Random Thoughts a.k.a. Mindful Meanderings

Sounds like a new blog to me. Anywho, this may be rather Seinfeld-esque, but don't we all have such thoughts sometimes?Read on if you dare. If not, run as fast as you can.

Why the same size bottle of shampoo and conditioner? Haven't they figured out we use more shampoo?

I think God made us cavity-prone just so He could make some dentists.

What if the ideal body habitus for women is that of the Renaissance artists, and not thin thighs and 6-pack abs that are sculpted by personal trainers? Those skinny chicks will feel stupid for all the money spent on those hours in the gym then!!

Purchasing a horse and buggy might not be such a bad idea.

Why can't we have a friendly, neighborhood Spiderman?

If one can go to hell in a handbasket, who's carrying the basket?

I think God created cockroaches just so there could be an Orkin Man.

In the same vein, would the Orkin Man be Spiderman's archnemesis?

I think that any medication that stops menstruation for a YEAR is scary.

I wish my children knew what it was like to have to get up to turn the dial to change the channel on a black and white television set without cable.

Some would consider the previous thought cruel and inhumane if acted upon.

Why can't humans truly, only mate for life?

Do having faith and praying without ceasing contradict each other?

The chicken came first.

Where HAVE all the cowboys gone?

Isn't Prince's "(Party Like It's)1999" a moot point now?

Ever notice how cell phones resemble those communicators James T. Kirk and his crew always used on Star Trek?

My mother was right.

That's all for now. I'm sure I'll have more in the future.

Peace... Be Still...

I have spent the last hour watching storms rip through B-Town from my western windows. I have also spent a better part of that time calming my youngest, who seems to have inherited an intense fear of storms from my mother. Early on, we prayed that God would make the storms just stop. He can do that, you know, and I'm guessing that would be pretty awesome to behold. I also prayed that He would calm my daughter and help her not be so afraid. She was in my arms at that point, and I was swept back to when she was about 3 years old or so, calming her after a nightmare. The storm kept coming, and from what the meteorologist was saying, we could expect some pretty atrocious weather, including softball-sized hail, before it would clear out. Then he said those in B-Town should take cover, as the storm was fast-approaching our area. Again, my daughter's distress was more than evident. She was panic-stricken. We all prayed again, for those who were experiencing the worst of the storm. Then, Kenzie, prayed something I will never forget, something akin to prayers I've voiced in times of trouble: "God, please take the storm away! I'm so scared! God, can't you see how scared I am?!! Please make it go away!" We were looking out the window immediately following that prayer, and what did we behold? Clouds parting, blue sky and the remnants of a sunset, a storm disintegrating in a snap. Gone. "He heard me, Mom! He made a miracle just for us!" How very true. He did. And left me with the following thought:

There are a lot of storms in life. Some, He brings us through. It might take a while, it might be the most difficult storm for us to weather, but He leads us safely out of it. Others, when He knows it's too much for us to bear, it's just snap! Gone. I have personally experienced the former, and tonight witnessed the latter. I'm not sure which is better, but believe that both are miracles. What amazing power He has.

Life Moves Pretty Fast...

If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. Never have truer words been spoken. Thank you, Ferris Bueller. I took his advice. I stopped and looked around. I went above and beyond that, in fact. I drank it all in. Picture it: Friday, May 2, 5:00 p.m., St. Louis, MO. I'm there with my beloved enjoying a few days with him in honor of my 40th birthday. Yes, my birthday was in March, but the Cardinals were not playing the Cubs back then. But they were playing on this day. It was my first really good look at the new Busch Stadium, adoringly referred to by Cardinals fans as Baseball Heaven. And it is. No joke. I've been to a few major league ball games in my day, and I can tell you it's the most beautiful stadium I've seen. I was awestruck. I was giddy. I was agog. I even jumped up and down in excitement. Just ask my beloved. I think he got a kick out of my child-like awestruckedness.

We had kosher hot dogs (the best, I must say), and, yes, beer (shocking!), and peanuts, but no Cracker Jack because, in my opinion, the stuff just isn't the same as when I was a kid. Did they change the formula or something? Why aren't there more peanuts in the mix? When did they stop putting tiny "diamond" rings in there, and start putting in trivia tidbits about the Presidents, with your very own presidential temporary tattoo? Gee whiz. Crunch and Munch is much better. But I digress.

The rivalry between the Cards and the Cubs is legendary. There were a lot of Cubs fans there. I didn't see many whose knuckles dragged the ground. Yeah, I know, I was stunned, too. The weather could not have been more perfect either. Just beautiful, all the way to the 9th inning, where the teams are tied, and where they stay tied until the 11th inning. Cards win! 11 innings - like I got a bonus or something. Woohoo! Could I have asked for a more perfect celebration of my 40th? I dare say nay. And it's all thanks to my beloved, who made it all possible. Thank you, darlin'.

Having been divorced quite a while now, I can say that I am not anxious to take anything for granted that God has blessed me with, especially my beloved. So, I plan to continue taking Mr. Bueller's advice, and I'm going to stop and look around as often as possible, so I don't miss anything.

Oh yeah...

Ix-nay on the upcakes-cay usiness-bay for Kelly and myself. There's a new cupcake shop opening in downtown B-town next week called Pinkie-dinks or something like that. Oh well, you know what road is paved with good intentions. Yee-haw.

What the Heck?!

Since turning 40 two weeks ago, I have had the stomach flu, quickly followed by a pretty bad cold. Next, probably gout or arthritis or carpel tunnel syndrome from all the typing I do at work or bifocals. With my cold, my head's been stuffy enough that I can't hear, so I'm saying "huh" and "what" a lot, so I may as well be 97 with a tremendous hearing deficit. Just add a "sonny" after the "huh" or "what" and I'm set. I've been chewing gum constantly, in hopes that my ears would pop. Hopefully, they'll do that soon. Probably when someone is repeating something they've already said to me 4 times at the top of their lungs, and then my ear drums will burst and bleed, then I'll REALLY be in trouble.

Ah, Meme

So, I was perusing some of the blogs on Alana's blogroll, and one had the following meme that I just had to do for this post. I suppose I've tagged myself to do a meme. Here goes:

Name 5 things you were doing 10 years ago

1. I was tending to my 2 year old daughter, Kailey, and in the 6th month of my pregnancy with my son, Timothy.

2. I had lived in Branson not quite a year with my (then) husband, and was a homemaker.

3. I was helping (then) husband prepare for the upcoming National Bible Bowl tournament at the North American Christian Convention, to be held in St. Louis in June, for our church's Bible Bowl team. We were the sponsors. (We made it to Thursday, by the way, and anyone who is familiar with the NACC Bible Bowl tourney knows that Thursday ain't too shabby for a first year team that didn't have any home-schooled kids on it).

4. I was mourning the loss of my dog, Gracie, who had been hit by a car.

5. I was 9 days away from unexpectedly losing my mother, and 2 1/2 weeks away from going into preterm labor from all the stress of my mother's death.

Wow. Okay. Uh, consider yourselves tagged.

Run for Your Lives!

This morning, I stepped outside, and I saw the most unusual thing. The sky was a strange, new shade. It's typical grey shade had been replaced by the most beautiful blue hue. But that wasn't the oddity I spoke of at the start of my post. There was also this big ball of orange fire hanging in the sky. I've never seen anything like it. And it's still there! What next? Mass hysteria? Riots? Suntans? Save yourselves!!! Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrgggggggghhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!