The Olympian
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My name is Tammy. I'm a 50 year-old mother of two, grandmother of three, and I am a newlywed. You can plot your course in life any time you like, but not everyone in your life is using your compass. If you feel compelled to share a story, email me at: tmcgee@theolympian.com.
LIVING COLUMNS
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A sign of the times
Cutbacks everywhere. And the only difference between me and the last tired soul to declare mental bankruptcy is that I have a desire to reorganize and not give up the ship entirely. However, I have to give up a piece to keep the whole intact. In that spirit, I will be coming to you live from bloggers row on Wednesday and Sunday of each week now. Yup, Friday must take a back seat to sanity — at least for a while, until things lighten up a bit, although, unfortunately, I’m not seeing that in the foreseeable future. It’s not that I don’t love doing what I do, and adore the friends I’ve made here, but I feel quantity has taken the place of quality with respect to my blog. I’m beginning to feel like I have to get those three blogs written, at any cost, and no matter how sloppy they feel in my head, up they must go.
I would rather give you something from my heart twice a week, instead of a garbled mess of desperation three times a week. Know what I mean jellybean? And perhaps when things are flowing, and I need to barf up a new blog, I’ll write one for Friday as well. I want that to be my choice, rather than a requirement. I would like to think you would appreciate that more as well.
So, on with the new:
A couple of things occurred to me recently: This time of year brings good deeds, fundraisers, and food. The latter is easy — everybody has foods they love during the holidays, and so far, I haven’t had too hard of a time getting some great recipes and ideas for holiday entertaining, which I’ll still be sharing on Sundays. The first two, however, get a little less air time, and probably deserve way more. We run a fundraiser calendar in our Sunday OlyInside, but often there isn’t the time or the space to get every thing in that belongs there. Or we get press releases regarding events that aren’t necessarily fundraisers, but are happening to help get our community through this combination of tough economic times and the holidays.
So this is where we’re going on Wednesdays for a while: I would like to showcase people who help people and how they do it. I’m going to highlight fundraisers, community help, and random acts of kindness. I’m going to give a voice to those groups and individuals that might otherwise fall through the cracks caused by deadlines and late notices. And sometimes, there are those people whose kind hearts and good deeds go unnoticed, and just deserve to hear the words, “You rock!” Do you know any of those people?
I’ll kick this off with two of my favorite holiday happenings: The Olympia Toy Run on Dec. 6, and the Salvation Army’s Toy & Joy Shop. I know that the Toy Run benefits the Toy and Joy shop, but with the number of families and individuals needing holiday help increasing yearly, the need is great. The Toy Run brings money and toys, but food donations are always needed too, not just for the holidays, but for the entire year. Which brings us to one more of my favs: Barb’s Family & Friends annual holiday dinners. Food donations are great, but this event offers warm clothes and blankets to our homeless population as well, and with the number of families that this event feeds, keep in mind that those recipes on the back of the pumpkin can make two pies, and warm bodies to help out at the community meal are always welcome.
Here are some numbers to call for more information on how you can help:
Barb’s Family & Friends: Call Rodney O’Neill, 360-786-9835. Salvation Army: 360-352-8596.
And remember, it only takes a little bit o’ this or a little bit o’ that to make a difference.
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Sunday Swap #4: No-Sew blanket, and the need to read
My daughter was looking for gift ideas recently, and wanted to add a homemade touch as well as keep it economical. She came across a pattern for a no-sew blanket.
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Halloween has come and almost gone, it must be time for Christmas?
As much as I love the malls at Christmas, and I will still go just for the ambience, online shopping is God’s gift to working women. I can shop in my bathrobe. I can shop and sip margaritas, and my feet don’t hurt when I’m done. I just march my buzzed butt off to bed, knowing my shopping headache will be because of too many margaritas at the kitchen table and not because someone needed instruction and a license to drive a shopping cart.
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Sunday Swap Meet #2
Recently, my daughter, my granddaughter, and I decided to attempt one of those ‘candy-in-a-box’ kits by Wilton, where you can make chocolate lollipops and/or candy pieces. Just to be clear here, my daughter and granddaughter did the work, I supervised because, well, you know, all good candy factories have a supervisor, right?
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In my household that second income is every bit as important to our survival as the first, which leaves me confused as to how I would determine which was the first and which was the second anyway. Our monthly income is our monthly income, and neither his paycheck nor mine is more or less important than the other to our financial survival.
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Karma: Round 2
Some things you pay for in legal trouble, some things you pay for on a much higher level, and some things you pay for when life’s ironic paybacks knock on your door. There are those people who you think are getting away with a lot, but I hold to the belief that someday they will be repaid 10-fold for the error of their ways. It’s just the law of nature.
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Sunday Swap Meet: A few dos and don'ts on that first remodeling job
This is your project, your money, and it will be you who will be living in the house when you’re finished with the remodel. Be specific, be assertive, and stay on top of the cost of supplies.
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Two wrongs don't make it right
The moral of the story would be to watch your rear-end and make sure you’re not breaking any rules, anywhere, anytime, because someone is always watching you. And if by chance you make a mistake, don’t expect that there aren’t an awful lot of people out there ready to take advantage of it.
