NABLOPOMO

Okay, so I attempted this last year.  You know the National Blog Posting Month---which is what the rest of us refer to as November.

I tried this last year, but I missed a day or two, and then it was all she wrote, I was no longer eligible to win a prize.  And I was done.  After all, if you can't win a prize, what is the point of blogging every day?? 

I blogged alot more last year.  I blogged before the month of November, but not so much since then.  I have had LOTS of interesting things happen to me, but I guess I haven't really felt like blogging much.  So today begins my journey into the world of blog for a month.  A world of trying to be witty, or funny, or interesting or informative.  Hopefully.  I guess some blogs will just be plain boring.  Sorry.

Today is the first.  Welcome to Carol's NABLOPOMO>>>  :-)

Words from my friend P.

I SHALL PASS THROUGH THIS WORLD BUT ONCE. ANY GOOD THAT I CAN DO OR ANY KINDESS THAT I CAN SHOW TO ANY HUMAN BEING LET ME DO IT NOW. LET ME NOT DEFER OR NEGLECT IT, FOR I SHALL NOT PASS THIS WAY AGAIN.  


My friend P.  sent that to me.  I like it.  I would like to live that way.  I try.  I am not always successful.


More blogging soon.  Now I am wiped out emotionally.  My kids will be home from school soon.  They deserve a mother who is available to them.  Available physically.  Available mentally. Available emotionally.  Every kid deserves no less. I need to get ready to receive them with unconditional love.

Nor'easter

Not much to blog about today.  Nothing exciting or interesting happened. The kids were out of school today.

We have a terrible Nor'Easter coming through town.  Winds whipping at 50-60 mph, tons of rain, coastal flooding.  Good times.

School is out tomorrow too.  What am I going to do with these kids???

Maybe the kids being home for three days in a row will induce an interesting blog tomorrow.  One can only hope.

Biscuits all the way, baby!

So, I joined a gym.  Again.  K and I can't join the YMCA as a "family" even though we are in the same household.  Now, before you cry "foul", you need to know that you can't join the YMCA (at least here in Southeastern Virginia) as a family if you are a man and a woman who live together but are not married.  So they do not discriminate on the basis of same genderness, but on the basis of unmarriedness.  So, we joined a local gym.

My boys want to start working out.  They want to lift weights.  They want to be macho.  They want a "6 pack."  They are 14, 12 and 10.  The only 6 pack they need at their ages is a 6 pack of juicy juice. But they say "mooooom, we want to have big muscles."  I assume it is for the benefit of the middle and high school girls they believe will fall over and swoon in their 6 pack presence.

I am perpetually chubby.  Have been for decades.  I am sure I will continue to be.  However, to me there is a difference between being chubby and healthy and being chubby, and well, just chubby.  So to that end, I try to work out, but something always gets in the way.  Work, kids, dinner, life.  Well, now my checkbook is holding me accountable.  I pay, and I don't want to waste my money, so off to the gym I will go.

Tonight was the first night we went, (we just joined on Friday evening), and with Scouts on Monday and Tuesday, today was the day.  Knowing this morning that we were going to the gym, and I had to work this afternoon, I put some chicken in the crockpot with low sodium, chicken pot pie soup, and a can of fat free cream of chicken soup.  Veggies rounded out the meal.

So to the gym we went.  I did 30 minutes on a cardio machine and 20 minutes on weights.  the 14 year old and 12 year old worked with a trainer so they could be taught how much weight is appropriate for their age and physical maturity level.  The 10 year old played with legos.  We worked out, we sweated, we learned, we conquered.

On the way home, I asked the 12 year old if he wanted pasta (which is low fat, multigrain and healthy) with the crock pot chicken, or should we stop at the local grocery store and  get some biscuits.

His answer was "Biscuits all the way, baby."  Now that is a kid after my own heart.  :-)

blog??

So my friend Patti says to me, "Hey, since you blog, why don't you do NaBloPoMo?"   "Sure", I say, "seems harmless enough."    BAH!......FEH!   Now I have to think of witty things to say every day for a month.....

I try to be entertaining in my blog, or at the very least interesting.  But today, I just don't have it in me.  Nothing interesting to say.  Nothing interesting happening.  Just the usual daily grind...kids having a busy social life and needing to be taken everywhere, (their social life is busier than mine), grocery shopping, (LOVE my Harris Teeter, I have saved over $1000.00 in 6 months), cooking dinner, (spaghetti for the kids, chicken primavera for me and Karol), taking the car to the shop, the cat to the vet, and washing dishes.

The life of a typical suburban mom....although I am not a housewife... HA!

So a typical day...boring......busy..full of life and love.

Waiting for the chimney sweep

Yes, they do still exist.  :-)  When we moved into our house three years ago, I was delighted that we had a fireplace.  I prefer a gas fireplace, but wood burning was okay.  I had visions of cozy fires and heat radiating through the room as the family gathered to watch a movie together or play a board game....

The first winter I started a fire, and calmly watched smoke fill the room.  The flue was open, the wood was seasoned...what was the problem??  I opened the windows, got out the smoke, and promptly put furniture in front of the fireplace and vowed never to use it again.

Well, the kids are growing up, and as they become more independent and have fewer weekend nights home with mom, nostalgia moved me to call a chimney sweep to check out the fireplace in hopes of using it this winter.

So I am waiting for him to show up so I can try to live my dream of the family gathered around the fire cozily watching a movie or playing a game, or enjoying time together.  If I can get them to stay home with mom.....

It all begins with the children.

I was hoping that when I sat down to write tonight that a blog would just pour out of me...unfortunately that was not to be.  I sat and sat, and mulled and mulled.  My mind kept going back to the Children's Worship I did at church today, and how meaningful it was to me and many others.

I have been a member of many different faith groups throughout my life.  Jewish (by birth), Church of Christ (by marriage), and now I am a member of a Unitarian Universalist church (by choice).  I hold strong to my Jewish heritage, and usually refer to myself as a "Jewnitarian".

Today in church we had a service to honor Veterans.  This in and of itself it not so unusual, although many Unitarians are strong pacifists, the church I belong to has a great many military personnel who are members.  We have members who are on Active Duty, Reservists, Veterans and Retirees.  They cover all the branches.  We have storekeepers, CB's, doctors, musicians, lawyers, mechanics, and many others.  We live in Southeastern Virginia which has a strong military presence.

So today I was the one doing a 10 minute childrens worship prior to the kids going off to classes.  I wanted to point out to them how our military personnel help children all over the world and that as soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines we take our Unitarian Principles with us as we deploy and use them for the betterment of mankind whenever we are able.

I read to them our 1st, 2nd and 6th Unitarian Universalist principles, which are:
1. The inherent dignity and worth of every person.
2. Justice, equity and compassion in human relations.
6. The goal of world community with peace, justice, and liberty for all.

I told them that kids in other countries do the same things they do....drink water...eat dinner....go to the doctor....go to school....have stories read to them....eat candy...and enjoy hanging out with friends and loved ones.  Then I showed them some of these pictures:

So they could see military personnel doing things with children around the world just like the things they do here. 

It is important to remember all of the WONDERFUL things our troops do while deployed.  That is a story not often told.  Carnage is easy to write about and focus on.  The quiet determination of our troops to do their jobs AND make the world a better place is seen less often.

When you see a vet please say "Thank you" for doing their part to make the world a better place.  Thank them for their service to our country.  And tell your children about the great things they do.  Share photos like this with your children.

It all begins with the children.....