Gratitude is Our Attitude!

That's the title of the literary work that my 10 year old daughter brought home on Monday. "Gratitude is Our Attitude" is the class motto and yes, the teacher weaves that through everything they do. It's fantastic.

Well, since Thanksgiving is tomorrow, I thought I would share this piece of work with you. For the assignment the class was given the title and told to come up with a list of at least 7 things they were grateful for. And since they were in computer class, this is typed and alternating colors are used on each line. I'll try to duplicate it here. These colors are very "fall" like.

Gratitude is Our Attitude!

I am grateful for...
..God because he created me.
..my dog because she's a friend when I'm alone.
..my friends because they comfort me when I'm sad.
..my family because they're always there for me.
..my shelter so I'm not out side.
..scientists for all they do for us.
..nature for fresh air.
..my grandparents for everything they've done for me.
..technology because I can learn more.
..everyone for everything.


That pretty much sums it up, don't you think? Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I'm grateful for your friendship and for those I don't know, that you stop by and read.

JT is at it Again

I have loved Justin Timberlake since the last time he was on SNL and did the "Cup o Soup" and "*&$@# in the Box" skits. Who am I kidding? That whole episode was hilarious. I still have it on my tivo and just watched it again last night not even knowing about this most recent funny (I must have gone to sleep too soon the night it aired). I even posted the "&$@# in a Box" video here on a previous "youtube" funny on the blog. But youtube pulls these SNL videos as fast as they show up. So sadly there's nothing to watch anymore on the "&$@# in the box" post. (after posting I looked for it again and found it - so you can go see it now on the original post about it by clicking here.

Well, below is the most recent time JT was on SNL. He and they guys were backup dancers for Beyonce in leotards and high heels. Seriously working it! Check it out quick before it gets pulled. (told you it would get pulled. I had help finding it somewhere else - so for now, we can still see it).


click here to see video

About Me

About me. Hhhmmm.

Well, right now, I’m 40. Right here is where I used to say, "I'm 39. I feel like I should make some sort of comment about that because everyone else does when I tell them I’m 39. Comments like 'And holding?', or 'Really?', or 'OMG, you’re such a baby!'

Really? Still a baby at 39? O.K….if you say so. I'll take that.

But NO, I’m not “holding”. I really am 39. What a fake age."

But now I'm really 40. And it's not bad, don't be afraid.

On July 2, 2009 I will have been married for 15 years. I got married when I was 25 and had been dating my husband since I was 17. We've been together for a total of 22 years. I think we both say that we are happily married. We do argue some, but that’s mainly because my stubborn headed, first born self is usually trying to show his stubborn headed, first born self how he was wrong, or why there’s an opposite argument to whatever he just said.

Why do I do that? I’ll even most times agree with what he’s said (I don’t know if I let him know this). I just like pointing out that there’s usually another way of thinking (he can be extreme sometimes). Maybe I’m helping him “keep it real”. Maybe I’m just being bitchy.

I think I'm a romantic. But maybe it’s just that I like attention and affection. I like getting flowers for no reason at all or on any occasion whatsoever, and chocolates and all kinds of little warm fuzzies for those same reasons; but unfortunately sweet husband isn’t so good at those things. He is great about lots of other things though, so who am I to complain.

I have two fantastic children who are constantly keeping me laughing (which is my favorite thing to do – laugh). They make me laugh with their actions and their own senses of humor. My daughter is 10. Her birthday is on the 15th of September, and my son will be 9 in August. I have a brief 3 week window when I get to tell people that my children’s ages are back to back. This year I was able to tell people that my children were 9 and 10 years old. Sometimes that makes people do a double take. Then I get to let them know that they are 23 months apart and the other birthday is just around the corner. For some reason I get a kick out of seeing the people's reactions. We had them this close by design and planning. And I’m so glad we did.

I like to think that I’m a laid back, fun person. But recently I've begun to think that I’m only laid back if you’re not messing with my plans. If you have put me in charge, or if I’m the one in charge by design of whatever it is we’re doing, I like things done the way I’ve planned them. If you’re the one that's in charge, tell me what to do and I will be sure to do that too. I think that’s where I get the notion that I'm “laid back”; I’ll be glad to follow your lead. It’s just been lately that I have realized that I may have turned into a control freak. And I used to not be that way. I think having babies/children has caused this phenomenon. You have to be so “in charge” of every single aspect of those precious lives that I think it just spills over into other things. I have recently vowed to myself to try to harness some of this control thing. I think it’s much easier to be laid back. And Laid Back is what I would rather be.

I live in a wonderful town. I always knew I liked it here, but it wasn’t until I went off to college that I realized it. So many people seemed in awe that I was from "Charleston". I thought they were loons. “It’s just a place to live”, is what I would think after the often asked question “Oooh – what is it like living in Charleston?”. Then I came back home after a month or two away and realized that it is awesome to live in Charleston.

I started this blog you're reading after a "girl's night" when my sister-in-law told us all that her friends blogged and that they had started a site for her. After checking it out I decided I needed one too. My mother and father had recently moved out of town and blogging was going to be a great way to keep them up to date with the goings on of the children. Since they’ve moved back home the blog has become a place for all kinds of things – not just kids. And there certainly aren’t as many pictures as before. Pictures can be a pain sometimes and I found myself not posting because I dreaded the addition of pictures.

I had no idea I enjoyed writing so much. I hated it in college because my teachers were always butchering – I mean editing – my work so that by the time they were done editing, my papers didn’t sound like me anymore. I finally realized after my freshman year that if I had a paper to turn in, I spent less time f***ing with it if I just wrote what I thought the teacher wanted to hear instead of what I really wanted to write. This approach actually worked very well.

I have found that I really enjoy writing (doesn't every new blogger?). I know that a lot of times I’m improperly using grammar and butchering sentence structure, but it sounds like me. At least when I read it – it probably sounds like you when you read it.

So that’s me in a nut shell. It's not all of me, all of me would fill up way more than a nut shell. You can search “things about me" and "ponderings” in my labels to find out more about who I am. Thanks for visiting.

Overheard This Evening

Scene: family having a floor supper as we watch an old Star Trek movie. Asked for by the kids - Bryan didn't even force it on them. It's "Star Trek 4: Voyage Home". The one where Kirk, Spock and the gang go back in time to get a Whale.

At some point Kirk is explaining to the crew that they're going back to 1987 (I think), where we Earthlings are "primitive and paranoid".

To which Julia perks up, "Did he just insult us? I think he just insulted us!".

We then skipped backwards watched it again and she confirmed, "Yep. He insulted us." And then laughed heartily! So did we. I love her sense of humor.

Things That Go "Ache" in the Night

Well, here I am awake at 4:30 am.

For several nights - well more nights than I can count - I have had great sleep. It's been exciting! I even slept well for the 3 nights Bryan was out of town this week. And that's unusual. But tonight, I'm not so lucky. Could be because I went to bed immediately after Grey's went off. I was in bed before 10 the night before too. But I've been so tired during the day that surely I'm requiring more than 6 hours of sleep.

Actually, tonight I think my being awake can be contributed to a soreness factor. I ache from head to toe, with more in my back and butt. Why, you ask? Well because on Wednesday I got to tangle with two dogs (nice dogs, not attack dogs) that rendered me splat, face first on the ground both times.

First there was Sully, my next door neighbor's dog. I was asked to walk him in his backyard twice while his people attended a family funeral. You know me, I love dogs - of course I will do this. And Sully is a sweet Golden Retriever - I'll definitely enjoy this.

Well, the first time I walk him I am amazed at the Brut strength he has as he tugs me all over the yard. He yanks so hard on his leash every time he begins walking that I am sure I'm getting whiplash, and I'm definitely getting a wrenched back. I was thinking to myself, "Self, how in the world is this dog, who probably weighs 40 pounds less than my dog, able to manhandle me so?". And to bring the tug fest to an end, he decides to "mount" me the second we enter the garage. And not just my leg - a full on, body mount. Well, I never.

Hhmmph.

So, the next morning I'm walking him again. Again with the pulling and tugging. It is really best described as YANKING. And then, before I know it, he has yanked so hard that I have flown through the air and landed on the driveway and been drug a few inches. Oh, the disbelief! I now have a whole in the knee of my jeans with a nice skinned knee underneath. I am also sporting a skinned ankle. Which actually hurts way worse than the knee. OUCH! To say the least. And then there's the humping again upon return to the garage. Sully's version of salt to the wound I guess.

Well, neighbors weren't home at 7:00 pm so, not knowing exactly when they'll return, I feel the need to go relieve the poor dog again. I'm doing this because I am a nice neighbor, they hadn't asked for a third walking. The tugging is still happening but not with nearly as much gusto as earlier. Thankfully. I learned from another neighbor that Sully probably yanks so hard at the beginning of his initial stride because he is used to pulling his 11 year old boy around the neighborhood on roller blades. Well, that explains it.

Then, as I get back to my house, the second run in with a dog occurs. I am at the spot in my foyer where you turn to go down the hall. I'm in the process of taking the step to make the turn when my 100 pound dog eagerly runs up to me to smell her friend Sully on my pants (thanks to all that humping) and knocks me right off my stride. This sends me and my pivoting, turning self careening into the corner of the wall, yelling out as I brace for my body and face to meet the corner (and the end of the chair rail) . I again, am flat on the floor. Peeing in my pants, crying out in pain, and scaring the crap out of my children (husband is out of town - their only available protector is in the floor crying). I'm already sore from my morning driveway ride and now, I can feel what's going to be a bruise on the entire side of my body from my jaw joint, to my elbow, down to my hip and backside. Seriously, I'm reduced to a crying baby girl, right there for my children to have a good look at.

So, after pulling myself together, wiping my tears, changing my slightly peed in pants, drying my empathetic and scared children's eyes and reassuring them that my tears were more from frustration than pain (well, maybe equal parts of both) here I am more than 24 hours later, awake and aching. Guess this is what being a dog lover feels like.

My cats don't do things like this to me.

Color A or Color B

As you might have noticed, I've been monkeying around with the background color of my page. I've used two. The first one is the one I like the most, but it's one color on one computer and an all together different looking color on my other computer. Same with this second color that I have tried, hoping to get a more true color both places.

Well - I like the first color I used best (on my laptop anyway), but didn't like the pumpkin/orange-ish hue that it was on my desktop. So I changed. I now like the color here, on the desktop, but can't stand it on the laptop. What is a girl to do?

How are you seeing this color - as a nice dark khaki/brown or as a purple eggplant-ish hue?
I'd like to know how you see it. Was the first color a pretty complement to the marsh in the picture or an orange color? HELP. I feel like pulling my hair out. Or maybe getting a new pair of eyes - ha!