so today . . . is the first day of a brand new year. and the first day of a brand new month. AND the first day of a brand new week.
it just screams out for resolutions, doesn't it :)
i mean, that is kind of the ultimate trifecta of new beginnings. it is taking everything within me NOT to make any resolutions under these conditions. my ocd tendencies love the symmetry of it, but i know that making resolutions is a complete waste of time for me. i am the queen of good intentions, but when it comes to actually accomplishing things, let's just say there is some room for improvement...
and so, for the first day of 2012, here is a list of THE TOP TEN THINGS I AM NOT GOING TO TRY TO ACCOMPLISH IN 2012!
10. i will NOT try to exercise every day. it is never going to happen. i hate to exercise. i know it is good for me, but until exercise equals some sort of pay-off (and no, improved health apparently doesn't count in my world,) it will not be happening every day. now, if eating chocolate chip cookies was good for my health, i could probably commit to that! then again, maybe not. maybe i am just not programmed to do anything every single day... until i die...
9. i will NOT try to eat healthier. i've done that. the truth is, my eating habits have improved. but the truth also is, i love carbs and i tend to get a little cranky when i don't get them. so then i give in and eat chocolate chip cookies from del taco by the dozen or a whole tub of costco cream puffs in one day. i'm pretty sure that is really not good for me. so i've decided that no food is off limits any more. (except spinach. and squid. i'm pretty sure those foods will kill me!) i'll just try to eat whatever i want, but maybe not all at one time...
8. i will NOT watch less tv. i like to watch tv. my mom hardly watches any tv at all. i don't know how she does it! she says there isn't that much on that she enjoys watching, but my tivo is almost always busy recording stuff for me to watch. and there are so many choices! this morning i watched a show on the science channel called "how things are made." did you know that when they harvest the tiny peppers for tabasco sauce, they have to do it by hand? and before they pick a tiny pepper, they have to match it's color to a red stick that they carry around with them? i am serious, people!! and then, they put millions of those tiny peppers into wooden barrels and let them ferment for three years before they make them into tabasco sauce!!! who knew? and don't even get me started on how cheese graters are made...
7. i will NOT be on time for work. i've tried. it is impossible. i'm pretty sure that even if i lived in my car in the parking lot of my school, i would be late (and also smelly...) i am on time sometimes. i am even occasionally early. but i am done stressing while i sit at a red light, or worrying all the way to work about whether my time card will read 8:00 or 8:03 (or 8:12, but that doesn't happen too often.) because it doesn't seem to matter what time i get up, or what i have to do in the morning, i am almost always a few minutes late.
6. i will NOT blog every day. i would like to. and i know some of you would like me to, too :) i did it for a while. but now that i am walking the dogs and trying to cook dinner, there are days when i have to choose between blogging and getting into bed before midnight. (ok, i guess even when i wasn't walking the dogs and cooking dinner, there were still days when i had to choose between blogging and getting into bed before midnight. the difference now is that i've finally realized i need to sleep worse than i need to blog. which is unfortunate, because i like to blog more than i like to sleep!) don't worry though, i won't STOP blogging. ever. i just won't be doing it every single day. probably.
5. i will NOT try to solve everybody's problems. i want all the people i love to be happy and healthy. obviously! and so, when there is a problem, i want to fix it. i don't think that is unusual for a mom-sister-daughter-wife-friend. but i can't do it. even if i have a perfectly good solution, i can't make the people i love take my perfectly good advice. so this year, i am going to be saying "ok, God, i trust you with this" a lot more than i'm going to be saying "why don't you try this!" to my friends and family. it isn't going to be easy. i've been giving it a trial run for the last two weeks, and it isn't easy. sometimes i have to say it over and over and over again... and then staple my lips shut...
4. i will NOT mail christmas cards out. it has been years since i have actually mailed cards out anywhere close to christmas. it isn't that i don't want to communicate with people and share the joy of christmas--i LOVE getting christmas cards--it's just that i never seem to get it done! for one thing, every year it gets harder to find a card that expresses what christmas is all about AND has a pretty enough picture that i want to spend my money on it... and then there are all those decisions about who to send cards to... and writing a christmas letter that is informative without sounding whiny or braggy... (i know braggy isn't really a word, but it fit the pattern. and you know, snarky wasn't a word until i invented it, and now it is used everywhere! so maybe braggy will catch on...) and then actually going to the post office (which i hate almost as much as going to the dentist...) and yet, every year i think i will do it. and then i don't. and i feel so guilty...
3. i will NOT try to accomplish everything in one year. maybe i won't try to accomplish anything in one year! (ok, that isn't going to happen--i am too co-dependent on my lists to try not to accomplish anything. i am embarrassed by the number of list-making and organizational apps i have on my iproducts. i need to know i have a plan, even if i know i will never complete it...) i accomplished a lot this year. i thought that once i had made the move to the new house, and had purged a whole patio full of stuff, and was unpacked, that i would finally be done cleaning out and organizing my house. i thought i would finally just get to live in my house, knowing where everything was and able to find whatever i needed. but it didn't quite turn out that way... i'm still organizing and finding better places for things. and it doesn't seem to matter how much we do to the house, the list of things to be done continues to grow. so i am just going to have to wrap my brain around the fact that i will never be done with my "to do" list. ever.
2. i will NOT make any big changes. there were times when i thought 2011 was going to kill me. as i said yesterday, 2011 was all about change, and i hate change! i felt unsettled and off balance for most of the year. i had to adjust to a lot of new circumstances, and although many of them were actually good circumstances, you know how my brain works... and so 2012 is going to be the year of maintaining the status quo. i'm going to spend this next year settling into the way my life is now, with all of it's changes from the last year. i'm not going to be pushing forward, and hopefully i won't be falling back. in 2012 i'm just going to sit on the back of the bicycle built for two, and coast...
and the number one thing i will not try to accomplish in 2012...
1. i will NOT take my life for granted. i have friends who lost people they loved dearly this past year. i have friends who have battled with health issues. i have friends who have had to deal with difficult family relationships. i have friends who have been on the wrong end of downsizing. we don't live in a world full of warm fuzzies any more, and none of us knows what tomorrow is going to bring! but... i have a family who loves me more than i deserve. i have a steady paycheck (well, except for the summers...) i have a pretty cute roof over my head and more food than i need to eat. i don't have any debilitating health issues. i can pretty much do what i want to do.
and so in 2012, i'm going to! i'm going to call my mom and dad more often... wear flannel pajama pants around the house... go to the beach... smile more often at rollie... eat at new places... wear perfume... watch girly movies with diandra... wear my party dresses... spend more time on the patio with my kindle... buy fresh flowers... and learn to dance, all by myself...
...just because it makes me happy :)
Showing posts with label top ten list. Show all posts
Showing posts with label top ten list. Show all posts
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
if only i didn't need a paycheck...
so today . . . i am thinking about quitting my job and becoming diandra's photography assistant.
diandra had a big photo shoot today. it was a styled shoot, and as she was telling me about all the vendors involved, i asked her how many photographers would be there, and she said... just one. it sounded like a very complicated shoot, and it soon became clear that it would be good if she had some help. so i sent some text messages and talked to some people, and was able to take the afternoon off work and rearrange an appointment so that i could go with her.
i dashed home at noon, changed my clothes, grabbed an extra sweater and a coat (because we were going to be at the beach and it was cool today,) and we headed south to san clemente.
it was a beautiful day! we were right by the beach, but we spent most of the day at the venue, which was beautiful!!
it was an old casino, built in 1937, that had gone through several transformations during the last century. in world war 2 it was a naval lookout station, it was a moose lodge for a while, and was also used as an entertainment venue. it has recently been remodeled to host weddings and events, and it was a gorgeous place! there are beautiful outdoor areas with fireplaces and native vegetation, a ballroom with a domed lighted ceiling, terracotta tiled floors in the large meeting rooms, and details, details, details. it was so unique, it made me want to plan a huge party! i'm sure all five of my friends would come ;-)
we met the other people who were going to be involved today, and then diandra started shooting details.
i babysat her lenses, held the diffusion shield, kept track of what the client wanted, moved stuff around and put it back, and generally did what i could to help diandra so that she could focus on getting the shots she wanted. and i loved every minute of it!
and then she asked me for her wide angle lens...
uh oh. i looked into her shoot sac. i saw four lenses. apparently one of them was a wide angle lens, but i had no idea which one. i surreptitiously took one out and looked at it. nope, it didn't say "wide angle" anywhere. i checked the next one. it said 50mm. hmmm, it didn't say wide angle either. i picked up another one. still no words, just numbers, numbers, numbers. after checking the last lens, i knew i was in trouble. i did not know which one was the wide angle lens. i didn't want to hand her the wrong one, and i was trying to act like i assisted her all the time, so i didn't really want to have to ask her. i quickly checked them all again, but it became clear that i was going to have to get some help. i walked over to diandra and quietly said, "um, it doesn't say wide angle on any of the lenses."
she is still laughing about it.
she explained the numbers to me, AGAIN, and soon i had it figured out. in fact, i learned a lot of things today, so i was thinking that maybe it was time for a top ten list...
TOP TEN THINGS I LEARNED ABOUT BEING A PHOTOGRAPHER'S ASSISTANT TODAY...
10. wait to take a bathroom break until the photographer is ready to take a bathroom break. it isn't good if the photographer is standing around, wasting their valuable time, because the assistant drank a huge diet soda on the way to the shoot and had to go use the facilities. even if your excuse was that you were scoping out locations...
9. don't drink more than the photographer. why? see #10...
8. remember where the shootsac is. the shootsac is the most valuable item at the shoot--except for the camera. it is filled with lenses, batteries, memory cards, business cards... in other words, it needs to be available to the photographer at all times. i tried to keep the shootsac with me, but sometimes i had to put it down to shade the details diandra was shooting. and then we would move on to something else. and then i would turn around to get a lens and the shootsac would be gone! and i would have to try to remember where i had left it and go get it. it seemed like no matter where we were, the shootsac would be hiding the lenses at the other side of the venue. i think the shootsac thinks i am after it's job! it's pretty smart, because i might be :-)
7. the food is just there to look beautiful. don't eat it--at least not until the photographer says she is done shooting it!
a styled shoot is all about the photographs. sometimes that means the food isn't exactly real. but today, the food from sweet cream bakery in san clemente was real. and beautiful. and delicious. i know it was delicious, because after looking at it all afternoon, we finally got to eat it. i ate a red velvet cake pop. and then i ate another one. i was really, really glad that the food was real at this shoot! so was everyone else. everyone who was involved today was standing just out of camera range, waiting for diandra to say, "ok, i'm done shooting the desserts." those biblical locusts had nothing on us!!!
6. don't put a small point and shoot camera into the top of the shootsac. i was carrying so much stuff back and forth that it seemed like a good idea at the time, and maybe it was... right up until the moment that it fell out of the shootsac onto the ceramic tiles... which brings me to...
5. don't drop my camera. of course i had my camera with me! it was a day full of photo ops!! i looooove to take pictures of diandra taking pictures.
but i had to squeeze that in between juggling her lenses and the diffusion shield and tweeting about how much fun i was having. i've dropped my camera before, and it has always survived, so i wasn't really worried. but then, the next photo i took looked like this:
suddenly i was thinking maybe i should have stayed at work and earned my paycheck this afternoon, because it looked like i might be replacing a camera... thankfully it was just a lens cover malfunction. i fixed it, and then took some more pictures of diandra shooting pictures.
4. keep extra ponytail bands in the shootsac. it was a bit windy yesterday, and we were outside most of the time. i spent a lot of time with my arms fully extended above my head holding a diffuser shade. which was fine, until the wind blew my hair across my face, and i couldn't breathe--or move to brush it away!! it was kind of like having a bug crawling up your arm or a tiny rock in your shoe. it drove me crazy!!! thankfully, diandra had an extra ponytail band in the shootsac...
3. know when to shut up. it isn't as easy as it sounds! when i look at pictures, i always see the messy background or the hair that is out of place. i see the scrap of paper that has blown under the adirondack chair, or the four yellow dandelions in the yard full of beautiful green grass, or the sprinkler head in the middle of the picture, and so i want to make sure they don't get in the shot. but i also don't want to break diandra's train of thought as she moves through her shoot. sometimes i see a shot from a different angle that i think would be a great picture, so i suggest it. but i also don't want to sound like i am trying to tell her what to do, so sometimes i don't. it is a fine line to walk...
2. don't leave the lenses at the location. this seems somewhat unnecessary to say. and yet, i walked off to the car at the end of the day without the shootsac. thankfully i remembered before we got out of the parking lot.
and the number one thing i learned about being a photographer's assistant today...
1. if they borrow your diamond ring for the shoot, make sure to get it back! yeah, we were sitting in the car, ready to leave, when travis--the groom model--came running across the parking lot with my ring in his hand. several times during the day i had thought, "don't forget to get your ring... don't forget to get your ring..." but by the end of the day, it was dark and we were tired, and i just forgot... luckily we were working with honest people!
on the way home, i told diandra how much i had enjoyed the day. i even offered to quit my job if i could be her assistant. she said it had been a big help to have me there today, but that usually she didn't really need an assistant. i tried to convince her that she did! she told me that she probably couldn't match my paycheck. this is probably true...
...but my paycheck doesn't buy days spent in the sunshine watching my daughter do what she loves best, and getting to be a part of it!
diandra had a big photo shoot today. it was a styled shoot, and as she was telling me about all the vendors involved, i asked her how many photographers would be there, and she said... just one. it sounded like a very complicated shoot, and it soon became clear that it would be good if she had some help. so i sent some text messages and talked to some people, and was able to take the afternoon off work and rearrange an appointment so that i could go with her.
i dashed home at noon, changed my clothes, grabbed an extra sweater and a coat (because we were going to be at the beach and it was cool today,) and we headed south to san clemente.
it was a beautiful day! we were right by the beach, but we spent most of the day at the venue, which was beautiful!!
it was an old casino, built in 1937, that had gone through several transformations during the last century. in world war 2 it was a naval lookout station, it was a moose lodge for a while, and was also used as an entertainment venue. it has recently been remodeled to host weddings and events, and it was a gorgeous place! there are beautiful outdoor areas with fireplaces and native vegetation, a ballroom with a domed lighted ceiling, terracotta tiled floors in the large meeting rooms, and details, details, details. it was so unique, it made me want to plan a huge party! i'm sure all five of my friends would come ;-)we met the other people who were going to be involved today, and then diandra started shooting details.
i babysat her lenses, held the diffusion shield, kept track of what the client wanted, moved stuff around and put it back, and generally did what i could to help diandra so that she could focus on getting the shots she wanted. and i loved every minute of it!and then she asked me for her wide angle lens...
uh oh. i looked into her shoot sac. i saw four lenses. apparently one of them was a wide angle lens, but i had no idea which one. i surreptitiously took one out and looked at it. nope, it didn't say "wide angle" anywhere. i checked the next one. it said 50mm. hmmm, it didn't say wide angle either. i picked up another one. still no words, just numbers, numbers, numbers. after checking the last lens, i knew i was in trouble. i did not know which one was the wide angle lens. i didn't want to hand her the wrong one, and i was trying to act like i assisted her all the time, so i didn't really want to have to ask her. i quickly checked them all again, but it became clear that i was going to have to get some help. i walked over to diandra and quietly said, "um, it doesn't say wide angle on any of the lenses."
she is still laughing about it.
she explained the numbers to me, AGAIN, and soon i had it figured out. in fact, i learned a lot of things today, so i was thinking that maybe it was time for a top ten list...
TOP TEN THINGS I LEARNED ABOUT BEING A PHOTOGRAPHER'S ASSISTANT TODAY...
10. wait to take a bathroom break until the photographer is ready to take a bathroom break. it isn't good if the photographer is standing around, wasting their valuable time, because the assistant drank a huge diet soda on the way to the shoot and had to go use the facilities. even if your excuse was that you were scoping out locations...
9. don't drink more than the photographer. why? see #10...
8. remember where the shootsac is. the shootsac is the most valuable item at the shoot--except for the camera. it is filled with lenses, batteries, memory cards, business cards... in other words, it needs to be available to the photographer at all times. i tried to keep the shootsac with me, but sometimes i had to put it down to shade the details diandra was shooting. and then we would move on to something else. and then i would turn around to get a lens and the shootsac would be gone! and i would have to try to remember where i had left it and go get it. it seemed like no matter where we were, the shootsac would be hiding the lenses at the other side of the venue. i think the shootsac thinks i am after it's job! it's pretty smart, because i might be :-)
7. the food is just there to look beautiful. don't eat it--at least not until the photographer says she is done shooting it!
a styled shoot is all about the photographs. sometimes that means the food isn't exactly real. but today, the food from sweet cream bakery in san clemente was real. and beautiful. and delicious. i know it was delicious, because after looking at it all afternoon, we finally got to eat it. i ate a red velvet cake pop. and then i ate another one. i was really, really glad that the food was real at this shoot! so was everyone else. everyone who was involved today was standing just out of camera range, waiting for diandra to say, "ok, i'm done shooting the desserts." those biblical locusts had nothing on us!!!6. don't put a small point and shoot camera into the top of the shootsac. i was carrying so much stuff back and forth that it seemed like a good idea at the time, and maybe it was... right up until the moment that it fell out of the shootsac onto the ceramic tiles... which brings me to...
5. don't drop my camera. of course i had my camera with me! it was a day full of photo ops!! i looooove to take pictures of diandra taking pictures.
but i had to squeeze that in between juggling her lenses and the diffusion shield and tweeting about how much fun i was having. i've dropped my camera before, and it has always survived, so i wasn't really worried. but then, the next photo i took looked like this:
suddenly i was thinking maybe i should have stayed at work and earned my paycheck this afternoon, because it looked like i might be replacing a camera... thankfully it was just a lens cover malfunction. i fixed it, and then took some more pictures of diandra shooting pictures.
4. keep extra ponytail bands in the shootsac. it was a bit windy yesterday, and we were outside most of the time. i spent a lot of time with my arms fully extended above my head holding a diffuser shade. which was fine, until the wind blew my hair across my face, and i couldn't breathe--or move to brush it away!! it was kind of like having a bug crawling up your arm or a tiny rock in your shoe. it drove me crazy!!! thankfully, diandra had an extra ponytail band in the shootsac...3. know when to shut up. it isn't as easy as it sounds! when i look at pictures, i always see the messy background or the hair that is out of place. i see the scrap of paper that has blown under the adirondack chair, or the four yellow dandelions in the yard full of beautiful green grass, or the sprinkler head in the middle of the picture, and so i want to make sure they don't get in the shot. but i also don't want to break diandra's train of thought as she moves through her shoot. sometimes i see a shot from a different angle that i think would be a great picture, so i suggest it. but i also don't want to sound like i am trying to tell her what to do, so sometimes i don't. it is a fine line to walk...
2. don't leave the lenses at the location. this seems somewhat unnecessary to say. and yet, i walked off to the car at the end of the day without the shootsac. thankfully i remembered before we got out of the parking lot.and the number one thing i learned about being a photographer's assistant today...
1. if they borrow your diamond ring for the shoot, make sure to get it back! yeah, we were sitting in the car, ready to leave, when travis--the groom model--came running across the parking lot with my ring in his hand. several times during the day i had thought, "don't forget to get your ring... don't forget to get your ring..." but by the end of the day, it was dark and we were tired, and i just forgot... luckily we were working with honest people!
on the way home, i told diandra how much i had enjoyed the day. i even offered to quit my job if i could be her assistant. she said it had been a big help to have me there today, but that usually she didn't really need an assistant. i tried to convince her that she did! she told me that she probably couldn't match my paycheck. this is probably true...
...but my paycheck doesn't buy days spent in the sunshine watching my daughter do what she loves best, and getting to be a part of it!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
a sad top ten list...
so today . . . was the first day in thirty years that i have gone to a church where rollie wasn't the pastor. i mean, we have gone to other churches when we were on vacation, and i have even gone to our church when rollie wasn't there. but today, when i went to church, he wasn't our pastor anymore...
i thought it would be ok. i thought it wouldn't be that much different. after all, i usually don't really see him on sunday mornings anyway, until his cute face shows up to preach on the big screen in the gym, which is where i am. but it was different. it felt different. he didn't pop in to smile at me while the band was rehearsing. when i went to his office to get water, the mini refrigerator was empty. i didn't have to wait for him to get done talking to someone before we could go have lunch after church. he wasn't waiting for me to finish wrapping cords and putting sound equipment away before we could leave. it was different, and i didn't like it. not one tiny little bit.
but i guess we can't have it both ways. he can't do his new job and still be the pastor at our church. (i know this, because he sort of had to do that for the month of january, and it was not pretty!!) and he will be really good at the new job. so we will all just have to adjust (and by all, i mean mostly diandra and me) to our pastor not being rollie. and we will. but i think this momentous occasion calls for a top ten list. so here it is.
TOP TEN THINGS I WILL MISS ABOUT ROLLIE BEING OUR PASTOR
10. i will miss hearing him preach. you would think after listening to him week after week, year after year, i would be ready for a change. but i'm not. he is a good preacher. he is easy to understand, he tells lots of stories to illustrate his points, and every week he says something that challenges me. i wish i was perfect, so that i didn't always have to think, "yes, i need to work on that" every week. but i'm not--it is good for me to be challenged.
9. i will miss sneaking out to the foyer at the beginning of the service to hear him play the bass, just for one song. since he plays in "big church," i don't get to hear him play very often. his band is always done rehearsing by the time i get there to play with my band. but several months ago, i figured out that since we start church a bit later, i could sneak over to the foyer and listen to him play during the opening song. so now that is what i do. or, that is what i used to do...
8. i will miss his unending supply of water bottles. he always kept water in a mini refrigerator in his office. i could bring water from home, but i never remember! and so at some point on sunday morning, i usually end up in his office looking for water. and if he happens to be in his office, well, that was just an added bonus!
7. i will miss seeing people respond to his sermons. it has been so cool to watch people change because of the words they hear on sunday mornings. rollie doesn't preach theoretical sermons--he preaches practical, "now go do it this week," sermons. and people do. and when they do, it changes them. we are all better people than we were ten years ago...
6. i will miss guessing what color shirt he is wearing. since we watch him on a big screen in the gym, his clothes are not always the color they seem. the camera has to be adjusted for skin tones, and so you can't trust the colors of people's clothing. one day he brought his black leather jacket onto the platform to illustrate a point, and the lining looked like it was bright purple! his black shirts look burgundy or purple, and his green shirts look brown or black, and his blue shirts look black or gray. so diandra and i have a litttle guessing game going...
5. i will miss knowing that whatever crisis is happening, rollie will take care of it. i have confidence in his abilities to diffuse heated situations, to confront when something is wrong, and to encourage when someone feels ready to give up. he just has this ability to know what is needed in different situations, and then how to give what is needed.
4. i will miss our lunch on tuesdays. tuesday has been rollie's sermon writing day. he needs uninterrupted quiet to write a sermon, and so he usually does it at home. and since i work so close, he brings me lunch on tuesdays, even though i only have half an hour to eat. but now, he doesn't have to write a sermon every week. AND his office is 30-40 minutes away. so now when i go out to the parking lot on tuesdays, he isn't there waiting for me with food from subway.
3. i will miss having input into what happens. there. i said it. when rollie was the pastor, if i had ideas about things, i could tell him and i knew he would at least consider it. but now, first of all, there is no one to tell. and secondly, even if there were, why would they care about what i think? so now, my ideas just roll around in my head with nowhere to go.
2. i will miss seeing kids and teens listening to the sermon. i love it when kids come up and ask him questions about something he said. or when parents report that their kids are still talking about the sermon during the week. the fact that he can preach a message that challenges adults and kids at the same time is kind of cool. actually, the fact that kids are listening and understanding and remembering a sermon is really cool.
and the number one thing i will miss about rollie not being our pastor anymore is...
1. ... the end of diandra's sunday tweets, where she says, "dad, in his sermon." because diandra may still tweet during the sermon, but it won't be her dad who is giving the sermon anymore. and that makes me feel sad. really, really sad.
i never wanted to be a pastor's wife. but i am so very glad that rollie has been our pastor all these years. i'm glad diandra has grown up hearing him preach every week. and while i know that the new responsibilities he has accepted are important too, i am going to miss his cute face up there on the screen in the gym, in his mysteriously colored shirts, challenging us to be more like Jesus... every. single. week.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
the rest of the story
so today . . . i was thinking about the whole "rollie chases bass amp across parking lot, but to no avail as amp hits porsche despite his best efforts at stopping it" incident. some of you have been wondering how things turned out. so as requested, here is the rest of the story. and of course, i had to put it into a top ten list.
TOP TEN THINGS I DIDN'T TELL YOU BEFORE ABOUT THE "INCIDENT."
10. the lawyer actually turned out to be very nice.
9. the porsche wasn't new. but it was newly restored.
8. it was, however, new enough to have an alarm system. or an alarm system was part of the restoration. because when the amp smacked into the car, the alarm went off. and kept going. and going. and going. fortunately there was no one in the parking lot. although, that kind of begs the question, how effective is a car alarm if it goes off and no one comes...
7. the spot where the amp hit had been previously hit, and repaired. that's why a big chunk fell off.
6. since the porsche had just been restored, the owner understandably wanted to take it back to the shop that had done the restoration. that seemed reasonable to us--if we were in his situation, that is what we would want to do too. so we had an estimate in just a couple of days.
5. the estimate is not in the thousands of dollars--it is only a few hundred dollars. (i hesitate to use the word "only" in front of the words "hundreds of dollars," but the fact is, that repair bill could easily have been in the thousands if it had been a brand new car.)
4. our car insurance probably won't cover it. but the church's insurance probably will, since it was a church activity. although, it will make the premiums go up, so we may not submit it to the insurance.
3. the amp is fine. it is big and heavy and solid. it was turned so that a corner is what hit the porsche. that may have resulted in more damage to the car, but probably also in less damage to the amp--like none. you can't even tell that it went on an adventure...
2. rollie is fine. this may seem obvious, but i can't help but wonder what would have happened if he had been able to catch up with the amp. that thing was moving FAST! and as i said, it is heavy! would he have been able to stop it? would it have thrown him over and onto the porsche? would it have flipped him onto the pavement and run over him? so many questions...
and the number one thing i didn't tell you before...
1. rollie never did play his bass guitar. so as it turns out, the whole thing could have been avoided--if we had just left the amp at home and gone in my car...
and there it is. just another one of those things that seems to have happened for no reason other than to supply material for a blog. or two :)
TOP TEN THINGS I DIDN'T TELL YOU BEFORE ABOUT THE "INCIDENT."
10. the lawyer actually turned out to be very nice.
9. the porsche wasn't new. but it was newly restored.
8. it was, however, new enough to have an alarm system. or an alarm system was part of the restoration. because when the amp smacked into the car, the alarm went off. and kept going. and going. and going. fortunately there was no one in the parking lot. although, that kind of begs the question, how effective is a car alarm if it goes off and no one comes...
7. the spot where the amp hit had been previously hit, and repaired. that's why a big chunk fell off.
6. since the porsche had just been restored, the owner understandably wanted to take it back to the shop that had done the restoration. that seemed reasonable to us--if we were in his situation, that is what we would want to do too. so we had an estimate in just a couple of days.
5. the estimate is not in the thousands of dollars--it is only a few hundred dollars. (i hesitate to use the word "only" in front of the words "hundreds of dollars," but the fact is, that repair bill could easily have been in the thousands if it had been a brand new car.)
4. our car insurance probably won't cover it. but the church's insurance probably will, since it was a church activity. although, it will make the premiums go up, so we may not submit it to the insurance.
3. the amp is fine. it is big and heavy and solid. it was turned so that a corner is what hit the porsche. that may have resulted in more damage to the car, but probably also in less damage to the amp--like none. you can't even tell that it went on an adventure...
2. rollie is fine. this may seem obvious, but i can't help but wonder what would have happened if he had been able to catch up with the amp. that thing was moving FAST! and as i said, it is heavy! would he have been able to stop it? would it have thrown him over and onto the porsche? would it have flipped him onto the pavement and run over him? so many questions...
and the number one thing i didn't tell you before...
1. rollie never did play his bass guitar. so as it turns out, the whole thing could have been avoided--if we had just left the amp at home and gone in my car...
and there it is. just another one of those things that seems to have happened for no reason other than to supply material for a blog. or two :)
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
i'm sure it must be fall somewhere...
so today . . . it is HOT! the santa ana winds are blowing, and it was over 95 degrees today. and in case you aren't paying attention, it is NOVEMBER!!!
i love southern california. love. it. and a big part of the reason is our moderate weather. we have about ten really hot days and five rainy days a year--the rest of the days are between 65 and 85 degrees. how can a person complain about that?!?!
oh just watch me... i have a whole list of complaints! ten, as a matter of fact :)
TOP TEN REASONS WHY IT SHOULDN'T BE 95 DEGREES IN NOVEMBER!
#10. the halloween chocolate will melt. it was just three days ago that tiny children (and some not so tiny children,) walked around after dark threatening their neighbors if they didn't get candy. i was at target last week, so i know that almost all halloween candy either has a chocolate coating or a chocolate center or is totally 100% chocolate with no distracting substances added. but chocolate doesn't respond well to heat. and since i can't believe that all that candy has already been eaten--although i am sure a lot of it has been--it is sitting on kitchen counters all over southern california, melting...
#9. it doesn't feel like fall. you know what i mean--that crispness in the air, a little bit of frost now and then, red and yellow leaves... ok, i can't blame the lack of colored leaves on the heat. probably. but it doesn't feel like pumpkin patch weather--it feels like water slide weather! and so...
#8. i can't use the fireplace. i love having a fire in the fireplace, but wood is precious here, so our fire is made from burning gas rather than burning wood. we do have trees, but you have to drive a bit of a distance to see wild ones. and since californians seem to prefer to let their trees burn naturally, you don't see too many wood burning fireplaces here. and that's ok with me. i would much rather turn a switch and light a match, than haul and stack wood. besides, can you imagine the spiders that would live in a wood pile?!?!?!? which brings me to...
#7. the spiders are confused. (this point is diandra's. she is somewhat spider-phobic. and when i say somewhat, i mean completely and totally, to hysterical proportions...) diandra says the spiders don't know what to do with this unseasonably warm weather. she says when it is warm they stay outside, but when it turns cold they migrate inside, looking for more moderate temperatures. and we did have a few cool days, so according to diandra, all the spiders have moved inside. but now that it has warmed up, they are coming out where we can see them--still inside, but out in plain sight. needless to say, she is somewhat skittish right now. she thinks the spiders are everywhere. and i have heard the screams to prove it!
#6. our tans have faded. and yet when it is this hot, you can't run around in long sleeves and tights and boots! there is a reason that arms and legs are bare in the summer time and not in the dead of winter. have you heard the term "winter white?" yeah, well it isn't just a sweater color--it is also the color of my legs by mid-october. these are the times i wish that the ethnic skeletons in my closet would make themselves known. i was sitting across the room from a filipino guy wearing shorts tonight at bible study, and i couldn't help but think, "i wish my legs were that nice caramel color in november..."
#5. my allergies are activated. the reason it is so hot is because of those blasted santa ana winds! and when the winds blow, it stirs up all sorts of stuff into the air--stuff that makes my nose run and my eyes itch. i don't like it when my nose runs and my eyes itch. when my nose runs and my eyes itch, all i want to do is curl up in bed and sleep--preferably in front of the fireplace. which i can't use, because it is too hot! (see #8)
#4. diandra is dying in her jeep. diandra has a very cool jeep wrangler. it has monster tires. the top and windows zip off so she can enjoy the socal sunshine. the boys are all jealous (which, as everyone knows, is the important thing about a vehicle!) it is the car of her dreams! unless we have unseasonably hot weather. because one thing the jeep does not have is air-conditioning. we warned her. she said it would be fine--after all, the whole top comes off! we tried to tell her that there would be times when she wanted a/c, but all she wanted was that jeep! so now she has it. and she still loves it. but when fall "arrives" and she zips the top back on, and then the santa anas blow, it gets kind of toasty inside.
#3. i can't decide what to wear. this might not sound like such a big deal, but there are issues here! (see #6) even though technically it is fall, if i try to wear fall clothing, i am going to die of heat! but summer clothing just seems wrong (although i saw several people in shorts and tank tops today.) and when you are a person that gets out of bed 15 minutes before you have to leave for work on some mornings, not knowing what clothes to throw on your body wastes precious time, making you late. my compromise (to deal with #6) is bare arms, covered legs. but it isn't as easy as it sounds.
#2. i feel the need for iced drinks, but the red cups have reportedly arrived at starbucks. that means it is time for seasonal drinks! i am not really a starbucks person, but a couple of years ago i discovered the joys of a peppermint white chocolate mocha. i even went out in a snowstorm to get one! (and not a california snowstorm either--it was an oregon "don't go out unless there is an emergency" snowstorm.) and don't tell me just to get my seasonal drink in iced form, because you cannot drink a pumpkin spice latte if there isn't some steam rising from it. really. (although an iced peppermint white chocolate mocha might not be bad... )
and the number 1 reason that it shouldn't be 95 degrees in november is...
#1. it's too hot to get into the garage and get out the christmas decorations. "what?!?!" you may be thinking, "wait, isn't this blog about ridiculously hot weather in november?? why is she talking about christmas decorations??" because, at our house we prefer to put the christmas tree up before thanksgiving, and this year diandra has requested that it we put it up extra early--like in a week or two. we do this for a couple of reasons, but mostly because we love our christmas decorations. and since december has been getting busier and busier for us, the only way we really get to sit and enjoy the beauty is to put it up early. but don't worry--it isn't like the tree is in the front window.
as you can see, this unseasonably hot weather is annoying me. thankfully we are supposed to be back to our regular fall temperatures (65-70) by the weekend--back to our sweaters, boots, hot drinks, and a fire in the fireplace.
maybe we will even brave the garage and get out those christmas decorations...
i love southern california. love. it. and a big part of the reason is our moderate weather. we have about ten really hot days and five rainy days a year--the rest of the days are between 65 and 85 degrees. how can a person complain about that?!?!
oh just watch me... i have a whole list of complaints! ten, as a matter of fact :)
TOP TEN REASONS WHY IT SHOULDN'T BE 95 DEGREES IN NOVEMBER!
#10. the halloween chocolate will melt. it was just three days ago that tiny children (and some not so tiny children,) walked around after dark threatening their neighbors if they didn't get candy. i was at target last week, so i know that almost all halloween candy either has a chocolate coating or a chocolate center or is totally 100% chocolate with no distracting substances added. but chocolate doesn't respond well to heat. and since i can't believe that all that candy has already been eaten--although i am sure a lot of it has been--it is sitting on kitchen counters all over southern california, melting...
#9. it doesn't feel like fall. you know what i mean--that crispness in the air, a little bit of frost now and then, red and yellow leaves... ok, i can't blame the lack of colored leaves on the heat. probably. but it doesn't feel like pumpkin patch weather--it feels like water slide weather! and so...
#8. i can't use the fireplace. i love having a fire in the fireplace, but wood is precious here, so our fire is made from burning gas rather than burning wood. we do have trees, but you have to drive a bit of a distance to see wild ones. and since californians seem to prefer to let their trees burn naturally, you don't see too many wood burning fireplaces here. and that's ok with me. i would much rather turn a switch and light a match, than haul and stack wood. besides, can you imagine the spiders that would live in a wood pile?!?!?!? which brings me to...
#7. the spiders are confused. (this point is diandra's. she is somewhat spider-phobic. and when i say somewhat, i mean completely and totally, to hysterical proportions...) diandra says the spiders don't know what to do with this unseasonably warm weather. she says when it is warm they stay outside, but when it turns cold they migrate inside, looking for more moderate temperatures. and we did have a few cool days, so according to diandra, all the spiders have moved inside. but now that it has warmed up, they are coming out where we can see them--still inside, but out in plain sight. needless to say, she is somewhat skittish right now. she thinks the spiders are everywhere. and i have heard the screams to prove it!
#6. our tans have faded. and yet when it is this hot, you can't run around in long sleeves and tights and boots! there is a reason that arms and legs are bare in the summer time and not in the dead of winter. have you heard the term "winter white?" yeah, well it isn't just a sweater color--it is also the color of my legs by mid-october. these are the times i wish that the ethnic skeletons in my closet would make themselves known. i was sitting across the room from a filipino guy wearing shorts tonight at bible study, and i couldn't help but think, "i wish my legs were that nice caramel color in november..."
#5. my allergies are activated. the reason it is so hot is because of those blasted santa ana winds! and when the winds blow, it stirs up all sorts of stuff into the air--stuff that makes my nose run and my eyes itch. i don't like it when my nose runs and my eyes itch. when my nose runs and my eyes itch, all i want to do is curl up in bed and sleep--preferably in front of the fireplace. which i can't use, because it is too hot! (see #8)
#4. diandra is dying in her jeep. diandra has a very cool jeep wrangler. it has monster tires. the top and windows zip off so she can enjoy the socal sunshine. the boys are all jealous (which, as everyone knows, is the important thing about a vehicle!) it is the car of her dreams! unless we have unseasonably hot weather. because one thing the jeep does not have is air-conditioning. we warned her. she said it would be fine--after all, the whole top comes off! we tried to tell her that there would be times when she wanted a/c, but all she wanted was that jeep! so now she has it. and she still loves it. but when fall "arrives" and she zips the top back on, and then the santa anas blow, it gets kind of toasty inside.
#3. i can't decide what to wear. this might not sound like such a big deal, but there are issues here! (see #6) even though technically it is fall, if i try to wear fall clothing, i am going to die of heat! but summer clothing just seems wrong (although i saw several people in shorts and tank tops today.) and when you are a person that gets out of bed 15 minutes before you have to leave for work on some mornings, not knowing what clothes to throw on your body wastes precious time, making you late. my compromise (to deal with #6) is bare arms, covered legs. but it isn't as easy as it sounds.
#2. i feel the need for iced drinks, but the red cups have reportedly arrived at starbucks. that means it is time for seasonal drinks! i am not really a starbucks person, but a couple of years ago i discovered the joys of a peppermint white chocolate mocha. i even went out in a snowstorm to get one! (and not a california snowstorm either--it was an oregon "don't go out unless there is an emergency" snowstorm.) and don't tell me just to get my seasonal drink in iced form, because you cannot drink a pumpkin spice latte if there isn't some steam rising from it. really. (although an iced peppermint white chocolate mocha might not be bad... )
and the number 1 reason that it shouldn't be 95 degrees in november is...
#1. it's too hot to get into the garage and get out the christmas decorations. "what?!?!" you may be thinking, "wait, isn't this blog about ridiculously hot weather in november?? why is she talking about christmas decorations??" because, at our house we prefer to put the christmas tree up before thanksgiving, and this year diandra has requested that it we put it up extra early--like in a week or two. we do this for a couple of reasons, but mostly because we love our christmas decorations. and since december has been getting busier and busier for us, the only way we really get to sit and enjoy the beauty is to put it up early. but don't worry--it isn't like the tree is in the front window.
as you can see, this unseasonably hot weather is annoying me. thankfully we are supposed to be back to our regular fall temperatures (65-70) by the weekend--back to our sweaters, boots, hot drinks, and a fire in the fireplace.
maybe we will even brave the garage and get out those christmas decorations...
Friday, July 30, 2010
500!
so today . . . i am posting my 500th blog! FIVE HUNDRED!! just stop for a minute and think about that . . . i am pretty impressed with myself!
i think i spend waaaay more time writing my blog than anyone else does. i say this because i am never happy with my first attempt. i write, rewrite, and edit every blog to within an inch of it's life. and this takes time! but i do it, because i want it to be good--really good. i want to feel proud of the end result, and so i write for as long as it takes . . .
but how long does it take? since i rarely sit down, start a new blog, write it, edit it, and post it all in one sitting without any breaks, it is kind of hard to estimate the time spent. (especially since facebook is usually occupying another tab on my computer, and maybe home shopping network and hotmail too--all clamoring for a little of my attention . . . ) i usually start my blog between 7:00 and 8:00 at night, and don't post it until after 11:00. of course, i am not blogging all of that time--i am also shopping, playing fb games, reading other blogs, and checking my email! but i think a conservative estimate would be an hour of work for each blog post. that is a lot of time--especially if you add it all up!
so here is a top ten list of THINGS I COULD HAVE DONE WITH 500 HOURS--IF I HADN'T BLOGGED.
10. i could have worked four more months. why i would do this, i have no idea. but since i work about 32 hours a week teaching small children, 500 hours translates into 15.5 weeks of work. i think it is safe to say i would choose blogging over more work!
9. i could have watched 333 more movies, if the movies averaged an hour and a half long. this does not include travel time. or standing in line to pay $4.75 for a soda. or walking half a mile to find the car in the long beach town center parking lot--if i drove. (if rollie drove, we got a parking space right by the door, because he has this uncanny ability to get the best parking spaces!)
8. i could have scanned in 6000 strips of old negatives, because it takes me about five minutes per strip. of course, that is just the beginning . . . once i get them scanned in, then i have to delete the bad ones, name and date the rest, sort them, and put them into folders. and then, put them into photoshop and fix them up so they look like new! really, in 500 hours, i'll probably actually only complete the process with two strips. two.
7. i could have taken 1500 power naps, which i will need after dealing with all those negatives. i don't know who decided 20 minutes constituted a nap, but i find that it takes me almost that much time to find the alarm app on my phone, set an alarm, and close my eyes. then i lay there and worry that the alarm won't go off, because sometimes i forget to turn the alarm on once it is set, and the rest of the time i forget to unmute the volume. and then before i know it, my 20 minutes is up.
6. i could have said, "are you making a good choice?" 72,000 times. it only takes me five seconds to say that, but i say it over and over and over again, day after day after day. of course, i work with five year olds . . .
5. i could have attended 143 angels games, if i was in charge of the schedule. this is because i don't feel the need to get to a baseball game two hours before the first pitch is thrown (unlike some people in my family!) rollie would only get to go to 111 games . . .
4. i could have made 29 non-stop drives to portland. we are road warriors! if necessary, we can drive that trip in 17 hours. of course, to do that, we have to employ the three-in-one stop. for those of you who only fly, the three-in-one stop means gas, restrooms, and food (to go) all in one stop, and then we hit the freeway for four more hours. this means that sometimes lunch consists of corn nuts, cherry nibs, and soda, but we make good time :)
3. i could have watched 625 episodes of mythbusters on netflix. however, there are currently only 166 episodes recorded, so i would have to watch each one three times. that's ok though, because does one ever get tired of ballistics gel? or watching things blow up?!?
2. i could have ridden california screamin' 7500 times! this is the. best. rollercoaster. EVER!! there are some pretty good roller coasters at magic mountain, but if i could only ride one roller coaster for the rest of my life, i think this would be the one. it is that good!
and the number one thing i could have done with an extra 500 hours?
1. i could have written a book. although a book would have required a beginning and an end. and while my blog had a beginning, i don't know when it will end. and as for character development? i seem to have plenty of characters in my life . . .
in hindsight, i am glad i have blogged. i started out with the intent just to give you a giggle every day, but i have ended up sharing my life. it has turned out to be totally worth the time i have invested in it.
here's to 500 more!
*as i go to post this blog, i realize that it is blog #501! i do not know how this has happened!! now my ocd is kicking into overdrive, and i am trying to figure out how i can rearrange the last couple of blogs so that this one will actually BE my 500th blog. i guess i could change the date on the kindle blog that i wrote a few days ago. really, it isn't particularly specific to the day i wrote it. and since i haven't actually read a book on my kindle yet, i could sort of pretend i wrote it after this one . . . don't you think? but if i do that, then this whole paragraph won't make any sense when future blog readers come across it.
sheesh!
i think i spend waaaay more time writing my blog than anyone else does. i say this because i am never happy with my first attempt. i write, rewrite, and edit every blog to within an inch of it's life. and this takes time! but i do it, because i want it to be good--really good. i want to feel proud of the end result, and so i write for as long as it takes . . .
but how long does it take? since i rarely sit down, start a new blog, write it, edit it, and post it all in one sitting without any breaks, it is kind of hard to estimate the time spent. (especially since facebook is usually occupying another tab on my computer, and maybe home shopping network and hotmail too--all clamoring for a little of my attention . . . ) i usually start my blog between 7:00 and 8:00 at night, and don't post it until after 11:00. of course, i am not blogging all of that time--i am also shopping, playing fb games, reading other blogs, and checking my email! but i think a conservative estimate would be an hour of work for each blog post. that is a lot of time--especially if you add it all up!
so here is a top ten list of THINGS I COULD HAVE DONE WITH 500 HOURS--IF I HADN'T BLOGGED.
10. i could have worked four more months. why i would do this, i have no idea. but since i work about 32 hours a week teaching small children, 500 hours translates into 15.5 weeks of work. i think it is safe to say i would choose blogging over more work!
9. i could have watched 333 more movies, if the movies averaged an hour and a half long. this does not include travel time. or standing in line to pay $4.75 for a soda. or walking half a mile to find the car in the long beach town center parking lot--if i drove. (if rollie drove, we got a parking space right by the door, because he has this uncanny ability to get the best parking spaces!)
8. i could have scanned in 6000 strips of old negatives, because it takes me about five minutes per strip. of course, that is just the beginning . . . once i get them scanned in, then i have to delete the bad ones, name and date the rest, sort them, and put them into folders. and then, put them into photoshop and fix them up so they look like new! really, in 500 hours, i'll probably actually only complete the process with two strips. two.
7. i could have taken 1500 power naps, which i will need after dealing with all those negatives. i don't know who decided 20 minutes constituted a nap, but i find that it takes me almost that much time to find the alarm app on my phone, set an alarm, and close my eyes. then i lay there and worry that the alarm won't go off, because sometimes i forget to turn the alarm on once it is set, and the rest of the time i forget to unmute the volume. and then before i know it, my 20 minutes is up.
6. i could have said, "are you making a good choice?" 72,000 times. it only takes me five seconds to say that, but i say it over and over and over again, day after day after day. of course, i work with five year olds . . .
5. i could have attended 143 angels games, if i was in charge of the schedule. this is because i don't feel the need to get to a baseball game two hours before the first pitch is thrown (unlike some people in my family!) rollie would only get to go to 111 games . . .
4. i could have made 29 non-stop drives to portland. we are road warriors! if necessary, we can drive that trip in 17 hours. of course, to do that, we have to employ the three-in-one stop. for those of you who only fly, the three-in-one stop means gas, restrooms, and food (to go) all in one stop, and then we hit the freeway for four more hours. this means that sometimes lunch consists of corn nuts, cherry nibs, and soda, but we make good time :)
3. i could have watched 625 episodes of mythbusters on netflix. however, there are currently only 166 episodes recorded, so i would have to watch each one three times. that's ok though, because does one ever get tired of ballistics gel? or watching things blow up?!?
2. i could have ridden california screamin' 7500 times! this is the. best. rollercoaster. EVER!! there are some pretty good roller coasters at magic mountain, but if i could only ride one roller coaster for the rest of my life, i think this would be the one. it is that good!
and the number one thing i could have done with an extra 500 hours?
1. i could have written a book. although a book would have required a beginning and an end. and while my blog had a beginning, i don't know when it will end. and as for character development? i seem to have plenty of characters in my life . . .
in hindsight, i am glad i have blogged. i started out with the intent just to give you a giggle every day, but i have ended up sharing my life. it has turned out to be totally worth the time i have invested in it.
here's to 500 more!
*as i go to post this blog, i realize that it is blog #501! i do not know how this has happened!! now my ocd is kicking into overdrive, and i am trying to figure out how i can rearrange the last couple of blogs so that this one will actually BE my 500th blog. i guess i could change the date on the kindle blog that i wrote a few days ago. really, it isn't particularly specific to the day i wrote it. and since i haven't actually read a book on my kindle yet, i could sort of pretend i wrote it after this one . . . don't you think? but if i do that, then this whole paragraph won't make any sense when future blog readers come across it.
sheesh!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
vacation: day 4
so today . . . we went to the antique show.
the antique show and i have a long history together. i've spent more days than i can remember out there trolling the aisles for hidden treasure, and today was no different.
well, actually, that isn't true. today was different. today i went looking for cheap treasures--and by cheap, i mean less than $5. today my dad didn't go with us. he is the negotiating king, but today we had to do our own negotiating. today i apparently wasn't the only one out there with a small wrist shopping for bracelets, because the tiny, sparkly bracelet i went back to get was gone . . . which is probably ok, because it cost more than $5. and today, instead of just shopping and enjoying being with my mom and my daughter, i spent some time listening to what was being said around me. the result is my TOP TEN LIST OF THINGS OVERHEARD AT THE ANTIQUE SHOW.
10-"it's not real old, but it's solid--there's no breaks or cracks in it."
9-"i know my daughter, and i know what she thinks!!"
8-"we are going to go up every stinkin' aisle and look at what i want and not what i don't!"
7-"i know you are bored with all of this..."
6-"what do you know about this picture?" and the reply, "it's old. it's very old!"
5-"i'm so proud of you! you bought something!" (aren't these words we would all love to hear...)
4-"i wish we had something old in our family..." and the response, "we do--we have grandma!"
3-"that's because i'm #4 on speed dial!"
2-"i just think you should know, if you buy that, i'm not going to keep it when you die!"
and the number one thing overheard at the antique show...
1-"i'm not going to buy this! it's been used!"
seriously? at the antique show? it's been used?!?! isn't that kind of the nature of antiques?? you know, old stuff? and yet, maybe the definition of old is somewhat relative...
diandra was looking for old cameras to display in her office. again. "ooo mom, what do you think about this one?" she asked. i turned around to see what she was holding.
"that's not an old camera," i said, "i had one of those when i was a kid!"
she just looked at me, raised her eyebrows, and smiled.
the antique show and i have a long history together. i've spent more days than i can remember out there trolling the aisles for hidden treasure, and today was no different.
well, actually, that isn't true. today was different. today i went looking for cheap treasures--and by cheap, i mean less than $5. today my dad didn't go with us. he is the negotiating king, but today we had to do our own negotiating. today i apparently wasn't the only one out there with a small wrist shopping for bracelets, because the tiny, sparkly bracelet i went back to get was gone . . . which is probably ok, because it cost more than $5. and today, instead of just shopping and enjoying being with my mom and my daughter, i spent some time listening to what was being said around me. the result is my TOP TEN LIST OF THINGS OVERHEARD AT THE ANTIQUE SHOW.
10-"it's not real old, but it's solid--there's no breaks or cracks in it."
9-"i know my daughter, and i know what she thinks!!"
8-"we are going to go up every stinkin' aisle and look at what i want and not what i don't!"
7-"i know you are bored with all of this..."
6-"what do you know about this picture?" and the reply, "it's old. it's very old!"
5-"i'm so proud of you! you bought something!" (aren't these words we would all love to hear...)
4-"i wish we had something old in our family..." and the response, "we do--we have grandma!"
3-"that's because i'm #4 on speed dial!"
2-"i just think you should know, if you buy that, i'm not going to keep it when you die!"
and the number one thing overheard at the antique show...
1-"i'm not going to buy this! it's been used!"
seriously? at the antique show? it's been used?!?! isn't that kind of the nature of antiques?? you know, old stuff? and yet, maybe the definition of old is somewhat relative...
diandra was looking for old cameras to display in her office. again. "ooo mom, what do you think about this one?" she asked. i turned around to see what she was holding.
"that's not an old camera," i said, "i had one of those when i was a kid!"she just looked at me, raised her eyebrows, and smiled.
Monday, April 26, 2010
lessons from my lunch
so today . . . i had lunch at chick-fil-a.
when i started working at my current job, the hours were somewhat negotiable. while i didn't get exactly what i wanted, they came pretty close. i chose to take just half an hour for lunch and go home half an hour earlier. most days it works for me--that is enough time for me to eat at school (or dash to 7-11 for brownies,) and i like getting home a bit earlier in the afternoon. but this year it was necessary for the school to make some adjustments which resulted in an hour long lunch for me on mondays and wednesdays. since i have a full hour, i like to go off site, and i seem to have settled on chick-fil-a as my destination of choice. there are other fast food places i could choose that are all within a couple of miles of my school, but i find myself going back to chick-fil-a most of the time.
today as i pointed my car in the direction of chick-fil-a, i started thinking about why i keep going back, monday after wednesday after monday. and as i thought about it, this is what i came up with:
THE TOP TEN REASONS WHY I LIKE TO EAT AT CHICK-FIL-A.
10. it is close. although i have an hour, i don't want to spend any more time than i have to getting there (even though i am getting there in my cool car.) the longer it takes me to go back and forth, the less time i have to eat. and read.
9. they serve chicken. chicken is good for me, right?
8. they have cross-cut fries. ok, i know they are not good for me, but crispy cross-cut fries are hard to resist. and if i get them in a . . .
7. kid's meal, then i only get a few. also, a kid's meal comes with a toy. i can either put the toy in the treasure chest at school, OR . . .
6. trade it in for ice cream. well, actually they call it ice dream, and i am not exactly sure what it is made from--probably plastics--but it is pretty good. especially if i buy a brownie to put under it. yum!
5. they have self-serve ranch dressing (or any other dipping sauce you want!) the ranch dressing is right out there where i can get my own. as much as i want! no more asking for three ranch dressings and having the employee look at me like, "seriously?!?! three??? you are only getting four chicken nuggets, and you are asking for three ranch dressings?? are you stockpiling this stuff or what . . . "
4. their drinks come in styrofoam cups. i know it is bad for the environment, but styrofoam doesn't sweat like paper or plastic cups. and when i take my refilled soda back to my classroom, i find it helpful if it doesn't make a big puddle of water on my desk . . . and i recycle my cans and use reusable shopping bags most of the time, so i figure it all evens out.
3. they have huge windows and good lighting. this is important, because one of the things that makes my monday and wednesday lunch hours so great is the uninterrupted time to read. the only place that has better lighting is del taco on a really nice day, if i eat outside. but del taco does not have nine other great things about it--it only has maybe four.
2. the employees are helpful and cheerful. usually there is one employee roaming around the room cleaning tables or asking if they can go get a soda refill for you or if you want them to bring you anything (like another ranch dressing.) yeah, they do all this stuff and don't even expect a tip!
and the #1 reason i like to eat at chick-fil-a . . .
1. when i say thank you to an employee, any employee, they always respond with the words "my pleasure!" i like that. it is so much nicer than saying "you're welcome." "you're welcome" satisfies the conventions of politeness, but it sort of implies that they have done you a favor. when they respond with "my pleasure," it makes me feel like they were glad to help me--like they aren't just responding to my thank you, but that they loved being able to help me. and even though i know it is company policy, it always makes me feel good. and i think it makes a difference in everybody's attitude.
the other day when i was there, a new guy was working behind the cash register. when i thanked him and he responded with "my pleasure," i smiled and said, "that is my favorite thing about eating here. when i hear you guys say that, it always makes me smile." and so, he smiled and said it again. a little while later, he was the room-roaming employee checking up on people's drink refills and napkin needs. when he came to my table and asked if i needed anything, i said no, but thank you. he smiled and moved on. then he backed up, looked right at me, and said, "my pleasure." it made me laugh, because sometimes it does get a little ridiculous. i could have made him say that 47 times if i had wanted to.
but i do think the words we use can make a difference--not only in how others feel and respond to us, but also in how we feel and respond to others.
as a pre-school and kindergarten teacher, i have been asked to tie a tiny tot's shoelaces probably hundreds of times. or sharpen a pencil. or zip a jacket. and i used to just kind of do it on auto pilot--i didn't really mind helping them, but i also didn't give it much thought or attention. but now, after going to chick-fil-a and seeing how the words "my pleasure" can affect how i feel, i've decided to use different words when helping my students. now, when a child asks me for help, i try to respond with the words "i'd be delighted to . . . !" and i find that many times i am. it changes the attitude of the situation from "ok, let's get this done and move on to other things," to "here, let's spend a few minutes together doing this."
it seems like a small thing, but as i have said before, words are important and they make a difference. so feel free to use the words "my pleasure" or "i'd be delighted to" as often as you can, and see how it affects your world. i know it is making a difference in mine!
when i started working at my current job, the hours were somewhat negotiable. while i didn't get exactly what i wanted, they came pretty close. i chose to take just half an hour for lunch and go home half an hour earlier. most days it works for me--that is enough time for me to eat at school (or dash to 7-11 for brownies,) and i like getting home a bit earlier in the afternoon. but this year it was necessary for the school to make some adjustments which resulted in an hour long lunch for me on mondays and wednesdays. since i have a full hour, i like to go off site, and i seem to have settled on chick-fil-a as my destination of choice. there are other fast food places i could choose that are all within a couple of miles of my school, but i find myself going back to chick-fil-a most of the time.
today as i pointed my car in the direction of chick-fil-a, i started thinking about why i keep going back, monday after wednesday after monday. and as i thought about it, this is what i came up with:
THE TOP TEN REASONS WHY I LIKE TO EAT AT CHICK-FIL-A.
10. it is close. although i have an hour, i don't want to spend any more time than i have to getting there (even though i am getting there in my cool car.) the longer it takes me to go back and forth, the less time i have to eat. and read.
9. they serve chicken. chicken is good for me, right?
8. they have cross-cut fries. ok, i know they are not good for me, but crispy cross-cut fries are hard to resist. and if i get them in a . . .
7. kid's meal, then i only get a few. also, a kid's meal comes with a toy. i can either put the toy in the treasure chest at school, OR . . .
6. trade it in for ice cream. well, actually they call it ice dream, and i am not exactly sure what it is made from--probably plastics--but it is pretty good. especially if i buy a brownie to put under it. yum!
5. they have self-serve ranch dressing (or any other dipping sauce you want!) the ranch dressing is right out there where i can get my own. as much as i want! no more asking for three ranch dressings and having the employee look at me like, "seriously?!?! three??? you are only getting four chicken nuggets, and you are asking for three ranch dressings?? are you stockpiling this stuff or what . . . "
4. their drinks come in styrofoam cups. i know it is bad for the environment, but styrofoam doesn't sweat like paper or plastic cups. and when i take my refilled soda back to my classroom, i find it helpful if it doesn't make a big puddle of water on my desk . . . and i recycle my cans and use reusable shopping bags most of the time, so i figure it all evens out.
3. they have huge windows and good lighting. this is important, because one of the things that makes my monday and wednesday lunch hours so great is the uninterrupted time to read. the only place that has better lighting is del taco on a really nice day, if i eat outside. but del taco does not have nine other great things about it--it only has maybe four.
2. the employees are helpful and cheerful. usually there is one employee roaming around the room cleaning tables or asking if they can go get a soda refill for you or if you want them to bring you anything (like another ranch dressing.) yeah, they do all this stuff and don't even expect a tip!
and the #1 reason i like to eat at chick-fil-a . . .
1. when i say thank you to an employee, any employee, they always respond with the words "my pleasure!" i like that. it is so much nicer than saying "you're welcome." "you're welcome" satisfies the conventions of politeness, but it sort of implies that they have done you a favor. when they respond with "my pleasure," it makes me feel like they were glad to help me--like they aren't just responding to my thank you, but that they loved being able to help me. and even though i know it is company policy, it always makes me feel good. and i think it makes a difference in everybody's attitude.
the other day when i was there, a new guy was working behind the cash register. when i thanked him and he responded with "my pleasure," i smiled and said, "that is my favorite thing about eating here. when i hear you guys say that, it always makes me smile." and so, he smiled and said it again. a little while later, he was the room-roaming employee checking up on people's drink refills and napkin needs. when he came to my table and asked if i needed anything, i said no, but thank you. he smiled and moved on. then he backed up, looked right at me, and said, "my pleasure." it made me laugh, because sometimes it does get a little ridiculous. i could have made him say that 47 times if i had wanted to.
but i do think the words we use can make a difference--not only in how others feel and respond to us, but also in how we feel and respond to others.
as a pre-school and kindergarten teacher, i have been asked to tie a tiny tot's shoelaces probably hundreds of times. or sharpen a pencil. or zip a jacket. and i used to just kind of do it on auto pilot--i didn't really mind helping them, but i also didn't give it much thought or attention. but now, after going to chick-fil-a and seeing how the words "my pleasure" can affect how i feel, i've decided to use different words when helping my students. now, when a child asks me for help, i try to respond with the words "i'd be delighted to . . . !" and i find that many times i am. it changes the attitude of the situation from "ok, let's get this done and move on to other things," to "here, let's spend a few minutes together doing this."
it seems like a small thing, but as i have said before, words are important and they make a difference. so feel free to use the words "my pleasure" or "i'd be delighted to" as often as you can, and see how it affects your world. i know it is making a difference in mine!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
where, oh where . . .
so today . . . i received the scholastic books i ordered as 'end of the year' gifts for my students. yes, today. i'm now accepting bets on whether or not i will be able to find those books at the end of the year. and if you are betting against me, the odds will definitely be in your favor!
last year i bought books to give out, and then totally forgot i had them. until i ran across them in july . . .
i lose stuff--well, actually i don't lose stuff, i just can't always remember where i put it. i started thinking about why that is, and decided to write a TOP TEN LIST OF WHY I CAN'T FIND WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR.
10. i have a lot of stuff, which means there aren't a lot of unused spaces to put new things that come into the house. i try to rotate older, unused things out of the house to create space, but you know how i am about letting go of stuff.
9. i am constantly moving things around. i am always trying to think, "is there a better way to organize this stuff? is there a more logical place to put these things?" and then i move them. but my mind doesn't always agree with itself about the logic used, so even though i can remember that i moved something, i can't always remember to where . . .
8. i don't always put things away. i admit it. sometimes i just toss things onto the nearest horizontal surface. this mostly happens during the week when i am busy and tired. then on the weekend i try to return things back to their assigned places. but if i need something between the tossing and the putting away, i am not always successful at retrieving it.
7. some things don't actually have a place where they belong. this gets tricky. because what happens if something doesn't have a place, is that i keep moving it out of the way, which results in never really knowing where it is.
6. some things have more than one place where they belong, like my car keys. they can belong in my handbag. or they can belong on the end table. or they can belong on the end of the keyboard. or they can belong on the kitchen table. or they can belong in my pocket. or they can even belong on the front seat of my car. all of those are acceptable places for my keys to hang out. which is why sometimes it takes me 10 minutes to find them . . .
5. some things get stashed. another confession here--there are times when we are in crisis mode, and everything must be whisked out of sight. this usually means tossed into a bag or box and "temporarily" stacked in the garage. that stack of "i'll just put it here for now" stuff just keeps growing.
4. someone moves things. i am sure of it! i'm not making any acusations here, but there are times when i know that something is not where i left it. i don't know how it happens. maybe i sleep walk . . .
3. things get put in the wrong place. remember the orange silk blouse? yeah. enough said.
2. someone borrows something and doesn't return it. yes, you know who you are!
and the number one reason i can't find what i am looking for . . .
1. sometimes i just forget. my brain fails me. they say there is an epidemic of forgetfulness, and not only in the elderly. it is a result of information overload. i mean, think about all the things you have to remember just to run your computer, and your cell phone, and your ipod (i'm still carrying around the "ipods for dummies" book, because my ipod hates me and refuses to do what i want it to do!)
so i am thinking of putting the new books in the trunk of my car. i always eventually look there. even though my trunk is usually just home to my reusable shopping bags and car duster, for some reason i think that is where my stuff goes to hide from me . . . and since my car will be at school with me, on the last day of school when i am sitting at my desk thinking, "didn't i buy books to give to the kids today?" i can go check in the trunk of my car. and the books will be there! and i can be proud of myself, because for once, i remembered where i put something.
well, sort of . . .
last year i bought books to give out, and then totally forgot i had them. until i ran across them in july . . .
i lose stuff--well, actually i don't lose stuff, i just can't always remember where i put it. i started thinking about why that is, and decided to write a TOP TEN LIST OF WHY I CAN'T FIND WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR.
10. i have a lot of stuff, which means there aren't a lot of unused spaces to put new things that come into the house. i try to rotate older, unused things out of the house to create space, but you know how i am about letting go of stuff.
9. i am constantly moving things around. i am always trying to think, "is there a better way to organize this stuff? is there a more logical place to put these things?" and then i move them. but my mind doesn't always agree with itself about the logic used, so even though i can remember that i moved something, i can't always remember to where . . .
8. i don't always put things away. i admit it. sometimes i just toss things onto the nearest horizontal surface. this mostly happens during the week when i am busy and tired. then on the weekend i try to return things back to their assigned places. but if i need something between the tossing and the putting away, i am not always successful at retrieving it.
7. some things don't actually have a place where they belong. this gets tricky. because what happens if something doesn't have a place, is that i keep moving it out of the way, which results in never really knowing where it is.
6. some things have more than one place where they belong, like my car keys. they can belong in my handbag. or they can belong on the end table. or they can belong on the end of the keyboard. or they can belong on the kitchen table. or they can belong in my pocket. or they can even belong on the front seat of my car. all of those are acceptable places for my keys to hang out. which is why sometimes it takes me 10 minutes to find them . . .
5. some things get stashed. another confession here--there are times when we are in crisis mode, and everything must be whisked out of sight. this usually means tossed into a bag or box and "temporarily" stacked in the garage. that stack of "i'll just put it here for now" stuff just keeps growing.
4. someone moves things. i am sure of it! i'm not making any acusations here, but there are times when i know that something is not where i left it. i don't know how it happens. maybe i sleep walk . . .
3. things get put in the wrong place. remember the orange silk blouse? yeah. enough said.
2. someone borrows something and doesn't return it. yes, you know who you are!
and the number one reason i can't find what i am looking for . . .
1. sometimes i just forget. my brain fails me. they say there is an epidemic of forgetfulness, and not only in the elderly. it is a result of information overload. i mean, think about all the things you have to remember just to run your computer, and your cell phone, and your ipod (i'm still carrying around the "ipods for dummies" book, because my ipod hates me and refuses to do what i want it to do!)
so i am thinking of putting the new books in the trunk of my car. i always eventually look there. even though my trunk is usually just home to my reusable shopping bags and car duster, for some reason i think that is where my stuff goes to hide from me . . . and since my car will be at school with me, on the last day of school when i am sitting at my desk thinking, "didn't i buy books to give to the kids today?" i can go check in the trunk of my car. and the books will be there! and i can be proud of myself, because for once, i remembered where i put something.
well, sort of . . .
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
doggie children vs human children--the controversy begins . . .
so today . . . i've been thinking about the difference between having dogs and having children.
we love our pups. we have had a dog for most of our married life. when we lost our last dog to cancer a few years ago, it was just before christmas--the middle of winter. and as anyone who has ever house-trained a dog knows, that is not the very best time for a puppy. so our plan was to wait until summer, when i would be out of school, to add another furry friend to our household . . .
. . . we had another dog by the end of january.
i guess we are just dog people. we have had four dogs in the last 30 years, counting the two who currently call us mom and dad. our dogs are part of our family. they live in the house. they have their own access to the back yard. they get up on the furniture--in fact one is currently scrunched up against me. and they sleep with us. yes, they even root their way under the covers when it is cold. (this is why we have to have a king-sized bed!)
i was reading a blog yesterday about a friend of ours who is currently in new zealand, and she is missing her darling dog, who had to stay home (i am guessing he is staying with "grandma and grandpa.") and it got me to thinking about the differences between having doggie children and human children. so, risking the wrath of my human daughter (who i really do love more than the furry children,) i am going to offer up a TOP TEN LIST OF WHY SOME PEOPLE PREFER DOGS TO CHILDREN.
10. you can leave them home alone while you go to work or the movies or the mall. have you priced babysitters lately?? sheesh!
9. you don't have to think about what to serve them for dinner. they don't need variety. in fact, my mom's vet said you should always feed your dog the same food. otherwise they can get finicky about what they will eat. maybe that is why kids are picky about their food. maybe if we just fed them peanut butter sandwiches for every meal, they would be happier.
8. you don't have to worry about where they are or what they are doing, because they can't go anywhere without you. i still remember the call i got from diandra at 10:30 p.m. on a friday night from the long beach town center when she was sixteen, "mom? don't panic, but the police are here . . . " yeah, tell a mother not to panic, followed by "but the police are here!" thankfully it turned out to be a funny story, but still . . .
7. no clothing budget. ok, having said that, i know that some of you do buy clothes for your dogs. maybe, just maybe some dogs in cold climates might need a sweater when they go for a walk, but they really don't need a whole wardrobe. and even if you are one of those people who feel the need to dress your dog up, at least they don't require a bigger size every year, and they don't have an opinion about whether you bought it at target or at nordstrom.
6. they don't argue with you. they may not always obey instantly, but at least you don't have to have a big, long discussion about why. when they hear you say "NO!" they know that you mean it.
5. they can't roll their eyes at you. if you have teenagers, this needs no explanation. if you don't have teenagers, just wait--soon this will be a regular part of your day . . .
4. they sleep 20 hours a day. and when they are not sleeping, they can keep themselves occupied--they don't have to be constantly entertained. if nothing else presents itself, they can at least chew on their feet . . . or their tail . . . or the other dog's ears . . . or your favorite shoes . . .
3. they don't say embarassing things when you have company. when diandra was about three, someone from our church dropped by one evening--briefly. or so we thought. their "i just need to talk to you for a minute" visit grew into half an hour. diandra wanted a chocolate chip cookie, and i whispered to her that she could have one when the company left. a couple of minutes later, she walked over to the poor guy, looked straight into his eyes and said, "when are you going home?"
2. there are no "balloon payments" when they grow up. a car? college? a wedding? no! don't be silly!! they are dogs. they are happy with a milk bone.
and the number one reason why some people prefer dog children to human children . . .
1. they have tails to wag. and wag and wag and wag.
how can you not smile when faced with that!
we love our pups. we have had a dog for most of our married life. when we lost our last dog to cancer a few years ago, it was just before christmas--the middle of winter. and as anyone who has ever house-trained a dog knows, that is not the very best time for a puppy. so our plan was to wait until summer, when i would be out of school, to add another furry friend to our household . . .
. . . we had another dog by the end of january.
i guess we are just dog people. we have had four dogs in the last 30 years, counting the two who currently call us mom and dad. our dogs are part of our family. they live in the house. they have their own access to the back yard. they get up on the furniture--in fact one is currently scrunched up against me. and they sleep with us. yes, they even root their way under the covers when it is cold. (this is why we have to have a king-sized bed!)
i was reading a blog yesterday about a friend of ours who is currently in new zealand, and she is missing her darling dog, who had to stay home (i am guessing he is staying with "grandma and grandpa.") and it got me to thinking about the differences between having doggie children and human children. so, risking the wrath of my human daughter (who i really do love more than the furry children,) i am going to offer up a TOP TEN LIST OF WHY SOME PEOPLE PREFER DOGS TO CHILDREN.10. you can leave them home alone while you go to work or the movies or the mall. have you priced babysitters lately?? sheesh!
9. you don't have to think about what to serve them for dinner. they don't need variety. in fact, my mom's vet said you should always feed your dog the same food. otherwise they can get finicky about what they will eat. maybe that is why kids are picky about their food. maybe if we just fed them peanut butter sandwiches for every meal, they would be happier.
8. you don't have to worry about where they are or what they are doing, because they can't go anywhere without you. i still remember the call i got from diandra at 10:30 p.m. on a friday night from the long beach town center when she was sixteen, "mom? don't panic, but the police are here . . . " yeah, tell a mother not to panic, followed by "but the police are here!" thankfully it turned out to be a funny story, but still . . .
7. no clothing budget. ok, having said that, i know that some of you do buy clothes for your dogs. maybe, just maybe some dogs in cold climates might need a sweater when they go for a walk, but they really don't need a whole wardrobe. and even if you are one of those people who feel the need to dress your dog up, at least they don't require a bigger size every year, and they don't have an opinion about whether you bought it at target or at nordstrom.
6. they don't argue with you. they may not always obey instantly, but at least you don't have to have a big, long discussion about why. when they hear you say "NO!" they know that you mean it.
5. they can't roll their eyes at you. if you have teenagers, this needs no explanation. if you don't have teenagers, just wait--soon this will be a regular part of your day . . .
4. they sleep 20 hours a day. and when they are not sleeping, they can keep themselves occupied--they don't have to be constantly entertained. if nothing else presents itself, they can at least chew on their feet . . . or their tail . . . or the other dog's ears . . . or your favorite shoes . . .
3. they don't say embarassing things when you have company. when diandra was about three, someone from our church dropped by one evening--briefly. or so we thought. their "i just need to talk to you for a minute" visit grew into half an hour. diandra wanted a chocolate chip cookie, and i whispered to her that she could have one when the company left. a couple of minutes later, she walked over to the poor guy, looked straight into his eyes and said, "when are you going home?"2. there are no "balloon payments" when they grow up. a car? college? a wedding? no! don't be silly!! they are dogs. they are happy with a milk bone.
and the number one reason why some people prefer dog children to human children . . .
1. they have tails to wag. and wag and wag and wag.
how can you not smile when faced with that!
Friday, January 1, 2010
my top ten list for 2009
so today . . . is the day that we are all supposed to make resolutions, so that the new year will be better than the old one was. it is a great idea, and i am sure that there are 10 or 12 people out there who make resolutions and actually keep them. i am not one of them. i am a resolution failure.
i've been thinking about this blog for a few days--the first blog of the new year. it should be awesome, i thought. but awesomeness seems to be hiding from me right now. and since i spent the day watching the rose parade over and over again (will i ever get tired of seeing our city's award winning float or the "snow-boarding" bulldogs?) before watching our ducks have the best day and the worst day of their football careers, it was a kick back, low energy, sit in front of the fire (yes, i know it was 72 outside, but it felt chilly in the house) kind of day.
if i were going to make resolutions, this would be a much easier blog to write. there are so many things that i would like to change. but making a resolution won't change anything--i know this from experience. so i decided to take the advice from last year's january 1st blog, and make a list of the TOP TEN THINGS THAT I ACCOMPLISHED IN 2009.
10. i'm a millionaire--well, a virtual one at least. i have over $3,000,000 on farm town. i knew i was rich when i bought a nativity scene to decorate my farm, and then discovered it didn't have baby jesus! (why would they even create a nativity scene without baby jesus? without him, what is the point of a nativity scene??) without even thinking about it, i deleted the baby-less nativity and promptly purchased one with baby jesus in the manger. and there was not a heart palpitation in sight. i guess when you are a virtual multi-millionaire, the cost is irrelevant--unlike when you are just building your fortune . . .
9. i've become more flexible at work. the last two years, enrollment at my school has necessitated different classroom arrangements for me. and while i can be somewhat disorganized at home, i am a robot at school. so making changes in the way my class is configured and using less than perfect classroom space has been hard. but i've tried to keep a good attitude, be thankful that i still have a job, and just figure out a way to make it work.
8. i've learned i am not a gym rat. i really, really wanted to be. i went to the gym pretty regularly for a couple of months. and then i got sick. and while i was sitting at home, i realized that the only reason i liked going to the gym was because diandra was there.
but the truth is that our schedules don't match up very well. and really, i should spend that time walking my pups. and maybe i should learn to use the pilates machine i bought a few years ago, since i moved it downstairs where it would be more convenient . . .
7. i've weathered band transitions at church. i lead the worship band in the alternative service at our church, which is mostly filled with teenagers. some days this is a challenge for me, and this has been an especially difficult year. i have wanted to quit more than once. but i am not an island--people depend on me. so i have just had to make allowances, find the humor, put one foot in front of the other one, and keep moving forward. and i have. so good for me!!
6. i'm drinking less soda. i know it is bad for me, and i haven't been able to give it up completely, but most days i am limiting myself to one small soda. when i eat out, i order the small drink and don't refill it. if i spend the day at home, i will just have one can of pepsi one (which is sweetened with splenda, so i don't think it is as bad for me . . . ) i'm trying to drink more water and tea. this may seem like an insignificant thing, but for me it has been a big deal--even bigger than when i learned to like broccoli!
5. i have persevered. seriously. the last couple of years seem to have been full of challenges, and sometimes it is exhausting. sometimes i wish i were an island. some days i just want to get in my car, head out on a freeway and just drive, drive, drive. but i can't. well, i guess i could, because some people do. but i don't. my life is really pretty good. i have a family who loves me,
and a roof over my head and a job. i have two adorable dogs who make me smile every day. 
and a blog that helps me focus on the good things and the funny things that are a part of my life!
4. i posted over 300 blogs! i find that amazing! my original goal was to write every day, and i did for a while. but i found there were days when i just didn't have the time or energy to write. there were days when i couldn't come up with anything to write about. there were days when the people in my life had to take priority. i worried about repeating myself. i still worry about that, because i have written so much that i can't always remember what i have written about. but in the last few days as i have gone back and reread some of last year's blogs, i am so glad i did it. it reminds me that each day is different, even though sometimes it seems like i do the same thing every day.
3. my digital music files are finally organized just the way i like them! i thought it would never happen, but it did and my mind is happy. although, now i need a bigger ipod . . .
2. i am learning to let go . . . of stuff, of annoyances, of things over which i have no control. it isn't easy, and some days i grab it all back (well, except for the things that have already been hauled off!) but i know that it is necessary and good for me. so i will keep working on it.
and the number one thing i accomplished in 2009 is:
1. i cleaned out the scary room and turned it into an office for diandra's photography.
i still have to use the closet for my out of season clothes and one large cabinet for my school books, but the rest is dedicated to her business. i thought i could finish this job up in the week that diandra was at camp. i was delusional. it has taken me several months of working a little at a time to whip that room into shape. i let go of a lot of things in the process, and it was harder than i thought it would be. but it was a start. it isn't perfect yet, but it looks good and it is functional, and i am hoping that it will help us both be more organized.
i hope that 2010 will be a little more relaxed, a little more fun (like when diandra and i met hawk nelson at fishfest,)
and a lot less stressful. i hope that instead of just keeping our heads above water, we will flourish. i hope that we will be healthy. i hope that i can do a better job of choosing the important over the urgent. i want to read more. i want to take more pictures--even if i can't get them organized. i want to hold my puppies more and my laptop less. and i want to keep blogging--because on new year's day 2011 i need to be able to look back and see how far i have come . . .
i've been thinking about this blog for a few days--the first blog of the new year. it should be awesome, i thought. but awesomeness seems to be hiding from me right now. and since i spent the day watching the rose parade over and over again (will i ever get tired of seeing our city's award winning float or the "snow-boarding" bulldogs?) before watching our ducks have the best day and the worst day of their football careers, it was a kick back, low energy, sit in front of the fire (yes, i know it was 72 outside, but it felt chilly in the house) kind of day.
if i were going to make resolutions, this would be a much easier blog to write. there are so many things that i would like to change. but making a resolution won't change anything--i know this from experience. so i decided to take the advice from last year's january 1st blog, and make a list of the TOP TEN THINGS THAT I ACCOMPLISHED IN 2009.
10. i'm a millionaire--well, a virtual one at least. i have over $3,000,000 on farm town. i knew i was rich when i bought a nativity scene to decorate my farm, and then discovered it didn't have baby jesus! (why would they even create a nativity scene without baby jesus? without him, what is the point of a nativity scene??) without even thinking about it, i deleted the baby-less nativity and promptly purchased one with baby jesus in the manger. and there was not a heart palpitation in sight. i guess when you are a virtual multi-millionaire, the cost is irrelevant--unlike when you are just building your fortune . . .
9. i've become more flexible at work. the last two years, enrollment at my school has necessitated different classroom arrangements for me. and while i can be somewhat disorganized at home, i am a robot at school. so making changes in the way my class is configured and using less than perfect classroom space has been hard. but i've tried to keep a good attitude, be thankful that i still have a job, and just figure out a way to make it work.
8. i've learned i am not a gym rat. i really, really wanted to be. i went to the gym pretty regularly for a couple of months. and then i got sick. and while i was sitting at home, i realized that the only reason i liked going to the gym was because diandra was there.
but the truth is that our schedules don't match up very well. and really, i should spend that time walking my pups. and maybe i should learn to use the pilates machine i bought a few years ago, since i moved it downstairs where it would be more convenient . . .7. i've weathered band transitions at church. i lead the worship band in the alternative service at our church, which is mostly filled with teenagers. some days this is a challenge for me, and this has been an especially difficult year. i have wanted to quit more than once. but i am not an island--people depend on me. so i have just had to make allowances, find the humor, put one foot in front of the other one, and keep moving forward. and i have. so good for me!!
6. i'm drinking less soda. i know it is bad for me, and i haven't been able to give it up completely, but most days i am limiting myself to one small soda. when i eat out, i order the small drink and don't refill it. if i spend the day at home, i will just have one can of pepsi one (which is sweetened with splenda, so i don't think it is as bad for me . . . ) i'm trying to drink more water and tea. this may seem like an insignificant thing, but for me it has been a big deal--even bigger than when i learned to like broccoli!
5. i have persevered. seriously. the last couple of years seem to have been full of challenges, and sometimes it is exhausting. sometimes i wish i were an island. some days i just want to get in my car, head out on a freeway and just drive, drive, drive. but i can't. well, i guess i could, because some people do. but i don't. my life is really pretty good. i have a family who loves me,
and a roof over my head and a job. i have two adorable dogs who make me smile every day. 
and a blog that helps me focus on the good things and the funny things that are a part of my life!4. i posted over 300 blogs! i find that amazing! my original goal was to write every day, and i did for a while. but i found there were days when i just didn't have the time or energy to write. there were days when i couldn't come up with anything to write about. there were days when the people in my life had to take priority. i worried about repeating myself. i still worry about that, because i have written so much that i can't always remember what i have written about. but in the last few days as i have gone back and reread some of last year's blogs, i am so glad i did it. it reminds me that each day is different, even though sometimes it seems like i do the same thing every day.
3. my digital music files are finally organized just the way i like them! i thought it would never happen, but it did and my mind is happy. although, now i need a bigger ipod . . .
2. i am learning to let go . . . of stuff, of annoyances, of things over which i have no control. it isn't easy, and some days i grab it all back (well, except for the things that have already been hauled off!) but i know that it is necessary and good for me. so i will keep working on it.
and the number one thing i accomplished in 2009 is:
1. i cleaned out the scary room and turned it into an office for diandra's photography.
i still have to use the closet for my out of season clothes and one large cabinet for my school books, but the rest is dedicated to her business. i thought i could finish this job up in the week that diandra was at camp. i was delusional. it has taken me several months of working a little at a time to whip that room into shape. i let go of a lot of things in the process, and it was harder than i thought it would be. but it was a start. it isn't perfect yet, but it looks good and it is functional, and i am hoping that it will help us both be more organized.i hope that 2010 will be a little more relaxed, a little more fun (like when diandra and i met hawk nelson at fishfest,)
and a lot less stressful. i hope that instead of just keeping our heads above water, we will flourish. i hope that we will be healthy. i hope that i can do a better job of choosing the important over the urgent. i want to read more. i want to take more pictures--even if i can't get them organized. i want to hold my puppies more and my laptop less. and i want to keep blogging--because on new year's day 2011 i need to be able to look back and see how far i have come . . .
Thursday, December 24, 2009
a whole year of blogging!
so today . . . is the first anniversary of my blog.
last christmas eve when i wrote my first blog, i had no idea how blogging was going to affect my life. i started with the intent of just documenting the funny or strange things that happened to me, but along the way i found that i was also recalling childhood memories, learning things about myself, and writing not just to document, but also to entertain. i tried to write every single day, and i did for a while. but i found that there is a reason that newspaper columnists only publish two or three columns a week--it is hard to be creative and funny on a deadline.
i wanted my first anniversary blog to be amazing--knock your socks off amazing! i was going to have it redesigned with new colors and pictures. i was going to write a retrospective of the year that would have you laughing until it hurt. and then i was going to end it with a bang!
and then i got sick and my brain turned into cottage cheese . . .
so instead, i am going to offer you a first anniversary top ten list.
TOP TEN THINGS THAT HAVE CHANGED SINCE I STARTED BLOGGING
10. i go to bed later. i tend to be a night owl anyway, but now that i blog, it is getting ridiculous. many nights i do not even start writing until 10:00, which is when i should be heading toward bed. it has been suggested that i start writing earlier, but oddly enough, i am not as funny earlier in the day.
9. mini chocolate donuts. actually, the mini chocolate donuts haven't changed, but their role in our family has. we now refer to them as "devil donuts." so do a few of our friends. but to diandra, they represent her mother wrongly accusing her of theft. and she can't seem to let it go. if you ask her about my blog, THAT is what comes to her mind--not all the wonderful, brilliant things i've said about her, but how i thought she ate the devil donuts (hey-it was a reasonable assumption given the information that i had . . . )
8. "you should blog that." i hear these words from my family quite frequently now. when we are out together and something unusual happens, one of them will say, "you should blog that." i am glad that they enjoy my blogging and appreciate their willingness to participate--whether it's by giving me ideas or just allowing me to tell stories about them.
7. my mind is learning to think kinder, gentler thoughts. i try to avoid offending or hurting anyone when i blog. this means that sometimes i can't just write straight out of my head--i need to edit my thoughts before i write them down. and as i have done that over the last year, i find that my thoughts don't need to be edited nearly as much as they used to. my initial reaction to my world is more forgiving and more tolerant, and i think that makes me a more contented person.
6. people know things about me that i don't know they know. sometimes i forget who reads my blog, and when people come up to me and reference something from my past or something that happened at school, it is always surprising to me. and i look at them and think, "how did you know that?" it sort of makes me feel like a celebrity for a few minutes. and then i remember--loyal blog readers.
5. the first thing i check when i go online is my email. why, you ask? because i am always hopeful that someone has commented on my blog. i love to blog, but i love your comments even more. i can see how many people are reading by looking at the stat counter, but your comments show me your reactions to what i have written. the possibility of reading your comments is what keeps me blogging on those days when i think i just can't do it.
4. i think in blogspeak. i will be going about my day, minding my own business, when an idea will come to me for a blog, and suddenly i am not thinking like i normally do. suddenly my thoughts will have a certain rhythm and cadence. i will discard a particular word in favor of a more descriptive one. and i will know that in my mind i have switched from real world thinking to blogspeak.
3. anything can be a blog--not necessarily a good blog, but if i think about something for a little bit, i can usually relate it to something that has happened to me, or something i have been thinking about, or food (a favorite blog topic!) in fact, this has just given me a great idea for a blog . . .
2. my family is the best! ok, so this isn't something that has changed--i've always known this. but blogging has shown me why. my family is funny, and they are not afraid to show it. we like to make each other laugh, even if the joke is on us. and we love each other and get along and enjoy being together. yes, i am a lucky duck!
and the #1 thing that has changed since i started blogging--
i don't type in caps anymore. i started doing that because it was just easier and faster, and i decided it would be part of my "style." but now that I have been doing it for a year, it is affecting other areas of my writing. i sent an email to my doctor the other day and thought i should use capitals. so i did. for the first sentence. while i was thinking about it. yes, now i have to think about hitting the shift key. it is no longer an automatic response.
and there it is--the first anniversary blog. i just want to say how much i appreciate each one of you who give up five minutes of your day to read my blog. as much as i enjoy writing it, i probably would not put in the time that it takes if no one was reading it. so thank you! you give me incentive and purpose to continue . . .
happy first anniversary!
last christmas eve when i wrote my first blog, i had no idea how blogging was going to affect my life. i started with the intent of just documenting the funny or strange things that happened to me, but along the way i found that i was also recalling childhood memories, learning things about myself, and writing not just to document, but also to entertain. i tried to write every single day, and i did for a while. but i found that there is a reason that newspaper columnists only publish two or three columns a week--it is hard to be creative and funny on a deadline.
i wanted my first anniversary blog to be amazing--knock your socks off amazing! i was going to have it redesigned with new colors and pictures. i was going to write a retrospective of the year that would have you laughing until it hurt. and then i was going to end it with a bang!
and then i got sick and my brain turned into cottage cheese . . .
so instead, i am going to offer you a first anniversary top ten list.
TOP TEN THINGS THAT HAVE CHANGED SINCE I STARTED BLOGGING
10. i go to bed later. i tend to be a night owl anyway, but now that i blog, it is getting ridiculous. many nights i do not even start writing until 10:00, which is when i should be heading toward bed. it has been suggested that i start writing earlier, but oddly enough, i am not as funny earlier in the day.
9. mini chocolate donuts. actually, the mini chocolate donuts haven't changed, but their role in our family has. we now refer to them as "devil donuts." so do a few of our friends. but to diandra, they represent her mother wrongly accusing her of theft. and she can't seem to let it go. if you ask her about my blog, THAT is what comes to her mind--not all the wonderful, brilliant things i've said about her, but how i thought she ate the devil donuts (hey-it was a reasonable assumption given the information that i had . . . )
8. "you should blog that." i hear these words from my family quite frequently now. when we are out together and something unusual happens, one of them will say, "you should blog that." i am glad that they enjoy my blogging and appreciate their willingness to participate--whether it's by giving me ideas or just allowing me to tell stories about them.
7. my mind is learning to think kinder, gentler thoughts. i try to avoid offending or hurting anyone when i blog. this means that sometimes i can't just write straight out of my head--i need to edit my thoughts before i write them down. and as i have done that over the last year, i find that my thoughts don't need to be edited nearly as much as they used to. my initial reaction to my world is more forgiving and more tolerant, and i think that makes me a more contented person.
6. people know things about me that i don't know they know. sometimes i forget who reads my blog, and when people come up to me and reference something from my past or something that happened at school, it is always surprising to me. and i look at them and think, "how did you know that?" it sort of makes me feel like a celebrity for a few minutes. and then i remember--loyal blog readers.
5. the first thing i check when i go online is my email. why, you ask? because i am always hopeful that someone has commented on my blog. i love to blog, but i love your comments even more. i can see how many people are reading by looking at the stat counter, but your comments show me your reactions to what i have written. the possibility of reading your comments is what keeps me blogging on those days when i think i just can't do it.
4. i think in blogspeak. i will be going about my day, minding my own business, when an idea will come to me for a blog, and suddenly i am not thinking like i normally do. suddenly my thoughts will have a certain rhythm and cadence. i will discard a particular word in favor of a more descriptive one. and i will know that in my mind i have switched from real world thinking to blogspeak.
3. anything can be a blog--not necessarily a good blog, but if i think about something for a little bit, i can usually relate it to something that has happened to me, or something i have been thinking about, or food (a favorite blog topic!) in fact, this has just given me a great idea for a blog . . .
2. my family is the best! ok, so this isn't something that has changed--i've always known this. but blogging has shown me why. my family is funny, and they are not afraid to show it. we like to make each other laugh, even if the joke is on us. and we love each other and get along and enjoy being together. yes, i am a lucky duck!
and the #1 thing that has changed since i started blogging--
i don't type in caps anymore. i started doing that because it was just easier and faster, and i decided it would be part of my "style." but now that I have been doing it for a year, it is affecting other areas of my writing. i sent an email to my doctor the other day and thought i should use capitals. so i did. for the first sentence. while i was thinking about it. yes, now i have to think about hitting the shift key. it is no longer an automatic response.
and there it is--the first anniversary blog. i just want to say how much i appreciate each one of you who give up five minutes of your day to read my blog. as much as i enjoy writing it, i probably would not put in the time that it takes if no one was reading it. so thank you! you give me incentive and purpose to continue . . .
happy first anniversary!
Monday, November 16, 2009
a top ten list
so today . . . i was once again reminded of the things we cope with, living here in southern california. and so i offer you my TOP 10 LIST OF CROSSES WE HAVE TO BEAR HERE IN THE SOUTHLAND . . .
#10. year round pedicures--whether you do them yourself or have them done, your toes have to be ready to poke out of the end of sandals all year round. even in december or january we can have sandal worthy weather. there is no time off for pretty toes.
#9. affordable fruit--it may require a trip to the korean grocery store, but we have delicious fruit here all year. in fact, the most delicious strawberries are grown less than a mile from our house!
#8. traffic--yes, there is traffic, but at least the roadways are built to handle it--except during rush hour. and if you use the traffic feature on your gps, you can avoid most of it most of the time.
#7. dearth of colorful fall leaves--most of our trees seem to hang onto their leaves until the new leaves push them off in the spring. and yet there are a few that reward us with beautiful fall foliage.
#6. winter roses--my rose bushes are still flowering and will continue to do so until the gardener prunes them in january.
#5. a governor who is also known as the terminator--at least in his former life. maybe not so much now that he has gone political.
#4. championship sports teams--yes, i think the lakers are the devil's spawn (go blazers!) but as rollie would say, "scoreboard, baby!" so in the interests of family harmony, let's just talk about our beloved angels . . .
#3. food from all over the world within a 20 minute drive--seriously. anything you want to eat, you can get it here--just ask your gps.
#2. disneyland--i don't think this one requires any explanation.
and the #1 cross we have to bear . . .
following doctor's orders about staying out of cool air when you drive a convertible. no wait. i did that. with the top DOWN. and no jacket. in the middle of november!!!!
bwahahahaha!
#10. year round pedicures--whether you do them yourself or have them done, your toes have to be ready to poke out of the end of sandals all year round. even in december or january we can have sandal worthy weather. there is no time off for pretty toes.
#9. affordable fruit--it may require a trip to the korean grocery store, but we have delicious fruit here all year. in fact, the most delicious strawberries are grown less than a mile from our house!
#8. traffic--yes, there is traffic, but at least the roadways are built to handle it--except during rush hour. and if you use the traffic feature on your gps, you can avoid most of it most of the time.
#7. dearth of colorful fall leaves--most of our trees seem to hang onto their leaves until the new leaves push them off in the spring. and yet there are a few that reward us with beautiful fall foliage.
#6. winter roses--my rose bushes are still flowering and will continue to do so until the gardener prunes them in january.
#5. a governor who is also known as the terminator--at least in his former life. maybe not so much now that he has gone political.
#4. championship sports teams--yes, i think the lakers are the devil's spawn (go blazers!) but as rollie would say, "scoreboard, baby!" so in the interests of family harmony, let's just talk about our beloved angels . . .
#3. food from all over the world within a 20 minute drive--seriously. anything you want to eat, you can get it here--just ask your gps.
#2. disneyland--i don't think this one requires any explanation.
and the #1 cross we have to bear . . .
following doctor's orders about staying out of cool air when you drive a convertible. no wait. i did that. with the top DOWN. and no jacket. in the middle of november!!!!
bwahahahaha!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
top ten reasons why it shouldn’t rain in southern california
so today . . . something unexpected came up. i had a plan for today, and it was going along pretty well, until i got the phone call. it wasn't a big deal, just something i needed to do. but of course nothing is ever easy, and there were complications. so a job that should have taken about 45 minutes, ended up eating three hours of my time--time i had planned to use for other things, including blogging.
so, you are going to get a myspace repost. the good news is, this is one of my favorites. i have been waiting for just the right time to use it, and today is the day.
for the last week our weather has been strange here. rollie watches the news (i do not,) so he explained it to me today--something about a low pressure system sitting off the coast spinning around. and because it isn't moving or dissipating, our weather is somewhat unpredictable. a slight change in the direction of the wind brings us either warm sunshine, cool clouds, or light rain.
i've been waiting for a rainy day to repost this blog, but it could be weeks before we get a really good rainy day. and besides, even if it is raining here, it might not be raining where you live. so i've just decided that it's close enough--there were some sprinkles today . . .
this was originally posted on monday, february 04, 2008
we have had quite a lot of rain lately--more in the last couple of weeks than we had all of last year! and it is beginning to annoy me
so i have been inspired to write the following list!
top ten reasons why it shouldn't rain in southern california
10--they don't close the schools
9--the roads get slick and accidents happen (although accidents also happen when the roads are dry)
8--we have to go outside, in the rain, with our dogs to get them to do their business, but
7--i can't take the kids outside for recess!
6--our suede shoes and jackets get ruined (unless they are uggs--then they are supposed to look like that)
5--the birds don't sing
4--it dominates the news, taking time away from such important matters as who went into rehab or got arrested
3--my hair goes flat (now i know why it always had to be shorter in oregon!)
2--at night you can't see the lines on the roads, which is kind of dangerous and the number one reason why it shouldn't rain in southern california:
I CAN'T DRIVE MY CAR WITH THE TOP DOWN
ok, now this is for wendy:
top ten reasons why snow is better than rain
10--snow is beautiful; rain is gloomy
9--snow makes everything it touches more beautiful; rain makes everything it touches wet
8--in snow you can ski, snowboard, or sled; in the rain you can . . . play professional football, i guess
7--a walk in the snow is peaceful; a walk in the rain is just wet!
6--in the snow you can build a snowman or a snow fort or throw snowballs; in the rain you can build . . well, it's hard to form rain into anything--it just won't hold it's shape
5--when it snows we send the kids out to enjoy it; when it rains we keep them in where it is dry
4--in the snow you might get some adorable photos of your dog or your daughter; do you even want to take your camera out in the rain?!?!?
3--when it rains, people still have to go out and do the stuff they normally do, but when it snows people stay home where it is warm and safe, so
2--when it snows you can use your four wheel drive to go shopping (at the mall of course) or go to the movies without the crowds
and the number one reason snow is better than rain
THEY CLOSE SCHOOL FOR IT!
(which means a day off for us--WOOHOO!)
anyway, whatever your weather is today, i hope you find a way to enjoy it. for me, if i can't drive my car with the top down, then a large diet pepsi and dark chocolate M&Ms will have to do the trick!
so, you are going to get a myspace repost. the good news is, this is one of my favorites. i have been waiting for just the right time to use it, and today is the day.
for the last week our weather has been strange here. rollie watches the news (i do not,) so he explained it to me today--something about a low pressure system sitting off the coast spinning around. and because it isn't moving or dissipating, our weather is somewhat unpredictable. a slight change in the direction of the wind brings us either warm sunshine, cool clouds, or light rain.
i've been waiting for a rainy day to repost this blog, but it could be weeks before we get a really good rainy day. and besides, even if it is raining here, it might not be raining where you live. so i've just decided that it's close enough--there were some sprinkles today . . .
this was originally posted on monday, february 04, 2008
we have had quite a lot of rain lately--more in the last couple of weeks than we had all of last year! and it is beginning to annoy me
so i have been inspired to write the following list!top ten reasons why it shouldn't rain in southern california
10--they don't close the schools
9--the roads get slick and accidents happen (although accidents also happen when the roads are dry)
8--we have to go outside, in the rain, with our dogs to get them to do their business, but7--i can't take the kids outside for recess!
6--our suede shoes and jackets get ruined (unless they are uggs--then they are supposed to look like that)
5--the birds don't sing
4--it dominates the news, taking time away from such important matters as who went into rehab or got arrested
3--my hair goes flat (now i know why it always had to be shorter in oregon!)
2--at night you can't see the lines on the roads, which is kind of dangerous and the number one reason why it shouldn't rain in southern california:
I CAN'T DRIVE MY CAR WITH THE TOP DOWN
ok, now this is for wendy:
top ten reasons why snow is better than rain
10--snow is beautiful; rain is gloomy
9--snow makes everything it touches more beautiful; rain makes everything it touches wet
8--in snow you can ski, snowboard, or sled; in the rain you can . . . play professional football, i guess
7--a walk in the snow is peaceful; a walk in the rain is just wet!
6--in the snow you can build a snowman or a snow fort or throw snowballs; in the rain you can build . . well, it's hard to form rain into anything--it just won't hold it's shape
5--when it snows we send the kids out to enjoy it; when it rains we keep them in where it is dry
4--in the snow you might get some adorable photos of your dog or your daughter; do you even want to take your camera out in the rain?!?!?
3--when it rains, people still have to go out and do the stuff they normally do, but when it snows people stay home where it is warm and safe, so
2--when it snows you can use your four wheel drive to go shopping (at the mall of course) or go to the movies without the crowds
and the number one reason snow is better than rain
THEY CLOSE SCHOOL FOR IT!
(which means a day off for us--WOOHOO!) anyway, whatever your weather is today, i hope you find a way to enjoy it. for me, if i can't drive my car with the top down, then a large diet pepsi and dark chocolate M&Ms will have to do the trick!
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