31 Wishes

Dern it. I was going to go to bed until I realized that I didn’t post anything for today. Since it’s now after 11pm, I’m going to have to make this a quick post.

And since it is December 1st, and there are 31 days in the month, I’m going to compile a wish list of things I would like to see happen in this month...

1. A pair of Cotton Bowl tickets randomly show up to my house. For me.
2. The fat on my ass and thighs to magically melt off just in time for me to wear a fabulous little black dress for New Year’s Eve.
3. Get invited to a New Year’s Eve party.
4. Have a date to that party.
5. Wear my new Sperry-Topsider Chatsworth winter boots somewhere (see above photo). I think they’re worth “chatting” about.
6. Buy another pair of fun boots, just because I need a variety from which to choose.
7. Impeach Obama. And have Joe Biden resign, ‘cause I don’t want him in office either.
8. Live.
9. Win the lotto.
10. Seriously.
11. Throw away my ratty, old socks and stop saving old t-shirts I don’t need or no longer wear.
12. Do something nice for a total stranger.
13. Hope they return the favor for someone else.
14. Be semi-good on my diet.
15. Blow it completely when I indulge (and indulge I intend) in my family’s traditional tamales on Christmas Eve.
16. Learn to make my Nana’s homemade bread and cinnamon rolls – the real old-fashioned way – from scratch.
17. Laugh hysterically. A lot.
18. Not jump off a cliff when I’ve completed my December blogging challenge.
19. Finish paying for my genuine Dali lithograph. Can’t. Wait. To hang it. After I finish decorating my new office. In the house I will move into soon...
20. Appreciate each day of being blessed with my health.
21. Pray for those who are struggling with illness, hardships, loss, or just need to find a renewed sense of their faith.
22. Clean out my storage unit.
23. Not complain while doing it.
24. Attend Christmas Eve candlelight service at church.
25. Remember to thank God above for sending His Son, so that I have a chance at a beautiful life.
26. Not kill those who text and drive. That is difficult for me.
27. Get my dad on Facebook.
28. Spoil myself with a Kindle or an iPad. (Though, winning the lotto is probably more likely.)
29. Remind my loved ones of how special they are to me, and how much I treasure them.
30. Update my bucket list.
31. Love.

That’s it. Short and sweet. Have to go got bed now. Need my energy to shop online for that pair of Sorel Joan of Arctic Snow boots I want. Color Shale. Size 10. If anyone needs an idea for Christmas. **wink, wink**

Ha! Look at that, I’ve already implemented wish no. 17.

November Blog Series: Day 4

Good afternoon, my peeps. It is day four. I’m jammin’ to Def Leppard as I type this. I just love great 80s tunes!

And I’m not sure how “Hysteria” progressed into the thought of food, but I’m already thinking about Cajun-flavored fried turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, rolls, pies, cakes, cookies… Ahhhh! Make it stop! We still have about 20 days to go. Have a feeling I might be crawling away from the table when that day comes. I really hope it’s cold outside on Thanksgiving Day. There are few feelings as gratifying as stuffing oneself sick with yummy food, then retreating to a dark lair to curl up under a blanket for a lazy afternoon snooze with a brisk chill in the air outside the window.

I know patience is supposed to be a virtue, but for all of the instant gratification we find ourselves hungering for (no pun intended), it surprises me that a working time machine hasn’t been invented yet.

And since I will likely save my list of things for which I’m thankful to blog about on the actual day we celebrate, I have generated another list. This one is just as important, and reminds me to appreciate even the smallest, simplest wonders in life. There are 30 on my list, though I can think of hundreds. I figured 30 was a safe number, seeing as there are as many days in this month.

Things That Make Me Smile

1. The sight of a rainbow
2. Children’s laughter
3. Catching a glimpse of a shooting star
4. When my niece tells me, “I love you, Kellie. You’re my best friend.”
5. The permeating smell of baking chocolate chip cookies
6. Seeing the decrease in the numbers on my bathroom scale
7. Getting lost while driving, and accidently finding a more scenic route in the process (and then figuring out where I am, of course)
8. Skipping rocks on a summer pond
9. Whistling at my horse and have her come running up to see me (even though I know she just wants sweet feed)
10. Crying at a movie’s happy ending
11. Feeling overwhelmed with emotion at a friend’s wedding when the groom gets to kiss his new wife for the first time
12. 80s music – especially cheesy, old-school 80s music (and love ballads, and classic rock, and…)
13. When my dogs jump all over my legs, tails wagging, because they’ve missed me all day long
14. A smile from a stranger
15. The lingering embrace from a family member/friend when I haven’t seen them in a long time
16. Dancing in the living room with my dad
17. The way my parents still look at each other, even after 40 years of marriage
18. Singing along with a great song on the radio, windows rolled down, wind whipping through the car
19. Sitting on the front porch on a nice evening, listening to the cicadas and the gentle breeze
20. Bowing my head, taking my family’s hands and giving thanks at dinner, with the tiny voice of my niece chiming in amidst all of us
21. Finding a great pair of shoes – on sale!
22. Laughing until my stomach hurts
23. Jogging a little further than I was able to the week before
24. Finishing a good book, and wishing it hadn’t ended
25. Reflecting on a deep, meaningful life experience that made me stronger
26. Sharing an inside joke, movie quote, or eye-rolling moment with my sister
27. Winning the lottery (okay, this has never happened to me, but it would sure make me smile)
28. Doing something – anything – that makes me feel like a kid at heart
29. Knowing I have my family’s unconditional love and encouragement
30. Knowing wherever I go, or whatever I face, God is both in front of and behind me

Well, there you have it. Just a few of the things that make me smile. I bid you all adieu for the afternoon. More tomorrow. I hope you find plenty of things to smile about on this beautiful Thursday, too.

Peace out, dudes!

A Few of My Favorite Things

The cooler weather is upon us. You know what that means…

Time to break out the bulk. Clothes, I mean. And not just for the colder climate. I’m talking about baggy sweaters and jackets that are great for hiding the expanding bodies that fall and winter reliably produce each season. I love food. I especially love cold-weather food…the kind of food that just doesn’t taste as good during the warmer months.

My favorites are:

1. Homemade chili
2. Homemade beef stew and cornbread
3. Sausage
4. The smell of chicken and dumplings (Though I hate the taste. And yes, I’ve been made aware of how un-American this makes me. I like the chicken and I like the dumplings - I don't like them together.)
5. Chicken potpie
6. Deer chili
7. Chicken spaghetti (My absolute, all-time favorite!)
8. Fried turkey
9. Potato soup
10. Santa Fe white chicken chili
11. Fried chicken (Good anytime, but I had to throw it in there.)
12. Chicken-fried deer steak (Hey, don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it!)
13. Pot roast
14. Chips and salsa (Common, I know…but they taste better during football season.)
15. Tamales (My “German” family traditionally makes/eats them every Christmas.)
16. Cheese soup
17. Kolaches and my Nana’s homemade cinnamon rolls
18. Chili-cheese dogs

…Just to name a few. Hmmm. I’m seeing a pattern with the chili. Not surprising.

Next Monday (October 18th) is my birthday. Or, rather, my “non-birthday”, as I’ve refused to age any further. Note the list numbering 18. But, on Sunday my mom is making my traditional favorite meal of chicken spaghetti, ranch bread, salad and chocolate pie to celebrate my – ahem – “non-birthday”. And yes, I’m counting the days until that meal, thankyouverymuch! Besides, who wants to celebrate their birthday on a Monday? Mondays are the armpit of the week. Bah!

Along with the cooler climate and edible delights, emerge my favorite seasonal smells. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have a deep appreciation for things pleasing to my nose that are not necessarily exclusive to cold weather. However, the decrease in temperature brings with it an enormous collective of new scents. I wish I could bottle them up in a jar and open it up to take whiff of nostalgia whenever I want. Oh, wait…those are called candles, aren’t they?

My favorites are:

1. Fire
2. Fresh, crisp, cold air
3. Warm-baked cookies
4. A lit fireplace
5. Roasting hotdogs and s’mores
6. The Thanksgiving food spread crammed onto the table
7. The cinnamon-evergreen smell of Christmas decorations
8. The smoke of a burning fireplace drifting from a chimney
9. Leather (smells better in the winter)
10. The earthy smell of the cows and range cubes (I'm a country girl, what can I say?)
11. Sweet feed and hay for the horses
12. A cup of hot chocolate
13. Clothes fresh out of the dryer
14. Eggs and French toast on a Saturday morning
15. The smoky sulfuric smell from a burned out match
16. Vanilla
17. Mom’s coffee cake and peanut brittle
18. A campfire

Yes, I’m aware that fire-related smells appear often in the above list. I’m not harboring any closet-arsonist tendencies. Promise.

I’m not quite sure what it is about the cold weather that makes us breathe a little deeper. It livens the spirit and adds a spring to the step. And while I love to be out and about in the cold weather, can you honestly tell me there’s no better feeling than waking up to an ice-cold room and burrowing back under the snuggly covers to sleep a little longer? Especially when you have the warm, wonderful smell of your significant other’s skin next to you. I don’t know of many other feelings or smells that compare.

How blessed are we to enjoy the anticipation of dressing up, breaking out of our shells just a bit, and going door to door with our little Monsters and Tinkerbells to get buckets full of goodies.

How blessed are we to walk away from the Thanksgiving table miserable and stuffed. Then we take a nap, watch the football game, and do it all over again for the next several meals.

How blessed are we to celebrate the birth of our Savior. To be surrounded by the sparkling eyes and smiles of our children, just waiting to open the treasures under the tree.

Perhaps the onset of the cold is indicative of the promise of things to come. New life. New hope. The world seems to slumber to prepare for its spring awakening. Everything is soon to be rejuvenated, with a renewed sense of life. The year behind us is winding down as we embark on Father Time’s promise of the future ahead.

Waking up alive, healthy, and loved. Life…my most favorite thing.

Lists

It seems time has accelerated ever since the end of August. The spirit of football is palpable in the atmosphere. Department stores are already getting a head start on Christmas décor. The temperatures are slowly dropping, and a little bit of daylight is being shaved off the tail end of every single day.

Since we still have a few months left until we embark on 2011, I seem to have an endless list of things to complete. And speaking of busy months, October is fast approaching and it will be a month of exciting activities for me. I literally have something going on every weekend. Normally, I would celebrate my birthday in October, but I’ve decided that I will not age this year. Instead, I will regress slowly back to my youth. Eventually, I’ll be the oldest looking twenty-year-old anyone has ever seen.

As I type this, there is a dirty old man across from me in the café where I’m working on writing my book. He was hitting on me earlier, but I think he finally got the hint that I wasn’t in the least bit interested. So, he has resorted to pulling his cap down strategically over his eyes to appear to be sleeping. From where I am, I can see him watching the young girls as they learn, laugh, lounge, and walk back in forth to get their Venti triple-shot skinny mocha lattes. There, I’ve managed to use alliteration and an oxymoron in once sentence. Checkmark for today.

Which got me thinking about other things that creep me out. In honor of the coming “creepy” month of October (and my non-birthday), here are two lists - things that creep me out, and my bucket list (in no particular order):

Things That Creep Me Out (or just make me cringe sometimes)

1. Dirty old men (saw that one coming, huh?)
2. Gummy, dried up gunk on the rim of the ketchup bottle
3. PDA (see earlier blog)
4. Getting a paper cut in the web of my fingers
5. Nails across a chalkboard
6. Snakes
7. The words “pebble, nibble” and “dribble” (don’t ask)
8. The smell of stuffed bell peppers and meatloaf (sorry, Mom)
9. Hearing someone else throw up (I’m a sympathetic puker)
10. Maggots, and people who don't wash their hands after they've used the bathroom (I consider them one in the same)
11. The layer of scum on my teeth after I’ve consumed something sticky or sugary
12. Bad spelling
13. Bad grammar
14. Techno music
15. Being trapped in a small space and running out of oxygen

My Bucket List (subject to change without notice)

1. Go skydiving
2. Professionally record and produce a CD of my own songs
3. Visit Australia, Italy, Ireland and Germany
4. Own/drive a 1967 Shelby Mustang GT 500 (that car is sex on wheels, see Gone in 60 Seconds)
5. Go hiking in the mountains and/or vacation in a mountain cabin in the winter
6. Learn a new language (I’m only fluent in two: English and Sarcasm)
7. Marry the love of my life
8. Build my dream home
9. Fill it with the sounds of children’s laughter
10. Attend at least one NFL game at the Cowboys Stadium
11. Go mach-10 with my hair on fire while riding in a fighter jet
12. Publish my book (and write another one, or two...)
13. Open/fund a shelter for abused animals
14. Find another arrowhead (I’ve only ever found one, but I constantly scour the rocks looking for another)
15. Leave this earth, knowing I kept my faith, lived life to the fullest, and made a difference in someone else’s life

That’s all for today. Short and sweet. Like me! Oh yeah…and a little bit of sarcasm thrown in for good measure.