Destiny Matters

I absolutely love watching biographies on A & E. I don't care if it's someone I'm a fan of or not. I don't even care if I have never heard of the person. There's just something about hearing about what someone's life was like before they were considered successful. Well, this morning, it was country singer, Toby Keith. Very interesting and not hard on the eyes either. And he said something that was really interesting to me, which relates to writing.The interviewer read a very positive review to him. Apparently he hadn't read it or even heard about it. He smiled and chuckled and was genuinely pleased. So she asked him what reviews meant to him. He said he doesn't give his critics any weight at all. Why? Because he reasoned, if he gives merit to the good ones, he has to do the same for the bad ones. And he added, "nobody's that good and nobody's that bad." Hmmm...pretty good, huh?

It's true, isn't it? Nobody is THAT good and nobody is THAT bad. All we can hope, is to be who we were meant to be. If we can do that, nothing outside of our destiny will matter.

Be who you are!

Karen

Ch...ch...ch...ch...Changes

In case you hadn't noticed, I've made a few changes to my blog. First of all, and most noticable, I changed the background. No one has complained...well almost no one. There is one person, who shall remain nameless, complained that it's too hard to read with such a crazy background. Actually- I agree. But it's such a CUTE background. So I guess "cute" won over readability.

I also added a list of places where you can find my writing. I just thought it'd be fun to start a list. I saw it on someone elses site. Of course, my writing goal for 2008 will be to increase that list so that it fills the entire page...how's that for positive thinking?


And lastly, I have a new blog. You can find it at http://bethechange2008.blogspot.com/. It is a project blog and hopefully will grow throughout 2008. It's all about changing the world, one small action at a time.


So there you have it. Past, present, and future...this blog has it all! ~Karen

$100 Worth of Pleasure

My mom and I went to Seattle to visit my sisters recently. We were getting ready to go Christmas shopping at University Village when she announced that she wanted to give each of us $100 to get something for ourselves. It was truly a surprise because her offer broke the rules. You see, after years of giving every person in the family a present, we had decided to draw names instead. So her offer, though generous, could be deamed by the Holiday-Police, as cheating. But oh well. Who am I to argue with a hundred dollars?

Usually one to think things to death, I was pleased and surprised with myself for making decisions very quickly. I decided to get something that I wouldn't buy for myself. And now, back at home, with my new treasures, I think it's interesting to look at the choices I made. Here they are;

1. A bottle of perfume from Brighton, called "Live."
2. A bracelet from Chico's that has words like "Dream Big" and "Peace" on it.
3. A silver oval necklace with swirls on it.
4. The book, "Eat, Pray, Love."

As I look at the things that bring me pleasure, I think it says a lot about me. Now it's your turn. What would you buy with $100? What brings you pleasure? And no, you can't give the money away...and you can't pay bills with it. You must choose something completely impractical!

My sister took a picture of my mom and I after she bought the bracelet for me. The look on our faces is one of pure joy. Though the money was nice, the joy of spending an afternoon together really was...priceless. ~Karen

Strange New (?) Syndrome

As the weather changed, and winter crept into our house, my teenage son has developed a strange syndrome. A syndrome, by definition is a cluster of symptoms. Despite extensive research, I have been, thus far, unable to settle upon a diagnosis. So let me give you a list of symptoms and you can tell me if you know what it is;

• inability to lay head on pillow before midnight


• inability to close eyes before midnight


• profound hearing loss between 6 and 7am


• inability to hear very loud noises (ie alarm) between 6 and 7am despite tendency to blast said-noises from stereo at all other hours

Any ideas? I just can't figure it out. What worries me most is the early morning hearing loss. I mean, this kid sets his alarm clock so that everyone in the house hears it. It bleeps and blares and practically shatters glass. His room is at a completely different part of the house from mine, and it wakes ME up. But go into his room, with fingers firmly plugged into your ears and you will see something quite disturbing. He is sound asleep. If it weren't for the racket seeping into your ears, you'd compare it to walking into a sleeping baby's room. So sweet, so peaceful, so...LOUD! But I do have good news to report. Though I haven't found a diagnosis, I have found a cure.

The cure came in the form of a cell phone. My son bought one a few months ago. And the other day when his alarm had awoken the neighborhood and continued on for a half-hour, I picked up my home phone and called his cell phone. To my complete surprise, he picked up right away.

"It's time to get up." I said.

"Mom," he said. "Why are you CALLING me?"

Apparently amnesia is associated with this syndrome as well

Time Out

Hi. I will be out of town for five days. Talk atcha when I get back. ~Karen

Write Now - A Holiday Perspective

Write Now. It's the name of my blog. After my father shared letters he'd written during WWII, we began having breakfast at a local diner once a week. We talked about what was in the letters and we talked about what was not. And I learned something that I think just about everyone can benefit from.

I grew up hearing several of the stories. I knew them well...or at least I thought I did. But as my father retold the stories to me over breakfast and I went home to write them up, I realized that memory is a funny thing. My memories of what he'd told me as a child were not entirely wrong. It's just that I had run stories together, I'd even added detail. And here's what I think we can learn from that.

When you remember a story that Great-aunt Mabel or Grandpa Burt told, your mind fills in details that they don't mention, in order to make sense of it. The memories are not your own so you don't have the benefit of recalling them. So your mind makes assumptions without your permission.

So now, as an adult, I was hearing my father's stories for the first time...again. And when I went home to write them up, I realized that the story is truly in the details. I often followed up our time together with a couple of emails to clarify the story. There is something about writing it down, that ensures more accuracy.

The holiday season is upon us. Family will gather, for many it is the only time of year that everyone is all together. And for a few, it will be their last holiday. Take the time to "write now" during this season. It can be as simple as taking a small tape recorder to the dinner table. Or it may be that you take Grandma to lunch and have her tell you that story you grew up hearing. Writing your family history isn't as daunting as it sounds. It just takes a little planning and a little time. ~Karen

Team Work - It's for the...Squirrels?

As I said above, I have been trying to get birds to visit my house for a long time. I've hung the feeders, cleaned the feeders, switched the seed in them and to no avail. They still insisted on going to the neighbor's house for their fix. My very sweet neighbors don't know the pain they've caused me. Their birds awaken me in the morning with their chirping. They fly by my house on their way to the neighbors' and when they leave. They're mocking me...I'm tellin' ya...they're mocking me! All the while, my feeders remain untouched.

It had been over a year since I started this quest and I'd virtually given up. I grabbed the feeder that a friend gave me for Christmas last year, from the place where it hung prominently on my front porch and headed for the big black garbage can. I squeezed it and was amazed that not one seed fell off. It seems the manufacturers must have used Super-Glue to hold it together. But on the way, I thought, "Why not give it one more chance. So I hung the bell-shaped feeder in the tree as I passed.
It hung there all summer. Not one bird was interested. As the weather got colder, I was contemplating trashing it afterall. But then something remarkable happened. I watched as a squirrel climbed the tree. He went straight to the feeder, and held it with his teeth, while he shook it violently with his paws. I don't know what those seeds are stuck together with, but it didn't hold up to the squirrel's abuse. Now it was a shapeless blob, still hanging in it's plastic mesh cover. The squirrel hurried down the tree and gathered up all the seeds he had shaken loose.A few minutes later, the birds began to come. They enjoyed the fruits (I mean seeds) of the squirrels labor. And I got the pictures to prove it. Who knew that birds and squirrels were such good friends? I certainly didn't. After all my worry and sleepless nights, it turns out all I needed was to befriend a squirrel. Sheesh...who woulda thunk it?

Karen