Friday Fragments - Excuse Me!

Welcome to Friday Fragments, the brainchild of Mrs. 4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time!  This is a place to gather your thoughts for the week, spit them out, and forget about them!  Enough said!

Chicago's Burbs are hopping with school buses and long lines of half-asleep teens!  I've been walking the dog every morning to empty streets and quiet neighborhoods for about two months.  I had no idea there were so many kids in my little neck of the woods!  It's great to see them out, and hopefully, they are happy to be out, as well!

I've been meeting some terrific people lately who have amazing stories to tell.  I am in awe of how some people have worked so hard to overcome the hiccups and major explosions in their lives...and can share about it with such dignity and eloquence.  Their stories are not mine to tell, but nevertheless, I am inspired daily by their honesty and hope for better tomorrows.  No, I am not talking about the RNC that just ended!  These are everyday people who welcome the opportunity to make anothers day just a little brighter! 

Now, to the drama in my life!  Still looking for that perfect job that is going to rock my world...I'm not being selective, I'm just not getting responses to my applications!  Not giving up...nope...NEVA!  Ed's 1977 VW Bus wouldn't go into reverse...so it is now visiting "Bob" our local VW mechanic.  In the meantime, Ed has to get to school and to work, and cannot rely on Katya, because Katya has to go to a different school and a different work!  So we have rented a car for one week until the VW can be repaired.  Once the Bus is good to go...Hello Craigslist!  We are also looking for a buyer for Katya's 1970 Karmann Ghia (convertible).  Remember "Kill Bill?"  Uma drove one of these for many miles to reach her destination!  The tranny on this car is perfect! 

I'd like to leave you with something to pass on to friends and family.  September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month.  Its symbol is a gold ribbon.  Stand Up 2 Cancer is holding a live fundraising effort, for which you have probably seen many commercials.  All Cancer is bad!  But it is heartbreaking bad when children are affected.  Please get the word out, wear a gold ribbon throughout the month, and pray for the kids, the families and friends who are all vigilant warriors for this cause.  God Bless you!

Please stop by and say hello to Mrs. 4444 by clicking on the logo below.  You can also see the Fragments of some of her good friends while you are there!

My New City

Here is a sign I found in my new neighborhood! "Drive carefully, there are children on a see-saw and you might hit them if they are having too much fun!" Obviously, it is a warning to drivers that children are playing close by. I had to laugh, however, the first time that I saw this. I took it literally and searched the streets for see-saws! In the same area, I found a lot of geese, and geese poops! Didn't see any signs with that warning!

And here is a first: I'm originally from CA where the seagulls from the beach occasionally make their way inland. There are no such birds in St. Louis,(my former city) even though there is a river close by. We have seagulls in the suburbs of Chicago! Wow! They come in from Lake Michigan, and walk around in grocery store parking lots! I'm in awe of the interesting facts that I am learning in my new City!

I live in Chicago, Illinois! Welcome to my City!

This Sundays in My City post is brought to you by the vivacious Unknown Mami! Please click on her Sunday logo below to explore other fascinating places belonging to friends of Unknown Mami!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!

No Mas Gorda!

No mas gorda, solomente gordita!  No more fat, just a little bit chubby.* I'm changing...I'm getting a little smaller, and for the first time (in a really, really long time) I have no clothes in the closet that fit me (without the assistance of safety pins, clothes pins and/or duct tape!)  What shall I do?  Anybody up for an "LET'S GO SHOPPING!" adventure?

I have finally been able to change my intake of eye-popping, spectacular tasting and nutritious foods to nutritious foods that look and taste good, for which I will be eternally grateful.  My "eye-popping" attraction is my addiction to sugar.  Sugar makes everything look and taste amazing....it just doesn't look amazing on me.  What do you think about these cupcakes I found today?

Kicking the sugar addiction has always been tough for me, but with the right support from friends and family, I have been clean and sober for five months now.  It will always be there, that little voice telling me "just try it"!  I just talk back (to myself, of course) to that little voice and say, "no thanks...I don't do that anymore!"  Also, I don't have to always be thinking about where my next "sugar fix" will come, or, are there enough vanilla creme cookies to get me through the night.  Don't laugh...I lived this!

The scale numbers don't matter, but what does matter is how terrific I feel!  It's great to be nice to people because I want to be nice to them. Too bad that the 50 million employers to whom I've sent resumes don't know just how nice I am! 

Thanks for stopping by today!  This "N" post is offered for Jenny Matlock's "Alphabe-Thursday" series.  Please click on the logo below to see other "N" stories by some very creative friends of Jenny!





*To my Spanish speaking friends...please feel free to correct my grammar!

This is One Cool Puppy!

Welcome to Saturday Centus, the brainchild of Jenny Matlock of Off On My Tangent.  Each week, Jenny dares us to go beyond our literary wit by giving us a prompt to make into a story, poem, or other form written entertainment.  This week, our challenge is a picture and we have been instructed to write a poem using 100 words or less. The prompt is Dog Days of Summer and is in bold, below. Stop by Jenny's place by clicking on the logo at the end of my post. You will love reading the talent of some of Jenny's loyal followers!


    

I woke up this morning with a sneeze

Thought I'd go outside to feel the breeze

Dang, it's so hot!

Cool I am not

May I come back inside, please?

I saw a big box of ice from last night

Can I play in it, please? I won't start a fight!

I just want to feel

Something cool and real

I shall be so quiet if you say alright!

Yay!  I get to play in the ice

I jump in the pile, oh it feels so nice!

Dog Days of Summer

Can be such a bummer
Except when dad's cooler is full of ice! 

Butt Out, Mom!

We all want the best for our loved ones, especially our kids.  The thought of watching them fall flat on their face, or sit by as others take advantage of them, makes me want to consume a Sam's full sheet cake! 

I think that many of us learned to be good "helicopter" parents because we had great "helicopter" parents; or, we became good "helicopter" parents because ours were just the opposite.  My mom let me make my own mistakes, pass up great opportunities, and, she allowed me to make a fool of myself on a daily basis!  Thanks, mom!  I really mean it!  You let me choose!  It's not your fault that I chose "stupid!" 

I think there is gentle and loving guidance and then there is "meddling."  I want my kids to have the best opportunities to live a great life.  So, I meddled when they were under my control, and the habit became so addictive, I found that I could not stop.  It never occurred to me that maybe my idea of a great life and their idea of a great life might be 180 degrees apart. 

It took a move to another state for me to realize that I needed to stop.  Yes, I am going through "meddling" withdrawals and learning how to let go.  It's not easy, but thanks to great support from my new friends, as well as, my old friends, the kids are muddling their way through it all, and living to tell about it!

So, to my beloved children, I love you and I am here for you....but you are on your own now!

Friday Fragments #209 - You CAN Go Home!

Welcome to Friday Fragments, #209, a place where one can experience that wonderful sigh of "it's the end of the week, thank goodness!"  This meme is sponsored by Mrs. 4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time, and is always a breath of fresh air for me to read!

I went back to my recently departed home in St. Louis this week.  It's still there, and there are no holes in the walls...yet.  My son is doing a terrific job of keeping everything "as is" and yet, making the house "his" at the same time!  I went home to search for the title of a car that we are trying to sell.  (Anyone interested in a 1970 Karmann Ghia?) It took me two days, but I found it and did the "Thank You God!" dance all over the basement!  I also got with my girls who provided the greatest entertainment and treated me like royalty (and they didn't even ask for money)!  I feel very fortunate that I can still go home while I transition to my new home!

On Thursday, I had my first Chicagoland job interview.  It's close to home, it's casual attire, and there will be kids around to keep my brain cells hopping!  I'll find out this weekend if they liked me!

Hope your Friday is momentous, and your weekend too, as well!

Please drop by Half-Past Kissin' Time and see how others have spent their week!  Say hello to Mrs. 4444!  Just click on the logo below and

"K" is for Kaleidoscope!

It's hot and I'm lazy! I'd like to share a "K" post I did some time ago about something dear to my heart. Hope you enjoy it!

Helloooooo, and welcome once again to Alphabe-Thursday, where anything can happen and anything can be written, as long as it is PG. Jenny Matlock of Off On My Tangent, sponsors this weekly homework assignment allowing us to get creative each week with a letter of the alphabet! This week’s letter is “K” and I would like to report on a hobby of mine, which is collecting Kaleidoscopes. It’s a small collection, and my pictures are far, far, far from professional, but I hope you enjoy it, nonetheless.

(This is a professional picture!)



The word kaleidoscope derives from the Greek word Kalos (Beautiful) and Eidos (Shape). It was invented by Sir David Brewster in 1816. A kaleidoscope is a tube of mirrors containing loose beads, pebbles or other small colored objects. The viewer looks in one end and light enters the other end, reflecting off the mirrors to create unique and spectacular images. The multi-colored murals created within the kaleidoscope can be enjoyed by all ages for years to come



Modern kaleidoscopes are made of brass tubes, stained glass, wood, steel, gourds and almost any other material an artist can sculpt or manipulate. The part of the kaleidoscope containing objects to be viewed is the 'object chamber' or 'object cell'. Object cells may contain almost any material. Sometimes the object cell is filled with liquid so the items float and move through the object cell with slight movement from the person viewing.

Cozy Baker (d. October 19, 2010)—founder of The Brewster Kaleidoscope Society—collected kaleidoscopes and wrote books about a few of the artists making them in the 1970s through 2000. Baker is credited with energizing a renaissance in kaleidoscope-making in America. Craft galleries often carry a few kaleidoscopes, while other enterprises specialize in them, carrying dozens of different types from different artists and craftspeople.

I hope you enjoyed my project, especially the picture of giant outdoor kaleidoscope in San Diego.







Please click on Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday logo below and check out what others have written about the Letter "K".







Have a great Thursday!