Random Information

My online blogging friend, and author of In the Mind of a Dyslexic, DJ, tagged me.

First, these are the rules:
1. Each player starts with eight random facts or habits about him or herself.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. At the beginning of your blog, mention the person who tagged you. At the end of your post, choose eight people to tag, listing their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Eight Random Bits of Information You May or May Not Know About Me:

1. I hate balloons. I believe they are just trash waiting to happen. They just kind of hang around until all the helium leaks out, and then you are left with this bit of trash that somehow you feel mildly obligated to allow to continue hovering mid-way because someone gave it to you out of good wishes. If I am ill, don't send balloons. I view it as if you have emptied a wastebasket into my living area. (Along these same lines, I believe Easter grass is a thing of the Devil.)

2. When I was a kid, I lived on the same street that I currently live on. There is a fish camp at the end of the dog leg road that shoots off our street, but has the same name. My brother and I used to ride our bikes down there and tell stories about how it was haunted. We scared the willies out of each other and rode back home as quickly as we could each time we ventured down there.

3. When I lived in Virginia in my early 20's, I truly did live in a haunted house. The ghost wasn't scary at all. She was rather grandmotherly. She would always open the refrigerator door and leave it open. It seemed that she stayed primarily in the kitchen and dining room. When Danielle was about 2 years old, she was playing in the dining room. I heard her talking to someone, so I walked out of the bedroom and asked, "Dan-Dan, who are you talking to?"
"Mama, I'm talking to the lady," she replied.
"What lady?"
She looked around and said, "Oh, I she's gone, but she was just right here."
Maybe I'll write a whole blog about my haunted house experiences.

4. We finally found someone to finish our stairs! They start Monday. This is the last major post-Katrina rebuilding that we have before completion.

5. My husband wakes me up each morning by bringing me coffee and giving me a back rub. I highly recommend this service to all my friends.

6. I like to draw, paint and do other artsy projects.

7. My natural hair color is mousy brown with gray streaks. I dye it red. Until I had Danielle, it was blond. I guess I gave Dan and Sarah all my blond hair because after they were born it kept getting darker and darker.

8. I really want to grow plants and garden, but I can't seem to care for them enough to make them live. Dave believes I am Dr. Death when it comes to plants.

Minding My Own Business

This seems to be the theme of my life these days. I'm getting lots of lessons in the prodigiousness of keeping my mouth shut and my opinions to myself. The problem is... I'm terrible at it. Verbal diarrhea seems to be an illness I have acquired somewhere along the way.

Last week, I was presented with an occasion to overhear a conversation. This conversation had no impact on my life in any way shape or form; however, it had the potential to affect the life of my friend. Thus, I repeated the conversation in an attempt to make my friend's life easier. Right away, events began going awry. And, I ended up kicking myself for saying anything in the first place. "Why couldn't I have just minded my own business?" rushed my consciousness.

So, now, I'm practicing... Practicing minding my own business... It's really hard to do. And, much to my dismay, I have started to realize how ingrained a belief I have that a little bit of everything is my business. Further, I have begun to realize how most people probably don't give a rat's rear end about my opinions. I have tons of those too.

The bottom line is that I need to live in the belief that I trust the Process... Beyond that, I need to also trust that your Process is right for you. It may not be right for me. I may think you are "going to hell in a handbasket" (metaphorically speaking, of course). But, if I believe that God is all good and active in everything, everywhere, then I have to believe that God is active with or without my commentary.