Just breathe

Shewwwwooooooooo...That is supposed to represent a long breath coming out! I have finally finished two of the three questions that I am completing for my comprehensive exams. I have been so worried about getting these things done, that I haven't been breathing properly! No kidding. I find myself holding my breath most of the time, while worrying that I won't get it all done. I have to remind myself to breathe! On top of all of this, I have several competitions to prepare for at school with my students. I actually had nightmares and morningmares last night and this am. I didn't sleep very well. I am up really late tonight, and I hope to actually go to sleep when I finally go to bed. I was working and writing all day long, until 8 pm, and I forgot to eat! I guess that means I have enough stored up fat to keep me going. haha
I finally fixed some meatless spaghetti sauce, noodles, and sweet iced tea around 9:15, and I had a little meal. Now, I am stuffed and can't go to bed! So, I am checking facebook, writing emails, and writing in my blog. Maybe tomorrow I will be able to start studying again and get some more things done. Tomorrow is my mamma's 86th birthday, but she isn't here to celebrate with us. We will all have a strange day, I am sure. We will probably visit the cemetery, too. I wanted to write something for the paper, but I never got around to it. I just wasn't sure what to write. Maybe next year, I will get it done. I am going to find just the right picture and put on here tomorrow, in honor of her birthday. Talk to you later.

Friends and Family, Part 2

I should not start writing down names of friends, because I will most probably leave someone important out of the blog. I have friends from all parts of my life. Being raised in the Air Force, I lived all over the United States and in Germany. I have friends from my childhood, friends from my teen years, friends from young adulthood, friends from adulthood in Tennessee, and friends from adulthood in Georgia. Each one of them is different. I have friends from church. I have friends from work. I have friends from college, friends from my acting days, friends from my musical days, etc., etc., etc. Which ones do I mention by name, and which ones do I mention as a group? How about if I just mention that I have loads of friends all over the place and I love each and every one of them? I think that is best. Of course, you never see all of your friends in the same place or all at once. All of us probably have friends in all walks of life and in all of the places we inhabit or spend time. I spend most of my time with family, because that is how I enjoy spending my time. I am rambling on and on, so I should stop for now. I will return when I have some more wandering thoughts that are just anxious to ooze out of my brain! Have a good day:)

Friends and Family

Friends are fun. I always enjoy getting together with my friends. Two of my oldest and dearest friends are those that I met as a teenager while I lived in Germany from 1968-1971. Dawn lives in Florida, and Laura lives in South Carolina. We get to see each other every now and then. I think it is awesome that we are still in touch with each other. We all moved away from Germany and went to several other places, but we were able to find each other again and resume our friendships. Usually, the times that you see faraway friends or relatives are for weddings or funerals. Isn't it strange that we do not get to take the time, or just don't take the time, to visit friends and family anymore? Both of my grandmothers used to love to visit. In older and more gentler times, Sunday was the day to go visiting. My dad's mother loved to ride all over the mountains to visit her kinfolk. My mom's mother used to love to go around Savannah or to Sylvania to visit friends and relatives. I wonder why we don't do much of this anymore. Transportation is much easier to use these days than it was in the past. We have cars, trains, planes, etc. that move much faster than any cars or trains of the old days. I suppose we are all just too busy. Why are we so busy? I love to visit my cousins. Cousins can be your best friends. My momma and her sister loved their cousins so much, that they formed a cousins' get together at least once a year. I think we can learn a lot from watching our parents and grandparents to see how they treat each other and their loved ones. People of the modern age seem to have decided that family is unimportant, or that you need to retreat from family as much as possible. The people of the United States seem to be the only ones who feel this way. People of other countries and cultures still revere family life, the extended family, and living with and caring for family. I am glad that I was raised with the old fashioned values of the importance of family. I don't know where I would be right now without my wonderful family and friends. Best friends are like your family. I feel like my best friends are part of my extended family. To me, my family and friends are the most important parts of my life. I love you all!

Snail Mail

I have decided that I really like to receive 'snail mail'. I do enjoy the quickness and the availability of email, but there is nothing like holding a letter in your hands and reading it. I like to send snail mail, too. I think that when you are holding that letter or card in your hands, you can remember the person who sent it and think of happy times, emotional times, crazy times, etc. You can also feel much closer to the friend or relative from whom you received the snail mail. There are many times when I have come across an old letter or a card and have just stopped time for a few minutes, relaxed, smiled, cried, and enjoyed a few moments of memories. Technology and modern times are great, but there is something about the old fashioned way of getting messages to our loved ones that just cannot be topped. Snail Mail still rules!

Another Sunday

Sundays are different these days. I was trying to get up the gumption to get to church, but I am already late. It is 11 o'clock now. Should I go anyway? I have not been able to get up and go for a couple of months. I will come back to this posting later. I'm back! I bet you didn't even know that I left. Ha! The time is now 1:15, and I have been out and about doing silly things. I finally decided that since it was 11:15 by the time I got around to drying my hair, that I would just not go to church again today. I went piddling around town instead. I ate breakfast with Daddy, Rachel, and Don earlier, and that was a good way to spend the morning. Actually, I have been enjoying just staying home and not having to rush and go to church and be in charge of things. For those of you who may not know, I resigned as choir director in November. That decision was the best one I have made in a long, long time. The pressure of always having to be there, never being able to go out of town, never being able to spend time with family on vacations, etc., etc., was just too, too much. Mamma was really sick with cancer, I was working on my Ph.D., I was working two jobs as usual, I was in charge of the women's group at church and Missions, etc., etc., and it was all starting to crash down around me. I have enjoyed being released from so many pressures. I have even stopped drinking coca-cola, and that is a great accomplishment! I don't even crave them anymore :)
So, today is another Sunday full of lots of choices and time to spend with family. Last Sunday, Saramina, Mina, Rachel, Adam, Susan, Kate, and I went to see Marley and Me. The movie was surprisingly good. We all had a great time together. I had not been to the movie theatre in a while, so it was a nice change. There are not many movies out there anymore in which I am particularly interested. The movie industry is just not what it used to be. Here I go talking like such an old timer. "In my day, things were different." hahahaha The cat keeps getting up here on the computer desk trying to get my yogurt (Cabot Greek style Vanilla), so I should stop for now and get him something to eat. I may post some more wandering thoughts later. I hope you all have a terrific Sunday!

Fireplaces

I have hesitated in making a fire in the fireplace for maybe ten years, because some birds were making nests in the chimney.



I thought the smoke would back up into the house and make the living room all smoky, smelly, and yucky. I don't know why I thought the bird's nest would do that, but I did. Last night, I found out that I was being way too cautious. Rachel and Don came over and suggested making a fire. Don had some wood, and I thought it would be a nice thing to try. The smoke went right up the chimney like it was supposed to! We had a really nice time just watching the fire.
I stayed up way too late just enjoying the fire until it went out. After watching Robin Williams on Jay Leno, I left a small bit of it burning and went on to bed. That guy is still as crazy as ever! I am going to put up a couple of pictures from our night. I hope you all have a good Saturday.

3D

I have added three pictures of Dewey the third, alias 3D (my nephew, 2 1/2 months old). I hope you enjoy them.

I fixed it!

The time stamp should be correct now. That problem was bugging me to pieces!!

The Day Before Going Back to Work Ramblings

Here I am again with my wandering thoughts. This morning has been rather uneventful. I guess everyone is tired from last night's celebrations. The streets are empty, and there is no traffic running up and down past the house. No traffic means a quiet day. I have to go back to work tomorrow, so I really should try to clean up the Christmas stuff. I probably won't, though! Rachel says there are lots of sales today, but I don't need to buy anything. I could do some spontaneous shopping, which is what I usually do. I never have a plan. I just buy what I see at the moment. Rachel couldn't believe that I did not have a Christmas list or even an idea of what to buy for people. I told her that I just look for what will strike me as fitting a person, and I buy it! I usually manage to match people pretty well that way, so why should I change my unorganized, shoot from the hip strategy? I haven't figured out how to fix the time stamp on this thing yet, and I haven't really played around with making this an interesting looking blog. Do you like the PINK? Is it too much PINK? Well, Adam tells me there is too much PINK in my house, but I like PINK. Actually, the pink in the house is a quieter pink than the PINK on this blog. The soft pink on my walls is a color from a baby's room selection, so I think it is okay. Adam said, NO MORE PINK, so I used Purple in the dining room. HA~ Anyway, I will put yellow in the kitchen one of these years when I get some time to paint again. That room will need a lot of work, because there is wallpaper to take down first. My ramblings are too much for you all right now I am sure, so I will stop and see what type of laziness I can get myself into before going back to work tomorrow. Have a great day everyone!

Error in blogville

Well, Adam tells me that the house we looked at today is not Paula Deen's. Perhaps what we saw today is her old house. Anyway, Adam says that she lives around by the Savannah Yacht Club which is farther around on Wilmington Island. A friend of his lives down there a few doors down from her house, so I guess he knows. That would make more sense, because she would have more room and a bigger house on the water there.
I hope everyone has enjoyed the New Year celebration. It really doesn't seem like a new year to me, but maybe it will in a few days. This whole holiday season has been a bit strange this year.
I was planning on watching Funny Girl and surfing the internet tonight, but the picture wouldn't come up for the movie. I could hear the music, but I couldn't see anything. I hope it is okay, because I borrowed the DVD from Vicky!
I'm watching the crazy people standing out in the cold on tv broadcasting the New Year celebrations in New York. I sure am glad that I am not in that cold weather. It is nice and comfy right here on my couch! I should go for now before I write too much and wander too far with my thoughts. Have a great night tonight and a great New Year's day tomorrow!