Random Thoughts Late at Night

Just finished reading Sarah Palin's book, "Going Rogue." I liked her before, but I really like her now. She's the kind of common sense voice that America really needs. It's too bad she didn't force the issue about being herself in the presidential campaign. I think it would have helped McCain. I doubt she'll make that mistake again. If she does decide to run for president in 2012, I've no doubt she'll the call the shots herself. If she gets to North Carolina, I plan on going to hear her. At least she's now a commentator on FOX, so we do get to hear her thoughts on the political scene.

Working on the pictorial directory I'm doing for church. It's coming along pretty well. I need to get the addresses into the book set up. That's going to take some work.

Shot pics at the NC Marathon last Saturday in High Point. The fastest man in the marathon was disqualified because he had only signed up for the half marathon. When he took a wrong turn, he decided to complete the entire marathon, but because he had signed up for it, the win didn't count. Bummer...he was four minutes ahead of everybody else.

More pics to take this week. Arbor Day tree planting and ribbon cutting of the new urban greenway. Then Saturday, Bunny Day at the Natural Science Center. That should be fun.

Now it's late - need sleep!

Babysitting

I babysat for the munchkin today. How quickly she is growing! She's growing, not only physically, but mentally. Her vocabulary and understanding are taking leaps and bounds. You can see her imagination at work when you play with her. It's amazing to watch a little person's personally develop. Such joy to be a grandmother.

I've become a nervous Prius driver. The psychological ramifications of all the negative news about Toyota does have an impact whether I want it to or not. Every strange move the car makes has me wondering if it's going to take off and accelerate on its own. Apparently, a lot of people are have thoughts like mine. There has been a spike in complaints about unintended acceleration in Priuses since all this stuff began airing. It was reassuring to read, however, that a lot of it is psychological. It's a phenomenon that happens frequently. Young medical students are guilty of it when they study a new disease. Suddenly they have all the symptoms of that disease. Now every Prius is a potential runaway. Still, it has made me far more aware of how I drive and what the car is doing.

I'm learning to drive my Prius so that I get optimal gas mileage. It is changing my driving habits - for the good, I think. I used to make jack-rabbit starts, but now I ease up to speed and try to drive with my foot off the gas pedal as much as possible. The screen on the dash shows me what my miles per gallon are, and it's fun to try to get it well over 40 mpg. Today I was in the 47 mpg range, just by managing my driving more carefully.

I still like the car, and just pray I don't have any "unintended acceleration" incidents to deal with. Just to be on the safe side, I've practiced putting the car in nuetral while its moving. It's different from a regular shift, so it does take a bit of practice. I haven't tried shutting the car off while driving as yet. I just have to remember to count to three slowly while holding in the start button should an incident occur. For now, though, I have to relax and just drive again. It is a fun car to drive.

Where Is Spring?

I keep looking for jonquils like these. Usually they're popping up by now, but it's been a real winter here in the South. Spring should get here soon, I hope. Maybe the extended daylight will help. Daylight Savings Time starts next week - the 14th. I hadn't realized it would be here so soon.

This week I wrote an article about getting your house ready for spring. I need to follow my own advice - vacuum furniture, clean ceiling fans, paint a couple rooms. I'm looking forward to warm weather so I can open all the windows and air the place out.

But...it's still cold tonight. I'm sitting here with a sweatshirt on. Come quickly spring!

The past couple days have been busy ones. I've sat at this computer for hours working on pictures for our new church directory. I made three dozen phone calls this afternoon trying to get members to stop by my make-shift studio and have their picture taken. Hopefully, those who said they would come tomorrow will actually do so. It's going to be my last Sunday taking pictures. I've done it for two months now. Time to put the book together.

My job hunt hasn't gone very well. I keep sending resumes out, but I swear they disappear into some dark hole. There are so many people out of work. Nobody needs an old lady like me.

The camera club I belong to opened its yearly display at Greensboro's Central Library last night. We have a great display of photos by club members. I believe there are 40 in all. There are a couple of my favorite shots on display.

Father-Daughter Dance

This is one of my favorite pictures of my father and me. It's how I'll always remember him. We're doing a polka at my wedding, and it's one of the happiest times of my life. I'll never forget it.

How my father loved to dance! He should have been Fred Astaire, sweeping his Ginger Rogers, my mother, across ballroom floors. Instead, he spun paint brushs across walls and ceilings and drapped wallpaper in rooms other people would dance in.

He danced when he could. At weddings, he never sat down. Women always wanted to dance with him. They would come up and ask him to dance when my mother would tire. He never did, and he seldom refused. His delight in dance was too great to say no. Polkas, waltzes, fox trots, the Indiana hop - he knew them all. My mother never seemed to mind. She understood him. It was the dance, not the woman that mattered.

Maybe there's a ballroom in heaven, and he's dancing tirelessly there. Oh how I miss him!

Go Red

February is American Heart month, and Greensboro kicked off its GSO Go Red campaign on Friday in Center City Park. The kickoff was supposed to have been on the 5th, but bad weather prevented it. Yesterday's event went off without a hitch, although it was a bit chilly.

The Heart Association's campaign is near and dear to my heart - literally. As a person who has had a mild heart attack and now has a stent holding open one artery, research is important to me. Hubby has an artificial valve, so heart research is doubly important in this family.

I urge anyone who reads this blog to support the American Heart Association and give generously to its cause. Many people don't realize that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of both men and women in the country. With all the publicity about women and breast cancer, most people think that breast cancer is the greatest problem women face. Not true; its heart disease. So, do all you can to stay heart healthy. East right, exercise, know your numbers: cholesterol, blood pressure, and triglycerides. Keep them low and stay healthy.

Today was the Greensboro celebration of Chinese New Year at the Cultural Center. It's the year of the tiger, and the colorful Lion Dance welcomed the new year in. Chinese music and dancers entertained an appreciative audience, and a Chinese buffet was available for lunch. It was a great opportunity for very colorful photos.

Greensboro is filled with interesting activities. Next weekend is the Seafest at the Natural Science Center. Children will be able to see creatures that live in the oceans, and taste exotic seafood. Should be a fun day.

The Bachelor

Okay, did Ali make the right choice leaving Jake and going back to her job? We'll find out next week when she calls him in the Caribbean. Why do I watch this show? Guess it's the romantic in me. Every woman wants to find her prince charming I suppose - we all love the fairy tale.

Took a little road trip today. I've wanted to see what IKEA is like, so hubby and I gave my new car a test drive. We made a brief stop at Bass Pro Shop on the way down. We need a full day to really explore that place. Bass boats are way beyond our means, unfortunately, not to mention the fact we don't have a car that will pull a boat. I always envisioned us fishing when we retired. That's a vision that probably won't come to fruition - like so many of my dreams.

IKEA is quite a place - huge. We wandered through it, but didn't buy anything but lunch. The meatballs are good. I did come home with a couple jars of ligonberries, but that's all.

Stopped at the Toyota dealership in Salisbury where I bought my car. I had forgotten to take my cd's out of the Alero when we got the Prius. They were waiting for me. The ride home was uneventful.

We're in for more winter weather tomorrow. I doubt we'll have book club. The members are older (I'm the youngest), and they won't want to drive in bad weather.

I have my next real estate assignment, as well as three photo opps that are coming up. The polar plunge out to be fun to see. There's also the Chinese New Year festival and a Seafest at the Natural Science Center. Gives me fun things to do.

Weight Loss

I put the strawberry picture up to remind me of what I have to look forward to in the spring. Have to have something delightful to look at since it's gray and gloomy outside. We missed the major blizzard, with its two feet of snow that blanketed Baltimore and DC. We were fortunate to just get rain and keep our power. That's enough winter for my taste. After all, this is North Carolina!

Grandchild spent the night last night. She went to bed easily, but woke up at 1:30 a.m. and wouldn't go back to sleep. I sat next to her bed, rocked her in my lap, and finally gave up at 3:30 a.m. and brought her into our bed. It was deja vu - her mother used to climb in bed with us when she was little.

I picked up a book at the local used bookstore - Julia Cameron's, "The Writing Diet: Write Yourself Right-Size." Perhaps it will help me get started on taking off the weight that I've re-gained. Her theory, and I feel she's right, is that there is an underlying emotional cause for over-eating. Cameron asks the question, "What if I gave myself food for thought instead of food itself?... If I can write about something, I can handle it - and often with grace." How right she is.

One of my main ways of dealing with issues in my life is to write about them. I've kept a journal for many years, working through the problems in my life. That's what this blog feels like - my journal. I guess it is, although, like my journal, nobody reads it. That probably has more to do with the fact that I haven't told anyone I'm blogging. I keep wondering if someone will accidentally stumble upon my musings, but there are so many blogs out there that the odds of that happening seem pretty slim.

There are a lot of weight-loss blogs on the Internet. Starting one of my own seems kind of silly. It makes more sense to continue my "Daily Reflections," and see if by chance someone comes across it. Should I decide to write with a definite audience in mind, then I'll have to focus more closely on what I write. Then too, I'll have to carefully censor what I write. I do that anyway in case I decide to open my thoughts to friends and relatives.

There's a lot of dumping of thoughts on Facebook, but the posts are short and sometimes silly. There isn't room for reflection, but it isn't designed for that. FB is a social networking site, and it's been fun seeing what people are up to. I've enjoyed re-connecting with old friends and classmates. The blog, however, is where I can probe more deeply into my own thoughts, questioning what is making me tick.

Right now, however, my ticking is running pretty slow and I think I'll go take a nap.