Saturday...

think the Sound of Music and start humming 'Favorite Things'...

Waking up early
to cover the miles.
Audience families
and hundreds of smiles.
Little girls' tutus with butterfly wings.
These are just some of what Saturday brings.

Rainfall on tin roofs
and lightning in flashes.
Having my son-in-love
show off his gashes.
Lunch in a restaurant with yummy things.
These are just some of what Saturday brings.

Water fountain
intrigues small one.
Big brother's helpful way.
Mama-kissed babies and grandparents' fun.
All make this a cherished day!

Wishes...

on dandelions...birthday candles...first stars...and falling stars...fingers crossed...shed eyelashes...wishbones...coins in fountains...necklace clasps turned around backwards and kissed...can you think of any more?

I'm wondering if these are universal, or are they particular to a region?

Do you still make wishes? If so, is it from habit, tradition, or do you really believe wishes come true?

Oh, here's another one...I remember as a kid riding in a car, making sure to pick up both feet as you cross a railroad track, then scratch the ceiling and make a wish. This seems less like a wish and more like ritualistic behaviors.

I hate e-mails that tell me to make a wish, and forward the message to all my address book if I want the wish to come true. I tried it once...I wished I would never get another one of those kinds of e-mails...didn't work.

I use the phrase 'I wish...' but that's not a real wish. And I don't expect the materialization of something desired just because I have enough hot air to extinguish all of my many birthday candles in one breath.

But there's something sweet about watching a hope-filled child waiting for the first star as darkness falls so that they can make their wish. So I'll make a wish too. I'll wish that there will always be children to wish on stars. And I believe this one will come true.

Three...

...places I've visited: Mexico, Ireland, Washinton (state)

...cars I've owned: Jeep, Mazda, Mustang

...foods I love: Mexican, fresh seafood, chocolate

...jobs I've held: cattle pedigree clerk, legal secretary, BOA

...authors I love: Ken Follet, Thomas Perry, Barbara Delinsky

...places I've lived: Kingsville, Freer, Seguin

...favorite hobbies: reading, photography, card making

...bones I've broken: foot, ribs, hand

...tv shows I watch: The Office, Law & Order (all of them), Cash Cab

...songs that make me turn up the volume: Black Horse and the Cherry Tree, My Way (Los Lonely Boys), You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet

...favorite drinks: Coke (from Sonic), water, iced peppermint tea

...fun board games: Yahtzee, Sorry!, Trivial Pursuit

...stores I could spend a whole day in: Barnes & Noble, Michael's, SteinMart

...chores I put off as long as possible: paying bills, vacuuming, dusting

...chores I kind of like: emptying the dishwasher, scrubbing sinks, cleaning the toilet

...things I would rather chew glass than do: figure cost basis, attend parties, go car shopping

...reasons I hate attending parties: mingling, small talk, having my picture taken

...favorite dog breeds: Jack Russell, German Shepherd, mutt

...things I just don't get: tube tops, bungee jumping, reality tv

Day 10 toward health, and beyond...

I don't remember what I ate on day 10. I'm sure it wasn't stellar.

That was the day of my appointment for the health assessment at the wellness center; that went fine, so I can use their facilities now. I haven't worked out what schedule will work best for me.

At the beginning of the 10 days, I thought blogging my progress along with the other participants would be a helpful endeavor. I didn't expect it to be as much fun as it was. It really brought into focus where I'm doing okay, and what I need to work on. And I loved the incentive to scratch a few things off of my to-do list, too! A big thank you to Frugal Trenches for thinking it up and letting me join in.

Now I'll be doing my best to maneuver the road ahead, with all its curves and pitfalls.

Day 9 of 10 toward health...

As day 9 of the 10 toward health goes, today was a bit of a wash. But, oh!, what a blessing to spend the weekend with the little girls.

It was Chloe's first time to spend the night. Caitlyn is an old pro, and she came with her own grandma's-house-of-fun expectations. Chloe pretty much went along for the ride this time, but I have no doubt that next time she will have a list of her own demands. :) There were surprises, books (lots and LOTS of books), bubbles, tattoos, and treats.

I got a bit of a phone lecture from their father after they got home and ratted me out...but truly I think they understand that some things are only for at grandma's house, and I sincerely doubt they will be expecting ice cream for breakfast at home.

Of course, I was so exhausted after they left that I went into a bit of a carb frenzy, and that is all I'm going to say about that.

I wasn't scheduled to work tomorrow, but had a request to fill in for someone who had something come up. I had expected to have one more day to recover. :)

Day 8 of 10 toward health...

Today I have my two favorite little girls visiting me. So this will be brief.

Breakfast: skipped

Lunch: apple with peanut butter

Dinner: cheddar and grilled chicken quesadilla with guacamole (a little charred due to distractions in the kitchen)


Activity: trying to keep one step ahead of the girlies.

To-do list task: Before the girls got here, I did get some chores done...laundry, cleaning the bathroom, cleaning off one counter to make a somewhat permanent spot for the bread machine.

Now that they are finally asleep, I think I shall go collapse too, to re-energize for tomorrow.

Day 7 of 10 toward health...

Well, I did focus on health today...not really today's health, but tomorrow's.

All week I have pretty much rolled my eyes over the whole swine flu situation. The county that I live in was the first with confirmed cases in the state of Texas. Every day we hear of more school closings and warnings. The local hospital has set up a triage area just for potential flu cases away from the main hospital.

And still I scoffed.

Today my attitude started to slide over to the better-safe-than-sorry side of the scale. I went looking for some nutritional supplements and homeopathic remedies that I had heard were recommended. Stores were sold out, so I called my daughter to see if she could order them online. She was able to, and so got enough for their household and ours.

Then I went on over to the nearest wholesale club and shopped for staples. Visions of Y2K kept running through my mind as I lifted big packages of canned tuna and chicken, industrial-sized package of dried beans, canned vegetables, dried fruit, and twenty pounds of flour into my basket...I've been wanting to start using the bread machine again anyway. Then had to load it all in the car, then carry it all in the house (a workout in itself). If the situation turns out to be overblown, this is all stuff we will use anyway. If things get really bad, we'll be glad we don't have to be out in public.

I'm hoping that we will look back on this as we do on Y2K as 'that time Mom fell for the hype and went a little nuts.'

Anyway, in the course of the day, I let my emotions talk me into comforting myself with a Sonic Coke and deep-fried cheddar-stuffed jalapenos. I did nix the inclination to buy bulk packages of cookies and brownie mixes, though. :)

Breakfast: skipped

Lunch: cheddar peppers and a Coke

Dinner: Salad with grilled chicken breast. (Now that I've made the preparations that I can for the future, I can get back to the issue at hand.)


Activity: walking

To-do list task: I've been wanting to rearrange a poorly organized kitchen cabinet for ages. So today I set to it, relocated the adjustable shelf, and added in a space saver. Now it all looks and works better. I even was able to fit in a stack of plates that I had stored way across the kitchen before.