We've come a long way, baby!

This J.C. Penney catalog came out the year I graduated from high school! Did we really dress this way?? Didn't we think the guys were dorks for wearing such outlandish colors? If you grew up in this era like me, it's fun to take a trip back in time. After all, remember how cool Starsky and Hutch were, chest hair and all? Tight clothes was the fashion of the day, and it's hard to deny fashion while you are young and in the thick of whatever given era you are growing up in. Enjoy!

So, what do you think people will say 30 years

from now about the fashion of today?

P.S. Regardless of how we may have looked, our music was the best, right?!

I got the sticker clock!

I went right back to Kohl's and got that clock I discussed in my first post. After looking at the box for 4 days - I was nervous about messing it up - I finally decided today is the day. And guess what! It took me a grand total of 7 minutes! That included remeasuring about a dozen times to make sure it was perfectly level (I'm anal about that ~ thanks, Mom!) Can you find the little birdy in it? There are about a half dozen other bird stickers that I might find a place for in my entry way which opens into this living room. (We painted the LR and EW back in October and I am still debating how I want to decorate the walls! I ponder too much...) In fact, now that I'm thinking about this, I have a homemade birdhouse a former student made for me that might find a new home in the EW as well. Hmmm...I also have a real bird nest in the garage that I'd had in my classroom....how can I incorporate that?

The TV hangs on the wall and ordinarily sits at an angle like this.

With the TV pushed flush to the wall.

The clock is level, I swear!

10 Things I Am Thankful For Today

My son Steve has been sick with high temp off and on for the past week. The doc pronounced him with a bacterial infection that's tagging along with a viral infection. Dad is away (in Vegas - he tells me it's all work!) which is just as well because it allows me to stay in our big comfy bed with Steven. After two sleepless nights in a row, we now have our days and nights reversed! So, as I willed myself to sleep at 3:00 am this morning, I made a mental list of all the things I am thankful for. I've narrowed it to the Top 10. (Most of it is boring stuff...like, new socks....either his temp rubbed off onto me or I'd become delirious from lack of sleep.) Here goes...

1. Antibiotics
2. Access to good medical care
3. My big comfy bed
4. The T.V. remote control
5. Kind, understanding teachers
6. Alton Brown for inspiring me in the kitchen (I learned a new way to make Buffalo Wings - son Jamie's favorite - at 2 am this morning)
7. Radiation and evaporation - our snow is almost gone!
8. Music
   
9. Steven's sense of humor at 4 am - the antibiotics must have kicked in - yea!
   
10. New socks (I bumped them up the list, I really need knew ones and am going to treat myself soon)

So, what are YOU thankful for today?

Lessons I learn from working at the Y: Part I

As a membership receptionist at our local YMCA, I assist our members and community participants by processing memberships and class registrations, answering potential members' questions, handing out towels and racquets, directing phone calls, explaining new procedures, etc. Most of the people who come to the Y - whether it's to work out or to pick up their child for child care or to bring them for swim lessons - are really awesome. Occasionally, though, we get some stinkers who are too rushed, too tired, too cranky to follow procedures. I take great pride in providing good customer service and sometimes by the end of my shift I feel rushed, tired, and cranky, too! That's when I know I have to pull up my big girl panties, plaster on a big smile, and communicate with these buggers even when I don't feel like it.

For the past few months, I've been using my position behind the desk to conduct little experiments on human psychology. It's fun, plus I get to learn so much about myself and about people in general. Lately, I've been working on the role of eye contact in human interactions. Here is what I'm learning:
~People are more likely to smile at me and engage in small talk when I look straight at them. If I assist them with little eye contact, they make no attempt to engage in any other communication.
~I usually work with a partner. If I establish eye contact with the person before she does, they are more likely to turn to me for assistance, even if my partner has spoken first. If I withhold my eye contact as I am working with someone and my partner greets them while looking at them, they will turn to her and act like I no longer exist.
~When someone is upset, they are more likely to relax and listen if I hold my gaze on them as I am explaining something to them.

So, what does this mean? Well, for one thing, I am making more of a conscious effort to look at people square in the eye to let them know they have my full attention. I have come to realize that in general, I, like most Americans, tend to look down or to look away while I talk to people. I am working hard to change my behavior (at the Y and everywhere) because I know people appreciate being looked at. My eyes are as powerful as my voice. It worked today at the doctor's office when I had to ask the receptionist, who usually seems standoff-ish, a question and she answered me with a big old smile as I was looking (it felt like staring) right at her. Interesting!

Feeling old-fashioned

I've been thinking lately about how much I appreciate interesting, creative, unique things that stimulate my senses. I also appreciate knowing the difference between what is real and what is fake. We are so bombarded with things that get twisted to the point that we can't tell if we are being duped. (I've had many conversations with my college sons , and they remind me often I better get used to it because the age of technology is here to stay .) I've been watching the Grammy awards tonight - I know, I know, talk about a show full of fake stuff - but I really want to see Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl. Although much of the music isn't my taste, I will admit that so far it's not too bad. (I use the Previous station button often. And periodically turn my attention to my computer, hence this post.) BUT how can you tell when they are really singing and when they are lip sinking? And - here comes my beef - if they are that good a performer, why do they have to fake their singing? Because their real ability (or lack of) will be revealed? Or is it because everyone else is doing it and you have to appear to be at least as good as they are? Am I alone in being bothered by this because I want to be able to trust my senses? I have much more respect for someone who tries their best by giving us their best even if it means it isn't perfectly polished. I respect people who are not afraid of making humanly mistakes. I'll be watching to see what Paul and Dave do. I hope I'm not disappointed, but I'm bracing for it. Regardless, I'll still hope to see Paul in concert one day.

Cool word wall sites that get my creative juices flowing

I haven't figured out why yet, but I am really diggin' the wall stickers that have become so popular. Maybe it's because I'm becoming philosophical in my young age. I also love to read. I have always enjoyed things that are unique. Today at Kohl's I was with hubby - who went for one thing only and was in a hurry - and saw the most awesome sticker clocks! I am going back there this afternoon to check them out. They seem a little big (19" square), but I'll bet I can find a perfect spot! They don't carry them online, and after googling I haven't yet found a picture to show you.

More and more websites are popping up with myriad of sayings. You can even custom make your own. They do tend to be pricey, but I'm told they are easy to apply and are very durable. I know as soon as I try one, I'll be hooked! Stay tuned.....

www.wellsaid.net



I first fell in love with word walls when I discovered this posting by mysweetsavannah on HGTV's www.ratemyspace.com. Her home is quite lovely and creative. She paints her words by hand!! She also has a blog that's inspiring. Lucky us!

I just know Spring is around the corner

This winter in northwest Indiana, we have been pelted with one snow storm after another. My city has been the repeated target of lake effect snow from the pond north of us called Lake Michigan. This is when cold air rushes over the lake, picks up warmer water, and travels until it dumps it on you. You never know exactly how much you are going to get or who the intended target is until it happens. (I heard one TV announcer refer to it as "lake enhancement". Does that mean Lake Michigan is now enhanced with less water? Or that our landscape is now enhanced with the water of LM all over it? I don't get it.) On Wednesday they predicted 18" of "enhancement", we got 25"! It truly was an amazing sight around my house and luckily I didn't have to go out. Our wonderful neighbor and his trusty snow blower helped my husband and his shovel dig out our driveway. It's times like these that you know who your friends are! Some days I get mired down in dreading yet another snow storm and complaining about the cold. But most days I enjoy going out in the crisp, cold air, knowing that I am breathing more deeply and enriching my body with more oxygen. I also realize that it helps me look forward to a very sweet Spring ahead! How has Old Man Winter been treating you in your neck of the woods?