Day 7 and things I'm most afraid of.....

Well this one wasn't a hard subject at all to write about......I'm deathly afraid of spiders!  Doesn't matter how tiny or how big they are, they all terrify me.  I can't even see one on tv without freaking out.  I used to have a reoccurring nightmare as a kid that a giant spider lived up in our attic and could shoot a web straight down from the pull down stair area to capture it's food aka me!  I wouldn't even walk under that area and still even as an adult won't pull the stairs down myself.  Since those said stairs have been located in several of my master bedroom closets, I have conquered my fear out of necessity of walking underneath them but I still refuse to pull the stairs down....ever! 
I know it's not a rational fear and the chances of a spider biting me much less eating me are slim it's still gonna stop my heart from beating out of my chest or keep the screams from coming out of my mouth.  It's really bad when Mark is gone and I see a spider.  I've been known to go get a neighbor to kill it for me no matter what time of day or night.  There's no just ignoring it for me because then it could go into hiding, get bigger and eat me when I least expect it. 

So what scares you the most?

Day 6: If you couldn't answer with your job, how would you answer the question, 'what do you do'?

Since I quit work this has been a hard question for me and I struggle every time someone asks me.  So this exercise will help me hopefully to not feel so awkward when I get asked this question.  I guess the easy answer is that I'm a stay at home wife and spoiled kitty momma but then I start stumbling from there.  I end up telling people that I love to cook and work on home projects.  I like to shop antique, flea markets and thrift stores for unique pieces to decorate my home.  I also enjoy needlework, rug hooking and crafting of all kinds.  I read lots of books and I'm a magazine junkie but by then they've tuned me out because all they heard was a stay at home person.  I had a career that I worked very hard to establish for myself and I was good at it!  But then it stopped being a career and started being a soul sucking job.  I struggled tremendously when the bank failed and that has allowed some of my "issues" to be exposed for one and all to see.  I have worked since I was a teenager and never been without a job for more than a few weeks but now I'm going on 3 years and it's getting harder instead of easier to explain what I do.  We've always said that Mark defines himself by his job and I define myself by my home but we don't even own a home right now so maybe that's why I feel so undefined.  Hmmmmm never thought about that but that makes perfect sense as to why I feel like I do right now.  I've been looking at homes and weeding out the "no deal" houses so I can take Mark back to the cream of the crop only.  I've shown him 2 already and while he liked the houses, they didn't wow him.....dang it.  Now I lined up 3 homes that I can totally see us making a life in but we've had to cancel because of the bad weather twice now.  Then we rescheduled for this weekend but unfortunately he has to work due to month end crunch so guess we'll try again next week.

So how do you answer that question of "What do you do?"

My best friends

I'm lucky enough to have two best friends that have been in my life for 37 years and they are my fellow Dirty Martini Queens, Dana and Kathie.  They know "everything" about me and still love me.  We met in Junior High School aka the extremely awkward time in everyone's life.  We gals have literally been thru all life's ups and downs together.  They support me when I'm struggling, laugh and cry with me and kick my butt when I need it.  These are the girls I could call at midnight to bail me out of jail.....heck wait, no these would be the girls sitting next to me in jail....lol!  They are the friends that would help me bury the body with no questions asked. 

 

 

 We've been thru thick and thin and they make growing older fun!

We are truly sisters of the heart!

Favorite Quote

Today's topic is my favorite quote and why it touched me:

Be the change that you wish to see in the world- Gandhi

This quote is how I try to live my life.  It just shows that we as individuals can make a difference in the world just one simple step at a time.   Too often people think, I'm just one person and whatever I do won't make a difference or matter so why try.  The way I look at things if I make one person's day a little better then I've been successful.  Sometimes it just takes a smile to totally turn a day around and who doesn't have time for a smile, kind word or simple gesture of kindness.  Things don't change in the world until the first person tries it.  So today remember to smile at that person checking you out at the store or at the poor woman scrambling to keep up with her kids or at the older gentleman that holds the door open for you.  It's harder to smile or say a kind word to the person who just cut you off in traffic or the rude person that grabbed something you were reaching for on a shelf or the loved one that just hurt your feelings but you might just be the person that changes their outlook on life that day. 

Things that make me uncomfortable

Yesterday's post was preempted by the bad ice storm we had in the south.  We were without power, tv and internet until last night but trust me, I'm not complaining because it's nothing like my friends have been dealing with all winter long.

Ok so todays topic is things that make me uncomfortable and I've been struggling to think of something.  I have the usual phobia when people stand too close behind or beside me  but I'm much better at dealing with that after living abroad.  People in Europe have a completely different sense of personal space so I had to adjust a little or go crazy every time I left the apartment. 
After working with the public for years upon years, I think I've heard and seen it all so it takes a lot to make me truly uncomfortable.  Customers used to tell me stuff all the time that they should have been telling a priest in confession or their dr so there's not much I can't laugh off.  I can think of only one time that I was speechless and that was when a lady had just learned her husband was abusing her daughters so she was there to close the bank accounts.  I was very UNCOMFORTABLE that day and I had no idea what to say to her or her daughters who were with her.  Never saw them again and have often wondered over the years how things turned out for them.  I hope he got a long jail sentence! 

Well I promise tomorrow's topic will be more lighthearted and upbeat so stop back by to check it out.

Something I know a lot about or are good at doing

So this challenge is a daily one and is to give you a peek into my world, head and life.  Be careful people because it's scary in there!  So something I'm good at....hmmmmm....why is it that we can never think of positive things about ourselves but can name a million things we have done wrong or is wrong with us?  

So let's see something I know a lot about would be Bon Jovi.  I first saw Bon Jovi as an opening band for Ratt in 1985....a long, long time ago but I was instantly a fan and have been ever since. Get ready to be dazzled by my impressive, vast knowledge of all things Jovi.

First of all,  I must state that Bon Jovi is the band not the man Jon Bon Jovi!!!!  This drives me crazy because there are other members that make up the band and these guys are as equally talented as the Front Man.  OK now that is out of the way so I'll proceed in your education.     The band was founded in 1983 by Jon Bon Jovi  after his song "Runaway" became a hit playing on a local New York radio station and other stations started picking the song up.  At this time Jon had no band so he called his classmate David Bryan who recruited Tico Torres and Alec John Such.   Richie Sambora joined the band last as lead guitarist replacing Dave Sabo, who then formed Skid Row.   Now they had the dream team so they were off to a recording contract and non stop touring.   They released albums:  Bon Jovi, 7800 Fahrenheit,  Slippery When Wet and New Jersey from 1983 to 1990.     The band was on tour until 1990 when they finally took a much needed break from each other and the non stop touring schedule.   In 1992,  they returned with Keep The Faith which was album number 5 just in case you were keeping count.   Here's a timeline of the albums and dates

• Bon Jovi (1984)
• 7800° Fahrenheit (1985)
• Slippery When Wet (1986)
• New Jersey (1988)
• Keep the Faith (1992)
• These Days (1995)
• Crush (2000)
• Bounce (2002)
• This Left Feels Right (2003)
• Have a Nice Day (2005)
• Lost Highway (2007)
• The Circle (2009)
• What About Now (2013)

There have been a couple of live albums along with the guys also recording solo projects and yes, I own everyone of them.  Hey, I'm nothing if not a Super Fan!  I could go on boring you with all the useless information I know but I'd rather show you some of my concert pictures
                                          Atlanta 2012

 

Sigh.....David

 

Atl 2013

 

 

 

Atl 2010

 

 

 

Atl 2008

 

 

Atl 2005

 

 That smile just melts me every time!

 

 

I could continue posting pictures all day long from all the concerts that I have attended but don't want to lose my followers when the extent of my obsession is revealed.  LOL! 

 

 

 

 

Daily Blogging Challange

I've decided that the only way I'm going to get back to any thing normal in my life I need to start with baby steps.  There has been a challenge going around blog world for a few years now but I never joined because quite frankly didn't need another "deadline" in my life.  But this latest sounds fun, doable and I can commit to anything for 30 days unless it involves giving up chocolate, diet coke or coffee....LOL!

So the first post is The Story Of Your Life in just one paragraph

I was born in 1965 to very young parents (17&20) and was very soon joined by 2 younger brothers.  We all grew up together and we had a lot of love, fun and  adventures but there were tough times as well.   My teenage years certainly didn't things easy for my family.  But we all survived it but just barely....lol.  I met my hubby, Mark at a frat party almost 30 years ago and told my best friend, Kathie that I'd just met the man I was going to marry which made her laugh her ass off.  It took a year to convince Kathie and Mark of that fact but we eventfully did marry.  It's not always an easy life but as long as I share the journey with him, everything is ok.  He makes me cry, yell, scream, laugh, love deeply on a daily basis but I can't imagine going thru life with anyone else but him.  We have lived in 5 states and another country in the past 15 years so it's been a whirlwind but we've finally landed in Tennessee.  I'm a "retired" banker but ready to embark on my next career as an antique/vintage dealer.  I love tromping around finding gems that other people have overlooked and then repurposing them into our home.  I have quite an inventory built up but before I dive into this adventure I have to find our home in TN.  We had been saying this was our retirement home but everything that suits our long term wants/needs is just too far out of town for Mark to drive into work every day for the next 10 years.  Now we have decided to find the home that fits our immediate needs so I've been busy screening homes then the real fun will begin.   We share our home with one very spoiled, international cat named Clarice and she is the light of my life. 

 

Ok I'll be back tomorrow with the next challenge.  Find something today that makes you smile!