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If I Only Had a Brain…..

02 Sep
Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz

If I only had a brain.....

The Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz is one of my hero’s. Actually I truly love all the characters from the movies and the books. During my life I have often identified with the each one of the characters. Currently, it’s Tin Man I understand the most.

I and all the people around me are currently dealing with my problem: I have menopause brain. Now, you would think that means that I still have a functioning cerebral cortex, but….you would be WRONG! I too sadly sing the song of the Tin Man, “If I only had a brain…” Why you ask? Well, let me answer that query for you….

Long long ago in a place far far away Little Miss Angela had to have a hysterectomy, at 25 no less! No gory details, but suffice it to say some of the parts had to go, a couple of small parts stayed. So I didn’t immediately begin ‘pausing’, but the surgeon told me I would experience it a little early probably. Not sure what early means, but now I find myself in the throws of the blasted thing at 48. Joy unspeakable, just ask my family and friends :) .

I’ve spent all these years praying for a ‘mini’ pause, nothing too dramatic. I have found if I drink soy milk every day I don’t have the wonderful hot flashes. Mine did not cause me to sweat. I felt like the upper third of my body had been plunged into an oven and Iwas slowly being broiled to death. I understand all the comedic scenes in movies and TV where the menopausal woman is running screaming through the house, yard, mall, whatever, yanking off all her clothes. You just can’t take the heat. So thank God for soy milk. I do quite regularly. But, what was I writing about, oh yeah. This post was about a brain…

I have been researching this menopause thing. Come to find out one of the symptoms of menopause is problems with memory. Problems with memory. No one has ever mentioned that to me. At least I don’t think they have. Now, thanks to my Dad I have a family trait already of being slightly forgetful (my daughter is guffawing at the slightly I’m sure). If I don’t put things back in their designated spots, I won’t remember leaving them in the other odd spots we find them in. Thus ensues a search that can last for days. Really. Sometimes weeks. Then there are all the faces I remember collectively in said brain. Faces of schoolmates, old work companions, teachers, former bosses, family that live very far away, current customers of mine that work in the vicinity of my office. Faces, but no names. None. I will know that I know you, and try to stumble around to remember your name, but everyone usually figures out that I can’t recall it, and they obligingly offer up their own name for me and whomever I am trying to introduce them to. So, seems like I already have enough memory issues, right? Well, let’s just see about that. Let me explain my life with the current additional memory issues.

with creme and sugar, perfection!

with creme and sugar, perfection!

I love coffee. I have discovered that it is one of the great loves of my life. Boyfriend has acknowledge and accepted this fact (at least I think he has). I have been making coffee since I was 15 or 16. As I stated earlier I am now 48, so that’s a long time. How hard is it really? Wee-ee-eel…..let me tell you.

This morning I’m at work and decide it’s time to have a good hot cuppa. Put filter in basket. Scoop out desired amount of coffee. Pour in sufficient amount of water for brewing. Turn on pot, walk away, wait. A few minutes later, we have coffee.  I am sitting at my desk, really enjoying the wonderful aroma of fresh coffee wafting around me. What a pleasure it is to have coffee in my life. Sigh. Just another minute or two, and I will be imbibing on my cherished drink. Hold on there kiddies! Houston discovers a problem. What the frail? Urp. Ahhh. Oops. Where’s the pot? I neglected to place the coffee POT under the spigot for the coffee that was brewing. So, coffee slowly built up in the basket, with the filter and the GROUNDS, and then proceeded to pour out and all around the coffee maker, all over counters, down cabinets, into the floor…..need I go on? It took almost a full roll of paper towels to clean up my mess. Why would I not remember to put the POT on the coffee maker? One day I didn’t remember to turn it on, and I sat for quite a while waiting for coffee that was not gonna happen. Oh well. I finally figured that part out too. So, again, I sing the song of the Tin Man: “… if I only had a brain.”

Guess I will write out the instructions for making coffee on some sticky notes and put them on the pot….ummm….huh? what were we talking about? Lunch, oh yeah. That’s it. Lunch. ;)

Ok, I will try to remember to show up more often and write posts too, k? I won’t forget. I promise.

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Posted in Ponderings, humor, memories, menopause

 

18 Aug

How do you value yourself? Where does your sense of worth come from? Is it from the validation of others? This is something we want, whether we will admit it or not. We seek it through others agreeing with us on a matter, or acknowledging us in something we have done. There! A stamp of approval! It’s done! I’m validated, real, have value and worth….because someone or something tells me I do.

But what about the days when none of those things come? The lonely empty days when we feel lost, or alone, and wonder if all of life is just a pointless practice of lying down and getting up and starting all over again?

Then there are other days when the winds of adversity blow, the rain falls down….sometimes as quiet tears rolling down our face, into our hearts. Someone doesn’t like us, they didn’t approve of what we did or what we said. We were too harsh, or too quick, or maybe just too different from the other and a clash ensues, an argument begins, or we get rejected in one way or another.

“See?”, a little voice inside whispers. “See? They know the truth now – you’re wrong. You’re worthless. You have little or no value. So there!” We catch ourselves listening to that little voice that lies to us, that lives inside of us: the voice of insecurity.

I struggle with these types of things from time to time. Failures and losses in my life have led me to these feelings. I sometimes will go for several days, not even knowing I’ve wandered back into this little lonely hole where I feel lost and all alone. Then one day it will begin to dawn on me, and I will slowly start climbing my way out again. I’ve suffered several losses in my life. Had more than a few failures. Watched a grandparent get eaten by cancer when I was around 12. She was 74. I loved all my grandparents dearly; none of them lived past my 13th year. Lost my mom when I was 25, she was only 54. I had 3 beautiful children that missed their Nana as much as I missed my mom. Broke my back, literally, around 34. Lost a home around 35. Lost a marriage of 28 years around 46. Had to start over in every area of my life. New home, new job, new church, new state. Lots of rebuilding, and I’m still working on that. Last year had the unexpected loss of a very dear friend who was only 53. She was my oldest friend. We talked every day, now I just think about her often and miss her greatly. I wish the losses and failures had helped me be less like Schleprock and Eeyore, and be more optimistic and strong. But I don’t bounce back as well as I want to. Okay, that’s enough. I’m sure you understand and have suffered the same or similar things, and our worth is not determined by these losses or how we deal with them. What things do you allow to validate you? Where does your sense of worth come from? Please share your stories with me, share your testimonies of love and life and how you climb out of your hole as well about the losses you are also overcoming.

I am going to start something new for myself. I think it will help stop this eternal wheel of blah I seem to get trapped on. I am going to start a gratitude list. A friend of mine does this. She has a little notebook she uses to record large and small things she is grateful for, or happy about, or just blessings she has received. When she fills one book up, she finds another to start all over again. She reads her blessings on bad days, and when she has one or two filled up, she mails them to her daughters or friends so they can share the gratitude too. 

Ann Voskamp has a community that does this as well. Would you like to start your own list? I’ll start mine with this:

Things I Am Grateful For:

1.Grandkids that run at me every day when I get home that act like it’s been weeks since they have seen me.
2. A Boyfriend who’s sweet and thinks I’m great.
3. Hugs and kisses from Boyfriend and Grandkids.
4. A daughter who keeps things clean and a son-in-law that mows grass. That means I don’t have to. :)
5. Friends who cook and play board games and card games and video games and drinking games. :)
6. Laughter with said friends that actually makes my face hurt and tummy sore from the sheer quantity of it.
7. My Daddy. He is the best man I know.
8. My job, when so many don’t have one right now.
9. The ability to pay my bills due to the job.
10. God, who I think gave me all these wonderful things.

Now, where’s yours? Let me know. Let’s encourage each other today.

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Posted in Ponderings, gratitude, lists, recovery

 

Do You Know Where Your Famster Is?

08 Aug
A Famster

Lester On the Road

A Famster from Greenville SC decided to take a road trip with two friends, Esther and Fester. His name is Lester. For his road trip he packed lots of snacks: rice chips, apples, gummi bears and milk duds. He also brought some water to share. Since Fester was driving, and he was so slow…..! Lester decided to bring a few books along. He was afraid he might be bored. Lester offered to share them with Esther. He has a small crush on her. He would like to impress her with his Famsterness. He is trying to come up with a plan for this. Lester isn’t sure of their destination, but you can follow along….come on!

Nachos Royale

Feeding Lester Nachos Royale

Oooohhhhh! What do we have here? Looks like during their travels Lester found something good to eat. I wonder if he will share? What did our little friend find? Chicken Nacho Royale at Juanita Greenberg’s in downtown Charleston. He did share, and Esther said it was YUM! Lester’s faithful traveling companion Fester also enjoyed the meal. There were lots of jalepeno’s to eat, plenty of food for all 3 of them. Did we say YUM! Needless to say there were no leftovers at all.

Giant Famster hits the beach

Godzilla Lester Beach Invader

Later that afternoon, Lester thinks he has found a way to impress Esther. He has devised a scheme to take over this puny planet. His plan will be unfurled. By the dawning of the sun he will take over the world. His first conquest will be THE BEACH! Look at all those little ant-like creatures running amok! This should be easy for a mastermind like Brain, er I mean Lester! Unfortunately, Esther was not impressed with Lester stomping around the house and making loud noises that frightened small children. I don’t think Lester will be getting any supper tonight!

Sleepytime tea for Lester

Lester Goes to Bed

After a long day of conquering, Lester goes to bed. He is tired from the drive and stomping, and disappointed that Esther was not easily impressed. But, tomorrow is another day…..is Lester pondering what I think he is pondering? Tune in next week for another episode of Lester, Esther and Fester as they take over the world! Ummm, I mean drive home from the beach. :)

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Posted in Ponderings, humor

 

Cruisin’ The Drive Thru

07 Aug

I am so excited! It’s our vacation and I am psyched up and ready to go! I wanted to drive but Boyfriend wouldn’t let me. :( I like to drive faster than him. So I am navigating. We’ll see how long that lasts! ;) I wanna go!

Anyway, we decide to go to a drive thru for breakfast, drive in, order, pay and get food – fast, right? Weeellllll….not exactly boys and girls. Let me share our story…..

We pull in and wait for the second car in front of us to order, which takes a little longer than you would think, but not too bad. Then the car in front of us places its order, pretty quickly. Our turn! We want 2 biscuits, a coffee, an OJ and a cup of ice. How complicated is that, right? We see small water, hold the water, on the order screen for the cup of ice. No kidding here. Small water, hold the water? Real simple huh? Translation = small cup of ice. They read the rest of the order back to us and ask if it is correct. We move to the pay window.

When I was a teenager, I was a cashier at a local grocery store. Being able to make change was part of the job requirements. I had to be able to do a little math in my head. It took a few weeks but I caught on, and soon could have change figured out before my OLD register could. This was not a computerized model, uh-uh. It was the ancient hand crank kind. Really. No, thank you, I’m NOT that old, but the store I worked in was. :)

So, why do I digress down memory lane? We pull up to the pay window and Boyfriend doesn’t have exact change, so he gives the girl a twenty and change so she owes him a $13 and a nickel. She couldn’t do it. The nickle blew her mind. I don’t think you have to understand math concepts anymore to run a register. She had to go get more change (?) for him, and comes back shortly with the few dollars and a nickle. I think someone helped her figure it out.

So we finally got the change, and she apologizes for the delay, and I try to make a joke about the fact that the line hasn’t moved at all because of the second car in front of us. They still hadn’t got whatever they ordered, what was it? The whole frickin’ restaurant? I dunno. Boyfriend got my joke but she didn’t. Must have been a bad joke. We sit for another 10 minutes or so. Fast food huh?

Finally – really long time here – the second car has their order and we are 1 step closer to our food. I notice as they hand the bag of food to the car ahead of us that they also ordered OJ. Nothing unusual here as OJ is a breakfast standard, just normal stuff. Next I see that something must be wrong with their order. They call the lady at the window back, and a new bag of food appears. They drive away. Yay! Our turn!

We pull up for our turn at the delivery window. What do we get first? Drumroll please…….a small glass of ice water, with the water! Whaaaat? We also get the OJ and coffee. Boyfriend knocks on the drive through window to let the lady know we need help. She comes back, he tells her ice only please. She fixes it, and gives us straws and closes the window and disappears. We think she is getting our biscuits, but that’s not it folks. She comes back in 2 or 3 minutes and asks us what we want? Why are we still there? We look at each other and then at her and BF tells her we would like our biscuits please. She leaves and comes back again, this time with the manager, who also asks, why are we still there. Really. This happened. We’re going, Huh? Is this a prank? Is someone punking us? What do we want? I dunno. Maybe we want to get our food and leave. Which is what BF tells them, ‘We ordered a sausage egg and cheese and an egg and cheese biscuit. That’s all. We paid for them already.’ The window girl doesn’t remember she didn’t give us our food. Then it dawns on me. The first bag of food she gave the car in front of us was wrong. She must have given the biscuit part of our order to the car ahead of us. Wow. What can I say.

We finally do get two biscuits, but Boyfriend’s sausage and egg had no cheese. At this point we cut our losses. We have a vacation to start! Get me the heck outta Dodge please!

So, aren’t drive thru’s fun? I have had 3 meals screwed up this week alone. You probably have the same kinda stuff happen too. It’s really kinda miraculous when we do get what we order isn’t it? Hope you have better luck driving thru than we did. But that’s all in the past now. We’re at the BEACH! Later!

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Posted in humor, venting

 

Excuse Me While I Vent….

31 Jul

Ok, today’s yard sales are a bust mostly. Started out with just a little rain, so a few die hards tried to keep going, really wasn’t too bad at first and the temperature was nice enough. We did really score with 2 boxes full of nice picture frames, 3 books and a candle for $8.25. There is a reason there are no pictures of the haul today: the bottom has dropped out, the monsoon has begun! Probably 2 inches of rain in 5 minutes or so! Not good for yard sales or getting things out of your trunk if you don’t have a garage. :)

So, we are driving home in this mess and Boyfriend has to put the wipers on high just to try and see where he is going. One dark car or truck after the other is either coming at us or tailgating him, only problem is the colors of the cars blend in with the rain and gray day so much you don’t even know they are there until they are right on top of you. Alright stealth bombers! PUT ON YOUR LIGHTS FOR SAFETY PLEASE! I live in a state where it is even REQUIRED BY LAW, but 75% of people don’t obey it, and they are driving around hidden from view by the rain and moisture. Hello! You are the same color as the road people! Gray, black, dark blue, dark green, and even sometimes white. We can’t see you in the downpour unless you put on your headlights. Just look at the other cars on the road, are there any you have trouble seeing in the rain?

I wish I could have snapped a picture of some of them, you wouldn’t have been able to tell at all that there was a car in it. But rain is good, and we need it! So hopefully people will think to put on their lights, or maybe the rest of us can drive defensively enough to not have any accidents. Still, this remains one of my pet peeves!

I have others too. I can’t remember them at the moment (damn menopause!), but I will update you as events occur :) . I guess I could vent on the menopause thing too….several spam ‘comments’ have come my way to offer me help with this trying time of my life. Yeah, right. I’m going to trust someone’s website that sends me a spam or autobot comment. Come on! I DO have menopause, I DO forget some things, but I am NOT brain dead! Do any of you blogging girls have any strategies with spam or trash comments? Fill me in if you do, thanks!

Oh well, thanks for reading my rantings and ravings today! Hope you have a great weekend!

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Posted in Yard Sales, humor, venting

 

Yard Sales Anyone?

28 Jul

I mentioned I enjoy going to yard sales. Apparently I have also infected my boyfriend with this virus as well. Here are a few things we have picked up recently.

Cher chica 1974 LP

Vintage Diva - 1974 Cher Album

I absolutely LOVE this one, a circa 1974 Vintage Diva LP, that’s Long Playing Album to you youngsters out there. I use to put one of Cher’s albums on my little portable turntable and kick back and put my feet up and enjoy the groove. I was all of 13 or 14 for some of this :) . Ahhhh, youth!

Summers were long and hot then, no air conditioner for us. We had big roll out windows and fans, and the fans ran all summer long too. Thing is, it was only unbearably hot a few days out of the year. Nowadays I don’t know how I would live without air conditioning. I regularly thank God for giving some one the ability to invent it. It’s not ALL hot flashes you know!

Made in China

Cute Little Purse

Next on the yard sale find list is this little goodie, a made in China number. The little tag hanging off the side says ‘hancrofted,’ I think someone was going for ‘handcrafted.’ It made me smile, and I like the colors, so a couple of bucks later it was mine. It’s so small though that it won’t hold all my necessities, so I haven’t used it yet. :) It’s still pretty….

I enjoy looking through things at the sales and bartering with people, friendly stuff, I’m not into the rough haggling some do. My boyfriend, being new to all this, is just learning how to barter. He hasn’t actually done it yet, but he is taking notes. He also knows I am not going to get up early to hit said sales, but around 9:30 or 10 he will say, “Doncha want to get out there honey? I saw some signs about yard sales in the neighborhood, you never know what we might find….” It works. We get out the door and find a few good things even late in the morning. Don’t be surprised if I post some OMG! pictures later, there are quite a few interesting things to be seen as well as the good stuff.

Tray and wire basket

Tray and wire Basket

Last but not least are these two, a nice tray and a wire basket. I apologize for the quality of the pictures, I couldn’t find a good angle for this one. The tray is a nice group of flower arrangements which look nice together. We also bought another tray not pictured with birds on it. My daughter and I love to use trays, it helps keep the mess contained. I had a coffee pot overflow one time and run all over my counter, and I mean ALL OVER! I still don’t know how that much coffee got in the thing! A friend suggested sitting it in a tray, with sides, so at least if it happened again it wouldn’t cover my 10 feet of counter. Sounded like I good idea to me, and it worked well with a later coffee mishap. Point to note here: I got rid of that coffee pot and got a new one. Haven’t had any overflows since then.

The reason for the wire basket in all of it’s utilitarian glory? The one year old granddaughter can now pick up 5 lb. bags of things….like apples….and potatoes…..she loves to move them around the house so we can play hide and seek with the vegetables…..not my favorite game :) . Have you ever smelled old, rotten potatoes? Not pleasant is all I’ll say. Actually, I’ll say more. Gag a maggot is more like it! So, I got the basket, which should hold about 5 lb of potatoes, although I haven’t bought a new bag to try yet. My daughter has already found a use for it though, it has some squash in it currently.

So, hope you enjoyed my romp through the sales! Let me know what you find, ok? See ya, Angela

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Posted in Yard Sales, humor

 

Lightning, Thunder, RAIN!

26 Jul
Rainbow from another storm

Rainbow from another storm

Wow! Did we have a storm tonight….some of the biggest lightning strikes I’ve ever seen, and I have seen a bunch! We got lots of needed rain, but it came down very fast and hard, so not much time for soaking I’m afraid. Oh well, we are in a drought in the South, so hopefully it will help.

I have always been fascinated by storms. When I was a child we apparently lived in some sort of special spot. Special to lightning that is. I think the total count of lightning strikes to the house was 12 or 13. Once it knocked our 7 bricks from the outside, blew out an outlet in my grandmother’s room, blowing up her little lamp as well, then ricocheted somehow into the toilet, which was cracked.  That was a very surreal experience. I think I was about 6 or 7 at the time. The boom from the strike was so loud we couldn’t hear for a while. Mom and Dad could smell something like a weird burning scent, and after about 15 minutes of searching, Daddy found a nice big hole in the back of the house. We didn’t have power for a couple of days while the electrician repaired the damage. It took a few more days for a brickmason to fix the hole, but soon the house was good as new, waiting for the next storm…

Then there was the time that lightning managed to charge the bolts on our kitchen door just as my sister was trying to unlatch it to let the dog in. She was hanging there for a while it seemed, pinned by the electrical charge from lightning that was running our main eletrical lines outside the house, the ones that come from your meter box. The lightning landed there that day, but just glanced off we were later told. Oh yeah, and my sister? She suddenly fell to her knees, a little shaken but unbelievably unhurt.  And our dog was fine too.

When I was in my early 20′s, another storm blew up our way and brought a small twister with it. It didn’t touch the house, just pulled the basketball goal out of the ground and chunked it at me. I was trying to put out a small fire that had started outside, and was very happy said ball goal missed me. The storm’s aim was off that day :) . I didn’t get to pull a Dorothy Gayle either and check out Oz, but maybe one day!

I could go on for several more stories, but I’m sure you get the idea. So yeah, I have a little storm experience, and today just added another tale to the list. As we were closing our office, a fairly big storm started pelting rain in the parking lot, with leaves and trash swirling everywhere. Then the lightning started, big bright bolts with loud, close thunder right behind. The building slightly shook a couple of times, then the surge protector in the back office started beeping at us, letting us know it was a good thing we had shut down the equipment and were headed out the door. So no umbrella, (after it all it was hot and sunny this morning, why would I need an umbrella?) I dash to my car as fast as I can. Home again, home again, jiggety jig!

The lightning seemed to still be close as I headed up the road to go home. It would strike and I would hear thunder immediately, indicating the storm was right on top of me. I was feeling glad to be in my car with rubber tires on the ground under me when suddenly to my left…..BOOM! Lightning strikes! BOOM! It strikes again, this time hitting a transformer off to my left, and I don’t see how anything could be left of it! Quite a little sizzle and fizz going on there too, but it was far enough away that it didn’t touch my car and I hit the gas and kept heading home. Whew!

So, I hope your evening was a little quieter and more relaxing. But then again, I do like explosions, and a little entertainment never hurt anyone! I think mother nature was just putting on a great big show for me.  Let me know if you ever make it to Oz, and I will be sure to do the same!

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Posted in Ponderings

 

The Walking Wounded

22 Jul

Life has shot arrows at all of us. Unfortunately it isn’t some figurative bow they come from, but actual hands and mouths of people we know. Christians like to shoot their wounded, so they are gone and don’t remind them of their failures in ministry. But then…..others still open arms and hearts, like Ann Voskamp does, to try to answer questions, to help us not feel alone, to remind us we are not the only wounded soul on this planet…..sad is that, but true. Ann, I want to thank you for your blog. http://www.aholyexperience.com/  It has been a refreshing fountain for me to come and sit beside. You are a blessing to me.

A place of defense....

I have been reading her for a few weeks now, her life is so different than mine, but still we have suffered similar things. Funny that thing of experience. Pain knows no boundaries, and we have all been touched by it. One of my dear Catholic friends once told me our pain is never wasted, God sees it as a sacrifice, sees and aches and hears our cries, so to never feel our pain is wasted. I am 4 or 5 years divorced from my former husband of 28 years, 3 children, and now 6 grand-children. Never thought it would be like that. But the nights when all I could do was collapse on my kitchen floor and cry, and ask the same questions we all have asked, “Why God? Why me? What did I do to deserve this, why are You letting this happen to me, to us, to my family?” Left for a time wondering if He even heard me, ever, at all.

But then, in a desperate night, feeling like a piece of garbage thrown away, God sent a friend. An old friend I wasn’t in touch with, who suddenly had my cell number and was calling me. Do I answer, or do I not? I answered, and then decided not to kill myself that night, not giving into the aching part of me that screamed I was a failure and it was all my fault. Because of course it wasn’t. God gave her, my friend, what I needed in that desperate hour to not do a desperate thing. And I made it through that night, and then a week, a month, almost a year….. 

Folly Beach

A place to rest...

Then again, when I needed some desperate touch from someone in flesh and blood and not just ethereal God, another friend from long ago and far away calls, warning of disaster, need to change this and not do that, real specific things she couldn’t have known without Someone giving her details. Once again, disaster was averted, and I was ok, and didn’t feel so lost, or abandoned or uncared for.

I pray for those of you who have suffered too. Suffered at the hands of friends, suffered at the hands of family, suffered from places too vast to mention here. I pray for you. For the same God who came to my desperate need and rescue to do the same wonderful things you need, and rescue you from a pit of despair, or a dark night or cloudy day. I know it won’t be exactly the same as what He did for me, because you need specific things for yourselves. I will be watching and reading as you share. Tell me how you have been rescued, how God and the universe did what you needed, and when and how.

You are not alone. If you are reading this, you are not alone. Others have suffered and survived and grown through it. You can too. That is also a prayer I will pray for you. I pray for your heart and soul to be washed in peace, to be rinsed in love and to be softened in hope. To dry and be strong, not brittle or hard, but strength of character, of honor, of justice. If injustice has been served to you, do not become the thing you hate and serve injustice to others. Serve Justice, Rightness, Quality. Do not become the thing you hate. Do not give in to it. Reach out and reach up. You can do this.

We are here together in this space and time. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I cherish each response. As always, Angela

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Posted in Ponderings, recovery

 

Our Lists…..

20 Jul

Today’s challenge for the 31 days to build a better blog is a list post. That got me thinking about lists themselves. What kind of list would I write a post on? A list of movies I have seen, a list of movies I LOVE! Maybe a list of books I have read, or of favorite family memories. I could write a list about funny things my children use to do, or funny things my grand-kids are doing now….dont’ forget my comment from one of my granddaughters recently: Nanny! Potatoes come from french fries! Thanks to her, I have several funnies I could list.

So, back to lists. Yes, I am a list maker. I like to make them so I can check things off, to have that little extra oomph of completion at the end of a day. I have decided to write a list post of lists I use regularly, and some I might like to use sometime.

1. Grocery list – we all gotta eat, right?

2. Chore list – my ugh! list. Can’t forget to scrub the toilet, right honey?

3. To-do list for work, prioritize! Reading that blog on chocolate should probably NOT be on this list

4. Packing list: I have one I keep to jog my memory for trip packing. I am notorious for forgetting things, especially right now. Seems like menopause is kicking my arse quite regularly with that one.

5. Birthday list: again, a memory issue. All 3 of my children will tell you I am bad with dates. I know the month I had them, and usually the year (thank you son for being born in 1980), but can be fuzzy on the exact dates. But really, there is a reason. My first daughter, second child, was born on Memorial Day. That’s in May. I also have a sister born on Memorial Day, again, in May. BUT….It’s NOT THE SAME DATE! Talk about confusing someone…..I guess I can’t blame it all on menopause….oh well….I’ll blame it on my Dad. :) He would actually agree…..Either way, I am bad with dates…..

6. Amazon Wish List: I mean, come on! This is one of the greatest lists ever invented! I get to put all this stuff on a list that other people can see, other people who are going to BUY me things….ooohhhh……aaaahhhh……I rub my averice little hands together, just thinking about all the goodies I could get! I love prezzies…..Really, who doesn’t?

7. Blog idea list. This is the blog. ‘Nough said.

8. Goals list: Last year, Alan Melton challenged my networking group to come up with 101 things we wanted to do in our life. Business, personal, experiential. I think this was one of the things on that list…will have to pull it out later and see. Then I can check it off. Yay! Instant gratification.

9. List of Bills: this should probably be higher in this list, but I just remembered it. Yes, I have each bill wriiten out by due date and amount. It’s called a budget people. And God help me if I don’t stay focused on it, I get into all KINDS of trouble! But sometime those books are calling to me, just calling my name, really, just mine. I have to buy them when they do that. I just have to.

10. List of Books I’ve Read: I don’t do this one, but I should. My daughter does, she will stay up late trying to remember the one she forgot to write down, will keep tracking her memory until she finds it too. As I said, I don’t do this, but should. It would help me stop checking the same books out from the library over and over, usually just because I like the way the cover looks. But not my daughter. She knows, and can tell you. I like that list.

did I say yum?

Johnny Depp, yum!

11. Favorite movies, or movies I’ve recently seen. These were listed in my opening paragraph, but I felt like it was a good idea to include them here as well. I think I will start new pages about books and movies. :) Maybe I will have a whole section just on Johnny Depp. I think he’s dandy!

12. A Johnny Depp list: Yep, this will be a definite one, then I can just write down all the deep Depp stuff I wanna….

13. What do I want to be when I grow up list: You need to read the book, Crush It! Another reason I am writing this blog, and still trying to find out what my passion is. It is very inspiring, and will make you think long and hard on some things too.

14. Bucket List: If you haven’t seen the movie, this is a list of things you want to do before you kick the bucket. Do you want to skydive? Me too! Do you want to trek across the great wall of China? Well, probably not me. But you can, then I will let you write a guest blog or two all about it :) ….

So, why do we write the lists we write? To keep us organized, to help us remember important and mundane things, to keep from overlooking something needful or someone important to us. What are some of the lists you use? I would love to hear about them. I may need to add your lists to my lists, so let my lists get back with your lists, and we’ll see if we can set something up, OK?

Have a great list-making, item-checking-off day!

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Posted in humor, lists, organization

 

Where has all the weekend gone?

19 Jul

Well, another weekend has come and gone, and they never seem to last long enough. I accidentally picked up a virus while out and about, so it was up and down and in and out for me part of Saturday and Sunday.

I’m participating in the SITS 31 Day Blog Challenge. Today we are suppose to be constructing an elevator speech to describe our blogs. :) . The exercise is not supposed to take over 15 minutes, but I haven’t exactly finished it yet.

Here’s what I have so far: Accidentally Angela is about life. The ups, the downs, the insides out, the falling down and sideways. The getting ups, the just’s because, the incidentals and the in-betweens. What catches my heart and holds me there, and your response to what I share. The upside downs, and insides out. That’s what Accidentally Angela is all about.

It’s a work in progress….but I think I have a beginning. If you have any suggestions or ideas, please share your comments as well.

Hope you have had a wonderful Monday, and have a beautiful week as well…..

Irises from my yard

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Posted in Ponderings

 
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