Silly Thing #13

Sometimes things look like other things and I like that.  This tree stump for instance.  I took the photo and didn't give it much thought.  Every few days I go through my older photos to see if anything stands out to me as something that I could edit and find the beauty in that maybe I didn't see before.  A couple of weeks ago, I found something that stood out to me.

The original photo...

This particular photo stood out to me because I could see a face.  A little playing around in MS Paint and I had two different looks.

Look #1...

Look #2...

It makes me want to go back through other photos and see what I can pick out.  Do you have any??

Silly Thing #12

12 Silly Things About Me:

1)   I cannot resist a good “that’s what she said” joke.  I want to be better than that, but I’m not.

2)   I make up songs all of the time.  Not good songs.  I would consider them similar to Facebook statuses.  They are about mundane things that no one else cares about but, by putting it out there in a different medium, it makes them appear more interesting.

3)   I speak for my dogs and they each have a specific voice.  I speak in that voice to express what I think their thoughts are at that moment.  Jay does it too – lest you think I’m the only weird one in the house.  Usually I’m trying to make Jay laugh.

4)   The other night when I was going to bed and was so tired, I got really excited that I didn’t have to set my alarm to get up the next morning.  Like overly excited to the point that I was giggling crazily. 

5)   I struggle to maintain my composure while trying to scold my sons for inappropriate potty humor. 

6)   Once a movie or song has been parodied well (‘well’ being the key word), I can no longer take the original version seriously.  ‘Walk the Line’ is now just as funny to me as ‘Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story’, ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ is always ‘Amish Paradise’.  Most American Presidents and their mannerisms so that the State of the Union addresses become comical.  The list could go on and on.

7)   This song never stops being funny to me…ever.  Business Time

8)    I love when Facebook statuses (and follow up posts) go awry.

9)    I love puns.

10)  My dog got a plastic flowerpot stuck on his head and ran around the yard for a few minutes  
       before he could remove it.  Funniest thing ever and I had to hear the story from my 7 year old  
       because I wasn’t downstairs yet.  I don’t know if I could have physically handled the funny of 
       actually seeing it happen.

11)  Putting a straw under your armpit and then blowing into the other end of the straw makes for 
       some funny and immature entertainment.

12)  No matter how slow anyone drives up our street, there is a crazy neighbor who will run down his 
      driveway shaking his fist at you.  We’ve tried driving at or well below the speed limit and, it
      doesn’t matter, if he’s out, he will shake his fist at you.  Jay saw this neighbor drive for the first
      time out of our neighbor and the dude was a CRAZY driver.  Swerving, running red lights…what 
      a weirdo!  We now just wave to him.

Silly Thing #11

Robot cartoons by me...because robots are great.

Silly Thing #10

Before the day takes off as it will be a busy one...a poem by my 7 year old...

"Gator Dater"

Kate had a date
With an alligator
When she was late
The gator ate 'er

Silly Thing #9

Jay thinks this is way funnier than I do but I'll post anyway.  We took our older two boys to get haircuts today and were sitting in the lobby waiting.  Our 7 year old was eating a purple sucker and said "Grape suckers taste the best AND they smell the best!  See?"  My response was "I think they smell like dynamite...I mean Dimetapp." (if you remember, Dimetapp -which has been taken off the market - tasted like grape flavored candy).  Jay cracked up laughing at me and that made me throw my head back and laugh too.  I hit my head against the wall behind me instead.  Jay and our son thought this was hilarious.

The rest of my evening was spent having Jay and our son occasionally saying "That smells like dynamite...BONK!"  My brain's not working so good.

Silly Thing #8

It's been an exhausting week and even more exhausting day.  I was looking back over my photos to get an idea for the silly thing today.  I found a self-portrait I had forgotten I had done.  Apparently it was another exhausting week and I decided that my dog, Clyde, had the right idea. 

He's a wise dog.

Silly Thing #7

I had to skip yesterday's Silly Thing due to circumstances outside of my control (exhaustion and a crazy long day)!  I wasn't going to skip today though.

Today I want to go with a list.  It is a list of songs that I can never resist singing along to (loudly) whenever I hear them and generally will get stuck in my head.  They are quite varied.  Enjoy!

1.  Bad, Bad Leroy Brown

2.  Build Me Up, Buttercup

3.  Bullet with Butterfly Wings

4.  Cold Hard Bitch

5.  Mahna Mahna

6.  January Wedding

7.  Hail Holy Queen - this is for Tina!

8.  Sundown

9.  Smile

10.  Hotel Yorba

What songs get stuck in your head??? 

Silly Thing #6

I have spent a lot of time over the years watching The Lonely Island videos even before the SNL Digital Short got really popular.  In case you haven't spent time on their website, here are a few of my favorites "oldies"... Enjoy the silliness!

Ka-Blamo!

Nintendo Cartoon Hour

This one might be my favorite:
Just 2 Guyz

And finally, I don't know how this show never took off ;)
Awesometown

And just re-watching those made me giggle a lot. 

Silly Thing #5

Sunday dinner at my in-laws' house is always a good time.  We took a short walk hoping to let the boys hit some golf balls on the golf course but alas, there were people playing.  So we walked home and I was taking pictures of the kids and some plants.  My husband spots something and presents me with an opportunity to use my zoom lens.  It was the Speed Limit Sign (25 was the max in case you were wondering) with an artistic addition.  I, of course, took the opportunity and now am sharing it with you.

I give you...BOOBS! 

I find the ridiculously juvenile to be completely silly.  I've decided to picture the suspects as women (maybe in their 40s), dressed in lovely spring cardigans and the cutest of bob haircuts, taking a walk one evening.  Maybe they had a glass or two of wine.  They were walking and talking about things cardigan-clad women talk about and one of them had an idea and a Sharpie.  The taller one had to do the writing while the other was the lookout.  I think there was some giggling and the shorter woman said something like "psst...write it so it looks like a 13-year old boy wrote it!"  After the deed was done they took off running and giggling.  The shorter one probably peed a little from the running and laughing.  Now every night when they take their walks, they avoid looking at the sign and just pretend the other said something hilarious at that very spot in their walk. 

Or maybe my father-in-law did it.  The mystery remains unsolved.

Silly Thing #4

Stay tuned...

Silly Thing #3

Silly Rules…because without order there’d be mayhem…ahem…

Silly Rule #1…If everyone laughs, then it wasn’t silly enough.  To be truly silly, you have to be able to make some people giggle and some people uncomfortable or unsure of whether they should be laughing at or with you.

Silly Rule #2…Go to the restroom BEFORE doing something silly to avoid tinklage. 

Silly Rule #3…Children are usually good silly judges.  The more ridiculous, the better. 

Silly Rule #4…Be yourself.  Silly can’t be forced.  Today I don’t feel well so my silly levels are low, that’s why I created silly rules today.  My favorite silly medium is ‘odd’.  Yours may be ‘cutesy’.  Just go with it.

Silly Rule #5…Always have a friend who “gets it” and several acquaintances that don’t.  It’s much more fun to laugh later with the friend over how uncomfortable it was when the others just stared at you or fake laughed to be polite.  This goes along with rule #1 but it still deserved it’s own number.

Silly Rule #6…Silly isn’t mean spirited.  Be nice.

Silly Rule #7…Make up rules.  My sister and I once sat at the piano while I played ‘Oh Holy Night’.  We sang it over and over.  Each time we sang, we would agree to take out a letter or invent a speech impediment and sing the whole song like that.  We built on each ridiculous imposition and just added more each time.  By the final round, the song was barely recognizable and we thought we were hilarious!  I realize most of you are probably just thinking “Nerds!”  Well, yeah.

Silly Rule #8…Picture imaginary scenes of things people say in your head a lot.  While they say it.  It's entertaining.  I can’t listen to anyone talk without picturing some kind of preposterous scene in my head.  Usually it is so far removed from what the person was actually talking about that I don’t repeat it.  I like to practice some restraint at times.

Silly Rule #8…9 is for squares.

Silly Rule #10…Don’t follow any of this.  Silly rules are stupid.  Pick your own.

Silly Thing #2

Today was a CRAZY day at work!  I realized this evening that I had not officially decided on my silly thing for the day so I had to think back on my day and see what silly things I might have done.  Then I remember my lunch break today.  I work from home so I eat lunch at home every day with my husband and my 5 year old son.  Today he had a friend over and they were being silly and said they wanted bugs in their chocolate milk.  I agreed.  They laughed and said "No way!"  I was then able to convince them that I would put bugs in either their chocolate milk or their peanut butter sandwiches but not both - that would be much too greedy.  They tried to talk me into saving the bugs for my older boys who were still at school but I wouldn't hear of it.  When I had them sufficiently worried about bugs in their milk, I then exclaimed "Oh no!  I'm completely out of bugs!  I'm so sorry boys, but I won't be able to put bugs in your milk today."  They nervously laughed but I saw the relief in their faces. 

That was too easy.

Silly Thing #1

 

The rules of Steam Roller are quite simple really. 

Needs 2 or more players.

1. Lie down on floor as straight as possible.  Other participants should lie down like this as well.
2. Roll around on the floor with your arms at your side and your legs straight.
3. Roll slowly over other participants and chant equally slowly “Steam Roller, steeeeaamm roooollleeerr…”
4. Occasionally run out of gas in mid-roll so that the other participant has to bear your weight.  He or she may try to give you pretend gas so you will start back up.
5. Sometimes get a burst of crazy energy and roll really fast back and forth over the other participant.  Chant quickly “Steam Roller, STEAM ROLLERSTEAMROLLERSTEAMROLLER…”
6. Continue until you are exhausted or until your clothes are sufficiently covered in carpet fuzz and pet hair.

I hadn’t played Steam Roller in a long time but re-introduced it to my kids last night.  Good times.

Challenge Accepted

My blog has lived up to its name of Unfocused Creativity.  Every post is completely different and I post sporadically, at best.  I guess, in that respect, I am consistent.  I have decided to challenge myself a little and add a little regularity to my little bloggy spot in the giant blogosphere (I don’t know if that’s a real word so I’m committing to that spelling).  For me to consider it worthwhile, the challenge must provide four things:  1) It must require a more regular posting routine, 2) It must have some sort of theme, 3) It should be somewhat entertaining, and 4) It has to stay true to “me” and my voice.

I have figured out the challenge.  It’s simple.  It’s fun.  It’s me.  It will hopefully be entertaining.  It will start this week. 

Silliness allows us to stay more present in each moment.  I struggle with staying present sometimes, but I don't struggle with silliness.  I don't know how documenting a silly thing, every day for 30 days, will affect that.  I vow not to repeat the same silly act within the 30 days on this blog, so that forces creativity and living in the moment.  Silliness is subjective so what is silly to me may be utterly stupid to you.  Some things may be more ridiculous than others.  Many things may be subtly silly because that's more my style.  You may just read my blog and shake your head in my general direction.  That's ok with me.  Either way, feel free to share - maybe we can start a Silly Revolution!

Awareness Day!

I tried to post this yesterday but Blogger has been down for almost 2 days.  So...

May 12 is Fibromyalgia Awareness Day.  I was diagnosed a little over two years ago.  At that time I didn’t know much about it but over the past two years, I’ve met more and more people who have it, know someone who has it, or have heard about it.  I still struggle with acceptance.  Some days I am okay with it and other days I convince myself that I don’t have it and must have something else.  Every day I think I learn a little more about living with a chronic illness and still trying to lead a happy and fulfilled life. 

I have neglected my blog for a couple of months but felt it necessary to write a post for today.  I know I need to do my part to increase awareness about Fibro if I expect things to change.  “Invisible” illnesses are tough.  They are tough for the people who have them and feel miserable but have nothing tangible to show for their suffering.  They are tough for the doctors trying to diagnose and help patients to manage their symptoms.  They are tough for the researchers with little funding to search for a cure.  They are tough for the families and friends who love and support their loved one despite all odds.  They are tough for the pocket book with constant medical bills and treatments.  

Having said all that, I want to be true to myself and stick with my Three Positives for a Negative idea.  While Fibro can definitely be considered a negative, there are positive things that have come from having this illness.

1.  I’ve learned my limitations and learned how to ask for help.  Sure, I still push myself too far and pay the price sometimes so there’s a constant learning curve.  However, I have been a perfectionist and an overachiever my entire life.  It took getting sick to realize that I can’t do it all.  I can’t be perfect.  I can only do my best, treat others well, and love living my life.  Asking for help doesn’t make me weak, it’s making me stronger.

2.  I’ve recognized my dreams.  I have always been artistic but never really thought I could make art my life’s goals.  Getting sick made me realize that life is short and it’s not worth spending what little energy I have doing something I don’t love.  It’s been a lot of trial and error over the years and I’ve learned so many things but I know now that I’m meant to be a photographer and a writer.  I will live my dreams and my boys will see the possibility of achieving their dreams.

3.  My marriage is stronger than ever.  My husband is my rock and he never lets me down.  I’ve recognized that this illness affects his life too and I always keep that in mind.  We have each struggled emotionally with how this illness has shaped our life together and we’ve supported each other through it all.  God knew what He was doing bringing us together. 

Could I have learned these things without being sick?  Probably, but it may have taken a lot longer.  When you feel like your body is betraying you and you suddenly lose the life you once had, you have some choices to make.  Some people choose to throw in the towel and let the illness win.  Some people just exist peacefully and accept that life will just be ho-hum.  Some people fight against their body and stubbornly refuse to let the illness win, only to make themselves sicker.  I choose to listen to my body (push through when I can, rest when it’s necessary) and carve out a life that works for my family and me. 

Happiness can still exist with a chronic illness.  In fact, the good days make me even happier because I know what bad can really be.  On this day of awareness, learn more about fibromyalgia and support those who have it.  Even if you don’t understand it, please don’t judge, don’t tell them what you think you would do or put them down - just love, listen, and learn.  We can’t ask for anything more than that.