Bfth's Boring Blog

Today is my husband's birthday (I won't say how old because it makes ME old).  He says birthday's aren't important to him.  That in all his years, he's only had one really good birthday...and that was eight years ago. That WAS an important birthday.  It was one of those "milestone" number birthdays, but was also right before our son was "scheduled" to be born. I threw a party for him...simple, but fun.  We had friends from Maryland come up for the whole weekend.  We had friends from NYC and all over NJ come by.  My husband's parents and his grandfather came in from PA.  It was a fun afternoon celebration (and thankfully it was not too hot because it was outside).  And most of the presents he got that day revolved around the impending birth of our son.  (My mom gave him a bib!). While we haven't had a party for him since, I think birthdays ARE important.  It's important to look back over the year and see what good has happened.  (A

Anyone else remember RIF?  I may not be as old as dirt (yet), but I can remember the RIF ads from tv (is that a contradiction?).  I was thinking of how true it is (and was pleased to see that the organization still exists). I remember when reading first really "clicked" for me.  I think I was in third grade (although it could have been 2nd).  I could read, but I don't recall really reading on my own. My mother would read Nancy Drew to me (the "old" original Nancy Drews that were published in the 1930s and had more chapters and less illustrations than the "updated" versions).  One morning it dawned on me that I didn't have to wait for my mother to read to me; I could do it myself.  It was slow going (some of those 1930s words were not easy), but I did it.  And I loved it.  Soon I was plowing my way through as many Nancy Drews as I could get my hands on. When my son started school, all of the teachers stressed the importance of reading.  I read a

This weekend was the first "summer" weekend that I spent at the Jersey Shore.  Have we restored the shore? Well... Somethings are very much the same.  Like the traffic on the parkway heading home late this afternoon.  Will never understand it.  Backed up, slow down to a snail's pace and then suddenly...boom...we are off doing 65 (or dare I say more)...and then slow down to a snail's pace again for several miles only to see the traffic ease up and back to 65 again. I went to the beach with my son on Saturday.  It was crowded.  It was hot.  The surf was refreshing...the flies (west wind) not so much.  Despite their annoying bites, it was a lovely and relaxing afternoon.  My son got to build sandcastles and kites (At the Stronger Than The Storm Kits and Castles event in Lavallette) early in the day and got to jump waves and build and destroy more sandcastles in the afternoon (at 4th Avenue in Normandy Beach).  The water was cold, but refreshing.  It was a typical Jer

...Hello. I said these words as many times as I could on my morning walk. Usually I don't see many people on my walks.  I'm up early and there aren't many people around.  But today I wasn't working (still employed until next Friday and trying not to be terrified about that...but that's another blog; http://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/running-on-faithnot-fear.html ) so I got up a little later (if I make it past 5:30 AM, that's later).  And since I had no time constraints and it was lighter out, I decided to walk down and around the park.  ( http://www.essex-countynj.org/p/index.php?section=parks/sites/ve )  It's  a beautiful place...although somewhat ruled by the Canadian Geese that have made it their home (again, that's another story). As I started out this morning,  I remembered something that I had read somewhere out here on this great big thing called the Internet about how just saying hello can brighten some one's day.  I found thi

It's the 4th of July again.  And like other recent holidays, I want to remind you that today is not about the summer sales at your local mall, but about men who risked it all to create a new country and declare their independence from Great Britain. (And to set the record straight,  the Congressional resolution of independence was approved on July 2nd, not the 4th.  The Declaration of Independence was not completely signed by all until November of 1776.) Ho hum...history is boring, right?  Wrong!  To get a taste of what it was all about, why not spend a couple of hours in an air conditioned room and watch one of my favorite musicals, "1776". Music, comedy and drama!  And for the most part it's true to life.  (I doubt there was actual singing in Congress, but there was fighting, name calling and probably some drunkenness...has much really changed in 200+ years?). One of the reasons I love this movie is because it presents these historical figures as "real peop