Yeah, I know. No post today, it's 9:30 on a Friday night and I'm just throwing this together. I wasn't sure what I was going to post today, had some ideas running through my head, then life happened. A friend's brother, who has been sick for two months, was getting better, but took a turn for the worse and died last night. He was 50 and had a wife and 2 teenaged children. I found out that another woman I knew, not real well, but we volunteered at school, became a widow last night. Her husband was in his 50's also. He had been sick for about 6 weeks. He, too, had children. All in all, today had some pretty low moments.
I don't consider this an "oh, you have to read this" blog post. It's just a post because sometimes it's okay to grieve for your friends, count your blessings and just take a day to be. Not do to, but to be.
I posted this at 9:30 and about a half hour later realized this was not a story of two tragedies, but of one. My friend's brother was this woman's husband. So, stop and think.....every person is someone's brother, sister, son, daughter, father, mother, wife, husband, aunt, uncle, cousin.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
The Cat Who Lost His Marbles......
Five years ago, we adopted two cats, George and Gracie. George did not click with me in the shelter, but my husband and children were in love with him, and he got along with the very timid, feral cat I would not leave at the shelter. (I even got into a "discussion" with the shelter director over taking her into a house with 2 small children, but I prevailed) I gave in and George and Gracie (her name was Carolyn in the shelter, totally in appropriate for her) In that time, Gracie has adapted, slowly, into a house cat. George was a house cat prior to going to the shelter, so he transitioned well, and yes, I have come to love the silly beast.
Poor George, he is, well, a bit dim. It's a good thing he was and always will be a house cat. He wouldn't last a day out on his own, but he provides hours of entertainment. For example, on windy fall days, you can hear scrambling and banging in the kitchen. That would be George trying to catch the leaves that are blowing across the deck....and smashing his head into the slider glass door, again and again. On rainy days, it's a more frantic scrambling as he tries to catch the raindrops as they run down the slider, and then, once they go out of sight at the bottom of the slider, he tries to dig them out and find out where they went. He will spend hours excavating the kitchen floor for elusive rain drops. Gracie will sit next to him and just stare. She has a very expressive face. She will turn and look at the rest of us, as if to say....Can you believe this? He's an embarrassment to felines everywhere!
Our first floor is a circle...you can go from the living room, into a short hall, into the kitchen, into the dining room and into the living room. We have a stair cast right inside the living room from the dining room. Gracie likes to lay on the maple floor, it's her "spot". George decided to jump off the couch, tear through the living room, hall, kitchen and dining room and jump on her. She knocked him off, he ran around and did it again. However, this time, Gracie took 3 steps and sat on the bottom stair, looking at the dining room door. Here comes George, launching himself in the air. He landed on bare floor. He was dumbfounded. He stared at the floor, lifting each foot as high as he could, then spun around, looking all over for Gracie. I'm on the couch, watching this, and yes, cracking up. George's tail kept swishing in Gracie's face. Gracie looked over with an expression that said, I CANNOT believe this nitwit. She, very calmly, chomped on the end of his tail. I swear George jumped so high he almost hit the ceiling, but I know he's not that athletic. He landed, spun around and looked at her, like, WHOA, where did you come from.
The other day, I heard a weird noise and investigated. George was trying to carry a bag of marbles around in the living room, but they were too heavy and he kept dropping them.
I guess I was right. George has lost his marbles. Sadly, he wasn't having much luck retrieving them. Luckily for him, he has a forever home in our house where IQ tests are not necessary.
Poor George, he is, well, a bit dim. It's a good thing he was and always will be a house cat. He wouldn't last a day out on his own, but he provides hours of entertainment. For example, on windy fall days, you can hear scrambling and banging in the kitchen. That would be George trying to catch the leaves that are blowing across the deck....and smashing his head into the slider glass door, again and again. On rainy days, it's a more frantic scrambling as he tries to catch the raindrops as they run down the slider, and then, once they go out of sight at the bottom of the slider, he tries to dig them out and find out where they went. He will spend hours excavating the kitchen floor for elusive rain drops. Gracie will sit next to him and just stare. She has a very expressive face. She will turn and look at the rest of us, as if to say....Can you believe this? He's an embarrassment to felines everywhere!
Our first floor is a circle...you can go from the living room, into a short hall, into the kitchen, into the dining room and into the living room. We have a stair cast right inside the living room from the dining room. Gracie likes to lay on the maple floor, it's her "spot". George decided to jump off the couch, tear through the living room, hall, kitchen and dining room and jump on her. She knocked him off, he ran around and did it again. However, this time, Gracie took 3 steps and sat on the bottom stair, looking at the dining room door. Here comes George, launching himself in the air. He landed on bare floor. He was dumbfounded. He stared at the floor, lifting each foot as high as he could, then spun around, looking all over for Gracie. I'm on the couch, watching this, and yes, cracking up. George's tail kept swishing in Gracie's face. Gracie looked over with an expression that said, I CANNOT believe this nitwit. She, very calmly, chomped on the end of his tail. I swear George jumped so high he almost hit the ceiling, but I know he's not that athletic. He landed, spun around and looked at her, like, WHOA, where did you come from.
The other day, I heard a weird noise and investigated. George was trying to carry a bag of marbles around in the living room, but they were too heavy and he kept dropping them.
I guess I was right. George has lost his marbles. Sadly, he wasn't having much luck retrieving them. Luckily for him, he has a forever home in our house where IQ tests are not necessary.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
What Did You Just Say?
My last few posts have been somewhat philosophical, insightful and uplifting. Today, we are making a departure. Hope your seatbelts are fastened.......
My mother was a teacher. I have many good friends that are teachers. My children have excellent teachers. That being said, they lied. Remember when they told us there is no such thing as a stupid question? Yeah, um, there is. Actually, I'm not sure it's so much of a stupid question, or a reflex question.
Two years ago, I walked into the blade of the pole saw that was hanging out of the back of the truck. (A pole saw is a curved saw blade on a long pole, so you can trim your trees while standing on the ground) I ripped my cheek open, cracked a tooth and bruised my gum. I needed to have my face sutured back together. Afterwards, walking around with three bright blue stitches in my cheek, I was asked two questions. What did you do? I cut my face on the blade of a pole saw. The next question....Did it hurt? (Are you KIDDING me? I ripped my face open on a jagged metal blade, of course it hurt.) Finally, I got fed up and said, Of course not. Tomorrow I'm doing the other side so I have matching scars.
I walk into the grocery store on a day with torrential downpours, as in "driving 2 miles per hour because you can't see" downpour. Had no umbrella or raincoat. I walk into the store and the first person I see asks, oh, is it raining outside? (Well, since you are dry and there are no puddles on the floor, I think it's safe to guess it's not raining INSIDE! The other thought running through my head was, no, it's not raining, I just take a shower with my clothes on to save time on laundry.)
I am at a restaurant having lunch with a friend. There are three people at the table next to me, which is set for four. They are obviously waiting for the fourth..they keep checking their watches and saying, gee, where is she? I hope she didn't get into an accident or anything. Finally the mysterious fourth diner walks in. As she approaches the table she says, sorry I'm late. I forgot the directions and got horribly lost. All three of the other women say, oh, did you make it here okay? (Gee, no, she's just a figment of your imagination!! OF COURSE she made it, she's standing in front of you!!!)
At the pediatricians office, I run into someone I haven't seen in years. My first question to her? Oh, do you have kids that see one of the doctors here? (No, she's just building her immune system hanging out with sick little kids, or she's got a strange addiction to the wooden bead/wire contraptions in the waiting room). As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I apologized for being an idiot. She laughed and said, don't worry, I was going to ask the same thing of you. Is now the time to mention both of us had our children in very close proximity, hers and mine both saying Mom, Mom, Mom.........
My mother was a teacher. I have many good friends that are teachers. My children have excellent teachers. That being said, they lied. Remember when they told us there is no such thing as a stupid question? Yeah, um, there is. Actually, I'm not sure it's so much of a stupid question, or a reflex question.
Two years ago, I walked into the blade of the pole saw that was hanging out of the back of the truck. (A pole saw is a curved saw blade on a long pole, so you can trim your trees while standing on the ground) I ripped my cheek open, cracked a tooth and bruised my gum. I needed to have my face sutured back together. Afterwards, walking around with three bright blue stitches in my cheek, I was asked two questions. What did you do? I cut my face on the blade of a pole saw. The next question....Did it hurt? (Are you KIDDING me? I ripped my face open on a jagged metal blade, of course it hurt.) Finally, I got fed up and said, Of course not. Tomorrow I'm doing the other side so I have matching scars.
I walk into the grocery store on a day with torrential downpours, as in "driving 2 miles per hour because you can't see" downpour. Had no umbrella or raincoat. I walk into the store and the first person I see asks, oh, is it raining outside? (Well, since you are dry and there are no puddles on the floor, I think it's safe to guess it's not raining INSIDE! The other thought running through my head was, no, it's not raining, I just take a shower with my clothes on to save time on laundry.)
I am at a restaurant having lunch with a friend. There are three people at the table next to me, which is set for four. They are obviously waiting for the fourth..they keep checking their watches and saying, gee, where is she? I hope she didn't get into an accident or anything. Finally the mysterious fourth diner walks in. As she approaches the table she says, sorry I'm late. I forgot the directions and got horribly lost. All three of the other women say, oh, did you make it here okay? (Gee, no, she's just a figment of your imagination!! OF COURSE she made it, she's standing in front of you!!!)
At the pediatricians office, I run into someone I haven't seen in years. My first question to her? Oh, do you have kids that see one of the doctors here? (No, she's just building her immune system hanging out with sick little kids, or she's got a strange addiction to the wooden bead/wire contraptions in the waiting room). As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I apologized for being an idiot. She laughed and said, don't worry, I was going to ask the same thing of you. Is now the time to mention both of us had our children in very close proximity, hers and mine both saying Mom, Mom, Mom.........
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Secrets
We all have them, but why? Are we ashamed of our actions or are we ashamed of what others will think of us? If everything you have done in your life makes you the person you are today, that means EVERYTHING. The good and the bad. We are taught not to judge and we are taught to tell the truth. Yet who are we judging? Ourselves. We are deeming certain actions (or lack of action) as shameful or embarrassing; something not to share with the world. Yet we are also denying very integral parts of ourselves.
I am Catholic, I go to confession and reconcile my sins with God. I may be absolved, but I still feel the guilt. I don't know if I'm guilty of what I've done on a strictly personal level or if I'm guilty of how my sins would be perceived by my friends and family. Maybe it's a little bit of both. I am not proud of everything I have done in my life, nor am I ashamed of everything I have done. I am very happy and content with who I am, yet there are parts of my life I keep locked away.
My friends and I have traded our "deepest, darkest secrets". It's scary, but liberating at the same time. You don't tell these stories to just anyone, you have to be sure you will still be accepted by your friends, accepted the way you were before you shared the secret. As you take that deep breath and the words come out, you have that split second of dread. Oh no, this person is going to be absolutely horrified. This will ruin our friendship. You speak the words, you watch your friend's expression, you feel like throwing up.......until that friend smiles and says, wow, thanks so much for sharing that. Want to hear something about me?
So, do we bare our souls, throw caution to the wind and tell the world every little detail of our lives? We would be putting our true selves out there. I say no. The reason for keeping the secret doesn't matter. Just keep your mouth shut. Not everyone needs to know everything. Keep some secrets.
You know what's the best thing about a secret? The trust that is shown when someone else shares their secret with you. Secrets are treasures......just like the friends who share them.
I am Catholic, I go to confession and reconcile my sins with God. I may be absolved, but I still feel the guilt. I don't know if I'm guilty of what I've done on a strictly personal level or if I'm guilty of how my sins would be perceived by my friends and family. Maybe it's a little bit of both. I am not proud of everything I have done in my life, nor am I ashamed of everything I have done. I am very happy and content with who I am, yet there are parts of my life I keep locked away.
My friends and I have traded our "deepest, darkest secrets". It's scary, but liberating at the same time. You don't tell these stories to just anyone, you have to be sure you will still be accepted by your friends, accepted the way you were before you shared the secret. As you take that deep breath and the words come out, you have that split second of dread. Oh no, this person is going to be absolutely horrified. This will ruin our friendship. You speak the words, you watch your friend's expression, you feel like throwing up.......until that friend smiles and says, wow, thanks so much for sharing that. Want to hear something about me?
So, do we bare our souls, throw caution to the wind and tell the world every little detail of our lives? We would be putting our true selves out there. I say no. The reason for keeping the secret doesn't matter. Just keep your mouth shut. Not everyone needs to know everything. Keep some secrets.
You know what's the best thing about a secret? The trust that is shown when someone else shares their secret with you. Secrets are treasures......just like the friends who share them.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Mondays......
Many people hate Mondays. They can be rather harsh....they are reminders of what you did not accomplish over the weekend and they are the beginning of 5 long days of school or work until you get another shot at a successful weekend. What is a successful weekend? Staying on the couch and not getting dressed, eating junk food and watching TV? Is it cleaning your house, top to bottom and FINALLY purging those boxes that have been sitting in the corner of the cellar since, well, um, let's just say a long time. Perhaps you have a goal to climb one of New Hampshire's 4000 foot mountains, but you just can't seem to get started. The "perfect weekend" is something different to everyone.
No matter what your hopes were for those precious two days, they are over and done with. Instead of pining for what was, look ahead to what could be. You have 5 days to think about what you really want to accomplish in the weekend to come. (Let's face it, whether at work or at school, we ALL indulge in non work related daydreaming!!) Take a few minutes and look up that recipe you've been wanting to try and make your grocery list. Scan your closet now and put together THE outfit for that party. Talk to your spouse and kids and get some ideas for a weekend adventure. Call that charity, you know the one where you keep saying you'd like to volunteer.
Do you feel better yet, somewhat energized? Is Monday less of a drudge? You now have 5 days to plan and prepare. When Saturday hits, you will be ready for two days to enjoy yourself to the fullest. I bet next Monday won't be so bad. Don't get me wrong, I am not fond of my alarm clock either, but waking up, smiling and saying, wow, that was a great weekend definitely has its advantages.
No matter what your hopes were for those precious two days, they are over and done with. Instead of pining for what was, look ahead to what could be. You have 5 days to think about what you really want to accomplish in the weekend to come. (Let's face it, whether at work or at school, we ALL indulge in non work related daydreaming!!) Take a few minutes and look up that recipe you've been wanting to try and make your grocery list. Scan your closet now and put together THE outfit for that party. Talk to your spouse and kids and get some ideas for a weekend adventure. Call that charity, you know the one where you keep saying you'd like to volunteer.
Do you feel better yet, somewhat energized? Is Monday less of a drudge? You now have 5 days to plan and prepare. When Saturday hits, you will be ready for two days to enjoy yourself to the fullest. I bet next Monday won't be so bad. Don't get me wrong, I am not fond of my alarm clock either, but waking up, smiling and saying, wow, that was a great weekend definitely has its advantages.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
A Little More About Me
So, yesterday, my opening post was a brief introduction about me. I'm trying to hone my creative writing skills. I earned my B.S. in Animal Science from UNH in 1989 and worked for six years as an equine surgical technician. In the medical/scientific field, if you can't prove it with facts and research, it doesn't exist. I then earned my MBA in Business Leadership from Franklin Pierce College. There was no "right" answer, only good, better and best. Not being able to cite a reference book or present a study of concrete facts was a difficult transition for me. However, both scientific and business writing had one thing in common. Make it concise and to the point. Period. There was a strict format in scientific reporting and a less rigid but still structured format to business writing. Information was presented, opinions and conclusions discussed.
I took some creative writing classes while attending UNH and enjoyed them. I enjoyed the creative writing aspect of my marketing classes. the departure from a standard procedure was a little exciting, almost felt like I was breaking the rules. Selling items online further nurtured my creative talents. Things were two dimensional, there were thousands upon thousands of things available on the internet for sale. Great photographs were vital. What else could I do to make my items stand out? The descriptions of my items was the only area left to improve. Anyone could list a set of 4 quilted coasters, 3.5" X 3.5", in a red, white and blue patriotic themed print. I had to make my descriptions stand out.
Most of my items had a name...not Multi Colored Striped Market Tote, but Color Outside the Lines Market tote, or Bright Yellow Solid Color Child's Tee Shirt became Here I Am Tee Shirt, Yellow. Many of my items came with a little story behind them...the crazy uncle, or that friend with the "rambunctious" child, or the dog that would slobber over everything. Did these descriptions help sell my items? I don't know, but once word got out, I went from having 20-30 people click on my items in a day to 150 or more. I sold 4 items the very first day they were listed. All four of those items came with a story.
The moral of the story? I'm not really sure there is one. What have I learned? I enjoy creative writing and there are others that enjoy my style of creativity. Are you one of those? If so, please become a follower of my blog and enjoy the ramblings.
I took some creative writing classes while attending UNH and enjoyed them. I enjoyed the creative writing aspect of my marketing classes. the departure from a standard procedure was a little exciting, almost felt like I was breaking the rules. Selling items online further nurtured my creative talents. Things were two dimensional, there were thousands upon thousands of things available on the internet for sale. Great photographs were vital. What else could I do to make my items stand out? The descriptions of my items was the only area left to improve. Anyone could list a set of 4 quilted coasters, 3.5" X 3.5", in a red, white and blue patriotic themed print. I had to make my descriptions stand out.
Most of my items had a name...not Multi Colored Striped Market Tote, but Color Outside the Lines Market tote, or Bright Yellow Solid Color Child's Tee Shirt became Here I Am Tee Shirt, Yellow. Many of my items came with a little story behind them...the crazy uncle, or that friend with the "rambunctious" child, or the dog that would slobber over everything. Did these descriptions help sell my items? I don't know, but once word got out, I went from having 20-30 people click on my items in a day to 150 or more. I sold 4 items the very first day they were listed. All four of those items came with a story.
The moral of the story? I'm not really sure there is one. What have I learned? I enjoy creative writing and there are others that enjoy my style of creativity. Are you one of those? If so, please become a follower of my blog and enjoy the ramblings.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
I'm Back
I had a blog, I had two shops on etsy. I have two children, two cats, one husband and not enough hours in the day. The etsy shops are gone, the blog faded away. Now, I'm going to try again. My life is crazy, I can't guarantee I'll post every day, you may like what I post, you might not. It's okay. It's my blog, about my life, my likes and my passions. If nothing else, I just hope I can provide a small bit of creativity in a world of chaos.
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