That was Then this is Now

This ball of fur with eyes came to live with us in November of 2008. Picture a 3 year old in training pants, cowboy boots and a kitten in the crook of his arm...my precious grandson gifted me with a kitty left in the "country" needing a home (grandson's mom is not a "cat person")

Moe still loves to play. He is a rocket kitty in the mornings tearing through the house. He has a bell to warn us as he adores climbing up one's leg or launching arial attacks!

"I love me some sunshine"

Seriously...I mean seriously?

As an aside, my dear husband looked at me as if I had taken leave of my senses when I gently told him we were keeping "Moe Kitty" He has since put bird feeders in the yard (fret not, the birds are safe...Moe doesn't like the outdoors much) by Moe's window and treats him like our youngest son!

It Ain't Easy Being Green

Words made famous by none other than our green friend, Kermit the Frog. Seriously, I have contemplated global warming, recycling, reduction and all the other myriad ways to "green" my life. Some days are better than others. Lately I have been overwhelmed by "stuff" My husband just shakes his head as I add more to the pile in the garage to be donated to Good Will.

It is a time consuming and emotional process. I crave simplicity. Life is complicated by so many other factors. That said, I look at all my gadgets and gizmos and wonder if the technology has made my life more or less than simple! I think sometimes we hold onto things because our aging memories can't be trusted to remember people, places and things. Label your photos people...there are people in some of my childhood pictures that I have no idea who they are or how they were important to me. I have purged my home/office so many times...the office and the garage seem to be the repository for all things that no longer have a home somewhere else. It is hard to let go of all the little notes, drawings and particularly books...how many books can one home hold...unless it's Biltmore House with its vast libraries.

As I stand in front of my closet each morning...I am not organized enough to plan outfits for each day or actually I think it is a mood thing...what looks and feels right one minute is so wrong in the next instant...I notice that I only wear a very, very small percentage of what I own. So why in the world do I hold onto all those clothes BECAUSE...dum...dum...dum...I might need them someday (yeah, right) Just this week I wore what I thought was comfortable...only to feel the need to strip around 3:00 in the afternoon...I was meeting my daughter for a movie and all I could think of was I have got to get out of these pants, this bra, this sweater and these shoes. Why would this have anything to do with being "green" ? I have decided to not buy anything just because it is "on sale". My rules are I have to ABSOLUTELY LOVE anything (clothes, shoes, household items) that comes into the house. I asked myself do I really, really need it or just want it. More often than not it is meh...not really! Donate those clothes and items you are not passionate about to someone that needs them or reinvent them so that you do not have to buy more stuff! This post, while a bit extreme, is inspiring.

(recycled maxi dresses from the seventies, love it!)

It is my desire to reduce my carbon footprint...to use less...to simplify. As the old adage says, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without".

p.s. The Daily Green is a great place to look for ideas to green your life.

Life is a Cabaret!

My evil twin (aka the Diva) and I enjoyed a wonderful evening together. We began with beverages and bang bang shrimp at Bonefish followed by an outstanding performance of "Cabaret" at the Koger Center.

I had seen the movie version starring Liza Minelli, many, many years ago...as I started watching the performance...I was somewhat uncomfortable thinking of where it was going...1930's Germany, the stirrings of a new political party and all the hate that would result from a new Germany. I am half German and for some odd reason I feel ashamed of the Holocaust...my mother was a very, very small child neither of us would in any way have been responsible for the actions of the Nazis. I often hear people say that such an event could never occur again...yet it does, human bondage and genocide continue to plague the world even in 2010. People allow themselves to be swayed by charismatic speakers be it the media or savvy politicians and then quietly go about their business turning a deaf ear and a blind eye to the atrocities right around the corner.

Back to the performance...the music, dancing and acting were fabulous! Life is a Cabaret old chum, come to the Cabaret...where everyone is beautiful and life is one big party where reality can be ignored. Leben und las Leben (live and let live) is frequently recited throughout the performance as well as a musical number about seeing one's love through one's eyes rather than what society sees. (for the most part this is the credo which I strive to live). An engagement is broken off due to one being Jewish (Herr Schultz) and the other being German (Frau Schneider)and as the man says I am Jewish and I am a German. Heartbreaking, I tell you, to watch and to know that in history this played out more often than not. The point is brought up that if you DO NOT STAND AGAINST something, or do nothing...you in fact allow or support those actions...or as I believe Mark Twain said, " if you don't stand for something you will fall for anything" The theatre attendees were quite the subdued lot as each filtered out of the Koger Center and back to their lives. At the heart of it...Cabaret is a love story... with all the wonderful, fun things life has to offer...and it is a story of a darker, more sinister and brutally evil reality. In all things, there is opposition...how we choose to react or ignore those facts is our challenge...I hope we each choose wisely!

Just Horse'n Around

I got my eye on you...actually on that carrot dangling from your fingertips!

oh boy...camera strap...nom nom nom...

and my little friend...DONKKEYYYY!!!

Out and about visiting the neighborhood animals. As long as you say a kind word or two, helps to have a snack on hand...you have non judgmental friends for life!

I'm pretty sure they make a pill for that...

ARGGGGGH! Have you ever been so tired your hair even hurts? This is what happens when you choose a word for the year that has you removing toxic people, places, things, thoughts etc. from your life. The physical manifestations have been crazy! I am exhausted, my face is breaking out (what's up with that I am way on the reverse end of puberty) I am weepy, irritable and just out of sorts...oh...hold the phone...it is THIS...

Have you ever driven somewhere only to wonder how in the world you got there in one piece because you do not remember the drive? The mental fog and forgetfulness that is my life scares me the most. I am a forced optimist...that is...it does not come to me naturally. I tend to be more of a cynic and worrier...so my train of thought goes in the direction of what if it never gets better...what if I keep losing more pieces of my memory? These are the thoughts that keep you awake at night thus perpetuating the tiredness that seems to be a daily reality. I recently had an opportunity to create art to be considered for a book that will be published soon...the deadline was a short one and sadly not met by me as my spirit and body were unwilling. My teeth wouldn't even cooperate! I have a trashbag full of discards and a table full of semi used supplies. So disappointing!

So, my gentle friends, I need a plan...a list...I need to get some forward momentum happening...

In the wake of working in the business world all day, caring for aging parents, being a wife, grandma etc., etc. I am not taking care of myself...if I don't take care of me...how will I continue to be of service to anyone else?

Obviously some extreme self care is needed! I express or experience no hesitation when it comes to helping others...I think a little, nay a LOT of pampering is in order (that is my story and I am sticking to it)

What do you do when your energy reserves are low and you feel a little sad or in need of a boost? After all one can not live on Diet Coke and Chocolate alone...