Family Traditions Series- February February 13, 2014

Hello all!  I have to admit to being quite disappointed with myself, given that I wanted to become more active with my writing this year, and my last post was New Year’s Day, and tomorrow is Valentine’s Day (a.k.a. Singles Awareness Day) but really, does this surprise anyone at all?  No?  Ok, didn’t think so.  Moving on.

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Ah, February.  The month of Love.  Or if you’re single and hate it, the month for trying really hard not to resent the heck out of everyone who seems to be happily in love.  Or if you’re single and love it, the month for celebrating NOT having to deal with all the angst of the Big Lovers’ Holiday:  What should I get him? …  What if he doesn’t like it? … What if he didn’t get me anything? … Why in the world am I even with this freak-tard anyway?  You know, stuff like that.

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On the other hand, when most of your Valentine’s Day traditions center around family, now that’s a love-holiday you can celebrate.  Take my family, for example.  For the majority of my children’s lives, it has been just me and them.  I have frequently (when funds allowed) acknowledged this holiday by buying them numerous things they really didn’t need, such as balloons, stuffed animals, chocolate, and the occasional Disney DVD.  I could not tell you at this moment if they remember any of it.  But I did it.  Family tradition.  Also, tradition for almost any holiday for which I buy things for my children dictates that I put it off until the last possible minute, which explains the sight of me at the store at 7:00 p.m. on February 13, picking through the last, smooshy, pitiful mylar balloons and the ugly, weird stuffed animals that nobody wanted, trying to pick three that my three little darlings might vaguely enjoy and appreciate.

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A much different family tradition revolves around an event very similar to last month’s family tradition of the church New Year’s party.  (Yes, my church has get-togethers for every occasion.)  In February, they always have a “Valentine’s Fellowship.”  Now this little party has gone through several variations over the years.  When I was younger they had such themes for this evening as 1) a potluck dinner where the men do all the cooking and all the women have to do is show up, (always a plus, except for the risk of men cooking) 2) a mystery dinner where all the components were given silly names and you chose your menu ahead of time without knowing what it actually was and you were served what you chose in the order you chose it (which meant if you weren’t careful, your first course might be a pat of butter and you might not get your spoon or fork until the end of the meal), and finally 3) catered at the church building by various local restaurants.  Also continuously in flux was the identity of the intended attendees. (Ha- say that five times fast!)  Who was the party for, really?  Married and dating couples only?  The whole family?  Anyone and everyone?  WHO!!???

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But eventually they got past all questions and creativity, and decided to make it a fellowship for the entire congregation, where we simply either have something catered and brought to the church building, or we all get together and go out to a restaurant somewhere.  They have probably had this every year since I was a child, and sometimes my family went and sometimes they didn’t, but when we did it was almost always a good time.  If it was being held at the church building, there were sometimes games, like picking up candy hearts by sucking on a straw and depositing them in a little bowl. Also ever-popular was the Newlywed Game.  Sometimes that one could get scary, the fact that these are church people at a church party in a church building notwithstanding!

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I don’t think I have personally participated in this fellowship in a couple of years, but apparently it is still a popular gathering.  Last Saturday evening a total of 35 people from our congregation descended en masse upon a little Mexican restaurant downtown called Casa Romo.  Daughter J. and her boyfriend went, and based upon the stories we were regaled with at church services the next day, a good time was had by all.  I appreciate that my church has things like this.  I do.  I think it’s great.  Maybe one of these days I will get back into the habit of going to these little parties.  But for now, they serve as the source of a long history of fun and funny memories.

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What are your favorite February traditions?

Until next time,

D.

Family Traditions Series- January! January 1, 2014

New Year Sunrise (Photo credit: joka2000)

Hello all, and Happy New Year!  I wanted to start the new year by becoming more active in a lot of different areas, and writing is one of them!  So on this first day of a new year, I want to start off a new series I will be doing each month, and talk about traditions.  In contrast to the hope and freshness of a new year stretching out in front of all of us, I want to take a moment to look at some of my family’s traditions and share them with you.  My plan is to look at each month, and any holiday or birthday or other milestone that falls within that month, I will describe in detail with regard to traditions my family has shared over the years.  So let’s just talk about January, shall we?

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With very few exceptions, my new years have started exactly the same way for as long as I can remember:  at church.  My church has always had a party, also known as a fellowship, or game night, on December 31st.  We meet at the church building.  No particular time- whenever everyone wants to show up, but most people get there by about 8:00 p.m.  There is food.  Lots and LOTS of food.  Rotel cheese dip, Little Smokies, pigs in a blanket, chips, dips, salsa, fruit, cookies, sandwiches, pinwheels, and pizza.  For starters!

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There are also games.  For as long as I can remember, there have been groups of people playing dominoes, cards, and various board games as they passed through phases of popularity.   There have been homemade games, puzzles, and kid games.  The competition is always fierce.  Everyone is out to win, but it is always noisy, friendly, and happy.  The teenagers and kids have alternated between forming their own games and joining in with the older folks and learning the old games.  My own tradition for the past few years is to bring a puzzle. I usually don’t finish it, but last night I did, because it was only a 300 piece puzzle.

Here’s this year’s finished work. 🙂

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Back in the old days when I was a kid, they would bring a rolling cart with a TV and VCR into the auditorium (some of you know it as the sanctuary), and the younger kids would watch movies.  Nowadays, they have the film screen they can pull down, and they have the projector mounted to the ceiling, hooked to a computer system in the back with all the sound, and they just pop in a DVD.  Wow, times change, don’t they?

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All of this would continue until shortly before midnight.  Games, grazing, movies would all stop and we would all go into the auditorium and sit together at the front.  One of our regular song leaders would get up and lead us in singing a few church songs (hymns).  We would continue to sing until midnight had passed.  We’d all say Happy New Year, families and friends would give hugs and kisses, and then someone would say a prayer for the new year, and we’d go clean up the fellowship hall and get home before the crazies hit the road!

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My family has always gone to this party as long as I can remember.  Over the years, it has been canceled a few times due to icy weather, and once or twice I made the choice to miss all or part of it and spend time with other friends elsewhere.  As an adult, there have been times when my parents have gone out of town after Christmas, and I have gone to the New Year’s Game Night with my kids without my parents there.  My sisters have long since moved and formed their own traditions, but this is still a regularly expected part of my life.

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On New Year’s Day, our traditions have been a little less regular, but it seems like we used to get up the next day after the church new year’s party, and Mom would make ham and au gratin potatoes.  I don’t remember the black eyed peas being such a big deal when I was very young, but the older I got, I realized everybody made a big deal of eating black eyed peas on New Year’s Day for good luck.  Now, I’m not sure I believe in luck, but we always followed the tradition.

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One year, Mom found a recipe for a “Good Luck” Bean Soup that included the black eyed peas.  She made the soup mix and we ate it on New Year’s Day.  I don’t remember exactly what all happened that year, but it seemed like it was the WORST year our family had had in a long time.  So the next year, we had a ceremonial ‘throwing of the beans’ event in which we all took a handful of the dry bean soup mix she had made up and FLUNG it into the woods as far as we could! We still laugh about that.

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Those are just a few of my family’s January traditions.  We are a strong, tight family.  Sometimes we might have our problems, but we have a lot of love.  I wish each and every one of you strong family ties and unfaltering love from those you call your family.

Love to all!

Until next time,

D.

Sweating, Hatching, and Breathing! May 16, 2013

English: Drops of sweat (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hello all!  Technically this is the second post of the day, but really the first, since the first-first was a  re-blog.  I want you all to know that this post is coming to you from inside a universe of sweat, both literal and mental.  For one thing, I just finished exercising.  At work. Never let anyone tell you that working in a church building is a bad deal, because hey- at what other job can you exercise and write a blog all in the same day and still get paid.  Ok, there are probably a lot of others I’ve never even thought of, but just let me have my moment.

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Anyway, the phone hasn’t been ringing much today, and I’m caught up on all my other tasks, and in the face of that boredom my weakness just crumbled.  I found myself scrounging in the fridge in the fellowship hall and discovering leftover triple chocolate fudge cake from their last gathering.  Now, I knew if I ate it, I’d be down to about ONE Weight Watchers point left for the day, but, sadly, I didn’t choose to stop myself.  So in order to combat my weakness, I decided to try to hike up some points on my ActiveLink monitor by going for a jog in the upstairs hall.  And that is the source of the sweat.  A) Heat rises, and it’s hot up in that old hall.  B) I just did something I’ve never done before in my entire life.  Now for some people, what I’m about to tell you is probably your warm-up for the actual exercise, but for me it was a pretty big deal:  After climbing the stairs to the second floor, I jogged up and down that hall…for 20 minutes straight!  Initially, I set my timer for 12 minutes.  At the end of the timer, I thought I might collapse, but instead, my mind said, ‘Hey, why not try for 20?’ So without stopping, I set my timer for another 8 minutes and kept going, and I finished it!  I was all proud of myself for the 10 straight minutes I did a couple of days ago, but this is a whole new dimension for me.  (At least I hope it will be a whole new dimension, as I want to lose 40 lbs. in the next four and a half months before The Blathering in Charleston.)

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The mental sweat is coming from the audition for my local Little Theatre that is looming on Saturday like a date with death.  A few days ago, I had talked myself out of it.  I told myself I didn’t really want to do it anyway, and that if I am selected, it will mean a huge time commitment once rehearsals start- 7-10 pm every weekday for about a month, and who has time for that, right?  But here’s the deal.  This is just another one of those big steps for me, those ‘hatching’ moments where I take a chance on doing something just because I’ve always thought it would be fun.  This is just. like. Charleston.  Despite my misgivings and fears, I have to give it a try, or I will hate myself.  Seriously.  If I let this Saturday and Sunday go by without forcing myself to go to that audition, I will feel like a giant failure.  I really don’t know what the big deal is.  I mean, I’m not even trying for a part- just the chorus, for crying out loud.  Maybe part of me is secretly hoping they’ll think I’m good enough and just give me a tiny small part, but I don’t even care about that.  Really.  I just want to say I tried it, I took a chance, and I went for it.

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Ok, calming down now.  Breathe in.  Breathe out.  Repeat.  Oh, that reminds me!  I was about finished with the 12 minute section of my jog when I noticed the Bible verse on the bulletin board at the end of the hall.  I thought it was perfect for the moment, and that if/when I do another race of some sort, I will have this put on a t-shirt:  Psalm 150:1, which reads in part: “Let everything that has breath praise God!” So for the rest of my jog, I prayed thankful prayers that I had breath (albeit huffing and puffing breath), that I was physically able to even attempt to move, that I would have strength to finish the goal I had set for myself, both for today and for the next few months.  And I finished today’s, so woot-woot for me. 🙂  I know you’ll be holding your breath to hear how the audition goes.

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Until next time,

D.

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Stream of Consciousness Rambling. With a Soundtrack. October 11, 2012

Hello all.

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Ok, so right now, here’s how I’m feeling:  restless.  I’m at work, and I’m all caught up, and I’m completely alone in the building, and I’m bored senseless.  I’m listening to my iTunes (yes, in a church building.  Currently I’m hearing “What Doesn’t Kill You (Makes You Stronger)” and desk-dancing to it)  I’m dying to text someone and check in to say hi.  Almost anyone will do at this point.

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Man, I wish I could dance.  My favorite self-disparaging remark on my dancing talent is that I move like the Tin Man getting electrocuted.  I’m listing to “Dynomite” now, and I’d love to be up and moving instead of sitting here typing and tapping my toe and bobbing my head and shoulders.  That’s about the extent of my rhythmic abilities.

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Next up, “Firework.”  I would so love to sing this one at karaoke.  And I think I will, eventually.  We’re having karaoke at the next family reunion if I have to sell a kidney on the black market.  At least I can sing here at work.  It goes over a lot better in an empty church building than behind the counter at the register at the UPS Store.  (That’s where I worked before, and where I plan on spending a few Saturdays leading up to Christmas.  Extra funds for gifts for the spoiled rotten offspring, you know.)

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I actually love the freedom of this job.  I can come in and leave whenever I want.  I can bring my kid with me and homeschool him.  I can listen to music and sing, and hope someone doesn’t come down the hall and surprise me making a fool of myself.  As long as I get my tasks done and don’t do anything sinful in the process, they don’t care.  I literally write and sign my own paycheck.  It’s actually kinda weird.

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And finally, we’re hearing “Fire Burning” by Sean Kingston.  This is another one I’d kill to be able to dance to, no kidding.  Maybe I ought to just check into lessons or something.

A Different Church Building (Photo credit: justshootingmemories) Our building looks a little like this.

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Ok, well, must go now, because my co-worker/boss will be here shortly and requires my assistance to follow him over to the tire shop and give him a ride back over here, so I’d better go clean out my embarrassing car.  The inside isn’t even the most embarrassing part.  The worst part is the horrible screeching grinding sound my brakes are making continuously, even when I’m not braking.  I really need that looked at, but I can’t afford it right now.  Y’all can pray they don’t fail at the most inopportune moment and get me killed.

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Thanks for listening to my ramble along with my dance party playlist.  More later.  Holla! 🙂

Until next time,

D.

 

When Reese’s Attack… March 27, 2011

Image via Wikipedia

Hello all.  Sweet success!  I was able to stay off the computer at home for a week!  No message boards, no checking prices on cruises, no eBay, no Facebook (except on my phone).  Unfortunately, this also translated to:  no tracking my Weight Watchers online, which sucks, because I never track on paper for more than a day or two after the meeting, which means I overdo things and will probably gain again this week!  Major suck-ness!  (If I could caption the photo here, I would call it My Evil Nemesis!)

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Also unfortunately, the week without computers did not have the desired effect of all of us getting off our royal butts and getting the house clean.  I left the kids notes every day for when they got home from school.  They like to think they did what they were told, but the truth is that they did just enough to keep me from ripping their heads off for non-compliance when I got home from work, but definitely not enough to qualify as a fully invested, whole-hearted effort to do what they were told.  And were they punished?  No, because I am weak and pathetic.  They always have some plausible excuse or reason for not getting things completely done, or they weren’t home after school because Grandma had to pick them up and take them somewhere, so I couldn’t get mad at them.  Further, * I * was always out of the house in the hours before I had to go to work, always in town running around getting one thing or another done, and I didn’t get any darn housework done either.  I hate getting onto them for not doing what I’m not making myself do.  It doesn’t seem fair, but them not doing what I tell them to and not getting punished for it isn’t fair to anybody either, right?

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And yes, I realize I am ALWAYS whining about this same topic, but it’s just not getting any better and I don’t know what to do!  Getting rid of the electronics on weeknights didn’t seem to help much.  I know I have to give it more time, that maybe this was just an exceptionally busy week, but the next few don’t look to be any slower!  Oh well.  Maybe I have to accept that my house will always look like a herd of rabid rhinos just ran through it, and that I will never have a garage that I can actually use for car storage, and that my kids will always half-a** everything as long as I continue to let them get away with it!

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All this week I was trying to take mental notes of fun, entertaining things to write about during my allotted blogging time, but nothing really good has presented itself.  I made cookies from a health-food store recipe today.  I doubt the kids will eat them.  I think they’re good, myself, but the kids’ taste buds ought to be working for the CIA.  They can spy out non-junk ingredients in anything, and they generally refuse to try anything reasonably healthy without a fight. 

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I have blown WW with a giant bazooka today.  The little beasties wanted to rent a movie and get pizza after church this morning.  Went to Hastings with the intention of renting a $3 movie, and instead spent $20, including candy for everyone and a $4 late charge!  I bought a dark chocolate Reese’s peanut butter cup and some Reese’s block thing, and ate the first in the car on the way home and the second during the movie.  *AFTER* I ate half a medium pizza.  It was thin crust supreme, so there was some virtue to it, but still.  Four pieces and I sneaked one piece of the kids’  pan crust cheese!  I need an intervention.  Friends and family, surrounding me with love, support, and pliers and wire for my jaws.  The movie was Megamind, btw, and it was really good!  Very funny. 

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Then this evening, we went to a church thing at a neighboring town’s congregation and they served a meal afterwards- hot dogs and chips.  I skipped the bun, but I ate two hot dogs and a lot of chips, chili, and bean dip.  I guess I have to just forgive myself and move on.  Start planning for tomorrow.  The scale is going to do what it’s going to do, and although in theory I have control over it, sometimes it feels like I don’t.  But I was good most of the week and I went to Turbo and PiYo this week, so hopefully an indulgent weekend won’t negate that completely.  SIGH!!!  Well, I’m off to make the kids get to bed and put away the electronics for another week.  Wish me luck.

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Until next time,

D.