Stuck in a Bell Jar

feeling
much
better
today

Show and Tell Friday

I am playing along with Cindy at My Romantic Home this Friday, and excited for Show and Tell.

I have an old table that Santa brought me for my first Christmas as a wife.....I loved it back then, but boy, has it seen 16 years of abuse and torment. I painted it a few years back, and really need to paint it again, but just haven't got around to it.
Imagine my thrill when shopping the other day and walking past a new line of "Country Living" products at K-Mart (hold your snickering mockery, please). They had a table cloth almost exactly like the one I had been wanting in the Ballard Design catalog- but for a fraction of the cost. It adds just a bit of vintage romance to my room.

Yes.....I know my bookshelf is over used and crammed to the rim. That's the way I like it.

Back to show and tell. When unpacking my fall decorations I pulled out this "Give Thanks" sign that I must have purchased at the end of the season last year, because I don't remember it, but really love it. It was kind of a fun surprise ( maybe we should all do this more often- buy on sale and pack it away for ourselves next year!) and I had just bought this rusty hand at a nearby store that props it up perfectly.



I can't help but love putting away the Halloween things because Thanksgiving and Christmas just roll together seamlessly for me, a celebration of beautiful, tasty food, time with family, aprons and presents, laughter and decorating, and all the things that give me excuses to spoil the people I love that are around me.
And yes......
I am already listening to Christmas music (and plucking some out on the piano).

Halloween Haul

Back when I was a kid we actually had to work for our candy. You walked past the empty fields of our small town to the 2 houses on the next block, and then repeated this action, not missing a single porch or opportunity. The one old couple in the neighborhood that gave a full size candy bar was high on the list, and you worked your way out from there, often coming home with frozen hands and a runny nose well after lights were out. That was how you got the good stuff.
Those days are gone. From a warm walk around the church parking lot for trunk or treat, then off to NaNa's house for a full sized grab bag ( every year she starts them off right) they just have the treats rolling in.

Then it was on the quest (driven by mom and dad, might I add) to find the donut house.
Yes....those are Krispy Kremes. A dozen. Each child.

After that stop at the rich generous dude's place (the line to his porch was impressive), it was off to the 'Beanie Baby' house for the yearly find: which was my trick or treating stomping grounds as a child as well.

At this point we hook up with cousins and hit the 'scary houses' where it is more spook alley then treats for the attraction, and I always wish my house were more like that. Then (after much coaxing) the kids hang out and get their candy the old fashioned way..... door to door, piece by piece.

Over all between my 3 kids they had well over 16 pounds of goods to trade and barter with. It is always fun for me to see them on the floor sorting and spying each others goods like I remember doing.

I am shaking my head this morning realizing Christmas is 53 days away and Santa has not even thought about what he is putting in that sleigh yet. For some reason Halloween, primary, and other matters have seem to have gotten in the way.......oh well.

Happy Holidays!

Emotional eating ROCKS!!!

Some days, it does. Take this little calorie laden emotional satisfaction, for instance......
THE ALLIGATOR JAW
If you are lucky, the filling will even be piped in buttercream frosting, instead of whip cream, but that is a rare occurrence.

I believe my devotion to the alligator jaw craving started in my tween years. Crumpled dollars and carefully saved quarters added up to enough for the purchase of this never failing bakery miracle. The 'cool' kids left the middle school and walked to Roe's Bakery for this, or perhaps a Maple Bar, and a milk to share. What a lunch. It was rare I had the cash to go along, but I did once in a while.

I have been known to drive to the next town when my local bakery at the market is out of these. Sometimes, this baby doesn't even make it home because I have finished it the car. Some nights, like tonight, I am disciplined enough to save a bit for later, maybe after one more show or a few more chapters.

Call me crazy, call me a binger, call me whatever...I am not sure what this qualifies me as emotionally, but I know there are just some of those days when nothing else will do. Today was one of them.

I salute you, Alligator Jaw. You are a true friend.

Where the wild things are

I have wild things. They know how to have a wild rumpus.
They have roared terrible roars and howled terrible howls.......

They would snuggle by my side as we cracked this book often, which I also enjoyed as young wild thing..... there was always the laughter at the wildness and the pointing out of all that was happening in the pictures. So this story reminds me of being young. being wild, believing in monsters and a good rumpus and children saying "no!"

which would probably explain why seeing this with my wild things made me cry.

Now let me warn you....this movie is strange.
The wild things are weird with problems, they fight and bicker, and it made my kids sad (Mastey G said..."Mom...I thought it would be all funny, then it got sad, so I was like....what the heck!?!")
because it was almost uncomfortable, but overall the sweetness and wildness of little Max, the haunting music filled with kids crazy voices, the scenery and the imagination.....
it just made me sob.

Because my little wild things aren't so little anymore....


Truth be told, I will probably go see the movie again all by myself with a box of tissues and NOBODY else looking at me and saying...
"Why are you crying?"

Because only a mom of wild things understands how fast wild things disappear

Don't bother me.....I'm Playing

Well, the flu hit me full fledged on Sunday and I was down for 2 days puking and feeling sorry myself. After that little trip down pathetic lane was over, I hopped up and got online to continue my search for a used piano.

My kids have taking been piano lessons ever since Santa brought a little Casio Keyboard to the house, and I'll be danged if they haven't stuck with it and gotten pretty good. We had already decided on a digital model, for moving around and less tuning reasons, plus the extras that my boys think they need for future 'band' songs.

Anyway, we ended up finding a used Clavinova that happens to have a self-teaching option.
I turned it on yesterday thinking I would just check it out.......and viola'...the little lights tell my fingers where to go and it actually sounds like...a SONG! I did take piano for a couple of years, but never got past anything too tricky.....so this was like, magic....

Now I am stuck here on the bench, totally addicted. My fingers hurt (oww....just typing this) and I am determined to learn this song ("Bring Him Home") if it kills me. It is so cool....I just have to say...

Go away kids. You don't need to practice!
Ummmm- what primary program?
What baptism tomorrow?

I am playing.

Much more than Marching

So yes, if you haven't read my experience about the 9-12 March on Washington scroll down and take a minute. It was so surreal.


If you have then move on with me to just a few other (non-political) highlights from my trip.

Me jamming out to All American Rejects, at the NASCAR night race. I am not even sure if I really like them ,(my kids love them) but I have to admit, when they sang "Gives You Hell" I surprisingly sang at the top of my lungs like a teenage idiot. Someone from the racetrack with a KODAK jacket on came over and was taking pictures of me. Sweet. I am tween again.

The Mount Vernon dollhouse. This is a close up, just so you can see the details (Are you getting this, Lynnae?) Mount Vernon was spectacular, no doubt, but as I stood at this doll house I was suddenly 10 years old again holding a Dawn Doll in my hand with nothing but an Evil Kenivel male doll to be her date. Oh, the courting ( and motorcycle stunts) that could have gone in this house! It was to die for.

A little shot of a shop in Alexandria. We had just eaten at a delicious French Bakery (quiche, Lemon Scones, and Torte, thank you!) and finding this shop sent me into an excited panic attack. It continued as I walked out of the shop EMPTY HANDED. Thank goodness I snuck a few pictures to bring home with me. What I am sad I left behind... I vintage crown bamboo floor mat and artistic goddess bust statue. But really...how am I going to pack that stuff home?

At "The Trellis" restaurant in Williamsburg. This is the "Death by Chocolate" dessert and just take my word for it...it was FAB-U-LOUS! The topping, the layers, the fudge sauce it sat on (which I ate with spoon after I declared myself 'full')...it was all divine. If you ever go to Williamsburg, don't miss this. Cake like this doesn't come along every day....

and to think, I left some of it on the plate! Even my hubby and I couldn't finish it.

A decision that could ALMOST haunt a girl like me!

I marched

This will be a feeble attempt to just capture a flicker of the experience I had last weekend. We decided to fly out to DC and join the Taxpayers Protest. This was no 'one person movement', and people were there for many different reasons.
Why was I there?
I think just to remind myself what freedom is all about, to raise awareness of the growing size of government, to be an example of involvement for my children,to speak out for the rights of the individual, and also to see who else would be there and connect with their energy.
My peace loving husband insisted NO SIGNS on the Metro. He didn't want to draw attention to ourselves.

Ummm, yeah. No worries there. We were like lame-o boring protesters on the Metro. (This is at 7:00 am, as they gates for the metro opened. This is 3 hours before the march. )

As we gather, cops and patriots alike were there surveying the scene. Before I knew it some guy offered us free t-shirts, which we willingly obliged. (okay, I grabbed an extra too and stuck it in my bag for someone back home. Is that horrible?)
BTW-you can get your own mob like t-shirt at Bureau Crash dot com
We start to mull around and snap pictures of clever signs and people there.
There was a group dressed in Colonial gear that brought drums to the rally and tapped beats as we marched. It set a tone to the march, and gave me goosebumps. (I'm a sap, I know!)
And possibly my favorite poster.......
Honestly, the atmosphere felt like a big social event. There was laughing and joking and hugging and I did not hear one cuss word (but a few posters quoted the famous line "I'm mad as Hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!") After the blessed event of finding an available porta potty, we joined the crowd and the bodies started moving.
We were marching on Pennsylvania Avenue, and two other neighboring streets filtered their crowds in as well.

My heart was pounding, even though I wasn't scared at all. I realized I was getting emotional. I stepped out of the flow of bodies to snap this picture. Many people were stopping to capture the words on the building.

One man next to me said "I drive past this every day! I never even thought about it! LOOK AT THIS!!!"

....that was all it took for me. The tears started.

Yeah, look at this. And think about how many centuries of people COULD NOT do this.

Think about all the things we can do daily, and the original revolution that set it all in motion.

And while there were various chants and shouts of "No More Lies" or "USA", the vocal expression of choice was the singing of the "Star Spangled Banner". That, too, touched me. At moments I couldn't squeak out the notes through my choked up throat, and I felt silly for being so overwhelmed with emotion, but the feeling of the crowd was both enthusiastic and peaceful.

It was the most comforting and intense feeling, and it came at the most unexpected time.

I know there have been debates on how many people were really there (You Tube time lapsed videos and various uploads give a better feel for the crowd), but here's the thing. It doesn't even matter.
For a day we united and raised our voices.
For a moment I felt a taste of what I believe our Founding Fathers wanted us to feel.
Maybe someone at home saw the photos or the video and thought, "I should take a stand next time".
Even if it infused ONLY MYSELF with the strength to not be afraid and develop a greater respect for this country, then isn't that enough?

I don't know what you have heard, what you have read, and whether or not you agree with the ideals of that day, but know this. For those of us that were there it was nothing but great.

I love this country, I believe it is good, and I pray that my children will grow up with the same freedoms I have enjoyed in my life.

Maybe even more.

I leave you with the words of Edward Abbey for your pondering enjoyment.......

"A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government."

Are you ready?

The "Gotta Have It" flutter

I read in a magazine that a woman should never buy anything that she doesn't absolutely love. I call this visceral response the "Gotta Have It Flutter" and it has taken over the way I shop. I put things back on the rack that I would normally have bought, especially if it is on sale, and try on EVERYTHING. Even t-shirts. I may not love it on me.

Now this rule has seeped into my shopping for things around the home, and even my scrapbook supplies. Here are a few visceral purchases that have brought me joy every time I walked past them.I am obsessed with office supplies and scrapbook bits, and this blank book is my future canvas for home inspiration, quotes and doodles. I can't wait to fill it. Also pictured are a few stamp sets that caused my heart to race, and metal edged tags and blank ATC cards. I know......breathe...just breathe.

Now for the little things I fell for..... These little printed pears and the vintage 'faith' tag had me at "hello". The embellished floral cut outs made me shaky (they were on sale, too) and the jewel topped bottle sent me into a frenzy. I had to slow down and put things back- also a danger of going with like minded sisters and my mom shopping. We get each other a little over excited.

The latest 'big' purchase, which I usually don't buy these kind of things without my hubby along, was this wall canvas. I put it in my cart afraid to leave it on the racks of Target, sure it would be gone when I returned. It was so huge I could barely turn through the aisles, and I had lots of people staring at me, but man, it is oh, so worth it. This purchase emptied my 'envelopes' and had me eating PBJ's for a week, but I don't regret it one bit. The idea of life needing green lights strikes me as positive and quirky, and the fact that there is a motorcycle on it (me and my hubby rode his all the time while we dated) gives it that sentimental snap. Pay no attention to the crammed, unorganized bookshelves.

Now I guess I'd love to see what things give you that flutter....and no, pictures of random beautiful men are not allowed in your answer.

This is......

The book I won from the giveaway on Trying to Stay Calm/ Book giveaways. If you refer to my earlier lip gloss post you will see it is very appropriate. Thanks Shauna!

This is what me getting ready to 'fly' on a bike looks like, thanks to "ZFX Flying Effects" and my local community theater.
Please note "Russell", the zFx fly guy that is hooking the bike to me. I immediately liked him because he totally reminded me of Dave Ramsey (is that a hint of my sick obsession?) and so while he may not have instantly bonded with me, I instantly bonded with him. He even played "Bad to the Bone" on his I-phone for me while I was hanging around on stage.....I got to air guitar with my broom. Russell is awesome.

This is what you find after your kids declare they have invented a 'really fun game' and then disappear quietly for an hour or so.........ummmm, should I be worried?

and THIS is what you find when you finally relocate your camera and upload the latest pictures.

And you wonder why I love it when school is in?

Back to School.

Do you hear that?

It is my clock. I can hear it ticking.
The windows are open, there is that fall breeze blowing through the curtains, and I am sitting at my computer without a son in line to check his facebook messages.

Heaven.

It is 10:30 a.m. and I am in my sweats, my cold Diet Dr Pepper is nearby, and I have not even thought about getting ready for the day.

I could be doing laundry. I could finally load the dishwasher ( I avoided it last night after rehearsal). I should go run a couple of miles. I need to vacuum, the kids ate popcorn last night. I have a few phone calls to make.

But no. I am going to sit here and enjoy my soda and read blogs.

So there.

Were you one of them....

One who turned off the news because it was too stressful? One who stayed home on election day because you felt your vote didn't count? One who thought that it was useless- there is more of "them" then us, they make the laws, and we just follow them?

Well, suddenly 'those' people are getting up off the couch and researching out bills. They are watching the economy and worried about their children and grandchildren. They are watching freedoms and rights become more threatened as laws scream out with needs to squash our rights in the name of safety and emergency. They are making posters with whatever they can find and taking days off work to show up and ask questions, debate ideals, and cry out in honor of the founding fathers who gave them this right.

It doesn't matter who you voted for or what letter sits after your name on the register. It matters that people are fighting for freedoms, as fundamental as speech and bearing arms, and as power continues to grow- on BOTH sides of the aisle- those in power would shut out these voices if they could.

If you are one of those people out there speaking up, you inspire me. I watch smart questions being asked and patriots of all ages applaud them. I am given the strength to ask questions of my own, and say what I need to say when asked.

Consider this quote by Elder Charles Didier:
"A democracy requires men and women to be agents unto themselves to defend their freedom. When a democracy collapses, it is because the individuals and families are dropping their arms."

Let us not drop our arms when the battle is in this momentous stage. Let us be like Moroni in the Book of Mormon who dared proclaim by scrawling his desperate message on a torn coat...."In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children..."

Study out one freedom you value. Make a poster. Send an e-mail. Call a politician, and mostly, teach your children. And as you do these things know that somewhere, there is someone like me, inspired and in awe of your efforts and joining on right beside you.
(yes, this means the verdict is in, and I am marching in DC in September. You can learn more about this at 9-12 DC MARCH)

If you haven't joined us yet, what are you waiting for? Even a torn coat will do.

My name is RamSam, and I am an addict

Here is my drawer in the bathroom. (Please ignore the fact that it is super junky and unorganized and does indeed have dried bits of toothpaste here and there and bear with me.)

Now what you may not realize is that I have a horrible addiction. Hidden beneath the Victoria's Secret bronzer and watches and rubber bands you will find this.........

Okay, count them with me. That would be 14 lip gloss/lip products. One doesn't even have it's lid anymore, but I do believe there is a good week of two left or applications, so it will stay.

Keep in mind this does not include what is in my make-up bag (that I get ready with- I believe there are 2 in there) the ones in the car (one in cup holder, one in jockey box) and the 2-3 I keep in my purse.

I even have lip gloss in my 'Primary' bag...because I really believe a girl's gotta shine.
Before climbing in bed I have at least 3 lip balms to choose from so my lips aren't naked over night.

I believe the first step is admitting you are an addict. Which is why I made this.

Is there any other way to put it?