The ABCs of Life...The Most Powerful Two-Letter Word

If

I've been thinking about my life lately; the choices I've made, where I am, where I want to be, and what's keeping me from getting there.  I'm sure we've all been there at one time or another. What if they don't like me? What if I don't get the job? What if I'm no good at it (whatever that "it" may be)?  What if I fail? What if, what if, what if...

In the cult classic movie, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Janet finds herself in quite a predicament after a series of events and possible bad choices...
     Oh, if only we hadn't made this journey.  (But we did.)
     Oh, if only the car hadn't broke down. (But it did.)
     If only we were amongst friends, or sane persons. (But you're not.)

Life is full of choices. And, I believe, the choices we make direct our path. (I'm not even going to go into the debate on free will versus a Divine Plan. There just isn't enough space or time to get into that heated discussion.)

There are so many what ifs surrounding my life, but alas, I don't have a tardis or any other type of time machine, so I can not change the choices I have made or how my life has turned out thus far.  I cannot go back and make the "right" choice as to my college education or career path. I cannot make the "right" choice about people in my life. I cannot go back and make the right choice about what to do with all the money I ever earned and spent. And I cannot go back and chose the right numbers for the massive lottery which would magically fix all my problems. (No, I do not actually believe that one, either.)  I am fine with the choices I have made. They have made me the person I am today, for better or for worse. This is me, and i have to just accept it and move on.

The Tardis

 We will forever be bombarded with what ifs. The important thing is not be stricken with fear of making the wrong choice and, out of that fear, chose to do nothing.

The song, Freewill, by Rush always comes to mind when I think about this:
          If you chose not to decide, you still have made a choice
The difference here is that the choice has been made for you and not by you, or has it? (Heavy, eh?)

Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of the unknown; they all can strangle a person into inaction. Instead of asking, "What if?" ask yourself, "Why not?"  But whatever you chose, or don't chose, the worst possible thing would be to live with regret. It will destroy you like a virus.

From the movie, The Time Machine, the question answered.

Monday Mojo...Don't Worry, Be Happy

I did not post a Monday Mojo last week. Sorry for those of you who enjoy them. I just did not have the mojo and nothing popped into my head as inspiration. Some days are like that. Some weeks, too, for that matter.

Broken bones, crazy vacationers, money issues, dealing with dementia, itchy little fur babies. I've got plenty of things to be worried about, but today I'm going the route of mood guru, Bobby McFerrin, and I'm going to remind myself that life is good.

I woke up today, I am breathing on my own, everybody in my home has clothes to wear and food to eat, and I have a job. Life could be be better, no doubt about it, but it could be so much worse.

Find the things which make life great and be thankful for them...like whistling, and baby sloths.

Monday Mojo...Yakety Sax

Do you ever get the feeling that you're going as fast as you can, but not going anywhere? Last week I was so busy and this week I am once again hitting the ground running.  So, if you're like me, with too much to do and not enough time to do it all in, let's kick it up to overdrive and get this show on the road.

OK, so I had originally been planning on doing a video from The Benny Hill Show, but I just couldn't find the right video to capture the mood I wanted...until I came across this one.

This week my son has to do a speech dressed as George Washington (working on the costume today and tomorrow), we have three little league games, I need to plan  and shop for this week's menu (which involves the dreaded comparison pricing and couponing, then hitting various stores), and sadly my poor little Etsy shop gets pushed back in the list of things that need to be done.

So, what's on your plate this week?

If I Won The Lottery

Let's just say, for the fun of it, that I had the winning ticket in tonight's lottery. (Like you haven't thought about how sweet life would be if you won.) Look, I know my chances of winning. This is just a pipe dream. But just for the fun of it, let's say I did win.

To give you an idea of what my good life would be like, here are a few things I would love to spend some money on, if I had it.

A real honeymoon...Bora Bora sounds nice

These stunning shoes

This beautiful dress to wear when I go to Bora Bora

This beachy mirror to go in the entrance foyer of my beach house

To find my first love and fix it up and never let it go again

This bed

A place to put my collectibles

So, what would you do with all that money if you had the winning numbers? (Besides jump up and down and scream your head off, that is.)

Monday Mojo...If I Had A Million Dollars

In honor of the current round of Lotto Fever, I thought I'd add to the fervor just a bit. I'm sure there's not many out there who haven't thought what life would be like if they won the lottery. I own't lie, for me life would be SWEET! But until then, I work, and scrimp and cut coupons...and dream just a little about the good life.

It's Not Worth It

I work for a major grocery store chain. I am a cashier and I have lots of interaction with all types of people. Since I'm in a beach community, I see many people who are still working for a living, those who are retired, and those who have done well enough for themselves to either not have to work anymore or who can afford to have a beach home and come here to unwind and relax.

Whatever their economic status or age, they all come through my line. And I ask them all if they brought their own grocery bags. Our company encourages folks to bring their their own bags by offering a 5 cent discount per bag. It could be a canvas bag, a homemade cotton bag, a recycled pet food bag, or even our plastic bags which they brought back to reuse.

Lots of folks do bring their own, and make sure to get their discount. I am one of those people myself. For one thing our bags are not as strong as they used to be and rip easily. My bags are more durable and can hold more. Plus, it's my money and I want to keep as much of it as I can, thank you very much.

You can be sure many don't care about a measly 5 cents, but it does add up and besides it's just a token way for the store to say, "Thank you for doing your part."  Not long ago I had a couple come through my line. I asked them if they had any bags and the woman made a point of telling me how unhealthy recycled bags are because the liquids from the foods get on the bags.  Her husband continued to bag their items and said it just wasn't worth it.  Without even thinking or meaning to be insulting I smiled at the woman and chuckled and said, "Then you just wash them." Am I the only one who thinks that's just in-your-face obvious? What did people do before disposable diapers or paper towels and napkins?

I am currently collecting large pet food bags to make my own recycled grocery bags. I will definitely be using them when I do my shopping and may offer them in my shop, as well.  I've seen many blogs, websites, and items for sale to know that many do care about the Earth and minimizing our damage done. But, this one instant reminded me that many people still don't "get it."

Do you get it? What shade of green are you? I'd love to hear what you are doing to reduce your carbon footprint.

Monday Mojo...Nick Vujicic

Feeling a little down? Feeling defeated? Feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders today? Stop, take a breath, and remember all there is to be thankful for. Do you have a roof over your head? Do you have food to eat? Did you wake up today? It's up to you to decide if today is going to be a bad day, a good day, or a great day.

Need some motivation? Put your life in perspective. How would you deal with life if you were Nick Vujicic. Would you be thankful or would you feel sorry for yourself? It's a choice. So, what's it going to be? I chose to have a great day!

Monday Mojo...So What?

I've got big plans today; lots to do, so I need a song that's going to get me pumped up and ready to take on the world.  Major house cleaning, major gardening plans. I'm psyched to finally get something green in my yard. Of course, most of my flowers will be in various shades of purple, except for the few that Little Man picked out, but that's ok, I guess. Yeah, it's going to be a great day.  So let's crank up the volume, roll up our sleeves, and get this day (and this week) under way!

I guess this would be a good time to let you know that I am a huge P!nk! She is the baddest, toughest most talented rockin' chick out there. If this song doesn't get you pumped up, in my opinion, you don't have a pulse. (Oh, and definitely expect more videos and blog posts featuring P!ink.)

The ABCs of Life...H is For My Husband Harry

I've been debating with myself whether I wanted to go happy and lighthearted (Harry), or serious and talk about my issues with Hypothyroidism, and I decided Harry gets the featured spot this time. My health issues can wait for another time.

Harry and I have know each other since way back in 6th grade. This is pretty much the way I remember him, but change the serious military look on his face to a big ole' grin, and that's him.  He always had a joke or some funny story to share. Time passed and we went our separate ways, but I never forgot him, and would look him up online to see if I could find him...and one day I did, on Myspace (remember myspace?).  We chatted about old times and compared the journey of our lives, which turned out eerily similar. We also discovered that we had a lot in common. Within no time we were completing each others' sentences and singing the same song.

He's still got that wacky sense of humor, but there's so much more about him that I really dig.  He'll do the dishes or laundry if it needs to be done, he works tirelessly 6 or 7 days a week and never complains, and he loves his parents and isn't embarrassed to say so.  He would do anything for his kids, and someday they will all know just how much he loves them, as usually happens when kids have kids of their own.

He's a huge history buff, all kinds of history, you name it, he can can tell you all about it. He can hold his own in the kitchen (always a plus), and if he were to go on Jeopardy, dare I say I think he would do quite well.  On more than one occasion he has come up with some obscure fact and I just look at him and ask , "How do you know that...and why?!"

He's a man who knows who is he, what he wants, and what he knows he has to do to get there. He is determined, and motivated. He is my rock. He keeps me going when I don't think I can, and he believes in me when I doubt myself. He is my biggest fan, and I am his.

You Know It's Spring when...

I love living in Lower Slower Delaware. My mother has been down here 20ish years now and I've visited as often as I could, depending how far away I was living at the time. But now that I am here full-time I really appreciate the little things that make it special.  When the nice weather comes back, so do the road-side stands. Local folks set up tables in front of their houses with various fruits, vegetables, flowers, and handmade crafts with a small sign and a bucket or some other small container for people to leave their money.  I caught sight of this table this past weekend, after having a particularly bad day, so I had to stop. When I pulled up the gentleman came out of the house to help me out.  For $3.50 I ended up with 5 large, bright red, best smelling tomatoes I could ask for. He totally made my day. (I've stopped at other spots where people just help themselves.)

Before moving down here we lived in a townhouse community on the edge of Philadelphia.  Two summers ago I had a small garden in our tiny patch of dirt; basil, tomatoes, and peppers.  It was so neat to watch the tomatoes grow and start to turn red, until the one day when I realized someone had stolen every tomato I had. Yup, gotta love that brotherly love. Needless to say, the next year I left that patch of dirt exactly the way it was.

Sorry, Philly, I am not missing you, not one bit. Can't wait for the roadside flowers to appear.