Wowzers, I’m late with this one… saw it posted at Dawn’s blog and realized I had never done this one this week. They post a new one on the weekend, on either Saturday or Sunday, so I’m almost too late — but not quite! 🙂
Word Assocations…
I say … and you think … ?
Fan:: Ceiling …
Scum:: sucker
Lily:: water lily
Humid:: HOT!
Ghetto: slum
Remember me?:: box you can check on certain websites
Polished:: shiny
Compose:: music
Squish:: bug
Future:: Back to the …
Elizabeth blogged about a pet peeve of hers the other day, and got me to thinking. Geesh, I have tons of pet peeves!
The first two that spring to mind are bad drivers. First, there are those that pull out in front of me with not enough room and force me to slam on my brakes, or else I’ll hit them. Secondly, there are those that insist on getting through a red light and pull out into the intersection, thereby blocking the intersection and not letting others get through on their green light. Argh. Drives me nuts.
Last night, I realized another pet peeve I have. This one involves Tim. Now, before I launch into this, I know everyone will pipe up and defend Tim. And they should, he’s a great guy who doesn’t deserve to be picked on in my blog. Like I tell him all the time, you look like an absolute prince in my blog. I never write anything bad or off color or anything that even remotely makes him look anything but perfect in my blog. Up till now, he’s coming out smelling like a rose. That’s about to change. Hahaha.
I went to get my hair cut this morning, and also made a nice long leisurely visit to the library. I have blogged about this many times before, but I’ll say it again. Oh how I love the library! I always have, as far back as I can remember. I love to read, love books, love bookstores, love libraries. I can remember spending a lot of my time growing up sitting alone, reading a book. It was either that or tv (I didn’t have a lot of friends my age in the neighborhood we lived in, and my sisters went away to college when I started first grade). Books have always been wondrous things to me. A means of escape or a comfortable friend I could sit back and get absorbed with.
I can remember getting in trouble lots of nights growing up. I would dig out my flashlight and make a tent with my sheet and stay up past my bedtime reading. My mom would come in and “catch” me, and she would always, always, always fuss at me and tell me that I was going to put my eyes out and go blind. “You better turn that flashlight off!” she’d say. 
Anyway, back to present day. I finished both of the Harmony books I had checked out a couple of weeks ago and returned those. I found at least 8 books I wanted to check out, but was good, and only walked out with 4. I’ve added them to my sidebar.
::Drop Gas Prices! Please Read::
Onesome – Drop – Have you ever dropped something that you can’t believe you did? Was it a priceless item or that big secret? Surprisingly enough, not that I can remember. I am a terrible klutz though and I’m always dropping things and stubbing my toe and running into coffee tables that have been in the same spot for 10 years. 🙂 I did knock over a lamp in a store once, but I can’t remember breaking anything at home that was very valuable or momentous.
Twosome – Gas Prices – How much is a gallon of gas going for where you are? The two gas stations I passed today were both 2.49 for the lowest grade.
Threesome – Please Read – What’s that latest item you’re reading? Is it for pleasure or are you required to read it? Funny that I get this question today! I just got back from the library, and am going to make a separate post about the 4 new books I checked out. I have been in quite the reading mood lately, and thoroughly enjoying myself. I have read 23 books this year, and don’t plan to stop any time soon. I only read for pleasure, but what a pleasure it is 😀
I’m happy because I’m getting my hair cut today! I feel like I’m about 2 weeks past schedule to get it cut, and I’m ready! 🙂
OK faithful blog readers (and a few of you guys are actual Star Wars fans, I know of 2 or 3 in particular!), I have a dilemma. What to do, what to do.
I was surfing yesterday and saw at Amazon.com that the DVD for Star Wars Episode III comes out on November 1. I am in a quandry over whether to buy this one. See, I’m a huge Star Wars fan and I want all the movies. We owned the original trilogy on VHS, then Tim bought it for me for my birthday last year on DVD. We were still buying VHS tapes when Episode I came out, so I own it on VHS. By the time Episode II was released, we were buying DVD’s, so I own it on DVD. I want to must own this one and obviously my choice is DVD, but I’m in a quandry about whether or not to wait for a box set. I haven’t actually read anything about a box set coming out, but I’d rather have that than the individual DVD’s.
So, weigh in with your choice – should I replace Episode I that I own on VHS with a single DVD and buy Episode III in November, or buy Episode III and not replace Episode I and hold out for a box set.
Such earth-shattering decisions weighing on my mind today. Oh my.
Mine is easy today – coffee.
I had a headache all day yesterday, and finally realized late in the day why I had a headache. I normally have tea or diet coke at lunch, so I get my daily shot of caffeine in. But, on Monday, I bought some new drinks to try at the store – Cherry 7Up Plus (they’re good!), but I looked on the cans and they say Caffeine-Free. So, that’s why I had a headache, no caffeine all day! So, I’m going to remedy that early today, I have the last of my Ghiradelli Chocolate Raspberry coffee brewing in my Cuisinart right now. 😀
Tim is back at it again, working on graphics and “techie” things for Hambones.org. Which means one thing – he’s hogging the computer/scrap room. That equals no email for me, no surfing for me (well, except by memory and I bookmark everything), and no scrapbooking for me. WAH! I’m reduced to watching TV in the den and using his laptop to surf. He has to have his laptop later, as he has to do the weekly conference call this week (starting at 11 PM :cry:)
Anyhoo.
I have been meaning to blog about the August blahs. The heat, the humidity, my utter lack of interest in working outside (yes, all of my flowers, most of the grass, and the new tree we planted in the spring are languishing and near death). The August blahs for me also include this absolute dearth of anything decent to watch on TV. I’m glad preseason football is here, but golly gee, I’m ready for all my new shows. I want new episodes of Lost. I want the new Amazing Race to start. I want the new Survivor to start. Heck, I’m so desperate, I might even give some of the new shows a look-see.
So, without further ado, I’ve added 3 shows (Lost, Survivor, Race) to my countdown timers on the sidebar. I have tons of shows that I watch though, so I decided to not put them all over there. Here’s a rundown of some of the others that I like, and when their new shows start…..
(Click -More- to find out!!! :D)
Today I’m happy because I’ve knocked out some things this morning that I really didn’t want to do, but have been needing to do. I’ve been procrastinating terribly on getting them done. But I knuckled down this morning and got them out of the way (at least for a while). I…
1) cleaned the hummingbird feeder and put new nectar in it
2) cleaned out my stove burners (I will be very happy one day to own a smooth top range and not have these coils, liners and underneath the burners to clean)
3) cleaned out the inside of the Explorer, including vacuuming the entire thing.
A sense of accomplishment is a good thing. 😀
I haven’t blogged a whole lot lately, other than the occasional meme, and my daily “A Happy a Day in August”, a challenge I picked up at Big Orange Michael‘s blog. There’s not a whole lot exciting going on, other than the occasional new car and day trip to the in-laws. Mostly, my days are filled with routine, mundane to most everyone but me, and our days are very ordinary.
Ordinary.
I have been thinking about this word a lot lately. I read a blog entry at a scrapbooker’s site (Cathy Zielske), where she referenced something another lady had written at her blog. I’ll put it in the extended (-More-) section for you to read, if you’d like. It really struck a chord with me. These are my days – ordinary. Not to be confused with boring or meaningless or — dare I say — mundane. Although I do live a mundane existence. Which is why I named this blog “Exceedingly Mundane”.
It’s a happy, quiet, content little existence for me. I find great comfort in routine, in schedules, in patterns, in things happening as planned. I am not a spontaneous person. Tim is, and I’ve been slowly learning to adjust to it, but it still goes against my nature. My nature is very business-like, very practical, very much like the mathematics and computer degree I hold (though faded and not used as much these days). Very ordered, 1, 2, 3, 4. Very methodical. Very logical. This brings me great joy, great peace, great contentment. It does not, however, lead to interesting blog entries. 😀 Nor do my hobbies and the things I do during each day to fill my time (and yes, contrary to popular belief, I actually stay very busy). I have too many hobbies, I’m afraid, and therefore am not able to give top billing to any of them at any given time. They all have to fight for my attention, and get a piece of my time, but they all get shorted and none gets as huge a block of time as I’d like. I love to read, I alway have. I love to take photos and “mess” with them, always have. Since I was 12 and got my first camera. I love scrapbooking and recording our memories (which is a must for me, with my terrible memory and all. I’m afraid I’m going to be 70 one day and not remember any of my life, at all). I love to cook and bake. I would do this more, but we would each weigh 500 pounds. I love to watch tv and movies. I love to play on the computer, I have dozens of things that can occupy me for any length of time on the computer. And mostly, the overriding factor, is that I love to spend time with Tim, doing whatever we can together.
All of these are great and wonderful things, but not all that exciting to blog about. So therefore, blog readers, I extend my apologies for not having a happening, exciting blog. This one fits me just fine though, like an old comfortable sweatshirt, and I’ve decided to keep it. 😆
P.S. I’ve also read on several scrapbooker’s blogs that they have and enjoy the book “Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life” by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. I think I will add it to my Amazon wish list (not that I ever get much off of there, but a girl has to have a tangible place to wish and dream!) There’s a website for the book, including a section of excerpts, which is where I linked to.
I forgot to blog earlier today that I finished another book last night. I finished the first Harmony book that I had checked out from the library – “Home to Harmony”. I still need to write a short review of it on the main Hambones website.
Suffice it to say that I enjoyed it, once I finally got into it. It’s along the same vein as the Mitford books by Jan Karon, but instead of Episcopalian Father Tim, we have a Quaker pastor named Sam Gardner, who has moved back to his very small, very quaint hometown of Harmony, Indiana. The book is more a series of small vignettes, but the characters are the same and I’ve learned who they all are now, so that will make for good reading on the next couple of books in this series that I intend to read. Each chapter is like a little short story, each has a heartwarming point to make or a scripture to highlight, and so it’s nice to pick up this book and read a chapter or two and then put it down if need be. Rather refreshing after some of the things I have read!
OH, and chalk this book up as #22 on the list for the year. I think I will easily meet my goal of reading 25 books before the end of the year… I started on #23, “Just Shy of Harmony” today! 😀
With this burning in my bathroom, it makes it smell good (and doesn’t seem like it needs cleaning as much as I know it does!). Yankee Candles make me happy every day.
This week’s questions are totally unrelated to one another; just a ‘pot pourri’ of randomness! Have a great week and thanks for playing!
1. When putting groceries away, do you rotate your food so your newest items (cans and such) are in the back, and older food in the front? Sigh, I try. Sometimes I am better at it than others, but I really do try. I’m such a hoarder, and if I don’t, stuff will get pushed to the back and it will sit there, covered up, for eons.
2. Do you own a digital camera? If so, how long have you had one? If not, do you plan to purchase one soon? Yes, I’ve had one since Christmas 2002. I dearly love my camera. I think it’s starting to have a few problems, and if it gets unusable, we’ll replace it. I can’t live without a camera, and now that I have a digital, I won’t ever go back to film.
3. How do you store your precious photos? All of my photos are precious to me! I have boxes and boxes, photo albums, scrapbooks, full of them. All of my digital photos are in multiple places (windows pc, hambones, on cd, and a cd in the fire-proof safe). I also have most of my film negatives in our safe, just in case.
4. It’s 6:00 a.m. and you’ve just lost power due to a severe thunderstorm; they say it will probably take at least 12 hours before power will be restored; what do you do? I have no idea. We’re underground and I don’t think we’ve ever been more than a couple of hours without power. I’d go nuts, I’m sure.
5. How many times a year do you (or does someone dear to you) wax your automobile? Huh. Good question. Probably never.
6. Gas prices; what can we say except they’ve reached an all-time high. How are you dealing with this? I grumble an awful lot. Worry. Stress. Try to stay home more. Tim could care less. He will still jump in the truck and go whereever he wants, no matter how much gas is.
7. Have you ever purchased a book or cd twice, forgetting that you already had it? I don’t think so. I have won a CD on the radio that I already owned. I know I have never doubled up on books, and I don’t think I ever did on CD’s. I download all my music now that I have my iPod. No more buying CD’s for me! 🙂
I just finished another scrapbook layout, the second one from Thanksgiving 2002. I started it on Friday afternoon, and it took me almost 2 hours to cut out these border strips. I like how that part turned out… not sure about the rest of it. I think I moved things around about 15 times before I finally glued stuff down. It is quite a hindrance to scrapbook when you are as indecisive as I am!
Anyhoo, here’s the finished product:
P.S. It looks better in person, the colors are a lot more vivid. Still plain, but hey – that’s my style!
I was tagged by my buddy Dawn at her blog – “Thoughts from Along the Broken Road”. It’s a music meme kind of thing, which I love! Thanks, Dawn, and I love reading your blog every day girl! 😀
Here’s the instructions:
List ten songs that you are currently digging… it doesn’t matter what genre they are from, whether they have words, or even if they’re no good but they must be songs you’re really enjoying right now. Post these instructions, the artists, and the ten songs in your blog. Then tag five other random people to see what they’re listening to.
And my answers… like Dawn, I love music and have hundreds of songs I listen to (on my new iPod that Tim got me in June!!). Here’s the first 10 that spring to mind:
1. Ever the Same by Rob Thomas
2. Now Comes the Night by Rob Thomas
3. Mississippi Girl by Faith Hill
4. If Something Should Happen by Darryl Worley
5. Behind These Hazel Eyes by Kelly Clarkson
6. Memories of Us by Keith Urban
7. Anything but Mine by Kenny Chesney
8. Do You Want Fries with That by Tim McGraw
9. As Good as I Once Was by Toby Keith
10. If Heaven by Andy Griggs (still love this one, reminds me of my mom)
I’ll tag some of the family and friends whose blogs we host on our website … they don’t normally do memes or quizzes, but I’ll cross my fingers and hope they play along this time. 😀
Tagging:
