Bfth's Boring Blog

How did you finish that phrase? How about:  Point me in the direction of... Or I woke up in... If you answered (in order):  love you, Albuquerque and love this morning you know what this post is all about.  And most likely your heart hurt when you heard the news that David Cassidy had died last week. David Cassidy was my first crush. I'm pretty sure Sound Magazine was the first album I owned.  I can remember listening to it on my parent's stereo in the living room when I was six (or possibly younger).  This was followed by Partridge Family Album and then Up To Date.   (A gift that I received the day by baby brother came home from the hospital.  Who cared about the baby?  I wanted the gift!!)  I never did get Shopping Bag or P artridge Family Christmas Card .  (I was extremely envious of my friend Susie who DID have them.)  The last album I got was for Christmas:   At Home with Their Greatest Hits and that was the end of that.  It wasn't until I met my

Thanksgiving is a time to spend with family and friends. The pastor at my church was able to do just that, but it prevented her from being in the pulpit this Sunday. So yours truly stepped in. And here's what I had to say: Psalm 95:1-7a O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed. O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. New Testament Reading:  Matthew 25:  31-45 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All t

In with the peppermint mocha.  Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, it is time to say farewell to my beloved pumpkin spice (and I DO LOVE a good pumpkin spice, which I realize has very little to do with pumpkin at all) and am ready for a taste of Christmas.  (Although I have to admit I'm not a big peppermint mocha woman.  I like it once or twice during the season, but I'm not addicted to it like I am with pumpkin spice.  Which, I'd also like to point out, makes very little sense, seeing how I am a total chocoholic!) Thanksgiving was early this year (there is still one more Thursday left in the month), which is why I really must stress that holiday decorating really SHOULD wait until after the big Thanksgiving meal has been devoured.  (I'd say turkey here, but I'm the one with the poultry allergy and turkey hasn't been part of my family's Thanksgiving since I was a in 7th or 8th grade when I ended up in the ER on Thanksgiving night after consuming som

Though I may bitch and moan about a lot of things, I am always truly thankful for the Thanksgiving Holiday and the 4 day weekend. (Although there have been times and jobs where I have had to work on "Black Friday."  While that wasn't fun, the one GOOD thing about it was that traffic was usually light.  Everyone was either still in the food coma or already out shopping and NOT on the highway.  For those of you who work in retail...blessings and good wishes to you all.  That's the best I can do in this consumer hungry society.) I love the holiday weekend because for me and my family it is USUALLY pretty laid back.  (Ok, there was the year that BOTH of my parents were in the hospital for Thanksgiving.  That year was not quite so laid back!)  I handle the Thanksgiving meal and there being only 6 of us for dinner, it's really not that much of a challenge.  Yes, right before the meal is served I am in a tizzy, but we're talking less than an hour of stress.  A

Aren't we all appalled with avalanche of sexual assault/harassment stories that are coming out?  We're probably getting tired of them.  That's not to trivialize it.  It's just overwhelming.  One of the problems is that there is a fine line between assault/harassment and a person who THINKS he/she is being funny by doing something inappropriate for a laugh.  Neither are acceptable, but then intent is different.  I want to say to those people who do something inappropriate for a laugh, what would your parents or grandparents think?   (I'm purposely excluding the assaulter/harassers here because I think they are beyond asking the question.  As I see it, they wouldn't care.)  Would you make a boob joke to your mother?  Would you grab your father's private parts for a laugh?  Would your grandparents think it was funny? I am of the opinion that a lot of "stupid sh*t" is done as a result of being immature.  (I was going to say young, but I think i

November seems to be the month where we are all expected to give thanks.  I think because Thanksgiving is in November, that somehow social media (all media?) has turned it into THE month where we should all declare our thanks.  And to show how thankful we are we should do it publicly...or at least in a public forum. In some ways to me it's defeating the purpose.  Or making the whole thing less valid.  Kind of like:  "Hey!  Look at ME!  I'm THANKFUL!  Look at me!"  Or maybe I'm just taking it the wrong way.  Could I be a cynic?  Me? Truth be told, I think we SHOULD be thankful. In my opinion, as a species we are not thankful enough for all that we have.  We don't appreciate the world around us.  We DON'T count our blessings, and we SHOULD. Still, when things DON'T go our way, perhaps we should still be thankful.  Or at least try to look at it in a different light.   Which is what I am TRYING to do for the rest of this month.  Starting

This word has been on my mind a lot recently, for a variety of reasons. Last week, in my state of NJ, we elected a new governor.  It doesn't matter who I voted for (although it does matter that I voted), the new governor come 2018 will be Phil Murphy.  Once he is sworn in, I hold him accountable for what he said he will do as Governor.  Idealistic, I know, but I at least want to see some progress in his promises.  For me, his promise to end PARCC (or as you know I call it CCRAP) testing is a BIG thing.  So if movement ISN'T made towards eliminating PARCC, I will hold Mr. Murphy accountable; with my voice and with my vote.   Mr. Murphy is not the only politician I hold accountable for his word.  There are plenty of others on BOTH sides of the fence.  And when I am not pleased (or even when I AM pleased), I make sure my representative knows it.  Does my one voice matter?  Alone, it may not, but we ALL have a voice and we ALL need to hold our representatives (on all

Several weekends ago  the boys and I drove out to Pennsylvania to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday.   My mother-in-law had planned a celebration dinner at a local restaurant for friends and family.  Since I have a lot of SERIOUS food allergies, she had to really work/plan. (And I LOVE her for it!)  Not only did she make sure there was something for me to eat (and not just my usual salad), she wanted a birthday cake that I would be able to eat as well.  (Birthday cakes are a bit tricky since most people don't make them without eggs.)  As the date got closer, she pre-ordered my meal so that I would be safe and when told that the birthday cake would not work but a giant birthday brownie would, she agreed to it. Dinner reservation was for 6, but we (the in-laws, the boys and me) arrived early and went inside  As it was the weekend before Halloween, we were greeted by what I assumed was the hostess in Day of the Dead make up.  We waited in the cramped entranceway while s

For many of us it's Election Day.  And if you think it's not worth it because we're not electing a President this year, I'd say you're wrong.  Don't you want the people who represent you (be it on the local school board or town council or "higher" up on the food chain as a Senator) to be the one YOU feel is best suited for the position?  Maybe your guy or gal won't win, but by NOT voting you are not only hurting them, but yourself as well. If you are not sure who to vote for, that's okay too.  There's still time to do a little research.  (And I'm not talking about who all your Facebook friends say you should vote for.)  Yes, it's better if you take the time early on to learn about the people who want to represent you, but in this millennium; Google is your friend.  Although not ideal, it's relatively quick and easy to find who is for what. I also want to say it's okay to cross party lines.  (If you are a membe

Could it have been only a little over a month that I wrote   https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2017/10/prayer-is.html   and followed up with  https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2017/10/prayer-isnt.html ? If you haven't read those posts, please do.  If you have, thank you and I HOPE that you have acted in your own way on some of the things that I mentioned. But here were are a little over a month later and we're in the same boat.  We are still NOT talking and we are still NOT acting.  I also have to wonder if those who call out for prayers are actually praying.  Or are they just spewing out the standard "prayers to the families...good thoughts to the friends."  That's NOT just something to be said, it is something to be acted on. In my religious tradition; prayer is something you do, but it is not a standalone.  You don't just say a prayer and then move on.  You continue to pray and you ACT.  As a practicing Christian, I take to heart th

...which, of course, you CAN do this weekend. Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 AM on Sunday; although in my house the clocks are turned back early on Saturday night. At least that is the case for those that have to be manually controlled; so many "smart" appliances handle this themselves, which is a good thing since I have been known to set the clock ahead when I am supposed to set it back and vice versa. But haven't most of us (if not all of us) wanted at one time or another to actually turn back time?  To have a chance to do things differently?  To make a wiser decision?   To the person who says he has no regrets in his life, I call bullshit. I may be relatively happy with my life and I'm not saying that I'd marry someone else or move across country or anything like that, but I know that if I had the chance (which I don't), I would go back and do a few things differently. Like what? I would have traveled more and not let the fear of the unkn

Another Halloween has come and gone.  I think this is my son's favorite holiday, as he plans and decorates and plans some more.  Our front yard "display" seems to grow and evolve every year under his command and this year he decided to expand the Halloween 'cheer' to his room. (I'll admit I wasn't too thrilled with all of the "cobwebs.").  For the first time he and his friends went out on their own with no chaperone.  (This meant that I didn't get any extra walking in yesterday; which I am sure will be reflected in tomorrow's battle with the scale.  All the candy is just too tempting!)  He came home with a sack full of candy (though not as much in past years; he said his friends "pooping out" held him back!) and still full of excitement of the adventure.  For that I am truly thankful.  Thankful that I live in an area where my son can go out for his evening stroll or trick or treating with his friends and I don't have to wor