Bfth's Boring Blog

It's a pretty unique day; after all it only comes around every 4 years.  (Although not always, but that's not what this post is about.)  I have a friend whose birthday it is today (Happy Birthday K!)...it's technically only her 12th birthday.  Davy Jones (one of my first crushes) died on February 29th in 2012.  So he's been dead for 6 years, but this is only the 2nd anniversary of his death.  How crazy is that? I don't often have a chance to write a blog post on the 29th,  so I wanted to make sure that I did it today.  I won't have another chance to do this for 4 years and who knows if I will still be blogging at that time.  (I certainly hope I will and I hope you will be reading too!)  So I wanted this post to be especially honest and true...and maybe a little inspiring? So I've decided to be brutally honest and frank and say that this month, and in particular the past two weeks, have been incredibly stressful for me.  I don't know if ther

It's been a relatively mild winter here in NJ.  We've had some really cold days, but mostly they haven't been all that bad.  I'm not complaining.  (Although I am not optimistic about what the remainder of the winter might bring.) The other day, for the first time in a LONG time (winter wise that is), I heard some birds.  I heard them chirping outside my window in the morning.  It reminded me that spring is on the way.  It SHOULD remind me that I need to have hope. So I am looking out my window hoping to see a robin.  Robins represent spring to me.  And they also remind me of my grandmother.  As I write this it would have been her ___ birthday. (Not writing the actual number out of respect for her because that's the way she was.)  She would always be the first one in the family to see a robin.  It was a contest between my mom, myself and my grandmother.  She always seemed to spot them first.  It was probably because her kitchen table overlooked the large backy

NOTE:   On February 23rd, I filled in at church.  Below is the passage I used and the meditation I gave. Luke 5: 12-31  While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”   Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.  “I am willing,”  he said.  “Be clean!”  And immediately the leprosy left him.   Then Jesus ordered him,  “Don’t tell anyone,  but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded  for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”   Yet the news about him spread all the more,  so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses.   But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law  were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power

Perhaps you can guess what this post is going to be about.  You may have your suspicions based on an earlier post from this month.  But let me tell you what happened to me yesterday... The last time I was physically in my office was Thursday.  Friday I worked offsite and Monday was a holiday.  When I came in early yesterday morning (because a Monday off means that Tuesday is going to be twice as busy), there was a small pile of mail on my desk.  There, buried underneath a bunch of envelopes was: It was a Valentine's Day (because that's when I'm assuming the mail showed up) miracle!  Five months after my last copy (September 2019) I FINALLY have a physical copy of the magazine again.  (I have been able to read it digitally thanks to my local library.  However, when it comes to magazines and newspapers, I like a "real"/hard copy.  I'm completely ok with reading a book on an e-reader, but I have some sort of block against it when it comes to magazines and

Yes, I realize that today is Presidents' Day and on this day we SHOULD honor the men who lead our country and acknowledge their achievements.  However, I feel compelled to write this today (while I actually have an opportunity to do so), as a belated valentine to my husband. When we met and got married, I did not envision the path our family life took.  I never thought that I would be the family provider and that he would be a stay at home dad.  This wasn't necessarily by choice; it was by circumstance and working within our situation that our family evolved.  It is not always one that I am happy with, but it is one that works for us.  That is what is important. I may (and do!) complain about our situation.  I'm not always comfortable with having to be the one to financially support this family of three.  I'm not happy that he doesn't do "EVERYTHING" that I would like him to do around the house.  I wish there were things that he could or would do.  H

What do you think of those words?  What do you think of that President? These are words we remember.  These are words that have come to exemplify President Lincoln.  If we are to honor him today on his birthday, or on February 17th (Presidents Day) or ANY day, let us remember and ACT on those words.  We do not honor this man or his presidency if we do not listen and live as he said.  If they are just random words on a page with no meaning, than what is the point of even remembering the man? We celebrate Lincoln.  We have monument in his name in our nation's capital.  His face graces our money.  We honor him by using his name to grace schools, libraries and other public buildings.  Do we respect him?  Do we honor him by remembering his words and following his example? Lincoln was not popular during his own time in office.  Our nation was split in two.  We know from historical documents that the strife in our country weighed heavy on the mind of this man.  This man

Recently I've been under a lot of stress and pressure at work.  Due to changes at the corporate level, I now work for someone else as opposed to the President of the company (who hired me nearly 4 years ago).  I am now under the umbrella of a group of people with the same type of position as opposed to being under a specific company within the corporation.  It has not been a smooth transition.  I am expected to do and follow processes that the corporation has in place, even though some of those processes do not fit on the company level.  There is no set guideline or workflow.  There are lots of little glitches.  Things are not running smoothly. I'll be frank; it kind of freaks me out.  It freaks me out a lot! I am trying my best.  I'm doing what I can to move the work forward.  But I'm making mistakes.  I may leave something out.  I may forget to do something.  I'm thinking that's to be expected, but again it's setting me on edge; especially as

It's a foggy day in London, only I'm not in London!  Here in Northern NJ it's one of those weird weather days.  Currently it's raining and so foggy that I can barely see out the window.  By the end of the day it will clear, but temperatures are going to plummet.  Welcome to winter? As I head off to the weekend (not there yet), I've got some updates on items that I wrote about earlier. (I know you are waiting with baited breath, right?)  Because I love bullet points... The early morning visitor:    The insurance agent was APPALLED at the way the inspection was handled.  At first she thought it couldn't have been a field rep and we were concerned that it all was some sort of strange scam.  She followed up and it a true field person and there was definitely going to be some sort of re-education.  If he had been in the wrong neighborhood he might have gotten shot!   The Same Old Song: STILL Missing Oprah :  STILL no O magazine.  But I DID finally get

This morning sometime between 7 and 7:45 my  Ring  notified me that there was motion by my front door.  I was getting coffee, but my husband said he saw a man taking a photo of the front of our house and then move to the side.  By the time I put down my coffee and stuck my head out the front door, I didn't see anyone.  I thought perhaps it had something to do with our neighbors (who are moving) or it was public service.  However, I thought it odd if it was either of the two, that I didn't see him further down the street. I also didn't see any official vehicles on the street either.  It was all very strange and disconcerting. A few minutes later I looked out the front window and I saw this person walking down the street away from my house (In the direction I had assumed he would have walked a minute or so ago).  He was wearing a snow cap, a reflector vest (NOT an official one that the utility companies have) and a clipboard.  I stepped outside to see where he was

Some thoughts from Bfth on this first Tuesday in February: I'm glad January is over.  Isn't everyone?  It starts out with a blast; who isn't excited for the New Year and new beginnings?  Then it just peters out.  It peters out slowly...so slowly that I've heard other say that the month must have at least 37 days in it.  It sure feels that way.  The holidays are over and we are stuck in the cold and dark.  What is there to look forward to?  Who wants to get out of bed and do anything?  This past January has been blissfully boring as far as the weather goes (at least here on the east coast), which makes me worry what the next couple of months might bring.  Just as we're lulled into a sense of complacency, will we get whammed with a big snowstorm?  Only time will tell. Speaking of getting "whammed"; once again I've joined the #lastman challenge.  I *think* I'm breaking my own r

If you don't understand the title of this post, then you need to go back and read this first:   https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2019/11/missing-oprah.html   (Don't worry, like most of my posts, it's a quick read!)  I wrote that back in early November of 2019.  Here were are in early February.  Do you think I've seen Oprah? The thing is I recently got an email from the magazine encouraging me to renew my subscription. Even though I paid nothing for the subscription, I would happily pay the "low price" of $38 (I've rounded up) that they are offering subscribers for a year of the magazine.  Ok, maybe I wouldn't be so happy about paying that, but I WOULD pay because I enjoy the magazine...WHEN I get it.  And the last time I saw it was in September of 2019.   Despite my complaint to the US Postal service (and the person from the local office who told me if I had any problems I should contact her directly and not the national office...Ummm...

Back in the days when I was young (all so long ago), I used to frequent record stores and book shops.  It was where I spent most of my money.  I loved to listen to music, particularly on a turntable and enjoyed the packaging that went with it.  (While I loved cassettes and cds too, it just wasn't the same.)  I loved going to bookstores and finding treasures.   I still love to listen to music, though it is now all done through a device that does not require me flipping over a record and I still love to read, although more and more I do so on an e-reader.  Although I have given up/away many records/cds/cassettes and books, there are still many in my house.  Some of that I will never let go of.  Why?  They touched me on some basis and they and the memories that I have of them are an important part of me. The other day I learned that one of my favorite authors, Mary Higgins Clark, had passed away.  She was 92 years old and had written over 50 books.  (Some with her daught