First Thoughts #UseYourWords

Welcome to April's Use Your Words writing challenge. This is how it works: participating bloggers submitted four to six words or short phrases for someone else to craft into a post. All words must be used at least once and all the posts will be unique as each writer has received their own set of words. That is the challenge, here is a fun twist; no one who is participating knows who got their words and in what direction the writer will take them. Until now.

My words are:

Supplemental ~ power stick ~ hair spray ~ marvelous ~ Wendy's ~ cat litter

They were submitted by: https://sarahsbrandcrazy. blogspot.com/

I knew before I opened the e-mail with my words, or even saw my words, what I was going to do with my words this month. I had contemplated trying to write a poem or to get a friend to write up another questionnaire. I decided against those options, but in the process did think of a friend who would probably come up with a great group of questions for me. So, in the future, whenever I find myself stumped by my words, I am definitely going to contact that friend, and ask her to make up some questions for me. However, for this month, I knew I wanted to read the words and write down my immediate first thoughts for each word.

So, I avoided looking at my words until write now. I also spent twenty minutes before opening the e-mail, trying to clear my head of all embarrassing or naughty thoughts. So, universe willing, this will be somewhat revealing, painless for me, and hopefully not too embarrassing. So, here we go...

Supplemental. Well, we are off with a bang. Not. Ummm,.. My mind is blank. All I can think of is supplemental income. Hmmm... Well, I guess I could say that in the past year, I have often thought of starting to earn money from blogging. I keep turning away from the idea though. Believe me, we could definitely use the supplemental income. However, for one, I would need to make my blog better, which I have already planned on doing, and I am slowly working on it. I would also need to post more regularly, and probably different subjects. That is why I am not so on board with the idea. I like being able to post whenever I want, whatever I want. I like my blog being my free space to talk and interact. I like posting on my blog's Facebook page whatever I want. I did recently consider trying to get a job at the Food Bank, when Gigi goes to school. I just don't know how I would get to work, and home from work. We only have one car. I probably could never make enough, to support the expense of a second car, so I don't see that working out. Hopefully, I will get to volunteer more, once she is in school. That would be nice. Plus, hopefully, I will get time to make my blog all I want it to be.

Power stick. Growing up, my Dad always wore Power Stick deodorant. It was in a white and green container, and the deodorant itself was a green color. I loved that stuff. I would occasionally borrow it without him knowing. He would have probably killed me for using his stuff. LOL I just loved it. Plus, I figured if it worked on him, a man, it would work on me. When I went to buy deodorant for the first time, it was with my mom, after I had moved back to live with her. I went to buy the Power Stick stuff, but she got me to buy Teen Spirit. I wasn't the biggest fan, but I did think it was cool, because I had seen it in Seventeen magazine.

Hair spray. Aqua Net. God help us and our 80's hair. I am no scientist, but I am pretty sure any hole in the ozone layer, was caused by our hair in the 80's, and all the hair spray we used. The bangs, the curls, the teased height. I giggle thinking back. However, at the time, we thought we looked amazing. I can honestly say that fashion, style, and hair usually gets better as the years pass. Yes, we do still get some crazy fads, but for the most part, it is a lot better now, than it was then. I'd given anything for my 80's hair though. Thick, long, wonderful. My hair now is thin and yucky. My meds have done a number on my hair, and I do miss my old hair. I hated how thick and hard to style it was, and now I would give anything to have it back, minus the Aqua Net and curlers.

Marvelous. Mauve. Darling. Okay... My older sister Luci had this mauve and blue decor thing going, back in the late 90's. I idolized her. She was the oldest and I am the youngest. We could not be more opposite. She is skinny, beautiful, well put together, stylish, girly, and charismatic. I am big, loud, boyish, not stylish, not well put together, awkward, and shy. Nonetheless, I wanted to be just like her, and grow up to be her sister and best friend. So, in my head, when I imagined my future homes, it was always like her style. Light wood furniture. Mauve, blues, and cream. I don't think that is quite my actual style. Mind you, we really do not decorate, and our decor is basically Gigi's toys. However, if we lived in a bigger house, and I got to actually furnish it and decorate it.... I do not think I would do a mauve and blue decor scheme. I don't even think I would do light wood. I think I would go darker. As for the colors... Well, I think greens and some blues. Though, I could see a mauve and blue bedroom working. Maybe an ode to my sister Luci. She is still my idol, even though I am now thirty-five. Thousands of miles separate us, and we have grown apart, but she still holds a very special place in my heart, and no matter what, she always will. She is marvelous. I wish she were closer, so she could teach Gigi all the girly things I never did learn, and was never good at. 

Wendy's. Chili. I can make you some delicious homemade chili. I know people who can make delicious homemade chili. My favorite chili will always be Wendy's chili. I don't even know why. There is just something about Wendy's chili that is perfection. If I could, I would eat it every single day. It would be the perfect lunch. I don't care what season. I don't care that I will eventually get tired of eating the same thing, because I am pretty sure I would never tire of eating it. I do not get to eat it very often. We have one Wendy's here in town, and it is as far from my house, as it could possibly be. So, we rarely go there. I will always get something closer, because it just makes more sense. However, whenever I do get Wendy's and I get to enjoy their chili, it is superb. I never could get on board with their square burgers on a round bun. I know, they do not like to cut corners... hahaha.... It just is weird to me. For many, many years my OCD would not even allow me to eat their burgers. I could not handle it. Then I was forced to try them, because how could I have never tried their amazing burgers. EH. Not the biggest fan. However, their chili is the BEST. Period. I put my heart and soul into my chili, and I season it to perfection, and I would still rather have a bowl of Wendy's chili. 

Cat Litter. Jakob. My little bitty, huge baby Jakey Boo Boo. When I lived in Buffalo, I would always read the classifieds in the paper. I know! Talk about the stone age.... Classifieds in an actual paper. Sigh. Well, one day an ad caught my eye. An old cat needed a new home. Their grandchild was spending a large amount of time with them, while their daughter worked, and their grandchild had allergies. One of the allergies was cats. So they needed to re-home their Jake, and get all wood floors, no more carpet. He was already ten years old, was quiet, loving, and set in his ways. So I inquired about taking him, and she brought him to meet me. He seemed to like me. She liked my tiny little studio, and approved of me. So, I had myself a cat. He was a great cat. He was fat as could be. Loving. Quiet. Liked to be loved. Loved to be left alone. Very typical cat. I am not sure I really thought through owning a cat. I would seriously question my sanity in having a cat, every time I was lugging home heavy containers of cat litter. I would either have to carry it six or so blocks from the local store, or on the bus from Target way across town. He was worth it. I moved into a bigger place, and he came with me. My second night there, my friend Damon convinced me to come over to his house. I had been going through a break up, and a move, and I was stressed. He got me over to his place playing cards, and I really had a good time. It was too late to go home, so I spent the night, and went home early the next day. While I would have been sleeping, a fire had started in the attic and then the entire ceiling collapsed into my bedroom. I would have been dead. The firemen found my Jake. He was huddled in the bathroom, one of the only places that did not burn. They left him there. My "lovely" landlords, helped themselves to my cat carrier, which I stored in the bathroom. I was shipped off to a crappy hotel on the opposite side of town. I had no money, as I had just paid my rent and bills and bought groceries. I left Jake with his food and water, gave him kisses, and cleaned his litter box. I finally was able to find a place to take him. So, two days later, I returned to the burned out apartment, to get my Jake. I did not have the carrier, but I figured he would be okay in my lap, for the short car ride. He was gone. I returned a few times over those next two weeks, and would look for him, and call for him. He never came. I do not know if my landlords took him, or if he escaped out the hole in the roof. In my heart, I genuinely believe my landlords, who had five cats of their own, took him. When I moved in, and they saw him, they gushed about how beautiful he was, and had suggested we do play dates with our cats. I could have sued them. I really should have. I should have done so much, and I didn't. I lost everything. It was a learning experience for me, and I grew a lot. It changed me in some very good ways, and it changed me in some very bad ways. To this day, the thing I miss the most is my Jake. He was just the best cat. 

So, there you have it. My very first thoughts based on each of my words. What things came to your mind when you read the words? Any that stick out as an awesome thought?! 

Now, make sure you go check out the other Use Your Words posts for this month!! I will meet you there, but first coffee!!

Baking In A Tornado

On the Border

Cognitive Script

Southern Belle Charm

The Blogging 911

Climaxed

12personalities12

My Brand of Crazy