What If Wednesday, The Quick Move Edition

As I am knee deep in the very last hours of helping my longtime client/friend with her impending move to Hawaii (she leaves at o' dark thirty tomorrow morning), I certainly have moving on the brain.
So my 'what if' for today shall reflect that and a little bit of my own fastest ever move back when I was a kid.

Today's question:  What if you had to move out of your house in 3 hours?  What would you take with you?  What would you leave behind?  How would the time crunch affect your choices?

My inspiration for today's question is obviously all about moving and how that's been on my mind for like, oh forever now.  And watching my friend get to her big dream of moving to Hawaii has been super crazy and fun.  Moving over water is quite different from a land move!  Oh, the choices that must be made!  The craziness of it all reminds me of the time when I was 4 and we moved out of a rental house in 3 hours flat.  It was a small house and we were in trouble!  Many friends helped us out.  But the thing I remember most about that move is that it was such a wonder that it never felt like we had left anything really important behind.

So tell me all about your moving experiences- real or imagined!  What 'moves' you in deciding what stays or goes when you have to/decide to move?

Abstract Motion, Blurred Meadow stock photo found at freedigitalphotos.net

What If Wednesday- Where In The World?

Hello again; it's Wednesday!
That means I'm here with a 'What If' for you.
I promised something a little more light-hearted this week.  My question for you today is this:

What if you could be anywhere else in the world or frankly the universe for that matter, than where you are right now?

This week I am inspired by a teenager that I know who is about to go on a mission trip.  When I heard about where she is going I exclaimed exuberantly how "that is my favorite place in the world!"  And I do vow to take my husband there one day to see for himself the 'other love of my life'.  (Once the drug wars get a little more under control that is.)

If I could be anywhere else, I would be in Cancun, Mexico.  That is the first place where I got an inkling of what I might be in for if I could break free of my family.  I went there for two weeks the summer before my senior year of college, thanks for the generosity and time share of a friends grandfather (I was a commuter student, working full time).  It turned out to be way too expensive to make regular calls home or vice versa.  That was such a blessing- to be set free in a place so beautiful and different from where I grew up.  I learned to snorkel, had adventures I could never have tried at home, and learned what relaxation actually was.  I have gemstones that match the color of the water and a tiny vial of perfume, also called 'Cancun', that smells exactly of a perfect mix of the white sandy beaches, nightclubs and lazy days in a hammock.  I have been to other parts of Mexico since then and they just do not compare.  There is something about Mexican culture stirred with the Caribbean that will always be magic to me.

Photo credit: Keith Pomakis, via wikimedia commons

Where is your magic place?  How did it come to be that for you?

Right Now

Image by Stuart Miles, found at freedigitalphotos.net

Right Now:

1) I am more certain than ever that SoCal is the right place for my husband and I to be, at least while he works his way from Associate level actuary to Fellowship.  I'm not sure at all why I fought this for so long.

2) I need to order a birthday cake.

3) A woman I have worked with for 11 years is on her way to fulfilling her dream of moving to Hawaii.  She leaves on the 27th.  After helping her through 4 moves- all downsizes, from an original property of 11,000 square feet and 2 acres of land- I am aware of how much I will miss her and how much I have learned from her.

4) I pack up something every day to sell or give away and I can't wait to get really serious about this selling our house and moving.

5) I'm saying no and doing what I need to, for me.

6) I love how my sinuses are finally clear and my body doesn't ache while I am in SoCal.

7) It's absolutely freeing to know that just because what we have and where we are is not so bad, it's totally OK to want something different.

8) Flowers line my walk, and make me smile.

9) I realize how great the music from the early 70's is and I know we are going to have a blast on Saturday, sharing a fun celebration of my husband and I's first 40 years!

What's going on with you, right now?

What If Wednesday, The Valentine's Edition

file: poly.gif found @ wikimedia commons

First off, let me say that I absolutely will be getting back into posting more than just these 'What If, Wednesdays'. I have plenty of excuses, but you're not really interested in that, are you??? No. Also, next week I will be sure to post a 'What If' of a little more lighthearted nature. But for this week, this was on my mind and it gives another twist to Valentine's week. So I had to go with it! And now, for the 'What If'... What if polygamy becomes as mainstream as gay marriage is now becoming in today's society? There's a lot that brought this question to mind for me. It seems like polygamy, polyamory, and the like are in the media on a daily basis these days. I'm really concerned with the question as it pertains to how this changes relationships among families and what it does to traditional society. I know we can all agree that the idea of anyone marrying underage people and keeping them hostage is out of the question. No, I'm interested in people who freely choose this lifestyle and what it means if they find more acceptance in mainstream society. Have a great Valentine's week!

It's Already Wednesday Again!

This week literally flew by!  That hasn't happened in quite a while- at least not here in the Seattle area in winter time!

Guess that's what happens when you come to the end of an 11 year job with a client that really has become a family relationship for me, that saw us both through some of the roughest times in our lives...  We've actually had a blast this past week packing her up and getting her ready for the big send-off.  She is moving to Hawaii.  Aloha!
And then our city's NFL team goes and kicks butt all over the Super Bowl and honestly, seriously, if any of us are truly being real- WE NEVER SAW THAT COMING!  No titles for this city since 1979.  We're gonna' have to get used to this sort of thing.
Oh and I am still working hard on that 70's theme birthday party.  It's coming together great!

So anyway, here I am.  And I've got another 'What If' for you this week.

This time I am inspired by the sad event this week of yet another talented soul being lost to drug addiction.  When I read the accounts of Philip Seymour Hoffman being found dead with a needle still in his arm, I couldn't help but be affected by the thought of it all.  I'll be honest and say that I'm not really all that familiar with his work and yet, I can't ever justify loss of talent and potential to drugs or any other destructive force.
Drug use and what should be done about it is quite a touchy subject and I must admit this surprises me.  So, I'm interested in finding out what others perceptions on this subject might be.  My question this time around is:  What if all drugs were legalized for adults, say 21 and over, in the same way we treat alcohol?

Your talent is God's gift to you.  What you do with it is your gift back to God.  -Leo Buscaglia

Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.
Leo Buscaglia
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/talent.html#6vPoUj2C52etFmlu.99

Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.
Leo Buscaglia
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/talent.html#6vPoUj2C52etFmlu.99