T is for Today

T is for TODAY because it's Mother's Day.  And what a beautiful Mother's Day it is here in southern Indiana. The sun is shining and birds are tweeting (I'd normally say singing, but since I'm honoring letter T I went with tweeting).  I'm glad we, as a society, have set aside a day for mothers.  Mothering is a very important job.  Most of us, women folk, take it very seriously; that means work.  Work we love and cherish.  My mother has five children.  I am the oldest and remember her hanging clothes on the line, boiling baby bottles, washing cloth diapers, canning fruit and pickles, doing a whole lot of vacuuming and on top of all that she made time to sew us clothes and take us to music lessons.   I marvel at what she was able to do and wonder where she got her energy.  The picture below is of my mother on the left, my daughter Janine, and my father.

My parenting was different from hers; we are from different times.  I didn't have to boil bottles or use cloth diapers.  I had a microwave and pampers.  I spent more time with my children; reading to them, teaching them things, and having fun. I was able to. 

All three of my kids are home this weekend.  Matthew lives in Boston so it's a real treat to have him here.  Suzanne lives in Bloomington and Janine here in Evansville.  We all still enjoy spending time together.  Last night was filled with playing cards/games and lots of laughter.  I feel so fortunate.

                             Matthew                                       Suzanne                                 Janine


Matthew will be getting a PhD in Physics, Suzanne just received her Masters in secondary education (Math and Spanish) and Janine is striving for a degree in Landscape Architecture.

U is for Ugly

ug·ly   /ˈʌgli/

[uhg-lee]
–adjective, -li·er, -li·est.

1. very unattractive or unpleasant to look at; offensive to the sense of beauty; displeasing in appearance.
 dictionary.com.

I read that dictionary definition and yet I can't help but think the ugliest people are the ones stomping around with a bitter attitude.  Those people out there that get pleasure from making others suffer.  Their outer appearance doesn't matter, they are the warts on society.

 People who are made with ugly outside appearances had better have a pleasing personality.  They aren't able to get away with being ornery.  If they do have a hideous attitude, they are ugly to the power of two.

Whether ugly is in a person or an animal, life is bound to be more difficult for them.  We associate looking ugly with being bad and beautiful with being good.  We're automatically repulsed by physical ugliness
and attracted to physical beauty.  So which puppy is liable to find a home?  Which one would be blamed for chewing on the shoe or peeing on the carpet?  There are many studies that find jurors and interviewers are persuaded by physical appearance.  I guess that's one of the reasons people dress up when they're going to a job interview or put on the stand.  Looking for a job is tough for us average people.  Think about how tough it is for someone that is real ugly.  They can put on interview clothes, and not look dressed up.  Maybe this is the next group of people that will unite and demand benefits.  They wouldn't be coming out of the closet--they are denfinetly out already there.  They may demand the right to cosmetic surgery.

A while back I went to a hardware store to buy something small like batteries.  I was in a hurry (like usual) and forced to stand in line.  The man at the cash register was nice looking and probably my daughter's age.  Still I was tapping my foot wishing the kid would hurry up as I had tons of important stuff to do.  Finally it's my turn.  I chit chat with him while I'm signing the receipt and then I notice what I was so blind to see before.  He was using only one hand because his other hand was the size of a small bowling ball!  It was sitting on the counter not being used.  My attitude changed to one of pity, patience, and amazement.
                                                                                             

V is for volunteer

  V is for Volunteer. Volunteers make our society a better place.       

                                                                                             

When we moved to Newburgh in 1999, our children were young.  Matthew, the oldest of our three, was going into 8th grade.  Being a little old fashioned, I felt it was important for one of us to be home with the kids.  Since my husband, Bruce, liked his job and made more money than I ever would, I was the one that stayed home.  Our children were very active in sports, music and scholastics.  It was nice to have the flexibility to go to their games and be more deeply inolved in their lives.  My "volunteering" was devoted to my family. 

As I type this, I'm on my way to my daughter, Suzanne's, graduation.  She will be awarded a masters in secondary education.  Her area of expertise is Math and Spanish.  Needless-to-say, my children are older now.  They are independent.  Where does that leave me? 

   I decided that I should do something more to contribute to society.  Volunteering sounded appealing because of my interest in writing. Altrusa International of Evansville and The Women's Club of Newburgh are  two organizations I chose in my area (southern Indiana).  It's been a blast and I'm proud to be part of something positive.  After all, a person doesn't have to have a paid position to make a difference in life.

W is for Whatever

I gave a talk with food in my teeth, whatever...

I road my bike to church and when I got there saw a hanger sticking out my hat, whatever...

When I was asked how old I was, I forgot, whatever...

I sat in the wrong class on the first day of school, whatever...

The lady that cut my hair kept going, whatever...

I went to buy a soda and the machine vomited coins instead, whatever...

I forgot my neighbor's name, whatever...

 

 I asked when she was due.  Guess what?  She's not.  Whatever...


Sometimes I  shrug my shoulders and say "whatever."  Life is full of embarrassing moments, if we let the embarrassments stick, we'll be cranking out tears and moans all day long.  Laugh at the embarrassment and awkwardness of these experiences and let "Whatever"  be there instead. 


If you have a whatever moment you'd like to share, please share in the comments.  I would love to know I'm not the only one in the world that has had experiences like these.

X is for kiss

When someone signs a card with xxxxxx and ooooooo's, what does the x stand for?  I looked online and wouldn't ya know it, someone posted this very question on http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=450133.  The answer: X is for kiss.

 These days when speaking to people by texting on our cell phone or using the internet, there are many symbols used to say good bye and hello.  I think most of us know that xxxx's and oooo's mean kisses and hugs, knowing which is which is another thing. To make sure we're all on the same page, here is a key for some of the common symbols used to express affection today.

ooo = hugs


xxx = kisses

OOO = big hugs

XXX = big kisses

oo = hugs for everybody but you

OO! = big, excited hugs

CCC = hugs for people you can't quite reach around

OOQ = hugging with tongue

xx@ = kisses and earlobe nibbling

zzz = snoring

yyy = anything that occurs between kissing and snoring"

http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/90q4/hugsf.html

One theory of how the X became the symbol for kiss is looking back to the way of people in the Medieval times. Back then, illiterate people would sign documents with a cross to show their sincerity and then to seal the deal, this cross was kissed.  People hurried the t signature, so the cross would often end up looking like an X.  And also back in the day, Jewish people signed their documents with an O. Now it is used as a symbol of arms embracing.
 

The quote below is sort of gross to think about.  I've seen one too many Saturday Night Live shows displaying the sharing of food in this manner.   I'm thankful that I went to the grocery store to pick up jars of baby food when my children were young. But hey,  it makes sense that the origin of kissing would begin this way. I'm thankful for the evolution of the kiss X.

"Anthropologists think kissing’s origins are to be found in primitive times when mothers chewed food and transferred it directly from their mouths to their babies’ mouths, a method of preparing baby food that is still practiced in some cultures today."    Jul 25, 2004 - © Sharon K. West

freeclipart.com

Y is for Yum

This is a picture of some yummy Ethiopian food.  My friend, Chef Aimee Blume, was with me when I took this photo. Like I said she's a chef and she writes for the Evansville Courier & Press Food Page.  It's fun having a friend like her because I find myself in restaurants I normally wouldn't think to try.  I can be squeamish about trying new foods, especially if there is slime involved.  However, even if I don't eat all the food placed before me, I enjoy hearing someone as knowledgeable as Aimee talk about it. 

The grey bread rolled and piled on that plate wasn't half bad.  It is very soft, almost doughy, and used like a wrap.  The food on the big plate is put on the unrolled bread and then rerolled like lefse.  There are no eating utensils since all the food is eaten using the bread.

As we ate, Ethopian music and dance played on the t.v. screen mounted up high.  The dance movements were subtle meaning slight and the music soft and pleasant.

Someone once told me that what a pregnant woman ate would determine what the unborn child would like later on.  I'm not sure that's true.  It makes sense in a way.  What is yummy in one part of the world is not necessarily yummy everywhere.

Aimee is pictured here Saturday evening at our table full of Korean food.  We cooked our food on that little grill and ate with chop sticks.  This restaurant is in Indianapolis (I forget the name). Aimee and I attended a wonderful writers conference at the Hilton Garden Inn in Indy near the airport.  The food at the conference was yummy too.  It was a great time both at the conference and in restaurants away from where all the writing action took place.

Stripes, Spots and Feathers

On Saturday my husband and I took a trip to a nearby zoo. We were there for about 2 hours and then the rain came and it got cold. So unfortunately we didn’t spend as much time there as we would have liked. We missed seeing the lions and tigers. I am always amazed by the diversity and uniqueness of all the animals. Stripes, spots, feathers and so many other unique characteristics. Of course I had my camera and was able to capture some really unique pictures. I’ve added several already to greeting cards and added funny sayings with them. So much fun! I’ve also added them to other items like mugs, postcards, magnets and postage. Here are some of my favourites! Hope you enjoy them! Come by my store to see more of these amazing creatures.

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