I See What You Meme

“ My grief lies all within And these external manners of lament Are merely shadows to the unseen grief That swells with silence in the tortured soul” --William Shakespeare On Wednesday, I was leaving one of the schools where I work.  I was crossing the parking lot to my car and I tripped. There was no ice, no barriers in the road. I just tripped over my own two feet and went flying.  My knees broke my fall.  In the instant I hit the pavement, the pain was, in a word, intense .  I will admit that quite a few four letter words were uttered under my breath.  I inhaled deeply, gathered my bag (some of its contents spilling out onto the road), and hobbled the 20 more yards to my car.  I pulled up my pant legs to assess the damage.  Both knees were skinned.  I had errands to run so I started the car, thinking I'd stop at a drugstore for band aids if needed.  Interestingly, the incident took the first 10 layers of skin off my knees ...

In between planning the Thumbs Up Ball and watching the Downton Abbey season finale , I somehow got a cold.  It's about time, I suppose.  I think it's been close to a year since I've had to miss a day of work because of illness.  With all the other germies that have been floating around in this relatively mild winter, I think I got off easy.  After spending almost three days either on my couch or in my bed, I've had plenty of time to reflect on the current state of things in my life.   Decor from the very festive Thumbs Up Ball The Thumbs Up Ball was a huge success for our foundation , thanks in no small part to the many sponsors and volunteers who shared their time and talents for our fundraiser.  We raised over $3000 with this event.   For that I am grateful .   The other big news of the week is that I was awarded the Eagle Rare Life Courage Award . I was nominated for this contest by my dear husband sometime back in spring 2011. ...

This Sunday, the finale for Season 2 of Downton Abbey will air on PBS.  If you haven't yet discovered this work of historical fiction from across the pond, go watch Season 1 on Netflix right now.  Then you will be ready to catch up with Season 2.  There are a few episodes available streaming on the PBS website but you can't find the whole season there.  (Interestingly, Season 2 is already available on DVD so I guess some chaps already know how the finale will play out...) I love it when a story completely captures your attention like Downton Abbey  has for me.  It's got everything I love about Mad Men set 45 years earlier...in England.  In fact, if you ever watched Mad Men and thought, "Wow! We sure have come a long way since the 1960s!" your mind will be completely  blown by the class structure and social hierarchy of English society in the early 20th century.  They were just so darn...proper.    Even though it is a proper B...

I can't believe it's been over three weeks since I've blogged.  Admittedly, my life has been a bit busy. Aside from the job that pays the bills, CJSTUF has been gearing up for our next big event (next Saturday!) so I've been busy collecting items for our silent auction and tying up loose ends for the whole she-bang.  I'm still writing, too.  I wrote another piece or two for Insert Eyeroll and covered a story about the Ringling Bros. circus coming to town for Richmond Mom .   The problem is, at the end of the day, I'm tired. I have plenty of things to write about and there is no lack of source material. But I also love curling up with a good book or watching a movie or TV show as the day winds down. My latest obsession is old episodes of Monk  on Netflix.   A few of you have asked recently about my book: Four Seasons for Charlotte .  We are, indeed, working on a Spring 2012 publication date. I'm hoping for May.  I am in the process of working...

I was sorting through the cups in the kitchen the other day and realized just how much my collection of mugs told a story of my life.  Today, for a change of pace, we have a photo blog: This might be one of the oldest mugs in the cabinet, dating back from my pig collecting days .   I don't have to add extra sugar to my coffee when I use the Precious Moments mug. I actually have been given two of these over the years.  The back contains an acrostic poem on my name:    R efreshing A dventurous C harming H armonious E ager L ight-hearted It's almost like it was custom designed for me.   When I'm not writing or working on the Foundation, I'm working for Commonwealth Autism Service .  It's the job that pays the bills but it's also one of my dream jobs .  I'm a lucky girl.   Roger is actually the one who drives the Saturn in the family. Our household is on our third Saturn. Not sure what we will do when the latest ...

Life can only be understood backward but it must be lived forward.  ~Soren Kierkegaard  There have been about a million thoughts rumbling in my brain lately but I have been very slack about getting them on paper (or, at least, the blog). Life has just been busy -- in a good way -- and by the time I get around to blogging, I find myself tired. Or distracted.   The balloon launch... Finally, I find the time to collect my thoughts.  There have been many thoughts of Charlotte over the past week. Last Saturday, when we reflected on her passing with close friends, I felt supported and comforted. The day was just what I needed it to be. The weather was a balmy 60-some degrees. It was breezy and (most of) the balloons found their way into the sky as we launched them in our cul de sac.  I am grateful to everyone who left who shared the day, sent us notes, and told us how they remembered Charlotte in their own way.   Then, Roger and I decided to w...

I think almost everyone collects something.    My mother collects angels. Roger collects banks. My brother collects unusual percussion instruments from all over the world.  I have friends that collect items as varied as Disney memorabilia, teapots, shoes, Superman collectibles, and rare coins.   I used to collect pigs. The fascination with pigs started sometime in elementary school. I can't remember whether I was in fourth or fifth grade. I do remember that it all started with a "pig week" at school, sponsored by our media center. There were events throughout the week around pigs in literature. Somewhere along the line, I decided that I liked pigs because they were adorable, unique, intelligent, and incredibly misunderstood. Hmmm...has anyone done a study on the connection between the characteristics of a person's chosen totem and their personality?  Most of what remains of the pig collection Anyway, as the years went on, I acquired all kinds of pig-re...