I can't believe I almost missed the Theme Reveal! This is the first time I have revealed a theme...my previous participation has been photography and a just hodge podge of random A to Z thoughts. This year, I am planning to introduce you to the characters in my head...the ones who belong in my (yet unfinished) book.
You'll meet the characters in story form...little scenes from
I searched the ‘net for a Black and Decker hedge trimmer. An hour later, I received an email from Walmart.com with a subject line of “Are we reading your mind?” Inside was Walmart’s recommendations for me…the top of the list? A B&D hedge trimmer. Reading my mind? No, I’m being cyber stalked. I have a presidential theory. There is a huge manual of national secrets that each new president is shown after being sworn in, and sworn to secrecy. I wonder what the American citizen does not know, and what the government does know about us…each individual us. I mean, if WalMart knows... Was the above a conspiracy theory in disguise? Is what happened in Chicago on Friday at Donald Trump’s rally a foretaste of what’s to come when certain groups of people don't like what's being said or who is coming to town? We have a recent history of riots in Ferguson and Baltimore, where their own mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, told the police to "give space to those who wish to destroy.” And then there was Detroit’s housing riot in 2013. (There weren’t enough vouchers for free housing and people went ballistic.) It’s a little disconcerting, isn’t it?
Words of Advice:
No need to roll your hair on a rainy Monday...and for sure don't use spray paint (for covering gray roots) on a rainy day. Or a hot day when you may be sweating. Don't ask me how I know that.
Yoga pants may not be the best choice of clothing...especially when you wear them so tight that anyone behind you is subjected to thinly stretched material across your ample derrière. Here's some good advice: get a larger size and wear a longer top.
If you haven't worked much of your adult life, and never (or rarely) worked full time, and you are "feeling the bern," don't get your undies twisted when your smarter, non-socialist friends give you the facts about socialism. I believe it was some of your ilk rioting in the above mentioned cities.
Did anyone notice the $0.13 jump in gas prices yesterday? It seems like election year always brings gas prices down, why is that?
I wonder if Donald Trump realizes the tremendous responsibility he is stepping into…providing he is elected, and I believe he very well may be. I wonder even more if he realizes he can’t call people like Vladimir Putin, Hassan Rouhani, Bashar al-Assad, and Kim Jong-un “Idiot!” when he doesn’t like what they are saying and doing…even if they are.
Politics brings out the worst in people. I am just plain weary with Facebook…and I am having to hide a few people from showing up on my “wall.”
Is it just me, or does anyone else feel dizzy right before elevator doors open?
April is coming…do you know what that means?! Why, it’s the A to Z blogging challenge! I will blog 26 days out of the 30 for the month! This will be my fourth year to participate. Other than photography, I am not sure what I am going to do…short stories? One continuous serial story? Random thoughts? I am running out of time to decide, that’s for sure. Maybe I’ll do a hodge podge with no theme…wouldn’t be the first time.
I am also participating over at Committed Thoughts, but that one will be a theme: A daily devotional.
If you are a blogger and have not signed up for the challenge, I highly recommend it. Read about it HERE and sign up HERE.
Tulip, University of North Alabama
By the way...The ol' Musing Brown Recluse will have a whole new look by the start of the challenge.
When I hear people happily exclaim, “I ran 2 miles and burned 175 calories!” I can’t get too excited for them. Two miles is a lot of distance to cover to burn off a banana and three almonds.
If you go to the restroom and don’t wash your hands, people notice. And remember. And mention it to others.
Am I the only one who hears the “boing” when my eyes pop back into place after I roll them at some of the goings-on in today's world?
I had to hide some folks from showing up in my Facebook timeline because I heard boing way too much.
One of my Facebook “friends” may have boinged me, because I notice we are no longer friends. She did treat me nice at church, though.
Here’s the skinny on my fat, or how those verbs are working for me...
So….my January goals were no overt sugar (pie, cake, cookies, candy) and no restaurants. Other than some Little Caesar’s pizza at a grandson’s birthday party, I haven’t had restaurant food. No overt sugar. I’ve lost 12 pounds.
I’d like to say my focus is completely off food, but I don’t always succeed. When I find myself fretting over what to eat/what I just ate, I make a conscious effort to find a better focus. Food obsession has had too much of my headspace for one lifetime, and since I only have this one life on earth, well…I should be living it instead of letting it pass me by.
Exercise? Meh! I hate moving. I try to take the stairs more than the elevator, though they just put the elevator in and it tempts me. I walk hills to my car. I said I would stretch, but it hurts (said in my best whiny voice), so I don’t do it enough. I should focus on my attitude toward exercise. I really don’t like it. Maybe one of my February (my birthday month) goals will be moving more. Ugh.
And lest we forget the price some people have paid for freedom, and think that Martin Luther King Day is just another holiday...
Quotes from his speech:
In a sense we've come to our nation's Capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.
This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal."
Stop living in a fantasy world and actually write the book.
Stop obsessing about losing weight…what/when/how I’m eating…and focus on something useful. After all these years, I realize that nothing I have tried (repeatedly) has worked, so why go back there?
Start doing. Just do it! Help others. Give more. Be nicer. Replace negative thoughts/words with positivity. Teach the class I’ve been asked to teach. Read more. Study more. Learn! Write!
Refocus. If I keep dwelling on myself, I’ll only have myself to count on, then blame for the failure. Instead, I’ll focus more on the author and finisher of my faith.
…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…(Hebrews 12:1-2)
If you’re interested in where I am with weight loss gain, here’s the truth: I’ve regained almost all of the weight I lost. I don’t like it, but if I spend my energy beating myself up, I won’t have any energy left. My energy will be better served in living the best I can in The Year of the Verb.
But I do have goals concerning my health. For January, no restaurants, which is a really big deal for me, considering the greater majority of my meals are in restaurants, fast food in my car, and lunch from the food court at work. I have a feeling I’m going to save some money!
In addition, (again for January) no overt sugar because I do so much better without sugar. I just cannot go back to the obsession of every calorie/fat gram/carb…every morsel…that goes into my mouth. It has never been a long-term success, and trading one obsession for another isn’t anywhere near what I want in life.
Hopefully, after a January with no sugar, come February, sugar won’t be as big of an issue. I just refuse to obsess over weight issues any more.
Exercise? I hate exercise! I only plan to live more, love more, move more. Use the stairs, go more when invited…and stretching. I really need to stretch this poor sore, stiff body! Open doors for others, take carts back to corrals for others (instead of watching them through judgmental eyes for them parking the cart wherever they see fit). When I see a need, it’s my job to help however I can.
(I am making a commitment to read the Bible through this year.)
So that’s it. The way to achieve real change is to put God first instead of me. It won’t happen overnight. It may take a life time of working on it, but I’d much rather spend a life time of seeking Him than concentrating on change that I can’t achieve. He can help me when I can’t help myself, so I need to move over and let Him. My part is to help others. Really, that is my part, my job as a Christian.
