All about the punkins

Happy Halloween... whatever that means!  Happy Fall!  Juliana asked me the other day why we celebrate Halloween.  HA, I giggled!  I never really thought about it before.  What immediately came out of my mouth is, "We don't really celebrate it, we have fun with it."  She wanted to know the difference, so we began talking about the origins of Halloween.  Yup, it's all strange, creepy, gloomy, and morbid.  I asked her if she ever felt like we were strange, creepy, gloomy, or morbid on Halloween. She said, "Nope."  So we both agreed that we don't celebrate it, we have fun with it.  Our next conversation was about Christmas.  It boiled down to, "Do you feel happy, joyful, and know the meaning of Christmas?"  "Yup.  I guess that's why we celebrate Christmas, and have fun on Halloween."  That's right girl, that's right.

So, whether you think all trick-or-treaters are pagans just waiting for their turn in hell, or you just wanna have fun with punkins, candy corn, ghost cupcakes, and cat costumes, I hope October 31st is a good one for ya.  Have fun!

Heated

Because we are in the midst of a heated political season, and I am admittedly, a political junkie, I wanted to say a few things.

1. If you're gonna get political, don't make it personal.  Don't get on your moral high horse and claim you want the best for your children and grandchildren, therefore differ from another persons opinion.  'Cause that makes you sound, well, arrogant, and frankly, ignorant too.  Ya know, I kinda sorta maybe kinda want a great country for my kids and grandkids too.  Just sayin'.

2. Stop pretending President Obama or (possible President) Romney has or will end this country as we know it.  It's just annoying.  Yes, they differ.  Yes, they want you to think their ideas are vastly better.  The reality is, our country will continue to move forward in some ways, and possibly backward in other ways.  Ughhh, it's so self-righteous to think the USofA is gonna end in your lifetime.  I guess it's the same as the coming of Christ, but we'll save that for another time.

3. Obama isn't fictional.  He's not a terrorist, he's not socialist, he's not communist, he's not Hitler, he's not God, he's not a foreigner, he's not hiding a gay lover in a closet, he's just not.  Romney isn't gonna sell our country to China.  He's not gonna hide our money in the Cayman Islands.  He's not gonna convert us all to Mormons.  Get over yourselves!

4. If you don't care about politics, it's a shame.  I don't care to hear about politics every waking moment either, although I do care to know who will be making decisions for me.  Not to mention, history kinda sorta matters to me.  I'd like to be able to discuss history with my grandchildren one day.  That is, if Obama allows me to do that.  I mean, he is clearly sending our country and our freedoms to hell, right?!?!

5. I'm done.  Ta ta for now (again).

Ta ta for now

Somehow I've lost interest in this blog. I love reading others. I just don't find my life THAT interesting. I'll continue it here n' there because I like looking back occasionally, but I'm not sure anyone has lost much of their life if I don't post often.

Toooo-da-loooo......

Pure skills

I wanted to grace you with the presence of my photography skills. Sometimes my skills stand out so much, I had to share with you some vacation photos...

My nephew Chase who looks like he was pushed down the slide by my daughter. He really wasn't pushed, but by his expression, he certainly looks like it.

Jason and the kids walking into a space capsule thingy at the Smithsonian: Air and Space Museum. I'm sure the space thingy is something much more important, but I have no idea. Since I get claust-er-fo-bic, I declined the visit inside.

If you get a magnifying glass, you'll see the Statue of Liberty diagonally above Juliana's noggin. Stellar photographer, I tell ya.

Whoa, there's Chase again... getting kisses from big sis Cait, while Juliana laughs like a crazy girl.

FINALLY, a good photo. This is my SDBFF (Super Duper BFF) Tory. We were able to see each other briefly before she headed back 2000 miles away. She buried her dad about 3 hours before this photo. She's a strong woman, and so wonderful to put on a happy face for Juliana and Kev. I apologized to her for, at times during planning the visit, forgetting WHY she was here. I felt very selfish planning dinner with her, meeting at her hotel, when she just went through one of the hardest days of her life. In the end, we were able to hug, cry a little bit, laugh a little bit, and chat a little bit. Gosh, I miss her so so so so much!

Fly fly away

If I could only fly and be on vacation again, I would. I'll post pictures one day soon, and a synposis. I'm feeling cruddy this afternoon, very very cruddy. I'm pretty sure I'm coming down from an overload of caffeine, sugar, crappy food, heat, and just being doggone exhausted.

Flying into our kitchen right now to make dinner. Gosh, that sentence sounds refreshing right now.

A little peace

If you read my last post, it was about our adventure heading northbound on Hell Highway. We made it all the way to Exit 999, Heavenly Blvd. Along the way, there were unexpected stop lights on the freeway, which I really despise, but when it turns green, I tend to forget about stopping at the unexpected light.

Juliana and I had all week together while Kev was in camp. We went to parks, we are still exercising each morning, and she even went with me to my first waxing experience. NOW, that's a mother/daughter bonding experience! HA!

Cutting wood to help build the structures at the park. Fun stuff, I tell ya... until you get hurt, but that's ok, I suppose. She didn't get hurt from the saw though, she took a hammer, a nail, and found out the hard way that hammers meeting the thumb really really really hurt!

Peace John. Tory will miss your Daddy kisses, and the world will miss your laugh, your words of wisdom, your dry humor, your incredible movie collection, and faithful love of animals.

Hearing one of my best friends on the planet tell me her Daddy has died must be one of the most difficult things to handle. I've heard it once before, and it is heart wrenching. I know I'll be hearing it again very soon, and I'm not ready for it. I heard my own dad's voice this week as he told me about his cancer surgery. That's right, I don't share everything on facebook as some may think I do.

I'm still trying to find the words or the ways to make a moment better for Tory. She's an only child, she was definitely Daddy's girl. Keep her and her family in your thoughts. She needs it.

Highway to .......

I've been working on my photography skills, and working on my life skills too. Sometimes those two are intertwined.

Last week was an especially tough one for little miss. She had summer school, and well, let's just say that any school time is about a half mile from hell.

We became about a 1/4 mile from hell when she didn't pass her swimming test, and Kevin did. Yikes, she isn't happy that her brother (4 years younger) is now in the same level. Luckily, we took the exit off of Hell Highway, and are heading northbound.

Today has been refreshing. We began exercising together a couple days ago. She was running at school each morning last year, so we thought it may help with energy, anxiety, and moods. Let's face it, I need it too, so I hope we stick to it. 2 days so far... gotta start somewhere.