FunkyKim's Xanga

Monday, Memorial Day

Mon, 26 May 2008 16:36:38 GMT

I'm doing my normal Memorial Day thing and avoiding the cemetery. I tend to dislike holidays that force me to do something. I visit cemeteries when the urge strikes me and on birthdays. It makes it more personal for me. Although I do like listening to the bagpipe guy at my grandpa's cemetery. He plays every Memorial Day at 10 in the morning.

Currently on my television is a Baby Einstein tape. Vincent still adores watching those. This is the one he calls "Bubbles" because of the explosion of bubbles that starts the show. It's the Baby Shakespeare one, for those of you familiar with the series.

Dwaine and the brother-in-law have headed out to do some home improvements on our rental house that really needs to be put on the market already and sold. We have a friend who is putting up the money and effort to fix it up and when it sells, he will get any profits. Kind of like flipping the house without selling it to him first. I sure hope it works out for everyone.

It's a cold and rainy day here in beautiful Salt Lake City. My furnace just kicked on to warm my tootsies. Although if I didn't have the grandson living here, I'd probably just suck it up without the furnace. According the the weather guy, we're supposed to get up to 66 today. Right now it's 50, so I'm not holding my breath for that 66.

I'm gonna go curl up in the recliner with my crochet project and watch this lovely video with Vincent. May you all have a terrific day!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Sun, 25 May 2008 20:23:56 GMT

My sewing/guest room has it's first guest this weekend. My brother-in-law has moseyed on down from Idaho Falls to go fishing and just hang out. I'm so glad to have somewhere for him to sleep that isn't the couch or a cot in the family room. I feel more hospitable.

I'm still dragging from the virus I caught. I took a 4 hour nap yesterday afternoon, then went to bed early at 8. This morning I was still feeling tired, so I skipped today's fishing trip. I know that was the right thing to do. I've napped on and off most of today. I did manage to watch Desperate Housewives season finale. I don't like the last scene. Don't like it at all. Other than that, it was a good show.

I've been playing the timer game for the last hour or so. 15 minutes online, then 15 minutes cleaning something. The house looks better than it did and I'm all caught up on my message boards and my email. Even my blog roll has nothing left to read.

In project notes, I made curtains for Katie's bedroom and currently have her new comforter on the quilting frame. I'm tying it, to make it go faster, but am using crochet thread, so it has a classier look than yarn. She's giddy with excitement to have a bedroom that goes together. She also wants some curtains made for her closet. She doesn't like closet doors, but hates having that hole in her wall. So I'll dig out some muslin and trim it with fabric from the comforter project. I hope it turns out cute!

Dusty around here....

Thu, 01 May 2008 14:11:58 GMT

On my list of things to do I must add updating this blog. It's tired. Or rather, I'm tired of it. So I must learn. Bah.

It's May. It's snowing. I had to scrape ice off my windshield this morning. I'm ready to be done with winter. Well, it isn't winter anymore. It's spring. And the snow won't hang around for more than today. And it isn't sticking to the roads at all. And it's even melting off the grass pretty darn fast. And it will be in the 60's for the weekend.

Spring. Gotta love it!

Sunday evening recap

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 01:43:30 GMT

I bought a huge box of yarn at the estate sale yesterday. It's still in the Expedition, waiting for someone to carry it in for me. I'm excited as the yarn is all in colors I would have purchased for stuff. Woot!

I took Dwaine to tea for lunch yesterday after the estate sale. My step-mom and sister opened up a tea house in Farmington, Utah. They have great food! It's just what Dwaine considers "chick" food. But he survived. We had huckleberry tea. Yummy stuff!

We just got home from World Cup Speedskating competition. http://www.usspeedskating.org/ We took Vincent with us. In case you were wondering, it's cold in the bleachers at a skating rink! Not freezingly cold, but cold enough that by the end of it, I was cold through to the bone. We had a good time. Vincent took his nap there. (that's one of the reasons we have taken him to sporting events since his birth.) Apollo Ono is cute as a button in person!

I'm ready for bed and it's only 7:30. I think I'm ahead of the curve. Now if V will just go to bed, I'll be set.

Woot!

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 22:48:08 GMT

I'm feeling giddy with my bad old self! I've spent a couple days planning out what projects need to get going for Christmas. I'm not the fastest crafter in the world, so I need lots of time to plan and do.

I've got the list. And on the list I have a tentative list of what supplies I need to purchase to do the projects for this year. That way I can buy it a little at a time as I find it on sale or wherever.

I've been killing the last hour of the work week surfing around, looking at this and that. I was reading through the classified ads when I found an estate sale for tomorrow. And not just any estate sale. No sirree! It's a "crafters dream" estate sale. Lotta yarn, quilting supplies and a fabric stash to die for! I'm so there. I will stay on budget and not buy everything in sight. But I love it when I have a plan and it starts coming together in unexpected ways!

Thursday, not Friday

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:57:36 GMT

I'm impatient for Friday. I prefer to not have to leave my house with this boot on my foot. I prefer to prop myself on the sofa in the living room with my foot up and not have to do much moving around. I prefer to just watch the world go by while I heal. Slowly.

But that isn't my life. My life is going on whether or not I want to be an active participant. And I must go to work. And I must go to the grocery store. (I do find zooming around on an electric cart kind of fun!) And dinner must be made and bathrooms must be cleaned and food must be cooked. So, of course, I overdo. I overdid so well on Monday that I spent Tuesday in bed, on drugs. Nothing like a drug induced stupor.

I can't move without the boot on until the end of February. And perhaps my doctor will declare me healed enough to begin physical therapy. The Achilles tendon is a slow, painful healer. And it doesn't heal well at all if messed with during the healing process. So we'll let it heal and then we'll physical therapy it so it will move again. Rah.

Vincent comes home tonight. It's always a joyous homecoming after he's spent his couple days with his dad. The house is much too quiet when he's away. So I'm excited for this evening!

It's February already!

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 22:27:16 GMT

This year is just flying by for me! I love my life, so nothing feels like I'm just plodding along. And that, my friends, is a great thing.

I've started a new crochet project and have planned out three more. I've still got a quilt on the frame, needing to be quilted and one needing to be put on the frame and several more quilt tops that need to get finished. But the quilting bug has left the building and I can't find her. I'm sure I'll be stitching again in no time. But not today.

I found a great deal of yarn tied up in unfinished projects at a yard sale. So Vincent and I spent some time pulling the projects apart and rolling the yarn into balls. Only problem with this is now Vincent thinks that pulling projects apart is a good thing. And it's not. Trust me.

My house has gone to hell in a handbasket since my surgery. Since I'm finally up and around some, I need to start shovelling it out. Tonight's goal is the kitchen. I'm pretty sure no one has swept since I swept on January 16th. Drives me nuts. But obviously it doesn't make anyone else around me nuts enough to do anything about it. I'll be so happy to have a clean, swept and scrubbed kitchen tonight!

Welcome, 2008!!! Glad to meet you!!!

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 02:30:35 GMT

I'm working on a no resolution new year. And so far, it's working! I do have one goal for the year: I would like to learn how to knit. I have found an instructor willing to take me on. I just need to find the time to do this. I'll have a better feeling for all of this after Dwaine starts school and Katie goes back to school and Vincent's time with me is clarified. So, hopefully by February I'll have some knitting needles and know what to do with them!

On the no resolutions, I read http://christinekane.com/blog/resolution-revolution-a-better-way-to-start-your-year/ and picking one word really resonated with me. The word I have chosen to be my touchstone for 2008 is Generosity. I'm not really sure why, but it leaped out at me when reading the list and no other word even came close. So there must be something in generosity I need to learn. I'm cool with that.

Looking back, 2007 had some bad/sad/don't-wanna-have-them-again moments. But I can't say there's one that I didn't learn something from. And that's a good thing. So I'm hoping that I can learn a lot in 2008 and it's not too painful!

I love you guys!

A CHRISTMAS WISH LIST FOR YOU

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:11:24 GMT

ValueSpeak
A Weekly Column
By Joseph Walker <valuespeak@msn.com>

A CHRISTMAS WISH LIST FOR YOU

I’ve been thinking about you.

No, really. I have. Every week about this time I think about you a LOT. And this being the holiday season and all, I’ve even been thinking about what I could get you for Christmas. But I’ve got to be honest with you. We’ve only been Christmas shopping a couple of times this season, and already my debit card has been worn smooth and my leather checkbook is lathered up and gasping for air. And it’s been so long since I had anything green in my wallet that it gets the shakes every time we walk past a salad bar.

Still, I’ve been thinking. If it’s really true that “it’s the thought that counts,” maybe you’ll be just as pleased to find out what I’ve been thinking about getting for you. That way I can stay within the charred remains of my holiday budget, and you’ll only have to think about writing a “thank you” note in return.

The first thing I wanted to get for you was some “Peace of Mind.” But do you have any idea how hard that is to find these days? I looked in all the usual places – you know, Position, Power, Wealth, Status, Fame and Stuff Like That – but I couldn’t find it anywhere. It occurred to me that maybe it’s something that you’re going to have to find on your own. I’d suggest a good hard look at Personal Integrity, for starters. If you can’t find it there, try Honesty, Loyalty and Self-Control. And if you haven’t yet made room for God in your life, this might be a good time to discover the “Peace of Mind” that He offers.

The next thing I was thinking about getting for you is “Success,” but I wasn’t sure what size to get. Do you need an extra large, complete with mansions, limousines and a jet set lifestyle? Or would you prefer something more modest – perhaps a medium – with its three-bedroom ramblers, minivans and occasional vacations?

Of course, that assumes you’re going to choose the traditional Success package, with its attendant angst, frustration and rate-race mentality. You may wish to go in a different direction to find the kind of Success that best suits you. I’d recommend the “No Other Success Can Compensate for Failure in the Home” line. It’s quite expensive in terms of work, consistency and love, but the results can be incredibly satisfying.

And finally I was thinking about getting you a big bag of “Happiness” – not the fleeting kind of pleasure that makes us happy-for-now, but the real thing: whole-souled, enduring, tragedy-defying and joyful. But everyone says you can’t buy that, so I guess you’re going to be on your own for this one, too. I can’t tell you for sure where you’re going to find it. But I can tell you that a few places where you won’t find it – like a bar, for example. Or a casino. And you won’t find it in a syringe, a new car, a larger paycheck, a significant honor, an elaborate meal, a pack of cigarettes or even – believe it or not – a box of chocolates.

In fact, it has been my experience that real happiness isn’t something you find; it finds you. And it is more a consequence of choices than a choice itself. But I know it has something to do with those other two gifts – “Peace of Mind” and “Success.”

And a lot to do with “Love.”

Which, come to think of it, is something else I’ve been thinking about picking up for you. As with all of my other gifts for you this Christmas, however, that’s something you’d best find on your own. But I do wish you “Success” in finding it.

Not to mention “Happiness” and “Peace of Mind.”
Merry Christmas!

Things I love

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 22:57:31 GMT

Among the things I love in life is an email that, while it has been forwarded for years and years, happens to land in my in box at the moment I need to be reminded of it. I've been having a personal pity party about things and I'd like to thank my uncle for forwarding me this reminder.

1.) Take a 10-30 minute walk every day & while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2.) Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.

3.) Buy a TIVO, record your late night shows, and get more sleep.

4.) When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement: My purpose is to___today.

5.) Live with the 3 E's: Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy.

6.) Watch more movies, play more games & read more books than you did in 2007.

7.) Make time to practice meditation, yoga, tai chi, qigong & prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.

8.) Spend more time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

9.) Dream more while you are awake.

10.) Eat more foods that grow on trees & plants & eat less foods that are manufactured in plants.

11.) Drink green tea & plenty of water & eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

12.) Try to make at least 3 people smile each day.

13.) Clear your clutter from your house, your car, your desk & let new & flowing energy into your life.

14.) Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts, or things you cannot control. Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment

15.) Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class, but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

16.) Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

17.) Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.

18.) Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

19.) Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

20.) Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

21.) You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

22.) Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

23.) Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

24.) Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, and wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

25.) No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26.) Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"

27.) Forgive everyone everything.

28.) What other people think of you is none of your business.

29.) Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

30.) However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

31.) Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

32.) Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful, or joyful.

33.) Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

34.) The best is yet to come.

35.) No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.

36.) Do the right thing.

37.) Call your mother and father often.

38.) Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __. Today I accomplished____.

39.) Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

40.) Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass.