One Man's Trash...Another's Treasure

Sunday afternoon as I mowed and worked in the yard, I couldn't figure out why so many cars kept coming in and turning around in our culdasac. Luckily my neighbor, Shannon, clued me in that it was Clean Up Week....which might be better called Trade Your Trash Week! To save people the expense of going to the county landfill (and keeping people from letting junk pile up in their garage and yard), the city provides a pick up one week out of the year. You can put anything but appliances and yard waste on the curb and they'll pick it up and take it to the landfill for you....free of charge. HOWEVER, the city has some major competition....scavengers! Pick up in my part of the town started Tuesday morning at 8am; but by Sunday night people had already put out a lot of "goodies" and there were all sorts of people driving around and picking up new treasures to take home. I snapped this picture of my neighbor's pile this morning right before pick up...it's about half the size it was Sunday night! I decided last night to pull out my grape arbor and set it on the curb. Within 10 minutes, someone had stopped, pulled off the grape vines (that I left on because I figured the city would take them), strapped it to the roof of their mini-van, and they were off! Another neighbor put out three kid sized bikes...two were gone before he had time to walk in the house and take off his shoes!

While I've been amused for two days at the number of people inching along as they drive so they get a good look at the piles, it also brings to mind how one man's trash truly is another man's treasure.

Getting Crazy with Candy

Late one night last week, I ran in to pay for gas and grab a snack that would keep me occupied and awake on my drive home. As soon as I walked in the store I started to laugh because there it was...a Nutty Bar! I probably hadn't had one of those in ten years but I just love to pull them apart layer by layer, lick off the peanut butter and then eat the wafer. They are so bad for you...but oh so good and fun to eat!

As I drove down the road trying to enjoy each layer, I was glad that it was dark because I surely didn't want anyone seeing me enjoy my Nutty Bar so systematically (admit it, you look at people when you pass them and laugh at the funny things they are doing....singing their heart out, talking to themselves, picking their nose, putting on makeup...you know what I'm talking about).

And the Nutty Bar got me thinking about all the other foods that we eat with crazy patters. Take for instance the Ho-Ho. I don't think I've ever eaten a Ho-Ho without first peeling off that outer layer of chocolate trying so hard to get it all off in one piece. Or the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup; poking a hole through the middle, savoring that hunk of peanut butter then eating the outer chocolate ring. Or how about jelly filled rolls; I used to bite out a spot then use my finger to dip out all the jelly before eating the rest of the roll. One of my favorites has to be the Snickers. Haven't had one in quite awhile, but I love them cold or frozen so you can eat them by the layers; slip off the outer chocolate, then the creamy layer, which leaves you with the best part...caramel and peanuts!

When I think about it, it's not just snacks...I eat a lot of foods in crazy fashions. Maybe that's my method for slowing down so I don't eat so much!

Lyrics of Life

There's just something about music that moves me. I can hear a song and instantly be taken back to a certain time and place in my life. I can hear a song and it makes me think of a certain person. I can hear a song and tears mysteriously well up in my eyes. I can hear a song and just want to sing and dance.

I've always been surrounded by music and can feel the white noise when it's not there. I grew up with my mom always having some country music playing in the dining room. I remember how we used to stay up really late on New Year's Eve listening to the Top 100 countdown and trying to hit the tape recorder at just the right moment so we could record our favorite songs to listen to all the time. I've grown to love a wide variety of music but my roots still go back to country. There are a whole lot of people that poke fun at country music, but there's something magical in the lyrics of those songs. They tell stories that touch our souls. And for me, they often become theme songs that describe where I am in life.

I've always thought it would be interesting to make "soundtracks" every couple years to capture the songs that describe times in my life...but I'm a procrastinator and never get that done. However, there are certain songs that would make the soundtrack no matter when I created it. So step aside Casey Kasem, here's the Top 10 Theme Songs for my life (in no particular order and probably not even really the top 10...just 10 of the top):

• Settlin' by Sugarland: As a single at 36, this song struck a chord the first time I heard it. Might very well be my ultimate theme song. I'm definitely not settlin' after waiting this long.
• Life Ain't Always Beautiful by Gary Allen: This song is so on the mark that I get tears in my eyes just about every time I hear it. Not much else to say, it's amazing.
  
• One More Day by Diamond Rio: There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about my grandparents. And even though I had a special time with each of them within a month of their passing, I still wish that I had one more day so that I could tell them how much they mean to me and to tell them goodbye.
• Small Town Girl by Kellie Pickler: I've lived in several places...all bigger than my hometown. But I'm a small town girl to the core; and that's all I'll ever be...all I ever want to be really.
• I Can't Unlove You by Kenny Rogers: Every relationship I've had has made an impact that will last forever. While the song nails my first love, it also relates to how dear I hold the memories of the other relationships I've had.
  
• Small Town Kid by Eli Young Band: The words to this song are so true it's almost scary. And while they all ring true, I love how it says "I like simple, not complicated." That couldn't be more true for me.
• Happy Ending by Sugarland: "It's why we sit in the movies all the way to the closing scene" is my favorite line of this song. I guess I romanticize life at times and I'm always thinking that things will work out for the best; we're all headed toward a happy ending.
• Where I'm From by Jason Michael Carroll: I cracked up the first time I heard him say "gave their children grandmother's maiden names" because that's been my plan for many years. Just hope whoever I marry is game with that.
• Don't Forget to Remember Me by Carrie Underwood: Living several states away for so many years, this song explains many of the thoughts that went through my head. I laugh when I hear "even when it's not, I tell her everything's alright"; moms know everything and they can hear right through your words.
• Never Be One by Alabama: This has been a theme song pretty much all my life. I am Daddy's little girl and as I grow up in this world, I always look back and try to hold on to the days of our past.

All in the Name of Fun

While I was growing up, if I would have asked anyone to make a list of 10 adjectives to describe me...I'm guessing that "competitive" would have made the list. Maybe it's because I'm an overachiever, maybe it's because I'm short, or maybe it's because I'm a middle child. Regardless of the reason, I'm amazed at how non-competitive I've become! Sometimes I wonder if I just got burnt out on competition. Between showing cattle, 4-H and FFA offices, awards and competitions, and other school activities, I seriously wonder if I just had enough of it.

This isn't a new ponder, I've thought about it a lot over the last few years. But it once again entered my mind a couple of weeks ago when a group of us went bowling. Oh man, the bowling alley was exactly as I remember it from when I was growing up. They even still have those black balls with the red and blue triangles that we used to learn to bowl! And every time I got up to the lane, I could hear my Grams telling me what to do..."move over a board, reach for that arrow, you're turning your wrist, you have to follow through...". And I'm glad she wasn't there because she would have been so disappointed in the number of pins I knocked down (or didn't knock down is more like it)! But I had the best time, I just laughed all night, and didn't really care how bad I did! We even bowled a game where every frame we did something crazy like bowl with your other hand, bowl with your eyes closed, bowl between your legs, and bowl backwards (Grams might be rumbling right now that we messed around at the alley!) But it wasn't at all about winning or losing, it was about having fun. And that we did.

I've still got a competitive streak, especially when it comes to board games (and cheaters), but for the most part I've really been amazed at my preference for staying out of the limelight. Where I've really noticed it over the last few years is in my professional life. It's somewhat important to be involved in the professional organization, hold offices, serve on committees, and get awards...but I don't really have any interest in doing so. A funny thing happened a few weeks ago when I presented my research at a national meeting; I won second place in the poster division and really didn't even know it was a competition until right before the meeting! I know it's all going to be important the next time I look for a job in the profession, but right now I'm pretty content with the awards from way back when that are tucked away in a box, probably getting dusty and tarnished.