blah hog

Just do it! You know you want to. You've been wanting to for months, so just come here and start typing. You don't have to write an award-winning piece. It doesn't have to say or mean anything. Just get yourself here every day and write. Practice. Some day you'll have something to say and you'll feel like writing about it and doing so will be easier because you will have gotten back into the habit of coming here.

Okay?

Yesterday, Thursday, Dec. 27, Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated just after leaving a rally for her candidacy in the upcoming elections.

A sad, a very sad day.

what prompted me to visit this blog at this time and then try to log-in after almost two years since I last posted and then actually post. Well, I should clarify: I have logged in within the past few months at which time I had to do something--what I don't recall now--in order to get back to my blog since Blogger had apparently upgraded its system or format or whatever. At that time, I obviously was not inspired to post as I am now.

Don't ask, but I will tell. I'm awake hours later than what I'm used to. I'm on winter break and just spent hours organizing my beads and supplies to start making some pieces while I've got the time. So I'm done with that for now and came to the computer before going to bed. I didn't find anything interesting to look at or do. I should mention that I'm done with boards and forums after I-don't-know-how-many years of posting, and I don't really miss them. So I looked at a few online papers, passed on games, and then looked to see what's in my favorites to while away a few minutes. After glancing at a couple of random blogs, I thought I'd check on my own, this one in particular. And so here I am and I thought I'd write.

So now after a rum and coke and with stuffed up head and given the time, I'm tired and will post this entry, then write another very short one, and then go to bed.

G'night.

Eight years ago last month, I made a list of "50 things to do before I die" as an activity for a feminist-Christian group I was involved with at the time. Yesterday while going through junk in my den, I came across the list.

Here is the unabridged list, 56 things in all:

1. Lose weight
2. Be healthy
3. Get organized
4. See, hold, love grandchildren
5. Read as many of the books I own that I want (to read)
6. Be a published writer
7. Inspire others (students, daughters) to do their best
8. Visit Great Britain
9. Visit the Grand Canyon
10. Own a Blazer
11. Own a '56 (or '54-'57) Corvette
12. Get out of debt
13. Complete a master's degree
14. See my daughters succeed
15. Continue to love B
16. Keep more cats!
17. Get a greyhound
18. Keep pace with technology
19. Keep in touch with high school friends
20. Budget time
21. Walk, exercise regularly
22. Smile more
23. Be happy
24. Dine at fine restaurants
25. Travel by plane
26. Travel by train
27. Travel by boat
28. Take risks
29. Take advantage of opportunities
30. Give my daughters beautiful weddings
31. Find energy
32. Find spirituality
33. Go on a safari
34. Learn to grow flower gardens
35. Landscape my yards
36. Spend quality time with Dad, [sister] D, [sister] S, [sister-in-law] G and their families, and with Mom and Dad A
37. Manage money wisely
38. Retire happily
39. Buy a motor home to travel in after retiring
40. Visit cities in U.S. (Boston, New Orleans, Key West)
41. Visit Nova Scotia
42. Travel to other countries
43. Enjoy sunrises and sunsets
44. Enjoy sons-in-law
45. Be a beachcomber
46. Take a screenwriting class
47. Write a screenplay
48. Remodel home
49. Decorate home
50. Live long and healthy
51. Renovate old motel for family visits
52. Enjoy good music
53. Learn yoga
54. Learn tai chi
55. Organize pictures
56. Put home movies on video tape

So how many have I managed to do so far? Read on.

7. Inspire others (students, daughters) to do their best--Maybe. I'll never know for sure.

10. Own a Blazer--In 2000 B and I bought a used GMC Jimmy, so I guess that would count.

14. See my daughters succeed--All three have graduated from college, and one with a masters, and all are doing me proud in their own ways.

15. Continue to love B--Yes!

17. Get a greyhound--Yes, but sent her back to the adoption agency after 11 months because she whined constantly.

21. Walk, exercise regularly--I'm trying!

22. Smile more--ditto!

23. Be happy--I am happier than I've ever been in my life. See #32 below.

28. Take risks--Everyday whether I choose to or not! I did buy a motorcycle last year! And I put 7100 miles on it.

29. Take advantage of opportunities--I'm trying but maybe not as much as I should. Repeat: I did buy a motorcycle last year! And I ride it as much as I can.

30. Give my daughters beautiful weddings--I (We) helped a little with L's in 2002. It was a "simple but elegant" affair (in the words of a colleague)! I (We) are helping a little with K's May 27 event which will also be simple and elegant. A's is nowhere in sight which is fine by me.

32. Find spirituality--Actually, nearly three months to the day (June 7, 1998), I broke the chains of enslavement to Christianity, and I've never felt freer in my whole life!

34. Learn to grow flower gardens--I'm trying!

35. Landscape my yards--I'm trying!

36. Spend quality time with Dad, [sister] D, [sister] S, [sister-in-law] G and their families, and with Mom and Dad A--I did as much as I could with parents, and I'm still trying with sisters.

43. Enjoy sunrises and sunsets--I enjoy these as much as I possibly can!

44. Enjoy sons-in-law--I've got one and soon to have another, and yes, I enjoy them!

49. Decorate home--I redecorated my living room last year.

As for those things to do before I die that are not enumerated just above, either I'm still working on them or will work on them or will strike them from the list.

Maybe I'll revise and prune the list. The "assignment" actually was to list "50" things to do before I die.

I was going to title this post "We rode again today!" I knew I had used an exclamation point on the last couple of posts, but, no, I did on the last four!

Anyway, we did ride again today but just to breakfast and to the home and garden show. We've got things to do--he reading and I cleaning, etc., but I've just whiled my time away again like always.

B and I rode our bikes today, but just a short outing around town. A few times last fall, I had trouble starting mine. When B got the bikes out today (I was at work, then volunteering at the cat society), he couldn't get mine to start even after the battery was on the charger for awhile. He said I had let the battery go dry. I didn't know! So he put water in it and put it on the charger again.

I was home by this time. He tried starting the bike again, and it still didn't start. So he jumped it. We kept it running for several minutes and then went for a ride. We didn't want to go too far away and take the chance of my bike not starting again, so we came home. After a couple of hours, it started up right away, so we went downtown for dinner. It started again after dinner.

This next week, the temperatures are going to be in the 30s again, so we'll see about the battery. If I keep having trouble with starting the bike, I'm going to see if I can get a new battery under the warranty, but that's going to be up real soon.

Oh, I'm such a prolific blogger that having one just isn't enough! Ha!

I have another blogger blog that is strictly private. It's one where I can rant and rave about the ups and downs, highs and lows of teaching middle schoolers under the current politics of education. Not a pretty picture. Not an active blog, either. By the time I get home, I'm too tired to do any ranting, and I just want to put whatever stressed me out behind me.

Yesterday I set up another blog, this time with http://edublogs.org/ which provides "free blogs for teachers, researchers, librarians and other education professionals." It also does free blogs for students at http://learnerblogs.org/. I'm trying this one out, learning my way around it in hopes of proposing it or some software for students to use in the classroom. As it is now, anything even remotely related to blogs is blocked to students and teachers.

Let's see. I also have a Delphi Forums blog that I set up a few weeks ago but haven't posted on yet because my computer is too old and can't handle it!

So that's four blogs for me.

I lost four pounds last week which is surprising because I didn't exercise at all and I ate a bag of Easter egg-shaped Reese's Vanilla Peanut Butter Cups. However, I ate fairly well otherwise. I've managed to eat well enough long enough now that my appetite is considerably smaller. I just need to keep up the better eating and get back to exercising, which is where I'm headed right now.