he has come out in favor of gay marriage. I actually AGREE with him on this issue.
I know not all of you will agree with me or BO, and I'm not posting this to spark any discussion or controversy, but I've thought long and hard about this issue and thought I might just put my thoughts into words here on my blog.
Sometimes I wonder how much my opinions are influenced by the metropolitan area in which I live, what I'm exposed to each and every day. Certainly living in the NYC area, even though I was raised in and still live in a suburban neighborhood, certainly that must make me a bit more aware, perhaps, of different lifestyles, different people, different traditions.
But I was raised in a conservative, faith-filled home, a home filled with love and respect. It's what I grew up wanting for my own: a husband, children, a family. My parents were old-fashioned and traditional. My mom still is. I wish my dad were still alive so I could talk with him about all of these issues. I have a funny feeling he would be much more open-minded than many might expect. I had a very traditional upbringing in many ways, and in others, my parents were way ahead of their time: for instance, it was never even an option that we would not go to college. We were raised to respect our elders. (Any since we're being honest here, I am now officially one of those elders I had to respect when I was a kid!)
What I wish for each and every one of my children, my nieces and nephews, my friends and their children, is that they find a person they love, who loves them right back at the same time, who makes them happy, who values their love. I hope they find their own version of MY husband. And if that person happens to be of the same sex, so what? I want my children, my family, my friends, to be HAPPY.
I don't understand why anyone thinks they have the right to prevent someone from finding that love. It's rare in this world, and if you find it, grab it with both arms and hold on tight. It's so worth it.
We fought long and hard in this country to eliminate slavery, to give women the right to vote. It's been and will continue to be a long hard road to reach that point when gay marriage is, in general, okay with the rest of the world. I'm hoping that day comes sooner rather than later.
Separation of church and state? Did I imagine those words? Sure, that means that despite what the "law" says, the church doesn't have to agree (and the reverse is true as well). We see plenty of those issues floating around (are any of you Roman Catholics on birth control?). Why then can I not get married in my church without a marriage license from my city government? My sister got married by the mayor. She was no less married than I am, except in the eyes of her church. Then why did I need a marriage license? Marriage? Civil union? To me, they are one and the same. There are a lot of people who aren't strong and faithful believers. But they get married, they buy that marriage license and perhaps a mayor performs the ceremony, or a justice of the peace. There are many faithful getting married, and instead of just getting married one weekend by their priest or minister, they have to take a day off from work and apply for a marriage licence. I know I'm ranting about this, but this just makes no sense to me. Why is my sister's marriage a marriage, MY marriage is a marriage, but if her husband had been a woman, that would not be "allowed" by some people our there. It would not be a marriage.
Oh yeah??? It would be civil. It would be a union. It would be a marriage.
I don't believe we can define marriage as only between a man and a woman. I just can't wrap my head around that. And I don't have some earth-shattering sentence with which to wrap up this post, so...
I will vote to "allow" gay marriage, on any state or federal ballot. I can't be responsible for yanking that chance for happiness out of the grasp of anyone.
I know not all of you will agree with me or BO, and I'm not posting this to spark any discussion or controversy, but I've thought long and hard about this issue and thought I might just put my thoughts into words here on my blog.
Sometimes I wonder how much my opinions are influenced by the metropolitan area in which I live, what I'm exposed to each and every day. Certainly living in the NYC area, even though I was raised in and still live in a suburban neighborhood, certainly that must make me a bit more aware, perhaps, of different lifestyles, different people, different traditions.
But I was raised in a conservative, faith-filled home, a home filled with love and respect. It's what I grew up wanting for my own: a husband, children, a family. My parents were old-fashioned and traditional. My mom still is. I wish my dad were still alive so I could talk with him about all of these issues. I have a funny feeling he would be much more open-minded than many might expect. I had a very traditional upbringing in many ways, and in others, my parents were way ahead of their time: for instance, it was never even an option that we would not go to college. We were raised to respect our elders. (Any since we're being honest here, I am now officially one of those elders I had to respect when I was a kid!)
What I wish for each and every one of my children, my nieces and nephews, my friends and their children, is that they find a person they love, who loves them right back at the same time, who makes them happy, who values their love. I hope they find their own version of MY husband. And if that person happens to be of the same sex, so what? I want my children, my family, my friends, to be HAPPY.
I don't understand why anyone thinks they have the right to prevent someone from finding that love. It's rare in this world, and if you find it, grab it with both arms and hold on tight. It's so worth it.
We fought long and hard in this country to eliminate slavery, to give women the right to vote. It's been and will continue to be a long hard road to reach that point when gay marriage is, in general, okay with the rest of the world. I'm hoping that day comes sooner rather than later.
Separation of church and state? Did I imagine those words? Sure, that means that despite what the "law" says, the church doesn't have to agree (and the reverse is true as well). We see plenty of those issues floating around (are any of you Roman Catholics on birth control?). Why then can I not get married in my church without a marriage license from my city government? My sister got married by the mayor. She was no less married than I am, except in the eyes of her church. Then why did I need a marriage license? Marriage? Civil union? To me, they are one and the same. There are a lot of people who aren't strong and faithful believers. But they get married, they buy that marriage license and perhaps a mayor performs the ceremony, or a justice of the peace. There are many faithful getting married, and instead of just getting married one weekend by their priest or minister, they have to take a day off from work and apply for a marriage licence. I know I'm ranting about this, but this just makes no sense to me. Why is my sister's marriage a marriage, MY marriage is a marriage, but if her husband had been a woman, that would not be "allowed" by some people our there. It would not be a marriage.
Oh yeah??? It would be civil. It would be a union. It would be a marriage.
I don't believe we can define marriage as only between a man and a woman. I just can't wrap my head around that. And I don't have some earth-shattering sentence with which to wrap up this post, so...
I will vote to "allow" gay marriage, on any state or federal ballot. I can't be responsible for yanking that chance for happiness out of the grasp of anyone.
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
OMG - What a bathroom!
I was reading Pioneer Woman's S.O.S. post today and someone referenced this bathroom -
Wowza!!!
http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2012/04/a-bathroom-situated-atop-a-15-story-elevator-shaft/
Wowza!!!
http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2012/04/a-bathroom-situated-atop-a-15-story-elevator-shaft/
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
RIP Maurice Sendak
I'm not a fan, but even I can't deny what an impact this man and his work has had on children's literature.
Rest in peace, Mr. Sendak. You were a great talent and brought lots of reading joy to so many.
Rest in peace, Mr. Sendak. You were a great talent and brought lots of reading joy to so many.
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
On my soapbox...
... but I promise it will be for only a moment or two...
I follow several blogs. I found the wild and wily ways of a brunette bombshell when she was linked to somewhere else. And I started to read her. So wise for someone so young... But recently I've been trying to cut back on the blogs I follow and I thought perhaps her blog might be one I drop. I didn't drop it yet, though, and today, I'm SO glad I didn't.
Saturday's blog post, in my humble opinion, is one of her best. It's about a subject near and dear to my heart: self-esteem in young women/people. Please take a few minutes to listen to Jean Kilbourne speak about how the media helps ruin the self-esteem of young women, how it affects our perceptions of ourselves, our lives, our potential...
http://or-so-i-feel.blogspot.com/2012/04/women-in-advertising.html
I'm 51, and at 51, I'm beautiful. Not drop dead gorgeous, no one is going to plaster me up on the side of a building in a bikini, but I am a beautiful woman.
I am thin, but my husband loves me. Me. The me I AM, not the me I'd be if I lost 20 pounds.
The kids in school, those little second-graders I read to every other week? They love it when I come in, not because I'm pretty or wearing the latest and trendiest clothes, but because I'm there for them, to read to them, to pay attention to them, to listen to them, and that's a gift they don't all get from a lot of people.
I am smart, not as smart as I was when I was younger and really using the brain God gave me to think and learn, but I am a pretty smart person.
I do a good job at work, always have, always will, and I take pride in the fact that I will always be able to get a good recommendation because I always do my best.
Sure, I wish my hair was thicker and longer and fuller, but you do the best with what you've got.
I finally learned how to apply eyeliner on a YouTube video about 5 months ago. Yes, at 50. (And I must have been doing it SO wrong for so many years - the day I put it on the new way, several people commented that my makeup looked nice that day!) Just an example that you can learn at any time.
I am violently opposed to the Twilight saga, not because I'm anti-vampire, or anti-young love, or any nonsense like that. And I admit I've only read the first one and not seen any of the movies. But any book that has the heroine feel that she's not pretty enough or smart enough or sparkly enough for the hero? That book is NOT winding up on my shelf'o'favorites! Those books are targeted to tweens, according to what I've heard, an age when the LAST thing they need to read about is LOW self-esteem. They should be taught, in school, in books, in movies and TV shows, that they ARE worthy, they ARE beautiful, they ARE good enough, that there are people who love them AS THEY ARE, not as they might be if they were 10, 20 or 100 pounds thinner, if their hair was highlighted, if they wore thongs that show instead of granny panties that don't.
Thanks, Meg Fee from the wild and wily ways of a brunette bombshell, thanks for introducing me to that video clip of Ms. Kilbourne. I'll be doing all I can to support this cause, any way I can.
I follow several blogs. I found the wild and wily ways of a brunette bombshell when she was linked to somewhere else. And I started to read her. So wise for someone so young... But recently I've been trying to cut back on the blogs I follow and I thought perhaps her blog might be one I drop. I didn't drop it yet, though, and today, I'm SO glad I didn't.
Saturday's blog post, in my humble opinion, is one of her best. It's about a subject near and dear to my heart: self-esteem in young women/people. Please take a few minutes to listen to Jean Kilbourne speak about how the media helps ruin the self-esteem of young women, how it affects our perceptions of ourselves, our lives, our potential...
http://or-so-i-feel.blogspot.com/2012/04/women-in-advertising.html
I'm 51, and at 51, I'm beautiful. Not drop dead gorgeous, no one is going to plaster me up on the side of a building in a bikini, but I am a beautiful woman.
I am thin, but my husband loves me. Me. The me I AM, not the me I'd be if I lost 20 pounds.
The kids in school, those little second-graders I read to every other week? They love it when I come in, not because I'm pretty or wearing the latest and trendiest clothes, but because I'm there for them, to read to them, to pay attention to them, to listen to them, and that's a gift they don't all get from a lot of people.
I am smart, not as smart as I was when I was younger and really using the brain God gave me to think and learn, but I am a pretty smart person.
I do a good job at work, always have, always will, and I take pride in the fact that I will always be able to get a good recommendation because I always do my best.
Sure, I wish my hair was thicker and longer and fuller, but you do the best with what you've got.
I finally learned how to apply eyeliner on a YouTube video about 5 months ago. Yes, at 50. (And I must have been doing it SO wrong for so many years - the day I put it on the new way, several people commented that my makeup looked nice that day!) Just an example that you can learn at any time.
I am violently opposed to the Twilight saga, not because I'm anti-vampire, or anti-young love, or any nonsense like that. And I admit I've only read the first one and not seen any of the movies. But any book that has the heroine feel that she's not pretty enough or smart enough or sparkly enough for the hero? That book is NOT winding up on my shelf'o'favorites! Those books are targeted to tweens, according to what I've heard, an age when the LAST thing they need to read about is LOW self-esteem. They should be taught, in school, in books, in movies and TV shows, that they ARE worthy, they ARE beautiful, they ARE good enough, that there are people who love them AS THEY ARE, not as they might be if they were 10, 20 or 100 pounds thinner, if their hair was highlighted, if they wore thongs that show instead of granny panties that don't.
Thanks, Meg Fee from the wild and wily ways of a brunette bombshell, thanks for introducing me to that video clip of Ms. Kilbourne. I'll be doing all I can to support this cause, any way I can.
WeStopHate.org
Take a few moments and visit this young girl's YouTube channel or her website (links are at the bottom of this post).
Emily-Anne Rigal created this movement after she suffered from bullying in one school, moved to another and found both friends and her self-esteem. She believes that self-esteem is the key to dealing with bullying, and I agree.
As long as you believe you are worthy, you can survive bullying. And you are. Each and every one of you is a valuable - and valued - human being, with lots to offer, with lots to love.
I'm making a donation and getting a wristband or two - Emily, my check is in the mail!
Why don't YOU, dear reader, do something to help stop bullying?
http://www.youtube.com/user/WeStopHate
http://westophate.org/
Emily-Anne Rigal created this movement after she suffered from bullying in one school, moved to another and found both friends and her self-esteem. She believes that self-esteem is the key to dealing with bullying, and I agree.
As long as you believe you are worthy, you can survive bullying. And you are. Each and every one of you is a valuable - and valued - human being, with lots to offer, with lots to love.
I'm making a donation and getting a wristband or two - Emily, my check is in the mail!
Why don't YOU, dear reader, do something to help stop bullying?
http://www.youtube.com/user/WeStopHate
http://westophate.org/
Friday, April 13, 2012
Chauffer or Housekeeper?
Yea, I spent some money on lottery tickets when the MegaMillions prize was $640MILLION! We play at work, four of us, and even when it's PowerBall and nowhere near $640MILLION, we toss around ideas about what we'd do if we won...
One woman said we can't just quit, that we have to come in and quit all together. No, we don't, but we will, until we each get our share, THEN, ladies and germs, I'M SO OUTTA HERE! The other three of us are ready to quit now, but can't, but since she's the one that walks to get the tickets...
I don't want to win $640MILLION. I just want to take home about $5million, $2million, enough to share with my sisters and my mom, and my kids, with the rest there to ensure hubby and I don't have to eat catfood during our retirement. Enough so that if our friends call and say, "Hey, last minute cruise tickets, $500 each for 7 days to Bermuda, wanna go?" we can say, "Hell, yea, count us in!" without worrying if we'll be able to pay the taxes on the house next quarter.
The other day someone asked me if I'd rather have a chauffer or a housekeeper.
I like to drive. I wouldn't want someone to drive me around. I wouldn't even get a new car until I needed one; I love my 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe!
But I hate housework. I hate laundry. I hate scrubbing the tub. In fact, the other day, when I was working from home and when I do, I still got up before 6am to shower and dress. I went to Starbucks and bought myself a caramel macchiato and a slice of banana walnut bread. Then I went home and went to work. I went to the doctor in the middle of the day (the reason I was working from home) and came home after lunch. I made myself a sandwich, ate while I checked emails, then went upstairs to use the potty. In the afternoon we get a lot of sun in the main bathroom, and I noticed I'd forgotten to pull the shower curtain closed. I walked over there to close it and happened to look down.
How can a tub/shower get so darned dirty when you're using soap and water in it twice a day?!?!? So down on my hands and knees I go, scrubbing soap scum and me scum off the tub, cursing the whole time: "Sure, $17 in lottery tickets isn't enough to win! The first thing I'd do is get a housekeeper! I hate scrubbing the tub; I'd rather clean the toilet! This sucks!" Interspersed with words I say out loud but won't type on my blog because they're not nice words...
Oh, by the way, don't ask me to choose between a housekeeper and a chef, 'cause then I'd have to win more money so I could have both, because the closest I am to a cook is my maiden name.
Cook.
Good luck if you're playing, and YAY!!! if you win!!! (Are we related?!? Or bestest friends?!?)
One woman said we can't just quit, that we have to come in and quit all together. No, we don't, but we will, until we each get our share, THEN, ladies and germs, I'M SO OUTTA HERE! The other three of us are ready to quit now, but can't, but since she's the one that walks to get the tickets...
I don't want to win $640MILLION. I just want to take home about $5million, $2million, enough to share with my sisters and my mom, and my kids, with the rest there to ensure hubby and I don't have to eat catfood during our retirement. Enough so that if our friends call and say, "Hey, last minute cruise tickets, $500 each for 7 days to Bermuda, wanna go?" we can say, "Hell, yea, count us in!" without worrying if we'll be able to pay the taxes on the house next quarter.
The other day someone asked me if I'd rather have a chauffer or a housekeeper.
H.O.U.S.E.K.E.E.P.E.R.
ALL THE WAY!!!
I like to drive. I wouldn't want someone to drive me around. I wouldn't even get a new car until I needed one; I love my 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe!
But I hate housework. I hate laundry. I hate scrubbing the tub. In fact, the other day, when I was working from home and when I do, I still got up before 6am to shower and dress. I went to Starbucks and bought myself a caramel macchiato and a slice of banana walnut bread. Then I went home and went to work. I went to the doctor in the middle of the day (the reason I was working from home) and came home after lunch. I made myself a sandwich, ate while I checked emails, then went upstairs to use the potty. In the afternoon we get a lot of sun in the main bathroom, and I noticed I'd forgotten to pull the shower curtain closed. I walked over there to close it and happened to look down.
How can a tub/shower get so darned dirty when you're using soap and water in it twice a day?!?!? So down on my hands and knees I go, scrubbing soap scum and me scum off the tub, cursing the whole time: "Sure, $17 in lottery tickets isn't enough to win! The first thing I'd do is get a housekeeper! I hate scrubbing the tub; I'd rather clean the toilet! This sucks!" Interspersed with words I say out loud but won't type on my blog because they're not nice words...
Oh, by the way, don't ask me to choose between a housekeeper and a chef, 'cause then I'd have to win more money so I could have both, because the closest I am to a cook is my maiden name.
Cook.
Good luck if you're playing, and YAY!!! if you win!!! (Are we related?!? Or bestest friends?!?)
Who knew???
Not me. I didn't know that Tuesday April 10 was National Siblings Day. Now that I know...
I'd like to take a moment to introduce you to my two (and a half!) wonderful siblings.
P
The older of my 2 younger sisters is about 5 years younger than me but about 25 years more active! She hikes, she walks, she does yoga and other exercises at home. She's also still wearing the same size she was wearing years ago, 8/10, or medium - which is officially 1/2 as large as my 14/16, or large/extra large.
Her hair is curly from the root to the tip, and as you know, the grass is always greener: I want her curly hair and she's always telling me I wouldn't want it if I had it!
She is a scientist, probably one of the two smartest people I know in this world, and probably the ONLY one I can say went to school straight through to her PhD and got a job in her field and stayed in her field to this day!
One of my favorite childhood memories of her was the day my parents brought her home from the hospital. It's such a vivid memory. My mom has a metal serving cart that happened to be outside the side door that day, with a yellow cotton skirt covering the lower shelves. I was in the kitchen and could see them carry her in the side door. It was a beautiful June day, warm and so very sunny, and my baby sister had curly red hair!!! (It's not red anymore, but it sure was the day she came home, especially in that sunlight!)
She has had a grand total of 5 cats and 3 dogs over the years (and there are still 2 dogs and 2 cats in her family today!). [Correct me if I missed a cat here or there, P!] She has the biggest heart I know and actually rescued her most recent cat from the jaws of a dog, at great potential risk to her own self!
She has traveled quite a bit, both in Central America and in Europe. She spent a semester in Cambridge University. That's right, in England. (Told you she was smart!)
She cooks really healthy food for herself (yet another way we have nothing in common) and at the complete, far opposite side of the food spectrum, actually LIKES tofu. (Don't even TRY the ole "it takes on the taste of whatever you cook it with" 'cause I've tried it and I DON'T like it!)
She has a memory like an elephant, never forgets a thing! She is the best of all of us at remembering to send cards for holidays and birthdays, but I feel so much better that this year, she had to email my hubby for his birthday - time got away from her and she forgot to send a card. She's human!!! Yay!!!
I'm so very proud of her and I love her so very much.
C
C is my baby sister and will always be my "baby" sister. In fact, whenever anyone asks me how old she is, I have to do the math. It's IMPOSSIBLE that my baby sister could be "that old." (Don't take that the wrong way, C!)
When I think of my earliest memories of her, they include not really seeing her when she came home from the hospital because she was a preemie and they had to keep her away from her germy older sisters until she was strong enough. So we had long, heavy, floor to ceiling drapes covering the doorways to keep us (and our germs) away from her.
And another one of those vivid, Polaroid moments is her platinum blonde, pageboy haircut. She had Marilyn Monroe blonde hair!!! She doesn't have that hair color anymore either, but she had beautiful silky, thick medium brown hair. The grass is always greener, remember?
She is smart as a whip, too, but has the added bonus of being an artist, too. She has created some beautiful canvases, and there are two that especially stand out: one of our childhood dog, and another of Jesus. She was offered a gallery show but that never happened. I really wish she'd take up her brushes again: [HEY, C - I'm trying all sorts of art journaling myself. Why not come up to the lake one day with me and E and we can art together!!!]
She had my nephew in 1990 and my niece in 1992 and they are the two best gifts I've ever gotten. I love them so much, and they just wouldn't be the gorgeous, smart 20-somethings they are today without their mom.
She did some freelance work for my company many years ago and then came on board as an in-house employee. Those were my favorite work years, actually spending time with her every day. I never felt closer to her. I look back at those days so fondly, wishing we were STILL working together.
She went through a painful divorce and I hope I was there for her like I wanted to be. She is in a relationship now and if she's happy, I'm happy! I like T and they bought a beautiful home a couple of years ago - I'm happy for her.
I'm so very proud of her and I love her so very much.
R
R is actually my cousin but we grew up so close that I try to find cousin/brother cards for him for each holiday. Not surprisingly there aren't a lot of cards with a sentiment that reads, "Thanks for being the best cousin/almost-brother on earth!" He is fodder for a lot of stories, though, as evidenced here...
His mom and my mom were sisters (2 of 3, just like me and mine!) and my Cioci E and my Babci came over almost every night during the week to have tea with mom, and R would always tag along. I remember so clearly having to go to bed at 8:30/9:00pm but HE could watch Family on TV, or Starsky and Hutch. That wasn't right - he was YOUNGER than me! Why was HE allowed???
My strongest visual memory of him? Platinum blonde surfer hair, and a week or two at his Seaside Heights beach house every summer. (Loved his outside shower!) There was the day he decided we should cross the street and swing on the swing on his neighbor's front lawn. We heard our moms calling us for lunch (soup, I believe) and ran across the street. We got caught. Our punishment for crossing the street alone at 6 years old? Kneeling on dried beans in the corner behind the front door and getting spanked with my aunt's black patent leather belt. I don't think I crossed the street alone again until I was 16!
Then there's my 8th grade birthday, when we were waiting for him and my aunt and my grandmother to come over for birthday cake, and they never showed up 'cause he had to go and break his leg playing basketball. His timing sucked.
He was a sleepwalker. We were at the beach and he woke up out of a sound sleep, picked up a baseball bat and headed for the back door. He peeked out the door, saw all was well, went back to his room, put down the bat and hopped back into bed to sleep the rest of the night away.
And my scar... Dad left for work and told us not to go into the garage. R had to go into the garage. So I followed him in, kicked him out, and slammed the door, staying on the inside. He stood outside the door, mugging for the cameras (!), and I got mad and punched him in the face. Through the glass window. I can still remember him running into the house, crying that a couple measly pieces of glass hit him in the face and "Krys punched me through the window!" (You little crybaby, you!) I was dripping blood behind him and wound up with 6 stitches and a scar on my right hand, but all you'll ever hear from him is that the nurses had to use tape to pull the glass out of his forehead and it hurt... Waa, waa, waa. He got a lollipop, and me, the girl with stitches, didn't.
He dated a girl named P who I REALLY didn't like; she was a drinker and turned him into a drinker, too. My favorite memory was the day he told me they broke up and I said, "Good, now I can tell you I never liked her."
He married M and they've given me another smart, beautiful/handsome niece and nephew. Love you guys, too!
I'd like to take a moment to introduce you to my two (and a half!) wonderful siblings.
P
The older of my 2 younger sisters is about 5 years younger than me but about 25 years more active! She hikes, she walks, she does yoga and other exercises at home. She's also still wearing the same size she was wearing years ago, 8/10, or medium - which is officially 1/2 as large as my 14/16, or large/extra large.
Her hair is curly from the root to the tip, and as you know, the grass is always greener: I want her curly hair and she's always telling me I wouldn't want it if I had it!
She is a scientist, probably one of the two smartest people I know in this world, and probably the ONLY one I can say went to school straight through to her PhD and got a job in her field and stayed in her field to this day!
One of my favorite childhood memories of her was the day my parents brought her home from the hospital. It's such a vivid memory. My mom has a metal serving cart that happened to be outside the side door that day, with a yellow cotton skirt covering the lower shelves. I was in the kitchen and could see them carry her in the side door. It was a beautiful June day, warm and so very sunny, and my baby sister had curly red hair!!! (It's not red anymore, but it sure was the day she came home, especially in that sunlight!)
She has had a grand total of 5 cats and 3 dogs over the years (and there are still 2 dogs and 2 cats in her family today!). [Correct me if I missed a cat here or there, P!] She has the biggest heart I know and actually rescued her most recent cat from the jaws of a dog, at great potential risk to her own self!
She has traveled quite a bit, both in Central America and in Europe. She spent a semester in Cambridge University. That's right, in England. (Told you she was smart!)
She cooks really healthy food for herself (yet another way we have nothing in common) and at the complete, far opposite side of the food spectrum, actually LIKES tofu. (Don't even TRY the ole "it takes on the taste of whatever you cook it with" 'cause I've tried it and I DON'T like it!)
She has a memory like an elephant, never forgets a thing! She is the best of all of us at remembering to send cards for holidays and birthdays, but I feel so much better that this year, she had to email my hubby for his birthday - time got away from her and she forgot to send a card. She's human!!! Yay!!!
I'm so very proud of her and I love her so very much.
C
C is my baby sister and will always be my "baby" sister. In fact, whenever anyone asks me how old she is, I have to do the math. It's IMPOSSIBLE that my baby sister could be "that old." (Don't take that the wrong way, C!)
When I think of my earliest memories of her, they include not really seeing her when she came home from the hospital because she was a preemie and they had to keep her away from her germy older sisters until she was strong enough. So we had long, heavy, floor to ceiling drapes covering the doorways to keep us (and our germs) away from her.
And another one of those vivid, Polaroid moments is her platinum blonde, pageboy haircut. She had Marilyn Monroe blonde hair!!! She doesn't have that hair color anymore either, but she had beautiful silky, thick medium brown hair. The grass is always greener, remember?
She is smart as a whip, too, but has the added bonus of being an artist, too. She has created some beautiful canvases, and there are two that especially stand out: one of our childhood dog, and another of Jesus. She was offered a gallery show but that never happened. I really wish she'd take up her brushes again: [HEY, C - I'm trying all sorts of art journaling myself. Why not come up to the lake one day with me and E and we can art together!!!]
She had my nephew in 1990 and my niece in 1992 and they are the two best gifts I've ever gotten. I love them so much, and they just wouldn't be the gorgeous, smart 20-somethings they are today without their mom.
She did some freelance work for my company many years ago and then came on board as an in-house employee. Those were my favorite work years, actually spending time with her every day. I never felt closer to her. I look back at those days so fondly, wishing we were STILL working together.
She went through a painful divorce and I hope I was there for her like I wanted to be. She is in a relationship now and if she's happy, I'm happy! I like T and they bought a beautiful home a couple of years ago - I'm happy for her.
I'm so very proud of her and I love her so very much.
R
R is actually my cousin but we grew up so close that I try to find cousin/brother cards for him for each holiday. Not surprisingly there aren't a lot of cards with a sentiment that reads, "Thanks for being the best cousin/almost-brother on earth!" He is fodder for a lot of stories, though, as evidenced here...
His mom and my mom were sisters (2 of 3, just like me and mine!) and my Cioci E and my Babci came over almost every night during the week to have tea with mom, and R would always tag along. I remember so clearly having to go to bed at 8:30/9:00pm but HE could watch Family on TV, or Starsky and Hutch. That wasn't right - he was YOUNGER than me! Why was HE allowed???
My strongest visual memory of him? Platinum blonde surfer hair, and a week or two at his Seaside Heights beach house every summer. (Loved his outside shower!) There was the day he decided we should cross the street and swing on the swing on his neighbor's front lawn. We heard our moms calling us for lunch (soup, I believe) and ran across the street. We got caught. Our punishment for crossing the street alone at 6 years old? Kneeling on dried beans in the corner behind the front door and getting spanked with my aunt's black patent leather belt. I don't think I crossed the street alone again until I was 16!
Then there's my 8th grade birthday, when we were waiting for him and my aunt and my grandmother to come over for birthday cake, and they never showed up 'cause he had to go and break his leg playing basketball. His timing sucked.
He was a sleepwalker. We were at the beach and he woke up out of a sound sleep, picked up a baseball bat and headed for the back door. He peeked out the door, saw all was well, went back to his room, put down the bat and hopped back into bed to sleep the rest of the night away.
And my scar... Dad left for work and told us not to go into the garage. R had to go into the garage. So I followed him in, kicked him out, and slammed the door, staying on the inside. He stood outside the door, mugging for the cameras (!), and I got mad and punched him in the face. Through the glass window. I can still remember him running into the house, crying that a couple measly pieces of glass hit him in the face and "Krys punched me through the window!" (You little crybaby, you!) I was dripping blood behind him and wound up with 6 stitches and a scar on my right hand, but all you'll ever hear from him is that the nurses had to use tape to pull the glass out of his forehead and it hurt... Waa, waa, waa. He got a lollipop, and me, the girl with stitches, didn't.
He dated a girl named P who I REALLY didn't like; she was a drinker and turned him into a drinker, too. My favorite memory was the day he told me they broke up and I said, "Good, now I can tell you I never liked her."
He married M and they've given me another smart, beautiful/handsome niece and nephew. Love you guys, too!
Happy Siblings Day to my sisters and my "cousin/brother"!! I love you all!!!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Twas the week before Easter...
Hubby's school was closed the week BEFORE Easter. Guess the Board saved themselves having to give the teachers an extra day off by not having to give them Good Friday PLUS a holiday week...
Anyway, I took off the Monday and the Thursday and Friday of last week. Thought I'd post a few photos from the week and insert the stories (you know there are stories!!!)...
I have no story about Shemar Moore other than to say he is probably the best looking man on television, in my humble opinion... Now remember, Clint doesn't have a regular show these days...
My sister's dog Duncan is on the right, with the blue leash. She just got his mom, Beanie, last weekend. The breeder gave her up because she had a bad last litter and hemmorhaged badly and isn't show quality anymore. Sounds a bit harsh, but sister is happy to have another doggie around the house!
On Holy Saturday, Mom and Little Sister C and I met at church, St. Valentine's in Bloomfield. They had a Food Blessing, a lovely tradition we've been participating in all my life. You bring your food for Easter dinner, or a representation of what you'll be eating, and you get it blessed by the priest. We brought eggs, ham, kielbase, butter, salt/pepper, wine, candy for the baby's basket, holy water, etc. It's nice to see newer, younger members of the church come with their baskets, decorated with doilies and napkins and flowers and herbs, not just the older Polish ladies who are left...
We've both been noticing our memories aren't what they used to be so we stopped in The Vitamin Shoppe to see what they had to say. They suggested after Jack finishes his current bottle of Focus Factor, that he try some Acetyl-L-Carnitine (?), 500mg. So that's the plan...
I spent Holy Thursday coloring my eggs. I read the instructions and paid attention to them. Left the eggs in the food coloring for the full 5 minutes, and was pleased with the colors this year. Instead of weak, blah colors, they were deeper and who knew? 5 minutes dying time and the colors are better than if you pull them out in 2 or 3 minutes.
I went to get my hair cut AND I got new glasses, all in the same week. Purple glasses, with green fading to yellow on the temple bar corners. Love purple!
This is my new favorite shampoo/conditioner duo, Yucca Root Shampooing Cream and Conditioning Cream, by Nick Chavez. It really makes my highlighted hair healthy and shiny and full.
Here's my new haircut... I really liked the highlighting she did, and that was weeks ago. She got real close; I have almost no roots showing!!! (Pardon the double chin - NOT the most flattering pose!!!)
Here are some forsythia bushes on the road leading to our lake house. I love this road in early spring, with these bushes flowering, and in fall, when the leaves on the trees have turned brilliant red and orange and yellow, but haven't fallen to the ground yet...
Here's my new Tom Bihn bag. Expensive, yes. But apparently it will last forever! I like the idea of forever :-D
Anyway, I took off the Monday and the Thursday and Friday of last week. Thought I'd post a few photos from the week and insert the stories (you know there are stories!!!)...
I have no story about Shemar Moore other than to say he is probably the best looking man on television, in my humble opinion... Now remember, Clint doesn't have a regular show these days...
My sister's dog Duncan is on the right, with the blue leash. She just got his mom, Beanie, last weekend. The breeder gave her up because she had a bad last litter and hemmorhaged badly and isn't show quality anymore. Sounds a bit harsh, but sister is happy to have another doggie around the house!
On Holy Saturday, Mom and Little Sister C and I met at church, St. Valentine's in Bloomfield. They had a Food Blessing, a lovely tradition we've been participating in all my life. You bring your food for Easter dinner, or a representation of what you'll be eating, and you get it blessed by the priest. We brought eggs, ham, kielbase, butter, salt/pepper, wine, candy for the baby's basket, holy water, etc. It's nice to see newer, younger members of the church come with their baskets, decorated with doilies and napkins and flowers and herbs, not just the older Polish ladies who are left...
We've both been noticing our memories aren't what they used to be so we stopped in The Vitamin Shoppe to see what they had to say. They suggested after Jack finishes his current bottle of Focus Factor, that he try some Acetyl-L-Carnitine (?), 500mg. So that's the plan...
I spent Holy Thursday coloring my eggs. I read the instructions and paid attention to them. Left the eggs in the food coloring for the full 5 minutes, and was pleased with the colors this year. Instead of weak, blah colors, they were deeper and who knew? 5 minutes dying time and the colors are better than if you pull them out in 2 or 3 minutes.
I went to get my hair cut AND I got new glasses, all in the same week. Purple glasses, with green fading to yellow on the temple bar corners. Love purple!
This is my new favorite shampoo/conditioner duo, Yucca Root Shampooing Cream and Conditioning Cream, by Nick Chavez. It really makes my highlighted hair healthy and shiny and full.
Here's my new haircut... I really liked the highlighting she did, and that was weeks ago. She got real close; I have almost no roots showing!!! (Pardon the double chin - NOT the most flattering pose!!!)
Here are some forsythia bushes on the road leading to our lake house. I love this road in early spring, with these bushes flowering, and in fall, when the leaves on the trees have turned brilliant red and orange and yellow, but haven't fallen to the ground yet...
Here's my new Tom Bihn bag. Expensive, yes. But apparently it will last forever! I like the idea of forever :-D
Monday, April 09, 2012
It Gets Better at Brigham Young University
I can't pretend to "understand" being gay because I'm not.
I can't understand it any more than my gay friends can understand being heterosexual.
My worries and fears about friends or family who are or might be gay have nothing to do with "you shouldn't be" or "how can you be."
My worries and fears about friends or family who are or might be gay are solely and completely based on the bias and prejudice they will face in their lives. It's not "okay" yet, people still "notice." I love my family and friends, and I don't want them to feel unloved, not good enough, not accepted, not by anyone.
Until people don't "notice," they can look at you, point in your direction, they can notice.
Or they can think they can.
I pray for each and every one of you, even those of you I don't know personally: be yourselves and be strong.
Please take 9 minutes to watch this video.
It.Will.Get.Better.
I can't understand it any more than my gay friends can understand being heterosexual.
My worries and fears about friends or family who are or might be gay have nothing to do with "you shouldn't be" or "how can you be."
My worries and fears about friends or family who are or might be gay are solely and completely based on the bias and prejudice they will face in their lives. It's not "okay" yet, people still "notice." I love my family and friends, and I don't want them to feel unloved, not good enough, not accepted, not by anyone.
Until people don't "notice," they can look at you, point in your direction, they can notice.
Or they can think they can.
I pray for each and every one of you, even those of you I don't know personally: be yourselves and be strong.
Please take 9 minutes to watch this video.
It.Will.Get.Better.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
It's been a tough couple of weeks...
1. One of my credit cards got hacked.
2. I have spent at least 48 hours dealing with that, online, on the phone, and in person at the police station.
3. Hubby hurt his back this weekend but didn't tell me because he didn't want me to, and I quote, "yell at him."
4. For the record, I have never yelled at him.
5. Until he said that.
6. I read my middle sister's blogpost today and copied her. I went to the Tom Bihn website and bought a bag, a kiwi and black Swift. Click on that link to see it.
7. I am not really caught up at work, but pretty darned close to it.
8. Our tickets are booked for a trip to New Orleans (yay!) - business trip for hubby and I get to be the "plus one."
9. I don't have to go to Miami for sales conference; it was cancelled.
10. I spent 2 days cleaning out my closet, getting rid of about 15 pairs of black and/or gray pants that didn't fit or were out of style. I have room to bring down spring clothes now.
11. We went into Hoboken to have dinner with friends last night. So much fun!
12. A friend fell and broke BOTH bones in her leg, just at the ankle, so she's been laid up for weeks. I've been leaving work early (that translates to "on time" in my case) to visit her at least once a week.
13. Just put in for a 1/2 day this Friday, and days off next Monday, Thursday and Friday. School is closed so this will either be quality time with my husband or I'll be looking for ways to stay out of his way if he's busy working.
14. Spending Saturday with friend E, scrapping and arting. Yay! She doesn't know this yet, but will be bringing her b'day presents with me. Her b'day is 04/04 but I won't see her during the week... She's been sick for a few days, and is still under the weather...
15. Tried Chobani Greek yogurt and liked it.
16. Tried Voskos Greek yogurt and didn't. At least not the blueberry flavor. There's not enough fruit in it.
17. Going to EN&T doctor tonight so he can do a cat scan on hubby's sinuses.
18. Literally a 30 second procedure in that same doctor's office two weeks ago was labeled "surgery" and they charged our insurance company $545 for it!!! Yes, Mom, I should have become a doctor!
19. My baby sister will be visiting St. Louis on business for a week. Wish I could go with her and see friend C again!!!
20. I bought a ticket for the MegaMillions lottery - $363 million! What I could do with... but that's another blogpost...
2. I have spent at least 48 hours dealing with that, online, on the phone, and in person at the police station.
3. Hubby hurt his back this weekend but didn't tell me because he didn't want me to, and I quote, "yell at him."
4. For the record, I have never yelled at him.
5. Until he said that.
6. I read my middle sister's blogpost today and copied her. I went to the Tom Bihn website and bought a bag, a kiwi and black Swift. Click on that link to see it.
7. I am not really caught up at work, but pretty darned close to it.
8. Our tickets are booked for a trip to New Orleans (yay!) - business trip for hubby and I get to be the "plus one."
9. I don't have to go to Miami for sales conference; it was cancelled.
10. I spent 2 days cleaning out my closet, getting rid of about 15 pairs of black and/or gray pants that didn't fit or were out of style. I have room to bring down spring clothes now.
11. We went into Hoboken to have dinner with friends last night. So much fun!
12. A friend fell and broke BOTH bones in her leg, just at the ankle, so she's been laid up for weeks. I've been leaving work early (that translates to "on time" in my case) to visit her at least once a week.
13. Just put in for a 1/2 day this Friday, and days off next Monday, Thursday and Friday. School is closed so this will either be quality time with my husband or I'll be looking for ways to stay out of his way if he's busy working.
14. Spending Saturday with friend E, scrapping and arting. Yay! She doesn't know this yet, but will be bringing her b'day presents with me. Her b'day is 04/04 but I won't see her during the week... She's been sick for a few days, and is still under the weather...
15. Tried Chobani Greek yogurt and liked it.
16. Tried Voskos Greek yogurt and didn't. At least not the blueberry flavor. There's not enough fruit in it.
17. Going to EN&T doctor tonight so he can do a cat scan on hubby's sinuses.
18. Literally a 30 second procedure in that same doctor's office two weeks ago was labeled "surgery" and they charged our insurance company $545 for it!!! Yes, Mom, I should have become a doctor!
19. My baby sister will be visiting St. Louis on business for a week. Wish I could go with her and see friend C again!!!
20. I bought a ticket for the MegaMillions lottery - $363 million! What I could do with... but that's another blogpost...
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
God's Grace
I got this from my sister-in-law this morning... Rather than "pass it along," I thought I'd post it here, where the people that matter to me will read it...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I wonder how many people will delete this without reading it because of the title. It is a shame but this message is very true. Hope you are all as blessed as I was by this story.
There once was a man named George Thomas, preacher in a small Texas town. One Sunday morning he came to the Church building carrying a rusty, bent, old birdcage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, the Preacher began to speak.
"I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright.
I stopped the lad and asked, "What do you have there, son?"
"Just some old birds," came the reply.
"What are you going to do with them?" I asked.
"Take 'em home and have fun with 'em," he answered. "I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time."
"But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?"
"Oh, I got some cats," said the little boy. "They like birds. I'll take 'em to them."
The preacher was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?"
"Huh?? !!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They’re just plain old field birds. They don't sing. They ain't even pretty!"
"How much?" the preacher asked again.
The boy sized up the preacher as if he were crazy and said, "$10?"
The preacher reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. The preacher picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free. Well, that explained the empty birdcage on the pulpit, and then the preacher began to tell this story:
"One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. "Yes, sir, I just caught a world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all!"
"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.
Satan replied, "Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I'm gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!"
"And what will you do when you are done with them?"
Jesus asked.. "Oh, I'll kill 'em," Satan glared proudly.
"How much do you want for them?" Jesus asked.
"Oh, you don't want those people. They ain't no good. Why, you'll take them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you. You don't want those people!!"
"How much?" He asked again.
Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your blood, tears and your life."
Jesus said, "DONE!" Then He paid the price.
The preacher picked up the cage and walked from the pulpit.
I pray, for everyone who sends this on, whether to his or her entire address book or just a few, that God will bless them in a special way.
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I wonder how many people will delete this without reading it because of the title. It is a shame but this message is very true. Hope you are all as blessed as I was by this story.
There once was a man named George Thomas, preacher in a small Texas town. One Sunday morning he came to the Church building carrying a rusty, bent, old birdcage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, the Preacher began to speak.
"I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright.
I stopped the lad and asked, "What do you have there, son?"
"Just some old birds," came the reply.
"What are you going to do with them?" I asked.
"Take 'em home and have fun with 'em," he answered. "I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time."
"But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?"
"Oh, I got some cats," said the little boy. "They like birds. I'll take 'em to them."
The preacher was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?"
"Huh?? !!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They’re just plain old field birds. They don't sing. They ain't even pretty!"
"How much?" the preacher asked again.
The boy sized up the preacher as if he were crazy and said, "$10?"
The preacher reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. The preacher picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free. Well, that explained the empty birdcage on the pulpit, and then the preacher began to tell this story:
"One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. "Yes, sir, I just caught a world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all!"
"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.
Satan replied, "Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I'm gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!"
"And what will you do when you are done with them?"
Jesus asked.. "Oh, I'll kill 'em," Satan glared proudly.
"How much do you want for them?" Jesus asked.
"Oh, you don't want those people. They ain't no good. Why, you'll take them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you. You don't want those people!!"
"How much?" He asked again.
Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your blood, tears and your life."
Jesus said, "DONE!" Then He paid the price.
The preacher picked up the cage and walked from the pulpit.
I pray, for everyone who sends this on, whether to his or her entire address book or just a few, that God will bless them in a special way.
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?
Monday, March 19, 2012
Something never before seen in my house...
A C.L.E.A.N. and decluttered closet!
I tried on every pair of black and gray pants I own, and put 1/2 of them in a pile to donate! HALF of them! I hung the rest of them on nice pants hangers, along with the 2 brown pairs I own and hung them on the left side of the closet. I took out all the heavy winter sweaters and left a few lightweight and mediumweight sweaters there for the rest of winter/early spring. I took out the jackets I won't be wearing because they're for winter, not spring, and cleaned out the sweatshirts and t-shirts and casual clothes. I packed up what I won't be using until next winter, made a giant bag to donate, and will begin working on shoes and bring down spring clothes later in the week.
I have been feeling heavy lately, not only pound-wise but stuff-wise. I have been saying I want to discard it all and start new, but realistically I know we can't do that. So I've decided to just get rid of what I don't want, need, or wear, or haven't worn in 2 or 3 years or more (yes, I have clothes that old that I take out and put away each season). I will be hanging frames, with or without pictures, because if the frames are on the wall in the hallway, I won't want them to all be empty and that will force me to choose and mat my pictures.
I have already gone through our collection of water bottles and gotten rid of NINE of them! And I still have probably a 1/2 dozen in the cabinet! Next on the kitchen list is mugs. I have publisher mugs, movie mugs, coffee mugs from my mother-in-law, mugs both J and I bought when we lived alone.
I will be choosing a project a week, perhaps the junk drawer, perhaps the pantry, perhaps my lingerie drawer - no matter what, I will be spring cleaning to beat the band, until I am lighter in more ways than pounds!!!
Yay, me!!!
I tried on every pair of black and gray pants I own, and put 1/2 of them in a pile to donate! HALF of them! I hung the rest of them on nice pants hangers, along with the 2 brown pairs I own and hung them on the left side of the closet. I took out all the heavy winter sweaters and left a few lightweight and mediumweight sweaters there for the rest of winter/early spring. I took out the jackets I won't be wearing because they're for winter, not spring, and cleaned out the sweatshirts and t-shirts and casual clothes. I packed up what I won't be using until next winter, made a giant bag to donate, and will begin working on shoes and bring down spring clothes later in the week.
I have been feeling heavy lately, not only pound-wise but stuff-wise. I have been saying I want to discard it all and start new, but realistically I know we can't do that. So I've decided to just get rid of what I don't want, need, or wear, or haven't worn in 2 or 3 years or more (yes, I have clothes that old that I take out and put away each season). I will be hanging frames, with or without pictures, because if the frames are on the wall in the hallway, I won't want them to all be empty and that will force me to choose and mat my pictures.
I have already gone through our collection of water bottles and gotten rid of NINE of them! And I still have probably a 1/2 dozen in the cabinet! Next on the kitchen list is mugs. I have publisher mugs, movie mugs, coffee mugs from my mother-in-law, mugs both J and I bought when we lived alone.
I will be choosing a project a week, perhaps the junk drawer, perhaps the pantry, perhaps my lingerie drawer - no matter what, I will be spring cleaning to beat the band, until I am lighter in more ways than pounds!!!
Yay, me!!!
Monday, March 12, 2012
The man makes stools...
I saw this video on Dooce.com and, well, if what people say makes THIS guy feel good, what he DOES makes me feel insignificant... It's only about 2 or 3 minutes long, so if you have the time to spare...
http://vimeo.com/23095780
http://vimeo.com/23095780
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
We need to stop this madman.
http://vimeo.com/invisible/kony2012
If you have 30 minutes, watch this video.
I was seeing links to it all over FB and Twitter yesterday and I wondered what or who Kony2012 was so I watched the video today.
He is an animal. A criminal. A bad guy. A REALLY bad guy.
He needs to be stopped.
This is a Wikipedia link to Joseph Kony: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kony
It will take you much less than 30 minutes to read about him. It will take you MUCH MUCH less than 30 minutes to be horrified, and I hope, moved to act. If you can't donate, if you can't put posters up, you can spread the word. Make people aware.
I never thought I'd say these words, but...
Thank you, President Obama, for acting. I hope it makes a difference.
If you have 30 minutes, watch this video.
I was seeing links to it all over FB and Twitter yesterday and I wondered what or who Kony2012 was so I watched the video today.
He is an animal. A criminal. A bad guy. A REALLY bad guy.
He needs to be stopped.
This is a Wikipedia link to Joseph Kony: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kony
It will take you much less than 30 minutes to read about him. It will take you MUCH MUCH less than 30 minutes to be horrified, and I hope, moved to act. If you can't donate, if you can't put posters up, you can spread the word. Make people aware.
I never thought I'd say these words, but...
Thank you, President Obama, for acting. I hope it makes a difference.
Saturday, March 03, 2012
Two fireplaces in February!!!
I had this post ready for 2 weeks but had some trouble uploading the photos from work, so it had to wait until I had some uninterrupted time at home with my laptop... Jack was sick yesterday; he even stayed home from work. (You KNOW he had to be feeling not-so-good! In fact, he's taking a nap now; we're staying in today so he can get his strength back.)
After spending a few weekends doing the bedroom fireplace, it took hubby ONE.DAY to put up the stacked stone on the sitting room fireplace.
I know you're all thinking he's incredible, and he is, but we were working with an advantage: the gas fireplaces were installed by the fireplace people when we put on the addition, so all he had to do regarding prep work was remove sheetrock, add tileboard, mix mastic, and slap those tiles up there! The tiles were 4-5 stones high, and 24" long, so that made it a LOT easier. Also, FYI, we bought the bedroom rock 2 years ago but just got to the project this month; they were even blocks, all rectangular. The sitting room fireplace stone was ordered a couple of weeks ago, picked up on the Friday of our long weekend, and they've improved the design (yes, it's a different company, too): they had interlocking ends, about 2" long on each 24" tile, so you see far fewer "seams" where we had to cut and modify to fill in spaces.
I am not the person to describe this in technical detail, so I hope that was enough of an explanation that you could figure it out!!! Suffice it to say, I think these new fireplace surrounds add a LOT of oomph to those two rooms!!!
This is the one in our bedroom. It's not a deep mantle; neither of them is. I'm going to lean framed photos and/or a mirror against it, since hanging photos on a rock wall would mean damaging the rock...
This is the one on the other side, in the sitting room. The fireplace is see-through and throws heat on both sides. I'll put framed pictures on this side, too, most probably the focal one will be the painting we had done in Vegas by one of those street painters. You can click on this link to see what I'm talking about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzi_BGnY0Vc We had one done in greens and browns, trees and a lake, to remind us of our lake house... I'll take a photo of it and post it when I can...
After spending a few weekends doing the bedroom fireplace, it took hubby ONE.DAY to put up the stacked stone on the sitting room fireplace.
I know you're all thinking he's incredible, and he is, but we were working with an advantage: the gas fireplaces were installed by the fireplace people when we put on the addition, so all he had to do regarding prep work was remove sheetrock, add tileboard, mix mastic, and slap those tiles up there! The tiles were 4-5 stones high, and 24" long, so that made it a LOT easier. Also, FYI, we bought the bedroom rock 2 years ago but just got to the project this month; they were even blocks, all rectangular. The sitting room fireplace stone was ordered a couple of weeks ago, picked up on the Friday of our long weekend, and they've improved the design (yes, it's a different company, too): they had interlocking ends, about 2" long on each 24" tile, so you see far fewer "seams" where we had to cut and modify to fill in spaces.
I am not the person to describe this in technical detail, so I hope that was enough of an explanation that you could figure it out!!! Suffice it to say, I think these new fireplace surrounds add a LOT of oomph to those two rooms!!!
This is the one in our bedroom. It's not a deep mantle; neither of them is. I'm going to lean framed photos and/or a mirror against it, since hanging photos on a rock wall would mean damaging the rock...
This is the one on the other side, in the sitting room. The fireplace is see-through and throws heat on both sides. I'll put framed pictures on this side, too, most probably the focal one will be the painting we had done in Vegas by one of those street painters. You can click on this link to see what I'm talking about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzi_BGnY0Vc We had one done in greens and browns, trees and a lake, to remind us of our lake house... I'll take a photo of it and post it when I can...
Friday, March 02, 2012
The most patient and docile cat ever!
I am not a cat person. Sure, my sisters and my mom have cats that I can tolerate, in fact, I even like them.
But Bosn? The star of this You Tube video?
It's official - this is my most favorite cat ever!!!
But Bosn? The star of this You Tube video?
It's official - this is my most favorite cat ever!!!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
My art project for this weekend...
I follow Kayla Aimee's blog - you will too, once you fall in love with her baby Scarlette - and she recently sent out a mom's plea for projects to do with her little girl. You see, Scarlette and her mom are quarantined for 6 months - they're 4 months into it already so there's a HUGE light at the end of the tunnel - but she needs to keep her very active baby busy! And they don't have the distraction of wandering the mall, going to the library, going to a crop... Scarlette was very premature, in NICU for a long time (5 months or so, KA?), and to keep her healthy, mom and baby are sort of housebound...
WELL, someone sent her this awesome project. Put some different color paints in a ziplock bag, shut it securely, and let baby Scarlette "paint" a piece of modern baby art by squeezing and pressing... KA thought to put a piece of cardstock in there and rescued it pre-destruction, then gave the bag'o'paint back to Scarlette. A regular piece of modern art!
So I'm going to do the same thing this weekend, and create some Project Life inserts, some card bases, some backgrounds to use in my art journal and in my scrapbooks! Thanks, KA, for the idea! (And thanks, too, to whoever sent the idea to Kayla Aimee!)
http://www.kaylaaimee.com/2012/02/ziplock-bag-painting-1st-art-project/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kaylaaimee+%28kayla+aimee%3A+only+slightly+neurotic%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
WELL, someone sent her this awesome project. Put some different color paints in a ziplock bag, shut it securely, and let baby Scarlette "paint" a piece of modern baby art by squeezing and pressing... KA thought to put a piece of cardstock in there and rescued it pre-destruction, then gave the bag'o'paint back to Scarlette. A regular piece of modern art!
So I'm going to do the same thing this weekend, and create some Project Life inserts, some card bases, some backgrounds to use in my art journal and in my scrapbooks! Thanks, KA, for the idea! (And thanks, too, to whoever sent the idea to Kayla Aimee!)
http://www.kaylaaimee.com/2012/02/ziplock-bag-painting-1st-art-project/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kaylaaimee+%28kayla+aimee%3A+only+slightly+neurotic%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
Monday, February 13, 2012
The Day before Valentine's Day
I thought it might be a great day to write a post about my husband. He is one of the kindest, most thoughtful, gentle, hard-working, loving men I have ever met.
But I can't do it.
I've been reading some tremendous tributes, written by lovely women about their men, but I can't do it.
I tried. I erased this post more than once. I started it several times. I am struggling with the words, unable to put into black and white how he makes me feel.
We've been together (permanently) since 1993. We started dating in 1990, broke up twice (his call), but found our way back to each other each time.
We are not into PDAs, although we do hold hands and kiss each other hello and goodbye. We are not afraid to say "I love you" in front of family and friends, or even in front of strangers. We're not into huge romantic gestures, though, no big bouquets of red roses, no jewelry for each and every holiday, no pajamagrams or Vermont Teddy Bears. No big gifts, no big showy apologies, no big passionate fights.
In fact, we don't fight. We have no reason to fight. Some people have said that means one of us is lying, but it's quite simple: the same things are important to both of us - each other, the kids, our families. After that, what is there to fight about?
Yesterday was World Marriage Day and we renewed our vows in church. Married couples had to stand and repeat their vows in front of the congregation attending that Mass. I think we were the only couple in church to kiss each other when we were done. The words meant even more this time:
I joked with him again, he's stuck with me again! His response was, as always, "I'm not stuck with you, I chose you."
Even though were weren't young when we got married (I was 38 and he was 48), you don't really think about how little time you really have left with each other. Every day together today is one less together in the future, and I know I want to be with him for many, many, MANY more years. There was one day a few years ago when he was sick enough that he wanted to go the hospital, but even through that, he was up and moving under his own power. We got to the hospital and we were walking to the ER door and he stopped in his tracks and said he couldn't walk anymore. I had to leave him and get a wheelchair. I have NEVER felt so helpless and scared in my life. I have never felt the potential loss of him like I did that day, and Lord knows I don't ever want to feel that again. In fact, I keep on telling him I'd better go first...
I can't picture my life without him. I almost don't remember my life without him. I look back and say things like "If only we'd been together then..." or "You would have loved..." My life is full of him. He doesn't "complete me" (shades of Tom Cruise!) but we are better together than we are apart, we are happier together than we are apart, we would manage if we had to, but we don't want to be apart.
I'm very aware of how lucky I am to have him. And I know, deep in my heart, that he feels the same way, and he shows me each and every day, in so many tiny little ways. We don't need big gestures. It's enough that he reaches for my hand before we fall asleep at night. It's enough that he doesn't need to go out and have a good time with his buddies, that he wants me to go along. It's enough to see the "I love you" when he looks at me, even if for some reason he can't say it out loud at that moment. It's enough to hear "I love you."
He is enough for me. He is all I want.
I know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that he loves me. That he wants to spend the rest of his life with me. And that feeling? For me there are simply no words to describe how that makes me feel. I feel loved, cherished, honored, protected, cared for. I know he's proud of me, that he worries about me, that he wants no one but me. And that feeling, that confidence in our love for each other, that is the gift that keeps on giving every minute, every hour, every day.
Happy Valentine's Day, J!!!
But I can't do it.
I've been reading some tremendous tributes, written by lovely women about their men, but I can't do it.
I tried. I erased this post more than once. I started it several times. I am struggling with the words, unable to put into black and white how he makes me feel.
We've been together (permanently) since 1993. We started dating in 1990, broke up twice (his call), but found our way back to each other each time.
We are not into PDAs, although we do hold hands and kiss each other hello and goodbye. We are not afraid to say "I love you" in front of family and friends, or even in front of strangers. We're not into huge romantic gestures, though, no big bouquets of red roses, no jewelry for each and every holiday, no pajamagrams or Vermont Teddy Bears. No big gifts, no big showy apologies, no big passionate fights.
In fact, we don't fight. We have no reason to fight. Some people have said that means one of us is lying, but it's quite simple: the same things are important to both of us - each other, the kids, our families. After that, what is there to fight about?
Yesterday was World Marriage Day and we renewed our vows in church. Married couples had to stand and repeat their vows in front of the congregation attending that Mass. I think we were the only couple in church to kiss each other when we were done. The words meant even more this time:
to love and to cherish,
in good times and in bad,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
'til death do us part.
Even though were weren't young when we got married (I was 38 and he was 48), you don't really think about how little time you really have left with each other. Every day together today is one less together in the future, and I know I want to be with him for many, many, MANY more years. There was one day a few years ago when he was sick enough that he wanted to go the hospital, but even through that, he was up and moving under his own power. We got to the hospital and we were walking to the ER door and he stopped in his tracks and said he couldn't walk anymore. I had to leave him and get a wheelchair. I have NEVER felt so helpless and scared in my life. I have never felt the potential loss of him like I did that day, and Lord knows I don't ever want to feel that again. In fact, I keep on telling him I'd better go first...
I can't picture my life without him. I almost don't remember my life without him. I look back and say things like "If only we'd been together then..." or "You would have loved..." My life is full of him. He doesn't "complete me" (shades of Tom Cruise!) but we are better together than we are apart, we are happier together than we are apart, we would manage if we had to, but we don't want to be apart.
I'm very aware of how lucky I am to have him. And I know, deep in my heart, that he feels the same way, and he shows me each and every day, in so many tiny little ways. We don't need big gestures. It's enough that he reaches for my hand before we fall asleep at night. It's enough that he doesn't need to go out and have a good time with his buddies, that he wants me to go along. It's enough to see the "I love you" when he looks at me, even if for some reason he can't say it out loud at that moment. It's enough to hear "I love you."
He is enough for me. He is all I want.
I know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that he loves me. That he wants to spend the rest of his life with me. And that feeling? For me there are simply no words to describe how that makes me feel. I feel loved, cherished, honored, protected, cared for. I know he's proud of me, that he worries about me, that he wants no one but me. And that feeling, that confidence in our love for each other, that is the gift that keeps on giving every minute, every hour, every day.
Happy Valentine's Day, J!!!
Monday, February 06, 2012
$5000 richer, once removed...
THE GIANTS WON! 21-17! WE BEAT THE PATRIOTS!
And my darling daughter won $5000 in the football pool!
That's the same as me winning, right? Once removed?
I'm so excited for her! Her fiance posted "$5000!!!" on Facebook, so I replied with, "??? Did you win a football pool???" That's when he said it was my daughter who won!!!
It was an awesome game, and I'm so glad I watched it. It was a real nail biter, that's for sure, and while I can follow a game, I don't know all the rules and regulations. My daughter, however, does. We had gone out to dinner with the two of them last week, and S mentioned that they don't watch games together, in the same room, because she goes crazy! In fact, he said, she uses his clean socks and underwear to throw down flags during the game! So I asked her, when she called to tell us about her win, I asked how many flags were on the bedroom floor. She counted: "1, 2, 3,... 11, 12, 13!!!"
I wish she'd taken a picture of the floor!!!
And, by the way, THE SINGLE BEST SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL WAS (DRUM ROLL, PLEASE):
THE CLINT EASTWOOD/CHRYSLER COMMERCIAL. THE MAN IS H.O.T.
And my darling daughter won $5000 in the football pool!
That's the same as me winning, right? Once removed?
I'm so excited for her! Her fiance posted "$5000!!!" on Facebook, so I replied with, "??? Did you win a football pool???" That's when he said it was my daughter who won!!!
It was an awesome game, and I'm so glad I watched it. It was a real nail biter, that's for sure, and while I can follow a game, I don't know all the rules and regulations. My daughter, however, does. We had gone out to dinner with the two of them last week, and S mentioned that they don't watch games together, in the same room, because she goes crazy! In fact, he said, she uses his clean socks and underwear to throw down flags during the game! So I asked her, when she called to tell us about her win, I asked how many flags were on the bedroom floor. She counted: "1, 2, 3,... 11, 12, 13!!!"
I wish she'd taken a picture of the floor!!!
And, by the way, THE SINGLE BEST SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL WAS (DRUM ROLL, PLEASE):
THE CLINT EASTWOOD/CHRYSLER COMMERCIAL. THE MAN IS H.O.T.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Judging a Book by Its Cover
Judging a Book by Its Cover
This is an article in today's Shelf Awareness for Readers, Tuesday, January 24, 2012, Volume 1, Issue 62. It's interesting. Here are my favorite parts, in case you don't want to read the whole (short) article!
"On an airplane, do you notice what people are reading? Do you surreptitiously contort a bit to see a cover? Do you think about the (usually) men who are reading genre thrillers quite openly while women seem to hide romances? Same thing on the bus or subway or in cafes at lunchtime. Checking out book covers brings many pleasures; it also subtly imprints a book in your mind." - [Comment from Krys - This is the ONLY reason I read Room, by Emma Donoghue!]
"With e-books, there are no book covers. There's no tipping point reached by cover art, no visual validation of your own reading tastes. What will replace this passive advertising? Is it even a worry? A recent survey found a plateauing of e-book reader adoption (December sales notwithstanding)--52% of readers say they are "not at all likely" to buy an e-reader; additionally, e-reader owners buy almost as many printed books as e-books. [Comment from Krys - THANK YOU, JESUS! And btw, my sister gave me a gift card for Amazon and suggested I used it to buy a book or two for my Kindle Fire. I did, and I'll review below...] Good news for people who like cover art, for publishers who devote so much time and money to cover art, and for those of us who like to see what others are reading (or proclaim our own good taste). There are many good reasons to use e-books, but don't forget--it's really hard for authors to sign them."
Loved this article, and even though I have such strong opinions in favor of printed books, I'm so happy to hear that e-readers are STILL buying print editions, not just e-books.
So I bought Down the Darkest Road, by Tami Hoag, in e-format, thanks to the gift card from sister P. (Thanks, P!) I can't say that I'm a convert, and I am STILL a print girl, not an e-reader, but it wasn't so very horrible that I'll never read an e-book again. I may not be an e-reader, but I am a techno-geek-dork - I like gadgets, and I like my new smart phone (yes, I'm an iPhone person now), and I like my Fire, but I'm just not an avid e-reading fool. I never will be. That said, however, I think I left myself at a disadvantage...
1. I was reading it on my Kindle Fire, the screen was similar to a regular Kindle, so I think the reading experience was comparable. (Yea, I know all about the backlighting, etc., but I spend quite a bit of time on the Fire, and I don't think it was an issue for me.) What I HATED was how quickly I had to turn the page, and funnily enough, how I didn't like not being able to see two pages at once. I read quickly and I think I even speed read a bit, and scan ahead as I'm reading; I don't know how else to explain it. Now, I admit, until after I finished reading the book, I didn't think about making the font smaller to fit more on the page (duh!). But I'm already dealing with old eyes that need reading glasses, so I was put off by having to constantly flick the page. It gave me a headache to read across such a narrow page. BUT once I turned the Kindle sideways, the pages were still short in length but I was able to read across a longer span and that seemed to help with my eyestrain.
2. I admit, and always have, that I can see the benefit when I'm traveling. I've never gone on a trip anywhere, not even overnight, where I wasn't carrying at least 2 books with me, or an extra carry-on full of books to read on vacation or in the evening when I'm on business. My Fire will most definitely be traveling with me, with books loaded and games at the ready (Mah-Jong helps pass the time, to say nothing of Bejeweled or Words with Friends!). Not sure how much I'll like it and it will be interesting to see if I read as much on the e-reader as I do when I have print books with me, but I know my back and my arms and shoulders will send a thank you card to Amazon!
3. I admit, too, that I loaded a couple of Amazon freebies on my Fire to read on the train, when I have to commute without my chauffer (aka, hubby). And I've ordered - in advance! - an e-book version of Lisa Gardner's new Catch Me! which will be delivered when it releases on or around February 7th... In fact, I'll be reading a $3.99 sale book I bought for my Fire today, when I leave at 4pm to take the train home. It's a thriller and the synopsis intrigued me. And Lord knows paperbacks aren't $3.99 anymore so this was a financial plus and I got a new story to read!
As previously stated, I will not ever be e>print, but I'm trying to incorporate it into my reading experience, at least to a small degree, and perhaps the day will come when I'm less anti-e-reader, but I will never ever be less pro-print!!!
This is an article in today's Shelf Awareness for Readers, Tuesday, January 24, 2012, Volume 1, Issue 62. It's interesting. Here are my favorite parts, in case you don't want to read the whole (short) article!
"On an airplane, do you notice what people are reading? Do you surreptitiously contort a bit to see a cover? Do you think about the (usually) men who are reading genre thrillers quite openly while women seem to hide romances? Same thing on the bus or subway or in cafes at lunchtime. Checking out book covers brings many pleasures; it also subtly imprints a book in your mind." - [Comment from Krys - This is the ONLY reason I read Room, by Emma Donoghue!]
"With e-books, there are no book covers. There's no tipping point reached by cover art, no visual validation of your own reading tastes. What will replace this passive advertising? Is it even a worry? A recent survey found a plateauing of e-book reader adoption (December sales notwithstanding)--52% of readers say they are "not at all likely" to buy an e-reader; additionally, e-reader owners buy almost as many printed books as e-books. [Comment from Krys - THANK YOU, JESUS! And btw, my sister gave me a gift card for Amazon and suggested I used it to buy a book or two for my Kindle Fire. I did, and I'll review below...] Good news for people who like cover art, for publishers who devote so much time and money to cover art, and for those of us who like to see what others are reading (or proclaim our own good taste). There are many good reasons to use e-books, but don't forget--it's really hard for authors to sign them."
Loved this article, and even though I have such strong opinions in favor of printed books, I'm so happy to hear that e-readers are STILL buying print editions, not just e-books.
So I bought Down the Darkest Road, by Tami Hoag, in e-format, thanks to the gift card from sister P. (Thanks, P!) I can't say that I'm a convert, and I am STILL a print girl, not an e-reader, but it wasn't so very horrible that I'll never read an e-book again. I may not be an e-reader, but I am a techno-geek-dork - I like gadgets, and I like my new smart phone (yes, I'm an iPhone person now), and I like my Fire, but I'm just not an avid e-reading fool. I never will be. That said, however, I think I left myself at a disadvantage...
1. I was reading it on my Kindle Fire, the screen was similar to a regular Kindle, so I think the reading experience was comparable. (Yea, I know all about the backlighting, etc., but I spend quite a bit of time on the Fire, and I don't think it was an issue for me.) What I HATED was how quickly I had to turn the page, and funnily enough, how I didn't like not being able to see two pages at once. I read quickly and I think I even speed read a bit, and scan ahead as I'm reading; I don't know how else to explain it. Now, I admit, until after I finished reading the book, I didn't think about making the font smaller to fit more on the page (duh!). But I'm already dealing with old eyes that need reading glasses, so I was put off by having to constantly flick the page. It gave me a headache to read across such a narrow page. BUT once I turned the Kindle sideways, the pages were still short in length but I was able to read across a longer span and that seemed to help with my eyestrain.
2. I admit, and always have, that I can see the benefit when I'm traveling. I've never gone on a trip anywhere, not even overnight, where I wasn't carrying at least 2 books with me, or an extra carry-on full of books to read on vacation or in the evening when I'm on business. My Fire will most definitely be traveling with me, with books loaded and games at the ready (Mah-Jong helps pass the time, to say nothing of Bejeweled or Words with Friends!). Not sure how much I'll like it and it will be interesting to see if I read as much on the e-reader as I do when I have print books with me, but I know my back and my arms and shoulders will send a thank you card to Amazon!
3. I admit, too, that I loaded a couple of Amazon freebies on my Fire to read on the train, when I have to commute without my chauffer (aka, hubby). And I've ordered - in advance! - an e-book version of Lisa Gardner's new Catch Me! which will be delivered when it releases on or around February 7th... In fact, I'll be reading a $3.99 sale book I bought for my Fire today, when I leave at 4pm to take the train home. It's a thriller and the synopsis intrigued me. And Lord knows paperbacks aren't $3.99 anymore so this was a financial plus and I got a new story to read!
As previously stated, I will not ever be e>print, but I'm trying to incorporate it into my reading experience, at least to a small degree, and perhaps the day will come when I'm less anti-e-reader, but I will never ever be less pro-print!!!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
One Little Word - FOCUS
Someone else chose FOCUS as their One Little Word, and Ali Edwards chose to feature her OLW on her blog today...
In case you want to hear why someone else chose FOCUS...
One Little Word / Community Member Feature: Michelle & Heather
In case you want to hear why someone else chose FOCUS...
One Little Word / Community Member Feature: Michelle & Heather
Friday, January 13, 2012
Focus
Last year I took a class from Ali Edwards: One Little Word. I'm not taking it this year because I'm signed up for too many other classes and I just can't swing another one!
But I'm picking a word and trying to live by it and I'm sure somewhere in the year I'll do a spread about it, either as a scrapbook page, or in my diary, or in my Project Life binder, or in my art journal, or in my soon-to-be-started gratitude journal, or perhaps in all five of those places! I'm sure I'll probably blog about it when it strikes me, too, so you can add this blog as another place that my One Little Word will show up...
FOCUS.
That's my word. As a matter of fact, that was my word last year. I intended to focus in every aspect of my life, but as happens quite often, life gets in the way! I got a necklace for myself with the word "focus" stamped on it.
That helped a lot, as long as I remembered to wear it! (Got it from Lisa Leonard - she has some lovely pieces and her prices, I think, are pretty reasonable.)
There are still a lot of places in my life where I need to focus. Here are a few:
But I'm picking a word and trying to live by it and I'm sure somewhere in the year I'll do a spread about it, either as a scrapbook page, or in my diary, or in my Project Life binder, or in my art journal, or in my soon-to-be-started gratitude journal, or perhaps in all five of those places! I'm sure I'll probably blog about it when it strikes me, too, so you can add this blog as another place that my One Little Word will show up...
FOCUS.
That's my word. As a matter of fact, that was my word last year. I intended to focus in every aspect of my life, but as happens quite often, life gets in the way! I got a necklace for myself with the word "focus" stamped on it.
That helped a lot, as long as I remembered to wear it! (Got it from Lisa Leonard - she has some lovely pieces and her prices, I think, are pretty reasonable.)
There are still a lot of places in my life where I need to focus. Here are a few:
- I want to focus on being a better wife, daughter, sister, cousin, aunt, friend, employee.
- I want to focus on my faith during the week, not just when I'm in church on Sunday.
- I want to focus on my creativity, through the online classes I'm taking, by sketching and scrapping and taking photos.
- I want to focus on my health. I'm taking a class called Move More, Eat Well with Cathy Zielske. I'm hoping that this, along with Weight Watchers, can help me accomplish this year what I've been trying to accomplish for many years. I've joined a gym, too, so I want to focus on actually going!
- I want to focus on my job. I get too distracted: the internet, my new iPhone, Words with Friends, Facebook and Twitter - they're all more interesting and more fun than my job. But I need to focus on my job. I always do a good job. Now I want to do a GREAT job.
- I want to focus on my house. Both of them. They need to be decluttered, cleaned, painted, refreshed. And it shouldn't be on J to do it all.
Thursday, January 05, 2012
I wish Katie was my friend...
Bower Power is one of my all-time favorite blogs. To see the funniest, frickin' post I've read in a VERY long time, click here. And be sure to read it, and scroll down, and see what a beautiful family Katie Bower has... I SO wish I was friends with her!!! I just KNOW we'd get along!!! You'll know why when you get to the bottom of her post...
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Happy 2012!
Oops, one of my unwritten resolutions was to blog more in 2012...
Yea, epic FAIL!!! It's January 4th and I haven't even wished my readers a Happy New Year!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! May you all have a 2012 filled with love and happiness and good health, and may you all accomplish whatever it is you set out to do, achieve whatever it is you want to achieve, and enjoy whatever it is you wish to enjoy in this new year...
I want to write more, take more photographs and post them here on the blog. I am taking part in an online class called Move More, Eat Well by the esteemed Cathy Zielske, and so far, I've gone to the gym once, yoga class is at 1:30pm today, I'm hoping to go to the gym tonight, and I haven't eaten fast food yet this year. I've started my journal (oops, another resolution: learn Photoshop Elements).
I'm also taking two art classes online with Alisa Burke: Sketchbook Delight and Create Daily. I'm not very talented but I've learned to call what I dabble in "art." According to Donna Downey, with whom I took a class in December, when I call myself an "artist," THEN I'll really be one... Can't really see that one happening any time soon, but Donna, I'll let you know when/if it does...
Last year I took an online journey with Ali Edwards. I signed up for her One Little Word series, and while I started off just fine, as usual I tapered off into simply filing the emails in the file called OLW and that was about it. So this year I didn't sign up for it again, but I've chose my word to be FOCUS again: FOCUS x 2, if you will... I hope to remember to FOCUS on everything in my life, to pay attention, to learn, to make better decisions...
As I created all these links for you, I realized something: I'm determined to be more creative and artistic, even if it kills me, or breaks the bank! I have spent a lot of money on scrapbooking supplies, on printing photographs, on sketchbooks and watercolor paint sets (I've found I like watercolors better than acrylic paints, although I like acrylics in my art journal), on mixed media supplies, on classes... What I haven't done is spent the TIME I'd like to spend on creating.
So here we go:
In 2012 I resolve to spend less money on classes and supplies and spend more time on actually creating, or practicing/developing my creativity.
There it is: in black and white. Out there for the world (my readers = the world!) to see. I'm accountable. Sort of like Weight Watchers for the artsy me.
I might not blog more, but I hope to include more photos of what I create, be it a scrapbook page, a mini-book, a sketch, a watercolor painting...
Feel free to remind me next month that I haven't blogged, posted a photo, or cracked open my sketchbook - I'll most likely need the reminder...
Yea, epic FAIL!!! It's January 4th and I haven't even wished my readers a Happy New Year!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! May you all have a 2012 filled with love and happiness and good health, and may you all accomplish whatever it is you set out to do, achieve whatever it is you want to achieve, and enjoy whatever it is you wish to enjoy in this new year...
I want to write more, take more photographs and post them here on the blog. I am taking part in an online class called Move More, Eat Well by the esteemed Cathy Zielske, and so far, I've gone to the gym once, yoga class is at 1:30pm today, I'm hoping to go to the gym tonight, and I haven't eaten fast food yet this year. I've started my journal (oops, another resolution: learn Photoshop Elements).
I'm also taking two art classes online with Alisa Burke: Sketchbook Delight and Create Daily. I'm not very talented but I've learned to call what I dabble in "art." According to Donna Downey, with whom I took a class in December, when I call myself an "artist," THEN I'll really be one... Can't really see that one happening any time soon, but Donna, I'll let you know when/if it does...
Last year I took an online journey with Ali Edwards. I signed up for her One Little Word series, and while I started off just fine, as usual I tapered off into simply filing the emails in the file called OLW and that was about it. So this year I didn't sign up for it again, but I've chose my word to be FOCUS again: FOCUS x 2, if you will... I hope to remember to FOCUS on everything in my life, to pay attention, to learn, to make better decisions...
As I created all these links for you, I realized something: I'm determined to be more creative and artistic, even if it kills me, or breaks the bank! I have spent a lot of money on scrapbooking supplies, on printing photographs, on sketchbooks and watercolor paint sets (I've found I like watercolors better than acrylic paints, although I like acrylics in my art journal), on mixed media supplies, on classes... What I haven't done is spent the TIME I'd like to spend on creating.
So here we go:
In 2012 I resolve to spend less money on classes and supplies and spend more time on actually creating, or practicing/developing my creativity.
There it is: in black and white. Out there for the world (my readers = the world!) to see. I'm accountable. Sort of like Weight Watchers for the artsy me.
I might not blog more, but I hope to include more photos of what I create, be it a scrapbook page, a mini-book, a sketch, a watercolor painting...
Feel free to remind me next month that I haven't blogged, posted a photo, or cracked open my sketchbook - I'll most likely need the reminder...
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