Posts from 2015

Like it never even happened…January 1, 2015
I spent the first day of the year erasing the old. It was dreary and drizzling and too chilly to …
“Bootiful” and a “looker”…January 7, 2015
A few weeks ago, I wrote about boots — shallow topic, I know — but it got me thinking about …
A camera blinded by the light…January 19, 2015
I woke up this morning fully intent on attending church. Sundays are generally awkward because my husband has to work …
My Toastmasters experience…January 23, 2015
Recently, I gave my first speech at Toastmasters — well, my first non-spontaneous, non-extemporaneous speech. It was called the “ice …
Personal training: my prize for body fatJanuary 29, 2015
For suffering through a body fat percentage test as I was exiting the health club last week, I received the …
When “To keep or not to keep?” isn’t the right question…February 3, 2015
My husband has been cleaning out the garage the past couple of months — giving it order and practicality and …
Why I should thank Snickers®…February 5, 2015
Dear Snickers®, Thank you for helping me to say “I’m sorry.” You have been my favorite “go to” candy bar since …
The Christian music diet vs. “garbage in, garbage out”…February 9, 2015
“Ugh! Enough of this song!” I exclaimed to Michelle, who was getting ready at the same counter and mirror space. …
When it’s darkest and coldest — too cold — before the dawn…February 24, 2015
(Sprinkled throughout this post is my first attempt at footnotes. Click on the awkwardly placed, light blue numbers [1-6] and …
Confronting fear — reluctantly…March 13, 2015
I think I will have nightmares — like my daymares — from Sunday’s “surprise.” My husband didn’t have to work — …
The God-shape behind the vacuum…March 28, 2015
My cat is afraid of the vacuum. Not when it sits quietly in the closet or in whichever room it …
Blog bye…April 21, 2015
Hello, my name is Sara, and it has been 24 days since my last blog post. Life as I know it …
Sharon share alike…May 5, 2015
When I saw the brown puddle spreading across my yellow Formica counter, I knew I needed help. The puddle would have …
Got milk?May 19, 2015
It was a Table Topics topic at Toastmasters, but I was so engrossed in evaluating the second speaker that I …
The reports of her pending death are greatly exaggerated…June 4, 2015
It was on Friday that the texts regarding funeral plans flooded my phone Texas-style. My poor sister-in-law was working and …
When being “all there” takes you away from here…June 5, 2015
“Wherever you are be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.” …
Blindly made-up…June 12, 2015
So my eyesight is getting so bad that earlier this week I was considering forgoing eye make-up on a regular …
Will the real mechanic please stand up?July 7, 2015
My only daughter was having an emergency C-section, but my oldest son was getting married and we were driving to …
On Craig’s list…July 10, 2015
We had been on the road for 16 hours despite the 11.5 hours predicted for our journey. And we were still …
Humbled by love…July 14, 2015
The day my husband and I became grandparents our children began to parent us. It was quite humbling. It began …
Big toeing the line… or notJuly 25, 2015
“Ooooh,” my husband said, “Why don’t you shoot a photo of it and post it to Facebook?” He was being …
Dancing with my son…July 29, 2015
I dreaded the dance. I saw it as an awkward mother-son performance in front of a room of spectators, but of …
No news is no news…August 17, 2015
It was after 9:30 before I decided I should at least try to sleep, but knowing my husband was driving …
Fifty years older and wiser….August 24, 2015
I’m going to celebrate my 50 years as if I own them. This is not my mother’s birthday. Every time …
One cat too many…August 28, 2015
“Why is the cat outside?” my husband asked, peering through the sliding glass door onto our gray-blue deck where, indeed, our …
#No filter? Not exactly…September 30, 2015
—————- I have 60 drafts in my blog queue — 61 if you include this post I just started. Lately, …
To my good fellows…October 8, 2015
Dear Carolyn (because you asked if I would be blogging), As it turns out, working 40 hours a week in …
Love apparent…October 22, 2015
When I bent over to kiss my sort-of sleeping husband goodbye, he said, “Did you see that I covered you …
The problem with one-sided conversations…October 26, 2015
My husband and I left for a semi-spontaneous, brief beach vacation, leaving our 19-year-old son at home with his college …
Why I love my hair stylist…November 1, 2015
I married into my hairdresser, much the way I’d married into four children when I married my husband nearly 21 …
To NaBloPoMo or not to NaBloPoMo, that is the question…November 2, 2015
Should I participate in this year’s National Blog Posting Month, NaBloPoMo? I started considering that question at least a month …
No AC November?November 3, 2015
I rushed to the gym this morning so I could stop sweating. Something is wrong with that. Maybe this picture …
That dubious gift of an hour…November 4, 2015
I’m still getting over the blessing of that extra hour I got on Sunday. Daylight Saving for 2015 ended Nov. …
I can’t wait to be discovered…November 5, 2015
Personal blogging is more about changing my life — or recording my life lessons — than changing the world. It is certainly not about being discovered. It may be a side effect, but from what I’ve found, it’s 15 minutes of fame or less. Maybe 1.5 or 15 days of fame. Or less, much less.
Once an English teacher, always an English teacher…November 6, 2015
I had carefully planned and shopped and done everything in my power to avoid shopping on Christmas Eve. When our …
Of mice and men (or when you give a mouse a cookie)…November 7, 2015
I call my husband’s truck “the mouse,” and now he does, too, at least every time he has to buy …
When you replace people with possessions…November 8, 2015
I have spent the weekend denuding a room. I emptied the room of all its contents minus the large furniture …
Do what you know is right…November 9, 2015
I was a teenager when I decided I should stop reading the Bible. I blame James. Or maybe my youth pastor, …
When your eyes are bigger than your weekend…November 10, 2015
I ran out of weekend. My eyes were bigger than the time I had allotted for the chores I wanted …
Attempting “The Glad Game’…November 11, 2015
The past week, the health club has blocked off the beautiful new showers for tile repair, and we women have …
When the Christian life is a bit too much like a political debate…November 12, 2015
I confess. If I can go to bed before 9 p.m. each night, I do. While a football game for …
Vertigo: When the world around you begins to spin…November 13, 2015
I woke up this morning with vertigo. When I sat up, the world starting spinning around me, and I had the sensation …
How our Mitsubishi van became blue…November 14, 2015
As I was entering my daughter’s new-to-her minivan yesterday, I noticed something. “Ah! It has a sunroof,” I stated. It …
If she only knew…November 15, 2015
Sometimes it’s better not to know. For instance, when your husband thinks the dress you wore to work that day makes …
When everything feels like straw…November 16, 2015
I left the meeting feeling overwhelmed. Sad thing is that I was leaving a meeting I led. Sigh. Afterward, I …
Construction criticism (or where have all the detours gone?)November 17, 2015
Constructive criticism is the art of offering feedback on work performance to help a person improve. Construction, specifically road construction, …
Don’t skimp on the showers…November 18, 2015
While my friends add their “thankful” posts to Facebook daily in November, I am choosing to do something different. Complain. …
My surprise “happily ever after”…November 19, 2015
Today I made a new friend as I stood at the makeup mirror, and as I told her my professional …
In fact, we are not entitled…November 20, 2015
I was with my two colleagues as we drove across the university campus. Because we were lucky enough to have …
The end of the twin era…November 21, 2015
I always wanted twins until I got four children at one time. When I was young, I played with my …
More time is not the answer…November 22, 2015
My toenails need to be cut. My legs needs a shave. My eyebrows need waxing. My hair needs a trim. …
When furniture shows your age…November 23, 2015
When you have lived in one house for years and years, you don’t need much in the way of furniture. …
If a gift falls in the forest…November 24, 2015
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is near enough to hear it, does it make a …
Turkey trauma: Me, myself and my memories…November 25, 2015
Am I the only one on American soil who isn’t thankful for Thanksgiving? The turkey cooks my goose every year as …
Thoughts upon awakening Thanksgiving morn…November 26, 2015
I awakened to the scale alerting me I’d gained 1.5 pounds since my last weigh-in 24 hours ago, and it’s …
Black Friday matters…November 27, 2015
In years past, I hustled to Walgreens on Thanksgiving morning with the sole purpose of buying a local newspaper — …
SEO and so what?November 28, 2015
In my work as a technical editor working on marketing campaigns for new inventions, SEO is considered an important part …
Getting a bit more fit…November 29, 2015
Thanks to my FitBit, I not only feel tired, but I also have proof that I had a terrible night’s …
My reflections on NaBloPoMo…November 30, 2015
My alarm awakened me at 4:30 this morning for the first time this month. I haven’t missed that blaring sound …
The day after…December 1, 2015
I awakened this morning before my alarm, but I didn’t start writing a blog post in my head or on …
When work is the diet plan…December 2, 2015
My healthy eating plan takes work. Literally. When I was a teen with a full stomach and a plate still …
When are you doing your Christmas baking?December 8, 2015
I can’t remember when I started baking chocolate goodies to gift my neighbors at Christmas, but it has been long …
Done and doner…December 20, 2015
I gave notice. I am finished. I am done and doner than done. (And probably dumb and dumber for not …
Put it behind you…December 23, 2015
I woke up this morning well before my alarm with a mistake on my mind. It wasn’t a sin, exactly, …
If you “resolve” to hit the gym…December 30, 2015
Those of us who regularly populate the health club brace ourselves as we consider your upcoming New Year’s resolution to …