Photo Meme Response 2

Here, for the most part, is my response to the rest of the Photo Meme…

Robin asked about my favourite tree:

(Lilac!)

Both Bethany & Tanya aksed about my favourite snack/food:

(Pizza! Sorry it’s not a “photo” but I haven’t had any lately to photograph!)

Some Girl asked about my passion:

(Other than my family, I’d have to say I’m passionate about finding my creative voice… not necessarily successful at it… but the desire is there)

lsm & Christina asked about my favourite place to be:

(happy and snug in my own little bed)

And MLL and Bunny asked to see my face:

(Add about 40ish years)

The only thing I haven’t answered is the favourite thing in my home town… First I couldn’t decide which town was my home town — the one I live in, the one I was born in, the one I grew up in… but in any case I think the answer would be the family there. And because there was just too many possible faces to show, I just thought I’d tell you instead.

Thanks for the inspiration everyone!

Vote for O. Dear and the Waiter

I interupt the photo meme response to bring you an important announcement… One of the best kept secrets is out of the bag!!! One of the blogs I regularly visit, To Whom it May Concern, has been nominated for the 2007 Weblog Awards!

O. Dear blogs in the form of letters to people, inanimate objects, large corporations… you get the idea.

Voting will close at 10:00 PM EST on Friday, February 2. The winners will be posted on Monday, March 12. So, please click on over and pay both O. Dear and the 2007 Weblog Awards a visit!

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Addendum: I just noticed that WaiterRant is nominated for best writing … he’s well worth a nod as well!

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Photo Meme Experiment

I went searching for a meme to fill some blog space, and do you know what I discovered? That I’m boring…

I didn’t grow up a rebel.
I don’t have a checkered past.
I have no funky oddball stories from yesteryear which spring to mind.
I couldn’t think of five things I like about anything.
I haven’t read anything good lately…
I’m boring. At least today.

So, with that in mind, let’s try a little photo meme. I’m not sure exactly where I saw it, but essentially you tell me what you’re curious about (eg., my favourite food, my favourite shoes… whatever) and I will post a response in photos. (Keep your curiosity request family-friendly folks!)

What do you want to know about Sock Girl?

To Gum Smaking Students

Do you know how it is so peaceful to stand afar and just watch cows in a field, minding their own business, chewing, chewing, chewing…

Cows do not smack as they chew. If they did, I am convinced they would be the very first to fill the farmer’s freezer… I’m just saying.

Why is it that I am a magnet to gum smackers? If I go to class early, so that I can wisely choose a seat which I feel will minimize my chances of being close to a smaker, you nonetheless pop a new wad into your mouth then choose to park yourself as close as possible to me. And if I come in later, inevitably the only seats remaining will be directly beside a smacker. Or two.

Smack, pop, smack, pop…
“Blah, blah, blah,” said the professor…
Smack, pop, smack, pop….
“And it is really important to remember…”
Smack, pop, smack, pop….
“Blah, blah, blah…”

I am really trying to pay attention to the course material, yet all I can concentrate on is your incessant smacking. It is like trying to concentrate with fireworks going off (only without the colours, lights, or the fun). By the end of class, I want to reach over and stuff my hand into your mouth and yank the gum right out of your face. If I am not concentrating on the smack, I’m thinking about doing just that.

And have you thought about gum? It is a food that you are not supposed to swallow. Does that not tell you that there is something wrong with it? Clearly it is not doing either one of us any good… I’m just saying.

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Weather Confusion

Did someone turn off the heat?

On January 7th, my backyard looked like this…

Note the green grass… in January…

Ten days later, it is was so cold that the leftover coffee at work (approximately 2″ deep) froze in the coffee pot overnight…

We wore our outdoor gear while working in the office. That’s just wrong, my friends.

Today they are calling for heavy snow followed by a rainfall warning.

Does anyone else think Mother Nature might be hitting the hooch?

Blogiversary

183 posts….

Approx. 5300 visits…

One year of blogging…

Happy Blogiversary to me!

I can honestly say I love blogging. It has given me a creative outlet, and a place to rant. Blogging has not only introduced me to some great new friends, but given me insights into the lives of some dear old friends as well. I find blogging helps to keep me focussed on the big picture, and helps me to see how silly some of the small stuff really is. It also helps me think about where I’m going and do a bit of self-insightful pondering.

If this is your first visit to Old Blue Socks… welcome. If you’re one of the thousand people looking for thanksgiving socks… sorry. And if you’re returning to see what I’m spewing about today… thanks! I’ve loved having you visit. (Mwah!)

Snow Steps

Well we finally got some snow. Defying all logic, up until now the grass was still green here. But now it is white again for the moment.

Truthfully, I was hoping for a storm day… a stay home in my jammies and learn some Spanish day (because I am on the verge of abandoning that little whim). But we got just enough to make everything pretty.

So, looking on the bright side, I jumped out of bed, snapped on my pedometer, threw on a pair of jeans and ventured out to shovel, confident that if I could clear the snow I would kick butt in the office step count.

Know what I discovered? The only way to increase your step count is to step. Lifting a heavy shovel and heaving the white mass doesn’t actually make a pedometer tick any faster. I’m really not that much further ahead that I would have been if I’d strolled around my kitchen making coffee in the warmth and comfort of my home.

Now, on the plus side, locking yourself out of the house when you go out and shovel, then strolling around your home banging on windows trying to wake up your family… that, my friends, adds steps. I’m just saying.

Getting Loaded

Got loaded today…

First I loaded the groceries into the cart.
Then I loaded them out of the cart at the cash.
Then I loaded the bagged groceries back in the cart.
Then I loaded the bags into the van.
Then I loaded bags into the house.
Then I loaded the groceries into the cupboards.

I once heard that as an exercise in gratitude it was good to consider the origins of a single simple thing… let’s say a cup of tea… and think about how many hands were involved… the planting of the tea, the growing of the tea, the harvesting of the tea, the processing of the tea, the wholesaling of the tea, the retailing of the tea, the brewing of the tea… then the cup….

It occurred to me today how grocery shopping is a bit like that… so many steps involved in something so simple as ensuring there is milk for the morning… Things we don’t even recognize as being part of the process…

Where am I going with this? Essentially, I have noticed that the busier I have become (work has been crazy, classwork, family life, etc.), the less I have to blog about. How can I do more and say less? Is it because nothing is really occuring that is noteworthy, or is it because I am not taking the time to observe and consider the activity and the environment as I go about loading and lugging? I’m really starting see the importance of carving out a teeny bit of down time to breathe, relax, notice, and be thankful.

I need “tea time.”