Sunday Stealing: Memorial Day Weekend

Welcome back to Sunday Stealing which originated on WTIT: The Blog authored by Bud Weiser. Here we will steal all types of memes from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent memes. You may have heard of the expression, “honor amongst thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we try to credit the blog that we stole it from and we will “fess up” to the blog owner where we stole the meme. We also provide a link to the victim's meme. (It's our way of saying "Thanks!") Sometimes we edit the original meme, to make it more relevant to our global players, to challenge our players, to select the best questions, or simply to make it less repetitive from this new meme or recently asked questions from a previously featured meme.  

Let's go!!!

Random XV

From: That Forthright Girl  

1. How old is the oldest pair of shoes in your closet? 
20+ years -- some hiking boots that I rarely wear.

2. Did you buy Girl Scout cookies this year? If so, what variety? 
Yes -- I have a girl scout in the house, so it's guaranteed!
I get Thin Mints, Samoas and Do-Si-Dos

3. Do you know how to ballroom dance? 
I wish I did! Might 'Bucket List' that!

4. Were you a responsible child/teenager? 
Yes, pretty responsible. I was afraid to be irresponsible.

5. How many of this year's Oscar-nominated movies did you see? 
Nnnnewp!

6. If you're going to have a medical procedure done, such as having blood drawn, is it easier for you to watch someone else having the procedure done or have it done yourself? 
Watching someone else.

7. What is your favorite day of the week and why? 
Tuesday! Because it's off the radar. It's not the weekend, it's not subject to Monday Blues, It's kind of an Exhale Day for me.

8. What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received?? 
You fascinate me.

9. Do hospitals make you queasy? 
Not at all.

10. At which store would you like to max-out your credit card? 
Amazon! (I know it isn't a store, but c'mon!)

11. Are you true to the brand names of products/items? 
Certain things, yes: Shampoo and conditioner, toilet tissue, soda are the first to come to mind.

12. Which is more difficult: looking into someone’s eyes when you are telling someone how you feel, or looking into someone’s eyes when he/she is telling you how he/she feels? 
Looking into their eyes telling them how I feel.

13. What’s one thing you’re deeply proud of — but would never put on your résumé? 
My kiddos!

14. What’s the most out-of-character choice you’ve ever made? 
Drag-race, get in a wreck and then run from the scene.

15. What’s your personal anthem or theme song?
Brass In Pocket by The Pretenders

Senna

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the untimely, tragic death of Brazilian F1 driver, Ayrton Senna.

I watched the movie "Senna" about a year, year and a half ago, not really knowing who he was. I had seen some tweets and heard some chatter about it being the best movie of 2010. I enjoy documentaries and sports, so I figured I'd give this movie a try. One night, late, I saw it was on Netflix so I immediately started watching it. 

I was gripped.

I was ripped.

This man is truly a soul with purpose who has an everlasting legacy, especially in the Formula One racing community. 

I highly recommend this movie. Please make time to watch it. It isn't just about racing. It's about a visionary, a family man, a spiritual person who exudes compassion. It's about a competitor who had the whole of the sport's safety first. He lived life from the inside out, being a heartonhissleeve force that positively connected to every person.

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Eternal peace, Ayrton.

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20 Moments in Time of Ayrton Senna

Would You Rather....?

MLO had her friend April spend the night last night. These two girls are the most creative pair I've ever met. When they get together, there's very little television to entertain them. They dress up and prance fashion shows, create scavenger hunts, play with their endless supply of Big-eye creatures (for whom they are making a home out of shoe boxes and other odds & ends), and ohhhh all the My Little Pony you can handle in 15 lifetimes! They do some computer things, but mostly it's very imaginative play, and it's freakin' adorable. They get along swimmingly, and it's tortuous when they have to separate from one another. As of I often tell April's mother, I hope our daughters are always friends like that to and with each other.

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As I was preparing breakfast for MLO and April this morning, they struck up a game of "Would You Rather?". You've played this game, right? It's a game of hypotheticals -- and a choice has to be made. Often the hypotheticals are the lesser of two evils.

Here are April & MLO's "Would You Rather" scenarios:

MLO:  WYR drink strawberry milk with poop in it or eat a dissected frog, eyes on the side?

April:  Frog. Definitely frog.

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April: WYR play vampire baseball & you're the only human & they want to suck your blood or play five whole seasons of kickball without say a word?

MLO:   Vampire cuz I talk a lot.

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MLO: WYR catch on fire or explode in a pit of lava?

April:  Catch on fire cuz I can jump in water or wear fire-retardant clothing.

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April:  *whispers* WYR be dunked in the Pit of Pain or kiss a man's buttocks?

Yes, I heard it.

Yes, I made her say it out loud.

Yes, I laughed right along with them.

This question remained unanswered. 

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MLO:  WYR ride a magical unicorn, it zaps you & turns you into werewolf or eat a cinnamon roll made with poop?

April: Unicorn. Definitely unicorn.

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MLO:  WYR become a non-flying Rainbow Dash or kick Fred in the face?

April: Don't mention his name, please. Seriously, don't.

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MLO:  WYR be a bat that lives on planet Mmmhmmm or become Superman?

April:  *eats fourth doughnut*

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MLO:  WYR poop out rainbows and flowers or ride on a unicorn that turns into Rainbow Dash?

April:  I'm prolly gonna choose A.

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So that, my lovies, is an a-typical, typical Saturday morning spent with MLO + April.  

Now....YOU play!

Whoosh!

The Secret Garden

Life is so fragile.

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It's been a tough few weeks for me and some friends and family. I currently have at least three families I know that are dealing with issues of life and death health challenges.  Mix that in with a job coming to an end, and possibly a career, a multitude of decisions to make, changes to endure (all good, I know) -- I just can't keep my focus off of one little tiny baby who reminded everyone that shared in her journey just how precious love and life are.

 

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A friend, whom I met through work circles, invited me into a Secret Garden, if you will. When I entered the door, I quickly learned that his baby girl - the most exquisite Flower - was not meant to be long for this world, as is true with all flowers. 

 

She was diagnosed with a very serious genetic disorder.  Upon doing research about this disorder, I became more and more humbled and absolutely awed.  The chances of a baby surviving till birth are very slim, and often, they are stillborn.  Tragic. Girls tend to live longer than the boys, if they make it out alive at all.  Even their presence in this world can be shortened at any given second. 

 

There is NO question that this child, she is Light.  She is meant to shine upon anyone who has crossed her path - directly or indirectly.  (Do you feel the warmth?)  She planted seeds that will continue to bloom foreverandever.

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Three weeks.

 

She lived -- and brought life -- for three.whole.weeks.

 

She reminded people where to allot their time.

She reminded people that God lives.

She reminded people that sacrifice is hard, but love conquers.

She reminded people that although vulnerable & fragile, the human spirit is a warrior.

She reminded people that we need each other.

She reminded people that relationships trump all material items.

 

I'm sure she reminded some people of things not even listed here. And her legacy is to continue to remind everyone that knows her story just how to treat one another. What a gift!

 

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Today, she passed away.

 

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God bless The Flower and her family. 

 

 

Welcome to Wiktor Wrizght

I confess: I didn't watch any part of The Oscars.

I typically will tune in here and there, but the excitement of my youth has waned and I care less and less about all the Hollywood grandiosity packed into a single room filled with the gamut of humility to downright hedonism. I still do dream of being on the silver screen and the Broadway stage, but through of  series of choices, I am where I am; I am who I am. I'm me, here, now, perfectly the way I'm designed to be.

 

This morning, I heard a story how John Travolta butchered Idina Menzel’s name - which, in fairness, she's a stage chick. She's a member of the Tony-ratta, not the Oscar-ratta. In any case, how hard is it to read her name? Aside: Good job on landing Taye, Idina!

 

 

Then I heard about this bit that is on Slate's website. It's a fun widget called "Travoltify Your Name". I entered "Wonder Whoosh" and the returned result:  Wiktor Wrizght.

Go do yours and post your result!

~Whoosh

The Illness of Guilt

Illness has befallen my family, except Boa. My Little One has been on antibiotics for strep throat since Valentine's Day, when she came home crying. She threw open the front door, bawling and whaling about how much her head, throat and belly hurt. We took her right away to CareNow and sure enough, positive strep.

As the weekend went on, my husband started feeling sick, but wasn't bedridden. He goes to bed early on Sunday, feeling pretty crappy.  Monday, he's staying home from work. He'd been running a fever, aching, etc.

Me? I go to work on Monday. Then, around 11 a.m., I start feeling stiffness in my neck, across my shoulders. I can barely keep my eyes open due to the immense headache consuming my brain. I try to sleep it off for an hour in my car, after telling my boss about how I'm feeling. I tried going back to work and working through "it", but I couldn't. I left.

I don't remember driving home.

My husband and I both went to CareNow. He tested positive for flu. My test revealed negative for flu. For the record, he received a flu shot this season;  I didn't.

Tuesday, today, I'm still home. So tired. So worn out. Fighting fevers, chills, shivering, sweating, teeth chattering, headache after headache, nausea, wheezing (but not much coughing), body aching. I felt so much pain overnight that moaning and groaning seemed to be the only relief I could find, temporary at best.

All day long yesterday and today, I've fretted about work. I'm worried how it looks -- am I lying? Who else is noticing my absence and thinking ill of me? - that sort of paranoia. I feel guilty for not being there. Why? Why don't I give myself permission to be sick...ever?  Doesn't that kind of guilt only harbor more illness - emotional, physical, spiritual?

I should note that my feelings aren't limited to who my boss is or who my employer is; I feel this way no matter where I go and for whom I work.  I'm blessed to have the job I currently have and I don't want to jeopardize it.

It's getting late, so I'm going to take my final dose of cough medicine and get some sleep. Hopefully I'll make it through the night and get back to work tomorrow.

Whoosh!

House of Cards, Season Two: Jackie

"I like the pain." - Jackie pic.twitter.com/iZDOQyNeIX

— House of Cards (@HouseofCards) February 16, 2014

I'm addicted to Netflix!

Jackie from season two of House of Cards is a fascinating character. Of course I'm paying extraattention to her because her name is Jackie and my name is Jackie so we're both Jackies. But she's the Cool Jackie.

I highly recommend this show if you don't have a moral compass or you're looking to escape from your moral compass for a while. Binge watching is certainly encouraged.

Painfully,
Whoosh

Stress and Breathing

*deep, slow inhale*

*slow, methodical exhale*

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It's no secret, I go to counseling. My counselor, she's great.  She helps me see things in a way that is new, but in a way that I feel is very tailored to the jackiewayofthinking -- and that's not easy! She's worth way more than I pay her.

For years now, I've been tossing around this idea of doing yoga and meditating. It started when I read Eat, Pray, Love and the spark has grown into a constant flame. It isn't an inferno (yet?).  

It wasn't a conscious new year's resolution, but rather a slow but sure foray into the practices of breathing and meditating. In the past, I'd find reasons not to: kids, work, stress, family events, feeling "too fat", not having money and/or access, needing better rest.  Here lately, my motivation has finally started to fall in line with the ruminations.

I've only meditated 4 times in the last week or so, and done yoga seriously once in the last week, but you know what? I feel better.  Even if it's the placebo effect, so be it. I like it.

The kicker is -- I'm scared to feel good. How preposterous is that?? Being a bigger girl, one reason I don't diet or commit to an eating plan, join in with others who are having a group-accountability activity isn't because I'm afraid to fail (again) -- I'm afraid to succeed! So paradoxical. And irrational. 

Over the last two to three years, I've experienced some pretty traumatic and upsetting events from various aspects of my life, and the lives of those around me. Many of them have gone or subsided and I'm feeling a sense of awkwardness. I feel relief, but I'm almost afraid to say that for fear of what's around the corner to knock me on my ass again. So I was asking my counselor, is it normalish to feel afraid like this? She validated me and said sometimes when there've been extended periods of stress, people adjust to that as "normal" so when those stresses/stressors diminish, the dynamics of a person's psyche changes, too. She went so far as to say that some people even become addicted to their stress! (God forbid! WHY?!) I was very enlightened by this conversation and I think it's, in an effortless or subconscious way, given me permission to feel good again. 

My chair at work.

For the last six months or so, I've been bringing up the notion of meditating to my counselor and she's spoken highly of it. For years and years, I've heard about how breathing a certain way can really help with a mind-body balance.  I don't really know what sparked it -- it was rather an impulse, but I finally emailed the counselor asking if we could do a meditation together in her office at my next appointment. She, of course, was totally on board with it. So I went in and yapped my mouth for a while, then we settled into a ten-minute guided medication by Tara Brach. It was the fastest, slowest ten minutes of my life.

While ALL my stress wasn't gone, I sure felt more peaceful. PEACE is a feeling I'm always searching for....I crave serenity. It seems inside my chest, there's a constant tornado of movement, even when I'm at rest. It's a physical feeling, one that I'm conscious of every day, all day. I'd like to use a natural way of stress-relief to minimize or eradicate that anxiety ball in between my boobs.

So, here's to keeping on keepin' on. 

~Whoosh!

Happy Birthday to Me!

This is happening today!

Welcome 2014!

Happy New  Year, Friend. I trust you had a lovely holiday season. I certainly did! I'll be posting a blog about my trip to South Carolina soon. Keep your eyes peeled!

In the meantime, below is something that was in my Facebook timeline. I think it might've originated from George Takei's Facebook page.

Take a look at the letter grid below. The first three words you find will be yours in 2014.

Feel free to share what your words are in the comments section! I'd love to hear from you.

Mine? Love, beauty and youth.

~Whoosh!