Just A Little Off Kilter....

That absence makes the heart grow fonder. I do hope this is true. It's been a very long, exhausting, and medically scary week for me. I promise that I will give you all the details soon but currently I am home with my family resting and recovering. The next few weeks will be filled with more tests and I'm hoping more answers but I do believe that the worst is behind me and I go only look forward.  Much love, Janet

1. Tina has a runny nose 2. Reid's Dairy 3. Dad beats me with a pool noodle 4. Paul wears a Muskrat hat 5. Mom has backseat anger 6. Silly Dad 7. Sleeping on my sister's office floor 8. Mom is happy again 9. Flea marker smiles 10. Cupcake bences 11. Bacon 12. Sunday drive home

I get to see my family this weekend ☺ My niece is graduating from high school and my parents are flying in to to celebrate. I drive to my sisters this afternoon and we pick them up tomorrow...woot! What are your plans for the weekend? 

Elevator etiquette is a lost art. Like many people I know, I, on occasion take the elevator... or take the stairs but honestly, the lack of oxygen in most stairwells has to be pretty close to the same as Mt. Everest and I'm usually needing to sit down and take a break by the 4th floor; let’s face it… that’s not even close enough to ½ way to call myself anything more than pathetic. So, I ride the elevator which is an interesting event on its own. I'm constantly amazed by the lack of courtesy people seem to have. Granted you'll likely never risk seeing the same people again but still. I may not always be the sharpest crayon in the box but it just seems like common sense that if you are getting off one floor away from where you are now, you shouldn't decide that you should hop to the “back of the bus” and then make everyone and their 18 lbs of whatever they are carrying get out of your way. Secondly, we're all going to the same place generally so it pretty much confus...

I don't understand how many blueberries you're supposed to eat in one sitting. 10? 2,000? There's no natural stopping point. Vintage Sweet Dusty Blueberries by Who Knows What via Etsy

Amongst the million faces that we see everyday, how many do we actually recognize?  Every single person, hiding a tale, every single person withstanding some pain. You can understand only what a stranger wants you to understand. Masking the burden with a true smile, a simple cover to hide the true identity of their pain.  And yet, every single shadow is different. Every person has a different pain. A pain more or less exclusive to that person. A pain people need to endure and rise up from. A pain that no matter what you do, will be healed only when the person is truly ready to face and overcome it. And no one knows how long will that take... a month, a year, a decade? And it's so amazing that no matter what the materialistic world offers on the outside, your heart knows what it's holding on to...just like a jewellery box...all the precious jewels and ornaments kept safely inside to save them from the outside damages; but what about the damage caused when two jewellery pie...

This is where I currently am... Doing some of this... and this... Happy Weekend ☺

Today, one year ago, my family was changed forever...miss and think of you often R...we love you. Lui Collins - Gone But Not Forgotten

I'm at work. I should be working. Can't focus. Eating chips. Taking pictures. Feet up. Is there anything that you are avoiding today?

The worst kind of human contact is "eye contact through that crack in a bathroom stall when you're pulling up your pants" contact.  True story.

A friend recently told me that lately she's been writing in a diary. "Not exactly like a diary, though," she explained. "I promise to tell myself the real truth." It's interesting...I totally get what she means. How often do we admit the deeper, darker truths of our lives to anyone, let alone to ourselves? Though I love to write, I have never been able to successfully keep a diary for more than a few months (this blog though is somehow different, don't ask me why). I started when I was a pre-teen, and kept a diary over the three weeks of each year that my family would go on vacation (or move...that happened every couple of years and lasted three weeks) The entries pretty much read like this: "Today I woke up and ate breakfast. Then we went to the library. I got [insert Judy Blume title here]. We went to the beach. Then we came home and had dinner. Then we got ice-cream. Good night." Occasionally something exciting happened, like when I learne...

1. Getting ready to lead up Birthday Ridge  2. Leading 3. Cabin fun  4. View of the cliff from the boat  5. Last pitch of One Pine  6. The cliff at the narrows  7. Boat ride  8. Napping  9. The view from One Pine 10. 30 second dance party 150 feet up the side of a cliff

What are your plans for the weekend?

I think today’s hip-hop music gets a bad rap. Go ahead, take as long as you need to laugh at my hilarious pun. I’ll be here when you get back. Seriously, though, rappers are often accused of objectifying women or glamorizing things (bad things), through their music. And while I do not mean to make light of any of these offenses...I think rappers and their songs are just misunderstood. If you listen closely to the words of their songs, you will find they are replete with humor, love, chivalry, and even exercise instructions. Don't believe me? Let me share the words of a popular rap song, and you will soon see what I mean. Let’s begin with "I Know You Want Me" by Pitbull. The song is partly in English and partly in Spanish and begins with: "Haha Its Mr. 305 checkin' in for the remix, you know that S 75 Street Brazil? Well this year gon be called Calle Ocho, Hahahaha" Okay, I have no idea what this means, but there is a "haha" and a "hahahaha...

Sharks would look awesome with mustaches, but evolution said no...Cause evolution is a jerk.

Woke up feeling so low and empty.  Feel like running away from everything.  Can't cope with anything today.  Have no energy, just want to sleep.  Can't eat a thing. Today...today, I'm just existing. Perhaps it's because I had very little sleep last night. Perhaps it's because when I opened my inbox it was flooded with pregnancy announcements and updates that made my hostile uterus clench in despair and sadness...also anger. Perhaps it's because yesterday was warm and sunny and today was cold and windy. Perhaps it's because my eye continues to heal thus having to endure more eyeglass wearing (seems silly I know...perhaps even sillier when I write it out) Perhaps it's because it took me 30 minutes and 10 outfits to find something to wear to work. Perhaps it's because after enduring a 38 day cycle and another chemical...I feel nothing but hopelessness. But whatever it is...I hope it passes soon.