I'm Blogging Over at Parenting the Aging Parent Today!

I can't remember if I mentioned it here, but I started a new blog a few weeks (month?) ago. It's called Parenting the Aging Parent. I started it as an outlet for my feelings and thoughts on the passing of my Dad and also to kind of journal the aftermath as I deal with caring for my Mom.

I could really use some Followers --- so if you have a moment check it out and let me know what you think! It's kind of a work in progress, so if you have any ideas for me I'd love to hear them!

I Feel Dizzy - My World Is Spinning

I've had an inner ear infection this week. I have had ear problems before, but none that made me feel like the entire room was spinning. This was a first.

The Hubby, meanwhile, is an old pro at this sort of thing. He has had spells of vertigo on and off for years. He actually gave me some good tips about what to do (don't move your head, don't move too fast, don't look down....) and although it took me a while to get the hang of it, by day two I could walk across the room without feeling like I was going to fall down.

Today, I'm somewhat back among the living. I still don't feel my best, but I may actually get out and try to drive this afternoon. I'm no longer feeling dizzy and the vertigo is gone, but I'm sore from not having moved very much and I confess to spending one entire day laying down or at least half-laying down while sitting on the couch.

It's kind of ironic that I wanted a few days off. I actually got them. But....I couldn't sit and ponder life or make plans. I just didn't have the energy or feel well enough. I did decide, however, that I think the Universe is trying to tell me something. Maybe I need to slow down a bit or stop and try to listen to it.

Sips n Strokes - A Pictures Worth a 1000 Words

Part of my New Year's resolution  for the year 2012 was to get out and start doing new things.

When a friend of mine mentioned that she and another woman had been attending "paint parties." I had to admit I was intriqued, but I really had no idea how it all worked.

Yesterday, I got to find out.

We traveled to Sandy Springs to a place called "Sip n Strokes" located in a shopping center that is home to a Kroger and a lot of upper-end retail stores and restaurants.

The art studio (I guess you call it that) was divided into two different rooms with a kind of lobby area in the middle. Since we were a small class (about 15 or so) we were ushered into the smaller room. Each of us took a place at a table where small easels were set up, and after you pay we were given a canvas and a small piece of cardboard to squirt your paint on.

The idea is that an instructor then leads the group through painting a picture of....something. Each class apparently is different. Our class was painting a spring flower scene. As you can see  - what you end up with is purely based on your own interpretation.

The biggest question, of course, is...."Did I enjoy it?" Yes. Do I like my painting?....Well.....it's okay - but I think I could have done better. You just feel so rushed and the instructor keeps telling you that you can fix your mistakes later on, but you really don't have enough time to stop and start over.

I also think that it would help if they let you pick your own brushes. I wasn't happy with my "small round brush." I noticed everyone else's brush sort of had a point on the end of it and mine was bushy, indicating to me....at least....that I needed a new one. It made highlighting around the flowers hard as I often ended up with much broader strokes of paint than were intended.

In the end, however, I did come home with a painting - made by me - and I guess that's the point. Would I go again? Yes. I actually even saw some future paintings I wouldn't mind doing.

As for which painting is mine? Well...take a guess and I'll tell you if you are right! :-)

Like Sands Through the Hourglass...

....so are the days of our lives.

It's hard to believe that a month has already went by since my Dad passed. Time went so slow that first week and now it is like everything has sped up again and here we are - almost half into April.

I keep thinking, I would like to tell him about this or ask him about that. I miss our daily talks on the phone. I hope he wasn't miserable the last few months of his life. He never complained about being in pain, but I don't know if he would have told me - even if he was.

I keep writing sentences and deleting them. I don't really know where I want this post to go, except to say that I'm not only reflecting on his life today, but also on my own. I hope he accomplished all the goals he set out for himself. I know I have fallen short of mine. It makes me see that life needs to be lived and I haven't been living it. I have regrets already and I hope he didn't.

Anyway, there's really nowhere for this to go today other than to say that I'm missing my Dad and my heart is heavy. For today - I guess....that is enough.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T....

Did I Mention I Don't Like Change?

Drat!

Blogger asked me if I wanted to see what their new changes were going to look like. I didn't think this through before I clicked and now I have the "new and improved" updated blog version thingy (whatever they call it).

So far - I haven't fallen for this on Facebook. I know the new Timeline is coming, but I'm resisting. I wish I had resisted here. What a mess.

Something else new to learn.

When Life Gives You Lemons

There's the old saying "when life gives you lemons - make lemonade," but what do you do if you don't like lemonade?

Okay, I actually like lemonade, but I don't like my life right now and I can't seem to get motivated to get out of it.

I realize I am still dealing with the passing of my Dad - so I know there is some grief and depression thrown into the mix - but.....it seems like I've had an over-abundance of lemons way before that.

Everything I plan to do or want to do - doesn't work out right. The Universe laughs and events go in a different direction and when it is all said and done - I'm right back where I was before.

There is another saying that goes "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again." I sometimes wonder if I am doing that? Am I doing the same thing over and over again, thinking that I will get the same results?

I keep telling my husband if I could just take ONE DAY and sit down and THINK - that maybe I could get it together. Instead, everything seems to be done on the fly with no time to decide anything --- it's just "let's move it" and "GO!".

Anyway, at the moment I am thinking I will take this Thursday and just go to the park or somewhere, turn off my cellphone, and write down some ideas in a notebook. See if I can't figure out what the heck I'm doing. Will Life let me do this? Well, I hope so - but for now....we'll just have to see.

A Turkey Walks Into a Bar...

So...I'm sitting here at the computer and I start hearing this noise. It sounds like someone making a clicking noise, or rather like someone hitting a piece of wood with a nail and hammer.

I look up and there is a female turkey strolling up the driveway. I've been watching her for about five minutes now. She has jumped up on the fence and is just sitting there. Still making the clicking noise (which I didn't know the females made).

I've tried to get a couple of photos of her, but she just looks like a big brown blob. If she comes closer to the house, however.....my camera is ready! :)