I've decided I need to write more.

Today I was thinking about the idea that "time flies". 

I remember when I was in elementary school and how long summer break always seemed. It was as though the summer dragged on forever, and eventually the boredom got so bad that I couldn't wait to go back to school. And of course once the school year started I was counting down the days until the next holiday and trolling radio stations for snow cancellations. Or how about waiting for lunch? The morning seemed to last forever, like lunch time would never come. 

Now I'm twenty-six and it is only fifty-five days (Johnny counted for me yesterday) until I turn 27. I know that the days until then will fly and suddenly I'll blink and I'm thirty. Time as a child and time as an adult are night and day. Just an hour ago I was finished with work and a little lightheaded because I hadn't eaten since lunch at 11-ish  and so I helped make some food for dinner. Later I was texting my husband, waiting for the potatoes to bake, and I realized that it was already 5-o-clock. I got off work at 4-o-clock. 

Holy time warp, batman! 

I wonder why it is that time goes so much slower for children? It really feels as though we're considered children for a very long time when, in reality, you're only a 'child' for eighteen years. You then spend the entire rest of your life, upwards of 60+ more years, as an adult! So perhaps that's the reason. Time goes slow for children so that they can enjoy that blink-of-an-eye moment as a child, while time goes fast for adults because really there isn't a lot about our lives that changes significantly, beyond getting married, having kids, watching those kids grow, reaching an age where you watch people die, and then eventually dying yourself. I know that I personally feel as though I spend most of my days slaving over a job that I've resigned myself to doing for a few more years yet and that most of my life revolves around that. Wake up, work, make food, hang with husband, pay bills, rinse, repeat. 

I know that seems cynical, but for all that my life is relatively boring at the moment, the days disappear faster than Superman (hero reference number two. Bam.)! I get worried that suddenly life will be over and nothing really happened. It's like what Robin Williams character quotes in Dead Poet's Society: "I went to the woods because I wanted to live life deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life. To put to rout all that was not life; and not, when I had come to die, discover that I had not lived."

I hope and pray that I, an absolutely all of you, find ways to really live life. As for me, I'm not always sure what 'living' really looks like. 

So anyway, now that everyone is thoroughly depressed, I end with a picture of a squirrel playing the banjo

and the first word that comes to mind.

Bazinga.  

Here's a New Blog Post! Yay!

I've been thinking for a few days now that I should write a blog. The problem is I have no idea what to write about. So let's discuss Christmas!

Every year for awhile now we've added new people to the family and it makes shopping just really difficult. Thankfully Johnny and I have managed to figure out a present for everyone except maybe the new niece. But she's easy, just go to Walmart and grab a toy and Bob's your uncle.

For everyone else we got -

Just kidding. I'm not telling.

I also need to shop for my husband, and let me tell you it's hard. Really hard! Basically every birthday and Christmas since we've been together I've gotten him a DVD of something because, well, that's just easy. But not terribly personal. And a little self-serving, since I'll use it too so who knows if my intentions were honorable. So this year I need to think of something completely fabulous. Something unexpected. Something that doesn't cost too much because let's be honest there's this little thing called a budget...

Hopefully inspiration hits soon. He already bought all of my presents.

And this is a pathetic blog post, haha. But really that's okay because not many people read it anyway and those that do are ones who know me and will probably laugh hysterically at my hidden sarcasm.

Everyone else? I'm not being sarcastic at all.

Happy Christmas, kids!

Turkey-giving

I really need to learn that if I'm going to be reading anything for an extended period of time glasses must needs be involved. I'm so blurry...

Tonight's blog is a mishmash of shtuff (anyone else besides me love the Mutts comic?). I've been trying to keep myself entertained while also being creative. Not an easy mix in this technological age filled with Netflix and iTunes and DVDs and all of those other sources of instant-gratification that have invaded our way of life. To try combating this a little I took a quick trip to Hobby Lobby to obtain some yarn with which I made a hat for my stepmom! Two episodes of NCIS and it was basically done. Amazing what you can do with your hands when your mind is otherwise occupied...

Tonight I went to the community Thanksgiving service and I couldn't help but be dismayed by how few people attended. As the service ticked on I gazed around me at the age-old interior of the building, which is one of the oldest churches in town, and imagined an Anne of Green Gables type scenario. You know, back when nearly everyone attended church and the pews were full. Supposedly the Delta and Kianu sororities from Muskingum (College) University used to take up one full side of the three-sided balcony back in the day. Thinking this way didn't do anything but make me kind of sad and nostalgic, but that's typical so I got over it fairly quickly.

Tomorrow is Turkey Day! That day where the Indians were duped into thinking everything would be fine and dandy with these settlers just before more settlers came and killed off the "savages" with small-pox infested blankets and war. I highly doubt that the day after they broke bread together in peace was followed by a day where people trampled each other to death to get to the Black Friday sales-price iPods first. I, for one, don't understand the madness and avoid it all costs and am of the opinion that everyone else should too. Your five-year old will have broken it by Boxing Day anyway.

As it is, I am very much looking forward to the time off from work that I get to spend with people I like. And then spending three straight days with my beautiful almost six-months old niece! *sigh* What a lovely, stress-free holiday.

Happy Turkey, kids! Have a good one!

Thankful

Words can't really express how I have been feeling so far this month.

Most of my Facebook friends have been posting what they're thankful for everyday of November so far, something my Mom used to do and what I did last year. But this year I'm really only thankful for one big thing so I decided to post it here. I am ever so grateful for my family and friends. They are all more loving and caring and understanding than I have ever felt I deserved. I truly am blessed.

Thank you all for being there during this journey we call life. I never could have made it without you.

I threw my clock out the window...

Is it just me or has this year literally disappeared?

One minute it's my birthday and snowy and I'm working mandatory overtime like a boss.

Next minute it's July and there's a pool of sweat under the chair I melted on in our un-air conditioned house.

Now it's suddenly chilly again, the leaves are changing color, Starbucks is swamped by pumpkin fiends, there are already Christmas trees at Walmart, Johnny and I have been married for a year (a YEAR people! And no one died!) and I'm in two weddings this month.

That's right, two. And I'm wearing orange for both. Go figure.

It is the beginning of bowling season, I made a rather tasty loaf of pumpkin bread, my 'little' sister turns 24 on Friday, and it's about that time to start watching all the seasons of Smallville again.

This is my absolute favorite time of year. I can take or leave spring. I deal with winter by wearing lots of sweaters and scarves and boots and gloves and drive the icy streets with white knuckles. I hate summer. But fall has the perfect amount of chill in the air for a sweater and no coat. You can smell the leaves changing on the trees, listen to them drift to the ground and land with that soft swishing sound. It's the time of year when I usually want to do that deep cleaning everyone seems to equate with spring. I don't want to clean in spring. I want to get out of the house I've been cooped up in since early November and enjoy the warmth. But during the fall it's time to get ready to stay inside and avoid the ice and chill and wind and snow by lighting a fire and drinking tea in a nice, clean, comfortable house. Imagine all the bears out there eating whatever they can in preparation for the hibernation. That's exactly what fall is. Preparing for hibernation.

But on the side also enjoying raking leaves and jumping in them, sitting on the front steps waiting for trick-or-treaters, bundling up in warm clothes and blankets and turning on the space heater for work so that my fingers don't freeze off, making a trip to the pumpkin patch, etc, etc etc. All of the best things in life happen in the fall. So sad it only lasts for two months!

Enjoy the fall, friends. :) That's my gift to you.

Holy Heat, Batman!

It is absolutely amazing to me how easy it is to adapt to hot weather.

I'm sure all of you have experienced this crazy heat we've had so far this year and, let me tell you, for a girl who has spent most of her life in an air conditioned home working in air conditioned offices it was a hard transition. I had completely forgotten just what it feels like to be out and about and sweating just to come home to the same, if not warmer, temperatures than you just spent time in. It fascinates me just how quickly I became accustomed to always sweating just a tiny bit. Even doing the dishes feels like a workout now, due to the amount of sweat and energy I expel. And cooking? I have managed to cook decent meals (or not cook, if we're in the salad or sandwich mood) without creating too much heat. I really surprised myself today when I cooked meat on the stove and then did all the dishes and realized that it was 94 degrees outside and that the fact did not bother me at all. Thankfully we invested in a small air conditioner for our bedroom, which we put in the window in the walk-in closet since it's the only one small enough. Our house has HUGE windows. It cools the room just enough for us to sleep comfortably under light covers before I get up to sit at a table in front of a window, keying claims for eight hours praying for a breeze. I was amazed when I realized that degrees in the 80s felt comfortable to me. 

Thankfully those desperate days are over. Even though we still have days that get up into the 90s, not until it reaches closer to 100 does it really bother me much. Even so, by no means do I ever want to move somewhere further south with temperatures like these year round. I love fall weather and baggy sweaters far too much for that, but it's lovely to know that I am no longer the wimpy woman I once was.

When we aren't discussing the heat, idiots who fire guns at innocent people, and the actions taken against the late Joe Paterno and Penn State, we're watching Merlin on Netflix. That's right, be jealous.

We are also now Aunt and Uncle to the most adorable baby that ever lived, in my completely biased opinion. Little Margot was born late at night on May 31st, 2012 and we got to be there for it! Thank goodness for a very understanding boss who said it was fine if I slept in, due to us not arriving home till around 3am.

Beyond all of this, life has not changed much. Sorry for the lack of enthusiasm I show in this post and for my sporadic postings. I'm sure you'll all forgive me someday. ;-)

Bowling Debacle

Remember that league Johnny and I signed up for that was going to start last Sunday?

We showed up just a little early. I was super nervous because I'm just fine bowling with friends but I didn't want to make a fool of myself in front of tons of people who probably can bowl WAY better than I can. However, I had no reason to worry because we get there and the guy at the counter tells us that no one signed up and someone was supposed to call us to tell us the league was cancelled. Figures. They gave us three free games for the inconvenience and told us that a different league would be starting on Wednesday and that people had signed up and we can try for that instead. So we play three games and had a blast and signed up for the Wednesday league.

Wednesday comes and we get to AMF Lanes half an hour early just in case. Same guy behind the counter. Same story. No one had signed up, no one had called us, and if no one showed by the time it was supposed to start we got three more free games. One other group did appear, but you need more than one and a half teams to make a league so we got three more free games.

My best score out of all three free games was a 125, which isn't bad for a first timer!

Sadly there aren't any more leagues we can join so we have to find something else that's fun that allows us to meet people and make friends together. Until then, we leave for Vegas on Wednesday next week!! Looking forward to a mini vacation.

Happy Weekend, friends!