| Terese's profileRemember: Money talksPhotosBlogLists |  Tools  Help |
|
|
May 29 Pro-cras-ti-na-tion is the word du jourpro·cras·ti·nate (verb): to put off intentionally and habitually That's what I'm feeling today. It happens every time I finish a large scrapbook [the only really large projects i have finished]. Hey, maybe I just had an epiphany there.... is that why I have many unfinished projects?? Hmmm, note to self to ponder that later. Whitley's book is finished ~ the pages anyway. I now have to put the pages in the protectors and assemble the actual book. Don't want to. Cuz if it isn't finished then I don't have to give it away. Childish? Me? Nooooooooooo. Of course I'll finish, of course I'll hand it over on Sunday. I'm handing over a piece of my heart ~ each of the girls have a piece of my heart, poured into their book. Again I ask, can I have them to hold for you?  I tried to keep track for a while cuz people always ask how long it takes. I figured, on average, each page took about 3-4 hours. Many of the photos I scanned into the computer and altered before beginning to assemble a page. It truly has been a labor of love. I'm still not working. Husband doesn't seem to care. Now that the project is finished I'm gonna have to find another so I don't get bored. We did get a Family Pass to the local swimming pool. My mom told me that she used to pay $25 - 30 for a season pass when we were kids. We just paid $180 for a family of 4!! And that is pretty cheap. It will be interesting to go to the pool ~ hey, ya know, I just thought of something! I should do in-home child care for the summer?? I'm an accomplished swimmer [my certification has lapsed but I still remember the lifesaving skills] and I would love to take care of a child with disabilities. But how to find them? I am certain the need is there but who would take their kids to someone whose ad they found in a local paper? I wouldn't! Hmmmm, another note to self. Guess that sprang up cuz that sure would fit into my fantasy of being a stay-home mom, going to the pool, cooking dinner in the evening. hahahaha Truly a case of The Grass is Greener Syndrome! Most women fight that pigeon-hole tooth and nail! We all want what we don't have. I'm grateful for what I have...becoming more and more so as time passes. Realizing what my cousin is going thru ~ her baby just had open-heart surgery and is going on week 2 of ICU. whew...that's rough. On that note, I'm off to assembling! Congrats, Whitley!! May 20 SERIOUSLY random thoughtsI think I need to stop making this my title. Ninety percent of my journaling is random ~ just stream of thought. Today is no exception.
 Today or tomorrow I should receive the senior pics I ordered of Whitley for the omnipresent scrapbook. :) [yes, it *is* everywhere all the time!] I'm excited cuz I have an idea for a page using one of the pics. I got out her sisters' senior pictures and was browsing Whitley's proofs to see which one would complement the other two, for hanging on the wall of fame - as Bob calls it. Wow, do they look alike, all at the same age! I see it periodically when I'm working with pics in their younger years, but really didn't see it until I looked at each pic at age 18.
Girls, I'm feeling the love today. :) I could work on these scrapbooks of y'all for a lifetime. There are some photos [like all 3 of you dressed up in Gramma's play clothes] that just make me laugh out loud! You all look so playful and creative, really enjoying childhood. There is another one of you three sitting on the guest room bed at Gramma's reading books. You're all of 7, 3 & 2! Another of the 3 of you playing with that velcro saucer and tennis ball set in Gr & Gr's front yard. I look at these pictures and I can go back in time and hear you running around Gr & Gr's house, playing, being so darn creative. Your high-pitched voices.... Another, you're in that awkward teen stage. Then I run across the picture of you 3 together at the zoo in Dec '06 and I smile ~ all grown up. My girls are young women and you're smiling right at me. I touch it fondly and think to myself, "I couldn't love anyone more than I do these kids." See, you'll always be kids to me. An ex-friend of mine would always tell me that I would never know true love until I held my own child in my arms. I have to respectfully disagree ~ well, clearly, cuz I never gave birth.
 But I've been lucky enough to be with you girls through the years and experience the joy of loving you and knowing your love. I'm so proud of you all! Never forget how much love you've given me and how empty my world would be without you! Can I have your scrapbooks so when I'm old and weary I can peruse them and smile?? Don't worry, I'll leave them to you in my will. I also have to throw out some props to Gramma for *always* always having a camera at the ready! None of you would have the scrapbooks that you do without Gramma's camera! [thank you, Mom] She may not always have the greatest quality but it sure gives us wonderful documentation of years past. Ya know, Great-Grandpa Kime always had a camera in his hand, too. And I'm never far from mine. Guess it's in the family. :)
And another shout out to your Mom and Dad. No matter what was going on in the soap opera of "The Family" they spent time at Gr & Gr's, thus allowing the photos to be taken. I realize this more and more ~ sometimes people just stay away and we miss those precious times.
Ok, Brentwood, your response to my tribute left me thinking ~ you know me, always thinking. Honey, don't EVER ever think you don't have an impact on people! Your vivacious personality is much bigger than you think. You're a part of me, forever. I wouldn't be ME if I hadn't known you! And I cherish you even more now that we're old.
 I guess it also left me thinking that I say the same thing ~ I wonder if I leave footprints on anyone's heart...?? And I must tell myself yes, cuz you *know* I"m equally as vivacious as you!!! hahahahahahaMy cousin's baby had heart surgery yesterday. Sigh.... what a difficult road.
Well, I wanna alphabetize [sp] my CD's ~ yes, I'm one of those ~ and get back to scrappin' so I better close my random thoughts. Guess they weren't as random as I thought they'd be. I run out of steam after a while. ha
Peace on this sunny Tuesday. May 15 Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!Whitley!!! Ya killin' me! It hit me this past weekend that I have only 3 weeks to finish your book!!! Three weeks!!!
So, for the next 15 [currently] days I will be eating, breathing and anxiously scrapbooking! But I'm lovin' it, so no worries.
Btw, I'm loving this book so much I think I'm gonna keep it.
 In fact, can I have yours, Chels & KB, too?? You can have them back when I die. hahahahahaJust saw an ad for Neil Diamond tickets. When do these people quit touring?? Hmmmm Gotta pay the rent, I guess.
May 13 At 45That sounds sooooooooo frickin' old! (as my nieces would say) Whenever I am struck by my age, I think of my Mother. When *she* was 45 she had a daughter who was 25! I can no more imagine having a 25-yr-old than a baby!!! And I thought she was *old* at the time! I don't feel old ~ okay, well, some days I do. :)
At 45 and 4 days I, once again, find myself thinking about how I was raised. How my belief system was formed, consciously and subconsciously. I cut the grass this morning and did some laundry. The mower was too loud to listen to music so I found myself daydreaming [feeding my ADD]. Every time I cut the grass I think of my brothers and I having to take turns going around the yard. "you do a lap now." :) We helped set the table, washed and dried dishes, did laundry, hung out laundry in nice weather, vacuumed, dusted, cleaned our rooms, even cooked a bit. When we were old enough, we got jobs outside the house. It wasn't punishment, just a way of life. We learned to work for what we wanted. I learned early on that my parents didn't have buckets of money to support me.
So, all three of us went on to become self-sufficient adults, having learned the skills as youngsters. A high-school friend recently told me that I was the "brave" one of our group. Having moved far away from Ohio. ?? That is one of the *last* words I would use to describe myself! When I look back, I see a young woman who simply walked through the doors that God opened for me. I had lots of friends who gave me a shoulder (Laura, Christa, Donna). I was anything but brave. Life took me to a wonderful city but, again, not being an heiress to much more than memories, when a job in my field became available in Ohio, I returned. I knew I had to take care of myself.
I became a very independent woman ~ out of necessity. Then I got married. At 45, I'm struggling to find myself. I have all the household "skills" to be a good partner, but I'm also realizing that I learned some things from my parents that I would like to "undo." I don't know how to keep enough of the independent woman I was and yet have a successful marriage? When to stand my ground on issues that are important to me without seeming disrespectful of my partner? At 45, I'm finding myself wanting to make some changes in my relationship. I don't want to be 65 and saying, "I wish I would have...." It sure isn't gonna be easy but I have to do it.
Wish me luck. :) May 08 You asked for it.This entry is dedicated to Brentwood. In case you ever doubt your value in my life, here you go.
[Random thoughts ~ not a lot of time to "pretty them up.]
Where oh where to begin???? Maybe with "The Wizard of Oz", "DooooooooooooooooooooooooorathEEE?" [shaking my head, laughing]
Your sense of humor endeared me to you early on in our lives. Who could take an inside joke and make it a lifelong gag?
Ya know, I'm feeling a little Mary Tyler Moore coming on:
Who can turn the world on with his smile [laugh]
Who can take a nothing day and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile
Well, it's you friend and you should know it
Each laugh and every little way you show it...
Okay, that's pushing it but you do have a way of making me laugh like no other person on earth.
I know you're kind hearted but can dish like any woman.
I know you love God and work to stay faithful yet can be irreverent with the best of 'em.
You're loyal to those you love and care about, no matter the time that has elapsed between connections with a friend.
You love a good gossip fest but will keep a deep secret when you need to.
You're willing to speak the truth, no matter how offensive; and willing to hear it.
You love a good debate! You are soooooooo passionate about what you like/care about/ hate.... your daughter could say "Go Blue! Bucks Suck!" before she could say "Daddy."
You know what I mean when I say Schnitkey, Mr. Poulter, Dig-It, "Barrump
 , Barrump ", "Who Scooped up the Poop"...."You play a C, You get a C; it's simple, it's easy."Things I'll never forget:
* each of us lying at one end of a tiny single dorm-room bed singing songs on a rainy day in college
* Around the World parties and making it down Jeff hill in the snow
* high school parties in your basement
* driving home [5 hours] from college with an entire exhaust system between us in the Pacer ~ like riding a Harley, only worse
* eating like "Kings & Queens"
* big orange robe and crutches
* wonderful harmony that only comes from an altered state of mind ;)
* feeding you and Eric doggie treats
* narrowly missing juvey at one-eyed cemetary!
* Mr. Poulter and friends. Your memory recall is facinating!!!
* your compassion as I dealt with you-know-who over and over and over again
* Kirby salesmen
* starting only *one* fan club in my life. Still a card-carrying member!
* being welcomed into your family and going with D to get icecream at Moore's. Horses behind the place?? Are you sure I moved to the city?
* babysitting V and totally disgregarding your rules [heehee-what bedtime?]
* the only person in the world to call me Terrence
The list is far too great to be comprehensive but hopefully these bring you a smile. And in case your head is swelling, I do know that you are a pig headed male chauvinist and the horrific R-word!! The true hero in this tribute is Mrs DRS ~ for tolerating you and trying to make you a better person all these years.
Lest I ever forget,
It's aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall about Brentwood. All the time.
May 06 Home again, home again, jiggety jig.We're home! Hooray. As much as I enjoy a vacation, I have to admit I enjoy being home. It is a gorgeous day here in Columbus. It strikes me that, although, we live in an all-too-common village of cookie cutter homes near the city, it is gloriously quiet this morning. The sun is streaming into the porch. The scent of lilacs is wafting in the mild breeze. My coffee is delicious and the birds are chirping away at the feeder. And I'm in no rush to change out of my robe. haha Lovely!
How was Florida, you ask? It was nice. The weather was beautiful, the sites were fun...there was just something missing. I still haven't put my finger on what it was.
Disney was nice as well. Never thought I would use such a mild adjective to describe my beloved Disney World. The last time we went I was a big ole kid, enraptured with everything. This time there were some surprises but I didn't walk away with a sense of awe. Hmmmm.
Okay, Epcot was having the flower festival and *that* was so cool! Many characters were created using only flowers. Snow White and the Dwarfs are my favorite - wish the photo was better. And Goofy. I'll add some to my photo albums below.
I must have said 100 times while at the Disney parks, "this is the *slow* season???", and continue to think it now. I was baffled by the amount of people who were there and yet it was supposedly the "slow time of the year." I cannot even imagine the peak season! It was comfortably busy and the weather was warm ~ high 80's, moderate humidity. Just enough. I would rather take a beating, I think, than to subject myself to Disney World in July or August with 110% humidity and temperatures in the high 90's and 5 billion people to contend with!!! blech!
The other interesting thing on the vacation was going to a "time share" presentation. We have never succumbed (sp) to one of those invitations but this time, 1/2 price Disney tickets were being offered so we said "what the heck." No children were with us so we could kill some time. Actually it was quite interesting and dispelled some of the myths we had about Vacation Ownership. If any of you have experience with this, I'd love to hear about it. We're still trying to investigate the pros and cons.
We also went to Kennedy Space Center. I must be so very simple minded because I have a very difficult time justifying space exploration with all the problems we have on Earth. I know we have to keep up with the Joneses and not allow Russia to command space ~ I'm certain there are all kinds of government secrets buried within what the public thinks is all glamorous space travel...blah blahblah. I just shake my head when I hear about schools cutting music and athletics, and elderly being warehoused in nursing homes, etc., and then watch these people tell me how great it will be to someday go to Mars. whatever. Guess that's why I'm me.
Well, I've missed writing and would love to just sit here and type, but .... yeah, that's it. Pardon the pun, but it's my *butt* that tells me to get up!
Have a great day!
|
|
|
