Family

Since I start work before the sun comes up, I really enjoy the weekends and staying in bed. I normally wake up early, but it’s nice just to stay in bed with out the pressure of deciding how many times I’ve already hit the snooze button. Last Saturday Mason wandered into our bedroom about 7:00 am. I was reading with a Lamp. He crawled into Our bed after I tried to steer him towards toys or cartoons. Finally in desperation I asked: Are you and little Angel or a little Devil? He looked at me with an unusual expression and responded, “I’m Family.” .
The thought occurred to me that some of our greatest happiness' and deepest sorrow's are all experienced with family.

Motherhood is a truly great thing.

“You're My Hero”

Yesterday, My three year old Son said “You're My Hero.” This was the first time of hopefully many said or unsaid occasions. I didn't deserve it, I had done exactly what he had wanted me to do. I dumped the water out of his sandbox. It's not hero status, No, not close. BUT, I'll still relish in it a little bit. Next to I love you, and maybe I need you. Being the hero of my child is a role I want to deserve. A role that I realize will probably not last forever.

My question is: What makes up a great Hero?

Preforming an extraordinary feat?
Being a tremendous athlete?
A talented musician?
A philanthropist?
Or Consistently living what you believe, Being there to: Celebrating the successes, wiping away the tears, patching the skinned knee and consoling bruised heart, To whisper that you're the best, and B's are just as good as A's if you did your best. To leave no room for doubt that you are wanted, needed and Loved.

Thanks Mom and Dad, You've set a tremendous example for me.

Earth Day

*This is a lot longer than I ever thought that it would be.

Just a couple of weeks ago I read an article “10 things to teach your kids this earth day.” By Jacqueline Bodnar the first part of the article said: “Here are 10 things you can teach your kids about earth day that will help make a difference.” Ok, I was intrigued. There is something to be said about making a difference. I think we all want to make a difference, someway somehow.
I believe it is our responsibility to take care of the planet. That being said, I don’t buy into fanatical thought or action one way or the other.

Here is the 10
1. Avoid Plastic Bags – I really didn’t think very much about plastic bags until last year. I always recycled them, and that seemed good enough. I stocked up until I had way too many and then I took them over to Wal-Mart. Alan and I had a week where the cub scouts had to learn about taking care of the earth and recycling, I learned the statics, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) estimated that it takes 1,000 years for a plastic bag to decompose. I bought reusable bags. I'm getting better at using them. I just need to remember to carry them into the store.
2. Reduce – “Look at things and decide if they are really needed.” In the book Born on a blue day by Daniel Talmet, he is able to calculate what he and his partner will eat and buys no more. a example would be 1 Orange each day for 2 people equal 14 oranges for the week. I really like this concept. Often times I’ll clean out the fridge and throw out things we never touched. It was such a big waste of money.
3. Recycle – Finally, one I have a system for. When I was first married I had boxed in the garage. Tin, paper, aluminum, glass, card board. I was newly married and this was the hip thing,(At least I thought it was.)) I loved the concept, but it was too hard. My community didn’t facilitate and drop off points. I had boxes full of stuff and no place close to drop it off. It was frustrating. It didn’t last more than a year. Thankfully the city has implemented a recycling plan and all I have to do it put out the recycle container twice a month with the trash. YEA.
4. Save water . . . Do I need to say more on this?
5. Keep it clean- Putting our trash where it belongs just makes sense. Once I traveled to a third world country with friends. In some of the remote areas, it was acceptable to throw things on the ground. It bothered me, the importance of properly disposing of whatever you have used or consumed has always stuck with me.
6. Shop ‘used’ – I'm a little too good at this, if you know what I mean. I spend more money than I should at thrift stores. If I find something that I want/need at a thrift store that normally costs $10.00 but I buy it for $1.00. Does that mean I have another $9.00 I can spend? Last year I bought all of my mom’s Christmas present for the grandkids at thrift stores. All new merchandise. I'm not finding quite as much this year for mom, but pleanty still makes it home with me. I must admit Mason has some really cool toys that we probably would not have bought otherwise.
7. Donate ‘old’ – The only way this would be better, is if the good will store would issue a merchandise credit equal to the amount of your donation. That would save me a lot of money.
8. Plant a Garden- I’ll have some more pictures to come on this. I know I’m blogging a lot about this right now . . . it just that is really what is going on in my life. This year the garden will be a much larger scale than ever before. The boxes are assembled and we will mix dirt tomorrow. We are doing square foot gardening.
9. Everyone counts- You make a difference and so do I. I love the starfish story. A boy is walking on the beach covered with starfish that has been washed ashore, He continues to pick one up and throw it into the ocean. Someone approaches, watches him for awhile and tell him the effort is in vain he will never be able to clear the beach the boy throw another starfish into the ocean and says It made a difference to that one. (OR something like that.)
10. Live Green – “Caring for the planet is something that we should do everyday.”
I can do a better job of it. We live in a beautiful world. I feel blessed.I have seen many beautiful things! I have some great memories. I want to see more of our beautiful planet. I want the beauty of it to be around for a long time.

40 to 70 in nothing flat

No, Not my Ford Focus . . . the weather. It really feels like spring and I love it. We worked in the yard on Saturday and accomplished some great projects. We have more to come, many many more projects to come. In the next couple of weeks we will be a Lowes preferred customer. We haven't had that made up status since we finished the basement.
Today, after church Mason said “it feels like a desert in our car.” Just wait buddy, ... we don't have central air. You have no idea. We savor the luxory of central air in stores and other family member's homes.
I haven't had the smashing success with the planters. We seem to do a great job of getting them to sprout and then killing them off just as fast. We do have a few thing that are coming along, just slower than I would like. It will be great to get the sunflower cups out of all the windows and get them planted. I'm afraid before long they will all die off too. The bush beans and the pumpkins look good. Tomatoes and green peppers look ok. Cucumbers are not doing well. Zinas and marigolds will survive, Hopefully the pansies will make it. (For crying out loud, . . . Mason tinks we are going to plant morning glory – One of his favorite flowers or should I call it a weed? , We had enough last year thanks, of coarse I didn't plant it, and it drove me crazy all summer long!)

Thorns or no Thorns

I was thinking today: How well do I really know the people that I love? Do I know how the feel about religion? (I’ve often thought that I do, but maybe I don’t.) Do I know how they feel about Politics? Do I understand what issues are important to them? Do I know their simple likes and dislikes their fears? . . . What about the desires of their heart do I know these things???

Little bug loves Cactus plants. For Easter we bought him a little start your own cactus garden kit. He loved it! We planted the seeds on Sunday and the box prepared us the germination could take place anywhere from 7 to 56 days. It’s only been 3 days since they were planted and he climbs up into the window to check on them a couple of times a day.

I promised little bug that we would go to home depot and buy a cactus plant tonight. Little did I know he doesn’t like cacti with thorns. Who Knew? He had never told me that before. - Did I miss a clue that I should have picked up on? We have a whole window full of catci that's going to have thorns. Several giant Saguaro seed may germinate . . . won't that be fun in the kitchen when they are 8 feet tall.

We look at Cactus plants on the internet frequently. You’d never believe all the different types! He seems to love all the different varieties. I honesty think we have looked up, (I’m sure of it.) every site that sells cactus anything! We always hope to run across a book at good will, which we never do. I guess either there are not a lot of avid Cactus lovers donating books to good will or there are not a lot of avid cactus lovers. If little bug could see Arizona he would want to move.

How well do we know those that we love? Or, Do we know only what people want us to know, even if it's those we hold close to our hearts?

EASTER

I love Easter. Oh, I love other holidays too, but Easter, How I love Easter. It holds a special place in my heart. I love the time of year, the Flowers, the Rain. I love watching everything come alive after the harsh winter. I love the understanding and knowledge and hope Easter brings. It assures me that the events that took place on October 12th, January 15th, March 21st, and dates that are still to come, are merely difficult inconvenience in continuing relationships. “He is not here, but he is risen. . . . Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.” Luke 24:6, 36

Happy Easter

The Economic Down turn

I knew this was bound to happen sooner or later, the economic down turn has finally caught up to my company, once again. You always hope that the economy will bounce back sooner versus later. My company will be looking a furloughs NOT company offered leave of Absences. Which have typically been offered in the past several years. Our March, revenue dropped 19% compared to last year during the same period. Scary numbers if you ask me. I don't believe I will be in the furlough numbers, however you never know and small changes like this often create issues with scheduling. I may be a new night employee this fall. Every time we cut personal off the bottom end. I'm one person closer to my job being eliminated too.

Money

Have you ever given someone a hard time just for argument sake? Not long ago my sister had a post on her blog about money. I gave her a hard time, the truth of the matter was. I wanted her to think about a few things and have a dialogue with her. Lately, …. I’m the one that’s been doing a lot of thinking about money.



Money, Money, Money SO, Here are the questions taken from:
If you had a million dollars By J Sewell.

1. Below what salary would you be embarrassed to tell people what your family made?
. . . I feel like this should have a number attached to it right? Regardless of income, if someone is trying their absolute best, shouldn’t that be good enough?
I guess the answer would be to: make less that the cost of your living expenses and bills. – whatever that amount would be.

2. Which do you think of more often sex or money?
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

3. If you spend time with a friend who has significantly less money, do you act differently?
This is the hard one – I would seriously hope that I would not act differently. An act is an act. The only thing worse than an act, is for someone to know that you are acting. I think there are plenty of people who are able to handle money, compassion, tact, warmth and love simultaneously.

4. If money were no object, where would you live?
I don’t need a larger home. I have a hard time keeping this one clean. Maybe a different location, I like living near my family. I do wish a particular friend lived a lot closer!

5. For you, is there a contradiction between religious faith and seeking financial wealth?
Why would there be? No apparently I don’t.

6. When parents write their will, should the child who has six children to raise get more than the child who has only one child to raise.
Wow this is a question that hits close to home. I only have one child. I don’t think that parents should have to owe their children anything upon death . . . However, What if a child has a disability, for what ever reason they are unable to provide for themselves and their family. What then?

7. What would you pay to know the exact date and time you will pass away? Would you share this information? I wouldn’t pay a lot, if anything. I’m frugal, but death does bother me. Sometime’s more than others. Who would take care of Hubby and little Bug? Yes, hubby could remarry (sigh). . . but what about little Bug? I always want to care for him. (Not in the always always sorta way . More like until you grown up sorta way.) Just today I was behind a construction truck on the freeway. The thought came to me what if that huge ladder slipped of the truck and went right through my windshield – I’d be a goner. I changed lanes! No, I don’t think that I would share it. That would seem awkward … Hum, Tomorrow is it. I wouldn't want people to look at me an think , "she is a goner tomorrow." How many more tears would be shed – I love you said – future plan discussed. I would want to spend individual quality time with all of my family and friends so I could tell them that I loved them and what they meant to me. With out saying “Keep Thursday open, looks like rain.”

8. Who spends more on frivolous items, you are your husband?
Hubby, spend more, although I spend my fair share. There is something about a good old book.

9. A friend files for divorce, asking for more than half of the assets because her spouse cheated on her. Fair? Regardless, Divorce strikes me as something that is never fair. Money is unable, in my opinion, to compensate for the emotional toll that situation would have on someone. Money would only bring a degree of satisfaction, it wouldn't restore true happiness.

10. When has money been an obstacle to your well-being?

When I was in college I ate peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches for 6 weeks straight every meal. There wasn’t a lot of money at home and I hadn’t been as wise with my grant money as I should have been.


How about You?

I Can Do This

I've been thinking about creating a blog for sometime now. I vacillated between it being a good idea or not. By nature I'm a private person, and a blog would be a direct line to my thoughts and feelings. Can anything make you feel more venerable than people really knowing how you think and feel? For whatever crazy reason the scale tipped last night and here we are today desperately trying to figure out the world of blogging, a world I've often enjoyed, but a world I never planned on joining. Now I have the job of creating a cute site, and (for the life of me) thinking of meaningful things to write about. Besides privacy issues, I worried about what in my life could possible be interesting enough to write about. Then I realized that no one will read my blog and I guess that should put my fears to rest about content. Right? (Since no one is going to read this ... was I just like talking to my self?)

TAG

1. I still wish on stars.
2. I love the cool rain on a hot summer day.
3. I love my Sisters, All 4 of them . . . for different reasons , (Ususally at different times.)
4. I’m inspired by my Grandmothers', They taught me to work hard and that Life is full challenges, difficult challenges . They will be different for everyone, but we will all have them.
5. Whenever I want to call in sick for work, I think of the quote “There is a fine line between sickness and Laziness.” I get dressed and go to work.
6. I hit the snooze button more than I should. If I knew that I would be able to get up the first time the alarm goes off, I could set the alarm for a half hour later.
7. I love to sleep; I haven’t slept through the night in the past 4 years.
8. I’ve always take idioms for granted. What does it mean when we say
“It is raining Cat’s and Dog’s?” Bug: “Someone is going to get bit.”
9. I love my Son, more and more each day.
10. When I was younger my favorite show was the Dukes of Hazard.
***I thought those guys were Hot.***
11. I worry about a zillion things, and have the gray hair to prove it. I worry about the gray hair, Of course – I worry that hair dye cause’s cancer. It’s a no win situation really.
12. I’m afraid of failing my Son.
13. I love dogs, but I don't want another living being in my home that needs me to provide for it.
14. I always enjoy reading the obituaries and the classified ads.
15. I don’t like doing the dishes or cleaning the toilet, but I still do both.
16. I’m more impatient as a mother than I ever though I would be.
17. I’m a perfectionist, only at some things. (Probaly not at the right things.)
18. I love to read.
19. I over analyze situations, and I'm hard on myself because of that.
20. I need to spend more time nurturing the relationship with my husband.
21. 5 years ago I didn’t know I would think about autism everyday.
22. I’m afraid of being hurt by others.
23. My family has our share of skeletons in the closet. I’m afraid one of those skeletons will creep out of the closet and my blog will end up on the news.
24. Sometimes I’m lonely.
25. I hope I can be as good to my Son, as My Parents were to me.