Leap Blog Day - Welcome Jewels

Happy Leap Blog Day!

     You may for may not know that today is not only Leap Day but also Leap Blog Day.   This is a challenge set forth by a wonderful group of bloggers who are encouraging us to step outside of our comfort zones and guest post for another blogger.  This is a great way to introduce bloggers to a whole new audience that might enjoy their work.  Recently, I came across a blog that I quickly fell in love with.  The writer is so talented and writes about topics that we can all relate to.  I am so excited to introduce you to her here on my blog.   Please welcome my guest writer for today.

Her name is Jewels and her blog is frazzled & frumpy

     I know after reading her post today you will want to visit her often.  Please be generous with your warm-fuzzy comments  and show her the same love you always show me.    

     Thank you,  Jewels, for agreeing to post for me today.  I am thrilled to introduce you to my wonderful readers.  ♥

     So now, for your reading pleasure, here's Jewels.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Take a Flying Leap of Faith

Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack.

I’m not a big fan of the sound.  The roller coaster making its way up the steep incline, metal teeth pulling the car along. Slowly. Ever so slowly.

Clack.  Clack. Clack.

It’s a modern day torture device.  Giving you just enough time to regret the decision to get strapped in.  Every time I board the ride, I go through the same inner conversation.

“It’s okay.  This ride operates hundreds of times a day.  No one ever dies.  It’ll be all right.”

Clack. Clack.

Once we reach the summit, I breathe one more prayer.  We plunge over, and…  I’m fine.  My fears are swallowed up in the thrill of moving faster than the beat of my heart.

Last summer, my husband convinced me to ride the new roller coaster at our local amusement park.  I’d watched the cars as they flashed up one side of the track and back down again.  Oh, no way!  My heart skipped at the thought.  But, with some gentle prodding and a little reverse psychology (how’d he get away with that?), I found myself in line.  We snaked our way to the front and finally sat in the seats.  With a thick, padded arm holding me tight, I took one last breath.  The timer counted us down.  3..2..1  Whoosh! One moment we were on the ground, the next we were 100 feet in the air.  With nary a second to catch any air in my lungs, we were back down again, my insides suddenly displaced somewhere in my ribs.  Over and around, then upside down, I hoped my glasses, which I’d stowed in my bra, wouldn’t fly out.  When we swooshed back into the station, I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face. That. Was. Fun.

I’m not an adrenaline junkie.  I do not aspire to jump from airplanes, climb an icefall or drive more than ten miles over the speed limit.  I like calm.  I get enough chaos from my children.

I’ve realized lately, though, that perhaps I need to stop holding myself back.  While I have faith in many things, my belief in myself and my own abilities is lacking.  When I’m challenged and must make that leap that takes me past the dark, into the light, I face it with lukewarm trepidation.  I find myself sticking out a toe, cautiously testing the waters.  When what I need to do is take a few steps and jump, cannonball style, into the pool of opportunity, splashing exuberance on everyone around me.

I’m not alone in this.  As I’ve aged I’ve realized that we all suffer from insecurities.  How could we not?  With our media the size of  a gray whale, we cannot avoid it.  We’re served up a menu of airbrushed, cap-toothed  and plastic surgery-ed, glittery people.  They are what we’re supposed to want to be.  So, we compare what we struggle with  to what others are succeeding in.  No wonder we hesitate.

Deep inside us, we all have the potential for greatness.  We are all shiny and bright.  We are talented and brilliant.  No, we don’t have personal trainers or stylists.  What we have is possibility. And ability.   Write a book, paint a masterpiece, create something. One person can change the world.

  

So, the next time I have a chance, I won’t face it with timidness.  I will embrace the light,  get a running start,  and leap. 

Liebster Award

      There is nothing more heartwarming to a writer than to know their work is appreciated by other writers.  Once again I have been presented with an award that shows tangible proof that someone not only reads, but enjoys my blog.   I am so touched by this and would like to thank my new friend, Dawn, at Alphabet Salad.    If you haven't read her blog, you really should.  She is a very interesting writer and I love reading her posts.  

      According to Dawn:

                               The origins of the Liebster Blog award are somewhat unclear but the general consensus is that it originated in Germany, Liebster meaning favorite or dearest, to showcase bloggers with fewer than 200 followers. Upon accepting the award the recipient must then pass it on to five more blogs of note.

     As writers, we love to get feedback on what we produce.  It really makes my day when anyone leaves a comment on my blog, facebook or sends me an email.  I love to hear from you.  But when it is in the form of an award it is such a blessing because it shows that something I wrote actually touched someone.  That's what writing is all about.

     And now it's time to share the love by passing this award on to 5 more bloggers whose posts have touched me in some way.  Following are my recipients.  If you are one of the bloggers mentioned you can pass it along if you wish but since I love awards without obligations I give you my permission to just accept the award and enjoy without any pressure to do anything further.  It's totally up to you.  (I hope the originators of this award will forgive me for taking liberties.)  So without further ado.

Fact vs Truth

We Band of Mothers  

Total Image Photography   

"Stoopin It" In the Suburbs 

Linda says... 

     I've done my job so now it's your turn.  Be sure to spread the love by checking out the aforementioned blogs and see what they have to offer.

     Thanks again to Dawn and to all my faithful readers.  I love you all.

Until next time...that's my view.

Kat 

 

    

Thank You Sweetie!

     Once again I have been presented with the Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award, thanks to a wonderful friend, Kathy, over at  The Giggling Truckers Wife.    She is one of the happiest bloggers I've ever seen and I love to read her blogs.  If I am having a bad day she never fails to make me feel better by making me smile, or even giggle.  You can almost hear her giggling in her writing.  If you aren't already a follower you should check her out asap.  You will be so glad you did.  Thank you Kathy.  I sincerely appreciate your thoughtful gesture.

     Now I am suppose to share some secrets about myself with you and then I can have fun by passing it along to other deserving bloggers so you can check them out too.

First, let's see...

1  I was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease around age 30 and have since had 

    5 spine surgeries and suffered with chronic pain from the ddd, osteoarthritis, neuropathy 

    and other forms of arthritis.

2.  My first concert was Three Dog Night in 1969.

3.  My caramel apple pie won a baking contest a few years ago and before I 

   married the extent of my cooking skills were hamburgers and french fries acquired 

   by many years of working in fast-food restaurants.

4.  I volunteer with the Arthritis Foundation working with their yearly Louisville area 

     Arthritis Walk.

5.  I have the cutest grandkids in the world...okay, so I'm prejudiced, but at least I think so.

6.  I love to play games, especially word games.

7.  I once had to decorate a wedding cake with my left hand (I'm right handed) because 

     I had sliced a finger on my right hand with an electric knife and had to have stitches in it.

Now for the fun, and hard part.  Hard because there are so many great blogs out there.

frazzled & frumpy

From the Mom Cave

The story

Someday Somewhere

Alphabet Salad

Fact vs Truth

Earth Dragon Healing

     These are wonderful blogs that you will enjoy reading as much as I do.  Please take time to stop by and visit them.   And thanks again to Kathy for honoring me with this award.

Until next time...that's my view.

Kat

I Would Do It All Over Again

GBE2 Week #39 Prompt - "Do-Over"

     Happy Valentine's Day to all my friends in Blogland!  In honor of the holiday and by special request I have decided to write a love story that fits in very well with this week's GBE2 prompt,  Do-Over.   This is a true story so any resemblance to real characters is completely intentional.

     Recently in response to an award that had graciously been bestowed upon me by Jo over at My Wandering Mind, I made the following statement about myself:

6.  I had a full academic scholarship to college that I gave up because I fell in love with the earlier 

     mentioned dairy farmer and couldn't bear to leave him for 4 years.  I would do it all over again.

     To my surprise, this statement seemed to catch everyone's attention and many left comments wanting to know more; so following is my true love story.

     It was the summer of 1971 and I had just graduated from our small high school, only 26 in my graduating class.  I graduated Valedictorian and had been awarded a full academic scholarship to Franklin College, a small Baptist College near Indianapolis, IN. where I was to attend in the fall.  Like most teenagers, I couldn't wait to get out of our small town so the very next day after graduation I moved to Kentucky to live with my sister and her family for the summer.  

     First thing on my to-do list was find a summer job, which I found at the local  Stuckey's out by the interstate.   I had worked at restaurants every since I was old enough so working behind the snack bar there was a breeze.

     At that time, my sister's family lived in a trailer at the Country Club, sort of as night watchmen.   The addition of another person in the trailer made for cramped living quarters but my sister and brother-in-law were so wonderful.  They took me in as if it were no big deal and I'll always love them for it.   Anyway, living at the country club was a great way to meet people.  I met several nice people my age who played tennis or came to the swimming pool.  Since I had never played tennis in my life, I spent a lot of time watching the others.  Eventually, I gave in a bought a tennis racket.

     Both Kenneth and his brother, Steve played tennis and their dad played golf.  Their mom came out a lot and either rode on the golf cart with Fred or sat and watched the boys play tennis.  Believe it or not I actually got to know her before I did Kenneth.  

      At that time, my brother-in-law drove a milk truck that delivered the local farmers milk to the dairy processing plant in Louisville.  Since Kenneth's family milked cows and Gayle picked up their milk they were friends.  Kenneth often stopped by to talk to Gayle if we were outside when he came to play tennis.  

     If you've ever lived in a rural area you know that the big entertainment that draws everyone in the county is a tractor pull.  At least that was certainly the case here.  Everyone who was anyone was there.  Not having a clue what a tractor pull was, I went along with my family to see who I could see.    Once there I was amazed at the crowd and actually found it interesting watching these big tractors try to pull a moving box of weights further than the others.  I had never seen anything like it.  I grew up in a small town, but I lived in town.  We weren't really what I would consider a rural area; there were some farms but it wasn't the main economic source.  I had never heard of a tractor pull.

     Anyway, I was having a good time and had run into several people I had come to know.  When it got dark I happened to run into Kenneth's mom sitting with a friend of hers in their pick-up truck watching the tractor pull.  They invited me to sit with them.  I jumped at the chance, hoping Kenneth might come around.  Sure enough, not long after I got in, here he came.   Just as we started talking my sister walked up and said they were ready to go home.    Not now, I thought to myself, but said nothing.  Before I had a chance to say anything Kenneth spoke up and said, "You can go ahead, I'll bring her home."   Needless to say, my heart did a cartwheel! 

     I can't say that it was love at first sight because we had seen each other before...but I might have to say it was love at first date.  That wonderful night that changed my life forever happened late in June and I don't think we missed a day seeing each other until we married a year later.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

     We had a wonderful summer dating and I dreaded the approaching fall.  He had the most beautiful blue eyes I had ever seen and I fell more in love with him every time I looked into them.  We hadn't really talked about what was going to happen beyond the summer until one night when we couldn't put it off any longer.   I knew I didn't want to leave him, it was so far and long distance romances were so hard.  I was sure he felt the same way but we had to discuss it openly and honestly.   Giving up a scholarship was a big decision and not one to be made lightly.  He had me at, "I am sure I don't want you to go because one day I want our last names to be the same".   To this 18 year old it was the most romantic proposal I could imagine.  

     Instead of going away to college I found a job at a bank, bought my first car to drive to work and stayed with my sister's family until the following June when we married.  Kenneth took me to the farm several times and introduced me to my first real cow.  I had been to the zoo but cows aren't usually found in the zoo and besides, you don't really get up close and personal with zoo animals.  But hey, when you're young and in love you think you can do anything and even a huge cow looked like a teddy bear, and I could get used to the smell, right?   I could be a farmer's wife..no problem.

     That summer was like living my own personal fairytale.  Kenneth presented me with my engagement ring on Christmas Eve that year (but that's a story for another blog).  We were married on June 25, 1972 and will celebrate our 40th anniversary this year.  The fall after we were married I received a phone call from Franklin College telling me that my scholarship was still open if I would like to change my mind.  I thanked them and explained that I was happily married and would not be accepting their generous offer.  I've been asked over the years if I ever regretted my decision and my answer to that is always the same.  That is one decision in my life that if given the chance to do it over I would do it just the same all over again.

Until next time...that's my view.

Kat