DIY

In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.
~Dr. Laurence J. Peter quotes

Why do I get so annoyed when people don't seem to "get it"? How many times have I been confused or frustrated because I couldn't do something? Just because I understand something doesn't mean some one else is an idiot because they don't. There are plenty of things that I have no clue about. What I wish though is if a person is unsure aout something or flat out doesn't know how to do it just speak up. There is always another willing to share their knowledge.

I need to be more patient! What if the people that cared for Nick treated him like he was an idiot. I would have to hurt someone!

We Are What We Drive

The car has become the carapace, the protective and aggressive shell, of urban and suburban man.
~Marshall McLuhan

It seems, in California anyway, that people get their identity from the type of vehicle that they drive. In the movie Swingers while at a party some high maintenance type girls ask Mike what kind of car he drives. When he tells them he drives a Cavalier he simply becomes invisible to them. Even his claim that it was red doesn't generate any interest in him. Have we become that materialistic that we are only what we possess? I don't have a Coach bag, I don't wear Prada shoes, I drive a Honda Civic and wear t-shirts that I bought at Target. What does that say about me? Not much except that I'm thrifty. I hope that I don't ever become so impressed by "things" that I forget who I really am.

Cats

God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on trying other things.
~Pablo Picasso

I don't know if I mentioned that I have 4 cats. They all found me I did not set out to be a weird cat lady. But here I am a middle aged woman with a bunch of cats that I actually talk to. Living with any pet is less lonely than living alone. I have a boy who can't talk so it can get pretty quiet around here. Sometimes I have a lot to say and I just have those little furry friends to converse with. I guess I'm not the only one. Check out Crazy Aunt Purl she's fun and funny and has cats!

Time

The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.
~Albert Einstein

I wish time could just quit racing by me like it has been. How can January already be gone? I have been working on a rag quilt now for more than a year. the whole cutting out process took from last winter...then it got to hot and was shoved in a box under my bed...until this winter. I finally dragged out my sewing machine and started putting it together. Yet, still, time passes and it remains unfinished. Just like all my unfinished business. Boxes untouched in the garage for eight years, my will that needs a desperate revision before something unfortunate happens. Is it just that I don't have time management skills or am I just that skilled at wasting time?

Back to School

Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.
~Albert Einstein

Going back to school again in 2004 was inspired by the realization that I wasn't going to live forever. I don't really know why this is something I want to achieve in my life. I've always been told I was smart and during elementary school I consistantly was on the honor roll. It came so easily to me that I felt as if surely I was somehow cheating. But sometime during junior high it became uncool to be smart and I began messing up just because I didn't want the "brainy" lable. I barely graduated from high school, not because I couldn't do the work but because I didn't want to do the work. Then there were the years after high school that I believed I wasn't very intelligent. If you're reminded of something often enough it becomes your reality. I went to college off and on during that time period and my grades were good but I never had any direction, my major changed everytime I enrolled in a class. I still always wanted to get my degree, so in 2004 I went back to school and that goal is now just three classes away. It hasn't been easy and I've wanted to quit more often than not, but now with the light at the end of the tunnel, I know I won't. In fact in 2010 I will actually walk and receive my degree in New York!

The Key

I remember things that happened sixty years ago, but if you ask me where I left my car keys five minutes ago, that's sometimes a problem.
~Lou Thesz

Here's something funny that says something about technology and the like. I'm not sure what it says but just listen to my story.
I got to the gym this morning and as I was walking away I did my usual over the shoulder flick of my keyless car door fob thingy. Low and behold no annoying beep to let me know that my car was locked. Well what's up with that? I turned and walked slowly back to my car all the time clicking the little lock button. I even examined the little pictures next to the buttons to make sure I was pressing the right one. I get to my car and stood in front of it. Woe is me, what do I do??? I certainly can't leave my purse out here in an unlocked car, and I really don't want to bring it in the gym with me. Putting it in the trunk is no better and what if someone saw me put it in the trunk, then they could easily retrieve it while I'm sweating on a treadmill. Well do I just not go to the gym? I really wanted to go to the gym, so this was a huge dilemma. What in the world could I do? Should I just sit in my car and wait for Target to open and then go buy a battery for the stupid thing? What if Target doesn't carry those kinds of batteries. On and on it went in my head. Until...wait what's this??? Oh my gosh, my car actually has a little silver circle on the door and I can insert the key, turn it and voila, the door is locked! Oh brother, what a knucklehead!

Sweater Girl

If some sissy chick tried to kick my ass I would say hey, missy, go knit me a sweater before I slap you in the face!
Eric Cartman

I cannot believe how many sweaters I have. I went on a little eBay sweater buying binge and I now have this huge collection of sweaters from the 40's and 50's. I got particularly hooked on "Darlene" sweaters, which have really cool watercolor floral prints. From what I could find out they're from the late 50's and that's totally apropos since I was born in the very late 50's. I must have developed an affinity for these sweaters while in the womb. Really though, this is more than a collection, they don't sit wrapped in plastic on a closet shelf waiting for a special occasion. I actually wear them, on practically a daily basis. Not that I dream of being a Betty Page look alike, but call me a sweater girl anytime you want and I won't deny it!

A Word

A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, a party,
a company by the way, a counselor, a multitude of counselors.
~ Henry Ward Beecher

As far back as I can remember I have read. I recall favorite books from summers spent at the library. I was always curious why some children couldn't even get two circles on their inch worm during summer reading program and mine probably had forty. Somehow I thought I was cheating, in reality there was nothing I loved better than escaping with a book. I still prefer reading over watching TV any day. I remember taking a box of Peanut Butter Captain Crunch and a good book and holing up in my room for an entire weekend. When the bookmobile came to our neighborhood I was on the corneer waiting. When I retire I would like to volunteer at one of those reading programs. I would love to help someone open up the doors to the adventure of books!

Mellow Yellow

Artists can color the sky red because they know it's blue. Those of us who aren't artists must color things the way they really are or people might think we're stupid.
~Jules Feiffer

Have you ever noticed how many things are yellow? Today, I focused on the color yellow and was amazed at how many shades I actually found. I noticed the usual items, like the fire hydrants, the bottle of mustard in the fridge, and the yellow traffic light that I sped through. But what about that pile of caution tape lying by the side of the road, the yellow fronds on an old palm tree, and the protective thingies that they put on the cables holding the telephone poles up? After awhile I was noticing yellow out o the corner of my eye, it jumped out at me from unexpected places. These same things were there yesterday but I took no notice. So did my experiment leave me feeling more creative? No, just more saturated in yellow!

Neon Lights

An age is called Dark not because the light fails to shine, but because people refuse to see it ~James A. Michener

I drive by the same buildings every time I go to work, so why is it that I just noticed the really kitschy neon sign on the aircraft plant by my house? It seems to me I've "seen" it before but I never really took the time to realize how cool it is. I'm usually zipping by with my to do list running through my head, and my foul mouth (reserved exclusively for driving by myself) running, that the sign is just another blur seen from the corner of my eye. What else am I missing? I've noticed empty lots where the week before there was a building, and I can't for the life of me remember what stood there. I read about an exercise that you could do that's supposed help spark creativity, you choose a color of the day and then notice everything you can with that color in it. While that's supposed to light a fire in your creative mind I'll bet it would also wake up your awareness. So what color is Wednesday? I'll let you know.

Takes My Breath Away

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.

~Hilary Cooper

This was one of those moments that just took my breath away. It was just an ordinary Monday but as I left for work I encountered this scene out my back door. This is why I started carrying my camera with me. You just never know when you might see something extraordinary and to be able to share these moments is just a marvel of modern technology, as they say. I call these God moments, and I always think of that Third Day song, Show Me Your Glory.

Tea Time

Tea is drunk to forget the din of the world.
~T'ien Yiheng

I have favorite mugs that I drink my tea from. Each one is a memory, each one can put me in a different place as I sip my evening tea. Funny how holding on to something can take you away from the present and bring you back to a memory. Maybe that's why we hang on to things, collect things. I spent last year purging a lot of stuff that I've collected over the years but no longer have room for. Some things I was just not ready to let go of. It's odd, I still have the memory whether I have the object or not, and face it those are my memories and when I'm gone it's just going to be another old mug that my kids will send to the Goodwill. So why do I have such a hard time giving some things up, is it fear of forgetting? Forgetting the good times, the people that have come and gone in my life. Is there another way of remembering that involves less clutter? Or can the little trinkets that bring us comfort in the quiet hours be held on to?
Find a space for them on a shelf and in a corner of our hearts.

What's Cookin'?

"We owe much to the fruitful meditation of our sages, but a sane view of life is, after all, elaborated mainly in the kitchen."
~Joseph Conrad

It's hard to believe that I used to cook dinner almost every night of the week. While I still eat dinner most nights, cooking it is another thing. Microwave meals and the occasional bag of popcorn really don't qualify as cooking in the grand scheme of things. Most evenings my stove serves as nothing more than a warm perch for the cat. To make things even more convoluted, I love to look at cookbooks, and I own about a gazillion of them. I make promises to myself to do more meal prep, but maybe my plans are too grandiose and doomed to failure. Perhaps I need to start small, how about one meal a week? That's sounds possible...I'll let you know how it works out. I'm off to find a new recipe to try.

Those Pesky Cones

I don't have pet peeves, I have whole kennels of irritation.
~Whoopi Goldbrrg

Well since we're talking about pet peeves...yes we were remember? Here is another one of mine. Why do they set out miles and miles of construction cones and not a workman in sight? I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation, probably they're going to get to work after they have breakfast at Denny's or perhaps they thought they were going to work there today but then they got called into an emergency road crew meeting. Those probably happen on a weekly, maybe even daily basis. That's right, take my main drag to work down to one lane and I'm going to get cranky, as I'm sure all the other commuters are. They seem to do this every Friday and the most action I've ever seen is one guy in an orange vest riding on a power mower in the median. Yep that seems to be a good enough reason to block off 7 miles of boulevard (yes I did measure the distance). Phew, I feel much better now! I think I'll work at home next Friday!

Rules are Meant to be Followed

If you don't like their rules, whose would you use?
~Charlie Brown

One of my very favorite pet peeves (yes, I have favorite peeves) is those people who believe the rules don't apply to them. You know the ones, they're the ones that pull in the "exit only" driveway, the ones who talk on their cell phones in the movie theater, the ones who park in the loading zone at the airport. Yep, those are the folks I'm talking about. What gives some people that sense of entitlement, that feeling that the rules only apply to other people or they're just going to break this tiny rule that doesn't even matter, just this one time. Do I ever break the rules??? Yes, I took a bottle of Diet Coke on a ride at Disneyland. How did I justify that, when the sign clearly told me, "No Drinks" allowed. Well after all, I wasn't going to drink it on the ride. I did have the bottle cap screwed on so very tightly, that not one drop was going to escape. I was just carrying it, not drinking it, and after all I did pay good money for it. Come on you know what the prices are like at Disneyland. So do you think that the "exit only" rule breaker has equally good reasons for not following the rules?

The Remoteness of Remotes

Magnetism is one of the Six Fundamental Forces of the Universe, with the other five being Gravity, Duct Tape, Whining, Remote Control, and The Force That Pulls Dogs Toward The Groins Of Strangers.
~Dave Barry

I marvel at the many daily items that are operated by remote controls. Do you realize though, that remotes create distance, they eliminate touch, for all of their convenience they are just one more modern device that separates us from each other. Imagine life controlled by a remote, like that movie, Click. I never saw it however I can't believe it would be a better life with stop action, slow motion, and fast forward. I would rather have a magic wand than a remote control. I would like to wave a wand and have my house spic and span, dinner cooked with fresh ingredients, laundry folded and put away, and the cat box cleaned. Yes, as far as remotes go, I'll stick to the one that works my TV.

Do You See What I See

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.
~Carl Jung

I went to a memorial service today. It was for the brother of a friend. I looked at his birthdate and realized he was six months younger than I am. When I got home and checked my mailbox there was my official AARP membership card. This is what I mean about living each moment because the moments just zip by and pretty soon there are none left. The Bible says, "Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass." Job 14:5 I wonder if my glasses help me "see" into my heart. It's totally up to me to make the most of the gifts that God has given me. Some one told me that when you love what you're doing you've discovered your gifts. So really how do all these rambling thoughts tie together? Like this...Life is short and it's never too late to be what you might have been (to steal a phrase from George Elliot).

Those Daily Routines

So much of our time is spent in preparation, so much in routine, and so much in retrospect, that the amount of each person's genius is confined to a very few hours
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

How many things do you do routinely? When does routine cross the line and become obsessive? When I take a shower I always do the same things in the same order, wash the hair, condition the hair, wash the left arm, wash the right arm. I even dry off in the same pattern every day. Routines are comfortable, they make you feel safe, but they can also stifle and limit you. When you begin to turn down or avoid new experiences for fear of upsetting the routine you have crossed the line.

Oatmeal for Breakfast

One of life's best coping mechanisms is to know the difference between an inconvenience and a problem. If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you've got a problem. Everything else is an inconvenience. Life is inconvenient. Life is lumpy. A lump in the oatmeal, a lump in the throat and a lump in the breast are not the same kind of lump. One needs to learn the difference.
~ Robert Fulghum

It's cold in the morning so oatmeal is made and eaten with relish. not like pickle relish but with extreme enjoyment.. The warmth, the stick to the ribs feeling of it. Those who don't enjoy a bowl of hot oatmeal haven't had it made properly...here's one of my favorite recipes for it Irish Oatmeal . Enjoy

When Life Gives You Scraps Make Quilts

Those who sleep under a quilt, sleep under a blanket of love.
~Unknown

The women in my family quilt. Two of my most prized possessions are the Log Cabin quilt my grandma made me and the Double Wedding Ring quilt my mom made. The quilt I made my first born is now in tatters 31 years later but she still sleeps with it in her pillow case. There's just something so tangible in a quilt, it's like touching love. The time it takes to choose the fabric and the pattern, cut each piece of fabric and then stitch it back together becomes the poetry of life. Think about all the people who have come in to and out of your life. My grandma's favorite quilt pattern was the log cabin, she said it reminded her of her childhood home. That's what quilting is all about. Think about the places you've been and the wonders that you've seen. Each memory is like a scrap of fabric, and when stitched together it becomes the quilt of your lifetime. My quilts are my lifeline to my history, even if someone else just sees an old blanket, I see all the times of my life.

My $500 Blender

“There has always been a food processor in the kitchen. But once upon a time she was usually called the missus or Mom.”

~Sue Berkman

Who in their right mind buys a $500 blender??? I have had a Vita-Mix for the last 30 years. My first one was stainless steel and it mixed up batches of organic babyfood just fine and thank you very much. I have made peanut butter, ice cream, hot soup and even ground wheat to make flour which turned into a lovely, hot, loaf of bread. You want to get the recommended daily allowance of fruits and veggies, well just pop everything in this nifty little tool and drink up on the way to work in the morning! They have a beautiful new model in red, Yum! If only my current one would break down so I could justify the purchase...maybe some deserving smoothie loving person would love a slightly pre-owned (isn't that the used car term these days?) Vita-Mix to call their own. In the meantime, bottoms-up!

An Empty Mailbox

The problem with communication is the illusion that is has occurred.

~Goerge Bernard Shaw

To me an empty mailbox is a metaphor for an empty life. My mailbox is always stuffed full of catalogs and surprise packages, occasionally a card or letter from a friend, magazines, bills (blah!), and the never ending junk. Does that mean my life is full too? You bet. When you're living an empty life you keep peering into that empty mailbox waiting for something to fill it up. But the reality is you have to go and fill it up yourself. I get catalogs because I order from them, I get magazines because I subscribe to them, I get letters because I write letters. The same goes for life...talk to people and they come into your life, give of yourself and your life will be as full as my mailbox!

Did You Drink Your Water Today?

When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.
~Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanac, 1746

Ain't that the truth. My totally Zen purple water bottle leaves the house with me every morning and comes home empty. That's 64oz. people, not a drop in the proverbial bucket! I used to fill it up in the evening at work and leave in in the fridge so it would be waiting for me in the morning, all dewy and glowing. That is until the great e-coli contamination in the city water system. since then, I fill up at home trusting my city's water is safe, or my insides are so used to the critters by now they don't react! Drink Up!

What's in Your Cart Today?

"Anyone who believes the competitive spirit in America is dead has never been in a supermarket when a cashier opens another checkout line."

~Ann Landers

I think that title sounds a little like a commercial about a credit card...I don't know, but I just like the sound of it. I vow to shop with a list and coupons, but does it happen??? Not often. It takes time to plan, and clip, and organize, it sounds like another job to me. I would rather eat the same things week in and week out than have to deal with the whole planning, cooking thing. I even tried the on-line grocery delivery service and they messed up just once and brought me 6 bottles of water instead of 24. Really now, what genius decided that was a suitable replacement? I can hear it now, "Oh my we're out of the cases of water, here I'm sure a 6 pack will be a perfectly acceptable substitute." NOT! I guess I'm still holding a grudge about that, huh?

A Little Ad-Vice

"I drink a lot of Diet Coke and belch. I've been known to use the f word."
~Carter, Helena Bonham

Now there's a gal after my own heart. I don't have many vices but Diet Coke is definitely first on the list. I give it up for long periods of time; but like a bad penny it sneaks its way into my fridge. Before you know it I'm downing 3 or 4 a day. Addicted???? Perhaps! What do you call something that calls to you from the breakroom, that you have to have first thing in the morning or you suffer terrible headaches, that starts off as "just one" little can and then leads to another and yet another. Hmmmm, I sound like any other addict, don't I. Well should I give it up? After all it is the new year, a time for resolutions. Instead, the next time I pop the tab on a fresh can, I'll really take the time to see what it is exactly that I enjoy about it, because come to think of it, a Diet Coke is really not all that delicious!

Confessions of an Exercise Girl

“The resistance that you fight physically in the gym and the resistance that you fight in life can only build a strong character.”

~Arnold Schwarzenegger

I have a confession...I love going to the gym. I love going to the gym very early in the morning. I love parking in my favorite parking spot and running on my favorite treadmill. The music thumping, the pungent smell of the rubber floors and sweat, I love it all.

I also love to make up names and stories about the other early morning exercises. There's Squeaky, who always made her shoes hit the front of the treadmill making an annoying squeaking sound. Even the daggers I shot at her with my laser eyes didn't stop her. Thankfully they got new treadmills and the squeaking stopped. Then there's Boner, I saw him making out with a girl in the parking lot and telling her about his boner...Nice! I recently overheard him talking about his pending divorce...ya think? Oh that's another thing I do...eavesdrop! So watch what you say if you're at the gym early in the morning, Mr. Hobbs might be in the house!

No Weigh...Weigh!

Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the 'Titanic' who waved off the dessert cart.

~ Erma Bombeck

My daily moment with the scale. Will it be a good day or not? Silly how a number can make or break my mood. I'm not and never have been fat but I have had this ongoing battle with my weight since I was fifteen. Is that even possible? Women that say, "Oh, I love my body!" I just don't believe them. I remember thinking that when I reach a certain number on the scale, then I would be happy. This never worked out in the past so I just ended up gaining the weight back. The truth about this whole thing is that I am happy so the number on the scale should have no impact on my mood or my day at all. It should just be a number that I file away in that file cabinet of random facts about myself. The cabinet that I store in the back of the garage I call my mind. Well, this is an epiphany of sorts...I am happy so what I weigh has no bearing on it!

Tomorrow and the next day and the day after that I can face my scale and say, "Oh look today I weigh 130" and the scale will reply "No weigh!"..."Weigh", I'll throw right back at him, and go on about the business of another perfect day!

Living in the Moment

You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.
~ Henry David Thoreau

As 2009 opens up in front of me like a blank sheet of paper I started thinking about "living in the moment". That seems to be a phrase that is tossed around a lot but what does it really mean and is it truly possible?

I spend so much time rushing through my life, looking forward to the weekend, to the next vacation, to the next event, that I think I'm losing sight of those "in the moment" moments. For me living in the moment is about noticing and appreciating all the daily things, people, and places that I simply take for granted. For instance what would my day be like without my morning Diet Coke? How would I get anything done without my trusty laptop? And what about the comfort of an evening cup of tea, a purring kitty on my lap and a phone call from my BFF? Small things that make up everyday of my life but that I'm not taking time to truly experience.

This blog is my way of taking time out to focus on one moment of each day, to catch it and record it, and really live it~