More personal trivia, quiz style

I found another "who are you?" quiz. It seems that in this technological age of social networking, people keep coming up with all kinds of games, quizzes and other ways to keep us all engaged while online. I am not particularly a games person, unless they are real games played on the kitchen table with a bowl of popcorn; but I do occasionally get pulled into these little questionnaires which sort of 'check in' on your reality and what you are doing and who you are. Just another little way to spend time in cyberspace.

I have been home from work for 2 days with migraine issues, which skews my answers. I will take it again in a week and see the differences. In the meantime, have at it! I am putting some pictures of our neighborhood in the snow from several weeks ago - since it is one of my favorite times.


Time of Day? morning - 6 am
Your Cell Phone? Blackberry

Your Hair? colored

Your Mother? at peace

Your Father? at peace

Your Favorite Food? Pizza

Your Dream Last Night? Headache dreams

Your Favorite Drink? unfortunately, soda

Your Dream/Goal? Create art

What Room Are You In? Living Room

Your Hobby? Crafts

Your Fear? Snakes

Where Do You See Yourself In 6 Years? retired (but on to something new)

Where Were You Last Night? Home

Something That You Aren’t? Dishonest (or thin)

Muffins? Cream Cheese or Cinnamon

Wish List Item? not one thing comes to mind

Where Did You Grow Up? Northern Indiana

Last Thing You Did? Sleep (it is 6am)

What Are You Wearing? Flannel

Your TV? Off

Your Pets? dog and cat

Friends? Loyal

Your Life? Quiet

Your Mood? Still sleepy

Missing Someone? Always

Vehicle? Hundai Sonata

Something You Aren’t Wearing? Shoes

Your Favorite Store? JoAnns

Your Favorite Color? Blue

When Was The Last Time You Laughed? it's been a day or two

Last Time You Cried? Wednesday

Your Best Friend? my sister

One Place You Go To Over And Over Again? grocery store

Facebook? tired of reading about farms

Favorite Place To Eat? Panera - bagels

Oscar Goodies

Everyone is talking about the Oscars this weekend. As I was surfing, I came across these absolutely darling treats and had to share. Aren't they cute?

Topsy Turvy

The family was all together this past weekend and a great time was had by all. Lunch out with girls together for girl time, and guys bonding over their Indian food, a little scrabble, some Olympic action, homemade pizza and two adorable little girls. I wanted to share a couple of darling pictures. In the first set, Aunt Lissy was holding Lily and allowing her to bend backward to get an upside down view of the world. Lissy would pull her back up and Lily would immediately flop back down again. Over and over again. Lily eventually got tired of Lissy pulling her back up and well, you can see how she took care of that situation. I took the pictures from the floor under the the coffee table in front of the couch where Aunt Lissy and the little monkey were sitting. Her "anchor" is the underside of the coffee table. Too cute!!!






I was especially taken with the totally wonderful fashion sense of my little Abby and just had to share that as well. I picked up a tutu skirt for her when Carrie and I went to the Carter outlet. Of course, she loved it and had to try it on as soon as we got home. On it went, over the jeans. Then she had to go downstairs to show Papaw and Uncle Chad, so on went the 'Hello Kitty' boots. That's our Abby? Isn't she darling?????

My sweatshirt

I am putting away a sweatshirt today, a very special sweatshirt. It is an ordinary hooded sweatshirt, green and gray in color, with a Bloomingdales logo on it. It is nothing extraordinary – just a common garden-variety sweatshirt. I generally liked it from a sporty warm apparel viewpoint when I bought it, but didn’t realize that it would serve an entirely different purpose as I progressed through life. I have probably had this sweatshirt for easily 20 years or more. It has been with me through the years and it is one that I turn to when I cannot face the world. It is big (oversized) and has a typical muff style pocket and a generous hood. It is the “womb” that I return to when things seem to be more than I can bear. I can pull my arms inside the sweatshirt and pull up the hood and it literally envelopes me. I have been through a tough period lately and the sweatshirt was pulled off the top shelf of the closet, to help me through. It has been my friend, in many ways. I never really thought of it this way, until recently, when I discovered how much I want to wear it when I am feeling down. As I share this in my blog, I am also aware that I would have never written these most personal thoughts even as recently as a year or two ago, but as I grow older it seems pointless to avoid and hide away the struggles that I have in my life.

The fact is that depression is a fact of life for me and when the normal everyday bumps in life hit me, they hit me twice as hard as many people. However, I know that there are many people who are also like me who just don’t have the strength and grit to barrell on ahead in spite of difficult circumstances. Oh how I wish that I had that strength and grit. But I will never stop trying to attain it! I actually think of myself as a survivor in many ways. My life has been a patchwork of dysfunctional relationships and I have worked through all of them and consider myself successful in many ways. I have raised two beautiful young women. I have completed my education and worked steadily for 30 years. I have a husband who loves me. So don’t feel sorry for me – I don’t hesitate to do what I need to do to take care of myself (I’m continuing to learn). But sometimes, I just need to put on that old sweatshirt, tuck in my arms, pull on my hood and get into bed. And that’s okay! I’ll get up again, I promise.