Snap yo' fingers

So today is November 10th. Today would have been my grandmother's, aka Nanny, 80th birthday. We called her Nanny because she said she was too old to be a "grandma." Nanny was 69 when she died and she did not look 69, she never looked like a typical grandma though. But then again, she was anything but typical. Nanny is and always will be the coolest person I have ever known. My sister and I would spend a week or two at her house each summer. Most days were spent in her kitchen watching TV and playing cards or driving around shopping at garage sales. A lot of times there was music playing if the tv wasn't on. If music was on, Nanny was dancing. Nanny had the cutest dance. She would snap her fingers and "sing" along, I saw that cause she wouldn't actually sing the words. I chatted with nanny about so many things. It's odd that so many years later, I still wish I could talk with her about things that are happening in my life. It is not weird that this many years later, I still remember the moments leading up to her last moments on earth. All the family had come down, it was Sunday morning and summer time, which means I was scheduled to head to camp in a few hours. Everyone left to get food, except for mom and I. I could list the ways that I was influenced by nanny, but that wouldn't do her justice. In this month of thanks and remembering the dead, for us Catholics, I feel like nanny is closer to me. Usually November reminds me of her absence. So I guess this is what progress feels like...

It might sound strange

So with a little less than an hour to post my blog today, I'm feeling a sense of writers block. So I'm using today's prompt, but even that is stumping me. "If you could change one thing about your life right now, what would it be?" So I'm taking that as "If I could snap my fingers and make this happen..." I mean my first thought is being in shape. But I, honestly, know that if something just happens, no matter what it is, I won't appreciate how hard it was to accomplish that and it would be too easy to just go back to how it was. So instead, I feel more like a 'herder' slowly moving my life into the kind of life that it should be. Gotta cut it short tonight; I'm doing a 5K in the morning!

Home-cooked ridicule

I am typing this blog from my parent's kitchen table. I missed the last Sunday dinner so I made it up tonight. My dad made sausage and potatoes, which might be one of my favorite meals, which also tells me that he misses me, just a little bit. Now my brother is working on his math homework and I'm waiting for my nails to dry to paint the other hand. My mom is walking around somewhere, doing something. My family, and I don't mean just my immediate family, has a unique relationship. Basically, if they're aren't making fun of you to your face, they're probably talking about you behind your back. Hahaha. We're not really that bad. Just call each other out on their BS. It really makes family gatherings, of any size or reason, pretty enjoyable. This evening, there was just four, but the laughter was just as enjoyable as if there were 20. So, if you haven't seen your loved ones recently, call em up and give em hell. Let em know you appreciate them.

Journals, blogs, and what not

I'm getting a head start on today's post, so that I'm not trying to think of something at the last minute. I just think it is curious the different ways people record events in their life. I know some people that don't have to write anything down and can tell you exactly when something happened and what else was going on in the world at the same time. Sometimes I can string a series of events together that way, but not nearly as well as these people. Many of these people go on to be "historians." I have also known a few people who are faithful note takers, keeping record on an almost daily basis of the on goings of life. I'm always amazed, when these works are later published, that the writer managed to describe in such detail exactly what they were feeling. I have, from time to time, gone back and re-read my own personal "captain's logs." I have probably filled maybe 4 journals of various sizes in my short 28 years. I can tell you, oddly enough, the exact date that I began my diary, as I called it back then. For Valentine's Day in 1993, my mother gifted me with a small pink teddy bear diary, with lock. I think that got me through junior high, I skipped my high school years, which lets face it, doesn't skip much. Nowadays, people have video blogs, blogs, journals, diaries and so many other things. Honestly, you could take all of the pictures and status updates from Facebook as a type of journal. Interesting how these things have changed, and by doing so have changed the way the world works. I leave you with this final thought: how would the world have reacted if Anne Frank had a video blog or Facebook page?

this is harder than it seems

So, confession time: When I started this, I thought it would be easy. Let me just say right now, IT'S NOT! I was thinking the whole way home this evening about something I could blog about. I think I had an idea, but I've done forgot it now. (Decided to throw a little Texan in there for ya..) I could blog about the election, and I will just to say that it's going on. I'm not sure what will happen. I could stay up and watch, but instead I'm in my bed making youtube playlists, blogging, about to watch this really awesome TV show that was just introduced to me. If you're looking for something new to watch, might I pass along a recommendation to you, "Foyle's War." It is really quite good. I love watching CSI type shows, or "whodunnit" type shows. Usually though, I'm disappointed because I can predict the ending in the first five minutes. That's actually true for most TV shows and movies though....This however has not been the case in the first three 90 minute episodes that I've watched. Even better is that it is set in World War II in England. It is really quite good. I'm telling you, man, I never know who the killer is until the very end! It is on Netflix, if you're interested. Well, time to finish my Michael Buble Playlist, maybe some others, too. Adios!

Blog for blogging sake

So, I'm not sure what to write about today. The prompt for today is about the election tomorrow, which I'm not going to write about...I could write about Friday's prompt since I didn't use it. It was "If you could live anywhere, it would be..." I'm having trouble answering that question. I want to live lots of places, not just one. Why does the question always make you choose one thing? I guess that is how life is supposed to work, but I don't like it....

You should be laughing, Yea!

So this blog is about one of my favorite things to do of all time: LAUGHING! The best thing about laughing is that you can do other things at the same time. It's not like an exclusive activity where only certain people can do it. Anyone and everyone can laugh at any time of day or night. I love making people laugh, either at me or at other people or just at something! This afternoon I played volleyball with some friends in preparation for the upcoming city league season. Now I played VB in like elementary school and I remember practicing for hours in my parents front yard, hitting the ball off the front of the house. I played in sixth grade and got discouraged by a not very good coach and quit playing. I really regret that decision, now I don't think I would have been like a future volleyball ALL-STAR or anything. I just wish I had played through MS and/or HS. So I guess my point is that I'm glad I have some basic skills to play, but I can also laugh at myself when I do something ridiculous, which if you know me, usually happens. So I hope laughter finds you or you find some laughter in your life today! :)