Fun Monday-Spring Photo Challenge

I haven't done Fun Monday in a while, but I am this week because it involves two of my favorite things: Spring and photography. Jan is our lovely Hostess with The Mostess this week, and she wants us to take a picture of what Spring represents to us. Well, I've been all over the Spring blooms this year, and I have a ton of photos to choose from, (I think I'm up to more than 100) but I went back into the archives and selected one from last year.

It's one of my favorites, and it sings Spring to me for several reasons. It was taken among my peony bushes, and peonies are one of my favorite flowers. I love that you can cut three or four of them and have a beautiful bouquet. I don't even mind the ants that usually follow the bouquet into the house. The flowers are big and bold and beautiful, and I truly love it when they bloom. I'm actually hoping we don't sell our old house where they're planted until after they've bloomed.

I love the colors in this photo, too. Spring is so full of pastels and vivid greens. To me, there is no greener green than that of brand new grass and foliage as it pushes through winter's mask in March. It makes me feel good to look at the greens and yellows and pinks and purples of the season, and I smile at the colors in this photo. I smile at the bloom that's barely opened, too. Kind of symbolic of the season, don't cha' think?

I also like it because of the raindrops. What's Spring without rain? Lots of rain any other time of year would annoy me. But not in Spring. That's because I know what follows: sun, glorious sun. And warmer temperatures. Spring gives me hope, and that my friends, makes the rain worth weathering, I believe. Pun intended.

Now, trot on over to Jan's and see everyone else's pictures. That's where I'm headed.

Fun Monday-Favorite Room

Our lovely Fun Monday hostess this week is Jan, and she wants to see our favorite room in our house. Weeks ago I promised before and after pictures of the renovations to our new house, and I must confess that since then I've lacked the motivation to dig out all those photos and post them. Maybe one of these days I'll get around to it, but in the meantime, this post gives me the opportunity to show you at least one of the rooms.

While the kitchen is a close second because it's big and has lots of counter space and good glory in the mornin' a PANTRY, my favorite room is the living room. It is the center of our home and where we land when we're not bathing, eating or sleeping. When we realized a couple of years ago that we had outgrown our old house, we started making a list of things we wanted in a new house, and near the top of the list was space to entertain. We could entertain a large group of folks on the deck of the old house but had little room indoors. That limited our entertaining to months that are neither cold nor hot and humid. Basically, May, June, September and October. We certainly fixed that issue with the new home. We love the large living room.

We purposefully chose furniture that would maximize the seating capacity, like this table with pullout benches. How cool is that?

It was one of my favorite furniture purchases, and when we use those little benches and the ottoman, we can comfortably seat thirteen people in that room. If we drag in more chairs, we can hold more. I LOVE that.

That entertainment center was a splurge purchase for us. We scrimped in some other areas in order to buy that piece. Hubby and I fell in love with it when we saw it, and it hides the electronics so the room doesn't scream TV when you step inside. I hate it when the TV is the focal point of the room, and I didn't want the TV over the fireplace because it's uncomfortable to watch it that way even if it does look good in those pictures in House Beautiful. What I did put over the fireplace was a print that belonged to Sissy.

It was one of the few things we saved from her stuff. She bought it in St. Thomas on a vacation we took with her, and it gives her a presence in this house. It reminds me of the good times we had with her, and I love the colors in it. The vase on the left holds sand from a vacation in Destin, Florida (my, that caused a search of my bag in the airport) and shells from various trips we've taken to the Caribbean. We installed the fireplace as an alternate heat source during power outages. After last year's ice storm and eighteen day outage, we felt the need to better prepare ourselves for such things. We actually use the fireplace quite often and love it.

As you can tell, I still have a few empty shelves and corners to fill, but my interest in decorating went by the wayside after seventeen paint samples, four trips to the furniture store and and endless hours researching and shopping on the internet. I'll get around to filling those spots one of these days. In the meantime, we're just enjoying the space and feeling blessed that we have a house that truly fits our needs. Now, toddle on over to jan's and see what everyone else has to show us today.

Fun Monday-2010

I haven't taken part in Fun Monday for a while for a variety of reasons, but I thought I'd jump in this week since the lovely Mariposa, who is always so good to host Fun Monday on a regular basis, made a point to invite me. Besides, I needed a little inspiration for a topic. I've been on vacation since December 24th, and I think my brain has trickled out of my right ear and onto the floor. Marisposa wants to know what we're looking forward to in 2010. Easy enough. Or is it?

2009 was a rough year for the Hula-gen's thanks to an unexpected death and the dysfunction we like to call Hubby's family. I normally don't wish away time, but frankly, I was glad to turn loose of 2009. She was a b**** with an attitude. I'm hoping 2010 is a lot kinder to us.

I don't have a particular event I'm looking forward to this new year, and I didn't really make any resolutions. I simply resolve to be. To be still and listen more often. To be quiet when I want to speak but shouldn't. And to focus on one day at a time. That all sounds simple, but it's much easier said than done. The drama of 2009 taught me that life is going to stink on a regular basis, and we just have to roll with it. People are going to get sick. Loved ones are going to die. Money may be short, as well as our time. I have found peace of mind only by choosing not to look too far into the future and by savoring the minutes and hours that make up each day.

Frankly, it's hard to think about what could lay ahead for us this year. Papa T.'s health is sliding fast. I haven't really blogged about it much because my family seeks privacy on this issue, but I could literally blog every day about the wickedness of dementia and the way it tears the mind apart. The forgetfulness, the agitated moods, the incontinence. The fingers of this disease touch every part of the being, and it is exhausting trying to take care of Papa T. I knew Sissy's death would accelerate his health problems, and boy has it. For once, I don't like being right. I think this year will bring some importance and difficult decisions about his care. For now, we will keep puttering along and face each issue as it arises.

The year will bring joy, too. Teen Angel will begin her senior year of high school in the fall. I can't believe my baby is seventeen, and I can't believe we will likely be empty nesters soon. She is maturing into a beautiful young woman and aside from those 2.3 seconds every day that I want to pinch her head off, she makes us proud in many ways.

I look forward to running more. I didn't really make a resolution regarding my running, other than to keep a running log. I'm going to use it to look for trends and get a handle on the things I'm doing wrong and the things I'm doing right. I will never be fast. My form will never be pretty, but I can be consistent and keep my body healthy. (I could be a tiny bit faster, if I'd make myself do some intervals.) And I plan to give some serious thought to the Nashville or Memphis half marathons this year. It all depends on how crazy our lives are. I saw an ad for the National Guard at the theater yesterday that featured the motto "Failure is not an Option". I like that. I need something to use as a mantra to keep my mind right when I'm running, and I've decided to use that. It's either that or "Don't Stop". Perhaps that should be my motto for the year, "Don't Stop". Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and face each day as it comes. Oh, and I might take a few pictures along the way.

Fun Monday-Television

This week's Fun Monday hostess with the mostess is Jan over at Jan and Jer's. She wants to know what we're watching on television. Specifically:

Since September is just around the corner, all the TV shows will be having their premiers throughout the month. What kind of TV viewer are you? Do you like sitcoms or do you prefer drama. Are soap operas your cup of tea or murder mysteries. Game, variety and reality shows are big this year too. These are just a few examples. Share with us your favorite shows and why you like it or them so much.

Well, Jan, the honest truth is I haven't watched television since sometime in April. Oh, I've turned it on and surfed the channels, but I really haven't sat down and watched much TV in months. It's not that I don't enjoy it. I've just been consumed with the chaos we like to call "life". Things have been crazy for us in recent months, so I'm hoping that by the fall season premieres things will calm down, and we can cuddle up in the Big A** Chair with a bowl of popcorn and the remote control. In the meantime, I'll tell you about all the things I'd watch if I had time.

First of all, 90% of my viewing time is spent with either an old movie on TMC or AMC (love, love, love Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn) or HGTV, FoodTV and the History Channel. I can thank the history channel for filling in some of the gaps in my high school history, and I can thank HGTV for making me believe I can pour my own concrete sidewalk with a bowl and a butter knife. FoodTV fuels my wannabe pastry chef fantasies and drives my husband absolutely crazy. "Do we HAVE to watch THIS again?" Most of the time I flip on one of those channels and half way pay attention to the tube while I read a book.

I do pay attention sometimes. While I'm selective about what I watch, I do really enjoy certain shows. I like Brothers & Sisters, and Hubby and I have a crazy craving to be on The Amazing Race. I have a feeling we'd be quite entertaining and would likely be bleeped a lot as we cursed our way across Croatia and Zimbabwe.

My favorite show is Damages.

It's fast paced, well written, always surprising and riveting. Glen Close is superb in this show and is sometimes downright spooky. It's one of those shows you have to DVR and watch more than once to pick up on all of the clues to keep up with this thriller.

Same goes for Lost.

It makes you think. And rethink. And rewind again and again to pick up on all of the clues. I like TV that makes me think. And scratch my head.

I try not to miss Saving Grace.I lurv Holly Hunter's flawed character and her interaction with that quirky angel Earl. It's a very adult show but very thought provoking and again, well written. I hope my guardian angel is as fun as Earl.

Grey's Anatomy is one of my guilty pleasures.

Really, who couldn't use a little McSteamy and a little McDreamy? Raise your hand. I didn't think so. I chalk this one up to smutty fun.

My other guilty pleasure is....well, well I hate to admit it but....but....oh, here goes: Iron Chef America.

Yup. I'm hooked. I love the big reveal of the secret ingredient and the surprising ways they can cook something as simple as an ear of corn. Or how the judges will ooh and ah over something nasty made out of chicken livers and cow brains. If I had a nickel for every time I've DVRed this show, I could have paid for my new appliances at Lowes last week with...well, nickels. It's a tad embarrassing to admit it, but it really is one of my favorite shows. I guess it could be worse. I could have said Repo Man. Not that I know what that is. Really, I've never watched it. I swear. Well, maybe once. But only when Hubby had it on.

Now slide off that couch you potatoes, and slip over to Jan's and see what everyone else is watching.

Fun Monday-Learning

Oh, my gosh!! In the last three days I’ve hired a contractor to rip out part of my bathroom, partially remodel my kitchen and fix a bunch of stuff I can’t begin to list. I’ve looked at faucets, tile, granite and appliances until my eyes have glazed over. I’ve splashed paint samples on the wall, eaten meals, gone to church, tried to book plane tickets and suffered through a computer virus that shut down the Hula-gen desktop. All of this means I’m way behind on my Fun Monday post and left with very little time to do it. I hope our lovely hostess, Faye, will forgive me for being so slow and so brief.

Her topic this week is life long learning. Specifically:

Do you still think of yourself as a student? A lifelong learner? If so, what would you like to learn? Something job related to improve your work performance? Technology skills to keep up with the modern times? Personal financial management skills? Stress management strategies? Playing bridge? Belly dancing? Writing? Better blogging? Speaking another language? Car maintenance? DIY home improvements? You get the idea--the list of learning options for adults is endless. Are you currently taking a class or online study? What is this experience like? What are you learning? If not actually in a class, how do you learn something new? Tutorials on computer or TV? How to books? One on one with an instructor or coach? Practice on your own?

Hang on to your hats, boys and girls. This one will be fast. (Sorry, I have to see a man about some grout.) I do consider myself a lifelong learner, but only recently did I come to that realization. I think it’s important to continue learning something new, and if you look closely enough you’ll usually learn something new every day. I’m not taking any official classes right now, but one of these days I hope to return to the classroom at the art school that just opened in my community. It’s something I dabbled in at college and would like to pick up again during that magical phase of my life known as “someday when I have time”. I’d like to take digital photography classes first and then pick back up on some pottery classes I had in college, specifically throwing porcelain. I’d like to go back to doing community theater. I haven’t done that in years, and it’s something I miss. I’d like to be a better actor and learn more theatrical history in the process.

I’d also like to learn more about the world, and I think the best way to learn that is to see it with my own eyes; so hopefully, I’ll get to travel more in future years and in the process, learn a new language and a lot of geography. And don’t laugh, but I have this urge to learn how to lay brick. I don’t know why, but it appeals to me for some reason, and I want to know how to do it. I don’t know when I’ll squeeze that in or how I’ll go about it, but it’s on the list.

That’s the future. What am I learning now? This past year has been a real learning year for me. It’s been packed with life lessons. Between the alcoholism of a friend, Sissy’s mental illness and suicide and Papa T.’s dementia, I’ve had a lot of life choices thrown at me. It’s been stressful but oh so enlightening. I’ve learned a lot about me, especially during my Al-Anon sessions. Basically, what I’ve learned is that I don’t’ know me as well as I thought, and I’m not nearly as perfected as I thought. I’ve come to realize I am a very flawed being who has a long way to go before I can claim to be “good” or “smart” or “right”…whatever those words mean. Things I now know:
-I’m not always right.
-I don’t know everything.
-I have no right to judge others because my flaws are no better than the next guy’s.
-A lot of stuff isn’t any of my business.
-Sorry is a very big word.
-I shouldn’t be so stingy with grace if I expect to get a little myself.
-Life isn’t fair. It never will be, and I should get over it.
-A lot of sh*t just doesn’t matter.
-I shouldn’t sweat the small sh*t. It doesn’t matter.
-Time is an incredible gift. It should not be squandered.
-And neither should love.

Most of all I’ve learned that I have a lot more to learn. About me. And family. And the rest of the world. And that I should get off my arse and get to studyin’.

Summer fun and staying cool is the theme of this week's Fun Monday assignment which comes from the lovely Janis.

Since the Lazy Hazy Days of summer are upon us now, tell us what activities you enjoy doing outside and how do you stay cool. Share some photos of both if you wish.

The humidity runs thick in the Ohio Valley, so things can get pretty steamy and sticky around here in July and August. Heck, sometimes it's sticky in May. You have to work at trying to stay cool. The Hula-gen's work hard, but they like to play hard, too. Each summer, we usually take a couple of trips to amusement parks and water parks. We love Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana. It has wonderful rides, the water park is fantastic and we never ever feel ripped off when we go there. They have free sunscreen and free drinks. It's just a great family friendly place. We also like King's Island in Cincinnati and make a trek there every summer with the church youth group. Hubby and Teen Angel are there this weekend. Some years we take a vacation in the summer. Other years we wait until fall break in October. This year, we're going to Destin in October, and I can't wait. Florida is so stinkin' hot in July that we opted for the cooler and less crowded fall break this time. Most weekends, we simply vacation in our backyard. We are fortunate enough to have a pool, and we like to use it. Teen Angel splishes and splashes. Hubby and I float. We go round and round and round in our floating chairs. I read and he naps, which is what he was doing when I took this picture recently. It's the best way we know how to stay cool in the peak summer months.

We also garden. We have 53 tomato plants this year, and they are really blooming right now.

We've picked a few small tomatoes, and they should really start coming on pretty soon. There's nothing cool and comfortable about gardening, but we do enjoy it.

One of the other things I enjoy in the summer is races. We have several 5K races in our town between April and October, giving me ample opportunity to be reminded of how slow I am...er, I mean to see how well my weekly running sessions are working. We had one yesterday, and I was a little concerned that it was going to be miserably hot. It wasn't because it rained.

And rained.And rained.And rained some more.Oh, hello young man with the nice calves.

They delayed the race for a little while and when the lightening stopped and it became obvious the clouds weren't going to pass any time soon, they lined us up and we ran in the pouring rain. All 3.1 miles. We were soaked. The poor folks who were walking the course were absolutely pruney by the time they finished. I've been caught in the rain while running before, but my feet have never been this wet. Fortunately, I had packed extra clothes, shoes and a towel when I left the house, so I eventually got somewhat dry but not before I spent a full three hours standing around in the driving rain. And guess who was there. Jerry, from The Biggest Loser. He seemed like a really nice fellow, and while he could have finished at a much faster pace, he stuck with the walkers in the back and talked with them and encouraged them. Classy.

The clouds really opened up during the youth race. Those kids got pounded, but they didn't mind. You know kids, the wetter, the better.

What is fun about racing in the pouring rain or blistering heat you ask? I'm not sure I can explain it. It SEEMS like torture to run your legs off all week just to see how far you can push yourself on a Saturday morning when you're not likely to win a prize and if you do it's a cheap trophy. There's just a lot of satisfaction in trying to stay healthy and trying to hang onto a shred of athleticism as you get old. Of keeping your competitive spirit alive and always trying to make yourself a little bit better than you were the week before. Of course, floating around in pool is just as fun. And a whole lot easier. Which is what I'd be doing right now if it weren't RAINING...again.

Fun Monday-My Purse

This week's Fun Monday hostess is the Church Lady and she wants a peek inside of my purse or my pocketbook as grandma used to call it. Here is the assignment:

Post a photo of your purse and if you care to share, describe what's inside your purse. Do you carry everything but the kitchen sink? Or, do you prefer to go light and carry only the necessities, such as your money and cell phone. For the men who would like to participate, post a photo of your wallet and describe what's in your wallet.

Well, isn't she a brave one. I've seen women that carried some scary things in their purse. Hubby's grandma used to pack a pistol in hers. It just terrified us to know she dragged that thing with her when buying new shoes or picking up a gallon of milk at the U-Tote-Em. Trust me, if someone had tried to steal her purse that 83-year old granny would have shot him once between the eyes and never blinked. And then she would have prayed for his lost soul, gone home and canned some peaches.

My purse is pretty simple. I just don't have time to swap them around all of the time to match my outfit or shoes. I carry the same one day in and day out until it falls apart, and then I buy another. It's almost always leather and is a shade of black or brown. I figure if I keep it simple I don't have to worry about it. This is the one I'm carrying now.

I think I paid $28 for it at J.C. Penney's. God bless J.C. Penney's. I keep my purse crammed full of stuff and had to dump it all out to take a picture of the contents because they were squeezed in there so tightly. There really weren't any big surprises in there.I found 3 tubes of lip balm. Burt's Bee's is my favorite. I'm not a lipstick kind of girl. I'm a chap stick girl. Lipstick is one of those girly girl things I've never quite gotten the hang of. It's always a mess on me. I've tried all of the tips that Glamour, Vanity Fair and the Avon Lady recommend, and I still look like a clown when I wear it, so I tend to stick with chap stick. I had 28 cents in change, some pens and my billfold, which I've had about four years. Again, I buy one and carry it every day until it wears out. I have two pair of sunglasses. One pair makes me look cool but doesn't fit well. The other pair fits really well, works great and makes me look somewhat Nascar-ish, so I trade them out. Nascar-cool. Nascar-cool.

I also had some fingernail clippers, a note from the house cleaner on some cleaning supplies she needed and a rubber band. There was my cell, which is about to fall apart, and a recipe for Red Rock margaritas that a friend gave me Thursday. The bottle of OPI "Pinking of You" nail polish is from my nail tech. She had to travel back to Vietnam recently because her dad is dying of cancer, and it will be five weeks before my next appointment, so she sent me home with the bottle and told me to layer on another coat as needed. Note that I picked a light color so it wouldn't show if I screwed it up. I'm not good at nail polish either. And finally, you'll notice a tube of Benydryl anti-itch medicine. I'm carrying that because I have a monster case of chiggers on my ankles, and they won't go away. Daddy thinks they're turkey mites. I don't care what they are. I'm just ready for them to GO AWAY.

That's about it. Oh, there was one other item tucked away in the side pocket.

I never go anywhere without Sweet 'N Low. Every day I drink a large iced tea in the afternoon. I'm probably the only person born below the Mason Dixon line who doesn't like my tea as sweet as honey. I order mine unsweetened and lightly sweeten it with Sweet 'N Low. Half the drive-thrus I frequent either don't carry it (You know who you are, McDonald's) or forget to give it to me. Therefore, I carry it with me. It's just one of those quirky little things that make me...me. If this were winter, I'd also be carrying around six brands of sinus medicine and some tissues. Now, follow me over to the Church Lady, and let's see what everyone else is toting around to the U-Tote-Em.

Fun Monday-Aging

This week's Fun Monday hostess is the lovely Sayre, and she wants us to peer into the future. She wants to know what kind of old person we think we'll be. Here is the assignment:

Using your imagination, project into the future and tell me what you will be like as an 80-year old. Will you be someone who doesn't accept the aging process, spending all your time in the gym and the bars, or will you be a rocking chair granny, or something in between?

Well, I don't expect to be in the bars because that will seem like a waste of rapidly dwindling time. And it can be bad for your health. I may be in the gym, but I kind of doubt it. I figure by age eighty, I'll throw in the towel on working out and decide to enjoy the cheesecake and stretchy pants. I'll probably be taking a brisk daily walk and enjoying the occasional margarita though. And hopefully, I'm living on a beach where the sun is warm and the breezes are soft.

This is a question I hadn't thought much about until Sayre posed it. I hope at eighty, I'm somewhat healthy, content with my life and surrounded by family and friends who don't mind putting up with my crotchety ways. I hope I've seen the world and its people and used to the best of my ability the gifts that God has given me. I also hope I've aged as gracefully as some folks I admire for the way they've grown older. Like my mother, and my grandmother. And some people you're more familiar with.

I hope I have the spirit and intelligence of Katharine Hepburn.The grit and style of Elizabeth Taylor.

The humor of Carol Burnett.I definitely hope I have the grace and independence of Jackie Onassis.The work ethic of Helen Thomas.And the spirituality and love of life of Dolly Parton.Most of all, I hope I haven't lost my mind. Ha!

Now, mosey on over with me to Sayre's and see what everybody else thinks about being eighty.

*Photos courtesy of: geocities.com, broadwayworld.com, neoneocon.com, martinbrownart.wordpress.com, huffingtonpost.com and celebrityroyale.com.

Fun Monday-Pampering

After a few weeks away from the Fun Monday fun, I'm back in the saddle this week. Mariposa is our hostess and she wants to know how we pamper ourselves. Here is her assignment for us:

"We all need to learn to pamper ourselves and not just in times when we are stressed.So for next week, let us share each other's self pampering stories...may they be from little pleasures to guilty pleasures!"

Only recently have I learned the art of pampering myself without guilt. For years, I'd get a massage or squeeze out a little "me time" but wouldn't really enjoy it because I felt like I should spend every spare moment with my family. It's a neuroses of working women, I think. I finally figured out though, that the world didn't fall apart and no one at home was hopelessly lost without me if I took an hour or two for myself. And I've never looked back. I pamper myself guilt free these days, and there are a couple of things I do that I really enjoy.

First of all, I play Bunco once a month with some girlfriends. We get together for food, games, gossip and laughs. It's a great time and always a good reminder of how important it is to cultivate and maintain friendships. Play dates are important for grown ups, too. Once a year, the Bunco group does a slumber party, and because we'd all like to keep our jobs and our reputations I will not divulge all of the nonsense that goes on. Let's just say we like to "cut loose", and leave it at that.

The other thing I treat myself to is having my nails done. After years of biting my nails and wearing them down to horrible looking little nubs, I took the advice of a good friend and starting having acrylic put on my nails and getting them polished every couple of weeks. It keeps my hands looking nice, which is important in my job. I sit in a lot of meetings with community leaders and occasionally get interviewed by local media, so appearances are important in my position. Which is kind of a bummer, because I'd rather show up for work in my robe and flip flops, but that's not how the world spins. The funny thing about the nail appointments is that I get more pleasure out of the chats I have with my nail tech than I do out of the actual manicures.

I don't have a picture of Cindy to show you, but I wish I did. She is fascinating. She came to the U.S. from Vietnam seven years ago with the intention of making a better life for herself and eventually becoming a U.S. citizen. When I first started seeing her four years ago, she spoke very little English. I had to point to the color of polish I wanted. In those four years, her English has improved remarkably and includes a little slang like "honey" and "baby". She got her drivers license, earned an associate degree at the local college and earned her cosmetology license. She went from renting a booth in a beauty shop to owning her own shop.

She is one of the hardest working people I know. She is not afraid of dirty work, long hours or studying for hours on end to earn good grades. She loves to learn and was a straight A student. Her drive comes from growing up dirt poor. As in didn't own a toothbrush until she was thirteen years old poor. As in worked in the rice fields as a child poor, and shared a dress with her sisters.

In the past four years Cindy has shared with me many stories about her childhood and the poverty she has known for most of her life. I find it fascinating to hear about the lack of quality health care in her home country, the conditions she used to live in and the promises she made to herself about finding a way out of the poverty. She's one of the bravest and strongest women I know. Not many of us would be willing to leave our home country forever and hop on a plane for a country we knew nothing about, didn't know the language spoken there and didn't know what kind of job prospects we would find. Every other week I sit across from her while she massages my cuticles, polishes my nails and warms my heart. I have learned so much from her.

She is very appreciative of the opportunities this country has afforded her and loves being here. At last week's appointment she was excited because the next day she was traveling to Nashville to register for the background check that will lead to her test for citizenship. Cindy practically sparkled as she talked about it. And get this. She has already studied for the test and knows the information backwards and forwards. She spouted all kinds of facts about our government and its history. Stuff that a lot of Americans have probably not taken the time to learn or simply aren't interested in. I'm proud for Cindy, and I know she'll do well on the test. After all, she's a straight A student. And I always feel good when I leave her shop, somewhat for the manicure, but mostly for the friendship.

Fun Monday-Office Art

Our Fun Monday hostess this week, Sayre, wants to see inside our workplace. Specifically, she wants to see the artwork we surround ourselves with while we work.

Take your camera to work and take pictures of the things that inspire you as you work or that inspires your coworkers. Ask them (or yourself) what it is about that particular object or picture that makes the work day seem a little easier.If you don't work outside the home, take a picture of the thing that helps you get through the day and inspires you to have the best day you can.

It will come as no surprise to most of you that my office has a bit of a tropical theme. My coworkers just smile and shrug their shoulders at my decor because they know me well enough to understand why I surround myself with the stuff that I do. I love my work, but I like to surround myself with reminders of vacation while I work. It just makes me smile. It also helps me slug through winter. I am fortunate in that I get to decorate my office any way I like, as long as it's within reason. And my office is full of pictures and trinkets from past vacations. My favorite is this print I got in Barbados.

It's visible every time I look up from my computer screen. The photo doesn't really do it justice. I have pictures of Teen Angel. One taken in St. Thomas with some feathered friends:

And another taken in Aruba when we were foolish enough to allow her to have her picture made with a tiger. A month after we came home from this vacation the Siegfried & Roy tiger mauling happened in Vegas, and we felt like the most stupid parents ever for allowing her to sit next to a tiger.

I have some fun stuff, too. Like this license plate I bought in Aruba.

And a collage of photos and memorabilia from our first Jimmy Buffett concert.

Oh, look! It's five o'clock somewhere.Not really, but this sure makes it fun to check the time throughout the day. And what office would be complete without flamingos? This is one of two metal ones Hubby bought me for Valentine's Day last year.

And these two I bought in a tacky junk store in town.

I spied them in the window, stopped and bought them immediately. Love, love, love the tacky flamingos. These have that pale pink Floridian 1950's tourist kind of vibe to them.

Oh, and there's one more item I can't forget. I've had it for years. I got it when I worked in television news, and it always seemed to fit the mood of my work day. Fortunately, I have a job now where it's rare that I feel like this:

Fun Monday-Dreams

This week's Fun Monday hostess is Jill at LilMouse, and she wants to hear about our dreams. Specifically:

Do you have any dreams, particularly recurrent ones that you feel no one else has? I recently talked to my friend Stacy on the phone and found out that we’d had the same odd, recurrent dream. Or, just tell us about an odd dream you had as a kid (did you dream you were falling and end up on the floor?)

This one is a little tough for me because I rarely remember my dreams when I wake up. I used to, but now I don't. It bothers me a little, but I can't do anything about it. I guess I'm just a very deep sleeper. Goodness knows a tornado could blow through our house in the middle of the night, and I'd never notice. I'd just wake up the next morning in the fork of a tree in Kansas and wonder what the heck happened. I have had a couple of recurrent dreams in recent years, though.

For a while, I kept dreaming that I died a violent death, usually at the hands of a criminal and in the presence of my husband. I think it had to do with some fears I had at the time about his safety as a parole officer. We kept running into some of his "clients" on the street, and a couple of the the more hardcore ones unnerved me when Hubby told me later they had probably been carrying a weapon. Those dreams eventually went away. Thank goodness. I got tired of waking up in a cold sweat. My brother is a police officer, and a couple of times I've had dreams of him being in danger. Having law enforcement folks in the family works on your nerves sometimes.

The one dream I had consistently for quite a while was that my teeth were falling out. It always scared me, and I would wake up and rub my tongue over my teeth, convinced they were looser than when I went to bed the night before. I finally mentioned it to a friend, and to my surprise she told me she'd had the same dream, so I looked it up on the Internet (what did we ever do before Google?) and found that it's a very common dream. The most common theory about this dream is that you're feeling insecure:

"These dreams often occur at a time of transition between one phase of life and another. When we lost our milk teeth, we also gradually lost our childhood innocence. Loosing your teeth therefore show that today you have similar feelings of uncertainty and self-consciousness as you did in childhood. The dream could also highlight your worries about getting older or your sexual attractiveness."

This makes complete sense to me because I was about to hit age forty, was unhappy with the demands my job was placing on my family at the time and contemplating a career change. I've never had that dream again since I changed jobs. It's also entirely possible I was worried about getting older. The sexual attractiveness? Pffftt. I'm way past the point in life where I base my self value on whether or not people find me attractive. I'm downright close to the comfortable shoe stage of life. In fact, I may be there and don't realize it. Anyway, that's about all I have today, shotgun wounds and loose teeth, but that's enough don't cha' think? Follow me on over to LilMouse and see what everyone else is thinking about while they're sleeping.

Fun Monday-Summer Vacation

Our Fun Monday hostess this week is Patience, and she has summer on her mind. She wants to know what we plan to do on summer vacation. Specifically:

Y'know, it's getting on to that time of year. Everyone's already thinking of what they'll be doing on their summer vacation. So, let's hear about it already!! (And pictures are always welcome!)
And if you're not planning a vacation, tell us about vacations past. (Please. Keep it clean! If you can.)

The Hula-gen's didn't take a vacation last year because we had a big federal tax bill, so we were determined to take a vacation this year. For the last few weeks I've been surfing the web for a good deal. We discussed taking another cruise and flirted with the idea of an all inclusive trip somewhere tropical, but we finally decided to stay within the borders of the U.S. because Hubby said there are several places right here at home he hasn't experienced yet. We settled on the beautiful Emerald Coast, Destin Florida.

Everyone we know who has been there says it's fabulous; beautiful emerald waves and white sandy beaches. So we plan to try it, and I booked a condo just last week. After much discussion, we decided to go in early October instead of summer. Florida is just too hot in the summer, and this way we kind of stretch out summer by taking advantage of the warm weather in Florida because all of the leaves are off the trees here.

In the meantime, we have some summer fun planned. We kick off the season by seeing Willie Nelson in concert on Memorial Day. For the last couple of years, he's been on our list of Music Legends To See Live Before They Kick The Bucket list, and he's playing in our backyard on that day. That should be fun. I love Willie. He's truly an original.

We will also travel to Cincinnati in early August to see Jimmy Buffett. That's always a blast. Last year we saw him in St. Louis, and the fans there weren't as...shall we say, lively...as the Cincinnati bunch, so we're headed back to Cincy this year. Fins up!

And somewhere in the middle of summer, we may travel to King's Island with the youth group from church. They have a new roller coaster there this year that's supposed to be phenomenal, and I'm sure my dare devil child will want to ride it. It looks something like this:

If we go, I'll have to decide if riding this is worth the two hours of nausea I'll have afterwards, or if I should just throw up my hands and quit pretending in front of the kids that I really enjoy riding stuff like this.

That should keep us quite busy in the coming months. While Fall seems a long time away, I'm sure summer will slide by us as fast as ever, leaving me longing for even more beach time than I will get. Sigh. I get giddy just thinking about it. Now, follow me over to Patience's place to see what everybody else is doing this summer. Has anyone seen my flip-flops?