New Year New Drawer

Another edition of my 'Junk Drawer' posts.  It was only fitting to do one in this, a brand spankin' new year.  If you are unfamiliar with my concept, it is a post akin to a junk drawer (go look in yours in your home...fess up.  We ALL have at least one.) if you need a visual.  The post contains a hodge podge of unrelated (an possibly unnecessary or useless) items - a catch-all for the brain, if you will.  You just need the keen ability to "change trains" quickly to follow it and/or the knack for ignoring skimming random blather that is of no interest to you.  Forewarning:  these posts can be lengthy.  Endless blabbing happens that way.

Starting with...what is your take on ending sentences with prepositions?  For example, that sentence above started as 'skimming random blather that you have no interest in' and my internal grammar alarm sounded, sending me on the typical write and re-write to make sure that it does NOT, under any circumstance, end with a preposition.  All's right with the world.  What do you end your sentences with?

(leaving that...as a challenge to myself...Can I stand it?)

So I saw a post recently asking, now that we are into the new year several solid days, "How is everyone doing on your New Year's resolutions?"  While I said that my proposal wasn't a resolution per se, it basically is (OH NO!!! THERE IT IS AGAIN!).  I am setting out to RETURN to the things I know are good for me to do for balance and well-being, like sing, listen to music, exercise (and DANCE), get sleep, pray/worship, gaze at the sky, etc. among other things.  I have to say, I am doing quite well so far.  SO FAR.  I've done all of those things, scattering them all throughout my day, each day.  The exercise (as well as back to completely clean eating) is going very well.  I have discovered that, for me, there is NO OTHER WAY that I can live and be healthy.  That is perfectly okay with me.  I have broken up with my relationship with food as being anything other than blessing, enjoyment and fuel for the body.  The phrase, "All things in moderation" really can't apply to me unless on an extremely minimal level.  So it's all good.  Feeling better and slimmer already, so onward.  

The reason I say it is going well SO FAR is that I haven't officially started spring semester yet.  Not officially.  We did have our first (of 14 trillion) meetings yesterday.  I put an ecard on my last post but it bears posting again because I AM NOT KIDDING.

This is my life.  Case in point:  we had our meeting yesterday, scheduled for two hours.  The ONLY reason it kept to the two hours was that two of us had 'engagements' to get to afterward and needed to leave (I am thinking this is an EXCELLENT way to keep these future meetings to their time intended.).  Normally, if none of us had previously stated any other obligation, an end time of 3:00 turns into 5:00 or 6:00...I kid you not.  So yesterday as we were hurriedly scurrying to gather our stuff, the Admin Assistant started pinging around the room to each of us, "So is Monday at 1:00 good?"  Me:  "Good for what?"  "Well, we didn't get to all the things on today's agenda (we NEVER do) so we need to finish up."  I just gave him a blank stare:

I don't think I even answered him.  The email came later, asking for our confirmation to the meeting.  Is this normal???  Does this happen elsewhere?  How are meetings done in your line of work?  Have you ever heard the song, "The song that never ends?"  In case you need a dose of torture today, here it is:



I am going to make a meetings version.  Any meeting that has to keep going is a clear indication that just MAAAAAAAAYBE there is a breakdown somewhere in the manner in which said meetings are being conducted.  No?  Bless my soul.  

Onward - I like to have things to look forward to (there's that pesky preposition again...).  You?  So in an effort to institute motivation to get back and stay in shape I have signed up for at least one race per month through April, so far.  Possibly two a month, in some cases.  These are 5k's.  They're for fun.  You can take them as seriously (or not) as you want.  I tend to try to do my best in them, generally.  So here's what I have so far, and one possibility:

Jan. 25th - Missions Race for homelessness in Atlanta
Feb. 9th - With or Without You 5k (Cue U2)
**(possibly) The Kilt Run in Myrtle Beach (YES, I will don a kilt for that one.)
March 29th - 80's Run in Athens (Complete with big hair and neon.  Totally.)
April 5 - The Color Run in Atlanta

I hope to squeeze in the 2nd annual 'Virtual 5K' sponsored by two 'K' favorites - Kianwi and Ken!!  I'll find one for May and one for June leading up to the Peachtree 10k in July.

I am going to reach back into last year, during Christmas and share one of my favorite moments.  Of course there were several with my kiddos.  Those are treasured in my heart, like the gift they gave Christmas morning by singing a duo of 'Away in a Manger' with Eldest on guitar.  Priceless.  This other memory is a treasure in its reminder of what is important in life:  simple pleasures.  Hubs has an uncle that has intellectual exceptionality.  I am not sure of the exact nature of his difference, but at 58 years old, he continues to function at around the age of eleven or so.  We love Uncle Wally.  He is always a joy when he comes to visit, usually during Christmas.  He ADORES anything with lights, so of course the younger kiddos love him.  He is hilarious with his quips and one liners.  He marvels at everything and asks a zillion questions.  This time, he seemed to be particularly interested in automobiles so he inquired of all of us what kind of car we drive, does it go fast, is it a muscle car, etc.  When he learned that mine was a convertible, he wanted to go for a ride.  You bet that is just what we did.  No matter that it was hovering around 40 degrees in December.  Uncle Wally and I went for a drive.  

He loves movies so when we got in and I started the top release, I told him we were in a Transformer car - and this thrilled him.  We set out, classic Christmas music playing, brisk cold in search of mountains.  He wanted to see the mountains.  We talked and joked (he thought the seat warmer, AKA bun warmer was funny).  When he heard the 'Nutcracker Suite' it reminded him of a time when he was little when his Dad was alive.  As we crossed over the Chattahoochee, I told him we ought to go for a swim, but he said he would turn into an ice cube.  I said, 'No, you'd be a Wallycube!"  More laughter.  We located Mt. Yonah, and we reminisced about the time he came to Georgia (he lives in Florida) and we hiked Mt. Yonah on Christmas Eve.  We then watched it 'follow' us as we turned and wove through the roads and hills of my neck of the woods.  

What a blessing it was to me.  He reminded me how wonderful life's simple pleasures are in this life.  We finished with a 'selfie':

Okay, this is getting rather lengthy.  Bless your souls, you that stuck through it this far.  Last thing:  another favorite gift from this Christmas - a bracelet with a passage from Pride and Prejudice.

It's my WonderWord bracelet...get it?  Like Wonder Woman, because that is exactly what I thought of when I put it on (See?  You can't end that sentence with anything BUT a preposition.).  

I adored Wonder Woman as a wee lass in the 70's.  Wanted to be her.  I was fascinated that there was actually a girl  superhero.  And those bracelets.  So mine is my secret tribute to my childhood hero with a twist:  It is a reminder to be WonderWORD Woman.  Always.