Have You Ever?

I had a friend that was sent off to L.A. once for an employee training thing. The group took personality tests to discover what kind of person they were and how best to deal with the personalities of the others they worked with.

I don't need a weekend seminar to know I am a Pleaser.
I want to be liked and I will work very hard for your acceptance. It's sickening really.

For instance, music is one of my greatest passions. I feel lost without some sort of something playing throughout my house.

Once for my birthday, June 1998, the Hubby kidnapped me from Young Women's Camp and took me to Kansas City to see Michael Crawford sing. I was so happy to hear his melodic voice stroke the the beautiful words of Sir Andrew I thought I might wet my pants-- at least I think it was the music that had that effect, I was also 8 months pregnant.

When we moved to England and were forced to buy all new appliances and electrical stuff, a stereo system was last on the priority list. It was a year before I finally broke down and purchased a little portable cd player for my kitchen. When I popped in one of my cds, it was like chocolate melting on the tongue-- bliss. I realized then that maybe to lose my hearing would be the worse thing that could ever happen to me.

• Have you ever considered which of the five (you maybe have six ?) senses

you would prefer to loose if you had to give up one?

Anyway, (I digress. a lot.) you can imagine how I felt one day when I went to one of my favorite blogs to discover that she HATED music on blogs. Hated it. At first, I thought, "Well, turn it off" but then she listed several (very) valid reasons why it keeps her from going back. And she received LOTS of comments agreeing with her. My blog was not pleasing to her.

That's how my poll began. I wanted to know how YOU felt.

Several of you have commented in the past how much you like the playlist. A few of you do like I do with Kathryn's blog and just open it up to let the music play (I can't tell you how giddy comments like that make me feel).

• I work hard to coordinate songs with my posts, have you ever picked up on that?

Now that the poll is closed, I'm in a quandary. Although only 2 people felt I should "get rid of it now", 3 said they "tolerate it". That's five people I'm not pleasing.

I considered changing it so that you could turn it on when you stopped by, but flip, I work so hard coordinating my stuff. And really, have you ever gone to someone's blog (and actually like music to read by) and turned their playlist on?

Have you ever:

• Changed something about your blog to accommodate your readers? (I got rid of my word verification for a sweet, dyslexic blogger).

• Reinvented your writing style/blog since you began blogging?

• Inadvertently left a passion behind, or neglected it for a time?

• Picked up on the clues scattered throughout this post?

Feel free to answer any of these in a comment here or a post on your blog-- just let me know so that I can come by to read it (I have two kids home with a flu bug, so my reading has been limited).

AN Actual WORDLESS Wednesday, can you believe it?

Mormons, Secrets and Child Abuse in My Home

You may be aware that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints* don't get married "'Till death do us part".
We marry for "Time and all eternity".

I'm realizing that eternity
is going to be a very long time...

*please don't confuse us with Warren Jeffs or any other Polygamist break-off sects. As much as I'd like my husband to have another wife (a window washer, a child minder, a cleaner-- and I'd pick the mud-ugly girl), he just has me. Lucky guy.

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Shhhhh. I have a secret.

Something really wonderful will happen next week.
Something exciting.
O.k., it's more so for me than for you, but It's my blog and I'll blab if I want to...It's too soon to talk about it, so I am only going to drop a few hints for now...

Remember you've been warned: You may not find this so fantastic, but I do.

Clue one:

(An Affair To Remember)

It began with a girl. And a book. And a paintbrush (kind of like a Lion, a Witch and a Wardrobe, but not so much so). And a Punjab noose. It began about 16 years ago.

I am a voracious reader. I will read cereal boxes and can labels if there's nothing with chapters nearby.
Once while in Art school, several of us were working our way through the exercises in The Artist's Way. About mid-way through the book, we were required to STOP READING (gasp!) for a predetermined amount of time. Supposedly, it allows your creative energies to flow through your art instead of being "wasted" just sitting around.

I couldn't do it.
There I was, sneaking reads like an alcoholic might sip cough syrup as her family slept.

This love affair crept up behind me. I never saw it coming.

One of the jobs I had while completing my degree was painting for the Housing Authority in our area. I did trim work mostly, and it was just the kind of job where my brain could rest from the heavy load I was carrying at N.A.U.

But I never have been able to just let my brain rest.

Clue 2:

That's a Gemini trait

While painting, I listened to books on tape (yes, TAPE).
And fell hard.
In an obsessive way.
And over the years, I've been feeding that obsession.
The first time was around Christmas after that painting job; again in June 1998 in Kansas City, Missouri and now, ten years later I am completing the novel-- ticking one of my "Things to do before I die".
Next week.

No, I am not dying next week (please try to keep up with my incoherent babbling, will you?).

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Miss Ky took her second tumble down the stairs in as many days. My boys have heard me scream and watched me cry twice because of her. Yesterday, I saw her doing the head-over-heels kind of fall for the last three steps (I had been washing out a spice jar and heard what sounded like a tub of toys being tipped out on the stairs).

Today's tumble was strange to watch. It was like watching a statue slide down the stairs--she was stiff, on her back and sliding head first to the bottom. Unfortunately being face up gave her the opportunity to see my terror as I screamed and ran to her. I scared her worse than the fall did I think.

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And did you catch this crazy news story? Some Russian people went away on holiday and came back to find their house gone. With everything in it. The city officials say they can't be bothered with trivial things like someone wanting to know why their house was scooped up. The police want papers to prove the house actually existed. And you thought your day was going badly...

Seaside Sketches

I couldn't make scenery like this up.... (click for closer views, I uploaded large)


J2 said to me, "I think I'm a water hugger, Mom. I just love to be in the water."
THAT's my boy!

Jake (aka Bat Dog) is a Water Hugger too.

Guard Puppy.
Who had his own bed in the tent, but slowly snuck up (commando-style) to lay next to me and spent the entire night cuddled up by my side. He was such a good camper.
And he doesn't eat poo like the other dog that was there.

Can you imagine traveling with me?
We never get anywhere fast because the camera is always itching to get out of the car...

This mill is out in the middle of farmland. I saw it from a distance and The Hubby said, "Do you need to go get a picture of that?"
I didn't say, "Well Duh..." Instead, I was gracious and said, "Oh, that would be great" and then forced the family to travel all the way back where we started so that I could get just the right angle...


...which was good because the second time past this phone box, I asked to stop. Actually, I insisted we stop. I wasn't as gracious this time.

But, You know how I feel about phone boxes.

And look, this one serves Fish and chips!

Doesn't Every Beach Sell Doughnuts? All Things British

We arrived at our camping spot around 2pm.

To be honest, the Hubby and I really took our time getting ready to go because
1.) It was drizzly and cold (and we had T-storms only two nights before) and
2.) the people we were supposed to camp with had gone mad and invited 20 other people in addition to our family of six.

Plus we were taking Dog, formerly and currently known as Jake....

Instead of the family tent, we took two dome tents to save time and space. We put those up quickly, headed down to the sea (to tell it we had arrived) and then took a walk into the village... for doughnuts.

Of course I documented it for you.


This is the Pied Piper of Palling, my Hubby-- with waaaay too many kids.

Oh wait, most of them are ours.

Every little village has it's own sign.
I could fill an album just with signs....

And how silly can you get with this one? Hey, I find that A Palling! Oh no, we're Palling down...yeah, apparently not very silly.

Among other things, the doughnut shop also sells ice cream. With flake.

The first week we were in GB, I wanted a soft-serve cone. With a very thick British accent, the vendor asked if I wanted that with flake.. "Um.., what? Sure, ok..." (smiling stupidly like a tourist who is over-excited to be somewhere will)
He handed me a cone of vanilla ice cream with what appeared to be a big piece of wood sticking out of it.
Flake is a Twix-sized chunk of chocolate (It's very aerated and therefore tastes and breaks like outdated chocolate). Everyone here has to have it, me... not so much so.
Chocolate should NOT be messed with-- not like that, anyway.

Oh, we've made it to the shop....Inside, I'm waiting patiently. Taking pictures helps pass the fifty or so seconds it takes to make a doughnut. She suckered me into EIGHT since the little bags fit four. (so?)

I only wanted six, but ok, if you insist.I'm ready, I'm ready....

She adds the sugar.
Caster, Cinnamon, or chocolate?Guess. Just try and guess which one I picked.


YUM.

Totally unrelated subject:

One day we were walking around a car boot (the infamous one where Miss Ky tried to adopt a new home) and the little beasty child was in her "push chair" (stroller), admiring every dog. "Woof woof" she would say as they walked on by.
One lady stopped so Miss Ky could "woof" a little closer to her furry companion. The dog lifted his leg on the push chair. I've told you how fond Britain is of dogs, so kicking him wasn't an option.
I did gasp and attempt to convince the wheels to go a direction they're not designed to go to put a little distance between Ky and the golden stream-- that she most likely would try to put her graham cracker into...
And the lady says, "Healmostnik'dyourbikkie,didn'the?"

Wha..?

I did what I usually do when I have no clue what someone just said to me, I smiled and walked away. ("So, you're one meaty gal and I bet you tip the car, don't you?" Me, smiling and nodding my head).

Anyway, as I was walking and thinking how that naughty old lady said those terrible words about dogs and their privates to my sweet little angel--"niky bicky", holy cow can we be crass?!-- her words finally managed to make their way through my brain's Babel Fish.

"He almost nicked (stole) your Bickie (biscuit--cracker), didn't he?"

She had had no idea he was wee-ing on my push chair, because she was looking at Miss Ky and her cracker. I'm the one with my mind In The Gutter and thinking of dogs' nether areas...

Back to the beach...
The penny arcade.

You put a two-pence coin in to win more two-pence coins or a lolli (sucker).

My opinion on why this is a dumb idea...

First of all, why would I want more two p's when they're heavy in the purse and worthless? My other option to win is more sugar for kids I just fed eight doughnuts?


Oh well, it's all in a day at the beach...