BlogFEST 2012 info to go

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 Let the wild BlogFEST of 2012 begin!  

I'm posting this as an invitation to other bloggers & as an explanation (a.k.a. warning) to my readers.

~Starting October 1st, 2012, we have 27 Hosts scheduled to bring you 27 different prompts, one prompt a day (except Sundays) for the entire month of October.

 ~Each day around midnight Eastern time (US)--the BlogFEST page will introduce the HOST OF THE DAY and will be providing the URL to their blog right here on the BlogFEST 2012 Facebook page. 

~Click the URL provided to be taken to the Host's blog, to get your blogging prompt for the day.


27 days 
27 posts
Let the wild rumpus start!






 





......More info from the facebook page - that you would know all about if you clicked the link - here it is again, for those who skipped that part BlogFEST 2012

~***Please be courteous and leave the Host some comment love.***

~Interpret the prompt however you want-- and post it to your blog.

~Be sure to link back to the Host's URL (the one provided to you on the BlogFEST 2012 FB page) if you want to be eligible for the small giveaway at the end of BlogFEST 2012.  (See Giveaway Details Note on the BlogFEST 2012 Facebook Page).

~Then come back to the BlogFEST 2012 Facebook page and Leave the URL to YOUR blog post on that day's topic in the daily thread.  (Instructions will be given each day to make it clear for you.) This way the Hosts and other participants will be able to visit your take on the prompt for that day.  You can also get the links that other bloggers have left for that same topic and visit them... yes this is going to be one great BlogFEST!!

Starring Jenn from Wine-n-Chat as Max  

Retrospect

Much to my dismay, the blog prompt for this week is Retrospect. 

But thanks to the wild weirdness that is Rob Brezsney 

- I came up with a plan. 

I read his weekly newsletter for the intriguing connections and 

twirly thought patterns, 

not because I give weight to his predictions. 

Honestly, I don't believe he does either. 

It is simply a great format....anyways, under Cancer (not my sign by the way)
he quotes another wildly weird guy, Johnathan Zap. 
 
"Conscious reflection on the past can deepen the soul and 

provide revelations of great value for the present and future.

On the other hand, 

returning to the past obsessively 
out of emotional addiction

can be a massive draining of vitality needed for 
full engagement with the present." 

Yes, very true - massive draining, losing focus with the present....all that stuff. 

Looking back and re-examining the past is good - sometimes, 

but lately I've found digging around in dusty nostalgia throws me off kilter.   

Obviously I like sharing bits and pieces of the past - great blog fodder - 

but this week...

not so much. Told too many stories of late. 

Reminiscing has roused the beast so to speak.

Xena?
yes, Xena Warrior Princess
questions on this will not be answered :)

But - I love this blog group - GBE2 you's the bestest, 

so here is a brief retrospective;

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

I feel asleep at 10-ish today - at the computer - fingers on the keyboard - 

in the middle of writing an article for Angie's List - that was due at noon. 

 * In retrospect, 

I should have put down my book last night anytime before midnight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Princess Bride - home edition

 

Since my cat - Little Liza Jane the Merciless - has been lovingly banished* from the house, a mouse decided to show off and take up residence in my bathroom. MY BATHROOM.  I had assumed there was a potential problem a'brewing,  -my clue; when I open my bathroom cupboard, there is a little breeze, and in the winter, sometimes even a little snow. I might as well toss a little welcome mat in there, maybe place a mint on a stack of washcloths.

but - Liza Jane was a fabulous manager.

Regardless of the shoddy construction of my home, she kept the rodent population at bay. Her mighty presence coupled with the corpses lying around the back door - was a great deterrent.  She seemed to hunt when there was new stress in the house - if I was not paying attention to her, working too much or not home, the birds and rabbits would pay - pay dearly. 




*Now though, she is a mere shadow of herself, and living her last days in the garage/garden/lawn - I've been giving her baths every other day (that she does not mind, almost enjoys I think) and feeding her fancy food - but can't let her stay in the house.

 (I feel like I need to continue explaining myself here - that sounds so cruel)

- See, she always thought of herself as an independent sort of gal. I never had to set up a litter box - she would just bang on the blinds when she needed a human to open the door for her. She did her business outside - hunted a little - and then let me know she wanted back in by banging on the window.

It was a good system. She was happy, I was happy, the neighbors were happy - she kept all the gardens free of rabbits and moles....but now, she is less aware or unwilling to make the effort, so she has been lovingly banished.  

Back to my bathroom guest...there was evidence a mouse was visiting - and that fact HAUNTED me at night. I lost sleep over the fact that an army of mice had invaded and were plotting my demise. They were going to get revenge. It was pay back time for all their relatives....

I would be woken up to a tiny rodent with a bad accent saying....

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."


There is an ugly side to creativity. Ugly and sleep-deprived.

I could not bring another cat into the house - not with poor Liza Jane sick, elderly and all, how cruel would that be - to replace her now. Awful.  I considered a giant snake - just set up a heat lamp in the bathroom cupboard - all's well. Or maybe an owl. I like owls. ....but settled on a mouse trap.
THAT I COULD NOT USE.

The little death trap - what?  No, I just can't do it. The little Inigo Montoya should be able to grow up and star on Criminal Minds.

 um, okay - ignore that last sentence.

This is turning out to be a very long post - fear makes me wordy.  Don't worry, this is the end....

This morning, my son went to take a shower and guess who decided to watch?  A baby mouse. A tiny, itty bitty baby mouse. Did my son yell?  Scream?  Stomp on it?  No, he grabbed a towel, picked it up and walked it outside. - More accurately, he stood in the hallway and asked me what he should do with it - I said YOU HAVE A MOUSE IN YOUR HAND???????    TAKE IT OUTSIDE!!!!!!  

Now, I realize if there is one baby mouse, there are probably more - but I am not going to think about that.
 It left peacefully. I will leave it at that for now.

Rain rain go away

I love rainy days....have even decided to go to the zoo on a rainy day, pick pumpkins, take a hike,I love running in the rain.....

really rain does not annoy me.... my hair is not fancy, I do not rely on make-up, and never wear white t-shirts, although this is simply because white is a stain magnet for me and I need color to look alive.

but - the forecast for this weekend does ANNOY me. Rain, really?  why - why - WHY?

Today 70° Rain	Sat 62°  Rain Shower

I volunteered to work the Cedar Point fundraiser this weekend. Seriously awesome adrenaline rushes were so close I could almost taste it.

....if it rains though, I am out of luck.  Rides the hurl you over a 310 foot hill - an 80 degree drop at 93 MPH ...or goes 0 to 120 MPH in less than 4 seconds and then a few seconds later drops you 420 feet will not be operating in the rain. How could I be so sure? - because LAST year when I volunteered, the rides were shut down when it sprinkled....and then rained.... 

 I don't like to look ahead with doom and gloom, really I don't - and I am still hoping for the best....

* sigh *

okay, that's that. Just a pathetic little post on disappointment.

Rain rain go away

Women Who Shine

A few weeks ago I received an email asking if I would like to nominate someone in my life for the Women Who Shine award. Yahoo! Shine is looking for women who "are blazing new trails, touching lives or are just being amazing every single day."

 The winning woman receives a $10,000 cash prize and there are great prizes are available for runners-up too.... So after a moment of consideration, a woman in my life jumped to the forefront of my thoughts. She is not flashy, doesn't brag about her impressive accomplishments, nor does she complain about all the responsibilities on her plate.....  without further ado, let me introduce Deb Brown.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Please VOTE here 
(click and it will go to her page - and then just click VOTE thanks!)

Deb Brown is a woman who shines directly into the hearts and lives of everyone she meets. Her role as the administrator of a thriving school is how I first ran across this amazing woman. The school itself is a shining example of how a cooperative should be done and it has made a life changing impact on numerous lives over the past twenty years. Deb’s leadership skills in this role are only a small part of the reason I am nominating her for this award though.

Her influence goes much farther than that. As a lawyer, a teacher, a wife, a mom, a grandma, a daughter, and much more, she is a model of faithfulness. It takes a strong woman to hold so many roles and care for so many people, but she does it with a supreme amount of grace and compassion.

You would not expect a woman with so much responsibility to be so overwhelmingly kind, and others-minded.  But Deb is just that.

And that is the reason I am nominating Deb Brown. Her example to me and all the wives, moms, teachers, children, and even the other schools in the area, is so valuable – yet often overlooked. Not one to draw attention to herself; she simply carries on and does the next right thing time and time again.

Sometimes the things we admire the most in others are traits that we are lacking and need to work on! 
Thank you Deb for showing me (and all those you meet) how to live.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There it is. That is my nomination. Now....

please vote for this 
ordinary-everyday-hard-working-
REMARKABLE woman

yes NOW. 

please....thank you :)

I was compensated for this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. To read more posts on this topic, click here.

Listen to your Heart....or

when gravity overtakes

Today's post is a response to the GBE2 prompt: Bottom.

Like a yo-yo or a bouncing ball, I "hit bottom" fairly regularly. I know there is supposed to be a great big Ah-Ha moment when you hit and then rise up from the ashes like a phoenix never to visit the basement of life again....but I haven't quite found that consistency.



No, instead I tend to run headlong into one thing or the other ... and sometimes that means I fall.

Fall hard

...or suddenly discover I was running straight down all along. (directionally challenged)

hmpf, okay - time to start climbing back up again.

Now of course not all bottom hits are rock bottom - but they are often all a surprise...
 *ahem* to no one but yourself that is. 

In my 20's I turned a diet into an obsession - into an eating disorder - into a frightening all-consuming way of life - that did not blend well with having an infant son. So, I ended up hopping on a plane, along with a breast pump, a stack of books and a pile of notebooks - in contrast, I think I only brought 4 outfits.


Another thing about finding yourself on the bottom - the light shines a little brighter.

The process of going from the airport to the treatment center was humiliating, but somewhere in the middle of the horror came the ability to "just do it"  - I had no choice at that point, so I had to decide if I was just going to cooperate.... or not.  I chose to cooperate. (the people pleaser in me really gave me no other option, besides what was fussing going to do for me?)



Unfortunately, or fortunately depending how you look at it, the "christian treatment center" was only a small part of a large mental hospital. Yes, I am admitting to the world at large that I spent time in a mental hospital.

  ('...just do it, write the hard stuff, it's okay...' that is what I am telling myself right now)



The fortunate part was that it was not all eating disorders - I met fascinating people, troubled - but fascinating. I sat through sessions and just wanted to hear more....my issue was resolving -"what was it again?" -as I worried about these new friends and learned about their history and what they had been through...I suppose I had to talk at some point, but I don't remember ever participating - just enjoyed listening to stories, and trying to help. kindness always counts. 

 A couple weeks into my stay, I was transferred to a "cottage" - it was a nice change, felt like camp in a way, except without any campfires or knives, ropes, or swimming, hiking....okay, it was not camp, but it was less hospital-like. I played an insane amount of basketball in between meetings and meals - and just wanted to go home....because unfortunately, life there was scary (nights mainly)  and I missed everything and everyone I left behind.

Gravity pulled me to the bottom, but it is only natural to want to try to fly again. I couldn't fly, not then, not now - and I am sure my take on hitting bottom is skewed, but this is my blog. It is just a blog. It is not a peer-reviewed journal, a product of careful editing, or intended to be used in any way other than for your amusement and my on-going therapy. These posts pop from the keyboard spontaneously, never drafted; shaken, not stirred. Mistakes are only revised when I decide to reread what I have written and am horrified at spelling errors or at sentences that grossly misrepresent what I intended to say.  Run-on sentences are left as is, because I write like I talk and as weird as that is, this is what it would sound like if you were talking to me on the phone. - which is probably why I do not receive many phone calls....

I didn't intend to write about that time in my life - I had plenty of other "bottoms" to choose from, but once I started it became clear that that first big bottom hit was a life-changer in so many ways. Sure, I 'recovered' technically speaking, but it also altered me in ways that made coping with other hits - both self-inflicted and attacks from others - easier to walk through and pick myself up from.

      ....it also provided me with some mad b-ball skillz baby   :)





 

 



 

so how'd ya wind up here?

Since I have been "away" for a while, not posting, not doing any shameless promoting - it was fun to peruse my stats - to see how people have been finding my blog.

Interesting audience I must say.

"Wingsuit" brings the most traffic. I love that - and hate it.  Love it because I WILL leap off a cliff someday....and, you know, survive.

I sign up to work school fundraisers so I can go to Cedar Point for free...sure, that means I have to work in a french fry booth for 6 hours - but it also means the adrenaline rush is mine :)  Will be working the fryer next weekend - and then hoping back on these crazy contraptions. Yeah!

BUT, haven't quite found a way - or a single friend- who is interested in trying this -

APPARENTLY

according to my search results at least

there are MANY people who are interested in jumping off cliffs.

(hate that this is the main way people have found my blog recently though because the slimeball who took my domain name originally used it as some sort of wingsuit scam or something - not nice I tell ya)

nor was that very long run-on sentence.....

 



Other winners include "bangs on brunettes"  -okay that makes sense. I am a fan of bangs - have been a bang-wearer for several decades now,  but they are not as interesting as mustaches - nor do they have fun names. Also, "wooly mammoth" hit the top ten. Not sure what to think of that. Wonder if the searcher found what they needed?

"Girl cocktail" and "champagne bubbles" are fun enough, and then there is "yarn bombing"
I do applaud the creativity, but it's not something I would have the patience to try...then again, maybe the squid, I could make the squid.

 

		No, I got it - an octopus, with a mustache. Yarn bombing with a plan.

Distracted by Pinterest

Okay - I admit it. I have been cheating on my blog with Pinterest. Instead of tossing words down here when I have time - I am scrolling through image after image on my phone. The visual feast has been satisfying for the most part. I have learned things. It's true.  I am a better person, more organized and creative, thanks to Pinterest.

Okay, not really - that is just the addiction talking.

But I have found some nifty ideas and accomplished at least one silly goal....

I am technically laundry-challenged, but still made this ridiculous over-the-top declaration this year -

"My son will have the Cleanest Football Pants on the team"

Now, this is no easy feat - he does not sit the bench or even leave the field during the game most of the time. He plays offense, defense, and is the kicker, and the punter....and is simply a mud-magnet.
But - I figured a scrub brush and dedication to the task would be enough (along with copious amounts of bleach ...but not too much, I was going for the no holes look)

beginning of the season 

bring it, baby

Too bad he couldn't be green again this year - green pants, seriously brilliant. - Actually, brown football pants would take the pressure off moms everywhere, but no matter - I am up for the challenge! (I said foolishly)

Now for a little photo montage to illustrate how ridiculous this declaration really was/is  (I have not given up)

Yes, that is my son #48 with the mud-caked behind
note the boys around him...you can still tell their pants are supposed to be white, and they are wearing shoes - not blocks of mud.

Here he is all proud of himself.
He thought it would be a GREAT idea to slide face first into a giant puddle
Just for fun, mind you, practice was over. 

this is Joe - not at a football game
mud magnet I tell ya! 

Anyways, I have managed to keep his pants clean - but fell short of the WHITE - they were getting a little, um yellowy from all the bleach I think. - have no idea how that works or why... bleach=white, right?  guess not.

Enter Pinterest

A quick search on laundry tips brought up a brilliant idea and a recipe for making whites white again, complete with pictures. I like pictures.

ooooo chemical concoctions - this should be fun. So I bought all the supplies and YES - not only did the house have that "Wow, your-mom-really-knows-how-to-clean smell" it put me back in the running for the

*CLEANEST PANTS AWARD *

okay, yeah, whatever there is no such award - but Pinterest is proud of me.  Okay again, that is not true....

here is the truth

Pinterest makes me look good.


Pin on sisters!  

(and brothers, and random people of the world)

thank you for all your hard work