Money Matters Monday... So, How Are We Doin'?

I've been comparing a lot of things lately to "a race." Prolly because I've started this running thing. LOL! I've also realized that, unfortunately, I'm an "all or nothing" kind of girl. I'm either 110% IN, or completely and TOTALLY off the wagon as the saying goes. I'm doing my best to embrace the former, and with any luck, kicking the latter to the curb!

As mentioned in a previous post, we have been able to pay off A LOT of our debt recently. This has freed up a fair amount of cash that I SHOULD be using to pay off more bills. But oh how easy it is to take that extra money and buy shoes! Or a nice desk from which to blog from! Well, a honeymoon period is expected in ALL relationships, I guess. And my new relationship with a little extra cash is no exception.

But today is a new day. And as I am now looking at things from a long distance race perspective (instead of ,say, a 100 yard dash), I'm tying up my running shoes and digging in once again. And isn't that what it's all about, really? Not getting discouraged when we fall. Not just lying there in the dust when others start to pass you by once you are down? Keeping your eye on the finish line?

Whatever we try to do, whether it is losing weight, getting out of debt, or learning something new, we gotta keep at it. For certain, we WILL fall off the wagon. We won't be able to resist those cute pair of boots (even though they were 60% off!) or the pecan pie with chocolate chips and chocolate sauce (and it was delicious!). But a stumble on our way to our intended goal does not disqualify us from the race. I'm getting back up, dusting myself off, and getting back on track. That's where I am. How are YOU doing?

From Flab To Fab Friday

Welcome, everyone, to my 27th day on a diet. So you don't have to count, I started the day after Christmas. I'm impatient! I couldn't wait for New Year's Day to start my weight loss resolution (mostly because momma had NO pants that fit... not even sweats. Sad, right?)! So Sunday, December 26th, was D-day for me. And here I am 27 days later and happy to report that there have been no casualties! Ha!

About a year ago I started a weight loss blog trying to chronicle my efforts to shed the weight I have acquired in my 10 years of marriage. But, alas, I found that (once again) I was having a hard time making what the experts call a "lifestyle change" and the blog fell to the wayside (along with my willpower and motivation for healthy eating and exercise! LOL!). So since I'm "back on the wagon," per se, I thought I'd keep myself accountable here on THIS blog and do it on Fridays... with alliteration...cuz, you know... I'm a freak like that.

I'll keep y'all posted on what I'm doing (and NOT doing) to keep this weight off of me for good. I've made some decisions and I'm changing the way I'm thinking about things, so I HOPE that this is the first step on the long and continual journey to better health for me. In the meantime, I'll close by sharing that I've dropped a total of 13 lbs since December 26th. The pants are FITTING again and I'm able to broaden my clothing selection to tops that haven't fit in FOREVER. And this makes momma happy!!!

So join me if you wanna. It's always better to tackle the not-so fun projects with a friend in tow. And who knows? We might just find that there is fun to be found, after all!

Music Therapy Thursday... The Band Perry

This is another song for all you poets out there... simply beautiful. The members of this band hail from Tennessee and are siblings, all in their 20's. I think they are super talented and look forward to hearing more from them. Enjoy today's music therapy... with or without a tissue!

A Prized Possession

If your house was on fire, what would be the first thing you would grab (besides your kids and the hubs, natch!) before you ran out the door? For the longest time I thought it would be my pictures. I have a black box w/ dividers designed specifically for the purpose of storing, I don't know, a THOUSAND or so pictures. It rocks the house and has been one of the best investments I've ever made. But I think I'd risk losing all of our family's memories on Kodak paper to save what I feel is one of my most prized possessions... my grandmother's wedding ring.

Years before my grandmother passed away, she started giving me things. Random things. A pair of red sheer curtains here, a mod 1970's polyester top there. Then she began to give me more personal things: Her beautiful gold watch from the 1940's (IN THE BOX), and then her mother's ring. I would try to protest my displeasure of the "giving away" of her treasures, but she INSISTED that she wanted me to have them so she could be around to see me enjoy them. I couldn't argue with that kind of logic, even though it made me super sad to think about the reason behind her gift giving: she was preparing for the inevitable. And I guess she wanted to make sure certain things were received by certain people. By giving them in advance, she could make sure her wishes were followed.

But one day, she completely floored me. I had been to her house for some delicious Sunday dinner, and she went to her room and came out with her wedding band and told me she wanted me to have it. My grandfather had passed almost 20 years before, but even before that, I never remembered her wearing it. It was well worn, however, having almost taken the shape of her finger. The embossing around the ring had been worn away too, but she said that it used to be a beautiful vine with intricately detailed leaves. I was in love with it from the first time I saw it.

My dad filled in some of the blanks for me later. He said that when my grandparents married, they didn't buy each other wedding rings. Money was tight and I guess they felt that rings for each other were a luxury and not a necessity. My dad says that he can remember my grandmother buying the ring for herself, with her own money that she had worked for, when he was young. He said she was so proud of it and was so happy that she got to pick out what she wanted.


My Mimi (as I called her) was not able to come to my wedding. Her ring was my "something old" that I wore that day as well as a representation of her presence, which I missed dearly. Sitting at her house a month or so later, we poured over my wedding pictures together and I would point out her ring and say, "Look Mimi, you WERE there!" I think that made her extremely happy.

From that day on, I've continued to wear my grandmother's wedding ring. Now that she's in heaven, I'll talk to the ring when I'm putting it on. I'll say something like, "Well, Mimi, today we are going to a graduation." Or I'll say, "C'mon Mimi, we've got to get to church!" LOL! I feel like when I'm wearing her ring, a part of her is still with me. Mimi has accompanied me to Nashville for my sister's bachelorette party, on vacations to the beach and to the mountains, to the hospital to celebrate births, to funeral homes to say my good-byes, and even to Mobile to a Mardi Gras ball. I think she would have really liked Mardi Gras. She was a woman who always enjoyed a good time!

So I guess if, heaven forbid, I hear the smoke alarm late one night, it will be a natural reaction for me to go and rescue Mimi from the jewelry box. More than a prized possession, her ring is almost an extension of ME now, like it was for her for so many years. I hope she knows how much I love it (and her!) and how happy it makes me to have ownership of this little treasure!

Music Therapy Thursday: Happy Birthday, Peter Gabriel!

Today is Peter Gabriel's birthday and I couldn't help posting my favorite P.G. song. As a teenager in the 80's, I fell in love with the movie "Say Anything" and with Jon Cusack's character holding his boom box over his head while this song blared outside the window of his beloved. Ahhh, memories...

Peter and his videos have always been a little, well, unusual, and this one is no exception. I still love it, though. It must be the "artist" in me! LOL! Enjoy today's Music Therapy and take yourself back in time a bit...

Top Ten Names I Considered Naming My Blog

10. Seizing The Day... Already taken. :( Wanted to play on the words since Anna has epilepsy and to chronicle our life living with the condition. But I'm so much more than an "epilepsy" mom so...



9. Prescription Hugs... Okay, I'm a hugger. If you know me, I have squeezed you to death at least once. Maybe twice. But would this title say anything about me other than the obvious?



8. Pearsons On Plantation Drive... I liked the alliteration (I was an English major, after all!) and the title did include all four of us... but I wasn't sold.



7. Sand Mountain Momma... again, a play on where we live, AND alliteration ( I lurve alliteration!) but I felt it sounded a little back-woods. Momma is no hillbilly!!!



6. Seized For His Glory... I wanted to give a nod to my faith (and tie it in to Anna's epilepsy), but I think this is the title of a Christian book written by a woman with a seizure disorder. I knew it sounded like a winner! LOL! But I'm no plagiarist...



5. Sugarplum and Pumpkin Pie... my daughters' nicknames. :) SWEET, no?



4. Craftin' Like Crazy!... I still like this one, but my blog isn't just about crafts, it's about ALL of my life so...



3. Moxie In The Mayhem... I've got moxie, baby. And let's face it, it's ALL mayhem around these parts. This one is still a fave...



2. Life According to Lindsey... I still think I should have named my blog this. So much so, that I've considered shutting this one down and starting a new one. But that's an awful lot of trouble for my whole. seven. followers. I like to keep it simple for the fans. LOL!



1. Squeezing The Day... This one won out because it plays on the the epilepsy, it shows that I'm a lovva (that's a lover for all of you needing a southern-to-English translation!) and a hugga! And it implies that we are getting the very most out of our days around here as we're learning, helping, crafting, serving, etc. Thanks to Lori Boatfield for the suggestion!



So that's the meaning behind the name of my blog. What about you? Leave a message and tell me why you named your blog what you did. I've been wondering about some of yours that aren't so obvious! This ought to be fun! :D

I Guess I Just Have A Knack For It!

Well, I've done it again. I've pee-peed in some people's Wheaties. :) When will I ever learn to keep my mouth SHUT? I have this sickness of not being able to leave well enough alone. This applies to going to the n-th degree embellishing a craft, and not being able to hold my tongue on something that I feel strongly about.

I know we aren't supposed to discuss religion and politics in mixed company without an all-out war of words following suite. Well, apparently you can add football to the list if you live in the great state of Alabama, or anywhere else an intense rivalry exists. :D I am a strong, intellectual, independent woman, and I have an opinion on just about everything. You don't even have to ask me for it... Most times I'll give it willingly, without warrant! I also thought I had a sense of humor, but have been set straight on that matter too! Thank God for all the thin-skinned people of the world who can say what THEY want, but get their knickers in a knot if someone disagrees (in a somewhat derogatory manner...blush...) and is set straight and schooled on freedom of speech. What would we DO without their insight? Yep. I can add "not taking the high road" to my list of faults too, I guess. I'm only human after all...

I realized this morning, however, that this is not my first offense. In recent years, I've debated my stance on politics, religion, and my beef with the DMV and doctors giving every Tom, Dick, and Harry a handicapped parking permit. I try to not name-call or speak derrogatively, but yesterday got the better of me. Funny thing is, I was trying to make a point of being "intolerant of intolerance" as I have been known to joke about among my friends. Obviously, I failed big time. And obviously just because a person is a "friend" on your Facebook "friends list" does not make them so. Ouch. Life lessons all over the place! LOL!

I am reminded of my senior year in high school when I was one of the editors on the school paper. I wrote an editorial (tongue-in-cheek, Dave Barry style) about Thanksgiving dinner at our house. My English teacher (and newspaper supervisor) LOVED it. Hundreds of students did not. That's right. I said hundreds. You would have thought I had shot the Pope or something the way they felt I had bad-mouthed such a beloved holiday. On one hand I was flattered that that many people actually read the paper, and on the other hand, I was appalled that people couldn't laugh at my family the way I could. One things for sure, the written word is POWERFUL, people. And apparently I have a knack for stirring things up with it.

If you know me, I mean really know me, you know that I would rather hurt myself than to hurt someone else. You also know that I'm a sucker for the under-dog and will always stand up for injustice when I see it. You also know that I'm gonna tell you EXACTLY how I feel, no matter the outcome. I tell the truth and I tell things as I see it. I will try not to ask certain football fans geographical questions (like if they can find their team's campus without a map or a GPS) and I will always use humor wherever I can. Because if we can't laugh at ourselves, we've got problems, people. I'm also always up for a good debate. I find intellectual banter stimulating, so don't be afraid to chew the fat with me. No subject is off limits here, folks. Be sure to bring an umbrella, though, when the crap decides to hit the fan. I'm willing to stick it out if y'all are!