Midnight Train

So our daughter is coming home by train for the holidays. I guess I should be glad she isn't coming by plane since the weather has screwed things up so royally.

But...the train is late and she won't get here until 2:20 AM and we have to pick her up and so far we went to KMart and Walmart and now we are home and have to try to stay awake a bit longer.

We are hoping to get our second winds. Personally I am trying to keep busy. DH is busy with a project that should keep him up until it's time to go.

When did I get so old that I can't stay up late?? When did late get so ...well, late??

Where is that insomnia when you need it???

How in the world does Santa do it?? stay up all night I mean? He has to be older than I am!

Must be magic!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I just followed a car home and I have to tell you about its bumper sticker. Well, it was more like a complete back of the car sticker as it went on and on.

I will just give you the gist of it.

Abortion and homosexuality are things God disapproves of so please don't do them. Turn to Jesus and he will save you. If you don't you will burn in hell fire FOREVER. Choose Jesus. I love you.

The "I love you" is a direct quote.

Now how could that guy love me or anyone else if he thinks we will burn in hell? I am not a lesbian and I never had an abortion but what if I had? I burn in hell but the guy loves me?? I'm sure he meant it in only in the most brotherly way.

Ewwwwwwww. I hate that kind of thinking. It's Christmas, for crying out loud. Have a little real love in your heart. Embrace people and their differences. Pray for health care for every citizen in this country. Spread the word that Jesus used most-LOVE!

It's his birthday after all. Give the Guy a gift.

Santa's Little Helper II

I am all wrapped and baked and ready to go. Santa don't have nothin' on me!! And I don't even have any elves!

I think all the gifts are good and appropriate for the receivers. They are all piled up in my work room upstairs and it does look like Santa opened his pack up there!

I love helping Santa. I used to want him to come to my house and bring the gifts but as an adult I find that getting them yourself is even more satisfying. I start early on watching and thinking of things my family members might like. Sometimes I even start the day after Christmas...really.

I know I'm not the only Santa's helper around. I know quite a few of them personally. We all get a little shiver of happiness when we find a great sale and/or the perfect gift for someone. It's really best when you find both....now that is a rush.

Some things just pop into your sight line and there is the perfect gift that you know whoeveritis will just love.

In our family gifts are not just so we can have lots of belongings and we aren't particularly materialistic. We use gifts to express our love and to say I know you well and here is something to reflect that.

My dad was a great Santa. He loved to buy things and a good thing since he was a purchasing agent at a tool company! Every Christmas it was his job to buy the secretaries at the office a gift. He got lots of gifts too--my mom used to call it loot. Back then, the sales force bought gifts for their clients, their prospective clients and anyone who let them in the door to give a sales pitch! It was some pretty cool stuff too.

Anyway, he parlayed all that into being the best Santa's helper ever! On Christmas morning he couldn't wait for us to get up and get at the tree! He handed out the gifts one at a time so it would last longer. We still do that to this day. Everybody oohs and aahs over the gift and then it is someone else's turn.

I really don't know who feels best..the giver, the receiver or the ooher!

The Saw and the Cake

Yesterday I saw the most unique drag queen I have ever seen--not that I have seen many but I'm just sayin'. She was Miss Richfield 1981 of Minnesota where butter is a spice and gravy is a beverage or so she said.

She was at the Cake Boss and she wanted a cake that she could jump out of during her Holiday show in NYC. They measured her and added some girth because she was going to wear a Christmas tree costume. It turned out so big they couldn't get it in the door so she just jumped in it outside the theater and greeted her audience outside!

But she was not just another drag queen...oh, no, sir. When she got out of the cake she demonstrated her "talent" from her Beauty Pageant days. She sat in a folding chair and dragged out a bow and a saw and played Silent Night!

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry so I just changed the channel!

P.S. The picture is Miss Richfield but that's not me with her!

Must Be Santa

Yesterday, I saw the cutest news story about a group of policemen who sponsored a Christmas party for kids in need. The kids were allowed to choose from tables filled with gifts and clothes.

One officer said she got really choked up because most kids want to pick out something for their moms first.

They employed the best looking Santa I ever have seen. He was dressed beautifully with a cape and a staff and he sang and hohohoed. Both DH and I commented on how well he looked. The kids all swarmed around him and one little girl made a beeline straight to him with her arms stretched out for a hug but..........She had to be sure.....she didn't want to give a hug to just any old man in a red suit!

So, as he bent down to return the hug, she quickly gave his beard a tiny tug and Lo! and Behold! it was really him!

So she gave him a giant squeeze and ran off camera with the biggest smile you ever did see!

OMG

I didn't know what day it was today. I thought it was Tuesday but it is Monday. I know time flies but I guess not as fast as I thought. I have been really busy this morning and got a lot done so maybe my body thought I did a full day's work.

It's easy to lose track of time. My sis and I do it all the time--usually in Kohl's. My husband and I do it too....usually over the Sunday paper. I lose track of time when I am busy with a scrapbook project or if I am reading a good book.

Today, there was no good reason. I just rushed the week. I need to seize the day, live in the moment, be in the now and all that jazz. Now excuse me while I go lie down.

Man, Oh, Man!!

I went shopping this morning with DH who needed new pants. OMG! Shopping with him is such an ...hmmmmm...shall we say......experience.

He takes so long trying on things I worry that someone is going to think I am some pervert who hangs around outside of men's dressing rooms! At Kohl's there is a chair at least but it was in a weird place and people(read men) kept stepping around me and I must have said excuse me about a thousand times because I knew I was in the way.

He isn't the only weird male shopper though. I had quite a length of time to observe others of the species. One guy came out wearing pants about 8 inches too long for him and asked the wife if she thought they were too big. Guess what she said?

Another man went in with a pair of jeans, came out in a reasonable length of time(heads up, DH) and then came back a couple of minutes later with another pair and tried those. Out he came again and repeated the process....FOUR MORE TIMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why he didn't pick up four pairs of jeans in the first place is beyond me but then what do I know I am just an Olympic level shopper!!

Another guy went in to try on a belt. Loved him. A young man had to come out and show his mom and the pants were fine but the poor kid was so red in the face, I thought he was going to pass out. He didn't and neither did the kid whose mom made him hold up his shirt so "She could see."

I love to shop but next time he needs pants, DH can go by himself!!

Indy and Me

Last night I went with my boys to see Star Wars, the concert. It was the Royal Philharmonic and Anthony Daniels(C3PO) was the narrator. There were laser lights and explosions and fire and a giant screen with movie clips and sound effects. It was spectacular.

There were some people dressed up for the occasion and I don't mean in tuxes and evening gowns. There were Princess Leias and stormtroopers and Darth Vader and tons of Star Wars tee shirts and more light sabers than you could shake a stick at! (Pardon the pun) There were hawkers outside of the Q selling them for five bucks. Nobody bought me one.

There were people selling pop and cotton candy and souvenir booklets. It was pretty amazing in more ways than one.

And I got to sit next to Indiana Jones.

What was he doing there? He must have realized he was Han Solo in another incarnation.

Indy was all you would expect. He had his hat and his tattered jacket and boots. He even got a whip but I'll get to that later.

He was covered in pink sugar and had a sticky ring around his mouth from the Pepsi, cotton candy and Twizzlers he consumed. He kicked the bad guy in front of him right in the keister and leaned on my shoulder more than once. He kicked me a couple of times but it was by accident.

During intermission he braved the crowd and went on an adventure and came back with his whip(Twizzlers if you hadn't guessed by now). He kept wanting to know if the show was over.

He was three years old and absolutely adorable!

May the force be with him...and you!

Hark! The Herald Angels

I make angels and they are beautiful. The trouble is hardly anyone buys them so I end up giving them away. Not that there's anything wrong with that but it would be nice to have someone approach and buy all of my angels!

Today I took one to my job for the office and a lady in the hall asked if I made it and I said yes and she said.......nothing. Really, nothing. Why the heck did she ask me then? Did she just want to hurt my feelings. I'd rather she'd have said it was ugly...well, okay not ugly but nice would have been nice and not over the top as compliments go.

They really are pretty. I swear. My daughter took a picture of one and I will show you.

See? It's pretty pretty if you ask me. Wanna buy one? ;)

DECEMBER THE FIRST

I can't believe that it is the first day of December already. This year has flown by so quickly....I can hardly remember everything that happened.

In January, we celebrated my husband's birthday and got a cake from Archie's bakery which is supposed to be similar to Hough Bakery. HMMMM Jury's still out on that one. Apparently my daughter was having car trouble as there are a bunch of car repair shops written on my calendar. Whatever.

In February, we had a new hood installed over the fridge and we celebrated my son's birthday. My book club had their first meeting too.

In March, I dyed my hair back to brown after being silver for almost a year and a half. Other than that, I must have been pretty boring because nothing is written in the calendar.

April brought Easter and I picked up the ham. Wow!

In May, sis and I had a garage sale and my cousin's daughter got married in Chicago. One of DH's cousins also tied the knot so I know my daughter was home from Vegas.

June was the month I started my volunteer work at the hospital and we went to the movies.(In this house, that is a big deal!!)

July brought the 4th of course and a little trip up to Sandusky to meet up with our friends who live in Toledo. We also went to see the Captains play baseball and it poured down rain while we were there but beer cost only a buck.

In August we celebrated sis' birthday and had a trip to Port Clinton, OH for a few days where our son and his best bud met us. Our friends from Toledo came down too and we went to Mon Ami winery and got a little drunk on tastes of all their wine.

In September, there was a whirlwind of activity as my daughter had her birthday, DH and I went out to Vegas to see her and she and I drove to her new home in Michigan. I never got home until October.

The rest of October went by in a flurry of doctor appointments and Halloween.

November couldn't be topped as it was my 60th birthday and the whole family spent a few days in Vegas to celebrate. I will never forget swimming on my birthday--a first. Thanksgiving was the best one we ever had. Food was fantastic and everyone was there!

Now the whirlwind of December begins. I will be food shopping and baking and planning and wrapping gifts and cleaning house and planning and entertaining.....well, you get the idea.

I may not post much during this hectic time unless something really exciting happens. If I don't have a happy holiday season and remember the year flies by so enjoy it and by all means, take notes!

What's That Falling on My Head?

I was just out and about and suddenly the accumulating black clouds let go of some kind of white stuff. It wasn't snow because it wasn't flakes. It wasn't hail because it was white. So I am going to call it what it was teeny tiny little snowballs came down upon my head.

All you armchair meteorologists probably know the technical name for that phenomenon but I'm calling it how I see it-------teeny tiny little snowballs!

Time Flies

Sometimes life is just a whirlwind. This Thanksgiving holiday was just like that.

On Tuesday, my daughter arrived. On Wednesday, I did all my cooking and then we went shopping and bought out Target.

On Thursday, we watched the parade and kept saying "who in the heck is that?" and then my dear sis and her hubby made dinner. Those two are a Thanksgiving marvel. They can cook, serve and clean up without raising so much as a drop of sweat! They are like a well oiled machine. And the best part is that the meal is so delicious you wish you were like a cow--having two stomachs would be great! My daughter brought wine from her favorite winery in MI and my son took over the mashing of the potatoes and did an excellent job too. My nephew was home from college and we were all together for the first time in eight years!

No more skyping or speaker phone conversations for us! We will likely be together every Thanksgiving from now on....unless somebody moves far away again.

On Friday, my daughter and I braved the throngs and did the Black Friday thing. WOW!!! Kohl's was so crowded and crazy and busy, I couldn't believe my eyes. It took forever just to get a parking place and then we had to leave to go to lunch as we were meeting my sis.

Thank goodness for that respite in the middle of the day. Lunch with sis was like an oasis in the desert! We had tea and great food and then went on our way. All in all we hit up eight stores that day and my car was filled to the gills. That night, my son took us all to Zocolo for dinner and we had great Mexican food and the most giant margaritas you ever saw. They even made us guacamole at the table. YUM!!

Saturday, I was in a craft sale and I am putting it here in writing. I am done as a crafter! Just trust me on this one. I did have fun with my good friend and her sis and my daughter even hung out with us during part of the day but trust me, I'm done. Put a fork in me and all that!

Saturday night we went out for Italian as a family and that was a nice quiet dinner and then home for a little conversation and bed.

Now it is Sunday morning and I wish it was last Tuesday again. Daughter is getting ready to go home, Son is doing his own thing, and I'm done with my shopping and so is DH! Tomorrow the carpet cleaning guys come and then it is time for the Christmas decorating! But I will mourn the passing of Thanksgiving. It was a real blessing.

Reflections

Lately we have been experimenting with taking our pictures in the reflection of mirrors. I don't know exactly why but it kind of started up in Vegas and I'm not sure we are done yet. It was a great way to get everyone in the picture without asking a stranger to take one.


They turn out pretty well too. I even have one from one of the casinos where we are looking up at a gold reflecting light fixture and my family is in the reflection. It is pretty cool and also gold and shiny so it is my screensaver right now. As a matter of fact, here it is:

You probably can't see us so you will have to take my word for it. I've thought about it and probably we got inspired by our cousin's daughter's wedding pics taken at the Bean in Chicago. It is a real giant reflection so the pics are great.

My favorite is the one my sis took at the Liberace museum. It is the four of us flanked by a couple of those outrageous outfits he was famous for. I don't have that one on my computer to share though.

Sometimes we don't like our reflections and my husband has a theory about that. He says only to look in mirrors where you like how you look. That is great advice--possibly even words to live by!

Now, I bet you thought I was going to reflect on life or something but I'm not. Sometimes things are just what they appear to be!

Wicked

WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW! I just saw the production of Wicked here in Cleveland and it was spectacular!!! I loved the book and how it got rid of the all good and all evil witches and told a heart rending story of good intentions gone bad.

The performers were excellent and the music was stirring. The effects were unbelievable. I would go again and again--if only I had someone to grant my wishes!!

The Pa(l)in is Back

It pains me to say this but she's baaaaack. That's right, Sarah Palin is back in all her, um, glory.

She has a new book out(who didn't see that coming?) so she is doing the whole media circuit. I haven't watched any of it not even Oprah or Barbara Walters. Supposedly those two were supposed to eat her alive but the little clip I saw of Barbara, the old babe just looked slightly amused by the whole thing. I didn't get to see any of the Oprah interview.

I only saw a few clips of Palin on a few "news" shows I don't watch on conservative television and the little snippet from the Walters interview....just enough to see that Ms. Palin hasn't changed her style.

She still has those gawd-awful glasses and the weird hairdo but those don't offend me as much as her attitude and rhetoric. She still spouted a big long story of how she would save the economy to Walters and when she was done I had no idea what she had said let alone what she meant. Walters slyly said she had a way with words and Palin said she calls 'em as she sees 'em.

Speaking of seeing, wonder if she's seen Levi in Playgirl?? Isn't the timing of his appearance in that magazine just delicious?? I wonder if there is a review of her book in the magazine. You know girls only look at that magazine for the articles too....just like you men read Playboy for them.

What a little sleazeball he is! Any time she makes a political play, how much you wanna bet that he shows up and does something else slutty or jerky?

Anyway, the right always acts like we less conservative types dislike Palin because she's from Alaska and hunts and shoots and her kid plays hockey and she has a young daughter with an out of wedlock baby but that's not so. I don't like her because she can't answer a straight question, she throws around rhetoric, she is uninformed and unqualified for office, and if she's so conservative, she should stay home and take care of her kids!

Sleepless in Mentor

Once in a while, I just can't sleep....no matter what I do. Last night was one of those and of course it was the night before the only day of the week that I work so I couldn't sleep late in the morning.

I do drift off at long last(4:30 am last night...or this morning) and this morning I slept until 8.

My husband had to shovel me out of bed and onto my feet but I made it to work on time. I went up to do my duties and another woman was doing my job! WHAT?????????? I go on vacation for a week and I'm replaced??????

I met this woman before and she "helped" me do my job so I guess she thinks she's an expert now. I left. All I wanted to do was to go home to bed, but did I? No, I did not.

Late night television is really weird. There are all kinds of obscure movies and repeats of the daytime shows like Oprah. The food channel has repeats and so does HGTV and they show stuff like House Hunters--International. Last night I watched a couple pick out a house in Holland. Then the property virgins and first time buyers were on and I watched them get their dream homes and cringed at the mortgages these kids were taking on.

I had blankets on and I tried laying down but I just kept getting more awake. I finally tried again at 4:30 and it finally worked..I fell asleep. I was dreaming that Frank Sinatra was doing something with my family but then a deep, deep scary voice called my name and it was DH and it was time for him to get up and me to sleep for an hour in our bed.

So, hopefully, tonight sleep will not escape me. I could go to bed right now but I'll clean house instead...a nice brainless activity for a brainless, sleep-deprived day.

Climb Every Mountain

On vacation my family went rock climbing...without me. I wanted them to go but I didn't want to watch. Really. I hung out at the pool and enjoyed my morning just fine. Frankly, I never even gave them a thought the whole time.

If I had been there I would have been wringing my hands in despair and making them get down from there. I had their solemn vows that they wouldn't do anything crazy.

My kids must be part mountain goat because climb they did and here are the pics to prove it!

I think they were just kidding around in that last one. He couldn't have pushed her over the brink because they all came home unscathed!!

Moms have the right to worry about their family's safety but they don't have to hang around and watch them be daring either!

BANG!!

We just caught a few minutes of an old movie AH! Wilderness. We only watched for a few minutes because we were so horrified and yet amused at the same time.

It was Fourth of July in the film and the kids in the town set off their fireworks first thing in the morning. First there were those little ones on a string that when you lit one they all went off.

Then they graduated to firecrackers that looked the size of dynamite sticks. Then these two little girls all dressed up in their cute little dresses shot off some of those big sticks and hid behind a tree. The entire neighborhood was going gangbusters when along comes a kid(looked to be about 10 years old) firing a giant pistol!!!!!!!!!!!!! He wasn't shooting anyone just up in the air and was he ever happy!

The whole area was filled with white smoke and the noise finally even awoke the parents of one kid(the rest of them must have had earplugs or were dead). Did they run to stop them? Why, no, the mother thought she would yell at her son(the estimable Mickey Rooney) and told the father to go back to sleep! Oh, sure!

Well, when the smoke cleared, everybody was FINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nobody got hurt or maimed or killed or even in trouble. Now you know if that happened in a movie nowadays, someone would have blown off a hand or been killed. But not back in the day. It was just another day in the neighborhood!

Times sure have changed, haven't they??

Oh, Honey..Ahh Sugar Sugar

I just read my daughter's blog and not only is Archie married to Veronica which I found out at my local bookstore, but now they have kids. I was told by a source that these comic books are just an alternate universe kind of thing and in another series he will be married to Betty.

OHMYGOSH!!! In reality, Archie is 65 years old with a giant beer belly sitting in his Barcalounger watching television ALL BY HIMSELF!!!!

No woman in her right mind would marry a man who couldn't choose between two women for over 35 years!! I mean, really.

Just think about those two women.

Veronica--independently wealthy, spoiled rotten by her obliging father, beautiful and stacked

Betty-- the consummate girl next door, cheerleader, enthusiastic school leader, smart and beautiful and stacked

Now think about Archie.

Hasn't changed his haircut in 40 years. Has a skinny little body and no ambitous plans. Has no career goals. Hangs around with a kid named Jughead.

See what I mean??

Archie is fine for a highschool crush but as husband material, he sucks! B and V are much to smart to go down that path!!

I want to see the "reality" version of the Archie comic....on second thought it would probably be so boring no one would buy it.

He's Baaack!

One Life to Live is my favorite soap of all time. It has its ups and downs but recently we have been on a roller coaster ride that has been only up, up, up!

First of all, Mitch Lawrence, consummate bad guy is back....from the dead. Which is not a giant surprise since he thinks he is the second coming. Mitch is the leader of a cult and can spout Bible passages and act holier than thou while he is plotting and planning to kill and generally ruin all the lives around him.

He is good looking, sure of himself, cocky, self promoting, glib, charismatic and totally evil. Oooh, he is the soapiest villain of all time...and he turns up every once in a while to my delight.

He is the father of Jessica(who always thought she was a Buchanon but it turned out that Mitch raped her mom) and was the husband of Jessica's sister, Natalie. I don't remember how that happened but believe me it was sure to be a big mess.

In the meantime, Rex Balsam, who has been fatherless most of his life and has had a couple of fake fathers, is trying to find out the real story about his dad....and guess what? That's right! It's MITCH LAWRENCE!!! Apparently Rex's mom was part of his cult and had his child when she was young and, most likely, drunk.

Mitch has managed in the few short days he's been back to exhume the body of Jessica's dead husband and leave him for her to find, shot and killed Natalie's present husband, and the bastard is going to walk away from it all, just you wait and see! He is already taunting John McBain with his story of his "abduction" by the poor dead kid and I'm sure he'll be out of jail before you can collect 200 dollars!

Mitch never pays for his crimes and if you think he is dead, he isn't. If you think he's in prison, he's out. He will wreak havoc on Llanview!! I can't wait!

No Dough Girl

Yesterday I started back on the South Beach Diet. That means for the next two weeks--no carbs and after that only whole grain and sweet potatoes. But I had to do it. I cannot stand how I look for one more minute. Although, come to think of it, I guess I will have to stand it at least for awhile.

Cutting carbs isn't that hard to do...for a little while. With the holidays coming, carb cutting would be hard so I plan to get that part over with asap....hence starting yesterday. It's the first time I started a diet not on Monday. Maybe it will be the magic charm. I don't even have that much to lose. Maybe 20 or so and I would be in great shape. I work out consistently so you'd think that would keep the weight off, but no. I still have to monitor what I eat....from now on. No giving up and saying what the heck.

I just took a break and went tot he mall with my sis and guess what? I failed already. I ate Auntie Anne's! Oh well, I still won't give up. I'll just start again tomorrow and I am sure I will succeed...... at least for more than one day!

Angels Among Us

If you don't believe in angels then you probably shouldn't bother to read this. There was a time that I didn't believe in angels and then I got hit in the face with a butterfly and my whole life changed.
There are angels among us. If I see a monarch butterfly, I know my dad is saying hello. I have to be careful not to say "Hi, Dad" out loud so nobody thinks I am crazier than they already think I am.
If I see a white feather in an unexpected place, I know my mom is sending a shout out to me. We saw one in Vegas and a tiny orange and black butterfly too. Only once. Totally unexpected. My sister and I. My cousin.
On the plane on the way home my dad stopped by to say hello too. That hardly ever happens. I felt him more than saw him but I almost saw him. He gave me a little kiss on the forehead and I startled awake. I had been in a half dozy state. His presence almost enveloped me before I knew it was him. It was, I'm telling you. I'd know my dad anywhere.
Once I "saw" my dad and my father-in-law in church. They just stood behind us and I could feel how proud of us they were. Even guys who don't share feelings well get good at it when they reach angel status.
If you are aware and quiet and watchful, your angels will touch you too. Really.

Birthday Bog

Well, I'm back from my trip and of course I couldn't blog every day as I was busy and I didn't take my laptop so let me give you a lowdown!

Thursday, November 5: Today we travelled. You know it takes all day now no matter what. Especially if you are changing time zones. I woke up at 7am in Cleveland and went to bed at midnight in Vegas. In case you want to know that is 20 hours straight!

Friday, November 6: It is my birthday and I am in the pool and it is 80 degrees and I am surrounded by my favorite people and I even got presents! I had my party under a pergola and then got back in the water. We ate at a fancy restaurant and I got to sit in a chair that looked like a throne and my kids treated me!! What a day. I am so lucky.

Saturday, November 7: They say nobody really wins in Vegas but they are wrong. I played Deal or No Deal today and I won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3 cents!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, I know..but it's funny isn't it?

Sunday, November 8: Today I fell in love with gold fish......the game. Oh, it was so much fun. There was Calypso music and Confetti when you won a bonus and you got to match up the fishes until the turtles matched up. All that and free drinks too! I tripled my money today too. Too bad it was only five bucks.

Monday, November 9: If you go to Vegas you have to embrace your inner glitz and the epitome of that was Walter Liberace. Believe me, you have to see the Liberace museum. It is spectacular and funny as all get out. I laughed so hard I could hardly contain myself and a certain someone got yelled at! Just for asking a simple question!! The old lady curator was a giant BIOTCH!!! Liberace would have been horrified! Anyway, if you want a new appreciation for rhinestones and ostrich feathers, the Liberace museum is a must see.

P.S. You could even buy a purse with a photo of Liberace in his bathtub on it!! Only in VEGAS!

Tuesday, November 10:

Travelling home is bad enough but when you find out you have a layover in Chicago that you didn't know about it really stinks! Even though we didn't have to leave the plane and even though we moved to the first seats and could stretch our legs. Our pilot was commandeered and we had to wait an hour for a new one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Didn't walk in our door until after 11pm. Yikes!

Wed, November 11:

Home again and back to errands and chores. BooHoo! Where is my Goldfish game when I need it??

Up Up and Away

I'm on my way in just a few hours to Vegas, baby! I can't wait to get there and enjoy the sun and the sin.....ok, more the sun than the sin. I'm not a very good sinner.

It's not that I don't sin. Believe me, I do, every day, I'm sure. But blatant sins like drinking too much or gambling away my house just don't appeal to me. I'm even hard pressed to gamble a hundred dollars away.

Plus, while I am there I am happily turning sixty years old....that is a big enough sin as it is! I can't believe that the time has flown by and I'm at this landmark already. I'd like to go back and yes, erase some of those sins in my life and kick my young self for some of the stupid things I did.

Mostly, I don't look back though. I like to look forward to a new day and that's just what I'm going to do. There are still a lot of things I want to do. I have a list in my head but I am not ready to commit it to "paper" here on this blog. Suffice it to say, it will take me some time to do all the things I want to do.

Sixty isn't very old anymore--not when each day The Today Show gives us a list of people who are 100 years old and more. The lists are longer all the time and the ages keep getting older too...like 103 and 107 and the people still have hobbies and everything! So sixty is just a youngster compared to that!

Plus how can a cake hound like me not enjoy her birthday--the perfect excuse to eat cake and honey, that is sin enough for me!!

The Invisible Woman

I know I can make myself invisible. It happened to me again at the store. I was looking at a round rack of jewelry and a woman came up and just started turning it like I wasn't even there! I gave her a dirty look but she didn't seem to see that either.

It must turn off and on though because the clerk made me pay for my purchases so obviously she could see me.

I've been stepped on before and walked into and shoved aside. I know it's during one of my invisible times. It never happens when I am doing something I shouldn't or something stupid or wish I had washed my hair before I went out because it looks worse than I first thought.

You'd think being invisible even part time would be a great power but I'm here to tell you it's not so hot!

Armed and Ready

I'm off today to deal with the bank. I will let you know how I fare. Just don't be surprised if I cave and pay the darn fee. I am going to cancel the card no matter what.

In better news, only two days until my birthday trip. Yep, I'm counting the days. It's like in the 80's there right now so it sounds really appealing. Plus no cooking and people I love. Nothing but good there!

I'll add more to this later unless I am so angry I can't function!

Well, armed with a little anger and a well rehearsed speech, I am happy to say that I got the fees eliminated from my card and she was even very nice about it. I had a giant knot in my stomach because I was afraid they would argue with me but I was so glib and professional sounding, that there was no confrontation at all, thank goodness.

I hate confrontation. I don't want to be in an argument, feel uncomfortable around someone, worry that someone doesn't like me or have words. I just want things to go along smoothly.

Lucky for me, I am spending my birthday with folks who just want to have fun!!

Furiouser and Furiouser

I am so angry I could pop a cork! Banks have the most ridiculous policies and the Feds are supposed to be doing something about it but in the meantime, the banks are gouging us for all we are worth. I have just been whacked with a $40.00 fee for not using my Mastercard and if I don't pay immediately the 25% LATE FEE CHARGE WILL BE IN EFFECT! Say what??
Does this bank have any idea how long I have been their customer? Does this bank have any idea how hard I worked to pay off these damn cards???????
Then to try to facilitate a solution, I foolishly called the 1-800 number they gave me and three guesses...I was talking to some woman in India ala Slumdog Millionaire! She told me that it is the bank's policy and I got another 1-800 number from her and they wanted my card number which I don't have because I shredded the card I no longer use. SO I hung up.
Tomorrow I will go to my branch and deal with a human who can help me out of this mess and if they don't I will be moving to a new bank....hopefully, a better bank. A sensible bank that doesn't have stupid policies.......hmmm, wonder if that even exists??

National Blog Writing Month

There is a challenge out there to write an entry every day in November. I missed yesterday because I knew nothing about the challenge but I'm going to try to write every day this month even though I am going on vacation in a couple of days. I think I can do it.

I will try to be interesting but no promises.

It is only 4 more days until my 60th birthday and I'm not even a tiny bit freaked out. I mean, what's the point of getting freaked out as there is no way to change it. Being only 40 would be nice.....even 44. That, for some reason, was the year I freaked out. Turning 44 held some significance for me and so my dear sis had 44 cows put in my front yard and suddenly the whole thing was funny and fun instead of scary and depressing.

My whole family is going to Vegas with me for my birthday celebration. Even my cousin and her husband are coming from Chicago. I will get to do some things I never have done before on my birthday. One is swimming! It is going to be around 80 degrees so I want to hang at the pool and soak up some sun. I'm going to do a little gambling and eat French pastry in "Paris". I can't wait!!

How could anybody be freaked out about that, right?? I'm just feeling lucky!

Spooked!

I really hate Halloween. I am such a scaredy cat. I hate those Haunted House things that are so popular. I know they are just folks but I don't want the you know what scared out of me, thank you very much. I don't understand why some people like that.

I even read an article about one Haunted place where one of the actors chased a woman to her car with some kind of weapon. Really! How does that equate fun?

When I was a kid, I never had a great Halloween. I was the kid whose bag broke or whose costume tore. In spite of this, I do have some good trick or treat memories.

One year, when I was in about sixth grade I borrowed a mask and got on my knees by the front door of our house and tricked my mother into thinking I was a little kid. I even said," Twick or Tweat." She fell for it.

I remember an old lady on our street who gave out candy corn. She would scoop a giant spoon into a bowl and then shake it and shake it and finally spill it into your waiting bag. It would go from a gigantic spoonful to a few kernels before she dropped it. I think she was a witch. The meanest couple on our street always were really really nice on Halloween. Maybe they were some kind of goblins. She always made cookies.

Now, kids, things were different then. Don't ever accept unwrapped candy or cookies or an apple from somebody you barely know or don't know at all. Get your cookies from your mom or your auntie. Things are just not the same.

When I was in third grade my mom made me a princess dress with nylon net sleeves that had glitter on them...boy, did they itch. Then in the fifth grade, she made me be the knave of hearts and I even carried one of her date nut tarts which I demolished(and I don't mean I ate it) during the Halloween parade. In the sixth grade, all the girls wanted to be cigarette girls. How funny is that? And they were too. Funny, I don't remember if I was one or not but I do remember begging.

As a grown up I never had any great costumes. Once, I went as a bag of garbage and my husband was a bag of leaves. I even found a chenille bee on a wire to attach to my head. One year at school, I dressed up as a little boy with a black eye and a baseball cap. I'm sure I drove everyone crazy with my "Gus Gesing" get up. I also had a giraffe mask that I got at the San Diego zoo and I wore that for a few years. It scared my kids to death.

Now we go out on Halloween and don't do the trick or treat thing anymore. We did it for so many years but we hardly get any kids here so I don't bother. Can't say I miss it either.

After all , it is just an excuse to get candy and scare people, isn't it?

BOO!

Scared you didn't I??

Cheaters

I heard today that students have a much easier time cheating on term papers because of the Internet. However, teachers also have a leg up as there is now cheat detecting software. Plagiarists beware! With all the cut and paste options there are out there, I'm not surprised that students are tempted to cheat. I hated writing term papers--well, that isn't exactly true--I hated typing them and typing the footnotes was the worse so I wished I didn't have to use any sources but that never happened. Kids now don['t appreciate how easy it is to write a paper. All the resources on line and all the cutting and pasting have made things a lot easier but I don't suppose one would appreciate that unless you had hunched over a manual typewriter at 3 AM!
Some commentator from ESPN cheated on his wife with some young girl...who then felt comfortable harassing his son and his wife on line and was willing to answer any questions the wife wanted to ask. What an accommodating girl! No wonder he slept with her. She had such a generous nature. And,frankly, she wasn't even that good looking. If you are going to jeopardize your entire life you should at least do it with someone who is gorgeous!
Dave Letterman has been taking it on the chin for being a cheater and I heard his wife insisted he apologize on his show. Well, good for her! And good for him that he did it. I have to say to the girls who fell for his line,see the last line in the last paragraph!
But the cheater who upset me the most this week was Tinkerbell! Yep, you heard me. She is stepping out on Peter Pan. Can you imagine that? She practically had Wendy killed by the lost boys over Peter and now she is off with some boy fairy in her new movie. Apparently they are teaming up to solve whatever the movie's problem might be. Now that is sacrilege!!!! Everybody knows that Tink was willing to die for Peter and she would never ever fall for another guy. I'm sure Walt Disney is rolling over in his grave!
Cheating is easy but it does have dire consequences. Just ask Dave.

A Sinking Craft

I have been a crafter for all of my adult life although in recent years I have kept it to a minimum because(to tell the truth) I got a little sick of it.
My specialty is angels. It used to be wreaths and floral arrangements and then dolls. They were all fun but as I said I got sick of doing them.
Well, for some reason, the bug rebit me and I am making my angels once again and I'm going to be in two craft shows. My old teaching partner is still a crafter and she offered to share a table with me. Tables can be pretty pricey and if you don't sell much(or anything which does happen) it is pretty much a waste of a day.
I am thinking positive though and believing that I will have success.
I am recalling some of the things that used to get my goat at those craft fairs though. Customers who only have a fifty dollar bill are annoying and they usually show up first thing in the morning(after a bank visit I'm sure).
Then there are the gawkers who say,"Oh these are just beautiful" and then walk away. Or the ones who tell their friends how cute your items are and such a reasonable price and then walk away.
Plus it always smells kinda like hot dogs at these things which is ok for awhile but gets old fast.
Being creative is a blessing until you try to sell your stuff!

Shiny Stuff

There is something outside my window and it is all shiny and making me squint and I'm not sure what it is. Wait...wait....OHMYGOSH! I think it is sunlight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There has been a definite lack of sunshine around here lately and let me tell you waking up to gray every day is no picnic. You feel kind of lethargic and unable to do much of anything. If you dust your house, you feel like you accomplished a Herculean task.
Reading a book helps to pass the time as does watching a movie but it doesn't help to alleviate the down in the dumps feeling for very long because when you look up, the sun is still not there.
When you wake up in the morning, it is gray and gloomy. When you go to bed at night, it is still gray and gloomy just the dark of night covers it up...but you know it's there.
Depression or SADD is something all of us in NE Ohio have to battle every winter. You should see us on a sunny winter day! We are out walking and skiing and skating and shopping and hiking. We are bundled up but we are wearing our sunglasses!! Oh, joy!
Last weekend it had been so dark and gloomy we decided to drive to the sun. Fortunately for us, that was only about an hour or so from home and by the time we got back from our adventure it was even a little bit sunny here.
The sunshine here is notorious for showing up around one hour before sunset. That is just as frustrating as you might imagine. It's usually too late to get outside and do anything and you might just be fixing dinner so there's no time to grab the sunglasses and get out and enjoy it.
Vitamin D deficiency is a big problem here too. I have it and I know a lot of others have it too. I have a pact with myself that on every sunny day I am going to go stand in my driveway for 15 minutes and face the sun and soak up the vitamin D...even if it's freezing...AND even if my neighbors think I'm off my rocker!

Double Trouble

So how many people do you think get orders from two different doctors in the same week for the same pee test? I'm guessing just one--me! I just can't believe how funny it is. I almost laughed out loud when the doc I saw today told me to get one. He was so happy I was already getting one, I thought he was going to burst!
I have incredible luck when it comes to all things medical. I have been diagnosed(and misdiagnosed) with the weirdest things you ever could imagine--none of them life threatening or eve requiring a hospital visit-- it is getting to be a family joke.
I have considered not going to the doctor at all but since I am fast approaching the BIG 6-0, I have to go besides who would give me my meds? I'm no Michael Jackson who could apparently just say drugs and someone said what kind and how many? I actually have to get prescriptions written and they have to do blood work and that's when I get all these strange things wrong with me--that usually aren't anything.
Those two doctors also kidded me about how old I was going to be in less than a month. I told them both I am choosing to celebrate and not mourn and the second Dr. told me he was going to be 59 at the end of the month and frankly I got a shock as I thought he was much older than me(at least 5 years)! Anyway they both came up with the lame joke that the 24 hour pee test is my gift from them! I don't have to do it until I get back from Vegas where the family is celebrating my sixtieth.
So I have to have a bunch of blood drawn again and take the darn test and get a bone scan and five will get you twenty that I am fine. I think they always say "within normal limits" so you're not exactly fine and the tests were all justified.
I have only one worry--how is all that pee going to fit in one jar?? Don't worry ....I won't let you know!

Kooky,Kooky, Lend Me Your Comb

I was telling my best friend about my blog concerning teen idols and she couldn't believe I didn't have a big crush on one of the many she named. She talked about the Beatles and Robert Redford and a bunch of others but one she brought up rang an old bell so to speak.
Ed"Kooky" Burns was on 77 Sunset Strip, an old television show with the coolest intro and theme song--it was way hip...and all the girls wanted Kooky to lend them his comb.
Well, I won't go into the hygienic problems of sharing a comb not to mention it was the late fifties or early sixties and Kooky probably used lots of Brylcreem or some other equally gooey product to keep his D.A. neatly in place. (Don't know what a D.A. is? Look it up!)
Anyway, talk about synchronicity..today I had the television on the old movie channel while I was waiting to go to my Dr. appointment and lo! and behold! There was Ed Burns aka Kooky in some old movie from the fifties about a guy who dated the sister of the beauty queen he really wanted. Ed Burns was the beauty queen's duped boyfriend but if I know my old movies(and believe me I do) the sister and Kooky probably got together. Stupid beauty queen didn't even appreciate that Kooky's comb was the most coveted on all of the Sunset Strip. My appointment interrupted the movie and it was over by the time I got back.(Not that I would have watched it but I just couldn't get over how dated it was and how like Mad Men it was! Kudos to Mad Men for doing great research on the era even though I can't stand the show myself.)
I guess the bottom line is when it comes to affairs of the heart there's no accounting for personal taste(kudos, DH) and one woman's Kooky is another woman's dupe.

Amongst Freunds

Well I had to look today to see what other blogs mine is sandwiched between and I was taken on the most interesting trip to Germany. Yes, all the companion blogs were in German. Not that I am complaining mind you. It just seems weird to be in with a bunch of blogs I can't even read. There was even one blog that was written in letters I didn't even recognize--possibly Russian.
So does that mean that every time a German blogger wants to see what the "next blog" is that they get sent to mine?? Now that would be really weird, no matter how small world and international it is. I can just see some poor German teen or twentysomething coming across my blog now! They would probably think what the Heck is that? and go right on to the next blog. I still cannot download pictures that would be of any interest to anyone but myself and a few close friends and family.
I never send anyone to another website or blog that I find interesting. I'm not exactly sure how to do that either.
I happen to have some German ancestors so I don't have anything against being in their company. It just seems weird....No offence, freund.

Five People

I just saw a poll on Facebook that wanted me to name 5 people I had hanging on my bedroom walls...you know.. like teenagers do. I couldn't take the test.
It isn't like doing those things are beneath me. I have taken the poll of favorite movies, things I can touch from where I am sitting(no cheating), famous people with my first name, favorite bands, favorite teams, favorite tv shows--well, you get the drift.
I couldn't take the bedroom wall one because I never had anyone hanging on my bedroom wall in my life other than family members.
I was a young teen when the Beatles became popular and all the girls were screaming their heads off over one or the other of them. I picked George just because you had to have a favorite Beatle. It was the law..just kidding, it was only the law in junior high. I even went to see one of their movies at the theater and the girls screamed so much you couldn't hear the movie and the projectionist(yes, we still had them back then) threatened to turn the movie off and send everyone home. So, when it started back up the girls just screamed less loudly. I never heard one word of the music or anything....and I just didn't get it.
I never dreamed of a movie star or television hunk being my boyfriend. I was too busy trying to cook up how to become famous myself. I wanted to be a model. I sure was skinny enough but I have really thin lips so forget that. I wanted to be a Broadway star. Too bad my singing voice was only so-so and I was an alto who wanted to be a soprano(not the mob kind). I wanted to be a famous author but I couldn't come up with a concept that would work for more than a short story.
So I had to settle on being the best me I could be. And you know what, it all turned out pretty good. And if I really had to hang someone's picture on my wall now? Well, all you have to do is read some of my previous blogs and you could probably figure out who it would be!

Christmas is coming...

Yep, you heard me right. Christmas is coming and it will be here before we know it. I know it is just around the corner because all the stores are starting to deck their halls. But it isn't even Halloween yet, you ask? Doesn't matter. Christmas is just around the corner.
I know it's true because I already bought one or two Christmas gifts. Never mind that I also bought Christmas gifts in February...I like to plan ahead and I love bargains. All of the nieces and nephews are so grown up now nobody wants Barbie or Transformers or Tinkerbell or Bob the Builder. So I have to let my creativity take over.
It's true the thing they want the most is money--cold hard cash or a gift card to their favorite place (or mine--good ole Target carries everything!) I like to find fun ways to present it. Once I even fashioned money into a rose to present as a gift. I learned how to do it on a craft show but I forget how i did it now. The recipient was baffled as to what it was but once she figured out it was money she was good with it!
I love to give gifts and half the fun is searching for just the right stuff. I have stood in line for a Cabbage Patch doll and have bought every Star Wars action figure ever made. I find out the kids' favorite candy and favorite color to help me find some fun thing to put their gift card with.
I got that idea from my mother who always added some fun candy or other goodie with the money she gave my boy cousins. It seemed to work for her so I adopted the practice. Even my kids do it now that they are grown.
Sometimes I even take notes. My sis and I shop together a lot and so if she really likes something I go home and write it down and the store and either I try to go back or I tell her husband about it. Now, if she read this blog, she knows my secret but that's ok. She knows I have a terrible memory.
I have a special place where I keep gifts so I don't forget I have them. It's part of the memory thing. If I don't put it there I forget. It's true. Once I gave my sis a gift I had had for her about three years and kept forgetting.
After I collect all the gifts I spread them out by family member up in my craft room and decide if I have enough. This usually occurs around Thanksgiving or December 1. It helps me decide what else to get and who to get things for in case I forgot somebody.(which so far, knock wood, I never have)
So, as you can see Christmas is coming. It is right around the corner and I'm ready!

Uninspired

Not every day can be an inspiration. Somehow greeting cards and sappy movies have convinced us that they can and should be. Some days are just days to get through.
Yesterday was one of those days for me. I had been sick on Thursday night and all day Friday(although I did manage a visit to the tea room with my sister) and I slept from 10pm on Friday night until 10am on Saturday morning. SO the day should have flown by, right? Wrong.
We went out for a little while because we needed a new heater for our family room as we gave our old one to our daughter for her new place. That was a big mistake. I was so tired after a half an hour I wished I had stayed home. Even though my new heater looks like a fireplace and is exactly what I wanted, I should have stayed home.
The rest of the day is a blur.....a boring blur. I had no reading material and all the crosswords I tried were beyond my brain power(of which I had very little). I wasn't still sick but I wasn't well either. We did end up eating some dinner and watched a movie(Marley and Me, which was actually quite good). I thought I should go to bed around midnight so I did and of course then I couldn't fall asleep. I must have dozed though because I woke up when DH came to bed around 1 and then I couldn't get back to sleep for an hour!
Finally I camped out on the couch and slept there until around 8 am. So now it is Sunday and I feel pretty normal. I actually watched a food show this morning and the food looked good--not gross so that is a good sign.
DH is on call this weekend so we will stay home again today but I think I can actually do something--probably laundry or putting dishes away or cleaning the sink in the bathroom but at least I'll be occupied and not exactly inspired but not uninspired either!

Talent Round Up Day

Well, talent is a very subjective thing. Sally Field has talent and yet, one time on a talk show, she demonstrated what she considered her talent. She could pick her nose with her tongue. No, I am not kidding. She demonstrated too. So, see what I mean? Subjective!
Everyone is born with talent-hidden or otherwise. I like to think I've been blessed with some talent. I am very creative and able to make some beautiful things like angels and wreaths and floral arrangements. I used to sew too but my eyes and my machine fail me now.
I am blessed with a pretty good sense of humor too. I admit that sometimes I am my own best audience but to tell the truth, I crack myself up! A lot of other people think I am funny too.
I'm a good writer. Maybe not so much on my daily blogs but I wrote a book and it is pretty good. A lot of people who have read it liked it.
I was blessed with the ability to teach. That was a really special talent because it got me my job and made me happy for my whole working career(oh, with some exceptions, but who can be happy every day?)
I think talent should be cultivated and I always looked for it in my students and my own kids and the people around me. I always found it too. In some of my students it was a quickness to catch on or a kind heart. My own kids had talent galore...I am so so not biased in that regard ;)
The bottom line is I believe that everyone has a talent and they and those around them just have to recognize it.
Sometimes talent makes you famous and sometimes talent has nothing to do with it. Just ask that John Gosselin kid! He's famous and I'm betting he wishes he wasn't and talent had nothing to do with it!

Circus Day

I have been to the circus exactly three times. Once when I was four, once when I was twenty six and once we took our kids. Hence, I remember all the visits with clarity.
When I was four my dad took me to the circus. I remember having cotton candy for the first time. It was pink and as big as my head. I loved it and I still do. What's not to like about spun sugar on a cone?? I also remember being sick to my stomach after I ate the whole thing. I remember my mother asking my dad why he let me eat so much. Oh, the circus part?? Don't remember a thing.
If I had I would never had said I wanted to go to the circus for my birthday. My then boyfriend got us tickets to see the circus as a gift. I really wanted to go as I was sure I had missed something for all those years. Oh, I missed something all right. The creepy clowns.
I have to admit I am totally scared of clowns. Even Bozo and Clarabelle. Even Emmett Kelly...Jr. too!
I don't know why people find clowns funny anyway. They are kind of creepy to look at and they do stupid stuff. I know I laughed at some of the stupid stuff. I don't remember anything else about that circus either--just the clowns.
I took my kids to the circus because that's what families do. I knew I could suck it up for my kids and I did. Then I found out that my little girl also hated and feared clowns. It made me a little braver but only while she was little. As she grew up we were able to share our fear and that made us each feel a little less weird.
It turns out that a lot of people are afraid of clowns....so much so that Steven King wrote a scary book and the star evil guy was a clown. Some people will laugh if you admit that you are scared of clowns but others will have complete empathy and admit they are scared to death of them too.
The custodian at my school where I taught was a clown. To tell the truth, I was even a little scared of him--in or out of costume. He was a really nice guy but I just couldn't help it. It was the clown thing, of course and I just couldn't shake it.
It is healthy to have some fear. It keeps us from doing really stupid stuff like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute or eating the moldy food in the fridge. A good healthy fear of clowns never hurt anyone............................yet.

Anything Can Happen Day

Oh, this was my favorite day of the week on the Mickey Mouse Club. I loved watching that kid who drove a car underwater and I couldn't wait for the unexpected to happen. As far as I remember nothing did...but I still remember the anticipation.
Well, being Wednesday, I wondered if today anything could happen and whatta you know? IT DID!
When I was in the AT&T store, I saw a women my age with shocking pink hair! Really! You know how there are some things a gal just shouldn't do after a certain age? Well, shocking pink hair is one of them!
I probably would have laughed out loud had I not been on the phone with a support person who was "helping" me replace my phone which died on my recent vacation. She was "Christina" and had an Indian accent that I could barely understand. I got about 1 in every 3 words so we were having a bit of difficulty.
Luckily, since I was in the store, Michael, the store associate, gave me a lot of help and my new phone is on its way!
I don't know what it is with me and accents. I have so much trouble understanding the different cadence or something. It is really embarrassing and wasn't a problem when I was younger but as our population becomes more diverse, there are more accents and I am having more trouble.
The worst one was when my French hairdresser asked me how many children I had and I said and I quote, "I don't know." He got a great laugh out of it of course but boy, my face was red!!
"Christina" probably thinks I have learning problems at the very least.
I always carefully choose my doctors too. If one has an accent I am in deep doodoo. I would hate for him to ask me what my problem was and say my famous, "I don't know" line! How embarrassing would that be???
So, anything can happen. Just look around you...you may see a lady with inappropriate shocking pink hair standing near you!

Guest Star Day

On the Mickey Mouse Club, Tuesday was guest star day. I saw Cliff Edwards who was the voice of Jiminy Cricket for the first time and saw him play the ukulele. It's the only one I really remember.
So today, I decided to have my own guest! It's my daughter with her own memories of the MMC.

This morning, my mom (you know her as Sue), asked me to guest star on her blog. Would I mind writing a blog about the Mickey Mouse Club?? Not at all!! Oh how I love the Mickey Mouse Club. Old, New... I've always been a fan. That show was a defining part of my childhood. I'm such a Disney girl and loving the Mickey Mouse Club was no different. I'm so excited to be a part of "Guest Star Day!"
When I was really little, we didn't get the Disney Channel (it was still REALLY new then) but they would do a preview weekend every season. I looked forward to the Disney Channel preview and would watch the countless episodes of the black and white Mickey Mouse Club. I loved everything about it and wanted to be Annette so badly. I always thought it was neat that my mom and dad had watched the show when they were little, too.
A few years later, the new Mickey Mouse Club (or the MMC) started. I was OBSESSED. I thought everyone on this show was was brilliant. I watched the MMC from the very first season, on through Keri Russell and JC from NSYNC, and all the way to the times of Justin and Britney. I would have done ANYTHING to be on the show. It's too bad I can't sing worth anything!
I was crazy about this pop group they formed with some of the cast members from the first season. It was called "The Party." This one time they came to Cleveland and performed outside Tower City. It was pouring down rain, but I stood as close to the front as I could get (God bless you, Mom- and Dad- for putting up with that!!. I sang along to every song the 5 of them sang). I probably STILL know the words and I definitely know their names... :)
I think my favorite part of any of the shows was always the song at the end. I sang along every time. So, "now it's time to say goodbye."
"C-ya real soon!" :)

Fun With Music Monday

Last night we listened to Steve Van Zandt's radio show and it was a tribute to the Mickey Mouse Club. I loved that show when I was a kid as did so many others. My favorite was Darlene. She even had a little show of her own ala Spin and Marty but I don't remember the name of it. I know she had a dog named Shadow in it though. She was no Hayley Mills or Annette Funicello but I loved her best.(and I know Hayley was not a Musketeer)
Anyway, it got me to thinking about the song I fell in love with on my recent road trip. It was by the Killers named COMING OUT and it's tag line (for lack of the correct terminology) is "Kill me now Kill me now." It's a rather bouncy tune and I really liked it but my daughter insisted that the line was "come here now come here now."
It reminded me of the old song SKY PILOT which I thought up until a few years ago was Sky of Fire! I would have argued that til the ends of the Earth at one time and then I found out I was wrong.
I have a lot of favorite songs. Lots of them are from Sesame Street and so the Broadway musical, Avenue Q, has a special interest for me. It is Sesame Street all grown up and trying to make a go of it in NYC. I can never decide which song is my favorite, IT SUCKS TO BE ME or EVERY ONE'S A LITTLE BIT RACIST. I love how the songs take relevant and important issues and kind of put them in their place. Your life sucks?? Well, so does everyone else's in its own way. If we stick together, it's a little less sucky. Everybody laughs at some kind of ethnic joke, get over it and maybe it would be easier to get along.
There is nothing like a good Beatles tune to get you feeling all nostalgic. I can remember dancing to HEY JUDE in college with a boy I just met. I remember buying the first 45 with my sister so we could listen to I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND a million plus times. I remember buying Sgt. Pepper the summer after high school and listening to SHE'S LEAVING HOME and crying my eyes out.
On the road, it is always good to listen to music. It makes the time go faster and it even stimulates conversation. During Little Stevie's show though we didn't talk very much. We were just too exhausted to speak much!!
Well, that's all I have to say today and I'll leave you now. Why? Because I like you....M..O...U..S..E!

On The Road Again

DH and I are on our way back to Ohio today. I am so torn. I want to go home and yet I have been "off-duty" for awhile now and it's been nice not to worry about laundry and cooking.
I can't wait to see my son. It has been a really long time since I even spoke to him--just a few relayed messages when he was on the phone with my daughter. I can't wait to hear what is up with him these days.
I miss my sister too. I love shopping with my daughter but she doesn't exactly go to the same stores I usually frequent. And Sis and I need to go to the Tea Room. I need some tea and a ladies' lunch.
I miss my kitty too. She has been hanging around my slippers-that's what DH said so she must miss me too!
I miss my own bed although I sure sleep well here. Last night I slept through the whole night--no calls of nature even!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I miss the library and I can't wait to read my Book Club's next selection. It will be good to see all the girls again.
I miss my best friend. She and I have some planning to do!!
Going on a vacation is great but going home has its advantages too..........just not the cooking and laundry parts!!

Off Road

After traveling with my daughter from Las Vegas to Michigan, I can only say one thing. I really had a good time!
We had all kind of silly adventures. If you follow us on Twitter or Facebook you've seen the pics already.
The worse thing to happen was my phone died a nasty death. The best thing was I spent quality time with Megan. We sweated and shivered. We felt great and then I got sick. We sang at the top of our lungs and once ate dinner in silence( it was 10;30 PM after driving all day--it was for the best) We saw old friends and made a couple of new ones at the beauty salon yesterday.
We explored old Albuquerque and new places in St. Joseph. We had yummy food and not so yummy food. We ransacked three different malls and shopped until we really dropped. We bought a whole working woman's wardrobe and decorated an entire apartment.
We spoke on the phone and got tweets and IMs. It was a very twenty first century trip!
Now I am exhausted and I think my daughter is too!! Good luck, honey with the new job and location. I love you very much....and I love being your travel buddy.

Vegas 2009

I have learned a few things since I have been here.
1. You know you are really really old if you wear a wool hat and a sweater with long pants in 95 degree heat.
2. If you are over 45 you should probably avoid short shorts and for goodness sakes wear a bra in public!
3. When someone says it is all downhill from here, it doesn't mean it is going to be easy.
4. Some people act really really weird in public.
5. There can be too much whipped cream on a dessert.
6. Beer has restorative powers.
7. One woman's whining is another woman's talking!

FLIPPED

Well, I was watching an old movie starring Carole Lombard(if you don't know who she is--look her up) and they were at a nightclub that had a spectacular floor show which included famous women making their entrances on horses. There was "Lady Godiva", "Joan of Arc", "Pocahontas" and Greta (I forget the last name) who stuck her finger in the dike and saved all of Holland from destruction. (in case you don't know Holland is below sea level).
Each gorgeous woman came out and presented herself and her horse and then the Emcee asks Greta from Holland to show everyone the famous finger that saved Holland. Out came the one finger salute except that it was wrapped up in a big white bandage with a bow on top. It was as big as her head!! It was hilarious.
The audience gave a round of applause and Greta finally put that thing away.
The other day when I was driving to my sister's there was a gray haired lady in a big fancy white car behind me and she didn't like it that I was going the speed limit. She honked, she rode my tail, she shook her fist at me and last but not least she showed me the finger that saved Holland! I did not applaud. I did however pass her by while we were waiting at the red light as there were less cars in the lane I chose so as I passed her by I flipped her right back!! (I felt pretty safe--she was old and my car doors were locked).
Obviously, the meaning of the middle finger has changed since the simpler days of the forties unless you lived in some parts of Europe but obviously not Holland!


PS I will be on hiatus for a short time but when I return I hope to bring a guest blogger along as she and I will be on a road trip. If we can figure out how to do it we will post blogs every day.

Random Things

I heard there is something going around the Internet called 25 Random Thoughts. Here are a few of mine from yesterday.

1. JayZ tries to look like a gangsta but he looks like a cute little kindergartner(in his face) to me.

2. Nothing is more important than maintaining your dignity. Patrick Swayze did that.

3. LeBron James is the sweetest thing and smart and loyal and I could go on and on.....

4. Having a vacation can be life renewing.

5. I don't know why people think Jerry Seinfeld is so funny.

6. Soap Opera addiction is not all bad.

7. The right haircut can make you feel like a million.

8. A pedicure is the ultimate in spoiling yourself.

9. Having a conversation with a stranger is really difficult but can turn out fine.

10. Some people just don't get it.

11. Spaghetti sauce in a jar is a Godsend.

12. Sometimes time doesn't fly.

13. A crossword puzzle can be a bear.

14. How old is that Kanye West anyway??? 12??

15. I don't get Mad Men.