Jan 28, 2012

Musings of This, That and Other Things



For my birthday my family surprised me with some pretty awesome gifts. My youngest bought me a new camera bag! Super excited as it's going to be much easier going around with a backpack. Boo Ya!
My eldest surprised me with some framed prints of photographs I took. Below is an iPhone pic of her fantastic surprise :-)
(It's weird seeing one's work framed, I have to say.)
Oh let's not forget hubby's gift. A Joby Gorilla tripod. Yeah.. I'm that excited about all of it!

Framed photographs


Conversation between hubby and I;

Me: (after an 45 minutes of hubby lounging in the tub) You are slower than BOTH my sisters and BOTH daughters to get ready to go anywhere!
( I punched out two fingers in front of him. Putting action into the scene gives it more punch, see? *wink*)
I sauntered jauntily into the laundry room to fold clothes, satisfied I had made my point.

Hubby: ( after poking his head in the laundry room ) Um by the way.. you have THREE sisters..?
( he punched the air with three digits, smirked and strutted away)

Jerk. He won. Again.

It always amazes me how little people actually listen. Yes, the lost art of listening when one comments or responds or engages in conversation. 
Small case and small point: 
I'm in a stall in the loo, ( drink a coffee, ergo hunt down a ladies room) I tune into two women chatting. 
(I'm not sure why I'm listening in..? )
Woman 1: I wear a medium as it's most comfortable for me. 
( Don't ask me what 'it' is, )
Woman 2: Lucky you,I can't, I find it to tight.
Woman 1: instead of acknowledging her friend's response, cuts her off near the end of her friend's response and says," No, it's what I wear." 
It struck me how many times I've been in that exact position. ( the person not listening, <not the loo part> although I always scope out the ladies rooms where ever I go...oh sorry,I digress ha ha ) 
It bugged me, this woman's dismissal of her friend's answer but if I think about it, it's really none of my business is it? 
sigh. I just wish people would listen more.



How's that for dilated eyes? Not since my, uh, younger days have I looked like this. And no, it's not from trying to recapture those 3 moments in time. (yes, 3x. Never could handle the stuff)
I had to have my eyes dilated to check for retina detachment/ peripheral glaucoma. Good news, there's none. Not so good news, they discovered an issue in my left eye that increases my chances of detachment happening significantly. Good news, if it happens I have a two hour time frame to get me to a hospital for surgery. Bad news, I lose central vision if I wait too long. Good news, I see better with my right eye and shoot the camera with it.
I'll roll with the good news portion only if it's all the same to you :-)

I am hypoglycaemic. Ergo, I'm not allowed sugar. ( as opposed to hypERglycaemics who need it ) So when I order a coffee and you hand me a white chocolate hot chocolate and I question it, don't argue with me saying it's a cappuccino. I know what sugar tastes like, honey. And all kinds of bad things happen to me when I ingest it. Perhaps some extra training for you both behind the coffee bar and with customer service? Rule # 1: Customer is always right.

Omg can winter just. go. away? Like now? Ugh.

What about you, my bloggy friends, what are your musings of the day?

Jan 23, 2012

Odds & Ends iPhone pictures



My daughter's ..magnetic. 

Actually it was my third. 

Setting up a shot

Apologies to the fam, I ate the last butter tart. Without guilt.  :-) 

 I'm paying for it. Dearly. Ugh 

Jan 11, 2012

Pet Peeve edition


Image from PetLiferadio.com 

Pet Peeve #1. 
Those who fb status how amazing their friends are. 
Only after they've done something for that person. Why can't a person be awesome as is?
Take me for instance.. ;-)  
Yea.. big pet peeve. 

Pet Peeve#2. 
Why oh freaking why do some people type in 3rd person when posting a status update?
Drives. Me. Batty. 
Back teeth gnashing pet peeve.

Pet Peeve#3. 
Throwing away every hard earned & worked for pound loss in the month of December. 
Only to have to restart all over again.
Why I ask you. Why??
Eyes leaking, comfort eating pet peeve. 

Pet Peeve#4. 
Waking up. After a shitty night's sleep. Unable to make use of pharmaceutical aid, too square to enjoy nature's little mellowing green plant.
Getting through the day with both eyes in the same socket, crappy pet peeve. 

Pet Peeve#5.
Unable to find one's mojo. Creatively or physically. 
That a major battle pet peeve. 

Pet Peeve#6.
One's birthday. In January. 
Pet Peeve. Every year. 

Pet Peeve#7.
Drama queens.
Save me from them. 
Can't get away from them pet peeve.

Pet Peeve#8.
Waiting for close extended family to win the bloody lotto. ( Hell, I don't wanna win it, I'm terrible with money ha ha ) 
Impatient pet peeve. 

Pet Peeve#9.
Having trailer trash living next door to you.
Throwing your dog's shit back on your side pet peeve. 
Lazy useless bitches. 

Pet Peeve#10. 
Suffering S.A.D. in the months of January & February.. aaww hell, throw in March while you're at it. 
Long three months pet peeve. Don't intentionally piss me off.. it won't end well. For you. 


Feel free to add your own. I'm stopping here.. tired of bitching. :-/ 

Jan 6, 2012

Venturing into a writer's world.



I don't claim to be a writer, not in the conventional sense. What I write comes from a raw place, it's how I find balance within the emotion. It's not easy. I know first hand, watching my dear friend Dawn for the last 15 years hone her skills, suffer writer's block..mourn the death of some of her characters. The hundreds of hours spent writing, forgetting to eat, editing (my piece included) ... it's mind boggling. I've known her to get up in the middle of the night to pound out a scene because the characters just wouldn't leave her alone. I've seen her lose almost all her works because her computer crashed ( omg, can you imagine?! )  the list goes on and on and on. It's not a profession I'd ever want to do. It's harder than... raising teenagers. ( okay okay, close second ha ha  )

I've been her IR in some of her works but I take the friendship out of the equation when I read her pages. Honesty is what she needs, honesty is what she gets. I expect no less from her. So when she suggested I submit a piece I'd written last year, I did just that. And it was accepted by Vine Leaves, an online literary journal. It is celebrating it's very first issue today. I urge you to venture in and stay a while. There is talent on those pages.. ( and I am not talking about me. )


P.S.
The short story originated from a tree I came across last summer. One who's trunk still held yet it's branches and essence was gone. The picture you see in the background is of the tree itself.
If you care to read my piece, it is on page 8, titled Uprooted.