One Hundred Days

Do you know what you've been doing for the last 100 days?? I don't. I have to be honest ...they have flown by without much notice by me. I know somebody who probably remembers everything that has happened in the last one hundred days.....President Obama!
He has been one busy president, hasn't he? He has been contending with two wars, a crumbling economy, Wall Street, Main Street, unemployment, travelling, entertaining, training a new puppy, pirates and now, for the cherry on the sundae-----SWINE FLU!! Yikes, how does this poor man keep himself together anyway?? I have enough trouble keeping the house clean, fixing dinner, and going to the mall or some store a couple times a week! I guess that's why I'm not the President!
Swine flu has been touted as a pandemic and nobody knows what will happen. I remember having Hong Kong flu in college. It was awful---I literally crawled to the communal bathroom on my hands and knees because I was so weak. It all started in the middle of the night and I won't even go there except to say---I never ever want that to happen to me again! So I have great empathy for the poor sufferers of Swine Flu or whatever we're supposed to call it now--F1N4 or something like that.
I don't think that anyone will ever call it that except representatives of the government and doctors. I just heard it yesterday and I can't even remember it so I'm guessing I won't be the only one.
Anyway, I hope that President Obama is a good hand washer as he was recently in Mexico and it would be really bad if he got that G2N6...um, swine flu. If he gets it he better know every shortcut to every bathroom in the White House. I know from experience!
Tonight the President is going to have a press conference to take questions about his first 100 days. I hope he doesn't come down with the flu before then!

Facebook

Boy, I am learning a lot about myself on Facebook. They have all kinds of quizzes you can take to find out about yourself...like what color my aura is...it's green, who knew? Wish it meant I was going to get a lot of money but it doesn't.
I also find out that I am most represented by the Andy Warhol painting of Marilyn Monroe. Now that is really off the beam so I took the test again and got a different result Margitte's Son of Man, I think it was called. It was a man with a giant apple obscuring his face. Now that is so me...at least the apple was green, like my aura.
I also found out that I am living in the wrong city. No kidding. I should live in San Francisco since I like temperate weather. Wish I could. Living in the wrong city isn't that bad though since my entire family(almost) lives here too.
I also found out that I most resemble Peg Bundy as a mother! Now that really surprised me but I don't know why..I never even watched that show so I don't know anything about her except she had giant hair and a lot of tight stretch pants. I don't have really big hair or any stretch pants at all but maybe it was for some other reason.
I don't have a lot of friends on Facebook but that's fine with me as I have trouble keeping up with all that is going on there as it is. I know some people have friends in the hundreds and even thousands...I can't imagine how they cull through it all in one day! Even if half your friends made one comment a day--it's mind boggling.
Some people think that Facebook isn't for people in my age group but it must be catching on as it is even in the comic, Jumpstart, in our local newspaper. The grandpa has his own page. So I feel like I can keep doing it and not be accused of trying to be younger than I am.
I even reconnected with my favorite bakery through Facebook so that was really worth it. Mmm, can't wait to order a cake from them.
Facebook may not have any redeeming social qualities but as long as I can get a Hough bakery cake, I could care less!

Oh, and PS to Anonymous---uh......no!

I've Got Nothin' Once Again

I try to keep up my writing skills on this here blog but as I live a simple life, I don't always have something to say. Like today, no big life revelations or happenings. Which, by the way, is fine with me.
I have decided I have a tv crush. Ohmygosh, I hardly ever get one. Tom Cruise, oh, he's ok. Brad Pitt?? Not for me. George Clooney seems charming but doesn't turn me on. I could go on and on. Even back in the heyday of the Beatles when all the other girls were screaming their heads off...I just didn't get it. Now I do. I wait for Saturday night with breathless anticipation(well, not really breathless) to see the show I love to hate on the BBC--Ashes to Ashes. It is the sequel to Life on Mars and all in all it is pretty stupid and I don't like it except for him.
On the show, he plays Captain Gene Hunt. He is foulmouthed, has a beer belly,balding, acne scarred, drinks too much, has no respect for criminals or women, says what he thinks and takes no prisoners(so to speak). I'm mad about him.
This has taken me totally by surprise. Why couldn't I fall for a charmer?? Or a heart-throb?? It's like having a crush on Tony Soprano--except Gene is a good guy...I guess.
He hasn't slept with the lady cop or even kissed her yet but I know he will and I just don't want to see that!! Last night was the season finale so I will have to wait awhile to get my fix of Gene on Saturday nights. No one can replace him. The show that will replace him is Primeval and it has the woman I love to hate--Helen. She will have to do for now. I don't have a tv crush on her though, just so there's no confusion.
Now that summer is here I have vowed to ride my bike. We got our bikes fixed up last year and I kinda fell off so I stopped riding. Now I am determined that this summer I will learn to ride again. Except I saw this ad where Lance Armstrong said,"If you're afraid of falling off, don't get on the bike." Oh, gosh. Is that like the horse?? You know taking it to water but not making it drink?? I'm still going for it though.....I am kinda nervous.
Just got back from giving blood. You should too. Really, it's not that bad...and we all know what a chicken I am, right??????? And you get cookies...and if you're lucky, cake. I think that's the only reason my husband likes to give--the Oreos and the cake!!
Well, that's all I've got for now. I'm a little tired from blood donating and I think I need some more water. And some television and maybe a little nap.........

Susan, Reborn

No, not me. Have you seen Susan Boyle the contestant on Britain's got talent?? If you haven't you should look her up on line and at YouTube. She is an amazing singer but shall we say kind of a lonely little petunia in an onion patch. What? Don't get that? Ok, ok. She is homely amongst all the beauties.

Why beauty and talent are attached like Siamese twins in our minds I don't really know. Especially for women. She came out and she wasn't gracious or fancy or glib--just a little nervous and silly and then she opened her mouth and out came---well, beauty!

So the press has taken all kinds of pictures of her with her flyaway hair and her bushy bushy eyebrows. Well, she recently got those bushy bushy eyebrows plucked down to a normal size. Oh, the reaction to that was positive mayhem. She is a sell out and is going"Hollywood." Oh, PLEASE!

Today I read that she got her hair colored. HOW DARE SHE?? Didn't she know that she was the homely one we loved? How dare she try to look her best? No other woman in the world, in her fifties, starts dying her hair...oh, wait, I did...and I'm sure many thousands if not millions of women in their fifties decide to color or keep coloring their hair.

She got new clothes too. A leather jacket..OMG, what was wrong with her cloth car coat? She only has to be on television and the Internet and photographed every time she leaves her house..she was fine before. Wasn't she?? Well, apparently she didn't think so or she would have refused all this "help" with her appearance. What really kills me is that the show What Not to Wear(Which originated in England) does it every day and nobody thinks anything of it when those women get new clothes, dye their hair and yes, even pluck their eyebrows.

Personally, I say, "You go, Susan!!!!" from one 50 something Susan to another!

*take note of the pics--that's me not Susan Boyle. Just check out the hair!

Movin' On

Well, I haven't talked about my soaps in a while so today I just can't resist. On All My Children, this woman says her marriage is over and she has to move out of her house. So her ex-husband( you know how helpful they are) says he'll go get her things. He comes back with one suitcase and a carry-on bag! Now if I had to move and let's even say just my wardrobe--I would need a van at the very least. And on these soap operas, these women have the clothes, let me tell you. They used to wear designer but apparently with the downward spiral of the popularity of the soaps, wardrobes aren't quite as fancy as they used to be.
So does she say where's the rest of my stuff?? I assure you she does not. She just picks them up and goes back to the present husband because she loves him even though most of the characters in Pine Valley refer to him as "the devil."
My old friend, John McBain is on the move too. He doesn't have to worry about wardrobe as he always wears the same black shirt and pants..really....every day. Anyway, he is wrongfully imprisoned for murders he didn't commit and so his old buddy, Antonio, gives him the key to his cell and he escapes. Actually, come to think of it, this is the second time he was wrongfully incarcerated and had to escape...but I digress. That key to the jail cell looked frighteningly like the key to my front door..but we won't go there either.
So once John makes a break for it(by casually walking out the door and furtively glancing over his shoulder) where does he go?? Straight to the airport to make a break for it?? Nope. To the bus terminal?? Nope. To a secret hiding place?? Oh, no. He goes straight to the public hospital! Oh, nobody will see him there--he is wearing his cloak of invisibility( oh wait, that's Harry Potter). Well anyway, his brother(Llanview's one and only doctor who I have mentioned before and is getting laid off so I don't know what they will do when someone gets sick) hides him in his secret hiding place in the room where you get drugs and hides him between an in-wall cabinet and a standing glass cabinet that he pushes over to make a little hiding place and tells his brother not to move because "people come in here." No Duh! The camera never left his face and of course you could see him the entire time. WHAT A HOOT!!
John doesn't hide of course but manages to get dressed like a doctor-- mask and surgical cap and all so no one will recognize him and goes to say goodbye to his wife before he makes a break for it. There is another woman he has a thing for and 10 bucks says he'll go see her next minus the get-up.
So now you know how to split from any given situation. When in doubt only take one suitcase and a carry on and whatever you do go straight to a public place before you leave town.

One Thing on Top of Another

Have you seen the commercials where they come and install a new bathtub surround(including the bathtub it appears to be all one piece) over your old bath tub?? I think that's so gross!! Kind of like putting a clean shirt on over a dirty one...or clean socks over dirty feet...or a clean blanket over dirty sheets. Well, you get my drift.
Some things I like on top of another...syrup on pancakes, for instance. Hot fudge over ice cream.
Onions on a burger. That is the way you do it.
I like layers too-- just not in bathtubs. I really like the new sweaters and jackets that layer over a tee or a tank. I like layers the best in the fall and winter and I don't like them at all in the summer. The only thing I like on top of my shirt in summer is the sunlight!
Layer cake is one of my favorite things. Especially white cake because it reminds me of weddings. I love weddings and have since I was a little girl. I loved them so much I even had one when I was too young and really didn't even want to go through with it.
But back to cake..we had the best bakery in Cleveland called Hough(rhymes with rough) and their cakes were the best. Loved their frosting. They had an outlet store out in Willoughby and we used to go there and fill a bag with goodies for only 10 dollars..or maybe five, I forget now. The ladies that worked there would always send the kids back to get a little more for their shopping bag and they loved that! We would always buy our birthday cakes there. They still tasted fine and I always tease my kids that they only like stale cake and three day old frosting.
It would be great to be able to make the cakes like they did.
One thing I really don't like on top of another is Mashed Potatoes with gravy. I can't even tell you why..it is a long story. I also hate wearing a hat on top of my head. Hats and I don't jive.
I'm always glad they have stayed out of style. I will wear a baseball cap to cut the grass though.
Sometimes one thing on top of another is bad--too much to do in too little time or even worse, someone you love is sick and another person you love gets even sicker. That is the worst.
I am hoping the layers of my life stay on top of each other without falling. It is a balancing act...but one worth working on.

Jemma and Dot Howard

Did you know that on Facebook you can get a new name? I picked a Soap Opera name and Jemma Howard is my new moniker. I sent it to my daughter and she got Dot Howard. We sound like two sisters so we decided in that Soapy world we wouldn't be mother and daughter.
Jemma and Dot may have a few adventures now and then depending on my creative urges.
Let me introduce them today.
Jemma is small framed and has flowing red hair. It is naturally wavy but never gets out of control. She of course has a perfect body and a loving personality... unless you cross her then look out.
Her sister, Dot, is the long suffering sister. She has been married four times, twice to the same man. She has been in a coma, has been in a wheelchair, lost her memory and has an evil twin she doesn't know about. She is small framed with flowing blond hair and a perfect body. It is wavy but never gets out of control even when she is bed ridden. She has the gift of people loving her in spite of herself(it is hard to keep loving someone with so many problems).
The two young women(they have ageless beauty so nobody knows how old they really are) have moved to Ppanview to start all over again not knowing that many of their friends and lovers have followed them as they can't stand to live without the sisters in their humdrum lives. They are unaware that they are on a soap opera and think his is normal life...a source of many of their problems on As One's Children Live Life.
They both are madly in love with Rex, a perfectly sculpted specimen of mankind, but he is stupidly unaware of their adoration and prefers a boring girl named Mary. This is a challenge that both women are willing to embrace although neither knows what the other has planned.
Will one of the sisters win Rex's heart? Will Dot end up in another coma thanks to Jemma? Will Mary be the worm that turns? Is Rex totally clueless? Stay tuned!

Pork and Beans

I just read an article about a man who stabbed his brother over a can of pork and beans. I know. What a nutcase, huh? How pork and beans could get someone that riled up is beyond me. I have a few suggestions for that guy.
First, just buy the single serving cans and mark them with your initials. End of problem.
Take an anger management class...no, make that three anger management classes.
Admit you hate your brother..to a professional!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Move to another place. DO NOT take your brother with you.
Do not continue to own any knives...first, your brother, next who knows?
Get a haircut(just threw that in there for no reason).
Now I know it is hard times and maybe they have to buy the economy size and maybe they can't afford two apartments or homes and maybe they can't afford anger management classes or a psychiatrist.
SO I have a word of advice to the brother who got stabbed.....run for your life!

Purple

That's the color of my foot right now. It's pretty disgusting actually. My poor husband always has to check it out for me. What a job!
Purple is usually a royal color. I haven't seen the queen of England wear purple ever, I don't think but I just finished a historical novel and they wore a lot of purple when they wanted to impress somebody.
I don't think my foot would impress anyone but I could be wrong.
I made purple frosting for my Easter cupcakes but they really turned out to be more lavender. Which was fine. I had put in just one drop at first and the frosting looked gray--not the cheeriest color for frosting that's for sure so I added another couple of drops and got a pretty spring-y color. I also made turquoise frosting and pink bunny cookies. Now in some circles that would be impressive.
I had a purple suit when I was in highschool. I thought it was the height of luxury. I had a spring green top to wear under it and I thought I was pretty cool. No pictures of it so I have no idea if it would have stood the test of time or not. I remember I wore it on my first date with Eric F. and it was a beautiful spring evening and I said," Isn't it beautiful?" meaning the evening and he said,"Yeah, you look nice." Stopped liking him a little right then and there for thinking I was so vain to fish for a compliment so obviously. I did go to the prom with him though. He bought be an ugly corsage and then I really stopped liking him. He bought those green orchids like they have at the drugstores for Easter. YUK! I wanted daisies or carnations or roses or actually anything but those green orchids!
My kids at school always made a construction paper Purple People Eater for the letter "P". They were pretty cute. Or as cute as a one-eyed, one- horned flier can ever be! Some of those little ones could hold their breath until they turned purple I'm sure but they were wise enough not to do it at school.
Anyway, purple is not one of my favorites but it sure came in handy today.

Dough Girl

I remember back in the seventies I decided to make a pizza from scratch. I thought that if I made my own dough I had arrived as a cook. Well, suffice it to say that it was a brick when it was finished and we had to order in.
Fast forward to the eighties when I had kids and felt all good moms should make dough. A friend of mine at school lived out in the country and she made dough for homemade bread every Saturday morning. We took the kids out there to visit once and she even had a little loaf for each of them to take home.
Dough is not easy. The recipes always tell you how long to knead it and it seems like it would take forever and it did and my dough was always too stiff. It was edible but not that great. I really wanted to learn how to make the cinnamon rolls my grandma was famous for and I just didn't have much success.
I have finally gotten the hang of it. My pizza dough is famous(at least at my old school and with my kids). I realized I wasn't using enough yeast in the cinnamon rolls and I found a dinner roll recipe that is wonderful. I even figured out the kneading thing.
So this past week in preparation for Easter I made all kinds of dough. I made cinnamon rolls, cookie dough and dinner rolls. My whole kitchen was covered with a white mist of flour for a couple of days. No sense in cleaning it up until I was completely done. I even baked off a crescent roll dough(straight from the dairy case..I'm not that ambitious) for one of the appetizers.
I don't know why making dough feels like such an accomplishment but it does. I guess because not many people I know do it. It always makes me feel like I am giving out the love, you know?
Dough seems like something so simple and yet it is complicated. Kinda like life.

Easter Morn

The sun is shining, my daffodils are in bloom, the ham is ready and we are off to church, casual style. It is a new idea at our church and I like the idea!
Happy Easter to all!

When a Body

The human body is an amazing thing. My poor ankle is healing so fast. It is about a thousand times better today. However little things I didn't notice in the first 24 hours are creeping up. My left leg muscle must be totally bruised as I can hardly get up off a chair. I have a black and blue mark on my left thumb. Both my shoulders feel as if they had been torn form the socket. Other than that I feel really good.
The meds I am taking are really doing the job though. I hate to think what I would feel like if I didn't have prescription strength Motrin. Wait, I do know what I would feel like....like a Mac truck hit me and I know that from experience. No, no I didn't get hit by a truck. I fell out of bed in the middle of the night. Mother Nature called(darn her) and I heeded the call but didn't realize my foot was tangled in the covers and down I went. My husband even woke up and he sleeps like the dead. The whole house shook and I was a mess! For two days, I couldn't even get out of bed to go to the doctor. The pain was terrible. I didn't have an prescription strength anything so I had to tough it out on low dose.
Falling is a weird experience. I can never remember how it happens exactly. One minute I am walking along or getting out of bed and the next minute, I am flat on the floor thanking God that at least I didn't hit my head. Although I've done that too. Now that really hurts!!! I hit myself on the head with my car(long story..you had to be there or at least know my car) and I saw stars. I thought someone made those up for the cartoons. I was wrong. I'm pretty sure I had a concussion but I didn't even go to the doctor. Who had time?? I was a working mom then. I really rattled my brains though and I can hardly remember the next couple of days. I just remember my boss laughing at a little mistake I made and I just burst into tears. Scared him a little!!
So, dear reader, my advice to you is just don't fall down or hit yourself over the head with a car and try to make it through the night without answering Mother Nature's call and you'll be just fine!

One Small Step

I fell down half a flight of steps yesterday. I bet you are thinking I was in my stocking feet...well, no. Ok, then I was carrying too much.....well, no. You must have been in a big hurry then...well, no. I just misstepped..I felt my shoe slip off the edge of the step and away I went. I had the presence of mind to rearrange my self so I didn't go head over heels but I did manage to twist my right foot as far as it could go and it is sprained.
Isn't it funny how something so small can change things so fast?? I was so proud I had picked up my Easter ham, finished the shopping and now I could just bake and clean up the house and I would be all set. I went upstairs to pack the Easter "baskets" and the result was a visit to the Emergency room!
What really makes me mad is that I had been working out on the treadmill for all these weeks and I had gotten up to 1.8 miles with a 5 incline in a half hour. We were even going to go to the Y's 2K walk in May. I was ready!! Now I'm not.
Every time I get near to being as fit as I would like something like this happens. And always with the feet!!! What is up with my feet anyway?? Do they not know their job is to hold me up at all times?? What do they think they can take a vacation??? At least I'm not in a wheelchair and the pain should pretty much be gone by next week. I have a good prescription and my boys won't let me work too hard. They will both pitch in to make everything go smoothly.
One small step doesn't seem like much...but it can be a giant leap...down the steps!

Sleeping Beauty

Ohmygosh, I can't seem to wake up before 9am any more unless someone routes me out of bed. I saw an ad yesterday where the girl was in bed and suddenly the bed just tips up on its end and she is on the ground and starts her day. I don't know what the ad was all about but I need that bed!!
I have really been enjoying my dreams lately..maybe that is why I don't want to get up. I even had a dream with my whole family in it. I was in Chicago in a big hotel and my sister and her family went out to do something and my two kids left next. Husband and I went down to the lobby and there was a big gun battle between two of my soap opera characters!!!!! It was pretty exciting and just as it was coming to a boil, I woke up!
I wake up a lot in the night and can't fall right back asleep. Last night I was up from 2:30 until about 4:30. Maybe that's why I didn't want to get up this morning.
I'm looking forward to my day today. I have plans with my sister so I know I will have fun. Most days I look forward to so I don't get this sleepyhead stuff.
Also my poor neck and shoulders have been really sore lately. I think I am sleeping weird on them as it doesn't really go away. I never had any problems before so I don't know what is going on.
One morning I slept until 10:45!! I don't think I've done that in years! I feel like I'm cheating or something!
We spend so much time sleeping that there are many references in society to it..The Big Sleep, Sleeping Beauty..to sleep perhaps to dream.....well, that's all I can think of but you know what I mean.
I always blame the time change for sleeping later but it has been a while now. And starting tomorrow, I am going to get up earlier. First I have to find one of those beds!

Rons

Ron Allen was my favorite reporter during the campaign for President. He was with McCain's camp and reported every night on NBC. Now I haven't seen him in the longest time until last night. But I am getting ahead of myself.
I always got a big kick out of him because(and I know he can't help it) he always looks so sad. I used to say to my husband that he looked like he was trying to find his lost dog, that's how sad he looked. It got to be a running joke at our house that in each town on the campaign trail, ole Ron was still looking for his missing dog. Why else would he look so eternally,well, sad??
So last night they announced he was doing the next story and I got all excited to see my old friend and sure enough..he still hasn't found his dog. He looks like the tragedy mask in all the old theaters. Poor dear, I hope he finds a reason to smile sometime in this millennium.
Now on the other hand, Ron Mott(I think he is on the same channel) is perpetually smiling. He could report that nuclear war had begun and he would have a big old smile on his face. He even has twinkly eyes which Ron Allen most certainly doesn't.
I think the network should bill them together as the comedy and tragedy masks of the news desk. When Brian Williams retires, they could be the new Huntley and Brinkley. You know, Ron M could do the happy news and Ron A could do the downer stuff. Probably Ron A would get more air time but maybe news will improve. I can just see the opening segment with their faces on those masks...it would be a riot...or maybe cause a riot.

Just Not Feelin' It

Have you seen the commercial where the "moon " comes to work and the "sun" asks him if he shouldn't be full and the "moon" just says he's not feelin' it? I don't know why but that always makes me laugh a little. He heats up some food thing and then the moon is full. Wouldn't it be funny if the moon chose when it was full or waxing or waning?
Lately, I haven't been feelin' it either. I really don't want to exercise. I really don't want to diet. I really don't feel like cleaning house. I really don't want to work on my scrapbook. I really really don't feel like cooking.
Every once in a while that happens. It's not like being depressed--been there done that. Maybe it's just laziness.
I haven't been feelin' it for The View lately either. I am getting sick of them yelling at one another even when they are not talking politics. I am tired of watching Joy try to act like she can stand Elizabeth. I only like Whoopi. I wish she would be the only one on there. I can't stand it when Barbara comes on as she tries to throw her weight around and rein in the other women with various degrees of success. She should retire permanently. She is getting older than dirt.
I think it's ok when you have one of those days or weeks or several weeks. Like I said it isn't depression. I think it's just the daily grind that gets to me...and the moon.