Life as a CrazyMimi

It's 8AM on December 31st, 2017.  When I asked Alexa to start my day, she started singing Auld Lang Syne.  So that started me thinking.  What does it really mean?  We all sing it, but do we know what it means?  Roughly translated, it means "for old times' sake". Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and old lang syne? For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne. And surely youll buy your pint cup! and surely Ill buy mine! And we'll take a cup o kindness yet, for auld lang syne. Looking at the lyrics makes me want to warmly remember old friends, appreciate new friends, and hug my family.  Maybe I'm just being sentimental this morning.  I'm missing my Son and Punkins who are usually here for New Year's Eve.  It's when we do our big Petty Family Christmas.  Maybe it's because we are coming to th...

As 2017 is coming quickly to an end, and 2018 looms large in front of us, it's a natural time for reflection, for fond memories, and for saying thank you to those who have been good to us this year. For what seems like many years now, I've approached the end of the year with some regret, wishing I had accomplished more.  Not so this year.  Not so at all.  This has been my year.  My year of change.  My year of accomplishment. When 2017 began, I had the normal resolutions....lose weight, get healthy, be a better person, appreciate life more, etc., etc.  Then I turned 60 in March.  60!  I have lived six decades!  Whoa! Sixty hit me hard...but not in a bad way.  It woke me up.  If I was going to get healthy, now was the time!  So I set out to walk several times a week, do yoga, and eat healthier.  Well, let me tell you how that went down!  Walking led to running, eating healthier led to weight loss, weight loss led ...

A couple of Sundays ago, we held a party for my parents who recently celebrated 70 years of marriage.  SEVENTY years....let that sink in for a minute.  Here's their story.  Enjoy! Seventy years ago, two “kids” fell in love and were married, after meeting at an after church gathering.   As the story of the wedding day goes, the Preacher had to be called in from the field where he had been working, to perform the ceremony.   Now some of us wouldn ’t want the one officiating at our wedding to be wearing his dirty overalls while marrying us.   But these two crazy 18 year olds didn ’t mind.   They were in love and that ’s all that mattered! I ’m sure they had their dreams, their visions of what their life would be like.   I ’m also sure they differed greatly from what brides and grooms of today might be dreaming of.   The world 70 years ago was a vastly different place.   It was the era of the Cold War.   Truman was Presiden...

"Whatever it is you really want for your life, remember, you have the power to make a decision to go for it. Whether you want to go back to school, change your financial situation, improve your relationships, or live a healthier lifestyle, it all starts with a decision."  Valorie Burton, Author and Life Coach. This above statement hit home with me in a big way when I saw it!  And since I am marking a full year since I made a decision to improve my life, I thought this was the perfect time to tell my story.  So, here we go. Exactly one year ago, I made a decision.  It was a minor decision at the time, made without much thought.  If I had only known how this decision would grow!  And grow it did, into a major life change!  I decided to start becoming more active.  Yoga was a good place to start, I thought.  So I started taking yoga twice a week, and absolutely loved it!  It was good for mind, body and soul!  And then about once a ...

For anyone who has been reading my blogs of late, you might have noticed a recurring theme...change.  Yes, I am changing.  To some in my family this has become a source of concern.  "Why is Linda doing some of these things?"  "She's getting very brave!" So I thought I would try to explain this by using my Life Motto.  Now, this Life Motto of mine is not new.  I didn't make it up.  It's been around a long time.  I actually have had a wall hanging of it in my house for a very long time.  This quote first appeared in a book by    Hunter S. Thompson ,  The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967 .   In researching this author, I found that he used mind altering drugs (LSD), and ended his own life at the age of 68.  So while I'm not really sure what this quote meant to him, I can assure you that to me it means embracing life, not ending it. Here's the quote I'm speaking of: This quote always ...

One of my Punkins asked me at breakfast a couple of days ago if I had written another blog post.  I said no, that I don't ever write more than one during vacation week.  However, something happened that day that changed my mind.  But to understand it, let me back up a bit... My family members know that I have a fear of water.  I won't put my head under water (except in the shower!), and I won't put myself in any situation where I could drown, because I can't swim.  My Dad almost drowned in the Marines, and a very unhealthy fear of water was instilled in us kids growing up.  We didn't go near water, and I never learned to swim.  I, however, was determined to never do that to my kids, so my boys became great swimmers, and my Punkins are becoming very good swimmers, too! When we arrived here at the lake,  the property we rented this year came with two kayaks.  Immediately,  Jeremy and some of the Punkins jumped in those kayaks, and off th...

Day four of my annual vacation at Lake Anna it occurs to me that I've seen no news.  No network news, no newspaper, or any other news.  This intrigues me a bit.  At home I like to watch the news in the morning, and in the evening.  Why?  It seems to be nothing but bad news.  So that started me thinking about what I have seen this week.  And not one thing has been bad! I've seen the sun rise over the lake, while sitting on the middle of the lake in a kayak, with my granddaughter Emily sitting in her kayak beside me.  We talked about how, with the sun rising behind clouds, the rays streaked down from under the cloud, and seemed to touch the water.  When the sun finally peaked out, the shimmer on the water looked like millions of diamonds sparkling, welcoming a new day.  As we glided along with the barely audible whisper of our oars hitting the water, we watched a heron soar overhead, watched silent, still fishermen waiting for the bite th...

If you have read my blog posts for a while, you probably have some idea of what our family vacation at the lake is like.  If you haven't read these particular posts, head over to my main page and check them out!  They will give you a glimpse into our crazy week! We have been going to the same house on Lake Anna, VA for the past 16 years.  Our first year, we went with my brother and his then wife.  Ryan came to visit since he lived only 45 minutes away, and brought my first Punkin Dalton who had just turned one.  I saw Dalton walk for the first time in that lake house, the first of many monumental occasions, milestones, and memorable moments.  The following year, and every year since, Ryan and family have spent at least a few days, if not the whole week there.  For many years, my parents and Troy's Mom spent part of the week with us, also.  And Jeremy and Brandon have spent time with us as well.  As a matter of fact, Brandon put in his first ...

As I sit on my front porch watching and listening to the rain, I'm reminded that this is one of my favorite things to do.  Unfortunately, I don't get to do this very often.  Life is so busy that we don't allow ourselves small pleasures such as this.  But, my house is clean, my laundry is done, and it's not time to fix dinner yet, so here I sit, relaxing to the sounds of nature.  The fresh rain smell permeates the air, and I can imagine our garden drinking this in, it's thirst being quenched by this beautiful summertime storm.  The wind has kicked up a couple of notches, the sky has darkened and thunder is heard in the distance.  This no doubt will be a strong storm as the cool front comes through. As I sit here relaxing, my mind drifts back to another storm and another front porch, many, many years ago... I was a child, not sure how old, living at home with my Mom and Dad and siblings.  I have always been fascinated by thunderstorms, so this summer...

It's Friday!  And to me that means it's "Weigh In " day!  I have been struggling a little lately with only losing a portion of a pound at a time.  I am so very faithful with my "Healthy Eating" (we do NOT use the D word...), and extremely faithful with my exercising, so when I only lose a portion of a pound, I get a bit upset.  Well, let me tell you about today!  I lost two whole pounds this week!  I am elated!   And speaking of struggling, I have been bothered with leg cramps lately.  I stretch before I exercise, I drink a ton of water, and I take calcium.  So I was kind of at a loss as to what was happening.  Come to find out, I am a bit potassium deficient.  So the VERY first thing everyone says to me is "Eat a banana"!  I like bananas.  I love bananas!  I used to eat one every single day as my mid morning snack.  However, I stopped eating them because they are very high in sugar.  As I write this and i...