Monday, April 30, 2012

Z is for Zero.

Zero is for how many posts we have left in the challenge. We've made our way through all 26 letters and it was quite a ride for me for my first year. I have loved being a participant in the challenge. It forced me to stick to something, to make sure I met a deadline. It has been refreshing. It's been a few years since I have been in school and was accountable for any kind of "homework." I loved feeling back in the loop of thinking outside the box and having to use my brain. I realize I use my brain everyday, but using it in this sense is so very different. Even though I only wrote about random things with no real importance, it was good for me to do something.

I have loved finding other blogs and meeting people through the challenge. So thank you for reading and thank you for following me! I look forward to finding even more blogger friends in the future and doing the challenge again next year. I have enjoyed seeing all the different themes people used and all the different words everyone chose. I really want to keep blogging regularly even though the challenge in over. I hope that I don't start to slack since I won't have a specific reason to be blogging each day. I am going to try to keep my "theme" of random things that inspire me each day throughout the whole year. So thanks again for reading and following, it was great to meet all of you through the challenge!

WOO HOO!!!! We made it :)

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Y....

Y.... I can't come up with anything good for y. Why oh why can't I think of anything that starts with y, that I care enough about to share with you?

The only thing that keep coming to mind is, "yada yada yada." You know... that infamous Seinfeld episode. So please just insert some yada yada yada's here and you'll have yourself a significant post! :)

And one more thing. Does it just drive you absolutely nuts when people can't get your and you're right? P.S. I know I missed one awhile ago in one of my blogs, my father so kindly pointed it out to me. I can't remember if I went back and fixed or not. Oh well.

"I hate when people don't know how to correctly use your and you're, it just really drives me crazy and yada yada yada."

Friday, April 27, 2012

X-tra

X is for X-tra gum, which is the kind my mother always had when I was a kid. Before all this fancy gum existed, my mom always carried around a Plen-T-Pack of blue X-tra and my brothers, sisters, and I loved it! Well, one time my older sister Katie and I thought it would be a good idea to see how many pieces of gum we could chew and apparently swallow. Turns out, we had a few too many pieces. Later that day or night we both got really sick to our stomachs.  We were throwing up and could barely move. This might sound gross, but really it wasn't. All we had in our stomachs were tons of balls of gum so when we threw up that was all it was, nothing gross. We both have a very vivid memory of this day and we laugh about it often. She thinks we were laying on the floor of our parent's bedroom and I think we were on opposite couches in the living room. Not that it really matters, but it's funny we both remember different things. Our sickness probably lasted for around 24 hours and then we were all better. However, I bet we will never chew and swallow gum like that again. Lesson learned.


Just a quick trip down memory lane. :)

Thursday, April 26, 2012

W is for Walter, what else?

I thought of a couple didn't things I could have done my W post on, but there is nothing better than my son Walter! He is getting so big that I already feel like it's hard to remember when all he did was sleep and eat. He fills his days now with lots of playing. His favorite thing in the whole world is his matchbox cars! Just sitting there and watching him play fills me with disbelief. How can I be some one's mother? When did he learn to do that? How did he get this big already? Why is he eating that? I just can't believe how fast time has gone. I know everyone tells you that they grow up overnight, but you don't really get it until they're here and then they're just grown up one day.

When he smiles at me I can completely lose my train of thought. He is just so precious, even when the smile is that evil kind that let's you know they know they did something they shouldn't have. Even that smile melts my heart. Your whole perspective on life changes and it's crazy. He is my first thought ALL of the time. It's the first time that you really experience an all the time feeling that someone else is more important than you and your needs. You learn about the preciousness of life and the frailty of life at the same time. The up all nights, saying no too many times to count, changing of dirty diapers, being at your wit's end, are all worth it for a big hug and kiss from your baby.

Becoming a parent has been one of the most rewarding and challenging things I have ever done. I doubt there are many things that compare. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I might take a couple weeks vacation though! :)  It's an up and down roller coaster on a daily basis, but somehow when it's all quiet at the end of the night I always smile to myself and thank God for my precious son! I thank him for blessing me with a healthy and happy child. I thank him for giving me the opportunity to experience this kind of unconditional love. I thank him that I have such a wonderful husband to share this with. I just thank him for everything.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

V is for Vulnerability

Being vulnerable is something that we all have in common. Just by living life everyday, we make ourselves vulnerable. So why are we so scared to show other people our vulnerability? Why do we think being vulnerable makes us weak, instead of strong? We're vulnerable to almost everything we encounter because we can't control all of our situations. We are vulnerable in our health, our family life, our faith, at work, and everywhere.

Our vulnerability is what allows us to grow and blossom into better, more loving people. If we had complete confidence in ourselves and our situations, would there be any need to change? I think our vulnerability is what makes us human. If we didn't have that we couldn't relate to other people's insecurities or be compassionate. Our own experiences in being vulnerable is what allows us to relate to other people's situations and understand how they might be feeling and gives us the insight in how to help and understand them. It helps us foster our relationships with other people.

Sometimes you have to get hurt or rejected in order to learn. We've all gone into a job interview feeling scared, nervous, and vulnerable and it's a terrifying feeling. However, we all made it out alive either with a new job or not. Either way we braved a scary situation and were made better for the wear. We've all experienced disappointment and made mistakes that we have had to admit to other people. It doesn't feel good to say "hey, I screwed up" but it makes it easier next time you have to admit it. We are going to make mistakes over and over again (hopefully not the same ones) and because we learn to move on, we grow. We have all been criticized, judged, hurt emotionally, been tempted, thus we have all been made vulnerable. So if everyone is vulnerable and we can't really help it, why should we be ashamed to admit it?

I am vulnerable and proud of it!

I understand now that the vulnerability I've always felt is the greatest strength a person can have. You can't experience life without feeling life. What I've learned is that being vulnerable to somebody you love is not a weakness, it's a strength.Elisabeth Shue

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

U is for Underrated.

Five months ago if you would have said to me that you Jazzercised as your form of exercise, I would have probably silently laughed at you. (mind you five months ago I wasn't exercising at all.) I would have pictured a Jane Fonda or Richard Simmons kind of thing. However against all my better judgements and the fact that my mother in law bought me a gift of some free classes, I gave it a try. I fell in love with it immediately. It's no joke. Trust me... just ask my legs. I danced when I was younger so I was naturally inclined to like it a little more than most. But I think I liked it so much because of the way it gives you a serious workout while entertaining you as well. If you don't like what you're doing to work out, you probably won't stick to it. Jazzercise is the perfect blend of cardio, strengthening, and toning. The first half of the class is the cardio portion followed by the weights (light weights) and abs. You get to dance to current music, classic music, fun music, really any kind of music you can imagine.

You get worked out from your head to your toes. They really don't miss a muscle in the body, I promise. I now know I have muscles that I previously had no clue they existed. YOU WILL SEE RESULTS. How cool is that? I am promising you that if you were to try it, you will see changes. I am so glad my MIL bought me those classes! I needed to do something to get back in shape after having my sweet little one and this is the perfect way. I smile while I'm there. I love my instructors and the people in class with me. It's a welcoming, safe community where there are no judgements. If you can dance... great. If you can't, show up anyway. They always say the hardest part is getting in the door and once you're there it's easy. You don't have to keep up, you just have to show up!

If you're looking for something new to try in your workout regime, look for a Jazzercise center near you. It's worth checking out and I am going to promise you something else, IT'S FUN! U is for underrated because that is exactly what Jazzercise is or at least was to me.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Teething Toddler. & TOMS

My beautiful son has been teething his bottom two molars for months now. The first one finally popped through a few days ago and now the other one is cutting the gums. He is a terrible teether and it makes me feel so bad for him. He becomes this cranky two foot tall monster for days on end, which makes his mother want to pull her hair out! So I am appealing to the masses and asking all of you mothers out there, what worked best for your teething toddlers?

The only thing that seems to work for my son is Motrin. Orajel doesn't work, Tylenol doesn't work, teething tablets didn't work, so what I am I missing here? Is there some miraculous trick out there that I don't know about?

Okay, so that was kind of a lame T post. So, T is also for TOMS. TOMS is a great organization. They are mostly a shoe retailer, but they are also selling eye wear now. I bought my first pair of TOMS a couple of months ago and I love them. They are a very simple shoe made from canvas with a low profile sole. They are styled after the kind of shoes the people in Argentina wear. Blake Mycoskie is the founder of Toms shoes and decided to start the company after visiting Argentina. Now, the cool thing about TOMS is they have a program called ONE for ONE. For every pair of shoes purchases, they give a pair of shoes to a child in need. How cool is that? I have to admit, I like the style of TOMS, but the main reason I wanted to buy a pair is because it is such a great charity. You can find out more about the whole story at www.TOMS.com. As of 2010, the company had already donated over 1,000,000 shoes! WOW! So please, if you have the extra money (about $50) and are looking for a cool, new casual shoe for the summer.. go buy a pair and GIVE a pair.

Courtesy of: Toms.com

Saturday, April 21, 2012

S is for Sorry for Slacking.

Sorry for slacking on the A-Z challenge. Getting into this whole thing I didn't realize that it would take as much dedication as it has. I am really enjoying myself and have learned a couple things for next year. I didn't realize how easily the days could get away from you. It is definitely a good idea to have your posts planned ahead of time or maybe even written a few days in advance. I can see how a theme works well for so many people, but I still probably won't use a theme because that's just how I am. However, I might think far enough in advance to at least have a post planned for every letter. You learn from your mistakes, isn't that what they're always saying? haha.

I hope you can all forgive me. I will be back to regular posting next week. And hopefully with some good topics. Tomorrow is Sunday, so I will have some time to catch up on everyone else's blogs and hopefully get to know a few more of the participants. Enjoy your Sunday and don't become a slacker like myself!

R

R is for my dad Roger. I could not have asked for a better father. I know not everyone is blessed with the kind of relationship that I have with my dad, so that makes me even that much more thankful for him. People sometimes say things like, "she really is her mother's daughter." Well, I REALLY am my father's daughter. We are very different people, but I have so many of the same personality traits at him, that at times it's almost ridiculous. As you grow older you start to see your parents as actual people and begin to know them more as a friend and confidant. The funny thing is I don't think parents realize that when their kids get older, they start to look back at events in the past and view them like an adult rather than as the kid they were when it happened.

My parents got divorced when I was about 5 or 6, I can't really remember. However, even though my parents weren't together, I never lost either of them. Sometimes with divorce the one parent kind of drifts away slowly. Not my dad. He was there every other weekend, every Tuesday, and at every school, sport, or other event. When my mother moved us four hours away, my dad rearranged his life so that he was still there to get us whenever he was supposed to. And I know he would have gotten us more if he could have. This might not seem like a lot to some people, but being an adult now makes me realize how much work it took. There are so many people my age who aren't with their child's father  or mother and the fathers or mothers just kind of live their lives like they don't have children. So I really do appreciate the dedication he had to spending time with us. It makes all the difference in the world to me now.

Secondly, I laugh now at all the times my dad told me something when I was a teenager that just seemed sooooo stupid to me. He always used to say, in reference to my curfew, "you don't need to be out any later than that because nothing good ever happens after midnight." (my curfew was 11) I would beg and plead with him that all the other kids got to stay out later and he was so unfair, but boy was he right. He just kind of had this way of saying things so matter of fact, like they weren't up for debate, but without that condescending tone that most parents have. He would just tell me why I wasn't allowed to do something and just know that someday I would understand. I understand now. I appreciate his honesty and way of teaching me things. I hope that one day I can be the same way with my own son.

As an adult we have become even closer. I like to think of him as a friend. I talk to him on a regular basis, which for me, sometimes means calling him 5 times a day about absolutely nothing. He isn't much of a phone person, but he puts up with it. I love that I can invite my dad over for a cup of coffee and conversation. I love that he will watch my son for me when I ruined my hair with a box of hair dye and need to make an emergency run to the salon. I love that I can share anything with him. I love that he loves me, no matter what. I love that I don't have to question if my dad is proud of me. I love that I know he will always be there. I love my dad.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Quiet

Quiet, oh how I relish the quiet. I never knew this until I had my son. I really never gave much thought to the quiet time I had. Well, that's not quite true. I suppose I did notice my quiet time, but not in the sense of enjoying it. I would notice my quiet time when I had had too much of it and needed to do something to fill my time. Instead of worrying about getting more quiet time, I worried about how I could have less quiet time, less me time. It's funny how that works I suppose. It's true that the grass is always greener on the other side. Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade my son for the world. However, I really do miss those days of sleeping in and watching movie after movie on a dreary day. I know that someday I will get them back when he's too cool for me and is always wanting to be somewhere other than home. Sometimes though, it just doesn't seem like I'll ever have more than an hour of quiet time from life.

I usually save my blogging until late at night when everyone else is sleeping. It's quiet for me then. I trade a few winks of sleep for my coveted quiet time. My mom warned me that all my "me" time would come late at night when the rest of the world was snoozing. I'm not sure if I believed her then, but I sure do now. She would tell me stories of cleaning the house and folding laundry after we all went to sleep and I thought what a silly way to spend your time. I get it now, boy do I ever get it now. Folding laundry is a chore I've never liked much, but it's 10x times worse when your toddler unfolds everything directly after you just folded it. There is solace in quiet time for me now. I can relax and not think about anything. Or if I do feel like thinking, I can choose what I want to think about. I can put the rest of the world on the back burner for a short amount time. I think we all forget how much a little quiet can do for a tired soul. You can take time to kick your feet up, have a glass of wine, or maybe even enjoy a TV show that's been taking up room on the DVR list. You can catch up on blogs you've been meaning to read or even read a few pages of a book you haven't cracked open in weeks. So for now, I am going to enjoy the last little bit of quiet time I have tonight and I want to remind you to also take a little quiet time for yourself... and appreciate it!

Over & Out.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Pretending People are Perfect.

This is a real problem I have. I hate that as a society we pretend that celebrities are perfect. They are always photo ready. Their skin doesn't have any imperfections. They're not fat. They all exercise all the time and eat healthy. They can "do it all" and never get worn out. They definitely don't get stretch marks!!!! Blah, blah, blah, so on and so on.

Courtesy of: The Huffington Post
It's a wonder that any of us can get out of bed in the morning, knowing we'll never be what we all aspire to be. It's awful that even the least vein person in the world still wishes to be a little more "perfect." We're just kind of bred this way in America. And how can we not be? Everywhere we look there are picture perfect celebrities staring right back at us. All the magazine racks are filled with them. So called reality TV is everywhere, even though we all know in our most sane minds it's not reality at all. When we open Yahoo! in the morning, the top news story is usually something completely stupid and celebrity related. I will never forget when the top story was, "Only 6 months after having a baby, Victoria's Secret model is back on the runway." GAG!!!! I know that it shouldn't make me mad, but it does. And then there was the article about Ralph Lauren's model causing outrage because she was too skinny. Well, NEWS FLASH, she was! We can't wonder why so many young girls feel the way they do when we shove this crap down their throats. It's sick and it's not real. My personal favorite, because I am covered in stretch marks or as I like to call them my tiger stripes, is that there is NEVER a picture of a mother in a pregnancy magazine that has stretch marks. I know not everyone gets them and they're very lucky. However, some people do and we shouldn't be made to feel ugly or like we have to hide them from everyone because they're an eye sore. If people didn't get them, there wouldn't be so many products marketed for them. It's superficial and makes people feel bad. Women and girls of all ages strive to make themselves fit into this idea of beauty and perfection that is unattainable, but shhh! don't tell anyone it's not real. It's just insane to me. I wish we could embrace each other for who and what we are. Even celebrities have imperfections, but we just photo shop them away and make people think they're perfect. It really is just a dangerous game. The end.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

O is for... Obstacle Course

When I was younger, one of my favorite things to do was to see how fast I could complete an obstacle course. It could have been made from anything and it would have still sparked my interest. I am a very competitive person, so naturally obstacle courses were appealing to me. I think all kids enjoy this kind of thing, but maybe not quite as much as I did. Still to this day if I ran into a good obstacle course, it would take all I had to not give it a whirl. Chances are I would succumb to my need to compete.

There is a show my husband and I like to watch called Ninja Warrior. It is about the toughest obstacle course I have ever seen in my life. Actually, I know it to be fact that it's the hardest one I've ever laid eyes on. I am under no illusion that I could even come close to doing it. The competition takes place in Japan, but people from all over compete. They start out with 100 competitors in stage 1 and the most I've ever seen make it to stage 2 is around 10. Once they complete stage 2 they move on to stage 3, which is just pure insanity, hardly anyone makes it past stage 3. If someone does make stage three they then have to climb a pretty long rope in a short amount of time. I wish I could remember either of those specifics, but my memory is failing me and I can't find them anywhere. There have only been 3 people to complete all four stages in 27 competitions. I hope that gives you can idea of how crazy it is!

If you have a few minutes the video is entertaining and worth watching.

Lastly, life is kind of like one big obstacle course, so I'm glad I've been preparing my whole life! :)

Monday, April 16, 2012

N is for NEW

There is just something about newness that is both scary and exciting. A new outfit is exciting; a new job is scary. However, I love new! I love getting new things and trying new things. I love that everyday I wake up, it's a new day filled with new possibilities. Hence the name of my blog! I am like most everyone else and find comfort in things and people I know well, but that doesn't stop me from wanting more. The more you expose yourself to, the more you grow as a person. Every new person you meet, every new experience you try, every new food you try, every new hobby you give a chance, is one more chance to grow.

Blogging is something I have thought about for a few years and I just kept writing it off as something I could never really do. I am so glad I gave it a chance! I have found so many people that I can relate to and appreciate reading their words. I love that it has given me a place to ramble and organize my thoughts. It has given me something that is all mine, a place to reflect. I was nervous to start because I didn't think anyone would read my blogs; I thought of that as failure and no one wants to fail. However, I realized is didn't matter if anyone read it, but that it was more important that I jumped the hurdle and did it for myself. That was where the real victory was.

I look forward to all the new experiences my future holds. I hope I never lose the desire to try new things and that I also think of it as something that is essential to my personal growth.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

M... a day late.

I apologize that I am a day late on my M post. We had a surprise birthday party for my father in law's 50th birthday. It wasn't quite a success because someone of course told him about it. Oh well.

Manners.
I look around at people in society today and notice that manners are almost non-existent. People don't say Hi anymore. People can't even keep their eyes front facing because they're always walking and texting. Only a few people hold doors anymore and if you find yourself holding a door for someone you'd be hard pressed to get a thank you. I am not perfect in the manners department, trust me I know. Society, as a whole, used to be much more strict in this area. I am from the generation that has completely forgotten their manners. Everything is about me, me, me. Young adults seem to have no respect for their elders. People don't respect places that are family oriented. People just seem to walk around with the mind set, "I have every right to be here and do and say whatever I like and if you don't like, then screw you, you can leave."

It honestly just makes me sad. I want to live in a world that is pleasant and nice to be in. I want to know my neighbors and feel comfortable to say hello. I like to wave at people as I am taking my child on a walk. If I have to socially interact with someone when I run to the grocery store, I would like it to be a pleasant exchange instead of a nasty one. I live in a small town, so I am already luckier than most because many people still feel how I do. I could never cut it in a large city where people are too busy to even notice another person, let alone say hello and offer a smile. I guess you can call me old fashioned, but I think it would just make life a little nicer. Have a goodnight!

Friday, April 13, 2012

Life Lessons Learned

Life is all about learning a few lessons along the way. You get wiser as you get older. Well, not necessarily, but hopefully. Here a few lessons I have learned so far in my young life. (Hey, I'm only 24... so I have a few more lessons to learn.)

1. You really can't judge a book it's cover.
2. Life really was simple as a teenager, even though you thought everything was life or death.
3. Worrying doesn't change anything.
4. Your parents, as it just so happens, weren't stupid.
5. Don't spend money you don't have.
6. Think before you speak.
7. Laugh often & cry often, they are both vital to your well being.
8. Take time to enjoy the scenery.
9. Making mistakes is okay.
10. Admitting you're wrong, doesn't make you weak.
11. Apologize.
12. Words hurt worse than sticks and stones.
13. Acceptance doesn't come from other people, it comes from yourself.
14. You're not the most important thing in the world.
15. A beautiful outside, doesn't mean a beautiful inside.

What are some of your favorite life lessons?

Thursday, April 12, 2012

KARMA

K is for Karma. I absolutely believe in Karma. It stems from Buddhism, even though I am not a Buddhist I believe in it. I think most people are acquainted with karma, but in case you're not I'll give a quick summary of what I think it is. In my opinion it is the principle that people will be rewarded or punished based on their life decisions and actions. Now obviously even people with the best of intentions will make a few poor decisions in their life or do a couple not so nice things, but I don't think that is what karma is concerned with. I think the principle of karma speaks more to the state your heart is in. It's about what is on the inside. If you're a good person, you will likely show that with your life. You'll show people kindness and understanding. You'll want to help people and you'll want to do the right things that will lead to a rewarding life. The saying actions speak louder than words, speaks directly to karma if you ask me. There are so many people who can talk a big game, but never put it into action in their lives.

I don't think I am perfect, but I think I have a good heart. I try to do what's right and I try to be an all around good person. I make mistake like anyone else, but when I do I try to fix them or try not make them again. Everyone is going to be hit with a couple punches from life that are no one's fault but nature's. How you react to them is what's important and reacting to things has just a much of an impact on karma as anything else. I love that this whole process has a name because to me it seems as natural as breathing. I 100% believe in creation and regardless of what God you believe in, it just seems to make sense that there would be some kind of order to life. You do good and you'll be rewarded; you do bad and you'll be punished. It all just seems so simple.

I'm sure many, many people have said this, but I'm just giving credit to who I saw it quoted by.
"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it." -Charles R. Swindoll

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

J is for Justice

No, I don't mean justice as in to be treated fairly. Although, I think it's a great principle. Justice, just so happens to be my husbands name. Actually his name is Walter just like my sons, but a few days after my husband was born his dad decided he no longer wanted to call him Walter; rather he wanted to call him Justice. Alas, his nickname was born even though it has nothing to do with his actually name.

This year my husband and I will be celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary. I couldn't have asked for a better partner in life. Sure we have our fights and hang ups, but at the end of the day I know there isn't anyone else I would be rather be taking this journey with. He gets me. I mean, really gets me. He knows I am a little crazy at times and he handles it quite well. I tend to freak out and he tends to almost not react at all. It's a good balance we have. He doesn't mind when I am dancing around the house busting out my new dance moves that my sister and I came up with, instead he just sort of chuckles, shakes his head, and goes on about his business. He doesn't mind that I like to clean with the golden oldies on full blast. He doesn't yell at me for reading too many books on how we're supposed to raise our child, instead he just tells me to take it with a grain of salt and each child is their own individual. He has to remind me almost weekly if something "bad" happened, that there isn't anything we can do about it so I might as well not stress out. He just sort of has this way of balancing me out. I would be a stressed out, anxious mess if it weren't for him. In the same way he balances me out, I am able to pull him out of his comfort zone and get him to open up. It hasn't been an easy task, but slowly we're getting there. Even if everyone else can't see the changes we're making in one another, I can.

I know that our relationship is one that is built to last. I get almost giddy thinking about what it'll be like 20 or 30 years down the road. I get to imagining the kind of people we'll be and the things we'll have accomplished. Where will be living? How many kids will we have had? What sorts of vacations have we taken? What plans will we have for our future? I love the thought of growing old with him! I am so very thankful for the man I chose to spend my life with and I am excited to keep on living it with him! Here's to Justice! (even though I don't let him read my blog.)

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Idealism

I am a realist. I see things for what they are and I am terrible at sugar coating. I certainly don't see the sunny side of everything and I have a habit of assuming the worst. It's just who I am. I don't hate it because I know there are benefits for seeing things just as they are, but part of me wishes I could be an Idealist. Seeing things as I wish they were or as they should be, just seems like it would be easier sometimes. I know that if I always lived like that, people might think I am crazy. I just wish I had a little more idealism in my life. Idealists value morals, which I do also, but I know that so many people aren't moral so it's hard to look at the world and think of it as a moral place. They think people are instinctively good. They just see things in a better light. It's just not in my nature to be like this. In theory, I would like to become a good mix of an idealist and a realist. I know it's going to take some real work to squash my habit of being negative, but I know if I can manage it... it will be so worth it! I don't want to go around living in a fantasy world, but I want to be able to enjoy life a little more without always waiting for the other shoe to drop.. I think that if I can learn to be a little more of an idealist, I will be to live life to the fullest better. I will be able to embrace my now more and I'll smile more. So IDEALLY, I would like to dial back my realism a little bit and reel in my idealism.

What are you? An Idealist or a Realist?

Monday, April 9, 2012

H is for How did it get so late so soon?

How did it get so late so soon?
It’s night before it’s afternoon.
December is here before it’s June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.
How did it get so late so soon?
~Dr. Seuss

Seriously, how did it get so late? My day just seemed to fly by in a blur! All day I kept thinking, you have to get home and do your H post, you have to go home and blog, you have to come up with something for H!!!! H? H? H? What begins with H? I couldn't think of a darn thing that started with H that I would want to write about. My mind was just a blizzard of thoughts today. However, Dr. Suess' How Did It Get So Late So Soon kept popping into my head, probably because that's exactly how I was feeling. So it's very fitting that the line I kept coming back to started with a word that began with H!!! Yay!! So enjoy by nonsense, last minute H post. It's night, but I don't feel like it was ever afternoon. Way to hit the nail on the head Dr! Isn't Dr. Seuss just awesome? I think so. I hope you do too. Goodnight.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is one my favorite books of all time. There is no way that I could even do it justice with my own words, but I'll try. To me, it's one of those books that you can read over and over again; and every time that you do, you'll see it in a different light. The roaring 1920's is my favorite decade, which is partly to do with the reason I love this book so much.

Nick Carraway is the narrative voice of this book and throughout the entire book, he is trying to remain moral but finds it's hard to do. He is surrounded by people who place wealth at the center of everything. Gatsby met a girl and loved her so fiercely, that he then became the person he thought he needed to be in order for her to love him. He chased this dream endlessly. He built Daisy up to be someone she could never live up to and the dream that he had for their future was so disconnected to reality it was borderline insane, but he couldn't see this. Nick represents morality, while many of the other characters (i.e. Tom, Daisy, Jordan) represent moral decay and obsession with material things. Gatsby represents the American Dream and the drive to do anything in order to achieve it.

This books examines wealth in so many senses. Old money verses new money. High class society, pseudo high class society, and the poor and desolate. Superficiality is a very prominent theme is this book, as well as, double standards. Societal expectations are also something that play a strong role in the plot. Daisy married Tom because he was a well off man from old money, not because she necessarily loved him. Gatsby might have done a million and one things wrong, but it was all done so that he could get Daisy in the end. He would do anything for his dream of love. Gatsby's death was wrought with irony. However, I grew to like Gatsby's character despite everything and choose to think he died in his pool still thinking he and Daisy would end up together. So at least he died happy, or in my opinion anyway. He died still clinging to his dream, which isn't a half bad thing.

To sum it all up, since they're supposed to be short posts. Even though this book was written many, many years ago, we still struggle with these same issues in society. Our basic human emotions can't really change too much over time. Love is a power strong enough to make some people do almost anything. The internal struggle to be a good moral person is something I believe we all deal with. The obsession with wealth is as superfluous as ever. The need to save face in a sticky situation is something everyone has experienced because it's never easy to say you were wrong. The desire to be loved by all is a timeless quest we all deal with.

This book just speaks volumes upon volumes about human behavior and societies direct influence upon our lives. It just worth reading, over and over again!

Friday, April 6, 2012

F is for Friday.

Today is Friday, but not just any Friday, it's Good Friday. So this Friday is also about forgiveness. I am a Christian so today is day to be thankful as well. Jesus died on the cross for me today and not just me, but for all of us so we could eternally be forgiven. I am thankful for this, truly I am. I need lots of forgiveness in my life, just as I believe we all do. Now I realize that not everyone shares the same beliefs as me and that's fine also. When I stop and think about what my Father did for me by allowing his son to be crucified on a cross, so that I could be forgiven, it's overwhelming to think about. That is really the ultimate sacrifice.
If he could do that for little ole' me, why do I have such a hard time forgiving those in my life who have hurt me? Lied to me? Didn't do what I wanted them to? Tricked me? I don't think this is just something that I, as a Christian, fall short on, but something that we all do regardless of religious affiliation. For some reason it's hard to let things go. I don't know why, but I guess it's just human nature to get angry and want to hold a grudge. However, it we all forgave a little more, wouldn't we be happier ourselves? Those around us would be happier too or so I imagine. Forgiveness is a tough thing to master. I tell myself and other people that I forgive you, but I know in my heart that it's not always the case. True forgiveness means really forgetting about something or at least forgetting about it enough to not let it hinder your future relationship. I imagine I will continue to work on this my whole life, but even if I never master it... I know God has already forgiven me for that.

Let's all Forgive on this wonderful Friday!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Today's post brought to you by ETSY

Facebook, in my opinion, is a giant waste of time; however, I can't seem to stay away. It has it's good points and one of them being that occasionally something will pop up on the ads on the side that actually interests me. A couple of years ago an ad for the website http://www.etsy.com/ popped up and I clicked on it. Etsy has become one of my favorite places to shop online. Now, I have to admit I do more window shopping than actually buying, but I still enjoy it an immense amount. I love knowing that when I purchase something, that I am buying it from an individual who made it themselves and not a giant corporation. Again, not that I don't buy things from places like Wal-Mart.

A couple of months ago I bought 10 prints from this seller... The Rekindled Page. http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheRekindledPage?ref=ss_profile

She takes old dictionaries that are going to be thrown away and uses the pages to put her own prints on. I love the idea recycling dictionary pages and was looking for some wall art for my house. As soon as I stumbled upon an old red telephone booth print I knew I was going to buy it and put it in my red kitchen. Lucky for me I was shopping when she was running a BOGO sale. I bought five and got five free... SCORE! Now all I have to do is frame them, which is taking me wayyyy too long. Please take a few minutes to look around Etsy, I promise you'll find something you like or something someone you know will like. And don't forget to stop by the The Rekindled Page.
Courtesy of: The Rekindled Page
www.etsy.com

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

D is for Driving

I could say so many things about driving. I am a delivery driver part-time, I think I am a better driver than most (who doesn't?), I think driving is extremely dangerous, etc. However, I would like to stick to how driving on a warm spring day, with the windows down and the music blaring is one of my favorite things in the whole world. There is just something about the fresh air blowing in your face that kind of wakes you up and makes you feel alive. To feel the sun beat down on my skin and warm me from head to toe is something I wish I could feel every day of the year. I also love picking out the soundtrack that I am going to listen to each year as more and more days allow me to partake in this activity.

This year, I put Pandora on and blared the Golden Oldies as loud as my car would let me! There is just something about that genre of music that makes me smile. I think it's the easy listening and general optimism found in this kind of music. Easy tones, nice beats, smooth voices, and friendly lyrics are an unbeatable combination. Even the slower more sad songs are still just so beautiful! I hope that other people feel the same as I do about driving in warm, sunny weather because I have a feeling that if they do, the roads could be a safer place for everyone!

Today my nieces and nephew came over to spend the day while they're on spring break. They pretended to drive today, even though they were safely parked in the driveway. They really enjoyed themselves, as did I!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Chardonnay and Crocs

Yesterday my sister text me and asked if I wanted to hang out today and maybe grill. I, of course, said yes and what a wonderful time it was! We grilled some dinner for the family and then spent some time outside. My son loves being outside because this is really the first time he can explore the world and realize what he's doing. My sister brought a bottle of Chardonnay with her so we could enjoy a few glasses together. After dinner we were sitting outside chatting about nothing, which we often do and who comes walking up the sidewalk but my wonderful mother in law! We of course offered her a glass of wine because, after all, we had what I like to call a double-wide (you know... the BIG bottle haha) and it would have been rude to not offer anyway. So there we were enjoying some girl time and laughing about who knows what while having a glass of Chardonnay, which by the way, has become one of my favorite wines. I do not consider myself a wine connoisseur, but I might know a thing or two. I, like most people, started off drinking the pink wines... you know, the good stuff that tastes more like kool-aid. As time passes, you tend to find yourself not enjoying the sweet stuff so much anymore. I don't necessarily like red wine a ton, but I do like it enough. I prefer Chardonnay or Riesling because you can find both that have a nice mixture of sweet and dry, without making you feel like you need to grow hair on your chest... which is how I feel about really dry red wines. Actually, I am not really sure why my sister and I say that about red wine. I'm sure we came up with the phrase after we had a couple glasses. :)

Now, the crocs part of my C post comes from the fact that I bought a pair of old generic crocs from a friend who has a son older than Walter. When I bought them from her, for a whopping $1, I thought these will make nice summer play shoes. What was I thinking???? They fall off of him constantly and you just find yourself picking his shoes up and putting them back on him a million times. Maybe it's because they're still a tad big because he is right between size 4 and 5, but I think it's just because he thinks it's funny to knock them off his feet and then watch his mommy go in search for the lost shoe!

I am really enjoying participating in the A-Z challenge and finding all sorts of bloggers out there who make me smile! Now I must go to sleep and start dreaming about things for my D blog.

Over & Out.
My busy little man!

Monday, April 2, 2012

Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba... BANANA

BANANAAAAAA

About a week or so ago, the movie Despicable Me was on HBO and my son actually stopped to notice. He is almost 16 months old and so far, nothing has really held his attention for too long on the television. However, when the little green minions from this movie appeared on the screen, he stopped dead in his tracks to take notice. He LOVED them! I mean really, really loved them. This of course made me want to look on youtube to see if I could find any clips of them for him to watch. Oh man, did I hit the jackpot... I found this little gem!




Walter is obsessed with this clip and I can't seem to get the song Barbara Ann out of my own head... GEE I wonder why?? So for Easter we found a DVD of 3 mini movies of just the minions for only $6.00, I think he's going to be very, very happy! The letter B has been widely used in our home the past couple days, so I thought it was a fitting post for the B of the A-Z challenge!



Bye-Bye... C you tomorrow!


Sunday, April 1, 2012

A is for... ALMOST ANYTHING

This is my first year participating in the April A-Z challenge. I am not going to have a theme for my posts, they will be about ALMOST ANYTHING!! Which is, of course, where I came up with my title for my first post. Also because that's how my brain works, I usually have a million and one things running through my mind at any given moment.

I am really excited to give this a whirl because I am using my blog to help me get out of the box that I call my comfort zone. I want my daily life in April to be my inspiration for each letter. I sat around all day today, thinking of as many words as I could that began with the letter A. I thought about Aperture because I am trying to learn about photography. I thought about the word Adjective because I love the English language. I thought I could maybe give some lessons in grammar. However, I decided that a theme wasn't for me. I want to let my brain just kind of wander and stumble upon something random each day to blog about.

Now, just to show you how long I sat and thought about A words, I will share with you some words that I thought about.
Accomplishments, Activities, Admiration, Aardvark ???, Art, Axiousness, Anxiety, Abilities, Adorable, Anything, Apples, Adulthood, Age, Autocracy, and the list goes on. So I settled on, chose, Almost Anything because, as you can see, that's how my brain works.

Over and Out... here's to B!