Antsy

I think I've become more cynical over the last year. Despite my best efforts. I smile, even when I really don't want to. A genuine smile. I still see the good in all things. I'm not naive, just a positive person in general.  My 30s have yet to find balance. So much to do, no time.  And, are they really things I Really Want to do?  I think so, for the most part....
There's so much greed and sadness in the world right now.  And the world is much smaller than it use to be. Instant everything. I found myself longing for TV, like it was. I want to wait to watch a show when it came on at 7pm, that being my only chance. So, I signed up for a TV service on the internet (we got rid of cable years ago). I was excited to fulfill this itch. The first night revealed a multitude of commercials and cut out, sped up shows and movies.  Not what I was looking for.
I miss just painting and drawing.  I miss generating creative ideas, for no other reason, but for art's sake. I miss having time to explore my mind's musings. I use to do it with the TV on in the background, just filling noise. I find I can't do that with instant viewing. Why, I haven't figured out yet.
I play music, all the time, but it has lost its everything it had too (wow, that's a lot of "it"s in one sentence).  I go through music era spurts. Currently, I'm fading from 60-70's rock to 40's big band/vinyl. Nothing is satisfying the itch....

I'm antsy.....

Summer is Here

Anyone else been really excited about the end of the school year and summer?!  I know this household was!  That's all that was heard. What are we going to do this summer? Who are we going to see this summer? Where are we going to go? How much longer until it's Summer!?

The last couple of weeks of school are full of fun, fun and more fun. Filling the time, until Summer.  The kids, and I too, have a blast at the end of the school year. The days are full of activities. Then, summer finally gets here.  That first day you sleep in, doing hardly nothing at all. All day.  

This year, It came quick. I'm not talking about summer. I'm talking about the backlash of preparing for summer... the Boredom!  It hit the second day of summer vacation. Quickest it has ever come.  I think I went into it ill-prepared.  
I'll do better next year (yeah right ;).

Everything planned is for later in the summer. One thing I did prepare for was summer reading.  I don't want their brains to go slumpy, now do I ;)   This summer, I saved a special reading pleasure for my 7 year old : Calvin and Hobbes! 

He is highly entertained right now in his "fort."

Looks like Calvin and Hobbes reading a "how to" manual, lol. He says their names are "Jack and Murry." It may be a very interesting summer.   

What brain-play things do you have planned for this summer?

Staying Responsibly Informed

I am not one to get wrapped up in any political agenda, but I do think it is a responsibility as a citizen to stay informed.  People tend to shy away from most world topics for fear of sounding stupid or being ridiculed.  I am lucky.  For one, I don't easily embarrass. Two, I love that "constant  pursuit of knowledge." And, three, my husband is like a human google.  He entertains me often with his wealth of knowledge :)

I chose a worldly hot topic to share as an example of being responsibly informed.

The War in Syria. A complicated, hot mess.

Here is a good blog to ease into that pursuit of knowledge:


9 Questions About Syria You Were Too Embarrassed to Ask
written by: Max Fisher


Don't be embarrassed, just read up, and be informed...


A Question he doesn't answer: What if the alleged chemical weapons were really used by the rebels (disguised to looked like Assad)? thus causing the attack that is proposed. The UN has said they will not release the origin of the weapons (once they release the confirmation of the use of chemical weapons) for this point exactly.


Now, it's time to form an opinion, even if it's "I don't give a rat's butt what they're doing."  But, don't let that be your opinion just because you're too lazy to have one.  Discover that you can have an actual informed (ever-evolving) opinion.  

                                                                                                    -Discover Your Unique

Unique Perceptions

Everyone comes from different experiences and has a different understanding of the world. Don't make the assumption that your perspective is the right one; it's just the right one for you.

I wrote that a while ago, but I like to reread it occasionally to remind myself why I originally thought of it.  Many people automatically think of the person/s in their lives that are so very different from themselves.  The haughty mom in the PTA, the meth-head at the local clinic, the CEO of a high-powered corporation, or maybe the church lady that is constantly "judging" you or others.  Before I continue, I would like to point out, that those people are not really "different" from you, they just have a different understanding of the world (like the quote says).

Back to why I originally had this thought.  It was my children.  We raise our children to be mini-us.  They follow us, walk and talk like us, spend every waking moment possible with us, but yet they develop into radically different people from us.  When the baby takes his/her first breathe, the world around them is being absorbed in a completely different pattern than what we lived.  They are being blessed with their own unique process.  It will definitely not be the world we grew up in. It can't be.  As scary as it sometimes sounds to us, it is very exciting for them.  I remind myself regularly of their unique perceptions, so I don't accidentally squash that excitement and discovery for them.  

I try to keep up with the ever-evolving world and embrace every moment I can.... especially with my babies :)

                                                                    -Discover Your Unique

                                                       (What did you discover unique today?)

Timing

Timing is everything.  One of the many things we hear growing up.  Only through bad timing do we actually learn it. Repeatedly, over and over again, our entire lives, we miss things (maybe we never do learn it?)   But, sometimes, the timing is spot on, in the less likely of circumstances.

Maybe it's God's way of saying, "you're timing's not perfect, mine is.  Sit back and enjoy the ride."

Maybe our world is saying, "hold up, wait a minute, that door hasn't opened yet."

We push and pull so hard, striving for things that we swear will make us happy.

my social media on July 5th:

You can't make everyone happy, or even one person happy all the time. Your happiness really depends on you. And, if you're happy, that happy may, in turn, help someone else be happy. So, in the end, all you can really do, is choose to be happy. ...... but alas, you can't expect to be happy all the time, so content is good, and more rewarding in the long run. ... Own your happiness, and let others borrow it from time to time 

"Own your happiness."

Here's to old discoveries made anew:
True success and happiness can only be found through a series of mistakes and bad timing.

                                                           

                                                                                                                  -Discover Your Unique

Organizing

How many times do I restart this blog before I realize I really only have free time at the end of summer break or at the end of Christmas break? I need to actually schedule time.  I feel better after I blog.  Promise to myself: schedule time to work on website and blog....
I think I over-think it. Like usual. I over-analyze and over-think everything.  My greatest weakness.
I will keep these short and thoughtful (maybe, lol) and stop trying, and just do.

My unique discovery today: using a coat rack to hang my pots and pans.

I went to multiple stores looking for a "small" pot/pan ceiling hanger thingy (yes, exactly that). The only ones I could find were these monstrous contraptions that would eat my kitchen.

Walking past the "rack and shelf" aisle, I thought, why not!?  

Ingenious.

Note: make sure the rack is bolted into the cross beams.

-Discover Your Unique

Wow, nothing like waiting 8+ months....  I guess my 30s hit me.  Also, a lot of self-defeating attitude when it came to blogging.  Who really wants to read my mind's wanderings? Am I arrogant enough to think what I have to say is really that important...?  Yeah, I guess I am.  I just like to write.  And talk. And play devil's advocate.  It's all on that pursuit of knowledge.

I write quite a bit in my journals.  Pencil to paper is so much easier than fingers to keys. No one reads those though. Thank God. LOL.

I guess I should just start anywhere and let it go. 

Do I inspire anyone? I sure hope so.  I want to keep making the world a little better.  We all want to leave a mark, right? 

Is that a problem though.  Do we all strive to have "a story?"  Do we feel somewhat less important if our story is blander than the latest Reality TV's super star?   Do we create more drama than necessary to fill that void that society projects we have?

I do have a story.  A quite dramatic one.  When I stop to think about it, I usually find myself feeling disconnected to it, like it was a movie.  I find myself pushing against it, just to not fit the norm of today.

Do our children feel the need to have "a story?"  Is that what we have created? 

Today's discovery: My youngest has my laugh. Being that he is the happiest kid I know, I find myself complimented.  

Make your kiddo laugh today.  Who do they sound like?

Discover Your Unique