2012: It's The End Of The World And I Feel Fine!

Many ancient societies claim that 2012 is the end of the of world (or at least the end of the world as we know it). Legends talk of a changing planet: earthquakes, floods, mega-tsumamis and more. We are only one day in to the year and we have hundreds of birds dropping dead and a mag. 7 earthquake in Japan. In spite of this I am declaring 2012 the year of reclaiming optimism. My goal for the year is to re-affirm the positives in my life. So let's get started. Jan. 1 - We took my grandmother to a belated birthday lunch. The house re-modeling has begun. I've started with a bedroom. The dog is making a great recovery. The husband is getting sexier. We are both getting healthier. I'm writing on the first day of the year. I'm working on theatre activities on the first day of the year. We are moving toward being debt-free and building our nest-eggs. Looks like this is going to be a great year.

a different christmas wish

Another Christmas season is upon us. This year I'm a bit more prepared than in the past. It's not yet mid-December and most of my shopping is already done. I've been asked by different family members what I would want this year. Unfortunately, the things I want most are the things I'm least likely to get. These "things" are changes in the lives of the ones I love. I want a certain person's eyes to be opened to what is occurring in their life and the lives of those impacted by these choices. I want another person to understand that the choices being made right now, as child, while impact an adult life in a very negative way. I want this same person to have the maturity and vocabulary to voice why these decisions are being made. I want another person to find a focus and path and to be free of the worry about adults making bad decisions. I want the adults in their lives to stop being afraid of losing something if they do they right thing and protect them. I want someone dear to me to never be in a position where I see them after someone they love has hurt them because they had the wisdom and will to leave the situation. These are the things I want this year. These are the things I will not get.

heaven

I spent 36 hours in heaven this weekend. I was fortunate enough to be at the coast. I spent my mornings in the surf, swimming and snorkeling. The water was warm and relaxing. The sand was hot. There was just enough rain to break up the midday burn.

I want to go back. Yesterday.

in other words...they had an hour of free airtime

what has happened to television? there used to be shows with writers and actors. now, there are reality and "talent" shows. reality shows are shows set in reality with guided scripted, easy ways around paying talent properly because the shows are technically not scripted. we see adults who are encouraged to act like feral children.

talent shows are really freak shows. tonight's fare including some fool putting hooks in his eyes and a contender for a darwin award who jumped from a 30ft platform into a pool with 12in of water.

this leaves me wondering...where is nero playing his fiddle and how long will it take for rome to burn?

Ramble On...

Life is funny. About the time my blog started gaining a little momentum my offline life gained a LOT of momentum, taking away the time needed to write anything. So, approximately nine months later I'm dusting off my blog once again.

The title of this entry is Ramble On... for two reasons. The first is quite obvious. I'm rambling. If there were a graphical representation of this entry at this point it would look like a spirograph gone wild.

The second is to talk about the song, Ramble On, and a fortunate mistake. I was buying new music a few weeks back. By new, I mean new to my collection. I wanted Ramble On by Led Zeppelin. I also wanted a bargain. So I looked at the prices of the mp3 offerings and found one for $.69. YES!!!! BARGAIN!!!! I bought it instantly. What I failed to notice was that this particular version of Ramble On was by Vitamin Baroque instead of Led Zeppelin. At first I thought, "well, I guess the radio never played this portion of the song." But no lyrics. No Robert Plant. But this was a really cool cover. So I listened again. And again. I love fortunate mistakes.

Simple (and Cheap) Idea for Homemade Christmas Ornaments

This year I wanted to give something a little more personal to friends and family for Christmas. I decided to go with ornaments. I am making two different types of ornaments.

The first are quite simple. I bought a box of plain, glass ornaments (under $5 for 18). I also bought a box of 18 different glitter shakers (under $10) and some school glue ($1). I write the year and a saying onto the ornament with the glue and then sprinkle the glitter onto the ornament. Leave it in the box until the glue has thoroughly dried then blow off the excess glitter. Easy breezy.

The second set take a bit longer and are little bit more expensive. I ordered a set of microscope slides ($7), a set of alcohol paints ($6) and various colors/sizes of jewelry wire ($2-$8 per set depending on type, length and thickness). Begin by laying out half the set of slides on a flat surface. Take one of the alcohol paints and drop the ink onto the slides in various locations. Repeat with a second color (and a third/fourth if desired). Place the remaining slides on top of these. Let dry. Once the slides are dry you wrap them with the jewelry wire. Use the top of the wire to for a loop for hanging the ornament. You can be creative with the patterns you make with the wire.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

It's December in Alabama and it is COLD! For the past week highs have been in the 40s and it's normally much warmer. We've had snow in the southern part of the state, SNOW! The worst part is that it is not expected to get any warmer till after Christmas.

This doesn't work so well for me. I like my holidays with a temperature warm enough to wear shorts and tees. Right now, I'm looking at sweats, two pairs of socks and a long sleeve shirt inside the house. It's just not right.