Thursday 13: Thursday randomness

There's really no other option today, but to go random. It fits my life in so many ways!

1. There's a rumor of snow (amend that: it's actually snowing RIGHT now!) I am hopeful that we'll see some real stickage here in the next 24-48 hours. Not much could make me happier than to have one last real snowfall for this winter. I'm super-jealous of all my friends on the other side of the mountains who had snow days on Wednesday, and got to build snowmen; I saw a picture of a snow "person" in a bikini. How awesome!

2. The hours with Seth after school, doing homework and chatting while I cook dinner or just hang out... these are some of my very favorite hours. I don't take it for granted--for many years I wasn't at home for the after-school time, and I am so grateful for the flexibility to do so now. Thank you, husband.

3. I have real issues with dead animals on the road. I think a piece of our collective soul withers a little bit every time we drive past an animal that has met its demise on the road. There must have been a time when someone would stop and pull a dead animal into the ditch or, God forbid, bury it. When did that time end? We've had quite the run of possum deaths out by where we live, lately. And if you assume that I'm still driving by and not stopping to do a proper burial, you'd be correct. But still, it bugs me.

4. All of our dogs have extremely clean teeth right now. Yes, we participated in National Dental Month (who knew?). And yes, they give lectures to owners of dogs on doggy oral hygiene. Good grief. So now not only do I get the joy of guilt over my own oral neglect (flossing... flossing...), but I can feel guilty about the pups too. Sweet. Because I'm dying to stick my finger in their mouths, daily. ("You don't have to do it EVERY day, just two or three times a week." Oh, that sounds SO much better.)

5. My computer finally gave up the ghost... so to speak. I was in desperate need of it to behave until after the fund-raiser I was helping out with took place, which was last Wednesday. I didn't want to have to deal with needing documents that were only on an external hard drive with no real practical way to print them... It was almost like the computer just knew when I wasn't in dire need, and promptly just said, "I quit. You've been asking too much of me for some time, and I'm just going to lay down and take a nap." So, I am blogging from the iPad and (knock on wood) my computer is being worked on, and hopefully it will be back and running smoothly soon. Cross your fingers... this has been a sketchy laptop from the moment of install, seriously. Might just be a bad egg...

6. Ever watch a train wreck happening from afar and not really be in a position to affect it? Facebook is one of those places where people seem to bring their train wrecks right into your space. Choo-choo, people. (And, no, I'm not talking about you. Really.)

7. If my computer hadn't died, I really would have posted granny square crochet pictures by now. I am loving the yarn therapy, and my fingers aren't in pain. Sweet! The colors, the stitches, can't wait to join them all together into hexagonal heaven.

8. I really tried to give Lady Gaga the benefit of the doubt for a while, but I'm over that now. This isn't a judgement of her music. Lord knows I'll have her catchy tunes going through my head, appropriate lyrics or not. I'm talking about HER. And her nonsense. There's really no other word for her brand of performance art. Seriously, an egg? A bacon dress? Little horns on her face? What really kills me is the media treating her like she has something significant to offer. I don't know why I'm surprised; these are the same people who think The Hills people have something to say, or each crazy lunatic that's voted off ____________ (fill in the blank with whatever reality dreck you can think of) should get their 15 minutes too. I know, I know, she's done more for fashion blah blah blah. Doesn't mean I have to pay attention.

9. This is turning into 13 rants... lovely for you, eh? My next rant is about decorating... how did St. Patrick's Day turn into a decorate-able holiday? Really. I mean, I only recently became a Thanksgiving decorator (understandable, what with it being our anniversary and having leaves and gourds and such galore), of course I get the joys of Christmas decorating, and I can even be known to put out a fuzzy heart or two for Valentine's Day. But St. Patrick's Day? Nope, not going there. Big green shamrocks, no thanks. Maybe, just maybe, I could be cajoled into a real shamrock plant. Maybe. But rows and rows of green stuff at the "stuff"marts... not even walking down those aisles. On my internal holiday decorating calendar, I head straight to spring/Easter from Valentine's. I know, this isn't really consistent with #1 (frequently declared love of snow), but I can handle these mutually exclusive concepts coexisting. I hope you can too.

10. Apparently my disdain of decorate-able holidays extends only to paper goods and cute crap. My love of holiday marshmallows remains strong, long past the green tree marshmallows and red star marshmallows of Christmas. I found strawberry pink marshmallows at the grocery store today and bought two bags. Two. And felt the need to explain to a bewildered lady that I had to reach past that "these really are quite yummy." Her "whatever" look did not deter my glee. Also at same grocery store, saw two old men shopping together. One was on a scooter, the other one was walking away from him with his index fingers in his ears. I wanted to give him a pat on the shoulder; I feel like that some days.

11. I am in love with the TV show "Parenthood." I haven't been able to watch an episode yet without tearing up. It's usually the sweet boy Max who does it to me, or some interaction between him and his family. So precious.

12. I have been spending quite a bit of time thinking about how to help Seth navigate the world through the disappointment and challenges that are inevitable. How to balance between the need to see things realistically (he calls it "depressive realism," which I'm not particularly fond of) with the hope and optimism that I personally find necessary to get up and put one foot in front of each other through the tough times. The delicate balance. We have good conversations about it, and I'm grateful, so grateful, for a son who is thoughtful about these things. I can't help but think how good it is for him to have to deal with some of these issues earlier rather than later, especially that he can communicate about these things... the bubble bursting at 30+ years of age is a little late for some of these developments.

13. I have been spending quite a bit of time on Etsy lately. Not buying, though I do see loads of things I adore and would love to add to my "pretties" collection... just researching and looking around for ideas for my own crafty ventures... I love that small businesses have an opportunity to thrive online through this collective community. Yeah for creativity!

That's it from the random pile. Hope this Thursday finds you enjoying life, no matter which side of the challenge balance you currently find yourself.

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