neighbor friendly

I've been robbed! I was robbed of what could have been a good night's sleep due to my backyard neighbor's over zealous nighttime partying.

I soooo look forward to a good night's sleep that are few and far between. I sooo look forward to my sleep time on the weekend. I need sleep, I want sleep, I want peaceful sleep. It was not to be. When do I get to make up this lost night's sleep?

The partying behind my house continued past 1am. I was praying some other neighbor would be more pissed off than me and call the police to stop the raucous behavior. I was praying they would just shut the hell up. Uh, uh. Nope. Then their damn dog started his incessant yapping. I've yelled "shut up that damn dog" more than once in the past. I finally bought a dog barking stopper thingy... it might be working...when I have it on.

I'm sitting here thinking of a way to annoy my neighbors and try to interrupt their sleep like they did mine.

Note to self: get their address and put the police phone number on speed dial for the next offensive night.

I want a do-over.

random acts of kindness

Have you ever done something spontaneously just because?

I was in Whole Foods today using my newly acquired little produce bags (you gotta go green at WF you know!). A customer commented on my cute little bags and when I passed her in the store again, I gave her one. Just to put a smile on her face.

Just because I can and I love to do it.

Pay it forward people!

real or reality?

Reality TV. Really?

Personally, I don't know any housewife that dresses up like they're going strolling down the Avenue or engage in cat fights like a bunch of middle school teenagers.

I don't know any teenagers who deliberately get pregnant so that they can become reality tv stars. Nor do I know women who put the value of a dress over the quality of the man they're about to marry and at the expense of all else.

I don't know any women who parade around their kids in the very public eye so that they can give the kids the life they deserve (huh?). I don't know any women who would consider being one of many wives to one man ( how come it's not many husbands to one wife?).

I don't know of any women who parade around their toddlers in inappropriate costumes and encourage spoiled rotten entitled behavior. And I certainly don't know 3 sisters who "work" at doing not much of anything.

So, I have to ask myself, is this reality or some idiot cloning of really bad tv? What discourages me the most is that there are probably a lot of people out there in tv land who think these shows are really real. While these shows, in my opinion, might have some entertainment value from a voyeuristic point of view, watching them is not how I choose to spend my very limited tv viewing time.

What does it say about us as a country when reality tv is so distorted from the real world, but we lap it up like starving kittens. Not to mention that it's mostly women in these shows doing and saying things I wouldn't do even in the privacy of my own home.

Reality tv?

Really?

an attitude of gratitude

I don't even know where to go with this. I work for a small, family owned company. The present owner is a 3rd generation family member who hopes one day to pass it on to his son. I love my job. I really do. What I can't stand, however, is the lack of gratitude my boss and his wife have towards my boss' surviving mother. My boss' father passed away several years ago and it was his hard work and efforts that built this business to be what it is today.

I am appalled by the lack of thankfulness for the things these people have. If I had one iota of their tangible goodies, I would not want for anything for quite some time. Yet, they begrudge this little old lady the generosity she so richly deserves. I don't get it, I really don't.

I don't have much in the way of personal property by some people's standards. But what I do have is gratitude for those things I do have and an overwhelming need to give back. Life could be so much worse for all of us, my boss and his family included. They just don't know it or see it.

So today, adopt an attitude of gratitude and do something nice for someone else.

Quote of the day:

If I treated you

the way you treat me,

You’d hate me.

t.h.i.n.k

Think - something we should all do before saying anything:

Is what you have to say:

• true
• helpful
• intelligent
• necessary
• kind

So many times I enter into conversations that take a decidedly wrong turn. Even as I'm telling myself not to say anything, I blurt out a thought or comment that certainly does not fall into any of the above categories. No doubt, we are creatures of habit and as such are apt to continue a pattern of behavior with family, friends and co-workers that does not serve our or their best interests. Inappropriate conversations is one of these behaviors.

I was fortunate this past August to attend a family reunion in Maine (sigh!). There were 3 generations and 17 people living under one roof for a week. To say that there were different personalities present would be a understatement. I am so used to living by myself that being around so many people at one time was quite overwhelming. However, by being mindful of my own personal needs to be alone (that didn't really happen much) or disengaging from conversations that were not pertinent to me (a lot), I was able to maintain some sense of balance.

THINK is a great tool to use when you don't know what to say, especially when topics of conversation veer off into territory you are unsure of or that tests your mettle. I need to practice THINK more often. It certainly is a way to have healthy boundries with family members who can get under your skin.

epitaph

I had the unfortunate pleasure of attending a dear friend's mother's funeral a few weeks ago.  I say unfortunate pleasure for the simple reason that no one wants to go to a funeral, but what a testimony the service was to this woman's life.

As I was sitting in the church listening to all the nice, positive things that were being said about this person, I couldn't help but wonder what my eulogy would sound like if I were to die today.  Would good memories prevail?  Would nice things be said about me?  Would I be remembered fondly and warmly?  Would a lot of people attend?  I surely hope so.

My mind further extrapolated this scenario to my present day life.  I want to live my life like my eulogy and epitaph would read.   She was kind.  She was generous.  She was a loving mother, daughter, sister.  She gave back.  She hugged.  She said "I love you".  She will be sorely missed.

Everyday we all have the opportunity to live our lives better, kinder, more tolerant.  When our eyes open each morning (god willing), we can live the most positive day we can conjure up or we can live in negativity, misery and hatred.  I am far from a perfect person;  I gave up trying a long time ago.  But I strive to be a better person than I was yesterday.  Today I choose to be happy and smile as much as I possibly can.  I tell my children I love them everytime I talk to them and honestly mean it.  I hug from my heart and soul.

I want to be remembered, not forgotten.  And I want those memories to be good and full of all the love I had to give.

TGIF

quilt progress

I have to say that the tediousness of re-cutting my sister's quilt into a twister pattern is going a lot faster than I thought it would go. I have 2/3 of the quilt cut and re-sewn and it's looking pretty good if I do say so myself. I still have to think about making it bigger by adding a wide border. Unfortunately, the larger the quilt, the harder it will be to quilt it. I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Until then, I will continue to plug away and start giving serious consideration to what quilt I'm going to make for my Christmas project.

I scored some free fabric at a garage sale and have decided to donate the red/white and blue/white fabric to a Quilts of Valor project that will be taking place this winter. The coordinator, Marjorie, will be getting 12 yards of nice fabric in the mail real soon. I love giving things away.

Quote: Gratitude turns what we have into enough. Amen.