Female in Motion

What an interesting title! I attended a "Singspiration" on Friday at Sara Road Baptist Church in Yukon, OK. The event is a gathering of several churches, where musicians are picked to bring selections. There was a dazzling array of singers, pianists, saxophone players, and guitar-, mandolin- and banjo-pickers. Man, was I nervous! I have sung at this church before, and I had been this nervous before. There was an extra big crowd this time, and I had two songs that were tricky to sing. I selected "I Believe in a Hill Called Mt. Calvary" by the Gaithers, and "Who Am I" by Rusty Goodman. Toss in a bumpy 2 1/2 hour church bus ride each way, and you have the makings of a memorable evening! Don't get me wrong, I'm an experienced singer. I've been in musical groups and ensembles since elementary school. I've spent 3-5 hours per day practicing for years during junior high, high school and college. I've sung in concert halls, gymnasiums, churches...

Among my family, I am known as The Plant Murderer. I don't have a green thumb. I don't even have a brown thumb. It's black as evil sin! Give me any living plant and I can kill it in 48 hours or less, guaranteed. It's not like I set out to kill a plant. It just happens. I either love it to death, or I neglect it so much it keels over. So very sad! What's more, I love flowers and plants. I give them often as gifts. But when I receive them, they're goners. On Mother's Day, my mom presented me with a beautiful Gerbera daisy plant. It was just so pretty, and that scared me to death! What if? I carefully transplanted it into a larger pot, set it on the front porch, and prayed for guidance. I water it every other day and God takes care of the sunshine and rain. So far, so good! (See photographic evidence!) *** Last week I had a chance to spend a day with my mom and her siblings. It was amazing! My Uncle Don and Aunt Sue and my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Barry have always...

I made a trip to the Sedgwick County Zoo last week (visiting old relatives). Ha! I took along two of my church buddies, Conner and Alexis Coldwell. Actually, I was dying to go and needed some kids to go along, so I could keep my street cred. My new digital camera came in handy there. I took loads of photos. The Hubster helped me zoom and crop them on the computer. Alexis and Conner are 13 and 15, and totally cool kids. I really enjoy hanging out with them. We ate lunch at the new "Plaza Beastro," then headed out to see giraffes, elephants, hippos, napping lions and shy brown bears. After touring the rain forest jungle, we finished at the new South American penguin exhibit. How fun! The Zoo is undergoing a lot of construction, and I am excited to see all the new animals that will be calling Wichita home. *** I am left-handed. Yep, always have been. Demographics prove that 7-10 adults are lefties, and more men are left-handed than women. I like to think that my creative, eccent...

I am filled with ennui. Or, in other words, I'm really lazy! Although I accomplished quite a bit around the house and office today, I haven't left the premises. I did retrieve the newspaper from the front porch. Downright ambitious! The thing is, sometimes I just don't feel like seeing other humans. There's nothing wrong with them, it's me. My old therapist said it is part of the illness. Interacting with others takes too much energy. I'm not depressed, but I still have my blue days. Don't you find it ironic that I write a weekly blog that is read by 10's of humans??? If I was standing face-to-face with each of you, I would be picking at my fingernails and talking way too much. If you ever see me in a social situation and I look like I'm panting like a dog, I'm most likely stressed out. Relaxation breathing is a coping mechanism I use. We all wear masks. Some of us wear Freddie Krueger masks...no, not really! I'm talking about how we present ...

A great man (The Hubster) once said, "The ability of chocolate to heal the human female is a power rarely seen in the universe." How true! A box of Russell Stover's truffles can bring me such rapturous bliss! Okay, don't get carried away. All I'm saying is, when I'm having a bad day, chocolate makes it right. When I was a kid, it was that sack of goodies at Halloween. It could tide me over until Christmas candy kicked in. Nothing was more special than that little red heart box from my dad on Valentine's Day. The German chocolate birthday cake and the Cadbury creme eggs at Easter were great, but the best chocolate of all is the stuff that The Hubster brings home from Graves when he knows I had a bad day, or am sick. I've found, in my extensive research, that the best chocolate for me is high quality cocoa beans, like Ghirardelli or Cocoa Dolce. The nut component is crucial, as well. I like to have roasted almonds or cashews or peanut butter mixed in. I...