tuesday truths on an up and down kinda day...

March 3, 2020 Arlene Giddings

20 left for Toronto this morning
after a stressful, snowy, slushy 3 am drive
to the airport.

I am always proud of him
for his role in these youth conferences
and happy that he gets to
have these amazing experiences
and meet so many people
and I know it has helped
develop him in ways that
it would have been difficult to
provide here…

but…I miss him.
And I know it’s only a week
and that lots of people go farther away
and for much longer but…

I don’t care.

I still miss him.

Today was a day full of ups and downs…

I am excited about the online courses I am taking/
I am terrified about the online courses I am taking.

A hard decision I made kinda feels right/
the same hard decision makes me a little sad
and not always sure that it was right.

I am happy that spring is coming/
I just remembered my leaky front door.

Up and down.

But instead of ending this post with that…
how about this instead…the other day I ran
into a friend at the grocery store who said
”oh wait! I have something for you!”
and she dug into her bag and found me some smurfs
which ALWAYS makes me happy
but one of them…was smurfette…on a keychain…
and soooooo tiny!!!!
I could barely contain my excitement.
Heeheehee.

(but…truth…i still miss 20).

boxing day bliss...♥♥♥

December 26, 2019 Arlene Giddings

I know it probably seems like I don’t like Christmas
because I leave everything to the very last minute….
but…I actually love Christmas.

Not the shopping. I hate the shopping.

But I love Christmas day…the excitement
and wonder, the silliness and surprises…

And this year definitely did not disappoint.

Some highlights included:

♥ watching a muppet family christmas with a friend
WHO WAS SEEING IT FOR THE FIRST TIME!
(watch out for the icy patch! always makes me laugh)

♥ my mother in laws eagle brand squares

♥ knowing that the kids had a great time celebrating with both sides
of their family…that really does make me happy ♥♥

♥ 20 telling me not to look in my stocking when he left Christmas Eve…
this was what was in it….and I couldn’t have been more excited. Heeheehee

♥ 24 surprising me with a stocking full of toys and candy…a kinder egg as big as my head…
a charlie brown book, a little sesame street purse heehee…and this smurf quilt which almost made me cry

♥ going to my parents is always my favorite part of Christmas…
my mom saved the big bird ornament for me to put on (which was
even a little more bittersweet this year) and the doll head for 24…heehee

♥ my dads excitement over his new headlamp…heeheehee

♥ sweet unexpected gifts from my brothers & parents…gift cards, lots of candy, maritime hardcore hoodies, sweaters and scratch cards and this…heeheehee…

My brother Sandy is the real artist in our family…
I doodle a bit but Sandy really has the talent…and he made each of us
a drawing of one of our favorite childhood stories that we mainly tease
each other about…mine goes like this:

Once upon a time, a poor stressed out 16 year old girl who was
uncannily very amusing and witty and quite brilliant was forced to spend
her summers babysitting her 3 sometimes rotten younger brothers
for little pay and much pain.

After a hard day of slaving over a hot stove to provide a healthy nourishing lunch
to this little group of ungrateful heathens, one of them said he was still hungry.

Being the sweet, caring older sister that she was…
she offered him her spaghetti-o’s which she had not eaten yet.

But, being the rotten little sulk that he was, he turned up his little snub nose
at it because “she had a cold and he might catch it”.

So…she threw the plate at him.

The end.

heeheehee….he will tell you there is a different version
of this but his memory is not to be trusted. :)

……………………………………………………………….

And now…another Christmas is over…
and I am completely happy. ♥♥♥
I was able to spend it with people that I love…
and my heart is just really, really is full right now.

I am looking forward to 2020…
2019 had a few speed bumps but it’s sure out going out
better than it came in. ♥

Merry, merry Christmas to you and yours!

suddenly 19...

October 15, 2018 Arlene Giddings

this kid…

i went back and read old blog posts
written on earlier birthdays…
every year, I am surprised by his age, it seems…
every year, I am like…
how can this be?
how can he be nine? ten? 12?
17?
18?

19.
really?
nineteen.
old enough to go places he wasn’t before,
old enough to drink…

it boggles my mind.

happy birthday, bighead.
every year, I am also so happy
that you are who you are…
independent, strong minded, responsible
and so funny, creative and original…

you’ll be just fine as a grown-up, I think…
but I’ll always win in an arm wrestle.
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

the weekend of planes...

August 26, 2018 Arlene Giddings

I don't think it is a secret
that I
like the air show.

I go every time it comes to Summerside.

And, by "go", I mean, I don't just buy a ticket
and go one day...
on Friday, I drive around until I can find somewhere
to sit and watch them and practice
(which means sitting in a field from about 10:30
until 4:00 in order to see anything...)

Then, on Saturday, I make my son drive around
with me until we find a spot to watch them from...
this year, we found a great spot
but unfortunately, the CF18 was down for repair
but we did get to see the Snowbirds!

But then on Sunday, I go for the whole day.
18 came with me today and we got to see my brothers for a bit, too.
It was a beautiful day with blue skies
and fluffy white clouds...
and the CF18 was all fixed!!!!

PLUS I got to sit in the Hornet.
Completely stationary but...still!!!!
I was pretty excited...
even if I felt a little silly being the only grown up
in a group of 5-7 year olds waiting to get a chance
to sit in a stationary plane
and pretend they were driving it
(don't judge me...the little kids already did that.)

All in all....
it was a VERY successful weekend.

I can't wait for next time!

tuesday truths...

March 6, 2018 Arlene Giddings

♥♥♥
my boy is back from the big city
and i couldn't be happier...
or prouder.

there is a lot more i could say here
but i don't want to embarrass him...
:)

♥♥♥
literally
every time
i do a "tuesday truths"
i have to stop and think
wait...today IS tuesday, right?
every
frigging
tuesday.

that never happens to me on a friday.

♥♥♥
i bought some of these tonight...
i'm excited to try it.
the other flavors didn't really appeal to me...
blood orange?
what the hell is a blood orange?
like...is that a real thing?
um...not in my fridge.
which reminds me
i really need to clean out my fridge
and get groceries...
right now, i'm pretty sure all i've got in there
is hamburger far past the expiration date
(well...who can tell...it was frozen at some point
and then i defrosted it but i can't remember when
but i suspect it should not be eaten now
even if i do have an iron stomach as some would suggest)
and a head of cabbage
(and if you follow me on facebook,
which you should because i'm pretty amusing...
or annoying...i'm not sure which adjective is normally used..
anyway, if you follow me on fb,
you would have already read about the-great-cabbage-cauliflower-confusion).

wow.
did i just spin that far off topic.
that's gotta be a record.

♥♥♥
have you watched
everything sucks
if you haven't, you really, really should.
when have i steered you wrong?
i have great taste.
plus it has an awesome soundtrack.

just make sure you watch at least where
they make the oasis video...
that. part. literally. killed. me.
(plus i have a bit of a soft spot for that song
since it was the first song that my girl
learned all the words to...when she was like 2...
sigh....did someone make that damn time machine yet)

wow. i'm really off track tonight.
:)
it must be tuesday.
(right? it IS tuesday...right?)

edited to add...i realize i may not actually
know what an adjective is anymore so
if i have gotten that wrong, please forgive me...
it is tuesday, after all.

(right? it is..nevermind)