Godzilla and I - We go W-A-A-A-Y Back...

Godzilla - 1954

Godzilla and I have been around about the same length of time.  I'm only 5 years older!  The difference between us is that HE keeps getting cooler and more awesome as the time goes by.  I hate that in a guy - ummm -  monster.

I grew up watching him and back in 1854, he brought goosebumps to my pre-adolescent skin.  I loved Raymond Burr from the Perry Mason series that my mom watched all the time.  (This was pre-Ironsides days, where he'd gained so much weight he couldn't get out of the wheelchair)



I'm sure I've seen ALL the Godzilla movies.  Even the cheesy rubber suit ones,

 and baby Godzilla.










They were pretty lame, even for me.  But the past few years, he's gotten some plastic surgery done, and he is looking good.








Ya' gotta give the guy credit.  He knows how to make an entrance.









The size of his body and neck proportion have changed!  As documented HERE






















So why am I getting so nostalgic about Godzilla?

I saw the new Godzilla movie today.  I have to say - I still LOVE him!!  He just gets better and better!!

Ladies and gentlemen  - GODZILLA has left the building!

But he WILL be back!!

History is suddenly very personal to me.

Memorial Day is Approaching.

I have some things that comes to mind at this time of the year.  Patriotism.  Memories.  Birthdays.  Genealogy.

First of all, I had the last of my kids on Memorial Day weekend in 1984.  Her husband was born on Memorial Day weekend in 1984.  They were just about 12 hours apart in being born.  They celebrate their birthdays together!  This year they are inviting their friends and co-workers to a birthday picnic at their house.  So cool.  They are fun people.

Next, I have been doing a lot of family history this year.  I have found I have very deep roots in this country.  Three of my primary lines go back to pre-Revolutionary times.  I have multiple American Revolutionary War patriots in my bloodlines.

This fact that changes me.  I'm not sure how to describe the feeling.  I want to re-study history now.  It's suddenly very personal to me.  I have people who went through those historical events!

I have a family that lived in York during the English blockade of that port.  I have a 5th great-grandfather who guarded the first president of the United States, George Washington.  He was in Valley Forge that terrible winter and that next spring re-enlisted for the full term of the fight for independence.  I have an ancestor that fought in the battles of Brandywine and was taken prisoner by the British, thereby missing the winter in Valley Forge.  I wonder if they knew each other.  They were both Marshalls.

Moving back down the family tree, towards me, I find repeatedly those who served the course of freedom and independence.  A proud heritage for me.  My DNA has been a part of this wonderful land and country for over 250 years!  Such a legacy...such a responsibility.

My father, my step father, my husband are all veterans.  Thank you.  Thank all the veterans who gave of their lives so that we may live ours in freedom/

Less is More

I have managed to avoid this blog for quite a while.  Don't know if it was a wise choice or not, but....I'm    B-B-A-A-A-C-K!

I have started down a new road in my journey.  Simplification.  Clarification.  Health, hopefully.

I sit now, surrounded by clutter.  Yarn, books, puppy dogs ( okay, only two), patterns, yarn, poly-fill, computer cords, yarn, sewing notions and yarn.  Did I mention YARN?  I sit in a recliner old and worn from supporting my ample body.  My knees are devoid of cartilage from hauling said carcass thither and yon.  My energy is sagging and totally absent some days.

I have, in the past, totally remodeled and changed my life - with the help of my Creator.  I do not His ability to do so again.  I fear I lack the gumption to make the changes (major changes) in my life.

I am using my blog as an accountability tool.  In the next year I need to loose 100 pounds.  NEED to.  To some degree, I truly want to.  To some other degrees, I don't.  Weird, I know, but honest. I need a total knee replacement, but can't get the operation unless I loose said 100 pounds.  I WANT the knee replacement and loosing the weight is the path I have to take. This blog will chart my struggles, ah-ha moments, set-backs and hopefully victories.

I know I'm an emotional eater.  I know I get emotional constipated.  There are going to be many issues involved in traveling this road.  This seemed a good outlet.  Maybe there will be someone else it will help.

I Crochet...a lot

I found this crochet pattern book last year.  It called for using crochet thread and I found it difficult to handle, due to my arthritis.  So, I switched to sports weight  and worsted weight yarn and matched the needle to get a nice tight stitch.  I love the size and the patterns work up so cute!  My grand-kids have just loved them.  I have made several of the monkey, elephant.  The giraffe is loved by everyone who sees it - even the UPS clerk when I shipped a batch off to my daughter in Washington - but my grandson is the only one who has one, so far.

The next batch of animals came from this Leisure Arts Booklet.  I love them!  The lion and the hippo are my favorites!!

I LOVE this little guy!!

My newest critter is this little guy.  I found the pattern on-line and have made four of them so far.  Such a cute pattern and I'm grateful to Demostrative for sharing it!  My little girls loved him....their moms too.

I've Fallen into my Crochet Basket and Can't Get Out!!

OR...."How I Spent My Christmas Vacation"  This is what I have leftover AFTER gift-giving!!  I have this obcession going on...

I have been working on these little guys...starting my own zoo!



Crochet - The Patterns We Create

I have been thinking a little about the spiritual lessons I have learned from crocheting. The Lord uses whatever touches your heart to get his message across. The things you know and love and understand on a temporal level are just fertile soil for a personal “parable.” I have learned that following a crochet pattern is like taking all the small foundational steps in building a spiritual life.


No one stitch seems that important as you are working along. If you lose count, or miss a stitch, it might not even be noticeable for quite a while. But – you have been building a pattern. Patterns are built on symmetry. If you don’t follow the pattern – exactly – you end up with something different than the designer intended. Not necessarily unusable, but different. If you want to create what the Designer intended, you must follow the pattern step-by-step.

To do that, after you notice your mistake, you have to go back to the point where you error-ed , and fix your mistake. That means tearing out the stitches in-between where you are and the last true step you completed. (Like repentance) You start again, correcting your error and continuing along in the correct pattern. When you look back, you can see what your obedience to the pattern produced – a beautiful work of art!

To me this shows the importance of daily prayer, scripture reading, temple attendance, sacrament taking, service, charity, etc. Individually – important. Individually – not too significant, from a temporal standpoint. But when you look at the entire project – the pattern will be confusing and the symmetry will be missing. It is only when you are obedient and you get to see the Master Plan…the beautiful garment that had been designed.

Thoughts on Aging

I went to the doctor's.  Now, nothing good ever comes after that sentence, at least at my age. 

I NOW have FOUR medicines I have to take every day just to make my body perform in within normal ranges, chemically.  Three!  I don't even LIKE taking pills.  I have tried to ignore the situation, but when your body actually NEEDS something...it can make your day very unpleasant when you don't take it.  Who is in charge here any way???  Obliviously, it's my body.  Crap.

I went in because I hurt my knee last month.  I have arthritis in both knees (and most of the rest of my body) and had decided that riding a bike would be a good exercise.  It was going well until I fell.  Of course, I hit my knee.  The good one. 

Structurally, it is fine.  I can stand and walk on level surfaces with no pain.  Anything else - there is pain.  The action determines HOW much pain.  Climbing stairs, going uphill or downhill, twisting, rising, lowering - you get the picture.  I went back to the doctor because I haven't gotten back to the functioning level I was before the fall.  The good news?  I probably won't without an orthopedic surgeon's help.  Now, later - it doesn't really matter.  I WILL be going if I want to stay mobile.  Yippie-ki-yay.

And I got a two-fer on this visit.  In addition to that good news, my blood pressure is high and I now have to take medicine for that. 

Which brings me to the title I chose.  I'm struggling with the concept that my body is wearing out.  I feel just the same inside as I ever did.  But I find my body not being able to keep up with my desires.  The things my body used to do without me even knowing or considering their importance, now, hold my activity hostage.

I don't remember ever even considering how important my kidneys were.  I doubt you have either.  The kidneys are important organs with many functions in the body, including producing hormones, absorbing minerals, and filtering blood and urine.  Now I have to consider what might harm them.  Seems a little late in the day for that.

I used to hike and run around and never even knew I had a butt.  But these days, all I do is drag it around.  There are days when it is all I can do to haul my wrinkly ol' keister out of the recliner.  I think of the poem that says "How do I know that my youth’s all spent?   Well, my get up and go has got up and went."  But INSIDE, I still want to go and do!

I don't even think I knew what a thyroid was when I younger.  I certainly didn't know what it controlled, which is almost everything.  It's like a mini-PLC (programmable logic control center) for your body.  I know I never thought about mine.  Now it controls ME.  My thyroid needs a back-up generator to keep my body on track.  And the generator I have to use (medication) is not self-regulating.  Unless you do the blood labs, you don't know how the dosage is fitting in with your body's activities.  My body used to do that all on it's own.

I'm afraid I am going to be appreciating more things I knew nothing about as time goes on.

New Tag - My Life According to Google!

Type in the following and choose from the first description found. BE HONEST! Don't just pick out one to be funny. I tag my girls and whoever else wants to complete it. It was a fun one! Let me know if you fill it out!

1: Type in "[name] needs" in the Google search:
Paula needs to get out more.

2: Type in "[name] looks like" in Google search:
"Paula looks like cheddar

3: Type in "[name] hates" in Google search:
Paula hates Dragon Fly Dale Hollow Lake, Tennessee

4: Type in "[name] goes" OR "[name] has gone" in Google search:
Paula goes Italian.

5: Type in "[name] loves" in Google search:
Paula loves Josh. (Wait until Tom finds out!)

6: Type in "[name] eats" in Google search:
Paula eats a lasagna sandwich.

7: Type in "[name] has" in Google search:
Paula has a record day.

8: Type in "[name] works" in Google search:
Paula works in Washington, D. C

9: Type in"[name] lives" in Google search:
Paula lives in Vancouver. 

10: Type in "[name] died" in Google search:
Paula died today?

11.Type in "[name] does" in Google search:
Paula does pasta.  (Probably because I went Italian?)

12: Type in "[name] will" in Google search:
Paula will not return to "Idol"

13.Type in "[name] is" in Google search:
Paula is stunned by Ellen.