Friday, August 17, 2012

Summer Lovin'?????




















I was in my craft room the other day enjoying some rare (as of late) creative therapy and listening to the radio.   At one point the weather person came on the air to share the weekly weather outlook.  
If you have ever lived in Arizona or even driven through during the summer, the weather forecast should be a no-brainer.  
It's going to be HOT!
But what the weather person said made me chuckle.
She said (and I quote....),  "We'll have a high of 116 on Monday and Tuesday, and a cooling trend will be coming our way on Wednesday.   The high will only be 108."
A cooling trend of 108!!!!!!!!   Seriously!  
Of course, I guess that what I consider a cooling trend is relative.  
I'm thinking that a soldier serving in Afghanistan (where it regularly gets up in the 120s) would be thrilled with a cooling trend of 108.
However, I'm pretty certain that the rest of the U.S.....well, except for, maybe, Death Valley, would have a good chuckle at our little cooling trend.  
Yes.   This is it.  Arizona life from Memorial Day to roughly the middle of October.
Yes, I said October.  
While most of the country is preparing for hay rides and feeling that first chill in the air, we still are experiencing 100+ degree days.
While bloggers across the country are blogging about the wonders of the lazy, hazy days of summer, I'm sitting in my air-conditioned home reading them and worshiping the god of Trane.
There is no sun worshiping here in August.   Well, except for my husband.....
This is how he spends a 108 degree day.  Ummmm....yes....he's crazy...

























Do I think of leaving this natural sauna??
All the time.  We're just never sure when or where to go.
So we stay.  And I dream of December when it is about 70 degrees.....
And people are shoveling snow in other parts of the country.
I would hear all about this from the young men and women I encountered during my police hiring days.
They would come from places like Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, etc. to seek employment....
In Arizona.  I asked them why?
They would tell me how they love the heat because it is so much better than the winters.
Come to think of it......it is easier to sit in an air conditioned environment than to shovel snow.
But this doesn't deter me from wanting to leave Arizona during summers.
Maybe I'll consider the life of a snowbird in the future.
Until then, I will continue to love summer.....through those who do not have to endure this searing heat.

 


Saturday, August 11, 2012

Squishy!




Okay, so I hi-jacked this from my daughter's Facebook.
I couldn't help myself.  Hopefully she'll forgive me.
I was just in the mood to smile.
And nothing can bring out a smile quite like cute, squishy baby cheeks!
It works every single time.  

Here's hoping that everyone is having a fabulous Saturday!

Friday, August 10, 2012

"About Me"

(Warning:  Extremely long post ahead.  Hey! Give me a break.  I've been gone awhile and I have a lot to say!)

Some time ago I added an "about me" link in my blog.
Then I deleted it.
Why?  Because I was so worried that I might offend someone.....starting with the very first line.
That very first line went like this......
"No.  I am not a mommy blogger.   I am a mid-life, menopausal woman."
It was a line that was (a) sure to discourage readership and (b) take a swap at mommy bloggers.
Oh, I don't really have anything against mommy bloggers.
I read many of their blogs.
I was just ticked off because it seemed that mommy bloggers had no use for the likes of me.
In the world of blogs it seemed you're  insignificant unless you have a child attached to your hip.

As it turned out it wasn't just the mommy bloggers.
It was also people in my age group.
Blogging, social media, and, for that matter, anything to do with computers seemed to be, well, to paraphrase, a stupid waste of time for the narcissistic among us.
I was at a dinner party once with a group of middle-agers.
When I mentioned that I was on Facebook one of the guests had no problem telling me that women our age on Facebook were all pathetic.  Ouch!  
(Yep.  If there were an Olympic event for snark, the U.S. would probably sweep the medals!)
Unfortunately I've spent much of my time justifying my presence on social media, blogging, and even taking digital pictures.  And as time has gone on I just got tired of explaining.  I let them all defeat me.
I stopped blogging.
I stopped because I listened to that "waste of time" argument.
I stopped because I started believing those people who were not engaged in the social media world were indeed smarter than me.
I also stopped because I figured who would really want to read anything I had to say.
Yes.  You read right.  I wanted to reach an audience.
I call b.s. on anyone who says they just want to "blog for themselves".  
If I just wanted to blog for myself, I'd keep a private journal.
I think on some level, we all want to reach an audience and connect with people who share the same passions, struggles, and hopes.
So, there you go.  I stopped.
And yet here I am.  What changed?
Well, this morning I woke up and did the obligatory ipad surf.
It's a normal routine...E-mails, Instragram, Facebook (yep I still go there!), Google Reader.....
And it was in Google Reader that I found the following article:

A Call to Action - for Those 50+ - Social Media is For You, Too!

I have been reading, er, lurking at this lady's blog for a while and have always enjoyed it.  
Today, when I read this article, something just clicked in me.
For starters, I left a comment on the blog.
And then I started writing this blog post.
I decided to blog again.
Oh, it's probably not going to be "one interest, one subject" type of blog.
It's going to be a mish-mash (is that even a word) of everything.
I want to tell stories.
I want to share recipes
I want to show pictures.
I want to share life.
I want to be really narcissistic and talk about me ;-)
It is really the only subject in which I am an expert.

So, in that realm, here is the new "About Me".......

I am 51.

I am a retired cop. No.  I am not offended by the term "cop".

I am a wife.

I am a mom.  My kids are both grown and carrying on with their own lives but that does not mean I worry any less about then than I did when they would dangle over the edge of the swimming pool at age 3.

I just recently became a grandmother.  I am going to enjoy spoiling her silly and sending her back to her parents.  I am also going to enjoy buying her all kinds of cool stuff like drum sets, playdoh, and any other toy that annoys parents.  Isn't that what grandparents are supposed to do???  I'm just keeping up the tradition.
Oh, and in case you are wondering, I am thrilled about being a grandmother.

I would like to teach high school math.

I am a registered Independent.  I have trust issues when it comes to politicians....and a lot of other things...

I love Starbucks.  It is the best product in the past 50 years.  Well, except for maybe cell phones and Burt Bee's Wax.

I like to take pictures.  Not just those cheesy family photos.  I like to take pictures of everything.  I am not beyond taking a picture of a simple glass of water if the mood strikes me (and there's a story behind it).

I have become a dog person in my old age.  Didn't care for dogs too much when I was younger.  But I do enjoy two of my "best friends" cuddling on the couch next to me every night.

I like wine.   Red or white.  It really doesn't matter.

I hate August.  Yes. I hate a month of the year.  Why?  I live in Arizona.  Does anyone need to ask???

I love, love and love Christmas.  I love to decorate. I love to bake.  I love to sing Christmas songs.  I love to shop.  Yep. I love everything about it.  Well,  except for wrapping presents.  I don't like that too much.

I like to crochet.  It's relaxing.  This is another thing I have to spend a lot of time defending....along with scrapbooking, taking photos, needlepoint, baking, etc.  A waste of time and money (sound familiar?).

I eat carbs (gasp!) and enjoy every single morsel!  I could eat chips and salsa as a meal everyday.  I know....really bad for me.  hmmm.

I hate working out.  But I do it.  Almost everyday.  And I will admit that I feel much better when I do.  Or actually when it's over.  I don't know if it's because of the endorphin (sp?) release or because I'm just glad IT"S OVER.  

And there they are....the cliff notes of me.  In case anyone was interested.  I bit less snarky than my original link and certainly not everything (didn't really want to write War and Peace here).

Anyways, if there is anyone left who wants to stick around, I'll be glad to "see" you.  I warn you the post will be diverse just depending on my mood.....As I said earlier...a little bit of everything.  Well, except for politics and religion.....conversations about those topics never end well.....