True Confessions

Somehow I tell a better story than I write. Maybe I am out of practice. Maybe it is the fact that when I verbally tell a story, I have a live audience. But I want to be able to transfer that skill to paper (or computer screen as the case may be). I thought I would give it a shot here. Try to write out the story of my day as I would verbally tell it. Maybe it will stretch me a little and get me back into the practice of writing.

My morning started like most mornings. Up by 6:00--check e-mail, fold a little laundry. Presumably I would get to exercising by 7:30. Nope. I do not like to exercise. I do not like it here or there, I do not like it anywhere. Even though I make myself actually do it 4 to 5 times each week, I do not usually enjoy it. I may enjoy parts of it, but never the full session. It is just one of those things that has to be done.

So I did not get around to exercising until 9:30--procrastination, baby! DD and DS#1 were awake by this time. They got their breakfast and got to work on the assigned school work. DS#2, still in bed. Not a bad thing for the rest of us. The house was quiet. We were all doing our thing. All of that changed at 9:45. DS#2 woke up. Within 5 minutes he was asking me for the keys to our vehicle. Why? Evidently he had left some of those teeny, tiny DS games in the truck. You know the ones. The things that are approximately 1" by 1.5" and cost upwards of $35.00+. Who came up with that design?!!! Someone who does not have children, that's who! Silly little things. Back to the dilemma at hand. I informed DS#2 that we had taken the vehicle to be washed and vacuumed the day before and that any of those little, teeny, tiny games that had been there before probably were not there now. So off he went to look. He didn't come back in the house and he didn't come back in the house. DD and DS#1 went out to look with him. They returned with empty hands. By this time I am lying on the floor trying to do my prescribed exercises and remain very calm at the same time. I did not succeed. I marched into DS#2's room with trash bags in hand and started filling them with everything I could. Visions of zero Christmas presents flashed through my head. And I mean zilch. Lucky for the son, I calmed down and I found the games during my pitching spree.

The good side to this story is that DS#2's room has needed serious cleaning for quite a bit of time. That was taken care of. Probably he will get Christmas presents. Although, his DS is now residing in my room and may be there for quite some time to come.

News "Headlines" That Actually Made Me Smile

I typically tend to avoid the news--in print, on the radio, on television, on the internet. But occasionally I do scan the headlines and I found two clips that made me smile and brought tears to my eyes. I am SO tired of all the bad "news" out there. We have enough bad that happens I long for reports of the good and happy. These two clips fit the bill:

Elmo's Voice and Girl Calls 911

Books I Enjoy - I'm WAAAAY Behind

I did not set out to be behind. I really did want to keep up on this quest, but life got in the way. And, really, for me, life was the point of doing the 31 Dayers project. My life, more specifically. So, I am going to throw in a random post about a book I enjoy.

Here's the thing with this particular book--I haven't actually finished it yet. I have a strange relationship with this book, and I will explain.

Last month, I had the opportunity to go to a Women of Faith event. It was my first trip to Women of Faith, and although I enjoyed it, it was a little out of my comfort zone. You see, I grew up in a church that did not really embrace such gatherings. The ins and outs of that life experience are topics for other posts. However, I did glean some wonderful bits and pieces from the event.

One of the speakers was Andy Andrews. Now I have to admit that his presence caused a little bit of distress for me. You see, one of the main reasons I decided to go to WoF was because Tim Hawkins was supposed to be there. So, on Friday morning, the hostess of the event got up on stage and launched into an introduction. What I caught was, "We do not allow many men to come to Women of Faith . . . this man is really funny and entertaining." To be perfectly honest, I missed a lot of what she was saying because I was sure it was Mr. Hawkins. Imagine my immense disappointment when it was NOT Mr. Hawkins. So I had a little bit of a let down to surmount. To the stage came Mr. Andrews. I had no prior knowledge of this particular person, I only knew he WASN'T Tim Hawkins. I tried to settle in and listen to him, truly I did. But he was all. over. the. place. In his speaking and physically. He moved around the stage constantly. He was up and down the stairs meandering around the audience who were seated on the floor. He would start up the stairs, then turn around and run back down the stairs. And his speech--he seemed to jump from one topic to the next, and he just wasn't double yourself over and laugh funny like the aforementioned Mr. Hawkins. To compound the problem, my friend, who was sitting next to me, really wasn't enjoying Mr. Andrews and that constantly reminded me that I wasn't enjoying Mr. Andrews.

I decided that during his talk would be a good time to take a bathroom break--before the crowds of ladies converged on the concourse. Mr. Andrews completed his session and there was a break. When we all returned to our seats, there was a question and answer session with Mr. Andrews and Patsy Clairmont (LOVE her!). Bless his heart, but he was still all over the place--verbally only this time as he was seated. He would start a line of thought then jump to something else, then jump again. My friend was still not happy and I was just confused. Then it dawned on me. He behaved in a manner consistent with ADD. Ahhhh! THAT I could work with. My little boy behaves in a manner consistent with ADD. And my friend has had that experience with her son. Once I pointed out this fact, we both were able to settle down. Mr. Andrews was making points that connected, it was just necessary to flush out the connection. He is such a passionate person and just has so much information he is excited to share.

What, you might ask, does this have to do with a book. I will tell you. Imagine my surprise when I found that the only book I really wanted to read from one of the WoF speakers was written by a speaker at the conference whom I did not really enjoy listening to. Yup, I am currently reading one of Mr. Andrew's books. And in hindsight, I realize that I did enjoy what he was saying, I just had to change my frame of mind. The book is The Traveler's Gift: Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success.

I am not really going to talk a lot about the book, because I think it is something each reader should experience without any prior knowledge--that is what made it interesting to me.

As far as Mr. Andrews goes, he has my respect and admiration. He really is quite the storyteller and does have wonderful, wonderful points to make. Sometimes it is good for us to have to dig through and find that nugget of information that we really need in our lives, he gave me that opportunity.

By the way, I have reserved 3 more of his books, and I am going to have to order The Butterfly Effect. Unfortunately my library does not own a copy.

Books I Enjoy - Days 6-10 Junie B. Jones series

O.K., so no more catch up. I am using the Junie B. Jones books to get caught up to the current day because the series has 27+ books. I am not going to misuse that number, but I really hate being behind and since I am a perfectionist frustrated perfectionist this is bothering the stew out of me. From here on out, I intend to post daily as planned.

Down to business . . .

I know that Junie B. has created a lot of controversy. She is mouthy, uses bad grammar and tends towards having a bad attitude. Not qualities we wish to see in our children. However, the entertainment factor is almost off my chart. My kids and I listened to Junie B. in the car. (A practice I HIGHLY recommend. Not necessarily with Junie B., but you can get some great, and some just-for-fun, literature in this way. And it keeps the drive-time bickering to a minimum.) We laughed so hard and have picked up many "Junieisims". My personal favorite is "I am a hoot I tell you!" I would like to put that saying on a shirt, but I am afraid too many people just wouldn't get it.

Ms. Parks did a marvelous job writing this series from the perspective of a child. If you can get past the bad grammar and the mouthiness, it really is worth using this book to look at the world through a child's eyes. We as adults tend to just drag our children along with us on the crazy roller coaster ride we call life. They really are good sports about it, but bless their hearts, it must be so confusing.

I will submit that these books were probably a lot more enjoyable because we listened to the audio versions. I would not have had the patience to just sit down and read them for myself. The audio version was read by Lana Quintal and she did a wonderful job creating the character of Junie.

My personal opinion about the grammar issues--if you are teaching your children proper grammar, they will be able to spot the incorrect grammar used by Junie. It is part and parcel of the character. The children know when she is misbehaving. It is my belief that they are not going to learn bad habits from Junie any more than they are going to learn to fly from Harry or command water at will from Percy.

Hmmm, I think it may be time to invite Junie in from her shelf at the library again--speedy quick, and I mean it!!!

Books I Enjoy - Day 5 Plain Wisdom

I have always held an interest in the Amish. I can't explain why. I have no desire to live without electricity or under the legalistic guidelines by which they order their lives, yet, they still interest me. I have learned a lot in recent years about the Amish by reading novels written about them, but something was missing.

I figured out what was missing when I read Plain Wisdom. What was missing was the story from the side of someone who has actually lived the life--and was happy to do so. Not from someone who was raised in this lifestyle then made the decision to live in the "English" world. Not from the mind of an English author writing a fictitious story based in that community. Miriam Flaud provided this voice. Along with Cindy Woodsmall, she has written calm, peaceful wisdom and laughter and gentle correction that is delivered to the reader in the form of a book. Amish mothers are much like English mothers. Common ground has been found and a friendship formed between the two authors. The bridge between the simple life and the life that most Americans live is not that long. Sprinkled among the tidbits of truth are wonderful recipes--none of which I have had the opportunity to try, but I know a good recipe when I hear one and I would love to dive into a few of those tummy pleasers.

The book is not written totally from Miriam's viewpoint. Cindy includes lessons she has learned during her life. It is clear she and Miriam are friends and the difference in lifestyle is not a deterrent to that friendship.

If you are looking for a calming book that will speak to your soul, I would recommend Plain Wisdom. While you probably won't want to give up your computer, Ipod or cell phone, I think you will appreciate the simplicity of life and the peacefulness it brings.

30 Gifts to 30 Strangers in Sydney

I think this is so cool!!!



I do not agree with the idea that man's first responsibility is to be happy, but I love this idea of giving out gifts to total strangers. What a great birthday for that guy.

Veggie Pasta Sauce

Have I mentioned how much I love throwing ingredients together to create something delicious? Yeah, probably I have.

Here is another creation:

Veggie Pasta Sauce

2 cans (15 oz) tomato sauce
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 white onion, peeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
dried oregano to taste
water as needed

Throw everything into the Vitamix and blend away. Add water until desired consistency is reached. I let mine blend for several minutes to heat it up. Toss with pasta of choice (three cheese tortellini, in our case).

The kid's tummies are full and momma is happy because of the hidden WHOLE veggies.