This whole BBBC thing was completely spur-of-the-moment, and I didn’t give most of the prompts a lot of thought. Today’s is specifically timed, however. It’s my birthday.

I am not one to make a huge deal over birthdays. As long as I get cake. That’s important. I love cake. Not just any cake, cake with a lot of icing. The type/flavor of cake doesn’t matter as long as it’s covered in real icing. Not that lame whipped cream stuff, the sugar-laden kind, and LOTS of it. Preferably with decorations made of icing, too.

The idea for this prompt wasn’t to make a big deal of my birthday, or to make everyone reveal their age, but rather to think about age, aging, and what it means to you.

I’m 49, by the way. That means 2016 will be the final year I spend “in my forties.” It’s a sobering thought. Not that I regret aging. For me, every birthday marks another year I have survived. Getting older is a privilege, not a given. Besides, the older I get, the more I am able to learn. About other people, stuff in general, geography, literature, movies, food, etc. About myself.

I’m not the type to worry too much about looking older. Feeling older, i.e., experiencing all the aches, pains, and other issues of an aging body, well, that sort of sucks. But it’s better than being dead.

Thoughts of aging for me usually turn to wonder at how fast time really does seem to pass.

It’s so hard to believe that picture was taken twenty-two years ago. Twenty-two!

Kids really do grow fast.

Hubby makes fun of me, because I’ll often suggest we do something “because it could be the last time” a chance presents itself. I’m usually right, too.

Like our “last” real family vacation. Before the kids scattered, coupled-up, jumped into their own lives. Lives where we, the parents, take the back burner, and become more of an obligation than a reality. Lives where other people, people they chose, join the fray. For better or worse and all that.

We’ve been lucky. The kids have all chosen their partners well.

That vacation was lots of fun. We went to Yellowstone and Grand Teton. It’s hard to believe it was 12 years ago…

I think the last time we were all together was 2013, at Eric’s wedding.

The kids HAVE scattered. In 2004, I never would have guessed that 12 years in the future Shannon would be living in San Diego, or that Amy would be in Washington State of all places. I wouldn’t have guessed I’d have three grand-kids either. Or that Eric, our baby, would be married.

That was a fun birthday weekend. You can read about it, and see pics, HERE (Part 1), or HERE (Part 2).

I forgot to share this picture of me walking Eric down the aisle at his wedding. Unconventional, yes, but awesome.

There’s a reason this act is often referred to as giving your kid away.

Sigh.

I’m not sad. Honest. It’s the circle of life. And I have seen, done, and experienced a whole lot of pretty cool stuff. I’ve met and/or gotten to know some really cool people. Some assholes, too, of course. (Nothing like an asshole to make you appreciate people, eh?)

I’ve traveled a lot more than I ever thought I would, too. And I’ll travel some more, still, if I am lucky.

Life is good.

AND… I have cake.

I’ll just say it was damaged.

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See how other BBBC 2016 participants
interpreted today’s prompt.

How did the other brave, bold bloggers respond and/or interpret this daily challenge? See for yourself!

• Richard of Richard’s Page
• Rachael (aka Fuzzy) of Fuzzygalore.com
• Steve of Scooter In The Sticks
• Mark of Markneustadt.com
• David of Life on Two Wheels

If there’s no link in the above list, that blogger hadn’t yet posted at the time of my writing. I’ll do an update as soon as I can. You can always use the link to each blogger’s home page in the list provided below.

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This Year’s Brave, Bold Bloggers…

Be sure to visit their blogs to see how each interpreted this challenge.

• Richard’s Page
• Fuzzygalore
• ScooterInTheSticks
• markneustadt.com
• Life on Two Wheels

Today, I am supposed to name a place I want to visit this year and why. That’s actually a tough one. I want to visit a lot of places. And I have actual, firm plans to visit Pennsylvania in February (annual girlfriend getaway) and Washington State in April (to see the kids, grand kids, and others). In March, I’m pretty sure I’ll be in North Carolina. None of those trips involve a motorcycle, but I am very much looking forward to each jaunt. (I had to mention all of those places so I didn’t leave any of those people thinking I didn’t want to make a particular trip.)

January and February are the months I typically start daydreaming about motorcycle adventures. For some reason, I haven’t given that a whole lot of thought this year. Maybe because those other trips had my brain occupied. The long and short of it is, there’s no particular place that sticks out. I mean, REALLY sticks out, as in all-I-think-about-when-I think-about-riding.

To satisfy the “requirements” of today’s prompt, I’ll say Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. It’s a tiny place, and a rodent is its biggest claim to fame (Punxsutawney Phil). Hubby and I rode through there one night on our way to Niagara Falls. Because it was night, we didn’t stop. So I didn’t get a chance to photograph even one of the myriad “Phil” statues around town.

I’ve been kicking myself ever since.

Honestly though, for rides on the bike, the destination is almost never as or more important than the ride itself.

From what I remember, the roads in those parts were decent, so I’ll stick with Punxsutawney as my choice.

It’s been a long week. 🙂

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See how other BBBC 2016 participants
interpreted today’s prompt.

How did the other brave, bold bloggers respond and/or interpret this daily challenge? See for yourself!

• Richard of Richard’s Page
• Rachael (aka Fuzzy) of Fuzzygalore.com
• Steve of Scooter In The Sticks
• Mark of Markneustadt.com
• David of Life on Two Wheels

If there’s no link in the above list, that blogger hadn’t yet posted at the time of my writing. I’ll do an update as soon as I can. You can always use the link to each blogger’s home page in the list provided below.

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This Year’s Brave, Bold Bloggers…

Be sure to visit their blogs to see how each interpreted this challenge.

• Richard’s Page
• Fuzzygalore
• ScooterInTheSticks
• markneustadt.com
• Life on Two Wheels

I’m going to sound like a snob, I know it.

It’s hard not to with a prompt like this: “Misused and/or mispronounced word or words that make you CRAZY.” (Yes, Rachael, I edited-out my typo.)

I came up with this whole challenge idea AND developed the prompts within a span of a few minutes, i.e., I didn’t give any of it an excessive amount of thought beyond, “This could be fun.”

No one is perfect, right? Everyone makes mistakes.

When it comes to words, however, there’s a HUGE difference between a typo and a blatant and/or repeated misuse of a word or phrase. In my opinion.

 

 

 

My next two examples are usually encountered on the job. While I am working, not on every job.

 

I see that last one misused in myriad situations. Professionally, in books, publications, news broadcasts, etc. I fear it may be going the way of criteria, i.e., adopted even though it is wrong. Simply because that’s how most people use the word.

Just because everyone is doing something doesn’t make it right.

I’m looking forward to reading what fellow BBBs shared.

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See how other BBBC 2016 participants
interpreted today’s prompt.

How did the other brave, bold bloggers respond and/or interpret this daily challenge? See for yourself!

• Richard of Richard’s Page
• Rachael (aka Fuzzy) of Fuzzygalore.com
• Steve of Scooter In The Sticks
• Mark of Markneustadt.com
• David of Life on Two Wheels

If there’s no link in the above list, that blogger hadn’t yet posted at the time of my writing. I’ll do an update as soon as I can. You can always use the link to each blogger’s home page in the list provided below.

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This Year’s Brave, Bold Bloggers…

Be sure to visit their blogs to see how each interpreted this challenge.

• Richard’s Page
• Fuzzygalore
• ScooterInTheSticks
• markneustadt.com
• Life on Two Wheels

Tentative plans are in the works for a European vacation. It’s exciting. And very distracting. What will we do? Where will we go? Who will we get to see? What’s the best airport? How are airfare prices?

Oh, wait. I have to work. Crap. Trip planning, or pre-planning as the case may be, is much more interesting. AND more satisfying. But I have to make money to spend money, right?

Did you see Steve’s post in response to the “today” prompt? I thought it was brilliant way to address the whole “today” thing. It doesn’t get much more ambiguous than that. Even I, who created all of the prompts, sorta thought, “‘Today’? WTF? What kind of prompt is that?”

Anyway, since I kind of hate pictureless posts, here’s a shot of some “treasures” I recently acquired.

You like how I chose to meet the challenge today? Speaking of the challenge, I hope you’re all having as much fun with it as I am. Thanks to all of the participants for joining in!

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See how other BBBC 2016 participants
interpreted today’s prompt.

How did the other brave, bold bloggers respond and/or interpret this daily challenge? See for yourself!

• Richard of Richard’s Page
• Rachael (aka Fuzzy) of Fuzzygalore.com
• Steve of Scooter In The Sticks
• Mark of Markneustadt.com
• David of Life on Two Wheels

If there’s no link in the above list, that blogger hadn’t yet posted at the time of my writing. I’ll do an update as soon as I can. You can always use the link to each blogger’s home page in the list provided below.

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This Year’s Brave, Bold Bloggers…

Be sure to visit their blogs to see how each interpreted this challenge.

• Richard’s Page
• Fuzzygalore
• ScooterInTheSticks
• markneustadt.com
• Life on Two Wheels

Today’s prompt BBBC 2016 is “an everyday item in your house.” That prompt can be interpreted in so many different ways. I’m anxious to see how other participants incorporate that prompt into their posts.

Speaking of which… Thanks to David of Life on Two Wheels, the blogger who joined BBBC most recently, for the idea to include links to each participant’s prompt-specific post when I publish my daily entry. There’ll be a list at the bottom of each of my daily posts, which I will try to update regularly. Not everyone posts first thing in the morning you know.

Anyhoo.

I think most bloggers will agree it’s not always easy coming up with things to share one one’s blog. Not to mention finding the time to create a proper post. It’s not as easy as you think, trust me.

Everyone sees the world differently, right? We think about things differently, too. Even the most ordinary, seemingly mundane things can set the brain into overdrive. Depending on the time of day. In the wee morning hours, I’m lucky if a sight even triggers a spark.

There’s nothing artistic about that shot. It’s not even visually appealing. But it’s a sight that warms my heart.

Seeing scenes like that periodically transport me quite a few years back to the day a girlfriend’s father died. His death was sudden and unexpected. After leaving the hospital, we went back to her parents’ house. I was standing in the kitchen, looking at her father’s multi-day pill container. The kind with little compartments that have flip-top lids stamped with a label for each day of the week. The lids were raised over empty compartments for the first few days of the week. The rest of his meds were still in their sealed, marked spaces, ready and waiting for him to ingest.

That morning, when he’d taken his meds, he had no idea he’d never stand there to take his pills again. He had no idea he wouldn’t be needing his pills after that day. Imagining that one final fleeting moment, the briefest of instances that probably seemed so ordinary and insignificant to him at the time, moved my friend and I to tears.

So, yes, seeing Hubby’s wallet and iPod, on the counter where he leaves it every day makes me happy. It reminds me of how lucky I am. I have a husband who loves me. He’s a good man. He treats me well (most days, anyway), and he makes me laugh. He likes to cook. We take turns cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, etc. He’s a live-in riding partner, travel companion, dinner date, etc.

I’ll stop. I’m guessing everyone gets it by now. But I really AM lucky.

What can one learn from a bowl of raw eggs sitting on my kitchen counter? A tip we learned from our son, which Hubby has been using A LOT lately. You’ll like this, too, especially if you like hard-boiled eggs, but hate peeling the little bastards.

Set some eggs on the counter the evening before you plan to boil them. Sitting at room temperature does something to the eggs — I don’t remember all the details — essentially changing them from Grade A to Grade B. Boil them as you usually would. You’ll see, when it’s time to peel them, that the shell comes right off. Really. This is apparently common practice in commercial kitchens when Grade B eggs aren’t available for purchase (Eric is working his way toward becoming a chef).

Our toothbrush holder, which we’ve had for MANY years, was sitting empty the other day when I saw it and realized it looks like a face. I’ve seen that thing thousands of times and never saw a face before. Why is that? And now, every time I see the thing, I see a face.

You know how once you see something, you can’t unsee it? Of course, I’m not usually seeing the happy face as shown in the picture, but a poor, unfortunate dude with a toothbrush sticking out of each eye socket.

Yes, I like frogs (and toads). And yes, I like quirky stuff. So I have quite an assortment of frog and toad stuff in my office. It’s concentrated here in this room because Hubby can be a bit short-sighted at times and doesn’t share my affinity for kitschy amphibian decor. Silly man.

Oh, and I do realize the big yellow guy is not a frog. It’s an M&Ms candy jar. I just happen to love his happy, yellow color.

The long skinny thing is a string of ceramic angels I bought in Bassano del Grappa, a picturesque town in Italy we visited in 2012 about a month after my Mom died. She loves angels. It was one of those moments where, as soon as I saw it, I thought, “Ooohhh, Mom would love that. I have to buy it for her.”

But then I remembered.

So I bought them for myself, instead. Both to remind me of her and that life is fleeting.

We never know how long we have on this Earth, do we? Or how long our family, friends, and other people we love will be here.

It’s important to appreciate the little things. Don’t fret over small stuff, but take time to smell the roses, too. It’s a delicate dance. And that’s all I have to say for now.

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See how other BBBC 2016 participants interpreted today’s prompt.

How did the other brave, bold bloggers respond and/or interpret this daily challenge? See for yourself!

• Richard of Richard’s Page
• Rachael (aka Fuzzy) of Fuzzygalore.com
• Steve of Scooter In The Sticks
• Mark of Markneustadt.com
• David of Life on Two Wheels

If there’s no link in the above list, that blogger hadn’t yet posted at the time of my writing. I’ll do an update as soon as I can. You can always use the link to each blogger’s home page in the list provided below.

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This Year’s Brave, Bold Bloggers…

Be sure to visit their blogs to see how each interpreted this challenge.

• Richard’s Page
• Fuzzygalore
• ScooterInTheSticks
• markneustadt.com
• Life on Two Wheels

If you’re a blogger and missed my Brave, Bold, Blogger Challenge for 2016, click here. We’d love to have you join!

So, it’s for the first post for BBBC and I’m at a loss. LOL. Where do I start?

That’s me with the Jolly Roger Muffler Man in Ocean City, Maryland. I have always hated the way I look in pictures, so you’ll often see selfies like these, where only parts of me are visible. I do post “normal” pics of myself every now and then.

I’m in my late-40s, but I won’t be able to say that for much longer.

I’m married to a wonderful man, Mike, who I usually just refer here to as “Hubby.” I have three adult children, and one of them has three children, which means I have three grandchildren, too. We don’t see them much, though, since the eldest lives in San Diego, the middle child lives in Washington State with her husband and kids, and the youngest lives in Maryland with his wife. I live in Warrenton, Virginia, about 45 miles west, and slightly south, of Washington, DC.

Here’s a picture of Mike and Me from August 2015. We were at a wedding. We don’t usually get all gussied-up like that.

In fact, we both ride motorcycles, so you’ll usually see images of us wearing our helmets and gear. Or, more likely, wearing gear and sporting serious helmet head, like in the image I posted below.

Hubby rides a 2013 Victory Vision. I ride a 2010 BMW F650GS. Every now and then — think rare occurrence, here — I’ll ride on the back of his bike. The last time I did that was October 2014, I think.

He likes riding long distances. I prefer shorter jaunts. He did the USA Four Corners Tour last year. That’s a LONG ride. It was 10,116 miles to be exact, spread across 15 days of riding. This year, he plans on riding to Utah so he can hit all the states he missed “in the middle” when he rode around the country.

Here’s a fact I haven’t shared before… earlier this year — April, maybe — I noted that I had about 9,500 miles on my odometer. Now, I have over 17,000. That means I rode an average of about 2,400 miles/year for the first four years I owned my bike, and I rode about 8,000 miles this year. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

I’m not trying to set any records or anything, and I’m sure lots of other people rode more, but it’s certainly a good indication that I spent much more time enjoying my bike this year than I have in years past. Yay for me!

The yard is a bit of a disaster, and there are quite a few unfinished projects around the house, but I don’t care. It was worth it. This year, I hope to log even more miles.

My solo trip down the Blue Ridge Parkway helped boost that mileage total. Hubby and I did a couple long weekends together, too, both of which involved The Snake. That’s a good road.

I should also mention that I have two dogs, too. They appear on the blog occasionally, and they show up in my Instagram feed and on Facebook quite frequently.

I work full time, but am a remote employee, so I do my work at home. That just means I don’t have to commute. I still work full days. For the record, one can work just as hard in their pajamas as they do in professional attire.

Other things I do in my spare time include photography, reading, and sewing (quilt-type stuff mostly, not clothing). I volunteer with a couple of dog rescue groups, mostly transporting dogs, but I have fostered several over the years. I like to paint old furniture, too, but haven’t done any of those projects for a while. I also like travel in general and am looking forward to a trip to Washington State in April and Europe (no details yet!) in September. Weekends rambles in the car are fun, too.

I guess that’s about it. It’s certainly enough about me for now.

I am really looking forward to seeing what all of the other BBBC participants reveal about themselves today. Thanks for visiting.

Tomorrow’s Prompt: 2. An everyday item in your house.