Writer's Workshop - An Hour To Kill

If I find myself with an hour to kill, or even if I don't for that matter, I'm going to call my mother.  My mother lives 3 states to the northeast and 800 miles away from me so if I want to talk to her I can't just drive across town.  With rare exceptions, we talk multiple times daily.  It's not that I can't go without talking to her, I just choose not to.  If by chance I do go MIA for a few days, I'll get the following call:

Me:  Hello

Mother:  Why haven't I heard from you?

Me:  I'm not sure

Mother: I'm having Mandy withdrawals

Me:  Me too, I just forgot to call

I'll call her on my way to work to tell her about my odd dreams, and she'll call me from the bookstore to tell me her  latest find.  She'll call me from Ross to tell me about a cute something or other that we need for our plants and I'll call her from the plant nursery to tell her about the "rare" finds I've found.  I'll call her to aks her if we have a book before I buy it again and she'll call me to read me the backs of the books she's either gotten in the mail or brought home.  I'll call her from the bathtub to read her something I just read while still laughing and then I'll call her again later to read it when I stop laughing so that she can understand what I'm saying.  She does the same, only I think I laugh more.  We take turns with our pity parties when they come up, we plan budgets together, talk about meals and strategize on how to get our kids to shape up or ship out.  While I'm raising two girls (14 and 10), she's also still raising two girls (17 and 14), so we really have a lot more in common than the average duo.  I call her and sing songs I've reworded that she has to then guess the real song. For instance,

Mother:  Hello
Me:  Hello, Mother, how are you mother...it's so nice to hear your voice over the phone.  You're sounding swell, Mother....I can tell Mother
Mother:  Yes, Mandy...it's Hello Dolly, again
Me:  I crack myself up

Thank God for cell phones, she won't text, but she does like to send pictures of plants back and forth and will comment on those.  Just don't try to initate a conversation via text messaging; it won't happen.  That's just asa well since I'd rather hear her voice anyways.  Sometimes I pull an  I Love Lucy voice moment and place a "person to person" call to her with my nose pinched...she loves those, my girls do the same thing. 

Mothers are a gift, even more so when you grow up and they can be your best friend.  There's not a person I'd rather spend extra time with on the phone or in person when given the chance than my mother...sorry, friends! 

This post was inspired by the prompt "You have an hour to kill on the telephone...who do you call and why." from Mama Kat's Weekly Writer's Workshop.

Lesson Learned - Writer's Workshop

This year, I bought myself a portable greenhouse and was very excited not to have to cart things back and forth from the garage.  Even better, my husband was thrilled not to have his garage overran with my plants.  Everything was going smoothly until record breaking (to my memory) low temps hit our normally warm city for a solid week.  By low temps, we're talking 20's, but that's not normal for us.  I had already bought a little heater for the greenhouse becuase my succulents don't like to be below 45 degrees.  Very diligently, I would go out and turn it on and then adjust it before bed.  I managed to still kill my only two Pitcher Plants, of course it would be some of the most expensive to bite the dust first.  I added another heater for the week of the artic blast and on the first night felt real smart when I went to bed with them both running.  It wasn't until the next morning when the blow dryer wouldn't work that I knew we had a problem.  I put the two heaters on the same outlet and evidently you can do that without blowing a fuse. 


Before Freeze



After Freeze



Major losses in the greenhouse, I was in the depths of dispair, yes, the depths of dispair for days after this.  I'd go out and just stare at them and remind myself that that was a pretty idiotic thing to do.  Finally I came to my senses and cut all the frozen damage off so maybe, just maybe the little darlings will grow back.  We'll see. My husband ran another extension cord for me and they ran fine after that, but the lesson was learned...never, ever put two heaters on the same extension cord.

Stop by Mama Kat's to read more great entries in this weeks workshop. 

Mandy

I'm a Big Girl!

Our girls are both pretty spunky, but I have to say that the little one got an extra dose!  Kids can be mean, and Daughter #2 has always been really tiny, except for between 6 and 9 months when she turned into a Pillsbury Dough Baby overnight!  She grew out of that and went back to being itsy bitsy again not long after that...thank heavens!  One day I picked the girls up from daycare and Daughter #2 was quite irritated.  That's not unusual really, but she was only 3 at the time and I was not expecting the conversation that followed my question of, "What happened, Sweetie?" 

Daughter #2:  "Well, we were outside and the big kids kept calling me a baby.  I kept telling them I wasn't a baby, and they kept saying I was small and was too a baby."

Me:  "Sweetheart, you're not a baby.  You're a big girl."

Daughter #2:  "I know.  I told them that."

What I didn't know until a teacher filled me in was that in all of her little form, she yelled, "I'm not a baby, I'm a big girl.  See, I wear big girl panties"  At that moment, she lifted her dress up and added, "See, I'm not a baby!" and showed whoever was arguing with her that she had on big girl panties!  In her three year old logic, the fact that she wore "big girl" panties meant she couldn't possibly be a baby.  She might be little, but in her head I really think that she thinks she's quite big!  

We got a good laugh about it then and seven years later I still laugh when I think about it.  I can see her little face determined that she was not a baby, and she wasn't taking it from anybody.  Too bad I don't have a picture of that!

I chose the "it happened at daycare" prompt from Mama Kat's Weekly Writing Workshop.  Follow the link to choose your own prompt and join in.

Mandy

No Coffee for Me, Please!

I've missed a few weeks, and anything other than a simple list might not make much sense tonight.  With that in mind, I was thrilled to see a list prompt this week on Mama Kat's Weekly Writing Workshop.  I chose the 10 Reasons Why I Don't Drink Coffee prompt. 

1.  I have to admit, I've never even tried the stuff, but the idea of drinking something that looks like sludge repulses me.

2.  I don't remember ever seeing my parents drink it either, so I must not be too far off!

3.  I am a Dr. Pepper addict, through and through!!

4.  When I was pregnant with our first daughter, it made me violently ill to even smell coffee.  My ever patient husband had to take to making his coffee at work for the duration of the pregnancy.  Thirteen years later, it's still one of my least favorite smells...sans the violently ill part!

5.  From my trips to Starbucks with coffee loving friends, it's a little overpriced in my opinion.  I can get almost 24 cans of Dr. Pepper for the price of a grande.  I go for the calorie overloaded vanilla bean thing instead.

6.  Did I mention I'm a DP addict?  The day is just not the same without it!

7.  Other than water, Kool-Aid and sweet tea, it's the only thing I remember drinking as a kid.  Thankfully, my parents weren't like other weirdo parents who served milk at dinner...barf!

8.  I don't like hot drinks, they burn my tongue because I'm a bit impatient.  Hot chocolate gets a thick layer of marshmallows and I'm sure giving the same treatment would be blasphemy in some minds.

9.  Why drink something that I have to add sugar to?  My Dr. Peppers come fully loaded, thank you very much!

10.  Saving the best for last, when I was pregnant with our first daughter, she was breech.  The well meaning doctor made a date for us at the hospital to turn her.  They injected me with some concoction that they said would make me feel like a drank a whole pot of coffee.   I still remember shaking for hours afterwards from whatever it was, and if coffee has anywhere close to an effect like that, thank you, but no thank you!



Mandy

Writers Workshop - Neighborhood Cats

We live in a great, quiet neighborhood and we've always had equally great neighbors.  Until one of them decided to start feeding strays within a 10 mile radius, there were never any major complaints.  It started with the pregnant ones and I swear that they told all their cat friends about the never ending food that this nice lady puts out, so more came.  I think the total now is between 11 and 15, but who's counting! Now, I'm really fine with cats as long as 1)  they're not mine 2) I don't have to touch them and 3) they don't use my yard as their over sized litter box!  Cats are cute, and I have several series that have a cat as a main character that I enjoy reading, but since I'm highly allergic to them, I'm not too fond of the real thing.  Back to the litter box issue, for whatever reason, their crew and my other neighbors five have picked my back yard as their personal hangout spot.  I can't get on my treadmill in the garage and open the back door for air without being hit with an overwhelming smell that only comes from one place.  They like the flower beds, but seem to enjoy the areas near the house that don't have a lot of grass and even the grassiest spots to do their business.  So, what's a girls do do?  Short of catching them and hauling them away...hey, before you get too upset, I wouldn't hurt them and I would be doing them a favor of sorts...I'm going with river rock! I've tried it in small beds, and the cats don't seem to want to mess with the larger rocks.  My husband made me a new bed to remove their favorite area, and that's getting the first load.

While we're adding river rock to this bed, we're going to rake up all the mulch from the front and those beds will get the river rock treatment as well!  I'm a little bummed out because the front has pretty black mulch that matches the pretty black shutters, but to remove the attraction to the cats, it will be worth it.  We'll still have the issue of them just strolling through the yard and relieving themselves as they pass through, but one step at at time towards fixing something that makes me mad.

This was written for Mama Kat's Weekly Writing Workshop, I chose the third prompt, "What makes you mad and what are you going to do about it?"

Mandy

Writer's Workshop - Ten Reasons I'm Glad It's Fall

Ten Reasons I'm Glad It's Fall...

1.  We can walk outside and not break out into an immediate sweat!
2.  The cooler weather is much easier on my succulent collection.
3.  Volleyball games at school...love watching my daughter play!
4.  Lunchtime walks are stress relievers and not stress inducers; we'll actually venture out.
5.  Away go the shorts, out come the sweatpants!
6.  Comfort food; chicken and dumplings, chili and lots of hot chocolate.
7.  Hunting season...just us girls for the weekends for plenty of girl time!
8.  The changing color of leaves; we don't get that much of that here, but I enjoy the pictures!
9.  Christmas is coming!
10.  All the good fall shows are back on with new episodes. 

These are in no particular order.  I actually had to think about this one because I don't have just one favorite season...there are things I like and dislike about all of them. 

If you'd like to join in, follow the link at the top of the post and pick a prompt!

Have a great night!
Mandy

Writer's Workshop: What Unconditional Love Means to Me

This week's prompt:  “It was as if an invisible thread hooked her to her boy. The thread could go taut or slack but it could never come undone, it could never reach the end of its spool because there was no end; it bound them forever.” What does unconditional love mean to you?


Much like the quote included with this prompt, my children are always the first thought when I talk about unconditional love.  When your child is placed in your arms for the first time, be it in the delivery room or through the channels of adoption, an overwhelming sense of love overtakes you.  In that moment, you  can't comprehend anything separating you from your tiny treasure, and woe to the person who would even sugest such a thought.  To often though, as we journey through life love is based on being good enough, living up to expectations set by others, how bad we messed up, how great we did, other people's opinions dictated to others, and a ton of other preposterous reasons.

Unconditional love for me is knowing that no matter what my children do or the decisions they choose to make in life, they will always have my love.  They might make decisions that I don't agree with and can't support, but my love will not stop because of those choices.  There might be times of distancing (I pray not), but they will always know that no matter what they choose in life that I will always love them just as much as the day they were born. 

Unconditional love comes with no strings attached; because in my opinion, if there are strings, then it was never really unconditional love to begin with.

Mandy

To join in the Writer's Workshop, stop by Mama Kat's (link's at the top of post) , choose a prompt and jump right in!

Writer's Workshop - Stepping Outside the Box

First off, let me just say that there's not an athletic bone in my body.  In high school, I was in marching band and I honestly can't remember ever running the required mile in gym class.  I've never liked to sweat, in fact, if I begin to feel close to it, I generally head straight to the a/c.  That being said, when a coworker and I were reading the paper and talking about the Tower of America's Run/Climb over a break; never in my wildest dreams would I have even considered what I was about to suggest.  "Kim, let's do it."  In case you don't know what the Tower of America's Run/Climb is, here's the details.  Competitors run a mile around Hemisphere Park and then climb 952 steps to the top of the tower.  Sound fun? Another coworker who'd run it before did his best to bully encourage us to try it.  With the deadline looming, we paid our registration fees and then made a plan.  Of course my husband's encouragement was along the lines of "make sure your life insurance is paid up" or "are you crazy?".  He even bought me the Biggest Looser knee wrap ice packs.  We practiced on the stairs at work during lunch instead of our usual 2 mile walks, readied our play lists and promised to take turns pushing each other up the stairs.  The day of the race came and we were ready.  Our goal was 35 minutes.

We got separated in the staircase; you can't hear your partner in a dark stairwell with earphones and hundreds of feet pounding the steel stairs!

After asking God to "just take me now" about three times, I made it to the top in 37 minutes!  My friend was waiting for me at the top with water.  I left mine at the bottom and was tempted numerous times to beg strangers for water...I didn't. Not wanting to wait for the elevator, we took the stairs back down...that was more nerve racking than the trip up!

We made it!!  After some lovely language on the trip up and swearing that I would never do something this crazy again, we're making plans to do it again in 2011.  The deal was that if she did that with me, then I would do the half marathon for the Rock 'n Roll Marathon with her in November 2010.  I'm not sure what I was thinking...other than stepping completely "outside my box"!  There is still not an athletic bone in my body...I'm channeling my deeply, and I mean deeply buried athlete!  

Me, Kim's Daughter, Kim...we did it!

If you'd like to join in the fun, stop by Mama Kat's and choose your prompt.

Mandy

Writer's Workshop...A Good Mom Moment

Too often, I wonder if my girls are really getting it.  I try and include a relationship with their Heavenly Father throughout normal life, we talk about sermons after church, and I'm always ready to pray with them or for them; whatever they need at that time.  Sometimes though, I question myself on if I'm doing enough.  Good Mom Moments like this encourage me that I just could be doing it right!

One evening, Caitlin came into my room and says, "Momma, I need a scripture." I replied, "Ok, for what?" She proceeds to tell me that she needs something that talks about being perfect just the way you are.  I stopped dusting and pulled out my Bible.  I showed her Psalms 139 where it talks about knitting us together in our mother's womb and being fearfully and wonderfully made. She said that was perfect and gets ready to take off.  I stopped and asked her why she needed it, and she replied, "One of my friends thinks she's ugly and I told her that God made her just the way she was and how could she be ugly." I wanted to cry, but settled for a smile and asked her if she knew just how great she was.  She left the room to go call her friend with the verses; proof of what she already knew, and I took the moment to remind myself that I was doing a great job because my girl "got it"!

Moments like that make all the other "mom guilt" moments matter just a little less!

Mandy

This was from Mama Kat's Weekly Writer's Workshop. Stop by her blog to check out the prompts and join in on the fun.

Writer's Workshop...Bucket List

I have always loved to write, so when I saw this weekly meme, I thought why not!

Out of the 5 prompts listed for the Writer's Workshop, I'm think I'll go with the listing 100 things I want to do before I turn 100.  Otherwise known as a Bucket List...I probably won't get to 100, but we'll see!

1. Learn to ballroom dance
2. Go to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina
3. Take my children to Disney
4. Visit an Amish community
5. Visit Maine or Rhode Island to see the lighthouses
6. Eat lobster on the beach one one of the above locations
7. Take a trip to Spain
8. Read all the books in my library
9. Instill my love of reading in my children
10. Take piano lessons, again
11. Run a 5k without stopping, then
12. Run a 10k without stopping, and then
13. Run a half marathon (no desire for the full)
14. Open a used bookstore/succulent nursery
15. Run all the above races with my oldest daughter
16. Write a book
17. Dance in the rain with my husband
18. Take off on a Girls Only adventure with my mother
19. Another Girls Only adventure with my best friend
20. Yet another Girls Only with my girls...not in our house!
21. Climb a mountain
22. Master Zumba and become an instructor
23. Teach piano lessons to children
24. Volunteer at a crisis center for young girls
25. Volunteer at a women's shelter
26. Visit Graceland
27. Watch my daughter's marry the man of their dreams
28. Visit Holland and get my picture in a field of tulips
29. Loose 15 lbs and keep it off
30. Watch my daughter's grow in their love of their Heavenly Father
31. Read my Bible through from cover to cover
32. Live closer to my parents
33. Gain control of my temper
34. Take a summer off to spend with my girls
35. Teach my girls to drive like their mother
36. Help my mother make a blog
37. Take photography lessons
38. Get as close to mastering the Fruits of the Spirit as I possibly can
39. Learn to belly dance
40. Make a scrapbook for each of my girls
41. Get season tickets to the Majestic Theatre
42. Become season ticket holders for the San Antonio Spurs...for all 4 of us
43. Pay off all debt including the house
44. Be the best friend I can be to my current friends and ones I've yet to meet
45. Own a Westie
46. Stomp grapes
47. Learn to sew
48. Redo my bathroom and put in a whirly tub
49. Have a miniature, pot-bellied pig to call my own
50. Attend a Broadway production of The King and I, Fiddler on the Roof and a number of other musicals
51. Get a reduction...I'll leave it at that
52. Put together a cookbook of my girl's favorite recipes to give them when grow up and leave me
53. Visit Hershey, Penn.
54. Learn to rollerblade
55. Take tennis lessons and play with my youngest
56. Go skydiving with my husband
57. Learn how to grill more than hotdogs without burning i

I didn't think I'd make it to 100, but I did suprise myself by getting to 38!  I was at 38 and then took my bath and realized I'd left off belly dancing!  Cut the bath short to fix this...I think I'm good with 57.  I'm really content with a book or working with my plants, so this has been a good exercise in realizing that a little adventure wouldn't hurt me!

If you'd like to try, head over to Mama Kats and join in the fun!

Have a great night!
Mandy