Really, Really Random Dozen

I'm not sure how Lid does it week after week, but she always has fun questions for the Random Dozen meme.

I haven't had much time for blogging (writing or reading) lately and memes provide a quick and easy way to post. I'm sure y'all have experienced time constrains and blogger's block; both have been problems for me lately. Well, I've had some IDEAS for posts but not the time it would take to do them justice.

1. How do you feel about "Gladiator" sandals, also called "Roman" or "Jesus" sandals? A fashion yea or nay? Not a lot of women can get away with this look, in my opinion. Most of us who are middle-aged don't really want to draw attention to our calves. That said, if you've got shapely legs then there's no reason not to wear kickin' shoes! Although I'm still trying to figure out the reasoning behind these:

Why would anyone want to wrap all that hot leather around their ankles in the summer?!

2. What is your favorite pizza? Thin crust vegetarian.

3. There are plans in the works to sell roughly 1,000 items from Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas. This means you could buy Picard's chair for your family room. If not a Star Trek item, what prop, background, set, etc. from what TV or movie would you buy if you could?
[Ex: Hurley's "I Love my Shih tzu" shirt from LOST, the plantation home "Tara" from Gone With the Wind, or Tracy's tambourine from the Partridge Family.] The radio from The Walton's:

I'd really like their dining table but there's no way I'd have room for it, so I'll settle for their radio...I'll never forget the chills I felt during the episode when they heard about the bombing of Pearl Harbor on that radio.
I'd also love a painting that was in the Oval Office on West Wing. Couldn't find a photo of it, but I've always really, really liked it.

4. Name a local food or restaurant that your area is famous for. We have a plethora of pizzerias and sandwich shops, since this is a tourist area, but not a lot of good restaurants. There is a parrilla style restaurant in Cordoba called La Corta that's well known for its asado (grilled meat). We've never been but several people have told us about it -- the kind of place you go for special occasions since it's rather pricey.

5. What is your current favorite snack? No Bakes when I crave chocolate and tortilla chips (with or without salsa) when I want something salty.

6. Hypothetical: You are required to be a reality show contestant. Which show would you choose based on your probability of success? (You cannot choose "none.")
A. Dancing with the Stars
B. Biggest Loser
C. Survivor
B. Biggest Loser -- I'd just take a jug of water from my house, drink it the first week and watch the pounds slide off :-) I've actually never seen this show but I understand the premise is to see who can lose the most weight.
I've also never seen Survivor and have no desire to, but I did enjoy last season of Dancing With The Stars when our boy Donny won!

7. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being uninhabitable and 10 being cleanliness that meets the standards of OCD, how clean is your vehicle's interior? 7 or 8 since Ivan just had it cleaned a week ago.

8. It doesn't feel like Spring until _my roses begin blooming again after being dormant for a couple of months_.

9. Something that made you laugh really hard recently is _trying to both understand and play a game [in Spanish or course] with the youth group the other night -- I think I'm forever branded as the crazy lady who can't keep the directions straight so I just shout out "No! No! No!" whenever it's my turn_.

10. Tell me about a goal you're working toward. Being able to understand and play games in Spanish.

11. Share a thought-provoking or inspiring quote this week. Read this morning: an anonymous poem that Madeleine L'Engle included in her book, A Circle of Quiet:

The written word
Should be clean as bone,
Clear as light,
Firm as stone.
Two words are not
As good as one.

...reiterating my belief that I need to work on being more succinct and not use SO MANY WORDS in my tendency to over-explain.

12. Name one thing that you do as a parent that you absolutely know will make your kids happy. If you're not a parent, feel free to substitute "friend" or nomenclature that works for you. Cook their favorite foods.

Project 365, Week 15

This year seems to be going even faster than last year -- can we seriously already be on week 15 of Project 365?!

I did better this week about taking photos every day but not very exciting ones. We're back to walking almost every day and most of mine are from those walks. But it was either that or more photos of clothes hanging on the line. And for those who do not share my laundry fetish, I know you'd just as soon never see another line of clothes -- yours or any one elses :-) We did make our monthly marathon shopping trip to Cordoba this week and I have two photos from that, but not super interesting ones. My life has settled back into the ho-hum of ordinary, which suits me just fine.

Last weekend the young men who helped us over the summer went back to Bible Institute, but before they left they hosted a two-day soccer tournament. Ivan took a ton of photos but I think these three typify (IMO) what boys this age most like about sports:

Agree or disagree?

Y'all have followed the progress of the lake which, for a while, I was calling the field-formerly-known-as-a-lake. You'll be happy to know the recent rains have done a fabulous job in filling it back up as you can tell in this photo that once again shows the boats are afloat!

Seen in Cordoba: we got a huge kick out of this -- the sofa is about as big as the auto!

Empanadas are meat pies and every region of Argentina has their own favorite filling. Because this is a touristy area, you can get a wide variety but my favorite includes ground or chopped beef, hard boiled eggs, sweet potatoes, and raisins; a meat pie with a slightly sweet flavor. I've not been shy about admitting my challenges with producing an edible pie dough but that's not a concern with empanadas because I have a wide variety of packaged doughs to choose from:

This is the cooler case at Walmart holding probably a dozen varieties, that all come in packs of 10.

We have access to fresh bay leaves year-round because of this giant bush about a block from our house that's on public land, right next to the road!

Parrots are a huge pest here. They're prolific and persistent. And LOUD. Half the parrots had already flown off when we stopped to take this photo, but the four you can still see weren't about to leave their tasty snack shop (a.k.a. someone's garbage) until we got even closer.

I have no idea what this viney flower is, but it's lush and beautiful. It covered not only the fence at this house but climbed up the house and draped itself elegantly over the second floor balcony.

This is the plane Ivan's been helping his friend work on. Anyone want to buy a home built, experimental airplane? Our friend Julio designed and built it (with a little help from his friends) but can no longer fly it (due to health issues) so he's looking for a good home for his baby. Saturday it made an inaugural appearance at a small air show held in a nearby town.

That's all for this week...couches on cars, parrots and planes and purple flowers, soccer takedowns and supermarket treasures.

Flashback Friday - The Birthday Edition

Mocha with Linda is celebrating her sister's birthday by asking us to share birthday memories this Flashback Friday:

What were birthdays like when you were growing up? Were they a big deal or understated? Did you have parties? Get to choose what or where the family ate for dinner? Are there any particular birthday traditions that you remember? Is there any birthday that stands out (good OR bad!), either due to the events surrounding it or due to the particular present(s) you received?

First off, let me say I'm a December baby which meant I could never have large back-yard parties because it was always FREEZING. Since we lived mostly in small houses while I was growing up, I was allowed to have just a handful of friends over to celebrate. That kind of rankled since my sister, a June baby, always had (you guessed it) large back-yard parties with lots of people and a huge meal, usually picnic fare.

Now that I live in the southern hemisphere and my birthday falls during hot weather, I'm past the phase of having -- or even wanting -- a large back-yard party. Such is life.

When I was 11-years-old we moved into a house with a large finished basement. One end held my stepfather's office, a half bath and a laundry room but the vast majority of the basement was open and served as a great room. Previous owners had a mural painted on two adjoining walls. It was a wonderful space and I remember lots of (mainly grown-up) parties down there.

The year we moved in, my mom threw a huge, surprise birthday party/sleepover for me. I knew we were having the normal, invite-a-few-friends-over party, but I had no idea mom had invited people from our old neighborhoods as well as friends from school and my scout troop. I don't really remember how it all went down. I think my stepfather took my sister and me somewhere for a while after school and while we were gone everyone arrived and hid in the basement. When I got home, mom sent me down to the basement for something and when I turned the light on, they yelled SURPRISE. It was such a fun party! Not everyone slept over but I think about a dozen of the girls did. I wish I had the photos from that party to share with you. It was 1970 and we were all wearing very "groovy" outfits :-) I had a beaded band of some kind tied around my forehead.

Definitely a stand-out birthday for me!

Putting the Christmas tree up was a birthday tradition. Because of my mom's allergies, we had a fake tree -- a glorious silver monstrosity that had a revolving light box that turned the tree red, blue, green and then yellow. I loved that tree! And decorating it was something I looked forward to doing on, or very near, my birthday.

Of course, I often received singular gifts "for birthday-and-Christmas" from a lot of people. Because of that I was always sensitive about making sure our son, also a December baby, received plenty of gifts on BOTH days! Perhaps an over-reaction because of how much it bothered me as a child. 

I don't remember going out to eat for my birthday until I was an adult. It just wasn't part of our family culture. My mom worked in a diner type restaurant most of my growing up years and we'd often go in for a burger or some other sandwich at lunch, but I don't have memories of going out to many other places. And never for a birthday.

I'm a little embarrassed that I cannot remember a single birthday gift received as a child! Not a one. I remember Christmas gifts, but not the birthday ones. I think maybe the birthday gifts were kept simple and practical, especially since mom made a really big deal about Christmas and always gave us tons of presents then. I'll have to ask my sister what she remembers.

Definitely cannot beat Linda's story of her 5th birthday though!

Random Dozen

While the fog of cleaning solution slowly dissipates in the bathroom -- until the point I can venture forth and actually breathe while scrubbing toilet, sink and tile -- I decided to see how fast I can post this week's Random Dozen. Because what better way to accompany speed cleaning than speed blogging?

So hang on to your hats, here we go!

1. Define a great relationship.

Wherein I am the object of adoration and an excess of lavish gifts.

Oh, I jest.

Kind of.

A great relationship involves trust, first and foremost. Then comes the ability to be silent together at times. Or to put it another way: not find it necessary to fill all the white space with words. A shared sense of humor. Kindness. Generosity that goes both ways. Time together that leaves you encouraged and motivated to be a better person.
Honestly, I could spend all my speed blogging time on this one question! So let's just move on...

2. Why is it called a "drive-through" if you have to stop? (Real question: What was the last food/drink you purchased at a drive-through?)
Since there are no drive-throughs here that I know of, it's been over 18 months and if you think I can remember back that far, you are seriously delusional.

3. As I type this, the Butler Bulldogs are getting ready to play in the NCAA championship game. Every Hoosier is hysterical about this except me. So in honor of the Bulldogs ... what is your favorite breed of dog? (I tried.)

Hmmmm. Another one of those seemingly innocent questions that could totally boondoggle you into a blogging breakdown.

If I had to choose just one breed, it would probably be a cocker spaniel.

4. If you had to move to a state besides the one you currently live in, where would you move?

South Carolina. Or maybe New Mexico. Possibly Colorado.

5. If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be?

Oh my word, what are you trying to do Linda, send us all into therapy?

I'd probably change a lot about the way I was raised but then I wouldn't be the person I am today, which might or might not be a good thing, but then we'll never know, will we, since that's NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN.

6. Who's the funniest person you know?

My husband cracks me up! He also makes me groan at times with his silly puns. But when I think of funny, I think of Rob and Paul. Those two, when combined, always send us into hysterics. We laugh until we are weak. And smile for weeks over their stories and antics.  We met them when they were college students and now Rob is the associate pastor at our home church.

7. Did you get enough sleep last night?
Not even close. Can any middle-aged woman remember the last time she got a good nights sleep? I'm pretty sure I slept more when my kids were babies; at least they eventually slept through the night and so did I. A female doctor on some dramedy was chastising a patient who was complaining about something minor, and she said, "Get over it. I haven't slept in five years." It was an inconsequential comment that stayed with me because IT STRUCK A CHORD. Yep, I think it's been about five years.

8. What's the first thing you thought about this morning?

Breakfast.

9. Grilled or Fried? --HONESTLY

Grilled. Can't handle the fried much any more. Sad but true.

10. Are you afraid of the dark?
Not really. I need it completely dark in order to go to sleep.

11.When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A paleontologist. I grew up at a time the U.S. was starting to push the maths and sciences for all students, girls and boys alike. I was fascinated by geology and fossils and rocks. 

12. If you had one word to describe yourself , what would you choose?

Schizo.

Instead of being all settled and middle-aged at this point in my life, I'm simply middle-aged and confused.

About what I'm doing.

Where I want to go (as a person, not a place).

What I want to be (as a person, not a career).

How I fit into the grand scheme of things.

The older I get, it seems the less I know.

And that's all I have time for with this speed blogging thing. The fumes have settled and the bathroom is ready to be cleaned.

[At least I know what I'm doing IN THIS MOMENT: cleaning the bathroom.
And where I'm going IN THIS MOMENT: to clean the bathroom.
And what I am going to be IN THIS MOMENT: the cleaner of the bathroom.
And how I fit into the grand scheme of things: the perpetual cleaner of the bathroom.]