August Blog Challenge Day 18

Today's challenge is to discuss somebody that I would want to switch lives with for one day and why. This is a tough one, because could I choose which day in their lives I would want to switch? Would this be like Freaky Friday and I would actually be in that person's body but would not have the knowledge of their life? Or, would it be like a "day in the life" and I just live their life with them.... After I decided that it really didn't matter HOW our lives were switched, etc. I started thinking about people that I would actually like to switch with because looking from the outside, they seem pretty sweet. First thought was that I think switching with somebody famous and wealthy would be pretty cool, but then I determined that I really didn't want to have to face the paparazzi. Next, I thought I would switch with somebody important, but then I figured with my luck it would be the day that there would be a nuclear war outbreak and I pushed the button or more likely, I would have absolutely no impact on the world... I then decided to turn to my smaller circle of people to consider who I would like to switch with. Mom - I thought about switching with my mom because she is retired and has all sorts of time to spend on her quilting and reading and projects and lunch with ladies. But on the other hand, Leo wouldn't be allowed in the house and I don't think I could switch with somebody that I couldn't bring my baby along with.  Sara - She would be fun to switch with now because of the all the plans and activity going on in her life right now. But on the other hand, I don't think I want that responsibility.  Angelia - Switching with her would be exciting because she is so creative and has such a beautiful mind and mindset. However, I don't think I would actually be able to just switch minds with her and in actuality she spends her day with a toddler, and while I applaud her and all the women out there that are caretakers, there is no way (and I'm pretty certain that those who know me would agree) that I would not go completely insane watching a toddler...I mean I go a little hinky as it is with a barking dog.... Kathleen - I think it would be sooo cool to experience going off to college again. But, I would never want to take that experience away from her.  In the long run, though, I don't think it would be a good thing to switch lives with somebody else. Even if I am not currently thrilled with my life, this is the path that I am supposed to be on. I am learning new things to arm myself and prepare myself for something that I have yet to experience and I wouldn't want to miss out on that education. I also wouldn't want to take that learning opportunity away from whomever as they are also on their own path of learning and living.

August Blog Challenge Day 17

Today's challenge is to post a picture of myself as a baby. So, here it is:

I am the baby with my sister. Have I mentioned lately how incredibly fabulous my sister is? I could not have asked for a better big sister, even if I didn't always show it. As kids there were times that we would fight like cats and we have drifted apart at times but always find one another again. Some fabulous things that I can say about Marti:

• When she was in school before I was old enough to go, when her class had a party she would bring treats home to share with me. 
• She tried to drown me, twice.
• She blames me for a makeup smear on her wedding dress. 
• She took me to my first fraternity party, let me get drunk, and then cleaned me up the next morning before our parents picked me up. 
• She can get into laughing fits together, usually when we are making fun of our Mom but often times as not we get to laughing over absolutely nothing.
• She gave me a reason to live at a time when I was at my darkest.
• She accepts me for me. 

Oh, this blog was probably not supposed to be about anybody else, but it isn't like I've stuck to the rules throughout this challenge.

August Blog Challenge Day 16

I almost did this on a previous challenge post when talking about music that I play for different emotions but I copped out on that one because I don't really go to specific songs or genres to meet a specific mood. So today, I get to present you with some of the music that can be found on my iPod. The challenge is to put my iPod on shuffle and give you, my faithful readers, the first ten songs that come up. Well here you go..... Just the Way You Are - Bruno Mars Fireflies - Owl City Drive - Alan Jackson The Wanderer - Johnny Cash Just Push Play - Aerosmith How Am I Doin' - Dierks Bentley Army Ants - Stone Temple Pilots Tears in Heaven - Eric Clapton Breaking the Law - Judas Priest Ramblin' Man - The Allman Brothers Band Pinball Wizard - The Who Big Ball's In Cowtown - Don Walser Where Do You Go - No Mercy Hot N Cold - Katy Perry Surfer Girl - The Beach Boys Santa Baby - Pink Martini The Rockafeller Skank - Fatboy Slim Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash What a Wonderful World - Stacey Kent True - Spandau Ballet Okay, so that is more than ten.... I forget how all over the board my musical taste is.

August Blog Challenge Day 15

Today's challenge is to post a picture of you and your family. Well, I sort of did this yesterday when I posted an ancient picture from my grandparents 50th Wedding Anniversary. However, I decided today that I would recycle one from last year when the family took a trip to Fort Davis and Big Bend country:

I could not have asked for a better family!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today is my Dad's birthday, so for the time being he is officially older than my mom (they were born in the same year) and for the next couple of months she can hold that over him.

This is a picture of the two of them about 4 years ago as they were taking one of their many driving tours. This particular one was of the D.C./Virginia area.

Dad has always been a ramblin' man... This is a picture of him with his brother (he is on the Pacific side of the Continental Divide). His folks thought it was important to travel and discover these United States and he continues to do that with mom and his family to this day.

And just on a side note, if I'm not mistaken, today also would have been my paternal Grandparents' wedding anniversary. Here is a shot of the family at their 50th anniversary celebration....oh how we have changed and grown since then.

August Blog Challenge Day 14

Today I am to write a letter to somebody who has recently hurt me. I know this is supposed to be a purging and growing exercise, but deciding on who to write that letter to is a challenge (hmm, perhaps that is why this is called a blog challenge). I first thought I would write this letter to somebody who I thought had hurt me, but upon further review, I wasn't hurt by her but rather by my own petty jealousy and the fact that I made the decisions that I have made not her. I then thought, well, maybe I would write a letter to a coworker, but again, they did not hurt me, not really...angered me for a period of time, but again, I choose to remain in my position. So, I cannot write a letter to somebody who has hurt me as there has not been anybody who has intentionally hurt me...at least not in a very, very long time.

I guess I would need to write a letter to myself, as the hurt that I have in me is self inflicted. And, sorry, but I do not want to put all that out here at this time. I know, another cop out on this challenge...

August Blog Challenge Day 13

Today's challenge is to tell my blog story.....

I started blogging on June 17, 2007 and I can't believe it has been that long ago. I started blogging at the urging of Sara (SAngRiA Smiles) as a way to sort of "introduce" myself to more people and it has been good because the blogging has allowed me to stretch my atrophied writing muscles.

My blog name, ABBA (Aries, Blonde, Blogging, Aggie) also came from Sara, once I started actually blogging as she and I are both Aries, Blonde, Aggies who have blogs. The bonus is that I like the band ABBA and definitely car dance when their music comes on. The URL to my blog is ABBAQuiltingQueen, because I love to quilt and only wish that I did more of it. I liked the play on ABBA's song, Dancing Queen and the fact that I'm a quilter. I used to own the URL www.quiltingdiva.com (it now resolves to http://www.karenboutte.com/, who I have actually met), but either the boyfriend who purchased it for me sold it or my ownership rights expired and it was picked up by its current owner. That, however, is beside the point as I'm glad that I did not develop a quilting diva persona as I don't really consider myself to be a diva, not that I'm a queen but at least a queen typically has the good of her people in mind where as a diva is all about herself.

However, I digress from my blog story. The blog has morphed a couple of times in backgrounds, which I'm good with and it will morph again. My blog writing covers a wide range of topics and genres from being a travel log, to place to let my family and friends know what is going on with me, to just day to day thoughts and book reviews. I've never really tried to develop it into a specifically focused theme, although that may change.

I am, at least in my mind, developing a business plan for my quilt making and building that up into something more than a hobby and if that is the case, then who knows where my blog may go next....

August Blog Challenge Day 12

Today's challenge is to document a person I would love to meet. This is a tough one as there are so many that I think would be really interesting.
On the existential level, there is Buddha, Jesus, Abraham, Mary, etc.
Historically, it would be interesting to meet Queen Elizabeth I, John F. Kennedy, George Washington, Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt, etc.
Artistically inclined people would probably include Georgia O'Keefe, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Mary Cassatt, Leonardo daVinci, and the list could go on and on.
Literature people I would like to meet would possibly be  Shakespeare (if he really exists), Jane Austen, Mark Twain, Christopher Moore (who is still alive and I possibly could meet), Margaret Atwood, and so many others.

However, what I currently need in my life is laughter and lots of it. So I would like to meet funny people such as:
Jim Henson - He gave me so much joy as a child and still does today.

Gilda Radner - She was lost way too early. I wasn't old enough to watch the first seasons of Saturday Night Live, but I've seen her skits in reruns and she was an amazing comedienne...and how excited was I when I came across a picture of her WITH Miss Piggy!!

Tina Fey

Maya Rudolph

Amy Poehler

Yeah, the last three are there because I came across those pictures with those quotes and they made me smile. And, just for good measure: