Random facts Wednesday

I liked being an only child so much that when I was little, I had a plan to run away if my parents had any other kids.

But I also really wanted to be an identical twin.

I am an onion-phobe. I hate onions in just about every state, in just about every food. I can sometimes tolerate them in sauce or salsa, but only if they are pretty small and it doesn’t taste “oniony”

I had a pet rock/mouse when I was little. It was a very good pet.

I was always a color inside the lines girl. I used to think it was illegal to color outside of the lines.

I was terrified of fire when I was little. I used to have to sleep with my bedroom door open enough that I could see the smoke detector in the hallway outside my room, and I had to wake up periodically and make sure the green light was still on.

My first real pet (the rock didn’t really count) was a goldfish named Tessy. My first furry pet was my rabbit Fluffy.

At one point, I was the fastest sprinter in my elementary school, and used to be really fast on the hurdles, but then something switched and I became afraid of the hurdles and couldn’t jump over them anymore.

In high school, I once left my car running with the windows down during an entire drama rehearsal.

I once walked into a news studio. I mean, I literally walked into the glass wall of the building. While they were filming. I saw the anchors try not to laugh, because they were on the air.

I also managed to fall out of a shower stall in college. I was shaving, had on flip flops, and lost my balance and went out of the shower and skidding onto the main floor. I used to have so many bruises on myself that a nurse at my college asked if I was in an abusive relationship. But no, I really am just that clumsy.

I used to think odd numbers wanted to be even numbers, that odd numbers felt left out because they couldn’t be nicely divided.

I have biked a century (100 miles in one day), to raise money for local police. It was one of the hardest physical things I have ever done.

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Life as we see it and photos

Two new topics posted, Perfect Day, and My life 10 years ago.

And some photos from my visit to Duke Gardens on Saturday

And always remember to have your ducks in a row.

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I am the play leader

INVITATION

If you are a dreamer, come in.
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer . . .
If you’re a pretender, come sit by my fire,
For we have some flax golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!

— From the wonderful, wonderfully talented Shel Silverstein

 

 

I gave myself a new title today, one that I think really reflects who I am — and that is Play Leader.  I am the girl who is always the first to play, the first to dance, to twirl. When others feel too self-conscious to do it, I start. I’ll drag them along, laughing, until they realize they can play too. I don’t mind being the only one on the dance floor or on the swings. I know others want to, they just don’t feel comfortable doing it first, or by themselves. They need a Play Leader.

 These photos are from a recent work retreat. Towards the end, it started pouring. The trees were singing, the grass was sighing and gulping in the much-needed water. I had to go and spin and dance and twirl in the rain. My coworkers were laughing, but a few other brave souls followed my lead and drank in the clean, refreshing fun.

One coworker really wanted to go in the rain, but was worried about her hair, worried about whatever. So I grabbed her by the hand, and we started spinning around in the rain. She looked so happy and free when we were done.

As Play Leader, my job was done for the day.

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Y’arrrrrrrrr!

Ahoy mateys! Come on and GLARE with your good eye, it’s talk like a pirate day, ye scurvy dogs!

Give me your best piratisms, or be prepared to walk the plank and sink like Davy Jones’ locker.

Yarrrrr!!!

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Healing

Dear Body,

You have been unhappy lately. I’m particularly talking to you stomach; you sinuses; and you, well you know who you are.

I am aware of your displeasure. Because we are a team, your unhappiness in turn becomes my unhappiness. I’m sorry I let it go on for as long as it did.

As the management around here, I have begun some corrective actions. I have, at least for the time being, eliminated all dairy — both in traditional dairy form such as yoghurt, milk and cheese, but also dairy as an ingredient in things. It has only been one full day, but Stomach, you aren’t in pain for the first time in over a week, and Sinuses, I must say it was very nice to wake up and be able to breathe this morning. The nameless one, well, we still have some work to do, I guess.

For good measure, I have also eliminated a lot of sugar. Not all, but a lot, and have switched to an easier to digest form.

Because I care, Body, I have made some pretty drastic changes. Please understand that while I am happy to live on oatmeal, rice and fruits and veggies for a while, there will come a day when I get very tired of being hungry all the time.

I have also gone back on the high doses of probiotics/acidophillus, which I understand from Stomach that you were very unhappy when I stopped taking it. Here at management central, we do eventually get the message you have been sending and try to respond accordingly. (side note: apparently the latest food trend is Probiotics and Digestive Health supplements in everything. While that is a nice effort and probiotics/acidophillus are certainly very good things, the chances of actually having enough live cultures in your yoghurt, smoothies, cereal, etc., is minimal. So, don’t think you are fooling me. I will take the real stuff, thank you).

Body, I hope that the corrective actions we have taken will help improve your spirits and morale. I hope these actions will foster an improved sense of cooperation and rebuild some of the team spirit that has been sorely missed. I know you haven’t been operating at peak form lately. As management, I have to take some of the blame for that. Hopefully, we will be able to put this behind us and move forward into good health (without a dairy allergy would be much preferred).

Thank you for all your hard work, and please continue to submit your comments and suggestions. We always listen, even if it takes a while to answer you.

Sincerely,

The Management

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Day one

I’m eliminating dairy for a week, starting today. I think in addition to being sensitive to gluten, I think I have a problem with dairy. I will also be keeping a food journal (don’t worry, not here) to track how I feel. And I will try not to whine too much, I promise.

Of course, this also means no coffee, since I need a lot of cream in my coffee, and soy creamers tend be rather…blech. Tea for me!

Fingers crossed that I feel a lot better by the end of the week. Or maybe, I should say, fingers crossed that I don’t have a dairy problem. I already prefer soy milk, and like soy ice cream. But the cheese. I really like cheese. And soy cheese is NOT the same.

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shoes at an airport

….”Well, at least you went to Rome,where you got your Italian shoes. That’s something,” he said.

“I didn’t really go to Rome,” she mumbled.

“What do you mean? You said you went to Rome last year!”

“Well, I flew to Rome,” she said, while chewing her hair nervously.

“Yes, and then?”

“It was so big. And overwhelming. And I didn’t understand anyone. So I went to my hotel.”

“And my hair was a mess, and I couldn’t go out looking like that, so I just stayed at the hotel…,” she finished lamely, ducking her head to avoid his eyes.

“What about food? Did you at least go out for food?” He asked incredulously.

“I ordered room service,” she said in a rush.

“The whole time you were there?”

She couldn’t answer, but he saw her nod her head sadly.

“Where did you get your shoes, then?”

“At the airport, when I was leaving.”

“Let me get this straight. You went halfway across the world, to buy shoes at an airport?!?”

This was a dream I woke up to this morning. I think I might try to pursue this, she seems like an interesting character. Click here to see other story dreams I’ve had.

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some new favorite words/expressions

Glitazones. Headline reads: Fresh fuel for the glitazone controversy.

How fun is that for a word/headline? Granted it’s a serious health thing dealing with heart stuff, but the word itself is excellent.

And another new favorite: wrongheaded. Such a great way of saying you are too attached to your wrong opinion (hello, they are opinions,they aren’t wrong, just different!) I am going to try to work this into every conversation possible. Ooh, maybe even, dare I dream, something along the lines of: “you are wrongheaded about the glitazone controversy.”

I amuse myself.

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Would you like to buy some sea foam?

A journal drawing of one of the small glass bottles I collect, filled with sea foam and ocean water that I used to try to sell when I was little.

As an only child, and a creative one at that, I lived in my head a lot. I was always having running dialogs, verbal or in my head, with people who were real and imagined. And many of those conversations were selling things.(what can i say, i like marketing!)

Growing up on the coast, I was always at the beach, playing in the water, playing in the sand. I found THE BEST INVENTION ever and I wanted to sell this magical creation. I would get my hands super dirty, all the while describing out loud what I was doing, showing off how dirty my hands were, and then I would use this magical sea foam, that got your hands so clean, it must have been magic.

I would be in the water by myself, talking out loud about the wonders of sea foam, this revolutionary cleaner.

Oddly, I never sold any…

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A beachly life

Photos from my trip home this past weekend. This is my beach, I grew up here, I know it as well as I know any place, and there are always new things to see and discover. I never tire of the ocean, of the sound of waves crashing (even little small waves), the smell of the beach, the feel of the sand between my toes. The beach is a place I am perfectly alive, perfectly content and happy.

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