A Skydazzler's Life Unwrapped...

Busy with a Capital "B"

Work...yes work.  One way of the ways I contribute to our family.  Monday through Friday where I spend most of my daylight hours. The weekends of Saturday soccer are an oasis. To say I have been busy at work is rather an under statement.  A new academic year has started.  The Alaska vacation was my break.   Sigh... We've hired a new person so I am also training in between everything else as we go.  After 20 academic years, no longer will I stress. It will get done, it always gets done. It's all good. Here a better way to say it. 

Entry Word: busy

Function: adjective

Text: 1 involved in often constant activity<the deadline is in two days, so everyone at work has been extremely busy>

Synonyms:  active, assiduous, diligent, employed, engaged, industrious, laborious, occupied, sedulous, working

Related Words:  absorbed, concentrating, engrossed, focused (also foccused), immersed, intent, preoccupied; alive, functional, functioning, going, living, operating, operational, operative, running; energetic, vigorous; indefatigable, tireless, untiring

Antonyms:  idle, inactive, unemployed, unengaged, unoccupied

Text: 2 marked by much life, movement, or activity<the busy, often hectic floor of the New York Stock Exchange>—

It's a process

Looking good.  Almost done, just have the trim to go.  Brothers Justin & Joel are doing a great job!  Just have the trim to finish.  It will be beautiful. 

In search of the perfect little purse....Is there such a thing?

I have been feeling the need for a new purse.  The old one is fine...just old.  So I ran to the Mall this morning.  Haven't been shopping by myself, for myself in a long time.  Kind of fun to just take my time and browse around.  I heard that Macy's downtown was having a pretty good sale.  So I went searching for a purse. The perfect little purse.  We all know what that is, although you can't describe it 100%.  When you see it, you just know it though. I wanted something smaller than I am using now.  If it's bigger I always fill it to its capacity.  Can't help it.  Smaller means lighter.  So the search began. I browsed.  I searched and picked up probably a hundred purses.  I looked on and under the sale tables. Yes, I said under...don't you look under the sale table, table cloths? Where do you think they get the stuff for the tables?  haha.  I found a cute little coin purse.  Cheap/cheap, bought it.  I saw the cutest Dooney & Bourke bag...it was on sale...and still $146.00, eeekkk!  I don't think so.  I lost interest in the purses and went and bought some makeup.  Got some earrings.  Went back by the purses and I found a cute little leather bag.  Slim, not bulky by any means.  It's red...dark red.  I have really been into red things lately.  My computer, my phone, my wallet so why not a purse.  It's cute and it is smaller.  But not perfect.  I got it anyway because it is better than using the "old" one.  I am stuffing all my cherished, "you might just need it in case of who knows what kind of emergency haul around things" in it now.  Hmmm...maybe I can go to the outlets up the road and check the Fossil store...See, if the purse isn't perfect, the search continues.

I'm it...I've been tagged, well back on Feb 10th!

I was tagged by Buhtafly, my daughter, to answer or provide six quirks or quirky things about me.  This was back on February 10th...a month ago today.  When she identified things that were quirky about her..they sounded so darn cute.  When I sat down to write about some...they sounded very OCD (obsessive/compulsive disorder) or the very least ADD.  That is why it has taken me a month to think of things I didn't sound like a raving lunatic.  I would have liked to think I couldn't find 6 because I was just so darn normal.  haha, ya, good luck with that one. 

1.  I hate to empty the dishwasher.  I'm sure this goes back to childhood. Somehow I am sure I was scarred by having to empty the dang thing as a toddler or something.  But I will do any other kitchen or house cleaning task just to avoid it. 

2.  I don't like my money to co-mingle in the bank accounts?  You know, you've set up a savings and it is for________.  I won't save other money for something else in the same account.  I would open a new account first.  That way I have all our little savings accounts have their own little purposeful monies in them.  See...a little OCD don't you think?

3. I Google everything.  I do mean everything.  Every question, topic, source of recipes, music, etc.  Google is my main source of knowledge anymore (sad, I know).  Yes, I know there are others out there...like Yahoo, Geeves...but they just don't mean as much to me or are the infinitive knowledge base like Google is.  Besides...Google has Doodles. 

4.  I hate when the time changes in Spring (forward) daylight savings time and Fall (back) Standard regular time.  I just wish it would stay the same all the time.  And now this year, we went through the whole jumpy time stuff for 4 flipp'in months.  I would prefer normal time, because as a working person, I find it impossible to go to bed at 9:00pm in the summer when it is fully daylight outside.  My body doesn't work like that.  I have such a hard time "fooling" myself into thinking it really is bed time no matter how hard I try.  (ergo I like it very very dark and no sound when going to bed)  I already wear earplugs to block out the sweet sounds of my snoring husband.  Whaa, whaa, blah, blah. Okay enough of this one.

5. I am a sentimental about so many things.  I hang on to way too much stuff...mostly small, but sometimes silly.  I have silver dollars my father gave me back when I was 6 years old (siblings spent the $ then like normal kids).  I have coins an Uncle gave me around the same time.  I would never spend the money always saved it because they wanted me to have it.  Same goes for old costume jewelry, purses, gifts the girls have given me, well you get the idea. Again... a little OCD'ish. 

6.  I "bop" to TV Ads commercial music.  I didn't know I do this, but once told, I seem I do it all the time.  ...whether it's an "iAirbook" MacIntosh Computer commercial, Visa commercial or a real song like the JC Penney American Living commercial song, Killing the Blues. ( I had to look that one up on google)  TV commercial jingles get to me.  I sit and all of a sudden not consciously thinking, my head starts to bob back and forth and the feet tap to the beat of the music.  I've also been known to dance to the music in my car, but that some how, that seems much more sane. 

So there you have them...six quirks about me for now.  I'm sure there are more, like the excessive hand-washing, buffet food lines and fast food restaurants, but those would come under the headline of Whacked out things you do and not just quirks. haha ...LOL.  So enough said and I have to tag others so I tag...  Randa and Teresa (she didn't do it before).  Now for the readers out there... comment please and tell me a couple of your own quirks, quirkiness or things you do quirkily? 

Just something special about a new year...starting fresh.

2008...fresh, new, no baggage.  That is the beginning of a new year.  Three hundred and sixty-five days to do whatever you want with.  The old year, good or bad is gone.  Now is the time when you can plan, shape and make a fresh start to what ever you want your year to be.  It is so exciting.  Now don't get me wrong...I've had some stinker years.  But...as bad as they may have seemed, they all had something to be thankful for.  Right now I am in the purging mood.  Getting rid of worn out stuff.  I sometimes hang on to things way to long for sentimental reasons.  Or simply because I liked it so much when it was useful and had a purpose or I might need it later (this is usually paper of some kind).  This much to my husbands total irritation, can even be a box.  haha, I know...how can one want to keep a box? Well a box wouldn't be sentimental, but I keep them just in case.  Just in case the item needs to be returned (like shoes), just in case I want to sell the item later (like a cell phone).  Silly silly.  We all have quirks...don't we? lol  Just the same, I am throwing out the boxes, papers, old clothes and shoes.  Part of the starting fresh, downsizing the clutter.  That's the first part of my plan for the year.  Now this for you could be a move or back to school, etc.  But no matter what...you are in charge of what the year brings you.  If you change nothing...nothing will change.  You still have three hundred and sixty-two days to make it your best year ever!  Oh the possibilities...

Welcome 2008! Oh what possibilities...

I want to wish all our family & friends a blessed and prosperous New Year !  We are doing "MY" (my Mothers) traditional Good luck Dinner to start out the New Year right. I thought this tradition steeped from our Irish heritage, but Google found nothing)  For as long as I can remember I have had Ham, cabbage, turnips and potatoes on New Years day to bring good luck for the year.  Even the very first year Bryant & I were married we still had our traditional fare.  Over the years we have added a couple of items from friends traditions...cornbread and black-eyed peas (not the music group, the veggies) haha...snort...  The girls and families are coming over to partake of a little luck also.  I will write later my thoughts on what this New Year holds for us, but again...the possibilities are end-less!  I read this uplifting column this morning in the paper and thought I would share.  Happy New Year!

Do you Google?

Have you ever gone to google and found a doodle with your google logo?  Here are the five for the holidays this year.  Very cute. 

The Eve before Christmas Eve...

Sunday was Kaelyn's birthday.  We got up early and went to Church services to hear Kaelyn and Brynlee sing.  The children's choir was singing with the adult choir.  Both girls did an awesome job of singing and we really enjoyed the spirit of the services in celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  After services we headed to Red Robin restaurant for lunch (Kaelyn's birthday choice).  Then home for a bit and back to Randa & Kyle's for the birthday celebration, presents, blowing out the candles and birthday cake.  Kaelyn had a great day filled with special moments and surrounded by those who love her. Got some great shots of the smiles of birthday wishes coming true. 

Autumnal Equinox Science Lesson (Happy Fall y'all)

An equinox in astronomy is the event when the Sun can be observed to be directly above the Earth's equator, occurring around March 20 and September 23 each year. There is either an equinox (autumn and spring) or a solstice (summer and winter) on approximately the 21st day of the last month of every quarter of the calendar year. On the equinoxes, night and day are nearly of the same length as the Sun crosses the celestial equator (i.e., declination 0). More technically, the equinox happens when the Sun is at one of two opposite points on the celestial sphere where the celestial equator and ecliptic intersect. In a wider sense, the equinoxes are the two days each year when the center of the Sun spends an equal amount of time above and below the horizon at every location on Earth. The word equinox derives from the Latin words aequus (equal) and nox (night).

I am so honored! Nice Matters Award!

I have been given what's called a "Nice Matters Award", by a loyal reader.  My loyal reader and fellow blogger is my daughter Bree ( Buhtafly ), so the Award wasn't hard to get...haha.  No really.  I don't think the only reason I received the award is because she's my daughter.  I hope it’s because I am/was making a difference to readers diagnosed cancer and with my journey to wellness.  I had things to share, like what to eat while undergoing chemo to (my biggest hits) “why did my eyelashes fall out again”.  I now mostly blog about family and life in general, but need to get back to including blogs about how it feels to be a cancer survivor and some of those struggles. Thank you so much for the honor.  Now if I just had some readers? haha....