Where did the week go?

Wait, it's Thursday again?  Lucky me! 

Apparently, I caught a wave faster than I expected to ride.  I suppose that's what happens in life. We grasp hold of something so great, and before you know it ... it ... it simply passes us by.  

So here is an update on what's been going and not going on over the past two weeks:

- Spring wants to be in the air

- One more resume and cover letter down

- Tablerock Tuesdays

- Ouch

- Some say, "You can't always pick your family, but you can pick your friends."  I'd like to disagree

- Thank you horoscope

Spring wants to be in the air... Yes, she is trying to squeeze my winter blues away.  Over these last 14 days, the sun has crept behind the dreary clouds, but that's the extent of the sun's power. I'm repeating the saying, "April showers bring May flowers," believing this will somehow solve the problem, but it hasn't.  I don't know if it's the fact that I only have one pair of wellies, a measly piece of fabric you could attempt to call a raincoat, and a dislike for wind, but right now, more than ever, I would love the summer sun.  Patience Brittanie, patience....

One more resume and cover letter down... Correction, twenty more resumes and cover letters down.  Cross your fingers it doesn't stay this way too long, but knock on wood, I wasn't planning on owning the title, "Lifelong Applicant."  With that rant out of the way, here comes my glass half-full spurt.  Persistence will pay off.  I am broadening my search, exploring different routes, and realizing life truly is one learning lesson after another.  

Tablerock Tuesdays... While I'll keep the fun title, Tablerock Tuesdays is actually Tablerock Mondays, but no one will ever know.  So my best amiga and I randomly decided to trek our bodies up a local hill, and since that "random" Monday, we have formed a weekly ritual.  While I look forward to Thursdays every week, I now surpass the anticipation with a much needed workout for my legs.  

Ouch... Two weeks ago, I feel hard.  I wish this was the opening to a detailed romance, but unfortunately my knee took the heartbreak in this scenario.  I was jogging my soul away, dreaming about life, and carrying my lungs with force, when splat!  Out of nowhere, my toe tripped on a tree root and I went flying.  Not only did I wobble home whispering "ouch, ouch, ouch," I  rose up from my fall looking like a pirate.  I was covered in dirt, tore open my pants, had a trail of blood dripping down my leg and hand, and immediately thought, "Please tell me no one witnessed that!"

Some say, "You can't always pick your family, but you can pick your friends."  I'd like to disagree... Tis a true story.  Not to spark open a sob story, but I lack a grandpa (as I'm sure many do), but this is a person in my life I've longed to know.  So when life throws you lemons, you of course, turn something sour into something o so sweet.  And let's just say, that's what I did.  I've adopted a grandpa :)  He has a heart larger than life, a voice calmer than a stagnant pond, and a smile that makes me smile! 

Thank you horoscope...Saturday, March 28, 2009, my horoscope read, "Limit your exposure to negativity.  Your mood is buoyant when you simply refuse to listen to doom and gloom statements."  My translation - "Knock the negative Nancy in me aside, continue hiking, watch out for tree roots, appreciate your adopted grandpa, and click your heels to the sound of optimism."

How I heart Thursdays

If I knew the code for the over-used heart character on my keyboard, I would go back and edit my subject line, but because I like to stick with words, I'm sticking with "How I heart Thursdays!"  If that wasn't confusing enough of an opening line, I'll calm things down with the body.  

I love Thursdays, always have, always will.  Monday's supply the stress, Tuesday's are a bore, Wednesday's have a hump, Friday's await in anticipation, Saturday's are o so ... so not what we want them to be, and Sunday's leave little time for what we forgot.  But, Thursday's, well Thursday's strum a different beat.  The drag of the week has passed, the end is near, and smiles are aglow. Look around, you'll notice a difference. 

So if you ever find yourself feeling like a tugboat on Tuesday, don't look ahead for Saturday, find yourself pondering the possibilities of Thursday.  

  

If you're looking for something out of the ordinary to do, but don't want to paste it into your weekend plans, take your neighbor's dog for a stroll, purchase a bag or two of diapers for a women or refugee shelter, think about your eyes > buy a pair of sunglasses, take 30 minutes or more to write a letter and send it on its way tomorrow, or just sit back, slather some peanut butter on a crisp apple and recap what you've accomplished since Monday, and what you want to achieve come Sunday!  

Today I am filling every minute in with an "insert here" heart character.  

Rotten Pea Pod

An awful way to put a damper on one's favorite day....a rotten pea pod!  I rushed to the kitchen hoping to calm the sound bouncing back and forth in my stomach, scooped out a handful of pods, and saw a white cloud on two.  WHAT?  Mold has taken over and I am more than upset. 

Lesson Learned - To be pleased with the peas, eat them ASAP. 

Think Globally, Dine Locally.

A tea room in Idaho?  Wait, a team room in Meridian, Idaho?  Pour me a cup!  Receiving an email from my mother asking if my stomach was growling for lunch, I quickly thought, "O great, I can't wait to devour an over-priced, not fully-cooked, imitation meal courtesy of Chili's." (No-offense to the red pepper regulars).  Instead, of trailing behind 30 1-hour, lunch-break workers to Applebee's, possibly Olive Garden, and wait did I hear Fuddrucker's, I promptly Googled "Local restaurants in Meridian, Idaho." Period.  Life wouldn't be life without Google.  

Moving on, my search displayed 124, 000 posts, and one of thousands shimmered above the rest.  > www.local.com.  <  Easy-breezy, but what startled me after dwindling down my search, was the multiple listings of Taco Bell, McDonald's, and of course, Chili's.  Apparently, "local" in my book differs from local in the local's book.  

Moral of this post, I found a hidden gem.  If I could recommend any visitor, mother-daughter date, or Idaho native to venture outside their norm, I think you just might enjoy Miss Tami's Cottage Expressions and Tea Room as much as I did.  Here is their website, 

http://www.misstamis.com/

and I would recommend the "Blue Cheese Surprise, Vegi (half on whole wheat, with pasta salad), and the Spicy Mint Herbal Tea." (This would be an ideal meal for two).  

If you are willing to drive a few extra miles past Subway, I promise you won't be disappointed. Our waitress was helpful, kind, and knew exactly when to check-up on my mother and I.  Relax for an hour, support local restaurants, and thank Miss Tami on your way out!

Women enduring a war unlike any other...

If you aren't aware what is taking place with women around the world and the battles they continue to face, please read about one area in disarray.   http://www.stoprapenow.org/infocus.html

I recently attended a VDay event in New York City, where Eve Ensler began a journey alongside Dr. Denis Mukwege from the DRC, and thousands of supporters.  Eve interviewed Dr. Denis Mukwege seeking an answer, and possible justification for the violence taking place, but after an hour of dissecting and attempting to understand, Eve's jaw was still hanging close to the floor.  While emotionally broken inside, I and the rest of the auditorium was ready to take a stance.  

After reading the posted article, I too hope you are asking yourself, "Why?"  This word may never receive an answer from the perpetrators, but what is the use in clinging on when left alone?  Here are several ways you can pick up your own jaw, voice your opinion, and help show support to the women who have lived through a world destroyed by war.  

http://www.stoprapenow.org/takeAction.html

http://congowall.ning.com/