The Family That Bowls Together...

My husband and I are fairly involved in the local bowling scene.  My husband is a really good amateur bowler that shows up occasionally to tournaments when he is not studying like mad for an actuarial exam and I am just your average female bowler.  We have a good time and sometimes my husband is lucky enough to cover his costs or even a little bit more.

'Bowling strike showing winning skittles game' by Stuart Miles, found at freedigitalphotos.net

Over time, we have noticed one particular family that always seems to do really well at these tournaments.  Pretty much if you see their last name on the list of competitors you can bet that they will end up at or near the top of the roster.  And that's not the only interesting thing about these people.

This family is one rowdy bunch.  And I'm not talking just the fun and gregarious thing. 
I mean these people are prone to a bit of legal troubles, if you know what I mean.  So they have quite a reputation for being rough around the edges.

But here's the main thing I have noticed about this big, rough, rowdy, bowling family.  They are in this together.  They help each other out.  My husband and I always marvel at how effectively they coach each other and how when it comes to bowling there is no argument among them at all.  It is clear that they are there to benefit one another and to raise up the entire group.  It's really something to see.  There's just something really cool about people who clearly have some serious differences among themselves being able to drop all that and work together so well.

Have you ever been truly surprised by another side of someone that you didn't see on first observation?  Was it a good thing, or a bad thing?  Do you think everyone has something about them that you wouldn't expect?

Musical Monday- Rion Paige

I used to be a die hard fan of those singing competition shows.  Then, somewhere along the way, I just kind of lost interest.  (I seem to have lost interest in much of TV these days.)  So these days I don't often know what's going on with those singing shows at all.

The other night I came upon a young girl singing on what turned out to be the X Factor that I just could not ignore.  She was mesmerizing and her Southern country style was just wonderfully comfortable to hear.  When I found out she was only 13 years old and has some challenging life issues, I was even more impressed. 

Take a listen and look at Rion Paige and let me know what you think!

30 Days Of Thankful- 6 through 13

Ok, obviously I stink at this posting things on a certain time frame.  Ah, but let's see if I can get back into the swing of things here...
 

Pilgrims giving thanks by Debspoons, found at freedigitalphotos.net

Right now I am thankful for:

6) learning to step out on a limb, more and more
7) having risks pay off
8) being able to help people while keeping my boundaries
9) taking one day at a time
10) looking forward to a sunny Thanksgiving!
11) being in the moment
12) enjoying getting to think about the time I will spend with people I love over the holidays
13) having patience

Thanks for hanging in there with me.  I know I'm not the most reliable blogger, but I like to think that I have something good to add to the whole picture!

So I'm An Insomniac Now

(It is often so hard to write things without giving the wrong idea.  My written 'voice' is sometimes a bit sadder than I mean it to be.  Hopefully, today I can express myself without anybody thinking I am all depressed or something!)

"Ladder Leading Up To The Sky" by Sira Anamwong found at: freedigitalphotos.net

So, why is it that we are so good at seeing something so much better from the outside than we are at looking at our own stuff?!

For the past 10 days or so I have been sleeping only about 3-4 hours a night.  This is absolutely not normal for me.  Yes, I may be a true night owl.  I have honestly been that way my whole life.  And yes, I am blessed with natural energy and don't require a whole bunch of sleep.  But even for me, this is getting ridiculous. 

Then suddenly, yesterday, while at a friends birthday party, I realized just what the heck is going on. 

It is November.  This is the time of year that, like so many others out there, I struggle a bit with family relations and memories of not so cheerful holiday experiences.  So for the past 10 years I have been dealing with nightmares every November.  Sometimes just a couple of them.  Sometimes a relentless amount that leave me feeling very emotionally drained.

Apparently, this time I seem to have come up with my very own cure.  I guess that somewhere in my subconscious I have decided that if I don't sleep then I can't have nightmares.  Now, while I have to say that so far this November my 'cure' is working I can't say that the side effects are worth it!

Tell me, have you ever been plagued by nightmares?  Were you able to get rid of them?  Did you do anything, consciously or otherwise, to try to avoid them?

Echoes

It echoes in my kitchen.  I have gotten rid of so much, that the place literally echoes.  I noticed it the other day.  It made me think about when we first moved into this house, almost 12 years ago.

I needed this home so much back then.  I needed something, anything that really was a home. 

We had moved here from a tiny little cinder block rental house and this house was so huge compared to what we had moved from that it echoed in every room.

The house wasn't the only thing that felt empty.  My heart was empty. 

I had just 'lost' my mother to her mental illness.  My sister had just had a baby, that I instantly fell madly in love with, and she had taken him 4 and 1/2 hours away to live with a man that she wasn't legally supposed to be seeing at all.

I so desperately needed something solid, something with a real foundation that I could build upon.  That's what this house has been for me. 

This house has been the place where my husband and I have both grown into ourselves.  We have loved our friends and family so freely here.  We have shared this home for more time than either of us have ever come close to being in any other home, in either of our lives.

Now, over the last couple of years, we have been preparing to leave in search of new and different adventures.  We are both more sure than ever that it's time to go, to seek out the sun, to find yet another facet of ourselves that we haven't met yet.

And so I have been slowly, but surely, emptying out this house.  I have known for a while now that I intend to leave without much baggage.  We will leave this place in a very similar state to what it was when we came here.  There will be echoes in the empty rooms and my heart will be open and ready for the next big thing.

30 Days Of Thankful- 1 through 5

I noticed several other bloggers doing 30 Days Of Thankful and I decided to join in!

I may not post every day, but I will get 30 in by the end of the month!

So here goes with days 1-5:

1)  that my nephew has settled smoothly into his home school routine and that it works much better for him
2)  that I've had some time to do some things that I've wanted to
3)  that my house is warm inside and we haven't lost power during recent storms
4)  that I've had the opportunity to meet some interesting new people recently
5)  that I have some level of skill for DIY projects and that saves me money

How about you?  In this month of November, what has been going through your mind as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches?