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Thanks everyone, btw, for the birthday wishes. I had a lovely day.

We got home yesterday evening to thunderstorms and late late night tornado sirens which freaked the dog but barely woke a certain sleepy headed 5 year old. Today was hot and muggy. Ahhh, the Midwest in it's summertime glory.

Tootie and I stumbled through the day trying to jump back into a routine. Everything is misplaced and unorganized. I've got traveler's funk that has made me wander through my day like I'm in a pinball machine - pinging off the first thing that grabs my attention then pinging back again when something else pops up. I don't like it. I suppose I should make a priority list so I can regain more order.

One of the things we pinged into was our mulberry tree in the backyard. We were wandering around and Tootie was the one that spotted the mother lode first. I used the words "mother lode" and she had to ask what that meant. I told her "a lot". Now "mother lode" is a part of her lexicon.

39

Today I turn 39. I've been thinking about what I've learned thus far in my 39 years and decided to write a little list. Maybe I'll look back and chuckle over it in 10 years. When I state "you" I am referring to myself not *you* the reader.

1. Most people are not thinking about you. Most people spend 90% of their time thinking about themselves and what other people are thinking of them. Once I realized this it was a huge relief. I could just be myself and not worry about what people are thinking.
2. Relationships are what doing life is all about. Peace and rest is hard to achieve if a relationship is off kilter.
3. Saying "I'm sorry" and admitting wrong-doing is much easier as soon as it happens. The more time goes by the harder and stinkier it becomes.
4. Someone somewhere is experiencing far worse than what you are currently experiencing. Be thankful for what you've got.
5. The people that irritate you the most are in your life for a reason. My friend calls them "Sandpaper people" and they will wear away your rough edges.
6. You are probably a Sandpaper person to someone.
7. Don't be afraid to fail. Again. And again. And again.
8. Be the fool. Don't be afraid to be a fool -- stand out, look different or take a risk. You'll end up doing nothing if you're too afraid to do anything.
9. Be kind even when you don't feel like it.
10. If you don't think you should be doing something chances are you're right. Always go with your gut.

So, happy birthday to me. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.

it is what it is*

I have nothing worthwhile to say at the moment or so it seems. We're still down in retirement land o'golf cart. We saw an ambulance go by and my Mom said, "That's a new house going on the market." ouch. I've been spending my days going to the pool, watching TV, going for golf cart rides and hitting golf balls. Not exactly the most riveting blog fodder. I have also begun a low sodium diet.

Several blog posts ago I mentioned that I wasn't feeling good. I did have a cold but I was not revealing everything. Since April I have had three episodes of sudden hearing loss along with dizziness, a fullness feeling in my ear and tinnitus. After some tests (quite interesting they were) I have the diagnosis of Probable Meniere's Disease. I Googled the heck out of Meniere's and discovered (along with other scariness) that a low sodium diet can greatly improve/decrease the symptoms of Meniere's. So a low sodium diet is what I'm doing.

Man. It's kicking my butt. Do you realize how much sodium is in everything? Every. Thing. A low sodium diet means 400 - 1000mg a day. One slice of pizza alone can have around 900mg! I bought two low sodium cookbooks and am slowly relearning how to eat in a healthy way. It's a good thing actually. Lots of fresh veggies, legumes, fruit, and a whole spectrum of spices other than salt which is what everyone should be eating right? Right? Is that crickets I hear? I think I just lost half of my readers.

Oh, the photo. I should explain. That's me. It looks like I'm at a golf range. Nope. I'm actually about to club a large bear that, sadly, was cut off by the camera frame. You should have seen it, it was spectacular. Actually, that too is a lie. I made that up. It was unicorn riding on a rainbow.

*My husband HATES this expression. Whenever he hears it he asks "what does that mean?" I usually reply "what *is* the meaning of "is"?