Earlier this week, let’s say on Tuesday, my officemate connected her iPod to a speaker. She had downloaded new songs and wanted to share. “Do you know who Aaron Neville is?” She asked as one of his songs played on her iPod.
humor
You Say OCD, I Say Quirky
My mom enjoyed playing Solitaire on the computer. She spent a lot of time playing game after game. After she became so sick that she couldn’t sit at the computer anymore, I bought her a little handheld Solitaire game. The screen was smaller and only displayed in monochrome. She refused to play it. I learned how to play it so I could show her how easy it was play. She chose not to learn.
Do Over!
I once sneezed and threw my back out. Go ahead, reread that sentence again. It wasn’t an abnormally big sneeze. I don’t think I was in an awkward position when it happened. If I remember right, it was just a typical run-of-the-mill sneeze and it caused instantaneous pain. For at least a week, I walked like Frankenstein and with the amount of agony I felt, I probably grunted like him too. It hurt to move and turning my neck was out of the question.
F-L-A-K-E Part II
Okay, now I’m starting to get a little worried.
Sign #1: This morning I performed my normal routine. I got my lunch out of the freezer, my breakfast out of the cupboard, and my yogurt out of the fridge. I put everything on the table and retrieved my bag. Before I loaded my falling-apart-but-I-refuse-to-get-rid-of-it-because-I-got-it-from-the-Art-Institute-and-it-makes-me-feel-pretentious bag, I went into the living room and opened the curtains. Even if nobody was going to be home all day, the house still needed sunshine. I went back into the kitchen and stuffed everything in my bag and left. When I arrived at work, I emptied the contents from my bag and discovered I was yogurtless. Despite getting the yogurt out and putting it RIGHT NEXT to my bag, I still forgot it! (sigh)
Chalk it Up to Poor Planning
I braved the Wal-Mart crowd yesterday. Regarding a couple of my purchases, it was not the most productive shopping experience. First, I decided I needed a new shower curtain. I had actually taken the time before hand to map out my shopping route. A shower curtain should be with the bathroom fixture items, right? Wrong. It was over in the domestic aisles by the curtains and sheets. Right off the bat my painstaking effort to map out my shopping route was foiled. So much for a quick trip to the store. Continue reading
Mize’well Post this Blog
My friend JJ is moving home to North Carolina on Tuesday. Even though she will be missed here, I can’t begrudge her the opportunity to be closer to family. And to live in a warmer climate. I might be a little jealous regarding that last note. Anyway, JJ and her husband are packing as I’m typing this blog and they are getting ready to move their not so little U-Haul 2100 miles. That’s a little bit longer adventure than my 187 mile U-Haul trip this past summer. Instead of three hours like it took NJ and me, it will take them 3 days. Ick. The family closeness thing better be worth it.
Only a Dream
I had my first posthumous dream of my mom last night. She looked circa 1988 – the same year my brother and sister-in-law were married. In other words, 1988 was a photo op year for our family and we have plenty of pictures of even the most camera-shy of us. Including mom.
All of her family formed a line and instead of hugging her, we bombarded her with questions. Mom was always command central in our family and since she’s been gone, certain things have, well, kinda fallen to pot. It started with not being able to find the prepaid funeral arrangements for her. We found the paperwork finally. She had put everything we needed in a file labeled, “Funeral Arrangements.” Go figure.
Since then, we have looked for titles to cars (found in a file labeled, Cars), bills, tithing checks, etc. You name it, we’ve had to search for it. Or so it seems. So when she appeared in my dream last night, each of us had plenty of questions for her. Mine had to do with a certain recipe that hasn’t worked out so well for me. I never did get an answer – shucks.
I remember the look on her face after all the questions. She seemed to say, “I came all the way back – for this?” In my dream I thought, “This isn’t so bad. I can still communicate with mom.” But then I woke up. As the day wore on and I realized it was just a dream, I sunk back into the reality of, “No, I can’t communicate with mom anymore.” Dang me! Hopefully, in my next dream I’ll have the presence of mind to ask fewer questions and give more hugs.
To Gift or Gift Card – That is the Question
Another holiday season is winding down. We are done with the big gift giving day for another year. The bottom of the Christmas trees still standing look stark and naked with only their skirts showing. The same skirts were completely hidden a week ago underneath all the presents. Ah, the presents. I love seeing a tree surrounded by carefully wrapped (or in my case, creatively wrapped) boxes. I made a pledge this year due to my thin wallet that I was going to go easy with Christmas presents this year. That lasted about two weeks after the tree was up. The tree seemed to call to me, “Please, can I have some presents here to hide my nakedness?” I gave in and went to town. That’s small town talk – it means I went shopping.
It’s a Christmas Miracle!
Ah, the holiday season is upon us. The snow (yuck), the decorations (pretty), the operative-like skills it takes to procure and hide the perfect present (stressful), and of course, the movies. Generally, I like the movies. Or, at least, I get sucked into watching a lot of movies (darn Hallmark channel and ABC Family with their countdowns to Christmas). Since I’ve seen so-very-many movies of the genre, I am a self-proclaimed expert on the subject. A miracle is a must in any self-respecting Christmas movie. It is my thesis that there are generally three Christmas miracles.
Please Don’t Hate Me but I’m Not Nuts for Nutella
I have a confession to make. But please don’t hate me after I admit it. For quite a while now, I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about the chocolate – nut spread Nutella.
The name is usually said in hushed tones and usually followed by a moment of silence. A distant look will come across the speaker’s eyes for a brief instant. This is all followed by a firm reassurance of how good the product is. More than once, I’ve even heard the L word used with it. You know, the word some people have a hard time saying to another person but can use freely when discussing varied chocolate products. Continue reading
ck's days 