Month: May 2022

Happy Memorial Day!

I write today in gratitude for all the men and women who dedicated their lives to the pursuit of happiness through service in the form of protection – to all military, present active and retired and past, I thank you. To David Goggins, I thank you for bringing a new level of awareness to the aims and efforts of Navy SEALS and members of the many other branches of our military, as well as for giving significant inspiration to the world around us, myself included. You remind us all that we can… whatever it is. And thank you to Michael Murphy for sharing your love and your service, as well as your life in pursuit of honoring what was right by all and by God. And thank you for giving us all a massively difficult workout to do in your honor and memory every year on this day. Murph is super hard, and you used to do it in about half an hour. Today, it took me 54 minutes, and my arms are ridiculously sore right now. Thank you for being part of this new everyday kind of inspiration for people all over the world. I thank you all. May God bless you intensely. In his name, I pray. Amen.

After an hour of hard work, we were ever more grateful to be in the land of the free and home of the brave. Thank you, the brave.

Post-a-day 2022

The irony

When I was teaching full-time high school French, I would give students bonus points on tests according to how many lessons they had in hold on Duolingo – one point or half a point for every golden egg, depending on the test type. You might think it absurd to offer open bonus points like that. However, I wanted the kids to do more Duolingo, and the kids who did 15 bonus points worth of Duolingo would earn a 98-100 on their tests without the bonus points. So, the bonus points were irrelevant after the first couple, anyway (they couldn’t receive over a 100%, you see). The kids who had no Duolingo bonus points were the ones who would have gotten a whole different letter grade if they’d had bonus points to use. But, because they weren’t doing Duolingo, they neither had bonus points nor succeeded fully on the tests in the first place.

I recall this tonight, because Duolingo now has a VIP Streak Club. It is for users who have a streak of over 365 days. I’m on day 718 right now of doing it every night before bed, though the club has only existed about thirty days or so. So, I’m in this club, right? Right. What did they announce to me yesterday? That one of the several little perquisites of being in this club is that we get a complimentary three-day streak freeze, which loads on top of the standard two-day streak freeze… so, I, someone who likely never uses a streak freeze, since I have a clearly-established routine of doing a lesson every single day (for almost two years now), now can ‘forget’ to do a lesson five days in a row… as though I even could forget. 😛 Irony, baby.

Also, I have a fun new icon because of the streak society(!!!).

Post-a-day 2022

(Almost got that year wrong again!! Going back in time!)

Homemaking

Yup, I must really be a homemaker. Why, you wonder? Because, instead of going to bed early slash at a normal hour for me tonight, I stayed up late sorting and tidying and cleaning at his house… and I not only stayed up late, but really late. And I had to force myself to stop and walk away, to go home and go to bed. Even though I’ll be back at it after breakfast with my dad in the morning and I have to be up early for the gym and that, it was a major struggle to stop for the night.

God, help me, please, to make this house a true, loving, inspiring, and god-filled home, and help him and me to work together as we do that with and through you. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

Hurts

I can usually (and do) say what others either can not or will not say, when a situation is in need of it, of directness and clarity. But I regularly cannot figure out what to say to soothe people, a situation for which so many people do seem to be able to say what needs to be said… I am gifted with words, but not with soothing words. That’s for certain…

Post-a-day 2922

That V

The human body is a beautiful thing. And it is especially beautiful when its inhabitant, if you will, truly takes care of it and well. The contours and shapes are just plain beautiful. But one of the absolute best parts, I think, is that muscled V that runs along the inner edges of the hips. Underwear models have been getting us with those two lines for decades, and I don’t really see them ever ceasing to dupe us into wanting even more Calvin Klein underwear simply because of that V… mmmm… I look forward to having my very own personal Calvin Klein underwear model… eventually… 😛

Post-a-day 2022