Baseball cards, recorders, and space science

What do baseball cards, recorders and space science have in common? Absolutely nothing, for everyone other than me.

So I wanted to write tonight. But no topic came to mind. So I decided I would google "random blog topics." And believe it or not, I came across a blog topic generator. So I clicked through a few of them. The Wright Brothers- um...I said write, not research. Newfoundland Government- see previous. The next one I pulled-selling baseball cards.

Interestingly enough, I sold baseball cards once. My dad once bought me a large box of boxed sets of baseball cards. He worked for a department store as a graphic artist. The store would have "sales" for employees to buy random things. Once I got a pogoball. Remember those. Anyway, he also bought me these baseball cards. So what was an 8 year old girl to do with I can't remember how many packs of baseball cards. Of course, sell them to my nearest and dearest and closest 4th grade friends. I made a killing. 50¢ a box. I had canteen money for weeks. It was great. 

So I continued on to see if I could find any other useless topics. And after a few scientific words I had never heard of, that would have again required research, I came across playing a recorder. I played a recorder in the band in 6th grade. In Connecticut, where I lived when I was 8, they start band in the 4th grade. In Louisiana, where we moved back to when I was 11, they start band in the 6th grade. And when you start in band in the 6th grade, or at least when I was in the 6th grade so long ago, you started by playing a recorder. I still have my 6th grade recorder somewhere. Because, I, of course, am a pack rat. When I come across it in a random box from time to time, I take it out and play it. It has been awhile though.

The last topic, after Martha Stewart Jail Time and the Romantic Life of George W. Bush, that I decided I could write about was space station technology. Now I have never been to a space station. I have however been to summer program at LSU called the Young Scholars in Astronomy and Space Science. It was between my sophomore and junior year of high school. I went because I understood that I would receive a weekly stipend, which I thought was big money at the time. And also because it would look good on my college applications. I stayed at LSU in Blake Hall (I think. My how your mind starts to go after you pass 30.) I made a few friends. One of whom, I keep up with on Facebook today. All in all, it was a great experience. We had a slumber party in the planetarium. When we went on field trips, we called our driver "A Bus Driver Named Bill." He was a jolly fellow. I felt grown, at college, all by myself, at 15. Going to eat in the cafeteria, living in the dorm, walking to "class." It was one of those times that I remember fondly. And one of those experiences in life that I feel truly shaped me. It was one of those things that I look back on and say "Man, I'm glad I did that."

Wow.....it's been like 3 months since my last post

Wow. I guess that I have been pretty busy. It's been 3 months since I've written anything on my blog. And to be honest....I don't really have much to say. So maybe I'll just tell you a few things that I have learned in the last few months. These things come from various places and people, school and work, kids and friends. They are random and are listed in the order that they come into my head. So here goes:

1. Don't complain about something if you aren't willing to roll your sleeves up and help work on a solution.

2. If you aren't willing to try something, you will never know how great it could be.

3. Don't just show up to show up.

4. Take a seat at the table. Nobody listens to you if you aren't sitting at the table.

5. Sometimes you have to let others do things so that they can discover that they can do it.

6. Kids are listening. No matter what you think, they hear you.

7. And they are like sponges. The really good kind. They soak up everything.

8. Sometimes you have to be like that sponge and just soak it all in.

9. It's okay for you to let others know that you know you are awesome. Just don't rub it in.

10. Life passes by so quickly. Kids grow up, friends grow apart, and things will keep moving whether you want them to or not. It's a crazy ride, so hold on tight.

There. Blog post complete. Hopefully next time I will have more to say.

Let Me Google That For You: The Steady Decline of Initiative

So let me paint a picture for you. Someone in your office asks you what the address is for a local business or someone on the phone asks you if you know the phone number of a certain business. And you, always willing to help, pull up google.com and enter the search terms, and then, read off the answers. Simple. This situation is a common one. So common, in fact, someone created a site called "Let me google that for you." (www.lmgtfy.com) With this site, you can google a topic and send a link to the page of results to that individual. When the intended non-googler opens the link, they must first complete a mini-tutorial that will teach them the necessary steps to Google.

Now, believe me, I don't mean to poke fun at anyone or hurt anyone's feelings. It's just the creation of such a website got me thinking....

Where has our initiative gone?

And then I asked myself, "Where has my initiative gone?"

So what is initiative? Webster, according to their website, defines it as "an introductory step" or " the energy or aptitude displayed in the initiation of an action." Synonyms are drive, ambition, and hustle.

We all, at one time or another, get lost in the everyday. The commonality of it all. We get up, get dressed, head to work, make it through the day, and head home. Then it's dinner, kids, school work, TV, books, chores, and then bed. And then the next day we repeat. Not to say that we don't enjoy some of these things. Time with our kids, our work. But if we don't take initiative with what we are given, it all becomes common and expected. We stop looking for the unexpected. We tell ourselves that our dreams are too big, too much, too grand for such a common world.

While mulling over all this, I saw 2 tweets today.

1. Never insult God with small dreams and safe living! (from @craiggroeschel retweeted by @ ryanlowe_wm)
2. Am I just making a living or making a difference? (from @lindseylowe)

Wow! How timely is our God? Just what I needed to hear to get my initiative into high gear!! I was not created to live a common life. He created me to live an extraordinary life. To have big dreams and to see those dreams blossom into a reality. That is His plan for me and for you.

So I've got my dreams in check, my plan mapped out, and am ready to take on this world. Nothing can hold me back but myself. Forget the naysayers, negative thinkers and "this is how it's always been." I'm looking for how it could be, what it could be and what it could all bring.

(Man, if only I could come up with a theme song for this.)

So don't let anyone or anything wear down your initiative. When they say it can't be done, prove that it can. Don't ever be content with the status quo.

Dream big and live big! And then have the initiative to seem it all through!

Housewife: What does that really mean?

So the title of my blog really got me thinking. What is a modern-day housewife?

If you subscribe to the same philosophy as Bravo, a housewife is a socialite who while filming a TV show, manages to not only plan a fashion show, vacation in St. Barts, and produce a song or two, but also involves herself in every catfight within a 10 mile radius. Except for maybe Caroline, who really seems to stay out of things. (Yes I watch them.)

I don't really think that Bravo's idea of a real housewife is very correct. That is actually why I named my blog the way I did. You see, a housewife really isn't the same as what she was years ago.

Dictionary.com defines a housewife as a married woman who manages her own household, esp. as her principal occupation. Wrong. That leaves out single moms. Don't they manage a household? Websters online defines a housewife as a married woman in charge of a household. Again, leaving out single moms, but this definition does include those of us who work outside the home.

Now to me, whether you stay at home or you work outside your home, you are still working during the day. Many people view the occupation of stay at home mom as, well, not really an occupation at all. But I have stayed home from work with one or both of my kids when they have been sick or unable to go to school, and I know that it's work. So for those of you who think it's a piece of cake, you are wrong. But it's also hard to put in a full day at the office and come home and take care of a household as well.

So that being said, I have come up with my own personal idea of what a modern day housewife. It's me and it's you and it's every other hardworking gal we know.

We are the chefs, the cleaning lady, the nurse, the teacher. We do it all. So let's raise a glass of Sweet Tea (I am from the South) to all of the Housewives out there.

**Now before signing off I must put in a plug for my husband. I couldn't do it all without his help. It's nice for this housewife to have someone on her team who helps out more than I ever could have expected him to.

There is a bird in my attic

There is a bird in my attic

There is a bird in my attic.
And he’s driving me mad.

There is a bird in my attic.
You say “Could it really be so bad?”

Yes, I say.
It can be so bad.
It can drive me mad.

I’m not being overdramatic.
You see, there is a bird in my attic.

Where did he come from?
I don’t know.
I just want him to go, go, go.

All night long, he hoo’s and hoo’s.
And I simply reply, “Shoo, Shoo.
To leave is what I need you to do.”
He simply and sarcastically responds…..”Whoo…hoo.”

He Loves Me This Much

Let’s face it. Relationships are a two way street. This is true even with God. For what God does for us, he expects something in return. All relationships are this way. Look at marriage vows for example. Both the husband and the wife each vow to do certain things for the other. It is just a way of life. A little give and a little take.

I just want to look at a few things that God does for us, and what he expects in return.

He leads us. All we have to do is follow.
That’s right. He will lead us. There is a path laid out before us. And God will lead us down that path. He will lead us through good times and bad times. He will lead us through prosperity. He will lead us through sickness and health. There are many times that we try to make our own way. I worked for a certain company a few years ago. And I felt God was leading me down a path. But somewhere along the way, I stepped away from that path. I tried to take control. I was like a bull in a china shop. I left my job and took a job in a completely different profession. I knew what my dream was. I had an idea of what God’s purpose for me was. And this new profession did not fit the bill. But I went for it anyway. And I had to go through some pretty deep lows before I realized that I for me to get where I needed to get in life, I could not be in control. He has to be in control. And I had to give up control. I had to leave my job, before I had a new job. And for those of you who don’t know me, leaving something like that to chance is not me. “How were we going to pay the bills without my paycheck? What was I going to do?” And it wasn’t until I decided to do what I knew God wanted that everything turned around. I now have a job that is taking me further toward my goals and dreams then I could have imagined. God has given me opportunities in the past year and a half that I would have never gotten before. And all I had to do was follow Him.

He will take care of us. All we have to do is give it to him and lay it all at his feet.
He will provide for us. He will make sure that you and your family have food. He will make sure that the bills get paid. He will make that situation at work or at home better. I can’t tell you how many times Jimmy and I have done the bills and wondered how we were going to make it. I would get nauseous just thinking about going into the next few days with no money. All our bills were paid, but what would happen if something came up. And I finally decided that if God could always bless me with enough to pay my bills, even when our paychecks fluctuated, that He could make a way for anything that came up. I had to give it to him. I had to let go of the constant worry and trust that He would take care of my family. We have had checks and money come in that we were not expecting. Raises when it wasn’t time for raises. Whatever we have needed, he has supplied it all and then some.

He will speak to us. All we have to do is stop for a minute and listen.
He will tell you what you need to hear. I was on a plane recently, sitting quietly. I had been waiting to hear from God about a decision that I was going to make for my life. And as I was sitting on the plane, listening to some worship music, I just focused on Him and listened. And just like that, I got my answer. I had been toiling for a while about this decision. And all it took was for me to slow down and open my ears.

He forgives. All we have to do is ask.
No matter the sin. No matter the offense. God will forgive it. Think about that. We have all been hurt. And we will all be hurt. How hard is it for us to forgive. For a long time, I have lived life by the old adage: “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” I have held grudges for so long that I couldn’t tell you why I was mad the other person. Silly, right? Well not God. Big or small-He will always forgive you. And all you have to do is ask.

He will save you and give you eternal life. All you have to do is accept Him into your life.
Wow! Now I have gotten a lot of presents in my life. I stretch my birthday celebration to last about a week. Except this year. I turn 30, so I think I may celebrate this one with my head buried under my pillow. But I don’t think I have gotten a gift that will compare to His gift of eternal life. And we don’t have to go out and do anything to get it. Just accept Him into our hearts and love Him.

Now if you ask me this relationship is not evenly divided. It seems to me that God is doing most of the heavy lifting here. But that is how He operates. He loves us that much. And I for one am so thankful for that.

What are you waiting for?

I received an email devotional the other day that spoke so much into me. I just had to write about it.

Here is the verse that it was based on:

"We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."
1 Thessalonians 1:3

With our faith we accomplish the good works in our life. And with our faith we motivate ourselves. That got me thinking.

We all have a purpose in our lives. God has a plan and path for us. And when I read that verse I thought about where I am in my life and where I want to go. And I realized that I can't just sit and wait for God to bring me to the finish line. No one just miraculously ends up at the end of the race.

You have to work hard to get there. God will give you the opportunities and the means to follow your path.

I have things that I am looking forward to accomplishing. And for a while I have been wondering why I am not there yet. I have been thinking "How am I ever going to get there from here?"

And I realized that the things that I am doing now are pushing me further down the path. God has presented me with opportunities that will take me where I need to go. I just have to keep my eyes on Him and my faith strong and that is all the motivation I need.

So today I am telling myself and you- Don't wait! Take advantage of every opportunity that God puts in front of you. Keep your eyes focused on Him and He will take you where He wants you to go.

Try to see everything as a stepping stone to where you are headed. And whatever you do, do it as best you can. Give 110% and let God do the rest.