Blog Peep Questions: Round 4

Welcome to your 4th installment of:

Who is your favorite superhero?
Oh, gosh… I honestly can’t claim to know superheroes or their back stories well enough to tell you a favorite. I did, however, have a really fun conversation a few years ago about superpowers with my niece Anna. We were sitting on my parents’ back porch after having just stuffed ourselves with s’mores, trying to decide what superpower would be the best one to have.

It pretty much came down to super-hearing, invisibility, flying and mind-reading. She was somewhat torn between invisibility and flying, but I said flying hands-down. A small part of it was the physical thing… since I’m not moving much anymore it seemed like it would be a crazy-good rush to go as fast as I wanted, anywhere I wanted. But mostly, I just didn’t want to know what people really thought about when I wasn’t around.

I mean, whether you have super-hearing, are invisible or can read minds, you are inevitably going to find out what people probably never intended you to know. I wish I could say it was about respecting people’s privacy but, in truth, it’s because I would drive myself crazy trying to please everyone and fix what they thought was bad about me.

I don’t have thick enough skin for that!!! So, flying it is. I’ll let you know if I ever master it. :)

What did you study in college?
It took me awhile to decide on a major, actually. My problem was that I enjoyed way too many things.

I started off as a biology major. One of my favorite classes in high school was Advanced Biology where we got to dissect cats and do all these great experiments. I know it sounds creepy, but I got really into it. I took those classes for a few semesters but it just didn’t feel like something I was going to enjoy studying for the rest of my life.

I loved my psychology class and took a few sociology courses that I also really, really enjoyed. But it was during one of the sociology classes that my professor handed a research paper back to me and commented that it would be good to keep on file if I wanted to expand it for publishing. I started to realize that the reasons I loved those classes were because there were very few tests, a whole lot of research and a whole lot of writing. The next semester I took a class called Literature and Psychoanalysis and I felt like a lightening bolt had hit me. I have honestly never enjoyed anything more than taking pieces of literature and analyzing the characters’ meanings, intentions and motivations. It was fantastic.

So, I became an English major. I had started with a Business minor, realized how much math was involved when I took Statistics, dropped that course and decided on a Business Communications minor. SO much better. I also had a Professional Writing minor and everyone told me I would never get a job unless I went into teaching, but thank goodness they were wrong! I really loved my college classes and sometimes wish I could sit in the back of a good literature class again just to hear the discussions.

How do you let your dog out to potty if you can’t go outside?
Good question! Actually, Riley has never had to go outside because I litter trained him. Yes, there is litter for dogs and it is the most fantastic invention ever!

When I first decided to get a dog, I had three criteria that had to be met: he couldn’t shed, I didn’t want him to smell like a dog and he had to be small enough to litter train. Petco makes a great brand of dog litter that works great for us, if you’re interested in trying it for your pup.

This is a psychedelic photo I took of Riley jumping out of his litter box  for his Week in the Life post last year. It’s just a little wicker enclosure with his litter box inside, tucked away in my hallway.

It’s not to be confused with his cute matching wicker kennel where he goes to pout or contemplate the complexities of life. Thankfully he doesn’t confuse the two, either!

Although he is litter trained, anytime he has gone outside for walks he makes up for the fact that he’s treated like a cat inside by marking every tree, bush, blade of grass and stray rock that crosses his path. He is nothing if not an alpha dog.

My neighbor Candace and I are bracing ourselves for the day he walks up and marks on her cute little dog, Martini. She’s the only dog Riley likes and we wouldn’t put it past him to make sure the whole world knows she’s his.

Men.

Since you do digital scrapping, have you turned your handwriting into a font?
Ok, so I know I answered this question in a previous post, but I have an update for you. I told you previously about having one of my handwriting styles made into a font that you could download [Pea Frankie]. It’s the style of writing I used when I did paper scrapbooking for a clean and consistent look, and I took the opportunity to have it made into a font when I started scrapbooking digitally.

After producing that font she asked if I wanted to do another style, so I sent her my more normal, everyday handwriting. I totally forgot about it until I got an email from her a few weeks ago with the new font completed. She now has it up on her site where you can download it as well [Pea Sara Print].

The Pea Frankie font is what I used to write “Blog Peep Questions” in the logo at the start of this post, and Pea Sara Print is used in the tagline of that logo, as well as all the headings on the blog posts and sidebar. If you like them, feel free to download away!

Ok, that’s it for today. I had planned on answering a lot more questions, but apparently I’m completely incapable of giving short answers.

But I’m guessing you all knew that about me by now, right? :)

Sponsored By Sesame Street (kind of)

I’m always looking for ways that we can be a little more interactive here on the Gitzen Girl blog. I love that you show up every day to read my ramblings, but sometimes I wonder what YOU ALL really want to read about. And I think I may have figured out a fun way to let you decide.

On Mondays, we’re going to pretend that we’re back in our younger days of watching Sesame Street… where each episode was brought to you by a letter of the alphabet.

I’m going to give you the chance to pick my topic of the day, and each week’s topic will correspond with the next letter in the alphabet. For example, next Monday’s topic will have to start with the letter “A” … but YOU ALL will have to provide the topic for me. You can have me tell you about my [A]ll time favorite meal, or tell you a story about owning an [a]quarium or inquire about whether or not I’m [a]ccident prone. I would appreciate it if you didn’t ask about crazy topics like aardvarks or acroliths, because those are topics for which I don’t necessarily have a lot of experience [I totally grabbed that last one randomly at dictionary.com].

I have, however, read enough Harry Potter books to tell you how to do the [a]ccio spell if you’re interested.

At the end of each Monday’s blog post, I’ll have you give me suggestions in the comment section for the following week’s letter. Beer, Cats, Driving while my car starts on fire [oh wait, that one was already covered…], basically the sky is your limit.

This could be fun… I’ve always liked a good challenge. :)

Ok, peeps, start posting topics in the comment section! And remember, next week’s blog post will be brought to you by the letter [A].

Flashback Friday: One Year and Counting

So, Wednesday was my 365th day of blogging. I’ve officially been blogging for more than one full year.

367 days. 271 posts.

I honestly had no idea I had that much to say. And I certainly had no idea I would meet so many people, make such good friends and come to rely on all of you being here every morning when I stumble out of bed. It’s like a long-term slumber party, only you don’t have to look at my crazy, matted, unruly, curly hair when I wake up. It’s a win-win. [Trust me.]

I figured this Flashback Friday would be a good day to revisit the very first post I wrote. I started this blog on a whim because I felt like I had something to say and no one to say it to…

Thanks for showing up and listening.

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Rummaging Through
[originally posted: May 28, 2008]

Two nights ago, tornadoes ripped through nearby towns. They tore apart homes, families, livelihoods and security. I sat for nearly seven hours as the newscasters told me it was going to miss my town, that it was heading straight for my town and finally that it had created destruction everywhere around me, but spared my town. The sky was ominous. The atmosphere was, in a word, creepy... and the sound of a jet hovering overhead turned out to be the F5 tornado many towns away. It was the sound of lives changing in a moment.

I spent the day today going through my closet and putting together things to give to the people of Parkersburg, whose town is gone but not lost. In the process of searching for things that may help build their lives, I discovered myself finding a way to let go of my own past life. Before I became sick I took my full life for granted. I assumed I would always be social, rarely at home, singing at weddings and working to my heart's content.

Now, because of the need of others I finally let go of the dresses I don't need for singing at weddings, the shoes with heels that are too high to use with crutches and the little clutch purses that can't swing hands-free across my body. They haven't been of any use to me for such a long time, but I couldn't seem to get rid of them without a reason. I mean… what if, after ten years of getting worse, I wake up tomorrow able to sing at a wedding again? What if, after barely leaving the house a handful of times in the last year, I break out and go on a date? Those heels would come in handy.

But the reality is that I have to let go of sifting through my life just as the people in Parkersburg, New Hartford and Dunkerton will soon have to do. They are going to have to step aside and watch the bulldozers carry away the remnants of their old lives so they can start rebuilding their town, their homes, their families, their livelihoods. They will find their new normal in the midst of the chaos and see blessings in tragedies. They will struggle between holding on and letting go, and I will cheer them on in spirit as I do the same with my life.

Somewhere in the midst of all of their trouble, in my heart aching for them and trying to imagine their loss and their gratitude and their hope, I let go of hopes that aren't meant to be fulfilled and offered the material remnants of my past life for their new lives. It's another start, and a fresh start always means hope is on the horizon. Theirs may be the hope of building bigger, stronger, better. Mine may be of building a resiliency for the pain that lies ahead. But both are hope nonetheless.

Hours of Entertainment…

Just to keep you informed of every, tiny, miniscule aspect of our lives, this is still what Riley does to break up the hours of boredom busyness around here:

Where’s Riley?There he is!!!

I wonder if that game will ever get old…

[If it’s already gotten old for you, don’t tell me. The little dude keeps me entertained…]

I did manage to take a moment out from all the laying around rousing games of peek-a-boo around here to pick a canvas winner, so without further ado, random.org picked:

AMY: I'm crying. You amaze me with your wisdom. 
Beautiful, abundant blessings to you.

Looks like I’ll be shipping my first out-of-country canvas to Canada!!!

Congratulations!!! Email me at gitzengirl@gmail.com with your mailing address and I’ll get it shipped out to you!

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If you feel so inclined, and have had a burning question that you’ve just been dying to ask me, now’s your big chance since I’m going to do another Blog Peep Question post next week! I do still have a list of your questions waiting for answers, but feel free to leave any questions [serious, silly or otherwise nosy] in the comment section today… what I don’t get to next week I’ll include in another post.

Have a great Thursday… [and I promise I’ll have something of more substance to say tomorrow. :)].

HDG: His Plans

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.”

This is a cross that hangs in my living room and it has, at times, been full of loaded words to me.

That was my fault. Not the fault of the words.

The thing is, being human, we really always want to make everything about us – what we want, what we desire, what we choose to hear. I see the words stating there is a plan to prosper and not harm me, and it’s hard not to think, “Really? Did you miss me in line on the day when the whole don’t-harm-me-prize was handed out?” Because let’s be real. I live in my body everyday. It’s been harmed.

But the thing is, these words were the Lord’s, not mine. He stated them with His heart and His intentions, not mine. Wanting to put my own interpretation on them is my problem, not His.

I felt this way to some degree when the Prayer of Jabez was popular a few years back. I am in no way saying that prayer was bad… it wasn’t. But there were people who would email me the prayer with the intent that it was a magic charm or something. That I would be healed, that my financial troubles would disappear, that all prayers are answered and I would get all I wanted.

Oh, how we want to fix the suffering. The problem is, we want it to be fixed our way, in our time, and by our standards. I think the prayers are good, if we put God’s expectations on them instead of our own.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.”

There are times I can read this with my eyes, and I wonder where my prosperity is. Where is my job, my career, my purpose? I can wonder how His plan is not to harm me. My body is broken, my abilities are diminished, my physical self is kept captive in my home.

But then I read the first line again. He knows the plans He has for me. Not the plans I have for me. Not the plans I wished for myself. His plans. For me.

He has plans… it’s up to me to trust that. It always boils down to trust.

I can look through His eyes and see how I have prospered in the midst of my life. I have greater friendships and support than anyone else I have ever known. I have found companions in all of you. I have a home that provides me security and safety from the elements. It’s my comfort and my safe haven.

Through God’s eyes, I am not harmed. I do have a body that constantly attacks me, but my spirit is more than strong. It is safe and content and securely at peace. I have been prospered and protected. That in and of itself gives me hope and a future. And all of that is possible because I choose to trust His plan.

The amazing thing is, that’s just what I imagine His eyes to see. All the little things and big things I am sure I miss everyday with my human eyes are seen by His. And I trust that He’s taking care of it all.

All I have to remember to do is get out of His way… to let His eyes guide my life instead of relying on my own limited vision.

To win today’s canvas, simply leave me a comment before midnight CST. I’ll let you know the winner in tomorrow’s post. [Only one comment per person, please.]

The Origins of George

My brother Hoody sent me a cell phone video this weekend that he took of my sister Laura and brother-in-law Jeff’s grandson, Grant. He’s learning to walk and they joked all weekend that they discovered the origins of George:

So, I would like to make it known that I’m not using a walker because I’m getting old and feeble. I’m just trying to recreate my youth. :)

My George doesn’t look nearly as entertaining as his…
  

Unless, of course, you add a little white dog with a mohawk to it.
  

Poor Riley doesn’t enjoy George all that much. It took a few tries to get this terrified look off of his face.

If you can’t tell, he’s swearing at me with his eyes.

Either that, or he’s doing his best Mr. T impression of, “I pity the fool.”

The things I put that poor dog through in the name of blogging.

Memorial Day Past

Oh, people.

It’s very late on Sunday night and I just now realized that it is Sunday, not Saturday. Which means it’s almost Monday and I thought I had another day to write a post.

I blame it on two consecutive days of doing nothing but watching a Jon and Kate Plus 8 marathon … it caused me to lose all sense of time and space. I’ll just do what Kate would do and blame it all on Jon. :)

So, since I have nothing prepared I thought I’d show you what I have done on Memorial Day weekends in the past. Back in 2001, my entire family gathered at my parents’ home for Memorial Day weekend to have a much needed family photo taken. The weather was perfect and all the nieces and nephews had so much fun playing together that we decided to make it a yearly tradition. And we really did a good job of sticking to it for a number of years.

Of course, I kind of broke the pattern when I stopped being able to travel, but the last time I was home in 2007 we had the most perfect weekend I can ever recall. It was a great note for me to end on, so I thought I’d share my scrapbook layouts of that weekend with you. :)

If you click on the photos below you can see larger versions of the layouts…

 
Some of my family still made it home this weekend, and my brother Steve’s family stopped in today on their way back from the weekend at Mom and Dad’s. I’m happy to say I got to officially meet the newest member of their family, Ozzy:

Can you say precious? Such a sweet puppy. And I swear to God he has eyes. I dug through the fur until I found them. :)

This is my sister-in-law Patience with Ozzy, Cooper and Avery. If you’re wondering where my brother Steve was at, he was in the TV room wrangling Riley with the door securely shut so as not to traumatize poor Ozzy. When Riley was inside the house and we introduced Ozzy from the patio on the other side of the window, Riley made it very clear his only purpose in life was to tear Ozzy limb from limb.

And I know one little boy who would not be so happy about that.

I will say, though, that Patience held Ozzy when we let Riley out of the room… and Riley did remarkably well. I think he was just so relieved to see me again and have me hold him that he couldn’t have cared less another dog was in the house. He even let Patience pet him while holding another dog. That was a HUGE step for my pup. We weren’t crazy enough to push our luck and set them on the ground or get their faces near each other, but we were pretty darn pleased that we got as far as we did.

Ozzy lives to rule another day.

He just won’t be ruling in this guy’s house.