#14 - This is Not a Backpack #blogaday

I mean, technically, it is a backpack. I guess I should say it's not *just* a backpack.  This rugged bag is really my "go bag" - at any time (except right after I get home), it's packed and ready to go.  Usually for a train trip, but with the addition of a few power cords and maybe a few more items of clothing and vitamins and it's also ready for a flight and a 2-3 day conference.  I can also leave the helmet behind for most flights these days.

With all the trips last year, I felt like I have it pretty much down to a science.  When I get home, I remove the items that are used or worn, replace with new items and I'm ready to go.  Electronics, clothes, pen, paper, toiletries in airport security approved sizes, even a lint roller. Everything has a purpose and nothing extraneous. Except maybe a few extra pairs of headphones.

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Blogaday 2017 (what is blogaday?)

• #1 - Not My Resolution
• #2 - Walking on Sunshine
• #3 - Vacation I've Never Taken
• #4 - It's a Thing
• #5 - My Favorite Selfie
• #6 - Leftovers
• #7 - I Should Have Turned Left
• #8 - Bacon & Eggs
• #9 - Unwrapped
• #10 - Lazy
• #11 - Me, Myself and I
• #12 - Not in the News
• #13 - 2016 Did Not Happen

Tomorrow: #15 - You Were Saying Football Things in a Football Voice

#13 - 2016 Did Not Happen #blogaday

Oh, boy. Would that this were true.

Some good things this year. Some... ehhhhh.... I can't recall exactly when I picked these topics and I feel like the thing to do would be to pick one single thing from 2016 that I wish hadn't happened.  I really want to say Trump. I really do. Maybe I can save that for 2017. I suspect we'll regret him even more this year when he finally gets the keys and is able to drive the country off a cliff into a pile of manure.

No, I'm going to go with the murder of a friend (who I hadn't seen in 10 years).

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Blogaday 2017 (what is blogaday?)

• #1 - Not My Resolution
• #2 - Walking on Sunshine
• #3 - Vacation I've Never Taken
• #4 - It's a Thing
• #5 - My Favorite Selfie
• #6 - Leftovers
• #7 - I Should Have Turned Left
• #8 - Bacon & Eggs
• #9 - Unwrapped
• #10 - Lazy
• #11 - Me, Myself and I
• #12 - Not in the News

Tomorrow: #14 - This Not a Backpack 

#12 - Not in the News #blogaday

No one reported that tonight Ben was upset with Lori and said "You Bad You Bad" - it wasn't super clear, but we're both sure that's what he was saying. No one reported that he also had his best haircut ever today.

No reported that Rachel and I had a nice day today, including lunch with my college roommate, and a 2-for-1 sale on Skylanders at Gamestop (we picked up two Senseis and two Creation Crystals rather inexpensively) and went to the library and Lowes.

Also not in the news today - Rachel and I played Skylanders, Ben enjoyed swinging at the park, Rachel read some books and we went to Menchies where Rachel and I had frozen yogurt and Ben sat and ate lots of Cheez-Its and Wheat Thins.

You also didn't hear about Lori having a morning playing with a restless Ben and then a few hours without the kids in the afternoon or how I got to read and drink coffee and ease myself into the morning or how I installed a new light in Ben's room tonight, or how I fought with lightbulbs earlier today.

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Blogaday 2017 (what is blogaday?)

• #1 - Not My Resolution
• #2 - Walking on Sunshine
• #3 - Vacation I've Never Taken
• #4 - It's a Thing
• #5 - My Favorite Selfie
• #6 - Leftovers
• #7 - I Should Have Turned Left
• #8 - Bacon & Eggs
• #9 - Unwrapped
• #10 - Lazy
• #11 - Me, Myself and I

Tomorrow: #13 - 2016 Did Not Happen

#11 - Me, Myself and I #blogaday

One thing I've discovered is that I can be quite selfish. I've convinced myself that I need time to myself. Nevermind the time on the train each day when I can put on my headphones and read or watch TV.

I've also decided that I need time on weekend mornings to myself.  I've been trying to sleep a decent amount, but getting up at 7:30 or 8 hasn't worked because my daughter's been getting up earlier than that.  If the weather was nicer, I could go outside, but lately it's been cold and/or rainy. One Saturday recently I had to ask her to take her book back into her room because she couldn't not talk to me.

But, I have to get past it.

I'm not a solitary creature. I have a family. I have a long commute. What little time I have with them, I need to be available to them. I need to be prepared when they're in the house to be there and present with them. If I want time to myself on the weekend and I can't convince everyone else to sleep in, then I need to get up earlier or just suck it up.

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Blogaday 2017 (what is blogaday?)

• #1 - Not My Resolution
• #2 - Walking on Sunshine
• #3 - Vacation I've Never Taken
• #4 - It's a Thing
• #5 - My Favorite Selfie
• #6 - Leftovers
• #7 - I Should Have Turned Left
• #8 - Bacon & Eggs
• #9 - Unwrapped
• #10 - Lazy

Tomorrow: #12 - Not in the News

#10 - Lazy #blogaday

It's taking me too long to get to this one.  Not because I'm lazy, but because I've been swamped.

Someone called me lazy today. The good kind.

Normal lazy bothers me. Lamenting a situation but never working to change it, accepting a bad situation with a shrug, not working to one's potential. That bothers me.

But I'm amazed by the kind of lazy that doesn't accept the status quo and makes it better by making it easier. Remote controls, automatic transmission, voice activated stuff... that type of thing.

This applies to work, too.  All the time we hear "This process is dumb. It's repetitive, it takes too long, there must be a better way." I admire the person who says that and then steps up and makes it quicker, easier, faster.

To me, that's the person who's always wondering... are we in The Matrix?  (Or in simpler terms, if I right-click or long-press, are there hidden options?)  They don't simply accept things as they are, they want to know why... why is it like this? What was it like before? What will happen if I mess with it? Who's behind the curtain? Do I have to?

This kind of lazy is inquisitive, curious and introspective.  This kind of lazy changes the world.

Disclosure: Still behind. Maybe this weekend?

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Blogaday 2017 (what is blogaday?)

• #1 - Not My Resolution
• #2 - Walking on Sunshine
• #3 - Vacation I've Never Taken
• #4 - It's a Thing
• #5 - My Favorite Selfie
• #6 - Leftovers
• #7 - I Should Have Turned Left
• #8 - Bacon & Eggs
• #9 - Unwrapped

Tomorrow: #11 - Me, Myself and I

#9 - Unwrapped #blogaday

I got a nice waterproof windbreaker for Christmas from my wife. I don't remember it raining in California quite as much as it has this year. I suppose we need the rain, but I don't need the rain while I'm riding to work. Sometimes I have to remind myself that it's only 1.5 miles and that I can change into dry clothes when I get there.  Fortunately, the rain has been more intense after Christmas than before because I would have been quite miserable if I didn't have this jacket.  Now I need to find pants to go with it.

I also received a pair of Bluetooth headphones - the first pair I've owned. I figured if that's the way the world is going, I might as well get used to it. They are neat, but I've found sometimes that I don't turn on music because it's more work than just plugging in a pair of headphones, or because I have range anxiety - they once ran out of juice in the middle of a phone call.  They gave me a few warnings and then the call was back on my phone instead of in my ear.  That said, I used them all afternoon while building phase I of Ben's fort and they lasted a long time and sounded good. I am also a little more afraid of damaging them compared to simple headphones. But as a technological thing, they're fun.

This year was a lot about gift cards - which is fine with me. We have a much smaller space so I was glad to not get a lot of "things" - most of the physical items I received were edible treats (neat candies from around the world and some salmon I have yet to dig into) or other treat-myself items, like a couple of different soaps and some hair gel and aftershave.  And that's fun.  To me, at least.  I recently read someone say that adulthood is realizing something is cool but not buying it because you know you don't have a practical reason to own it - and that's why children find adults boring.  I guess that makes sense.

Full Disclosure: Still posting late. Hope to be caught up soon.

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Blogaday 2017 (what is blogaday?)

• #1 - Not My Resolution
• #2 - Walking on Sunshine
• #3 - Vacation I've Never Taken
• #4 - It's a Thing
• #5 - My Favorite Selfie
• #6 - Leftovers
• #7 - I Should Have Turned Left
• #8 - Bacon & Eggs

Tomorrow: #10 - Lazy

#8 - Bacon and Eggs #blogaday

nomnomnomeltte

Breakfast is a treat for me. Most of the time, it's very standard - coffee and Maple & Brown Sugar oatmeal. That's been the staple for years. It's good, it's healthy, it tastes good, it's not a lot of calories. You could say boring but I'd say, "Umm.... coffee. Not boring."

But every once in awhile, we'll stay at an Embassy Suites and then I get to look forward to a really good stuffed omelette - start with 2-3 times as much cheddar cheese as is typical, then add in whatever else... ham, mushrooms, bacon.  Then add some salsa... awesome.  And coffee.  And being Embassy Suites, also pastries and fruit and who knows what all else.

Sometimes Lori and I will get the kids off to school and then go and have breakfast. We've done this lately on birthdays, especially. We'll go find a restaurant that specializes in breakfast. Might be named after someone and might even have spoon in the name. ("Marcia's Silver Spoon" comes to mind. "The Best Place in Town" fails that naming convention but also comes to mind.) It's probably not a Made-to-Order omelette here, but rather one of their specialties, possibly recommended by the server.

When it's all of us together, then we're McBreakfasting it (though Lori and I have been known to occasionally drop in unenchildbered) - a McGriddle or Sausage McMuffin for me and either a Big Breakfast or Sausage Biscuit for Lori.  Coffee, juice, milk. And often extra trips up to the register for more hashbrowns after Mr. Ben eats everyone's hashbrowns.

I keep thinking I'm done and then I think of another breakfast... We'll pull out the griddle and I'll make pancakes and Lori will make bacon and we'll have breakfast for dinner someimes. That's always a fun, family affair because we'll eat as we cook, so it's a lot of time together talking and sharing. And I'll make coffee.

Breakfast is definitely more fun shared.

Full disclosure: I'm still not caught up and posting these a day behind. Maybe tomorrow.

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Blogaday 2017 (what is blogaday?)

• #1 - Not My Resolution
• #2 - Walking on Sunshine
• #3 - Vacation I've Never Taken
• #4 - It's a Thing
• #5 - My Favorite Selfie
• #6 - Leftovers
• #7 - I Should Have Turned Left

Tomorrow: #9 - Unwrapped

#7 - I Should Have Turned Left #blogaday

If I were to say I had no regrets, I'd be lying, clueless or living an unexamined life. But... are there things I regret that I could have actively changed? Without hindsight or retrospect... is there a point where I had the decision right in front of me and I zigged when I should have zagged? Something I really, truly regret?  Something that changed my life?

There's not a lot. How is that possible?  I feel like a lot of what's happened in my life has happened to me, not necessarily things I've directly controlled, or things I influenced but happened over time. Frankly, I've been quite lucky - I've been blessed. But flip a coin moment... turn left or turn right?

Two things come to mind.  The first was after an unfortunate night of excessive alcohol consumption. I told a friend that I didn't want to speak to them for three months. I watched the calendar and when three months hit, I held my breath. The days ticked by with no contact. Close to four months, they tentatively contacted me. So, first off, I had misremembered what I'd told them - I'd told them four months not three. We've reconnected and they didn't hold it against me.  So, really stupid move I really regret, but it didn't change my life. (Except resolved not to do that again - the extensive drinking or treating my friends like that.)

Oh, Mad TV... if only I'd been paying attention.

The other thing... pure stupidity. Shortly after moving to California (the first time), I signed up with one of those dating firms. Way before internet, those ones that they always mock - you record a video, they have a big library of video tapes and binders of photos and bios. I hadn't dated a lot and now I was in a new city and didn't know anyone and thought that I needed to take matters into my own hands. I hadn't dated a lot in my life, but all had been quite awesome and all had occurred when I wasn't looking. Love found me. But now I was going to take control? Or I was going to get some company help me?

First off, it was a scam. When you first go in there they go and grab some binders and bring them back to show you the kinds of people meet what you're looking for. What you don't realize is that people can take themselves "off market" - a little slip of paper gets added to the binder.  So when they bring the binders out for you to look at, they quickly slip out the pieces of paper. Everyone they showed me when I signed up was all "off market" when I came back later to look through the binders.

Secondly, they don't care once they have your money. They don't really tell you if your video is good or not and if you suck at things like talking on the phone, even if you do find some connections, they might not call back.

Third, they know that much like joining a gym, you'll lose motivation quick. Who wants to keep going back to that place and looking through binders full of non-matches. (This was before the internet and search engines and relational/relationship databases.)  Unlike a gym which keeps sucking out of your checking account month after month, they get it all up front.

And so that's the regret.

Not that I used a dating company, not that it didn't work (I'm so glad it didn't), it was that when I signed up for that stupid thing, I went into debt. It was the first time I put more on a credit card that I could pay off at the end of the month (actually, split it onto two cards because all my cards have what now would be considered laughably low credit limits). And once I was paying less than the full amount, a line had been crossed.

I was still in debt when I got married and it wasn't until we sold a house at the top of the market (that my parents had helped us buy) that we broke the cycle. Unfortunately, unanticipated events caused us to go into debt once more after that, but I'm glad to say that now we have once again put a stop to it and we think we now understand the signs and how to avoid getting into consumer debt again.

And we know how good it feels to not be in debt.

Full Disclosure: Some stuff came up this weekend and this was posted a day late. Same with #8. Will get back on track shortly.

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Blogaday 2017 (what is blogaday?)

• #1 - Not My Resolution
• #2 - Walking on Sunshine
• #3 - Vacation I've Never Taken
• #4 - It's a Thing
• #5 - My Favorite Selfie
• #6 - Leftovers

Tomorrow: #8 - Bacon and Eggs

#6 - Leftovers #blogaday

When we moved to a smaller house, we downsized quite a bit. But six months in, we haven't fully unpacked. Maybe you never really do.

The VCRs didn't make the move (one sacrificed to "Camp Invention", the other off to Goodwill) and the VHS tapes that for some reason did make it to California moved to a box for Goodwill.

But earlier this week in a round of unpacking, a cache of DVDs were uncovered. There was some we don't really watch, some studio screeners we maybe watched once, some we no longered cared for, some that actually didn't exist (don't let anyone tell you there were sequels to  The Matrix - if they try to tell you that you just tell them that they're filthy liars and to get out of your car. If you're feeling magnanimous, pull to the curb and slow or stop even.)

So quite a few were a no brainer.  But what of Futurama? I've gone back and forth on those. I've been watching them amongst other things (on Netflix) but DVDs?

"Toss them, I can watch them on Netflix."
"Keep them, they might not always be on Netflix."
"Toss them, there's plenty of other stuff that I've never seen before on Netflix."
"Keep them, there's DVD commentary."
"Toss them, do I really want to hear any more commentary for the people responsible for Seymour's fate?"

In the end, I decided I will donate (toss) them - it's much easier to find a device that plays Netflix (or Hulu Plus or Amazon Prime Video or Acorn or YouTube) than it is to find a device that plays DVDs.

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Blogaday 2017 (what is blogaday?)

• #1 - Not My Resolution
• #2 - Walking on Sunshine
• #3 - Vacation I've Never Taken
• #4 - It's a Thing
• #5 - My Favorite Selfie

Tomorrow: #7 - I Should Have Turned Left

#5 - My Favorite Selfie #blogaday

I looked through all my past Facebook profile pictures because there's where most of my selfies end up and this one made me laugh so hard.  There's a couple where Ben's being a little more gentle but I love that I captured this one where I'm getting one of his big wet sloppy kisses. Goofy boy.  And before you say "That's not a selfie - where's your abnormally long arm holding the camera?"  Oh, no, my friend... I was doing selfies back before they were called that.  That's right, digital camera on a timer mounted a on tripod, that's how we did it in the old days, I tell you whut.

I get to put extras because the rule of "blogaday" is that you get to do whatever you want, using the topic as just a jumping off point.  So here's *three* more.  Just deal with it.

This was taken at Dash Point City Park in Tacoma, a really cool park that I enjoyed going to. It was a bit of a blustery day (aren't they all) and Rachel was there to ride the swings. She's wearing the PLU hat we had gotten at a recent visit to PLU, I'm wearing my ExactTarget "Subscribers Rule" hat, and that great green jacket that finally wore out and didn't come with us to California. That jacket makes me think fondly of World Vision - it's what I wore on my many lunchbreak walks through the fabulous forests on and around its campus.

I had to include this one. It's slightly unsettling to me because I rarely recognize the face in the photo and it's mine. Between the dark background and then angle and the fact that I was my lowest weight here, I feel it looks odd - not to mention my really long haircut.  However, it also looks good - because of my weight loss and because I used several techniques you're supposed to use to get a good photo, including moving your head forward slightly and turning your head enough to make sure that your jaw line is visible.  Hard to get all those things just right while you're also holding the phone and trying to take your own photo, but I captured it.

And finally, a selfie that I didn't take. But it's not a selfie of me. Though, OK, I am in the photo. I had photos with the kids, I wanted a photo of my wife.  Turns out most of her profile pics are professional shots or photos I took across the table of her on one of our date nights.  So, here's one she took.  I think it was because whenever we posted photos from date night and there was just one of us in the photo one of our friends would beg for a shot of the two of us.  (Yes, you know who you are. Hi and thanks for reading.) So I think by the expressions here that this must have been taken just for her.

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Blogaday 2017 (what is blogaday?)

• #1 - Not My Resolution
• #2 - Walking on Sunshine
• #3 - Vacation I've Never Taken
• #4 - It's a Thing

Tomorrow: #6 - Leftovers

#4 - It's a Thing #blogaday

I don't know what to write for this one.

So, still thinking about what I wrote yesterday, here's an original piece of art I call "Stained Glass Paris" for lack of a better name.

I experimented with Google Translate to try to come up with a different name, but I couldn't find one I liked, so we'll stick with this one.  Simple, straightforward.  This was kind of fun. I could see doing it again, but limiting myself to a particular set of colors, or trying to be more intentional in my placement - when you step back and look at the whole, certain lines bisect the piece and it would be interesting to radiate out lighter or darker shades from those lines.

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Blogaday 2017 (what is blogaday?)

• #1 - Not My Resolution
• #2 - Walking on Sunshine
• #3 - Vacation I've Never Taken

Tomorrow: #5 - My Favorite Selfie

#3 - Vacation I've Never Taken #blogaday

Part of me regrets not having traveled more. Before I was married, before we had children, when we only had one child, before we moved from Seattle, etc. But if I'm being honest, I somewhat dread traveling.



While I'm fascinated to scroll through Google Maps or watch drone videos, it's more detached and you get to see the highlights without all of that travel. Traveling can be tough. Long flights in tiny seats, lots of walking, looking at stuff (like museums or old buildings) that people say is important without having enough context to really appreciate why it's important, or with the kids, making sure that we're aware of where exits are and where we are on the meltdown threat index.

I enjoyed Victoria, BC - you could get there with some driving and a boat and then you had your own car with you on the other side. I enjoyed being a tourist in Seattle. And I enjoy the day trips we take now, but there's always been a little bit of regret that I haven't been to Sydney, Paris, Berlin or London and that it's been a long time since I've been to Maui.

But part of me imagines Ireland. Not the touristy big city, but a rental at the end of a long rutted road outside a small village. Going into the village to shop or for a pint, getting to know the locals. It's probably more of a solo imagining where I'm just the quiet foreigner who people think might be an author or something. And if not Ireland, then at least an arrondissement way outside of the tourist sector when the weather is nice and we can wake up, sit on a little patio with gauzy curtains swaying in the breeze, or perhaps pop down to a little cafe for a petit repas before a very leisurely day. And that's more of a couples imagining than a whole family thing. But if I were to think about what these both have in common is that they're not rushed. There isn't some need to get it all in because time is limited. If I'm going to spend hours on a plane, I'm owed enough time between flights to get acclimated (when Alaska Airlines is sending me a popup reminding me the webcheck for the flight home while I'm still checking into the hotel... that sucks), that it needs to be a retreat away from everything else, long enough for it to be home for awhile.

I do hope to get everyone on board a plane for Hawaii at some point, but that does seem like a long trip for Ben.

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Blogaday 2017 (what is blogaday?)

• #1 - Not My Resolution
• #2 - Walking on Sunshine

Tomorrow: #4 - It's a Thing

#2 - Walking on Sunshine #blogaday

Hello and Merry Christmas, Burbank (12/24)

Some people want the snow. Been there, done that.

I am enjoying being back in Los Angeles where the weather's great and the people are chill.   The last place we lived claimed it was all "within reach" but their definition of "all" was pretty lacking.

It's a crossover. A crossover SUV.

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Blogaday 2017 (what is blogaday?)

• #1 - Not My Resolution

Tomorrow: #3 - Vacation I've Never Taken

#1 - Not My Resolution #blogaday

#1 - Not My Resolution - This year, I'm not going to resolve to be a better person. There are a million ways I could improve. There are a million things I could improve. I don't have a self-esteem issue, but I'm fully aware of many of my shortcomings, though I know all of my friends, family and co-workers could come up with their own lists without too much trouble.  This year, I'm going to try to keep it together.  That may be the best I can do.  Not make things worse.  Nip a little here, tuck a little there.

But no master plan of inbox zero, or dad-of-the-year or sainthood nominations. No higher office or corner suite. I won't lie and say that I'm going to forgo personal growth or change altogether. I won't be able to keep up with the recycling or laundry, I won't have abs of steel, I won't climb any mountains but I won't take up smoking or drinking either.

This will be a year of small gains.

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What is this? 

A few years ago, I participated in a January Blog-a-Day and while it was a bit of work, it was a fun way to start the new year. So, I thought I'd do it again.  This time, I'm the one with the list of topics and I didn't recruit a cadre of bloggers - but if you're reading this... thanks! And please consider joining me.

Each day, I'll present a new topic. What you do it with, if anything, is entirely up to you.  It might be a blog post, a drawing, a painting, a photo of something you scrawled on the bathroom wall.  It could be a Tweet, an Instagram or a rant on YouTube.  Whatever. That is actually what makes it fun - seeing all the ways people can be creative with nothing more than a few words to seed the idea.

The daily cadence isn't supposed to create pressure or stress, but give you a starting point. And if you do post something, let me know I'll link to it so when people visit the blog post later they'll find all kinds of creative interpretations.  (What if it's August 2018 and you're just now reading this? Feel free to jump right in, I'd be happy to keep adding links if new people join in!) How many topics are there? I've got quite a few. I'll let you know when I run out.

Tomorrow: #2 - Walking on Sunshine

31. Favourite #JanBlogaDay

If we're going to get all fancy, then I'm going to write about my favourite flower.  Yes, I do have a favourite flower.

I've always known of this plant as "Celosia Plumosa" (That's "Celosee-UH" not "Celosee-AH") but Wikipedia redirects to "Celosia Argentea" (a nice name) and notes that it's also called "Plumed Cockscomb," which is not nearly as nice a name if we're trying to keep it fancy.

Like a cross between a cake pop and my favorite holiday, they typically look like fuzzy little Christmas trees on stakes in vibrant colors.

I don't have any interesting stories, I just like the look of these flowers and should probably see about growing some at this house.  I think I've grown them in the past but can't remember if it was here and they died or if it was at the old house.   Here's a bunch more photos on Google Images.

It's been a fun (but exhausting) month.  I hear Latrina's got something less intensive in store for February.  Can't wait.

Day 31 of January Blog a Day.

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The whole list:

• 1. New
• 2. Two
• 3. Bucket List
• 4. Pet Peeve
• 5. Biggest Fear
• 6. Embarrassment
• 7. Shoes
• 8. Honesty
• 9. Made with Love
• 10. Memories
• 11. Confessions
• 12. Recovery
• 13. Top Ten
• 14. Food
• 15. Transportation
• 16. I Would Do Anything for Love... But I Won't Do That
• 17. Things That Rhyme
• 18. Advice
• 19. Superpowers
• 20: Beautiful
• 21: Create a mood board
• 22: Kids
• 23: Dessert
• 24: Teachers
• 25: el. oh. vee. ee.
• 26: Winter/Summer
• 27: Regret
• 28: A surprise!
• 29: Home
• 30. Your biggest flaw
• 31: Favourite

30. Your Biggest Flaw #JanBlogaDay

I have to admit, I haven't been looking forward to writing this one.  And it wasn't because I didn't know what to write about.  Biggest Flaw?  Plenty of competition, plenty of source material.  On top of that, while I'm not actively looking for a job, I do get inquiries from time-to-time, and did I really want recruiters potentially seeing such a post?

I had a couple of different directions I could head.  It's so easy to be self-critical.  This is definitely one where if you disagree with me, I'd welcome emails instead of comments below.  Overall, I'm very happy with me.  I don't feel like I have huge, gaping flaws.  I feel like it's a continuum and I'm always learning and always open to feedback and coaching, but I feel like I'm in a good place.

But in the spirit of January Blog a Day, onward we press.

29. Home #JanBlogaDay

I've been writing this one in my head for years.  I just never realized it was going to be a blog post.  Also, I didn't have the lame but simple summary until yesterday morning in the shower:

Home is where you pay to live.

I know, that's lame.    But here's what I mean by it.  We don't choose where we're born and probably none of us got to choose where we'd grow up.  And even in college, you get this sort of dual citizenship whereby you might reside somewhere in school, but you still get to call mom and dad's place "home" - unless they've already converted "your room" into the Greatest-of-Intentions Brand-New-Fitness-Equipment-Shaped-Dust-Collector Room, at which point you refer to it as "Merle and Wanda's Place" and describe yourself as homeless, which is fine because your dorm room probably looks "homeless chic" anyhow.

So, when you come to the point in life where someone expects you to hand them money each month in order to permit you to store your stuff there, that's home.  Whether you're renting or paying a mortgage and paying a contractor what you used to pay the mortgage company, that's home.  Whether you can paint the walls or only serve your guests water for fear of not getting your deposit back, that's home.  Whether it's you and a cactus or the constant noise of a spouse, a dog, three cats, a parakeet and three or four little ones (two of which are yours), that's home.

And if it's not where you want to make a home, get packing, you deserve to go home.

(Now..not rooting for the home team... that's a whole 'nother post I will probably avoid writing. And my parents are not named Merle and Wanda - they never built an exercise room. They just sold the house and moved away after I moved to California.)

Day 29 of January Blog a Day.

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The whole list:

• 1. New
• 2. Two
• 3. Bucket List
• 4. Pet Peeve
• 5. Biggest Fear
• 6. Embarrassment
• 7. Shoes
• 8. Honesty
• 9. Made with Love
• 10. Memories
• 11. Confessions
• 12. Recovery
• 13. Top Ten
• 14. Food
• 15. Transportation
• 16. I Would Do Anything for Love... But I Won't Do That
• 17. Things That Rhyme
• 18. Advice
• 19. Superpowers
• 20: Beautiful
• 21: Create a mood board
• 22: Kids
• 23: Dessert
• 25: el. oh. vee. ee.
• 26: Winter/Summer
• 27: Regret
• 28: A surprise!
• 29: Home
• 30. Your biggest flaw
• 31: Favourite

28. Surprise... #JanBlogaDay

...me

Day 28 of January Blog a Day.

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The whole list:

• 1. New
• 2. Two
• 3. Bucket List
• 4. Pet Peeve
• 5. Biggest Fear
• 6. Embarrassment
• 7. Shoes
• 8. Honesty
• 9. Made with Love
• 10. Memories
• 11. Confessions
• 12. Recovery
• 13. Top Ten
• 14. Food
• 15. Transportation
• 16. I Would Do Anything for Love... But I Won't Do That
• 17. Things That Rhyme
• 18. Advice
• 19. Superpowers
• 20: Beautiful
• 21: Create a mood board
• 22: Kids
• 23: Dessert
• 24: Teachers
• 25: el. oh. vee. ee.
• 26: Winter/Summer
• 27: Regret
• 28: A surprise!
• 29: Home
• 30. Your biggest flaw
• 31: Favourite

27, Regret #JanBlogaDay

Regrets... not an easy topic. I feel like there's quite a bit I could throw into this category, but at the same time, I'm not interested in devolving into a pity party or making things sound dire, because they aren't.

Plus, what is regret? I decided simply being sad or disappointed wasn't enough. I looked it up and a "sense of loss" is also a potential regret. But what of a sense of loss that I played no part in?

Thinking of a Space Shuttle disintegrating or a terrorists flying a plane into a building or a miscarriage. No, not sure that's it, either. And what of something that's fixable? Is it a regret if it's something that could go away tomorrow? I'm not so sure.

26. Winter/Summer #JanBlogaDay

Miami, Early February 2012

I open my eyes, rubbing away the sleep.  As the room comes into view, I see light is already coming in the windows, seeping around the edges of the Venetian Blinds, and filtered through the cream-colored curtains which are waving gently in a light breeze from the open windows.  There is a subtle clicking as the blinds are pushed away from the window frame and quietly fall back.

Beyond the breeze, there's nothing to feel.  It is literally room temperature.

The air is clean, crisp.  The neighborhood is quiet.  The children are still asleep.  Lori is still asleep.