What’s your favorite word?
Isn’t that a fun word to say! It is a humorous sounding word for a not so humorous situation. It means commotion or fuss, especially one caused by conflicting views.
I’m guessing there will be a kerfuffle or two in families over the next few weeks as we approach the “voting season.” Maybe there were one or two kerfuffles over the debate last night! Hee Hee!! 🙈🙉🙊
What are you doing this evening?
Watching the presidential debate between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Nothing earth-shattering to report. In my opinion, if an Independent was watching, I doubt they were swayed one way or the other.
I’m also thinking of my dad. Today would have been his 85th birthday. He passed away this last January. It would have been interesting to hear his take on the debate. He was a Trump supporter who liked the economy when Trump was in office.
It was a rough day. One thing I did not anticipate upon my dad’s death was my brother moving in with my mom and how that would change the dynamics of my relationship with my mom. He is divorced, and in his 50’s, so he is not responsible for anyone else. He and I have not really ever been on the same “sense of responsibility” scale.
My worry is that he will take advantage of our mom financially. But, I believe we are only taken advantage of as far as we allow it… unless there is a mind altering substance involved. In this situation, there is none of that. So, I just have to trust he has her best interest at heart. Maybe now that I know my mom feels good about relying on my brother, my husband and I can move to an area in a warmer climate.
I’m feeling a little lost. Our children are grown and raising families of their own. My mom doesn’t need us like I thought she would. My sister is happily married, working, and nearing retirement. Maybe I should quit my job, sell the house, and, as I mentioned, take my retired husband and move to a warmer part of the country. All of my family lives here in my hometown. There are a lot of memories here. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Maybe a new start in a new place with people our own age (haha) would not be so bad.
The question is, where? Nevada, where there are no taxes? California, where the governor scares me? Arizona? New Mexico? Southern Utah, where the dirt is red? Let the dreaming begin! (Or figuring out I am just feeling emotional and trying to run away from it all!)
My husband and his unconditional love amazes me! So grateful he is willing to ride this rollercoaster of a life with me!
Why do you blog?
I like to blog for the challenge of filling the blank canvas (screen) with a thought or two. Plus, I love seeing the words fill the page.
Back in 2010, I started a blog because my friend and I were walking and talking and laughing and I said that we should write down some of our funny experiences from our daily walks. As it turned out, she was funny when talking, but could not convert those same thoughts in writing. So, I blogged my own thoughts and experiences… which was not quite as funny as when we were together, but it was ok… except the story about our bikes and a dog…
One time, instead of walking, we decided to go for long (in our opinion) bike ride. Our ride took us over five miles on winding country roads, ending at a bridge over the fast flowing Snake River, a favorite place for fly fishing.
We were enjoying our ride along farmground, trees, and houses spread out beautifully along the way. My friend was riding a little ahead of me when suddenly there appeared a medium-sized barking dog that came shooting across the lawn from the house.
When this sort of thing happens, you find out really fast who your friends are. My friend left me in the dust! She was nothing but a blur… GONE! I peddled as fast as I could to catch up to her. She finally slowed her bike to a stop. I started laughing when I pulled my bike up behind her. I said she must have learned that lesson about how to avoid being eaten by a bear. You simply have to run faster than your friend! She and I laughed so hard!
She shared a story about a time, as a teenager, she went to knock on the door at her friend’s house and the friend’s very large dog came running around the corner straight at her. She felt trapped and so scared… so scared that she fainted right there on the doorstep! She has had a fear of dogs ever since that day.
Anyway, we made it safely to our destination and back home again.
Sharing stories is also another reason I like to blog. 😉
What daily habit do you do that improves your quality of life?
I don’t do as many good daily habits as I know I should for better health and attitude. Oh sure, I get up early, shower, and brush my teeth every day before heading off to work.
The things I want to do are: get up before hitting the snooze button three times, exercise for 30 minutes to get my blood pumping and release those all important endorphins to start my day right, and read the scriptures to focus my heart and spirit on the good things. What a great start that would be for my body, mind, and spirit!
My husband and I were reading scriptures and praying together every night before bed. It was great for our spiritual growth as well as connecting us at the end of every day because of the great discussions we had while reading. Then, he had a major surgery that kept us apart for 10 weeks while he was recovering. We got out of the habit of reading and praying together.
Not only that, but I started down a destructive path of reading material that put questions in my mind about everything I believed. I began to question my faith, and I flirted with other destructive behaviors because of my new way of thinking… you know… thinking that we only go around once, so what does it matter if I do this or that.
People tend to get hurt when we start behaving in ways that are not in keeping with what we value. If we value our marriage, we develop habits to keep that relationship strong. If we value building our understanding of our relationship with God, then we keep in the habit of doing things to maintain that. If we value family, then we spend quality time with them. ETC.
Daily good habits will improve our quality of life in the areas where we focus those habits. The opposite is also true. If we do not make time in our lives to form and maintain good daily habits, others will fall in their place.
“Your beliefs become your thoughts,
-Gandhi
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.”
Here is a great blog post about creating new habits:
What’s your favorite time of day?
Easy. Anyone who knows me very well knows I love mornings! The air is cool and crisp…well, not so crisp in the dog days of summer, but still cooler than midday in mid summer. 😎
Mornings are when everything good happens, like the start of a trip, a morning walk before breakfast, or….picture this….
A stay at the cabin on the 8th Crow Wing Lake in Northern Minnesota. It is early in the morning. You wake your family, grab your lunch and fishing gear gathered the night before, and head from the cabin down to the lake.
The light is barely peaking through the cloudy sky. The steam is lifting from the lake, creating a misty appearance all around. The water is still and glass-like, the air so quiet that you can not avoid hearing the creeking sound of the wooden planks beneath the tip toes of your feet. The rocking as you step down inside the boat breaks the glassy appearance, forming the first mini waves across the water, and the quiet talking and laughter is an indication of a family fun day ahead.
Starting the motor cuts through the silence, deafening the tinkling of the lures dangling at the end of each fishing poles that are clanking while being secured for the chilly morning boat ride toward the perfect fishing spot near the lilly pads on the other side of the lake. (Because the lilly pads on this side of the lake are not good enough for fishing. One must always boat to the other side!) 😉
Crossing the misty lake, zipping my jacket all the way up, stretching the sleeves over to warm my hands, creating fresh wake behind the boat, I can’t help but smile a sleepy smile looking forward to a day of fishing with my family, each of us hoping to catch the first fish!
Yes! Morning is: awaking to a fresh start, a new day, the beginning, the start of something great. It represents hope for good things to come. And if you are lucky, it starts with a beautiful sunrise!
What are your top ten favorite movies?
Who has time for movies? I dont know if I have seen 10 movies! Although, Footloose is one of them! It’s a favorite
Seriously, my husband likes movies. He likes to go watch movies at the theater. I like popcorn. I go to the movies for the popcorn. And.. to nap. 🤷♀️ It has to be a pretty good movie for me to stay awake through the entire movie, especially when the popcorn is gone. I can’t help myself. The chairs are comfy. It’s dark. And, I’m relaxed. I have nothing to do, so I sleep.
My husband is ok with it… until I snore. Then I get the gentle nudge that stops the snoring… and the sleeping.
Next time he invites me to a movie, I’ll encourage him to take us to the matinee for half the price.
Enjoy your day!!
What do you love about where you live?
What I love about where I live is that it is my home town. All three of our children, their spouses, and our six grandchildren live in the same town. For as much as we get together because everyone’s lives are so busy, we might a well live in Timbuktu! Our little (growing) conservative town/city is a great place to raise a family.
We are only 3 hours away from a University hospital where my husband can have surgery on his leg, then lie in a hospital room to heal for a few days and enjoy bird’s eye views, as captured in the image above, taken through the window from his 6th-floor room.
From our home, within a couple of hours’ drive on a Saturday afternoon, we can be on a bench in Yellowstone National Park with other tourists watching in awe as Old Faithful reliably spews it’s steamy water up to 180 feet into the air. We can pick up a souvenir from the nearby shops and eat our packed lunch either in the car or at a picnic table in the area. Then enjoy a drive though the park on our way home, hoping to see buffalo, elk, deer, and maybe even a bear or two in their habitat.
In about the same amount of time, we can drive a different direction and sit at the still glasslike water’s edge of Jenny Lake which is tucked away at the base of the Teton Mountain Range. This is one of the area’s most beautiful and most visited sites. We are fortunate to have Yellowstone and the Tetons in our back yard, so to speak.
Taking a long day’s drive we can be at the Oregon Coast enjoying a cool walk along the beach listening to the waves crash along the shoreline. In the same amount of time, heading in a different direction, our drive could take us to San Diego where we can enjoy the warmth of sunshine and see the beautiful sunsets fade below the horizon of the ocean as it meets the sky in the distance.
I absolutely love the outdoors and I love to travel! Living near the Rockies to the East and not far from the Pacific Ocean to the West we can enjoy a variety of God’s most beautiful creations. These are some of the things I love about where we live.
Lately, the positive emotion I feel most often is gratitude. Especially for my husband. Because of him, my mom, and one of my daughters, I know what unconditional love feels like. My husband loves me as I am, no expectations for me to be someone other than I am. All he has ever wanted is for me to be happy. I used to think he did not care enough to share an opinion, but now I realize it is because he loves me as I am. He does not want to try to make become what HE thinks I should be. He wants me to be my own best self according to what that looks like for me.
He also believes in 2nd and 3rd and 4th and… so on… chances. He is very forgiving, loving, and kind. He is respectful, so very respectful. He always has my back. I can count on him to always be there for me. He has my best interest at heart, not his own selfish desires.
I took it for granted. But, never again. I am so GRATEFUL for my husband. He is not perfect, but he is perfect for me, as the saying goes. We are perfect for each other.
What is a word you feel that too many people use?
In the years 2006 thru 2010 when I was working for myself as a people photographer shooting weddings, engagements, bridal sessions, senior photos, and family sessions. I remember, especially in the years 2008 to 2010, arranging the people to set up the shot. When I would get a person in the ideal placement for the photo, I would say, “Perfect!” I don’t remember hearing that word other than when I proclaimed their perfect placement and asked them not to move.
In the fall of 2010, I began working for a doctor as his receptionist. I remember that following year recognizing that people were using the word “perfect” instead of saying “that’s great” or even when a simple “thank you” would suffice. Had I started a trend? Or was it there all along, but I just became aware of it?
I had never heard it used in the context in which it was now being used. And, overused, I might add. It reached a point of overuse over a short few years, in fact. So much so that I purposely avoided using it.
It has become a source of irritation when, for example, I hand someone my debit card for payment or if I am checking in at a hotel and need to show them my debit card and driver’s license. They look the cards over and exclaim, “perfect” in place of a simple “thank you” while handing the cards back to me. The worst example is when they give a long, drawn-out, high-pitched version of the word: “Perrrr fect!”
Ugh… Gag me with a spoon! 😉
If I were to open shop I would want it to be a clothing boutique catered to the plus-sized down to the smallest of women. We would sell beautiful unique accessories, perfect for any outfit and occasion. There would be framed prints and canvases hanging on a gallery wall, available for purchase to beautifully adorn any wall at home or work, as well as books and cards for gift giving and letter writing. These all would showcase the talent of outdoor photographers from all of the gorgeous places from West to East, from the Pacific Northwest across the Rocky Mountains through the Appalachians to New York City, from Southern Texas to the Everglades of Florida, from the oceans to the deserts of our amazing country. It would be a joy to meet people and learn about their lives and what brings them into our quaint little boutique. What a lovely dream!
If I won two free plane tickets, it would be a toss up between going to Scotland or Hawaii. Ever since our daughters traveled to Scotland and shared their stories and photos about their time in that land of castles, I have wanted to go.
I have always wanted to go to Hawaii, but have never had the opportunity. As a former professional photographer, I have always been drawn to those beautiful islands. They appear to be lands of beautiful photography opportunities. It would be great to experience Hawaii with my Canon in hand shooting every beautiful moment I could possibly capture.
The book of photos from there would be a beautiful treasure of memories to rest on the sofa table and share with family and friends. It is on my bucket list and hope to visit there before I am too old to enjoy it!
What is one word that describes you?
I asked my husband this question about me. He said “Hungry.” He said I am hungry for knowledge and for experiences. He is so right!
In fact, here is an article I discovered today. It is one that lists many accomplishments of our president at the time. These are not all well-known or all-inclusive of his accomplishments while in office. I may or may not agree with some or all of them. I do appreciate learning about them, however.
I am not trying to get all political or trigger anyone. Just sharing a discovery today.
Which one word describes you?
ChatterLei 