Your Jedi Mind Tricks Won't Work On Me

What with the Peeps Massacre and stuff like that my creative genius has been a little sapped for the week. However, a few interesting events did occur.

For example: I went to Aldis and an old lady ran her car into the side of the building. It went BOOM!! And the Earth! Shook! (under my feet) and everyone screamed and started shouting in Spanish. (Aldi's is in a more Hispanic neighborhood) It was a bit freaky. Then we realized what happened and all was well. (and the Sky did not come tumbling, tumbling down.) There was instant Temporary Community going on right about then. Everyone laughing from the relief and giddy from the adrenaline rush all talking and joking and gaping at the big crunch in the wall. The Wall Runner Inner was fine, so that was good too.

And before that, on the same day I freaked out the girl at Petsmart. See, the day before I tried going there and got the catfood, went to check out only to find I had driven out there with no wallet. So I tried writing a check but they couldn't take it without my drivers license. I put the check back in my purse. So when I went the second time a different girl was ringing up my (2 cases of) catfood. She told me my total, I whipped that check out and handed it to her, all made out and signed and everything. She looked at me like I was from Mars. Then I realized that it was a little strange to have a check all prepared ahead of time so I explained. She laughed and said she was hearing the Twilight Zone theme in her head...
oh yes and I forgot the part where the first time I went in the lady in front of me was asking about their grooming services and if she could bring her dog in just to get his toenails clipped. So when I got up there I asked if I could have my toenails clipped by the groomer and she looked at me in horror and said "No I don't think so." I assured her I was only kidding and the look of relief on her face was precious. Oh, I'm so evil sometimes.... sigh.

AND THEN...... ::drumroll:: we saw the first robin of the spring! ::applause::

AND THEN....... I was able to initiate a new convert into our fold, with the help of another recent convert. She was a little reluctant at first but we love bombed her and made her feel most welcome and eventually she caved and joined the club. At first she thought it was boring but after getting the hang of our rituals she really started enjoying herself and began plotting along with us to conquer the Island Of CATAN!!!! Yes, I've taught another young mind the joys of playing Settlers of Catan.
Our numbers are increasing... Muuwwaaaahahahahaaaaaa!!!!

And I finished Ruthless Trust by Brennan Manning. If you haven't read it yet then you should feel very very guilty and go buy it now so you can get started.
(just kidding - but read it if you want to, it's good!)

Last and maybe even least, since I know you've been wondering when I was going to record my next dream on here -- I dreamed last night of robbing a Radio Shack with 2 of my friends using painted explosives like in The Italian Job and later trying to take a picture of Kevmo in Billy Bob teeth, Dancing beautifully a dance in 6/4 time with a girl from High School, and eating really good food.

Who says there's no rest for the wicked!?

P.S. Spellcheck wants to replace groomer with groaner and Catan with Satan! ha! That Spellcheck - you gotta watch it every minute!

Sugar Buzz!

I couldn't get this to post yesterday. Maybe it was because I was so griefstricken. They looked like they were having fun. It seemed like Captainwow and his Peeps were getting along so well but I turned my head for one moment and there was a scurry of sugar and a snarfing and a snort, then silence. As I turned to look, Captainwow burped, and then sighed. He looks so pleased with himself. I never would have thought he was capable of such a thing.

We're not sure if Captainwow understands the true meaning of Easter but he did make some new friends.  

Puzzlement

There's not much going on in my head I want to write about these last few days. I've chosen to be more present in my "real life" lately and that means spelunking around in the blogosphere a lot less. Today I read this post on going jesus and really liked what she had to say about learning to live without so much protective layering.

In other news, the hiking shoes came in today. They're real cool.

I've also been working on the hardest puzzle in the world. Well, maybe not. With the aid of 2 young friends we've gotten quite far but it's not easy. These are the weirdest puzzles I've ever seen. It's actually 2 puzzles in one. They throw all the pieces in one bag and you have to figure out which is which. 1000 funky shaped pieces total. THEN to top that off, they haven't got the right photos on the top of the box! They are just enough different to make one go crazy.

At the same time, I remembered that puzzles are great therapy for me. I forgot that. I hadn't done a puzzle in so long I forgot that once in about 1996 or 7 maybe, I'm not sure which year, I was at my craziest ever. Freaked Out Insecure Neurotic and Emotional was I. There came a 4 day weekend after a painful breakup where I found myself with a holiday weekend and nobody to hang out with. My parents were out of town, and everyone had plans, not a thing going on. I freaked out but then I thought to myself: "Ok, Self. There was a time I liked being alone. What did I do then?" Well, I drank a lot of coffee and I wrote letters and I listened to music and I lit candles and I watched movies. But I didn't want to do the exact same things, I wanted to do things that were good for me and I wanted to do something that would occupy my mind and stop the obsess-fest.
So I bought some good coffee, I taped the Joyce Meyer show all week, (she was really helpful to me at that time) on a whim, I bought a puzzle and a new CD. When the weekend came, I didn't feel ready for it. But I worked on that stinkin puzzle all weekend. I drank coffee and I sang along with the CD and I cried and I healed. I went for walks, and I watched Joyce Meyer and I got in touch with me again. I remembered who I was without all the dependence and the entanglement and the immense need of another.

There's just something about a puzzle. I hardly ever do them, but with some good music in the background and a really intense puzzle, there's something that comes over me that is a little like hypnosis. Maybe my consciousness is distracted just enough to get down to the real me or something. I'm not sure. But it's been good all over again.

Certainly Mertonly

Hey, Merton fans.... Just Pat is writing some good stuff about Merton. Go see! Go see!

Gettin it Done

Mission Accomplished:
Ordered 2 pairs of hiking boots - Hizenherz! Ready for the camping/hiking season.

Bring it on.

Hiking style footwear also serves as an image enhancer. They make us look all outdoorzy and cool.

That's what I like most about them, I think.





note: Hizenherz = "his and hers" (one for he and one for me)

Booked

martha, martha... passed the stick on to me....

1. You're stuck inside Farenheit 451. Which book do you want to be? I haven't read Farenheit 451 yet, but I should have, because it's the next book for a book club I'm in so I guess I should be gettin to it.

2. Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? As in - in a book? no. In Lord of the Rings, I crush on Aragorn. Not the actor - I crush on actors all the time, but that's about visuals mostly - not their character...... I'm not crushing on the actor that plays Aragorn, but he does such a great job playing Aragorn. I like his demeanor. There's something he carries with him - that fear of not being able to do better than his ancestor - that makes him self doubting and humble and quiet. But at the same time, he is a warrior and keeps fighting, pushing through, and encouraging others even though he has his own pain and issues.

3. The last book you bought was...? Bought the Inner Experience by Thomas Merton and Letters to a Diminished Church by Dorothy Sayers

4. The last book you read was...? The Testament by John Grisham

5. What are you currently reading? The Inner Experience by Thomas Merton, and Letters to a Diminshed Church by Dorothy Sayers and Ruthless Trust by Brennan Manning, Al Anon - how it works. (also, slowly re reading No Man is an Island)

6. Five books you would take to a desert island...Bible, No Man is an Island (by Thomas Merton) haha - PUN INTENDED! Jungle Survival books, probably. Books about herbs and how to take care of myself on that thar deserted island... this one is hard for me to answer. I couldn't even decide which books to bring to this city when I moved, let alone to a deserted island. :o)

7. What three people are you passing this stick on to and why?
I'm going to pass on passing this particular stick.... because I can. :o)

Friday Morning Tune in my Head

Happy Birthday, Headless!!!



Feelin' Groovy
(Paul Simon)

Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make the morning last
Just kickin down the cobblestones
Looking for fun and feelin groovy
Ba da da da daaaaah, feelin groovy

Hello lamppost, what'cha knowin
I've come to watch your flowers growin'
Ain't cha got no rhymes for me?
Doo-it in doo doo, feelin groovy
Ba da da da daaaaah, feelin groovy

I got no deeds to do
No promises to keep
I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep
Let the morning time drop all its petals on me
Life I love you, all is groovy

Put The Gun Down And Let The Marching Band Go

According to this website, North Andover prohibits its citizens from carrying "space guns."

Good to know.

HAIR, HAIR!!!

I am in love with my hairstylist. I fell in love with her the first time I met her when she said "Don't you dare ever color your hair - don't you perm it, don't you touch it with anything chemical - it's byootiful just the way it is!" These words are music to a girl's heart! You guys out there should be writing this down....

My last stylist was a very interesting guy. His name is Adonis. Seriously, that is the name on his business card and everything. Little dude - balding on top but trying desperately to hide it - and very very brave with whatever hair he had left. He was very out there with his feminine side, and outrageous. He smelled like bad coffee and Camel cigarrettes. He laughed like he'd smoked a thousand or two too many of those Camels, and we got along, and he was very very GOOD with my hair. He didn't charge an arm and a leg and he gave me great haircuts every time! He also did my neighbor's hair - at her house. She didn't get out much so he would go to her house and do her hair now and then. I not only saw him at my hair appointments, but also we'd wave now and then out on the lawn. He was a good guy, I just never really totally warmed up to him. He did my hair... he did a good job, we laughed at our jokes. I paid him. I left. He always told me I had gorgeous hair too - but it never had much effect on me.

This newer stylist's name is Maha. She's a stunning woman. She is from Jordan so she's got the olive skin, brown eyes, dark hair thing going on. She dresses fashionably but not faddishly. She's very practical, doesn't try to upsell or get me to by more goo for my hair. She always remembers who I am and asks me how it's going being married... and she always tells me how pretty she thinks I am! I noticed today that there's something about someone you consider to be beautiful telling you that you're pretty that is a bit more powerful then the average compliment, don't you think? Like what if your favorite movie star came to town and knocked on your door and said "You're GORGEOUS!" Katherine Zeta Jones, or Brad Pitt... or Sean Connery or Julia Roberts.... I don't know who you think is great - I guess that's fodder for a whole other blog post but my point is, that there's something very different about Flaming Adonis telling me how great my hair looked and Maha telling me the same thing.

But I digress... today I arrived with splinters in my butt from riding the fence so much. I want to hack off my bangs/I want to keep growing them out/I want to hack the freakin frakkin things off!/I should keep them it takes so long to grow them out again .....
Maha gave me a wonderful pep talk, told me my hair was byootiful, I don't have a big honkin forehead to hide, etc... so here I am still nearly bangless and pumped up to stick to the plan to keep growing them out.

Rah Rah RANG! Kickem in the BANGS!!

Also, I had to confess to her that I had fallen off the wagon and was using again. Using non-salon hair products, that is. I know, it's sad. Everyone loses, but I just couldn't help myself. The grocery store shampoo is so much cheaper! And it smells fine usually....... At first it's do-able, I think, no problem I can handle this. Soon things start building up, the whole thing loses its shine. Next thing I know I'm back at the Salon begging for help again. It's a nasty cycle.

Maha gave me a pep talk for that too.

She also gave me a head massage, and taught me a new way to put my hair up... told me again not to ever perm or color my hair....
::sigh::

Ya, so if you've ever heard my diatribe about tipping hairdressers - I take it all back!

Wading Moose and Other Random Things

For a good laugh, check out these pictures: summer sizzle.

We have a wild turkey that lives in our neighborhood. This is so strange that he's been in the local paper. He lives a few houses down I think. A couple of times I've had to stop the car and wait for him to cross. He's like one of those preoccupied shoppers in the parking lot at Target that will walk as slow as they damn well pleases while you sit and idle.
So maybe if we put out a wading pool he'll have some fun in it.

Incidentally, have you ever read the book Rascal? (I can't remember the author)
Excellent book about a boy and his pet racoon. I read it over and over as a kid. It was right up there with Black Beauty and The Chronicles of Narnia.

Speaking of insomnia... (which we weren't)
I had another night of nearly zero sleep the other night. This is not so rare, but it was preceded by reading a book that got me thinking in a new direction about things I've not given much thought to over the years. (I may expound on this at a later date when I've formulated my thoughts better and allathat) In my world, of course this requires that I must obsess over these things endlessly even if that means not sleeping. Even if I would rather NOT obsess, I do it anyway.

A good thing that came of all that is that In the middle of the Obsessfest I remembered a tune I had been taught on Sunday and promptly forgot. So now that's in my head firmly - for now, at least. Random, but good. See, I'm musician. As such, my dirty little secret is that I have a degree in music, but I cannot remember tunes or words to save my life unless I've sung or played them hundreds of times or the music is right in front of my face. Don't know why that is. It's sad, but true. If you hide out in my trunk though, and secretly go on a road trip with me, you just might hear me sing Somewhere Over The Rainbow at the top of my lungs, with half of the words missing and lots of la de dahs. Wouldn't that be a treat?

Ya, so in other news, I'm off to see the doctor today. I'm going to talk to her about all my little nagging issues and ask that she'll wave a magic wand and make me all better.

It could happen....