no bucket list...

I am not a bucket list person. There are a few things I would like to do but if I don't, I am ok with that. Ok, maybe not ok but, grown up about it.

I think being in the Moment is a better option. Always having this controlled list in your head doesn't give you much room for improve. On a whim, we headed to the drive -in movie last week. I don't think it was because summer is waning. It was just a chance to do something the kids had never done.

The truck was loaded up with chairs and blankets. Didn't know if we could bring food in (we could) so we bought popcorn there. Wanted to try the glazed popcorn but they could only pop one kind at a time and had to wait, which they estimated would be half way through the first show, before the glazed would be available. By then, we were busy swatting flies and wrapping the blankets a little tighter.

No bucket list for me...but if we ever got a shot at Disneyworld, I would be over the moon, good...

summer weary...

After a couple of months, especially this summer, the heat just takes it out of you. You have forgotten the snow, the boots, the ever present coat and can't imagine never experiencing them ever again. Tired of sweating, trying to take an evening walk and just plain ready, for a cool down.

Kids go back to school earlier and earlier. School should not start the same week as the State Fair in any state. They also should not expect to wear tank tops and shorts for the next 2 months. School starts after Labor Day, the following Monday to be exact. The crispness of fall is overwhelmingly, all around you. The first day of school outfit should not contain any kind of coat but a few weeks down the road, will require a jacket in the morning.

Part of the lushiness of fall, is being summer weary. We are so excited about the cool down, we don't even realize that in a few short weeks. when Halloween is here, we might be wearing a coat over our costumes. We humans are a fickle people, most of us must ease in, very few can stumble from one season to the next, as if it was one continuous life. We have to take it in pieces, it is too overwhelming to look at the Big Picture.

This guy didn't wake up the whole time my family and many others, walked around him. The talking of the crowd, he had obviously mastered, shutting it all out. He has learned after many years of working at the fair, you have to get it while you can. Great image to learn a good lesson.

The weather guy tells us, we are in for more of the same next week. More summer heat. Will try to keep my weariness down and try to soak it all up, while I can. Sounds like a good recipe for daily living. Tomorrow, here I come...

Wild week...

It has been one crazy, good week. Started with the state fair and Kutless concert on Monday, right into Gage's 11th birthday on Tuesday. Wednesday had a bit of a reprieve but Thursday and Friday are jamming as we spend time with Keaton while everybody else, went back to school. His turn is coming next week.

I love weeks like this. They remind you of how fast time is really going and it feels like you are making the most of every minute. The older I get, the less tolerant I am of wasting time. To me now, that looks like I am not appreciative of day ahead of me. I am not seeing the big picture and now, more than ever, I need to grab the Golden Ring everyday.

Today Pops, Keaton and I am headed downtown Boise. We will hit Whole Foods for lunch, hang out and see how the Trader Joe's construction is coming along. The day could not get better when you have a 14 year old along. He is our joy, our time together is precious.

A little R&R this weekend and one more day with the boy. Missing the other two but we will scoop them up soon and bring them with us.

Everyday is the time to say yes, go and do. Time for me to start. Happy Friday, go and do...

pops...

Sometimes, at the beginning of summer, your name got changed from Papa to Pops. At first, it took a while to catch on. It started with Keaton and then moved to Gage and Miss M. It wasn't just you but also the other Papa Steve. So both of you have been, officially renamed with little to no fanfare.

Not sure I have missed the name bullet. Grandma Sue and I may not be safe. safe but when Keaton answered the phone yesterday, my greeting was, Hey Girl! There was also a lot of Zalaine talk going on yesterday. It makes me laugh because for a long time, Zalaine was too hard for any of them to say.

Chance is inevitable and names are as fluid as anything else in our lives. The only time we have to use the name we have been given is in matters, legal. One could go most of the entire life known as Bubba and no one would question it. The first 20 years of my life, I was Nainie and to this day, if I hear it, I know within 10 people, who is calling me that.

Guess I better get use to Hey Girl, looks like it may be here for a while...

Happy Birthday Gage!

We hit week, running. With school starting on Thursday and one more birthday celebrations, we started with the Idaho Stat Fair on Monday and Tuesday, to celebrate one of my most favorite people. We wills tart early and stay late, much to do and with a kid like this, he just makes our day.

Gage, Pops and I could not be more proud of you. Your sense of humor, your wit, your sarcasm... reminds us of well, us. You are such a wonderful kid, full of all those things they always told us boys were made for and then some. When I pray for you, I always smile. God has made you into this delightful creature that we can all enjoy. I pray for your grandkids and the kind of man you will be to lead them. They are a lucky bunch, although your wife may have her hands full with you, she will be a keeper.

So, go have fun today. Will walk through the day with you and savor each moment. Pops and I love you to infinity and beyond, always have, always will. XO...

Sweet Child of Mine...

We would like God's ways to be like our ways, his judgments to be like our judgments. It is hard for us to understand that he lavishly gives enormous talents to people we would consider unworthy, that he chooses his artists with as calm a disregard of surface moral qualifications as he chooses his saintsMadeleine L Engle.

This one line changed my life. My God got bigger, my faith got stronger and my world changed and the skies opened up.

Bridge Over Troubled Water/, became a battle cry not a suicide mission. At a particularly bad season of life, (the essence of) Love Shack bought me back to corporate worship. Hard to believe.

Dusty Springfield, I Only Want To Be With You.
Barbra Streisand, Papa, Can You Hear Me?
Bill Medley/Jennifer Warnes, I Had The Time Of My Life.
Bonnie Raitt, Something To Talk About.
Black Eyed Peas, I Gotta Feeling.
Whitney Houston, I Have Nothing.

And a favorite of mine. It is my girl's ringtone. I always know it is her, and always brings a smile. Guns and Roses, Sweet Child of MIne

She's got a smile that it seems to me
Reminds me of childhood memories
Where everything
Was as fresh as the bright blue sky
Now and then when I see her face
She takes me away to that
special place
And if I stared too long
I'd probably break down and cry

Sweet child o' mine
Sweet love of mine

She's got eyes of the bluest skies
As if they thought of rain
I hate to look into those eyes
And see an ounce of pain
Her hair reminds me
of a warm safe place
Where as a child I'd hide
And pray for the thunder
And the rain
To quietly pass me by

Sweet child o' mine
Sweet love of mine



Better words for the Love of God? I think not....

collage...

Collage is not a word I would have applied to living life but I think I need to rethink it. Our lives are many, many different pieces that come and go, all fitting together in so kind of mish mash that forms, who we are. None of our pieces do we share with each other, even if there are similarities. Each experience is a brand of sorts on our person and all those experiences, define where we are going. Not who we are but our reaction to said experience. Wouldn't it be something if we look at them like we do a photo poster. 60 experiences that have crossed our path, that have made the mark and the poster because they left that mark, on our minds.

I knew when I did this print that one photo would be in color. The placement would be in the same general area but the day I submitted this to Persnickety Prints, it was the orange pumpkin in that position. The day I got the poster, I decided I would have moved it over one, to the left. That was a different day, a different mindset. Tried other colored photos, a flag, a fire truck, a tree but the pumpkin was the choice and still is.

I know the color represents Something, deep down but I don't know what or why. Whether it is a creative or a lesson placement. My favorite number is 3. It never occurred to me to have 3 photos of color, just one. Always, just one.

We look at our lives in segments, seasons but the reality is as far back as we can remember, the photos were taken. Whether we remember them or not. They are embedded, as most all music in jr high is. We couldn't erase it if we wanted to but Sometimes, we are able to forget. Not music but certainly memories.

I might do this 60 photo collage of my internal thoughts as an exercise, to understand myself better. I don't think there ever is a Time Up on learning. I want be a better wife, mother, nana and friend. I want to Love that God Loves me more than I could ever ask or imagine and remember to live like I believe it. So much to learn, time to get cracking...

Watching Eleanor Longden's, Ted piece on the voices in our heads, stirred up some feelings of pieces to the Me puzzle. While I have never heard audible voices, the sound of addiction is very similar. Anyone who has addiction issues can relate and, I am not talking about the perceived bad ones, but the ones that universally, rule our lives. I never thought about using the thoughts that say, Grab those cookies and keep eating. I never thought that voices could use their powers for good and were here to help, not hinder. She talks about really listening to what one is being told and see a deeper meaning. To think of the voices as warning or teaching, they have always been a negative to me. Not any more, I am going to start treating them with a bit of respect, and working toward what we all want, a healthy person who will continue to be human but can change and grow and heal. Wow.

Her Ted talk is well worth your time and might change your life, I feel it coming my way, can't wait to see what happens next...

you, me and them...

The family.
We were a strange little band of characters,
trudging through life sharing disease,
and toothpaste,
coveting one another's desserts,
hiding shampoo,
borrowing money,
locking each other out of our rooms,
inflicting pain and kissing it,
to heal it in the same instant,
loving,
laughing,
defending,
and trying to figure out the common thread,
that bound us all together. Erma Bombeck

sharing the Love...

Ok, it doesn't always look like this but their love of music certainly bridges the elongated gap. There is nothing quite like sharing a pair of earphones. Do you get the whole musical effect? No. Do you feel that rich, sound and deep bass? No. Are a set of headphones better than a single earpiece? of course, if the music is your goal and Sometimes, it is.

Sometimes, it isn't. I have shared many a earpiece at a basketball or soccer game. There is conversation going on while the music plays on. In one ear, you hear the new and the familiar. In the other, you share in the common experience. There is much to be said about the common experience. I could write a book about it, a big book.

What you give up, you get back ten-fold. You will have time later to pump up the volume but for this little piece of time, enjoy the sharing. Enjoy the Love...

believe...

We all believe in Something. You many or may not, call it God but make no mistake, you have a belief even if it is to not believe.

Saw 2 documentaries last night and they couldn't have appeared to be more different. Johnny Carson and Steve Jobs. Yet, their Stories are very similar. They both had ferocious tempers. When Joan Rivers made the choice to not tell Johnny Carson about her TV deal with Fox, he never spoke to her again. She tried to apologize by phone but he hung up on her. He had made her a permanent guest host and she very well might have gone on to host the Tonight Show but their entire relationship was over in a second.

The same Stories are told of Steve Jobs and his less than stellar ideas on how to treat people. It was said that Carl Sagan was a very good friend of Johnny. It would lead one to believe that you could imagine with a bit of accuracy where his belief system was. Steve Jobs was so sure that he could cure his pancreatic cancer with diet that it would be too late to get help when he decided that he could not.

Everybody believes in Something.

And you might as well be all in. Go big or go home. Give it everything you have got. After all, you believe it, right.

Doesn't matter what the circumstances are. Circumstances are fluid, they are always changing. Your belief doesn't change, it is your reaction to it that is the key to where your affections lie. Choose wisely, make sure that is your final answer and then, go. Go and see if what you have invested everything for, holds up. If it does not, keep looking, keep asking. Don't give up. Ever...