This is my brain on summer break. This is my brain on don’t-drop-the-ball overdrive.
This is my brain on August, back from the last trip, what-do-you-mean-it’s-time-to-get-ready-for-school mode.
this is my brain. this is my brain in overdrive.
Tag Archives: blog
Share Your World 8/7/17
What was the last URL that you bookmarked or saved?
How long has Donald Trump been president? Seriously, there’s a website for this.
Do you believe in the afterlife? Reincarnation?
I believe in an afterlife, but I’m cool with what most other faiths believe happens after death. The only concept I struggle to grasp is the Buddhists’ belief that achieving nirvana leads to the extinguishing of a life force altogether upon death. I’m working on processing that one.
If you were or are a writer do you prefer writing short stories, poems or novels?
I write some poetry, though not as well as many others do. My favorite genre is very similar to the blog – first person narrative in short stories or commentary.
What inspired you this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.
Watching the herons swoop across the lake. I always enjoy seeing these graceful birds, even when they’re standing like statues at the shoreline, searching for food like a cat stalking prey. I rarely see more than one but several times last week I spotted two flying together, swooping into the tree line to find a more peaceful resting place. It was beautiful.
Cee’s Share Your World is a fun Monday blogging prompt.
SoCS – two philosophers walked into a bar…
High bars, low bars…some say how successful you feel depends on where you set your goal line.
I’m not sure how I feel about this philosophy. I mean, in some instances it makes sense. Going into a Saturday hoping to have a good day may seem like setting a low bar to some, but if setting the bar low means you find pleasure in a cup of coffee and walking the dog then who am I to argue?
Then again, aiming to graduate college with whatever GPA constitutes “passing” strikes me as a bar set far too low. Little to aim for, no incentive to challenge yourself – I think some folks sell themselves short when they’re cruising on Ds and keep on rolling.
So where’s the happy medium? (And you can’t say average.)
My kids aim high. In school, in sports, in more ways than I probably know, T-man and Bear want to achieve. I’m trying to help them find balance, find a way to live peacefully even when life doesn’t hit those high notes. It’s a work in progress. I could say the same for me.
Linda’s stream of consciousness prompt this week is “high/low.”
school supply lists are here. joey’s got an Opinion.
And, in honor of the first day of August…
“On Sunday, we got one of those fabulous automated calls of which I’m so incredibly fond. Sassy’s middle school principal had a seven-point audio presentation for us, and one of those seven points was the supply list. The supply list. I fuckin hate the supply list.”
This is way more than your typical school supply list rant. It is a laugh out loud funny look at our new academic demands, including commentary on elementary socialism and quantity overkill. Bwahahahaha!
IKEA, home goods, and whether color matters
“Do you have these cups? Everyone I know has these cups…I can’t help from paying attention to which color I’m giving to the kids. I know, I know, I’m not supposed to teach them that color matters, and I’m just supposed to grab the two cups from the top of the pile and put them on the table without thinking about it. But I don’t.
Because do you know what happens when I put the pink cup down in front of my son? A shitstorm of monumental proportions. And I can try to reason with him and tell him color doesn’t matter, but by this point he’s wailing and past the point of no return and he’d rather die of thirst.”
Share Your World 7/10/17
How do you like to spend a rainy day?
Watching movies, taking a nap, reading a good book, and blogging.
List at least five favorite treats. (They do not have to be sugary).
Tortilla chips and queso. Really good pizza. Warm, buttery croissants. An old fashioned hot fudge sundae. Delicious coffee cake.
Where’s your favorite place to take out-of-town guests?
A show at DPAC (Durham Performing Arts Center) or dinner at the Five Star Gas Station. This is literally a gas station that serves amazing food cooked by the chef next door. Current menu choices include Duck Salad, Red Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs, and Beer Braised Pork Carnitas. I’ve also enjoyed a delicious scallop succotash there.
You are trapped in an elevator, who would you want to be trapped with?
I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t matter who was with me seeing as being trapped in an elevator is the sixth circle of hell, but…BrightSide, gem, and sista-friend would all be great at passing the time and hopefully love me enough that they wouldn’t strangle me for being all freaked out and spazzy.
Optional Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
We had safe travels with family last week. I got to see three areas of the country I’d never visited before, plus no one got lost in the airport. So good on us.
This week I’d like to find a little more laid back time. I need to recharge my batteries a bit before heading into phase 2 of the summer.
Cee’s weekly Share Your World post is always a good time.
What’s happening in your world today?
who has a “favorite frontiersman” anyway?
Kids’ camps are da bomb. Really. Except when they’re not.
“Dear camp directors,
I’m worried. Like seriously worried. I mean you’re supposed to be taking care of my precious kiddos every day, but I’m questioning your sobriety. Nahhh, not our bus driver. She rocks the Casbah. But I’m seriously worried that the people who are in charge at camp are smoking something.
Because I just took a look at the summer calendar and I have four words for you: WTF were you thinking? Or drinking? Or inhaling?”
WTF happened to NORMAL dress-up days like crazy sock day?!! – Baby Sideburns
Share Your World 4/3/17 (belated)
For your main meal do you prefer sweet and sour, hot and spicy, spicy and sweet, bitter, salty, bland or other?
Whoa, that’s a lot of choices. I guess I rarely crave sweet for my main meal these days – sometimes for a side or dessert, but not main courses. I’d have to say I lean toward salty, a little spicy, and hot (temperature wise). Never cold and never bland.
Where do you hide junk when people come over?
(Cover your eyes if you visit my house.) Clean main rooms are our priority, so any errant piles get shifted to the office (ssshh) or the master bedroom (even more sssshh). Funny enough, the kids had a sleepover recently and midway through the evening I found Bear and her friend curled up in our room, playing a game on the iPads. Our room. The messiest freaking room in the house that day. Sigh…
What daily habit would you like to introduce to your life?
While I agree with Joey that there are already plenty of things to do in a day, it’s hard not to say five minutes of pickup time. That would make a huge difference in our house. I guess I just have to get over the mental block of being too tired at the end of the day to pick up one room.
If you were to perform in the circus, what would you do?
Okay, so here’s the thing…I don’t like the circus. I know, I know…American institution, rite of passage, yada yada yada. But I’ve always looked at the animals and felt just a little sad for them. BUT. If I were kidnapped by the circus, then I’d introduce the acts. I have enough teacher in me to psych a crowd up, no public speaking issues, and no other talents that would be worth putting on (circus) display.
Optional Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
Last week T-man enjoyed basketball camp and Bear did indeed love the sleep away camp as much as we knew she would. (She’d had some doubts over the last month or so.) I was grateful to see them both enjoying aspects of the world that they particularly love.
This week I’m looking forward to quality time with BrightSide’s family and seeing places I’ve never visited before. It’s been pretty exciting already.
Cee’s Share Your World questions are fun for everyone.
What’s happening in your world?
