Day 2 for My Freedom - we are answering questions.

What is your earliest memory? I think my earliest memory was around the time my brother was born. Ed was born in September 1970 and I would have been 2 1/2 years old. We lived in Rancho Cordova, California. My grandmother flew out to California to help my mother. This was the first and only time my grandmother was on an airplane. The Vietnam War was still going on. I seem to think that my Dad was deployed during that time. We had an orange tabby cat named Clarence, who used to scratch me. I loved watching Scooby Do, Penelope Pitstop and the Banana Splits on TV. I also loved watching The Lone Ranger. The Lone Ranger was my hero and my first "crush". I don't remember this, but I remember my mother telling the story of when my brother was first home from the hospital. I guess my mom was busy and didn't hear my brother crying. I climbed into the crib, got Ed out and brought him to my mom and told her, "Momma, the baby is crying".

What are 3 things that take most of your time? Housework for one. I hate it. Driving/commuting is two and three is working.

If you had one day with no obligations, what would you do with the time? I would sleep in, get up and stay in my pajamas all day. Make a pot of coffee, drink it with soymilk and creme brulee creamer. I woud watch my shows that I have tivo'd, surf the net, work on scrapbook stuff and probably go swimming. Probably go out to lunch with the family.

Do you rely on a schedule? Wear a watch? I have worn a watch every day of my life since I was in grade school. I feel naked without it. I live my life by my calendar and planner. With my work schedule, call, the kids and all of our activities, I have to write it in my planner.

Favorite time of day? I don't know.

Favorite time of year? I enjoy all the different seasons. I love spring when everything is new and green. Early spring when the trees are in bloom is fabulous! I love looking at the blossoms. the white blossoms of the almonds, the pink blossoms of the peaches.

I don't know what hour of the week I would skip.

How is my day different now than it was before? Then and now, I lived by a schedule. Then, it was way more chaotic. These days, I really try to limit my committments. I schedule free time. I have found, if I have too crazy of a schedule, I get really stressed out and can't function. Back then, deadlines or stress motiviated me to get it done. These days, I have priorities. My mental and physical health and happiness are at the top of the list. If I am not happy and healthy, I can not take care of anyone else, and my role in life is a caretaker.

Time and Travel

I signed up for this online class from Shimelle. Today was day one. Each week we will get instructions and prompts. We then take pictures and journal. I am excited about this class. It is a little out of my element and I am hoping it will challenge me.



Today, the prompt was about time and travel. I took a few pictures of clocks around the house tonight. Not the best lighting, so I'll take more tomorrow.



I had a few ideas about the time portion. I want to write them down while they are still fresh.



alarm clock - oh how I despise the clock by our bed. It works just fine, I just hate it when it goes off. The alarm clock is one Steve bought back in the 1980's when he had his paper route. It is easy to set, has a battery back up and is very reliable. It's hard to believe that it is over 20 years old and works soo well.



Up until recently, the clock radio was on "my" side of the bed. Two weeks ago when we got our new bedroom furniture, the clock radio was moved to Steve's side. You see, the bedset only had one matching night stand. We had the option of purchasing another similar night stand, or two of the similar ones and not the matching one. We opted for the one matching night stand. When we got home, we realized we made the right decision. We would not have had room for the two, well, we could have put two in, but it would have made for a tight squeeze. Anyhooo, since the nightstand ended up on Steve's side, the clock radio moved to the other side.



I love the clock radio's snooze option. Once you hit snooze, you have 10 minutes of sleep. Still tired, no problem, hit snooze again. Steve gets soo mad at me when I hit the snooze more than once. He thinks I should set the time for the exact time I need to be up. I like to give myself that 10 minute snooze option to wake up "gently".



Steve likes fall asleep listening to the radio. I cannot sleep with the radio on. He usually goes to bed before me and has the radio going, talk radio, that is. Now that the radio is on his side, I have to walk around the bed, turn it off, walk back around, all in the dark.



Our Grandfather clock - I love our grandfather clock. Steve "inherited" it from either his Grandma Baldridge or his Aunt Marie, I can't remember which one. This clock keeps great time. When I first met Steve, the clock's chimes really bothered me. The chimes would wake me up every 15 minutes. Now, I can sleep next to the clock with no problem. Now, I don't "hear" the clock, but I can tell when it is not running.