Haystacks

Summertime (bloggin') Blues

I got the 'don't wanna type ain't got nothin' to say, gonna unplug my internet' bloggin' blues.

Have you noticed that blog traffic slows in July? Posting and commenting seem to be lagging on most of the blogs I read. For my part, I haven't felt much like writing. Summers are lazy and slow around The Ward house. I learned at the knee of my grandfather how to enjoy a summer evening. It involves a comfortable chair on a porch and a lot of listening. :)

So maybe you've been on your back porch this summer and not hanging out here. Good for you! Autumn will come soon enough. We'll all meet back here. But stop by occasionally before then. Sometimes it rains us off the back porch.

And on the third day...

...we blog about Third Day.

Mark gave us an assignment. This is my contribution for July, 2008.

Take My Life has always been one of my favorite Third Day songs. I love it because it is a beautiful prayer. In every Christian's life there is a time when we hold so tightly to something that we have to ask God to take it because we aren't capable of yielding it. This song took on new meaning for me last weekend. After spending the better part of the previous week unable to walk, the words, "when I don't have the strength" really touched me. Actually, it broke me. When Mac sang this at the St Louis show, I completely lost my composure. I sat there and cried like a baby. God spoke to me so clearly during that song that I felt we were standing alone in a big open field; just me and God.

Maybe when I get my composure again, I'll tell you more about the things God is telling me, but for now I offer this Sign interpretation of Take My Life.
 





(Disclaimer: I realize this is not ASL. What I use is Signed English. I work with a small group of Deaf in our church ministry and this is they style of communication they prefer, therefore it is the style of Sign I have learned and am most comfortable with. I have experience in ASL and continue to develop those skills. I tell you this because the interpreting world can be rather harsh and critical at times. Because I pay the bills around here and only a fool pays to be insulted,   comments on this post may be held for approval and/or moderation before posting. Thank you for watching.)

Turn the page

Okay, click the page would be more accurate. I've decided to use the Pages feature of Typepad to chart my Mission 101 progress. Check out the sidebar for my list and posts about the completed items. This will allow me to keep a record and keep those interested up to date without constantly referencing Mission 101.

Good idea? Better idea? I'm all ears...

Reconnecting to Mission 101

Way back in March I posted about Mission 101. My original plan was to finish the list and start marking things off by April 1, 2008. Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men...and bloggers...

Welcome to the new and improved Mission 101: Traci B. Ward edition! (Que the confetti!) My new goal is to finish the list and begin living it (oficially) on July 2, 2008; my 39th birthday. One of the primary focuses of this project for me is to begin living NOW. Don't think I'm putting off until 7/02 what I should be living today. I'm not, but it seems like a great official date. Thirty-nine is a milestone birthday for most women and I'm looking to make mine a positive experience.

Be watching for a list update this weekend. And thanks for the nudges from friends and readers. ;)


*Edit: 11:47 pm   I finished the list!

Flowers by color

I wish this website had been around when I was planning my wedding. Do you know how hard it was to find flowers with burgundy accents? Don't ask.

Plantwire allows you to search for flowers using a color palette. From weddings and proms to coordinating your center piece and tablecloth  at Easter dinner, try this site. Tags also allow you to narrow your search.

BTW, after an exhaustive search, this is the flower I chose for my wedding.

Mission 101

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).
~From Day Zero

This is a great alternative to the New Year's resolution. The time frame of 1001 days allows for much bigger, more in depth goals to be achieved. I am committing to this fascinating journey. I will be building my list over the next few weeks. My start date will be April 1st. That pegs my 1001st  day as December 28, 2010.

Join me?

1. Watch the sunset and sunrise  at least once each season

2. Teach Hayley how to embroider 

3. See Paris again

4. See Phantom of the Opera on stage

5. Learn the basic guitar chords

6. Go whale watching. 

8. Lose 75 lbs

9. Relearn how to do a back bend

10. Write 101 haiku

11. Interview my 102 year old grandfather

12. Learn to knit

13. Get a henna tattoo

14. Make a list of 100 things that make me happy

15. Redecorate my bedroom

16. Learn to make a magnificent dessert

17. Expand my blog readership

18. Exercise at least twice a week for 3 months straight

19. Rid my heart of envy

20. See Paul Simon in concert

21. Celebrate my 50^th Third Day show

22. Master DreamWeaver and Photoshop

23. Learn more about wine

24. Develop my ASL skills

25. Build a snowman

26. Take ballroom dancing lessons

27. Take more pictures

28. Pray more

29. Learn to French braid hair

30. Buy a new wardrobe

31. Get limber

32. Learn origami

33. Go on a mission trip to an Indian reservation

34. Grow my hair long enough to braid

35. Take a yoga class

36. Expand my vinyl collection

37. Become known on a first name basis by the workers at our local used bookstore

38. Clean off my ‘to be read’ shelf by reading

39. Learn shorthand

40. Participate in A Day in the Life on Flickr

41. Write and mail at least one 'thinking of you' card each month

42. Learn how to make out of this world delicious fudge like my mother in law makes

43. Go to Australia to visit Jaci

44. Have bangers and mash on The Emerald Isle

45. Sell something I wrote (NPR doesn't pay)

46. Discover and fall in love with the music of 5 new bands

47. See The Alamo

48. Take an extensive tour of the western US

49. Have dinner prepared for me by my chef brother-in-law at his fancy restaurant

50. Learn conversational Spanish

51. Create a picture book of one of my travels

52. Write a children's book

53. Go on a weekend trip with zero plans and go wherever the road takes us

54. Attend a Shakespearean Festival

55. Take a part in a community theatre play

56. Talk Jason into selling his rare STAR WARS educational film

57. Go to Disney in Orlando

58.  Write it down!

59.  Spend more time with Ali Pope

60. Get over my abnormal phobia of penguins

61. Get over my abnormal phobia of dragonflies

62. Live in the moment

63. Throw a surprise party for Jason

64. Improve my typing speed

65. Learn The National Anthem in ASL

66. Read 5 books for historical/political/social relevance

67. Finish remodeling my house

68. Get away for a luxurious spa weekend 

69. Wear Jamie's Lucky Brand jeans (size 12)

70. Give up soda

71. Reach a $10,000 balance in my savings account

72. Participate in a charity walk

73. Complete NaNoWriMo again

74. Watch an Alfred Hitchcock movie marathon

75. Be debt free

76. Make biscuits and sausage gravy from scratch

77. Learn to identify 10 birds common to my geographic location

78. Be able to recite 50 states and capitals

79. Buy a new set of wedding rings

80. Listen to my entire iTunes library on shuffle w/o skipping

81. Finish all my unfinished embroidery projects (in some form or fashion)

82. Keep a dream journal

83. Take a picture with 10 people I love and write about our relationship

84. Find my theme song

85. Write a book review (no matter how brief) for every book I read

86. Develop regular features for my blog

87. Convince my family to forgo Christmas gifts, giving to a needy family instead

88. Find my signature scent

89. Visit the kangaroo habitat in Georgia

90. Become a better bowler

91. Memorize one chapter of the bible

92. Keep a digital journal of my 40th year, beginning on my 40th birthday and ending on my 41st

93. Blog every day for one month

94. Leave 101 blog comments

95. Learn to say "I love you" in 10 languages

96. Learn to play pool

97. Do a blog post for every item on this list as I complete it

98. Understand baseball

99. Fly a beautiful kite

100. Make a living will

101. Reorganize this lists into categories
 

And the Oscar goes to...

The biggest night in movies is Sunday. Join me here at Haystacks for live blog coverage. If all goes as planned, I'll be updating my post throughout the night.

Live from Daryl's House

Back in the day, I was a big fan of radio pop and therefore I was a fan of the king daddy duo of radio pop: Hall & Oates. I had all their records and I do mean records, i.e., vinyl.

Hall & Oates fell out of the mainstream in the late 80's. Daryl Hall went on to record several solo projects but never achieved the same chart success. You can argue the merit of the H&O sound, if that does it for you, but whatever the conclusion there is no denying that Daryl Hall has one of the most distinctive voices in pop music. Back in the day, they called it blue eyed soul.

You may be reading this and saying, "WHO?' Maybe it was all before your time. Or you may be thinking, "I loved them! I danced to them in eighth grade!" Either way, give this website a try. Daryl has set up a recording studio in his (still under construction) house.

(You have to register to view the episodes, but there is no charge and so far I haven't received any spam from the site. )

A strange beauty

I have no idea how to introduce this  blog to you. It is a technical, raw, emotional journal of a woman whose job is to euthanize sick and injured animals. Her running report of the animals she comforts, cries over and kills is strange and beautiful.  (via Neil Gaiman)

http://whatikilledtoday.blogspot.com/

I grew up around animals. It was not uncommon for sick or injured animal to be taken behind the coal shed and "put down". We all knew the exact moment it happened,  as we would stand just out of sight and wait  with quiet tears for the gun to fire.  I remember hating the person who fired the gun, if only for a few hours.

As an adult, the first animal I had to have put down was a beloved cat. I will never forget the way the vet stroked his head and spoke quietly as the drugs stopped his heart. I didn't hate the vet. I was thankful for him. I have a great appreciation for those who take on the heart breaking responsibility of ending the suffering of animals.

This isn't a blog I could read on a regular basis, but I admire the depth of  the writer's short entries. Read the sidebar profile before you read any of the posts. You'll have a greater appreciation of the strange beauty her blog examines.

Gadget Alert!

This is the newest must have for me.

This little guy allows you to upload pictures to your computer  without cables or readers.  How easy is that? It will upload your pictures to your favorite hosting site as well. No more downtime transferring to the computer then to the photo site of choice. Eye-Fi works with Photobucket, Flickr among others. It also jibes with social networking sites like Facebook, and Vox. And a plus for me, Typepad.

Anyone tried this yet?

I hope to have one by...oh...I don't know...Valentine's Day. I'll get back to you and let you know how it goes.