Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Contest to Win a Nook!

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ A Cute Time-Waster

Too. Too cute. Takes awhile, and very likely a poor use of time. But. Penguin charades...doesn't get much cuter...


And. 24 and I actually got some things accomplished. The house is minimally decorated. Excuse for minimal decor? Rob is going to be working, a door and drywall mud moved in last night. And since he will be moving things from point A to point B and making lots of dust, minimal it is.

And we are slightly ready for visitors from New Mexico on Monday.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Bleeding Glass

On bleeding in public places.

I look at this as a mixed bag of blessings. A) There was laughter involved. At me, but that's okay because I was laughing, too. B) I had to go to the bathroom anyhoo, and was putting it off because I was obsessed with the project on which I was working. And my focus kept diverting itself to my screaming bladder. C) Blog content.

Scene: Creating glass fusion ornaments. Now that may sound like a sweet nightclub...Glass Fusion...but it's not. It's playing around with and gluing bits and pieces of glass onto other bits and pieces of glass so the instructor can melt it together in a 1300 degree kiln.

24, my mom, a few friends and I took a glass fusion class right before Thanksgiving. I'd show you pictures but some of them are Christmas gifts. : ). So I won't. Not now anyway. Okay, here's one. This was so much fun we signed up again. Last night I made six more creations. And cut myself...actually, I stabbed myself with spaghetti glass.

My dad and uncle, and one of his friends took the class last night, too. My dad is the Monet of glass artists. He actually brought photos of scenery and recreated them in glass. I can't wait to see those fired. My uncle created one perfect tiny square mosaic, and my uncle's friend created a chain saw. Yes. Really. Ha.

I may end up in the newspaper, too. Before I stabbed myself. The reporter should have stuck around for the real story. But alas, she left before the chainsaw massacre. And the spaghetti glass stabbing.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Ring All the Bells

Ringing My Bells... A Poem to Recite to the tune of Carol of the Bells.

Soup Christmas Eve,
Guests Monday night,
Crafts everywhere,
Menu unknown,
Dust covers all,
Dog hair does, too,
Shopping is done
Or maybe not all,

The season is here,
Stress overwhelms,
Wedding Saturday,
Drama unfolds,
Words to this poem,
Do they work,
Or do they not,
Dry, dishpan hands,
More dishes to do,

No decorations up,
Still need to dust,
Must put things away,
And think about next week
The stuff to be done,
The things to complete,
augh, augh, ding, dong,
clang, bang, whimper

Deep breaths
Candles all lit
Listen to songs
Drink up some tea
Stress isn't gone
But life is what it is...

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Week's End...Random Thoughts.

Random facts from recent events:

I can sit through about an hour of "comedy" and not laugh one time til someone fakes getting hurt. And then, the har-har pump is primed and everything becomes hilarious.

I don't recommend that you squeeze those little plastic spice bottles. Nutmeg in the eyes burns and is a bit gritty. However, if you are me, you will laugh and then it's all good again....

It is a huge blessing to enjoy spending time with my adult children. I spent an evening with Toad Boy and 24 and I really like them. 19 is flying the friendly skies back to Iowa...and some not so great weather. Mrs. Toad Boy had other plans. But I really like them, too. I'm going to say that spending time with these people is in my top 3 favorite things to do.

God is in control. Even when it doesn't seem like anyone is, and it seems like things are going from frying pan into roaring open flames. And I'm glad I don't have God's job. I wouldn't want the responsibility.

Random facts typed at 11:43 p.m. may not make sense at 7:30 a.m.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ For Being a Friend

How do you define the word "friend?"

The word friend can be defined as many ways as there are people. So here's my definition.

A friend is someone I don't talk to every day, nor do I need to see that person on a regular basis. Our connection is one where we are able to pick up where we left off after we catch up on the details of life. Our relationship is based on mutual respect and warm feelings. Not on needs.

My friends are unique in lots of ways, but they all have this in common, they love to learn, grow and stretch, seeking ways to live a vivid life. No matter the circumstances, they persevere and move forward. I guess that would be resilient, the ability to be knocked down, yes, but then get back up again.

Honesty and reality based. No flattery, no game playing, no manipulations. Those are the best kind of friends. I can know where I stand, don't have to guess at expectations or do the dance of dysfunction with a needy Nell. A friend can and will tell me that I have spinach in my teeth, a bat in my cave or toilet paper on my shoe. Then, since we are talking about my definition of friend, she'll (or he'll) mock me.

What a friend isn't.... (suffice it to say that the examples below are folks who don't read the blog and if they perchance stumbled upon it wouldn't recognize that they are an example.)

I had a friend once who looked at me and said. "You are really a disappointment to me. I wanted you to be a real girlfriend, one who I hung out with every day." Honest. Check. She was honest. However, her expectations were intense. We both were married and both worked and had children to deal with. I couldn't even guess what her scenario looked like. And she tried every trick in the book to manipulate me to be "that" girlfriend.

Someone who sucks the life out of me and then kicks the dried up shell looking for just a bit more. I had another friend...her mom encouraged me to take her under my wing...(wonder why). This girl called me constantly, ran every last detail of her drama past me. She must have breathed through her eyes because I could never get a word in. Period. I would set the phone down and do things and come back and pick it up and she'd still be going. We lost touch about 15 years ago. And I recently ran into her and couldn't avoid her. I expected for her to ask me for a phone number etc.etc. She didn't even REMEMBER me. Seriously? How many victims has she gone through...are people just ears? Maybe. I'll NEVER forget her.

Someone who brings on palpitations, defensiveness or guilt when we connect. The game player, the hinter, the "gosh, I never see you anymore, you and your crazy life, but I still love you." when she was the one who canceled our last get together.

And that is the long answer to the short Plinky question. Now. How about you. How do you define a friend?

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Brrrrrrrr

Baby! It's COLD outside.

Thought this might warm you....

Didn't help me much. So I'm going to put on the flannels and commence hibernating.