Baby it's cold outside!

Pillow Fight

Soft and fluffy
rest inducing stuffy

not a chance in my bed
where I lay my head

waiting for that silent lul
instead
nightmares permeate my skull

up I rise
screaming
terrorized

shake with fear
sometimes tears

'til I open my eyes
and realize
it was only a dream

"Not a dream!"
"I am your past!"
It screams

cry
sigh
say goodbye

lay down my head
try again

my nightly pillow fight

goodnight?

~ Lynn Retzlaff

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving

I stepped outside this morning and saw frost on the ground.

Appreciation for its beauty swept over me, quickly followed by gratitude for a warm home.

My mind wandered back a few years to an interview I did with the president of a local homeless shelter. They supply warmth, food, bus passes, help with job hunting, and other resources.

The winters in the Midwest can be brutal and have bouts of temperatures dipping down well below zero. The homeless shelters fill quickly and they have to turn people away. It is heartbreaking.

This Thanksgiving, take a moment to reflect on all you have to be thankful for. Perhaps you can follow that moment with an act of loving kindness and give someone less fortunate something to be thankful for as well. It could be something as simple as helping an elderly person carry their groceries to the store, or signing up at a local church to serve Thanksgiving dinner, a donation of money to a local charity to house the homeless and help them get back on their feet. If everyone gave a little, it would add up to a lot.

One drop equals a ripple.

Thousands of drops together make waves.

A few drops to consider this Thanksgiving...

Feed America

Help the Homeless

Project Linus

Random

Monday

What a day!

Lots to do in little time.

In honor of my non-focused, rush filled day,

I share with you a bit of random.

Going to order THIS for hubby for Christmas.

Or maybe THIS.

Eh, what the heck! I'll get both!

Free photo editing fun for the whole family! Easy breezy.

40 high quality photo effects done online

A gorgeous movement of L♥VE.

Seriously. These feelings flashcards are THE BEST!

Should be in every classroom, every home, everywhere!!!

Love Them!!!!

 I am soooo going to make these delicious tarts!

Gigi is awesome!

Whew! That should keep you busy!

Just for good measure, I will show you my two new Etsy listings as of today.

Quaker vintage Vat fabric

vintage tins

If interested, you can find them HERE.

Umm... yeah... What do you think?

 

 

Any of my readers have teenagers?

 

My son knows I love music so he played me a song.

I instantly took to it. Such an upbeat tempo and fun sound.

My hearing sucks so my son knew by my exuberant reaction

I was most likely not hearing the words clearly.

So he asked, "Do you know what they're saying?"

Me, "um... not really, but it sounds pretty fun!"

Son, "here are the lyrics"

And he showed them to me.

And I was a little disturbed.

I'm not sure how to feel.

The song is so upbeat sounding. 

The message so dark.
I'm all for freedom of expression

but the views on this video are like 40 MILLION!!!!

The youth are listening and listening hard.

Do they hear a serious message?

Do they hear fun?

Do they take it as freedom of expression?

or

Do they feel empowered and imagine how good it would feel?

It's just such a bizarre feeling for me as I like the sound, 

the feel, the beat,

except...

 it's giving all that upbeat entertainment with dark lyrics.

Perhaps that is what it's supposed to do.

Get me thinking, discussing, questioning.

 Below is the video and lyrics that have me thinking.

What's your view?

 For all you peeps (like me) not up on today's teen lingo,

"pumped up kicks" (according to my son) are expensive tennis shoes worn by the "rich kids".

Then again, we're small town folk so what does he know.  ;0)

Pumped Up Kicks (lyrics)
Foster The People

Robert's got a quick hand.  
He's looking 'round the room, he won't tell you his plan.  
He's got a rolled cigarette, hanging out his mouth he's a cowboy kid.  
Yeah, he found a six shooter gun.
In his dad's closet with a box of fun things, I don't even know what.  
But he's coming for you, yeah, he's coming for you.

[Chorus x2:] 
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks, 
you'd better run, better run, 
outrun my gun.  
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks, 
you'd better run, better run, 
faster than my bullet.

Daddy works a long day.  
He's coming home late, yeah, he's coming home late.  
And he's bringing me a surprise.  
His dinner's in the kitchen and it's packed in ice.

I've waited for a long time.  
Yet the slide of my hand is now a quick pulled trigger,  
I reason with my cigarette,  
And say your hair's on fire, you must have lost your wits, yeah.

[Chorus x2:] 
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks, 
you'd better run, better run, 
outrun my gun.  
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks, 
you'd better run, better run, 
faster than my bullet.

Run, run, run, run, ru- ru- ru- run, run, run, ru- ru- ru- run, run, run, 
ru- ru- ru- run, ru- run, run, run, run. [Whistling]

[Chorus x3:] 
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks, 
you'd better run, better run, 
outrun my gun.  
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks, 
you'd better run, better run, 
faster than my bullet.

Warning!!!!

You know those cute little curly bulbs on the market?

The money savers?

The long lasting ones?

CFL's

Do you also know they contain mercury?

as do the long florescent ones?

We did.

What we didn't know was how obnoxious the clean-up is.

We had a bulb break the other night during dinner preparation.
Not sure how to deal with the clean-up and proper disposal,

we headed to the government site on how to do it.

Um... Yeah.

What a nightmare evening we had.

I highly recommend you do the same.

Be prepared.

It isn't pretty.

If you don't follow the directions, you may not have a thoroughly cleaned area.

Think contamination.

Mercury is a heavy metal.

Exposure adds up over time.

It does not leave the body.

The affects can be devastating.

I'm not posting this to scare anyone.

I am posting this to educate.

I don't think most people know how hazardous they are.

I don't think most people know how to properly deal with a break.

I learned the hard way.

I want my kids safe wherever they go.

Please read the US EPA on clean up

HERE

and the information on bulbs and recycling 

HERE

Tell me what you think.

I know I will be investing in LED lights from now on.

My experience with CFL's are that they don't last as long as the manufacturer claims.

Do you know why?

Because they are not built to be turned on and off, on and off.

The switching of power wears on them and they burn out prematurely.

All these years of practice turning off the lights when not in use

are now the premature death sentence to today's long lasting bulb.

Be Present

Be mindful.

Time is relative.

Often, it is relatively fleeting.

I was riding in the car two nights ago when I noticed the moon.

A huge, low hanging moon overlooking the city.

I am fascinated by the sky and all the wonders it serves up.

I wanted nothing more than to capture that delicious moon.

Rush, rush, rush went the cars.

"Must reach destination." thought my husband.

Me? I was enamored by the moon.
My little digital and I tried and tried but could not capture the moon at such speed.

Instead, we caught the perfect example of what happens when we don't take the time to slow down.

If one is not careful, life can flash by in a blur.

Look back to the past for a moment, plan for the future at times,

but live your life in the present moment.

It's call the Present because it is a gift!

 

 

Justification

Justification - A magical word that can turn any bad idea into a good one. 

*wink*wink*

Today's Dove dark chocolate says, "Take good care of yourself. Love, Dove"

Childlike Wonder

There's something about zebras that bring out the childlike wonder in me.

Their stripes are so bold, so exact, so... fake looking!

I've seen horses my whole life and the zebra looks like a horse in striped pajamas.

They appear to be imaginary. They are entirely too amazing to be real.

Zebras were always my favorite zoo animal by far.

When my local zoo took the zebras out, I was heartbroken.

Guess where I found them?

Near a local amusement park wandering the fields free and happy.

(as free as a large fenced field allows)

I was giggling with glee when I took the park's mini-train ride and spotted them grazing.

I could ride that train all day just to get a glimpse of this gorgeous creature.

Staring at them makes me feel like a child again.

They free my sense of wonder.

What frees your sense of wonder?

I challenge you to find something this weekend that wakes your inner child.

Give yourself permission to play!

Minute by Minute

Life

Time

~~~

Valuable

Fleeting

I had an eye opening first few hours of my day today.

It really has me thinking about life.

The big picture.

The little things.

What matters.

Love

I woke all my children and one by one helped them get ready for school,

hugged them goodbye, told them I loved them and wished them a happy day.

Joy

I stood at the patio door and watched the world through a rain streaked window.

The cold, dreary morning was not bringing me down, rather, I enjoyed watching the raindrops race to the bottom and felt happy to have a warm, safe house from which to watch the cold, dank weather.

Sorrow

I sat at my computer to check on my fellow bloggers.

Tears swelled and ran down my face just as the rain runs down my window.

I found out one of my fellow bloggers was just diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer.

Such a talented, vibrant, wonderful woman.

She needs prayers. I am sending them in mass.

Gratitude

Another blogger had a video on her blog this morning.

It was so inspiring and touching and important that I plan on using it as a morning meditation.

It is touching, inspiring and beautiful.

Visit the link. You will be moved.

Two little hours were filled with so very much.

Life

Time

~~~ 

Valuable

Fleeting

Make every moment count.

Pondering One of Life's Big Questions

I went to physical therapy yesterday.

The town is a good half hour away.

long drive + morning tea = bathroom break

I ask where the bathroom is as I am new to the place.

"Right there by the archway." was the response from the receptionist.

I walk to the archway which is also the opening to the lobby.

I enter the ginormous bathroom and shut the door behind.

Huston we have a problem.

The lock.

It's one of those long handled (push down) door deals

with a single button in the middle.

Push to lock.

Ha! Push to lock.

Whaaaaat?

Here comes the "Big Question"

Why would anyone install a PUSH LOCK handle on a public bathroom door that opens

DIRECTLY INTO A LOBBY!!!!!!!

I try to make it a quick go.

I can hardly go.

All I can do is stare at that damned push button.

Did I push it in securely?

Is it all the way in?

How do I know it's really locked?

You can't test it. If you push down on the handle,

it will either open because it was never locked or open because you opened it by pushing down the handle.

You would have to start all over with the pushing and checking.

All I can do is hope the button is sufficiently pushed in and that it is indeed a functioning button that locks.

Once seated the doubting began.

What if someone tries to open the door to see if the bathroom is vacant?

It will open wide, exposing me on the toilet, to the whole lobby!

Aaack!!!!

I can't go. But I have to go.

Oh no! Nervous bladder!
This is taking entirely too long, insuring my odds that someone else will have to use the facility and in turn, will check the door for vacancy.

I can do this... I can do this...

...Sweet relief.

But now I have to WIPE!!!!

What's worse than being caught sitting on a toilet in front of a whole lobby of people?

Being caught WIPING in front of a whole lobby of people.

Or worse yet, standing to pull up your pants.

Aaack!!! I'm paralyzed on The Can!!!

Maybe I can take a wad of paper and run quickly behind the door.

That would be an embarrassing predicament to be caught in...
but if I run real fast.....

made it!!!!

Much safer back here.

(wipe wipe wipe)

Whoever designed that dreaded toilet was obviously NOT planning on using it.

They should have 

A. placed the toilet to the backside of the door (not in direct sight to the lobby)

B. installed a BETTER LOCK!!!!

Perhaps a turn lock.

One where you can clearly see from a sitting position whether it is locked or unlocked

thus insuring user of facility 100% discretion security.

Seriously people!

THIS.... is an example of a proper knob.

Locked

 Unlocked

Any contractors, designers, purchasers of knobs out there who can answer my question?

And please don't tell me I'm the only one who fears the dreaded public bathroom push lock!

Pure & Natural Talent

Wow!

So many beautiful people in the world.

 Don't forget that as you go about your day.

Feeling blue?

Smile and think of these two.

;0)

One of THOSE days

(NaNoWriMo Day 2)

spirit's low

money non-existent

word count lacking

body aching

chaos surrounds

covet others' brilliance addictively

lack action with self

 muse calls

pop pill

must

write

representation of my current state of mind

Do You NaNo?

It's that time of year again.

Not holiday shopping.

Not turkey time.

NaNo time!!!

National Novel Writer's Month

Every year I join.

Every year I get a bit further.

This year I will fight to reach the end!

Due to the mass volume of words required per day

plus the other commitments I find myself in

plus the busy life I lead

in addition to not being 100% yet...

I am going to challenge myself to keep up with my blog

(as I truly love it here)

by following the motto

K.I.S.S.

(keep it simple sweetheart)

Today's message brought to you by

Count Cat-ula!

Do you NaNo?