Bfth's Boring Blog

It's the 29th of February.  I haven't been able to say that for 4 years.  (Has anybody?  ;) )  I couldn't pass up this opportunity to write SOMETHING on this day.  After all, I won't have a chance to write something on February 29th again for 4 years.  And who knows where I'll be then, or if this blog will even be around!  So with that in mind, I'm listing 29 things that have changed since the last February 29th. 1.      Obviously the biggest "thing" is that 4 years ago there was no Bfth's Boring Blog.  Thanks to a Michael Nesmith Concert and some inspiration, look at what happened! 2.      On the Last February 29th, I worked for a different company (and I made more money).  I love the people I work with now, but I still miss the close group of people I spent over 5 years working with. 3.      It was on the last 29th of February that I heard the news one of my teen idols had...

After my previous post, which was full of angst and turmoil, I thought it was time to go for the "lighter" side of life.  (For those of you just "tuning in," I DO have a lighter side.  For those of you who commented on my last post; thank you for your support.  Overall, I feel our education system is a little wacky to say the least, and parents need to stick together and be involved.  Quality education is something ALL our children deserve, but we need to be active participants.) Back in August of 2015, I bought my son a smart phone.  In theory, I thought he was a bit young for one and I certainly did not like increasing my monthly cell phone bill. (I'm all about saving money, not spending it; especially on my very limited income.)  But the middle school is not quite a mile away from the house and the walk home would be up a steep hill.  There were clubs and activities after school.  The purpose of having the phone was to be able to call us i...

It's painful to say, but my son flunked his last math assessment/quiz/test.  He barely passed the previous test (which was only a week prior).  I don't think I need to tell you that the past week has been a pretty rocky one in our home.  When he does poorly in a class, my son takes it VERY personally.  He doesn't see it as failing a class, he sees himself as a failure.  And that's a bigger problem than any math grade. My son IS smart.  He doesn't believe that though.  He does well in school and works hard to do well.  While I don't think he will be the valedictorian of his graduating class (which is a long way down the road, so who really knows), he is your slightly above average B/B+ kind of student.  With the transition this school year from elementary to middle school he's had his struggles.  I'm proud to say that he's worked hard (and had help) to try and overcome them. When he first started middle school, I let him fly on h...

My son is growing at a rapid pace.  It's not just that he's now in middle school (and too young for that in my opinion, but that's a whole other story), but he's having a sudden growth spurt.  He's almost as tall as I am (I admit I'm short).  I don't think from 2nd-4th grade he lost more than one tooth.  This past summer/fall/winter, he's lost more than I can remember (not that it says much).  Just in 2016 alone he's already lost two teeth. But the biggest indicator of his growth is his attitude.  He's definitely got that pre-teen/tween "thing" going a lot of the time.  (Too much of the time, if you ask me.) Although he has always been moody, he is now surly and often snappish.  I can see frustration and anger build when things aren't going his way.  Unfortunately, at this stage in his life, quite often things AREN'T going his way.  As a middle school student he has more homework, more classes and more changes going on in h...

..Me! Surely I'm joking, right?  Maybe not.  Think about it.   I'm a woman so I'd help balance things out.  I'm a registered Republican.  (That should make Congress happy.  How I chose to vote may not.)  I'm not too old (at least when it comes to the Supreme Court; the youngest member was only 32...I'm older than that but a heck of lot younger than the Justice that I would be replacing). I'm relatively healthy so I could be around for a while. I have no criminal record.  (I haven't had a speeding ticket since before my son was born which would be the closest run in with the law that I can think of.) I have no political aspirations, so I would be a fresh voice. I don't have a legal background.  I don't have to.  It's not in the requirements.  Actually there really aren't any requirements.  (An interesting and easy read can be found here:  http://mentalfloss.com/article/75463/how-are-supreme-court-justices-chose...

On Valentine's Day (which also happens to be one of the COLDEST days I can recall in recent memory), I was asked to be pulpit supply at my church.  Here's a brief overview of what I said today.  (And wishing you all a Happy and WARM Valentine's Day!  My wish for all who read this is that you be safe and warm on this day.  Put on those comfy warm clothes and cuddle up with those who you love.) Call to Worship: God, you know our hearts.  You know our deepest desires, fears and worries.  Help us to journey during this Lenten season into a new awareness of your presence in our lives.  Save us from our own temptations, so that we may more freely follow you. Amen Luke 4 1-13: Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,  2  where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.  3  T...

Today is Ash Wednesday; the beginning of Lent.  Those long 40+ days before Easter where many people give up something, or, as is becoming more of a trend these days, giving back/doing good. I'll admit I don't know much about the actual day; other than it "kicks off" Lent.  So I did a little Googling and thought this was a concise review:   http://time.com/4210001/ash-wednesday-ash-forehead/    I won't be sporting ashes today.  But that doesn't mean I won't be reflecting on the meaning of the ashes. Besides giving up this Lent season, I'm going to do my best to give of myself.  I'll say no more about that as I am giving a meditation/sermon this Sunday at my church on the subject and I don't want to completely give myself away here.  (However, I will be posting it on Sunday, if you are at all curious.) What I do feel is important during Lent, is to reflect and be mindful.  If you are giving up something, do so mindfully.  My ...

Part of growing up is learning to make choices.  Even as adults we make good ones AND bad ones.  Even as adults we can learn from our mistakes.  To be an adult it to admit when we've made a bad choice and CONSCIOUSLY decide to do better next time. This weekend, my ten year old made some good choices and some bad ones.  On Sunday, I reminded him that we would be participating in the "Souper Bowl" at church.(https://souperbowl.org/).  Of his own volition, he decided to take some of his savings and donate it.  The suggested donation is a $1, so I was surprised when he pulled out $5.  I asked him if he had a dollar bill, and that he only needed to donate that much.  He did and again to my surprise he decided he wanted to donate both; giving a total of $6.  It was  good decision.  Such a good decision on his part that I decided I needed to "match" his donation and put $6 of my own into the donation "pot".  His good decision hel...

I was sucked into complacency.  We had over 2 feet of snow dumped on us one weekend in January.  Then February arrived.  Mr. Groundhog didn't see his shadow. (How that is possible, I don't know.  It was a sunny day.  And even if it hadn't been there were tons of cameras around with lights shining on the area.  How could he have missed his shadow???)  Temperatures hit record highs.  Winter coats were replaced with lighter ones.  The calendar said that spring was 40+ days away and I was feeling good. (Ready to dig out those lawn chairs!) The news mentioned the possibility of snow.  But hey, it was 50 something at the time.  Snow?  Maybe some showers, but snow? Then I got up this morning.  White stuff was covering the ground.  Big flakes were coming down.  The 1-3 inches that were a possibility had now creeped up to 2-4.  School scheduled a delayed opening.  (A wise decision in my mind; the snow w...

In most ways my son is a typical kid.  As a fifth grader he likes pizza, red velvet cake and Legos.  He hates vegetables, homework and getting out of bed in the morning.  As a pre-teen/tween he gets an attitude every now and then.  He likes to run around with his friends and do things that often make me wonder "Why?"  In other words, he's your average boy. But there is one way he is very unique.  (Not only one way, but for the purpose of this blog, I'm going to talk about one that stands out.)  My kid likes to dress up.  I'm not talking about putting on a costume like you do at Halloween (although he does love that too!).  He likes to get dressed up.  Putting on a dress shirt, a tie and a suit makes him happy. I swear it's not my idea.  He has liked getting "dressed" at least since kindergarten (as far as I can recall).  He preferred to wear collared shirts over t shirts.  It took convincing him to get him to wear...

This post will probably go down as one of TMI.  However my blog, like life, is full of things that aren't pretty (and are often downright nasty), but are realistic.  As much as I like to be, I've past the point of being the hot young mom.  (Ok, I was NEVER the hot young mom...I was never HOT period.) Here is the painfully obvious truth...(drum roll please), I am middle aged (bordering on old).  If this were the early part of the last century, I would be an old woman.  (Wearing old lady dresses and orthopedic shoes no doubt.)  I'm not thrilled about this fact because I still want to wear Sesame Street jammies.  I probably wear clothing and make up that is not necessarily "age appropriate."  I don't think "old."  But then I look in the mirror and... I do look the same as I always did.  If I compare myself to my high school senior portrait (not that I really want to look), I see the same face.  But there are some changes. ...