You ARE becoming your mother!!

There was a time when I knew everything that there was to know... that, of course, was when I was in the 8th grade. Because of my vast knowledge, I found irritation in things here and there, that my mom and dad did "incorrectly",  in their day to day lives. For some reason, I was especially annoyed by something that my parents did all the time. They repeatedly watched the news and weather in a short amount of time. There wasn't 24/7 cable news at that point, no weather channel, but it seemed to me that everyday, they would watch the 5pm local news, 5:30 national news, and THEN the 6pm local news AGAIN. I mean really, did anything change in the last 30 minutes? Did a hurricane develop and threaten the Texas coast in the last half hour? I should think not. They didn't even bother to change the channel, it was the same exact footage! Seriously. And while we are discussing ridiculous parent behavior, why did they want you to make your bed each day? I always thought to myself, why would you make a bed that you are just going to mess up again in a few hours?...it made no sense to me. Funny thing happened along the way to adulthood...I became remarkably like my parents. Most people say at one point or another, I am NEVER going to do this or that like my parents...but they do, it is almost inevitable. I have been known to watch the weather channel for hours at a time, when no major weather is going on in my neck of the woods, or any other, for that matter. I am, by definition, a news junkie. My "default" channel is a cable news source. I read numerous online news carriers several times a day and have apps that notify me of major breaking news delivered via text message to my cell phone. There are many times when I repeat the 5,5:30,6 pattern that my parents modeled, and on the same station I might add, only I also throw in the 4 o'clock edition as well. I also, without thinking, make my bed each morning. Those are two silly examples, but they are simply to make a point. I have learned that the older I get, the less I know. Life is funny that way. I have also learned with age, that there aren't very many ways that I can come up with, that I wouldn't want to be EXACTLY like my parents. With each passing year, I pray that I become even more like them, than I am right now. So, to all readers with children who seem to know it all...if they appear not to appreciate you now, don't worry, they will...just as soon as they realize that, thankfully, they have become you.

I blame the stooges.

I think it's funny when people trip, stumble, fall or the like. I know I shouldn't, but I do. I don't think it's funny if the elderly fall or if someone is hurt badly, but other than that, pretty much everyone is fair game. I can't seem to help it, if I catch a glimpse of someone out of control on their way down, I am going to laugh. I try to show great restraint and make sure that they are okay first, but then, I literally LOL. Now to be fair, there is absolutely nothing funnier than when I eat it. Almost a year ago, I took quite a tumble down some stairs. I mean there was talk that I might require surgery, I couldn't walk without pain for about three months..it was serious. But before it was serious, it was hilarious. I was carrying something large down some stairs outside my home. Plain and simple, I missed a step and careened down nearly two flights, before resting with my legs up in the air and unable to move. For a second I thought it might be bad, then, I was unable to stop laughing...wishing so very much that someone had gotten to witness the whole thing.  I mean I would have paid to see video of the event...I probably would have watched it over and over again. Why? Because I thinking falling is funny. Other people do too, even if they won't admit it. Funniest Home Videos has been on for a long time...because people falling makes you laugh. I am not a frequent faller, but when I do, I do it up right. A couple of months ago, I was walking into Target with a friend. Inexplicably, I just fell down off of my four inch wedges. I could not stop laughing. People walking in at the same time probably assumed that I was drunk. Nope, just lost control over something I have had lots of practice doing...walking. Most people who know me fairly well, know that if they end up on the ground, I will have a field day. It's okay, I warn them, they are expecting it. But where did this come from? It's not very nice. I blame the stooges. All three of them. I watched the Three Stooges every morning before I went to school as a child. With each slap, push, fall and injury, I laughed harder. It was a ritual...The Three Stooges and my favorite breakfast as a kid...wait for it...two slices of peanut butter toast and a piping hot glass of jello. Yep, you read that right, hot jello. Strawberry to be exact. Tasted a bit like hot wassel and I loved it. This Friday a new Three Stooges movie is coming out on the big screen. We have already made plans to see it on opening night. I would imagine that it will be utterly ridiculous, at least that's what I am hoping it will be. I may have to sneak in some peanut butter toast and hot jello to complete the trifecta, they definitely don't offer that at the concession stand. So now that you have read this and if you didn't already know, you are fair game. Walk gingerly in my presence. And for goodness sake, if I can't manage to walk successfully when I am near you...point and guffaw. I will probably beat you to it.

He likes it, hey Mikey!!

We are all a little set in our ways to some extent, wouldn't you agree? Mother or father knows best, unless we are the kid, then we are sure we do. It happens in so many ways for me...I'm positive that I am right about things that concern me. I experienced a prime example driving to work this morning. At the first traffic light that I come to each morning, I have two choices. I can go straight, or I can turn left. I go straight because close to a decade ago, I decided that it was by far the BEST way to get to my destination. If I arrive at the light and it is red to go straight and green to turn left...I sit at the light and wait. It's worth the wait, because it is by far the smartest route to take. I know this because I informed myself of that fact years ago, and I know best. Over the weekend I was reading a devotional and it was talking about His ways vs. our own. And that came to mind this morning as I approached that first traffic light. It was red to go straight, but that green left arrow seemed to last forever as I got closer and closer. Now I'm not proclaiming God wanted me to turn left, but I do think He used that situation to make me think a little. For the first time in many years, I abandoned MY path and took another. You can probably guess the outcome. There was much less traffic, fewer lights and I arrived at school faster than I normally do. All because I was willing to try something new. Just like Mikey in the classic Life cereal commercial. His older brothers coaxing Mikey to test out the "healthy" breakfast in a bowl, unwilling to try something new themselves. Of course, much to their amazement, they exclaimed..."he likes it, hey Mikey!!". Several other things popped into my head once I had seen the merit in leaving behind what I thought was best for me on the road this morning. All the relationships that had been so important to me that had ended...in those times, feeling devastated by those conclusions, only to realize that something better had replaced those relationships and knowing God and His ways are better than mine. It seems that I'm a slow learner in that area and He must shake me occasionally to get my attention. I have learned that sometimes the greatest disappointments and hurt, lead to the most amazing joy. It's funny that all that came from a little green arrow on a normal Monday morning.

I was going to blog about procrastination on Tuesday, but I'm just getting to it today.

My postal carrier hates me. That's a pretty strong word. Okay, my mailman loathes me. We have already discussed some of my lazy tendencies, but this topic is better described as procrastination. For all intensive purposes, I check my mail about three to four times a year. It's really not me being lazy, the mailbox is just steps away. For the most part, I just really don't see the point. I know basically what's inside that box, and with a few exceptions, I don't really want the contents. It's junk. I pay my bills online, so no worries there. Let's face it, people really don't write letters too often these days, opting more often for texting or email. And of course, the overwhelming majority of what's in my mail is, junk. Now, I will admit that I may have missed a party/shower etc, if I wasn't alerted to watch for the invitation...and that's not a good thing, but about every four months I make the short trek to retrieve the massive amounts of nothingness. I have opened it up expecting the usual avalanche of paper, only to find a curt note from my mail carrier, explaining that my mail has been confiscated and must be picked up at the post office. That was January, it's still there. Like I said, he isn't fond of me. I don't blame him. There are times when I know I'm not someone's cup of tea and I always analyze the reasons they might have. I must admit that at times, I just go ahead and assume that they must have some sort of problem...I'm so easy to love! Right?! Ah, the tales we tell ourselves. With my postman, I feel no obsession to figure out why he doesn't like me. I know the reason and don't feel the need to change. I will be one of those people with a woulda, shoulda, coulda story. I'll receive a time sensitive offer of millions, or the like. I'll read it three months too late and then...it'll be yet another life lesson learned. That'll show me. I was thinking about going down right now to pick up my mail, but it will still be there waiting for me tomorrow. Why do today, what you can put off until tomorrow...or next month?

Name That Tune.

I had such a great Spring Break. I got to do so many fun things, see so many awesome people and I got to sleep. I love to sleep. There have been times in my life when I have experienced terrible insomnia. It isn't fun. In the last several years, I've had no problem at all sleeping, I just can't seem to get enough. On those occasions, such as Spring Break, when I'm free to sleep to my hearts content, I'm a happy girl. However, the vast majority of my days, I must be awakened by artificial means. My OCD emerges when setting my alarm. I check, recheck, and then check again. I'm not prone to oversleeping, I usually wake up a time or two just before my alarm goes off, just to verify that I have not, in fact, overslept. I have found that when I get off my usual school day sleep schedule, I must take drastic measures to get back on track. After time off, it is easier for me to stay up all night, than to sleep for a couple of hours and then try to get up. I use this method two or three times a year, and it ALWAYS works...until this morning. I'm aware that there is always a chance that I might drift off during an all nighter, so I set an alarm just in case. One would be silly not to do so. I'm silly, but I set it anyway. So, alarm set for 4:45am. I was sitting straight up on the couch, when my 21 pound four legged son jumped up on my lap, yelling like there was a fire. I looked at a clock, there are lots to choose from, and it read 5:36. What?!? I grabbed my alarm clock sitting in front of me, thinking that I must have been hitting snooze for almost an hour, but no. I had turned the alarm completely off and gone back to sleep, with no recollection whatsoever. Yikes. I really wish I had a video of the hour that followed..it would be entertaining to say the least. It is amazing what can be accomplished in a short amount of time, when it's absolutely necessary. In the rush that ensued, I was a little surprised that my morning song was playing. I am not making this up, for the last several years, whenever I first open my eyes in the morning, there is a song playing in my head. It's a different one each day, but I have had some repeats. They aren't usually popular songs, or ones I've have heard lately either. The tunes come from all genres and varying decades. Some of the songs I love, others, I don't really care for. I have heard Christmas carols in May and The Beach Boys in February. The song always replays in my head until I hear another one, which is usually on my way to school. Sometimes I sing along, sometimes I ignore it...just depends on the song. I don't think they start as dreams, but who knows. I don't even have time to think, "I wonder what's going to play today?", because it already is. I really like it, I feel like its pretty unusual, so it's fun for me. So like I said, in my rush from oversleeping, I wasn't sure it would be playing, but it was. Today's selection? White Wedding by Billy Idol. Go figure.

My laziness is about to pay off, big TIME.

I'll admit my faults, and I have many. One of them is occasional laziness. I wouldn't say that I'm any lazier than the average person, but I do seem to choose pretty random areas in which I display that unfortunate characteristic. Now to be fair, I have some admirable qualities as well, some are quite the opposite of lazy. I spend at least two hours a day riding my stationary bike. I don't watch tv unless I'm pedaling. That's not lazy. I vacuum everyday...steam clean my carpet once a week. That's my OCD showing, but definitely not lazy behavior. I go to the grocery store every other day because I want my food to be fresh. That is hard for me, I loathe grocery shopping. So, that is a big display of effort in my book. But... Back in November we had to "fall back". Remember? We were all excited about getting an extra hour of sleep? I recall that Sunday. I reset my microwave clock. I reset my alarm clock. I reset the watch I wear 95% of the time. Good for me. I failed, however, to change 21 wall clocks in my apartment. Yes, you read that correctly...21. I like clocks, I think they are interesting, so I've chosen to make them part of my decor...art if you will. There is not one place in my space, where you are unable to see a clock. So, that's where this story takes a turn. I didn't reset one of those clocks in November. I considered doing it during Christmas break, but it didn't happen. The thought occurred to me sometime at the beginning of February, but I decided that in only about a month, I would just have to change them all back again. So what would be the point? Now, we have come to the weekend in which we must "spring forward". As I write this on my bike, I must admit I feel rather accomplished. I have all my clocks ready to go ahead of schedule. Maybe it isn't laziness after all. Maybe I'm just making good use of my time.

Making lists is on my list.

As I was driving to school this morning, I found that I was happier simply thinking about the fact that the sun was up and shining. It's a lot harder for me to get going when it's still pitch black on the way to work. That made me think, it really doesn't require much to make me smile...just like the saying goes, it's the little things that make the difference. Things, hmm. What are my favorites?  If I was a singer, I might break out in song and start up with Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens...but that really would not be a good idea. If I were Oprah I would state my faves then shout loudly..."Everybody gets a car!! You get a car, you get a car, you get a car!!" all the while pointing to each of you reading this, but alas, I am no Oprah.  I'm just me and these are a few of my favorite "little things" in life. They are certainly in no particular order and I will leave out some of my very favorites, just because I am quickly rattling them off the top of my head....
1. finding the perfect verse in my Bible or devotional book that I was meant to read at that very moment.
2 .thinking that I am out of deodorant, then noticing that I bought the twin pack and there is a brand new one sitting in the cabinet.
3.a text from one of my girls to say hi or telling me something going on with them.
4. quoting from my favorite movies and tv shows.
5. a great hair day.
6. getting my first little blue box.
7. waking up at night and hearing it storming, knowing I have at least a few more hours before I have to get up.
8. being told I smell good.
9. a man who ALWAYS gets out of the car when he comes to pick me up.
10. making someone laugh out loud.
11. finding money in a coat pocket that I had forgotten about.
12. snuggling with my babies.
13. making lists.
14. a good, long stretch.
15. hugs
16. sitting and people watching.
17. approaching a stop light that turns green before I have had to come to a complete stop.
18. turning on the car radio and one of my favorite songs is playing, switching the channel when it's over and it is playing there too.
19. laughing until tears start streaming or I gasp for air.
20. giving people nicknames.
My list is so much longer than this....there are just so many little things that add up to one great big blessed life.