LOOKING AT LIFE

Let There Be LIght!

2012-01-29T11:10:00.003-06:00

This house needs more of it!! I go around opening the blinds to let the morning light in...and I probably don't need to expound on the rest of that thought. Suffice it to say that I require more light in my life than does my husband.
I like sunshine. Especially so in the daytime!
Of course, with the sun comes the outpouring of dust bunnies, dead grass, cat hair, and the like. So today I'm on a cleaning mission. Yes, it's Sunday. Yes, I'm on a cleaning mission. Run needles through my fingers.
I can't stand it any longer. I think God will completely understand. This is driving me nuts and I just can't be my best self and go completely over the edge with Dirt Insanity. So I will start anew.

I went to Barnes and Noble on Friday night and bought the winter issue of Art Journaling (Stampington). I really enjoy the eye-candy and the reading in their publications. Inspiring to me. I was raised in a tiny town in the Ozarks; we did not HAVE Kindergarten, let alone anything that resembled an "art class" or times for art media expression in my grade school years...nor high school either, for that matter! Crayons in the cigar box at the Methodist Church on Sunday morning. New crayons from the downstairs basement in Nichols Brothers Store. New coloring books to match, once or twice a year. That and a stick in the dirt in the backyard. You think I'm kidding? I'm not! That was Art 101 in McDonald County Missouri in the 1950's. I did fall in love with paper dolls and I would save my dimes for paper doll books. I probably had a total of 5 in my life. Pretty good count for a family that thrived on fishing, boating, and hunting. It was a male dominant household, if you will. And I do love sailing and fishing. (Thanks, Tib. He also showed me patience, which the rest of the family was short on for many reasons.)
Now I'm trying to make time for myself and as many art media outlets as I can possibly find. Still have several trips to make to some specific art supply stores in Tulsa. I think there is a part of me that never blossomed. I know there is. God, give me a few more days in my life...

Dang, I'm Feeling Old and Cold!

2012-01-21T20:15:00.004-06:00

It's been a great day! Sort of one that scooted around the corners of life...nothing too direct, nothing completely done, and one that I know will end with a nice hot bath and a craft book! Bring on the candles! My Dr. Pepper by the tub...now who else takes life with a grain of salt when all the woes and aches of life itself is telling me otherwise? Might as well enjoy the little things that make me happy.
Helped with getting my daughter's house in order today. Moving, divorce, three children...unloading boxes, putting things away, setting aside...Do you have any boxes to unload in YOUR life? Any thing that needs put away or set aside? I certainly do. On to another list or two...
I'm needing to spend some time with a project or two. Needing to feel a needle and thread in my hand. Some scissors for fabric or paper. Some colors and prints and textures...
I'm needing some alone time. Some Anadama bread...hot tea...honey...and the space heater. Brrrr...it's brisk and cold in Oklahoma today.
Say goodnight, Lana.

Just Working on This!

2012-01-13T07:26:00.003-06:00

Pick a font. Pick any font. You're already running about an hour behind this morning so it really won't matter except for the fact that it may not be exactly what you want but oh well it's something written down on the ol blog board. Right. And yes, my grammar is not the greatest, but I do know a run on sentence when I see one and yes, we did learn to diagram sentences back in the Ozarks of Missouri in the late 1950's. So I will just continue. Thank you for staying with me thus far.

I'm in a quagmire. Look it up. Quagmire. I'm usually IN a quagmire. It began when I was around sixteen and hasn't let up too much since then. Gee. Almost 50 years of quagmiring...
Something should be speaking to me.

I'm just not having time (ONCE AGAIN) to get everything done that I want to get done. I'm wondering if a strict schedule (FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE) would work. I've been pondering that in my quagmire. I've also found that learning more than one or two things at the same time in the "life after 60" doesn't work nearly as well as it did when it was "life at thirty."
Perhaps I can learn wood crafting, word crafting, insurance sales, photography, and knitting all at the same time. Throw in "posting pictures to the blog sites/Pinterest/et al"... Can I do all of that AND get to the Y for an hour a day? and eat more healthfully? and make things for gifts? and spend time with my grandchildren? and actually work on a scrapbook of 60-plus years of life? Draw that picture for me and make me a map. Maybe if I got up at 3:00 every morning...

Open for suggestions.

Here Again...

2012-01-04T01:05:00.005-06:00

Sometimes you come to the same place over and over again. Here again. Another beginning! I'm listing everything I've eaten today and everything I've had to drink. It is NOT a pretty picture...so I can't post the picture on here. I can say to myself that from this point on, some changes are in the works.
Maybe I really will become that Wild, Wacky, and Wonderful Woman! 2012 holds great promise.

She's Contemplative...

2012-01-03T07:36:00.002-06:00

It's interesting to watch each of my grandchildren and spend time with them alone. This is my comtemplative one. This is what I see in her now. The photo was taken over a year ago, October 2010. She looks at the strands of life, even at such a young age. I think it is an amazing work of art in how we all fit into our surroundings...those of siblings, family, friends, and the extended environments of our lives. She wants to have a bakery when she grows up...and "maybe be a designer, too, Mamaw." Her young mind holds so many designs.

I'd Like to Invite You to Brunch!

2012-01-01T22:01:00.002-06:00

Well, yes I would! This is one of my most favorite memories... a small hotel on the Rhine. Koblenz, Germany; early morning with coffee, cheese, hard salami, granola, and juice. Ah...just a nice place to relax. Let's go!

Oh, let's wait until April or May. I have some basketball games to watch between now and then! And an OSU-Stanford game to watch tomorrow night.

I Really Want a Dog

2011-12-30T22:18:00.002-06:00

I DO... I r-e-a-l-l-y want a dog. Yes, I love my Swoopie cat. She's precious. She loves me and follows me EVERYWHERE. I don't want another animal to take her place. I want a dog because it would be so helpful to my spirit and I KNOW I would be helpful to a kind and loving animal. I grew up with my dad's "bird dogs"...that's what you had in the Missouri Ozarks. Bird dogs! Our dogs went hunting with my dad every fall...shoot and kill. We had bird dogs and they had quail. It all worked out that way; for my dad and his dogs. I grew up loving animals. Now, I want a dog from the Humane Society...or the Rescue Pound in Tulsa... to walk with, to brush, and feed and love. Sounds great to me. My husband does "NOT want a dog!" We may have a conflict larger than the dog.

After Christmas

2011-12-28T00:33:00.003-06:00

One thing remains the same. After Christmas, I always think of what I will do "next year." Next year I will plan better. I will begin collecting little things for the grandchildren's stockings in May. Or June or July. I will begin to make things during the cold and dreary days of THIS winter, preparing as the squirrel does for the coming year. That's what I tell myself. I even make lists and write down all the plans and promises to myself. I do this every year. This year will be different. It MUST be different than 2011. That was a year I'd like to "learn from" and move on down the road! As my coach-son says, "Go to school on it!"

2011 was colder than any year I can recall in Oklahoma or Missouri. 2011 was hotter than any I can recall, too! I did not like it, Sam I Am. Several things I did not like about 2011! Get out of here as quickly as you can!!! Please bring me a new year.

I'm starting a journal with scraping stuff and writing and prose and notes. I'm hoping to enjoy the journey of making it; hoping to have something for those who walk behind me. Something they will enjoy looking through one day. The things I miss most about my mother are the stories I never got to hear. Opinions she never got to share. Thoughts and ideas, dreams and desires that were a part of her life... I never knew them. I hope my children know mine. Not that they are so "out of the ordinary," but that they are probably much the same as some of their own. If not now...someday.

To make my day nicer, I need milk. And coffee and Dr. Pepper. And quiet time early in the morning or late at night. A little of that every day. Thank you very much. Love, Lana

Mother Nature makes me think!

2011-11-27T03:21:00.003-06:00

Oklahoma has the strangest weather. Truly. If you look at a map of the US, you can easily see that we get the mix of everything...other than hurricanes, I guess! :) Nary enough open water for THAT to happen, but we sure get a mix of the rest! Burning hot temps and humidity in the summers, from warmth to freeze in twelve hours in the late fall...winters cold and damp...spring with violent storms. It's certainly a mix!
And now it's the end of November and the temperatures are dropping. You can feel it in the wind. The skies are gray in the early morning and again in the late afternoon. Step outside and Mother Nature bids you "hello", straight in the face!
I sort of like November. It's kind of a thinking time.
Grab a cup of hot chocolate and a fold-over bacon sandwich. Loafer socks and my fuzzy robe. Do a little searching on the old www.
I need to clean out my kitchen. It's a mess, from top to bottom and side to side. Moving some things around everywhere. You know the feeling you have when nothing is working? That's it.
I'm seriously thinking of getting myself a Christmas gift. A big one.

Wish I Knew How...

2011-11-16T19:49:00.002-06:00

Well, this is going to sound a bit freaky, but at my age (63) there are a LOT of things I wish I knew how to do! Some...well...I'm just too far down the road to go back and become a journalist for the Kansas City Star or work for the FBI. I think those things, it's fair to say, are a bit out of the picture now. As much as I love politics, I doubt that I will ever be invited to Morning Joe for cup of coffee and reflection on how this year's election groups are lining up...Lord help us all!! :) Anyway. One of the things I have on my huge bucket list is learning how to do more of the photo things and getting those posted. I'd have to say that posting pictures and losing weight are about the two most consistent items on my list in the past 3 years. Add to that, organizing my family pictures from the past 60 years and getting those scrapbooked~ still in the "to do" column!

I have spent the past three days in a class for insurance producers, i.e., those who will be testing to get a "producers license" in the state of Oklahoma for property, casualty, and commercial insurance. Cram 3 days of information (21 hours) of terminology, stats, etc. How will I ever learn all of this...and to pass the test!? Yikes! Am I too old for this? (probably)...but it's on the list.

Second Yearly Posting!

2011-11-12T15:18:00.004-06:00

This is so random, it's laughable!

My second post for the year and the year is almost over...well lacking 40 or 50 days I guess. Not really counting.

This has been one of the most interesting years of my life...one of the most stressful, too.

I'm practicing uploading pictures from my files. This does NOT go with the topic, but in some strange way, I suppose it does! Random citizens of the earth making observations in Athens as was I on this balmy October day in 2010. Looking at life from the mountain tops in Greece. Pretty strange thinking about that today....

Reflections in a Hot July

2011-07-24T23:04:00.003-06:00

Anyone living in Oklahoma in the summer of 2011 can tell you this: It is one of the hottest summers we've experienced in a long, long time. Most of us are just sick of it by now. It's hot in the early morning, it's hot at night. The summer sun has heated your car enough to make you sick in 10 minutes. It is wearing on people's nerves. We're sick of it! SICK OF IT.
I have learned so much in the past year; about other people and about myself at sixty three. I've decided that I am one rather normal person with some unusually nice edges. There are parts of myself that I really, really LIKE and parts of myself that I'm not happy with at all.
I think I may try blogging again. I'm tired of some of the Facebook things and tired of some of the things it represents for me. Tired of that. Move on.
I made a list of 39 things that I want to get done here at the house. Some things are very time consuming and some are just those things that can be done in a few minutes...but they need to be done. Just thought of one more. 40 now. I love working out in the yard, but in Oklahoma, in the summer, well...it just gets old after June. April, May, and June are pretty good. July is smothering and August is right there with it. September doesn't let up much and by October,...it's time for Pumpkins, strange corn, and wreaths of some sort! Gardening can be a year-round thing in Oklahoma, only if I would let it.
I'm going to try posting and then pictures again from my iPhone.

Feeling Home

2010-03-02T15:32:00.003-06:00

Home is inside myself and for the first time in I can't remember when, I feel home. I don't feel rushed, I don't feel frazzled, nor stressed, nor overwhelmed. I felt that for years....and I do mean YEARS. Teaching little children in a public school...anywhere...is stressful. Trying to keep all the balls up in the air at the same time, both at home and at school, is sometimes overwhelming. And I'm not so sure how much I really loved doing either of those. There, I said it. I love little children. I love being around little children. I don't love the stuff required in teaching today...all of the "stuff". I questioned too many things and wanted to do things my way. Not in a stand-off-ish way, not in a "my way or the highway" way. I just thought I had good instincts. And I did.
I've got to learn, once again, how to post pictures on here. I think I recall some things, but who knows!

A Round of Applause (not Applesauce)

2009-09-21T10:58:00.002-06:00

Why is it that people who do the cooking shows get a spontaneous round of applause when they add the portabello mushrooms, or the feta cheese, or the cup of sherry? Good heavens people, I've never had a round of applause in MY kitchen...for anything! And I'm convinced I've prepared a few pretty good pot roasts in my time! Baked a few pans of light and fluffy homemade rolls. Made several steamers of tasty potato soup, loaves of Anadama Bread, and even opened a can or two of Campbell's soup. What am I missing here?

..., ...., can't trust that day.

2009-09-21T10:44:00.002-06:00

Through trial and error I've discovered that I should write when the moment calls. Do not wait until 20 hours later, thinking the same inspiration, thought, word, and effort will be there. It will not.
My oldest grand daughter (one of three) said to me the other day, as we were quickly discussing the pleasures and pitfalls of "newer car ownership", "Mamaw, I think sometimes things just get too fancy." I'm right there with you, AnnaB.
My old car was not as protected as this one from straw wrappers, ice cream drippings, and art work. What do we give up in the "get"?

The Best I've Heard it Said

2009-09-15T06:34:00.002-06:00

This comes from Mary Oliver....from "Messenger" in Thirst/2006

"My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird-
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work
which is mostly standing still and learning how to be astonished."

My goodness, I love that!

Rainy Monday Morning

2009-09-14T07:22:00.002-06:00

Up when the alarm went off at 5:00 a.m. Tired. Humm? Didn't take any of my meds yesterday morning and no Dr. Pepper the whole day. Could that explain those headaches yesterday?
I have a jillion things to do today. Return, pick up, mail, get hair cut, deposit, etc. Rainy Monday in Oklahoma...

This week I'm going to learn (and write the directions for...) how to post pictures from my computer and camera. I feel like a computer dork. Out of touch with that.

Lots of things to get done. Prayers for Becky, Gary and Yvonne, Lisa and her mom, Linda....
I have a poem to post (not original) and it is a KEEPER for sure!
Will get that done tonight!
Peace.

2009-09-05T07:57:00.002-06:00

My goodness, it's been a long time since I posted. I'm getting back to this blog thing...I've been on Facebook all summer and enjoying it, but it's NOT a writing place for sure. Not enough room for me!
I am SO DISGUSTED about the direction of thinking with the general population in Oklahoma. It seems that the majority of the people, or at least those who make their voices heard in the media, are so AFRAID of everything!! And yet these are the very same people who talk about their FAITH!!!! Good grief people! Wake up and smell the coffee! or at the very least, smell it on your own breath! Our local newspapers (Tulsa World and Owasso Reporter) have the most rampent articles on the horrors of children hearing the words of our President in their classrooms! What in the WORLD are they THINKING!!! One of our brazen Senators even compared his (President Obama) speaking to the schools as "Marxist thinking."
Here's what I don't get: Are these same people AS CONCERNED with the rate of female incarceration in our state, the rate of child abuse, and the rate of births to mothers under the age of eighteeen, the amount of polluntants in our rivers, creeks, and streams, i.e., ground water pollution? Get on a band box that has some teeth, people!!!
I had a request/encouragement from a friend to get back on my blog. I'm doing JUST THAT. Do not want to let my days go by without my voice being heard, even if it is in my own head!

Procrastinate...such a nasty word.

2009-03-04T11:47:00.003-06:00

Is it procrastination or postponement when you KNOW you should begin putting the Kilz on the bathroom cabinets and instead....you watch The View? I think we all know the answer to that one! I think I would put that in the category of "Big Project Beginnings" and know that I REALLY don't want to start that when I have a dental appointment in the afternoon. Exactly. On the other hand, I could have had the whole dang thing done by now, had I started that project at 6:00 a.m. I didn't. Live with it, Lana.

It's also a day for getting seriously started back on my "food watch." I've lost 12.5 pounds since the 26th of December and now I'm at a plateau. Also known as I've-eaten-more-than-I-need-to-and-some-of-the-wrong-foods for the past 4 days. I'm feeling it. Amazingly easy for me to think that baking cookies with my grandson will be the best thing for a Tuesday afternoon. It's the best thing to feed my sugar/carb addiction, but not the best thing for me. Start again.

Finally Walking!

2009-03-02T20:53:00.002-06:00

Tonight I began walking. Not long, not far, not fast. Fifteen minutes and right under 2 miles an hour. That's slow. I'm starting out slow. My feet are actually in pain. My heels hurt. I will walk again in the morning for another fifteen minutes at a slow pace. I will do the same thing again tomorrow evening and that will give me my thirty minutes for the day. Then I must repeat that same plan on the next day, and the next day, and the next day, and the next. Never "the end," but continual progress.
I will be healthier.

Read What You Will! (and what you won't)

2009-03-02T09:23:00.003-06:00

One of the very best things about being retired from teaching is that I've actually had time to read. Oh, I had some time before that, but my hours were always taken up with raking the yard, cleaning the garage, cleaning the bathrooms, going after groceries; that sort of thing. Stuff we all do, you know. Plus, I could never hold my eyes open long enough to read anything of any length. And when I read, I READ. I'm not one of these who sit down and read 5 pages and then come back to it four days later. Nope. That's probably one of the things that I CAN stay with for more than 20 minutes at a time. The rest of me is really ADD. I won't call it a "disorder"; I think it is an order of my being. I don't think we really have disorders; I think we have orders. Orders from God. That's who I am. That's the way I'm made. Take it or leave it. Maybe not like you...and then of course, you're not like me. Isn't THAT just a wonderful thing of life. Can you imagine if all the Spring flowers were alike? We'd all have to love tulips wouldn't we?

But back to the original...love of reading.

Right now I'm reading Eat, Pray, Love. It is the selection we made in our new book club (YEA!) for the month of March. I'm really enjoying her style of writing. Easy to read and funny; some thoughtful stuff there, too. I'm such a lover of the non-fiction so reading the fiction is good for me, I know. And I'm learning to find the treasures in that, too.

Funny...I think my love for non-fiction probably comes from the fact that I was raised in that small Missouri town in the 50's thinking that every moment should be consumed by doing something that's "good for you"...the old work ethic thing. Reading non-fiction is BETTER for you than reading fiction? How crazy is that??!! I'm changing, thank goodness.

SPRING....Where are you????

2009-02-15T16:12:00.002-06:00

Across the street from us sits a vacant house. A vacant house with jonquils in front. Blooming jonquils! I have some of the same signs of spring in my front flower beds, but not any that are blooming right now. I love the first signs of spring. Those little niblets of green that poke through the ground...so refreshing and reassuring that spring will actually arrive. Come quickly!

What a lazy day this has been. I don't even want to do the mundane things that need to be done. Cleaning up the dishes. Putting clothes in the dryer. Don't want to do any of it. May blog reading go on all afternoon...

I'm not sure I was cut out for doing a blog of my own. Probably not.
February Sunday...

The Day after The Day after

2009-02-05T08:58:00.002-06:00

Uck! That's about all I have to say about stomach viruses throughout my daughter's family...which attached to me, too, after the fact at their house! Hopefully we're all headed in a positive direction; weaker, still a little queasy, but better.
I'm ready for some springtime sunshine and some open windows. Fresh air sounds so good.

I am thrilled that I've had one comment posted on my cheap little blog site! (Thank you, Clare!) Gosh, what a wonderful thing to check this out today and see that "1 comment"! I guess everyone loves the attention of being heard.

If I DID the number of things that I THINK ABOUT when lying awake at night (or in the early morning hours) I would have so much done here at this house! So many things would be organized! So many cards would be mailed! So many items of clothing would be pressed, hung, sorted, and boxed! So many pictures would be stored in nice albums and written in the margins would be stories for my children.
Not yet. I need a shower.

Some friends of mine are joining me in starting a book group. I can hardly wait to see what this will all become. Being sixty-plus has real advantages; you just don't care about the trivia anymore. It's wonderful! We think we all have something to say and that's good. We all think we have something to learn and that's good, too.

I will publish this and then grab a picture from who-knows-where to add to my post this weekend. I'm still learning and I'm slow!

More Than Words Can Say

2009-01-20T06:46:00.002-06:00

This morning I awoke early...1:30 a.m. early. Even early for me. I know it's going to be one of the most memorable days in my life. Not because I awoke early, nor because the cat threw up on my pillow beside my head.
Barack Obama will be sworn in as President of the United States. I can remember John Kennedy's swearning in as President, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, the assination of both. At 4:30 a.m. we are seeing pictures on the news of our nation's capitol filling with people, shoulder to shoulder. That's how we should be. We have a lot to get done.
Obama is just who we need in this time of our Country. He IS a Community Organizer. Thank God.

Seventeen Days...

2009-01-11T23:57:00.002-06:00

I made the choice on Christmas Day to give myself the gift of renewed health for the coming year. I'm seventeen days into my new eating plan and I'm down about 10 pounds, depending on what time of the day it happens to be! I thought I would begin my exercise plan last Monday but that didn't happen. Obviously, I wasn't as sincere about it as I have been about my eating (or not eating!) plan. It has to happen for my health, too.
I'm amazed at how much better I'm feeling already.

I hope to rekindle my efforts with this blog thing. I really like using pictures and I have some I'd like to put on my blog, but I need to re-learn all I've been taught about that. Heaven help me!
I've been going through my box of family pictures from years passed. I have so many that I want to put into my scrapbooks and do some journaling along with them. Many of the pictures are not as good as people take today. The quality of the pictures themselves are often poor along with the actual techique. Regardless, they have a lot of family history and story that need to be recorded for my children and grandchildren.

I'm hoping that the coming months will be ones of great health. I'm working toward that!
Peace.

Twas' the day before New Year's and all through the house...

2008-12-31T15:42:00.002-06:00

Even if you're not a person who makes New Year's Resolutions, I'd dare say that there aren't many who DON'T take some time to reflect on the year past. Boy, this has been a "doozie" (for those of you who are under 40 you might want to check out the word Dousenberg/or Doozenberg/ or Dousenburg. A little spell check might be in order for me regarding names of cars. Humm?

Well, it HAS been a doozie!
I think it is interesting to speculate about the new year ahead of us. I heard the tail end of a CBS Morning Show this morning on my car radio, telling "what is in and what is out." I've always thought those things were fun. Not that I care! Just fun. (I think my brown Birkenstocks and winter socks are probably a definite OUT!)...but good for rhyming patterns for 5 year olds!

My dieting is working. It always does when I stick with it! Amazing how that works. I was in the Dr.'s office today and I'm down 5 pounds. I have another 10 to go by March 15th. Writing down everything I eat and then doing some journaling about my thoughts and feelings really does work for me. No sweets (other than the 60 calorie pudding snack) and very little "flour things." I really have my goals in my head and I know I can do this. Waiting now on some physical therapy times and then back to the Y for walking, swimming, stairstepping, etc. I know this will be the year that I get my health back on track...where I left it 40 years ago.

Happy 2009 to any visitor who happens by here. You will be one of one in the lone desert of the cold January winds!

Starting Over

2008-12-27T12:09:00.004-06:00

That's what I do all the time! Start over...

Today I began, again, my dieting. That involves writing down everything I eat. It involves planning ahead, which is not something I do well! As with the last post...I am determined. Again.

Part of it is this time of year I guess. The other part is knowing that I need to do this to feel better and be healthier. I'm past the "looking good" part! (I think :=)

I loved what a friend of my daughter's had to say about her own blogging. She said that it kept her thoughts and her life's activities in a place; in a history of her living and that of her family. I'd love to have that for my grandchilden if they might ever be interested some day.

Last night I went through a stack of recipe cards that belonged to my mother. It's so neat to read her handwriting and also the recipes of her friends. It's stepping back in time; something I like to do. People actually cooked in the 1950's! We went "out to eat" not more than two or three times a year. Yes. Really. It was a treat for the whole family and can you imagine what a nice thing it was for my mother!!

2008 has been quite a year. I retired from teaching first grade. We lost Tim Russert, my all time favorite newsperson and fine human being. Our 401K bit the dust along with everyone else's 401K. My vote went for the person who will lead us in 2009, Barack Obama. Wonderful! The financial world has shown us an up-close-and-personal picture of "Who Do You Trust?" I had my 60th birthday with a wonderful birthday surprise from my daughter and family and friends. It's been a really interesting year. One to reflect, for sure.

Oh yes. I want a dog and a new fishing rod & reel. Many things are very simple.
I miss the Ozarks this time of year. Oklahoma isn't the same.

Determined

2008-07-12T01:47:00.002-06:00

There's a word I don't hear too often anymore. I can recall hearing my mother or others in my family (1950's) say "I'm determined to....(fill in the blank)." I don't hear that so much anymore; even from myself! We set goals, we make lists, we keep journals...

My determinations get sidetracked.

I know the things I need to do. I just get sidetracked!

I've enjoyed reading some new blogs lately. One such blog from a young pastor in a rural Tennessee church...Ed Eubanks, Jr. Reminds me of others I've known years ago in my life, but I think this guy is more determined to think things through for himself. Interesting take on politics.

I'm determined to get this blog thing down to a science and maybe an artform, too.

Mother nature is determined to spread summer upon Oklahoma like a damp rug, complete with July humidity.

I'm determined to keep our electric bill below $150.

Our little town is determined to grow in square-yards of concrete and shopping facilities.

I'm determined to scale back, simplify, and enjoy what I have.

My old eating habits are determined to keep my blood sugar in a swinging hammock.

I'm determined to follow my health plan.

Returning

2008-07-08T19:45:00.002-06:00

After more than 6 months, I'm finally back to this! Retired!
Because I love to write, I'm hoping this will become an outlet for me once I have more mastery of this blogging stuff. Still unfamiliar territory.

Back to Routines

2008-01-02T20:23:00.000-06:00

Doesn't that sound drab, ho-hum, and boring? It does, I know! Because I am a First Grade teacher, my days should never be any of the aforementioned! Not for me nor for the children I teach. So let's "x-out" routine and substitute the words "somewhat scheduled". I would put the word "scheduled," but as anyone who knows me knows, I am anything but scheduled!! Not in its natural state, that is! I REALLY have to work at it. Actually, I'm fairly confident that I have some issues with attention deficit disorder. No kidding...the First Grade teacher with lack of attention! Honest to goodness-cross-my-heart! So now we are back in class, we do move from one activity to another, we do go through our days in the usual way...so that puts ME into some structure. I think I need some of that, but after checking my Social Security "logs" (that little list of "years worked")...(some of you are WAAAAAAAAAAY too young to know what one of those babies look like!)....well, my "years worked" began in 1965. So you see, I think I'm just about ready to have that UN-structured time to play in the garden, sew the scrap fabric, spend 3 hours at the library, and make pie dough tarts with my grandchildren. Gosh, that all sounds like SUCH fun! Add to that some strange part-time jobs and that would all be right up my alley!
Remember how new I am to this blogging thing? I'm almost as new to the digital camera and the "uploading and downloading" of it all. I have some pictures I want to share on here and hope to get them ready and entered.
I still need some help from my digital daughter (thank you, Ashley!)...but I will get it done! I've been "sneaky-peeking" on some of your blogs out there and I would love to put them on my blogsite, too. Is it courtesy to ask permission, or how is that done?! I'll need to find out!
I think I'm ready to share the news of this blog thing (the one I'm doing!) with some of my friends. They already know I'm a little quirky, so it will come as no surprise!

Taking a Break!

2007-12-30T14:09:00.000-06:00

How hard do you need to work before you "take a break?" Blogging=break! I've been going through stacks and stacks of papers in my extra bedroom; separating junk from save; might-want-it-a-year-from-now and I've-had-it-this-long-and-never-used-it! Sometimes I think of throwing ALL of it away and see what life would be like on a clean slate! My back bedroom/guest room has become the catch all of my life's trappings. Does anyone else have such a monster in their life? How long does a person need to save things?!
I'm headed toward retirement this next May and I think I'll have more time to sew, learn to knit, keep up with some scrapbook things, and read. Will that ever happen?!! Maybe I will actually use some of the things I've collected over the years. I think I have enough stamps and scrapbook paper things to start a small workshop on my own! We shall see!

Thank You to my daughter!

2007-12-29T10:20:00.000-06:00

Thank you so much for the neat graphic work, Ash! I love it...and you KNOW it would never happen if left up to me!!! I love the neat heading for my bloggedy-blog!

After the Hoop-la

2007-12-28T22:48:00.000-06:00

Do many people (well-over-55-grandmothery-new-to-the-blogworld) feel as I do about posting? That is...nothing of this will sound too creative, or catchy, or interesting to others; more of what is sometimes said as "rambling"??? Well, I guess that's the offering tonight. Rambling.

The week of Christmas always seems to be one of hopping and jumping. Why is that? Even when it is not in the physical arena of going from one thing (place) to the next, it is ever so much in my mind. What I'd like to do differently NEXT year...what I'll never do AGAIN...what I'd always LIKE to do as a tradition...and on and on and on... I'm so skilled at second guessing, I can hardly leave THAT alone! No wonder my mind is tired and weary.

We've had a great week of time spent with children, grandchildren, and friends. I'm adding some pictures (I think!) of some fun moments. I never second guess time I spend with my family and friends.

To the One who created snowflakes, babies, children, hugs, and laughter ....thank you.

Cleaning Up the Mess!

2007-12-24T14:30:00.000-06:00

What do most people do on the day before Christmas? Wrap gifts, make fudge, bake cookies? Yep, yep, yep! They do NOT clean up ice storm debris from the yard! Oh, but we do. It is actually looking better; making some small steps with progress.
Our area had severe ice storms two weeks ago and our backyard looks like a bomb went off! Well, it DID before today!
It's now off to the baking part of Christmas Eve....cinnamon rolls! Yeah!

Fishing Would Be Easier!

2007-12-23T07:34:00.000-06:00

My daughter tells me I can do this! Are you sure???
Oh, Mom, you can do it! Just do what the page tells you (blog edits, blog templates, backgrounds, post options, blah..blah...blah...blah.)! I grew up with the mindset that "making a mistake" was NOT something you did. And Lord help us all if you DID make a mistake and then published it for the whole world to see!!! So the best way to make no mistakes is to take no chances. Right? Right! A turtle inside her shell, a snail stuck to the rock...what a group with which to associate oneself! Think I'd rather become a clown fish!

Driving Me Crazy!

2007-12-22T19:32:00.000-06:00

Aren't there days that just drive you crazy?! Those days that you have many things you need to do and "check off your list" and yet, nothing seems to get done the way you want? What a day! Cold, blustery, wet Oklahoma weather! Brrrr!

Re: My First Post! :=)

2007-07-24T19:26:00.000-06:00

I ran across this picture of the old country store and thought it looked so much like many of the places I ventured around in the Ozarks in the 60's. The old country roads of Missouri and Arkansas have their own charm that I've never found duplicated. Perhaps that same charm is found in places of your childhood years, too. This just brought back many memories of 40 years ago.

A Full Day

2007-07-24T18:49:00.000-06:00

It's been a full day, to be sure!
Grandchildren are the gift given to grandparents for having endured all those band trips, drives on section line roads, depositing money into overdrawn accounts, driving all over the city looking for just the right prom dress.
This is only my second post as I have had no time for writing! I am determined to get a blog going in some shape or form.

This Is My First Post

2007-06-10T18:04:00.000-06:00

This is a picture of Missouri. This is a test post.