This is a topic aimed directly at me! I am a toy person. In fact, sitting right here on the couch with me at this moment are my stuffed Willie the Wildcat that I got for Christmas, my stuffed Freddie the Frurtle (he's a froggie/turtlie looking creature so I call him a Frurtle), and my Wii controller. Toys, toys, everywhere!
However, today's blog isn't supposed to be about my favorite toys now. It's supposed to be about my childhood. So that's where I will start. I am going to add a side note here: Books were always a part of my life and provided hours of entertainment and enjoyment, however, I don't really consider them toys so they won't be included in my list. I just wanted to note that books, like toys, have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. (Thanks Mom and Dad!)
For as long as I can remember, I have been a stuffed animal person. I don't know that there was always a favorite, but I can't remember a time in my life when I didn't have at least one stuffed animal as one of my favorites. In my basement now, I have a stuffed Snoopy from when I was little. He is definitely worse for wear, but he's still in one piece. I was never loyal to a specific type of stuffed animal. I've had raccoons, dogs, bears, mice, squirrels, cats, moose, and the list goes on and on. I have a lot of stuffed animals from childhood and adulthood, so they are definitely favorites.
Dolls were also a favorite. Again, I wasn't very particular. I had dolls that ate, cried, pottied, grew hair, and didn't do anything specific. The potty doll was not a huge hit. Nor was the doll who grew hair once I realized that there wasn't a never ending supply and when you cut it off, it really was gone and wasn't going to grow back. I don't remember being a child who always took a doll with me when we went places, but I'm not sure that was so much about my choice as it was about my parents' choice. I was pretty rough on my dolls. As I already mentioned, I was a hair cutter. I also discovered that cleaning their faces with alcohol was not a good idea as it removed the color from their eyes and made them look truly creepy, which was not improved by my attempt to fix it by painting them myself. I moved from baby dolls to Barbie dolls. I played with Barbies for a whole lot of years. I do remember taking Barbies on vacation, especially if we were going to see cousins who might also have Barbies to play with. I had a lot of Barbies and really enjoyed them for years. I think my mom might still have my Barbies in her basement, initially there in case I had a daughter who might have liked them, now I don't know why they are there. But maybe someone will enjoy them someday.
I played with Fisher Price toys a lot! I know my mom still has those because they are pulled out on holidays for my great niece to play with. We had a lot of sets: airport, house, hospital, castle, and Sesame Street. Those were always fun to play with and I mixed and matched and created stories for all of the adventures. We also had Weebles and a couple of sets of those: ranch and boat. I remember my brother and I doing everything possible to show that Weebles could fall down. :) Those toy sets got plenty of enjoyment and still do with the little ones.
I don't know if crayons and coloring books really count as toys, but I loved (still love) to color. I'm not skilled enough to do my own drawings, but I will attack a coloring book with a focus and precision that completely illustrate my OCD. It never really mattered to me what kind of coloring book I had, the crayons were the key! I had to have a lot of colors so that I could make choices and make things look right. If I was coloring people and their clothes, I made sure that I had complementary colors or a monochromatic color scheme, which wasn't always very pretty. Crayons and coloring books...I really should get mine out and do some coloring again. It is very relaxing.
The last one that really stands out is Play-Doh. I loved playing with Play-Doh...and to be honest, I think I still have a small tub of it in my desk because I love playing with it, especially when I'm stressed. I had some Play-Doh toys, including the hair salon. I spend hours making hair styles and cutting them off. I had molds for different types of food that I could make with my Play-Doh, however, I always had weird colored food because I didn't like mixing up the colors. I was a purist. As I got a little older, I would try and make things out of the Play-Doh. My artistic skills were never as developed as I wanted them to be, but that never stopped me from trying. I seem to remember that my favorite thing to make was a bird in a nest with eggs. It probably didn't look much like a bird, but I thought I was brilliant because I could make it. :)
I could probably go on and on, because I do love my toys! However, I think the ones I've listed probably fall highest into my favorite toys. I had a few electronic games that I liked, and as I mentioned, I have a Wii now, that I love! As I child though, most of my toys were ones where I had to use my imagination to make them really fun and I had more than enough imagination to keep myself entertained for hours. This was a fun look back at childhood. :) And perhaps encouragement to make sure and make time to play as an adult.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
30 Day Challenge - Day 6: My Astrological Sign
Astrology has never really been my thing. I know my sign and occasionally will read my horoscope, but it's not something I'm really that concerns me. I know a little about Capricorns and have always sort of thought that my sign fit me. I know that "goats" are usually stubborn and that definitely describes me. My husband wrote his blog before me so I'm going to use the same site he did for the description of my sign. I'm also going to follow his lead and respond to each description of my sign instead of trying to respond to the whole description.
Capricorn is a feet-on-the-ground, eye-on-the-prize sign. They have a realistic, grounded approach to life that can be seen no matter how dreamy the rest of the birth chart suggests. These people know how to do things, and to get things done.
I would say that I am a realistic person, who is generally very grounded. I just don't know that I would say that I am eye-on-the-prize. It really depends on what "the prize" is. I'm not ambitious, but when I decide that I'm going to do something, very little will derail me.
Some Capricorns naturally turn their backs on things they deem too frivolous. They are very much concerned with things that are worthwhile—and that includes their own lives. Capricorns want to do and be something worthwhile. They need to feel useful and effective in the real world in order to be satisfied with their lives. But the Capricorn spin on the earth signs is that Capricorn possesses a stronger need for recognition in a worldly sense. They have a strong sense of society and its framework, and they feel most secure when they feel they are doing their part within that framework.
There are parts of this that couldn't be less true. I'm all about the frivolous. I love silly little things that make life fun. I fret over the smallest of details when it comes to big projects. However, I like feeling useful. Like most people, I am at my worst when I feel useless. I want to be able to do things, even if I don't choose to do everything that I can. I'm also not a rebel. I do my part to fit within the framework of society and am happy with that. When things are too unstructured, I become uncomfortable.
Capricorns like to pare things down, and take pleasure in the simple things in life. However, many are attracted to status symbols and these ones will wear the best clothes (tasteful ones!) and drive quietly impressive cars.
I do like the simple things in life. I'm honestly not that complicated. However, status symbols do nothing for me. My clothes, car, house, etc. are not the best, but they are perfect for me and generally pretty simple.
Comparing Capricorns to their symbol, the goat, brings up some interesting analogies. Capricorns can see into the future, and plan for it. They don't mind taking things slowly, but they absolutely aim to get to the top of the mountain in life! They make their way steadily and sure-footedly; and their strength and singleness of purpose are admirable.
This part makes it sound like I'm psychic, which I think would be really cool! :) However, this is pretty accurate. I'm a planner and will almost always have a plan for what needs to happen and how to get there. I don't know that I aim to get to the top of the mountain, but I suppose that depends on what the top of the mountain is.
Capricorns can sometimes be rather lonely people, although they rarely let it show. They are often a little reserved—even standoffish. This is generally because they value all things practical, and they'll seldom wear their emotions on their sleeves, unless they have a particularly flamboyant Moon sign.
I must have a "particularly flamboyant Moon sign," because I do show my emotions more than I would like to. However, I am very reserved and that can be seen as being standoffish, though I would never describe myself that way. I don't think it has to do with being practical. I don't get close to a lot of people, but if we do get close, you will most assuredly know that I'm an emotional person.
This is a sign that is surely the most resourceful of the zodiac. To some, Capricorns come across as unimaginative, but they can be enormously creative when it comes to the material world. They are generally very capable people with a strong sense of tradition and responsibility.
Very capable...that isn't a very shining description, is it? Hehehe! I am capable and can be creative if I need to be to make something happen. Unimaginative is not a word I would use to describe myself. I'm not very creative, but I have an active and vivid imagination. Sometimes too vivid. I do have a strong sense of tradition and responsibility, but I'm not tied to tradition if it stops making sense to me.
Many Capricorns have mastered the art of making people laugh. Their sense of humor can be of the deadpan variety—they're generally excellent at keeping a straight face. They can be bitingly sarcastic, too.
I'm not excellent at keeping a straight face. I smile all the time and love to laugh at things, especially things that other people don't find funny. My husband says that I make him laugh more than anyone else, but he has to live with my strangeness all the time so his odds are higher for being amused by me. I tend to be sarcastic, sometimes bitingly so, but I don't know that it makes me funny. I wouldn't say that I can make people laugh, but I can almost always make myself laugh! :)
Capricorns are not known for taking too many risks in life. They value the beaten track and things "tried and true". This is not to say they are stick-in-the-muds — they simply value the hard work laid down by those who've been around before them.
Not taking risks...yeah, that describes me. I'd probably even say that I'm a stick-in-the-mud. I'm not a spontaneous person and don't usually go outside of the box. I'm more of a traditionalist, for better or for worse.
Turn to your Capricorn friends for help when you need to really get things done. They'll have practical advice, and they'll help you organize and manage your life a little better. Capricorns are generally good with their "word", dependable, and rather loyal people.
This is the section that best describes me. I am loyal to a fault and do my best to be dependable. It matters to me to do what I say I'm going to do. I'm hardest on myself when I say I'm going to do something and fail to do it. I don't know that I have practical advice, but I'm always here to help if a friend needs me and will do my best to help figure out a solution.
Basically, I would say that the Capricorn description isn't too far off in describing me. The funniest part for me is that as I looked at all of the signs, there was a part of each sign that described me. I don't know if that is normal or not. Maybe I'm just so unique that I can't be contained by one sign. Maybe I'm all signs...hmmm...I'm every sign, it's all in me (sung to the tune of I'm Every Woman). Hehehehe! I crack myself up!!
See you tomorrow!
Capricorn is a feet-on-the-ground, eye-on-the-prize sign. They have a realistic, grounded approach to life that can be seen no matter how dreamy the rest of the birth chart suggests. These people know how to do things, and to get things done.
I would say that I am a realistic person, who is generally very grounded. I just don't know that I would say that I am eye-on-the-prize. It really depends on what "the prize" is. I'm not ambitious, but when I decide that I'm going to do something, very little will derail me.
Some Capricorns naturally turn their backs on things they deem too frivolous. They are very much concerned with things that are worthwhile—and that includes their own lives. Capricorns want to do and be something worthwhile. They need to feel useful and effective in the real world in order to be satisfied with their lives. But the Capricorn spin on the earth signs is that Capricorn possesses a stronger need for recognition in a worldly sense. They have a strong sense of society and its framework, and they feel most secure when they feel they are doing their part within that framework.
There are parts of this that couldn't be less true. I'm all about the frivolous. I love silly little things that make life fun. I fret over the smallest of details when it comes to big projects. However, I like feeling useful. Like most people, I am at my worst when I feel useless. I want to be able to do things, even if I don't choose to do everything that I can. I'm also not a rebel. I do my part to fit within the framework of society and am happy with that. When things are too unstructured, I become uncomfortable.
Capricorns like to pare things down, and take pleasure in the simple things in life. However, many are attracted to status symbols and these ones will wear the best clothes (tasteful ones!) and drive quietly impressive cars.
I do like the simple things in life. I'm honestly not that complicated. However, status symbols do nothing for me. My clothes, car, house, etc. are not the best, but they are perfect for me and generally pretty simple.
Comparing Capricorns to their symbol, the goat, brings up some interesting analogies. Capricorns can see into the future, and plan for it. They don't mind taking things slowly, but they absolutely aim to get to the top of the mountain in life! They make their way steadily and sure-footedly; and their strength and singleness of purpose are admirable.
This part makes it sound like I'm psychic, which I think would be really cool! :) However, this is pretty accurate. I'm a planner and will almost always have a plan for what needs to happen and how to get there. I don't know that I aim to get to the top of the mountain, but I suppose that depends on what the top of the mountain is.
Capricorns can sometimes be rather lonely people, although they rarely let it show. They are often a little reserved—even standoffish. This is generally because they value all things practical, and they'll seldom wear their emotions on their sleeves, unless they have a particularly flamboyant Moon sign.
I must have a "particularly flamboyant Moon sign," because I do show my emotions more than I would like to. However, I am very reserved and that can be seen as being standoffish, though I would never describe myself that way. I don't think it has to do with being practical. I don't get close to a lot of people, but if we do get close, you will most assuredly know that I'm an emotional person.
This is a sign that is surely the most resourceful of the zodiac. To some, Capricorns come across as unimaginative, but they can be enormously creative when it comes to the material world. They are generally very capable people with a strong sense of tradition and responsibility.
Very capable...that isn't a very shining description, is it? Hehehe! I am capable and can be creative if I need to be to make something happen. Unimaginative is not a word I would use to describe myself. I'm not very creative, but I have an active and vivid imagination. Sometimes too vivid. I do have a strong sense of tradition and responsibility, but I'm not tied to tradition if it stops making sense to me.
Many Capricorns have mastered the art of making people laugh. Their sense of humor can be of the deadpan variety—they're generally excellent at keeping a straight face. They can be bitingly sarcastic, too.
I'm not excellent at keeping a straight face. I smile all the time and love to laugh at things, especially things that other people don't find funny. My husband says that I make him laugh more than anyone else, but he has to live with my strangeness all the time so his odds are higher for being amused by me. I tend to be sarcastic, sometimes bitingly so, but I don't know that it makes me funny. I wouldn't say that I can make people laugh, but I can almost always make myself laugh! :)
Capricorns are not known for taking too many risks in life. They value the beaten track and things "tried and true". This is not to say they are stick-in-the-muds — they simply value the hard work laid down by those who've been around before them.
Not taking risks...yeah, that describes me. I'd probably even say that I'm a stick-in-the-mud. I'm not a spontaneous person and don't usually go outside of the box. I'm more of a traditionalist, for better or for worse.
Turn to your Capricorn friends for help when you need to really get things done. They'll have practical advice, and they'll help you organize and manage your life a little better. Capricorns are generally good with their "word", dependable, and rather loyal people.
This is the section that best describes me. I am loyal to a fault and do my best to be dependable. It matters to me to do what I say I'm going to do. I'm hardest on myself when I say I'm going to do something and fail to do it. I don't know that I have practical advice, but I'm always here to help if a friend needs me and will do my best to help figure out a solution.
Basically, I would say that the Capricorn description isn't too far off in describing me. The funniest part for me is that as I looked at all of the signs, there was a part of each sign that described me. I don't know if that is normal or not. Maybe I'm just so unique that I can't be contained by one sign. Maybe I'm all signs...hmmm...I'm every sign, it's all in me (sung to the tune of I'm Every Woman). Hehehehe! I crack myself up!!
See you tomorrow!
Monday, February 25, 2013
30 Day Challenge - Day 5: My Favorite Comfort Foods
Now here's what I'm talking about! After two days of challenges, we are on a topic that I could talk about for hours! Talking about food is definitely not a problem.
So the post is easy, but the topic is always challenging. As always, I'll start off with a little background. If you are reading this, you are probably aware of my journey to being a healthier person. Food has always been a challenge for me. I am an emotional eater. I always have been. So comfort food has been a big part of my life for most of my life. Lately I've been doing my best not to give in to emotional eating, though it's the hardest of all of my bad habits to break. When I'm upset, my first instinct is to eat. I'm working on finding other coping mechanisms and if I do eat, I try to eat something healthier or make a healthier version of whatever comfort food I want. There are times when I will eat what it is that I'm craving, but I do try and eat less of it and enjoy it instead of just mindlessly eating and/or I will do extra workouts to work it off.
The reason I gave the background is that you will soon discover that my comfort foods are, in general, completely unhealthy and I wanted to explain how that works with all of my lifestyle changes.
Now that all of that is out of the way, here are my comfort foods, in no particular order.
1. Dog-N-Shake chili cheese dogs: I don't remember exactly what it was that got me started with the chili cheese dogs for comfort, but they definitely fall in this category. The butter toasted bun is the kicker for me. It just takes it to the next level.
2. My mom's chocolate sheet cake: This cake was my choice of cake for my birthday for years. It is so rich and delicious and makes me think of happy times. I have the recipe now, which is dangerous, but it is pretty involved so I do all right resisting the temptation to make it.
3. My lasagna: This is one of the only food that Vince and I both have on our comfort food lists. I think I go to this as a comfort food because it is the first thing I was able to make completely from scratch. It's a modification of my mom's lasagna recipe and it was my go to recipe for years. The biggest problem is that it is the opposite of healthy and I'm struggling on how to make it healthier without ruining it.
4. Homemade chocolate chip cookies when they are still warm: I have no specific memories or meaning tied to homemade chocolate chip cookies, but there is just comfort in a warm chocolate chip cookies. They are like a hug for the taste buds.
5. Kucha: This is the closest I can get for the correct spelling of this and none of the recipes that I have seen actually match what I'm thinking about. When I was younger, we would always have bread for breakfast. It was a sort of homemade bread. We took Rhodes rolls and kneaded them into a ball, cover and let it rise, kneaded it again and let it rise overnight. In the morning, you brushed the top with melted butter and sprinkled it with cinnamon and sugar before baking. It was a so delicious and is such a strong memory from when I was young.
6. Vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup mixed up until it is runny: This is one of those things that has really traveled with me from childhood to adulthood. We didn't do a lot of desserts when I was growing up, but it seemed like there was always vanilla ice cream and Hershey's chocolate syrup in the house. It was a favorite of everyone in the family, though I'm the only one who mixes it all up. It's also one of the few times I was allowed to play with my food until it was exactly how I wanted it. So as an adult, I will still mix it up just perfect until it is all melted into a chocolate-y ice cream soup. It makes me smile every time.
I think that's a pretty good list. I thought about putting something healthy on the list, but, honestly, as much as I wracked my brain, I couldn't come up with any healthy foods that are really comfort foods. I have some favorites - grapes, honeycrisp apples, lemon bars (yes, they are healthy), taco "cupcakes" - but they aren't really comfort foods. They would be on a list of my favorite foods, but not the comfort food list.
Hmmmm...maybe it's progress that writing this post didn't make me crave any of my comfort foods. If nothing else, it's interesting to think about. :)
So the post is easy, but the topic is always challenging. As always, I'll start off with a little background. If you are reading this, you are probably aware of my journey to being a healthier person. Food has always been a challenge for me. I am an emotional eater. I always have been. So comfort food has been a big part of my life for most of my life. Lately I've been doing my best not to give in to emotional eating, though it's the hardest of all of my bad habits to break. When I'm upset, my first instinct is to eat. I'm working on finding other coping mechanisms and if I do eat, I try to eat something healthier or make a healthier version of whatever comfort food I want. There are times when I will eat what it is that I'm craving, but I do try and eat less of it and enjoy it instead of just mindlessly eating and/or I will do extra workouts to work it off.
The reason I gave the background is that you will soon discover that my comfort foods are, in general, completely unhealthy and I wanted to explain how that works with all of my lifestyle changes.
Now that all of that is out of the way, here are my comfort foods, in no particular order.
1. Dog-N-Shake chili cheese dogs: I don't remember exactly what it was that got me started with the chili cheese dogs for comfort, but they definitely fall in this category. The butter toasted bun is the kicker for me. It just takes it to the next level.
2. My mom's chocolate sheet cake: This cake was my choice of cake for my birthday for years. It is so rich and delicious and makes me think of happy times. I have the recipe now, which is dangerous, but it is pretty involved so I do all right resisting the temptation to make it.
3. My lasagna: This is one of the only food that Vince and I both have on our comfort food lists. I think I go to this as a comfort food because it is the first thing I was able to make completely from scratch. It's a modification of my mom's lasagna recipe and it was my go to recipe for years. The biggest problem is that it is the opposite of healthy and I'm struggling on how to make it healthier without ruining it.
4. Homemade chocolate chip cookies when they are still warm: I have no specific memories or meaning tied to homemade chocolate chip cookies, but there is just comfort in a warm chocolate chip cookies. They are like a hug for the taste buds.
5. Kucha: This is the closest I can get for the correct spelling of this and none of the recipes that I have seen actually match what I'm thinking about. When I was younger, we would always have bread for breakfast. It was a sort of homemade bread. We took Rhodes rolls and kneaded them into a ball, cover and let it rise, kneaded it again and let it rise overnight. In the morning, you brushed the top with melted butter and sprinkled it with cinnamon and sugar before baking. It was a so delicious and is such a strong memory from when I was young.
6. Vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup mixed up until it is runny: This is one of those things that has really traveled with me from childhood to adulthood. We didn't do a lot of desserts when I was growing up, but it seemed like there was always vanilla ice cream and Hershey's chocolate syrup in the house. It was a favorite of everyone in the family, though I'm the only one who mixes it all up. It's also one of the few times I was allowed to play with my food until it was exactly how I wanted it. So as an adult, I will still mix it up just perfect until it is all melted into a chocolate-y ice cream soup. It makes me smile every time.
I think that's a pretty good list. I thought about putting something healthy on the list, but, honestly, as much as I wracked my brain, I couldn't come up with any healthy foods that are really comfort foods. I have some favorites - grapes, honeycrisp apples, lemon bars (yes, they are healthy), taco "cupcakes" - but they aren't really comfort foods. They would be on a list of my favorite foods, but not the comfort food list.
Hmmmm...maybe it's progress that writing this post didn't make me crave any of my comfort foods. If nothing else, it's interesting to think about. :)
Sunday, February 24, 2013
30 Day Challenge - Day 4: My Views on Religion
Why do I have to have two tough days in a row? Why can't I have a soft ball between days 3 and 4? I guess I should just quit my whining and get started.
So...religion...have I mentioned that religion is one of those topics that I rarely talk about with people that I don't know well? If you think about it, it probably won't surprise most of you as we probably haven't talked about religion. I think the number of people I discuss religion with can be counted on one hand. There is a reason for this. I have a real tendency to avoid discussing highly charged topics because there doesn't seem to be any point. I know what I think and you, most likely, know what you think. Nothing you say will change my opinion and it is unlikely that anything I say will change your opinion. Not to mention that my intention is not to change your opinion.
I was raised with church as a part of my life, though we were never really active in our church. We have almost always attended a Methodist church, which is interesting because my father was raised Mennonite, but we never really went to that church. My brother and I went to Sunday school until we were in junior high school and the family went to church most Sundays, though it was less when Mom was working every other Sunday. We always went to church for religious holidays and frequently went with my grandparents when we were younger. In junior high and part of high school, I was active with my church youth group and participated in youth choir. As I got further into high school, I stopped being as active because I didn't really have anything in common with the other members of the youth group and didn't really feel like I fit in.
I went to college at Southwestern College, which is a Methodist school. We had chapel services on during the week, which I didn't usually attend and forget about getting up early on a Sunday morning to go to church. My sophomore year, I started dating someone who was more interested in religion than I had been, so I started going to chapel more and occasionally attended church on Sundays. My junior year, there was a college age bible study group that was a lot of fun. A lot of my friends were involved and we always had snacks and good discussion. My senior year we continued with the bible study, but it wasn't quite as much fun.
After college, my mom used to bribe my brother and I to go to church with them. If we went to church, they would feed us at home or take us out to eat afterwards. I'm not sure that either of us was truly moved by the spirit as much as by hunger. It was a good time as a family and I never hated going.
When I moved to Connecticut, I did a half hearted search for a church, but didn't find anything that inspired me as much as either sleeping in or going to the beach on a Sunday morning. It was truly powerful to see the beauty God created on a nearly empty beach with very little to distract me. If I'm truly honest, I didn't look too hard and might have found a church if I had been dedicated.
When I moved back to Kansas, I was lucky enough to get involved with an alternative church service at the church I had attended as a child. The service was put together by a group of church members with the pastor, who was the same pastor who lead the bible study we did as juniors that was so much fun and such great fellowship. He was also the pastor who baptized me. We had such a great service with so many people getting involved. It was the most connected I had ever felt to church. We had a small but loyal congregation. The service went on for several years and I continued to love it! Through a series of unfortunate events, the church decided to eliminate the service in the most painful and uncomfortable way possible. The new pastor we had was extremely unfeeling and uncaring and consequently, I ended up leaving the church and haven't found another church since. I haven't been looking because I was hurt so badly by what happened with "my" church.
Now, none of this really tells my views on religion, but gives you some background into me and my experiences. So here go my views: I think religion can be a powerful thing in which many people can find support, comfort, strength, and love. However, it can be used to hurt other people, both on a historical level and a personal one. Religion is human based and as long as humans are involved it will be an imperfect thing. I think it is possible to have a deep and meaningful relationship with God without being aligned with a religion. I'm definitely not condemning religion, because I know many, many people find exactly what they need with their religion and their church. It's just not for me right now. I'll continue to pursue my personal relationship with my God and will find what I need that way.
Hopefully this wasn't too long or rambling, but I didn't think I could explain my views well without giving some background. And for my closing, if you've never been on a nearly empty beach in the morning, I recommend it. For me, it is the pinnacle of the beauty of God in our world. :)
So...religion...have I mentioned that religion is one of those topics that I rarely talk about with people that I don't know well? If you think about it, it probably won't surprise most of you as we probably haven't talked about religion. I think the number of people I discuss religion with can be counted on one hand. There is a reason for this. I have a real tendency to avoid discussing highly charged topics because there doesn't seem to be any point. I know what I think and you, most likely, know what you think. Nothing you say will change my opinion and it is unlikely that anything I say will change your opinion. Not to mention that my intention is not to change your opinion.
I was raised with church as a part of my life, though we were never really active in our church. We have almost always attended a Methodist church, which is interesting because my father was raised Mennonite, but we never really went to that church. My brother and I went to Sunday school until we were in junior high school and the family went to church most Sundays, though it was less when Mom was working every other Sunday. We always went to church for religious holidays and frequently went with my grandparents when we were younger. In junior high and part of high school, I was active with my church youth group and participated in youth choir. As I got further into high school, I stopped being as active because I didn't really have anything in common with the other members of the youth group and didn't really feel like I fit in.
I went to college at Southwestern College, which is a Methodist school. We had chapel services on during the week, which I didn't usually attend and forget about getting up early on a Sunday morning to go to church. My sophomore year, I started dating someone who was more interested in religion than I had been, so I started going to chapel more and occasionally attended church on Sundays. My junior year, there was a college age bible study group that was a lot of fun. A lot of my friends were involved and we always had snacks and good discussion. My senior year we continued with the bible study, but it wasn't quite as much fun.
After college, my mom used to bribe my brother and I to go to church with them. If we went to church, they would feed us at home or take us out to eat afterwards. I'm not sure that either of us was truly moved by the spirit as much as by hunger. It was a good time as a family and I never hated going.
When I moved to Connecticut, I did a half hearted search for a church, but didn't find anything that inspired me as much as either sleeping in or going to the beach on a Sunday morning. It was truly powerful to see the beauty God created on a nearly empty beach with very little to distract me. If I'm truly honest, I didn't look too hard and might have found a church if I had been dedicated.
When I moved back to Kansas, I was lucky enough to get involved with an alternative church service at the church I had attended as a child. The service was put together by a group of church members with the pastor, who was the same pastor who lead the bible study we did as juniors that was so much fun and such great fellowship. He was also the pastor who baptized me. We had such a great service with so many people getting involved. It was the most connected I had ever felt to church. We had a small but loyal congregation. The service went on for several years and I continued to love it! Through a series of unfortunate events, the church decided to eliminate the service in the most painful and uncomfortable way possible. The new pastor we had was extremely unfeeling and uncaring and consequently, I ended up leaving the church and haven't found another church since. I haven't been looking because I was hurt so badly by what happened with "my" church.
Now, none of this really tells my views on religion, but gives you some background into me and my experiences. So here go my views: I think religion can be a powerful thing in which many people can find support, comfort, strength, and love. However, it can be used to hurt other people, both on a historical level and a personal one. Religion is human based and as long as humans are involved it will be an imperfect thing. I think it is possible to have a deep and meaningful relationship with God without being aligned with a religion. I'm definitely not condemning religion, because I know many, many people find exactly what they need with their religion and their church. It's just not for me right now. I'll continue to pursue my personal relationship with my God and will find what I need that way.
Hopefully this wasn't too long or rambling, but I didn't think I could explain my views well without giving some background. And for my closing, if you've never been on a nearly empty beach in the morning, I recommend it. For me, it is the pinnacle of the beauty of God in our world. :)
Thursday, February 21, 2013
30 Day Challenge - Day 3: My Top Five Pet Peeves
I think I've always had pet peeves. I've always had things that get on my nerves. However, as I've gotten older, more and more things annoy me. I am a little worried that I'm going to become that cranky old lady who scares the neighborhood kids because I'm so annoyed by everything. The plus side for me is that I don't really tend to interact with a lot of people in my neighborhood so they probably won't be scared of me. Now I'm concerned that I'm sounding psycho, so I'm going to get to my blog and stop with the introduction.
Here are my top five pet peeves, in no particular order:
1. Being an inconsiderate audience: Being up in front of a group of people is tough. No matter how often you do it or how good you are at it, it isn't an easy thing to do. As an audience member, it doesn't matter what the situation is, you should be polite. Don't talk to the people around you, especially in a loud voice. If the presenter asks you do participate and it isn't unreasonable or ridiculous, do it. They are likely trying to make their presentation interesting and engaging. Don't work on anything else because that is rude and disrespectful. If you are attending a performance, be respectful to all of those around you who are also there to see the performance. It isn't about you. It's about the performers. Think how you would like to be treated if you were the presenter or performer and treat the person that way.
2. Poor customer service: My husband and I have just experienced this. We had some problems with our toilet and called one plumber who didn't really solve our problem. We called a second plumber and they came out and we thought they had solved our problem, but there was an issue with the toilet still running. We called them back and they said they would have someone come out on two different days. We discovered the second time that we weren't even on their calendar. We've walked out of a restaurant without ordering because we were ignored by our waitress. Customer service is huge for me! I will pay a little more to have good service and will never go to a place again or use a service again if the service is bad.
3. Irresponsibility: If you say you are going to do something, do it. If you say you are going to be somewhere, be there. I don't think I need to say anything else about this one.
4. Rudeness: Only in very rare circumstances does being rude have any benefits. Most of the time, it just makes the situation worse. It doesn't hurt anyone to say please, thank you, or excuse me. And on a related note, it doesn't make it better to say "No offense," before you say something offensive. It's still rude. All that does is alert someone that you are planning on being rude. Treat people the way you would like to be treated. It's really that simple.
5. Lashing out at someone just because you are having a rough day or because you are mad at someone else: I know this could fit under rudeness, but I feel strongly enough about this one to make it a separate peeve. I know that people get in bad moods. I know that it is easy to take it out on the nearest person, but that's not right. Just because you are in a bad mood or have had a rough day doesn't mean that you can lash out at someone else. It's not right. It's not okay. And apologizing later, doesn't make it okay either. It's good that you realize you did the wrong thing, but it still isn't okay.
So there are my pet peeves. It was tougher than I thought it would be. I don't know if it was because I had a hard time narrowing it down or because I don't have as many peeves as I thought.
All right. Day 3 is done and it was interesting. See you later today for day 4. :)
Here are my top five pet peeves, in no particular order:
1. Being an inconsiderate audience: Being up in front of a group of people is tough. No matter how often you do it or how good you are at it, it isn't an easy thing to do. As an audience member, it doesn't matter what the situation is, you should be polite. Don't talk to the people around you, especially in a loud voice. If the presenter asks you do participate and it isn't unreasonable or ridiculous, do it. They are likely trying to make their presentation interesting and engaging. Don't work on anything else because that is rude and disrespectful. If you are attending a performance, be respectful to all of those around you who are also there to see the performance. It isn't about you. It's about the performers. Think how you would like to be treated if you were the presenter or performer and treat the person that way.
2. Poor customer service: My husband and I have just experienced this. We had some problems with our toilet and called one plumber who didn't really solve our problem. We called a second plumber and they came out and we thought they had solved our problem, but there was an issue with the toilet still running. We called them back and they said they would have someone come out on two different days. We discovered the second time that we weren't even on their calendar. We've walked out of a restaurant without ordering because we were ignored by our waitress. Customer service is huge for me! I will pay a little more to have good service and will never go to a place again or use a service again if the service is bad.
3. Irresponsibility: If you say you are going to do something, do it. If you say you are going to be somewhere, be there. I don't think I need to say anything else about this one.
4. Rudeness: Only in very rare circumstances does being rude have any benefits. Most of the time, it just makes the situation worse. It doesn't hurt anyone to say please, thank you, or excuse me. And on a related note, it doesn't make it better to say "No offense," before you say something offensive. It's still rude. All that does is alert someone that you are planning on being rude. Treat people the way you would like to be treated. It's really that simple.
5. Lashing out at someone just because you are having a rough day or because you are mad at someone else: I know this could fit under rudeness, but I feel strongly enough about this one to make it a separate peeve. I know that people get in bad moods. I know that it is easy to take it out on the nearest person, but that's not right. Just because you are in a bad mood or have had a rough day doesn't mean that you can lash out at someone else. It's not right. It's not okay. And apologizing later, doesn't make it okay either. It's good that you realize you did the wrong thing, but it still isn't okay.
So there are my pet peeves. It was tougher than I thought it would be. I don't know if it was because I had a hard time narrowing it down or because I don't have as many peeves as I thought.
All right. Day 3 is done and it was interesting. See you later today for day 4. :)
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
30 Day Challenge - Day 2: Where I Want to Be in Ten Years
Day 2...hmmm...this challenge is making me think already. Ten years from now. I might as well get some basics out of the way.
In ten years:
I think the reason that I struggle with this blog post is that I don't see my life changing much in ten years. I'm happily married and don't see that coming to an end before the time that we swore to in our vows. We love our house and have many long term plans that will help make this place even more perfect for us. I like teaching and don't see myself changing professions any time soon. So the majority of things in my life are likely to be very much the same as they are now.
However, there are some things that I know will be different. I am going to be at my goal weight and will have maintained it for several years. By then, I'm sure that I will have developed the habits and routines that make that easier for me. In ten years, I should have done my first half marathon. Yeah, I know, that's a long way to go, but I want to do it at least once, if for no other reason than to say that I have done it. It's something that has always been beyond my reach but now it's not so crazy or unreasonable. I hope to do a 10K this year and will keep working towards my goals and will reach them!
I hope that I will have realized my desire to be a middle school librarian. After years of delaying and excuses, I finally finished my master's degree, passed the Praxis, and am fulling qualified to be a librarian. Unfortunately this is not a great time to have that particular aspiration. In our school district, all high school librarians were replaced with para-professionals and that has happened at one middle school too. This means a lot of librarians without jobs in their field of choice. Not the ideal market to be a newbie looking for a job. Fortunately I'm not without a job waiting for a librarian position. But, if I'm completely honest, whether I'm a librarian or not will have a huge impact on some of the decisions I will make about my future employment. Assuming that "85 and out" will still be an option in ten years, I will be pretty close to the age where I will have a chance to take early retirement. I don't know whether I will be thinking about that much in ten years, but I think about it now.
Well, I think that pretty much covers my life in ten years. It's not real exciting or dramatic or even that much different than it is now. But I think that is a good thing. It means I have a happy and contented life with so much that I have always wanted and a plan to get some of the things that I still want, and hopes that dream will finally come to fruition. It's a pretty good place to be if you are me. :)
So with writing as a daily part of my life, I continue on my journey continuing to realize how lucky and blessed I am.
On a side note, Vince and I just had a dork moment together. We are sitting on our couch writing our blogs for the exact same 30 day challenge that we both are doing. (His blog is here if you are interested in reading it. It's really good!) This blog is a struggle for both of us. We both agreed that we have so much that we have always wanted and the dreams we had have come true with each other. :) Is it any wonder that I love him as much as I do?!?
In ten years:
- I will be 53 years old
- If I continue on with USD 259, I will have been working the district for 28 years
- I will have been married to Vince for 18 years
- We will have been living in our house for 16 years
I think the reason that I struggle with this blog post is that I don't see my life changing much in ten years. I'm happily married and don't see that coming to an end before the time that we swore to in our vows. We love our house and have many long term plans that will help make this place even more perfect for us. I like teaching and don't see myself changing professions any time soon. So the majority of things in my life are likely to be very much the same as they are now.
However, there are some things that I know will be different. I am going to be at my goal weight and will have maintained it for several years. By then, I'm sure that I will have developed the habits and routines that make that easier for me. In ten years, I should have done my first half marathon. Yeah, I know, that's a long way to go, but I want to do it at least once, if for no other reason than to say that I have done it. It's something that has always been beyond my reach but now it's not so crazy or unreasonable. I hope to do a 10K this year and will keep working towards my goals and will reach them!
I hope that I will have realized my desire to be a middle school librarian. After years of delaying and excuses, I finally finished my master's degree, passed the Praxis, and am fulling qualified to be a librarian. Unfortunately this is not a great time to have that particular aspiration. In our school district, all high school librarians were replaced with para-professionals and that has happened at one middle school too. This means a lot of librarians without jobs in their field of choice. Not the ideal market to be a newbie looking for a job. Fortunately I'm not without a job waiting for a librarian position. But, if I'm completely honest, whether I'm a librarian or not will have a huge impact on some of the decisions I will make about my future employment. Assuming that "85 and out" will still be an option in ten years, I will be pretty close to the age where I will have a chance to take early retirement. I don't know whether I will be thinking about that much in ten years, but I think about it now.
Well, I think that pretty much covers my life in ten years. It's not real exciting or dramatic or even that much different than it is now. But I think that is a good thing. It means I have a happy and contented life with so much that I have always wanted and a plan to get some of the things that I still want, and hopes that dream will finally come to fruition. It's a pretty good place to be if you are me. :)
So with writing as a daily part of my life, I continue on my journey continuing to realize how lucky and blessed I am.
On a side note, Vince and I just had a dork moment together. We are sitting on our couch writing our blogs for the exact same 30 day challenge that we both are doing. (His blog is here if you are interested in reading it. It's really good!) This blog is a struggle for both of us. We both agreed that we have so much that we have always wanted and the dreams we had have come true with each other. :) Is it any wonder that I love him as much as I do?!?
Monday, February 18, 2013
30 Day Challenge - Day 1: My Relationship
This is an easy topic for me to write about. The challenge will come in finding new things to say. I talk about Vince and our relationship quite a bit. He's my favorite person in the whole world and I like to gush about him. So my challenge is to come up with a unique blog about our relationship.
Vince and I met online in 1997, before meeting people online was the thing to do. We both went to the same chat program and met through a mutual online friend. She told me that she knew a guy who was a great poet and she thought I would like his poetry. So that was how our conversation started. For a long time, we talked a little here and there, but nothing too deep or meaningful. I wish I could tell you the moment that things changed, but I don't know that there was one specific moment. It was a whole bunch of conversations, a million small things, and a friendship that grew into more than I had ever imagined it would become.
For the first six and a half years we were together, our relationship was long distance. He was living in California and I was living in Connecticut and then Kansas. We spent hours on the phone talking about anything and everything. We really credit that with the strength of our relationship because we talked about everything and there was nothing off limits. We know everything about each other. We shared stories from our childhoods. We talked about our families and friends. We talked about our past relationships and the baggage we carried with us because of them. We talked about our hopes and dreams and started developing dreams together. We talked about our future and made plans for what our life would be like when we were together.
For the first several months we were physically in the same place, I didn't want to let go of him for a minute. It seemed like a dream come true. I was so happy that I didn't know how it could possibly be real. He was here with me and we were together every day. He wasn't going to have to leave me in a week. He was really staying with me and we were together. I know we were both worried about living together and whether it was going to be as great as we hoped and planned for it to be. It was even better than we had thought it would be. We moved from being a couple living separately to a couple living happily together without any problems. It was so smooth and I didn't think it could possibly happen that easily.
Then we moved to being engaged. I almost managed to blow the proposal by having the worst week ever, but Vince was persistent and I said yes, of course. :) For those of you who know me well, you will not be surprised to know that I moved instantly into planner mode. For those of you who know Vince well, you will not be surprised to know that he had no problem with me being the planner and let me go at it. I became a little obsessed with the wedding planning and Vince tried to keep me from going overboard...or at least from sharing all of my obsessed thoughts with him. We managed to get through it all and still wanted to be married to each other, even if I obsessed over cute Hershey's miniatures wrappers and color coordinated M&Ms. Our wedding day was wonderful and beautiful and still stands as the happiest day of my life. Our reception was so much fun. It was a great party and a stupendous way to celebrate with friends, family, and champagne!
Our life since then has continued to be amazing. We've been through so much together: the loss of loved ones, the purchase of a house, a summer of trying to get pregnant and all the issues and hormones that went with that, traveling together instead of away from each other, home repairs, buying a new vehicle, and so many more little things that make up our lives together.
I can't imagine my life without Vince. He is truly the perfect man for me and while our relationship wouldn't work for everyone, it is exactly what we want and need. I couldn't be happier and look forward to seeing where we go from here and know I will have fun as long as he is with me.
Vince and I met online in 1997, before meeting people online was the thing to do. We both went to the same chat program and met through a mutual online friend. She told me that she knew a guy who was a great poet and she thought I would like his poetry. So that was how our conversation started. For a long time, we talked a little here and there, but nothing too deep or meaningful. I wish I could tell you the moment that things changed, but I don't know that there was one specific moment. It was a whole bunch of conversations, a million small things, and a friendship that grew into more than I had ever imagined it would become.
For the first six and a half years we were together, our relationship was long distance. He was living in California and I was living in Connecticut and then Kansas. We spent hours on the phone talking about anything and everything. We really credit that with the strength of our relationship because we talked about everything and there was nothing off limits. We know everything about each other. We shared stories from our childhoods. We talked about our families and friends. We talked about our past relationships and the baggage we carried with us because of them. We talked about our hopes and dreams and started developing dreams together. We talked about our future and made plans for what our life would be like when we were together.
For the first several months we were physically in the same place, I didn't want to let go of him for a minute. It seemed like a dream come true. I was so happy that I didn't know how it could possibly be real. He was here with me and we were together every day. He wasn't going to have to leave me in a week. He was really staying with me and we were together. I know we were both worried about living together and whether it was going to be as great as we hoped and planned for it to be. It was even better than we had thought it would be. We moved from being a couple living separately to a couple living happily together without any problems. It was so smooth and I didn't think it could possibly happen that easily.
Then we moved to being engaged. I almost managed to blow the proposal by having the worst week ever, but Vince was persistent and I said yes, of course. :) For those of you who know me well, you will not be surprised to know that I moved instantly into planner mode. For those of you who know Vince well, you will not be surprised to know that he had no problem with me being the planner and let me go at it. I became a little obsessed with the wedding planning and Vince tried to keep me from going overboard...or at least from sharing all of my obsessed thoughts with him. We managed to get through it all and still wanted to be married to each other, even if I obsessed over cute Hershey's miniatures wrappers and color coordinated M&Ms. Our wedding day was wonderful and beautiful and still stands as the happiest day of my life. Our reception was so much fun. It was a great party and a stupendous way to celebrate with friends, family, and champagne!
Our life since then has continued to be amazing. We've been through so much together: the loss of loved ones, the purchase of a house, a summer of trying to get pregnant and all the issues and hormones that went with that, traveling together instead of away from each other, home repairs, buying a new vehicle, and so many more little things that make up our lives together.
I can't imagine my life without Vince. He is truly the perfect man for me and while our relationship wouldn't work for everyone, it is exactly what we want and need. I couldn't be happier and look forward to seeing where we go from here and know I will have fun as long as he is with me.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Trying something new
I've decided that I want to blog more. I've said a lot about my journey, and I'm not abandoning that. However, I don't always have something to say about that part of my life. So I'm going to try something new: I'm going to do a 30 blogging challenge. I have seen a lot of different challenges out there, but I don't really want to take pictures of everything right now and I don't want to have to write about things I don't care about. So I went to Google and found a challenge that I think I will like.
Here it is:
Here it is:
I know that some of you won't be interested in this part of my blog, but it's a different type of challenge for me that I'm kind of excited about. Hopefully life will be calm enough for the next 30 days that I'll be able to blog every day. That's part of my goal.
I'm going to continue on my journey with a new twist. If nothing else, it's sure to be an interesting ride. :)
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