I ain’t dead.
I have been making flowers hosting guests doing school projects relaxing, and didn’t have much to say today.
Oh, the chair out on my lawn is empty, by the way.
Also, I think these are under my skin.
I can see a lot of orders for these in school colors in my future, and they look awesome in grey, in case any moms from the “other” school are wondering.
I may need an intervention π
I swear to all that is holy, I had to have been a magpie in another life.
A lot of my friends have Pinterest accounts. I don’t. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t access it. Anyone can, and it is made easier by the addition of sections, such as “home decor”, “foods”, “posters”, etc. A friend of mine posted a really cute idea for a table centerpiece, which necessitated I click on it, which then took me to a board called “Miscellaneous crafts & DIY for the home“.
Three hours later, I awoke from my daze. Two hours after that, I returned from the local craft and hobby store after getting supplies for numerous projects: felt flowers, “mercury” glass, paper flowers, tissue canvas project, lamp re-do, etc. The best part: I already have so much crafting crap, I didn’t need to buy a lot!
Courtesy of The Shabby Creek Cottage.
I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. Every single time I have good intentions on cleaning up my mess upstairs, something like this happens and all my plans go out the window, which is where Hubby wants to throw most of the mess, anyway. Seriously, y’all remember this, right?
From the mess upstairs that I still have to clean up before Nomstress arrives. Well, guess what? After Pinterest, it miraculously turned into this:
This Pinterest does not bode well for me, I can tell. On the other hand, it does inspire me to create new things with stuff on hand, and gives me ideas for gift-giving. This may be the cheapest least expensive Christmas season ever!!
I just hope no one in my family catches on π
I must be the geekiest mom ever.
As I was setting up the mini laptop on the vanity, I noticed that there were some books available to read. Some not so well-known, like Houses of Stone, by Barbara Michaels. As light as it sounds, I will have to pass, in favor of the book right next to it:
Volume IX of the Encyclopedia Brittanica Great Books, Aristotle II.
Courtesy of Matthew Was Prey.
During my senior year in high school, our *ahem* petite virago known as our English V teacher was a devout follower of Mortimer J. Adler, who collected the works of influential writers into volumes called The Great Books. A philosopher and educator, he was most famous for his writings geared in layman’s terms. He claimed to write for people, not for academics, since they always wrote to each other. He also came up with the concept of The Great Ideas, words defined by the individual, such as “Beauty”, “Truth”, and ironically, “Idea”. Our English teacher was very adamant that we learn the concepts. Several exams can attest to that!
I never got around to reading the second volume of Aristotle’s works. I always meant to, but Life got in the way. And Fate, being the finicky weaver she is, has decided that I must finish what I started. It is no coincidence that this volume contains Politica and Rhetorica.
Who says I don’t love a little light reading?? π
I love tragic love stories, and love foreign films and books. Several years ago, I read The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and found it to be a very deep, slightly disturbing book, brilliantly written. I followed it with the film, which was good but in my opinion, very loosely based, and as always disappointing compared to the book. But it had Daniel Day-Lewis, so WIN!!
For years, the message of the book disturbed me, because as often as I would re-read it, I just couldn’t grasp it. I’m not a concrete thinker by any stretch, but this was beyond my scope, even at the tender age of 21. Ok, perhaps because I was so young, then. In any case, it took me several years, and one epiphany, but I finally got the message. That concept of the “lightness of being” finally clicked.
And I know I can never feel it. And that’s a good thing. The lightness refers to being carefree, thinking only of the immediate, the “now”, whatever will make you happy and satisfied for YOU. Doing what I have to do, FOR ME, is never an option. I can never give in to the child-like selfishness, because I would then be forsaking those closest to me. Don’t get me wrong: I do small things for myself, like the bubblebath ritual and attending Wine Night with my friends. But I never let those things take precedence over anyone. I can’t. It goes against the very fiber of my being to do so. And in retrospect, I never understood it because I never have felt the need to feel the lightness, such as it is.
You may ask if I need to feel it now that I understand it. The answer is no, I don’t. I’m just glad I FINALLY figured out that little enigma from my youth, and can now shelve the book without a backward glance.
The movie, however, is still nice eye candy π
Honestly, have my children never heard of a calendar??
The last few weeks of school usually entail having field days, fun days, concerts, awards ceremonies, and the like. I try to keep them all in my iPhone calendar so that I have easy access. Of course, it would help if the kids told me about these upcoming events with at least a few days notice. Eldest told me about her awards ceremony on the day it was scheduled. Little One told me of her concert waaaaay ahead of schedule, but so far ahead that I had totally forgotten when it was. Last night, Son was performing in the last concert of the year. I had known for a couple of days, but Hubby was taken completely unawares. Today I found out Little One had a Fun Day scheduled at school. Tonight we are getting together with Hubby’s coworker and his wife. Tomorrow is Wine Night (designated driver, so there), and Sunday we have a friend coming to stay overnight.
I cannot tell y’all how many of these things I have owned in the past. I also cannot tell you how many went without being used. I try to stay organized, but by far the best solution for me is the calendar in my phone. Since I set it to remind me of things listed, I don’t have to consult it every single hour of every single day.
Now I just have to train the kidlets into telling me about their activities promptly π
Oy, what a way to start the day. We had plans to attend the annual dorm picnic today, only to find out Little One has a project due tomorrow and is having a friend over to help. Then my mother-in-law called us to offer her tickets to a shindig up north of Austin this evening, but it being a school night, we had to decline. And just when I start adjusting to new plans, the other kids pipe in with more stuff.
My glass was looking half empty. And then I saw this:
Wisdom from my friend Deb. Sometimes I forget how to be glad and happy for what I do have. Of course, some would argue that a half full or half empty glass means that there’s a bartender somewhere needing to fill it, but I’m willing to just be happy with the contents left in it π
I send packages all the time, and usually don’t pay attention to the flat rate Priority Mailβ’ boxes that are commonly used. I just fill, tape, address, and mail. We all do! So imagine my surprise when Son pointed this out:
You don’t see it yet, do you? Well, neither did I at first, and I’m a fanatical Sith when it comes to spelling and grammar.
That’s right: “Express” has TWO “S”s. (I maybe be a spelling Sith, but I’m not sure how to write the plural of one letter. STOP JUDGING ME!!!) And before you think it’s the French word for it, no it’s supposed to be in English. The French boxes have the circumflex accent ( Λ ) above the second letter “E”.
Now, I won’t rush to judgment and condemn the entire US Postal Service for this. They probably contract out for such items. But it grates on my nerves that they can’t spell check, or at least decide on ONE spelling for that word. Seriously, pick English or French!
Just not Esperanto π
I woke up this morning rather disoriented, finding I had overslept because I set the alarm for PM instead of AM, and was rushing to get Son to school on time for him to catch the bus for the school trip to Angelo State University for an ROTC drill meet. So currently I am operating with only four hours of sleep, and one pot of coffee. Don’t worry, there is another pot percolating quite happily right now.
As usual, thoughts tend to be disorganized when I have not had plenty of rest. This morning was no different. As I drove to the school I thought of how odd that the post office is completely lit inside. I thought that it is due to workers, but no….it’s kept completely lit all day and night. Which made me wonder if it was a deterrent to vandalism, which led to thinking about how many vandals have been caught lately (three), which made me wonder who would want to vandalize a post office, and how. I mean, do they write graffiti on the wall about poor service? Do they put bulk mail in the single letters slot? What?? And speaking of graffiti, it used to be we could ALL read it just fine. Now? Dear Lord above, the misspellings drive me insane. Driving home last weekend I saw a a highway exit sign that had the word “Legion” spelled “Lejion”. And no, it isn’t in Spanish. I just wanted to hit the taggers with the unabridged Webster’s Dictionary. And once I arrived at my folks, the idiots wrote “La Reconquista” up on a highway sign, but they spelled it “LA RECONKISTA”. Seriously?? You want to “reconquer” Texas and can’t even be bothered to spell your cause correctly?? Gah!!
Ok, I think I better go drink my next pot of coffee now. Hubby will be skyping soon, and I need to be lucid for that.
Some things I have learned this week:
It took me half an hour to travel six miles on the highway last night. And that was going in the opposite direction of Rush Hour.
Once they wake up,Β thinking is out of the question.
You would be surprised how many insects can find your sweaty shoes comfortable.
You would be surprised how many insects find their fur comfortable.
Now, for your viewing pleasure, courtesy of JAM2:
And now I’m going to go drink more coffee, and get the day started!!
I love fairytales. My favorite Disneyβ’ animated film is still Cinderella. Oh sure… I like most of them, even with the creative license the screenwriters take, though sometimes they take it too far (*cough* Pocahontas *cough* Little Mermaid *cough*). Reading them in their original wording is far more sinister and suspenseful than Stephen King.
The other day I was chatting with Hubby via text messages. He had mentioned he had seen a children’s book of stories at the market, and had recognized some words. I had to laugh, because he told me he tried reading Goldilocks.
Me: Not to spoil it for you, but she breaks into a house, steals food and breaks furniture, finally passing out from her wild rampage.
Hubby: Really?!? She seems like such a nice little girl.
Me: Her name is a thinly veiled reference to her cat burglar days, when she would break the safe locks to steal gold. Do not be fooled!!
Hubby: Hehehe…
And of course, the ultimate fairytale has to be The Wizard of Oz.
Placed in appropriate context, any story can be a fairytale. Likewise, any fairytale can become bitter reality.
It’s all a question of angles π
 | B.C. on On Why I Paint |
| B.C. on On Why I Paint |
 | LC Aggie Sith on On Why I Paint |
 | Comrade Mope on On Why I Paint |
| Comrade Mope on On Why I Paint |
