Tag Archives: Nonsense

May Day! May Day!

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Usually the words…may day are screamed from the top of the lungs of a radio operator on a spiraling to the earth jet plane or an underwater submarine that is being attacked, or at least that’s what I attribute it to. This is a hold over from all those times my daddy would watch old black and white movies about war. As bad as I hated those movies, I loved him at home. Since he was always working either at his job or on our farm, something was always having to be fixed; he was rarely in doors just watching TV.

May Day!  was a distress signal…a call for help…but you knew it wouldn’t end well. It would always be such a stressful call for this poor guy who knew the end was near. Today I see it as a sign of summer, the beginning of the end of the school year, the end of my last child’s Freshman year.

How did this happen? He was just born wasn’t he? Our precious little family mascot, so to speak. He was the love of all our lives. When he was born he was nine years after the last one…..a definite caboose! Now we are enduring the end of course tests then final exams. This will be a busy month for him. May is the transition month.

This is the slow swing into the Summer. I will never forget the old saying….March winds a’ blowin’, April Showers bring May flowers! Someday when I too have succumb to great memory loss…(who am I kidding, I am already there!!) I will forever remember that saying. It is like the “It’s a Small World after all” song at Walt Disney World. Once you hear it…it is there for life.

This transition month is the safe time to plant flowers…usually no more harsh weather although, who knows these days. I love May Day! It is a day of freedom. Since I HATE, (yes I said HATE….in ALL CAPS!) Winter, the worst possible time of year, I am thrilled when we get to May Day! The first day of May…ahhhh! What a perfect day. Sunshine and green grass …..before the Sun has scorched away all the pretty vegetation. I know it will happen but, even though it is hot I still like it better than cold cruel winter.

So for this one day in May I will shout to the top of my lungs like a desperate radio operator about to perish....MAY DAY! MAY DAY! What a wonderful time of year! What is to some a sound of pure terror…..to me is is a call to enjoy! Can’t beat that!

Dirty…Dirty…Dirty

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exhibit A: why do we have a ping-pong ball and no table, dog leash #1

Nothing cures a lazy Monday like an episode of Hoarders. Don’t say you have never seen it or even lingered a while enduring the shock and awe of it all. Like a train wreck exploding and stacked up like cord wood, the impossible reality of these poor peoples homes, causes me to ask the question….How did it get this bad and why in H- E- double Hockey sticks are they allowing anyone to film it?

What Dirty little secrets do we all have….laying in wait, that we keep hidden from EVERYONE!!!

How many drawers do you have to open up until you see chaos? Which closet is stacked so high and tight that the very thought of opening can cause a cringe? Guilty, Guilty, Guilty! The good news to me is I know most of us have these issues, hopefully not in the grand scale of these hoarder people but in a small way we all have junk.

Nearly a month ago I went through my ever busting-out closet and thought I had really done well. This was the time,……. even purses and shoes; even that black pair of slip on clog-like ones that I pull out every year for which I hate. I let them all go…joyfully! After several (meaning more than three–lots more!)  black garbage bags (to hide the evidence) taken to the Goodwill drop off station, I swear if it doesn’t appear to still be too full. I have a date with that room and this time I will keep no alliances…I will never fit into those clothes again and if I do its time to be out of the ’90’s!

I actually used to pride myself for keeping a short stash of junk. My sister-in-law would praise me for not having storage rooms full of stuff still boxed up from previous moves. I hate that! I can not stand to have all that stuff not being used or just there. My husband knew when I had a cleaning binge hit me…things came up missing and I am still searching for a set of NASCAR Tickets that he lost. Notice I put all blame on him! I just know I didn’t lose them…..to be honest I think my gut tells me I may have disposed of them on a clean sweep moment. Not that I will ever cop to that for sure..since we have no real evidence.

Exhibit B: another leash, out of date (I am told) adding machine thingy, random crayons….junk!

Before anyone accuses me of being a clean freak….far far far from that. I am momentarily a clean freak. But these television shows give me cause to become one. Given the right timing I can see this happening………”but for the grace of GOD go I!”

I don’t think I am a hoarder so much, I am more of a lazy follow through-er……(they all say that!!!) But I will continue to try. As long as my need to streamline is greater than my slow response mode I will survive.

I think it all breaks down to HOPE. Hope for better,  Hope for one’s life led free from the frustration from it all. I can never get so bummed I just stop….give up.

So I wonder? Anyone else out there with dirty drawers..(dresser drawers NOT britches!..I am southern but, T.M.I) Anyone who has more than one junk drawer? Anyone that keeps too much craft stuff because on the next rainy day you are going to do all those cute crafts you see on Pinterest? Too many house magazines piled up? So much stuff it makes dusting the worst job ever?

Image
Apparently we need to keep the scores of our card games!! hmmm and WoW! real film?

Let me know I am not alone…help a sister out here! I have issues I know, but I vow to continue one day at a time to get it right.

My heart goes out to the ones who can’t help themselves and shame on me for my dirty, dirty little secrets………. hidden!

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Listen up!

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The Band Perry EP The Band Perry EP (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is a beautiful song that has been on the charts for a while by a group called, The Band Perry, that is so haunting. I had to listen to it a few times to really get it…then I had to Google the lyrics because there was one line that is stellar! The lines are so good yet sad all at the same time.

No truer statement has been penned and I have included it here(in bold):

The Band Perry

A penny for my thoughts, oh no, I’ll sell ’em for a dollar
They’re worth so much more after I’m a goner
And maybe then you’ll hear the words I been singin’
Funny when you’re dead how people start listenin’

As a Mother I can relate to this line and even more, as a writer I can really feel it. Day in day out I type and ponder and attempt to bear my soul and share my heart. Maybe I am mistaken to do this, probably am…but this is just how I roll.

I guess I am attempting to record my memories and voice for my children and grandchildren, or at least I like to tell myself that. SO kids, did you know that Daisies are my very favorite flower, above all others? Did you know that my greatest joy is seeing your smiles? Did you know I have had the most fun of anyone you will ever know, in my life?…..as well as great sadness? Did you know that my need to be heard is so overwhelming it occupies too many of my thoughts…every day?.

The happiest flower in the world

Actually, if I were to be real about it….I have a voice and I know how to use it! If I am the only one who reads it..okay! After I started reading other blogs I saw that I am not so profound at all, not that I thought I was but I see that I am no different than most other people.

Most of us don’t actually live up to our gifting and abilities and seem to look forward to what can be…someday. This exercise in telling of my life is one step in doing what feels right for me. I also think it is probably the calm before the storm. I figure one day I will not be able to keep the filter up so well and really tell it like it is!

That will be when they take my computer away from me and I will have to kick it old school again with paper and pen journaling…..at this point it seems like such a daunting way to do it. Can’t believe I ever wrote all those words. Someday they will find them and confirm that I really was crazy!

It would be nice though if people would start listenin’ now!

Reuse, Recycle, Remove?

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World-famous Crayola crayons are manufactured ...
World-famous Crayola crayons are manufactured in Easton. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I am a frustrated minimalist. Anyone who knows me would probably laugh at that statement…makes me laugh saying it. The key word is frustrated! In my mind I want to live without so much baggage….all this stuff that needs picking up and put away, stuff that needs cleaned, dusted and repaired…..stuff that fills my head with bothersome chatter.

The flip side is that I tend to love some stuff. I would rather hold a book in my hand, the glossy magazine with house beautiful stuff than the cute little NOOK that my husband bought for me. Sweet as it was, cool as it is, it just isn’t the same. I can’t smell it or should I say it doesn’t smell as good, nothing like the smell of a new book or magazine only comparable to the new car smell. And while I am on smells, another piece of stuff…new box of Crayola crayons that I must periodically buy just because…oh the smell, mmmmmm!

I also love dishes, one thing that I share with my mother-in-law. She has some great ones and I always understand her reason for buying more. I like to pick up eclectic ones, old ones, hipster styles as well as old-fashioned. I can’t ever decide on one certain kind, they are all so beautiful works of art. A beautifully set table is a stellar first impression. I love to see a pretty table set, like buying cut flowers just to enjoy, a waste of money maybe but it is worth it.

I also have a stash of keepsakes, baby quilts and first outfits, school papers, drawings and pictures. All put away for safe keeping only to be looked at during one of those days when rearranging is done…my cleaning out binge hits and I run across the treasures. Is all this stuff useless baggage or treasures? I say treasures and even though it is baggage it is important stuff. It is my memories.

The stuff that is problematic is the daily stuff…mail, dirty clothes, dirty dishes…clean dishes still in the dishwasher yet not put away, the three pair of shoes I keep tripping over, plastic glasses left all over the house by the people who shall remain nameless…grrrr! All the little silly stuff that seems to grow overnight, try as I might to keep things picked up and in order it seems to grow as fast as mushrooms…sprouting up before you know it.

Then I have the hidden stuff in my heart, the hurts and fears; disappointments and discouragements; loss of family and lost friendships…..the stuff I hold against people and the stuff I never said but should have. If I am ever successful in the life of a minimalist I hope it begins with my heart. Some days it gets overwhelming to weed through it all and make sense of the day. Life is so short and if I could wish one thing it would be to be really clear with my decisions to what is in the keep pile and what goes in the discard file.

Reuse, Recycle, Remove?

Love Birds

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If my memory serves me correctly, the old classic movie, Alfred Hitchcock s, The Birds (which by the way scared the you know what out of a whole generation, including me!) was based on a joke and these two love birds that the beautiful actress, Tippi Hedron who played Melanie purchased for Mitch, who was played by the oh so dreamy Rod Taylor who, was very suave in his flirtations and the misfortune of the young ingenue turned into a frightening twist of fate…..all because she was playing a joke. I had always thought that the Love Birds were part of the problem also and the presence of them on that island caused a stir in the atmosphere. The other birds didn’t like them! I would yell at the television…..”let the birds go”!!!!!!!! Sacrifice them, set them free, then maybe the scary birds might leave.

This brings me to my point (I do usually have one even if it does take me a while to get to it!). When there are Love Birds the scary birds try to get in between them. Something about LOVE that causes the masses to gang up and peck away….peck, peck, peck….little by little because apparently being happy makes angry birds mad! BUT….the good news is….. Matthew 19:26 –Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” After thirty years of marriage (YES…..30!!!) I can say truthfully that what started as a dare from my roommate at the time (she dared me to ask that cute blonde guy out and of course I did!) has ended up a love affair that has not ended. He was the one…..!

Our life has not been without trials and the peck, peck, peck of angry birds. No one gets through this life without them. But I know that we have always put GOD first before even our own wants and HE has kept us true to one another. We married young and stupid which was a blessing and if anyone of our kids do the same thing I will lock them in a room!! I can not even think about the horror his parents must have felt at the thought of their precious only son bringing home this scraggly girl and even more asked if I could live with them for a few months before we were married. Makes my blood pressure go up at the thought of one of our kids asking that question. Lord that would be too much! But they did it and I was so smitten with this guy I was willing to follow every rule. Soon they helped us find a little house, cheap rent and a little creepy but all ours. We were married on this day April 24, 1982 on a Saturday afternoon. Happy Anniversary my sweet husband! We were on our way!

Within a year we were able to build a little house (remember the previous scripture! It was the only way!) and found out our first-born was on the way. He would be a boy and life as I knew it would be gone. I read in a book once that stated … having kids is like a tattoo on your face…… Eat, Love Pray by Elizabeth Gilbert. Well that about sizes it up, there is no getting rid of it! A life of joy when a baby arrives and of course the peck, peck, peck of evil haters! Raising children isn’t always easy….The story goes on, more children…girl, boy then nine years later boy again and many moves and life changes. But through it all, I have laughed and loved bigger than anyone I know. This man I married gave me a life of joy and peace and love as well as knowledge of a savior for which I had ever known or been taught. This man I married led me into a world better than I could ever had thought possible. I had always, my whole life wanted to live in New York, NY but I can after 30 years say I haven’t missed a thing!

If he sticks with me for another 30 plus I look forward to even more love and fun and passion and he still is the man of my dreams. We are two LOVE BIRDS that are loving life in our cage, protected from all the angry birds out there. We have probably broken a few records, I know there were people who sat in the church and watched us marry who felt confident we wouldn’t make it and to be honest…who knew we would? I know I was determined to go longer than my own parents and back to that scripture again…HE was on our side! So for anyone who has hopes of marriage and the chance of it lasting….look up. It can and will be the most fun, aggravating, frustrating, laughable, scary, meaningful decision you may ever make. I am not sure if we had counted the costs and really planned so much if we would have either one followed through with it, we just went with our hearts and I knew I had found a keeper!

I am thankful for him and his life lived before me and our children as a testimony of faith and he still makes me blush my heart leap. No one ever loved me the way he does and I him and forever will I be thankful for the life we have had.

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Oh Brother!

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ImageGrowing up in a large family can be at best, the most awesome time of ones life and at the worst, the most awesome time of ones life! I can speak of this first hand since I am the youngest child in a family of five kids. Yes the answer is clear now……the reason why I am what I am….I am the youngest child which makes me….the BABY! The last and bottom rung of the ladder….the bottom step in the stair steps of young uns’ in our family. But, someone had to be the first step…the jumping off point, if you will, to the beginnings of our clan which brings me to my thoughts for this day.

This is the special day that my big brother was born…nine years before me…the leader of the pack! I can not even describe the amount of adoration I have always had for my brother. It was borderline sheer worship at different times in my life…..who could blame me? He is the only son, my only brother and as old as he is in reference to me…that nine years was a huge gap. A gap that has always been more like a “grand canyon-esque” hole and I spent most of my teenage years yearning for his attention. Sadly he wasn’t there….at nineteen he volunteered and entered the Vietnam War.

Needless to say It was very hard to see him leave. Timing is everything. This exodus coincided with the season of change our family was in. My father had left us, high and dry, so to speak, they sold my beloved farm and my Mom, Me and two sisters moved “to town”. Since we lived in the country it was a big deal, at least to me. City schools and city kids and a world of adventure as well as fear.It’s tough on those mean streets!

My brother went through all his basic training and ended up becoming an ARMY helicopter pilot which no one was more prouder than me. But he gave up so much, he was in college, left his home and family but to him he probably chose the lesser of the two worlds. Life was hard for the oldest child back then, this beautiful boy who grew up fishing and hunting as well as being made to work like a mine mule. I think he was living the dream on one hand on our beloved farm but still having to “man up” to my father’s demands.

I was always intrigued by his bedroom and always wanted to sneak in there and see what secrets it held. I was reminded of his room many years later when I opened the door of my eldest sons room and there was an undeniable “boy scent!” It took me straight back to those days of standing at my brother’s door daring myself to enter in……chicken as I was I never did, but that scent of sweaty man boy was the same. Funny how things like that stick in your mind or should I say senses, just like the fact I can’t pick up a book without smelling it. Yep, I am weird! His kingdom was one that I had never trod but I desperately wanted in. The next few years were filled with anticipation and fear. I can not even bear to feel the pain our Mom must have felt knowing her baby was so far away in a War. This is one emotion I never want to feel. Breaks my heart for her but he seemed to take it in stride and had a big adventure….in case anyone ever wondered…he was the one who saved so many people as well as single-handed kept the bad guys at bay. He was/is an American HERO and there has never been any question about that.

When he came back from defending the American Way (Superman wasn’t the only one!) he went and met a girl and got married! About the time I thought he was coming back home…to ME! he gets married!!! Who does she think she is….. this hateful girl…I was not happy about this news and I was in a pout for a good while…even when I went to the wedding, I acted okay but I was mad on the inside. I had lost him for ever! I was never going to really get to know him. Probably a good thing because if I had ever learned of his frailties or human-ness I may have been crushed. In my world he is larger than life. Nobody had a greater big brother than me and if they ever tested that fact I would prove them wrong….I had my list of his bravery! I did get a few bonuses…the time he came home in his Shelby Cobra and he picked me up at high school….boy was that a thrill and I had to be the coolest Oakland High School girl ever! I eventually accepted this chick who stole my brother…..truthfully, I LOVED HER! She was kind and very sweet to me, I couldn’t keep from loving her. A few years later they made me an aunt and I was even more enamored with this beautiful little boy. Then they had another boy and these two were precious.

Later on they were transferred to a base closer to home which was great. I was able to go there to visit, stay the weekend and one time I was invited to go on base to a dance with them. Although I was a little disappointed because none of the guys gave me much attention…someone said it was because I was his sister and the word was…steer clear! So in that case, I wasn’t offended….even though I thought I was pretty cute back then…(ha-ha) it was even better that he was being protective. Ahhhh the best feeling ever! Though I think if my memory serves me I ended up figuring out how to bypass his protection….I was in college for Pete’s sake…a gal’s gotta flirt!

I have always been a little sister and have been blessed with great siblings who never really picked on me, they always nurtured me and looked out for me and my love for them all is BIG. My brother was always kind of mystery which probably was a preview to marrying a man…..seems like they all are a mystery to some extent. I always compared every guy I ever dated to my brother. Sadly my father wasn’t my role model, I loved him but he was absent enough to not be first and foremost. My brother was the perfect Man in my world. Oh the mocking I have endured because of my gushing about my brother. I just take it in stride and proudly laugh because I know he is amazing and I don’t care who I tell.

The years have kept us apart but he was there for me to walk me down the aisle on my most important day. The sweetest part was when I stated, as we were nearly walking in that…” I didn’t want to do all this!” meaning walking in and being stared at (the most embarrassing thing on earth) he quickly responded…”if this isn’t what you want we can go right out the back door!” AWEEE how sweet! “NO” I said, “I want to marry him I just don’t want to be stared at!” I really was bashful way back when!! So after I explained, we were good to go. he held my hand and I was so proud to have him by my side. It was just like I was a fairy princess. My favorite man was taking me to my new favorite man….it doesn’t get much sweeter than that. There have been other times in my life since then that he has been there for me…I have called him to pour out my heart, ask for help and counsel and sometimes just to shoot the breeze. Not that he is a big talker…but he is a good listener…not that he could get a word in edge wise with me anyways!

Distance and time has been the enemy of our relationship as it is for most siblings. We grow up and away, create new lives apart from our childhood, but I cant help but feel like the squirt kid sister when I am with them all at one time. I bow to their pecking order, keep my place and enjoy the placement of my step in this stair step world of brothers and sisters. We know each other in a unique way…we know each others history, real or like-real in our own minds. I know my fantasy life I built around my brother is mostly just that. But it is my memory and I can keep it in my heart just the way I want to.

Happy Birthday Big Brother! I love you and am proud to know you. You have enriched my life more than you will ever know.

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Dear Diary

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Dear Diary!

20120420-090733.jpgDay two walking around the block with Buddy … oh boy! I was dragging my big feet along only to be shown up by this skippy little friend of mine … ugh, man’s best friend my foot!

He could have cared less that I was in mortal pain and, as much as I want to blame it on my bum foot, I really can’t. It’s my pumpkin shaped, lard filled, jiggle-jiggle body! Dear Diary…..must loose weight!

We actually walked twenty-five minutes this time, went wild and did a random cul-de-sac which Buddy thought would have some interesting smells, but to his disappointment, in the same way Yukon Cornelius from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer responded … th, th, th, nutin’! He literally seemed disgusted. But hey, we got five more minutes on our “walk one hour a day” goal.

20120420-090757.jpgI must say my zeal wasn’t like it was yesterday. It was windy. Yep, that was it, it was the winds fault! That works for me. As I sit here unable to move … ugh!, and I think I am smelly … time for a shower, this leading by example part is a killer. I have committed to taking an active role in my health and well-being.

It is amazing how much thinkin’ you can accomplish out there on the walking trek … which is probably why I like it so much. Sometimes I nearly drive myself crazy thinkin’ so much. The only person I know who seems to be like me is my youngest son and he chatters like me too, we are quite a combo!

Dear Diary, tomorrow is not a school day and I don’t have to be up early. Lord, help me get up and walk!

I guess I do owe it to Buddy! We are gonna have to go a different direction for some new smells and some pretty flower specimens, though. There is always something for both of us!

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MOM or 666!

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My darling daughter let me in on her private (not so much any more) secret that makes her giggle every time she calls me on her cell phone. I must say it is pretty funny although it does involve mean and cruel jokes at my expense. It appears that on her phone she can type the word MOM and the numbers that show up are 666!

“NO WAY!!!” I respond but, to my dismay it is true! Kinda makes you wonder about, way back when Alexander Graham Bell was toying with this new fangled idea of a way to communicate…the Telephone, he possibly…”accidentally”….. “on purpose”… worked it out that the “O” and “M” letters would be on the same key and end up with the dreaded sign of the ANTICHRIST! He could have quite easily had “M and N” on a number and let “O” dangle over there with “P”...I mean he was the one designing the darn thing!

Could it have been that the memories of his own sainted mother rang out in a nagging voice, during this time of inspiration and invention, reminding him of all the late night sessions of creativity of his godly mother (telling him to turn the light off and go to bed!)….who only loves her son Alex and wants him to get a good nights sleep and eat well and do good in school and meet a nice girl and settle down and…and…and….all those things mothers for centuries have wanted for their children…could it be that he might have possibly jumbled those letters up all on one number, just to have his own private joke?I shutter to think it and at the same time I would be so proud of him!

Or was this just the luck of the draw and became a treat for all those kids who just now and then need a laugh? Odds are good that is the case but it is comforting, as a mother, that my kids are overjoyed when they type my name in their phone and be reminded…..”don’t mess with ME….I am dangerous!!!” Children have really so little true power, ultimately we do hold the keys to the kingdom and it is little comfort to them to once in a while they get to …”stick it to the MAN!”…or MOM in this case.

It has not been that long ago (well, I am lying it has, go with me here!) that I was one of those kids and I too would have liked to get my mom once in a while. I seem to remember a dread full pleated skirt that I thought made be look huge…I was like 4’11” and weighed probably all of 98lbs….yep I was soooo huge! Makes me gag thinking how skinny I once was! But to me, then..those pleats all the way around that ugly skirt were awful! and I NEVER WORE THE SKIRT!…never even had the tags off, hung in my closet till it eventually disappeared. Send it to the poor girls around the world that “would love to have a nice ugly skirt”….but I did hear about it over and over…blah, blah,blah!

But because ..what goes around comes around, I too have my wars with my precious God sent angel face little girl and I think it probably was over an outfit. Funny how I have so little memories of those arguments with my own daughter…hmm, selective memory I would guess! The last time I mentioned that atrocious skirt of mine to my MOM she rolled her eyes and had no memories of it either….ouch, I feel ya Momma!

The great thing about this funny quip is that we all dial that MOM number a lot….and the coincidence is just that and I hope that my girl never stops. Just don’t fret I am a writer ya know! I have my ways to retaliate!!

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GRACE

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What is GRACE?

It is something I can not earn, I have no possibilities of containing or holding or even controlling, hence my fears. It is not a commodity but a gift.

Maybe I am the only one who has difficulty with gifts? I love to give them but it is hard to receive them! Is it false humility or real humility or what?

I have come to the conclusion it is a born-in-us feeling of unworthiness. As if, I haven’t earned it so why would anyone give me a gift? It is a skill to learn, to be a receiver of gifts. I still have a hard time with it but after many “awe shucks, you shouldn’t haves …” I am able to at least graciously accept it. It is rude to not, actually, and it is offensive to the giver.

The giver is a candidate for a blessing, that is what the Bible says — give and it shall be given to you, pressed down and running over (paraphrased). That sounds to me like it is pretty good. I can always take some running over of blessings.

In our life we have been receivers of many great blessings. We have been blessed to know many great people who have loved us unconditionally and have helped to make our lives a bit easier. Many times I have guilt because I feel like I want to be the giver — more. But one precious woman told me one day, “your family does give, everyday with your service.” In a way she kinda rebuked me but in kindness. She wanted me to know we were important and not to sell ourselves short. What we do does make a difference!

AHHH GRACE!

This life we have been called to live is an important one. Most days I feel less than worthy to even claim I am a follower of Christ. Bad press for Jesus I think and that he doesn’t need the headache of me dragging along taking up space. But NO, he loves me and allows me to stand for HIM in every day of my life.He is a big GOD and he can take even my worst days. It is all about HIM and making sure I don’t come to the end of my life without the knowledge that I have shown someone the way to truth.

Argue all you want — don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!

First page of the Gospel of Mark, by Sargis Pi...

People are lined up saying the Bible is just a nice book written by men, mortal men (emphasis on men (not women)) but you show me someone who says that and I would bet that they have never read it in full! That is one thing I would wager to say is truth!

It is alive with a theme that runs from the table of contents to the maps — God is real, God is LOVE, Jesus is HIS SON, and salvation is through Jesus.

We can put whatever denominational name we want on GOD. It is all rubbish. I could care less if someone is a “kind” of Christian denomination. What I care about is, do you follow Jesus? Have you given HIM your whole heart? Do you make decisions based on your walk with the Lord?

The only way to do this is through GRACE.

I am unable to be a good person and I have proved that. Only through the GRACE of GOD can I be what HE has for me to be. And that is all I ever want.

Okay finished with my rant!

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Ice Cream makes me nervous!

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Maybe I am the only one that seems to have problems when eating an ice cream cone!?!

The dilemma is when you ask the soft serve ice cream server to only give you about half the size he usually does and he stares at you like just asked for it free! What is so weird? Why would it matter to him? Saves money for the store. I only want a smaller amount of ice cream and NO I don’t want to reduce the price! I don’t mind paying the full amount. I’m just incapable of eating that much ice cream! Silly as it sounds but, I can’t!

Even though I am so happy to be back in East TN and, even more, the beautiful Cades Cove Park which is a “loop” that’s very scenic. 20120323-182638.jpgAlso fun to do on a hay wagon but, on this day we were in a car. After our drive we go into the park store with all the sweet souvenirs, Smokey Bear and all, and buy the best one of all — soft-serve Mayfield brand ice cream. Only the best, I must say and the cones were HUGE. More than I could eat (believe it or not!) and I just wanted less, no tricks Sir, just can not eat it all.

After the funny looks, he was kind enough to back off a bit though it was still too much, we go outside to bird watch and to my joy — a red-headed woodpecker, one of my favorite birds. They could not be cuter! I do have a history with these birds. We had one that lived in the trees for a season at our home and I enjoyed watching him so much.

So the trouble of keeping my cone from melting all over my hand while attempting to watch the cool bird was more than I could stand! Ugh!! Silly Ice cream! Makes me so nervous trying to eat fast enough to keep up with the incessant melting.

Geeez we can send a man to the moon and we can’t make ice cream give us a break! Drip, drip, slurp!

And the eventual squishing of the excess ice cream out of the cone — wasting good ice cream, which was my goal to avoid to begin with! Let’s just be real. The cone was my goal in the first place. The ice cream was only the means to an end. So after several brain freezes and nervous moments of OCD fears of the chocolate drips ending up on the front of my shirt (bad thing while away from home (a limited amount of clothing packed!) the woodpecker left us. My shirt was still clean and I finally got to eat the cone.

Onward for more fun on our vacation weekend! And more opportunity for nervousness!20120324-185504.jpg

What-a-ya-gonna-do.com! Ha ha!

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