Our House Got TP'ed!

We woke up this morning to find that our house had been TP'ed during the night. Halfheartedly toilet-papered; they only used two rolls, but still. It came as quite a surprise. And that's exactly how we reacted: surprised.

When I think about toilet-papering a house, I think of juvenile pranks intended to either irritate the person who lives there, or elevate them, like athletes who dump a cooler full of Gatorade on their teammates. I'm not sure how this episode was intended. It was pretty harmless, and we found it amusing, so I'll go with it being fun-spirited.

We're trying to figure out who might have done it. I wondered if my husband was the target? He's a teacher. One of his students could have figured out where he lives. Or it could have been aimed toward my daughter's attention. Maybe a neighborhood boy likes her? Of course, our house could have been chosen at random. Or it could have been the antics of one of the neighborhood kids who knew that we wouldn't get upset about it.

Whatever it was about, it amused us. We've never had this happen, and felt oddly special to have been singled out.

I'm sure we would have felt differently if it had rained.

Now I'm wondering what will happen to our house on Halloween?

Summer Ends with a Snowball Fight

My husband knows how to create magical moments. One of which was the snowball fight that my kids and their cousins partook in as summer ended.

He grabbed the Tupperware container that has been filling our freezer for eight months. Inside, were a dozen snowballs that he and my daughter collected during their snowball fight last winter. He had the foresight to save some so that we could have a snowball fight with my son when he came to visit from Georgia -- where he rarely sees snow.

So we summoned the kids from the pool and went from this:

To this:

Summer passed so quickly that I didn't even blog. And now we're zooming forward to winter, which means more snowballs, and then another epic snowball fight next summer. One of the more joyous cycles of seasons and life.

Yay for Earth Day!

These are trees we planted from free saplings we got at
Earth Day events 4 years ago.

I love Earth Day. Now that it's stretched to a week, and there are community programs going on everywhere, it's even better. I usually try to get out and pick up cans and bottles along the road to recycle, but didn't do that this weekend. Instead, we loaded up the car with broken-down electronics and headed to an e-cycling event.

We've been stepping over old computer hard drives, monitors, and televisions for years. They just pile up in our garage because we never knew what to do with them. Best Buy will recycle them for $10 each, but I just never got around to it. Then a local bank sponsored a program this weekend. You could bring a carload of electronics for a $10 donation (that turned into $30, once they saw all our stuff). Still, it was probably the best $30 we've spent in a long time. It made me feel good to get rid of all that junk and know that it wouldn't just be piling up in a landfill.

Earth Week 2013 is off to a good start, but there are more festivities to come.


Look for these Earth Day activities in your area:

Free Coffee at Caribou Coffee

Here's an Earth Day freebie to get you up and going. Bring in a reusable mug or tumbler to your nearest Caribou Coffee on Earth Day, April 22, and you'll get filled up with a free coffee.

For every new like Caribou Coffee gets on Facebook, their sponsors will plant a fruit tree in Central or South America.

Free Reusable Bag From the Disney Store

Bring in 5 plastic shopping bags into your local Disney Store on April 22nd and you'll get an Earth Day freebie of a free reusable bag. Looks like you'll get to choose between a Brave or Cars 2 bag.

Free Packet of Seeds From Pottery Barn Kids

Stop into a nearby Pottery Barn Kids store on April 20-22 and pick up a free packet of seeds from PBK.

 

Free Ball Jar Planters and Reusable Bags at Jo-Anns

Stop by your local Jo-Ann fabric and craft store on Sunday, April 21 and participate in a free make-and-take where you create a free Ball jar planter.

In addition, the first 50 customers on Monday, April 22, will get a free reusable tote bag.

Free Milkshake at EVOS

EVOS has a tasty Earth Day freebie. Stop into an EVOS on Earth Day, April 22, to get a free organic milkshake.

Free Entrance Into National Parks All Week

This Earth Day freebie will really help you celebrate the Earth! Go out to almost 400 national parks this week (April 22-26) and you don't have to pay an entrance fee.

Check with each national park as well because there are many free events happening this week.

She's Still Got It

My usually reserved 93-year-old grandmother has always been something of a flirt around men. Her increasing dementia hasn't stopped it. In fact, after we'd all had ice cream yesterday, I left the room and she had my husband all to herself.

When I returned, they were smiling and my husband was laughing.

"What did I miss?" I asked them.

She smiled coyly. "I said, 'Now my lips are all sweet and I don't have anyone to kiss'."

Comic Timing

My husband took me to a comedy club last night. I don't know why we don't go more often; it wasn't all that expensive and we had a blast. We'll do this again soon.

There were four comics in all. First, the emcee opened. He was an older guy with a lazy type of demeanor. I knew his job was to warm up the crowd and worried a little that he might not be able to do it. His jokes verged on being insulting. They reminded me of a throwback to older days when it was funny to make fun of women as being inferior to men. Luckily, he got a little better.

The next guy up was obviously high. He was college-aged and his material seemed very unfinished. He had a few funny moments with jokes that were edgy and clever. But for most of his act, the funniest thing about him was how bizarre he was. He reminded me of one of my son's friends. I think that made me laugh more than anything. He appealed a little more to the younger people in the crowd. In time, I think he'll flesh out his jokes and will have a real future.

Following him was George Kanter, a middle-aged man who made a lot of jokes about everyday life and aging. For everyone over 20-something, he was hysterical. We could relate to almost everything he said. He used physical comedy as well as jokes. Because really -- if you're going to joke about aging, you have to act it out.

We were well warmed-up for the next comedian: Josh Sneed. Josh is a 35-year-old who focused his routine on his fellow Americans and their obsessions with food, tv, and other pop culture. He turned a lot of the focus onto himself with his self-deprecating humor and it was funny. Laugh-out-loud funny.

By the end of the night, we had laughed a lot. At all four comics. They were so different, at different phases in their lives with different sets of material. I think everyone in the audience had their favorite, based in large on which comic you could relate to. I related to George a little more than the others. The fact that I related to the aging and middle-aged humor might have upset me except that it was funny. Really, really funny. I'm glad George and I can laugh about it. The only other alternative is to cry.

NaNoWriMo Has Begun!

Book sculpture/waterfall outside the Cincinnati Public Library.
I'd better kick it into gear if I ever want to see my book on the shelves there.

Here it is. November 1st. The start of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) 2012.

One of my managers is doing it with me this year. We sat at lunch yesterday and talked all about it. There were common themes that ran through our conversation and I realized that my imagination runs wild every October 31st, just before I sit down to start. Here's what I thought last night:

This book is going to be so good. Oh my gosh. This is the best idea ever. I can't believe nobody else has written this. Nobody else has probably ever thought of this. I'll be able to find a publisher right away. Probably by December. This book is probably going to write itself. After I get a publisher, they'll probably want me to turn this into a series, but I think it's better as a stand-alone. I'd better start thinking of the next book after that. I'll probably have a lot of book signings. I wonder if I'll be able to retire right away? I'm going to take my co-workers to the bookstore and surprise them and walk over to where my book is on the shelf. That'll be so funny. I'll probably be a common household name, like Stephen King. Oh my gosh -- this book is going to be great!

I could barely sleep for all my delusions of grandeur.

Then I woke up and went to my computer to start this Great American Middle-School Novel. I typed 300 words and it's already going wrong.

Wish me luck.

Just a Wheel Watcher

This weekend, Wheel of Fortune rolled into town. They set up shop at the Treasure Aisles Flea Market in Monroe, Ohio and hosted auditions for the show.

Not to brag, but I'm really good at Wheel of Fortune, much to the dismay of anyone else (my dad, especially) who is in the room. Guess I ruin their fun. So I felt compelled to drive up to Monroe and join the crowd in the hopes of auditioning to be on the show.



One 900-person group

By 'crowd,' I mean the line of cars backed up down the state highway, trying to turn onto the road that lead to the parking lot, swarming with people.

And by 'swarming with people,' I mean THOUSANDS who showed up for a chance to audition for one of three shows.

Here's how it worked: Everyone could stand in line to fill out an application. They hosted three show auditions, letting 900 people at a time into the building where they then pulled five names from a drum and let those five come up on stage for a Speed Round. They encouraged people to jump up and down, show their enthusiasm and personality, and come across to the producers and crowd as good contestants to bring onto the show. It didn't actually matter if you got on stage, or if you won the Speed Round. Those things didn't automatically qualify you. They were auditioning these people.

Guess what?

___     ___ ___ S N ' T     P ___ C K ___ D

I bounced up and down with the 900+ people in my group, hoping they'd pull me out of the crowd. They didn't. I remain simply a Wheel Watcher, despite my winning personality and dreams of fame and fortune.

Sigh...

When is Jeopardy coming to town???

Today We Saw the President!

President Obama
Seasongood Pavilion, Eden Park, Cincinnati, Ohio
September 17, 2012

When my husband was younger, he saw Reagan. My son's marching band performed at a George W. Bush rally. But today it was my turn to see a president. My daughter and I suddenly found ourselves with tickets and headed down to Cincinnati to see President Barack Obama. It was fantastic!

Somehow, in the course of 45 minutes in which I stood in the same spot, I snapped 27 pictures. I just couldn't believe I was there. The crowd was wonderful. There was a spirit of community that I've found again and again in Cincinnati. Everyone was considerate of each other, making sure that no one was blocking anyone else's view. We were all there for the same thing: to see the President and cheer him on toward "Four More Years." I can still hear that vibrant chant in my ears.

Obama talked about all the expected issues: taxes, education, bringing our troops home, Obamacare, jobs, etc.. It was all very moving, but I don't need to tell you about that here. You can read that in the papers. I'd rather share what it was like to be there with my 12-year-old daughter, who may not have realized the enormity of getting to see a President today. I think that will come later, in hindsight. She did remark that he was very funny. He did crack quite a few jokes. I was glad she was paying attention.

What may have made even more of an impression in the immediacy of the day was the good deed a woman did on our way there.

In order to get to the Seasongood Pavilion in Eden Park where the President was scheduled to speak, we had to park up a steep hill, walk down the hill past the pavilion and approach from an even steeper angle. We didn't mind. We certainly understood the need for security and closed-off streets. What surprised us was a woman who came down the hill and waved us over to her SUV. She offered us and four other women a ride up the hill. We gratefully accepted and jumped in her car. Another van pulled over and picked up some other event-goers.

"Are you part of his campaign group?" I asked her as I thanked her for the ride.

"No. I'm actually a Republican," she said, "but it's a really steep hill, even if you're used to it."

And that, my friends, made my day. The coming together of differing parties to unite in an historical event in Cincinnati. No matter your party affiliation, we should all honor the office of the President. This woman kindly gave us a ride, then drove away and picked up more people at the bottom of the hill. This is not the first time I've been impressed with Cincinnatians and their graciousness and I know it won't be the last.

I will remember her kindness as the second greatest thing that happened to me today. But nothing can to seeing President Obama in person. My son and husband got to see their presidents. Now my daughter and I have seen ours, and I think we saw the best.

Things Are Different Now

Time to create something new.

It's been two years. Two years of daily posts that captured my musings, daily experiences, fictional stories, travel, and thoughts. 730 posts. I can barely believe that even as I write it.

I started this blog to keep me connected to the writing world. I was inspired by the talks of Jonathan Harris, Story Musgrave, and other speakers that I heard at a conference I attended. They encouraged me to create something and share it with the world whether it was perfect or not. They urged me to "put it out there" and I did. And I've loved it. And it did, indeed, keep me tethered to the writing world when the rest of life was pulling me away.

That isn't true anymore. In the past few months, writing has played a more central role in my life. I have projects and assignments and works in progress that want to take over my life, if I'll let them. Daily Snapshot has become neglected. I feel like I've been limping along, hoping to make it to the end of the two-year mark, and I think it showed.

So now it's time for a change.

I don't want to end Daily Snapshot altogether. Instead, I want to make it a more purposeful expression of my writing. I want to write when I have something to say, rather than dutifully posting something each day. This is the metamorphosis; no longer Daily Snapshots. Now just Snapshots. When they happen. When they make me want to sit down and write something about them.

I've given the blog a fresh face. I'm starting clean. A new year. Year Three.

Here we go...
Snapshots.

A New Age Bracket

I guess if I were going to buy a cemetery plot,
it would have to be along the lines of this one in Paris.

Today is my birthday. I usually don't draw attention to it, but this one is a significant one and the zingers started coming almost as soon as I woke up. Mostly from my brother.

He sent me an email with a low whistle that I could somehow hear through the email, followed by disbelief that I could be so old. Then he went on to tell me what time the Early Bird dinners start.

I read that and teased him back and the phone rang. It was a telemarketer trying to sell me a cemetery plot. I thought it must be some kind of joke, but wasn't sure who was behind the prank. My brother? My husband? My mother? My son?

Turns out it was none of them. It was a legitimate call!

When I accused my brother, he said the caller got it wrong. It should have been the Red Hat Society calling me with an offer for discount dentures...

It's not even dinnertime yet.

Like Rodney Dangerfield, I get no respect. But I did get presents, so we're good.

Today She's 12

My beautiful little girl is twelve today. I thought I'd feel sentimental with her entering junior high this week, but think I've used up most of my sentimentality on other things lately. Instead, I feel mystified by her. She's so complex, and different than I was. I watch her and am fascinated.

She's a girly girl who loves fashion and clothes. Her friends mean the world to her. She thinks she's awesome and is having trouble with a school assignment that asks her what she would change about herself; she says nothing. She wants to be a pro soccer player when she grows up and practices every day in the backyard. She cries about change and doesn't want to grow up. She likes math. She plays the trumpet. She idolizes Selena Gomez. She still snuggles with me on the couch.

I love everything about her. If I were her age right now, I'd definitely want her for a friend.

How lucky I am instead to be her mother. I've had the privilege of watching her blossom for the past twelve years into a beautiful young lady. I secretly admire her. Well, actually, it's not such a secret. She's absolutely beautiful, and today she is twelve.

The Invitation

I just got the invitation to my son's wedding. I knew it was coming, but experienced a rush of emotion just the same. My heart felt flooded with joy as his life and childhood flashed through my mind. I saw his name with Chelsea's and felt elated, soothed, happy, and overjoyed. He's found the woman he wants to share his life with. They're beautiful together. They're happy. Chelsea and Mac. Mac and Chelsea. They're getting married. I got my invitation. My son is getting married. I can't wait until the wedding to cry.

19th Amendment

These statues honoring the suffragettes in Ottawa hold a document proclaiming, "Women Are Persons."

I missed an important anniversary date in history yesterday. August 18th marked the 92nd anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. This seems like a date we should remember. I'm commiting it to memory now.

Grown Up. Old.

When I was a kid, it used to frustrate me that adults were so boring. All they wanted to do was sit around and talk. They wouldn't run, or play, or do anything fun and I vowed that I wouldn't be like that. I would still run when I was a grown-up.

I don't. And I don't even remotely want to.

But now it's worse. We have plans to go to a small amusement park tonight where we can ride all the rides we want for free. Guess what? I don't want to ride a single one. Somewhere along the way in these 40-odd years, I've lost my enthusiasm for rollercoasters and spinning. All I really want to do is sit with the other adults and talk.

I've become the boring grown-up that I vowed I'd never be and I don't even care. Sitting around and talking sounds like a lot more fun to me.

Swine Flu From Pigs?

I wonder if these two were passing along the disease??

I know this sounds ridiculous, but I never really associated swine flu with pigs. I always thought of swine flu as just the most recent in a line of exotic flu names that someone traced back to some pig, somewhere. But, as it turns out, you can actually catch swine flu from pigs! As 14 people have so far in state and county fairs in Ohio. Yikes!

We went to our local county fair (as you may remember I blogged about a couple weeks ago), and walked past every single pig there. Now, nine cases of swine flu have been linked back to the pigs at the Butler County Fair.

Reading that immediately made me want to check my temperature. What if I caught it? I'm not sick in the slightest, but it seems so bizarre that people are getting swine flu from the pigs at the fair that I almost want to claim I did, too. As though I missed out on something by not getting it.

But alas, I'm healthy. All I got from the fair was a stream of sweat down my back and giveaway plastic cups from local politicians, whom some might also call swine.

The London Olympic Opening Cermonies

The Bird's Nest in Beijing. Does London's stadium have a name? I don't know it.

I'm sure there's much talk today of last night's Olympic Opening Ceremonies in London. Here's my two cents: It was weird, but I watched.

I liked the idea of sharing London's history and really enjoyed all the references to literature. The transformation of the stage from grass-covered farms and fields to the Industrial age was a neat idea. But it all seemed to drag on. Especially the digital age piece. They really lost me there.

I was thrilled that they introduced all the nations in record time. I loved seeing the circle of colorful nations once they were all in place. And planting the flags all together was perfect.

I liked seeing David Beckham carry the torch. Especially when they told us how much he's advocated for his hometown of East London to experience economic growth.

I drifted off during the part with James Bond and the Queen, but gather that other people liked it.

Rowan Atkinson was a surprise. I wonder why they picked him? I liked his schtick. It kept me entertained.

I admit, I was a little disappointed with having seven (?) unknown athletes bestowed with the honour of lighting the torch. Seems like someone more worthy should have had that honour. But the torch itself was spectacular. Kudos to Danny Boyle for that.

But overall, when my husband asked me which I liked better, Beijing's or London's opening ceremonies, I didn't even hesitate: China. Hands down.

Our Ducks are in a Row

My husband and I were long, long overdue for making our wills. But today that finally changed and we did it. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it. I didn't know if I'd feel one step closer to death, or feel somber, or unsettled. Frankly, I didn't know what to expect.

I was pleasantly surprised to find I felt very relieved. There is a calming reassurance to knowing that you've put things in order. There's comfort in knowing that it's written down on paper. I don't know why we waited so long. (Yes, I do. We're lazy that way.)

What I found during the process was that my husband and I shared the same mindset even more than I'd thought. When issues came up that we hadn't decided beforehand, we turned to each other and gave the same answers; we were unified in what we want. If anything, it solidified the idea that we're married forever and that we've decided these things as a team.

We walked out of the lawyer's office with a sense of accomplishment. It made me feel good. I'm sorry we waited so long, but am glad that we finally got our ducks in a row. And that nothing happened to us before we did.

My Anniversary

Today is my twelfth wedding anniversary and I spent part of it talking to my son about his upcoming wedding plans. Time goes by quickly...

As Mac talked about his wedding details, I thought back to my wedding day. It was absolutely perfect. My mom and step-father worked themselves to death getting their farm ready for my special day. I got married in their rose garden as violinists played and our friends and family gathered around. Then we moved to the backside of the house for a picnic-style reception where all the kids could run and play.

I remember the wedding in bits and spurts; flashes of memory. I remember worrying a little because the caterer hadn't arrived and the wedding was about to start. I remember thinking that my dad was walking way too slow as he led me toward my soon-to-be husband. I remember that my son's shoes hurt, and that he cried, but that I thought the tears had a lot more to do with him having to share his mother than the pain in his feet.

I remember the Best Man's toast. I remember my brother playing our wedding song on the stereo outside. I remember finally sitting down at the end of the day and unwrapping wedding presents and being completely, utterly exhausted.

My wedding was casual, down-to-earth, and perfect. Absolutely perfect. It set the tone for our marriage, if you ask me.

More than anything, I remember the excitement and elation at knowing that my best friend was now also my husband. It's been 12 years since, and I still pinch myself for being so lucky.

A Few Favorite Shots from the Balloon Festival

The Hot Air Balloon Festival in Middletown, Ohio almost seemed like it might be a bust -- again. We've gone three times, but had yet to see a hot air balloon take off because of weather conditions. There was a red flag for a while yesterday and we thought we were going to miss out again. But then the flag changed to green and the balloon crews fired up.

Red, White & Blue?

Happy 4th of July!

In honor of America's Independence Day, Belgium's Mannekin Pis is dressed in patriotic attire. As soon as it stops raining, I'll go take a picture so we can all see what Mannekin Pis thinks he should wear to honor America.