39

Keeping things light.  This week's about to start and in it, is Christmas.  I still can't believe we're celebrating Christmas already.  Seems this year went by a bit to quick.  I'm glad I've allowed myself time to reflect on it.  I've learned a lot about myself. 

Taking a few minutes from "project Christmas" to relax and do this 100 things post.  Sounded like fun when I ran across it on another blog.

Everything I’ve done will be in green, while the things I’ve not done will be either white or black depending upon whether you are reading it on the blog or in a RSS reader.


1. Started my own blog -  I'm proud of this accomplishment.
2. Slept under the stars - many moons ago but yes.  I can't wait to do it again with my sons.
3. I have played in a band - high school band not rock star band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain 
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo - does Karaoke count - I think it totally does
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning - never officially diagnosed by a doctor but pretty sure
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables - I accidentally grew cherry tomatoes..lol.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked  
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb- totally have a picture of it too - in NC while at an event while Mom, Dad & Grandma visited.
26. Gone skinny dipping 
27. Run a Marathon - no but rocked a 5k this past year
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset - many many times - never gets old
31. Hit a home run - not sure if my memory is correct on this one or not - i think i have
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors  
35. Seen an Amish community - it's a pretty amazing thing
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant -haven't yet but I'd love to
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling - TOTALLY FREAKED OUT - i'd like to try it again though
52. Kissed in the rain 
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in
55. Been in a movie 
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen 
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62.Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check - boo
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy - the boys play with her now - my cabbage patch baby
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar  
72. Pieced a quilt 
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone 
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper  - marriage announcement
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life - I've read though that every person alive saves another persons life once in their lifetime and most of them never realize it.  So maybe I have and don't realize it.
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous - Al Roker count?
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby  - two, thank you very much
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Ridden an elephant

39 out of 100.  Stuff like this totally gives me inspiration and fires up ideas.  It's always interesting to see your accomplishments on a list like this. 

Very interesting.  I enjoyed the break and moment of sanity. 

Time to put the Santa hat on and wrap.

I hope some of you share a few of your accomplishments with me.  Just copy and paste into the comment box.
Ta Ta.

A Date Night Before Christmas

Is not much of a date night.  My feet hurt like hell.  My tummy is upset because Darren had a case of road rage and got my nerves all acting crazy.

We shopped for almost 4 hours and still have a few things left to get, only a few but I had hoped that everything would be done tonight.

We got out of the house alone for a few hours.  We had a really good dinner and some good conversation.

I only wish the balance in our checking account was the same as it was before we left the house at 5.

It's amazing what 4 hours and 10 stores can do to a checking account.

Now Darren and I know that the gifts are not what make Christmas.  We enjoyed our time together tonight more then any present bought, but we do enjoy buying for our boys, our families and our friends.  It just feels right even if it's not what makes Christmas.

 A date night before Christmas isn't much of a date but it was worth every penny.

347

Last year for Christmas we Santa gave Jacek a really nifty gift.

A digital little tikes camera.  In a span of almost an entire year 

we've replaced the batteries in it twice.

To date Jacek and miscellaneous others have taken a whopping 347

pictures.

We've uploaded those pictures a big fat ZERO times....

until 

today.  I finally broke down under the pressure of it being almost an 

entire year, searched and searched for the USB cord, and finally

connected the camera to my laptop and viewed the pictures.

At picture 132 Jacek said "I'm all done looking at these pictures
now."

This same boy who hounded his mother at different times through 

out the year to show him his pictures on my computer grows tired 

and bored at picture 132.  Good thing he's 3 1/2 or I would have

had a thing or two to say about that!  Geesh!

I viewed them all.  Many are dark, most are very blurry.

These are the best out of the 347 pictures. 

I post them for your viewing pleasure.  

 This one...made the entire process 

totally worth it.  I just love those lips.

Seven Days

It's only 10:00.  It feels a lot later then that.  It's cold in here.  I turned the heat down a few degrees because Jacek had red cheeks and red tipped ears when he went to bed.  The tips of my hands are so cold it's hard to type and my nose, I wonder if it's still on my face, I can't feel it.

I've been re-working my shopping list.  I still have so many things to buy.

How many days?  7.  Holy crap.

I got some Christmas cards done tonight and they'll go out in the mail tomorrow.  I didn't do a whole lot this year.  Trying to keep it simple.  I'm going to do an email greeting in a few days.  Sometimes it's just easier and that way no one has to be faced with the decision about keeping or throwing the card away once Christmas is over.  Who wants to deal with that guilt, right?

Christmas.  It's coming fast and it'll be over in a flash leaving us with our fat pants on, our houses a mess, bags of ripped and torn wrapping paper, crumbs and tired kids.  

Sounds fantastic doesn't it? 

Hope you're enjoying the build up.  Hopefully the climax won't be disappointing!

Baby, It's Cold Outside (Wordless Wednesday)

 

Truthful Tuesdays - Do you believe in Ghosts?

If you look up ghost under wikipedia you get a smorgishboard of definitions.  Often the term ghost referes to the apparition of a deceased person. 

I have seen a few apparitions. The most recent being a little boy dressed in knickers and suspenders running from out of a corner of a hallway in my sister Kim's house.  He appeared to be running outside to play.  If I had to guess which sport he was off to enjoy, I would be inclined to say stickball. The energy that was coming off him as he drew closer to me was enough to make my heart race and my eyes swell with tears.  I could feel his youth, his excitement, his life...it was my first child apparition.  I've thought about him often since.

I've seen a woman apparition in my own house. She was dressed in a cream and soft peach gown and she was descending my stairs.  Her hands were full because she was lifting and holding up the bottom of her skirt so as not to fall.  I could see the ruffeled crinoline underneath.  I was simply vacuuming the rug on the upstairs landing.  I glanced up, did a double take and off she went down the stairs and she was gone.  She was beautiful but her gown more so.  I haven't seen her again but I think about her often.  Once you see a ghost their image kind of remains etched in your memory.

I have had few experiences with ghosts as apparitions.  My general belief on apparitions are that they are souls or spirits stuck in time, reliving several moments of their lives over and over again.  I consider myself lucky to have witnessed these apparitions.  I don't know why I was able to but I absolutely believe that I have and that they are real.

I mentioned the term spirits.  Spirit is what I believe in even more so.  I believe spirits are made up from energy, whether it be energy from their soul as a human or energy from the universe or a comibnation of both. Once they learn how to manipulate this energy they can and do communicate with us.  I believe spirits can manifest the energy and I believe they can split the energy.

My sister Kristen believes our Grandfather shows himself to her as a monarch butterfly.  I feel he shows himself to me as a black crow.  He often takes this form when I've done something foolish, many times I've heard the mocking "caw caw" and known without a doubt it is my Grandfather laughing at me with me.

I am not a religious person.  I consider myself spiritual.  I at times struggle with my belief system but am often assured "by signs" that there is another dimension to this life.  We all take up space in this world while we are alive and those of us that are lucky enough to occupy that space for long periods of time leave their "mark" on the space.  That mark is their energy.  That energy remains though their physical form does not.  Energy is absorbed and that energy finds it way back out, it many different forms.

When Uncle Brian, a fireman, passed away of a heart attack, the Kwiatkowski's lost a great man.  A hero.  His work did not end because his heart did.  I don't recall how soon after he passed that this happened but it was sooner rather then later.  Darren, myself and Jacek were at our house.  It was chilly out and I clicked the thermostat up a few degrees.  Not long after doing so our house smelled of gas.  The smell got stronger and I was getting nervous.  Darren had us leave and go next door to my sisters while he called 9-1-1.  The volunteer fireman showed up with their blinking lights atop their vehicles and not long after the firetruck turned down our street with their whistles blowing and their sirens whirring.  Jacek was front and center to his own parade.  
I don't remember the logistics of the problem but I do remember the one fireman saying "You were lucky".  Our furnance had blown, thankfully it blew out and not up.  The furnance hadn't even been up to code or exhausted properly.  

I have no doubt, no doubt! that Uncle Brian saved us and gave Jacek quite a show in the process. I can picture him now happy and proud of me for retelling this story. He is smiling his big hearted smile, the one that Aidan seems to have inherited.   I feel him here with us all the time.  He was a big man in physical form and the energy he has now is quite powerfull.  I think it's undeniable but not everyone believes.

I do.

       

Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days. ~Doug Larson

I love revisiting my childhood.  I love that the memories still make me warm, still make me safe.  I think it's because those things are still a part of who I am.  I love that.

 



I went tonight to my niece and nephews holiday concert.  Ashley is in chorus and plays the flute in band.  Zackary rocks the drums.

    





I played the clarinet in band when I was their age.  I liked being just one instrument and being part of something bigger at the same time.  I loved that when we all played together this amazing calm came over me.  I got that same feeling tonight listening and watching from the audience.  Watching their young faces and seeing the proud faces of the parents and families in the audience made me nostalgic for my yesterdays.

I think one of the things I liked the most about playing in band was that I knew my Mom and Dad would be in the audience, my father clapping his hands the loudest.   I remember straining to hear his distinct clap at the end of one of our sets.  I could hear him as if he was standing right next to me.  I can still hear him to this day.

Ashley's chorus sang "Where are you Christmas?" and I cried.  I have heard the song many times before but when a group of 13 and 14 year old teenagers sing it, you really listen.

Tonight I went back in time.  Tonight I revisited forgotten feelings and emotions. It was nice.

I was reminded of a few things that made me who I am today.

I love that even though I'm older and different then that 13 year old girl I was almost twenty years ago I am so very much the same.