Observational Twitter 11

Fact:

"Today is Fat Tuesday."

More Pertinent Fact:

"For me, EVERY Tuesday is fat Tuesday. What I really wanna know is: Where the heck is Skinny Wednesday and why haven't I been invited to THAT party?"


Copyright 2009

WE DID IT!!

Woohoo!! We did it - all of us! 75 followers and 2 more for a big bonus!

The contest is now on!!

The prize: Two $50 gift cards from Amazon, one for each of two winners. The contest will run through Friday, February 27th, 2009, 10p.m. Pacific Standard Time. (I'm in California.)

Here's how to enter: If you are already a follower just leave a comment with your best advice on how to grow this blog, or what you like about it, or what you like about the best blogs you've visited, or anything else you want to say. That will get you your first entry.

If you aren't a follower, feel free to sign up to follow (see that little link over there to your right above the photos? Yep, that's the one.) and do the same thing.

If you post about this contest on YOUR blog and put a link to it, just let me know by leaving another comment (saying "Posted a Link") and you're entered again.

Finally, tell your followers to mention they saw this on YOUR blog when they come by, and I'll put in a another entry, for you, for each person who came over from your site (up to five additional entries per blog author).

(My family members are, of course, excluded from the contest. Yeah bummer guys...hope you don't stop following!)

Make sure there is a way for me to contact you. If you don't have a blog that I can track back to, email me at robynnsravings at gmail dot com. (But use the gmail.com and not the spelling. That's just to throw the spammers off track.) I'll need to know where to send your gift card.

Okay...all that said....please let me start by saying THANK YOU! YOU all made this happen. You have supported me, encouraged me endlessly, and made me feel so welcomed and embraced out here. I will never, not with all the words there are to chose from, be able to convey what that has meant to me.

But some of you have asked: why 75?

Well, here's the thing. I started this blog on Dec. 3rd of 2008 - about 80 days ago. I had a fire in my belly but I was also unsure.

How vulnerable do I get here? Do I tell you that I went to a writer's conference and had two magazines I've never even heard of tell me no one would find my work interesting and that I had no ability to connect with readers? That no one could relate to the kind of things I wrote about? The kind of things I write here? No, I'm not goin' that far. It's too embarrassing.

So I'll just tell you this: I had a a couple friends encourage me to blog. They actually thought I COULD write. I also needed to get information out to a few people all at once, for efficiency sake. It seemed doable. But I thought, if those publishers are right the blog will probably fall on its face. But if they're wrong, well, that'd be great and I guess I'll know if people show up.

A dear friend, Reginia at Tetertots, promoted me on her site and her sister, Tina at Tunajones, did the same. The first ten followers began to trickle in. I was elated. And then a lovely lady named Libby, at Neas Nuttiness, found me and gave me a glowing review on her blog. More came. Soon, Tatersmama's Take on Things was sending folks over and when I hit 20, I was overwhelmed. Linda at Another Piece of the Pie sent friends. So I began to wonder: would 75 followers in 75 days be possible? Maybe. If I keep writing and posting and working and telling about my hair-brained life, then.....maybe. If it's supposed to happen, it will. And wouldn't 75 feel like a big party? Just think of how many incredible people I might meet. So, that was my goal. Of course, once you reach a goal you have to set another one. But I can't tell you how elated I am right now! And YOU did it!

Today is 83 days. I overshot by a week. But there are 78 of us (including me), all hangin' out together now! And I get to visit you and see what you're up to and get to know you. Oh my gosh. YOU guys are amazing. And you keep coming back. That's REALLY amazing!

Thank you for sharing your stories and your life with me. Thank you for being my friends. I am blessed.

With Love,

Robynn

I'm Shocked!

Ree, The Pioneer Woman, commented on my Essay over at Red Pine Mountain. How fun!

Here is her comment, reprinted by permission from Red Pine.

Ree said...

That was a beautiful essay, Robynn!

I feel compelled to tell you, however, that though I'm tall and have been perceived as a relatively "thin" person throughout my life, I am very, very far from thin right now. I've gained about ten pounds in the past year (cookbook, anyone?)...and we won't talk about the baby weight I already was holding onto before that. :)

This really has nothing to do with your lovely essay. But since I'm such an in depth investigative journalist (heh heh) I felt I needed to set the record straight.

Lotsa Love,Ree
Sunday, February 22, 2009

Red Pine shared that Pioneer Woman was her inspiration for starting her blog. I started for different reasons but found her right away through Linda at Another Piece of the Pie and became a huge fan and follower immediately. I know she has thousands of people who read her every day and is busier than ten people put together. Consequently, I simply never expected to hear from her personally. What a shock and a wonderful surprise! But I must say this: all of my friends who stop in here so often, some daily, and leave me the funniest, most touching, and incredibly encouraging responses, are what keep me going and make me feel this is all worth doing. I love you guys.

"I Won! I Won! It's a Major Award!"

For those of you who don't recognize that line, it's from "A Christmas Story," one of my all time favorite movies. In it, the dad gets a huge box with a leg lamp inside and you would think he had won a new home. That's how I feel right now!

Now, I don't win things usually. But last week, on Life on a Southern Farm, I read about a contest to win a birdhouse. I followed the link and read it was true but there were a couple of catches: you had to write an essay and you had to be first to comment. I was the second but the first really didn't want to write. So, YOU KNOW ME...... Anyway, I sent the essay yesterday and it is up over there at Red Pine Mountain this morning. I hope you will pop on over and read it and let her know you've been there. What a great opportunity to get to know new friends. She will have this contest every week for the next three weeks and you should write an essay, too! Check out the darling birdhouse I won made by Pam's husband at "Life on a Southern Farm." They sell them on Etsy. If you haven't been there, oh my, it is completely wonderful and addicting. Everything is handmade by the most talented artisans. Enjoy! Gotta leave for church now.

And I'll explain the 75 when I hit it....which....with any luck....may be today!

So I Lied

Uh, yeah. About that post today. Well, you see, the thing is, I won this contest over at Red Pine Mountain but it included writing an essay for them. And you all know I can't say anything briefly so, when they gave me the option of writing an essay that was 500 words or LONGER, I'll let you figure out which option I chose. Anyway, needed to get that done today (writing deadlines for publishers can never be missed) and I actually put on my writer's hat and tried to give her a quality effort. I'm not sure when it will be up - pretty shortly I think - and when it is I'll post a link here so you can go read it if you so desire. You'll like it over there. Take time to read her blog and you'll see what a quality person she is.

And then there was the Bowling Event for the seniors of our homeschooling group. We have 41 graduating this year, including Hannah Bo, and Grizzly and I were responsible for running this particular get together. These kids do something every ten seconds. I did take some pics and I'll include them tomorrow, when I finally post (yeah, RIGHT). And no baby yet.

Okay, my eyeballs are crossed and Minky keeps jumping on me to take her to the park. Not sure I can still walk but I'll try. And did you see???????? 70 followers!!! Only 5 to go! I am ordering the gift cards from Amazon tonight!

Tidbits, This & That

I was supposed to post today about a big happening in our family a couple of days ago but I haven't done it yet. So I will tomorrow. I will beg your indulgence as a very proud mama drags Miss Hannah-Bo out for everyone to see. I am beside myself. And that makes two of me. That could be bad.

And I'm in a holding pattern over an expectant mom friend. I am her doula. I do (la) this once in awhile for friends and I was there for the last birth. Can't wait. Gotta go get my bag ready and my catcher's mitt. No, not really. Thankfully the doctor's got that covered. I just get the privilege of coaching and helping her deliver a beautiful baby boy! He's joining two sisters and is greatly anticipated. It's blessed work! What compares to a beautiful little life coming into the world? I get to be there to witness God's handiwork!

And finally, I am only 5 followers away from my contest! I just have to say THANK YOU to all my new friends. I won't question your sanity as it's already suspect since you decided to hang out with me. And besides, if you were completely sane I'm not sure we'd have enough in common. And THANK YOU to all of you who came along before now and felt sorry enough for me to join up. I appreciate pity. It's really underrated. And if you haven't joined, jump in! The water is fast and freezing but I have a life-line and scratchy towels!

A Bear Market - Part 3

We still had another night to go. We knew they'd be back. And they were. This time we would be waiting for them. So would Bear Bait.

We slept restlessly but the kids slept great. They were a little miffed when they woke up and realized what had happened and no one woke them. JoJo was a little miffed, too. And a lot older. But the kids had fun checking out the mess and JoJo hit pay dirt eating what the bears had left behind.

We saved what food we could. They had left two packages of Little Debbie Snack Cakes completely untouched. That should tell you something about Little Debbie. Grizzly was happy. He had breakfast. But we had to make a grocery run. We found enough left to snack around on for the kids and I but by lunchtime, everyone wanted real food. We decided to hit the dining establishment at Huntington Lake before we headed to town.

We drug ourselves into the Lakeshore Lodge restaurant looking like we'd just stepped off the set of "Deliverance." I think the Wild Man was even missing some teeth at the time. And Hannah Bo and I have exceptional hair. Get it dirty, add a little moisture and you can see the family resemblance between us and Albert Einstein who gave "big hair" a whole new meaning. We had been camping for six days with only baby wipes for pretend baths. We beat our clothes and dusted off but the fact of the matter was, we were disgusting.

We just didn't care.

We chatted up the waitress who tried to serve us from as far away as her arm would let her. We ate heartily and tipped well. It was the least we could do. And as I've been known to say, I always try to do the least I can do.

Our full bellies gave us renewed energy and we began to plot and plan for the evening events we knew were coming. We stopped by the campground offices which were down the road and across a main bridge. We found out there had been another bear incident. A guy had left dog food in his truck and mama bear bashed the window in and sent the kids after the goods. It made us glad we had forgotten to roll up the window. At least it wasn't broken. But, now that they knew the food was inside, they wouldn't let a window stop them. The ranger said to expect them. Maybe smart people would have gone home at this point but we have never been mistaken for smart people. Besides, we wanted to squeeze the life out of our last day. We weren't about to hand it over to a bear or three.

We grabbed enough grub to get us through another night, including marshmallows, hot chocolate, and coffee. Our plan included sitting around the campfire long enough to let them head for the car and then we would chase them off. If we had to sit up half the night in the cold, we at least wanted to be fortified with caffeine and sugar.

We convinced the Wild Man he had to go to bed by ten. He was eight at the time so his droopy eyelids helped seal the deal, and Lassie was more than willing to climb to the bottom of his sleeping bag and keep his feet company. But Hannah Bo was determined to make it all night. She had always been a night owl and this was worth staying up for. Grizzly had a plan and excitement was in the air.

Grizzly frequently has plans.

There was another camping trip, this one out in the wilderness of the National Forest, with no one around for miles. We were getting overrun by mice. We didn't know it until a few days later but someone had dumped some garbage near our site weeks earlier. It had become a mouse haven. We found HB's purple knitted gloves with the fingers chewed out. When we opened the engine compartment of the van, we found a little purple glove nest on top of the battery. The mice ran up and down our tent trailer in the night. The pitter-patter of little feet kept us up and aggravated. Grizzly was done.

He sat outside the next night with his shotgun in one hand and his night vision monocular in the other. Meanwhile, I laid on the bed with a three-year-old Wild Man, sound asleep, and a very excited Hannah Bo wearing her dad's gun muffs clamped on to her head. He would yell, "Ready?" and I, in my gun muffs with my hands pressed over Wild Man's ears, would yell back, "Go Ahead!" and we'd hear the roar of the shotgun's report. This happened about six times. Grizzly would watch for movement through the monocular and then blast away at the mice. It worked...uh...great.

The next morning it was evident that the world was now safe from folding chairs. They were shot to heck and were the only thing he hit. The mice rebuilt the nest on the battery the next day.

So we were primed, once again, to take on our latest forest nemesis. Grizzly would be armed in case things went terribly south but there would be no shooting. We just wanted to keep them from destroying our car and show them they couldn't bully their way in everywhere and damage property. It seemed like a humanitarian mission. We had pots and pans and noise makers. We would honk the horn and scream and yell.

Wild Man drifted off to sleep and the three of us hunkered down around the fire. The campground grew dark and quiet. It wasn't well populated because it was mid-week and off-season. A few fires could be seen in the distance but they slowly flickered out. Our conversations grew fewer and more hushed as the night crawled slowly into the wee morning hours. No signs. No sounds. Grizzly grew restless. He felt eyes boring into him but couldn't see anything. He decided to scout the perimeter and weave in and out of the trees. HB wanted to stretch and go with him. They grabbed the night vision monocular, with JoJo at their heel, and headed out.

I wasn't about to leave my son or the car so, with my .38 snuggled deep in my pocket, I pulled my parka in tighter, my hood up farther, and tucked down into my chair (one without shotgun pellet holes). And I waited. All that could be heard was the occasional pop or crackle of the campfire. At times I would hear or see my three bear hunters working their way through the trees. Eventually they would come back, wait for a bit, and then head out again. Grizzly was getting frustrated. There was just no sign. He absolutely knew the minute we hit the sack they would be at the van. I mentioned that mama could have easily treed herself and the babies and be watching them every time they passed underneath, and they would never know. That gave him a new mission: scouting out trees with the flashlight while he hunted.

The hours drug on and 5:00a.m. approached. We thought maybe we would see daylight before we turned in. Grizzly decided to make one last trip through the forest. Hannah Bo and JoJo set out with him. With my chin resting on my chest I fought sleep. My bones had turned to columns of ice and I wasn't sure I could move if the need presented itself. I found out I could.

Off in the far distance I saw the sweep of the flashlight and knew the posse was headed back for camp. At the same moment I noted a sound right behind my chair. My eyes shot open wide and the hair on my neck stood up. I froze. Was that just a little animal making its way through the underbrush? Don't panic. Then came a very heavy footfall an arms length from me. I screamed and jumped from my chair. By that time, Grizzly was within shouting distance up the road in front of me.

"It's okay!" he yelled. "It's just us!"

"No it's not!" I cried out.

Thunderous paws ran down the hill behind me as I turned to watch.

"She was right here! Right behind my chair!" I shrieked. And she vanished into the forest depths.

The breeze had been blowing gently toward me and she hadn't caught my scent. I was downwind. My dark green parka had blended in perfectly with the night. I have no doubt she never saw me. But the jig was up. We scared each other to death, equally.

Dawn was a short time away and we all crawled into our sleeping bags, exhausted. We were confident she wouldn't be back with so little darkness left. It would be long enough to give us a few hours of sleep. We drifted off finally, warm, snuggly, and dim-wittedly victorious.

I have no doubt there is a bear out there right now, with a blog, telling all her readers about how she almost ate a woman once instead of a Ding Dong.......because the description applied so perfectly to both.

Copyright 2009