Bfth's Boring Blog

It's the last day of March as I write this.  Although the bitter chill of winter is still upon us (and there is yet another threat of now), it IS officially Spring.  For Christians, we have just entered Holy Week (the most important week of the Christian Calendar) and Easter is just five days away (unless you are Orthodox, but that's a whole other story).  I have big plans for a fun Easter Egg hunt this weekend (more on that in a future post).  I have stuffed over 100 plastic eggs with treats. For many, Spring vacation has already come.  In my school district, there are only 11-1/2 weeks left until summer vacation.  I have already made plans for the summer; there are various camps that my son will attend and I am plotting out what activities he might do when not at sleep away camp or attending Marine Science Camp at the NJ Shore.   I may still have to wear a winter coat, but winter is over.  Christmas was three months ago (thirteen weeks ...

Lent seems to have gone by quicker this year than in previous ones.  Palm Sunday has already come and gone and we are in "the home stretch" as Easter looms close by.   I have missed my chocolate, but not enough.  I've been eating other sweets to "fill in" and upon reading a friend's Facebook post yesterday, I realized that what I've been missing this Lent is reflection.  This friend had given up cursing for Lent, but gave herself the latitude that if she did slip out, she would put money into a "curse jar" and whatever monies she fined herself would end up going to charity.  So in essence, any "mistakes" she made would benefit others.  She would have to think about her actions and any missteps would have consequences.  I cannot say the same. I must confession, I did sort of slip up once this year. I grabbed a piece of gum from a desk drawer, not realizing that it was the one lone piece of "chocolate mint" left from ...

and I've loved him ever since I met him back in March of 1991.  Our paths have crossed a dozen or so times since then and every time I have the opportunity to listen to and/or speak with him, I love him more, even though he probably doesn't remember my name.  (He did call me by name just last Sunday, but I was wearing a name badge so he had an advantage.) So who is this LJ person (since clearly he's NOT my husband)?  The man that I speak of is the incredibly talented musician, Laurence Juber.  You may not know the name, but you know the music and the distinctive guitar sound.  He was part of Wings from 1978-1981 which is how he came to my attention. I went to my first Beatles convention back in 1991. (What can I say?  I was late to the convention game; if ONLY I'd known.)  Laurence Juber happened to be one of the guests.  I went to hear him speak and play because he had been in Wings.  I left entranced by the way he played and charme...

If you think this post is about basketball you are very much mistaken.   If you know me at all (or have read any of these boring blog posts), you know that I am not a sports person.  Know zip about football, soccer, baseball, hockey, basketball...well you get the idea.  The only time I've "sorta kinda" watched any March madness was the March after my son was born.  My mother's alma mater, Bucknell University, had actually made it in and my parents had to watch a game at our house as their cable network did not carry the game and we had the proper (obscure) channel. My best memory about that madness is that all three of the most important men in my life were lined up on the sofa dressed in their Bucknell colors (Blue and Orange).  I have a photo of my dad, my son and my husband all sitting there watching the game.  (Well my son, who was only 7 months old at the time was watching my dad, but...) When I speak of March madness, I'm speaking of everything t...

Spring finally arrives on Friday...that is officially.  We've had a couple of spring like days here in NJ and the piles of snow are slowly melting down.  With that said, although it may feel like spring later today and tomorrow, I understand by the middle of the week it will be cold again and that on the actual first day of spring some areas may actually have snow.  (Thankfully it won't be anywhere near where I am going to be...I hope!) Spring is almost here and I am still waiting on my robin.  Others have claimed to have seen a robin or two, but nothing has appeared before my eyes.  And I NEED to see a robin.  Robins, like crocuses poking their heads out of the ground, are proof to me that spring is actually here.  Sadly, I have seen neither yet. I was thrilled with last week's warmer weather.  I LOVED driving home with the car windows open.  Seeing my on outside in snow boots but no coat made me laugh.  But I still need that r...

What follow is the sermon that I gave earlier today.  (In a very cold church, I might add, so the "Frozen" reference was very apt!)  Please note that I deleted the full names of people that I know and mention in this sermon and instead put in only initials.  (Thanks for reading!) Prayer:   Gracious God,  Spring is a metaphor for change. Some changes we eagerly await, and others we resist.  Some changes are planned and others arrive uninvited. To all these changes we ask the gift of Your perspective beckoning us toward expectation, hope, and rebirth. May the sunlight and the rain be reminders that You are at work renewing all of Earth. As a God of Renewal, You are ever at work in our lives, too. Open our eyes and hearts to needed changes in our lives this Spring.   Awaken us to new life and new perspectives...  Amen.   New Testament: Luke 15 1  Jesus went on to say, “There was once a man who h...

I went to work yesterday daringly.  I worse my blue winter coat (stained and dirty from brushing up against the car as I try to get in the door while not sliding on the ice), but I dared to wear "normal"' shoes.  That is, for the first time in over two months I wasn't wearing my fur lined boots or duck shoes with heavy socks.  (I LOVE LL Bean and have appreciated their fine and warm products for months now, but I am ready to move on!)  The office parking area was still pretty treacherous.  I still wore tights.  And I had my little heater on under my desk for most of the day (especially late in the afternoon when someone turned on the air????)  To my regret, I did not go out for lunch. When I left the office that night what a joy!  It was still light out!  (It almost made up for that hour of sleep that we lost on Sunday morning.)  The bulky blue coat not only didn't need to be zipped up, but I didn't need to wear it at all!  I d...

Are you ready to spring ahead?  It's that time again...when we set our clocks an hour forward.  Mornings will be darker (again), but evenings will be lighter.  (Making that evening drive more of a pleasure as the sun sinks slowly in the west.) I am ready to fling my boots into the closet, although with the slush and ice still on the ground that's not such a good idea.  I think we are all ready to move into Daylight Savings Time and then officially spring (which begins 12 days later).  Who is not ready to leave the boots, hats, gloves, scarves and heavy coats behind?  Who is NOT tired of shoveling and scrapping? Aren't we all ready to spring ahead? Don't bemoan the loss of sleep; shout with joy that the days are getting longer and warmer.  (Even as we continue to dig out the snow that has turned from brilliant white to dirty gray.) Set those clocks.  Spring ahead!

It's snowing...AGAIN. After chopping up and cleaning out yesterday's ice and mush (which thankfully melted over the course of the day), it is snowing...AGAIN. I'm NJ born and bred.  (With my focus on the weather I almost wrote "bread" -- after all what's a storm without bread and milk?)  I'm happy to live here, but I am done with the weather we've had.  I love to visit New England and I do want to see Alaska and Canada, but I don't know if I could survive there (or in any of the Midwest states).  The South is starting to look good to me.  (And I'm starting to have Disney World dreams again which tells me it's been too long since I've been to Florida.) There's been more snow north and possibly more ice south.  I think we all agree that it's been a rough winter no matter where you live.  (Take that you lousy season!) But I have hope that this is the "last hurrah" for winter. The weatherman has teased me ...

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you've probably heard a lot about the PARCC test (at least here in the US).  In a nutshell (and it's very nutty), it's a standardized test given to students from 4th grade through highs school.  It's new, it's unproven and preparing students to take this has definitely taken away from classroom instruction. (My son who is in the 4th grade has never, in my memory, taken a test on a computer so this is a new and stressful situation for him.) Though I've been following the PARCC drama, I'm by no means an expert on either side.  I'm mostly irked, annoyed and otherwise irritated by the fact that so much time has been spent preparing for this darned thing; time that in my opinion, could be better used for other scholastic endeavors.  But PARCC is here, at least for now.  (I have to be optimistic for the future.) Parents are angry about the whole situation and I'm not too happy myself.  Some parents have ...