A Little More Hula

Thanks for sharing in the last post and for giving me a glimpse of yourselves. I love the internet. The fact that I can make a connection with someone several hundred miles away with just a few clicks of the fingers is an incredible thing. Fun, fun, fun. Greetings to crazycatladymel and Lisa, and thanks for stopping by. Since you all actually did tell me what's in your grocery carts, it's only fair that I tell you what I put in mine yesterday. I spent $212. $212!!! I can't believe it. Everybody keeps griping about gasoline prices, but it's the price of groceries that gets me in a swivet every week, especially since we get our beef straight from the farm and don't buy much meat in the store. We eat out only on the weekends, so I do buy a lot of food. However, yesterday, we came home with a lot of "stuff" that is in no way edible. That's what we get for shopping at Wal-Mart. Besides a bunch of produce and staples like eggs and sugar, we had a garden sprayer, swim mask and fabric in the cart. Where else can you go and buy all of that in the same place? In recognition of Hanes for Everybody Friday we also bought underwear for Hubby and me. Teen Angel didn't get any. She wants all of hers to come from Victoria's Secret. Ha! She'll get over that when she's grown and paying for her own groceries. I also bought the ingredients for a lemon supreme cake since it's potluck Sunday at church tomorrow. We're Methodists so we believe that where two are more are gathered in His name, that's a buffet. I also needed a rubber snake to add to the bible school decorations but couldn't find one. How's that for an eclectic mix? See, you can learn a lot about people from their grocery carts.

It's probably only fair that I also explain where the name "Hulagirlatheart" comes from. There is a Jimmy Buffett song by that name. If you've read my profile, you know that I'm a huge Buffett fan. Here are a few of the lyrics:

Like a gecko behind a painting
With hidden wisdom to impart
In a world that needs more dancing
She's a hula girl at heart

In the land beside the ocean
Where romantics seem to dwell
Destiny can set in motion
Ripples that turn into swells
She Knows how to face the music
She Knows where the magic starts
In a world that needs more dancing
She's still a hula girl at heart

It echos my sentiments that the world needs more dancing. I love Buffett's music because it's really a celebration of life, a reminder that we need more vacation, that we should savor each moment and have a lot more fun. My leap into the "Parrotthead" philosophy came about seven years ago following the death of my 13 year old nephew. He was probably the closest thing to a son that I'll ever have, and his sudden death rocked our family off our feet. I'll blog about it one day, when I'm feeling up to it. If you've never helped to bury a child you can't imagine the pain of that grief. It's different from other grief. It's life changing. His death gave me the gifts of courage and gratitude. I'm bolder now. Less afraid to try things. I'm not skydiving yet, but I have rapelled, zip lined through a forest and stood on top of a 35 foot utility pole. I've changed careers and my attitude. Why not? Nothing can be as scary as Chance's death. I am more serene now. I just don't sweat the small stuff. Something needs to be on fire or someone needs to be bleeding, heavily, before I get wound up. I've quit worrying about a lot of stuff. I'm a better spouse and mother because of this. I try to see the fun in each situation and find an opportunity to dance each day. The rest of the world things I'm a little nuts, but I don't care. I think the world needs a little more hula.