Thursday Thirteen - 6th Edition

Thirteen Things to Know About The Season

1. A single sneeze can spray droplets infested with bacteria and viruses as far as 3 feet.

2. Because viruses must invade cells of a living host to reproduce, their life spans outside are generally shorter than that of bacteria, which reproduce on their own.

3. Any sort of nutrients-food particles, skin cells, blood, mucus-helps microbes thrive, which is why your kitchen sponge is a breeding ground.

4. According to Philip Tierno, director of microbiology and diagnostic immunology at the New York University School of Medicine, at room temperature and normal humidity, Escherichia coli (E. coli), a bacteria found in ground beef that causes food poisoning, can live for a few hours to a day.

5. The calicivirus, the culprit of the stomach flu, lives for days or weeks.

6. HIV dies nearly instantly upon exposure to sunlight.

7. Other microbes form exoskeleton-like spores as a defense mechanism, like the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, which is responsible for toxic shock syndrome, food poisoning, and wound infections. In this way, they can withstand temperature and humidity extremes. Tierno says this bacterial spore can survive for weeks on dry clothing using sloughed skin cells for food.

8. The Bacillus anthracis, the anthrax bacteria, can also form spores and survive tens to hundreds of years.

9. Hepatitis B virus may survive up to a week.

10. Flu viruses tend to live longer on surfaces than cold viruses do.

11. It's generally believed that cold and flu viruses live longer on nonporous surfaces — such as plastic, metal or wood — than they do on porous surfaces — such as fabrics, skin or paper.

12. A person can spread the flu starting one day before he or she feels sick. Adults can continue to pass the flu virus to others for another three to seven days after symptoms start. Children can pass the virus for longer than seven days. Symptoms start one to four days after the virus enters the body. Some persons can be infected with the flu virus but have no symptoms. During this time, those persons can still spread the virus to others.


13. The best way to avoid becoming infected with a cold or flu is to wash your hands frequently with soap and water or with an alcohol-based sanitizer.


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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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How To Grow Amidst The Bullshit

One of my challenges as a mother is to not take all of the shit my kids do personally. I ask nicely once . . . twice . . I go closer and cup their sweet little faces, resisting the urge to squeeze their cheeks together until their pretty eyes pop out . . and say it again. But when they continually stand there with their heads up their ass with no concept of time even though we do the same freaking routine EVERY morning . . my head starts to spin and these vile words come out of my mouth. THEN the little bastards are listening, aren't they?!

So much for not being sarcastic . . just wait, the personal growth part is coming: )

So, how do I use these frustrating situations for personal growth? I can't put my head in the pantry and meditate because we have to get to school, and SOON. Mr. Tolle doesn't have three kids and two dogs so how does he know? If all I had to do was go to the mountains and be one with nature things would seem much easier.

So, I'm supposed to be ONE WITH THE SITUATION. Don't resist it. Don't make it about me and my mothering skills. Focus on the moment as it is, not as a means to an end. If I'm busy trying to get to the next moment, thing or place then I'm not present. Believe it or not, it works! I have been very aware of when I am not present. Even if I don't feel like I can really be present in the moment, just being aware of that is remarkably enlightening.

I think children are so good at being Present that it is frustrating for the rest of us that are caught up in the dysfunction of what we call life. We perpetuate our dysfunction long enough until they are ready to join the insane, adult world.

Can I stop my own madness?

One With The Situation

I am reading Echkart Tolle's book A New Earth right now, Oprah's book club selection. I have had the book and read half of it prior to the book club selection and have picked it up again. In a very small nutshell, this book is about disidentifying from your ego, i.e., the content of life vs that which enables the content to be - the inner space of consciousness. I think this would make no sense if you haven't read the book. I really get what I'm reading and it is profound although I don't think I can begin to communicate it in a few sentences. The knowing that I feel when I read this book makes it hard to be sarcastic about my life. I have taken pleasure in the past from being sarcastic and perceiving myself as 'funny'. I think it is time to move on.

On the same note, I don't want to write with expectations of anything other than personal growth. Although, I think it would be hard to write knowing that others are reading without admitting that it must be feeding my ego in some respect. Perhaps if I chronicle my growth in an honest fashion then I will at least be able to admit the aspects of ego that are a part of this journey.

I hate the use of the word journey, by the way. I think it's WAY overused.

On a totally different note, I am watching the show "Moment of Truth" right now and I can't help but say the this woman and her husband are complete fucking idiots. It's painful to watch and yet I am still watching it. Will the money be a comfort to her after she's ruined the life she has created for herself??

The title of this post "one with the situation" was one of the points in the book that resonated me. Rather than resisting what happens, one should (not the correct word 'should') become one with the situation and focus on the NOW. I had a great example from this morning but I am too exhausted to relay it. I will write about it tomorrow.

Thursday Thirteen - 5th Edition

Thirteen Questions 1. What are you afraid of? 2. What gives you joy? 3. What are you waiting for? 4. Can you go a whole day without complaining? A week? 5. How many things can you do today out of pure love and kindness? 6. Have you created the life that you really want for yourself? 7. If not, do you take responsibility for that or blame someone else? 8. Do you live your life on purpose or just let it happen to you? 9. When is the last time you really had FUN? 10. We all have the same 24 hours in a day. How are you using yours? How often do you use the excuse that you "don't have time"? 11. Do you smile first or wait for the other person? 12. When hugging someone, are you the first or last to let go? 13. What do you love about yourself?

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Thursday Thirteen - 4th Edition

Thirteen Things I LOVE about my husband (not necessarily in order of importance) 1. He is tall, dark and handsome. 2. He still brings me flowers. 3. He is the first to notice a beautiful sky. 4. He is one of the most patient people I've ever met. 5. He still tells me I'm cute. 6. He is the most driven, ambitious, tenacious person I've ever met. 7. He has a HUGE, loving and generous heart. 8. He cries to country songs. 9. He loves his mama. 10. He is the most amazing father to our three children. 11. He never says no when I ask for a massage, even the non-sexual ones. 12. He's like my own private yacht. 13. He is the strongest person, both physically and mentally that I know. BONUS: 14. He makes me feel safe. 15. He makes the bed. 16. He can fix just about anything. 17. He always smells good. 18. He makes me laugh. 19. He is so very smart.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Thursday Thirteen - 3rd Edition

Thirteen Translations for Things Women Say DISCLAIMER: the comments below are from a random sampling of women and do not represent the thoughts of the blogger. 1. Does my butt look big? Translation: Do I look good? Correct answer is always "you look great!". That way you are not technically lying if our butt really does look big. "Big butt? So what?" is my husband's typical response. He can get away with this because of the OBVIOUS humor. 2. It's not the size of the boat, it's the motion in the ocean. Translation: this is the equivalent of the male answer above. We are just trying to be nice. We really want our own private yacht. 3. Honey, would you please take out the trash? Translation: Jackass, if you throw something away and the trash is full then TAKE IT OUT! 4. I love it when you are the last one out of bed in the morning and you make the bed. Translation: This is exactly what we mean. We LOVE it. It's foreplay in every sense of the word. 5. No, I really don't want anything for Valentine's Day, birthday, anniversary, etc. Translation: I really don't want anything BUT a thoughtful gift would be nice. REEEALLLY NICE. ALWAYS play it safe and come home with a 'thoughtful' gift. If you were smart, you would have a stash of 'thoughtful' gifts. Remember, perception is reality. 6. I love being a wife and mother; it is all I ever dreamed of. Translation: PLEASE, go to work, eat in solitude, have conversations that involve multi-syllablic words, wipe white-boards, not butts, take a sh*t by yourself, really, I'll be here poking my eyes out. 7. I am naturally thin. I eat whatever I want and just can't gain weight. Translation: I am either compulsively anorexic/bulemic or am so strung out on #@* that I could care less what I eat. 8. I've never done this before. Translation: Really, I've never done this before. 9. I'm not hungry, you go ahead and eat what you want. Translation: If I eat off of your plate the calories don't count so make sure you include enough for me. 10. Let's just stop and ask for directions. I'll even get out and pretend I'm the one driving. Translation: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, let's stop wasting our time and figure out where the hell we are going. It takes a secure man to ask for directions and we LOVE that. 11. Ahhh, I am so tense, I could use a shoulder massage. Translation: I could really use a shoulder massage. This does not mean, I repeat does not mean, I am so horny and could really use a stiff #*%. 12. Honey, I could use a few hours to myself. Would you please take the kids SOMEWHERE besides here. Translation: If I don't get a loooooong moment to myself I am likely to pull a Britney. Fess up ladies, I know there are many of you out there trying to figure out how you can get committed for 72 hours. What exactly do we have to do to get that sort of treatment? I'll shave my head, take off my underwear, speak in a British accent .. . so far no one's buying it. 13. Honey, we really need to talk. Translation: Bring home the private yacht, the thoughtful gifts, the shoulder massage and an afternoon alone and we promise we won't talk about our feelings.

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Thursday Thirteen - 2nd Edition

Thirteen Ways to Leave Your Lover 1. Just slip out the back, Jack 2. Make a new plan, Stan 3. You don't need to be coy, Roy 4. Hop on the bus, Gus 5. Just drop off the key, Lee 6. Chop off his organ, Morgan 9. Cut him off at the knees, Bree 10. Kick him in the balls, Y'all 11. Slip her a mickey, Dickey 12. Set him on fire, Liar 13. Push him down the stairs, Blair Note: I think I started off with a bang and am not too excited about my 2nd edition. Don't give up on me: )

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Thursday Thirteen - 1st edition

Apparently, Thursday Thirteen is a very popular MEME on the internet. I had to look up the word meme. Pronounced meem, It means "A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another." So here I go . . .

Thirteen Negative Thoughts that I Tried to Replace With Positive Thoughts this Week 1. Man, I hate the smell of dog poop and the steam coming off of it in the freezing cold . . . but they are efficient little suckers. I don't think a constipated Chihuahua and French Bulldog would be much fun now would they. Good job pooping guys! 2. I really wish I could drug these children so they would just GO TO BED!@#! But on the other hand, maybe I am such a great mom that they just can't get enough of me. What a zest for life these darlings have. Perhaps I should try jumping on the bed. It just might shake that stick out of my ass. 3. If I have to endure any more little people screaming hate words at each other I am going to jump right in and help them scratch each other's eyes out. Now what good would that do? Blind children would be so much more work. Not to mention, these are valuable conflict resolution skills that will serve them well later in life. It is also a perfect opportunity for me to practice the Zen of motherhood. Its about the calm in your heart. . . calm in your heart . . . calm in your heart. 4. Ugh! I am sick of pulling the waistband of my jeans up over my belly when I sit down. Will I ever have a flat stomach again? Of course I will! A little less wine, a lot more exercise and few less Doritos and we'll be playing quarters on my stomach once again. Memories . . . . . . . 5. This Thursday Thirteen thing sucks. I am only on #5 and running out of ideas. NO, this is a great opportunity for me to express myself and although I am drinking wine I am not eating Doritos. 6. The fat between my bra and my waistband that squishes as I sit really grosses me out. This is just a perfect reminder to sit up straight! I have a very womanly figure crying out for me to sit and stand up straight, throw those shoulders back and embrace my femininity. I have a great body and mind! 7. My skin is looking old. These children have aged me dramatically. They really are out to get me and make sure I am chained to them forever. First of all, if I am chained to them forever that is a good thing. They are joyous!! And as long as I moisturize, moisturize, moisturize and take my fish oil supplements my skin looks pretty darn good for my age (36). Every once in awhile I still get ID'd at the liquor store and in dark bars. I embrace my 36 years of life experience and my beautiful family! 8. My house is too big. I can't keep it clean. Nobody cares that all I do is clean up their crap. I have a wonderful, warm house full of things that we all enjoy. I take comfort in knowing that every day while everyone is gone I take a bag of stuff to donate to someone who really needs it. 9. Oh my gosh, my new dryer is shrinking all my jeans. What an expensive piece of sh@#t! Face the music, sister, you are not getting any younger, and that is OK! Discipline is not a dirty word. Self-discipline is a form of compassion. I read that once and fully believe in it. 10. My husband doesn't listen to me and all he wants to do is have sex. . . . Is that negative?? He still thinks you're hot! Embrace it!! 11. Does he really think I'm hot or does he just have no other options? Of course he has other options and of course I'm hot. Does is matter? I'm hot and I really want sex every day. . . want sex every day . . want sex every day. . 12. Two more. I am determined to finish this tonight and figure out how to link it to the thursdaythirteen.com website. I have read the instructions over and over and am confused confused. I can do it. I can do it. I am still smart!!!! 13. I can't think of anymore negative thoughts. I think thats pretty good for a weeks worth of thoughts. I'm sure there were more but this exercise has encouraged me to focus on the positive. I hope it, in some way, encourages you to do the same. Focus on the positive, that is. xo Sarah

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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V is for Vienna Sausages

I used to love those things as a child. That and chewable baby aspirin. Do they still sell baby aspirin?

U is for Universe

I'm working on this one . . .

One of my favorite 13th-century poems

You were born with potential.
You were born with goodness and trust.
You were born with ideals and dreams.
You were born with greatness.
You were born with wings.
You are not meant for crawling, so don't.
You have wings.
Learn to use them and fly.
- Rumi

T is for Thanksgiving

That is so predictable isn't it? This will be a different Thanksgiving than recent years past. We have decided to stay in Pittsburgh and won't have any family visiting us. That is not because we don't wish to see our family as they are always welcome, but we have been very fortunate to see much of them over the past few months. It is nice, actually, to spend time with good friends that we haven't seen since summer. The expectations are different. Not better, but different. This Thanksgiving, the friends that are making the long drive to see us from St. Louis are the Snows.

The Snows are really the only couple (family) that Chad and I both feel really connected to. Greg is a friend from college that Chad admires and has kept in contact with and Jessica, his wife, is someone that I have come to love and connect with over the years. She and I are definitely kindred spirits, which I have found is very rare. I adore this entire family and am honored that they have chosen to spend their holiday with us.

So, without being trite, I am grateful this Thanksgiving for a healthy family, really good friends, and the absolute pleasure that I feel to be loved and to love right back.

S is for Shoes

Ahhhhh . . . I love to buy new shoes. It doesn't matter if they are flip flops, slides, black boots, winter boots, sneakers, running shoes, sandals, crocs, you name it. They always fit and they brighten my usually mundane wardrobe. Chad does not share my love of shoes but then I don't share his love of tools. To each his own.

Little boys clothes are boring to start with. To my further disappointment, Sam had an extra wide foot for the first 6 years of his life which thus limited our choices to just a couple of styles. No cute shoes for him. My days brightened a little when sweet Henry did not have a wide foot. I had so much more to choose from! Red Chuck Taylor's were among my first favorites. And then the heavens opened up and gave me a girl with a petite foot. Not only was I set free from stripes, rugbys, dinosaurs and sports appliques but I could buy shoes to match! It gets even better. At nearly 20 months, she already seems to share my attraction to those pretty things we put on our feet. We can be shopping for groceries and if there happens to be a random display of shoes she starts taking hers off to try them on, without any prompting from me. Just today, I brought her home a new pair of brown boots with little pink flowers and her eyes lit up while she instinctively plopped down to try them on. Do I dare count how many shoes she's had so far in her short little life? Not to mention she's only been walking for 2.5 months. Let's see . . . I can count about 13 off the top of my head. Is that bad? They're just so tiny and cute that I can't resist. Plus, I rationalize that I can pass them down to cousin Ava.

The weather is finally turning cold here. You know what that means. I pretty much wear the same old clothes but I get to switch shoes! I'm still waiting for the perfect day to break out my new Merrells.

R is for Risk

What is your definition of RISK and when is the last time that you took one? Really took one. Of all the people that I know, Chad is the biggest risk taker. He goes forth with his ideas with full force and passion and seemingly has no concept of failure. At least if he does, it doesn't stop him. I am his biggest supporter, besides his mother. I am able to say now, after MUCH personal growth . . . . what is the worst that can happen? There is nothing that I can imagine that would be worse than not following your passion.

With that being said, what is my passion? I am passionate about my husband and children but that is obvious and easy. That is not a risk. Is there something out there that I really want to do but am not doing because I'm afraid to fail? Does there have to be more than I have now? ? Am I searching for something that isn't there?? I think that there is something more there to be discovered. I don't feel like I am empty but I do feel that I have great potential to do more and make a positive impact on others. I just need to figure out how to figure it out.

Q is for Qdoba

Duh! The business endeavor that we have chosen to pursue has been a HUGE part of our lives for the last 6 years. It has been a great source of stress and of accomplishment. It has paid our bills and wracked them up at the same time. It has forced Chad to, in my opinion, push himself in ways that he has always been capable of but never been called upon to act. It has forced me to think about what is really important and also what it really means to be a wife and mother. I married Chad because I loved and adored him and he loved and adored me (more) and made me feel safe and special. Nine years later I have realized that he is so much more man than I ever dreamed of. He is smart, determined, ambitious, driven and always loving and supportive. Succeeding in business for the right reasons is important to him and even more important is his family. He is able to handle tremendous stress on a daily basis and still make it home to put his kids to bed, make their soccer games and cub scout meetings and still, after nine years, let his wife know that she is loved and respected.

Building a business has been very hard and required much sacrifice but ultimately I think it has reminded us that if everything goes up in smoke we will always have each other and that will always be enough.

P is for Purpose

I would like to wake up each day knowing that I live my life on purpose.

O is for ?

I haven't posted in a long time. I have had a really hard time coming up with anything that starts with O. I have missed writing and reading others' posts so I think I'm going to just move forward. I will come up with something for O later . . .

N is for Never

• I've never climbed a 'real' mountain. I don't think I want to but the fact that I'm still thinking about it makes me think I do.


• I've never been really athletic, although I wish that was. I don't think it's completely out of the question yet.


• I've never developed a taste for 'real' martinis (i.e not a cosmo), although I see that in my future.


• I've never pierced anything except my ears and I'm totally ok with that.


• I've never been a waitress or a bartender but I've always wanted to be one. I haven't totally ruled it out just yet.


• I've never been a blond and have always wanted to try it. The maintenance is such a bitch though.


• I've never adopted/purchased a pet and kept it until it died. I really think I'm doing it this time though : )


• Since I can remember, I've never lived in one place for more than 4 years. We're going on 3.5 years here but we've already purchased a new house.
  
  
• I've never had a one night stand.
  

M is for More

I want to focus on ENOUGH rather than MORE.