Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Random Thoughts

This is one of my favorite kinds of posts on my SIL Emily's blog. And I have a bunch of random thoughts these days, so here goes. I'm even using her cool right justified format.


I think the theme for tonight's American Idol performances is "contestant's birth year."
I think it's a good theme because of the vast selection,
but often the contestants choose lousy songs.
I hope this group does better than that
(though I don't have much hope for Megan and Lil
when it comes to song selection).

******

The other morning, Thing 2 was cuddling in bed with me and said,
"Mommy, you're from Africa!"
I said, "Africa? Why?"
He said, "Because you have that red thing on your forehead."
To which I replied, "That's India and it's called a tika. This is a zit."

******

We attended a community concert the about a week ago.
Mostly older people attend but they're trying to draw in a younger crowd.
While taking Thing 1 to the Ladies Room, a sweet gray-haired woman in a wool suit jacket asked, "Is she your daughter?"
I said, "Yes."
She smiled and replied, "Oh, you look so young!"
So I told her I'm much older than I look and had her guess my age.
She guessed 19!!
I smiled and said, "I'm 35."
To her look of shock, I added,
"I know. I often hear that I'll love it when I'm 40."
She said, "The way you look, you'll love it when you're 80!"

******

The kids are playing in the backyard.
This is good for 2 reasons.
1. It means it's getting nice out
(I've been rather grumpy about how long Spring is taking to get here).
2. I am at my wit's end today--they can use the energy outlet and so can I.

******

I thought about having a blog post entitled,
"Our KitchenAid is making me gain 300 pounds."
But that's an exaggeration.

******

We're TOTALLY hooked on these pretzels.
We've made them several times and they've become an American Idol tradition.
We've shared the recipe with our good friend Peter and they love them, too.
I can't say enough how much you should make them.
You'll never buy a mall pretzel again.
These are SO much better.













******

I had a mission companion who seemed REALLY annoyed with me for days.
She finally told me why.
She said she HATES being interrupted
and she told me that I would do that to her.
I hadn't noticed, but she was right.
No one had ever told me that before.
So, even though I was a bit embarrassed, I was glad she told me.
Now, I hate it when I get interrupted.
Grumpy even.
I think the main thing that bugs is
I don't like to feel like I'm not heard.

******

Even by myself.
I think often, many of us drown out our own inner voices.
We do what others (or society) expect of us instead of what we truly want to do.
I'm done with that.
I'm learning to listen to and trust my own inner voice and it's incredibly empowering.
My anxiety dissipates and I feel more whole and in tune.
It's been a difficult, but very good thing.

******

I've recently had some heart-to-hearts with several people.
I was surprised by the variety of reactions.
People you think you can count on, you find you can't always.
And others totally surprise you.
Therein lies the danger of expectations.
I'm very grateful for open-minded, accepting friends.
Those are the best kind.
They don't have to agree necessarily.
But they can care and listen without judgment
and let me know that I am heard.

******

Spring can't get here fast enough.
It's been cold for 7 months.
Stupid groundhog.
I love my cousin-in-law Jill's hilarious and creative post on this:
She wrote a letter to the clouds and sun!
We made a cake (and cupcakes for 3D effect) to see if we could hurry things up.















******

I love getting to know people through blogging.
I've "met" some amazing people.
And it makes me feel good to know that the things we share on here are of any help to others.
It's like a wonderful bonus.
And I appreciate hearing that, so thanks.
(You know who you are).


5 comments:

Dr. Mark said...

I love your random thoughts. Of course, I've heard a lot of these recently since I live nearby, but I still love them. And, oooh, pretzel night!

Jillo said...

I too, love Emily's random thought Thursdays. I think you learn so much about a person.
The Africa story was hilarious. It made Kent and me both crack up. And hooray for looking 19! Nice!

Listening to your inner ear is tough! I love that you are working on listening to yours. You are such an inspiration to me. Thanks for the great example.

Anonymous said...

Admit it. You take Geritol.

Botox?

Emily said...

AWESOME cake. Although I have to say, those are more "deep" than random. Or else you are in general a very deep thinker, and I am in general a very surface-level thinker (if we both call ours random, I mean). That looking 19 thing is awesome. I mean really, that couldn't have been a real guess! You would have been 11 when Kate was born! Hi-larious.

Boquinha said...

Okay, I have to clarify that I used to have a serious complex about the looking young thing. I'm thinking that posting this may come across as bragging, but it's not! I'm sharing how these stories add to my complex!! (It's getting better as I get older) . . .