Don't forget to laugh

So I had a blog topic and title all squared away this morning ..the one in which I am using however
became more appropriate after my 1pm meeting


I was attempting to convey to my team (to include my boss) that I was not a tree hugger BUT what came out of my mouth was, " I am not a tree humper" ... and the jokes began


BUT this morning when I thought about life and I thought about a conversation I was having over the weekend and just how entertaining it was...
the conversation made me realize how in life it is so easy to get so focused and serious


but its so good to just stop and laugh
this weekend I laughed so heartily


I laughed at shenanigans
I laughed at quick wit and banter


I laughed at jokes


I thought to myself besides with Jord when was the last time I laughed so much


There are certain people (JGH) who can certainly provide a higher level of ignorance and laughter


and of course (ksn) too can bring an indescribable level of laughter with her dry sarcastic humor and what we will just call "honest observations"


this laughter thing..I need to do it more..I need to allow those deep from the gut laughs
the kind where a tear comes to your eyes


yup


so I am making a list today..laugh more


life will give you plenty of moments and reasons to not laugh but if you look with the other glasses, you know not the rose colored ones, but the funhouse ones, life can be pretty funny


laugh at yourself
laugh at others


laugh with others
and laugh with yourself


ok that's all

2:25AM

Most people when asked what they were doing at 2:25 this morning would say without hesitation...SLEEPING!!

Ask ME what I was doing at 2:25 this morning....well let's see you know one of the most annoying noises you can hear in the wee hours of the night/morning

the CHIRP CHIRPING of a dying....dead...battery in your smoke detector

Now try as I might, I couldnt just ignore the chirping so I finally willed myself out of my sleep (my dont have to work the next day deep sleep) (my 50-something degrees and windows open with flannel sheets and blanket pulled up to my nose SLEEP) and in my stupor ascertained that the offending chirping, ill-timed battery dying detector was in my room

SO since these are no longer the alarms you can just pop the battery out and go back to sleep... I had to devise a plan

Now most plans at this time of the morning are not well planned nor executed..

so I stood on top of my trunk trying to open up this smoke detector..once i finally figured that out what did i find...oh a bunch of  electrical wires and a BIG WARNING that said...do not open until you have disconnected power...SO

I decided to avoid electrocution and I shut it...and the chirp went on....

THEN i remembered the home inspector saying the new smoke detectors had a different source of power that didnt rely on batteries so people could not just disconnect them and forget about them and then their house burn down

BUT i couldnt remember anything further...after all its ONLY almost 3am

so i closed the detector and cursed my brother who SURELY would have known how to fix it had he been there and i did what any smart and resourceful woman would do....

I picked up my still slumbering child and shut my bedroom door and went across the hall to HER room and HER cozy bed and from there we went back to sleep with the faint beeping across the hall now a muted annoyance ....and slowly we drifted back into a restful sleep

well semi-restful

because then i had a crazy dream where I showed up late for my bestie's wedding and my bridesmaids dress was handed to me and I was unprepared for the fact that it was a halter dress AND somehow i managed to have not shaved my armpits AND i was wearing black stockings under a cream see through-ish lace dress

*FULL DISCLOSURE-I woke up this morning and shaved my pits on principle*

So I walked down the aisle and everyone was commenting on how awful i looked

That was my night chirping and hairy!!!!!!!!!

Tonight I am hoping for sweet dreams and rest.....

A little Chick-Fil-A never hurt nobody

Happy Monday!!
and here we go again!!!

I havent ranted in awhile, I've been calm, I've been in control of my words and behaving well

HOWEVER

Today was one of those days, where someone triggered one of my RIGID, NON NEGOTIABLE, STRAIGHT TO 10 -DO NOT PASS GO areas in my life

My family
Specifically MY CHILD

let me rewind a bit

my child is a pretty good eater, she's not overly picky, and thanks to her parents, my parents, and of course HER Uncle Josh ...Jord has a palate inconsistent with most of her peers and I love that about her

school lunch....i dont recall my kindergarten food, BUT let me just say hers is lacking...and each week as i look at the menu for the week, my nose turns up and i instantly can pick the days that i know my child wont eat lunch

so after watching this month by month occur and talking to other parents whose kids too are suffering through school lunch and my child coming home famished , i decided to engage the Director

now i already knew menu was selected by their corporate office, which i am going to delegate THAT letter to my mother the ultimate letter writer, but i decided that the reasonable compromise was to prepare my child a lunch that my child would eat and therefore not have an empty belly and be able to focus on her studies vs hunger

As a reasonable parent i even recognize that their are dietary restrictions for other kids such as nut allergies, so sure no PB&J will be packed but for Day 1 -she had grapes, cucumbers, and turkey..

The email i received back from the Director, while possibly a little misinterpreted, although doubtful
inferred that my child should be encouraged ..starting at home to try the school lunch and she would have her teacher encourage  her to urge her to try the school lunch

Soooo how about NO

How about don't infer that I need have a discussion with my child about eating the school lunch that her father and i scoff at

How about you serve meals (that i pay for )that are more in line with the palate of a young child

How about if this policy is so strict you offer alternatives for children as you would in the same respect for kids with food allergies

I will NOT encourage my child to eat food I would not eat, especially if i am paying for said food

I wont get myself all worked up again BUT I decided to not reply to her reply and let it drop

I will continue to pack lunch for my child within the obvious dietary guidelines and restrictions and it would behoove them to allow my child to eat her lunch and not be forced to eat their lunch for the sake of "exploratory purposes"

Because if MY email was not clear enough.....in 23 more days my reinforcement aka the LAW aka MRS THIS IS MY GRANDBABY aka MRS DONT TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER aka I GET RESULTS aka GIGI will be here on my doorstep and I am NOT above stepping aside and letting Mrs. Ellen B handle this!!!!

Raindrops on my window sill

Another Monday has drawn nigh ...
laying here in my sanctuary listening to the cars pass by on the main road outside my community
the rain rhythmically tap dancing on the window

the temperature has dropped enough to allow the window to be opened

sitting here thinking of
anticipating
excited for
FALL

the smell of cinnamon
the smell of leaves

the crisp morning air
the way it pinches your nose
and rattles your bones

sleeping with windows open
then racing out of the bed to shut the window at the meeting of the dawn

i love fall
not just because its the precursor to my FAVE winter
but i genuinely love fall

the memories it evokes
the smells
the tastes
the sounds
the feel

the fleece in the morning
the blanket on your bed at night

this past summer was a scorcher
so the nights hovering around 50 degrees are welcomed and embraced

fall makes me want to escape
it makes me want to spend my weekends hidden in my thermals
hot chocolate with a side of adult  
blankets on the couch
cold toes and cold nose

when i lived at 350 Hilltown Rd, oh how i LOVED the fall, the burning of leaves, the cinnamon yankee candle...
the sun setting early
there is something about fall

something about the slowing down of things....

yes im all in

Oh my head

I wanted to ensure a timely blog and today I planned to have some good topic to write about BUT all i can think about is my headache...

i am not sure if it is the first day of the detox i have so bravely looped myself and 5 of my colleagues in OR well yea that's all i got

so today was a great first day of the week, while Mondays can drag or have a missing the weekend blues, this Monday was peaceful and filled with a lot of smiles and i think a new beginning

its been awhile since i had this kind of new start and i am excited

i am eager to see what is next
happy to learn someone new
bubbling with joy over what is next

jumping inside at the days to come
hmmmm.... that's all i got ..today was good

and i still have a headache....

Change of Pace

As I was riding home today after an overall pleasant and cheerful Monday that started off rushed and feeling like I was running behind

I drove home.... leisurely, windows down enjoying the 83 degree breeze which was such a welcome feeling after a summer full of scorching HOT days

BUT my thought of the day

As I read my morning devotional it was entitled "When your story doesn't stick to the script"

I read it this morning at 545am but I did not really comprehend the meaning until now

Even the way my day started.. I planned to be up and out the house on time

I planned to wake up have a little study/quiet time and then do some quick exercise

I PLANNED to have Jordan to school on time this morning

BUT... my story didn't stick to the script

i lingered in bed a little longer than i should have

i woke up and had study time but not the exercise time i planned to devote

i got downstairs and was delayed making tea and then packing my lunch and then taking the trash out

i left the house 10 minutes before the time Jordans bus leaves the school

my morning was anything BUT smooth and then I sat in traffic for an extra 40 ish minutes

my time before 830 had ALL the makings for ONE OF THOSE MONDAYS

and to boot i had a mild to severe tummy ache on my way to work

somehow between my morning and my day, something happened

something changed...the chaos melted away

i was replaced with a calm and a focus

my day went well
my day went great

my lunch was great
my exchanges at work were pleasant and productive

i left work and picked up my cupcake (her new self-requested name)
i came home to a clean home

and all i could think was when i woke up this morning , this was not the vision i had for my day BUT everything worked out and worked out well

my prayer for everyone today is that when life is hectic
when life is smooth
when life makes sense
when life is a series of "what the mouses'"
 no matter what LIFE IS at this moment
just breathe
breathe and know this too shall pass
breathe and enjoy the moment
breathe and be thankful
thankful for where you are and thankful for where you are NOT
if life were perfect how boring would that be
if life were the most flawless script...would you want to read it? would you want to skim it? would you want to burn it and just enjoy the journey?

my prayer is that you embrace the trials...and just know that triumphs come out of them
i pray that you always smile, especially on Mondays when everyone is probably feeling the same as you
i hope that you all realize one bad minute or one bad moment does not mean a bad day or a bad life

and most of all...be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life

so think positive, think happy, think joy, think faith...think LOVE

The road with TWO paths

So I must FIRST apologize for the tardy blog as well as missing one last week...

But i did have a blog brewing in my head on Monday, all prepared to write...BUT after traveling back from Detroit...the past two days and nights have left me nothing short of beat at bedtime

between driving 500 miles each way I had plenty of time to think and contemplate and pontificate and one theme that kept coming up was how sometimes in life we are given two choices....two options..the red pill or the blue pill....and i just wonder which choice most people make

when there is the path that is smooth and sunny and almost like the yellow brick road...is that the path that is more often than not chosen OR does anyone ever take the road less traveled...the road that does not lead to Oz

what if the yellow brick road is paved with guarantees and assurances (to an extent) VS the bumpy curvy road that potentially will have walls to climb, moats to cross, and dragons to fight

in life do we opt for the easy or does the sense of the unknown ever draw us in??

a different twist...the path of smooth and sunny that leads to Oz..well lets say that path is the path YOU choose whereas the path of the unknown is the path that God directs you to follow

do we choose the road of obedience at that point even when its filled with uncertainty and setbacks OR do we choose the path that we think WE have control over..the path where we make the choices we feel are best for us and our life and our current status

In life do we choose the safe job because it does not require us to grow and we are comfortable OR do we explore that other option...the job that forces us to stretch and that forces us to expand our skill set and knowledge

do we as humans tend to play it safe or do we take risks

or do we only take calculated risks when we think the payoff will be worth it

is it against our nature to walk blindly
how often do we need just a little bit of reassurance

i think for anyone with a relationship with Christ there is a natural struggle in that area...a desire to want to know where we are going and to know why and yet in a relationship with God he does not always show you his plan book and you may not always know WHY but we are asked to obey and to follow and to trust HIM

that's a tough pill to swallow...and often we are kicking and screaming most of the way ...

in relationships....hmmmm sometimes when there may be two potential suitors....do we lean toward the person who seems like a sure thing...are we motivated by the fear of loneliness ...are we propelled by wanting someone to "love us" that we go with the steady person despite some red flags or seeds of doubts OR maybe do we take that road of unknown

WHAT IF...what if i say we learn to take the risks?
WHAT IF ...we learn to challenge ourselves and grow?

WHAT if..the payoff is worth it

WHAT if that risks and that unknown leads to the BEST decision in our life

YES ...life is full of WHAT IFS...but just a thought...

WHAT...IF!!!!!