Facie’s Ramblings

I thought I would post some pics from a quick trip to Erie I took with the kid and my mom in August. I can never take or have enough pictures of the water and the sun. This is the kid in the water. The water was really cold, which I thought it might not be as bad since it was just past mid August. But that did not stop the kid from swimming. Me? I made it to thigh deep water and chickened out. This is a shot of Lake Erie from Presque Isle.   The sunset near the Bicentennial Tower Just after the sun was setting near the Bicentennial Tower My mom and kid in front of the Bicentennial Tower One of the coolest thing about the Bicentennial Tower was there were hundreds, maybe even thousands, of bricks engraved with people's names, scattered along the walkway that you see in the photo above as well as in and around the Tower building. After we came back down from the top of the tower, we got ice cream. And I was sitting there eating, I happened to notice a brick...

Last night my fellow Zumba-doers and I did a demo at our church festival. Well, I guess mini-class is a better description; we danced for about 30 minutes, doing something like eight songs. I had misgivings about "performing" in front of everyone. I am not the most graceful person. Actually, I am not even remotely graceful, and I am fairly uncoordinated. And the last time I did anything close to dancing on a stage was for a dance recital back when I was about 10 or 11. When you are a kid, adults will generally oh and ah at you, or at least smile or giggle at the silly moves you make. But at 40, doing the wrong step, being off beat, or tripping, as I have been known to do once or 100,000 times in my life, you will  pretty much just be embarrassing yourself. But I decided to throw caution to the wind and just have fun. Well, as much fun as I could with the sun beating down on me, not a lot of space to shake my groove thing, and knowing that people, being people, were probab...

I don't mean literally looking up, though it has been nice to look up and see the sun in the sky for at least a couple of hours these past few days. I read a blurb in Parents magazine about a study some Dutch scientists conducted regarding optimism. I don't know too many of the details (it was just a short paragraph, after all), just that according to their research, people who are optimistic have a 30 percent lower rate of dying from heart disease than their pessimistic counterparts. According to the mag, to help this optimism along, you should try to think of one happy or positive thing that happened to you each day. Many years ago (maybe 10), a former coworker/current friend and I made ourselves come up with five happy thoughts each day. I think we tired of that after a couple of days, or maybe we just ended up being redundant, so we stopped. But the concept is a good one. In fact, most days I try to think of all the good I have in my life, even when I feel down. When I...

As if having the best holiday this month is not enough, Pittsburgh has experienced some pretty rocking weather the past few weeks. I think I have been to the park with Jordan more times this month than I was in any given month this summer. Saturday, after attending a nice pancake breakfast at a local church, we decided to drive to the North Shore to check out the Nina and the Pinta (no Santa Maria). I figured the kid could use a little relevant history lesson (sans the did Columbus really "discover" America debate), and we could take advantage of the sunny early September day, which just happened to be in mid-November. The area was crowded and none of the lots near the stadium were open yet (I guess in preparation for the Pitt-ND game), but that made no never mind. We were in no hurry on this beautiful day, so I rather enjoyed the long walk and was not the least bit bothered by waiting in line for a ticket. I would like to tell you that I imagined what it would be like to be ...

Today is one of those days that makes you really appreciate the sun and just being alive. Jordan and I went to a local outdoor church festival where I got to stir a giant kettle of apple butter (which was more like applesauce at that point). Jordan sat in a fire truck. We partook in various eats and drinks, including some baked goods, a hot dog, and hot apple cider. And we just got to enjoy the beautiful fall day surrounded by members of our community. Good stuff. (And it came on the heels of a Pens and a Pitt victory, so that helped.)

There is something about the sun that lifts my spirits on pretty much all occasions. Watching the sun reflect off the Mon as I drove down the street where I worked inevitably would make me feel at ease. I do miss that. While driving to church Easter morning, the sun was shining brightly. I told myself that this was going to be a better week. It just had to be. Last week was spent mourning the deaths of three slain Pittsburgh police officers and feeling my heart break for the family of two kids who went to Jordan's school who were tragically killed in a car accident. The week ended with Father Elmer, a beloved retired priest at my church, accidentally running into a handful of people after the Good Friday service, killing one and injuring others. It was at once sad and heart-warming at the Easter Vigil mass Saturday night. Walking in the portico and confronting a makeshift memorial for the crash brought tears to my eyes. But listening to Father John talk about people coping with a t...

On a beautiful day like today, I can marvel in/at the sunshine and warmth. I started the day at church, where mass began outside. Feeling the sun on my face and seeing so many parishioners standing around made me smile. A few hours later, I took Jordan to Frick Park, where she was content to slide down the cement slide on a piece of cardboard for over an hour and a half. I got to sit on a bench and do absolutely nothing but watch her laugh or yell out gleefully almost every time she came down. Eventually, a friend I had not seen since December stopped by, and we caught up. Sometimes I need to be reminded of the simple things in life. I get so caught up in my world. A world of worrying about money, a replacement job, and the health of my family. A world where Brian and I nit-pick each other and I let Jordan get away with too much. A world where I still feel as if I don't spend enough time with my kid (or Brian, my mom, and my siblings and their families, for that matter). A world wh...

Since my typical posts are my rambling or my complaining (and usually both), I thought I would write a post today in praise of the beautiful weather we have been having in the Burgh since Saturday. I have spent almost as many hours outside these past five days as I probably did the first three months of this year. The weather has been just that outstanding. Nearly perfect temps (in the 60s to lower 70s). Mostly sunny skies. Considering how many gray days Pittsburgh typically has, you probably could not ask for a better five-day period. I would be hard-pressed to. Last night on the news, Jeff, the weather guy, said a year ago the temps were in the 30s. Yesterday's temps were certainly a far cry from that. April is a weird month like that. Brian and I were married nine years ago next week on a cold, rainy day; temps were probably in the upper 40s. I kept repeating to myself on that day that "rain falls on the lap of many a happy bride." The weekends before and after were in...