One Foot on a Banana Peel

Okay, since some of you advised me to move on and some of you asked so sweetly, I’ll tell you about the other blog and let you have a peek.  I have to admit I’m pretty sure I’m going to make the move completely over there in the next few days.

I’ve mentioned on here that I’d love to live in the country.  It’s where I grew up.  It’s where Tim grew up.  It’s where we want to be.  It’s where Megan wants to be even though she was born and bred in the ‘burbs.  The blog is called Never Wanted Nothin’ More and it’s where I’m exploring that side of myself and sharing things in our lives that I hope are geared toward moving us toward that goal.  Check it out.  Leave a comment…there or here.

I’ve been cheating on you.  I have another blog.  It’s new.  I just started it a week or so ago.  I don’t want to give it up.  It has a focused purpose, something this blog hasn’t had in ages (or maybe ever).  I always know what to say over at the other blog.  This blog doesn’t really make me happy any more, but I don’t know if I’m ready to give it up.  I am thinking about it, though.  I thought you should know.

Saturday’s concert was awesome!  We left here around 2:00, collected all the girls and made it down to the Post-Gazette Pavilion by 3:30.  That gave us time to tailgate before the gates opened and to walk around inside looking at everything before the concert.  The PGP always has a carnival feel to it with vendors selling snacks, beer, souveniers, cowboy hats and the like….not to mention the games and open-air bars….but with it being such a long event and a lot of kids being there the sponsoring radio station had even more….petting zoo, inflatable games, money booth, etc.  Two of the girls had never been to PGP and two had never even been to a concert so they were all pretty wound up and excited.  The heat (and oh, my goodness was it HOT) never slowed them down.  They found some other kids from home and they all hung out together.

The music was good.  Little Texas put on a really good show and I ended up liking them more than I thought I would.  They have a lot more hits than I remembered.  The Povertyneck Hillbillies were next and I’d have to say the local boys were everyone’s favorites.  They are one of those groups that is poised just on the brink of making it big and they put everything they’ve got into it.  They even spent time walking around the parking lot before hand and in the crowd afterward.  The girls got to talk to them and get their pictures taken with a couple of them.

Mark Wills was really good, too.  Again, he had more hits than I realized, but It Was 19 Somethin’ is still my favorite.  It really captures the childhoods of people my age who grew up in the 70s and 80s.  Clint Black was okay.  He just played and sang by himself with no band.  I’ve never really been a fan of his and I’m still not. 

The night ended with Travis Tritt.  Now that man puts on a good show.  He played a lot of his old hits that you’d expect and a few new ones and right in the middle his band left the stage and he pulled up a chair and did a whole set on an accoustic guitar.  That man can really play the blues!

We got home around 1:00 am, baked, sweaty, smelly and tired, but everyone had a good time….though Tim said Sunday morning that he thought he was getting too old for long days and nights like that.  I might be inclined to agree…..I felt like I had a hangover until at least 4:00 in the afternoon and I only had one hurricane.  I’m not so old and wimpy that one drink does me in.  I think it was just the heat, because did I mention that it was FREAKIN’ HOT?

Found these words of wisdom in David Bach’s financial guide, Start Late, Finish Rich.  He’s talking about handling your finances, but it could apply to most things in life.

THE PAST IS OVER

Oh, you say, if only I knew then what I know now, my whole life would be different.  Of course it would.  But guess what–you didn’t know. Or if you did, you didn’t do what you knew you needed to be doing.

So it’s done.  Finished.  Settled.

Sometimes life is unfair.

But that’s okay.

You can move on.

You can get over it.

Stop asking yourself why you didn’t do what you should have done.  The real question is: What are you going to do about it now?

———————————–

YOU REALLY NEED TO GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK

You’ve been way too hard on yourself over the years.  If a friend or relative ever said the things to you that you’ve been saying to yourself, you’d stop talking to them.  You’d end the relationship then and there.  You’d cut them out of your life.

You can become the person you really want to be.  You start by letting go of all the old stories you keep replaying in your head like a broken record or scratched CD.

The past will continue to be your future if you drag it along with you!

Who’d have thunk it? All those years ago when Nana used to drag take me along on her foraging trips to dig up flowers I swore I’d never, ever be caught dead digging up flowers along side the road.  I mean, god, it was sooooo embarassing to be out along a country road digging up "weeds."  And heaven forbid a car should go by.  That was about when I’d start praying for lightening to strike me dead where I stood.

So, where did I find myself today….  I’m sure you’ve guessed it was out in the boonies digging flowers not only along the road, but also by an abandoned house and along a powerline right of way.  Funny how those never-evers come back to haunt you.  My mom gets a big kick out of it because whatever gene it is that drives a person to such lengths to acquire flowers totally skipped her and her sisters.  I’m the one that seems to have taken up where Nana left off.  I guess I shouldn’t complain.  I could have gotten the gene that drove Nana to wear the most atrocious hats ever to grace a head in her later years.

As for my findings today……peonies, iris, vinca, daisy, butterfly weed, lamb’s ear, a little shrub with pretty yellow flowers, and blackberry bushes.

**Six days until Travis Tritt, Clint Black, Mark Wills, Little Texas and the Povertyneck Hillbillies.  I’m playing music from each group all week on the site to share with y’all a little of what we’ll be hearing.**

Fortunately, I didn’t look quite as bad as my little friend here (at least I don’t think I did), but I found some great bargains today at a local town’s community-wide garage sale.  Mom, Megan, Megan’s friend Holly and I set out early this morning with wallets full of cash, tote bags, lists of things to look for, high hopes and an empty car. 

Mom scored first with a huge box of yarn for under $5.  She’s always on the lookout for cotton yarn because she knits "chemo caps" for cancer patients.  I was next with a white ceramic christmas tree that has blue plastic birds for the lights.  Turns out I need three birds, but I should be able to find them at a craft store.  Mom found glass Home Interior candle shades (six of them) that my aunt had been unable to find.  Megan and Holly bought embroidery floss and hemp string at the same place.  They’re currently on a kick making friendship bracelets and ankle bracelets one after the other.  I’m sporting two myself.

From there out it was hit or miss with my big find of the morning being an accent table and mirror for Matt and Ashlei’s apartment.  Both pieces are black enamel with gold trim and the table top is smoked glass.  I know, I know, totally 80’s…..but the kids are decorating with an Egyptian theme and they should work well with that and I only paid $10 bucks for both.

There were plenty of places selling food, but the girls kind of turned up their noses at hotdogs so we went into an Italian place and got a pizza.  Geez, was it cold in there.  It was not hot this morning and the air conditioning was cranked in that place.  We all had goosebumps and were shivering.  No lingering over lunch, let me tell ya.

After lunch I picked up some books, a couple of cute flower pots, and a really nice (and nearly done) latchhook rug.  The latchhook kit is 20 years old and made of really good wool yarn, not the cheap stuff in today’s kits.  I think it might actually stand up to being walked on when it’s done.  But my absolute best deal of the day was a solid cherry jewelery armoire picked up for a mere $25!  I’ve wanted one for the longest time.  The lady just wanted to be rid of it so offered the price and was so happy I took it that she kept hugging me, saying thank you and telling me she loved me.  Too funny.  Even funnier?  The girls having to ride home with it laying across their laps.  Wish I’d have had the camera with me.

And you know the best part of the whole day?  My mom never once said anything judgemental or predjudiced.  It was nice.

It’s another gray, rainy day in my corner of PA.  The washer and dryer are humming non-stop doing load after load of laundry.  Meg’s in a foul mood.  The dogs are balking at going out to do their business and bringing them back in requires a lot of doggie cleaning.  The CDL manual is calling my name (I have to recertify very soon).  I’m trying to ignore it.  Hardly anyone seems to be around in cyber space today.  It’s just a blah day.  My one big smile so far came from a post over at Chesneygirl’s blog.  She just got back from a "little" country music concert in Ohio where she saw basically every big name in the business (I hate you Ches) and she’s been sharing her tales and photos.  The other day she posted pictures of Trent Tomlinson.  She was about six inches away from him.  I’d hate her for that, but he looks just like my nephew so it’d be a little creepy to think too much about him.   But today Ches posted pictures just for me and I bet you can guess who the pictures were of without too much thought…………

Thanks, Ches.  I love you!

Happy camper, happy camper, I’m a happy camper!  On my way to pick Megan up from summer school this morning I heard on the radio that someone from the station would be at one of the local gas stations giving away tickets to the Hot Country Jam at noon today.

I asked Megan if she wanted to give it a shot.  She did and we took her best friend, too.  We got there about 11:45 and at noon a woman walked back the line and gave everyone who was there 2 tickets until she ran out.  We walked away with 6!  The girls are so excited and I am currently the most popular mom in town.  Tim’s going with me, I hope (depends on work), and we’ll be chaperoning the girls…..especially if the boys they ask to go say yes.  So next Saturday I’ll be at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pavilion listening to Travis Tritt, Clint Black, Little Texas, Mark Wills and the Povertyneck Hillbillies.  Woot!

**UPDATE**  Well, Tim is going with me.  No boys are going.  Meg’s taking another friend.  Meg’s best friend is taking……her mother.  Not because she wants to, but because her parents are making her because it "was rude not to invite her mother to begin with."  Sigh.  I have a feeling it is just another way to clamp down on the girl.  The parents are so strict with her, they make old school nuns look really lenient.  I have a feeling it’s all about them thinking we won’t be strict enough chaperones. 

Not my baby girl.  She rassles livestock, shovels manure and plays in the dirt with the best of ‘em.  Saturday evening she added a new interest.  Tractor pulling.  It was the last night of the Ag Fair and the tractor pulls were held over because of heavy rains on Friday evening.  She hung out with her FFA friends on the far side of the arena, but straight across from where we sat in the bleachers so we could keep an eye on her.  Lordy, you should have seen her.  She is so interested in that kind of thing.  She was right there in the ring with the guys soaking it all in and getting some hands on.  At one point she was even hefting 75 lb. tractor weights.  Two at a time!  That’s more than she weighs.  At least she only did that once.  She was so dirty when the night was over.  I wish I would have had my camera with me.  She was so peeved with Tim all day yesterday for not buying the Farmall 300 at his aunt’s farm auction Saturday…..after all, it would have made a great pulling tractor.

Of course, I’m also willing to bet that the number of cute guys running around in tight jeans and cowboy hats also has a lot to do with her new love of tractor pulling.

"Stole" this one from Kat.

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