Women Who Eat Chocolate

New blog post on The Bargain Hunter .  Do you like being alone sometimes?   When was the last time you met yourself? I love being alone. I love the sound of the house settling around me, while I sit in silence either reading or writing. I must have been born with the self-reliance gene times 10, because if I don’t get my alone time I start to climb the walls. I have friends who, knowing they have alone time coming up, will start making calls to fill up those spaces - those pockets of time where the silence will meet them.  They can’t face it. For me, it’s where I meet myself and say, “Missy, there you are. How have you been?” Too often we forget who we are, what we believe in, or what we used to be. We fill up our lives doing so much for others, or being so involved in our friend’s lives that we don’t look inside. I like who I’ve evolved into – I’ve met myself a lot over the years and know who I am. Although, without those moments of silence and alone time, I never w...

Originally found on my blog on  The Holmes County Bargain Hunte r.  The spaces in-between There are spaces in a house that no one thinks about.  That awkward nook going up the stairs, the corner with the rocking chair that we throw coats or gym bags on, and that space between the washer and dryer that leads to the bathroom.  We pass through these spaces every day and don’t give them a thought.  Yet these places are where the most information passes.  These places are where I meet my kids. What I mean are those soft landing pads – the ones that absorb tears and make me pause and give my thoughts and concerns to whatever is going on in their lives.  The kitchen counters are a well-made place to sit on and talk until the wee hours.  I’ve had many a child and their friend talk to me about the cares of the world from this perch.  Three, sometimes four young bodies draped on my counters beside the crock full of utensils and spatulas, discussing...

The Art of making a sandwich I wish I could shirk every duty I have and just go to the beach.  It’s too bad my middle name is responsible, or this sentence would trail off into nothingness and all you would see are tire marks heading south.  I’m a pretty big homebody.  I love to be at home puttering around, doing laundry (Yes.), and folding said laundry.  For some reason, it gives me satisfaction to watch the creases smoothed out in that wrinkly towel, fold it in thirds, and stack neatly with its towel-mates.   Must be my semi-OCD rearing its ugly head? Maybe what I’m tired of is the routine.  Get up, make coffee, drive to work, drive home, make supper, talk to my kids, talk to George, go to bed.  I love the “kids and George” part of that scenario, but the word mundane comes to mind.  I believe this is where people get tired and do dumb things in their lives.  They begin to believe that there is nothing more for them than the everyda...

There have been many incidents over the years that have caused this blog to be written.  Two have happened in the last two weeks.  We need to wake up and see how our words affect people and how they sound.  I thank the Bargain Hunter for giving me a voice. Let a child give their opinion and the wolves are waiting to pounce Does being an adult mean we deserve respect?  Or does it ultimately have to be earned?   I’m pondering this notion on a hot, sticky July afternoon and I don’t like what I’m discovering.  I grew up in a home that taught respect, but not the kind of home where you had to be quiet as a mouse.  I’m one of five sisters and a brother and we’re known for all having big opinions.    Really.  Very large and loud opinions.   We sometimes have to shout to be heard at family gatherings.  We don’t often get into fights, in fact, I don’t really remember many fights at all.  There was the typical teenage ...

My most recent column on The Bargain Hunter .  Can someone please hide my laptop for a week?  Carving out time and getting away from the computer I have lots of thoughts to write about this July 4th weekend. None of them have come together into a remotely cohesive train of thought. Should I write about how I threw a double baby shower on a dime? Or should I let you all know how I would like to rip Verizon Wireless because they keep adding hidden charges to my account? Maybe I should write about that great deal I got on toilet paper…. Maybe, maybe, maybe. I’m just not feeling any of those things today. What I have on my mind scraping the inside of my skull is one word: TIME That’s it - no punctuation after it or anything because it stands on its own. I’m sitting here typing trying to figure out where I can buy more time, or just do more with the time I do have. Have you ever sat at your computer fiddling around with Pinterest, playing Words with Friends (although my ki...

Reminiscing a bit on our time spent in New York City at The Menno House .  It was a time of service, but also for rejuvenation and reconnection.  As follows is my new blog on The Bargain Hunter about what we did, accomplished, and felt after it was done. New York City and The Menno House on my mind When Bruce Hummel asked George and I to go on a mission trip to paint at The Menno House in New York City, I hesitated.  Can I take off work? Can we leave the kids alone for a week? All the what if’s ran through my brain.  We huddled and finally said yes – and was it ever the right choice.  We left on a Sunday morning at 5 a.m., fresh off hours of serving/decorating at Hiland’s prom.  Bruce, Anne, George, my niece Heather, and I piled in and off we went on a wild ride to New York City.  We slept most of the way, stopped for donuts, and kept on trucking, arrivin...

Have an ugly patio story to share?  So do I.  Read my latest column from The Holmes County Bargain Hunter for the whole story.   The History of my well-loved ugly patio As much as I don’t enjoy gardening, I seem to have been bitten by a small bug this summer. I’ve been forming ideas in my head, and on Pinterest  http://pinterest.com/ , which is my favorite online idea place. It’s like a virtual bulletin board that allows you to “pin” pictures, links, etc. to different themed boards. I’m like a kid in a candy shop. Lately I’ve been getting ideas for my back patio. Bear with me as my frugal-minded brain tells you the history of my patio. It was the summer of 2001. We had owned our house for five years at this point, and the backyard was nothing but grass. I longed for a patio to call my own. A place to put some comfortable chairs and sit to my heart’s content. We decided that we would pour a cement slab and go from there. Now remember, nothing is done easily in ...