The Gerri Chronicles

Necessary Evils

2012-01-27T10:00:00.003-07:00

I'm going to talk about bodily functions and body parts and all sorts of stuff your mother told you was not polite to talk about in public. But I'm going to do it anyway because it needs to be done, and sometimes, it really is humorous. Because you have to laugh at what you have to put yourself through to be healthy...or else you'd cry...and never do it.

Women suffer the majority of human indignities all in the name of health. Men do not. I blame Eve. After all, it was her big idea to eat the apple. And lets talk about that for a moment shall we? You give up your right to live in paradise for an apple? Please. It wasn't even a chocolate covered apple for goodness sake. I would give up nothing for an APPLE!....it's chocolate or you get nothing from me. Just ask my husband.

Thanks to Eve we women find ourselves with our feet in stirrups more than John Wayne. And it's not even the childbirth that accounts for most of it. I've birthed three children. If I only had to use stirrups three times I'd be throwing a party right now. No sir, it's those yearly checkups we all love so much. There is such indignity in a pelvic exam. Put your feet in stirrups and then show parts of yourself that no one else should see, to people you hardly know. Who came up with this plan anyway? I'm sure it was a man. And then, if you've ever been lucky enough to have an internal ultrasound...well, I can't even begin to explain how much fun that is.

And then there's the mammogram. You find yourself unclothed from the waist up in a room that is 30 degrees below freezing. As if it wasn't awkward enough to have your breasts exposed to a person you don't even know, the girls are standing at attention the entire time, acting like they like the process. And then they put stickers on them...great. Next you are forced to have your breasts squished like chicken cutlets being prepared for dinner. The thinner the better. Ouch. And if you are amply endowed, (meaning you are overweight, like me) you suffer the added indignity of the side shot. Yes ma'am, we need to mammogram your fat too. Lovely.

I have to add here....men, get your prostate exams. I can't write about what that's like because, well, I don't have a prostate. I know it involves the doctor sticking his finger in your rectum...but you'll get over it. Just remember that you never had to push anything the size of a football out of your penis. That should make you feel better.

So, as if the yearly pelvic exam and breast squishing, and the prostate exams weren't humiliating enough, once you get to a certain age ( or you have a family history, like me) you have to suffer further indignities. And I'm happy to say, this indignity is an equal opportunity humiliator. Men and women alike must suffer the indignities of the dreaded...colonoscopy. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to talk to you about your rectum. (And at this point, I know my mother has turned a full circle in her grave.) So the worst thing about having a colonoscopy is not the procedure itself, but the prep. That would be the bowel prep. You start out the day before the procedure on a clear liquid diet. Now, I don't know about you, but clear liquids don't do it for me, so by the time noon rolls around I'm pretty cranky, and then around dinner time it's time to start the prep. So basically your starving to death and then you have to drink some crappy liquid that literally makes you crap. Some people can take a pill or a small cocktail consisting of a cup or two of liquid, to get the ball (or bowels, as it were) rolling. But if you are diabetic, like me, you aren't so lucky. You must drink a gallon of the most weird liquid known to man. It doesn't taste like anything but it has a certain...viscosity...like you could use it to oil and lube your car. Oh, and you have to drink 10 ounces every 15 minutes until it's gone. That's 12 glasses people! Around glass 5 you're sure you won't be able to drink anymore (but you have to)...and the solution begins to do it's magic. Now, you are on the toilet for the remainder of the prep. And this is where you find out just how much your significant other really loves you. Because you are unable to stay off the toilet...they must bring you the lovely liquid so you can drink it while you are sitting on said toilet. Humiliating. Eventually the prep is finished and you wish you could relax but you are still starving and now your ass feels like it's on fire. Squish my boobs any day.

The day of the procedure finally comes. You are still starving and you just want it to be over with. You'll be happy to know that you are basically asleep while they do the procedure, so you don't feel anything. But it's at the moment right before you fall asleep that you remember that your more than ample rear end is going to be exposed to a room full of people you don't know. And then, the doctor, whom you barely know, is going to stick a camera up your rectum. Double lovely. Before you know it, you're waking up in the recovery room and if you are lucky, like me, they tell you everything is A-OK. So you suffered through the biggest indignity known to man and you came through with flying colors. At that moment, when they tell you you are healthy, it's all worth it.

So, now I'm going to get serious on you. Because this is the actual reason for this post. Take care of your bodies. Listen to what they tell you. If you have symptoms that concern you, go to a doctor. Don't be afraid that it might be nothing and you're wasting the doctor's time. That's what they're there for. And they love being able to tell people everything is OK. Suffer the indignities of the pelvic exam, the mammogram, the prostate exam, the colonoscopy and any other tests you might need. Because it means life, not death. I lost both my parents to cancer. My father to colon cancer, my mother to breast cancer. I can't afford not to keep up on my yearly breast screenings and my colon screenings whenever my doctor tells me they are necessary. The humiliation and indignity are necessary evils of staying healthy. Because I care about you, I implore you to do these things so I don't have to lose anymore people to these insidious diseases.

And because I am asking this of you, I am going to make a promise to you. I am basically a healthy person, but I have this awful weight issue which has caused me to have high blood pressure and diabetes. I need to lose the weight so I can get off the meds and be completely healthy. The weight is the key to it all. So my promise to you in 2012 is that I AM going to lose the weight, get off the meds, and keep myself as healthy as I can. In return, you can get your screenings done and stay healthy so I can keep you in my life.

Thanks for reading...and happy screenings to you all!

Quote of the Day:
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" ~Ancient Proverb~

The Bliss of an Ordinary Day

2012-01-23T14:01:00.000-07:00

I love ordinary days. They are my favorite. I love the simple things that make up an ordinary day:

Waking up next to my husband...even when I detest waking up...is the best start to any day.

A hot shower and some electricity to run my blow dryer.

A car to drive to work...even when it's a car I despise.

A commute buddy...even when we don't talk.

A job to go to...when so many others aren't lucky enough to have one.

A text from my youngest child....lets me know she's still alive and she still needs me...for something.

A bill to pay...and money to pay it...means I have the means.

A great book to read while I eat lunch.

A TV....even a 500lb non HD compatible TV...for watching my favorite shows.

A hook and some yarn to create something beautiful...or useful...or both.

A daughter who loves to cook dinner.

A few chores to make myself feel useful.

Going to sleep next to my husband...the best way to end a day.

I love an ordinary day...it fuels my soul.

Quote for the Day:
"We can learn to rejoice in even the smallest blessings our life holds. It is easy to miss our own good fortune; often happiness comes in ways we don't even notice...The ordinariness of our good fortune can make it hard to catch." ~Pema Chodron~

Not Your Mother's Cooking

2012-01-20T08:00:00.037-07:00

This is the first co-blog for my daughter Sarah and I, in which we will be blogging on the same topic. When you've finished reading please hop on over to her blog and see what she has to say. I'm excited to get started, so here goes....

Both my daughters love to cook. It's probably true what they say about gene's skipping a generation...I know they did not acquire this love from me. Although, it could have developed out of some basic need to eat something that didn't actually start out in a can or a box. That's probably closer to the truth.

It's not that I can't cook. I have been known to cook from scratch a time or two, and mostly with good results. For instance, I would NEVER serve spaghetti sauce from a jar or a can. My sauce is probably my one claim to fame. But, it's easy to make and it doesn't involve any chopping, slicing, dicing or any of those ing's associated with the kitchen. So, again, it's not that I can't cook. I just don't like to cook. When it comes to cooking, I like to take the path of least resistance, which means dump something out of a can or a box or stick a frozen something in the oven. It's not that I'm lazy either and it SURE isn't because I don't care about eating. One look at me and you'll know that's not true. I just find the whole process of "real" cooking tedious and boring and I could think of a thousand other things I'd rather be doing. My daughter, Sarah, claims cooking relaxes her. I think she's nuts. I'm sure she'll probably blog about how much she looks forward to coming home from work to cook a good meal. I look forward to her doing that too, since she lives with me, it works out great for me!

We do share a love of the Food Network and all cooking shows great and small. Curious thing that. I think there is a part of me that wants to love to cook. I love the gadgets and all the techniques and all the creations. When I watch those shows I can imagine myself in Giada's kitchen making those great pasta dishes with ingredients I can't pronounce. I want to be Ina Garten. I could spend thousands refitting my kitchen with beautiful cooking things I would not use. Whenever I tell my husband I want some kind of cooking apparatus, he rolls his eyes. Because he knows it will end up in the closet with the bread maker, the waffle iron, the salad spinner, the quesadilla maker and who knows what else, that has been used once or twice, and relegated to the closet, never again to see the light of day. That closet is like the island of misfit kitchen gadgets. They are just waiting to be taken home and used by someone who will love them. That someone is not me. When it comes right down to it, I have to be honest with myself (and the poor kitchen gadgets) and accept the truth that...I hate to cook, and not even the fanciest garlic press or the sharpest knife in the block is going to change me.

So, I accept the non-cooking me with all her boxes, cans, jars and frozen foods. I love her in spite of the fact that she does not know the difference between saute and fry, and could care less. I'm ecstatic that my daughters love to cook. I'm happy for their future families. I just wish I could figure out how to get them to live with me forever...

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Thanks for reading and please leave me a comment and let me know how you liked the co-blogging thing. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

New Year...Same Old Me

2012-01-17T15:24:00.001-07:00

I have not gained a new me in the New Year. Too bad. I could use a new me. This old me is just too disorganized. I still don't have all of my Christmas stuff put away. This despite having two three day weekends since Christmas. I finally got my big tree down yesterday and my living room is basically back in order. It feels good, until I look to my left and into the family room...where everything that is Christmas is piled everywhere. Oh well...it'll all get done in time, right? At least that's what I keep telling myself. I have many projects I want to get started on in this New Year. None will happen until Christmas is packed away. Maybe what I need isn't a new me...maybe I need more me's. Too bad I couldn't have one me for every project I need to tackle. That would be nice. Oh, and a me that likes to cook...that would be awesome!

Speaking of cooking (great segue huh?)....Sarah and I will be doing our first mother/daughter blog this Friday. We will be discussing the joy of cooking...well, Sarah will probably discuss the joy of cooking...I on the other hand...well you'll just have to tune in and find out :)

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Quote for the week:

"A place for everything, and everything in its place." ~Isabella Mary Beeton~

Today I Bought a Stove

2012-01-12T13:42:00.000-07:00

Judging by last several posts I know you must be thinking that I have some weird obsession with appliances. I can assure you...I do not (well, maybe with the refrigerator but that's all).

Today I am inspired by Meg. I read her blog religiously. I love her. She has a wonderful spirit, is crafty and just all around fun to read. Today she inspired me to buy a stove. It's called : 2 Years. 2 Stoves. 2 Friends. Basically, it's been 2 years since the earthquake in Haiti. They need these stoves to better their lives. It only costs $20. You should try to get 2 friends to follow your lead. Go read Meg's blog, she explains it much better than I do and I'm sure you'll be inspired.

We all have so much more than we realize and when I watched the video on the donation site...it made me think about how lucky I am to have three healthy children who don't have to eat over a wood burning stove. I would love to help another mother accomplish that. So, I bought a stove. I hope you will too.

"Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, that you do unto me."
(Matthew 25:40)

Don't Turn Your Back on the TV

2012-01-10T15:32:00.000-07:00

I have decided that appliances are passive aggresive. At least mine are. Instead of just asking nicely to go live somewhere else, they do sneaky things to make you get rid of them.

My old washing machine for instance, decided to not stop filling up one morning as I lay in bed reading. I went to check on the laundry an hour later and stepped into a hallway full of water. Water which had run out the laundry room, through the garage, down the driveway and into the gutter...running away...ever so passively. She was promptly replaced with a newer, happier model. So far our relationship is good, but I don't turn my back for long.

My old refrigerator peed on my floor...constantly. She has been replaced by this beauty. She has already acted out once by eliminating ice onto the floor...we'll see how this relationship progresses.

Two nights ago I was happily watching my lovely flat screen TV. He and I have spent many enjoyable hours wasting time together, watching forensics shows, scary ghost stories and of course the Food Network. I thought he was happy. I left the room for no more than 3 minutes and when I returned...he had taken away the picture. He left the sound but took away the picture. I had no idea he was unhappy...all had been well until then. Now I am watching an old, 500 lb, non HD compatible TV that was hibernating in my garage. All I can say is, I hope he doesn't hold a grudge for being banished to the garage because I cannot afford to replace him right now.

I'm going home now to make nice with my computer....

Refrigerator Love

2012-01-05T15:29:00.001-07:00

Happy New Year! I know, I'm a little late, are you surprised? You shouldn't be.

Once upon a time I had a very nice refrigerator. But like everything else I own (and me) it got old and decided to start leaking everywhere. Yes, I leak, but that's a story for another post.

(Excuse the mess in the kitchen...this was taken right in the middle of the great cookie debacle)

Over my Christmas vacation we bought a new refrigerator. It's a thing of beauty and I am in love with it. I never knew you could be in love with a household appliance before...wait...I take that back. I was in love with my flat top stove when I first got it too..now..not so much. I mean I still like it and all ...but the love has faded. I wonder if that will happen with my refrigerator...I hope not. I could stand and look at it for hours. The gleaming stainless steel finish (that matches nothing else in my kitchen, by the way) mesmerizes me. It has French doors. I've wanted French doors for a very long time...I just never knew that when I finally got them, they'd be on my refrigerator. Oh well, a girl takes what she can get. I swear the thing has mood lighting. When I open the beautiful French doors I am not blinded by a naked bulb glaring from the back of the unit. No, I am welcomed by a soothing, diffused, blue aura of light from above. It's almost heavenly. I love it. It also has filtered water and ice in the door. I have now been able to rid my sink of the lovely filtering appendage that gets in the way of everything you try to do in the sink. Another plus, another reason to love. It has a huge bottom drawer freezer with another filtered ice maker. This is important for someone who drinks a lot of ice water. Heaven I tell you. Sometimes I open the refrigerator just to look at the pretty inside...don't tell anyone, I'm sure you're not suppose to do that, but I can't help myself. I am a slave to my Refrigerator Love.

I do have one issue with the new appliance, however. I feel that if you spend an exorbitant amount of money on a state of the art appliance with a computer brain, there should be a sensor in the brain that says, "Your master has the freezer drawer open, don't drop the ice!". But no, sadly, that is one feature this awesome silvery giant does not posses. The other day I opened the freezer drawer to ~~stare lovingly at~~ rearrange the interior, only to be met with the sound of the ice crashing to the floor beneath. Lovely. In that moment, I lost a tiny bit of the love.

Can you put a refrigerator in time out?

Lessons Learned

2011-12-31T07:00:00.015-07:00

Time for another change...a new year. I don't make resolutions because I can never keep them so they seem pretty pointless. Instead I try to look back and see what I've learned over the past year and try to apply it to the upcoming year. Sometimes I'm successful, sometimes I fail. I always learn something. This year it was all about embracing my faults.

Here is my countdown of the top things I learned in 2011...sort of a David Letterman Top 10...except there are only 5 because that's all the learning I can handle for one year. So I give you:

The Top Five Things I Learned in 2011

#5: Embrace your limitations: Because I always think I can do more than I can...cut every list in half.

#4: Embrace who you are: Anxiety, obsessions, weight issues, all of it. It took me 53 years to learn this...way too long.

#3: Embrace others for who they are: Tattoos, political views, annoying habits, all of it. Once you look past it...all that's left is real.

#2: Embrace your blog: Stop comparing your blog to other blogs and just write. Use your own voice...it's pretty darn good just the way it is.

And the #1 thing I learned in 2011...

#1: Embrace change: The only constant in life is that it constantly changes. Push outside the comfort zone and embrace the changes.

Favorite Quote from 2011:

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.
~Victor Frankl~

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Coming up in 2012:

My daughter, Sarah, and I are going to blog together. That is to say, we are going to pick a topic and both of us will write about it on our blogs. We'll probably do two a month. We are working up to participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge coming in April. Both of us needed a way to kick start our blogs. Hopefully this will help and you will get some fun reading out of it. So please stay tuned for some fun mother/daughter blogging coming your way!

I would like to wish each and every one of you the happiest, healthiest and most blessed 2012.

Instead of a quote, I leave you with this video. A perfect message for any time of year. Don't be afraid to change.

My Christmas Vacation

2011-12-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

I was off work the whole week before Christmas. My decorating and shopping were done freakishly early, so I was excited at the prospect of having oodles of time to bake. I have not done much Christmas baking in the last few years. I like to blame it on the fact that I lost the help of my junior bakers to that little "growing up" issue that I so despise. The truth of the matter is more like....I'm lazy. Anyway, I was excited and made a list, checked it twice....probably should have checked it three times because in the long run...it appears that in my mind, I believed I had the entire staffs of Charm City and Carlo's at my disposal.

I started out the two days I had allotted myself for baking with high hopes and much excitement. I dreamed of the array of wonderful goodies I would set before my Christmas dinner guests. My reality was much more humble. After two cookie disasters I gave up on the cookie thing. The baking extravaganza turned nightmare stretched into a third day of peanut brittle making....my only real success of the whole ordeal. At the end of the week I was left this:

Snowballs (Mexican Wedding Cakes)

and Peanut Brittle:

Those turned out pretty well and my dinner guests were impressed.

I also managed a few shortbread cookies and some weirdly shaped, but none the less tasty, press cookies...those did not grace my table. In the end I learned a valuable lesson. When I make a baking list I'm going to cut it in half and then in half again...and then I'm calling Duff.

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Tomorrow, being New Years Eve and all...I will be posting about the most valuable lessons I learned in 2011 and some of the fun things coming to my blog in 2012. I know you're all excited for this but try not to lose sleep, I want you back here tomorrow fresh and ready to read! Happy Eve of New Years Eve! See you tomorrow!

Redefining Mom

2011-12-18T08:36:00.001-07:00

I love Christmas. It's my favorite time of year. I love everything about it. Or I used to. Now, I'm facing the reality I really should have faced several years ago. My children are adults. I know, they've been adults for some time now. You know that, and even I know that. But denial is a wonderful thing and if you deny long enough, you can convince yourself it isn't so.

This Christmas my husband finally convinced me that we (and by we I mean "I") really needed to pare down the gift giving. I think his exact words were "How long do you plan on doing this?". So, we spoke to the kids and informed them that the piles of presents they are used to getting would not be coming their way this year. Surprisingly they were fine with this. Apparently, I'm the only one who has the present pile issue in our house. Shocking, huh? So, we decided to just do stockings this year. Boring. But I realize it is a necessary step in the evolution of our family. Doesn't mean I have to like it. And, I've tried to convince myself with all the "right" things like:

This is not what the season is about.
They are adults, they've grown up, time for you to do the same.
Someday you will have grandkids and you can spoil them.

Yeah, yeah, yeah...whatever. Didn't help. Just made me realize how much I really HATE the fact that my kids are grown ups. And to make matters worse, this will be the first year we will not all be together for Christmas. While I knew this would happen, and I've already gone through it at Thanksgiving, Christmas is different somehow. It hurts, but I know it's inevitable and something I am forced to deal with. (Side note to my child who may read this: it is NOT your fault, do not feel guilty, it is my issue).

While I try to put on a good face to the world, a little piece of me dies inside every time I have to face this. You see, for most of my adult life I've defined myself as a mother. It's all ever wanted to be. And yes, I realize that I'm still, and always will be, their mother. But now it's time to redefine the roll. Here is the most confounding thing about parenting: You try and raise them to be strong, independent, self sufficient citizens of the world, and then, when that's what happens, you hate it. You protect them with your very life, only to release them to the perils of the world. That is the part of being a mom that I do not like. But I will deal with it. I will redefine my role and I will be thankful for it.

This Christmas I will buy less and be thankful more. Thankful for three of the most beautiful creations God put on this earth. Thankful for a husband who puts up with all my nonsense and loves me in spite of it. Thankful for a full and wonderful life. Those are gifts money can't buy and I will try to be deserving of them.

Merry Christmas to all and God Bless us Everyone!

Quote for the Week:

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." ~ Charles Dickens

My Realization

2011-09-16T14:53:00.001-07:00

I have finally figured out why I don't write this thing on a regular basis.

I have blog envy.

I'm sure this envy is not as bad as some other kinds of envy...which will remain nameless...but still, it's hampering my ability to have a meaningful relationship with my blog. I have relationships with other blogs. The women who write them kind of intimidate me. They are all witty or wise or both and most of the time I feel I'm neither. These women: Kelly, Sarah, Erin and Tara...just to name a few... write lovely, insightful, witty and charming blogs and you should go read them and marvel at their mastership of the blog. I always wonder if my blog will measure up to their blogs. Maybe I should stop comparing my blog to other blogs...but that's what you do when you have blog envy.

Part of the problem is...I'm kind of out of material. If you read the ladies blogs I mentioned you'll notice all of them have kids who still reside with them. Kids are an endless source of material. All of my material has moved out of my house. It's hard to write something funny and insightful about your husband whom you love to the ends of the earth, but just spends all his time at the softball field instead of fixing the shower. And since I refuse to write about religion or politics, that really narrows my margin of usable material. Oh and work, I can't write about work either. God forbid someone at work would read it and then I'd get fired for social networking about work. Then I'd be writing about being out of work...and I really don't want to go there. Also, I have watched the move Julie and Julia way too many times. I REALLY envy her blog. But there is no way on earth I could write a blog about cooking unless you all want to know how to prepare anything that comes in a box or a can...then I'm your girl. Or, I could write a blog about how I watch the Food Network religiously and still don't cook. (I also have cooking envy, but that's a topic for another post...hmmm...maybe if I just keep writing about nothing I'll come up with things to write about!). I could write a blog about crocheting or books, both of which I know lots about, but really, that just sounds boring to me. So I need some material people...and quick.

When I started this blog I envisioned writing all about a busy mom who is no longer busy because her kids are all grown up and don't need her anymore, and how hard that transition is. Come to find out...it's not so hard after all. I actually kind of like having no where to go on a regular basis. I like having only me to answer to and I REALLY like the fact that I won't have to have anything to do with any kind of school politics ever. again. amen. Plus, I can't write about my kids now because they are all adults and I really don't think they would appreciate their lives being fodder for my blog. When they were minors they had no choice and I used them liberally but now they have a reasonable expectation of privacy that I feel I must obey. So much for the kid material.

Maybe I should get a dog.....

Quote for the Week:

"Envy comes from people's ignorance of, or lack of belief in, their own gifts." ~Jean Vanier~

The End of an Era?

2011-07-22T14:38:00.000-07:00

Did you hear that Borders is closing it's doors? I got a letter from the CEO in my email yesterday thanking me for my business and lamenting the fact that they could not find a buyer to pull them out of bankruptcy. He also stated that besides the economy, one of the reasons for the failure of the business was the emerging e-book business. How sad. I wonder if this is a sign of things to come...the end of an era so to speak.

I've thought a lot about e-books. People have encouraged me to get an e-reader, especially when they see me reading my favorite 1000+ page paperbacks. But for me, it would just ruin the experience. I love everything about books. I love the mystery of what's to be found between the pages of something I've yet to read. I love falling in love with characters so much that I wish I could make them come to life so we could be friends, or lovers. I love the agonizing feeling of finishing a book so good you wish it could go on forever. I love the smell of a new book as you crack open the pages for the first time. I love the feel of the well worn pages of a book that has been loved, and read a lot. The feel of the paper as you turn the page, the smell of the ink, the story and characters within and even the teasing synopsis on the flyleaf, I love everything about books.

I have had a 46 year love affair with books that no e-reader could ever replace. So, this new e-book business has me a little concerned. I'm concerned that the e-books are so affordable that people will stop buying bound books, which leads to less books being printed, which leads to price hikes for printed books. And I'm concerned it will force the price of old fashioned bound books so high as to make them unaffordable to us common folk.

I hope I'm wrong. I hope the e-books and the paper books can co-exist the same as their patrons do. Each having their own unique experience with the written word.

Quote for the week:

"I cannot live without books." ~Thomas Jefferson~

My Comfort Zone

2011-05-10T15:00:00.001-07:00

I'm all about comfort zones. I need them. They help me cope with my anxiety and adjust to the changes in life that I can't control. In the last several years there has been a lot of change in my life. Kids growing up, moving away, getting tattoos, yeah, you've read it all here.

There are some things in life that are so predictable, they actually make life more comforting. My husband, Dan, is one of those things. Counting the time we dated before we got married, we have been together almost 35 years. That is a long time. And time enough to think you have your significant other figured out. Especially when they are a predictable comfort zone, like Dan.

Almost everyday since the day I met him he has worn 501 button front shrink-to-fit Levi's. He "dresses up" in Dockers for special occasions like weddings, funerals and the like. He has suffered through a couple of tuxes in his life but only because there was no way out of it. For a long time his "uniform" was the afore mentioned Levi's and a white t-shirt. Eventually he graduated to wearing t-shirts with sports logos on them and he has a small assortment of polo's...these are his "church" shirts.

At any restaurant we go to I can tell you what he'll order...our favorite Mexican place: #3 with rice, any place with burgers: Cheese burger with fries, Italian: Lasagna. You get the idea. Anytime he changes from the norm is a day to mark your calendar. It's like Haley's Comet...it only happens once every 50 years or so.

He will always be involved in softball or baseball in some capacity. Always.

He is technology illiterate. Oh wait, here's where the earth kind of tilts on it's axis a little. In the last year or so this is what has happened with my predictable husband:

got a Blackberry for his work phone and now sends work emails from his phone
got a Droid for his personal phone and now sends softball emails from his phone
he also uses his Droid to recieve weather alerts and is constantly telling me about the weather in DC...we don't live in DC, but our daughter does, and I suppose this makes him feel closer to her, but I had no idea weather would do it. Sometimes I feel like I'm married to Al Roker.
has said on several occasions "there is an app for that". Who is this man?
between work and softball he recieves more phone calls, emails and texts than Beth and I put together.
most days he spends at least an hour or so sitting at the computer paying bills, sending emails, making softball schedules, etc. This from a man who a couple of years ago would only use the computer to play solitaire. He's pretty good with the computer now, although he still doesn't know the difference between Word or Excel and couldn't use either if his life depended on it. That is somehow comforting to me.

So, in my ever changing world of children growing up and moving away and getting tattoos, I have always had Dan as my constant, never changing, predictable comfort zone. While these few changes could have the potential to disrupt my comfort zone, I take solace in the fact that there are still 501 Levi's and t-shirts in the closet.

Quote for the week:

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.
~Victor Frankl~

Random Thoughts from a Blogger Slacker

2011-03-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

Dear Blogging World,

Please forgive me, it's been 3 months since my last post. I have no good excuses so I won't try to make any. Here are a few random thoughts and things that have happened since my last post:

1. Christmas was wonderful. Sarah was home from DC and that made it perfect. Had 30 people for Christmas dinner and the beautiful Arizona weather let us all eat outside on the patio where we had enough room for everyone. It was really great and I enjoyed every minute of it....even the mini melt down I had when the turkey refused to be done on time...eventually, I loved that too. It's all about embracing who you are...more about that later.

2. Sickness...I've had my share plus the share of a few others. I've been sick 4 times since the new year....not fun. This last lovely little bug, which I am not fully over yet, really kicked my butt. I am ready to be well again for a good long time.

3. I've been re-reading a favorite series of books over the last several months. I'm finally finishing up the last book that I actually read (over 15 years ago!) and ready to start on the last books in the series which I never got to read. I'm loving this because I got Sarah involved in these books and we've been reading them at almost the same pace. It's fun to share these with her, and it always makes me so happy that she shares my love of reading.

4. I've been crocheting up a storm. I made several afghans for Christmas presents and have been working on some baby afghans for the newest little members of my family. I've been toying with the idea of starting a business with this craft of mine. I still have some research to do but I really think I want to do this. I'll let you know how it progresses.

5. In April I will be going, for the first time in my life, on a trip by myself. I'm going to DC to visit with Sarah. We are planning a wonderful Mother/Daughter trip and I can't wait. I just hope I don't get lost in the airport....I think I may need that Valium prescription after all...more on that later.

6. After a couple of years of fighting it, I have decided to fight no more and embrace my daughter's tattoo's. This is not an easy decision for me but I figure, there is nothing I can do to change it so I must embrace it. She is currently in the process of having a major back piece done. Flowers and vines. She's been working on it for about 7 weeks and she has at least 2 or 3 more weeks to go. I have to admit....it is beautiful. And of course, like every tattoo Beth has, every detail has meaning for her.

7. Spring makes me sad. I think I am the only person on the face of the earth that wishes it would stay darker longer. I hear people all over rejoicing at the coming spring, daylight savings time, more sunlight. Yuck. I think because I have lived my entire life on the surface of the sun...I don't value sunlight like most people. I, for one, relish winter and all it's dark, cold days. I do realize that I live where there is no snow and that my winters are mild compared to most of the country, but to me, spring just means 115 degrees is right around the corner...and who wants that? I would give anything for three more months of winter...please?

8. OK, last but not least, I've come to the part where I explain the "more about that later" part. Last Friday I ended up in the ER with chest pain. Thank goodness, there is nothing wrong with my heart. The doctor thinks it was caused by anxiety and sent me home with a prescription for Valium. Really, me anxious, who knew? Everyone who knows me, that's who. I do know I have an anxiety problem, but like everything else I don't want to face, I just chose not to do anything about it. I will be the first person to tell you that I worry too much, obsess too much, and basically drive myself and everyone around me crazy. So, this week, as I was confined to my sickbed with nothing else to do but think, I decided to pull my head out of the sand and tackle this anxiety thing. I think it's all about embracing who you are. I think when you are truthful with yourself about who you really are, that's the first step to managing it. Can I say I will ever be anxiety free...I highly doubt that, and I think that's unrealistic. But, I can say, that I will do my research and find a way to cope with this that works for me. I'm not sure Valium is it, I haven't filled the prescription yet, but I will find a way to tackle this. So, wish me luck, and some prayers wouldn't hurt either. I'll keep you posted....

Quote for the Week:

A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety.

Aesop (620 BC - 560 BC), The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

Trees, Trees Everywhere!

2010-12-14T15:24:00.001-07:00

I know, I'm a blogger slacker again! I think the season is getting the best of me. Anyway, here's a little post about my Christmas decorating obsession. I apologize for the quality of these pictures...taken with my phone. I have not taken the time to take pictures with my real camera. Another thing to add to the "to do" list. I think for now we'll stick with the trees and that will leave me with something to write about on Friday, when I will post about my wonderful fireplace mantle. I know, sounds exciting doesn't it? I know you'll hardly be able to wait until then! Oh well, you'll just have to ;-)

My husband actually brought all my Christmas boxes in from the garage early this year. I have to tell you, it almost gave me a coronary. I don't think I've started decorating this early....well, it's been so long I can't even remember when I ever did decorate this early. Probably when we were first married and all my Christmas stuff fit in one box that I could control. That was probably the last time. Over the years I have accumulated lots of Christmas "stuff". I love decorating for Christmas. I love the way the house looks when it's done and it gives me that cozy feeling I imagine people get who live where it snows. When it's 75 on Christmas day, it's nice that you don't have to shovel anything, but it's kind of hard to get into the spirit. Which is why I do go a little overboard, but it doesn't hurt anyone (except that hernia Dan gets every year hauling all the boxes in from the garage!) so I will keep decorating. As of Sunday everything was decorated...even the trees. Yes, I did say trees...plural. I have three. I have three trees and I still can't get all of my Christmas ornaments on them. I told you I was obsessed. The trees are a big project which my son reluctantly helps me with.

I have the big tree (8ft) in my living room which is a you-know-what to put up. It has to be meticulously "fluffed" and if I didn't love the end result so much, I would never spend that much time on something that only lasts a couple of weeks. Most of the ornaments are Hallmark, because I'm obsessed with them also. You can read more about that here. Each one of my children gets at least two ornaments every year to add to their collection. They already have enough ornaments to decorate a tree when they have their own place.

I have two smaller trees in my dining room which evolved out of having too many ornaments to fit on the big tree. This one has my collection of bear ornaments and resides in "Teddy Bear Corner". I have collected Teddy Bears forever so this is my homage to them.

This one is all Santas and snowmen.

I think they look really nice on either side of the hutch I inherited from my mom.

Ok, enough trees for one day. Hope you are all enjoying the spirit of the season.

Merry Christmas!

The Great Christmas Card Extravaganza

2010-11-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

Christmas Card Extravaganza has begun!

There are few things in life I love more than Christmas cards. I love receiving them and I love sending them. I have always loved this part of Christmas. To me it's kind of what the Christmas spirit is all about. Sharing special holiday greetings and wishes for the year to come with all the special people in your life.

I go all out with my Christmas cards. Which is not to say I spend a lot of money on the cards themselves, but the whole thing is somewhat of a process. There is a letter to be written. That usually starts sometime in October and there are always several drafts before I get it to the point where I feel it is worthy of being sent. I take pride in the fact that my letters are not your typical Christmas tell all. I tell the good with the bad and try to sprinkle in a little humor with it all. This year marks the 20th edition of my famous (or infamous, if you prefer) letter and it is definitely my favorite part of the process.

Then there is the picture. I've never done studio pictures. I just always dressed the kids in something cute and usually took it in front of the fireplace. A few pictures were family vacations. When the kids were little the picture wasn't really an ordeal but over the years it became the hardest part of the whole process. If any of you have ever tried to get three teenagers to all smile at the same time in a photo...you know what I mean. And now with my family growing up and moving away...it's not an easy task to get everyone here for a picture. So far I've managed, but I'm not sure how many more years I'm going to be able to get everyone together to do a picture.

Next is the choosing of the stationary and cards. I like my cards to have a religious tone because, after all, Jesus IS the reason for the season. I usually pick stationary that has a more secular feel because I love that part of Christmas also! I love anything with a vintage look but whimsy is appreciated also. I hand sign all my cards (about 80) because I don't hand sign the letter and I just think it makes it more personal that way. I don't do personal salutations, hand address the envelopes or hand write on the back of the pictures either, because if I did that, they'd never get sent. I think labels are my best friend at this time of year.

Before I start putting everything together I make sure I have enough ink for the printer for all those letters and labels. Update my address list and purchase stamps. Not just any old regular stamp. Of course they must be Christmas stamps. Last year I asked my husband to pick up the stamps for me. I just assumed he would know I wanted Christmas stamps for sending Christmas cards. Wrong. He came home with an entire roll of stamps with state flags on them. So last years cards went out with state flags on the stamps and I'm sure I'm the only one who cared that they had nothing to do with Christmas. I did learn a valuable lesson from that...when sending the husband for stamps...be specific...or get them yourself.

I try to have all this accomplished by Thanksgiving. Some people shop on Black Friday....I sign Christmas cards. I try to get the whole process done during the Thanksgiving weekend. I like to send my cards out on December 1st. I want to get them out early but sending them before December doesn't seem right so...the 1st it is. I don't always accomplish my goal but if I shoot for this I always have them out during the first week of December. Again, I'm sure that's not important to anyone but me.

So this weekend I began the assemblage of said Christmas cards. I signed all my cards and labeled the envelopes yesterday. The letters are printing as I'm writing this and once they are done I can start putting the cards together. I think I'll reach my goal this year...cards out by the 1st...with Christmas stamps on them!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season filled with whatever it is you love best.

Quote for the Week:

At Christmas play and make good cheer, For Christmas comes but once a year.

~Thomas Tusser~

End of an Era

2010-11-12T17:15:00.001-07:00

This weekend my baby girl will play in her last softball game in the league she has been a member of since she was 5. I think this is the last of the "milestone" lasts that I have to endure. They've all been hard. From my oldest daughters last day of college, all the way through to this weekend....now all the kid stuff is over. It's a very melancholy feeling. I'm not sure I'll really miss the games that much, but I will miss watching her, if that makes sense. I get these little melancholy twinges every so often when something reminds me that my children are children no longer. Like this morning when I walked into the lunch room at work. The TV was on and some morning news show was at one of the local high schools doing a remote about the upcoming football playoffs. As they were signing off, the marching band started playing their fight song. That's all it took. Two of my kids were in marching band. I'm sure I've mentioned here before how much I loved the marching band. Every time I hear a marching band I get that little melancholy feeling right in the center of my heart. I guess you could call it a heartache.

My T-Ball Baby

The funny thing about this is....I really love the life I have now. I love having my own time and not having somewhere to go every night of the week. I definitely do not sit around moping about this but I've thought a lot about this the last couple of years. Wondering about why, if I love my life, do I miss the past so much? I think I've finally figured out that it's not the past I miss, it's my kids. I miss my kids being kids. I miss the innocence, the fun, the lightheartedness. I miss watching Sesame Street and Hey Dude! I miss Dr. Seuss. I miss bath time and storytime. I miss Saturday morning cartoons. I really miss all that stuff that having kids gets you. I miss the simple pleasure of knowing that my kids have no worries.

Coach Dad and Player/Coach 2008

I love my adult children. They are fun to talk to and discuss issues with and sometimes I can even borrow money from them! I love who they are and where they're going. I love them more than I ever have. But I still miss my kids...and I suppose I always will.

Dan & Beth - Coaches Extraordinare - Spring 2010

Quote for the Week:

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter into another!

~Gail Sheehy~

My Father's Gift

2010-11-05T15:16:00.008-07:00

Wednesday was the 19th anniversary of my father's passing. It's hard to believe that it's been almost 20 years. There are very few days that go by that I don't think: WWAD or What Would Art Do? My dad had very high expectations for all five of his children and he rarely let us "just get by". He always used to say, "If you can't give 100%, don't do it at all". My father was the oldest sibling in his family. So am I. I got my Type A, obsessive personality from him. I've since passed that along to my oldest daughter. I guess it's what we oldest siblings do. Some of the things I love the most about my dad: his crooked smile, his sense of humor, how he loved my mother, and that I always knew he cared about the kind of adult I would turn out to be.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my dad, Art.

My father gave me many gifts. The most important gifts were the lessons he taught me. My dad taught me how to live a moral, civic minded, patriotic, compassionate and faith filled life. I'm glad for those lessons. But I think the lesson he taught me while he was dying is probably the one I cherish the most.

My father had colon cancer. He lived for 18 months after his diagnosis, 6 months longer than doctors expected. During that time he had some really good days, and he had some really bad days. He always took the bad along with the good and never complained. Near the end he suffered greatly, but never complained. At the very end he was not conscious of his physical surroundings. He was, however, conscious of our Blessed Mother, who I am convinced, appeared to him in his last hours. I believe she came to show him the way to Our Father in heaven where his suffering was at last taken away, as we are all promised it will be. I believe in the cleansing power of suffering because that is what my father on earth taught me by his actions and what my Father in heaven promises me through His Word.

It troubles me when I hear people talk of end of life compassion, right-to-die, euthanasia, mercy-killing, whatever you want to call it. Just because someone is suffering does not make it right to take their life away. No one has that right except Our Father in heaven. And we dishonor His suffering and dying for us when we diminish it by eliminating it. And the suffering is part of living. We need it just as much as we need the joy in life. My father also taught me not to be afraid of the suffering but to embrace it as a soul cleansing opportunity that not all people are fortunate to have. Yes, I said fortunate. I believe my father felt fortunate in his suffering. He was able to use it to cleanse himself of the earthly trials that have no place in our eternal life with God. I'm so very grateful to my father for this gift. I feel it was the greatest gift he gave me.

I miss you everyday Dad. I love you. Thank you for loving me.

************************************************************

There is a great book called Making Sense out of Suffering if you're interested in reading more about this topic.

Quote for the Week:

We are healed from suffering only by experiencing it to the full.

~Marcel Proust~
(1871 - 1922)

Happy Halloween!!

2010-10-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween everyone! I love this holiday...definitely one of my favorites. I miss getting little goblins dressed up and taking them out to Trick or Treat. This was always a time of year I really looked forward to. We don't get many little ghosties in our neighborhood anymore so it's kind of boring now. But I live vicariously through those that do come to our door and through pictures of my little nieces and nephews.

I never did get my Halloween decorations up. I tried to get them out of the garage myself but fear of bodily harm stopped me. Dan has been so busy with work and softball, he hasn't had time to dig them out. I'm a little disappointed but I'm thinking I may stop on the way home from work tonight and see if I can find a pumpkin to carve. I haven't done that in years....that should put me in the holiday spirit.

I've posted these pics in the past but I think they're worth a repost. These were two of my very favorite costume years.

Halloween 1991---My little surgeons (l-r: Sarah - 6, Stephen - 5, Beth - 2 1/2)

Halloween 1992---Batman and the Witches (l-r: Beth - 3 1/2, Stephen - 6, Sarah - 7)

Hope you and all your ghosts and goblins have a wonderful time on Sunday. I hope they collect enough candy so you can raid their stash....isn't that what the holiday is all about anyway?

Have a great weekend and an even better week!

Quote for the Week:

Nothing on Earth so beautiful as the final haul on Halloween night.
~Steve Almond~

What's In A Name?

2010-10-15T06:00:00.048-07:00

This week I re-started a very old project. It's been sitting in a plastic tub in my bedroom closet for the last 10 years. I've thought often of this project and wished I could return to it. I just knew it would be too time consuming for a working mom with three kids and no real time to devote to the project. So, there it sat, waiting for me. I bet you all think it's some gigantic afghan that I never finished crocheting. It's not, but much like yarn becomes an afghan with patience and lots of hard work, the subject of my project evolved over centuries with love, dedication, and hard work. This project is all about my family. My father's family to be exact. This week I re-opened my genealogy files. I'm very excited to see what new information develops since my last quest. Many things have changed over 10 years. Not the least of which is the fact that I am no longer a busy mom. That has been a much lamented theme of this blog. Well, maybe now I've found that something extra to keep me busy. Also, the internet has so much more to offer these days than it did 10 years ago. So off I go in quest of the Dion ancestry.

I've always been fascinated by my French-Canadian heritage. I don't know why exactly. I'm really a Heinz 57 mixture of nationalities. Some German, Irish, English and yes, even a little Polish (this explains a lot about me, doesn't it?). But whenever someone asks what nationality I am, I always say French-Canadian. Maybe because it has a more exotic and romantic sound to it than saying you're German. Or maybe it's because those people to the north are just so darn nice, eh? In all reality, it probably has a lot to do with the stories my grandmother told. The ones where we are related to the famous Dionne quintuplets. The first surviving quintuplets in history. What little kid wouldn't be fascinated by that? So, I grew up being fascinated with being French-Canadian and loving my last name. I had a very hard time giving it up when I got married but I was too much of a traditionalist to keep it. I'm so looking forward to finding all my Dion ancestors and finding out if they are as fascinating as I've always imagined they would be.

Here are a few pictures of my father and his family:

This is my dad, Art (right) and my Uncle Ted (left). There are no dates on these pictures so I have to guess. I'm thinking this one is probably around 1934. There are pictures of my youngest brother John at around this same age...you'd think it was the same person.

This one I'm guessing is probably around 1939 or 1940. Again my dad on the right and my uncle on the left. They really were cute boys!

Here's one of the whole family. Again my dad is on the right. Was there some kind of picture rule back then that the oldest had to be on the right? I wonder. I'm going to guess this picture is somewhere between 1945 and 1947 give or take. See that great wave in the front of my dad's hair....he gave that to me. The wonders of DNA.

So there you have it. The beginnings of my ancestry hunt. I'll keep you posted from time to time on how it's going. Wish me luck!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Quote for the Week:

We inhereit from our ancestors gifts so often taken for granted...Each of us contains within...this inheritance of soul. We are links between the ages, containing past and present expectations, sacred memories and future promise.

~Edward Sellner~

It's Finally Here!!! And Other Randomness

2010-10-08T05:59:00.000-07:00

So fall has finally decided to show her little head to all us desert dwellers. I was starting to worry....it was 102 last Saturday...I had lost all hope. Then we had a storm which dumped huge amounts (well, huge for this part of the world) of water and even some hail:

Ours was the size of a shooter marble...you remember those don't you? Some area's of town had golf ball size hail and there was a lot of damage all around town, fortunately that part skipped us. The storm really cooled down the temps and it was 64 when I went to work this morning. It was heaven. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to the weeks to come.

Something else that comes with fall.....hockey!! The season starts this weekend. I'm excited for the games to begin, and hopefully my Coyotes will fare better than my poor D-Backs. The Coyotes seem to be our only hope this fall since the Cardinals look like they're going back to the pre-Kurt Warner days...lose, lose and lose again. I sure wish Kurt hadn't given up his cleats for dancing shoes......

Last Saturday Dan and I had our anniversary party. Lots of family and friends with us to share the evening...it was lovely and I feel very blessed indeed. Everyone took lots of pics which still have not been downloaded or emailed to me....I'll share some of those when I get them. I did take this picture with my phone, I wanted a picture of the kids to post on Facebook. This picture proves that no matter how old they get, I still cannot get a decent picture of the three of them together without some kind of tomfoolery going on. It's so frustrating....every year since they were little, trying to get a picture for the Christmas card went something like this:

Beth laughing...at nothing, Sarah dutifully trying not to laugh...at Beth, and Stephen being irritated with both of them and the whole picture taking in general. I guess the more things change the more they stay the same...they're still cute...even when they irritate me :o)

As you can tell from my backround change, I'm really in the mood to decorate for Halloween. I think that's going to be my project for this weekend. I usually wait for Dan to pull stuff out of the garage which means that I never decorate because Mr. Procrastinator never gets the stuff out. This year I'm going to take my life in my hands and get the stuff out myself. One of two things is going to happen: I may injure myself trying to get the stuff out of the garage or my husband may injure me for daring to mess with his unorganized organization. I'll let you know what happens.

OK, that's enough randomness for one day. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Quote for the Week:

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
~Albert Camus (1913-1960)~

Everyone's Home

2010-10-01T06:00:00.004-07:00

So, this is a very busy week and this post will be short and sweet. I'm sure you're all happy about that ;-) Preparations for the big anniversary party this weekend are in full swing. The weather is not cooperating however, as it's suppose to be 103 on Saturday. Did I mention we were having this thing in our backyard? I'm glad everyone loves me...although after Saturday they may rethink.

Sarah came home yesterday so I am in Mom heaven having all my kids home with me. Just to prove a point that kids never grow up, I give you this picture:

Sarah (25) and Stephen (24) playing Super Mario Bros. on the Wii. You should have seen how excited she was when she found out he had the game. They are still cute!

In other kid news I was able to totally embarrass my 21 year old daughter by rocking out to Katie Perry's "California Gurls" while we were in the car the other day. It felt just like the old days and I loved it!!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Quote for the Week:

Human beings are the only creatures that allow their children to come back home.
~Bill Cosby~

A Decision to Love

2010-09-24T08:08:00.000-07:00

Dan and I will celebrate our 30th anniversary on Monday. Last year I wrote about how we met, which is a pretty cute story, if I do say so myself. You can read that story here.

Occasionally people will ask how I've been able to stay with one person for so many years. There really is no secret formula, it's all about decisions. When Dan and I were engaged we had to go through various preparation classes before we could get married. One of those was called "Evenings for the Engaged". I have no idea if they still do this, but I think it's a great idea. We met one night a week for six weeks at the home of a married couple from our church. They took us through what life as a married couple is all about. They talked about the reality of living day to day with a person as opposed to the fairytale. Like the fact that sometimes you have to do things for the other person that aren't so pleasant. Like when your spouse falls and breaks both ankles and can't get up and down off the toilet by themselves. Yes, this actually happened to us. I broke both my ankles at the same time and Dan had to help me do all sorts of things I'm sure he would rather not have done. That is true love.

The one thing that made the biggest impression on us was when they told us that there would be times when you would have to make a decision to love the other person. It sounded kind of crazy to two people so in love that they couldn't see past themselves. To us, that decision had been made and we were happy with how in love we were. But as always, the more experienced couple was correct. There are days when, honestly, you just don't like each other. Someone does something that irritates the other and all those lovey dovey feelings fly right out the window. But, if you stop and make a conscious decision to love the other person, it makes a world of difference. Maybe not right then, but in the long run. There have been many, many times during the last 30 years when one of us has said to the other, "I'm making a decision to love you right now". It really makes you stop and think about what you are doing that might be irritating the person you love most in the world. As with anything in life, it's all about the decisions you make and marriage is no different. I made a decision 30 years ago to love, honor and cherish until death do us part. It's been the best decision I've ever made.

Quote for the Week:

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.
~Mignon McLaughlin~

Being Thankful Anyway

2010-09-17T17:41:00.002-07:00

It has been a pretty frustrating week, actually the last couple of months have been frustrating. Topped off by the fact that my internet is not working again, so here I sit typing this blog on my Droid because I really don't want to mess up my blogging streak. Anyway, my mother always told me to count my blessings instead of feeling sorry for myself, and because my mother was a smart woman, I'm going to listen to her. Here are some of my blessing and the reasons why I am thankful anyway....

1. My family. A great husband who puts up with me even when he doesn't feel like it. Three great kids I couldn't live without. Everyone is relatively healthy and happy and they all have jobs..

2. I have a job, a house and food to eat.

3. I have a very large extended family to lean on. I appreciate every one of them.

4. I live in a country where I can practice my faith without persecution, speak my mind, and vote.

5. I'm most thankful that I was raised by two parents who cared what kind of adult I would turn out be. They gave me my faith, my moral integrity and they were the best example of what a marriage should be. Oh yeah, and they taught me to count my blessings.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

A Mom Remembers...

2010-09-11T06:00:00.003-07:00

This day will always be hard for me. I always felt really safe in America. It was a place where no one could touch us and everyone loved us. Nine years ago that all changed. I remember feeling so angry. Because after that day my children would never live in the safety of the America I grew up in. We all lost innocence that day. A couple of weeks later I sat down and wrote a letter to my children who were 16, 15, and 12 at the time. I thought I would share that letter with you today. It's sentiments are as true today as they were then.
****************************************************************************

October 5, 2001

To my children,

I want you to know how incredibly proud I am of all of you, each in your own way:

Sarah, for wisdom and maturity beyond your years. For your ability to handle yourself with grace and the incredible strength of your convictions. Please hold strong to these things, they will serve you well in the future.

Stephen, for your compassionate, caring and loving personality. The first with a hug or pat on the back and encouraging words, these are the things that will make you a truly strong man. If you treat your future wife the way you treat your mother you will have a long and happy marriage.

Beth, for your love and passion for life and animals, and your incredible sense of humor. You have taught us all a lesson on how not to waste a single second. Do not lose these qualities as you get older, they will make you a strong adult.

These are only the main reasons you make me proud. There are many more, but these are the things I treasure most about each of you. I tell at least one person a day how much I love my kids and how proud I am of them. I know that some of them are sick of hearing about you all, but I don't care. Never a day goes by that I don't know how truly blessed I am to have you three for my children. I hope that how your Dad and I have tried to raise you has something to do with the way you are, but some of these things are born in you, and I recognize that God worked overtime on all of you. My point in all of this is to ask you all to stay true to who you are and never let someone else make up your mind for you. Never go along to be part of the crowd. One of the best gifts you can give yourself is to be your own person. Always know that Dad and I are here if you need a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen. Having said all that, there was another point to this letter:

All mothers hope for a peaceful world for their kids. As of three weeks ago, those hopes are no longer possible in the short term. I know that all of you must be having feelings of being anxious and fearful about the future. Especially since all you hear on the news is talk of war. What I want you to know is this: When all is said and done, each of us will be OK. I've said to you many times that you need to be ready everyday, because it could be your last. You need to think and pray about this because it will give you peace. I am not fearful of war or terrorist attacks. I put my faith in God to take care of me and if He sees fit to call me home, I know I'm ready. One of the ways you can best accomplish being ready is to stay true to who you are. Remember the things I mentioned about each of you in this letter. These are the things that make you strong, hold on to them. Treat all people with respect and dignity, be truthful and practice your faith and when it's time we'll all be together in heaven too. This is our ultimate goal here on earth anyway. It's not how many possessions or how much money we accumulate or any of the worldly things. God put us here so we could make a choice. Live your life like you choose heaven and you will be there with Him in the end.

I love you all,

MOM
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Thanks for letting me share this with you.

Never forget.

Quote for Today:

Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
~Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)~

Mom? Who's she?

2010-09-10T06:00:00.003-07:00

Fall is finally in the air (well, in the mornings at least). Football season is starting, kids are going back to school. I drove by a high school the other day and saw the marching band practicing, it made me sad. Of all the things my kids did, I miss the marching band the most. It got me to thinking about how much I miss having all those "things" to do. When it was going on I thought I couldn't wait until my time was my own. But, if I'm being honest, I really miss it all. There are times when I don't even feel like a mom anymore.

For most of my life being a mom has defined who I am. And that was just fine with me. In fact, it was perfect. Being a mom is all I ever really wanted to be. I've always considered being a parent my number one priority. It's the job I always wanted and the only job I've ever truly loved. But how do you parent when you're kids are adults? You can give advice, and hope they listen but you can't be sure if they're even hearing you, or if they even care what you have to say. And should you even be giving advice in the first place? The last thing I ever want to be is the interfering parent.

Life is interesting, just about the time you think you have something figured out, it throws you a curve ball and you have to readjust your swing. So now I'm trying to relearn the whole mom thing from scratch. I'm not sure I like this new roll, but since I don't have a choice, I'm going to figure it out the best I can. Wish me luck!

This week you get two quotes because they were both so good I couldn't choose. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Quotes for the Week:

The art of mothering is to teach the art of living to children.
~Elain Heffner, O Magazine, May 2003~

A mother is not a person to lean on but a person to make leaning unnecessary.
~Dorothy C. Fisher (1879 - 1958)~

Oh Library...How I Love Thee, Let Me Count The Ways

2010-09-03T06:00:00.005-07:00

I have loved reading for so long, I can't remember a time when I didn't read. If I'm not reading something, I feel lost. Always have. When I was young my father signed me up for a book club. Every three months I would receive three books in the mail. I had them read in a week. I read whatever I could get my hands on. Newspapers, cereal boxes, packaged foods, recipes, it didn't matter, if there were words, I would read.

In third grade I was introduced to the library at school. It's location was a teeny, tiny room sandwiched between two classrooms. The fact that I found it small in third grade is an indication of how minuscule it must have been. I imagine it was originally a storage room for the classrooms that bookended it. Inside this tiny room I found magic. I never imagined one room could take me so many places. I started out by reading the entire set of Biographies of Great Americans (this is where my love of American history began) and moved on to books about China, Africa and Australia. I discovered Charles Dickens, Margaret Mitchell, Laura Ingalls Wilder and a host of others who took me places I'd never dreamed of. By the time I graduated eighth grade I had read every book in that little library. Some I didn't understand (and still don't, if I'm being truthful....O, Henry?) but most I loved and read more than once.

One of the happiest times of my life was when I introduced my young children to the public library. They had an excellent summer reading program of which we took full advantage. We spent lots of time in that library, listening to stories being read, picking out books to take home and soaking up the cool air (that's important here in desert land!). Through my children I discovered new authors like Maurice Sendak, Chris Van Allsburg, Shel Silverstein and a host of others who delighted not only my children but me as well. While not all my children became as avid a reader as I, I know the time spent in the library fostered an appreciation of the written word and how powerful it is.

I love everything about libraries. The smell, the quiet, the solitude, and yes the cool air. I have found so many wonderful stories I would never have known about had it not been for just wondering through the library, looking at books. I know the library has enriched my life and the lives of my children. I cannot picture my life without it. And to think it's free! So, why do I write this today? September is library card sign up month. (They have a month for everything now, don't they?) So, if you don't have a library card, go sign up for one. If you have one, take a friend who doesn't have one and sign them up. Discover the wonders that await you at your public library. (And no, no one paid me to write this, I'm just a nerd like that.)

Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Labor Day weekend.

Quote for the Week:

I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.
~Jorge Luis Borges (1899 - 1986)~

Traditions Old and New

2010-08-27T06:00:00.001-07:00

With the holidays fast approaching (I know it's only August, but you just wait, it will be here before you know it!) I've been finding myself thinking a lot about traditions. They can be as big as who hosts the holiday shindig and as small as the summer reading program you participated in every year at the local library. Some are really special and some you would rather do without. For example, in my own family, I always cherished the tradition of putting baby Jesus in the manger after Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Mom's green jello salad at Thanksgiving dinner however, not so much. Funny thing though, it wouldn't have been Thanksgiving without it. So no matter good or bad...I think you cling to tradition.

As my own little family was growing up, we created new traditions along the way. A blending, if you will, between his traditions and mine. And sometimes, you have to create new traditions when you don't really want to: as we did when our parents passed away. I'm coming to one of those crossroads now. As my little family is all but grown up now, I'm faced with the reality that, eventually, they will be blending their traditions with someone else's. And with Sarah so far from home, she has been creating some new traditions of her own. She has spent the last two Thanksgivings back east with friends. This year, Beth will join her there. I'm sad that both my girls will be gone for the holiday, but I'm also so very happy that they have each other and that Beth will provide a little bit of "home" for Sarah.

I'm not sure I like how these new traditions affect me. Since I don't really have a say in the matter, I'm trying my best to forge forward and find joy in the fact that I raised happy, healthy adults who love their family but are independent enough to be able to create their own traditions. It's the age old conundrum of being a parent. You raise them up with all the love in your heart, only to have them leave you. And here's the conundrum part - that's what you want to happen, even though it hurts you beyond anything you ever imagined.

So here we are at the dawn of another holiday season full of traditions and I'm thinking I might just have to create a new one of my own. Not sure what it will be yet but I'll keep you posted.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and an even better week. Talk to you next Friday!

Quote of the Week:

Men can know more than their ancestors did if they start with a knowledge of what their ancestors had already learned....That is why a society can be progressive only if it conserves its traditions.
~Walter Lippmann (1889 - 1974) ~

Let's Try This Again, Shall We?

2010-08-20T06:00:00.003-07:00

It has been three months since I wrote a post. Needless to say, I'm a blogger slacker. I have several excuses, none which you would be sympathetic to, because lets face it, we're all busy, we all have work or home or kid issues. I have tried to keep up with my favorite bloggers but have failed to comment because, honestly, I didn't want anyone coming to my blog and actually realizing how much of a slacker I am. So, here I am, back after three months with one lesson learned. I am not an everyday blogger...I will not post everyday. My goal now is to try and write a post once a week and I have chosen Friday as my posting day. Let's see how this plan works.....

For my first post back I think I'll just do some random thoughts about things that have been happening lately.

1. I have decided that the car companies are in cahoots with the mechanics of the world and they now make crappy vehicles on purpose so you will have nothing better to do than pour money into them, spend your time in rental cars (they're probably in on it too) and never feel completely confident about said vehicle whenever you drive it. Or maybe it's just that Jeep makes crappy cars....there I said it. I think we have spent almost as much money in repairs as we paid for the thing. I would love to trade it in but can't at the moment. Anyway, I really just wanted to say how much I HATE Jeeps and hope no one ever buys one of their vehicles again. Oh, and they have the WORST customer service ever....on the face of the earth. Ok, now i feel better about that.

2a. My Droid is my new best friend. I can't go anywhere without it and it has caused me to become a Facebook addict. I'm constantly checking the phone for updates. I think I need help.

2b. My husband now has a Droid. Which I find totally hilarious since the man still doesn't know how to use his email and his idea of high technology is a remote control that works the TV, cable box and DVD player all in one. Hearing him talking about the apps he has downloaded just makes me feel like I'm living in an alternate universe. His favorite is the weather app. He now gets continuous weather updates on his phone. He's so proud of this. Really honey? Because we live in Arizona...you don't need a weather app to tell you it's hot outside! Although, it was quite humorous the other night as we were sitting watching TV while the monsoon was rolling in. He says to me, "I got a weather update, storm warnings in our area." My reply, "I heard the thunder, saw the lightening...don't need an app for that." I've lived with this man for almost 30 years and never knew how important the weather was to him. In other weather related news....

3. I'm tired of the heat and ready for fall...which by the way doesn't get here until December.....

4. Every summer I watch Big Brother. Sometimes I'm embarrassed to admit this. It's my guilty pleasure. I don't really care for most reality shows but for some reason I love this one. It got me to thinking....can you have standards for your reality TV? For instance, I would never, ever watch the show about the 3 year old pageant queens but I'll watch a bunch of adults go crazy stuck in a house together for an entire summer. All the while lying, backstabbing, scheming and treating each other terribly and then complaining because people are lying, backstabbing, scheming and treating each other terribly. I think it's a sickness. Big Brotheritis...oh well, it's free, unlike my other sickness, which brings me to.....

5. My obsession with Hallmark ornaments, also known as Hallmarkitis. You can read more about it here. In July I attended the Hallmark ornament premier. I bought lots of ornaments, but was very proud of myself as I did buy less than last year. I made myself feel better about it by telling myself that I was helping to stimulate the economy. I think you have to do whatever you can. ;-) Now the dilemma is to figure out where I can fit that fourth Christmas tree.....

6. We have our 30th anniversary coming up next month. Sarah is planning a party for us. We are having it at our house. I'm feeling very overwhelmed about the whole thing. We were suppose to get some improvements done around the house but the King of Procrastination struck once again, nothing has gotten done, and now it's softball season again, so there goes that..... Oh well, thank goodness all the invitees love us and they all understand the King, so I'm sure it will bother me way more than it will bother them.

7. Last but certainly not least: My poor D-Backs suck big time. I'm very disappointed in this season but have high hopes for next season. Things seem to be moving in a positive direction. I had to take down the baseball theme from the blog....just don't have my heart in it at this point. Thank goodness hockey season is around the corner...something to take my mind off of it.

Alright, I guess I better stop boring you. I promise next weeks blog....oh, whose kidding who, I can't promise anything. I'll be around to reintroduce myself and hopefully you'll remember me. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and an even better week.

Quote for the Week:

"Ever tried? Ever failed? No Matter, try again, fail again, Fail better."
Samuel Beckett (1906 - 1989)

April Shower

2010-04-26T15:24:00.000-07:00

I've spoken here before about my husband, the King of Procrastination. He is a wonderful man, who I don't deserve, but he has one little flaw. He is a chronic procrastinator. I've learned to live with it over the years. I choose to weigh all the great points against this one bad point. There is one project in our house that has been put off above all others. The master bathroom. This particular bathroom, the shower to be exact, has even found a coveted spot in my annual Christmas letter. I actually update the progress, or lack there of, of said shower just like I update the progress of my children. I've been writing about it in some form or another for the past 15 years. Yeah, you heard right, 15. Here's whats transpired with the shower in the last 15 years:

Our original shower fell apart on me...literally. Standing in the shower one day and the tiles started falling off the wall...fun. We gutted the shower and because of lack of funds and some procrastination, an absence of shower ensued. We went so long without a shower that my youngest daughter didn't even know that's what was suppose to go in that hole in Mommy and Daddy's bathroom. Having 5 people using the tub shower in the kids bathroom for years was not fun. But wait, it gets better. We finally get the shower done and are relishing having our own shower when a couple of weeks later......the same thing happens in the kids bath. So here we are back to one shower again. Several months later we find a leak in the new shower...no joke. We hurry to complete the kids shower so we can try to repair ours. Only to find it was probably leaking the whole time and we have mold behind the shower walls. Lovely. So, we gut the master shower again and here we are about 5 years later and everyone is still using one little tub shower. Now, in my husbands defense I have to say that it has not been all his fault. There are always extenuating circumstances...which translates to lack of funds.

So, how surprised do you think I was when I walked into the bedroom last Saturday to find a fine layer of drywall dust covering EVERYTHING. I couldn't get mad because he was actually working on the bathroom! He pulled the whole ceiling down (hence the drywall dust), put in a pretty new light/fan combo, rewired the light switches and put new drywall up on the ceiling. It's a start and I'm looking forward to actually having a shower in there once again.

I'll keep you updated on the progress. Who knows, I may have to find a new topic of conversation for my Christmas letter......

HELP!!

2010-04-07T12:06:00.002-07:00

I've fallen into Facebook and I can't get out!!! Which is why I missed my son's birthday post. His birthday was Monday, so happy belated birthday to the best son a mother could ask for. I'm still working on Stephen's story so I will post it in a couple of days providing I can find my way back here from Facebook. I knew I never should have started with that darn thing........

Quote of the Day:

"Lost wealth may be replaced by industry, lost knowledge by study, lost health by temperance or medicine, but lost time is gone forever."
Samuel Smiles

Never Say Never.....Again

2010-03-30T13:22:00.003-07:00

Quite a few times in the last several months I've said something like...."I'll never do...fill in the blank". I was never going to get one of those fancy cell phones. Who needs it? I really don't use my phone all that much, but I do text my daughters a lot. Mostly because it's their preferred method of communication. Well, my little cheap freebie phone was not cutting it for the texting so, it comes time to upgrade and I decide I need a new phone that has a keyboard for texting. What I ended up with is a Droid and now I can't figure out how I ever lived without it. I suppose it's the same feeling my mother had when she said she'd never use a microwave and then we got one. She never cooked vegetables on the stove again(well almost never).

One thing I was always very adamant about was the fact that I would NEVER get a Facebook page. First of all, I felt like it was a "young persons" thing. And then I worried that my daughters would feel like I was checking up on them. But most importantly, I was worried about the time factor. Do you find you lose track of time when you are online? Hours go by and it seems like minutes. So, time was an issue also. As most of you know, I can barely keep up with my blog, let alone manage Facebook. Well, this week I caved (my daughters words). I kind of hate myself for it. But, once again I'm finding myself hooked. I don't think it's as great as my Droid and it's certainly not as useful as a microwave, but it's fun. There's a whole world out there I never knew existed. Who knew you could run a farm, bake bread and serve up food all without leaving your couch? I'm still getting used to Facebook land, but it's interesting and intriguing and I'm willing to give it some time....but not too much.

So feel free to "friend" me and come write on my wall. Now there's something I NEVER thought I'd say!
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Quote of the Day:

"Never say never, for if you live long enough, chances are you will not be able to abide by its restrictions. Never is a long, undependable time, and life is too full of rich possibilities to have restrictions placed upon it."
Gloria Swanson (1899 - 1983)

The Story of Beth

2010-03-24T14:27:00.005-07:00

A few days ago I told you The Story of Sarah, my oldest child. Now has come the time to introduce you to my youngest, Beth. She turned 21 in January and I swear it was just yesterday that I watched her walk into the pre-school classroom for the first time. Who knew then that she would grow up to love tattoos, try my patience everyday and fill my life with joy?
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The Story of Beth

The thing I remember most about my baby child's birth is that her father missed it. Oh, he was there; he just didn't find it necessary to change into the required scrubs when I told him he should. Consequence of not listening to me: fast delivery and Dad misses everything. I guess I shouldn't be too critical, the doctor missed it too. Beth came into this world in a hurry and she hasn't slowed down since. I had to heehee/whowho while the nurses pushed my gurney down the hallway to the delivery room, all the while the resident was telling me not to push till the doctor got there. I told him he could say it all he wanted but the child was not listening(that was a sign of things to come!). And with that and one small push she was born. I've always thought she might become a pilot because she came out flying. The one good thing the resident did was make a spectacular catch.

And so the fun began. She learned to crawl early and then to climb. At 6 months she could climb onto or up anything she put her mind to. She wasn't really interested in walking, she'd rather climb and make Mommy a basket case. By the time she was two nothing was out of limits. From the time she could mobilize Beth has gotten everything she could out of every single day. She goes head first(like the bull in the proverbial china shop)as fast as she can at every task big or small. She makes me exhausted just watching her. She has always had this zest for life. But along with that zest comes a small little problem. No time to be neat. We must move from one thing to another as fast as we can so as to get as much as possible into one day. No time for clean up. She can leave a mess in her wake only the Red Cross could appretiate.

She's the child that tries my patience the most. She's the one that feels it necessary to push any issue just to see how far she can get. She also loves to argue and will argue about almost anything whether it needs to be argued about or not. She also needs to get the last word, or should I say sound, in. Even if it's a sigh or a grunt, she must leave the argument having had the last sound. That same determination also makes her a fiercly loyal person. If she loves you, she loves you unconditionally and with everything she's got. She's the best kind of friend there is. She's kind and compassionate, loves kids and animals and makes me laugh everyday. She is just a naturally funny person. I can't even explain it. You just have to know her. But if you're around her……you will laugh.

To Beth, life's a party and the more fun you have at the party the better. Who wouldn't love having someone like that in their life? It's exhausting, but oh so wonderful.
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Thanks for reading about my little girl who's not so little anymore. I used to think it was hard when the oldest did all those "first" things but I've come to realize that it's much harder when the youngest does everything for the "last" time. I'm slowly getting used to the fact that I'm the mom of adults, but it's taking time.

Hope you all have a wonderful evening.

The Circle Never Ends

2010-03-20T19:26:00.003-07:00

It's softball season once again. Dan is on the board of our local girls fast-pitch league. It's a fun league and much more laid back than club ball. Beth played her last season of Spring Ball last year. It was a sad time for her. It's the only thing about turning 21 that she regrets. She loves softball more than anything. I have been going to baseball and softball games for almost as many years as I've been a mother. I was sad that it was coming to an end but quite frankly, I was also ready for it to be over. Then Dan comes home and announces that he will be coaching our 9 year old great-niece this season. I don't know what I expected, he loves coaching and he loves being at the field. It's been a long time since he coached "little" girls. He's learning all over again and Beth is helping so she still gets her softball fix. Today was their first game. I went to the game because I knew it would mean a lot to my niece if I came to watch her daughter. And, because I don't have any grandchildren, I occasionally claim her as my surrogate grandchild ;-)

I forgot just how cute they are at this age. And just how boring the games can be. Many of the girls are just learning how to play. Lots and lots of walks make for a boring game. I still enjoyed it, but it was boring. Oh, and I forgot about the chanting. If you've ever been to a girls softball game you know what I'm talking about. The bigger girls didn't chant so much but the little ones love it. When Beth was little I used to hear those chants in my dreams....oy! It also made me remember one of the many reasons that I love my husband. He is so patient and wonderful with these little ones. He makes them all feel special. He loves them and they love him right back.

So, while I was sitting there, I thought about how things always come full circle. How I thought I was done with this part of my life only to find out that it's come back to me in a whole new way. How my daughter will coach her kids and those kids will coach their kids and the circle never ends.

It's a beautiful thing.

The Story of Sarah

2010-03-19T12:58:00.002-07:00

Back in September, I shared with you The Story of Dan and Gerri which was the start of this wild ride I call my life. All along it was my intention to share the stories of each of my children on their birthdays. Then life intervened, I became a slacker blogger, and two of their birthdays passed without so much as a fare-thee-well. Since the third birthday is fast approaching, I guess I better get caught up. This is the story of my oldst child, Sarah. It's not so much a story about her, as it is a story about how she came to be. While no mother has a favorite and you love different things about each child, your first child is special in a special way only mothers can know. And so it is true with mine. She is the heart of my heart, a miracle of God, and when I look in her eyes I see the promise of tomorrow. She is everything good and true and wonderful about the world and she has grown into such a special young woman. She is amazing. I marvel every day that God entrusted her to me. I'm not only proud to call her my daughter, I'm so very proud that she's my friend. (It's one of the perks of having adult children, that you can finally be their friend.)
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The Story of Sarah

When Dan and I decided to get married we talked a lot about having a family. We knew we wanted one but we were unsure about when we wanted to start one. After much discussion we decided that since we had dated for 4 years we had already had a lot of time to ourselves and we were ready to start building a family. We got married on a sunny and rather hot September afternoon. I was almost giddy with happiness. I was marrying the man of my dreams and soon I would attain the ultimate goal of my life, motherhood. I was so sure that I would get pregnant within the first month. It didn't happen that way and it upset me but I knew that it would happen soon enough. As the months passed I started to wonder why God was making me wait so long. I prayed, pleaded and even bargained with God to send us a baby. Nothing. I couldn't understand why He wasn't setting the plan in motion. Hadn't He revealed to me that motherhood was my calling? Or had I only heard what I wanted to hear?

I watched women who had gotten married after I had, get pregnant, have their babies and get pregnant again. I began to dread baby showers. I hated the sight of strollers, playpens and baby toys. It was painful to watch all the young mothers with their babies while my arms where empty. I wanted to cry out "What about me?". I was bitter and angry. I wondered if we would ever conceive. Dan was patient and kind, always reminding me that good things come to those who wait. Well, I was tired of waiting. I was tired of doctor appointments, taking my temperature and fending off well meaning, but nonetheless hurtful, questions about when we were going to start a family.

About three years into this process I just decided to forget it all. I was so fed up with everything. I wish I could say it was a voice from God telling me to slow down or that I had a great epiphany of some sort, but no. I think I was just so emotionally worn out. I didn't have another ounce of fight left in me. (As an aside here, I must give it up to all those women who hang in there for years and years and fight the good fight to become mothers. I know so many of them who have waited much longer than I did. I don't know how they do it, but I admire them.) So, I stopped everything. No more doctors, no more thermometers and no more worrying. I prayed about it and asked God for his forgiveness and that His will be done.

I started thinking about adoption or just living out my life without children. I felt peacefully calm for the first time in so long. About 5 months later I missed a period. I didn't really think much of it. This had happened many times before. But the days moved into weeks and I missed another one. I finally bought a home pregnancy test. Now, this was back in the day when you had to wait a couple of hours for the results. Let me tell you, that was the longest two hours I ever spent. Much to my surprise, it was positive. I was excited, but cautious. This had also happend before, false postitives. I made an appointment with my doctor and waited some more. All tests were positive and we were given a due date of December 26th. Ironic since both our birthdays' are in December and Dan's is the 27th. We figured, first baby, we probably won't deliver until January anyway. We were just so happy to finally be pregnant.

I had a wonderful pregnancy and tried to enjoy it without wishing it away. I really just wanted to deliver and hold that baby in my arms. As the last weeks of December approached we readied everything and began to wait. There were the obligatory jokes about delivering before the 31st to get the tax deduction. I was ok with that…the sooner the better. Christmas Eve was a beautiful sunny Arizona day. We did some last minute shopping, looked at Christmas light displays and went to 9 o'clock Mass. By the time we got home I was tired and ready for bed. I went to bed but for some reason I just couldn't sleep. I was restless and uncomfortable so I got up and vacuumed the living room and did some dishes. Hmmm…guess I should have figured it out. When the contractions started at about 1:30am I was so surprised. Christmas Day, I was going into labor on Christmas Day?!? At first I thought, it's just a false alarm, they'll calm down in a while. At 6:30 when they were 15 minutes apart, I decided maybe it was for real and maybe I should wake Dan. At 5 minutes apart we headed to the hospital.

I was still in denial about delivering on Christmas. All the horror stories I'd heard from people who hated their birthdays being on Christmas began running through my head. The doctor made his appearance at 10am, told me he thought I'd deliver around 1pm, and left. I decided he was wrong, asked for an epidural, and spent the next couple of hours trying to convince myself I could hang on until midnight. I was wrong, of course, and amazing things happen when you give your destiny to God....

At 1:09 PM on Christmas Day 1984 our wonderful, beautiful daughter was born. The miracle of birth makes you forget all your negative thoughts. All I could think was what a beautiful little life had been entrusted to my care. And how apropos, after waiting such a long time, that we should deliver her on Christmas Day. She was and continues to be the best Christmas present we've ever received. We have always told her how special it is that she shares her birthday with the Savior. She has always felt special because of that and has certainly never felt cheated. So, Christmas at our house is much more than gifts and holiday meals. It's a celebration of two special births, and a reminder of how lucky we are to have them both in our lives.
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So, there you have it. The story of my own little miracle baby. If you stayed to read the whole, long story, I appreciate it. In a couple of days I'll be writing about my youngest child who turned 21 in January. To know her is to be totally exhausted 24/7/365. She still keeps me on my toes!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

It's not the one thing......

2010-03-15T13:55:00.005-07:00

I have always loved figure skating. My earliest memory is sitting with my mother, watching Peggy Fleming skate across the screen of our old black and white TV. I used to put socks on and slide around our linoleum floor pretending I was the next Olympic figure skating champion. I think living in the desert made the sport seem so mysterious and glamerous. I had never seen a pair of ice skates or an ice rink, for that matter. And while none of this has anything to do with the theme for this post, what started my thinking process did and I thought I would share a long forgotten childhood memory. So there you have it....the randomness that is me. Onward.....

I was watching a program about Scott Hamilton (see, there was a link, however small). All about his comeback after brain surgery and a five year hiatus from skating. It was inspiring. During the show he talked about facing something he had never faced before. While practicing, if he made a mistake in the program, he would quit skating. He had never done this before in his career. He knew it was fear and he was having a difficult time figuring out how to work through the fear.

I experience this a lot in my own life. I have a problem with anxiety. It keeps me from living life to it's fullest measure. It's the one thing I really dislike about myself and would like to change.

During the program Scott mentioned a saying that he used to get himself over the fear and to stop quitting. "It's not the one thing...it's the whole thing." Meaning that if he made a mistake it didn't ruin the whole program because there were many more elements in the program than just that one jump or just that one spin.

It got me thinking. I could apply this in my own life. Many times the "one thing" will keep me from enjoying the "whole thing". So many times I get caught up in some thing that is making me anxious and I forget the big picture. How will this affect me in a week, a month, a year, five years? When you stop to put things into the context of your "whole" life, the "one" thing doesn't seem so big.

So I've decided to live my life like I'm figure skating. And if I fall on that triple Lutz, I'll just get back up and do a triple toe loop. All the while reciting my new mantra...."It's not the one thing...it's the whole thing."

Here's to new beginnings......

The Unhip mom....yeah, that's me

2010-03-12T12:23:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about growing older. I'm not bothered by the fact that I'm getting older. I think I have a pretty realistic outlook on the situation. It's inevitable, I can't stop it, so I might as well do it gracefully. Some things about growing older are really appealing to me. I'm actually looking forward to those senior discounts because, let's face it, who doesn't like to save money? I like the fact that my husband and I can go virtually anywhere we want to go without being accountable to anyone. We don't really do this, but we could if we wanted to (or had excess piles of cash laying around). I enjoy coming home from work and having no place to go. No little league, no softball, no orchestra concerts, no band competitions. The days of hectic running are all but over and I have to say, I'm ok with it. My time is my own unless I choose for it not to be. Now, don't get me wrong. I loved every minute ( well, almost every minute, I'd give back the teen years if I could) of being with my kids. I loved being involved with their lives and I never thought of it as a chore. But, I'm ready to move on to the next phase of my life which I think is all about me. And I'm ready for it.

There are some things that do bother me though. I touched on this a bit in my last post. I remember when I was young thinking that I would die before I would let myself turn into, horror of all horrors, my parents. Not that they weren't good parents. They were great. But they were fuddy duddies. Not with the times. Out of the loop. Well, the unthinkable has happened. I'm not sure when or how it happened, but suddenly, I am my parents. My fuddy duddy factor is at an all time high. Here are a few things that up my factor:

I think I'm the only one in the world who doesn't have a Facebook page. I have no desire to find anyone I went to school with and frankly I just don't want the time commitment.
Until recently I thought tweeting was something only birds did.
I thought Skype was a new kind of flu.
Sometimes when I listen to young people talk I think they are speaking a foreign language. I'm not down with all the lingo (my daughters will kill me for that last sentence).
I think music should actually have a melody.
Tattoos: see previous post
I can't get used to the fact that thongs are now flip flops and what are now called thongs just seems like a torture mechanism to me. And by the way, I don't think it's appropriate to wear flip flops to a job interview, I don't care what color they are or how they are decorated. Put a regular pair of shoes on for goodness sake. And your thong should not be showing out of the backside of your pants...bending over or standing up...if you think it's sexy...you're wrong.
While we're on the subject of pants....boys, buy the appropriate size and wear a belt, PLEASE! If you have to hold on to your pants while you are walking....well, enough said.
Last but not least (I'm sure there are more but I'm getting long here), just the fact that I used the words "fuddy duddy", brings my score way up.

Well, there you have it. The sad story of my realization that I am not a hip mom. Oh well, guess my kids will just have to do without like I did.

Inked

2010-03-08T12:17:00.001-07:00

So, this issue has been weighing on my mind for sometime. I think, because it's one of those things that I have no control over, I let it bother me even more. I think it also makes me feel like my mother and older than I want to be, which also bothers me a bit. I really try to be open minded when the issue doesn't involve life or death, but for some reason I just can't get past this one. So I will lay it all out there and you can tell me what you think. Here goes:

My youngest daughter loves tatoos. She has 4 of them. She's 21. This bothers me. When I was growing up the only people who had tatoos where gang members, prison inmates and Hells Angels. When I was her age, girls with tatoos where considered cheap, fast or both. I realize that tatoos have become much more mainstream but for the life of me I just can't get used to it. The fact that I have a hard time accepting it also makes me feel old. The whole thing is a conundrum.

I try to take solace in the fact that her tatoos all have some meaning to them. At least they were not spur of the moment and seem to be well tought out. The Holy Spirit with a bible verse, Faith, Family and the most recent a pink breast cancer ribbon in honor of my mother. She is already planning her next one which is a fairly big one. The Faith and Family tatoos bother me the most only because they are on the insides of her wrists which i think is really hard to cover up. I also wonder how she is going to feel about them when she's my age, which is really none of my business, so why do I care? She has promised me she will not tatoo her face....I'm glad for that. Another reason it bothers me is because I think she is such a beautiful girl and to me the tatoos take away from that. I really feel like the most judgemental and prejudice person writing that. But it's how I feel so I might as well own it.

So there you have it. I'm officially the fuddy duddy mother of a young adult. Something I never intended on being and never wanted to be. I always promised myself I would not become my mother. (Mind you, I love my mother very much and she was a special person, but just not always the most open minded.) How does this happen? Is it just inevitable? Are we destine to become our mothers? I wonder......

She's Baaack......

2010-03-01T12:10:00.003-07:00

So yeah, not sure who out there will still be looking out for me, but I figured I'd try this one more time. Christmas was hectic, and the New Year has been filled with me being sick 3 times in 6 weeks. Work has been very hectic and the last thing I feel like doing when I go home is getting on the computer to do anything. I have, however, been able to keep track of you all....so I still feel connected in some ways. Anyway, I thought I'd steal a little time on my lunch hour to do an update.

Some random happenings from the past 2 1/2 months:

Christmas was wonderful with all the family around. We had almost 30 people for Christmas dinner. It was great! Of course, Sarah's stay was much too short, but I really enjoyed the time I had with her.

I promptly got sick in January and stayed sick off and on so much that my Christmas stuff did not get packed away until the week before last. I rarely get sick, so I'm not sure what is going on, I just know I don't like it one bit. I also started Weight Watchers in January and then got derailed by the illnesses. I really need to get back on board with that. I have several crochet projects in the works and it irritates me that I just can't stay home and crochet all day long. I really need to win that big lottery so I can retire ;-)

My oldest daughter, who lives in DC, survived Snowmageddon 2010...just barely. She also survived carbon monoxide poisoning in her house (old broken boiler). The fact that she's still alive makes me believe that God has bigger plans for her. It's so scary to think about, I just don't.

My youngest daughter, who lives with me, turned 21 and now I feel really old. She planned a big trip to Vegas nearly 6 months in advance and almost missed the whole thing due to weather the likes of which we never see in the Valley of the Sun. Sky Harbor was actually on a ground stop for hours which NEVER happens. Waiting in an airport for delayed and cancelled flights makes for one cranky 21 year old. She also got another tatoo(not in Vegas).....future post to follow on this subject. Oy.....

I have enjoyed watching the Olympics the last couple of weeks. I love the winter games. I was disappointed the USA lost the hockey game but it was an awesome game none the less. I'm a sap for all the pomp and ceremony and those "up close and personal" pieces they do. I love it all. As you can see by my backround....baseball fever has hit. Spring training is in full swing and I can't wait for Opening Day. I'm waiting for the day I can climb into my car and listen to the game on the way home. I'm crossing my fingers that my beloved D-Backs will fare better than last year.

Well, that's all I have time for now. Better get back to work. Hope you all will come back and visit me. I'll try not to be gone so long next time. Have a great day!

Some things are meant to be....

2009-12-20T11:03:00.005-07:00

This was a busy week and I got most everything done that needed to be done. My daughter is here. She made it out of DC just before they closed the airport because of the big storm. It's good to have her home and it makes everything feel right with the world. My plan for this week was to have all the decorating done before she got home. I got everything done except for the big tree in the living room. I was disapointed but it was what it was. Little did I know, it was meant be that way for a reason, more about that later.

Here are some pictures of my trees. These trees are the result of my Hallmark obscession which I have talked about before. I think about 90% of the ornaments on the three trees are Hallmark ornaments I have collected over the past 30 years. I don't think the pictures really do them justice, especially the big tree. You can't see the lights which always makes the tree more magical , but they're the best I could get.

The Teddy Bear Tree

The Snowmen and Santa Tree

The two together
This is a Barbie tree I decorated for Sarah. She's been collecting these ornaments since she was about 10. I thought it would be a nice surprise to do a tree in her room. She loved it.

Now for my little revelation. I was disapointed that I didn't get the big tree in the living room done before Sarah got home. We got it set up and put the lights on last night after she came home. This morning she and I decorated it. This picture is the result. We had such a good time decorating while listening to Christmas music. While we were decorating I realized that so often I worry about having things perfect rather than just letting things happen as they will. This decorating experience really brought home to me that sometimes things are just meant to be and I need to accept it. If I had gotten the tree decorated I would have missed a wonderful time with my daughter which is so important since I don't get to be with her very often. So this was a lesson learned for me and one I hope I can apply in my everyday life. As the Beatles so aptly said....."Let It Be"

If I don't get back here before Christmas, which is good possibility, I wish you all a Merry Christmas. I hope you have a blessed and joyous holiday with family and friends.

'Tis the Season.....

2009-12-12T15:20:00.003-07:00

for chaos....and my life is full of it. Thank goodness I have this week off work to get things done. The letter and cards have been sent. Now I just need to decorate and shop. No biggie.....

This Christmas will be a smaller one where presents are concerned. I'm sure everyone is facing the same thing and I've found that I kind of like it. We are focusing more on family and being together rather than what we are giving. Not that we didn't do this before but it feels different this year. I'm so excited for Sarah to get home next week. It seems like forever since we saw her in August. I'm having close to 30 people at my house for Christmas dinner and I'm so excited for this. We haven't all been together at a holiday gathering in quite a while. It will be nice.

I'm hoping to get some blogging time in this week while I'm off. I want to post some pics of my Christmas trees once they are decorated. Guess I better get back to working on the house. Just wanted to check in to let everyone know I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Hope you are all surviving the Christmas chaos in your own lives. Till next time......

Small Thankfuls

2009-11-19T10:38:00.010-07:00

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, and my life in chaos right now, I'm not sure if I will be able to post again before the big day, so I'm posting this now and you have a week to think about it ;-) Long ago in a blog far, far away I posted small thankfuls. We all know that at Thanksgiving, we are thankful for all the good things in life. But what about the little day to day things that you rarely think about. For instance, toothpaste. We couldn't get through a day without toothpaste, or maybe it's the smell of rain hitting dirt (my personal favorite) that really makes your day and brings back good memories for you. So just think of three small things that you are thankful for! And if you'd like to share yours with me, I would be ever so thankful.....

Here are my Three Small Thankful's....some of them are not so small I guess, but they are out of the ordinary. Here goes:

1. Mousse and a blow dryer. No, those are not two items. In my world they are one. I can't use one without the other. I have the world's finest, thinnest, limpest hair. I would never leave my house if it weren't for mousse and a blow dryer.

2. The Industrial Revolution. Ok, I know this one is a stretch, but hear me out. I am a person of convenience, and while I love the Revolutionary War period, and sometimes wish I were part of that exciting time.... I know, deep in my heart, I'd never make it without my car, air conditioning, electric appliances, frozen food, and on and on....all made possible by the wonder that was The Industrial Revolution.

3. Any food I don't have to cook. I hate to cook (I guess I should say I hate to cook everyday....I really like making the big holiday meals...is that crazy?). So, any food that is not cooked by me, is heaven.

So, there you have my three small thankfuls. I would like to take this opportunity to mention some of the "big" things I am thankful for. There are so many but here are the ones that really stand out.
1. My Faith
2. A wonderful husband to share my life with
3. Three great kids I would die for
4. Being raised by parents who really cared what kind of person I would turn out to be
5. A Large, extended and loving family
6. A life that has not been filled by monetary riches or possessions but has overflowed with wealth of a different kind. A life that is filled to the brim with all the things that are most important in life: Faith, Family and Friends.

Those are the things I am most thankful for.... and all of you, of course... I am thankful for all my new blogging friends.

Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving and many blessings to you all......

My love

Gerri

Weird Weather and Other Stuff

2009-11-02T12:00:00.003-07:00

In the fall my heart yearns to be here.........
When in reality....I am here........

But in an effort not to be totally negative about my surroundings, I get to see this on a pretty regular basis.......
I guess the trade off is not that bad. Except for the tempurature. The weather lately has been so weird. Down into the 70's which I wait 8 months for, only to go back up into the 90's. It's done that two or three times in the last couple of weeks. It teases us into thinking the hot weather is over only to blow us the proverbial rasberry full of hot air. Here in the desert we live for the winter months. It's the only thing that keeps us going when it's 115 and you can literally cook an egg on the sidewalk. Right now we are back into the 90's again. I'm done with anything over 85, I want it to be over. I'll let you know when I get my wish.

In other thoughts.....the fact that it is now November has me in full panic mode. I am so far behind where I usually am at this time of year. I am a list maker. I have lists for my lists. It's the only way I know how to accomplish what I want to get done. Of course this is the time of year where I really go crazy on the lists, except that I haven't even started any yet. The panic level is rising. I am hosting Thanksgiving dinner at my house for about 25 people. My dining room is still in shambles. The King of Procrastination is promising it will be done. I choose to believe him because the alternative is just too scary to me. I have bought exactly three presents for Christmas. Oy! I have not started my Christmas Letter (yes I write one of those). I usually start it in October and do various rewrites and additions as they come along. I know it will get done but just knowing I'm behind is giving me a panic attack. I still have not found the trees I want for my Santa and Snowman Christmas trees. I'm sad that I may have to put that off until next year unless Santa delivers an early gift in the form of a pile of money. And I have yet to decide what I am making for my family gift exchange. Guess it better be simple as time is running out.

I tried one year to be all zen about everything around the holidays and nothing got accomplished. So I figure I'm one of those people that needs the panic to fuel the fire. When all is said and done, everything always turns out ok but I sure drive myself crazy getting there.

Hope you all have a wonderful day.......I'm off to make lists.......

Happy Halloween!!

2009-10-31T10:54:00.003-07:00

Halloween 1991

Halloween 1992

Here are a couple of pictures of my gobblins when they were little. I really miss having little ones around this time of year. Like Christmas, Halloween is just more magical with little kids around. Dan put some orange lights up around the house and we did decorate a little bit. Our neighborhood is older so we don't have a huge number of trick-or-treaters but I so enjoy the ones that do come. I remember the days when my kids were little, our streets were packed with little ghosties and gobblins. Fun stuff.

I'm not dressing up, I'm scary enough just being me ;-) I will be handing out candy by myself as Beth has a party to go to and the guys are going to a hockey game. I plan on watching the live Ghost Hunters episode and hope it is really scary.

Well, I'm off to make a pot of my famous spaghetti. A request from my youngest gobblin.

I hope you all have a very Happy and Scary Halloween.....muahhhhhh........

2009-10-30T13:52:00.002-07:00

Kelly over at My Voice, My View gave me this nice award. I do not at all feel worthy since I have not blogged in ages, but it was so nice of her to do it for me. Please go check out Kelly's blog, she one of the nicest people I've met in my short time here. She is a wonderful, inspiring poet and a great mom.

I was actually planning a blog for tomorrow since Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, so I promise to come back tomorrow and do that.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Under Achieving

2009-10-09T03:00:00.003-07:00

I had a co-worker tell me today that she thought I should aim my sights higher when it comes to my job. She feels I'm smart, organized and very detailed oriented. I agree with the last two and was flattered by the first. She thinks I'm wasting my talents in my current position. I, however, really like what I do. I'm sure part of it is a comfort level. I've been in my current position about 7 years. I will celebrate my 19th anniversary at the hospital next month. I've worked in lots of different departments and done a myriad of different jobs and this is by far my favorite. I'm in a place where I'm very autonomous and not micromanaged. Those two things are very important to me.

Her comments got me to thinking though. Is liking your job and being comfortable enough, or should you try to challenge yourself? Should I give up a working environment which makes me very happy for one that may drive me crazy? I've interviewed for a couple of other positions during my tenure at my current one. I was offered those jobs and eventually turned them down because I'm scared of getting into a job that I dread going to everyday. Been there, done that.....don't want to do it again. Is having a more prestigious position worth possibly being miserable while working?

And then there is this: I'm liking my life right now. My kids are well adjusted adults who really don't need me anymore except for moral support. I can pick up and go when I want and I'm not accountable to anyone but Dan when I get home from work. I'm so comfortable in my position that I'm able to leave it at work. When I walk out the door I rarely think of work until I walk back in the next day.

I know my answer, and that is that I will stay where I'm at and be happy, comfortable and yes complacent. My question is this:

Do you think it's wrong to not use the potential you know you have and instead are just complacent with what you've got. Does that make you an under achiever? Is that a bad thing? I wonder........

(after reading this back I just want to say that I do realize how lucky I am that 1) I have a job at all and 2) there are options for me to move to another job if I wanted to. I know that is a rare thing in this economy and I am very grateful and thankful)

Christmas is Coming!!

2009-10-08T13:17:00.001-07:00

A few months ago I posted about my love, some would say obscession, with Hallmark ornaments. At that time I was getting ready to go to the Hallmark Premier Weekend and stock up on all my ornament buddies. I did go, and got some wonderful ornaments and spent way too much money. So, this weekend is another premier weekend and there are several ornaments that I've had my eye on to add to my collections:

So, I think I need this little guy to add to my snowman tree. Isn't he adorable?

And this is perfect for my Santa tree, plus it plays music! What could be better than that?

Of course, I have to have this for my bear tree. Everytime I look at it I will remember how much fun I had reading to my kids.

So as this weekend was approaching I was starting to doubt my financial ability to add more ornaments to my already overflowing collection. It made me sad but I thought it might not be so fiscally responsible in these times to spend money on these little guys. I could do it, and I wouldn't be taking food out of anyone's mouth but it just made me feel kind of guilty, you know? So feeling kind of dejected, I resigned myself to the fact that I was just going to have to be happy with what I had.

Then what to my wondering eyes did appear? A bonus check from my new best friend, the CEO of my hospital. We usually get a bonus check every year around this time. It's never a huge amount but it's nice that they share with us. This year we didn't expect to get anything because of the economy. We had already made some sacrifices by giving up a lot of the perks we were used to. I guess it helped, and we have been busy, so they decided to give us the bonus.

I consider this found money. Yes, I could pay a bill or buy a weeks worth of groceries, but I have money for that. So, I'm going this weekend to buy my Hallmark ornaments. I think it's kismet, karma and proof positive that God approves of my obscession. At least that's what I'm telling myself so I don't feel so guilty. (I can never get away from the guilt thing....but that's a topic for another post.)

Merry Christmas!! Remember....only 77 days left! Are you ready yet?

T-Minus One and Counting

2009-09-27T06:42:00.018-07:00

( Wow, we were so young. I was only 21 years old. I can't even imagine my daughters married yet and one of them is almost 4 years older than I was then. Oh, and I thought I was fat then too. Body image...blech)

Today I have been married for 29 years. Yes, all to the same man. It's hard to believe that it's been that long. Although when I think back on all we have been through together it's hard to believe we shoved it all into 29 years. Not that we are world travelers or anything like that but we did raise three kids and survived baseball, softball, girl scouts, boy scouts, violin lessons, orchestra concerts, band practices, band competitions, band drama and Friday night football. Not to mention three economic downturns, one firing, a couple of layoffs and two broken ankles (they were both mine at the same time and that's when you find out how much someone really loves you.) Last year I put my children on notice that they had two years to plan a big 30th Anniversary bash....don't know if they remember or not, guess we'll see. So....T-minus one and counting ;-)

Seems like just yesterday we were walking down the aisle, bringing our first born home, taking our son to his first little league game, watching our baby go to kindergarten. Where does the time fly? I love my husband more than any one human can love another. At least that's what it feels like to me. I'm so lucky that I get to spend the rest of my life with this wonderful man. In honor of our anniversary, I give you......

THE STORY OF DAN AND GERRI

How I married my best friends brother

The year was 1972. The Viet Nam war was raging, Watergate became a household word, tragedy happened at the Munich Olympics, Carol King was singing, "It's Too Late" and I was just beginning high school. I also met the man that would someday be my husband.

I became friends with a girl named Debbie. She was interesting and funny, and it didn't hurt that her brother was a senior and played baseball. I would have liked her regardless of the brother thing, but it was a perk, you know? So, all freshman year I smiled at the brother, said hi and went to baseball games to cheer him on. He didn't know I existed. The year went quickly and Debbie and I settled into an easy friendship that we were sure would last a lifetime. Summer came and went and soon we were sophomores. I would call Debbie's house, knowing she was not there, just so I could hear the brothers' voice. Yes, I was a nerd. We were happy in our relationship, Debbie, the brother and I. She and I had great times together and he still did not know I was a living breathing being. Oh, well. I held out hope. At the end of the year both our lives were turned upside down. My father accepted a job 200 miles away and Debbie's mom got married and moved to the other side of town. We got together before the big moves to sign each other's yearbooks for the last time. I wrote in her yearbook that someday I would marry her brother. I was joking. Soon, our only communication was letters (remember when you used to write letters?) and an occasional long distance call. But, we remained the best of friends. I had a boyfriend in my new town and thoughts of the brother were all but non-existent.

In 1976, we graduated and started our lives. Still living miles from each other we kept the friendship alive. Then, in January 1977, I accepted a job back in my hometown. I had no place to stay so Debbie's mom invited me to live with them. The brother was still living at home, working and going to school and fresh out of a relationship. I decided it was now or never. I flirted, talked baseball, flirted some more and finally, he knew I was alive. We started dating on January 22, 1977. For me, it was love right away. I knew within the first few months that this was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. It took Dan just a bit longer. It took almost 4 years, me having to move away, and his mom threatening to just adopt me into the family before he finally decided that we were meant to be (we don't call him the King of Procrastination for nothing!).

On September 27, 1980 I married the man of my dreams. My best friend was my maid of honor and my sister-in-law. The yearbook prediction came true.

Now, 29 years later, I still can't believe how lucky I am. He makes me laugh every day and I still get butterflies in my stomach when I see him. I feel honored just knowing I get to spend the rest of my life with this man. Our life is not perfect and we've had our rough spots but we've loved each other enough to work through it. I thank God everyday for bringing us together and helping us to keep it together. I've been so blessed these last 29 years, I can't wait to see what the next 29 bring.

The Finished Product

2009-09-26T07:54:00.007-07:00

As promised, here are pics of my latest creations. This first one is a scrap afghan called "Confetti Stars". I finished it at midnight last night. I have worked on it between projects for about two years. There are 391 two inch squares in this afghan, which means to finish it off I had to tie in 1646 ends. Thanks goodness I did it as I went along. I love the finished look and I think I may put this at the end of the bed in my spare room. I also included a close up of the border which was so incredibly boring that I thought I would never get done. I forced myself to stay up last night to finish because I was at the point that if I didn't finish it then, I might have put it away for another two years. Glad I didn't, because the finished product is great and the pictures don't really do it justice.

This afghan is "Americana Granny". I love it and plan on putting it on the back of my couch. It's got that old fashioned look to it which I love. The close up square is my favorite color combo, probably because the first 5 rows remind me of Christmas. It actually gave me the inspiration for one of my next projects which will be a Christmas afghan made from these very colors. I'm going to try and design it myself, so we'll see how that goes.

I decided to include this next afghan because it resides on the rocker I was using to take the pictures of the others and I thought, why not? It is another scrap afghan which I made a couple of years ago. Scrap afghans are great because when you look at them, it reminds you of all the projects you worked so hard on, right in one creation. (So it wasn't until I came back to the blog to see if I had comments that I noticed that the next picture is upside down. Normally I would be a little OCD about stuff like that and fix it, but today I am too tired. This is what happens when you stay up till midnight and then try to do a blog at 7 in the morning....)

So that's it for now. I am currently projectless, which always bothers me. I always like to have something to work on, which is why I am going today to buy the yarn for the Crochet-Along. I'm going to do a baby afghan for my nephew who's baby is due in December.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Crochet Crazyness

2009-09-22T10:26:00.003-07:00

So, I realize that I have been woefully abscent from the blogosphere, but I do have a good excuse. I've been furiously trying to finish two afghans. I did finish one, the other is a scrap afghan that I have been working on between projects for about 2 years. I was hoping to finish it this weekend and post pictures of my new creations, but alas, the border is more time consuming than I anticipated. Which really means that it's boring me to death and I have to keep putting it down because it causes me to fall asleep. That's what happens when you get old. Anyway, as soon as I finish I promise pictures.

Then in a fit of insanity I signed up to do what they call a CAL or Chrochet-Along. I'm trying to venture outside my comfort zone, although why I'm doing this I have no idea. You follow along on a blog, everyone crochets the same thing, and you share your progress. The pattern is the picture above. I have never done shapes that have anything but four sides since the time I tried to do a triangle afghan and it came out all sorts of misshapen. But I figure I have time now to concentrate on it and I'm in need of a baby afghan so I thought this might be the perfect time to try something new. Wish me luck...I'm going to need it.

Never Forget

2009-09-11T01:00:00.001-07:00

Today will never be a normal day for me, ever again. The images, sights and sounds of that day will live with me for the rest of my life. I was not there, I did not know anyone who perished on that day, and yet it affected me like nothing else has. I will always remember the heros of that day and mourn their loss. I will forever remember what some did in the name of religion; and I will condemn that to my dying day. I will be vigilant and I will NEVER FORGET.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
George Santayana, The Life of Reason, Volume 1, 1905US (Spanish-born) philosopher (1863 - 1952)

I Love the Stars!

2009-09-10T10:55:00.001-07:00

Omega Centauri
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope snapped this panoramic view of a colorful assortment of 100,000 stars residing in the crowded core of a giant star cluster. This is one of the first images taken by the new Wide Field Camera 3 that was installed aboard Hubble in May 2009 during Servicing Mission 4, which can snap sharp images over a broad range of wavelengths.

My Summer Vacation, Part III

2009-09-08T20:30:00.001-07:00

Day four in DC started out at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. It was one of my two favorite places that we visited. I have decided to do a separate post for this museum as it’s not exactly a “feel good” place and it just didn’t seem appropriate to talk about this and then go on to more light hearted subjects. Also, I want to be able to do it justice and be able to convey the feel of the place which will take more time than what I have right now. Suffice to say, once you visit this place I don’t believe you will ever be the same, nor should you.
A nice shot of the Capitol looking down the National Mall on our way to the Museum of American History

Our second stop of the day was The Smithsonian’s Museum of American History. This museum just recently re-opened after being closed for renovation for quite some time. While it was closed the exhibits went on tour around the country. Some of them have not made it back to the museum yet so there were limited things to see. We saw the first lady’s dresses and while the guys didn’t really get into that the girls and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The pop culture exhibit was the reason we really went there and it was a little disappointing that there was not much to see. Dan was especially disappointed that he did not get to see Fonzi’s jacket. But we did see an elephant seat from the Dumbo ride at Disneyland, and much to Sarah’s delight it was a purple one; Archie and Edith’s chairs; Kermit the Frog and Oscar the Grouch; and of course, Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers. In another room they had some very old musical instruments which included Stradivarius violins dating from the 17th or 18th century. Beautiful instruments that Sarah coveted. I think one of her dreams is to own a Stradivarius violin, I wish her luck with that one.

We weren’t really up for seeing much more there so we headed on to lunch and then to my favorite place of all…….

The National Air and Space Museum. I could spend all day in this place. I can’t tell you how much I love it. I don’t even really care about the airplane part of it, I’m just in love with all the space stuff. I can’t get enough. It’s all there from the test rockets to the spaceships of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. There is a small piece of a moon rock which is so smooth that it feels like a piece of polished steel. I don’t know if it’s that way naturally or just from the millions of people who have run their fingers across the surface just so they can say they touched a moon rock. Of course, I especially love the displays of Apollo 11 and the lunar lander. Dan and Beth really had a good time wondering around the place and I think Dan had a good time teaching her about all the airplanes. She really got into it and I think she took a picture of every plane in the place. I will spare you all of those but I will share a few of my favorites:Mural as you enter the museum
The beginning of flight. Do you think the Wright Brothers ever thought in their wildest dreams that what they started would end up taking us to the moon?

The rockets

Apollo 11 Command Module

The Lunar Lander

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
In July 1975 two manned spacecraft were launched into Earth orbit - one from Kazakstan, the other from Florida. their rendezvous in orbit fulfilled a 1972 agreement between the Soviet Union and United States to participate in a joint venture in space.

Obviously I love this place and imagine my delight when as we were leaving we saw a mock up of the new addition. They will have an actual space shuttle there when the addition opens. Be still my heart. I can’t wait!

Until next time……

My Summer Vacation, Part II

2009-09-07T10:11:00.019-07:00

So here I am one month post vacation and I still have not finished these posts. As always, my life gets in the way of the fun stuff. Oh well.....here goes: (please excuse spelling, grammar and punctuation.....I just don't have the energy to edit too much!)

Our third day in DC just happend to be one of the hottest and most humid days on record. Of course this was the day we had planned to spend most of the day outside. Figures. I will say that while I hated the humidity, it still wasn't as bad as the 115 degrees we were having back home and I could have never done this type of sightseeing in that weather, so yeah...it was gross but managable.

Arlington National Cemetary entrance: The house on the hill is the Robert E. Lee house. The cemetary was originally the plantation of General Robert E. Lee. His property was given up when he surrendured to Grant and the land was eventually turned into the cemetary.

We started out at Arlington National Cemetary where we bought tickets for the Tourmobile. For one fee you get a whole days worth of riding from monuments to memorials and everything in between. I highly recommend this because it's a great foot saver, especially if you're fifty and fat like me. But the best part is you get a whole lot of history while you're riding, and for me, that was worth the price of the ticket. There is a person on the tram that gives you a lot of interesting little tid bits of information as you ride to each destination. You are able to get off the tram at each stop and spend as much time as you want at each destination, then pick up the next tram when you're ready to move on. It's great. We boarded the tram in Arlington National Cemetary and it took us to all the important places. We stopped at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and watched the changing of the guard. A very impressive and moving tribute.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Weapon Inspection

Changing of the Guard

We also stopped at the graves of JFK and RFK. I have been here before but it always gets to me and there were a few tears shed. The contrast between the two grave sites is remarkable.

The Eternal Flame

JFK and Jackie's headstones

RFK gravesite

There were many small memorials to different groups around the cemetary. The following were a few that I found interesting:

Memorial to the crew of Challenger

Memorial to the crew of Columbia

Memorial to the sevicemen who lost their lives trying to resuce the Iran hostages in 1980

After our time in the cemetary we hopped on the tram and visited several of the monuments and memorials around DC. Two were new since I was in DC last: WWII and the Korean. I have to say the WWII Memorial was very impressive and really well thought out. There are so many elements and everything has a meaning. I highly recommend seeing this one. The Korean Memorial is reminiscent of the Viet Nam Memorial in that it has a granite wall but in the wall are etched pictures of soldiers. There is also a wall there with on of my favorite quotes; "Freedom is not Free". Both these memorials incorporate water and for very different but impressive results. I have to say I enjoyed both very much. We also saw the Lincoln, Washington, and Viet Nam which are always impressive and moving.

The Atlantic entrance to the memorial. On the opposite side there is a Pacific entrance. They signify the two theaters of engagement in the war

The Rainbow pool in the center of the memorial The Freedom Wall’s 4,048 Gold Stars represent the 405,399 Americans who paid the ultimate price for that ultimate victory

The Clem Kids in front of the Arizona column. The memorial columns are arranged in the order of State admission into the Union, alternating back and forth (Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, etc.) around the Rainbow Pool. After listing the 48 States, the six territories that comprised the nation at the time of the war are included. The Washington Monument from the WWII Memorial

View of the White House walking from the WWII Memorial to the Washington Monument.

Korean War Memorial :

There are 19 statues which represent a squad on patrol. Drawn from each branch of the armed forces, they are dressed in full combat gear and when reflected in the pool, there appears to be 38 soldiers, representing the 38th parallel.

This says it all!

Mom, Dad and the DC daughter 24 years after our first DC trip! Oh yeah, and that's the Lincoln Memorial in the backround.

The Washington Monument looking across the reflecting pool from the Lincoln Memorial. You can see part of the Capitol peeking out from behind the monument.

So there you have the memorial/monument day of our trip. It was hot, sweaty, tiring and totally worth the blisters on my feet. I was going to do the next day in the post also but this got to be pretty lengthly so I'll save that for tomorrow. I promise. Tomorrow I'll finally get to two places we visted that were my personal favorites.

Hope you are all having a wonderful Labor Day!

My Summer Vacation, Part 1: Photos

2009-08-27T20:44:00.006-07:00

As promised, here are some pictures from the first two days of our trip to DC. Hope you enjoy.

Crime and Punishment Museum:

Bonnie and Clyde's car

The Set of America's Most Wanted

Navy Memorial:

These two pictures are the center of the Navy Memorial. All around this are small memorials to different branches of the Navy. As you can see in the pictures the surface is two toned and makes a map of the world. Well, anyone who's smart enough to look sees that. I, however, thought that the ground was wet and just starting to dry in spots. In my defense, it honestly looked wet and I think it's harder to see when you're standing right on top of it. Anyway, everyone had a good laugh at my expense. I do what I can to keep everyone happy......

National Archives:

Some of these pictures are hard to see because you're not allowed to use a flash and everything is under glass but you get the basic idea. They're old and faded. The one that got to me the most was the rough draft of the Constitution. You can actually see where they edited it and wrote notes in the margin. Great stuff!

These two portraits flank the documents in the rotunda:

The Declaration of Independence:

So faded you can barely see it even with the naked eye. Most of the signatures are not even recognizable, even so, it is still moving to be in it's presence.

Declaration of Independence

Rough draft of the Constitution

First page of the Constitution

Bill of Rights

Nationals Park:

Beautiful ball park. But where's the roof?

So there you have it. Some pictures of vacation part 1.

I will be blogging this weekend on the next two days we spent in DC. One day was spent outside in the record heat and humidity, but we still made the most of it even though we were wilting. The next day was spent more indoors, which was nice and included my favorite place in DC.

My Summer Vacation, Footnote

2009-08-25T11:22:00.002-07:00

I will be posting more of my summer vacation in a few days. I am impatiently waiting for my youngest to download all of her pics onto my computer. She has the majority of the pictures and I really don't want to post until I have them. My last post was missing pictures of the ballpark and inside the Archives. Check back for those. Until then......stay cool!

My Summer Vacation, Part 1

2009-08-22T15:50:00.010-07:00

Yes, I officially suck at blogging. Oh well…….

I’m back after a hiatus and just in time to tell you all about my summer vacation. The most exciting thing about it was it was the first vacation we have taken in about 8 years. Of course, my daughter had to move completely across country for me to get a vacation, but that’s a subject for another blog. As you may have noticed I titled this part 1. You all know how wordy I can be and there is a lot to tell so I figured instead of trying to post in one huge long blog, I would stretch it out and make you wait for the future installments. So, without further ado…..let’s get started.

My daughter, Sarah, lives in Arlington, VA and works in Washington, D.C. The last time we visited D.C. Sarah was 8 months old. Kind of ironic that she would grow up to live there. It gave us the perfect excuse to take a vacation. When beginning to plan the vacation we decided that we would all go together for what would be probably the last “family” vacation we would ever take. Having no more kids in school I was excited at the prospect that we could pick any time of year to take this glorious trip. I’m thinking D.C. in the spring. No families on summer vacations, cherry blossoms in full bloom, nice weather. I was stoked. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. See, I live in a family where baseball is the most important thing in life. So my husband expressed his need to go on this vacation when the Diamondbacks were there to play the Nationals. Ok, I was willing to go along with this little request, so we pull out the D-Backs schedule and what do we find? They will not be in D.C. in the spring, nor even the early summer, no, they will be in D.C. the first weekend of August. Oh yay, I think, (there really needs to be a special font for sarcasm) D.C. in the most humid time of year. Can’t wait. Far be it from me to spoil anyone’s fun so we make the plans for August. Oh, and we couldn’t just go to one game, he wanted to go to all three. I told him he could go to all three but I would give him one and then find something else to do when he was at the game. The weather in D.C. in the days before we left was pretty mild and I was thinking maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. Wrong. Guess we brought the heat with us and when we got there they started to have record heat and what they call “oppressive humidity”. They are right, it’s oppressive. So we spent most of our trip wet, and not because it was raining. I can’t promise to never complain about the heat again, but I will say I am glad I live where there is practically no humidity. I wasn’t likin’ that so much. Anyway, a few things about D.C…..

The Clems in DC

I love how things are so close together. You can metro and walk to anywhere you want to go. It’s fabulous and one of the things that I wish we could do here. They have great restaurants. All the restaurants there have their menu’s posted outside so you can walk up and see what they have and figure out if you want to eat there. It’s great. Obviously, there is so much history there and I love all the old quaint buildings and I couldn’t help but think as we were walking in some of the older parts of town that these are some of the same streets that were walked on by the early patriots when they built the city. I’m corny like that.

Our first full day there we visited Sarah’s workplace and met her co-workers. Always nice to put faces to the names I hear her talk about everyday. We then set out to see Ford’s Theater but unfortunately their schedule did not match ours so we set out walking to our next destination, the Crime and Punishment Museum. I highly recommend this place. It’s privately owned so you have to pay to get in but it was well worth it. It takes you through the history of crime and punishment from the middle ages to the present day. There are special sections on forensics, serial killers, assassinations and many more. They also house the set of America’s Most Wanted which was one of the reasons I wanted to go there. When we were done there we hopped on the Metro and rode over to the National Archives. When you get off the Metro, you are right at the Navy Memorial which is right across the street from the Archives. That was a nice surprise and something we hadn’t planned on seeing. The Archives were awesome even if the wait was long. I got very emotional looking at the Declaration and the Constitution. Yes, there were a few tears. I just get emotional when I think about what those documents mean and what the brave men and women of that time had to go through to give us the life we live today. National Archives

After the Archives we headed back to the hotel where Dan, Steve and Beth got ready to go to the game. While the others were at the game Sarah and I stayed at the hotel and had a great little visit. We ate Chipotle, watched Dateline and talked. It was so reminiscent of our days together when she lived at home and I was really glad to have that time with her.

The next day we spent the morning visiting Sarah’s new house. Well, it’s not new, actually it’s quite old, but it’s new to her. She had just moved in the weekend before we got there. It’s a cute little house and I was glad I got to see where she lives. Later we met my cousin, Cheryl, at the hotel and set out for Chinatown. I have not seen Cheryl in so many years it’s embarrassing, but that’s what happens when you live on opposite sides of the country. We ate at a great restaurant in Chinatown called Clyde’s. Great food and a wonderful atmosphere. After dinner we set out for the ballpark to watch our D-Backs take on the Nationals. The weather was actually not too bad once the sun went down and we had a nice breeze. Cheryl and I missed most of the game because we were catching up. Actually didn’t matter that much as the D-Backs lost for the second day in a row. Oh well. A fun time was had by all and I think we need to not go so long next time before we see each other again.

So there you have the first two days of our vacation. Fun filled and busy. In the next installment I will tell you about monuments, memorials, ruby slippers and the coolest place (in my opinion) in D.C.

Irritation

2009-07-24T17:31:00.007-07:00

I'm going to say right off the top that this will be a sarcastic post. I tend to be sarcastic when I write about things that peeve me. This will be one of those posts.

I've been thinking about things that irritate me. It's actually my brother-in-law's fault. He wrote about being annoyed by things on a daily basis on his blog the other day. He said annoy but I prefer irritate. It's semantics, I know, but I'm weird about these things. Anyway, I told him I think it comes with age. The older I get, I find myself getting irritated more often. I do believe I'm on my way to becoming a crotchety old lady. I feel sorry for my husband. But he procrastinates, so I guess we're even.

I could give you a whole list of things that irritate me. But for now we'll concentrate on just one. It's on the top of my list and if you commit this particular sin it might get you a dirty look or a snarky comment depending on just how crotchety I happen to be that day.

I absolutely hate when people state the obvious. It drives me crazy. Now this particular irritation is not a new one. It just irritates me even more now that I'm not thinking about who has a report due tomorrow that they haven't even started or how I'm going to get three kids to three different places all at the same time. I notice that I get irritated more often now that I have time on my hands to actually think about what is going on around me. Here are some examples of stating the obvious. All these have happened to me.

1. Waiting patiently for the elevator to come and take me up. The up arrow is lit up in all it's glory. Someone walks up and pushes it again (it's not coming faster if you do that....) and actually turns around and says to me "Is this elevator going up?" Really!?! Are you sign illiterate? Honestly, do you not know which way the arrow is pointing? Oy!

2. I was invited to a function that I was unsure I would be able to attend. I ended up being able to go and when I arrived the host says to me, "So, you were able to come?" No, I'm a figment of your imagination and I'm actually at the movies right now.

3. This one is my ultimate favorite.....when my son played little league I had a picture of him in his uniform on a button. I wore it proudly on my uniform at work. One day I got on the elevator and this man says to me, "Is that your son?". I proudly say "yes!". To which he replies "Does he play baseball?" I reply, " No he plays soccer but his dad and I hate that game so we made him dress in a baseball uniform for these pictures." I don't think the guy was too happy with me, but really, if you ask a stupid question, sometimes you're going to get a stupid, and snarky, answer.

I have a theory about why this happens. I actually think people are trying to make conversation and just don't know how to go about it. With email and text message, and yes even blogs, we don't converse like we used to and I think it's a lost art. People don't know how to start a conversation so they say the first thing that pops into their head and sometimes it's, well, for lack of a better word, stupid. I just wish people would think before they speak. To borrow the words of Dennis Miller...."That's just my opinion, I could be wrong".

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt. Abraham Lincoln

My Job

2009-07-23T13:36:00.013-07:00

Several years ago I wrote a little something about the lessons I've learned while raising my kids. It's very nostalgic to read it now because I feel like that part of my life is over. At the ages my kids are now, the raising is all but done. If they haven't gotten it by now, then I think it's too late. All in all, I think Dan and I did a pretty good job. Our kids are happy, healthy and productive, so what more can you ask for? Grandkids, that's what. But none of them are ready for that, so I will have to wait. Here is what I wrote about my mom lessons with a few little updates added:

When people ask me what my job is, I always respond, "I'm a mom!" To which they reply, "Oh, you're so lucky, you get to stay at home with your kids." The answer to that is, no, I have a place I go to every weekday to earn my living, and some would call that my job. But in reality, the most important thing I do is raise kids. So that's my job. The other is just a place I go so my kids can eat, have health insurance and go to college.

I take my job very seriously. I want to raise responsible citizens of the world. I want my kids to have a conscience and a great work ethic, compassion and understanding of their fellow earthlings. Oh yeah, and it would be nice if they were happy, too. I love my job. It's interesting, challenging and my life long passion. I've been in this job for 24 years with no plans of retiring. I will however take the promotion to grandma when it comes along; although I’m sure that won't be for some time yet. I'm looking forward to it, as with most promotions the job is easier and has more perks. Anyway, I digress. I'm not a psychologist, psychoanalyst or psychotherapist (although, my children often tell me they think I am psycho!) I'm just a mom who has learned a lot in her on-the-job training. Here are some lessons I’ve learned:

Sarah-24 years old. Lessons learned from this child: no matter how old the child is you must always listen to what they have to say. Sometimes they are right. Sometimes your children are smarter than you are and while scary, you must deal with it and never let them know you know this. Pride is a good thing. Your child may have talents you never thought possible, so if they're interested in something, let them try. There is nothing like the relationship a mother has with her first born.

Stephen- 23 years old. Lessons learned from this child: feeling guilty is a normal mothering emotion. It does not, however, mean that you ARE guilty. Getting straight A's in school is not as important as being a happy, well-rounded child (or adult, for that matter). It's ok if your 8yr old really believes he can be Batman when he grows up. Constant cartoon watching will NOT turn your child into an ax murderer. There is nothing like the relationship that a mother has with her son.

Elizabeth- 20 years old. Lessons learned from this child: Whatever you tried with the first two children will not work with the third. Constant activity only makes the mother tired, not the child. If your child is a slob, you may just have to learn to live with it. Some things are not worth fighting over. Imagination is a wonderful thing. If your child makes you laugh every day, you are a very lucky person. There is nothing like the relationship that a mother has with her last born.

Here is my personal training manual for the most important job I've ever had:

1. Read to your kids everyday. Some of the best memories I have with my kids are the times when we read together. They may become life long readers, or not, but what they gain from it is immeasurable.
2. Some things are just not worth fighting over. Who is going to care 10 years from now if the bed is not made today? Learn to pick your battles.
3. Each child is an individual. Treat them as such. What worked with one may not work with all of them. Adjust your parenting accordingly. The kids might think you aren't being fair because everyone is not "treated the same". To bad, life is not fair, and it's better they learn it from you than from their first boss.
4. Do not "fix" things for your children. If you do, then you fail to teach them the essential problem solving skills they will need when they are adults. I've always told my kids that each experience they have is a life lesson and they need to use these life lessons now so as to make the transition to adulthood that much easier.
5. Do not be your child's friend. They have enough friends. They need you to be the parent. It doesn't mean that they can't come to you with their deepest darkest secrets (they won't, but you can hope). It means you're not there to provide them with a good time. You're there to provide them with the skills to get through life. You will have lots of good times along the way and lots of not so good times. That's the breaks of being a parent.
6. Make sure they know your love is unconditional. I have a little saying that I always use on my kids when they are feeling down or put upon or just not having a great day. "No matter what happens, your Mother always loves you." Most of the time they roll their eyes when they hear it because they've heard it so much, but I know it means a lot to them. They have even turned it around and used it on me. That is a great feeling.
7. Parents are not perfect. Sometimes we make a decision that our kids think is wrong. Listen to what they have to say about it. Sometimes they're right. Also, when we act too quickly or harshly, which we do, we need to say we're sorry. We don't accept that behavior from our children, why should they accept it from us? And when you've made a mistake, admit it. I've made a lot of apologies during my tenure as Mom. It's important for kids to know that everyone makes mistakes and that you're a big enough person to admit it.
8. Let your children have opinions. From what their favorite color is when they're two to how they feel about the death penalty when they're a teenager and everything in between. Listen and discuss. You may sway them to your side, or not. But you learn so much about your child when you listen to how they feel and what they think.

9. Make sure they know you value their education. Go to parent teacher conferences even if your kid has straight A's and the teacher says you don't need to. Volunteer at school if possible. Ask your kids what they are learning about.

And last but not least........

10. There are no rules. Sometimes you just have to wing it, use your common sense and hope you get it right.

A Tribute to Walter

2009-07-17T17:44:00.003-07:00

In my post from earlier today I mentioned Walter Cronkite. Tonight I hear he has passed away. It makes me sad. Almost like losing a member of the family. For every major event of my life, until he retired, Walter was there to explain it all. My earliest memory of him is sitting at my father's feet watching JFK's funeral on TV with Walter giving the commentary. I wasn't quite 5 years old but I remember it vividly. Of course, there was the moon walk which I mentioned in my previous post. He provided the commentary to so many of life's events. Presidential elections, the Iran hostage crisis, plane crashes, moon walks and every day mundane news. We trusted him to give us the information we needed and wanted. There was no one like him then or now. He was truly one of a kind.

Rest in peace.....your voice will be missed.

And that's the way it is. Walter Cronkite

Space....The Final Frontier

2009-07-17T12:29:00.010-07:00

As many of you have probably noticed I have a NASA Image of the Day on my side bar. I am fascinated by everything having to do with space. I marvel at the beautiful bodies made up of gases and debris. I am amazed at the complexity and simplicity of it all. I never tire of hearing about the space shuttle missions and it makes me sad that, today, we take it all for granted. To me it is nothing short of miraculous that we can actually explore space and come home safely.

I know the exact moment when this fascination began. It is one of those moments that is burned into my memory. I can smell the smells and feel the air and I can even hear my dad's voice. It is one of the most vivid memories I have.

I was ten years old that summer. I knew there were men in space but I really didn't pay that much attention to what was going on. Until that night. I can smell the popcorn popping and hear my dad calling my brother and I into the family room. I knew it was something special because with our popcorn we got to have a glass of ice cold Pepsi. Pepsi was reserved for special occasions only. I sat on the floor in front of our black and white console TV, watching Walter Cronkite. Another indication something big was about to happen. For those in my generation, nothing important happened in the world without Walter to tell you all about it. At first I was kind of antsy because there were just a bunch of scientists talking on and on and I was getting bored. But then the most amazing thing happened. There, coming into focus on the screen, were pictures from inside the lunar module, sitting on the surface of the moon. Pictures of Neil Armstrong descending the stairs to take that first historic step. In that moment I was hooked. It amazed and astounded me and I wanted to see more. I got the significance of what a huge step that was when I looked at my father's face. There was pride and a sense of awe. He made me realize that this was no ordinary day. This was the day that a man walked on the moon for the first time, and he was an American.

Still today, when I look to the sky and see the moon, I think of that night and I marvel at what was accomplished. I look forward to the day when we go back and what we will find then. I know that there are differing opinions as to whether or not we should spend money on the space program. I believe we should. For the detractors I offer this: Spend one day without your cell phone, computer, i-pod, GPS, digital or satellite TV, state of the art military protection and most of the appliances you have in your home. All of these things have been either invented or improved because of the space program.

Monday, July 20, 2009 is the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon and I am still amazed by it all.

I think we're going to the moon because it's in the nature of the human being to face challenges. It's by the nature of his deep inner soul... we're required to do these things just as salmon swim upstream. Neil Armstrong

The King of Procrastination

2009-07-11T14:03:00.005-07:00

I belong to a special little clan of people. We are Clan GerBear of Phoenix. We have a king. He is king of the land of procrastination. Named king because he has perfected the art of procrastinating. He is so good at it that sometimes, when he procrastinates, he can convince you that he's really busy doing something else. It's a talent unlike any I've seen before. You have to experience it to really appreciate it. Why am I telling you all this? Well, the king has attempted to start another project. We are on our second weekend, and no visible signs of real progress have been made. Let me give you a little backround:

The clan lives in a very nice castle, though the castle is old and in dire need of repairs. Many repairs have been waiting years to be completed. One day we will have a post about how 5 people have lived in a house together for the better part of 24 years and only had one working bathroom for more than half of those years.....but that's for another day. Today we are talking about our dining room. The castle is about 27 years old and it has the horrid '80's popcorn ceilings. The project of scraping the popcorn off the ceiling and retexturing it (not to mention painting the room) has been on the king's list for years. Through his art of procrastination he has used baseball, work, softball, work, yard work, softball......as excuses for not doing the project. I really do think he means well.....but the queen is over it. So, the king tells me to empty out the room because he is going to start the project that weekend. I don't do it because I just know something else is going to come up.....and it did. I waited a week and cleaned out the room for the long 4th of July holiday weekend. He promised he would start it then. He didn't. I don't even remember the excuse he used for that one. I tend to tune them out after all these years. Today, I get up, go to my Hallmark sale (which was awesome, by the way) come home and find him reading the paper. He asks me if I would like to go to breakfast. I never turn down a free meal, so off we go. While at breakfast he tells me he is going to start scraping the ceiling when we get home but first we are going to the local home improvement store to look at recessed lighting for the room. Ok, I'm fine with that. We actually end up going to two home improvement centers, buy nothing, and come home. The king promptly lays down on the bed where he is at this very moment taking a kingly nap. No scraping will get done today as he and the Prince will be taking in a royal baseball game this afternoon and they will be leaving in about an hour. Guess you have to rest up for all the energy it takes to sit in the air conditioned confines of Chase Field and root on the Diamondbacks. And to top it off, they are going again tomorrow, so there goes another weekend with no progress on the room. And meanwhile I sit here looking at an empty room with dirty walls and an ugly ceiling. Oh well......I guess there could be worse things. But right now.......I'm not in the mood to know what they are.

Christmas in July

2009-07-09T14:56:00.006-07:00

So, most of you who know me know my addiction to Christmas. And it's not even the presents that excite me. I love to decorate for Christmas. It's probably my favorite thing I do all year. First of all, I can't take all the blame for the over decorating as my husband is coming close to the equivalent of Clark Griswold. More lights every year, and most of them have to flash and a few of them play music. It's crazy. So what fun would it be if the outside was all decked out and the inside was just sparse. That would not be fun. So, yes, I go all out. There is not a flat surface in my house, horizontal or vertical, that does not get decorated in some way. It looks like Santa threw up in my house.

For the past several years I have had two trees. This year I will be adding two more. Which brings me to the real reason for this post. This weekend is the Hallmark Ornament Premier Weekend. I couldn't be more excited if it were my birthday or well, Christmas. I will be at my local Hallmark store bright and early on Saturday morning. Waiting impatiently for the doors to open so I can start stocking up on all those lovely little ornaments. I am a member of the Hallmark Ornament Club and there will be special deals and ornaments for club members only. Writing this I really do feel like a nerd, but I don't care. It's really my one vice, so don't spoil my fun. Actually I blame this addiction (and it is and addiction, I may need and intervention!) on my brother-in-law. Years ago, when my children were young he started an ornament series for each one of them. Then, when he decided he wasn't able to continue doing it, I picked up where he left off. When the series were done.....I didn't stop. I just kept starting more series and even starting ones for myself. So now I have so many ornaments that I need 4 trees to be able to display them all. I really think it is a sickness. I think I have Hallmarkitis.

One good thing, my children will have enough ornaments to decorate a tree whenever they have one of their own. I even made sure they had two Baby's First Christmas ornaments so they could have one and I could keep one. Every year when I take out the boxes and unwrap the ornaments (and yes, they are all still in their original boxes) I relive the memories of those years when the kids were little and Christmas still had some magic to it. So I guess this is my way of trying to keep the magic going. That, and I just love them! So there you have it....my dirty little secret...my addiction to Hallmark ornaments. I think I better check with my health insurance provider to see if they cover Hallmarkectomies, because I am certain that I will be needing one very soon......

Merry Christmas to Everyone!

Wicked!

2009-07-05T23:51:00.006-07:00

What can I say? Wicked was just, well, wicked! As for the question of whether or not it's as good the second time around....I can say a loud and resounding, YES!! At one point during the show I thought to myself, "I could just sit here and watch this over and over and over again." Yes, I am a nerd.

I guess the one draw back to seeing a Sunday afternoon matinee is that we had understudies for the three main characters. I don't think it took away from the performance in any way, but you could tell they were not the principle players. I cannot pin point why I am so obsessed with this play. It could be the music which is wonderful, the comedy which is brilliant or the story which is woven with so many life lessons. I'm sure it is the combination of all of these. I only know that I could listen to the soundtrack everyday and never get tired of it. I know this because I've done it on many occasions. I think I have almost worn out my CD and I'm surprised my car stereo plays anything else. So, right now, I'm on a Wicked high and I would go see it again tomorrow if I could. If you ever have the chance to see it, I highly recommend that you do. You will not regret it.

I took an extra day off work so no work for me tomorrow, Yay! I think I am going to spend some quality time in the book store and then search for a new purse. Two of my favorite things!

Well, I'm off to bed. I hope you all have a pleasant tomorrow....for all my wonderful friends out there, I leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the play.......

"Who can say if I've been changed for the better? I do believe I have been changed for the better. Because I knew you: I have been changed for good"

The neighbor, the holiday and the intertnet

2009-07-05T10:45:00.006-07:00

I've been trying to post for a couple of days and everytime I think I'm going to, something conspires against me.

We have been having trouble with our next door neighbor. Too complicated to go into here. Let's just say she is psycho and driving my whole family crazy. We have had visits from two city employees and the police in the last week, and it all started over a flipping trash can. I actually feel sorry for her that she has so little in her life that she has to make such a big deal over something so trivial. I suspect she is just someone who enjoys drama in her life and was lacking some so decided to use us to fill the void. Whatever.....anyway, at times I was just too angry to write. I tried but it all came out a little manic, so I quit. I'm over it now and so on to other things.

I hope every one had a great 4th of July. Mine was just what I wanted it to be.....a lot of nothing. Just relaxing and crocheting while watching a series on the history channel about the Revolution. It doesn't get much better than that for me. Sarah spent her 4th on the National Mall. Andrea had a friend visiting so they went early and took him around to see all the monuments. At one point she sent me a text about some tourists who were swimming and playing around in the water at the WWII monument. She was outraged and just couldn't get over how disrespectful people can be. In that moment she made me a very proud mother. It's little things like these when you realize that, just maybe, you did something right as a parent. Anyway, they spent the day at the Mall and finally settled in to watch fireworks near the Washington Monument. I have to admit, I am a little jealous, but I'm also very happy for her that she got to experience it. Here's a picture she sent me......pretty cool, huh?

Today Dan, Beth and I are going to see Wicked at Gammage. I'm so excited. We saw it three years ago when it was first here and I fell in love with it. I have memorized most of the songs from the soundtrack. I know, I'm a nerd. I'll let you know if it's as good the second time around.

I have been having trouble with my internet connection the last several days. I have a wireless router and for whatever reason it is really acting up. Seems to be working ok right now, so I hope it holds up until I get this posted. Hope everyone has a nice rest of the weekend. Hopefully I will be posting again soon......wish me luck!

Living With the Heat and Other Random Things

2009-06-30T13:47:00.004-07:00

First a rant and then something fun.......

The Heat

We were so cruelly lured into a false sense of bliss by the nice weather we had half way into June. But reality has set in and there is no denying it anymore........summer is officially here.

I don't think that anyone who has not lived in the desert can truly appreciate how awful it is to get into a car after it's been sitting on the roof of a 5 story parking garage for 9 hours when it's 110 degrees outside. You can put window shades up and crack the window and cover the steering wheel but, really, all of that is just to make you feel like your doing something about it. It does no good whatsoever. It's still like getting into an oven. Bleck!!! I hate the heat but, after living here all my life, I don't think I could live anywhere else. Not because I love it so much but just because I'm such a baby. As I stated before, I'm really not all that into earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, ice, snow or humidity. So I guess you pick your poison and mine is living inside an oven 4 months of the year. Oh well, it could be worse, at least that's what I always tell myself as I'm receiving those 3rd degree burns from the steering wheel of my car. And don't leave me any of those wonderful lines like "but it's a dry heat". When it's 118 in the shade, it doesn't really matter that it's a dry heat, you're just roasting.

5 weird or random things about you

If you want to play along just leave your list in the comments. If not, that's fine too, but I do look forward to learning more about you all ;-) Here's my list:

1. I can quiver my chin and cry at the drop of a hat.......used to come in handy when the Dan and I were dating, but now, after all these years, it doesn't faze him one bit

2. I have the weirdest dreams known to man.....just ask my kids they'll tell you. I once had a dream that I was in a city populated only by clowns. All the store clerks were clowns, the policemen were clowns, everyone was a clown.......scary huh? I dreamt I was with a football team going to a bowl game on the island of Fiji. Fiji? Where do I come up with these? And my latest: I was waiting in the wings to go on stage and sing with Jason Mraz at some celebrity event. If you've ever heard me sing you will know that this one was a nightmare! I must have one weird subconscious going on.

3. I can't eat jello or cottage cheese because of the way it feels in my mouth. Gag.

4. My finger and thumb joints are double jointed and I can do some pretty weird stuff with them. Not really relatable in this forum......but I guarantee, it's weird.

5. I am obsessive about how I do laundry and how the clothes are folded. It drives my kids nuts.

So there you have it. That's probably more than you wanted to know about me but like I said, it's my blog so you gotta play by my rules. Now get those lists going! Hopefully the next post will be more insightful but for now this is all I got.

Getting to know me.......

2009-06-26T15:35:00.009-07:00

I guess I should start this thing out with a little backround about me:

Where I live:
On the face of the sun, otherwise known as Phoenix, AZ. I'm a native of this great city which has been over run by people from the other 49 states. Some days we natives wish they would all go back to where they came from. It sure was easier getting around before the big boom. My city perfected urban sprawl.....we are sprawled everywhere and we have very substandard public transportation so 95% of the population drives a vehicle of some sort. We have lots of road rage, red light runners and photo radar. I only say this because I have a 30 minute commute each way everyday and I'm sure this subject will come up sometime in the future. It is the bane of my existence. I hate the heat here but I don't like earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, humidity or shoveling anything so I stay here because the alternatives are not enticing to me. All in all it's an ok place to live but if global warming is real, we here in desert land are in real trouble.

My family:
I have been married to Dan for 28 years. He's a wonderful man who is the King of Procrastination. I bet you didn't even know they had a king for this special little group of people but they do and he lives in my house. He really is a great guy and I love him more than life itself but we all have our little flaws and that is his. This subject will also come up in the future, you can be assured. His job is in construction but his main occupation is board member and coach for the local girls softball league. He is a great dad and has been a little league and softball coach for the last 18 years. He loves it and the kids love him. Actually, he is obsessed with coaching and this too will come up in the future.

Now, I thought for a while about revealing too much about my kids because people say you shouldn't do that on the 'net. But since they are all adults and have most of their lives splashed all over Facebook and MySpace and who knows what other social networking sites, I don't think the little info I give here will really matter in the grand scheme of things.

Sarah - 24 - organized, opinionated, musical, creative, first born miracle

Decided she didn't like living in the desert so last year she moved to Washington, D.C. She works in convention services for a major hotel there and loves the city.....I'm sure she won't be coming back to this side of the country anytime soon. It does not make her mother very happy but I do understand and I love that she is having a great adventure while she's still young. I'm very jealous that she's living in such an historic and exciting place, that has great public transportation. She is sarcastic, witty, shares my love of reading and is a great listener and friend. I should mention that she has a lovely roommate named Andrea who was her college roomy and they moved together on this big adventure. I only mention this because apparently Andrea is very touchy about not being mentioned when I write about the family......

Stephen - 23 - quiet, sweet, compassionate, thoughtful, second born miracle

Still lives at home, doesn't drive, loves everything to do with sports, video games and movies. He hasn't quite figured out yet what he wants to do in life, but I'm sure he will. We car pool to work together which is interesting in the fact that we barely talk to each other the whole way to and from work. As we detest each others taste in music, he plugs in his ipod and I listen to my radio station and unless there is a baseball game on, that's how we spend our rides. He is a great help to me around the house and I really do like having him around. He joined a softball league this year which is great for him and gets him out of the house. He is a sports fanatic and loves watching all of them on TV. He is the consummate fan.....he loves his teams whether they are playoff bound or cellar dwelling...he cares not.

Beth - 20 - sassy, energetic, funny, spiritual, last born miracle

Where to begin.....this is the child that I knew from birth would be the one that either brought me to the brink of mental illness or put me in line for sainthood. I still haven't figured out which it will be yet. Currently she is on hiatus from school but she works like a fiend so I can't complain. She is working as a food server but looking for other opportunities. She loves playing softball and does so whenever she can. Recently she has found a fondness for tattoos which makes her mother crazy but I try to understand it's a generational thing and she's an adult and all of that. Just like when they're young, you pick your battles and this is not one I'm willing to lose her over. Most of the time she is a joy to be around simply because she loves life and everything in it and wants to experience it all at once. I wish I had her energy. She has made me laugh everyday for 20 years.

And then there's me....I will tell you that I work in a major inner-city trauma center. I schedule surgeries and do statistics for the department. That in itself is ironic since I was the kid who always said I would never have a job that required me to do math. Thank goodness for calculators! And that is all I will be saying about my job. I hear HR people troll the 'net looking for people's networking sites, trying to get dirt on you and that people have actually gotten fired for writing about their workplace. Now, the way I look at it, writing a blog or networking on a social site is the 21st century version of a coffee clatch (if you don't know what that is....google it). No one would come into your home, listen to you gripe about your boss and fire you for it. But because you choose to vent on the 'net....somehow they have the right. It seems kind of unAmerican to me, but then a lot of things seem unAmerican to me these days.....and that's all I'll say about that too. I'll try to keep religion and politics off this blog but I can't promise that if something really chaps my hiney that I won't talk about it. I digress ( I do that a lot, by the way)...when I'm not working I enjoy spending time with my family and I do have a few hobbies. I love to read and crochet. I also watch way too much TV but I justify it by crocheting while I watch and tell myself I'm not wasting time. I love baseball and hockey which kind of makes me sound like I have a split personality but that's the way it is. Oh, and I enjoy writing....hence this blog. More about that later......(yes there's more). And I have a tendency to be long winded but I think you've figured that out by now.

Pets:
Currently we have one cat named Sassy. She is about 11 years old and her name says everything about her that you need to know. Over the last couple of years we have lost several pets. At one time we had two dogs and four cats. But unfortunately they get old and sick and leave us. Sassy was our youngest pet so you can see it was getting to be that time. I am sad about their passing and I miss them but I'm not ready to replace them and I may never be. I'm not really a "pet person". The pets were always there for the husband and the kids. Of course, you can't help but get attached when something lives with you for so long, but I have to say that I don't miss having lots of pets. Who knows, when all the kids are finally gone maybe I will want one....but I doubt it.

Why I decided to start a blog:
As I said before, I love to write. I've been searching for an outlet and I guess this is it. I mostly like writing about my family and my life. I also enjoy writing about things that make me go hmmm......so you may see a lot of that here. I really admire writers like Erma Bombeck and Dave Berry. People who make what happens in everyday life funny and interesting. I would never, ever compare myself to them but they are who I admire and look to for inspiration.

And finally......

My theory of an alternate universe:
Somewhere around November 2008 I'm convinced we began living in an alternate universe. One where things that you never thought would happen...have. I have a few things to prove my theory:

1. We elected an African-American president. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, far from it. I'm just saying.....I never thought it would happen.

2. The Hyundai Genesis won 2009 car of the year......Hyundai?!?

3. Winter lasted far into spring in most places, despite global warming......

4. And finally, the number one reason I'm convinced we are living in an alternate universe: The Arizona Cardinals went to the Super Bowl and came within an inch of winning......

I think I've proved my point.......