Ready for 45?

So, lately I've been realizing that it isn't long until I'm 45!  And I have to admit that there are days when I'm not really comfortable with that.  Ya see, I continuously see myself as not old me.  And thinking that I am a certain age, well, that blows my mind.  ' Cause I never saw myself in the future.  Not that I didn't expect to live this long (although there were times).   I never have been one to say, 'When I'm 45, I will be..."  Except this statement, " If I live to be 80, bring me a carton of cigarettes and  'stuff I can't mention here because I'm an educator'... and I will LOVE the rest of my life!"  but I have close friends assigned to that....

So anyway, there are things that remind me of my age daily.....

1.  The eyesight.  It's bad enough that I haven't been able to see the alarm clock when I wake up in the middle of the night since I was 10, but now I can't thread a needle,  have to hold books four ft away and enlarge the text messages on my phone to 72 font? WTF!?

2.  Gray hair which peaks itself out between colorings.  Colorings which I did not start to cover gray, but to try something new.  If you know me, I have played with hair color for a long time.  Anyone remember the pink hair?? 

3.  I can't eat whatever the hell I want!   Now it's all about reading labels and avoiding the food that's bad food.    If I only knew to appreciate those days when it didn't matter what I ate.  Or when all I had to do is to think about  losing weight and it happened. 

4. Former students recognizing you and they have kids of their own.  This wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't worked at the elementary (oldest age 12) level for 20 years. Yes, I have former students that are 32 and older.  YIKES! 

Even so, I can't complain because I still get carded.  And yes it's because they have to card everyone.  But what makes me smile is the comment after looking at my ID, like.....  "Oh, wow!"

and at the grocery store.."You're 21 right?" Yes, ma'am, I'm almost 45."  " How old did you did you say you are?"  " 44 almost 45."  " You don't look even close to that!"

or at the Drs. office checking out,  " Are you Marguerite?"  " Yes, that's me. "  " Really? You don't look even close to 44!" 

Screw the other stuff, I'm as young as I feel which is what people perceive me to be apparently!

"Soup"er dilemma

It's no secret that I love to cook.  Notice I said cook, not bake.  Although, the girl and I made a chocolate cake from scratch today which was fun and amazingly yummy!  So baking may be on my resume soon.  I have high standards to consider someone a Cook or Baker.  In my mind, you not only need to be able to replicate a recipe, but you need to be able to create your own creations without a recipe.  I can basically pull this off as a cook, but not a baker.  I know what flavors and foods go together to create a great meal.  Baking a cake or cookies without a recipe... I just don't seem to have that knack, yet. 

One of my favorite things to make is homemade soup.  I love soup.  Love it soooo much that I could eat it daily.   I can tell in a restaurant if it's made from scratch or a can has been opened.  And to me if you are serving canned soup in a restaurant then, "why bother?"  I have a few favorite soups I make, and really they take no more effort than it does to drive to the closest diner and order food.

Am I always successful?  No.  Take tonight, I tried to create chicken corn chowder using a recipe from a friend.  I changed it up to make it in the crockpot. And it is good, but not too appealing to the eye. And you say, as long as it's tasty, who cares?  Yeah, to me it looks like vomit, and has a strange texture.  I'd say like vomit, too, but I have never stopped to contemplate the texture of vomit.   I can't eat more than a spoonful.  The girl liked it. She ate 2 bowls and Hubby had a bowl, too..

I made a few key mistakes.  When using chicken in a soup, you should always cook it separately.  Because when you don't, the longer you cook it in liquid the more likely you are to get this cottage cheesy chicken residue.  So I thought I would fix that by running it through the food processor.  Epic mistake!  Thus, the result...

So, why the big deal?  A good friend of ours is having a soup party in a few weeks.  I want to impress this friend because he is like a culinary expert.  He is always bringing amazing food to gatherings.  I'm indecisive as to what soup to make, but I can tell you which soup I will NOT bring!  Hubby says,  "You got to have bad ones every once in a while to appreciate the good ones."  Although, he says that in reference to puns, which to me there are very few good ones of those. (Sorry, Dad!) 
 I kind of want to try something new... just looking for the courage to take the leap.   Because I found this one recipe that could be phenomenal..... or not! 

Non-traditional Thanksgiving Tradition

If you know me, you know I love traditions!  So, this year I'm trying something new.  It seems a little silly for me to work hard all morning to make a Thanksgiving meal for only 3 people.  Don't get me wrong!  I love my family, but half of what I consider a Thanksgiving meal, my family does not eat.  So, this year I'm changing things up.

I came up with an idea.  My family and I are volunteering to help serve Thanksgiving dinner at a local church for the community.  After that, we are going to watch the new Muppet Movie and then enjoy some sushi!  Crazier even still.... I am going to attempt to shop at midnight tomorrow night!  Laugh if you will.  I might be able to stay awake.  New traditions being made every day!

This year, I'm thankful that I have people who love me, a stable job which I love, and a roof over my head. I'm truly Thankful!  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

My Tribute: 9/11/11

I know where I was. I know how I was affected.....No need to relive that here. Here is my tribute........

While our lives continued

Each one of yours ended

Wives and Daughters, Fathers and Sons

Into God’s hands you flew

Lives were changed in an instant

Like the sky changes hue

Note the memories will never fade

Everyone has their own tale

Versions that many would whole-heartedly trade

Eliminating a single one would fail to

Remember those feelings and the sacrifice paid

Fighting for justice we constantly do

Or making sure that our freedom is intact

Reminding us all what is real and true

Getting on with life…..Not easy, but a fact

Each year that comes moves us farther away, but we say to you

To each one of you who lost their life that day….We will never, ever forget

i'm unique.. and expect to keep that

When I was a kid I never received gifts that had my name on them. My parents gave me an uncommon name. My full name is Marguerite, not Margaret. My nickname is Meg.....not Meghan. Marguerite and Meg are not names that are common on mugs, toothbrushes, or shot glasses. So I hold tight to my name. I'm really ok with nicknames... I've had a few.... Chab, Green Eyes, RB, Smeg, and Wheat to name a few. Each with a story and if you really know the story than you have permission to call me that. I really don't care what you call me except, if you call me Meghan, I will correct you once. If you call me it again.... you're not going to be on my favorite list.

I feel unique in many ways, but my name(s).. Come on....how many people named Meg or Marguerite do you know? I'm guessing not many... so it's up to me.....

Hey, my name is Marguerite or you can call me Meg. In the whole world you will never meet anyone like me... and I hope that is a good thing.

There's a major storm brewing...

Hey, did you know that there's a hurricane out there? Her name is Irene! In my 20 years in the South I have experienced several storms, but never a major direct hit. Looks like SC will dodge that bullet again. I was going to recall some of those storms and the experiences I had, but I think I will highlight the things I have learned about hurricanes and tropical storms.

1. They are scary and not something to get excited about. It may seem that way at first, but even when you leave you will worry about what your street will look like when you return.

2. Have a plan of where to go to be out of harms way and get out when authorities tell you to. Don't think you can ride it out and protect your house. If you change your mind in the height of the storm, you can't. Chances are roads will be impassible, and there might not be someone there to rescue you.

3. Don't forget your pets. Emergency shelters don't take pets. I always make a reservation at a hotel inland that takes pets. It costs me nothing to make the reservation and I can cancel it up to the day I'm supposed to arrive without paying anything.

4. Put all your important paperwork in an easy to grab place. You know, stuff like insurance agents' numbers, birth certificates, and the like. I'd say photos but the digital age has kind taken care of that.

5. Remember to help one another and that material things are replaceable..Lives are not.

Hopefully, everyone will be safe and stay out of harms way!

Nostalgia.... what does that say?

Recently, like in the last 5 days... I have noticed that there has been a surge of pages on Facebook that begin... Things I remember about...(fill in your hometown). I saw this for the town I am living in, and was waiting for one for the town I grew up in. Well, it happened this am. At 10:00 am there were less than 150 members and by 9:00 pm there are 340. The fun thing is that I have enjoyed reading, posting and commenting on the town which when I was a high school senior, I couldn't wait to leave. In fact, I will say, I hated that town.

So, what's the change? Well, I have to say it may have to do with hitting the midlife thing...( God I hope I live to be 86!) As much as I thought I hated that place as a teenager, it contributed to the person I am today.... the people, the places, and every experience, good or bad.. .. what can I say? honestly? All the following questions have popped in my head.........Was it really not that bad? Did I have more fun than I remember? Did some of it really matter? Did most of it not matter? The biggest question that keeps popping in my head.....Am I that old?
Yeah, I'll go back to my real life that doesn't remind me how old I am... unless you're a former student who drops by...... In which case...