I have struggled with the answer when asked, "What do you do?" and it isn't work-related. Ultimately, we settled on that I find things and untangle things. But I also read (a lot), pretend to wake surf, and watch Hallmark films.
So so good! Orla and Kate are long-time best friends off on a girls' weekend away. Kate is a bit of a player who is trying to get back at her soon-to-be-ex, causing her to spend frivolously and do drugs and hook-ups. Orla is a new mom ex...
tagged:
2024, audible-books, five-stars, thriller, and thoughtful
Parts were a screaming 5 and parts were like “what?” And just irritated me. It is a Groundhog Day premise about a family of four - the mom is caught up in her own life and missing all that is going on around her with her kids and then he...
tagged:
2024, audible-books, fiction, four-stars, and thoughtful
If you are ever think the world is full of ugliness, I know where you can find beauty.
If you ever feel like you have lost your way, I know where you can find it.
If there is ever a time when life is too busy and upsetting, I know where you can find a bit of solace.
If you feel like the sun is taking forever to come out, I know where it has no obstructions.
If there are days you don’t want to get out of bed, I know a place that is worth the effort.
If your day is full of pain that seems unbearable, I know where the pain is comforted
Sure, your pain won’t go away, the ugliness will not be changed, the business won’t slow down – but if you can take just one moment and find your “happy place” and think about it, gaze upon it or remember it, maybe tomorrow will be better.
I’ll bet you’ll see other “happy places” checking out the Photo Story Friday’s at Cecily’s and Lolli’s.
One of the many things that I obsessed about as a child was based partially on stories from the news but also from my imagination. To this day, I still question what parts of my memories were based on reality and which were based on my imagination.
I was 13 years old and we were watching “The Deliberate Stranger” about Ted Bundy. It was a made for TV movie and I remember sitting on the stairs watching it (I would get to anxious and tense if I sat on the couch next to the rest of the family). I would run and hide during parts I didn’t want to see but I was fascinated by this story and had to understand it.
My fifth grade teacher had had a near miss with Ted Bundy, he’d lurked in her backyard. He had attended school where I lived and he’d been a Sunday School teacher. Yet he was absolutely criminally insane.
I was so incredibly scared of Ted Bundy. I knew I was too young to ever have to fear for my life, but I feared for all of the young beautiful women that I knew. Because I believed he could pop up at any moment and kill someone I cared about.
During this show was the first time I learned that what I had always believed and had gone over in my mind a hundred times was completely fiction.
As you may know, Ted Bundy escaped twice from jail. This was obviously quite a turning point in the show. After he had escaped I asked, “Why didn’t they tell the real way he escaped?” Everyone turned to look at me and asked me what I meant by that.
“Why didn’t they show that he chewed through the bars with his solid gold teeth?”
Laughter. Lots of laughter. (LOL should mean “lots of laughter” not “laughing out loud”).
Anyway, they all laughed and asked me where on earth I had heard such a thing. I honestly can’t say, but in my young and innocent mind that was the only way I could make sense of someone so scary being able to escape from jail. And it didn’t bother me that he didn’t have gold teeth in any of the pictures I had seen plastered on the news because, of course he would have a second pair of dentures.
I had gone over it in my mind so many times that I didn’t see that it just didn’t make logical sense.
Odd thing to obsess about? Um, you could say that.
What odd thing have you obsessed about? Check out Mama Kat’s Losin It to see other stories of crazy people, mischievous little kids and so much more.
It is so pathetic but this weekend was the first time we managed to go on a hike. We have been very hesitant about how Ivy would do with a hike (since she isn’t really the biggest trooper). So I went with my sister and her 3 kids. She used my backpack to carry Zachary and the rest of the kids were expected to hike totally on their own powers. NO CARRYING.
It took us forever to get to the mountain. I needed to get a new filter for my lens, because I accidentally sent mine back on a lens that I returned to Amazon. By the time we got to the mountain, the kids were already starting to get tired but they were still very excited to hike.
Zachary did not take well to the backpack, at first, but he learned to love it.
Ivy got a little tired and complained a bit on the way down.
Jade, was constantly way ahead of the group because that is just the way she is.
Kat and I have not hiked to Stewart Falls in years and we took a few wrong turns, but eventually made it to the falls. The base of Stewart Falls was PACKED with everyone else that thought the second to the last Saturday before school starts was a perfect day to go on a hike.
The kids got soaked, except Ivy because, well, that is just the way she is.
Whether you are going on a hike with seasoned hikers or with kids, there are a few things that I consider a must…
Hiking shoes (You don’t have to have big boots that have a steel rod going through the sole. You don’t need to have boots that come up above your ankle bone. You do need shoes that have some traction on the bottom. You do need shoes that aren’t the thin and cheap flip-flops (yes I saw a girl up at the falls cursing while she was trying to walk across the small rock slide). And you do need shoes that are COMFORTABLE – even if it is just a short hike).
Water (Even if you are going for an hour walk, have some water with you. You’ll need it and you’ll enjoy the hike more if you have it).
Snacks (I carry jerky, granola bars and lifesavers).
Camera (If you have a DSLR and want to carry it, go for it. If you don’t or don’t want to carry it, invest in a point and shoot that is little enough to fit in a pocket or light enough to throw in your backpack).
If you are hiking with an under 2-year-old, I highly recommend the Kelty TC 2.0. I loved it with Ivy and Kat loved it with Zachary. It is one of the baby things I am not willing to part with – just in case. Why? well, it is comfortable for the carrier and the rider. The rider sits high enough that they can see when they want to. If the rider decides they want to walk, the backpack tightens so that it is just a backpack. And there are tons of pockets with lots of room. (These opinions are totally my own and Kelty has no clue I even own a kid carrier backpack and I doubt they care that I truly love it).
What are some of the items you consider a must if you are going on a hike?
Well, here are the pictures to prove we really did go on a hike. Hopefully it will not be our last one of the season.
One of the really cool things that I got to do while I was at BogHer10 was get filmed for Yahoo Shine. They had a whole set built, lights, cameras, a make-up artist and we were miked. Then they edited them and are publishing them on their site. Mine will go live at the beginning of next week, but for now, you can find it right here.
My sweet roommate took several pictures for me as well. Here’s one…
The point of the video is to show how the internet has reinvented you. I really wanted to say that because of blogging my life is more full. Through blogging and the desire to make and document memories and lessons I have become more excited about my life, I have re-focused where the bulk of my energy is directed and I have cut back on the the things in life that don’t make me happy and keep me from finding all of the joy in my little family.
It was really fun to do and I hope it helps me share a little bit more of me.
This is one of those pictures that I wonder if I should have edited a bit more than a tight crop. What do you think? Would it be more fun with texture or muted tones? I’m not often one to “photoshop” much, but I’m curious to know if you think I should.
