reflections on the A to Z challenge

Many thanks to Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out and several others for hosting the A-Z Blogging Challenge in April!  Also, thank you Elizabeth Mueller for making us a great award - we made it to Z - woo hoo!  Participants have been asked to reflect on their experiences with the challenge and link their posts with others on Bird's and Mueller's websites (and probably others).  There are quite a few people who participated; visit the sites to see a variety of blogs!  This was my first group blogging activity, and I had a lot of fun.  My participation didn't go quite as planned - I started late, then I was without my computer for a week - so I had two posts with chunks of letters along with a few posts featuring one letter (which was the intent of the challenge).  However, since I'd already learned that if you want to make God laugh, make plans, I adjusted well.  :)  (Okay, I threw a hissy fit when my computer took so long to fix, but let's move on.)  I loved the prompts the letters gave to write something new.  I grew creatively with this challenge.  I loved reading how others dealt so differently and creatively with the same letters.  I also enjoyed the community feel of the challege as we all strove to write something fresh, visited each other's sites, and wondered what the heck begins with X besides x-ray and xylophone.  And I really appreciate the visits of Arlee and other hosts to our sites and the comments they shared.  Thanks again to all of the people who made this work; I can't wait to see what's next!

ABC to XYZ

We thought we were so clever with the XYZ thing in grade school.  When someone added ABC, we were at the height of wit and creativity.  "Always be careful to check your zipper!"  It never got old.

I cut out this picture on my recent retreat.  I thought it was funny.  Get your mind out of the gutter, it's a roadside emergency kit.  It says so right between her legs.

I played it safe in childhood.  I was (still am, I guess) the oldest child of an oldest child (6 kids in that family) and a second-oldest child (4 kids).  I was the oldest grandchild in town; a couple of slightly-older cousins lived in another state.  I got lots of attention.  It was wonderful.  Life was blessedly simple.

If we are very fortunate, we grow up in a world where we are kept safe.  Our parents or other caregivers teach us to look both ways before crossing the street, don't talk to strangers, and don't run with Barbie coatracks.  This structure of safety allows us to play freely.  Accidents happen, of course, and we make mistakes.  Tragedies occur.  Hopefully someone does his/her best to see that our Safety Girl kits are fully stocked and checked regularly.

(I actually climbed higher in this tree; it was my favorite.  I don't know why Mom took a picture when I was hanging from it like a sloth.  Or maybe I do.  I don't remember it being dead, either.  Oh well.  It was my tree.)

In my late teens I began to grow tired of Safety Girl.  Adventure Girl no longer wanted to ride in the back seat; she was ready to drive.  Or fly, rather.

In my early 20's, I loaded up my car, moved to a Chicago suburb, and tossed my safety kit out the window.  I had an interesting relationship.  I talked to strangers.  I even stopped going to church!  I had the opportunity to see that some of those things in my safety kit were pretty useful; fortunately, it didn't take a traumatic experience for me to realize that.  So I got another safety kit.  An empty one.  I was going to stock this one myself.  As we age, we (hopefully) learn to discern what to pack in our kits and when to use them.  As children, it's all or nothing, Safety Girl or danger.  Hula-hooping in socks and sandals or playing in the middle of the street.  As adults, we become aware of the gray areas.  Sometimes it's just fine to talk to strangers.  But it's still not a good idea to accept rides from them.  We still look both ways before crossing the street, but if I want to take a walk I can do so now without my name written in permanent marker on the bottom of my shoes.  Sometimes accidents happen or Adventure Girl makes mistakes, but there's good in that.  If it weren't for those events we wouldn't have cute Safety Girl kits, and we wouldn't learn and grow from the lessons they teach us.

Hop in the car, Adventure Girl.  You too, Safety Girl.  We're going for a ride.  But I'll drive.



(I hope it's clear that I'm referring to everyday situations of safety and danger, not acts of God such as the recent tornadoes in the South.  Those events take much more than a cute kit to cope with.  I add my prayers to those already out there, that you will have everything you need.)

V: Venturing down the aisle...or not

When I was almost three years old, my aunt and uncle got married (not the ones I live with).  I was a flower girl for the first (I think) time.  (I don't mean aunt & uncle had multiple marriages, I mean I was in other weddings.  With other people.)  Anyway, I don't remember the ring-bearer's name, so we'll call him Bobby.  Bobby was thrilled to get all gussied up and participate in a wedding by carring a satin pillow.

Bobby made it through the rehearsal okay, but when the Big Day came and he found out that not only would he have to walk with a girl down the aisle again, but he would also have to do it in a tux, he decided he'd had enough.  Our moment came.  The music swelled, and we started to walk.  The room was filled with big people smiling down at us and whispering how cute we were.  This was the last straw for Bobby.  He saw his parents in the crowd, turned toward them, and ran.  I watched him, stunned for a moment, then I shrugged my shoulders, turned back toward the front of the sanctuary, and finished my job.  Boys.

I didn't know it at the time, but that episode would represent all of my future romantic or just-friends-but-I-wish-we-were-romantic endeavors.  While I enjoy the single life and understand how well it fits me now, in my 20's and early 30's I very much wanted to be married.  But I couldn't hook anyone.  I was just too cute.  And competent.  It's a cross I must bear.

W: Whirling dervishes

From Ya-Yas in Bloom by Rebecca Wells:
"The girls spun round and round and round the ice cream parlor, scarves in their hands, between their teeth, wrapped around their fingers like scarf rings. They did not dance madly, like Mehnaz from some Greek tragedy, but like muses: graceful and ready to inspire. The spark that lived in all of them rejoiced when they turned in circles, little whirling wild spirits, like junior priestesses of some undomesticated tribe. They went somewhere else as they spun, into a trance of dizziness, as if they were praying. It looked as if they were bad little girls acting like wild sprites, and some of the folks in the ice cream parlor thought them rude and uncouth, but that is only because these townspeople did not know about whirling dervishes and what happens when they dance and pray, pray and dance. They did not know that dance can become prayer, and prayer can become dance."

I'm so blessed to have some whirling dervishes in my life who draw me into the dance (especially one who loves to wear her cowboy boots with anything, including multi-colored striped tights):

stuff I never Understood as a kid

In addition to the mystery of why I wasn't allowed to run with Barbie coatracks, I didn't understand a few other things people told me when I was young:

"If you keep pouting and sticking your lip out like that, a little bird's going to come sit on it."  Huh?  Why on earth would a bird do that?  And actually, that would be really cool, unless the bird pooped on me.

"Stop crying or I'll give you something to cry about."  Again, huh?  I HAVE something to cry about, that's why I'm crying!  And if you want me to stop, why would you make me cry more?

But why can't I spray my bedroom's wood floor with perfume and mop it up with my stick horse?  Don't you want me to have any domestic skills?  (This is why I have no domestic skills.)

"Because I said so!"  Does the President know you're claiming this much authority?

After a particular "Three's Company" episode, I went to Mom and asked, "What's a hooker?"  And that was the end of "Three's Company."  I learned to keep my mouth shut after that.

Mom and Dad were showing their wedding pictures to friends one evening and pointing out who was in the pics, and I said, "And that's me in Mommy's tummy."  It took me several years to figure out why Dad so adamantly said, "Oh no you're not!!!"

Today

Today is Holy Saturday.  Hush...

http://www.24-7prayer.com/podcasts/category/spaces
(scroll down the 24-7 page to see videos)

New, Nifty job skills

Last week I realized that my time with Grandpa has helped me develop some valuable new job skills to add to my resume:

- I can remove most of the pudding in a pudding cup with just one scoop!

- I can spray whipped cream on a variety of surfaces and in a variety of shapes!

- I can tell you which section of Medicaid covers prescriptions and how to get it!

- I can tell you which lawyer to call if you get in a car accident!

- According to Grandpa, I am "pretty sharp" at raising and lowering the bottom part of the recliner!

- I can name that Andy Griffith episode in 30 seconds! (Grandpa can do it in one.)

A to Z Challenge: L through S

Well I certainly didn't plan to write posts for this challenge in large chunks...oh well.

I Love the Low-impact woodland home on http://www.simondale.net/house/index.htm!

M was meant to be memories - I enjoyed looking at old pics the other day, one of which provides photographic evidence of the-destroying-of-my-2nd-grade-birthday-cake by my stupid-little-brother-with-a-doctorate (he wasn't a Ph.D at the time), but my scanner isn't working.  I had one of little brother picking his nose, too.  Hmmm...

For N, I will write a separate New, Nifty Job Skills post.

I've never been married, but I imagine there comes a day when you wake up, look at your beloved sleeping next to you, and think, "Oh my god what have I done?"  I experienced that feeling a couple of weeks ago when I started looking at other blogs and blogging communities.  Suddenly my inbox was filled with recommended sites and "Congratulations!  You joined ---" messages.  I wondered, "How many blogs am I following?"  "How many are following me?"  I'm glad to say the week without a computer and the retreat helped me get over that crap.  For now.

I had a great time playing with my 3-year-old cousin B. yesterday afternoon.  She wanted music, so we played some tunes and danced - I think she's an Indigo Girls fan.  Then we played B.-carrying-my-bag-and-keys-out-the-door-"bye bye, I love you" over and over, then B. got in my bed and we played "Good night!  Wake up!  Good night!  Wake up!"

Had a wonderful time of quiet

on my retreat in the Flint Hills this week.  Happy Easter!

I really enjoy the community at SparkPeople - http://www.sparkpeople.com/.  I've joined a few "teams" and have met some great people!

A-Z Challenge: K

Kerri is a dorK.  The cable/phone/internet/change-the-oil-in-your-car guy came over.  I figured that out when he took us offline.  I went outside to see what was going on; when I came back in, I saw that I'd gone outside looking like an...elf.  Or something.  Completely forgot I was wearing the bandana and had no clue it was standing up straight.  Sigh.

"j"ump into Project 52

I've discovered I enjoy group blogging activities.  At least I do now (I just started).  ProJect 52 is the creation of Karen Peterson http://www.apeekatkarensworld.com/ and Jennee Thompson http://www.jenneethompson.com/ and involves setting, reaching, and recording progress on goals you set for yourself for 2011.  AND it involves making a list!  Woo hoo!

The "52" has to do with - oh shoot, you guessed it - setting a goal for every week of the year.  Thankfully, Karen and Jennee are flexible on this, because life already moves at the speed of light for me, and it's not because I'm that busy, either.  It's because I can really be an airhead sometimes.  Adding a goal a week would just blow a fuse, and it's already April anyway, so here are my 30 goals:

1.  Finish what I start, including the A to Z Challenge and Project 52
2.  Jump off a diving board for the first time (once there's water in the pool)
3.  Eat lunch with my cousin (whose name begins with J - I'm such a multi-tasker) "regularly" (we originally said monthly, but we just had our January lunch last week)
4.  Learn more about the blogging world and writing a good blog
5.  Balance blogging with the rest of life (!)
6.  Replace diet pop with water (no set amount - I'm not that dumb)
7.  Lose any number of pounds - this goal-setting is easy!
8.  Okay, okay - swim 3 times a week at least 4 times this year
9.  Read a book with my eyes (I love books, but I've gotten hooked on audio books and haven't actually read one in a while.)
10.  Make a list - ta da!
11.  See/hear my cousin Matt play in his band Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy  http://www.carrienationandthespeakeasy.com/ - I've already done the "hear" part because they were on the radio the other night.  Matt plays the banjo really fast.  And he's self-taught.  I'm still in awe.
12.  Write a handwritten letter to R. and send it by snail mail
13.  Cook for myself and my housemates (aunt & uncle, sometimes cousin too) at the same time at least once - that's all they'll let me do
14.  Begin (again) a "regular" habit of doing yoga's Sun Salutation in the morning
15.  Explore the new walking trails they're making in town
16.  Spend "quality" (you can define that for yourself) time reading the blogs I've bookmarked to spend more time with later
17.  Play hard with my niece and nephew every time they're in town
18.  Get rid of more stuff
19.  Finish making my (Orthodox) prayer beads - and use them
20.  Support a family for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas to the best of my ability
21.  Learn something about gardening
22.  Keep eating well and avoid fast food more
23.  Improve natural sleep patterns
24.  Learn to do the front crawl with my face in the water and swim 50 yards without stopping
25.  Check my progress on these goals regularly
26.  Be thankful always
27.  Love others
28.  Learn to count

A to Z Challenge: A-G...oops, and H & I

I arrived at this A to Z Challenge a little late, so I've got some catching up to do.  Thank you, Arlee, for this way to get me thinking outside the box and for the chance to get to know other bloggers!


The Alphabet is a key component in teaching kids to read, as any of my tutoring students sure better be able to tell you.


My Brother is graduating with his Ph.D in May, received raved reviews on his dissertation and defense, AND has a book contract!  I'm incredibly proud of him and I love him very much.


Could I have any more trouble coming up with - wait! Coming up with ideas for C???


The Dogwood trees - whoops, they're Redbuds, but I'll forget to mention them by the time I get to R - are in bloom in Wichita and are gorgeous - I love them against the backdrop of the green leaves and white blooms of other trees.

E. is my brother's wife.  I love her for her creativity, kindness, wit, encouragement, photo-taking skills, incredible cooking and child-caring skills, and her ability to live with my brother.


I've begun exploring other blogs and networking sites, and I'm amazed!  It's great getting to know my Fellow bloggers and Finding so many others with similar interests and terrific insight and wit!


Grandpa is currently laughing at Barney Fife's antics on The Andy Griffith Show as I sit near him on the couch and type.  We enjoy sitting together, whether we're doing our own thing or laughing at Barney together - Don Knotts was so talented!

Hel-lo, doing a letter every day except Sundays means you include Saturdays, and we're actually on

I, which this Idiot should have known - if my students can't tell you about the alphabet, it may not be their fault after all...