Tuesday:) Today’s Funny Face

“I see funny faces in the strangest places. Especially in the mirror.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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“The face is a picture of the mind with the eyes as its interpreter.” ― Marcus Tullius Cicero

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I started off the day with a lively Zumba class at the YMCA. I was pretty sore from yesterday’s kickboxing class, and I was up late last night finishing up a calligraphy project. But, once I hit the floor and heard the energizing songs, weary muscles and only five hours of sleep just melted into the music.

Later in the afternoon, I went for a long walk with my neighbor, Diane. She said she had a pot roast cooking and the house smelled so good. I pretend-looked at my watch that I wasn’t wearing and said, “I’ll be by around 7.” I joke like that with everyone, but she invited me to come over for dinner at 7. Pot roast? Who says no to pot roast? Not me.

I don’t like to go anywhere empty handed, so I came home and made a batch of brownies. If you know me, and some of you do, I usually make a funny face with the brownie mix before I stir and bake. It’s a long-lived personal tradition and weird obsession that I have. “I see faces in the strangest places.”

 

 Now, isn’t that funny? Oops! Almost 7. On my way for dinner.
  

Montage Monday:) A Week in a Peek

“Procrastination gives me a little extra time to make a list of the things that I’m not going to get done tomorrow.”

~ Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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I would say it was a busy week, but it wasn’t really. It was a fun week. I’ve been checking off a lot of “firsts” and “bucket list” events on my life calendar these past few months. I was invited to the Fort Worth Rodeo this week, that was a first. Very cool, a very Texas thing to do.

Now, I need to get productive and get some things done around the house. Or, maybe I’ll just make a list and think about it tomorrow.

Here’s a week in a peek… 

   
  

Friday Firsts and Maybe Some Seconds

“Firsts are best because they are beginnings”
― Jenny Han, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
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There are many “firsts” in our lives, first word, first steps, first love, first heartbreak, etc. Today, I have a funny first to share. As some of you may know, I’ve been keeping busy with my chaotic and often stressful life, but I always find time to walk, go to Zumba, and have time for friends. Stress and heartbreak have been the main reasons for my dramatic weight loss this past year, but now that I’ve lost over fifty pounds, it does have it’s merits.

A few friends have mentioned that my jeans were starting to look baggy, and they asked, “Are you losing more weight?” I really haven’t been trying to, but I’ll lose a couple and gain a couple. My daily walks are more to clear my head and give me that energy boost that exercise can give. Plus, often I get to walk with a neighbor or two, which is a fun social bonus. So, today when I went shopping, I decided to try on a pair of jeans in a smaller size.

I’ve ALWAYS been a big girl, pretty much all my life, so when I actually started wearing size 10 jeans, I thought I’d died and went to Weight Watcher’s Heaven. But then, the 10’s were getting baggy. OH MY GOLLY GOSH! Do I dare try on an 8? Impossible! Never in my wildest dreams! Well, I grabbed a pair of size 8 jeans, tried them on and low and behold, they fit. THIS WAS A FIRST! Unbelievable!

I decided that even if those jeans only fit me for a day or even those five minutes in the dressing room, I’m buying them, and document this amazing first in my life.

“Firsts are best because they are beginnings.”

What the Heck Wednesday

Show me somebody who is always smiling, always cheerful, always optimistic, and I will show you somebody who hasn’t the faintest idea what the heck is really going on.
~Mike Royko
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That’s a good quote, Mike. As a rule, I was always smiling, cheerful, etc. Not so much lately, but in the past. Just goes to show, I didn’t have the faintest idea what the heck was going on.

I’m older, wiser, and maybe not as cheerful, but I’ve gotten a lot smarter, a lot tougher. I kinda liked that naive looking through rose colored glasses life, but it wasn’t the real world.

I still smile and laugh quite a bit, and look forward to a lot more in the future. That’s optimism, right? Yes, I’m still optimistic.

Here’s my photo for WHAT THE HECK WEDNESDAY:

What the heck, Walmart???

Tuesday: Timeless Circle of Life

“There are patterns which emerge in one’s life, circling and returning anew, an endless variation of a theme”
― Jacqueline Carey, Kushiel’s Chosen
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Life is like a big ol’ circle, isn’t it? It keeps going round and round. What goes around, comes around. “She’ll be coming ’round the mountain when she comes.” (How did that get in there?)

I was thinking about the circle of life, when my dear friend, Lynne, posted more pictures on Facebook of her moving boxes that she has been unpacking for weeks.

She has been kind enough to save me a zillion boxes, so now I can start the daunting task of packing up all my worldly possessions, thus continuing the cycle. Hopefully when I’m done unpacking, there will be someone else who can use a zillion moving boxes. Share a box, save a tree. The world keeps revolving in a circle.

Don’t feel too bad for me and all the work I have ahead of me. I am getting “a hand” here and there? A little humor helps. Very little humor and very little help.

Wednesday Words of Wisdom

Hurt no living thing:
Ladybird, nor butterfly,
Nor moth with dusty wing.
~Christina Georgina Rossetti
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Little bug, little bug
There crawling on my floor.
I tried to pick you up
And get you out the door.
You wiggled and you squirmed
Poor little bug of black,
Do me a big favor,
And please do not come back.
(Or I’ll squish you!)

Toni Andrukaitis
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Yes, this is a true story. And NO, I wouldn’t squish him. I’d probably just keep taking him outside. Now, spiders, scorpions and snakes… that’s another story.

Tuesday Trials, Tribulations and Poor Vision

We read to know we’re not alone.” ― William Nicholson
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I’ve often suspected that I am dyslexic, which appears to be more and more evident as the years go by. Perhaps it’s a combination of that and old age. But, I’ve been seeing the weirdest things on billboards, in book stores and on newspaper headlines. Here are a couple examples.

When I was at the book store! I saw this book and could have sworn it said,
“Recycling Projects for the Elvis Genius.” How perfect! Let’s see what the Elvis genius does to recycle!

Today, on the front page of the McKinney Courier-Gazette, I was appalled that the front page had a headline that said, “Perfect Shit.” What’s so perfect about it? Hey, I even had my reading glasses on. It’s not just old age. I really think I’m dyslexic.

The only redeeming part is that I’m very good at the jumble and scramble word puzzles. Everything is always scrambled and jumbled, so I see a lot of possibilities and crazy words. Makes life interesting, doesn’t it?

Saturday: Solitude and Silence

“If you’re lonely when you’re alone, you’re in bad company.”
― Jean-Paul Sartre
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I’m a “people person.” What does that mean? I love spending time with friends and family. I love meeting new people or just sitting alone, watching people walk by. People fascinate me. When I meet someone new, I ask them a zillion questions and learn about their lives. I’ve made some really cool friends this way.

Sometimes, I just sit at McDonald’s, Panera, or on the Square and watch people. Then, I make up imaginary stories about their lives in my head. I bet my made-up stories are juicier than their mundane reality. I have a vivid imagination.

No one likes to be alone all the time, but occasional solitude and silence is good for the soul. The secret is…you have to like yourself. If you dont, “you’re in bad company.” All modesty aside, I’m one of the kindest, sweetest, honest, loyal, creative, and loving people I know. (Did I miss anything?) I like myself! Whether with friends or alone, I’m always in good company. Ha!

Silent Saturday

There are times when silence is the best way to yell at the top of your voice. – O. A. Battista
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My mother always said, and I’m sure mother did too, “If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all.” So, today, I’m going to share some profound thoughts and some silly sayings to make you smile. Sometimes you just need to smile.

kk
Now, here’s my favorite one…

I’m going to use this, so don’t steal my password. OK?
Have a nice Memorial Day weekend! Hug a veteran!

Friday and Other Funny Foibles

“The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
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I really, really try to remember people’s names, but the older I get, the harder it is for me to remember. I often mentally go up and down the alphabet in my head until I can recall a name. Sometimes it never comes to me. I have to use all kinds of mental tricks.

Example one: There is a young waiter at Snug on the Square who I had trouble remembering his name. After the tenth time he said, “It’s Nick, Miss Toni.” So, I stared at him, moved my hands in front of his face like I was circling his aura with my hands, and went into a trance. Then I said, “Just in the Nick of time.” But, what I didn’t tell him was, I looked at him, he had a beard that I thought he needed to shave off, and if he shaved, he would nick his face while shaving, so NICK is his name. Wow! That was the long way about to get there.

Now, here’s the funny part. I was going through some stuff in a bedroom dresser drawer yesterday, when I stumbled across this audio and workbook series that I bought like two years ago. I put it in the drawer and totally forgot it was in there. Now, if I had listened to the 6 audio CDs and worked on the manual when I first bought it, I wouldn’t have forgotten where the heck I left the darn thing in the first place. Also, I would have remembered Nick’s name the first time he told me, not the tenth time.

But, the good thing about being forgetful is… You can read a book or watch a movie time and time again, and totally forget that you’ve read it or seen it. It’s all new!