Minimum Effort

I'm making an effort to get back on my blogging schedule. Today is Current Events Wednesday where I voice my very opinionated voice-y opinion on something in the news. Or something people are talking about. Or something that I feel like talking about. Ya know.

Anyway, I saw on Instagram on Monday an image furthering the movement to raise minimum wage to $11.00. You really gotta be kidding me there. $11.00??? Really??? I'm sure this sounds good to all the high school drop outs out there, but let's be realistic.

How many small business owners can afford both the Affordable Care Act and paying a 16 year old kid $11.00 an hour?? Even before the health care deal, a small business owner would have a hard time paying a minimum wage of $11.00. Who do you think is really going to pay those increased wages? The consumer will when all businesses, because you don't really think this will be confined to just small businesses do you, raise their prices to offset the increase in minimum wage.

The instagram pic said to raise minimum wage because, "nobody can survive on $7.25." I'm not even trying to debate that. I can't imagine how hard it would be to live off of $7.25/hour, especially if you're a family. But you know what? Minimum wage equals minimum skills. Get yourself educated. Get yourself some experience. And don't even begin to tell me that there aren't enough resources out there. There are free job fairs all the time. Most communities have workshops for job hunting, resume writing, etc. And if all you're doing is earning minimum wage, you qualify for student loans/grants. Can't afford books? Rent them. My school had a thing where I could designate part of my loan for books and I still had money left over after paying tuition. What other excuse do you have?

Don't cry to me and don't expect me to support/vote for $11.00 minimum wage.

My First Autumn in Florida

It occurred to me the other day that this is the first time I've ever been in Florida during the fall months. I briefly lived here in 1998 and I've been to Florida on several occasions for vacation, but all those times were during either spring, summer, or winter. Huh.

I'm really enjoying the cooler temps. We're still getting into the lower 80s, but overnight, it's been in the 50s and 60s. Overall, it's cool enough that I've had the windows open this week for the first time and the ac off. I don't think the home owners ever opened the windows. They were nasty dirty and required cleaning and vacuuming. Anyway, I'm looking forward to a lower electric bill. Hopefully. Speaking of bills...

Our water/sewer bill has gone up $15-$20 every month since we moved into this house. I was expecting an increase from June to July since June would have been a partial billing month, but every subsequent bill has had an increase. Not only has it increased, but it's now $50 more a month than the average for this house. I'm not happy. One reason was that the hall bathroom toilet was leaking. The flapper was warped. We replaced that last week so I'm hoping that will reflect on next month's bill. I also went all dictator on the fam and made a list of rules for water/sewer usage. Ugh.

Anyway, this fall ushered in the first tropical storm system that we had to deal with:  Karen. First, we had hurricane watches. Then, the storm weakened and we had tropical storm watches. Finally, it weakened further, changed its track, and we barely got any rain and hardly any wind at all. We had worse thunderstorms over the summer. Seriously. All this storm did was ruin weekend plans we had. So, we have all of our canned food, water, batteries, candles, etc. on hand so if something else comes in before the hurricane season ends in less than a month, we're all set.

Navarre Beach from the Pier before Karen. Scary, right?

Something else this fall in Florida...

We're upping Bailey's weight loss program. She's lost quite a bit of weight since we moved. She's been getting daily walks in the evening once the pavement has cooled off and with the weight loss, she's been more playful and moves around more easily. She seems to have reached a plateau though, so now I'm walking her in the mornings before it gets too hot. She's not enthusiastic about this additional walk. I have to constantly encourage her to keep going after about 15 minutes. I even let her take a break at the bay. We have a fishing dock in the neighborhood that is on the banks of the East Bay. It's really very lovely. Still, after that first 15 minutes, it's a chore to keep her going. I'm hoping that with repetition, she'll start to enjoy the additional walk instead of acting like I'm punishing her.

View from the dock as Bailey and I relaxed during our walk.

Lastly, the Mister signed us up to go to the Marine Corps Ball this November. The jury is still out on whether or not I'm going. He has to. The only reason I even considered going this year (the last ball I attended was in 1998) is that it's supposed to be at a really nice resort-type place in Destin, FL. I, like Bailey, have gained some poundage. I have to tell you. Using this blog and my social media peeps as a support system for keeping up with diet and exercise was a dismal failure. You people sort of suck at it. Anyway, shoving myself into a muumuu isn't my idea of fun. However, if I can find a dress that isn't muumuu-like, and I don't look like a stuffed sausage in it, I'll go. I don't like the idea of the ball to begin with. It's a bunch of adults going to prom. It isn't dignified. And it's also a thinly veiled excuse to get drunk at the prom like you couldn't necessarily do in high school. It's annoying.

Today, It's Games

This is a subject that has annoyed me for many years. First of all, I’d just like to say…How very easy and convenient it must be for people to be able to lay the blame for mental illness and/or a lack of parenting and/or a lack of personal responsibility on the doorstep of video games. It takes a severe lack of imagination, or at least a good imagination, to use video games, television, and movies as an explanation for why people do dumb things.

Anyway…

 I’d like to open my topic by saying that I am by no means, an expert clinician on mental illness. I only have my familial experiences and examples to go by. Haha. I kid.  Sort of. My undergrad is in English and I only took intro to psychology. Still, I would like to claim a sort of expert-ship when it comes to gaming. I’ve been playing video games since the original Atari. I even played the black and white Pong but I think that was a little after it was initially introduced. I played The Oregon Trail in elementary school on a Commodore 64. I’ve played games on every Playstation console and almost every Nintendo console. I admit to never having had a Sega or Xbox though. I put my foot down against the Xbox because we already had a Wii and the PS3. I also game on a PC, Mac, iPod/phone, and iPad as well. Suffice it to say, I’ve been playing video games the majority of my life. I still play some sort of game at least once a week and participate in the gaming world via Twitter and blogs. Yup. I’m a geek or nerd or whatever you want to call it. I am joined by millions. We are legion. Deal with it.

I’ve played a variety of games from first person shooters to MMO fantasy games to platform games to simulation games to role playing games. I’ve even played a few sports games even though I’m not a sports fan. I can’t think of a genre of video game that I haven’t played or at least tried. AND LO AND BEHOLD!!! I’ve never felt compelled to get a gun and kill actual people. I've never gone on a hunt for elves or gnomes. I have also never developed a gaming compulsion.

I’ve known people that have had a compulsion to play video games. All of them have said that their compulsion had roots in another problem or issue in their life. For instance, one person said that his/her gaming compulsion stemmed from issues with his/her father (this person was 19 at the time of their gaming affliction). The game became a place to hide, a place to avoid confronting the real problem. Another person said that they had a generally addictive personality. Video games weren’t the first, nor were they the last, addiction that this person had to overcome.

I have to say that I’ve never known someone who translated actions in a game to real life like the criminals we’ve been hearing about in the news. Most people understand that something that is animated, such as video games, isn’t real and isn’t an example by which to live their lives.

How many millions of people who play video games every day and aren’t criminals are there versus the people that play video games and have committed violent crimes because of them?

I’m not saying that there are not inappropriate games, at least in my subjective opinion, out there. Personally, for my family, Grand Theft Auto and all of its incarnations, aren’t allowed in our home. You know why? Because the Mister and I actively parent our children. Still, offensive, objectionable, unacceptable, inappropriate, are all subjective words. What I call offensive someone else might not and vice versa.

I’m also not saying that in some instances, video games cannot play a part in the motivation behind a violent crime. But I am saying, in my inexpert psychological opinion, that even if games have been part of the drive behind a crime, that it is only one piece of a diverse and complicated puzzle. People that have the ability to pick up a gun and kill innocent strangers have way more complicated problems than the video games that they play or the movies that they watch.

My point being is that of all the people that I have known of that have had addictive issues with video games have all had other underlying personality flaws and/or mental instability(s) and/or social issues. They have all said that if it hadn’t been video games, it would have been something else. These people had the ability to take personal responsibility for their actions despite everything else they had to deal with which is more than you can say about most people. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, we are a society full of people with an inability to take personal responsibility for our actions and pass the blame off onto someone or something else. Today, it’s video games, yesterday it was guns, who knows what it will be tomorrow. How about we all take an old fashioned look at our values and personal ethics for a change. If you think I'm wrong, some of my opinions here are supported by someone who is an expert. Read this article on video game addiction/compulsion.

It would be a breath of fresh air if people could demonstrate that they possess common sense. And I’m not talking about the criminals here.

Still Get the Tingles (and other stuff)

Maybe it's because he had 24 hour duty and had to work the next day, but I've been especially loving my husband the last couple days. He called me this morning. He was just driving from point A to B on base and had a couple minutes to talk. That he called me "just because" made me all melty. I love that man.

Just so you know:  Duty and the next day of work equated to him being at work from 6:30 am Tuesday until leaving work at 3:30'ish Wednesday. Including drive time, he worked a straight 35 hours and was awake for 40 hours straight. I don't know how he did it. Also, just so you know, his car has the built in hands free deal for his cell phone.

Enough sappy stuff...

I've recently become a Breaking Bad fan. This came about because of Michael Symon's Facebook feed, lol. He can't say enough good things about this show and all his effusive gushing made me curious. I started watching it on Netflix and was immediately hooked. It is such a compelling drama with Dexter-like characters where you really like them but know you shouldn't because they do pretty horrible things. I went on a Breaking Bad binge and finished watching the first four seasons plus the first eight of season five on Netflix. Then I hit the rest with OnDemand and I'm all caught up now. I get to finish out the series by watching them on Sunday's with all the rest of you schmucks. Ugh!!!

I would say that this show is in the top five favorite dramas of all time for me. I told the Mister that last night and he said, "Even more than Dexter?" I had to say yes because Dexter, while one of my favorite shows, probably in the top ten, has had its bumps in the road. It's like Chris Hardwick said on one of the Talking Bad sessions (sorry, don't remember which one), Breaking Bad has never had a bad episode. Most shows always have one or two episodes that make you feel like they were written simply to get you from the episode previous to the one following but every episode of Breaking Bad has been a nail biter and has had an, "Oh shit! Did that really happen??" moment. In my opinion, this final season of Breaking Bad is just as good as the first or any, really, of the previous four. How many shows can you say that about?

On the one hand, I'm sad that I came into this series in its last season. On the other, it was a great ride to be able to watch the first four seasons successively and at an obsessive pace, lol. Especially considering that this series has mid-season hiatuses. Yuck.

Next up, Sons of Anarchy. I have to be honest and tell you that I have my doubts about this show despite the hype. So far, I've only watched the pilot, but it didn't hold my attention all that well. I also have an extremely hard time believing Katy Sagal in this role. I can't get past seeing her as Peg Bundy despite the fact that I hated Married with Children and didn't watch that show. Still, I'm going to give this show a fair shake because the Mister said I would like it and I keep seeing people rave about it on Facebook.

Dress for Success

 As many of my faithful are aware, we have lived all over the United States. As of this last move, my kids have attended schools in four different states. Between the two of them, they have attended 14 different schools. As a result, we are familiar with how different schools are run in different areas of the United States and in different school districts. All of them have had their good points and their bad points. None have been completely awful, although the Youngest Child's second elementary school in North Carolina came pretty close, and none have been completely great.

Every time we enter a different school, even if it's just been the transition from elementary to middle or middle to high school, we have had to learn all the new rules and policies. A learning curve, getting aclimatized to a new school environment, is something that all schools have in common.

What I Liked and Didn't Like

I want to briefly touch on one thing I did and didn't like about schools in each state.

California:  

Like:  I liked that the Oldest Child's high school allowed them to have coffee. I know. So what? But I thought that was very California. When we moved here to Florida, she was shocked that kids aren't allowed to have any drinks outside of the cafeteria except for water, lol.

Didn't Like:  The lack of boundaries. All the schools my kids attended had a dress code of some kind or another. Did they enforce it? Not that I could tell. Driving my kids to and from school every day, I saw what kids were wearing. Some of the outfits looked like they were hitting a club, not going to school. It was pretty appalling.

Vermont:

Like:  Almost everything. They only attended one school in Vermont and we loved it. Something that I really liked about it was that they strictly enforced having nutritional food at lunch and even at classroom parties. You weren't allowed to bring cakes and cookies and chips at all. Even at Halloween, kids weren't allowed to bring a piece of Halloween candy in their lunchboxes.

Didn't Like:  I didn't like having to park my car and walk into the school and sign my kids out at the end of every day. I understand the reasoning behind it, but in the middle of freaking winter, parking at the back of the lot and then tramping through several feet of snow (and then inches of mud in the spring) was a pain. They needed a different system.

North Carolina:

Like:  We had good experiences at almost all the schools in NC. We went through two elementary schools and one junior high. The first elementary school was excellent. What I liked about all the schools was that they taught the kids manners. All the kids had to address their teaches as "yes, ma'am" and "no sir". It's not such a bad habit to instill in kids.

Didn't Like:  The second elementary school was very bad about overlooking bullying. This resulted in pulling the Youngest Child (the Oldest was at the junior high) and homeschooling her.

Florida:

Like:  I know it's way early to decide how we feel about the schools here, so I'm sure I'll be altering my opinions at some point. However, I like that the schools here enforce the dress code. I think that it shows that they have standards and will most likely enforce other school rules as well.

Don't Like:  The dress code. What? Yeah. I like that they have and enforce a dress code. However, there are so many rules and it's so strict that they may as well utilize school uniforms.

School Uniforms

My kids have attended schools that had a school uniform policy and one school that had a pseudo-uniform policy.

School uniforms consisted of tan, navy blue, or white, collared shirts, sweaters, and slacks and skirts and belts. I'm not sure about shorts, but they should allow some type of shorts for hotter climates. Anyway, I thought they were cute. The good:  It was super easy buying school clothes, you didn't have to worry about violating the dress code, it was easy getting ready for school because you didn't have to figure out what you were wearing. The bad:  Kids grow and it's really hard to find school uniform items in the middle of the school year. It can cost parents more money because you have to buy both uniforms and "street" clothes.

Pseudo-uniforms consisted of:  collared, polo-type shirts, button-down shirts, conservative jeans (no holes, rips, stains, and they had to be worn at the natural waist), and belts had to be worn. I think this is a good compromise to school districts that are afraid to adopt a school uniform policy. And I truly think it's fear that keeps them from doing so and not anything else. School uniforms are often the unpopular choice despite the fact that they are usually the best choice. JMO. Anyway, this school's dress code policy was clear, concise, and applied to both girls and boys. I really think that's key, by the way. I think all school dress code policies are more complicated and pickier when it comes to girls versus the rules that apply to boys' clothes. Boys are basically allowed to wear whatever they want to so long as their jean aren't worn at the knees and their underwear isn't on display for all to be offended. Do boys get measured for shirts and shorts?

I was called into school today to bring the Oldest Child alternative clothes because the dress she wore violated the dress code. It was too short. They actually measured. I work from home, so I saw her this morning and approved what she was wearing. In fact, she has worn this dress to this school before with no problem. Today, they decided that it wasn't appropriate. And they actually measure! This seems very 1950's to me. They also measure the width of shoulder straps on shirts and blouses.

Consistency is an issue. How are kids to understand the respect rules if they are arbitrarily enforced? I don't expect one faculty member to keep one set of eyes on a couple thousand kids every day. However, she has six or seven different classes every day, so why didn't at least one teacher notice her dress the first day that she wore it?

Being 17, she has given her dad and me more than our fair share of teen angst to deal with over the last three years. However, dressing provocatively has never been something we've butted heads over. She has a couple pairs of shorts that I think are a bit too short, but I bought them, so what can I say? And do you know how hard it is to find shorts for teenaged girls of a decent length that aren't old lady long (no offense old ladies)? Most of my girls' shorts are too short for school. Most days, they have to wear either capris or jeans. Not a big deal in most areas, but it's still 90 degree here with the heat index in the 100s. That's really hot and uncomfortable to be wearing jeans.

All I'm saying is, if the school's dress code policy is so strict that it's uniform-like, they may as well make the unpopular decision of having school uniforms. At least then, girls could wear skirts and boys could possibly wear shorts. I already have to buy the girls two sets of clothes:  Dress code appropriate for school and regular teenaged kid appropriate for nights, weekends, and holidays.

What is considered conservative and appropriate is a relative thing. It varies by region in the United States and by state and school district and more specifically, person to person. I think my girls dress nicely. Their asses don't hang out the bottom of their shorts and their boobs aren't falling out the top of their shirts. They don't show a lot of skin. They don't wear all black (not that there's anything specifically wrong with that). They don't wear clothing with hate messages, drugs, or curse words written on them. They don't wear clothes that show their underwear. The Oldest Child's dress this morning was a mint green, knit type deal with capped sleeves and a square neckline. It looks very sweet on her. It being too short didn't even cross my mind. My idea of modest and appropriate is probably different from the next parent's idea and this is where a clear cut dress code or school uniforms should come into play.

All I ask for is some common sense and consistency when it comes to school dress code policies. I don't appreciate being called to take my daughter clothes in the middle of the work day. Or more accurately, right when I was getting into my morning work groove. The dress code here is so confusing and has so many different layers to it that the Youngest Child actually has anxiety issues about her clothes. She has clothes in her closest that she's never worn, clothes we bought for back to school, because she's been sticking with what she's previously worn that haven't gotten her into trouble. That, ladies and gentlemen, is pretty ridiculous. Amiright?

This time, the Oldest Child didn't get into trouble for violating the dress code because 1.) It's the beginning of the school year and 2.) She's new and 3.) It's her first infraction. The next time, she'll get an in school suspension.

August Challenge, Day 24: Learn About Something New

I actually looked this up today because it's been bothering me for a couple weeks now. You know when you get eyelid twitches? Those little muscle spasms that are just plain annoying? Well, the following are possible causes:

1. Tiredness
2. Stress
3. Too much caffeine or alcohol
4. Eye strain
5. Dry eye
6. Nutritional imbalance 
7. Allergies

I'm figuring the cause of my continued annoyance is stress which has led to insomnia and thus, tiredness. I haven't had any changes in my diet. It could possibly be eye strain and dry eye but I've never had eye spasms coincide with those before. Lastly, my allergies have been much better since we moved so I don't think that's it either.

Treatment (via www.nlm.nih.gov)

1. Get more sleep
2. Drink less caffeine
3. Lubricate your eyes with eye drops

Helpful, right? Get more sleep, hehehehe.

P.S.

Yesterday's challenge prompt, "spend $5 or less" was impossible. Did you see my favorite shopping sites? I went to Ulta today and spent an embarassing amount of money. I don't think anything was under $5. Anywhooooo.....

If you'd like to jump in and participate in this blogging challenge, please visit Natalie Grueninger's blog for prompts. 

August Challenge, Day 22: My Favorite Online Shopping Sites

I think shopping online can be just as fun as shopping in person. I also think that I tend to spend more shopping online than I do in person because I don't feel the pressure and anxiety in my home that I do in the stores. Still, there are just some things that you can't or shouldn't shop for online. Shoes by a brand you've never worn before, for instance. You can never be sure of shoe sizes. You also shouldn't shop for makeup online unless you are willing to be adventurous when it comes to colors. I recently bought some lip gloss that looked like it was a coral color online but when it arrived, it was gold. Gold, gold. Luckily, though, it was sheer enough that I can wear it over lipstick or blend it with another gloss for shimmer. You gotsta be flexible when shopping online. You should always check the return/exchange policy of a retailer before shopping online.

And seriously. Is there anything better than getting packages in the mail?

These are my favorite online shopping websites, in no particular order:

1. Ulta. I love Ulta. I spend waaaay too much money at Ulta. I love the ease of earning points there too. I almost always have points that are ready to be redeemed.
2. Barnes and Noble. Duh. Do I own all the books ever printed? Umm, no. B&N is probably my top, #1 favorite place to shop. I luuurrrve my books. I'm a member there also and it's probably the longest membership I've ever had anywhere, store or otherwise.
3. Nordstrom. They have such good deals in their online sale section. I shop at Nordstrom online every Christmas.
4. I'm not sure if this one counts, but I love iTunes. I don't even have an iPhone anymore, but I remain loyal to iTunes. They just have a better selection of apps, music, and TV and movies than the Google Play Store does, IMO. I am, in fact, shopping for music there right now. 
5. Smashbox.  Another favorite makeup website. I earn points there too. And they always have some great deal going on. I may need a makeup intervention.

I can't think of anymore places that I shop online at right now. And I know there are more. I get my credit card number stolen from online shopping more than anyone that I know. It doesn't stop me though. How dumb am I?


If you'd like to jump in and participate in this blogging challenge, please visit Natalie Grueninger's blog for prompts.  

August Challenge, Day 21: My 21st Year

The prompt says to share pictures and stories from the year we were 21. All of my photos are still in boxes and I'm not entirely sure where those boxes are right now, so no photos. Sorry.

The year I turned 21, we were, ironically enough, living here in Florida. I don't think we did all that much to actually celebrate my birthday. We were all kinds of broke during that time in our lives. We had a two year old, the Mister's rank was still mostly nothing, and on my 21st birthday, I found out I was expecting our Youngest child. We were also all kinds of young and ignorant. But you know what? That was one of the best years that I can remember. The time that we spent in Florida was full of friends and parties and the beach and making good memories even without money. 

That was also the year that I experienced my first hurricane. It was only a category one and I don't remember its name. Cat 1 hurricanes are just intense rain storms. No biggie. There were also several tropical depressions and storms that summer but I only remember them as rain.

In September, I moved back to Ohio with the Oldest child because the Mister had moved from Pensacola to Jacksonville on orders and we couldn't go with him. It was decided that I didn't need to be alone and pregnant in Florida.

In February, the Youngest child was born. The highlight of my 21st year.

In April, at the very first minute that the Youngest child was allowed to fly, the girls and I moved out to San Diego, where the Mister was now stationed, to live. Thus began our almost five year stint in California.

My 21st year was pretty full all in all. Lots of relocating, lots of excitement. It's certainly a year that I'll never forget.

If you'd like to jump in and participate in this blogging challenge, please visit Natalie Grueninger's blog for prompts.  

August Challenge, Day 20: Three Smells That Bring Back Memories

I realize that I fell off the wagon several days back. I've had some personal stuff going on. Oh wells. I thought about going back and playing catch up but decided not to because it would just be a post dump that I don't think would be all that interesting to read. I'm going with today's prompt and you all can just pretend that you read the previously missed days. So there.

Lakeside, CA 2003

 One smell that brings back memories is the smell of wood smoke. For a while, every time I smelled smoke, I'd run to the window and check the sky for signs of a brush fire. This was due to living through the 2003 California wildfires. When we moved back to California, I was pretty paranoid about fires for probably the first year or so. Then we bought a fire pit for our backyard and started re-associating that smell with good memories of s'mores, wine, and good times instead of bad. Even today, when I smell smoke, my first reaction is to check the skies but I don't immediately panic anymore. Plus, we've gotten so much rain this summer that it'd be pretty impossible for NW Florida to have out of control wild fires. We're much more likely to drown.


Another smell is the corn silk. It was so funny...On our drive from CA to FL, we saw corn fields in either Arizona or New Mexico. I don't remember which. But, it was so out of place. It was entirely weird to see so much corn in the desert. Then, the Mister and I sort of looked at each other and then cracked the windows just to see. And yep, we could smell the corn silk on the freeway. A smell that we both associate with growing up in Ohio. It was kinda neat to smell that familiar smell so far away and in such an alien-type of place. The smell of corn silk and soy beans will always remind me of hot summers in Ohio.

The smell of a ham or turkey roasting will forever remind me of the holidays, no matter what time of year I smell it. I'd say about 90% of my holiday memories are good ones so roasting turkeys and hams are a gooooooood smell. I suppose you could add in the smell of pine from a fresh cut Christmas tree too. And pumpkin pie spices. Man! I'm looking forward to the holidays this year, lol.



If you'd like to jump in and participate in this blogging challenge, please visit Natalie Grueninger's blog for prompts.  

August Challenge, Day 12: Ghost Story

 Yes, I believe in ghosts. Not yours, mind you, but the experiences with the unexplained that I've had personally. I may believe in ghosts, but I still only believe in the things that I've seen, heard, or felt myself. I believe I've told all my ghost stories in previous posts. We haven't had any unexplained encounters since living in California the first time. I've always considered this ironic because the house we had in CA was only about 20 years old at the time whereas we lived in a 200 year old house in Vermont that had a basement so scary that we all refused to go down in it. I mean, dirt floors and 200 year old slate foundation people.

Anyway, my favorite ghost story to tell is the one with the broken bowl. Up to this point, we had experienced some weird stuff in our townhouse but it was pretty basic like lights turning on and off on their own. This story happened at about 2 am. The Mister and I were sound asleep as were both of the girls who were just tots at the time. We were suddenly woken up by this loud bang and then as we were laying there trying to figure out what the hell, we hear water trickling. I hit the Mister and tell him to get up and turn on the light. There was no way I was leaving the safety of my covers.

He hits the light and we can see that a floating candle bowl we had sitting on our dresser was broken. The trickling water noise was the water from the bowl draining off the dresser and onto the floor. This bowl was made of thick glass and it was fairly new. There was no reason that it should have just spontaneously broken into two clean pieces in the middle of the night. And it was two clean pieces of broken bowl with no shards.  Then there was the loud bang of it being broken, like it had been hit or dropped onto the dresser.

This incident, added in with all the other unexplained stuff that occurred during the four+ years we lived in this house, is why I believe in ghosts.

August Challenge, Day 11: Earliest Memory

My earliest memories occur at a time when I'd probably have been better off being too young to remember stuff. I'll fast forward to the second grade when I was seven.

My teacher, Miss Richards, was one of the most popular teachers at Indian Mound Elementary School. Our school had two teachers in each grade so you had a 50/50 chance of getting the teacher that you really wanted each year. Lucky me, I got Miss Richards and was thrilled. I'm not sure what it was about her that I liked more than the other second grade teacher. Maybe it was because she was young and pretty. Today, I barely remember what she looked like, lol. Anyway, she had a deer antler in her classroom. Us students use to vie over the privilege of using this antler to scratch Miss Richards' back. I laugh at this now, but this is one of my most clear memories of all elementary school. One student used to stand behind her and scratch her back with this antler while she would sit and read a story to the class. How weird is that? Nowadays, I bet she wouldn't have been allowed to get away with that.

If you'd like to participate in this blogging challenge, please visit Natalie Grueninger's blog for prompts.  

August Challenge, Day 10: Opening (Five) Lines from Five Favorite Books

This post should be titled, "Opening five lines from five favorite books on my iPad". My books are still in boxes so I'll be taking these lines from books that are on my iPad.

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. "Then there was bad weather. It would come in one day when the fall was over. We would have to shut the windows in the night against the rain and the cold wind would strip the leaves from the trees in the Place Contrescarpe. The leaves lay sodden in the rain and the wind drove the rain against the big green autobus at the terminal and the Cafe des Amateurs was crowded and the windows misted over from the heat and smoke inside. It was a sad, evilly run cafe where the drunkards of the quarter crowded together and I kept away from it because of the smell of dirty bodies and the sour smell of the drunkenness."

Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson. "Call me Ishmael. I won't answer to it, because it's not my name, but it's much more agreeable than most of the things I've been called. "Call me 'that-weird-chick-who-says-"fuck"-a-lot'" is probably more accurate, but "Ishmael" seems classier, and it makes a way more respectable beginning than the sentence I'd originally written, which was about how I'd just run into my gynecologist at Starbucks and she totally looked right past me like she didn't even  know me. And so I stood there wondering whether that's something she does on purpose to make her clients feel less uncomfortable, or whether she just genuinely didn't recognize me without my vagina. Either way, it's very disconcerting when people who've been inside your vagina don't acknowledge your existence."

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. "The leather-bound volume was nothing remarkable. To an ordinary historian, it would have looked no different from hundreds of other manuscripts in Oxford's Bodleian Libray, ancient and worn. But I knew there was something odd about it from the moment I collected it. Duke Humfrey's Reading Room was deserted on this late-September afternoon, and requests for library materials were filled quickly now that the summer crush of visiting scholars was over and the madness of the fall term had not yet begun. Even so, I was surprised when Sean stopped me at the call desk."

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  "When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim's warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping."

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. "It wasn't a very likely place for disappearances, at least at first glance. Mrs. Baird's was like a thousand other Highland bed-and-breakfast establishments in 1945; clean and quiet, with fading floral wallpaper, gleaming floors, and a coin-operated hot-water geyser in the lavatory. Mrs. Baird herself was squat and easygoing, and made no objection to Frank lining her tiny rose-sprigged parlor with the dozens of books and papers with which he always traveled.
     I met Mrs. Baird in the front hall on my way out. She stopped me with a pudgy hand on my arm and patted at my hair."

There you have it. I tried to pick a variety of fun-ish-type books. Yeah. I consider Hemingway to be fun. Geez. Oh. And sorry for the f-bomb but it wasn't necessarily out of my mouth since I was quoting from Jenny Lawson's book.

If you'd like to participate in this blogging challenge, please visit Natalie Grueninger's blog for prompts.  

August Challenge, Day 9: A Regret

What's the saying about you haven't lived if you don't have regrets? Or something to that effect. I can't really think of anything that I would consider to be a huge regret but rather I have lots of small regrets.

• I regret not getting out more while we lived in San Diego. Both times. We passed up a lot of hiking opportunities, great restaurants, etc. etc. blah, blah, blah. 
• There are so many times in my life where I kept quiet where I wish that I hadn't. 
• I regret not taking more video and pictures of my kids when they were little. I have lots of pictures but hardly any video and no matter how many pictures I have, they still aren't enough. Kids grow up so darned fast.

This is depressing. I'm done.

August Challenge, Day 8: A Guilty Pleasure

I actually have a couple different guilty pleasures. I think everyone should have at least two guilt pleasures. It makes life fun and it's something that you can keep a mystery or be completely, flamboyantly, unashamed about.

I'll start off with reading. I like to read what can only be termed as "trashy" novels. Think, Laurell K. Hamilton and Kresley Cole. Why not? They're fun, entertaining stories and a great way to lose yourself and leave reality behind for a little while. That's what all guilty pleasures should do, be an escape in some way or another. I also like to lose myself in steamy romances. When I pick these types of books up, I'm not looking for historical accuracy, existentialism, or deep-thinking philosophical tomes. Fun times, end of story.

Next, I have a love of science fiction/fantasy/paranormal. Not just in books either. TV, movies, games, and even comics, which I guess is considered literature too. Again, it's about transporting yourself to another world and considering alternate possibilities. Did you know, when zombies gain popularity in a society it coincides with a general dislike and distrust of their society's current state, politics, etc.? I would say that's about right.

Lastly, cosmetics. I've always liked makeup and nail polish since I was a little girl. As an adult, I don't leave the house without my face on, or as the Mister calls it, my war paint. When I'm depressed or even if I'm sick, going through the ritual of putting on my makeup and taking the time to look human makes me feel better. That being said, recently, I've become obsessed with Ulta, Urban Decay, Smash Box, Essie, Butter, Stila, Laura Geller, OMG!! I'm getting excited just thinking about it. My makeup collection has gotten to the point where I've had to come up with new ways of storing and organizing it. I've also had to make myself stick to a monthly makeup allowance or my spending gets out of control. If you've ever wondered what to get me for a present, a gift card to Ulta would make me swoon.

What are your guilty pleasures? Don't be shy!!

If you'd like to participate in this blogging challenge, please visit Natalie Grueninger's blog for prompts.  

August Challenge, Day 7: Five Songs That Bring Back Memories

OMG!! This is a hard one, picking just five. I love music and always associate many memories with different songs and artists.

Wowsa. He's kinda good looking, right?

Almost anything in the country genre will always remind me of my husband because I didn't listen to country music before we met. Specifically though, Dierks Bentley for reasons I'd rather not go into. But Dierks' music brings back memories of when the Mister was deployed to Afghanistan. You might think that it would make me sad or depressed to hear his music and think of that time, but it was actually comforting.









They Say Vision by Res will always remind me of the time we lived in San Diego the first go around. I used to blast that song on my car radio with the windows down and the AC on full while cruising Lakeside. I love the upbeat rhythms. This song always puts me in a good mood.

I love this album cover.

 Don't Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult reminds me of Ohio. When the Mister was in boot camp, I used to make the hour and a half drive between my dad's house and my mom's house quite a bit. Or maybe this was while he was in MOS school. Anyway, that song seemed to always get played on the classic rock stations during the drive and any time that I hear it, that's what I think about.

Aberdeen is off of Cage's sophomore album.

Aberdeen by Cage the Elephant. This song will always bring back memories of driving my kids to school the last time we lived in San Diego. Alphabetically, it's the first song on my iPod. When I plug it in and play it through my stereo, it's always the song that comes up until I hit "random" and "next". I got really sick to death of the opening notes of that song, lol.








Anything Imagine Dragons, Muse, Of Monsters and Men, The Lumineers, M83, Atlas Genius, and lots of other alternative played on XM's Alt Nation channel the past couple months will always remind me of this last time in San Diego. We hardly ever listen to anything else when we're in the Mister's car. Mine doesn't have XM, lol. But he doesn't have a harness for his iPod like I do in mine so it all works out, heheheh.

If you'd like to participate in this blogging challenge, please visit Natalie Grueninger's blog for prompts.  

August Challenge, Day 6: A Favorite Quote and Why It's Special

I've never been much for inspirational quotes. I like quotes that are funny and sarcastic. That's just my nature. I've always like Oscar Wilde's, "Friends may come and go but enemies accumulate." How true, right? And look as his picture? Doesn't he just look like the kind of guy that would say that? What an arrogant ass. He's one of my favorite authors though. He also has quite a few quotes that I find funny and appropriate.


If you'd like to participate in this blogging challenge, please visit Natalie Grueninger's blog for prompts. 

August Challenge, Day 5: Something You Wish You Did Really Well

In no particular order...

 

This may seem weird. Why would anyone aspire to clean? But I wish I was one of those people that keep their house clean 24/7/365. If I lived alone, my house would be clean. I get sick to death of cleaning up after people all the time. Yeah. I wish I were a better cleaner.

 

I wish I could play a musical instrument. Any intrument really, but I lean more towards the piano. I love music and have always wished that I could play an instrument and hear the kind of music I wanted to hear, played the way I wanted it played, whenever I was in the mood. 

I wish that I was a better writer. More, I wish I was a talented writer.

It's good to have aspirations I guess. ;)

If you'd like to participate in this blogging challenge, please visit Natalie Grueninger's blog for prompts. 

August Challenge, Day 4: An Embarrassing Moment

 I should probably come up with an original moment and not one I've already blogged about, right? I mean, I could just re-blog about all the times I've fallen on my ass. In public. Those were my last three embarrassing moments. Really, they were humiliating. Oh ok. How's this?

A while back, we went out to dinner at some sort of sit-down-type place. I don't remember where it was. Anyway, the Youngest child lets out a belch that was so loud that the surrounding tables looked over at the Mister thinking it was him. It was embarrassing but at the same time, we were all cracking up laughing. We're such a dignified family.



If you'd like to participate in this blogging challenge, please visit Natalie Grueninger's blog for prompts.

August Challenge, Day 3: A Treasured Memory

 When my girls were younger, they always played very well together. They were each other's best friend. They were always together, into some trouble or another. Now that they're teenagers, a two and a half year age difference is a much bigger gap than it was when they were toddlers. They still hang out sometimes but they have pretty different interests.

A couple months ago, I happened to look up from my book and I saw them laying together in the loveseat. They were head to head with their feet hanging over the sides of the sofa and were both playing some game together on their iPads. It really struck me how very few of those kinds of moments I have left before graduation and college, etc., come along. Seeing them like that was poignant and a very treasured memory.



If you'd like to participate in this blogging challenge, please visit Natalie Grueninger's blog for prompts.

August Challenge, Day 2: Five Things About Me Most People Don't Know

I've done memes with this question so many times that it's a challenge, in and of itself, coming up with new things. I'm not that mysterious.

1. I want a tabby point Siamese cat.
2. You know that question that James Lipton always asks celebrities on his show, "What career other than your own would you like to pursue?" My answer would be forensic anthropologist. That was my favorite elective during my undergrad. 
3. I can burp just as good as any man. (My husband helped me come up with that one.)
4. I use Scrivener to attempt writing and I actually have three different projects that I'm currently working on.
5. I just joined Lip Factory Inc's monthly beauty box subscription service. I am sooooo excited about getting my first box this month. If you want to sign up, I'd appreciate the referral because I earn points for referrals. My referral #385105.

Boy, that was hard. Took me forever to come up with five things.


If you'd like to participate in this blogging challenge, please visit Natalie Grueninger's blog for prompts.