Sorry!

Ok, so I feel so badly about being away from my blog this whole week - not that I think anyone really reads all this jibberish, but I think it's therapeutic for me! Anyway, I have an urge (although I'm not Catholic, and no disrespect intended at all) to start by saying, "forgive me readers, for I have sinned - it's been 5 days since my last blog entry". Anyway, it could be because I don't feel like I've had anything substantial to contribute, and quite possibly because the couple of times I've started a blog discussion with myself, it's sounded really negative, and I've been on a kick to make my corner of the world more positive, as I'm not liking the negativeness that seems to come with this menopause thing and the sheer rudeness I am running into all over the world these days. So, last night I went drumming in Bloomington - fabulous. We are figuring out more beats and sounding better all the time. The ones who have been more shy about drumming are banging much harder on the drums and feeling more comfortable with it, which is great. Drumming is all about several things for me, at least. It's therapeutic for me, it's release of frustration, it's community and building something together in sound, yet letting me express my own individuality, and of course, as with everything I like to be involved with, it's fun! Today some friends and I are travelling to Joliet College for an indoor pow wow, and tomorrow Tracey and I are going to a rock show. Busy weekend - lots of fun. I'll post some pictures when I'm back home. In the meantime, maybe you'll want to think about taking on the project of make your corner of the world more positive - we can make a difference, one corner at a time!

Happiness!

Life is way too short to spend it by regretting what I've done (or not done) in the past. It's way too short to spend it by fretting over why a person was mean to me or didn't include me in something or slighted me in some way. It's way too short to spend being angry or trying to control everything so it goes the way I want it to. It's way too short to spend thinking about people who treat others badly, yet still seem to always win in the end. It's way too short to spend whining because I don't have what I want or didn't get to go where I wanted to, or buy what I wanted to buy. Try to enjoy and take in and embrace each and every moment of every day you're given - it's a gift. These are just a couple of pictures to remind us of really important ways to spend our lives.

Weekends always fly by!

Weekends always seem to fly by so fast, don't they? As you already know, we had an impromptu drum circle Friday night, I worked Saturday during the day, went to dinner with a friend, did taxes all evening, then today I made a huge breakfast and the kids all came over and we ate it (at lunchtime) and played games and laughed and laughed and laughed. So now I'll finish up the dishes, rest a minute, then it'll be time to get up and start all over with a new week. Who could ask for anything more?

Impromptu, Spontaneous Drumming

Impromptu, spontaneous drumming - that's what happened at my house tonight - a few phone calls, some snacks thrown together, some interested drummers, and voila! Drum circle. Everytime we get together it's fun, it's fellowship, and the drumming is relaxing and therapeutic. Each personality adds to the gathering - and we are getting alot better musically, too. Thanks, everyone for a fun night.

Reminder

Ok - here's the reminder I promised you a few blogs ago. This Monday, March 8th, eat at Culver's in Pekin anytime between 5 and 8 p.m. and they will donate part of the money they receive to Parkinson's research at Bradley University. We are doing this in honor of my customer, Don Bohlander, you remember, who is living proof of the fantastic results new research is bringing for people suffering with this disease. You can drive through - you don't even have to haul yourself out of your car! I'm assuming there will be lots of fun going on inside if you want to go in and order and eat, but we're after the dollars for help here - so even if you don't have the time to go in and stay, drive through - everyone has to eat, eh? And order lots - you can heat it up in the microwave for lunch at work the next day - ok, maybe not the french fries so much, but the burgers. And they have really good salads - order one, put it in your frig and take it to work for lunch on Tuesday. Let's rally around this and show Don we're with him and happy for his progress, as well as show Culver's we appreciate their getting involved in giving back to our community. Thanks for your support!

Sometimes it's hard

Did you ever have to make a decision to do something that you deep down knew you needed to do, but you really did not want to do? Isn't it hard? And yucky? And disheartening? And unsettling? Hmmm... Why can't things just work out the easy way once in awhile? I think one of my really weak areas is that of discipline and making myself do things I don't want to or not letting myself do things I really want to - even when it isn't the best for me. And so in this position, I always do the same thing...procrastinate. I put it off, put it off, and put it off, until I'm so agitated and stirred up about the whole thing, I have to deal with it. At this point I begin to rationalize and make excuses for not doing what I know I need to do. I wish I could just listen to my inner self, be obedient, and have the confidence and security to make the decision to follow along my path. But I guess therein lies the truth - it's the walking the path, doing the journey that makes me who I am and helps me learn my lessons, not just the arrival at the new place the easiest and quickest way.

Planetarium

This is Terrance and Maria, showing you the souvenir penny they each "made" in the machine behind them at the Lakeview Planetarium on Saturday. Tanner and I took them to see the "Winter Skies" and the "TimeSpace" shows. They really enjoyed them (although Maria did take a quick nap during the last show).