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Saturday, October 23, 2010

32 feet and rising


How high is the water mama? 32 feet and rising....



Okay, you're going to have to read on to the end, because I'm giving stuffs away so pay attention....


Today, I'm 32 years young. Whew. I'm in that really odd phase where I know I'm young but I'm totally starting to feel that whole departure from youth. Well, it's been happening gradually for the last 5 or so years but I don't get Justin Bieber, MTV, or an abundance of other things....I never thought I'd live to see styles that were in when I was a teenager come back into style. Being a hippy voluptuous gal, I was never so glad to see skinny jeans fade into past, only to reappear when I totally don't have the body to sport them, not that I've ever been graced with a waifish frame. I never thought I would hear Nirvana called classic or old school.

And I am totally aggravated when I see kids thinking they are all angst-filled and original, sporting neon chuck taylors with the tops folded down and I want to grab them by their spiky emo hair and yell at them:

DO YOU KNOW we had to paint ours our damn selves because they didn't make so many cool colors back then???? DO YOU?

BUT, I digress.....

Ahh, the fadings of youth....But it's all good, I don't mind. I like being an adult, actually.

Anyhow, for my 32nd I thought I would give you a mish-mash of 32 things that you may or may not know about me:

1} I have an impetuous tattoo on my lower right back. It is a celtic moon. My great-grandmother on my mother's side was Scottish, she is my namesake. It is in honor of her.

2} It the first and last tattoo I will ever get. It hurt like a b*tch. also see number 3....

3} There are few things that scare me. Chief among them are bees, needles*, and large gatherings of people I don't know. (please don't invite me to a party where I have never met anyone)

*fear of needles is why I will never get another tattoo. I didn't realize there was a needle involved until it actually started. I was in love with the idea, not the process.

4} I live for the beach and the water. Which explains my earth sign(s)....

5} I was born on October 23, which makes me a Libra/Scorpio cusp....an interesting combo. Google it if you're interested....and then don't tell me your opinion because I'm completely aware I'm complicated...mmmmkay?

6} I love bread. more than life. I know when they invent that all-bread diet, I will be the skinniest thing ever. wait. that won't work. ever. ugh.

7} I fantasize everyday about being a vegetarian. I really want to do it. But I really like meat. There is another whole blog thing here, but we'll just leave it here for now.

8} I LOVE FOOD.

9} which is why I will never be thin.

10} In my other life, or my next life, or my last life, I would've been a chef. I enjoy everything about cooking. I love recipes, food, good food, bad food, analyzing the difference, healthy food, healthy ingredients, learning about the whole process...love it.

11} I don't have a TV.

12} I don't have cable TV.

13} but I'm addicted to cooking shows and reality cooking shows, i.e. Top Chef, Hell's Kitchen....thanks to HULU.....

14} I've spent the better part of my working life in retail grocery management. I could write a memoir (and probably will) and I loved and hated every minute of it. It challenged me in ways I never thought possible. It brought me some of the most fun and most bleak times in my life. I miss it everyday.

15} I'm an aunt, for the first time in my life. It's a wonderful gift. My nephew is adopted and much anticipated and loved and cherished. I can't wait to see him every day. He is the most beautiful creature I have ever seen.

16} I love the sun. I don't believe it is bad. I try not to get sunburned, because too much of anything is bad. *another blog post here.

17} I went to school for painting. I still consider myself a painter.

18} I hate my feet.

my ugly bird feet.

19} I love my eyes. I got them from my mama. All three of my siblings have the most beautiful blue eyes. My mom always wanted a brown eyed baby like my dad....but she got three amazing children with the prettiest blue eyes....

the eyes I was blessed with....


20} My dad passed away when I was 16. from cancer. he was 52. I miss him everyday. I am a lot like him and not at all. In all the best and worst ways.

21} I wish I had a green thumb. It's in there somewhere. I'm still looking for it.

22} I am grateful for my siblings. I have the best older sister and brother I could ever ask for. They are the perfect match for me. They are both very different from me and yet we are all the same.

23} My mother is my hero. She is supportive and loving and everything every mom should be. I wish everyone had a mom like mine.

24} I hate my own artwork.

25} I am a complete perfectionist. to a fault. but my life is less-than-perfect and that's starting to be perfect the older I get....

26} I LOVE GRAVY. good GOD, I love it. Good Gravy, Especially. Bad Gravy, in a pinch. Sausage gravy, turkey gravy, fresh beef gravy....yep...I'm not ashamed. I LOVE GRAVY.

27} reiterating... my love of gravy and food is why I will never be less than a size 8....and the 8 is my total-starving-anorexic-non-gravy state....which, for the record, I'm nowhere near...although the pants are in my closet....

28} at one time, I was a size 4, but all I did was get divorced, drink diet mountain dew, work 70 hours/week, and probably smoke a lot of cigarettes and drink copious amounts of alcohol to consume my calories ....thus, I will never get back there...they call that "the divorce diet"....I've given all that up and gone back to gravy and bread....

29} I'm in love. and it is good. I love this man.

30} 32 is shaping up to be the best year ever.

31} I don't mind aging. at all.

32} I want to have beautiful gray hair as I age. I really thought by this time in my life, I would have more gray hair. It is a family trait. Both my mom and my sister have had tons of gray by the age I am now. And I favor their coloring as opposed to my dad, who had black hair. I haven't found any, except for a little stray hair here and there. I am also blessed with very thick hair. I would wish that, as I age, and if my hair decides to be gray, that I will have long beautiful gray hair. I wish above all things,

TO AGE WITH GRACE.



SO...you read all this 'cause you like me, right? But I have a gift, an imperfect gift. I have 2 sets of ugly imperfect owls to give away. They are cute, but not up to my usual snuff, since I was experimenting with fancy clay. But, if you would like a set of 2, I will be giving away 2 sets of 2 to the people who leave me the most intriguing comments. That's all I'm going to say. It's my birthday and I'm not doing any stupid random number generator.

ugly, imperfect owls.

PEOPLE.....

Freaking Inspire Me.....leave me an awesome comment that will make me want to give you owls....

So, I'll pick two people on the 27th from the folks who leave me rad comments. period.

18 comments:

alice said...

wow, not sure how I got here- oh yea- I was up taking something for a sore throat= looked at Lori Anderson's new web site and found this through there- was looking for some inspiration as I have 5 more shows and stock is running low. I was one of Lori's Bead Soup Party members. I thought I would see what you make. What I have found is that I really need to get my stuff on-line and that is where I need to concentrate. I like some of the raw and natural stuff and I LOVE handmade beads!!! The owls are cool-the color will make anything else more vivid and alive- like you. Happy Birthday!!!! Enjoy every second.
Alice

Lorelei Eurto said...

me and you could have a gravy eatin party. because there is nothing better in life than gravy on french fries. i would say if i had to have one last meal, that's what mine would be.
the gray hair thing is totally overrated. i have quite a few and keep having to cover them up- mostly because I don't feel ready for them yet. and I'm only 36.
i think i might like to eat just as much or even more than you. i was never a size 4, but at one point i was a size 9/10 in college, and that was probably why people always called me skinny bitch.
i will celebrate your birthday today with some mtv, cooking fries and gravy, and designing some jewelry with owls. cuz, they rock.
CHEERS!

elisabeth said...

I am so glad I read your entire post - it was wonderful! I also lost my dad when he was in his ealry 50s to cancer (15 years ago - I still think about his every day)and I LOVE FOOD and BREAD and haven't been a size 8 since like high school. I have (gulp) 10 more years on you and agree that with age and hopefully wisdom you learn to be less of a perfectionist and work harder at making what you have, what you have been blessed with, perfect for you. Happy Birthday!

Unknown said...

I snorted water out of my nose over your comment on chucks and painting them our own damn selves. thank you for that. and now my keyboard is clean(er).

I am fascinated that you hate your art. I wouldn't say I hate mine, but I am (regularly) disenchanted with it. perhaps I just see too much of it or am unimpressed because I made it, so that alone is reason enough it wouldn't be great until I hear others gush and I gain a new perspective.

32 was a good year for me. hope it is even better for you. I am relishing my 30s and wishing time would slow down so I can enjoy it better. it is slipping through my fingers faster than sand.

my captcha word is dystrunc. I am now formulating an opinion on what kind of disorder this could name...

Barbara Bechtel said...

Y'all are leaving my excellent comments. You and me, Lorelei, someday we can hash out our love of gravy on FRIES. I thought it was a Pennsylvania thang. Of course you're up there in NY. I'll never forget the look on Mike's face his first trip to PA and when I ordered fries and the waitress asked me if I wanted gravy on them automatically. He does not share my love of gravy.

Barbara Bechtel said...

Kelley, I don't know if I really hate my own work, but I'm not as intrigued by it as other people are. I guess because there is no mystery to it for me. It's just what I DO. It is automatic for me. I do it because I can't imagine not doing it. :)

and I'm glad your keyboard is cleaner :)

Barbara Bechtel said...

Thanks Alice! I'm glad you found me! Good luck with your shows!

Barbara Bechtel said...

Thanks Elisabeth! It is very hard to lose a parent, especially when they are young. It becomes more strange as you get older and you realize more the fleeting quality of life. How short of a time we're really here. My dad has been gone for 14 years almost as long as the age I was when I lost him....Strange to think that much time has passed.

Unknown said...

I actually started reading your post yesterday but I wasn't able to give it my full attention so I had to come back (see how much I love your blog!)

So lets see yes I have a tattoo as well and it's on my foot! You should know I put it there because I got it at 35 as a Birthday present from my sweet daughter and I new at that time that if I put it anywhere else well...my little sunflowers stem would grow in ways that would not be pretty!

I am a scorpio and will be 4....well lets just say older than you in a couple of weeks so I say you are more scorpio!

Hugs and Birthday Love

Unknown said...

Oh OH OH I forgot.....Gravy Fries are the BOMB!!!!!!!

Hopemore Studio said...

Not sure I have anything 'rad' to add but I will say it took me a day to digest your post...speaking as someone who in on the cusp of 40 I remember 32 fondly.

I thought I wouldn't freak when I got my first grey hair, but I did and I pulled it, now there are to many so I'm trying to find a way for us to live in harmony without the use of coloring agents.

I wished one of my kids would get my brown eyes but instead they both got blue.

I have weird feet with my second toe longer than my big toe and it looks funny, btw I passed this on to my children.

My dad had been gone since I was 18, he had a hard life and I think he's in a better place. I aways wish I got to know him longer...like when I wasn't such a self absorbed teenager.

I rarely feel my artwork is good enough to share though by husband sings it praises.

Finally my bithday wish for you is that you get to eat all the bread/gravy/fries you want and not gain a pound :)

To grace with age is to be joyful. I think you are well on your way...

Unknown said...

hmm you said inspire, so here's my humble attempt.

Gravy.Boat.Necklace.

Haha! But I bet there's a market for that.

Ahh, B! Happy Birthday (again)! Reading through your post brought back memories of high school. I always thought you were so stylish and still do. And heck yes, about the chucks! And it made me chuckle about what you said about today's kids. So true. And I remember your dad. He was so kind to my family.

have a great birthday B! I do think the 30's are the best yet. :)

Barbara Bechtel said...

I'm a momo and hit the wrong button when Bonnie in SC published a comment. but here it is:

Bonnie in SC has left a new comment on your post "32 feet and rising":

You know, I used to eat gravy poured over bread. My mom said it was an open faced sandwich. I don't really care what she called it, it was yummy. I tried to pawn the idea of it off on my kids, they just stared at me blankly. Go figure, lol. Glad to see that i am not alone in my love of bread and gravy. Have you tried the new sandwich rounds by (I want to say Sarah Lee)? They are very nice and if you eat the whole wheat ones you get a bit of fiber too.
Well happy belated birthday.

NicoleNR said...

Happy Birthday, Barbara! Loved this post- and I'd gladly give you my gray hair if I could! I spotted my first one at 28 and by 33, coloring my hair became more of a necessity than a whimsy!

Marie Cramp said...

Someday, you will come to visit me and I will make you my Turkey Gravy with nice Homemade Bread! My Gravy has a hint of Rosemary in it and that is just devine in my books! Perhaps I will make you fresh Focaccia Bread! mmmmmm You can sit on our deck in the sunshine breathing in the Mountain air...

Happy Birthday!

Anonymous said...

Barb ,
I do not want to leave you a profound comment for your owl beads I want to leave you a comment because I love and miss you terribly!!! I did not realize how much until I was reading your post. I thought to myself there was always something wonderful about my friend and now I know what it is YOU ARE REAL!!! Don't worry about the foot thing it passes the older you get <3 You are super talented and I wish I had one iota of the talent that you possess!! Keep up the wonderful work!!
Danille

Barbara Bechtel said...

Gosh, y'all are making me blush. I never realized tatoos and gravy and ugly feet would make me proud!

@Marie, do you put the rosemary in at the end? I MUST KNOW. Strangely enough, gravy has always been my cooking demon. I don't make it all that well. My best gravy was made last Thanksgiving when I made a vegetarian shallot gravy. It was the BOMB. If I didn't make it myself and knew there was no turkey in it, I would've been completely fooled. We had a veggie guest so I prepared lots of yummy sides and a small turkey breast for the meat eaters but made veggie gravy. I cooked the stuffing on the side and used veggie stock for all of the cooking instead of chicken stock. It was sooooo good.

TesoriTrovati said...

There is no greater gift that I can give you on your birthday than the one that you already possess... a love of life. And the prettiest blue eyes I have ever seen!

Growing old gracefully startst with internal grace. You have it, dear. In spades.

Enjoy the day!
Erin