Wishing you and all of yours so much love and joy this Christmas season. Let your hearts be merry and light. xo
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Happy Christmas 2013!
December 20, 2013Flying With the Fairies
October 26, 2011It’s been a hectic time over here. My daughter is in her school play and there have been rehearsals galore, late nights and lots of homework to catch up on after practice. I will be glad when the last performance is done on Saturday! I’ve missed my girl!
In all the hustle bustle, I start wishing for a quiet retreat…I love cute little spaces so much that I devoted a Pinterest page to it~ Dream Writing Spaces. I haven’t gone on Pinterest very often, but when I do, I’m instantly inspired by all the gorgeous photographs. Pretty places inspire me and the treehouses and spectacular little cabins I’ve pinned especially speak to me.
Maybe I should take over Greyley’s playhouse…I can only stand up all the way in the very center of the tiny thing, but…who needs to stand when you’re writing? Hmm…that’s a thought.
Excuse me while I take a stroll down memory lane…
Sniff. OK. Thanks for indulging me. I do miss that little 6 year old girl. But I sure love my 13 year old girl too.
Back to the house. The best part is the inside. My friend, Patricia, painted fairies in there…it’s adorable.
It’s official. I’ve decided. If you can’t find me, I’ll be with the fairies.
Flakey, Flighty or Spacy
October 12, 2011Let’s talk about these three words~ Flakey, Flighty and Spacy. They sound like some unpredictable dwarves, don’t they. I have heard them misused a bit lately and have had to defend myself even about these silly words, so I decided to look them up and see EXACTLY what they mean.
Flakey: To be unreliable, and/or absent-minded, flighty, fickle. Generally irresponsible.
Flighty: Fickle and irresponsible
Spacy: Eccentric; offbeat.
I thought Flighty had a gentler meaning than Flakey, but turns out it’s pretty much on par with Flakey. However, I have always been a defender of Spacy…because I am One. And while there are parts of Flakey I can relate to (Hello, Absent-Minded!), there are other meanings in there that I can’t particularly defend.
We were at lunch with friends a few months ago and one of them said, in a positive and bold voice, “All musicians are flakey.”
(Insert brakes screeching to a halt right HERE.)
Um, what?
Now, I might sound like I can be outspoken since I write on Ye Olde Blogge, but in real life, I keep pretty quiet most of the time. However…since my husband and I are both musicians and so are some of our dear friends, I couldn’t let this one slide. Also…there is nothing that can make my little responsible brain hurt any more than hearing we are unreliable and irresponsible.
I took a deep breath and said, “Not ALL musicians are flakey.” And eventually, “I think you’re misusing the word flakey and might mean spacy.”
This lead to a fun conversation. Truly. Yes, she really was misusing the word a bit, but she also meant exactly what she was saying. She didn’t necessarily mean that WE were irresponsible, but I think the general impression of musicians is still FLAKE in large, raging letters. (We’re fine, still good friends, no harm done.) Let me insert here that this post wasn’t really intended to be about musicians at all, just the words…but while we’re on the subject, yes, I know a lot of flakey musicians too. 🙂 There are also flakey~ Insert Profession Here…
If we do keep musicians in the example, though, I know some of the hardest working musicians and to get where they’ve gotten in life, it hasn’t been through Flakiness or Flightiness.
Spacy, on the other hand…that’s another story.
Since that lunch, I keep hearing these words being misused and I think it is giving Spacy a bad name.
I’ve been told I was weird since junior high and that label has followed me around to this day. My daughter says people at school tell her she’s weird all the time too. The difference is, when I was a kid, I didn’t know what they meant and it hurt my feelings. With my daughter, she knows she’s different and she likes being that way. She loves her weird parents too and loves that we’re an unusual lot.
I do wish I wasn’t so spacy because I could get a lot more done…but here’s the good side of it:
I can imagine whole worlds inside my head. (Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but that’s where stories are made.)
I can visualize what I want things to look like~ pictures, the house, jewelry, etc.
I can cope when things are hard, by not letting it get in too deep…or by going to my imaginative place.
I can tune you out if I don’t like what you’re saying. Ha! Just kidding. Kind of. Call me a FLAKE and I’ll snap out of my SPACE.
I could go on and on about this subject, I think. The truth of the matter is that I probably have ADD or something and shouldn’t be such a Spokesperson for the Spacy, but it’s a label I don’t mind carrying. Let’s save Flakey and Flighty for people we don’t like. 🙂
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Lori
February 24, 2011Things You Think About When You Have The Stomach Flu:
(Warning~ Not for the faint of heart and/or stomach)
1) See Title. Insert your own name.
2) I REALLY wish I hadn’t eaten that Mexican Corn Chowder…or the peanut butter and jelly toast…or the Chipotle Burrito Bowl…or the chocolate sheet cake and snow ice cream…or the cheese & crackers and salami…
3) I recognize that, but I have no idea what THAT is…
4) The toilet bowl is not prettier close-up.
5) I really need to clean this woodwork.
6) This tub feels so good against my cheek. I think I’ll rest here a minute or twenty.
7) 7-UP is delicious going down and not so bad coming up either.
8) God, are you hearing me yet?
9) See #8.
10) I’m sorry for every bad thing I’ve ever done or thought.
11) See title. (Your name)
12) I promise I will never do another wrong thing.
13) I also promise to never eat again.
14) Ouch.
15) Ugh.
16) Oh no. Please. Not again.
17) Maybe if I lie here really still…
18) See title.
19) Hot, cold, hot, cold, hot, cold…
20) Just take me now, Lord.
21) Help me, Lord. Maybe I do kind of want to live.
22) My children need a mother!!!
23) Who is that angel who keeps coming and looking at me with worried eyes?
24) Please take my head. It hurts too much to keep.
25) Sweat, chill, sweat, chill, sweat, chill.
26) Oh, toilet bowl, I thought I was finally done with you.
27) Stomach, you have thoroughly betrayed me. I will never trust you again.
28) You’re the angel! I love you, my husband. Thank you. Please don’t look at me. Or get too close.
29) Maybe you are hearing me, God.
30) Sleep is really, really good~maybe I’ll sleep a day or two.
31) I know you’ve been listening, God. And thank you. Truly, I thank you. I don’t know what I would have done without you. Can I just humbly ask if you could be a little quicker next time? Like, maybe 48 hours quicker? I’m kidding, I’m kidding! But maybe you could give it some thought. Thanks. I love you. Amen.
Fun Galore
November 1, 2010Hello! It feels like I have not been here forever. This has been the week of all weeks. I’m glad to be starting a new one!
Did everyone have a great weekend?
We had such a fun day yesterday. First off, CHURCH! And it was our pre-Thanksgiving dinner service, so the whole sanctuary was filled with tables, we had service and then everyone ate right there in their places.
Straight from there we went to Matt & Tosha’s house for our Halloween party. I had so much to carry~ food to church, food to the party, costumes, etc…that I forgot a few key elements, such as my purse and coat…and CAMERA!!! (Nooooooooo!)
At least we had plenty of sweet potato casserole!
Doggone it, though, I didn’t get all the pictures I wanted. I want to cry a little about it this morning, but I’m going to have some coffee instead.
The kids were sooooo excited for the party. So were the parents…and we all had a grand ole time.
I didn’t realize Indigo was working on his boot during the picture…
Look how everyone has grown over the last year!
And so you can see what my boy was…
That’s right~ Luke Skywalker! I can’t believe he didn’t have his light saber in this picture! It brought me great joy that he was Luke. I have fond childhood memories of my friend’s brother pretending to be Luke Skywalker and it’s just fun to me that without any prodding on my part, here my son is SO into it all these years later.
Turns out, he’s not the only one! His classroom at school was full of Star Wars characters too.
I’m waiting for a bigger picture of Greyley…the top picture doesn’t capture her adorable costume. I will put it up later if I get it.
And hold onto your seats…these characters turned up at the party…what the world?!
I thought they were in Rehab, but they said, “No, no, no…”
I’ll have to tell you a story about that tomorrow…rehab, that is.
We had a feast too~ blast that left behind camera! Tri-tip, Greek Salad, Chips & Guacamole, Potato Salad, The Afore Mentioned Sweet Potato Casserole….mmm, so good.
Hope everyone had a safe and fun weekend. XO
Going Out on a Dying Limb
October 6, 2010My friend, Christa, who has published NOVELS under her belt~ isn’t that awesome!~ has joined the list-making fervor. She’s an awesome writer, blogger, movie critic and I am thrilled that she is taking on the lists! Take a look at her blog over the next few days if you want a great read and if you’re missing all the lists around here.
I’m even sorta missing the lists, so I think I’ll go on over there myself and hang out a while.
But since you’re here…
Something semi-momumental has happened over here…OK, a few things, besides a scooter wreck, my son doing WAY better about kindergarten (although, still having days of tears about going, but NOT once there, hallelujah!) and other general life-changing things…
Maybe it’s not so monumental when I put it in perspective like THAT…but it feels like it should at least be somewhere on the LIST of Big Deals…
I have embraced Fall.
Now before you go and think I am crazy for not loving Fall, let me just remind you~ I grew up with ocean. I grew up with warmth. I have lived in Minnesota for 16 1/2 years and instead of the winters getting easier, they get harder. They last forever and a thousand days. They wear you to a tiny nub. They eke the life right out of ya….they…
Well, you get the point. I’ve sort of taken a disliking to Winter lately…and Fall has just laughed in my face with a HaHaHa, let me show YOU what’s around the corner vibe that I just have NOT taken kindly to!
It has. Fall has been like that. Really. It lures you in and then when you least expect it, Fall snatches the grass right out from under you and puts in its place Snow. Cold. Winter.
But…
THIS Fall…
This Fall has been Amazing.
The days have been perfect. The sun has never shone brighter. The trees are magnificent and they haven’t all blown off of the trees already! There is warmth in the sunshine, but a cool breeze that makes you feel refreshed, not chilly.
I think I have to take back every hateful thing I’ve ever said about Fall.
Knock on wood.
I know this is risky and our love affair is too new to even be speaking this way, but…
I have hope. I have hope that Fall + Me are going to get along Very Well.
At least this year.
But that’s enough for now.
To-Do List
September 17, 2010I’m going to rush the weekend a little and get started on it today.
THE LIST:
Paint Greyley room~ this is her birthday present from us~ a bedroom redo
Hang with Courtney~ she’s helping me paint! Weehaw!
Laugh
Snort
Get out of the doldrums
Embrace Fall (see above)~ this one is very hard for me right now. I’ve become bitter toward Fall since living in Minnesota. I must get over this.
Wash the stamp off my hand from Junk Bonanza~ the most fabulous place EVER
Dance like no one is watching…no one will be. That’s how I roll.
Take back a comforter and replace it with another one and hope and pray that it works and stop saying “and.”
Breathe
Sleep
Think about that cool thing I saw at Junk Bonanza and consider going back and getting it. Maybe. Maybe Not. Maybe. Maybe Not.
The rest is up for discussion.
I bought enough ingredients for S’mores (for G’s party) to last a lifetime. Grab a stick and come over.
There’s A Word For That…
September 10, 2010I enjoy dictionaries.
Words give me a thrill. I wish I knew more of them and what they all mean. There are lots that I think I know, but don’t really have any idea…
Lately, I have learned a lot from the Urban Dictionary. Oh, is it ever entertaining! You will find out so much on there. Be careful, you’ll find out a lot you DIDN’T want to know, too.
Here’s a fun one, just to give you an example…
Snarkoleptic~ One whose snarkiness regularly manifests itself so naturally and fluidly that snarky comments could be delivered even from the depths of beta sleep.
Isn’t that hilarious? Don’t you feel like you know that person?Â
It’s also good when you CANNOT for the life of you figure out those abbreviations that some people text or type on emails…
Thanks, Urban Dictionary for telling me this one…
SMH~ Acronym for ‘shake my head.’
Who knew?
This one struck me funny~ a word that’s been bugging me for a while now. If you use it, I do not judge. I’ve been known to utter it myself a time or twenty.
Random~ The latest buzzword used amongst mindless teenagers as a way of showing just so utterly irreverent their predictable sense of humor is. Particularly dominant among English teens and University students, the word “random” or the act of being “random” is a desperate plea for others to recognize how totally against the grain of the norm you are and that you’re really crazy and out there. Trouble is, being “random” is predictable, boring, moronic and extremely sad indeed.
OUCH! I wouldn’t go that far…but I think it’s time to move on to a new word. How about you?
Doesn’t it just make you want to look up every word you’ve ever thought? Me too. See ya later.
The History of Camouflage
August 11, 2010Camouflage is a method of crypsis—avoidance of observation—that allows an otherwise visible organism or object to remain indiscernible from the surrounding environment through deception. Examples include a tiger’s stripes, the battledress of a modern soldier and a butterfly camouflaging itself as a leaf. The theory of camouflage covers the various strategies which are used to achieve this effect.
Thank you, Wikipedia!
Bugs have been a topic of many recent conversations. It seems there has been a late summer resurgence of bugs…around here, anyway. We came home from Arkansas to a slew of fruit flies. I could hardly blame them~ some bananas had missed my throwing-away radar before we left~ so the flies were having a PARTY when I found them.
I believe I’ve said once or twice or three dozen times on here that I don’t like anything in mass quantity. I really mean it. I don’t.
At church on Sunday, some sort of winged bug had taken over the opposite side of the stage. Thank the good Lord and I’m so sorry, Ashleigh. She got to experience that mass quantity experience by crunching one on her keyboard amp. Eww. And then she saw all the rest of them hovering nearby…Ewwwww!
Yesterday, Jonathan apparently parked around a nest of Box Elder bugs and they greeted him as he was driving down the freeway.
No. I don’t like that. It’s against my religion.
As a child, however, I confess to a slight fascination. And if I am with certain friends (rhymes with Losha 🙂 ), I am the one who is called upon to get rid of the bug. One at a time is not scary. I don’t like bugs in my HOUSE, but I’m comfortable about picking it up and letting it fly into the wild…or whatever I feel like at that particular moment.
My friend, Sara, was mouthing off to me the other day, so I picked up a Daddy Long Legs and dangled it in front of her face. She straightened right up.
If it had been a family of SIX spiders all gathered together, I would have had my gag reflexes going ninety miles an hour.
So, that’s my take on bugs. I think I have a pretty healthy respect for them. They’re not too bad and not too great~in their place, one at a time, and NOT in my house.
I’d just like to say that this post does not in any way apply to TICKS. I hate ticks because one gave me Lyme’s Disease and I will hate them forever. I had one on me over the weekend and I could go into hives when I see one, I get so mad and anxious.
Camouflage~ it really is a cool thought…that you could wear something that is capable of hiding…fading into the background…
I wish I could camouflage myself to ticks. I don’t know WHAT it is that they like about me so much. Wish I could figure it out and sell it as a pheromone and make lots of money.
Alas, that will probably never happen. Perhaps when I get to heaven, I can get close enough to a tick to find out these answers. I wonder if Enquiring Minds will still want to know up there.
Anyway…
I’ve never seen such an amazing example of something that could hide so completely, so cleverly…why, it’s like you can barely make it out at all…
I mean…it really is like it just fades into my skin!
Well…actually…when you turn that way…I’m able to make out a slight profile.
You might need to work on that, my little bug-eyed friend.
Seriously. Have you ever seen a more perfect example of camouflage? I was in awe of this…well…whatever this is. Look at the detail and color on its back! Such detail! Such beautiful colors…absolutely amazing.
And then such delicate wings…
I am in awe of this intricate creature that God took the time and care to make with such loving detail. If He cared that much to create this BUG, how much more lovingly did He design you and me.
And wouldn’t you like to know the first fashion designer who ran into one of these flying things for the first time! I bet inspiration for a garment wasn’t the first thing on their minds!
My Dad’s Thoughts On Marriage
July 9, 2010My mom wrote a wonderful post on Marriage. If you missed it, you can still read it HERE. She certainly qualifies as an expert, in my opinion~ my parents just celebrated their 40th Anniversary on June 26th and are as happy together as ever. Today my dad gives his thoughts on the subject. Can you tell they’re wonderful teachers? They teach the adult Sunday School class together at their church in N. Little Rock, AR.
People get married for different reasons. Many times, people go into a marriage with the idea that they will fix the shortcomings, lacking parts, faults, in their spouse…
IT DOESN”T WORK THAT WAY.
Why did you get married in the first place?
I know why I did and why I still am…
I remember the first time I saw the girl who is now a woman and my wife. I was nine and it was at a youth rally, if you know what that is…she had on this really full skirt and her hair was in a ponytail. She was the prettiest girl I had ever seen and still is….
One of the things I often think about is that after being married to my wife for 40 years, there is no one I would rather spend time with, not during our whole time together. I never feel the need or desire to be away from her. That is not to say I haven’t been away. I fish and I go fishing sometimes~ I always ask her if she would like to go. We used to fish some together, although I don’t believe she was ever as fond of it as I am.
God Created Man, then Woman…
She was to be flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone. He created her from the side of Adam. Not from the head so she could dominate him and not from the feet so he could walk all over her. From his side, because she was to be a helper to him…
My wife has done more and given all to be a helper to me.
God said He would give Adam a help meet. Or, in other words, one to complete him. So God took from Adam and made him complete with a mate. Adam said, “This is flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone.”
Gen 2:21-25Â And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This [is] now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
God and Adam were talking one day in the cool of the day and God was describing Woman to Adam. Someone who was beautiful, could prepare meals with him, help him around the Garden, help him with all the animals, and God’s list went on and on…
Finally Adam said to God, “Wow, someone like that would cost me an arm and a leg…what do you think I could get for a rib?”
With all the things my wife does for me and with me, if I were having to give up body parts in the bargain, there would be nothing left of me. She is really the BEST THING that ever happened to me. Of course, here I will have to interject that I believe we both put God first in our lives, but you understand what I am saying.
There are lists of things that make a good marriage and there is a difference in falling in love and being in love and staying in love…although for me, I don’t know how a person could fall out of love if they were truly in love. I knew from the first time I saw her that I wanted to spend all the time I could with her. We became friends and stayed friends and a lot of water ran under many bridges before I was able to convince her that I was in love with her.
Now about some of these lists, here are a few things:
One is to remember that you don’t always have to be right.
Always respect the other person’s feelings.
Take responsibility for your own mental wellbeing. Don’t blame the other party if you feel worthless.
Share your feelings: “I feel hurt when…” “I am afraid when…” “I think you are saying I’m worthless when you say…
Be ready to talk.
Be ready to listen.
Allow your spouse to be a different person from you, with different attitudes and solutions.
Be ready to sacrifice some of your own personal pleasures and desires for the good of the marriage.
Accept that there are differences between the sexes and try to understand them.
Respect each other.
Recognize that there will be stressful times, and rise to the challenge of managing those times. Understand your needs and your partner’s needs. Understand the marriage’s needs. Then negotiate compromises that take care of both of you and the marriage.
Accept the changes that come with children, including loss of sleep, loss of privacy, and loss of time for each other.
Despite children and work, save a time for each other,
Be flexible. You may have to change your opinions or your lifestyle in response to changing needs of your spouse, or to changes in the world around you.
Be physically affectionate. Hug and touch.
Be faithful. Not only as commonly thought of as in an affair, but in thought, attitude and actions.
Share fun, interests, and friends.
Have a lively sense of humor.
Nurture and support each other.
Care for each other and for the marriage.
Forget whether you’re right or wrong. The question is: Is what you’re doing working or not working?
You don’t fix things by fixing your partner.
Intimacy is so important because it is when we let someone else enter our private world.
Communicate. Make sure your sentences have verbs. Remember that only 7 percent of communication is verbal. Actions and non-verbal communication speak much louder.
And on that note, Kay can read me like a book. A look, the set of my mouth…she knows what I am thinking and believe it or not a lot of the time, she can read my mind.
Now as a side note, Children…remember THEY WILL LEAVE YOU. As much as you love them and care for them and that will never change, you are the parent and will always be even when they are gone. You will again be just two.
We like to talk about how the first miracle Jesus performed was at a marriage. That makes some believe that He thought highly of where he was and what he was doing. He made better wine than what they had been drinking. I find it really thought provoking that Jesus compares Himself as the bridegroom and the church as the bride. To me, hold on to that thought, it should inspire anyone who is married to want their marriage and relationship with each other to be the best it can possibly be…