Tag: Friday

Five Question Friday: or not . . . November, 9, 2012

Published on by Cecelia FutchLeave a comment

Fridays are coming around sooner and sooner! The weeks are flying by with ever-increasing speed  . . . or so it seems to me. This was a busy, action packed week for sure. The VOTE dominated the thoughts of many of us living in the USA, and maybe many of you living abroad, too. We/I worried that this election would be a long, drawn out process, possibly keeping us in suspense for days and weeks to come. Instead the election was decided before midnight, and thankfully both candidates were gracious in acceptance and defeat. Whether your candidate won or lost, hopefully we can move forward, working together to address the problems facing this nation. Onward and upward!

I have chosen not to answer the 5QF questions this week. They are all about childbirth and a woman’s experiences giving birth. Actually, having a daughter and a daughter-in-law who have had C-sections, and a daughter who had a vaginal birth, each experiencing giving birth in her own unique way, not to mention my experiences giving birth three times, I can see where the questions would lead to some very interesting, dare I say “poignant,” discussions. The men however, would be totally left out of the mix. And many men read this blog. If you are interested in the questions for this week, I encourage you to click on the badge at the top of this post where you will then be whisked away to the site where the questions are listed. Enjoy. You may want to post them to your blog.

So, now what do I do? Since I have a paper waiting to be written (and due on Sunday), I will beg off this week but plan to return next Friday to answer five provocative questions! (hopefully) 😉

Have a great week. Find ways to relish life. See you next Friday.

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Here’s a Bit of Sunshine!

Published on by Cecelia Futch16 Comments
My goal here is to spread a little sunshine with my blogs. I try to share the things that inspire me with anyone who is interested or in need of a bit of an uplift. So it was quite humbling to receive this latest nod from Mama’s Empty Nest. I encourage you to check out her blog if you haven’t already. I enjoy her take on life, especially since I’m an “empty nester” myself.
As for the award, here are the rules:
  • Include the award’s logo in a post or on your blog.  Check.  See the logo, it even looks happy, doesn’t it?
  • Answer 10 questions about yourself. Check. Q & A  below!
  • Nominate 10-12 other fabulous bloggers.  Because the myriad of fabulous bloggers  out there, I refer you instead to my blogroll at the bottom of his page.
  • Link your nominees to the post and comment on their blogs, letting them know they have been nominated. (I simply can’t comply here. Please forgive me for falling down on this part of the ‘rules.” But, sometimes rules are made to be broken.)
  • Share the love and link the person who nominated you.  Check.  ‘Mama,” thank you so much for this thoughtful gesture.

Ten Sunshine Award Questions along with my answers:

Favorite color:  This is difficult because I like color so much! Probably warm reds and yellows.

Favorite animal:  Definitely cats.

Favorite number:  I’m not sure how one has a favorite number. Just pulling one out of the hat, I say seven. Tomorrow that may be different.

Favorite non-alcoholic drink: Coffee, closely followed by green tea.

Prefer Facebook or Twitter? Not really into Twitter so I’ll have to go with Facebook

My passion:   Oy….so many! All things family, nature, healing and health (spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally, etc.)

Prefer getting or giving presents: Both! I know it sounds ‘non-committal’ but the cycle of giving and receiving makes for healthy living.

Favorite pattern:  This one I can’t even guess. Not even a wild guess. Although I do like patterns.

Favorite day of the week:  From sundown on Friday till Sundown on Saturday — the sabbath!

Favorite flower:  Definitely roses — all colors, makes no difference, but I am definitely a rose person!

 

So there you have it. If you want to give this a shot, please feel free to take that badge and post to your own site (pass a little sunshine) and answer the questions. I wish you all a wonderful, bright sunshiny day!

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Five Question Friday: January 13, 2012

Published on by Cecelia Futch22 Comments

 

Welcome back to Five Question Friday. Don’t be spooked that this is Friday the 13th! It happens from time to time and I’m still here to talk about it. 😀 Hope you had a good week. Here are this week’s questions. Take a stab at it for yourselves and share your answers with the rest of us! 🙂

1. What’s the last thing you bought for yourself?

I don’t remember. It was probably a book. That is my weakness. I pick up a book of poetry and then I can’t seem to put it back down; it must go home with me. Or I’ll see a book on photography that I simply must have. Novels? I tend to check those out at the library. Then there are textbooks, and then more textbooks. My courses are going well but there sure is a lot of reading! (It’s a good thing I love to read 😉 )

2. What is your favourite meal on a cold winter day? 

A hot bowl of homemade vegetable soup or chili. Nothing beats it on a cold winter day. Nothing.

3. Have you started looking at swimsuits for this year, and do you buy a new one every year?

swimming pool
Image by freefotouk via Flickr

I haven’t bought a swimsuit in over a dozen years! I used to be quite a swimmer–was a life guard at Davis Swimming Pool at Fort Knox, KY, during my young years. Here I was a 19-year-old girl working as a life guard at a pool filled with GI’s in the early ’70’s. Viet Nam still captured the headlines every night. I actually went in the pool to pull someone out a few times during my tenure in that position. Ahhhh. . . that was a long time ago. But today I don’t swim. And I don’t know why I quit going to the pool. There is certainly opportunity. Hmmmm . . .  maybe another NoCZ-2012 challenge to consider! 😉

4. If you could be any candy what would you be and why?

Peppermint candy because I love peppermint. 🙂


5. What are you most passionate about?

Cecelia Futch SkyDiving!

Oh wow! This is a hard question because I am passionate about a lot of things. I would have to say that I am passionate about life! When I think of my passions, all of them have to do with helping people, improving life for myself and others, loving my children, developing my spirit as well as the spirit of the world, and the list goes on. But the one thing that these passions have in common is they celebrate life and seek to improve the lives of myself and others. So, I am passionate about life and living authentic lives.

Well, I’m done for today. I hope that one of these questions will spark your interest and that you will join the discussion. Have a great weekend and a wonderful week. See you next Friday!

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Five Question Friday: January 6, 2012

Published on by Cecelia Futch11 Comments

Hello friends! I hope your Friday is getting off to a good start. Here we are at the first 5QF of the new year! Enjoy reading, and then if you like, answer the questions in the comment area of this post. Or better yet, click on the badge which will take you to the site where I pick up the questions, copy and post to your blog and start a discussion there. If there is a question you don’t particularly like, strike it out and make up your own. (I’ve done that a few times as many of you know.) So let’s get started! 🙂

1. What is the weather like where you are and do you like it?

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Love the photo ops, not so crazy about the cold!

2. When you’re sick what do you seek comfort from?

In my case, the question is ‘who’ do I seek comfort from? My husband! He is the best ‘nurse’ in the world!!! (Sorry Mom, but it’s true. What can I say?)  Richard’s mother was a nurse and she passed on her nursing expertise to her son. I am the beneficiary! Thank you Mrs. Rogow. 🙂 Richard hovers over me, making sure I have enough blankets, brings me advil or tylenol for fevers and aches, makes sure there is plenty of water by my bedside, checks on me regularly to make sure I have everything needed to stay as comfortable as possible. No matter how hard I try, I have been unable to match his skills when he is sick.

3. What do you need to do before the end of the month?

Oh my. I will let you know after I open up my course syllabuses later today. My “to do” list will be centered around course work for the next ten weeks. (Week 9 will have the added anticipation of my youngest daughter’s due date for her first child! Yes, I’m heading to Chicago for that regardless of end-of-the-quarter deadlines!)

4. Have you ever served on a jury?

A summons for jury duty in a United States dis...

As a matter of fact, yes I have. I’ve been called for jury duty three times, and a fourth time I requested out due to religious holidays. Personally I consider jury duty a civic responsibility  willingly serve when called. The only exception thus far was due to a religious holiday observance (I think it was Passover; can’t remember for sure.)

5. If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

This is an easy one. Since I was a little girl I thought it would be great fun to be an otter.

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris) mother with nursing...

Why? Because of all the animals I saw that day years ago at the zoo, the otters seemed to be the ones who were having the most fun. If you google otters, you will see that they make everything they do into a game or play activity. And they love the water, as do I! In my youth I was a life guard in several different places, and it just makes sense that if I come back as an animal, it has to be a animal that loves to play in the water! What fun!

**Jury Duty Summons and Sea Otters are Wikipedia Images.


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Five Question Friday: December 30, 2011

Published on by Cecelia Futch15 Comments

Wow! We have reached another Friday! Hope you had a wonderful week. Life was slow and peaceful for us as we celebrated the last few days of Chanukah. Thanks to all of you who followed my Chanukah posts at this site. I had fun refreshing my memory and then writing about the various aspects of this special holiday.

Now, back to a somewhat regular routine, and on with Five Question Friday!

1. What’s the oldest piece of clothing in your closet?

Well, that is a hard one. I am not a clothes horse and I wear clothes forever before discarding them, so all my clothing is old! Oldest? Hmmm . . . I would guess that a Guatemalan skirt I bought at a boutique in State College, PA at least 20 years ago is the oldest, or at least among the oldest garment I own. I still wear it. It still looks good! And I even get compliments on it from time to time.

2. How many random blog readers have you met?

Other than my family and friends, I have not met any “random” blog readers yet. I hope to some day. (Psst . . . Y’all come visit, ya heeah!)

3. Do you let your kids stay up till midnight on New Years Eve? (Or, if you don’t have kiddos yet, did you get to stay up until midnight as a child?)

When the kids were little I would put them to bed at their normal time, but then a few minutes before midnight we would wake them up to wish them a Happy New Year. I do not recall what we did when I was a child, however I do recall New Year’s Eve as being a great baby-sitting night! My favorite family (the Froelichs) would have me babysit, but they and their guests for the evening would return to their house around 11:30pm so that I could join them in ringing in the new year! AND, they were sober so I didn’t mind them giving me a ride home afterwards.

The worst nightmare I had was babysitting for a couple who didn’t return home till four in the morning, stoned, and they told me, a fifteen-year-old girl, to walk home . . . alone . . . which I did. Terrifying experience! My parents were none too happy either, and I was never allowed to babysit there again!

4. What are the gas prices where you live?

Too high! The prices range from $3.50 to $3.85 right now. We’ll see how high the prices are in the morning!

5. What is one resolution that you know you should do but are too afraid to try?

Oy . . . I’m not into resolutions because I always feel like a failure when I fail. On the other hand, I’m a sucker for a challenge. Challenges are easier for me to follow through with, and if I don’t meet the challenge, for whatever reason I don’t feel like a failure, rather I feel successful for having at least tried. And with a challenge, I usually learn something about myself (i.e. NaNoWriMo, I learned that I am not a writer, an avid blogger, yes, writer, no!) In my next post you can read about the 2012 Challenges I chose to take on!

On the other hand, one resolution I always work on is to be a better person, kinder, more accepting of differing opinions, more respectful of the ones I love.

There you have it! Next Friday we will be in a new year, a year I pray will be mentally, intellectually, spiritually, and physically prosperous for each of us. Blessings to you all.

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Five Question Friday: Nov. 25, 2011

Published on by Cecelia Futch17 Comments

Well, I’m a day late, but that is a testament to the wonderful time I am having with my family. Seeing folks I haven’t seen in decades is mind-boggling, and fun! We’ve eaten good food, shared many laughs, cried a few tears, and have said over and over that we will not wait so long again to do this! Family gatherings in our home are cherished. I hope your family gatherings have been joyful, too.

Now, on to the five question Friday questions! (with a few minor changes to suit our traditions.)

1. Is there a special dish you prepare that you are famous for?

Not really. I can put together a really good meal on special occasions, but I am really not known for my cooking. I do bake a mean Amaretto Cake, and I make great salads. But special dish that I am famous for???? Nahhhh…. Not me.

2. Are you (did you) go Black Friday shopping ?

I am not now, nor have I ever been a big shopper. I have never participated in the Black Friday shopping event, nor do I ever plan to. I don’t get it, although I have friends and family who look forward to it and treat it almost as if it is a sporting event. I will just enjoy that distinctly American custom vicariously through them.

3. What are your strangest holiday traditions?

We observe the Jewish holidays, and by some folks standards we have some strange traditions and observances, too many to go through here. But Succot has some beautiful traditions that may appear strange, like eating in the Sukkah, or shaking the lulav.

4. Pecan or pumpkin pie? (She actually asked “Apple or pumpkin?” I just T-giving’ed it!)

I love both, but pecan has got to be a favorite of mine. I’ll leave it at that.

5. When will you put up your Christmas tree?  Chanukah begin this year?

We light the first Chanukah candle on the evening of December 20 this year. We will light a candle each night for eight nights to commemorate the miracle of the oil centuries ago. I will write more about this as we near that beautiful holiday (it’s closing in on Midnight now, and to be honest, I just don’t have the energy.)

Well that is it for this week. I hope to be back up to par next week, and I will fill you in on some of our strange traditions in the weeks to come. But for now, I’m signing off. Hope you and yours (in the USA) had a wonderful Thanksgiving day. For those of you beyond our borders, may your lives be filled with gratitude. Thanks for stopping by.

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Five Question Friday: November 11, 2011

Published on by Cecelia Futch24 Comments

Good Friday everyone! First of all, I would like to salute all United States veterans. I think that most of us in the US have had at least one family member serve in the armed forces. so on this day, I salute US veterans everywhere.

Today this will be short. I have THREE papers due before the end of the day, plus an appointment with my academic adviser. To be honest, I shouldn’t even be here, but I just couldn’t resist. 😉 So, join me if you wish, but let’s get to the questions for today. Enjoy! 🙂

1. What’s the last thing you spent too much money on?

I spent $100 on a pair of shoes that were not even attractive! but they purported to be good for exercising one’s legs. Weeks later, I found that I could have gotten the same pair at a discount store for less than half the price. 😦  Next time, I’ll shop around first!

 

 

2. What celeb chef would you want to make you dinner?

To be honest, I don’t know any celeb chefs; we don’t have a tv. But if I could have any chef cook for me, it would be Susie Fishbein, author of the Kosher by Design recipe book series. Her recipes are phenomenal! I have three of her many books and frequently refer to them. I can’t say enough good things about her dishes. If ever you get the chance, check out her blog at Kosher by Design Blog.

 

3. Where do you hide things when visitors pop over or do you let them see the real deal?

I don’t usually hide things when people pop over. They have to take me as they find me, however the Sabbath or festivals, I scoop up everything that hasn’t found a “home” yet and toss into the “catch-all” room (we’ve had one in every place we have lived) to be dealt with after the Sabbath or holidays are over.  No pictures for this one. Not much to see really, just a junked-up room.

4. Who is your oldest living family member?

Uncle David, Mom's brother

In my immediate family, Mom is the oldest at 82 years. But she has a surviving older brother who is 85 or 86. He looks good for being 86 years old, don’t you think?  I don’t know Dad’s extended family, so I can’t say if there are older folks or not on his side. His family has the genes for the age though! Many live into their 90’s. The photo to the left is Uncle David, Mom’s brother, who has lived in Louisiana as long as I have been alive. He and his wife have been married for over 60 years.

 

 

5. What is your favorite DQ treat and/or Sonic drink combo (ie: cherry vanilla dr. pepper)?

Oy . . . don’t do those either. We buy ice cream from the super market and bring it home to enjoy when we want. When the kids were growing up we often made homemade ice cream which was a treat. When I was growing up, coke floats, or Dr. Pepper floats were popular. Mmmm. . . maybe I’ll make one of those today. Sounds good!

There you have it. Have a great weekend, and we’ll do this again next week.

And the Good News Is . . .

Published on by Cecelia Futch20 Comments

I really tried to write a substantive post today (this was late Thursday night) but life keeps on ticking and responsibilities are . . . well . . . responsibilities.  This is good, but at times I, being a somewhat responsible person, don’t get to do what I want to do. Someone once told me that I could do/be/have anything I wanted, I just couldn’t do/be/have everything I wanted. In a nutshell, I have to make choices. I am not talking about earth-shattering, life-changing choices today, just the everyday, run-of-the-mill choices we all have to make. For instance, I really wanted to go to the lake this evening to shoot some sunset photographs. Instead I washed clothes. . . four loads to be exact. Another for instance, I wanted to venture out with my camera to take a long walk at a nearby park. Instead I worked on resumes and actually submitted two. The entire day was like that: dishes washed, clothes washed, dried and folded, carpet vacuumed, furniture dusted, silver polished (yes, I polish silver.)

Our western culture (USA) strongly encourages us to do what we want, don’t let mundane responsibilities get in the way of enjoying life; make big bucks and retire early, etc. There are certainly times when the healthier thing to do is to leave the clothes for another day, or postpone the vacuuming until the evening. But today was not one of those times. I missed out on some fun activities~my choice. No one forced me. I didn’t write the beautifully profound post that I had hoped for. No lake. No park. But the good news is that I accomplished a lot of things that make our lives more orderly and manageable.

Generally, if given the choice, I opt for the more free-spirited adventures (well, “adventure” is overstating a bit). But when the free-spirited, do what you want activities rule our lives, left unchecked, chaos ensues and stresses mount.

The good news is that clothes are clean, resumes submitted, apartment neat, a lot accomplished. A load of mini-worries was addressed and are off my agenda (for a bit). This is good because scheduled activities for the next two weeks are daunting. Courses for the next quarter open tomorrow (so I’m back in classes for 10 weeks!). Yom Kippur begins at sunset tomorrow (Friday) and continues for 25 hours. The Festival of Booths (Succot) begins Wednesday night and goes through Saturday night, followed by the same next week.

This maddening schedule for the upcoming days presents a dilemma. Blogging has become part of my life. I thoroughly enjoy it. I enjoy reading your blogs and getting to know you. I enjoy seeing you at my site and reading your comments. For the next 10 weeks though, I will have to make choices. My proclivity is to blog everyday (I have two blogs in addition to this one) and to spend hours reading what you have to say at your sites. On the other hand, I have a responsibility to others (and myself) that will require a great deal of time and energy. In the long run however, I have a dream and for the past year and a half I have made strides toward fulfilling that dream. Blogging fits into that puzzle, but so does becoming a licensed professional clinical counselor. The daily grind gets old, and frankly a bit boring at times, as does washing clothes or working on resumes. But the vision of reaching my dream and accomplishing my goals motivates me to keep engaging the not-so-fun activities because anticipation of the fun to come when I reach the prize is priceless.

So, the good news is I accomplished a lot today by being responsible and doing boring chores. Things got done. The good news is tomorrow another quarter begins that, while it may be trying and even boring at times, will move me closer to my goal. The good news is tomorrow evening begins Yom Kippur and next week more holidays as we make atonement for the mistakes of the past and plan to do better in the future. The good news is, this is all good news.

No beautiful sunsets tonight, but there will be others to see on another day. No profoundly wonderful or spellbinding post for this blog now, but that, too, will be written another time. Tonight my eye is on larger, life-enriching goals. My presence, as in quarters past, will be more sparse for a while depending on the rhythm of my classes, but I’ll still pop my head in and try to keep up with what’s going on in the blogging world and with my blogging friends if not daily, then hopefully weekly.

Y’all have a great weekend, and I’ll see you soon! 🙂

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