Tippity Tap

Tiny leaves, blown gently by the wind across a parking lot, make a tippity - tap sound that reminds me of someone typing on a keyboard.

Home Alone

I have a confession to make.  Another quirk in my personality.  Remember my very first blog?  i told you there was craziness, and to hold on for the ride.  Well, here's another bite of my crazy:  I suffer anxiety when I am home alone.  I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I have never lived on my own.  I'm 34 and have always had someone nearby.  My family in high school.  In college, even though I didn't have a roommate, there were tons of people always coming and going in the dorm.  If I had a major issue, I only had to walk a few doors down to find a guy friend willing to help out.  Then Carl and I moved in together and got married.   So I have never lived alone, and when my husband and kids go away for a night, or a weekend, it's a torturous experience for me.

My anxiety typically comes in the form of hearing noises, and imagining people outside the house.  Not nice people either.  No, the non-existent faces looking through the windows are axe-murderers.  I sometimes end up frantically crying as I worry about how my kids would grow up if something happened to me.  Lately some of my anxiety has been financial paranoia.  Last year, we had some financial problems and my car was repossessed.  So now when I hear noises, my brain says it's happening again.  The rational side of me argues that I'm not behind on payments AND they would send me late notices before that happened, but the panic is still there.  I don't know how long THAT will last.

When I am home alone, and experience anxiety, I go through a routine.  I make sure all my doors and windows are closed and locked.  I turn the radio or TV on.  I cover my bedroom window with a blanket.  I stay up late so that I am tired, and have a couple drinks to encourage the sleepiness.  I lock my bedroom doors.  I sleep with my dog beside my bed and my reading light on.  I sleep with headphones in my ears, my iPod playing a recording of a rainstorm or beach waves.

All of this helps me to sleep at night, but I wish the anxiety would just go away.  I don't tell many people because it's embarrassing.  I feel like a little kids afraid of the dark. They don't understand.  I can't expect anyone to understand what I don't understand myself.  Where does this anxiety come from? I don't remember ever actually experiencing a break-in or robbery.  Maybe when I was little......but I don't remember my parents ever talking about anything like that.   Maybe they're just crazy, unfounded creations of my over-active imagination.  Do you have any crazy fears or anxieties?  I'm off to hang the blanket on the window, wish me luck,

ADD? Me? Nah.

This morning, on my way out of the house, I grabbed my wallet, but realized that I had left my phone in the bedroom.  So I walked to the bedroom, and immediately forgot why I was in there.  Knowing that it was supposed to be chilly, I decided to find a sweater while I was in there.  So I put my wallet down on the bed and started searching the closet.  I tried on one sweater after another, rejecting each one until I realized it was the shirt that I didn't like, not the sweaters.  So I took the shirt off and threw it into my "give away" pile.  Back to the closet to pick out a new shirt.  Then a sweater.  A look in the mirror told me I had a good combination.  But now that my clothes looked nice, my "good enough" hair needed some help.  10 minutes later, I exited the bathroom with a cute outfit and done-up hair.  When I got back to the living room, on my way out the door (again), I remembered why I had gone into the bedroom: to get my phone.  So I went back into the bedroom and grabbed my phone off the bedside stand, and discovered my wallet, which I had put on the bed.  I finally left the house, shaking my head at myself.  I am one of those people who really WOULD lose my head of it wasn't attached.  thank goodness it is.

Straw or tube?

Today, I went on my first jog since being put on asthma medication.  Mind you, my jogs consist of 75% walking, and my jogging speed is probably slower than your fast walking speed.  However, with the asthma medication in me, all I can say is wow!  Before, when I exercised, I would huff and puff, I ended up wheezing and coughing, and it felt like I was breathing through a straw:

This time, I was still huffing and puffing (that comes from being out of shape) but my airways were much more open.  More like breathing through a paper towel tube:

I don't like being dependent on medicine, however.........YOU try breathing through a straw and a paper towel tube and see which you prefer.

So much history in one lifetime

My grand mother was born in 1913.  Next Tuesday, she will be celebrating her 99th birthday.  I think back to all the things I learned about in history class - modern U.S. history.  She has lived through so much of it.  So in honor of her birthday, I have complied a timeline (thanks in part to Wikipedia) of historical events that have happened during her lifetime.

• 1913:  Woodrow Wilson becomes President, the 16th amendment establishes a federal income tax, Henry Ford establishes the assembly line
• 1914 (age 1):  Mother's Day is established as a national holiday
• 1917 (age 4): the U.S. enters into WWI
• 1919 (age 6): the 18th amendment establishes Prohibition
• 1920 (age 7): women gain the right to vote, first radio broadcasts are heard in Pittsburgh and Detroit
• 1921 (age 8): Warren G Harding becomes President
• 1923 (age 10): Calvin Coolidge becomes President
• 1926 (age 13): NBC is founded
• 1927 (age 14): Charles Lindburgh makes the first trans-Atlantic flight, The Jazz Singer is the first "talkie" (motion picture with sound) released
• 1928 (age 15): Steamboat Willie opens and Mickey Mouse is born, Amelia Earhart is the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic
• 1929 (age 16) Herbert Hoover becomes President, the Wall Street Crash begins the Great Depression
• 1930 (age 17): vegetables become the first frozen food sold
• 1931 (age 18): the Empire State Building opens
• 1932 (age 19): Ford introduces the Model B
• 1933 (age 20): Franklin Delano Roosevelt becomes President, the 21st amendment ends Prohibition
• 1934 (age 21): the Dust Bowl (severe drought, heat waves and giant dust clouds in the Great Plains)
• 1935 (age 22): the FBI is established, the Social Security system was established, Alcoholics Anonymous is established
• 1936 (age 23): LIFE magazine published their first issue
• 1937 (age 24): the Hindenburg explodes killing 35, the Golden Gate Bridge is completed
• 1940 (age 27): The Selective Service Act requires all males age 18 to 45 to register with the military draft board, Oldsmobile introduces the first fully automatic transmission, Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry are introduced
• 1941 (age 28): regular TV broadcasting begins, the U.S. enters WWII after the attack on Pearl Harbor
• 1942 (age 29): Casablanca is released
• 1943 (age 30): Oklahoma! opens on Broadway
• 1944 (age 31): the G.I. Bill provides education, mortgages and loans to returning WWII vets, D-Day (the Allied surprise invasion of Normandy)
• 1945 (age 32): the United Nations is established, Harry S Truman becomes President, an atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima, Germany and Japan surrender - ending WWII
• 1947 (age 34): the Polaroid camera is invented,  Meet the Press broadcasts its first episode
• 1949 (age 36): NATO is formed, Germany is divided into East and West Germany
• 1950 (age 37): Korean War begins, Peanuts is published for the first time
• 1951 (age 38): the 22nd amendment established Presidential term limits, I Love Lucy premiers on TV
• 1952 (age 39): The Today Show premiers on TV
• 1953 (age 40): Dwight D Eisenhower becomes President
• 1954 (age 41): the Tournament of Roses parade is the first event to be televised in color, Brown V Board of Education declares school segregation unconstitutional, The Tonight Show premiers with Steve Allen as host
• 1955 (age 42): Rosa Parks incites the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Disneyland opens, the polio vaccine is developed, James Dean is killed in an auto accident
• 1958 (age 45): NASA is formed
• 1959 (age 46): Alaska and Hawaii become states
• 1961 (age 48): John F Kennedy becomes President, Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space, Vietnam War begins, OPEC if formed
• 1962 (age 49): John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, Marilyn Monroe dies 
• 1963 (age 50): Martin Luther King Jr gives his "I have a dream" speech, JFK is assassinated, Lyndon Johnson becomes President
• 1964 (age 51): the Beatles arrive in the U.S.,  the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ends segregation
• 1965 (age 52): Medicaid and Medicare are created, Malcolm X is assassinated
• 1967 (age 54): the first Super Bowl is won by the Green Bay Packers
• 1968 (age 55): Martin Luther King Jr is assassinated
• 1969 (age 56): Richard Nixon becomes President, Neil Armstrong walks on the moon, Sesame Street premiers
• 1970 (age 57): Earth Day is first observed, American Top 40 with Casey Kasem is broadcast on radio, PBS is founded
• 1973 (age 60): Roe v Wade legalizes abortion
• 1974 (age 61): Richard Nixon becomes the first person to resign the Presidency
• 1975 (age 62): Bill Gates founds Microsoft, Wheel of Fortune and Saturday Night Live premier on TV
• 1977 (age 64): Jimmy Carter becomes President, the first home computer - the Commodore PET - is released for sale, Elvis Presley dies, Atari 2600 becomes the first home video game system
• 1979 (age 66): Chrysler receives government loans to avoid bankruptcy
• 1980 (age 67): Mt St Helens erupts, John Lennon is assassinated
• 1981 (age 68): Ronald Reagan becomes President, MTV becomes the first cable network dedicated to music
• 1983 (age 70): Chrysler introduces minivans, the U.S. invades Grenada
• 1985 (age 72): Willie Nelson organizes the first Farm Aid, Nintendo is introduced
• 1986 (age 73): the Challenger explodes killing all 7 crew members, Fox Broadcasting Company is launched
• 1989 (age 76): George H Bush becomes President, The Simpsons premiers on TV, the Berlin Wall is torn down
• 1990 (age 77): Iraq invades Kuwait
• 1991 (age 78): the World Wide Web debuts, the cold war ends, USSR is dissolved
• 1992 (age 79): riots occur in Los Angeles over the beating of Rodney King, Hurricane Andrew hits Florida and surrounding areas
• 1993 (age 80): Bill Clinton becomes President, a truck bomb explodes in the basement of the World Trade Center, David Koresh leads is followers to a mass suicide in Waco, "Don't ask, don't tell" prohibits the openly gay from serving in the military
• 1995 (age 82): the Oklahoma City bombing kill 168, OJ Simpson is acquitted of murder
• 1996 (age 83): bombing at the Atlanta Olympic Games
• 1997 (age 84): human cloning research is banned
• 1999 (age 86): Columbine school shootings occur
• 2001 (age 88): George W. Bush becomes President, terrorists fly hijacked planes into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon and  a Pennsylvania field killing nearly 3000 people, the U.S. invades Afghanistan, the Patriot Act gives government agencies the right to conduct searches based on "suspected terrorism"
• 2002 (age 89): Dept of Homeland Security is created, a sniper kills 10 people in the DC area
• 2003 (age 90): the Columbia disintegrates when re-entering Earth's atmosphere killing all 7 of the crew, the U.S. invades Iraq with help from the UK, Australia and Poland, Saddam Hussein is captured
• 2004 (age 91): Facebook is launched
• 2005 (age 92): Hurricane Katrina hits the Gulf Coast
• 2009 (age 96): Barack Obama becomes President, Michael Jackson dies
• 2010 (age 97): an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico explodes becoming the worst oil spill in American history, "Don't ask, don't tell" is repealed
• 2011 (age 98): Osama bin Laden is killed, the U.S. shuttle program ends when Atlantis returns to earth

For those of you who aren't counting - that's 16 different Presidents!!!  This list, of course, is not complete.  So much has happened in the last 99 years, there's no way to document it ALL here on my lowly little blog.  But it is certainly something worth reflecting on.  

Home-Made Laundry Soap

I found a recipe in a magazine for making your own laundry soap.  I don't remember what magazine.  It was just sitting on the table at work.....and it was months ago.  If you happen to know what magazine this  was printed in, please let me know.  I would love to give credit where credit is due. Is "recipe" appropriate for something that's not food?  It doesn't sound right.  Oh well.  I'm trying it today.  I did the math and, though the ingredients require a minor up-front investment (approximately $25), it turned out to be cheaper per load than the laundry soap on the store shelf.  With most of the ingredients, once you buy them, you can get several batches made before having to buy more. AND!  I can make it with any scent I choose, using essential oils.  Melting the soap right now.  I'll have to let you know how it works.  Or, if you want, you can try it too!  Here's what you need (everything here is available at your local Walmart, Meijer, or Lowe's):

• 1 - 5 gallon bucket, with lid
• 1 - metal cheese grater
• 1 - bar of gentle soap (a non-lotion variety such as Dr. Bronnor's or Ivory)
• 1 cup of washing soda (NOT baking soda)
• 1 cup Borax
• 4 gallons plus 4 cups of water
• essential oil of choice (I used Lavender) - optional

Grate the entire bar of soap with the cheese grater.  Place into a stainless steel saucepan, with 4 cups of water, on the stove.  Heat, stirring regularly, until all the soap is dissolved.  Set aside.

Put 4 gallons of warm water into the gallon bucket.  Thoroughly stir in the borax and washing soda.  When those are dissolved, stir in the warm, melted soap.  At this point, add whatever essential oil, if any, that you chose.  It did not say HOW MUCH essential oil to use.  I suppose it depends on the scent you chose and how strongly you want your laundry soap to smell.  I have never worked with essential oils before, so I used 10 drops in this batch.  When I was done stirring it, it seemed a little weak, so I may use more next time.  

Place the lid tightly onto the bucket, and allow the mixture to sit overnight.  The next morning, you will find it has a thick, gelatinous consistency to it.  Use a long spoon (I will be using one of the long, thick paint sticks they make JUST for 5 gallon buckets) to break it up and stir it.  You will probably not be able to break up ALL the lumps, but that's OK.  This soap is now usable!  It can be stored, covered, for two months.  If you don't think you'll use it in that time, you can reduce the recipe.  Use 1 cup per load of laundry.  

Good luck!  Let me know how it turned out.

Take Wing

Well, we've done it! We have attracted Blue Jays and butterflies to our yard! It's fun to watch the butterflies flit here and there.  Right now I am watching what looks like a yellow monarch (Google says it's a swallowtail) and a completely black butterfly (perhaps the black swallowtail?) on the bush out front.  I'd like to think they are playing, but they are probably chasing each other away from the food source.  And there seems to be a whole flock of Blue Jays.  Do they travel in flocks?  Hmm.....back to Google.  OK, apparently they do.  Well, I guess a whole flock has claimed our yard as their home this summer.  However, I have discovered some downsides to having these creatures in my yard. No one ever tells you about the downsides!

First, the same plants that attract butterflies, also attract bees. Not just bees but BEES! BIG BEES!  Lots and lots of BIG BEES!


Second, Blue Jays are mean!  The screech at us when we walk through our yard and they scare away the other birds.  We used to see chickadees, titmouse's, finches, sparrows, nuthatches, etc all at our suet feeders.  But since the Blue Jays have moved in, the only other birds we've seen are downy woodpeckers.