My New Curling Iron

I just had to post this. I bought a new curling iron, a vain but necessary purchase for us gals with thin hair. I read the WARNINGS listed under IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS and thought I'd share some of them with you. Just in case you don't read the warning labels, I wouldn't want any of you to risk electrocution or injury by using a curling iron in the wrong way.

First it states that most electrical appliances are electrically live.
DO NOT use while bathing.
Never use while sleeping.
DO NOT let eyes touch heated surfaces.
And, finally,
Never drop or insert any object into any opening.

There you have it. I hope you were as amused as I was : )

My Favorite Things - Part III

. . . I have to admit that when I started writing My Favorite Things, I didn't know where it would end. It's like that with most things I write about. I start with an idea or in this case, an irritation, and then I quickly type out my thoughts. I pause, pray for words and do a quick re-write. If it is entertaining or meaningful in any way, it's because God heard and answered my prayers. I prayed about what my favorite things really, truly were. I came up with some very poetic things to say but realized I was trying so hard to be poetic and deep that I wasn't being quite authentic. When it came right down to it, my favorite things surprised me. And even a bigger surprise to me was that I wasn't lying when I claimed to not love possessions. My favorite thing ever . . . much to my own surprise . . . is to . . . travel with my family. Yes, Miss Travel Anxiety USA has at the top of her list, travel. Yellowstone, San Francisco, Pacifica, Monteray, Great Falls, WallaWalla, West Palm Beach, Laguna and Mt. Rushmore are the top things that I carry around in my heart as my favorite things. As I say each city I can picture in my minds eye, me and my family in that city, laughing, pointing, sitting, eating . . . living life in abundance . . . enjoying the mountains or ocean, the sunrise or the sunset, the desert or the forest. Life is indeed good. If you bothered to count, you'd see I named only 9 cities. I reserved the last thing on my list of 10 favorite things as a new purple dress. I love that dress, but even more, I love the ladies who loved me enough to tell me I needed a new dress and then took me shopping to find one. Thanks gals.

My Favorite Things - Part II

. . . My favorite things are things that I hold in my heart, not my hands. Some of them are just feelings from memories of special events. Where do we hold our feelings? Science tells us we hold them in our brains, but I feel them in my heart, in the deepest part of me that cannot be touched by hands. In a spot that I can't pin point, but I know is there. It's a spot that Oprah cannot satisfy with iPads or expensive croissants. My favorite things are certainly things that glitter and shine, but in a way that fill my insides with warmth and love and joy. In all fairness to Oprah, her show was about her favorite material things and I do have some favorite material things, but would they make an audience full of people cry? I don't think so. Would a bunch of people cry over a blurry photo or an antique clock or a children's story book? I feel sad for the cheap thrill Oprah's show gave. I say cheap, not as in inexpensive, but as in no lasting value. I guess that's the part the bothered me the most. It was how thrilled everyone was over the material things that Oprah gave them. We are suppose to be gracious when we receive a gift, but to jump up and down and cry over a computer? How long do you think that thrill will last? An hour? A week? For the rest of my life I will remember my 42nd birthday at Yellowstone National Park along the trail that leads to the Upper Falls. I will always think of it when I smell pine. And, if I let myself, I will cry for the joy of the memory. That's one of my favorite things. My favorite other things are . . . to be continued . . .

My Favorite Things - Part I

I sat down today at 4:00 to rest my back and I turned on the television. Oprah was doing her "Oprah's Favorite Things" show. I have to say, it made me feel a little bit sick inside when I saw the audience crying over an iPad touch computer, glitter Ugg boots and a Coach purse. I don't begrudge anyone of having favorite things, but an emotional attachment to a computer that would bring on tears? I don't know . . . it made me feel sick. I cried when my husband gave me a diamond tennis bracelet for our 25th wedding anniversary. And yes, I do love that thing. But I have an emotional attachment to it because my husband of 25 years gave it to me. If Oprah gave it to me, it would just be metal and stones. And honestly, as much as I love that bracelet, it wouldn't make the top 10 list of my favorite things. But it would certainly make the top 10 list of the most expensive things I own. What value would a diamond bracelet be to me if I didn't have the husband who gave it to me? Things are worthless. To quote The Little Prince, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” And to quote Jesus, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." The things I love the most, my favorite things, you just can't put into a package and tie a bow around . . . to be continued . . .

The Photo Contest

I entered this photo in a local photo contest. It's my "Look Who's Eating My Parsley" photo. The contest is a small contest and the amateur division has a 1st Place, 2nd Place, 3rd Place and 2 Honorable Mention Prizes. With five winning spots I thought I had a chance, maybe an honorable mention. I had such positive feedback from my friends - but not my kids. They said, "Ewwww, Mom, it's gross." Did I heed their words? No. I only heard what my itching ears wanted to hear. So, I submitted my photo with confidence.

This photo, "Peaceful Autumn Path" was submitted by son in the student division. It's the fourth year he's submitted a photo for this contest. The first and second year he won 1st Place. The third year, 2nd Place and this year . . . he won 3rd Place. There is a cash award for each place. When the phone call came in, I anxiously waited to hear how my photo fared. She said, "Your son has won 3rd Place this year. It's always a pleasure to see his work. He has a great talent . . . blah, blah, blah . . . we'll send his prize voucher out today." What about me and my caterpillar photo? I looked up the winners on the website. No mention, not even honorable, of me or my photo. Boohoo. When the local paper came out and the contest winners were named I unenthusiastically looked for my son's name. Much to my surprise, while scanning the article I saw my name! Not only did I not win the contest (not even an honorable mention) but my name was listed in the paper among "other participants." In other words, losers. No honorable mention for me . . . just LOSER!

Happy 21st Birthday First Born

My daughter came home last weekend and saw the boy across the street who she used to babysit for and who is now in the 4th grade. She turned to me and said, "Wow, look how big he is. I'm OLD!" Sheesh! She's old?! Imagine how I feel when I see her? I remember the day I found out I was pregnant with her. In those days, you went to the doctor to get such news (on a horse and buggy). I remember exactly how I told my husband, her father; it was one of the happiest days of our lives. I remember the first time I felt her move inside of me. I remember falling in love with her. I remember her first breath, her first cry, her first tooth, her first steps, her first birthday, her first word (it was "Boz", our cat. By the way, don't most kids say Ma or Da first?), her first lie (I told her if she was lying her tongue would turn blue. She ran to the mirror and looked at her tongue and said, "It doesn't work, my tongue's not blue!" I told her only mother's could see and she said, "If you're lying Mommy, will your tongue turn blue?" I knew then I was in trouble.), her first day of school, her first day of summer vacation, her first friend, her first art contest (First Prize - yippee) and so on. So, it's only natural that I want to be the first to wish her a happy twenty-first birthday. Happy Birthday Honey! I love you, I have loved you the longest because you are my first born.

"For you shall go out with joy,

And be led out with peace;

The Mountains and the hills

Shall break forth into singing before you,

And all the trees of the field shall

clap their hands." Isaiah 55:12

Trolls

When my kids were little I made sure that they were exposed only to the nicest things. Good books, good toys, good movies and good people. Stories about puppies and ponies abounded. I never cursed and never let anyone around them curse. I screened everything that came into their little worlds and made sure that only the best entered their spheres. We watched Mary Poppins and Richard Scary. We sang Lullabies and Christmas songs. So imagine my surprise when my children asked me why people beep their horns when they go through tunnels and I responded in a feign scared voice, "It's to scare away the trolls." "W-w-what are trolls?" asked they. And again, much to my surprise, I said, "They are little mean creatures with runny eyes and boogers hanging from their noses. They drool and try to make you pay a toll when you go through the tunnel. If you don't pay the toll they don't let you go. That's why everyone beeps their horns, they hope to scare away the trolls. Should I beep my horn?" "B-B-BEEP MOMMY, BEEP YOUR HORN! HURRY!" they stammered and yelled. I don't know why, but when I think about it I don't even feel a little bad. In fact, it makes me laugh. :-D
Does that make me mean?