Friday, September 28, 2012

Imperfectly Yours

If society practiced the term... "If you don't have anything nice to say, say nothing at all", we would live in a peacefully quiet world. From the news to the water cooler, there's a lot of negativity waiting for someone to jump on the bandwagon and join the parade. Very few people would survive having their lives, words and behavior, put under a microscope, as is evident from the huge number of ordinary people who have found their destruction in reality television. Gossip is nothing short of footage that has been spliced, diced, edited and repeated at the gossipers discretion, and it's hurtful. If someone will talk negative to you, they will talk negative about you (what you see is what you get). It's hard to know what's truly going on in someones life, or what has shaped someones choices unless you have walked in that persons shoes... Regardless of how similar your journey may seem, no two paths are exactly the same. My view of the world around me is colored by my life experience, as is others. Two people looking from the outside in can have two very different perspectives. I don't believe people intend to be negative or are intentionally mean spirited, but I do believe it's a trap that is easily fallen into and one that's not easily escaped. Nothing will bring you out of the rut like a life changing experience that could make you the target of idle gossip. If you've ever had a skeleton fall out of your closet, you become more compassionate about the skeletons of others. I had a conversation about hypocrisy with my son a few weeks ago. He was having a difficult time reconciling the actions of others in relation to their confessed beliefs. I tried to explain to him that humans are imperfect by nature and we are constantly at odds with the spirit vs. the flesh. Saying one thing and doing another doesn't necessarily make us hypocrites, it makes us human. I want to be the type of person who errs on the side of grace rather than to jump to conclusions about something or someone I know nothing or little about. My daily prayer is... "Lord, Put a guard at my lips and bridle my tongue and when I fail to be all you created me to be in you, I'm still imperfectly yours."

Thursday, September 27, 2012

The Handwriting is on the Wall

Fall=Fair.... State Fair that is. It had been 15 years or more since I'd been to the fair. In fact my youngest was in a stroller and he turns 18 next month. My daughter and I thought a day at the fair sounded like a fun family thing to do, so we made a day of it. When I think of the State Fair, I think of fall and sweaters, but as we stood in line for tickets, the idea of cool quickly slipped away. The couple in front of us had two blonde cuties in strollers. By the time we got our tickets, the poor kids faces were OU crimson (and that was before they lost to Kansas State). It was a beautiful day, but it wasn't "fallish" at all, so we headed for the buildings to keep cool. My husband has a Tempurpedic pillow, and we have always been curious as to what the bed would feel like. When we came across the bed display, the three of us hopped from one bed to the other, while trying not to think about the fact that they had been wallowed on by 1000's of sweaty bodies for two weeks... That is until we rolled onto one that had a big wet spot in the middle (great big ick factor here). The three of us tried to spring off the bed, but the mattress had sucked us up into it, till we had to fight our way out. That's how they sell those things, they make them so hard to get out of, you end up buying it and taking it home. Next we came across a 1950'ish looking wall, with the Wizard of Oz looking twinkling lights. For a mere $3.00 I could get a personalized handwriting analysis. I've always wanted to have my handwriting analyzed because I've always thought it was somewhat bi... or maybe even tri-polar, depending on my mood :-) This is the analysis vs. how things really are...

"You have great ambitions and aim for the top." Not so much. I'm more of a "shoot for the lower middle" kind of gal, that way I'm pleasantly surprised if I get any higher. I hate disappointment.

"You are a good judge of people but sometimes too critical." I would agree that I used to be more critical than I am now. The last couple of years has given me a new prespective on judging others. I'm probably still more critical than I should be, but I'm working on it.

"You usually let your heart rule your head." Not just usually, but always! I should probably work on that as well.

"You display your likes and dislikes with assurance." Not only do I display them, I outline them in flashing neon lights (not necessarily a good thing).

"You enjoy planning for the future." Let's just skip this one shall we?

"You are always willing to give a great deal of yourself." Actually this used to be extremely true.

"You have a talent for making the best of any situation." Accurate.

"With your strong will power you can reach any goal." Refer to point "1".

"You are reliable, honest and others depend on you." You can always rely on the fact that I'm more honest than I should be. Not everyone appreciates brutal honesty.

"You plan your moves efficiently to avoid wasting time and energy." Very true, especially when driving.

"You are intelligent and imaginative." Half accurate, you decide which half.

"You are quick to detect the slightest error." That's a little too broad for me know whether it's true or not... Refer to point "11"

"You are a lovable airhead." Is that a compliment??? I want my three bucks back.

I was a little disappointed the analysis wasn't more accurate. I  wanted to sign 13 different cards to see if the analysis came back the same with each one, or if I really am a Sybil.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Too Much of a Good Thing, Worth the Price?


Like a lot of people who sit in front of a computer all day, my shoulder and neck muscles end up in knots by days end. Yesterday I worked intensely on a spreadsheet which really knots me up. By the time I got home, everything was wound tight. A couple of years ago my husband and I each bought a little tens unit type massager. The good thing about it is, I can put the little sticky pads wherever I'm aching and relax or go about my business as it works those aching muscles... That's the good thing. The bad thing is... I'm not one to do things.... "In moderation". If I love something, I love it a lot. I find it almost impossible to get enough of something I love, that's why
my shoes spill out of the closet and onto my bedroom floor. Sugar is another thing I love. My view is, if something taste good, it will taste twice as good with sugar added. So, I use sugar like most people use salt, I even sprinkle it on spaghetti. I know, weird huh? Everything, even things you love, come with a price. Since I have A LOT of shoes, it's harder to decide which pair to wear in the morning. Since I sprinkle sugar on my spaghetti, I have to walk an extra mile or two or three at night... Depending on how sweet I needed things that day :-) With the massager, I've found that sometimes I'll
hit that sweet spot that's really been hurting, so I'll turn the volume WAY up, until it feels so good it almost hurts and I'm twitching like a dog having a dream. Because I'm not one to do things in moderation, it's hard for me to know when I've had enough and I'll sit and twitch a tad too long which leaves me feeling like... Well, like I've been mauled by a bulldog. That's why I say, too much of a good thing isn't bad as long as you're willing to pay the price and today I certainly am.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Sugar Spun Wish is Granted


As a child, everything looks magical. Going to the circus and watching the lions, tigers and bears... Magical. Going to the fair, hearing the carnival ride music being drown out by squeals and screams... Magical. Snow cones, glow sticks and Cotton candy on a stick... Magical. If you're a lucky ducky everything will remain magical well past your childhood. This weekend our church had an evening in the park. The evening was filled with all things magical... Face painting, Kiddie Land rides, snow cones, popcorn, hot dogs and cotton candy. When I got an email asking for volunteers to help, I immediately volunteered for the cotton candy, I've always thought doing cotton candy looked like it would be
fun. My husband mused that allowing me to do the cotton candy would be like allowing Lucille Ball to do the conveyer belt in a chocolate factory...  He was correct. I twirled and swirled sticks of cotton candy like a champion cotton candier only stopping long enough for someone to give me a boost of energy by stuffing wads of cotton candy down my throat. We got a little silly when we hit a sugar slump, but we kept things hopping in the most interesting of ways. It's quite likely we won't be allowed to man the cotton candy booth next year. Co-volunteers tried, as much as possible, to keep me wiped down
and sticky free, but by the end of the night, the right side of my body was covered in Smurf blue cotton candy from my fingers to my head. My eyelashes, hair, neck, was nothing but a sweet treat and I had an overwhelming desire to lick myself clean as I listened to Jason Crabb rock the park, but that would have looked... Well, licking myself would have been weird. I was a walking cotton candy hazzard and as my friend said, I was able to check one more thing off of my bucket list. A childhood sugar spun wish had been granted and it was exactly as much fun as I expected it to be.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Hop, Skip and a Jump

Love the quote and the slinky 

I played golf this weekend. I was anxious to try out the new driver I won at our company golf tournament. That puppy can drive a ball! I came to a crucial hole that involved water. I'm not sure what it is about golf and water, but my ball seems drawn to the water like I'm drawn to the shoe department of Dillard's. When I come to a water hole, I automatically swap my pretty sparkly pink ball for a beat up white-ish ball because I'm not fond of losing my sparkly balls to the watering hole. A friend who was playing with us, coached me on where the best placement of the ball would be (as if I have that much control!). He instructed me to land just this side of
My ball. Close but way off can be cool to watch
the waters edge instead of trying to hit it all the way over. Gotcha... Not a problem! "Just point me in the right direction and I'm there"... Maybe in Dillard's but not necessarily on the golf course. When I got the ball the to the waters edge I thought the chances of me getting from there to the green was slim to none, not because I'm not really good (snicker, snicker), but because the green was over the water and up the hill (piece of cake). I gave it the ole "take a whack of Weezer" try, sending the ball directly into the middle of the pond only to skip twice to the waters edge on the other side. My quote on my desk thingie this morning was "The best way out is always through". I'd have to disagree though because sometimes a hop, skip and a jump is way more fun to watch.

Friday, September 7, 2012

I think I've Plowed This Field Before

I hate having one of those emotionally charged days only women have. I can usually tell it's going to be "One of those days" before I ever open my eyes. "Strap on your seat belt Lucy, because we're going for a ride."

My emotions play like the ticker at the bottom of a newscast.... Love... Joy... anger... Frustration... Conceit... Self-loathing... Happiness... Fear... Contentment... Discontentment... My ears
are ubber sensitive to any and every little sound, my nerves tingle on the edge of hysteria and I feel like a Farmer, "I think I've plowed this field before." I know eventually evening will come, I'll drift into a dreamless sleep and all will be well in the morning, but Oh-My-Gosh... Until then. Can I get an amen?

Nuff Said

Nuff Said!

An Overstuffed Dryer


Our dryer quit working for like the 4th time this year. It's so inconvenient for me to have to go buy myself new clothes because the dryer isn't working... LOL! No, seriously:-) My sweet husband sent me the following email....

Mike: have concluded from talking to all of the techs that have come out to work on the dryer that they are correcting the problem but they have not figured out the solution. From the research I have conducted on the Internet and past electronic/electrical experience at CMC and from seeing each failure being a different component (i.e. blown input fuse twice, blown input diode twice, blown module once and now a burnt in-put wire), I conclude that we are putting to much load into the dryer from large and often still wet laundry. We need to reduce the size of the loads and/or spin longer while still in the washer. The combination of wetness creates an environment which could effectively cause dust bridges that could cause a short (only a micro-second or so but still occur at the component level). 

Me: So I can't stuff the dryer completely full until I'm unable to get one more article of clothing in? Bummer!


Mike: Yes, you can still do that, but only if you don't care that it will cause the dryer to quit working. You might want to text Caleb and tell him the same thing. He too can stuff the dryer completely full until he is unable to get one more article of clothing in, but only if he doesn't care that it will cause the dryer to quit working.

Isn't he just the sweetest thing? It's a sure bet Caleb will follow Mike's advice, because they are cut from the same cloth... I however, tend to get in a hurry and try to squeeze a lot into a little every chance I get. I will try to behave myself, but there's a good chance I will be doing a lot of shopping:-) Because that's just how I roll.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

The Oldest Parents on the Block

I'm too old for this :-(
I walked in the house the other day and found this packet on the dining room table. I picked it up and went upstairs to my bedroom (hidie hole). I laid the packet on the dresser and kind of stared at it with maybe just a tad of disgust. This is it! This is the last time I'm going to thumb through high school graduation invitations and such and have heart palpitations because I have another chick about to fly the coup. Home movies played through my mind as I stared at the yet unopened packet. I replayed a conversation I had with my daughter during her graduation year....

Me: Looked  like most of your friends parents are kind of old

Aja: Yeah, they're the same age you're going to be when Caleb graduates.

Me: You could have gone the rest of your life without saying that

Aja: Well, it's true

Me: Well, we may be the oldest by then but we'll still be the coolest
Sweet in a "Don't touch me" kind of way

10 years later, we are definitely the oldest and most certainly not the coolest (although I think we are cooler than we are given credit for). At some time during the last almost 18 years, the lines around our eyes have deepened, and our cool factor just fell completely off. Now we endure eye rolls that scream.... "You guys are sooo old... Can I have gas money?" The other day my husband was telling my son that another one of his High School friends had passed away. This is the 4th friend he has lost this year. With complete seriousness my son asked him.... "What did he die from.... Like, just old age?" He wasn't even trying to smart off, he actually thought our friends are dropping like flies from old age! I would probably be more upset about having a Senior in High School, but I'm just too tired. After the a summer of teenage boy shenanigans, empty nest is sounding better and better. Not really, but there have been days.... Unlike my first two Seniors, this one doesn't see what all of the fuss is about. He thinks having Senior pictures taken is dumb.... "I don't really see the point" he tells me. I thought I might use the senior pictures as leverage to convince him to get a haircut, but he totally wasn't buying into that idea (fine, let him be forever frozen in time with long black hair wearing a toboggan). I can't see him wanting to participate in Project
Just wanna pinch those cheeks kinda sweet
No Shenanigans here
Graduation (not sure I could stay up all night anyway), and I'm almost certain he will nix my tradition of hosting a post prom backyard breakfast buffet, because he thinks proms are dumb. I guess I'll just zip my lip and not try to force him to be excited. My "Smile, we're making memories" line spoken from behind a camera worked better with the first two kids, now I just get a blank stare as he peeks through his black bangs and rolls his eyes at me. That's fine, that's just fine, I won't force the issue, I will however be more than happy to submit the childhood picture for the school's senior video (evil little grin). It will be the sweet one of him at age 3, barefoot in  little overalls sitting next to a giant rabbit. Yes, a picture taken back in the day when he didn't know he had the oldest parents on the block.