It's a Four-Letter Word!

So, it's officially Spring, and I awake to snow flakes in the air, the furnace running (oh goodie, Maudie LOVES to pay the heating bill!), and a foggy dreary day. Snow? Really? Come one Mother Nature! Don't make me call you what I'd like to call you today! ;-)

This crappy weather makes me think of something I heard the other evening.

While having dinner, recently, at a local restaurant, I overheard part of a conversation taking place among several people seated at the table next to mine. I honestly wasn't trying to listen in. Honest! I wouldn't have paid any attention to what they were saying, at all, except for the fact that they kept saying a certain four-letter-word!

Over and over, that word kept popping up in their conversation, and over and over I kept cringing and wishing they'd just stop saying it! I wanted to scream at them, "For the love of potato chips (and Maudie loves her potato chips!), would you stop saying that word? You're making me sick!"

You know what four-letter-word I'm referring to, don't you?

Dare I print it here?

Aw shoot, why not!

S-N-O-W!

Sitting here on the blog, all alone, that word looks pretty harmless, doesn't it?  But put it into the right kind of sentence and, for many of us, it's one of the nastiest four-letter-words in the English language. Don't believe me? Then try this little experiment the next time you're with a group of people.
Smile, and say, I think snow is really pretty."
Wait for the reaction.
Then....try this:
Smile the very same way and say, "I heard it's going to snow here tonight."
You will now have everyone's full attention. I guarantee it!
Finally, smile the very same way and say, "They're calling for a foot of snow tonight."
You won't have anyone's attention now. That'll be due to the fact that everyone you were talking to is either running for their car or to the nearest TV to check out the Weather Channel.

S-N-O-W!

That four-letter-word is also one of the most powerful words in the English language.
It has the power to snarl traffic, as folks try to get home before they see snow. It has the power to create long lines at gas station pumps. It has the power to cause women, who love to wear pretty shoes, to don truly ugly boots and even uglier coats...just to cope with snow. It has the power to close schools, slow business and create chaos! It has the power to make us watch the Weather Channel.....all day!

That four-letter-word even has the incredible power to compel us to rush, like maniacs, to the nearest store, desperate to buy the three all-important, life-saving items that must be stock-piled in everyone's home before we get snow:
bread, milk and toilet paper!
Miss Maudie also adds wine to that life-sustaining list folks!

Even if you don't need bread, milk or toilet paper, when you hear that four-letter-word, like lemmings following each other into the sea, we rush to buy more...."just in case."

S-N-O-W!

It's a four-letter-word that I don't mind hearing if I can stay safe and snug inside my home and have lots of baking supplies....along with enough milk, bread and that all-important toilet paper to sustain the entire neighborhood for a week! It's a word that makes me crave a bowl of chili.

S-N-O-W!

It's a four-letter-word that brings joy and happiness to children. They love to hear that word. It means the possibility of a day off from school. It causes them to converge on treeless hillsides with sleds. It gives birth to battles and skirmishes fought by giggling troops, armed with harmless ammunition that will, eventually, melt away. It makes them run around outside trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues. It allows them to spend special hours making fun snowmen with their parents!

S-N-O-W!

Hmm....maybe kids have the right idea about that four-letter-word!

S-N-O-W!

Maybe the next time we hear it mentioned, we can take a cue from kids and think about all the things we like about it?
Maybe I'll take a turn or two on a sled?
Maybe I'll join in a snowball battle?
Maybe I'll run around in a parking lot, trying to catch a snowflake on my tongue?
Um....maybe not!
I just imagined a parking lot full of adults, all trying to do that.

I think I'll just be content with a long walk in the evening snow, a hot bowl of chili, a snuggle by a cracking fire with a good book, a glass of wine, ...and the comforting knowledge that I have a closet full of toilet paper.   ;-)

If you make it, we will drink it....

Over the past few years, I've developed an addiction to watching "The Real Housewives of _______(fill in the blank)." There are so many versions of the original, "Real Housewives of Orange County" that it's hard to keep track of them. I like them for many reasons: the dames all seem to shop all the time, party all the time, eat lunch out all the time, wear designer clothing and jewels, drive fancy cars and live in fancy homes. My God, I should hate them!!!!!

But I love watching them and I believe it's because I get to see all the pretty stuff they have surrounding them, but I also get to see the not-so-pretty stuff surrounding them. Without going into detail, if you want to see a cat-fight, these shows are for you!

My all-time favorite "Housewife" was a single dame named Bethenny. Bethenny had the habit of saying exactly what was on her mind, and, to me, her mind seemed like one of the more stable minds in Housewife tv land. Bethenny has since married, had a baby girl and has built somewhat of an empire from creating something called the Skinny Girl Margarita. It's a cocktail that has fewer calories than a regular margarita. So, you can drink them and stick to your diet....or you can drink twice as many of them as you would regular margaritas..and stay fat.  ;-)

Today, Bethenny sent out a message to her faithful fans. She wanted us to know that she's sold the Skinny Girl company...her company...to a huge liquor manufacturer. She wanted to let her followers know that she will still have a hand in the quality control, recipe and flavor creations, etc. She wanted us to know that her Skinny Girl brand of cocktails wouldn't turn into something crappy.

She really didn't need to worry. If the stuff is good.....I'm going to buy it and enjoy it, no matter who's making it. I mean, it could truly be made in a hollow tree by elves. Oh wait....that's where my fav cookies come from.
Bottom line is: I appreciate her concern about her loyal fans and customers, but just keep the yummy stuff brewing, bottling and on the shelves, and we'll all be happy and sappy.

Signed,
Someone who has bought a cocktail that looked like this:

It was gooooooooooooooood! And blue.........

Blogging my thoughts. Yikes! Here I go!

For someone like me, who thinks writing is as essential as oxygen, water, food and damned cute shoes that don't hurt your feet, this First Post of my very own Blog is a rather big deal.

My first post on my first blog. Wow!

Now I can't help but think of other important "firsts" and of how, as long as you live, and no matter how old you are, you will always be experiencing "firsts."

First step, first word, first tooth, first day of school, first bike, first friend, first pet, first love, first kiss, first heartbreak, first car, first job, first child (Yeah, I skipped first marriage. Don't even ask!), first home, first mortgage (blah!), first promotion, first divorce (I told you not to ask!), first son, first daughter, first child to go to college, first time you live alone, first death of a family member, first time you question if you're truly living your life to the fullest, first step to do just that, and, finally, first blog.

That is a very condensed list of my own personal "firsts" and the path that has lead me to this blog and this post.

I decided to leave out a number of "firsts," such as first grey hair, first pair of bifocals, first time you realize you can't do your old cheerleader moves anymore without fear of being in a body-cast for several months, first time someone tells you that you look good for your age, etc.

I also left out something that usually comes somewhere between first love and first heartbreak. It could happen after first date (if you're an idiot!) or after first marriage, but could also happen after first car (again, if so, you're an idiot!). It's one of the BIG "firsts" for many people. Use your imagination, for cripe sakes!
I don't happen to think that particular "first" is such a big deal. No pun intended. Honest! ;-)

This blog is my way of keeping my creative writing muse happy. It's also here to make me happy, since writing is such a joy to me. That seems like a pretty selfish reason to create a blog, but, hey, I'm being honest.

If you're here, and you've read this far without banging your forehead on your keyboard, then keep reading! Take a gander at all my blog posts. You may find them amusing (I hope so!), and if, by reading them, you find yourself smiling, then that's a good thing!
(I really like to use exclaimation marks a lot. Can you tell?)

Please feel free to send me a communication via my homepage. I'd love to hear from you. Unless, of course, you are truly some nut-job.....
If you are, please log out of this page and go find some bugs to eat or something. :-P

I think I just had my first blog gross-out moment!
I love firsts! I love to write! I love my blog! I love my exclaimation mark key!!!!!!