Life's race.

Today I ran a race for a friend that passed away last year. I ran it competing with my husband. That is, I ran it, while he competed with me as I was running.

I have seen a lot of competition in my life; sister's, family, friends, co worker's etc.

What is it about the human race and being competitive?

I being someone not as competitive as others have wondered, what drives a competitor?

Is it something you are born with? Is it learned from childhood? Is it a gender thing?

How can we be healthy competitors, without insulting others?

Just in case you were wondering.... He did beat me this time, but I beat him at golf yesterday.

He He He

Going Green

For years I have been watching people take on the "Going Green" frenzy. I was never ambitious enough to apply myself.
Now, I too, can say I have been pulled into the rip tide of it all.
I started with signing up with my community recycling program. Out came the bins to sort each item. Little did I know, as I looked at those bins, that my obsessive personality would take over and in the next few weeks I would become the sorting queen that my family would grow to loath.

I never thought sorting trash could be so fun. In goes the yogurt containers, milk bottles, cups etc. In goes all the newspaper and cardboard I could think of. I never knew how much cardboard there was in all the things I bought! Cereal boxes, granola bar boxes, so many boxes!
I felt so guilty for not recycling before. My trash has never been so empty.

So on to the next item on my going Green list- the garden.
This year my goal for my garden was, to look as good as the Obama's garden did, with all the White House gardener's tending it. You must keep up appearances you know. HMMM.

Today was the day. Wake up kids! Little did they know they were going to be the cheap labor I would be using for the next 3 hours.
Into the garden I stepped. Note to myself- remember to never weed garden right after sprinklers have been running. The idea of buying a pig a few weeks ago, did not look so bad anymore.
Mud up to my ankles, armed with garden gloves and buckets, the weeding began. We renewed the system of pulling and emptying and pulling and emptying each bucket. With each pull of a weed my goal became more of a reality. Me and Michele Obama together, walking down rows of carrots, deciding what to eat each night for dinner. Would she too like beets, or would she rather have corn?
Three hours later, the deed was done. If you have never had the privilege of weeding a muddy garden, it is truly a blessing. Each weed I pulled made me realize how easy it is to achieve things, it just takes gloves and a desire to do it.
So I can now say I am a accomplish er of "Going Green". Come join the frenzy!

Summer Vacation

Just got back from 10 days in sweltering Missouri heat, Rving with the entire family.
Things I learned:
1. Do not rent your RV the week before your trip, or you will get the RV that no one else wanted. (I would have preferred the one with the huge picture of the Alaskan coast on it, with the large bear and the fish in his mouth, instead of the boring picture of the ships overlooking the Boston harbor. This way when everyone that we pass on the highway will know that they better get out of our way instead of not taking us serious).

2. Do not try and mimic the speech of each individual that you meet along the way. (Honey, we are no longer speaking to that Asian couple, remember these people said they are from Russia, not China)

3. Never take 2 teenage girls, both with hormonal issues, and fit them into a small bed, each and everynight then, expect them to be happy in the morning.

4. Jessie James definitely had it better, even in his hideout.

5. Chiggers are things that embed themselves into your skin and do not come out until you put fingernail polish on them, or itch them till your feet bleed and weep with pus.- They are NOT a new kind of fried chicken sold at the Steak N' Shake.

6. When the clouds look dark it is ok, but when the clouds look dark, and the wind starts to blow, you have 2 minutes before you need to start running, like in the horror movies, with your arms flailing in the wind, high above your head, to "high tail" it out of there before you are engulfed in a wall of water and you end up like in Titanic.

7. Do not let your husband talk you into staying in a camp site that he says " Looks really nice" and as you pull in, hundreds of overgrown flies land on every inch of the outside of your vehicle.

8. Hotels are really, really, really the way to go!