Open Mouth, Insert Foot

Surely I am not the only person who has ever done this. There you are, small group of people, just visiting and having a good time…. And before you know it, something inappropriate or offensive has flown out of your mouth. Now it is beyond your control – the damage is done. No amount of apologizing or backtracking can take it back. You can’t fix it.

A) Do you at least try to fix it?

or

B) Do you just skim right on over it hoping no one heard you or at least didn't take offense to it?

Age old problem.

My knee-jerk reaction to my own guffaw was to keep right on going. Pretend like it didn’t happen. Hoped no one would take personal offense. Not sure it worked, but it seemed like the best choice at the time. Meanwhile, I have stewed and worried myself silly about it. Ridiculous.

I tried to put myself in the receiving end of my own comment. It occurred to me that I have been there many times. The exact same comment! Why am I so worried that I said the same thing this time, yet I am expected to take it from someone else over and over? Well, because I don’t care if others offend me, I am not going to let two wrongs make a right.

Self-respect, patience and a desire to avoid confrontation will take you a long way. So in the future, I will not be willing to discuss race, gender, or similar types of stereotypical subjects. Don't engage me. I will just have to stay away from subjects where political correctness is required.

Whew! I feel lots better.

And PS - this happened several weeks ago. It's ancient history. :)

Travel - Still On My Mind

Don't know why.... but travel is still on my mind today.  It could be because:

A)     The kids have gone back to school, and my house is eerily quiet.
B)     There are so many great travel websites on the internet, you find all kinds of places you want to go.
C)     Fall has not yet arrived, and I am tired of the persistent wind and the sweltering heat.

Any one of those reasons is more than enough of one for me to leave town.  I can be off on a trip, and before I even get home, I am thinking about where to go next and when to leave.

My sister-in-law told me about Trip Advisor, and apparently, it is the premier website for trip information and planning.  There is a wealth of information, and there are details that I have found there that don't seem to be on other travel websites.  Many times, a site with reader input is full of negatives and lots of bashing.  Not that I don't want that, but I would at least like to hear about things that travelers did like.  Whether it is hotel or day-trip information, I appreciate getting the scoop from people on the ground.

Do you have any travel information websites that you really trust and depend on?  If so, please do share!

Makes Me Want To Travel

Oh. My. Goodness.

Today, while tooling around on the Queen's website, I found something I had never seen before.  She has an area where she posts about hotel rooms in cities she has visited.  I loved it!  And since she doesn't always stay at the Holiday Inn, there are some pretty unique posts.  Her tour promoting her cookbook has enabled her to be in some wonderful cities, and it looks like her sister, Betsy, finds great places for her to stay.

 
This area of her blog came to the surface when I learned her trick about steadying herself when taking pictures indoors, or in other low-light conditions.  She uses the hip cock strategy.  You steady your whole body, almost creating a human tripod, by leaning to one side, taking weight off of both feet and putting it on one.  Your body doesn't fight with itself to keep steady, and if you cock your hip to one side and then lean on a wall or doorway, even better!  She goes on to show several pictures of herself using this technique, and they were all in hotel room bathrooms.  Most likely that is the only time she photographs her own image in mirrors.

I have tried to use her photography tutorials before, but some of them tend to be a bit technical for me.  Nevertheless, I find myself returning again and again, hoping to garner some bit of knowledge from her.  More than the photography info, I am attracted to her everyday life on the ranch bits.  Just about the time I think, "wow, I sure am tired today," I read a post from her that describes how her family has gathered and sorted cattle or wild horses, weeded the big garden that is watered by a center pivot sprinkler, and picked up or loaded 300 tons of hay -- then they came back to the house for breakfast.  Let's just say we are in different seasons of our lives, she and I.

What is today?

Of course, it is Women's Equality Day!

Ninety years after the ratification of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote, we still earn 77 cents to every one dollar that a man makes.  Crazy.

Let's keep fighting the good fight.  Let's celebrate how far we've come.  Yay for everyone that believes in equality!

Another Worthless Wednesday

It's been a weird week.  No real schedule to speak of, just random things that need to be done.  Thus, another Worthless Wednesday....

So I found these darling little numbers on Love, September's Etsy shop.  How cute are those?  I am pretty sure that everyone I know needs them!  Precious!

And while searching the children's aisle, I found this cute little number.....

.... from a different Etsy store belonging to Ana's Baby Couture.  Happened to be in some of my personal favorite colors.

Oh, and Ana had this other cute headband, too!

But I didn't stop shopping.  In my quest to bring you the best finds of the ...... day ...

I thought these notecards were hilarious! 

The seller said this means "Crap" in French, but I thought it meant "Shit."  Either way, could be very appropriate.... or not so much.

How cute are these fabrics?  I guess the artist hand draws them all.  She is super talented, and she has dozens of patterns in her Etsy store.

And how about these shoes???

I have an affinity for anything with the word "Bollywood" in the description.

Just wasted another Wednesday... hope it wasn't too worthless!

Worthless Wednesday

Okay, maybe not worthless, but it is stinkin' hot outside - and for a girl who doesn't handle her humidity very well, days like this are meant to be spent inside.  Inside ANYWHERE.  But inside.

If I lived in a metropolis, you might find me shopping on a day like today.  This is the time of year when most stores are stuffed to the gills with "back-to-school" supplies, clothes and necessities.  You don't have to look very far on the internets --I say it like that to annoy-- to find tons of fall and winter clothes and accessories.  Many of which a girl needs.

My buddy, Big Mama, is a pro at shopping the internets.  I don't know how she does it.  But she can find more stuff that we need than anyone I've ever seen.

These boots were a find of hers.  They are called Naughty Monkey 'Detective' boots.  I wanted them sight unseen, based on the name alone!  Not sure they would accent my short 40-something-year-old legs, but I want to try them on.  Naughty Monkey!  really?

And then, I thought this purse was super cute...

It just screams autumn at me.  And if you know me, you know that I am all about autumn and anything autumnal.  Even though I would carry it clear through the winter.....

And after finding such great things at Piperlime, I hopped on over to J. Crew where I went straight to the jewelry, totally unnecessary, and found this little sparkler.  No idea where I would wear such an item, but I just liked it.  And then by the time I clicked over to it, it was already sold out in this color.  Darn the luck.

I am going to have to hone my online shopping skills in order to keep up with Big Mama.  She is the bomb.  And as long as the temps stay up, I will continue to work at it.  :)

Cute Kid Tuesday

Everyone knows a cute kid or two.  I know I do, but today, it is time to feature one of the cutest.

Here is my darling friend's precious daughter, Campbell.  She has a wonderful blog, mapping the day-to-day life of her daughter.  It is wonderful for those of us who don't live particularly close to them and don't get to see them often enough.  Here's her blog.  If you are reading mine, you probably know her and would enjoy reading about what they are up to. 

And here she is telling me what she wanted to do next when she was at my house.  Of course, we did it.  It was read 3 books.  So we did, and we read them each 5 times.

She is brilliant.  After I read the books to her, she returned the favor and read them to me!

Then she wanted to do some off-roading, so we obliged.  We wore our seatbelts, safety first!  After a day at Lily's, she was worn out.  But Campbell left Lily wanting more....  Hope she comes back soon!

Halfway Through August

Now that we have passed the mid-way point in the month of August, it is time to face the fact that summer is coming to a close.  So I think it is time to plan my Summer Finale. 

First, I think we should squeeze in a quick trip to the mountains.  Not sure which ones, we could go Colorado or we could go New Mexico.  One of the perks of living in the center of the universe, I mean, United States.

Next, I think we should consider getting some spa treatments...  let's really splurge and go from head to toe.  Maybe a European oxygenating facial, powdered black pearl body scrub, followed by an aromatherapy hot stone massage, and end with a simultaneous manicure/pedicure. 

After a nice local meal, we can retire to the porch to enjoy the night sky.  Since we are in the mountains, we are closer to the stars, therefore, making them look larger.  Ahh.... a perfect day.  Let's repeat this every day for about five.    :)

Okay, okay.  That dang Eat Pray Love movie is still on my brain.  All I can think about is traveling.  But I have been traveling.  I am actually ready to stay home.  But I can't quit thinking about going somewhere.  ???   What's up with that?

And no season is complete without a trip to the ocean.  So we'll have to go find an ocean or an island to visit.  It will no doubt provide just the attitude adjustment I need.  Minimum stay - 2 weeks.  Alright, we could probably manage with 10 days, but we want to be fully rested when we return to our full time jobs, school year, whatever.

Well, that is the plan for my Summer Finale.  I tried to keep it simple and do-able, but am pretty sure I won't carry it out.   :)

More About My Epic Fail

You know, when you write on a blog, it's kind of like saying something in front of a group of people.  You have to own up to it.  So last week, when I stated that I was going to read "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert, before I saw the movie, that is fully what I intended to do.  And by saying it on the blog, I thought I would make myself hurry up and get the book read before the weekend....

Okay, so that isn't what happened.  I never even picked up the book.  I certainly didn't finish the book.  And I ran, not walked, to the movie, the minute it appeared in my local theater.

And I LOVED it!  The opposite of what I thought would happen happened....  I am now DYING to read the book!  I thought it would tell me everything, but it didn't.  It left me wanting more.  I could sort of imagine what the book would embellish upon.  In fact, I think I am going to have to keep this short, because I am so ready to get started reading that book.  Gotta go!

Something Borrowed

Today's post I am borrowing from the late Kyle Lake, Pastor of University Baptist Church in Waco, Texas.  This is an excerpt from one of his final sermons.

“Live.  And Live Well.  BREATHE.  Breathe in and Breathe deeply.  Be PRESENT.  Do not be past.  Do not be future.  Be now.  On a crystal clear, breezy 70 degree day, roll down the windows and FEEL the wind against your skin.  Feel the warmth of the sun.  If you run, then allow those first few breaths on a cool Autumn day to FREEZE your lungs and do not just be alarmed, be ALIVE.  Get knee-deep in a novel and LOSE track of time.  If you bike, pedal HARD… and if you crash, then crash well.  Feel the SATISFACTION of a job well done—a paper well-written, a project thoroughly completed, a play well-performed.  If you must wipe the snot from your 3-year old’s nose, don’t be disgusted if the Kleenex didn’t catch it all… because soon he’ll be wiping his own.  If you’ve recently experienced loss, then GRIEVE.  And grieve well.  At the table with friends and family, LAUGH.  If you’re eating and laughing at the same time, then might as well laugh until you puke.  And if you eat, then SMELL.  The aromas are not impediments to your day.  Steak on the grill, coffee beans freshly ground, cookies in the oven.  And TASTE.  Taste every ounce of flavor.  Taste every ounce of friendship.  Taste every ounce of Life.  Because-it-is-most-definitely-a-Gift.”

I love the part about being present.  Being now.

The whole thing was just too good not to share...

I Know Someone Famous

Today, my friend Lesley's cupcakes were featured on an actual cupcake blog! 

Here it is!

If you ever get a chance to try any of the piece` de resistance, made by Cups, LLC, I would highly recommend it.  Muah!

Not For Me, But....

This portable crib caught my eye today.  The reason that is so unusual, is because I have absolutely NO NEED for such a thing, but is is just THAT COOL!   It's called the GoCrib.

Can you believe this deal?  There are no metal bars or yucky nylon.  You aren't going to have to worry about losing a digit setting it up.  This pack-and-play is inflatable, and it can easily be squished back down into its backpack to transport it to grandma's house, or the next hotel.  Even though it is inflated, (it includes its own easy to use pump), it is unbelievably strong and durable.  It can withstand even the occasional 'big kid' who can't resist getting in!

Since you know kids put their hands and mouths on everything, you can rest assured the GoCrib is super safe.  It is PVC free, Phthalate free, and made with lead-free, non toxic materials.  Oh, and the pump is non-motorized, so you don't have to worry about where you will plug it in or batteries being dead.

Apparently, you can no longer use the baby as a reason not to visit someone.  :)

Still Thinking About "Eat Pray Love"

One of the places that the author, Elizabeth Gilbert, goes on her year-long trip, is Bali.  Even though I haven't started reading the book yet, I couldn't help but try to learn something about what one would see in Bali.....

So here is its location.  Kind of a long ways off.

Not sure what this is, but isn't it curious?  A home?  A restaurant?  A scenic lookout point?

It definitely has a different look than say, the Caribbean or maybe Hawaii.  Again, makes me very curious....

Apparently, the Australians vacation here frequently due to its close proximity.  I think I could vacation there.

This is a rice field?  I would have never guessed.  I had no idea.

I can just tell that going to this place would be like no other place I have ever been.  There are thousands of images if you want to check them out yourself.  Look here.

And I am definitely going to get started reading that book...

Books I Want To Read

There is this pretty long list of books I want to read.  Everything from self-help (my favorite category) to biographies.  Many of them I bought and have never gotten around to reading, and many I have refused to buy because I have so many that I own that are unread.

One that I have been planning to read all summer is Eat Pray Love.  My personal goal was to get this book read before the movie came out on August 13th.  Epic FAIL.  It is the 10th, and I haven't even cracked it yet.  I guess it is still possible, but not looking good.  The premise was so appealing to me even though I didn't know all the details.  A woman, looking to find out more about herself, embarks on a world wide journey to experience life among other cultures.  I didn't realize that she is happily married and trying to get pregnant, when she decides her life needs to go in a different direction.  Then she survives a painful divorce, before leaving on this sabbatical.  I've got to read it.  I know the movie will skip over fabulous details that the book embellishes.  Okay, right after I finish this post....

Then while I was surfing the nets, I found this hilarious looking book on Amazon.  You can tell the martha-ness by its title, Life's Too Short to Fold Fitted Sheets, by Lisa Quinn.  She said that for a decade she wanted to be just like Martha Stewart.  So she fashioned a career as an HGTV program host, author and columnist.  Housekeeping, gardening, decorating, crafting and entertaining - she had it covered.  But she was living a lie.  She had no time to weave 3500 cranberries into a beautiful wreath.  She never did alphabetize her pantry.  She didn't keep up her scrapbooks.  And she certainly didn't fold her napkins into creative origami shapes like she did on tv.  Nope.  She was an overworked and overwhelmed mother of two who could barely get dinner on the table three nights a week.

Yep.  This book has my name written all over it.  No better way to feel better about yourself than to find out that others struggle with the same challenges.  Now - I just need to decide which one to read first.  Sometimes I read two books at once, but that usually doesn't work out too well for me.  I need to simplify.  That's my mantra, in case you didn't know.  Simplify.  Simplify.  Simplify.

Summer Vacation....

.....comes to an end.

While I come to terms with the end of the summer, Chase, in our typical Griswald fashion, is loading the U-Haul, and preparing to drive back across the desert to home.  In the center of the country.  Gosh, I hope it goes well.

He will be leaving the lush tropical settings of the oceanside community that he has called home for the last three months.  And he will be heading straight back into the stark reality of Oklahoma, where it is about 100 degrees EVERY DAY.  And as a bonus, he will - after only a few days - return to school, where the humidity is 100 percent, most of the time.  Poor guy.  The acclimating will be hard. 

He will have to say goodbye to things like this --

And say hello to scenes like this --

 And this --

 And even this --

And get ready to go back and spend lots of hours here --

I think he is secretly looking forward to it.  Deep down, I think he has learned a lot of cool things that he is going to be able to pull out of his hat when necessary.

Don't Wanna Do It

The time is coming.  It is coming fast.  I don't want to have to say goodbye to the kids for the school year, but ready or not, here it comes.

Chase has been gone the entire summer, so he is just changing locations....

But Gant has been in and out and stayed with us multiple times during the summer, so it is like he has been here.  He is 20, and he is our baby.

This is the same picture I posted a few days ago, but you need to know about this guy.

He is very serious.  He is soft spoken.  He loves to dance.  (okay, maybe I made up the dance part.)

But he is studious, and focused on getting through school.  Can't you see it in his eyes?

Man, I hate the end of summer.......  I just don't wanna say goodbye!

Counting the Days

For a really long time I have been a fan of jewelry by Temple St. Clair.  I don't own one single piece, mainly because I think it would be heavy, and I tend to buy only costume jewelry that is heavy just because I don't want to spend a lot on something that might be slightly uncomfortable...  I know, picky.

A couple of months ago, I found out that they were collaborating with TARGET (woo hoo!) and would be designing pieces between $30 and $50.  Well, I have seen some of the pieces, and they are pretty cool! 

The only release date I can find, is "mid-August."  Initially, I read, "August 1st," so I have been on the lookout daily, and have not seen any such jewelry at the store or on the website.

See?  Pretty cool, huh?  I really can't wait to see it in person.  Right now, I guess I will just have to keep myself busy reading about Chelsea's wedding, and wondering if Bristol is really kicking Levi to the curb this time or not.  I'll keep you posted.

Back to School?!?

Really?  It can't be that time already.  I lamented this fact about a month ago when I saw school supplies out at Walmart prior to the Fourth of July.  But ready or not, it is almost here.

My kids don't start back to college until August 23rd, but those with grade school, middle school and high school kids will probably be sending them back earlier than that.  Is it just me, or does time seem to fly by?  Especially the older I get, the faster it seems to go.  There aren't a lot of days that I think, "wow, this day is slow, I wish it would hurry up and be over."  Why is that?

Is it that I am officially old?  Gosh, that would shock the heck out of me.  I mean, I know I am old, but good grief, I'm not that old.

Is it that I am busy?  I wouldn't have thought that.  After all, what do I do anyway?  People ask me that all the time, and I even ask myself sometimes.  I feel like I probably do less than the average 46 year old.  My jobs are part time, I have help with the housecleaning, I hate going to the grocery, so I avoid that as long as I can -- all that and there are just errands and laundry. 

"Lost time is never found again."
-- Benjamin Franklin

"Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity."
-- Henry Van Dyke

"Better late than never, but never late is better."
-- Unknown

more pics

More pics need to be taken...  Chase and Sheena will be home in about a week or so.  I am emptying the memory cards and charging up the batteries due to the impending arrival.  We have seen him so rarely this summer.  We will have to make up for lost time with lots of pics when they finally get here.

Now here is a perfect example of why we will need to take a lot of pictures.  Sheena = looking good.  Eyes open, perfect smile.  Perfect head tilt.  Chase = eyes almost closed.  Still a cute picture and would probably work for some things, but if we took, say 20 more, we might get a really good one with his eyes open a little more, or something spontaneous, like a funny moment or something.  He will love getting this news.  Shhh..... don't tell him.  We can just surprise him when he gets here.

He loves his mom.  Surely he will indulge her.......

Night on the Porch

These two showed up on my back porch this evening, and were all about showing us their dance moves.  I tried to get them to stop... but they just were so into it.

Gant was all serious and everything.  He told me it was Zumba, but I knew that wasn't right.  Then to distract everyone, he picked up this turtle and started chasing people around with it.

Just a crazy night of randomness on the back porch.  Oh, and there was a pretty sunset......

I love it when the kids are here!

Too Hot Tuesday

Welcome to my blog.  I make the rules.  When the temperature outside exceeds 102 degrees on any given day, I reserve the right to decide not to post.

And guess what?  103 degrees.  Sorry.  It is too hot to post today. 

Maybe tomorrow.

Another Finale

It is what it is.  Tonight was the season finale of the Bachelorette.  I try not to, but I can't help watching.  And all throughout the season, the spoilers have been saying, "she walks away empty-handed," "she leaves picking no one," and "Roberto leaves her in the cold."  None of which are what happened!  I couldn't believe it when we got to the end of the show, and she picked darling Roberto, and he picked her back!  Gosh, he's cute.  I even convinced Mike to watch the whole three hour debacle with me, and about half way through, he says, "you know, that Roberto is a pretty nice lookin guy."  To which I responded, "do ya think?"  Hello!?

But poor Chris, the landscaper from Massachusetts.  He came from such a sad year or so, losing his mom and all, and here he makes it to the final two, and she has to break his heart.  She tried to do it as gently as she could, but I guess when you aren't feeling it, you just can't help it.  I thought it was interesting that the producers allowed her to let him go before the final rose ceremony.  I never really believed that the bachelor/bachelorette had that much creative input in the actual filming of the show.

Well, I was sucked in to yet another reality show, and I forced myself to withstand the duration.  I gotta get a life.  Maybe I can find a wedding to get involved with or something.....