Things that sound the same, but are completely different

This morning my breakfast of pop tarts led to deep thoughts, as it often does. I started thinking about cheese and cream cheese. You would never substitute a block of Swiss in your cheesecake recipe. Although, they have nearly the same name. Baking soda and baking powder are an entirely worse story.
I’ve made the biscuits to prove it.

A friend of mine, recently started a Facebook group called “one million strong against not being racist” and invited me to join. The description of the group said that “racism is still strong today and we should do what we can to fight it”.

People signed up.

I wrote to this friend saying, “you must not know this, but using a double negative here implies that you are racist, (or at least not against it)”. He replied that he knew that and this group was “part of a contest to see who could get 1000 people to sign up first, please don‘t tell anyone what it really means“. The grand prize, a tee shirt ($12 value).
I searched Facebook and found hundreds of people signing up for groups of the same name.
Because I’m already “against not not being racist", I declined his invitation.

I question someone who would so quickly sell out their beliefs.
I also wonder about all of the people who signed up for these groups.
Did they think it was a harmless joke? Did they realize the true meaning?

Why do so many people sacrifice something for nothing?

Thanks for reading,

Citrus

Quotes for the day

"Always have class"
-My Grandpa

"An educated person is one who has learned that information almost always turns out to be at best incomplete and very often false, misleading, fictitious, mendacious - just dead wrong".
Russell Baker

"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it. If you think about that you will do things differently".
-Warren Buffett

It's nearly summer once again.  The flowers are looking lovely, it's festival season, schools are letting out... I'm already sunburned. : P  Lol, but I love the changing of the seasons!

Going back to the idea of festivals, I was hanging out at a festival last night with some friends.  We sat under the main canopy for a while listening to the band sing and play their instruments and watching the people dance.  I'm not sure how, but the songs that bands choose to play at festivals are often so seemingly perfect that it just amazes me!  There were little, little children running around dancing, mixed with older adults slow dancing lovingly with their partners- the music had a hold of all of them.  Music spans so many bridges; often not age, race, or gender discourages music from spreading into the hearts of all kinds of people.  It's a beautiful and very interesting thing.  ... Watching the older (and I don't mean that to be in any way offensive!) crowd dancing sweetly with their partners, I wonder how two people can (I'm guessing that at least several of them have stayed together over many years) stay together for so long and with so much love.  How wonderful would it be if all marriages could be like that?  ... I suppose that life wouldn't be as interesting if everything flowed terribly smoothly all the time, but sometimes I think that it would be very nice and preferable to how life actually is.  

I'm heading off to college this autumn.  It's a very strange thought, even though it's one that I've accepted and been looking forward to for years and years.  It's so strange how some things remain so much the same over the years that it seems as though time is nearly standing still, and then there will be things that show you how much time has truly passed.  There are things in my life that I wish would have changed more and then other things that I wish would have stayed simply as they were.  I need to learn how to accept what I cannot change and learn to deal with it... I can do that well with some things but not with everything.  

Sometimes this life seems so full of formalities, expectations, and limits that I just want to start a protest.  But then, I get confused and don't know where to start and think that I must just be overanalyzing things.   *Sigh*  I'm thinking, I'll have a breakthrough eventually. 

The Keirsey Temperament Sorter was at LeAsT one of the best personality-type-tests that I have ever taken (as far as it being thorough in its questioning and offering a long set of answers).  I would definitely recommend this test to anyone and everyone looking for career ideas for themselves or for many other insights!

Well, I think that I rambled on for quite long enough. ; )  Enjoy your summerrrr!  ~*M.M.*~

Not a personal ad ;)

Listening to: "Once" soundtrack

Snacking on: Grapefruit slices

Hey Y'all!

I had planned a kick-butt weekend of Avon selling and general happiness.

Then Mother Nature threw a curve with a blizzard stretching across the state.

Now my county is in a state of emergency. My family and I have already played Monopoly, A whole page of Yatzee, Life, and TriVirsity. I also made muffins and caught up on some paperwork (for Avon)

Kinda weird it takes a blizzard to give me a block of time -and an incentive- for writing.

Please don't think it takes that much to make me suffer through blogging :) I just get restless when I am stranded in my house and don't like to sit typing.

Lately my life has been changing a lot.

I just ended a two year relationship and, while I know it was for the best, it's a major adjustment.

M.M. sorry it seems to be all I talk about right now! :/

A few things I've learned are

No matter how independent you are, it changes you to be with someone that long.

No matter how self-sufficient you are, you'll need your friends to cope.

(Thank you M.M., you mean the world to me <3)

Now I'm figuring out who I am. Reinventing myself.

Make it faster, better, stronger... :)

I've also had time to reevaluate what's important to me in a boyfriend.

Thanks to M.M. for inspiring me to do so

My ideal boyfriend -

*Loves spending time with me

*Has a positive attitude about life

*Likes going out

*Buys flowers for me (okay, not essential, but almost)

*Values me time (and is mostly on time)

*A good conversationalist

*Cuddly

*Hard worker

*Loyal

*Encourages me to pursue my dreams

*Has goals

*Respects me

*Cute

*Cares about his health

*Good listener

*Gets along with my friends

*Is always happy to see me

*Wants a family someday (not too soon)

*Has a sense of humor

*Loves me just as I am

*Has... gumption, cahones, you know bravery

*Has faith (in God, love, himself)

If you fit this description feel free to leave a comment ;)

Seriously, everyone should make a list like this. Even if you aren't looking for a relationship, it's good to know what you want.

Thanks again M.M.

I hope you all have a beautiful snowy weekend of hot cocoa afternoons.

So, I haven't changed the color or style of the font I've used in AgEs.  I'm sorry for the monotony (for some reason I couldn't figure out HoW to change it for my three most recent posts).  : (  

Alright Citrus, you inspired me- I now have my own 43 Things!  You can view my list at www.43things.com/person/bttrfly28  This is a really creative site and it really helps a person to get it together and decide what exactly he or she wants to achieve.  I didn't find 43 things to be enough for all of the goals I want to reach, but having only 43 makes it less overwhelming. 

I also recently came up with a list of 100 things that make me happy (I chose that as a goal for one of my 43 things) and a list of some of the best times of my life.  I figure that I can refer to these lists to decide on (a) college major(s), a career, get ideas to implement into my life (to better enjoy life), and can use them at difficult times to help keep me going.  I would definitely recommend making up your own lists on the aforementioned subjects!

Half of the time I feel as though I am just waiting (for WhAt though I have NO idea) for my life to start.  I had read or heard that opinion expressed by someone else, years ago, and probably only realized recently that I feel that too.  I want to be done waiting...I just have to figure out how to shake that mindset.

Hmmm, when Citrus and I first started this blog we figured we would create a monstrously huge blog.  Well, I think it's safe to say that that hasn't happened yet!... However, we do keep coming back to it (even if it takes a while)!  Who knows? - Maybe someday this will be gloriously long.  Until that time though, dear-possibly-non-existent-reader, keep being patient with us.

I would like to take this paragraph to recommend some things to y'all (there are some words and phrases that I adore, and will probably continue to adore, no matter how much I get teased about them).  I don't believe that a person should live his or her life without experiencing...

   *Watching "Dead Poet's Society"  *Reading "Anne of Green Gables"  *Having a midnight phone call  *Seeing the show "The Phantom of the Opera"  *Traveling (I could recommend about a million favorite/absolute must-see places of mine! : ))  *Dancing, rolling down a driveway, and singing in the rain  *Riding the Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster, and/or another roller coaster that, before the ride, terrifies you  *Watching a sunset  *Watching a sunrise  *Seeing the show "Wicked"  *Taking a drive in a pretty area by yourself while listening to music you love and singing along loudly  *Pulling an all-nighter with (a) friend(s)  *Riding horses (and not just on a ride at some fair or on a "we'll only be walking our horses"-trail-ride)  *Screaming at the top of your lungs for the exhilaration  *Having a shamrock shake on St. Pattie's Day (the fact that they are green and fun is so distracting that I'm not even sure if I enjoy the taste of them)  *Waltzing (even if you don't know how, just trying it is even fun)  *Eating a whole pint of ice cream  *Sleeping outside under the stars  *Volunteering (!!! I can't say enough about it !!!)  *Doing things that scare you  *Smiling often  *Being generous with your hugs  *Truly listening to someone  *Giving flowers to someone  *So, I could really go on and on for a while but I'm going to end this post now before I lose you       ~Seize the day!!   ~*M.M.*~

Fashioning a Life

“...I'd often dreamed off going West to see the country, always vaguely planning and never taking off” - On the Road by Jack Kerouac



That's me right now. Making hundreds of big plans for my future with nothing set in stone.


They say an unwritten goal is a wish.

I must have a million wishes. :) I have 43 written goals:
www.43things.com/person/deadbeatpanda

Some are large, some are small.
They all help me stay focused on my dreams.



One of my best friends spent all of one semester in college and the next 10 years traveling, doing dozens of interesting things.

Granted, he doesn't have the stability of my 9-5 friends. He believes in learning through living. Right now I share that view.

Nothing wrong with school. I'd just hate to spend $$$ only to change my mind. Which, knowing me, I would.


I'm not looking for a career, just life experience.



Plan A4.6 (at the moment) is this:

• Prepare for travel by saving as much money as I can, research funding to visit Australia, get a passport.

• Build my Avon business.

• Live beautifully by being myself.

• Move to any surrounding state. - My state requires a higher bar tending age than most.

• Become an online Avon rep, to keep up my business while I'm away.

• Become certified (to tend bar), gain as much experience as possible.

• Expand my network to people in state X and Australia.

• Get a work visa in Australia.

• Visit Sydney and Melbourne while bar tending for 4 months.

• (While having an amazing time)

That's it. There still is a lot of room for clarity or even a different plan.

All I know is I'm ready for my adventure of a lifetime!



“We lived out all of our adventures, even the ones we made up” - Some Postage Due by Rachel Moore



What adventures have you had?


What are your 43 things?