Growing up, I was raised to be the nice girl, a rule follower, a goody-goody (SO not ashamed of that), a lady. This photo could not have been taken with my trusty, dented, pink-duct-taped Olympus Camedia C-60 because it’s circa 1984. Just FYI. Also, check out how gorgeous (and thick) my hair was. Wish I still had hair like that. Oh, and ignore that little animal clipped onto my collar. Those were all the rage back then. What a stupid trend. My parents had very high expectations of me, and I’m really grateful for that because I turned out to be a really awesome adult. Unfortunately though, due to the…
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The Time I Saw Red: A Cautionary Tale
Back in 1994, we purchased our first house, an old, yet charming, two story home in Kenosha, Wisconsin. It was reminiscent of a farm house, with hardwood floors, a whole dining room wall made up of built-in shelving and cabinets, and plaster walls. It was exciting enough to buy our very first home, but I was really shaking with anticipation over being able to paint the walls however we wanted, as we had rented for the first six years of our marriage and were at the mercy of landlords when it came to wall color. That’s why we changed the color of our bedroom from the strange orange shade to…off-white.…
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Perpetually Behind, But Thinking Ahead
I’m really thinking, with it being November 18th and all, that I should change the perpetual calendar that hangs in my kitchen so it reflects the current month. I’d hate for December to arrive without my getting to enjoy a few days of a November calendar. That’s how life in this house is, though, lately. Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ Into the future… (Steve Miller‘s words, not mine.) This year is flying by. I knew it would; having a high school senior in the house and having the added life elements of his college applications, scholarship applications, work schedule, girlfriend, school work, yada yada yada…it’s enough to make a…
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Like Unbuttoning My Pants On Thanksgiving Afternoon
I’ve been busy lately. Probably no busier than usual, but it seems like it to me. I think that the last couple of weeks were more intense for me mentally because I was assembling my book proposal. Naturally, some other things in my life got the short shrift when I had to focus on getting that complete–sometimes you can’t give everything the attention it needs, all the time–though it was definitely worth it. Last night I came home from a meeting and my mind was all a-buzz with what I have to do today. I grabbed a pretty pink notebook (one which I forgot I bought at Borders last year…
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Aaaand They’re Off!
I can’t believe it.I’ve been working on a book project, off and on, for more than two years. Actually, the research for it started four years ago, so I guess I could say that I’ve been working on it for four years, but that’s depressing so I’ll stick with “more than two”. Yesterday* was a monumental day for me in this process, because after working intensely for weeks on getting a spiffy and oh-so-professional proposal done**, I finally got it in the mail. To more than one publisher. I have told some people IRL what the book is about, but don’t yet feel like I should put it out here…
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Overconfident=Bad.
I’ve always been a great speller. As a kid, being able to spell what I thought was a difficult word made me walk with my head held a little higher, and I loved when people told me how smart I was (who wouldn’t?). But I was small potatoes, really, when it came to spelling. Growing up, I always admired the kids in my school who walked around with the study guides for the big spelling bees. I always thought it would have been so FUN to be crowned the National Spelling Champion. Unfortunately, classroom spelling bees that led to the school-wide spelling bees, which led to the district-wide spelling bees,…
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Spinning the Wheel, Part Two
I posted yesterday about how to get started taking group cycling classes. Today I want to cover some class etiquette. I have to put the disclaimer out there that I can’t speak for all instructors; this is what *I* prefer in my classes*. Most of these things are based on the principle that a group fitness instructor (or any type of teacher, really) has a large number of people to take care of for that hour, and using common sense can help improve the experience for everyone involved. 1. Please come to class wearing proper attire. I discussed what proper spinning attire is in yesterday’s post. What I will add…
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I Finally Hit Bottom.
I never thought this would happen, in a million years. In fact, I thought I took measures to make sure this would never happen. Back in the day, I couldn’t even count them all. My supply? Overflowing. I was definitely a hoarder. They were so pretty when you put them all together; they made a rainbow of possibilities, to be used in whatever order I deemed necessary. They relaxed me, or invigorated me, or reminded me of my favorite moments. They could wash away a bad day in record time. And now? With no ceremony, they are gone. All gone. *wringing hands* And I don’t know what my next steps…
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Flashdance
Deep down, I’m a dancer. I have had no training other than my years of ballet and tap classes as a kid (okay and those couple ballroom lessons that Jim and I took last year), but I know I’m a dancer. I used to LOVE taking aerobics classes, the more challenging the choreography, the better. My foot taps along with a good beat with no prompting from my brain. I adore going to receptions where a dance floor has been set up, and don’t even try to keep me from doing the Cha-Cha Slide, the Cupid Shuffle, or the Electric Slide (or even the Chicken Dance). Your efforts will be…
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How To Buy A Car (Or, Yet Something ELSE That Took Me Forever To Learn, But Now I Rock At It), Part Three
Shew! You made it to the final installment! Congratulations! What? You didn’t read the first two? Oh my, you’ve got some catching up to do. How to buy a car, lessons 1-3 can be found here, and lessons 4-5 can be found here. Start at the beginning, and then come back. Don’t worry; we’ll wait. Let’s jump right into it: Lesson #6: Let Melisa handle the deal, and be ready to walk out. And walk out again. And walk out a third time, if necessary. After the tumultuous beginning we had in our car-buying career, we were finally hitting our stride. In 2003, it was time to find a car…