Thursday, September 13, 2012

A LOT of Random Thoughts

I've had this post open for days. I had been working on it and wanted to post it. It's not even finished. So, I'm going to go ahead and just post it, but also add this link to an old post:
  My aunt Noemia ("Daguinha") died the day before yesterday.
So, I have been re-reading that post and looking at pictures.
Don't much feel like finishing this current post, so will just post what I had so far.
 (Check out random thought #9 - remember, that was all written before my aunt died).
Please, if you feel inclined to comment, go ahead and comment on the regular random thoughts, too.
I'd welcome a bit of normalcy.


I totally stole this right-alignment-for-random-thoughts-posts idea,
from my SIL, because she's cool that way.

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Looking for good beach reads - here's the short list so far:

This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Miss Peregrine's School for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Gone Girl by Gillian Flyn

Any other suggestions?

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Our car got egged the other day.

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I am interrupted a lot, all day long.
I decided to count interruptions during one day. 
I only made it 44 minutes before I stopped.
 I counted from 8:30 to 9:14 and I'd had 14.
About 5 every 15 minutes, 1 every 3 minutes.
Not one of those was a phone call. Thankfully.
Who's got time??

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So behind on all I'd like to blog . . . 

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It's a relief to me when my friends' houses aren't immaculately, museum-like clean.
Then it's so EASY to have those friends over without feeling 
like I should go on some kind of manic cleaning frenzy beforehand.
I like a clean house and all of our friends say we keep a clean, neat house,
 but house keeping is, admittedly, not my #1 priority
(I'd rather have a somewhat clean house and have fun with my family
than have a spotless house and pass up fun stuff).
Not that the two are mutually exclusive . . .

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Also, most of my friends are women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s
who rarely wear make up and couldn't care less about designer clothing.
That's not to say we don't like to look nice,
but we don't hurt ourselves (or our wallets) trying,
and we're all comfortable with one another,
make up or not.
I love that and feel lucky to have such easy-going friends.

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I read that The Hunger Games trilogy 
has outsold all the Harry Potter books combined.
My reaction?
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!
I think it's the result of people seeking
some kind of good-read "replacement" 
after the Harry Potter series ended.
Because though they're good books, The Hunger Games  
is NOT anywhere near as good as Harry Potter.

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I feel way too young to be dealing with sandwich generation stuff.
Byproduct of being born to older parents, I guess.
Procreators, beware.

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I'm an idealist, but I think I'm becoming jaded.
People always say, "Money talks,"
but I've always held out hope that honesty and values matter more.
Apparently, money DOES talk.
And loudly.

We've been seriously contemplating expanding our business
(it's been 5 years since we opened),
and there were some wonderful downtown opportunities available.
Mark called no less than 10 times, twice to higher management 
(to complain about not getting called back).
They knew nothing of our situation, but basically told us that 
 each of the 4 properties were already just about sold,
because those that are buying them 
are offering more than the asking price
and already have total cash in hand.

Who can compete with that?
Bleh. So discouraging. :(

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Thing 1 recently outgrew her clothes . . . again!
We all hate shopping, but she needed new jeans.
This is where my slight hoarding problem comes in handy.
I pulled out an old pair of my skinny jeans,
AND THEY FIT HER.
Yes, my 12 year old is wearing jeans I wore when I was 30.
She's getting so tall!
Every time I see her in those jeans,
it pretty much blows my mind.
Kids get so big so fast. Bittersweet.

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 I am loving Malcolm in the Middle.
It's a funny show.
I think it's made even funnier
because we know a family just like them.

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A friend of ours recently introduced us to this site:
http://dog-shaming.com/
We have spent a lot of time on it, laughing hysterically.
I don't think I would have found it funny 
before getting a dog ourselves.
We love our Scout!

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I think it's funny that people who don't vaccinate 
want their kids to wash their hands before dinner.
Not making any kind of statement.
Just think it's funny.

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We found a beach house rental for an AMAZING deal.
SO excited!

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We humans are rarely satisfied.
Heat in the winter, A/C in the summer . . .
I think there is about a 3-degree range where we feel comfortable;
(I'd say mine is 75-78).

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7 comments:

Emily said...

So sorry about your aunt.

No book recommendations. I'm in a dry spell. Although Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother was really interesting.

Dave gets interrupted at work a lot too. It makes him so frustrated.

I wish my house was immaculate. These darn kids make it impossible. :)

I have a mix of friends of all ages (from early twenties to late 60's, the 62 year old and I like to watch the Bachelor together) and I like the different dynamic they all provide. Some wear designer clothes and look like super models, but most are just regular women. I find I care more about personality than anything else, and whether we mesh doesn't usually have much to do with looks. Thank goodness, since I'm pretty much a slob these days.

I'm surprised about the Hunger Games. REALLY surprised.

We had that issue of getting outbid when we first started looking to buy a house. Investors were outbidding us, and they had cash, so we were always losing the places we offered on. It was so frustrating.

Rebecca said...

So sorry about your aunt!

April (Thorup) Oaks said...

It's fun to see what you've been up to. I'm sorry about your aunt. I hope your family is doing ok.

Chelle said...

Random posts are always refreshing. And I, too, dear friend, am so behind on blogs and blogging. I used to put a too much pressure on myself - now I just get around to all of it when I have time. I didn't expect life to get so much busier as my kids got bigger.

I love friends. And I love people who are accepting. I'm so tired of cliques and groups. Yeah, it's nice to have friends who are in similar situations and who have similar interests as ourselves, but isn't it ALSO nice to have friends who are DIFFERENT? Come on people! So glad you have good friends.

Aaahhh, the beach house sounds nice :)

Bummer about the business expansion. It's hard when you start planning and letting yourself get optimistic, and then it crashes. Hoping that things work in your favor and that the circumstances are even better with the next opportunity!

I'm torn about the house thing. I'm with you - cleaning is not my top priority, but sometimes I wish it were higher on the list. Mostly because I feel so much better when my house is "spotless", and when I feel better I seem to accomplish more. And although I try not to be too particular and fussy, I hate it when people come over unannounced and I have to trip over shoes, backpacks and dirty rags just to answer the door.

I also caught up on some of your other recent posts and I have to say that I totally agree about Frasier. Definitely one of my top five all-time favorite shows. I've laughed out loud at many an episode when I've been the only one watching - the mark of a good show for sure!

I'm so sorry about the loss of your aunt. And I agree about the sandwich generation thing. Hoping you can get back to that normal stuff you're craving real soon.

Em said...

Sorry about your Aunt. I'm glad that you have people that you can be real with. I think that makes a big difference. After moving it always takes me a while to feel like I am being real and not putting on a show of how I am supposed to be. Whatever that is:)

Boquinha said...

Jimmy couldn't post so he emailed me his comment on September 19th and I'm posting it here for him:

Sorry for you loss. Prayers for you and your family.

Money talks. And the most discouraging part of studying political science was the realization that for anything to get on the political agenda, there has to be a lot of money behind it.

Boquinha said...

Thank you, everyone. I desperately miss blogging -- both reading and writing. Things have been so busy. As our kids get older, holy moly, it's so busy. People always tell you that, but wowzers!

We have ONE free night the entire month of October - that is no exaggeration. Most of those nights we've had a house full of kids for various clubs and groups - super fun. Super busy.

Emily, Battle Hymn . . . I read several articles about that method, but have not read the book. It just didn't resonate with me at all. It sounded like a way to raise very focused and successful kids, but also kids who would likely need copious amounts of therapy when they're older. :P We are huge fans of Dr. Sears' "The Discipline Book," because it works while coming from a very compassionate, respectful place - THAT resonates with us. I think when it comes to parenting, everyone has to choose whatever book or philosophy that aligns with their personalities and values. It's a trial and error thing. We had a parenting book that we bought once that went right back to the store - we just could NOT agree with the tone.

Agreed on the personality thing -- that matters most. Come to think of it, I think often the personalities sort of "fit" those who get into make up and fashion and those who don't. Another be-true-to-yourself thing!

Thanks, Rebecca and April.

Rachelle! YES! The busy thing - MY WORD. I have yet to blog about your visit to us! :P

And, AGREED on the friend thing. I have been part of an incredible homeschool group for years where there are NO cliques, NO queen bees, NO drama . . . it's so great. Why doesn't everyone do this?!?

The beach house turned out to be, well, we know now why it was so cheap. But it was good to be at the beach anyway. :P

I think the solution to the house thing is to get a maid. Heheheh.

So good to hear from you.

Em, so true. And thank you.

Jimmy, thanks. I've missed your comments!