"Anyone that doesn't agree with leggings as pants can physically fight me.
And I'm going to win because I have a full range of motion due to the fact that I am wearing leggings as pants."

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Things I Am Not Proud Of

Originally, I wrote this post focusing on many of the things in my life that are, well... less than ideal lately. Not really to complain, but because I find it all rather amusing. And just as I was about to hit publish, I happened to hop over to Flickr and find some beautiful pics that Jenny took at my house in the very areas I was complaining about. It's amazing how much beauty she was able to uncover by simply focusing on it.

It also made me think about our mom, who could walk across a dry field of grass and emerge at the other end holding a bouquet of wildflowers. Her ability to do that always amazed me.

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So in the spirit of both full disclosure and unashamed optimism, here are seven things I am not proud of (and a few things that I am)...

Background Info- I've been preparing for a multi-family garage sale and getting ready has used up all spare time, space and energy.

1) I wrote most of this last Wednesday, and am just now editing and posting it.
2) I was just looking at a video from Sunday, and I can see that I was wearing the same t-shirt that I currently have on. (Note- I just reread this and realized that I was unclear... I wore the same shirt from Sunday to Wednesday. OK, I feel better for clarifying that.)
3) I have a patch of thistles in my backyard that is almost as tall as I am.
- Those thistles did create a lush green background for some of my favorite flowers, though.
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4) When I woke up with a sore throat today, my first thought was, "Ah, I can postpone that damned garage sale."
5) The state of my living room, dining room and laundry room. That picture shows the living room and part of the dining room. I know. It looks like a crazy person, no, a pack of crazy people lives here. (Feel free to click on over to Flickr for a fun Eye Spy game of crapulence.)
- Just out of frame of that picture, though, are my orchids, which I've managed to keep alive and blooming for many years.
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6) I had removed a couple of containers full of old leftovers from the fridge and instead of immediately emptying and cleaning them, I forgot them on the counter. They've started to bulge menacingly and I'm worried they will soon explode. I've actually considered throwing all of it away, containers and all, because I feel that the situation is beyond my ability to deal with. And each hour that passes makes the situation that much more dire.
(But I think I may be over-reacting here.)
7) I walked around with peanut butter in my hair for several hours. Jenny insisted on taking a picture of me before she told me what she was laughing at. And I let her.

And the final thing that I'm happy with is the family of volunteer flowers (sweet peas, violas and snapdragons) that are growing out of the rocks in the back yard.
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So, here's hoping all of you can focus on the flowers and not the weeds.

And thank you, Jenny, for helping me to do just that.

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Let the beauty we love be what we do.
-Rumi

13 comments:

Jenny said...

My pleasure. I love that you have so many fun 'treasure' flowers.

Wander to the Wayside said...

Weeds will inherit the world, you know. Along with fire ants and mice. I think if we allowed them to grow (the weeds), we would have less yard work to worry about. Who's the idiot that decided we have to have neat, manicured, weed free yards anyway?

Is it too late to ship our yard sale stuff to you? Because I've sworn I will never have one again, even though we are drowning in 'stuff' that we no longer need or want or have room for.

Good luck! I'm with you on chasing away someone who offers a ridiculous offer on something - I've been known to say "or you kidding me?", and then stare at them until they slowly back away.

Renee Unplugged - said...

1) I LOVE that Rumi quote at the top of the blog!
2) Great big cyber {{{{{HUGS}}}}}
3) I'm with you about end of rope!
I have thrown away bulging containers because I couldn't deal with it!
4) The yard sale will be over eventually - then the task will be to NOT bring anything back into the house that was marked to go.
Find your solution now. Freecycle/Craigslist/and Thrift Store drop sites are all good.

My DH and I have visited "yard sale leftover" sites advertised on both Freecycle and Craigslist - we have listed ours on same and have also delivered leftovers to thrift stores.

GOOD LUCK!
BTW - I have been managing to blog again lately...a little here...a little there :)

Sarah Bonn said...

It is a skill to see the flowers in the weeds. Sometimes it takes getting the complaints out in the open so you can stop focusing on them and then you can see the bright spots.

Aren't sisters fun?!

FinnyKnits said...

Throw them out. I give you permission. Don't let them sit for one more second because you'll feel OH so much better when they're in the trash. I bet they're even in those reusable/disposey Glad tupperwares or whatever, so don't feel *too* bad.

Yes, that was a very un-green thing of me to say, but sometimes your sanity is worth it. Plus, haven't you used those containers, like, ONE MILLION TIMES already?

Throw away and let the healing begin.

TheOrganicSister said...

LOL This post totally made me smile. One of the reasons I love photography is its abaility to "focus" on the positive or beautiful aspects - never mind that the green in the background are weeds cuz they accentuate perfectly! ;)

~Tara

Pat said...

I love it when you talk about your mom. And that letter she wrote to you brings immediate tears to my eyes. I read it when you initially posted it. I quickly connect to my mothers, who I lost too. It is so sweet for me to connect to the love and loss...

And yes, I've thrown a few of those bulging containers away.

patrice said...

The above quote is from me, Patrice, not Pat. (I was logged into her blogger account this morning to upload a new header for her.)

Visty said...

I love these pictures! Especially the chain link fence.

Krista said...

that patch of thistles.... Notice they are a beautiful shade of purple. Once the booms die, they will have Niger seed in them (have you priced that stuff?) and will attract Yellow Canary's. So if they aren't in an area that you are always getting into leave them the birds are worth the wait.

A quote from my life mentor for you... "if you don't love it, THROW IT OUT! release it to good will, where someone CAN love it. if it is broken throw it away"

if you want more info from her Google "flylady" she changed my life.

RunninL8 said...

Thanks for this positive post and pictures. The visual of your mom is just wonderful!

Anonymous said...

Just reading this post made me instantly like you! :)

Catherine VandeVelde said...

Lovely post. And we should always remember that one person's weed may be another person's flower, right? :)