Pinterest: An Unlikely Inspiration?

I joined Pinterest at the suggestion of Alys - like a year and a half ago, I think. Hard to say. It was before December 2011 - that is the only thing I know for sure.... That and I agree with this Pin!

I did not understand the concept of Pinterest.  I am not sure I understand it now, except I figure it is a way to share your 'likes' (ignoring the obvious marketing SpAm that wriggles its way into every social technology). Call me a sharing,caring soul... I surf Pinterest for ideas, motivation and "InSpIrAtIoN" for creative pursuits - again probably just the same as everyone else!

Over the year plus of "on again, off again, on again" Pinterest action on my laptop, I have created 17 frigg'n boards!  Why?  Dunno people, dunno...  I do know that each board, no matter how many or how few "pins" it has, is a small look into what makes me, 'me'. I am sure this is the same for every other Pinterest user... But hey, I need something to write? Right?

Most ever board has a quote that I think applies to my life and the board's contents.

Boards: 

1. DIY Eventually ("DIY" because I am creative, "Eventually" because I am broke
   
   and tired)
2. Food Porn (because I like to cook and this food is purdy - yet I have only made a few of the items and they are on my food blog)
3. Personal Style (because, no one would believe it, but I didn't
   
   always dress like a poor librarian spinster)
4. Growing the Greens (because I grow a garden every year now - thinking every spring I might eat healthy)     StOp LaUgHiNg
5. Is this as Good as it Gets? (I just did it without a clue)
6. Just for Kicks (because as far as social
   
   acceptability goes - these pins aren't acceptable)
7. A Good Book has No Ending (I have not read that many "Non-Textbooks" in my life - but I do want to share)
8. Shooting From the Hip (a passion I can no  
   
   longer afford - and could not find ammo if I did)
9. A Good Movie is Hard to Find (because they are and I want to share my OPINION)
10. When Music is Your Only Friend (because sometimes there is that song that was created just for you)
11. To Accomplish Great Things (a board of
    
      things I want to do and places I want to go)
12. A Journey of a Thousand Miles (a little 'not my photos' photo essay of a lot of my travels)
13. Some of my Favorite Things (duh?)
14. Wow Factor (pins of things I just looked at and said "wow")
15. It Ain't Just for Martha Stewart Anymore (that Martha woman was not the first to come up with helpful hints - she was just successful at marketing herself)
16. We Need to Talk About This (just things I read and said - "Ain't that right...")

    

    Gaspard Duiffopruggar

17. Instruments of My Destruction (I will never
    be able to completely understand that one either)

The day I hit 30 some-odd 'repins' of a pin, I felt some satisfaction - like I had

accomplished something.  Strange sensation...  Stupid as hell really. It was a pin for The Green Mile movie.  Now it is at 82 repins.  Maybe not a big thing for most "Pinners" but huge to me...  I never was "popular" you know...

Why am I writing about this?  I am not sure, I just woke up a few days ago and thought to myself "Self, I want to write about my Pinterest" - and here I am...

If you want to view my little mental world - look up Cookie Galore and have fun (or be bored - as it could go either way).

Today's finds?

A light moisturizer DIY

And less blogging....

Seriously...

136# - 109# - 150# - What?

My weight is what...?

I am 5'9.5" tall.  Yes, I always count that half inch - at least I will until the inevitable shrinking starts. Anywho, I am tall for a gal - so they say.

I am used to being around people who are shorter than I am - and when I run into a female who is taller, I feel inadequate as a man.  Yes, I know I am not a man - just say'n...

I have always been on the lighter side - since birth anyway. The "cute in a 'why-don't-you-put-some-weight-on-those-bones-kind' of way..." as the lyrics go in the group's "Black Tape for a Blue Girl's" version of the "Knock Three Times" song.  My weight just stayed on the low end for the most part until about 10 years ago (when I was about 36 years old or so).  At that time, I embarked on a yo-yo weight odyssey.  An odyssey influenced by my mood, life stability, stress levels, activity, and 'diet' (and by diet I mean how I eat, not an actual "D-I-E-T").

At this time 2 years ago I was around 136 pounds. At this time one year ago, I was headed for my low of 109 pounds. Now, if you know anything about height/weight ratios, you will know from what I write here - that I was WAY TOO SMALL for my height. By February of this year, I hit my ALL TIME HIGH of 150 pounds.  OK, again, if you factor in my height, that is not a 'huge' deal visually or health wise. However, as much as I suck at math, I think that is a 37% gain.  My current weight is higher than it was when I was 9 months pregnant, with my sweet sweet daughter, 25 years ago.  That is an eye-opening concept in my book.  Impressive really.... 

So, a busy life, anxiety, stress, and depression - partially brought on by drama and major life changing events -rendered me unable to eat.  A lot of folks eat eat eat when they are stressed.  I just simply - stop.  I can drop 30 pounds in under 2 weeks.  Is this healthy?  HELL NO...

Oh no, can I say "HELL" on television?

I have had a love hate relationship with food for years, as I had, for many years of my life, not cared for most food enough to do anything but eat as necessity, not for the joy of it.

As time has gone on, and I started taking 'happy pills', I managed to start eating.

This opened the flood gates. Eat, Eat, Eat...

My "I'm full" button is broken.  I am eating anything that can't outrun me.  This, in and of itself, would not be so bad except I have added drinking at least 1 McDonald's Chocolate Chip Frappe' a day, adding a whopping 700+ calories to my daily intake. Then consider the Starbucks' Venti Iced Caramel Macchiato with whole milk and whip at over 500 calories as a nearly daily treat......  Oh, and the fact I can eat 8 Reese Cups in one sitting....  

Oh yes, why am I gaining weight?  Duh..................................

I will eat until I stop. It will all even out.  

I think that is enough on this subject.  I have Mayfield's Snow Cream Frozen Dessert in the freezer and heavy whipping cream to pour over the top....

This is soooooo NOT a "How to be Fit" post...

Blech 

I am NOT weighing myself anylonger

I Am What I Am, & That's All That I Am

"I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.
~Kurt Cobain

So I was having a conversation with a friend the other day, and she said something that struck me sideways. Not in an ugly way, just caused me to think.

She said she tried to blog but would rather post pictures of her completed projects than talk about herself.

I thought to myself, "uh-oh, do people give a rat's arse what I write about?  Especially if it is just about me?"

Then I realized, what do I know better - than myself?  

Not much...

I have lived a life. My own life. No one else has walked in my shoes and I have not walked in anyone else's.  

Some folks might get joy, entertainment, laughter, or comfort when reading something I put to "paper".  Shoot, they might only get to say "really?", "she is a nut",  "oh no she didn't......", or "what an idiot...".

It could be that nothing other than my working through uncertainties comes from my writing.  Maybe, it will do nothing more than than serve as my memory when my brain fails me...

With all that being said, writing down events, thoughts, experiences, and what have you - may just save me in some way.  And maybe someone out in the world will stumble upon my rantings and ramblings and go along for that sometimes not so fun ride.

I guess that is a fancy way of saying, while some folks create wonderful projects and artwork to express themselves and to be enjoyed, I write for me and hope someone out there gets enjoyment, help, therapy, or etc. as well...

Thanks ATE, you made me think and I appreciate it!

What Does Catholic Mass Have to do With Fishing?

Nothing, but that is what I am writing about…

So I went to catholic Mass last year.  There was no lightening in the immediate area and I did NOT, I repeat did NOT burst into flames.

I grew up Baptist.  I converted to Catholicism several years ago. Not sure how many now.  I won’t go into the how or why of it.

The last 2 times I went to Mass were not in the states:

Dome of Koln

Once in 2002, at some point after my Daddy passed away.  It was conducted in what I call a "side chappel" in the Hohe Domkirche St. Peter and Maria (English: High Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Mary) in Koln Germany.  It is also known as Kolner Dom or the Cologne Cathedral.  Anyhow, I was amazed at how much I understood even though the whole thing was in the Latin and German languages.  That is a good day.  I needed that dayin order to help cope with the recent loss of my father. It is amazing how that whole trip helped.

I still miss him so much however.

 

Michelangelo’s Pietà

  The second time was in 2004 when my daughter and I traveled to Italy on "Roman Holiday".  We attended the Sunday Mass in Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano (Latin: Basilica Sancti Petri), officially known as Saint Peter's Basilica.  

All I can say is, while that mass was in Latin and Italian, it was the most moving Mass I have ever attended.  The chapel was packed.  We had to arrive a few hours early to make sure we could get in and be seated.  One day I will find the words to describe that experience.

 

Yes, except for the 2 above visits, I have not been to any other Masses since my Dad passed. I basically stopped when I lost him.  I went from going nearly every Sunday, even when traveling, to not attending. 

Period.

I made a last minute decision to attend Mass at a local catholic Church some months ago because I had been struggling with many things of late and I needed the continuity and tradition that the catholic Church Mass provides.  We will revisit the concept of "Continuity and Tradition" in a moment. I used to find that attending Mass would set and then re-set my emotional and mental clock for the week.  I decided I needed some group therapy with God.  I typically believe that you do not have to attend a church to commune with God, but I do feel that attending an organized event such as Mass helps keep my mind in the moment.

Enter "Continuity and Tradition"

I never liked anything but a good OLD fashion traditional Mass.  No new age, hippy, drum banging, guitar playing Masses for me.  I want some Latin in there (the more the better), choir when possible and the traditional words…

So, when I found a card in the pew outlining new words and songs integrated into the Mass, I was taken aback.  Confused.  Befuzzled.  It seems there is a new catholic Mass Missal as of November 26, 2011.  The explanation that I found when looking online?  Forty some-odd years ago, when the Latin Mass was translated into English, they apparently did a rush job and everyone knew it would be revised. 

Huh?  OK, news to me.

Apparently this new translation is closer to the Latin in both meaning and sentence structure.

They also say that Mass celebrates the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and that is not everyday stuff.  It is a profound mystery that is beyond our comprehension and that mystery is deserving of a more significant language than what we use in our everyday lives.  A deeper meaning.

I am not going to go into all the details of the changes, but instead will give you the “Click Here” link to read the changes for yourself if you are so inclined.

OK, why am I whining?  I needed the continuity and tradition and knew I would find it in the Church. 

Instead? 

More change. 

Really? 

Seriously?

  

That will teach me to take a break from organized religion…

Lost and Found

I have an announcement to make!  I am back!!!

I LOST my "blogging-way".  

Fell off the "blog-wagon".

Have been a "blogger-slacker".

I FOUND myself again.  Not just my "blogging-self", but a large chunk of "myself" that I was separated from for awhile.  A long while.

Finally....

So I am back and blogging.  Ok, I am trying actually.  I went and read some of my "Cookie Cooks" food blogs recently - and was amazed.  Amazed by the writing itself?  Hardly....  I was amazed at how I did not recognize the writing as anything I had done.  It was like I was reading someone else's work all together.  I don't know.  All I can figure is I lost a portion of "me" back before I even started blogging - THEN fell off the wagon.