Once in a Blue Moon

The month of December is an exciting one this year. There have been holidays and events to celebrate including the winter solstice, Christmas, and New Year's Eve. But something else that I've been waiting all month to see—The Blue Moon!

If they say the moon is blue,

We must believe that it is true.

(an old proverb, 1528)

We've all heard the saying that a rare something happens only "once in a blue moon," but what does that really mean? According to modern popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month (this month's first one was on December 2nd). It isn't actually blue, though and I'm not sure where the color blue comes from.(I Googled it and only came up with pollution as a possible cause, but that it has nothing to do with two full moons in one month.)

As I mentioned, December 2009 is a blue moon month and the next one on New Year's Eve in the western hemisphere won't occur over here until 2028. I don't know about you, but I don't want to have to wait 19 more years to see this event again at the turning of the New Year. The moon rises at 5:08 pm and I plan to be outside watching it!

What a great way to celebrate the coming of 2010!

Happy New Year!

Addition ~6 pm: We went out to look at the moon and it was beautiful coming up over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. My middle son was ticked off that the moon wasn't actually blue but otherwise it was a great event getting out of the house for 15 minutes on this cold night.

~~~~~~~~~
Neat

"Let all that you do be done in love"
1 Cor 16:14

End of the Year Musings

It's almost the end of the year and the beginning of a new decade. There are less than three weeks left of 2009 that will be packed full of holiday gatherings and spirit until we can welcome in 2010.

To be truthful, I'm ready to start a new year. 2009 had a lot of drama for me that included a lot of soul-searching and redefinition of who I am and what I want and need out of life. The decision to quit my job this summer was a hard one, but something I had to do to point myself in a new direction. I discovered things that were missing in my life and found them again in unexpected ways and places. I also learned so much from every person in my life that helped me to be a better person now. I'm thankful that I have such a strong support group in my family and friends to help me through the rough patches and to celebrate the milestones and highlights.

The highlights of the year are the same as any other year. They included all the times that I got to spend with family or friends. I reconnected with high school friends this year, which enriched my life immensely (the internet and Facebook are amazing!). We went skiing with friends early in the year and the boys learned so much. Spring break was spent in San Diego, one of my favorite vacation spots. This summer I got to spend a special weekend with my sister and got to go camping with my parents again. We got to do a lot of camping, which has always been one of my favorite things to do. We spent the 4th of July with friends and celebrated Thanksgiving with my sister's family and Mom and Dad. And now I've got a group of friends that I get together with regularly for trail runs and workouts (and of course, coffee or dinner). Yesterday I went with the ladies for a "Jingle Bell Jaunt" through town to spread holiday cheer. We dressed in holiday garb and Santa hats and wore jingle bells all over. We were quite the sight.

I started a new part time job last week in a pediatrician's office and I think it will be good for me. It was a great first week and it felt good to be productive outside of the home again. It'll get me out of the house and will keep me busy and out of trouble. I'm having to adjust my workout/running schedule but that will all come together soon, and I'll miss my Wednesday mornings with my friends.

This weekend I'm doing my holiday baking and candy making. Why do we only make certain treats during this one time of year? How many cookie exchanges can a person go to in one season? And why can't fudge be for breakfast? My boys always seem to ask the tough questions.....

Happy Holidays to all of you!

~~~~~~~~~
Neat

"Let all that you do be done in love"
1 Cor 16:14

Observations on Growing Older

I don't know the origin of this list so forgive me if I can't give credit where it is due. All I know is that it has been sent around the email world for a few months now and I've received it three times by three different people. That whole "Six Degrees of Separation" thing is coming around to haunt me. I thought I'd post this here before it comes around the fourth, fifth, and sixth time, affirming the idea that I'm at the most six steps away from any person on earth. In any case, I'm not quite at the age where some of these are true for me (don't get me wrong, some of them are--see #1, #6, #9, #20, #26, #28, #37, #38 below), but I can see these things in some of my older friends and relatives and love them all the more for it.

Observations on Growing Older:

1. It's harder to tell navy from black!
2. Everything old is new again, but if you wore it before, you're too old to wear it the 2nd time around!
3. Your kids are becoming you...and you don't like them!
4. ..but your grandchildren are perfect!
5. Yellow becomes the big color...walls...hair...teeth!
6. Going out is good. Coming home is better!
7. When people say you look "Great"...they add "for your age"!
8. When you needed the discount you paid full price. Now you get discounts on everything...movies, hotels ...flights.
9. You forget names...but it's OK because other people forgot they even knew you.
10. The last 2 outfits you wore had spots on them.
11. You ask your husband or friend how your outfit looks and they tell you the truth!
12. The five pounds you wanted to lose is now 15 and you have a better chance of losing your keys than the 15 pounds.
13. You realize you're never going to be really good at anything...especially golf.
14. Your husband is counting on you to remember things you don't remember.
15. The things you cared to do,you don't care to do, but you care that you don't care to do them anymore.
16. Your husband sleeps better on a lounge chair with the TV blaring then he does in bed. It's called his "pre-sleep"
17. Remember when your mother said "Wear clean underwear in case you GET in an accident"? Now you bring clean underwear in case you HAVE an accident!
18. You used to say, "I hope my kids GET married.. Now, "I hope they STAY married!"
19. The best place to have a conversation with your husband is in the bathroom...you have his full attention.
20. Who wants to wear 3" heels anyway?
21. You miss the days when everything worked with just an "ON" and "OFF" switch.
22. When GOOGLE, iPod, email, modem... were unheard of and a mouse was something that made you climb on a table.
23. You use more 4 letter words..."what?"..."when?" ???
24. Now that you can afford expensive jewelry, it's not safe to wear it anywhere.
25. Your husband has a night out with the guys but he's home by 9:00 P.M...next week it will be 8:30 P.M.
26. You read 100 pages into a book before you realize you've read it.
27. Notice everything they sell in stores is "sleeveless"?
28. Many of the people in People Magazine you've never heard of.
29. Your concealer doesn't conceal.
30. Your lipstick bleeds.
31. Your mascara clumps and your eyebrows are disappearing.
32. You don't have hair under your arms and very little on your legs but your chin needs to be plucked daily!
33. What used to be freckles are now liver spots.
34. Everybody whispers.
35. Now that your husband has retired ...you'd give anything if he'd find a job!
36. You have 3 sizes of clothes in your closet....2 of which you will never wear.
37. But old is good in some things:...old songs...old movies
38. And best of all OLD FRIENDS

~~~~~~~~~
Neat

"Let all that you do be done in love"
1 Cor 16:14