Happy Mothers Day!!!

Love to all the moms out there
and a special hug to my mom.
Sorry I can't be there today.

Waiting

Hey. Where have I been? What am I doing?

I don't know that I really can answer that . I am in limbo. Waiting.

Waiting for nicer weather to start the outside stuff again. Waiting for the motivation to tackle the grass that is taking over the garden soil - lawn trying to reclaim it's old territory.

Waiting for the next stage of my life - so I don't have to wonder what I will be doing when I grow up.

Waiting for summer always.

Waiting for my kids to grow past this stage and then wondering how they got so big so fast.

Waiting for things to slow down - knowing they never will, not soon anyway.

Waiting for one kid to get over the bug - stomach crud... waiting for the next one to get it, or for myself to end up head first in the toilet.

Waiting for my next thing and missing the opportunities in between the ones I am waiting for

Waiting for the wash machine and the dishwasher to finish, waiting for the kids to get on the bus and off the bus, waiting for rain, and then praying for sun.

Waiting too long to go to bed, not wanting to give in to the tired.

I am still here, I am just waiting.

What a friend is

Description of a friend:

One that will pull one of her best employees and "make her" be your babysitter for Friday night so that you can still go to a party (thrown in your honor).

Thank you!!!!

It could really make a difference in someone's day

So, this is what I don't like. You are talking with a lady, a friend (sorta) and they say, "We should do that sometime" and you think YES... but you say, "that would be great, we should" and you smile and walk away thinking "....we should" But it just doesn't happen. Ever. How do you cross that line? How do you make it happen? How do you make a new friend?
Females are awful. Catty, mean, opportunistic, selfish, evil really. They can also be kind, caring, motherly, devoted, loyal and giving. We woman protect our own.

But, how do you get into that realm with a woman? How do you 'make nice' become a friend? Be the one they defend instead of the one they stab and spit at?

Making friends is not easy. It is not easy for adults and it is becoming quite obvious that it is not always easy once Kindergarten is over.

My girlie is having problems making friends. Her best friend moved to a school across town leaving her to fend on her own. She had friend trouble last year too but always had her b.friend to fall back on.

I have done all I can personally as far as getting involved. I have been in the classroom, I know the girl, I have observed on the playground. I have talked to my Girlie. What I have learned (and some of what I already knew) Third grade is a hard year for girls - they start to grow up. The pre-hormones kick in. They start to notice boys and vice versa. They learn there is power with words and with no words. They get bitchy.

After trying everything we knew my hubby had a moment of inspiration - instead of telling our girl to go make friends and to ask people to play (in which she countlessly gets turned down and hurt) he backed WAY up and decided to teach her the basics of socialization and friendship. Today's lesson - give someone a compliment, just one girl, one compliment. Say something nice to one person in your class and tell us what happened when you get home.

Guess what - she did it (after crying for 1/2 hr the night before at the mere thought of it). She told one of the nicer girls (let's call her Ann) in her class that she liked her shirt (I told my daughter a few of the girls to avoid - let's make this easy on her) and Ann asked Girlie to play at recess. WOW! It worked.

Tomorrow's lesson - two compliments, one to Ann again and one to another girl. Plus if I can sneak in a suggestion I will tell her to mention to Ann how much fun she had playing on the playground with her the day before.

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This has got me to thinking. We all need to be nicer to other woman - my dear women friends. We protect and support our friends, but do we make it easy for other woman to get in, or do we leave them standing alone on life's playground sad and feeling lonely?

Today's lesson - Compliment someone today. Just one lady. It could really make a difference in someone's day.

This just in from Facebook, and Twitter confirms

I do not watch the news. You know that. It irks me to no end. If I do watch I will watch BBC - because they seems to be a bit more for promoting news.

However, here we go - I turned on the news again. Headline News on CNN to be exact. Why? I guess so I could have fodder for a blog post.

If I hear another news reporter say- from Facebook.....
or
on their Facebook page.....
or
we are getting off from our Facebook page.......

Ok Ok I get it - Facebook is the top place for information - but for news? really? I don't think so. That is saying the water cooler is the best place to get your facts from.

Let's keep Facebook for our family updates, drunken messages on Saturday night for some, pictures and other random tid bits..... But NOT for the news.

Thank you, and carry on.


all the ......'s were for you Os. Sorry. Got a bit carried away!

"Ruby" Big brown eyes.... loves to be pet

Photography by Julie Saari

“Ruby”
Downtown Bemidji
April 2010

Ruby “works” at KD Floral flower shop on the corner of 3rd St. and Minnesota Ave. I find myself returning to this shop time and again not so much for the flowers (which are always fresh and beautiful) but, rather to see Ruby. Always friendly and happy to see you, she greets customers with her caring brown eyes and a wag of her tail. ‘Pet therapy’ is what I call it, what would you call it?

If you haven’t already,

Meet Ruby:

Squirrels, birds, frogs, trails, snow banks, lakes, and creeks. It’s the perfect place for a dog. There’s always something to do where I live. You should see all the forest left to explore! I love to run on the trails that are out by our house. You can run and run and tumble and nothing gets in your way. And in the winter sometimes the snow is so deep my head barely shows above the top. Yea, it’s pretty great living here.

I didn’t always live here.......................

You can read the rest HERE

To view a slideshow of Ruby’s photo shoot click here

No More Sorrow