Monday, January 23, 2012

Tagalongs

River Bluff Trail - Norris Dam State Park
January 18, 2012

When I hear the sweet voice of my seven year old next door neighbor on the other end of the telephone, I knew exactly why she was calling.  We have a great friendship with them and their two young daughters.  Our garage is very visible from their backyard play area and the two girls always run over to say hello if they see one of us outside.  But only twice a year does Miss Isabel TELEPHONE in her most business-like manner.  And in January, that always means, "would you like to buy some Girl Scout Cookies from me this year?"  As always, I said, "of course, we would."  But this year's difference came in my handing the phone to Mr. B with a look that said it all.   A)  Buy anything EXCEPT Tagalongs or Samoas and B) take em to school with you or keep em out of my sight.  I left the room so have no idea what he actually bought.  I also know that I am in full control right now and that's a good feeling.  The cookies or the idea of the cookies present no problem, but I also know that one bite can derail what is now eight weeks of success.  I refuse to place myself in a position of temptation any more than is necessary.  Tagalongs or Samoas are a temptation that simply doesn't need to be laying around.  I suspect that everyone reading this post will have to deal with the Girl Scout Cookie issue.  Perhaps if you think about it NOW and decide what stance will be yours this year, when the time comes, it will be easier to either walk away, eat one, or adhere to whatever decision you had previously made regarding the cookies.  Come on folks and admit it.  Yes, it's for a good cause and I would never disappoint my young professional saleswoman from next door, but the cookies are expensive and aren't all they great in the long run considering some of the yummy cookie recipes easily available in BlogLand.  As my friend, Joy would say, "STAY STRONG."

Continuing on in the sprit of Tagalongs, I was totally thrilled last week when Blogger FINALLY got with the program and added the "reply" feature to the comment section of our blogs.  This means that those of use who use the Blogger platform now have the same benefit as those using Wordpress and others.  I've had no complaints or problems with Blogger (knock on wood!!), but this has been my one frustration.   I've just never known quite what to do for adequate responses when commenters ask questions or need some sort of reply.  And I've always felt somewhat as though I were ignoring things that needed to be addressed.  Here will be my stance on this.  I'd love to say that I will reply to every comment and I will certainly try, so please comment away and more importantly, remember to check back for a reply.  For now, I'm just excited to have the option!

And as usual, I am the last to respond to the most recent flurry of "tagging" that began running rampant in BlogLand around the start of the New Year.  So you can call me the world's laziest, but conscientious TagALong!   LOL!   Problem is, I was tagged by so many people, I can't even remember who all of them were.  I lost count at five and now can't remember who the fifth one was, so all I can say is thanks to all of you.  It may not seem that way, but I really do appreciate that you like my blog well enough to "tag" it and I love, love reading the 11 random things about everyone.  But I do remember that the first to tag me was my friend Karen, from Waisting Time, so I'll go with answering her eleven questions.

But first, eleven random things about me:

1)  I am left handed.  My only sister is left handed.  We can find no trace of anyone else on either side of my family who was left handed.

2) I drive a 2000 Toyota Corolla with 183,000 miles on it. 

3)  My dream since childhood has been to drive an RV around the perimeter of the United States.

4) My hair is its natural color and has never had anything put on it.  Not even that awful Sun-In!!

5) Every morning, I read the chapter in Proverbs from the Bible that corresponds with that day on the calendar.  There are 31 chapters in Proverbs and 30/31 days in each month.  I've been doing this for years and every day I find a new proverb to guide me through the day.

6) My "trigger" foods are Potato Chips, Triscuits and Kettle Popcorn

7) The only vegetable I don't like are green peas.

8) At the end of my 8th grade typing class, I tested faster than anyone ever had before. 

9) When my Toyota Corolla mentioned above dies, I secretly want a Pacific Blue Toyota RAV4.  Mr. B says it's my mid-life crises car.

10) Mr. B never actually proposed to me.  As we were sitting at a red light, he just looked at me and said, "I reckon we ought to get married one day, don't you think?"  I just looked at him and said, "duh" and we drove on to wherever it was we were headed.  We will celebrate out 35th anniversary in June.  Guess we knew what we were doing after all!!!

11) I am terrified of two things and two things only.   Thunderstorms and snakes.   (This came to me as number 11 because we are currently in the midst of a horrid and most unusual January severe thunderstorm.)

So because of random thing about me #11 plus the fact that this post is already quite long enough, I'm going to defer answering Karen's 11 questions to my next post.   Excuse me, while I go hide under the bed until this storm lets up.  Nope, make that the basement.................headed that way now. 

What does your week look like?   Hope your Monday is starting slightly less NOISY than mine!!

14 comments:

  1. Proud of you for making your stance in regard the girl scout cookies. You are right in that they are expensive, and the troop only gets 10% of the cost, so it's best just to donate to them :)

    My Monday started just as noisy as yours I'm afraid. Yesterday I found myself feeling the "winter blues". I wanted to ride my bike, but it was so gray and cold yesterday... I was pretty bummed. I should have put on layers and gone anyway, but I didn't. The good news is, tomorrow is suppose to be sunny, so I will go then. I hope you have a good week!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I always love learning more about others through the tags. did not know the left handed part of you. Although I am not left handed, my son is and there are many lefties in his generation.

    I am afraid of drowning.

    My week is tame, although we are getting some weather here in the form of snow, which I love. I will prepare for classes and work on writing and revising. Have a great week, Sharon!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Just read Beccaa's comment--really? The troops only get 10%? That is an outrage--basically using child labor to peddle your goods. I hope its not true. Anyway,I never had a problem with GSC. Thought they were too expensive and not worthy. Of course I could pack them away if there was a free sleeve in the breakroom.

    Why do I think its funny that Triscuits are a trigger food for you? I really like Triscuits, but out of all the millions of sweet concoctions in the world, they don't make the top 100 of my trigger list.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The GS troops around here (DC area) almost all have the option to buy a box that they will send to a soldier deployed overseas. That's my response. I can't be held responsible for the fate of cookies (yes Tagalogs and Samoas, but don't forget Thin Mints) that unwisely enter my home. Sorry it's storming there. I love thunderstorms, but only if I'm safely inside, with DH looking out at them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. My stance on Girl Scout cookies is the same as someone with a restraining order. I won't be caught within a hundred feet of them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mr B's "proposal" had me chuckling out loud:) Triscuits - sigh. As for the dreaded, yes dreaded, Girl Scout cookies, until this moment it had not dawned on my that we didn't have one little cookie pusher come to the door this year! Here they sell them in the fall and deliver them around now. I can't have ANY of them around. Someone brought us a box not long ago and I can't for the life of me remember who or why. But I can remember that I ate several. Sigh.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sharon, have I told you lately how I envy your hiking? :) If only the snow would leave me alone!
    It was great learning more about you too :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your proposal of marriage was about as formal as mine!

    We don't know anyone selling Girl Scout cookies this year so I have no worries!

    I hope that storm passed and you are out from under the bed. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I don't buy GS cookies anymore. I used to love the taste, but they don't do as much for me as they used to. Samoas were my favorites!

    Love your marriage proposal!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I HAVE a Girl Scout, so the cookie thing is in my face every year. Since the cookies are so expensive, and I'm so cheap, I will only buy a couple of boxes for us and once they're gone, they're gone. My daughter would eat Thin Mints all day every day if I let her. The GS cookie grip has lessened its hold on me in recent years, so I'm not so hung up on them now. The delivery of all those boxes is more of a pain in the arse than the temptation to eat them!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Sharon, I'm so glad we found each other.... WE do have alot in common... We both live in TN not far from the Smokies. We both love being out in nature. We both blog of course (ha)... I'm a lefty too. I'm retired.. I drove a 2000 Carolla for many years --and my son still has that car. (Now we have a 2004 Prius and LOVE it. It has about 185,000 miles on it and still runs like new!).. We both have struggled with our weight... Bah!!!! We both enjoy hiking. My hubby was a college professor.. (retired)...I'm sure there are more!!!!! How 'bout that????

    I get all of my comments on my email --so I can answer questions right then (if I have their email)... If I don't have questions to answer, I do not reply to every email.. NOT enough time.

    I haven't bought any Girl Scout cookies in several years.. There are no children nearby us now... I used to love the thin mint ones....

    Thanks for coming to my blog. I will enjoy checking out more of yours..

    Hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  12. You are not the only one who's late to the Tag Party, Sharon. I'm still working on mine from Karen as well. Thank goodness there are no time limits on those, although I hate being late like this. LOVED your random answers - especially about your non-proposal. How funny!
    And DO go for the Rav4. I've got one and absolutely love it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Love getting to know you better!! Stay focused my Friend!!

    ReplyDelete