For more wordlessness, check out Live From Waterloo and the Wordless Wednesday hub.
2.29.2012
Wordless Wednesday - Pikes Peak
I will never, ever, ever tire of this view.
For more wordlessness, check out Live From Waterloo and the Wordless Wednesday hub.
For more wordlessness, check out Live From Waterloo and the Wordless Wednesday hub.
2.22.2012
Wordless Wednesday - Jeep
Just for you, honey!!
Check out Live From Waterloo and the Wordless Wednesday hub for more wordlessness.
Check out Live From Waterloo and the Wordless Wednesday hub for more wordlessness.
2.20.2012
Water and Chapstick
I've been thinking about the way we* drink water and put on chapstick.
Warning: I'm going on arant tangent - a bunny trail, if you will - that will probably be irrelevant to people under a certain age. I will not say what that age is; I'll leave you to determine that for yourself.
We're* all so concerned about being dehydrated and not getting our daily dose of water. How much that is will vary, depending upon who you talk to and what studies you read.
* When I say WE, I am, of course, referring to our collective society of humans and those in charge who've determined that these are issues with which to be concerned
When I was growing up, we played, rode bikes, ran around (literally!), and occasionally, we got thirsty. When that happened, we either turned on the hose and got a drink out in the yard or we went into the house, grabbed a cup, filled it with water from the kitchen sink, and drank it. Then we went back outside to play for a few more hours.
Until I was in high school, marching in a parade at the State Far parade in Pueblo, I never, ever, ever heard of someone having physical problems with dehydration. Now, I'm not saying they didn't exist. But it wasn't so commonplace that everyone carried water with them. In fact, pretty much nobody did that I knew. (Thus my nearly passing out at the end of marching in the parade!)
But today? The business of water for drinking is enormous. We have bottled water, carbonated water, flavored water, vitamin water, electrolyte water, additives for water, containers for water, filters for said containers, and on and on it goes.
We carry water with us everywhere. Purses, tote bags, backpacks, camera bags - they all have a spot for your water bottle.
As I write this, I'm drinking water from a Thermos intake water bottle, snuggled inside it's groovy water bottle cover/insulator that I picked up at Target yesterday. Oh, and my water is lightly flavored with TruLime. And it came out of a filtered water distribution system located in my freezer door.
I'm not saying it's a bad thing for people to drink adequate water. I'm just saying that I find it interesting that we used to survive** just fine without carrying water everywhere we went.
And on that note, what about lip balm? Yes, I used chapstick on occasion when growing up. But now? I cannot live without it. Maybe there's actually something IN the chapstick that soothes my lips, but also makes them desperately crave more. Maybe there's a Chapstick Conspiracy going on. I carry one in my pocket at all times (Burt's Bees Repleneshing Lip Balm with pomegranate oil, if you must know). In addition, I have a spare tube in my purse. One by my bed. Another on my desk. A few new tubes in a drawer at the ready. But there have been those rare times when I've had a lip balm emergency. As in, I left the house and there's no chapstick in my pocket. Not only that, but the one in my purse has been taken out and left elsewhere.
At that moment, my uncoated lips begin to shrivel and dry up (it really is dry here in Colorado!). I can no longer focus on anything with such parched lips. They may split open any moment. It's so severe that I will drop all plans and go to the nearest known store which carries Burt's Bees and promptly purchase at least two tubes - if not more for the home stash - before continuing about my day. And the sigh of relief from my lips being freshly balmed? Well, there's just nothing like it.
But I really want to know how I got to that place? This was not a phenomenon which has been with me for my entire life. In fact, back in the day, I don't think we had much more than Chapstick, Blistex, and Carmex. And I recall only using them if there were some unusual drying circumstances. I certainly had no stash at home and never carried multiples with me at all times in case of a lip balm emergency.
What about you? Are you old enough to have grown up without depending upon a water bottle and chapstick at your beck and call? Are there other items you've noticed that fall into this category?
Just wondering. Thanks for joining me in my random thoughts.
Now go drink some water and balm your lips. You know you're thirsty and your lips are dry, right?
**Yes, I am aware that there were always people drinking water - football players, cyclists, etc. I'm referring to the general public, living their daily lives in a somewhat normal (whatever THAT is) fashion.
Warning: I'm going on a
We're* all so concerned about being dehydrated and not getting our daily dose of water. How much that is will vary, depending upon who you talk to and what studies you read.
* When I say WE, I am, of course, referring to our collective society of humans and those in charge who've determined that these are issues with which to be concerned
When I was growing up, we played, rode bikes, ran around (literally!), and occasionally, we got thirsty. When that happened, we either turned on the hose and got a drink out in the yard or we went into the house, grabbed a cup, filled it with water from the kitchen sink, and drank it. Then we went back outside to play for a few more hours.
Until I was in high school, marching in a parade at the State Far parade in Pueblo, I never, ever, ever heard of someone having physical problems with dehydration. Now, I'm not saying they didn't exist. But it wasn't so commonplace that everyone carried water with them. In fact, pretty much nobody did that I knew. (Thus my nearly passing out at the end of marching in the parade!)
But today? The business of water for drinking is enormous. We have bottled water, carbonated water, flavored water, vitamin water, electrolyte water, additives for water, containers for water, filters for said containers, and on and on it goes.
We carry water with us everywhere. Purses, tote bags, backpacks, camera bags - they all have a spot for your water bottle.
As I write this, I'm drinking water from a Thermos intake water bottle, snuggled inside it's groovy water bottle cover/insulator that I picked up at Target yesterday. Oh, and my water is lightly flavored with TruLime. And it came out of a filtered water distribution system located in my freezer door.
I'm not saying it's a bad thing for people to drink adequate water. I'm just saying that I find it interesting that we used to survive** just fine without carrying water everywhere we went.
And on that note, what about lip balm? Yes, I used chapstick on occasion when growing up. But now? I cannot live without it. Maybe there's actually something IN the chapstick that soothes my lips, but also makes them desperately crave more. Maybe there's a Chapstick Conspiracy going on. I carry one in my pocket at all times (Burt's Bees Repleneshing Lip Balm with pomegranate oil, if you must know). In addition, I have a spare tube in my purse. One by my bed. Another on my desk. A few new tubes in a drawer at the ready. But there have been those rare times when I've had a lip balm emergency. As in, I left the house and there's no chapstick in my pocket. Not only that, but the one in my purse has been taken out and left elsewhere.
At that moment, my uncoated lips begin to shrivel and dry up (it really is dry here in Colorado!). I can no longer focus on anything with such parched lips. They may split open any moment. It's so severe that I will drop all plans and go to the nearest known store which carries Burt's Bees and promptly purchase at least two tubes - if not more for the home stash - before continuing about my day. And the sigh of relief from my lips being freshly balmed? Well, there's just nothing like it.
But I really want to know how I got to that place? This was not a phenomenon which has been with me for my entire life. In fact, back in the day, I don't think we had much more than Chapstick, Blistex, and Carmex. And I recall only using them if there were some unusual drying circumstances. I certainly had no stash at home and never carried multiples with me at all times in case of a lip balm emergency.
What about you? Are you old enough to have grown up without depending upon a water bottle and chapstick at your beck and call? Are there other items you've noticed that fall into this category?
Just wondering. Thanks for joining me in my random thoughts.
Now go drink some water and balm your lips. You know you're thirsty and your lips are dry, right?
**Yes, I am aware that there were always people drinking water - football players, cyclists, etc. I'm referring to the general public, living their daily lives in a somewhat normal (whatever THAT is) fashion.
2.16.2012
Paperless Ranting
I do my part to recycle, reuse, and generally try not to be wasteful. In that vein, I've gone paperless with some of our bills. That's been all fine and dandy. Until now.
We switched our home phone from Qwest (now Century Link) to Verizon recently. Qwest (sorry, I just don't like their new name - I'll get over it one of these days) is one of the companies with whom we've gone paperless. Since their account numbers are based upon one's phone number (if you have a phone with them), they had to change our account number. But they've not sent me any emails (or paper bills) with the new number. When it comes time for me to pay the bill, I have to log into our account. But the old account number (our home phone #) is no longer active. However, I don't have the new account number. So I chat online with a representative, but he can't help me without me providing the new, active account number.
Do you see my dilemma?
Some days, the technological advances and steps to go green are seriously ANNOYING. As soon as I have account access, I am promptly opting back out of this paperless nonsense. Sadly, I will not be recycling my paper bills, though. They will be shredded and I'm not allowed to give my shredding to the recycle peeps. Whatever.
Edited to add:
I contacted Century Link this morning and was very pleased with the service and outcome. I spoke with Carlie in St. Paul and she was very helpful, friendly, and cheery. She quickly provided all the information I needed to update my account, view the bill, and pay the bill. She gave us an extension for this payment, because our billing cycle changed, leaving us with a larger-than-normal bill this month.
Problems will arise in life, but it's how they're handled/resolved that makes a difference. In this case, I've gone from being very frustrated with Century Link to having a very pleasant experience with them!
We switched our home phone from Qwest (now Century Link) to Verizon recently. Qwest (sorry, I just don't like their new name - I'll get over it one of these days) is one of the companies with whom we've gone paperless. Since their account numbers are based upon one's phone number (if you have a phone with them), they had to change our account number. But they've not sent me any emails (or paper bills) with the new number. When it comes time for me to pay the bill, I have to log into our account. But the old account number (our home phone #) is no longer active. However, I don't have the new account number. So I chat online with a representative, but he can't help me without me providing the new, active account number. Do you see my dilemma?
Some days, the technological advances and steps to go green are seriously ANNOYING. As soon as I have account access, I am promptly opting back out of this paperless nonsense. Sadly, I will not be recycling my paper bills, though. They will be shredded and I'm not allowed to give my shredding to the recycle peeps. Whatever.
Edited to add:
I contacted Century Link this morning and was very pleased with the service and outcome. I spoke with Carlie in St. Paul and she was very helpful, friendly, and cheery. She quickly provided all the information I needed to update my account, view the bill, and pay the bill. She gave us an extension for this payment, because our billing cycle changed, leaving us with a larger-than-normal bill this month.
Problems will arise in life, but it's how they're handled/resolved that makes a difference. In this case, I've gone from being very frustrated with Century Link to having a very pleasant experience with them!
2.15.2012
Wordless Wednesday - Snow Cherub
Okay, I know that wordless pretty much means without words. But I just have to say that I SUPER LOVE this photo. And not because I took it. Well, I love that I took it. But I also just LOVE it. Not sure that I can even explain why. But I do. So Happy Wordless Wednesday everyone. I hope you shot something you love!
Check out Live From Waterloo and the Wordless Wednesday hub for some more wordless goodness.
Check out Live From Waterloo and the Wordless Wednesday hub for some more wordless goodness.
2.13.2012
February Full Moon
Over the past couple of years, I've finally been able to capture some decent moon photos. A couple of weeks ago, I participated in a free online moon photography class put on by Paul deBerjeois. Paul scheduled the class so that his students could have some time to practice and be ready for the full moon. Unfortunately, we've had a lot of clouds, so practice opportunities didn't happen.
I thought the same thing would happen this night (Wednesday, February 8), so I didn't make any plans to be in a good spot for shooting the moon.
Silly me.
Sometime after 6:00, I realized that there weren't that many clouds and I probably could get some moon shots. We live in a neighborhood with a lot of very big trees and all the eastern horizon views for me contain houses. So my dear supportive husband drove me to a place where we thought I could get some good photos. We stood out in a very cold, breezy field for awhile and waited. And waited. And waited some more. I began to think that maybe a building was blocking our view. Plus the parking lights had just come on and I didn't want them to disrupt my pictures.
We went across the street, up on a higher hill, and stood out in the cold some more. And more. And more. We couldn't figure out why the moon wasn't showing up - it was well past moonrise time. John walked higher up the hill and looked around to see if we were just missing it. Sigh. So we hopped in the truck, drove across another street and used the restroom at Arby's. Just as we walked out the door, there it was! The moon was out and well up in the sky.
So we pulled off into a field just up from Arby's and I finally managed to get some photos.
The cold waiting wasn't entirely fruitless. I pulled off some nice light trails.
I thought the same thing would happen this night (Wednesday, February 8), so I didn't make any plans to be in a good spot for shooting the moon.
Silly me.
Sometime after 6:00, I realized that there weren't that many clouds and I probably could get some moon shots. We live in a neighborhood with a lot of very big trees and all the eastern horizon views for me contain houses. So my dear supportive husband drove me to a place where we thought I could get some good photos. We stood out in a very cold, breezy field for awhile and waited. And waited. And waited some more. I began to think that maybe a building was blocking our view. Plus the parking lights had just come on and I didn't want them to disrupt my pictures.
We went across the street, up on a higher hill, and stood out in the cold some more. And more. And more. We couldn't figure out why the moon wasn't showing up - it was well past moonrise time. John walked higher up the hill and looked around to see if we were just missing it. Sigh. So we hopped in the truck, drove across another street and used the restroom at Arby's. Just as we walked out the door, there it was! The moon was out and well up in the sky.
So we pulled off into a field just up from Arby's and I finally managed to get some photos.
The cold waiting wasn't entirely fruitless. I pulled off some nice light trails.
2.12.2012
A Little Light
After taking the shots of the snowy tree, I was walking out of the living room and noticed the streams of light across my new magazine that had arrived in the mail earlier that day.
Location lighting, indeed.
The light was coming from my Scentsy burner.
The burner offered the only available light. So I turned on the lamp so you could see what it actually looks like.
Location lighting, indeed.
The light was coming from my Scentsy burner.
The burner offered the only available light. So I turned on the lamp so you could see what it actually looks like.
Snowy Night
There's a street light on the other side of our neighbor's house across the street. I love the way it lights up the trees and snow in the winter at night time.
But I couldn't decide if I liked the image brighter or a little darker. What do you think?
But I couldn't decide if I liked the image brighter or a little darker. What do you think?
2.07.2012
2.05.2012
Weekly Recap 2/5/12
I really miss the days of blogging. Writing posts, visiting others, and commenting. Even though it wasn't that long ago, I still look back at that time fondly. Every once in awhile, I take a look at my list of blogs I like to visit (over there on the right) and go check out a blog or two that I haven't been to in awhile. Tonight I popped over to catch up with Bev at Numbering the Days. She's the sister of the second blogger I ever followed when I entered the blogosphere. Anyway, I'm sort of rambling, aren't I (imagine that!)?
All that to say that I like the way Bev posts various recaps - monthly, weekly, etc. And I thought maybe I'd give that a whirl. Maybe it will get me blogging again, more than just once-a-week Wordless Wednesday posts.
So here's a peek at my past week:
I started (yet another) planner/organizer/idea notebook. In a purple Moleskine. Long story, but I'll post about it (with pix) probably this week. Lucy and I attended the monthly homeschool meeting. Not without a quick stop at Starbucks first. So I could take my Iced Venti Nonfat Chai to the meeting and promptly knock it off a table and dump half of it on the floor. Definite sad face moment.
I completed a proofreading/editing project for a dear friend. Can't wait for it to be published. It's a good one if you're a woman who'd like to learn a little more about the elusive Proverbs 31 woman.
I participated in an online moon photography class. There's a very talented photographer here named Paul who has recently begun live streaming some free photography classes. The week prior, it was a night photography class. Since there's a full moon coming up this Wednesday, he wanted to get the moon class out for people to be able to put their newfound skills to work. So hopefully I'll have some moon shots up this week, too.
This is not from the class or this week, but last May. I just felt a picture was necessary here.
I had dinner with one of my dearest friends, Nan (we've known each other over half our lives now - we met as sophomores in high school). Mexican, of course. Because it's what she and I always have when we eat out together. Always good conversation and good food.
Friday we woke up to snow. And it continued to snow for a good portion of the day. Well, in parts of town anyway. Some parts of the state got loads more than we did. But I'm glad we got anything. We sure need the moisture.
Spent some time at Starbucks with my mom and Lucy in the afternoon. And some more time visiting at Lucy's house and introducing her to Choco Tacos. I mean, how can you go through life without having experienced a Choco Taco?
Today was pretty busy, but fun. Our nieces were over this morning. We had lunch with and visited John's mom. I picked up one son who'd spent the night at a friend's. John dropped off the other son at his writer's group. I worked on some school plans while at home. We headed over to my sister's home to eat pizza and watch the Super Bowl. John picked up the son at writer's group. And we came home and watched Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Or at least what was left of it.
My oldest niece and me
And of course, there was the toe incident on Wednesday. Goodness.
Thanks to the fact that I have not been getting to bed on time (yeah, big surprise, right?), I'm going to hit the publish button on this and go to bed. Early...er than usual. Perhaps I could start a much-needed trend for myself.
On a happy note, I find that just recapping my week already gave me a few things to potentially blog about this week. Hmmm...this could be the start of a good thing.
What did you do this past week? Anything exciting? Anything mediocre? Tell me about it in the comments.
All that to say that I like the way Bev posts various recaps - monthly, weekly, etc. And I thought maybe I'd give that a whirl. Maybe it will get me blogging again, more than just once-a-week Wordless Wednesday posts.
So here's a peek at my past week:
I started (yet another) planner/organizer/idea notebook. In a purple Moleskine. Long story, but I'll post about it (with pix) probably this week. Lucy and I attended the monthly homeschool meeting. Not without a quick stop at Starbucks first. So I could take my Iced Venti Nonfat Chai to the meeting and promptly knock it off a table and dump half of it on the floor. Definite sad face moment.
I completed a proofreading/editing project for a dear friend. Can't wait for it to be published. It's a good one if you're a woman who'd like to learn a little more about the elusive Proverbs 31 woman.
I participated in an online moon photography class. There's a very talented photographer here named Paul who has recently begun live streaming some free photography classes. The week prior, it was a night photography class. Since there's a full moon coming up this Wednesday, he wanted to get the moon class out for people to be able to put their newfound skills to work. So hopefully I'll have some moon shots up this week, too.
This is not from the class or this week, but last May. I just felt a picture was necessary here.
I had dinner with one of my dearest friends, Nan (we've known each other over half our lives now - we met as sophomores in high school). Mexican, of course. Because it's what she and I always have when we eat out together. Always good conversation and good food.
Friday we woke up to snow. And it continued to snow for a good portion of the day. Well, in parts of town anyway. Some parts of the state got loads more than we did. But I'm glad we got anything. We sure need the moisture.
Spent some time at Starbucks with my mom and Lucy in the afternoon. And some more time visiting at Lucy's house and introducing her to Choco Tacos. I mean, how can you go through life without having experienced a Choco Taco?
Today was pretty busy, but fun. Our nieces were over this morning. We had lunch with and visited John's mom. I picked up one son who'd spent the night at a friend's. John dropped off the other son at his writer's group. I worked on some school plans while at home. We headed over to my sister's home to eat pizza and watch the Super Bowl. John picked up the son at writer's group. And we came home and watched Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Or at least what was left of it.
My oldest niece and me
And of course, there was the toe incident on Wednesday. Goodness.
Thanks to the fact that I have not been getting to bed on time (yeah, big surprise, right?), I'm going to hit the publish button on this and go to bed. Early...er than usual. Perhaps I could start a much-needed trend for myself.
On a happy note, I find that just recapping my week already gave me a few things to potentially blog about this week. Hmmm...this could be the start of a good thing.
What did you do this past week? Anything exciting? Anything mediocre? Tell me about it in the comments.
2.01.2012
I Love My Toes
For Veggie Tales fans, this may bring to mind "I Love My Lips" by Larry Boy. Otherwise, disregard this portion.
I really do appreciate the ten toes that God gave me. Granted, they're not lovely or anything, but they're nicely teamed up, with five on each foot. They're super helpful when it comes to balance and walking and such. I especially like the way they keep my socks in place. All around, I'm sure glad to have them.
Why then, you might ask, do I keep breaking them?
Apparently I'm just super clumsy.
This makes break #4 in under three years now. There was also that time probably 15 years ago when I broke one while chasing one of my boys around the house. All of my left foot and its toes cleared the cat post. Except the pinkie.
And in case you have nothing better to do and want to read about one of the injuries, it had something to do with a Crock Pot lid.
The other time, I apparently didn't blog about. I will say it was the worst. I kicked a nice sturdy Herman Miller office chair early in the morning to break one toe. Then I kicked a dresser and further damaged that toe and added another to the pain later in the day. You know, in case I didn't hurt the first enough with the office chair, I guess.
I really do appreciate the ten toes that God gave me. Granted, they're not lovely or anything, but they're nicely teamed up, with five on each foot. They're super helpful when it comes to balance and walking and such. I especially like the way they keep my socks in place. All around, I'm sure glad to have them.
Why then, you might ask, do I keep breaking them?
Apparently I'm just super clumsy.
This makes break #4 in under three years now. There was also that time probably 15 years ago when I broke one while chasing one of my boys around the house. All of my left foot and its toes cleared the cat post. Except the pinkie.
And in case you have nothing better to do and want to read about one of the injuries, it had something to do with a Crock Pot lid.
The other time, I apparently didn't blog about. I will say it was the worst. I kicked a nice sturdy Herman Miller office chair early in the morning to break one toe. Then I kicked a dresser and further damaged that toe and added another to the pain later in the day. You know, in case I didn't hurt the first enough with the office chair, I guess.
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