The Paper Treehouse

Shameless Self Promotion...

2011-03-14T21:53:00.005-05:00

C'mon, you know you've been dying to see some pictures of the shop... You can admit it.

I give you photos of First Friday - March 2011 at 'The Palette & The Page':

Hooray, a customer walks in:
Our sandwich board helps people find us because we're still lacking the funds for decent signage... But isn't is cute!

On this First Friday we featured a local winery by hosting a wine tasting. That's wine, in a box, I personally don't like wine but I'm told by the connoisseurs, Terrapin Winery makes a damn fine wine:
Guests mingle in the front area of the shop:
It really looks a lot better in real life, but yours truly creates the window displays:
Guests and Artists mingle in our Main Gallery room. On this night we were featuring the works of Painter Edwin Friend and Wood Turner Jim Dalton.

Unfortunately, I got busy before I was able to take pictures of our musicians, Joe Paulus on Guitar and Mike Wolfe on Violin.

Are we a class act or what?
Want to learn more? C'mon, you know you want to... Visit our website!

I am Ringo

2011-03-14T19:45:00.004-05:00

When it comes to music groups the greatest of all time has to be 'The Beatles'*

January 4th, I started a business with 5 other women. We're all in this together, each bringing our strengths in order to build a phenomenal business. But I really gotta be honest here and say two of these women, Lynn & Patti are the real rock stars. In fact, Lynn & Patti are the John Lennon & Paul McCartney of the business.

Instead of rhyming lyrics, Lynn performs bookkeeping magic, handling ALL of the sales figures, making sure the artists get paid, the bills get paid and working desperately hard to keep us flush, or something close to it.

For all the work Lynn does with the money, Patti works an equal amount of magic by managing not only all of our printed business materials and our website and mail lists but also works as a liaison for all of our artists and potential artists.

As for me, I'm Ringo. I struggle to keep the beat.
And every once in a while I compose something like this:

And like my blog posts... Here's something COMPLETELY random...
Paul McCartney makes Mashed Potatoes:

*I'm not going to even entertain an argument on this topic because it's fact, an absolute fact!

Chicken Rolls Recipe (For Carrie)

2011-02-25T22:43:00.003-05:00

From the Valentine Post, I give you...

Chicken Rolls (Prepare to dirty EVERY dish in your kitchen!)
1 4 count pkg. of boneless chicken breasts
1 container of whipped cream cheese w/ chives
2 pkgs. of crescent rolls
1 stick of melted butter/margarine
5 slices of bread (crumble in food processor)
1 can of cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup
1 c. milk

Boil chicken breasts until cooked through. Crumble bread in food processor. Cool chicken and finely chop in food processor. Salt and pepper chicken to taste and add cream cheese until well blended (I usually do this with a fork.) Melt margarine in a shallow dish in microwave. Separate crescent rolls and drop heaping tablespoons into the center of each. Fold crescents and seal around chicken mixture. Roll chicken roll in melted butter and then bread crumbs. Bake at 375 on sheet pan until golden brown (about 25-30 min.)

While the rolls bake, add soup to a small pan. Slowly stir in milk and heat through, making a thick gravy. Serve over chicken rolls.

And now you've dirtied every pot, pan and dish you own. However, if your kids don't mind helping in the kitchen and getting their hands messy they can help roll the rolls in the butter and bread crumbs. Unfortunately for me, my kids STILL get the willies over getting their hands dirty. So for me, chicken rolls have always been a solitary project.

Reach out and touch someone...

2011-02-25T21:40:00.003-05:00

Today while I was grocery shopping, my cell phone rang. It was my little sister in California calling on her way to work. She does this every so often, just to chat and it's such a wonderful thing.

You see, Lil' Sis and I went for 15 yrs. without talking to one another. If you asked us why we would go so long without communication, I doubt either of us would have an adequate answer for that question. So I guess you could say it's beside the point. The real triumph is, we now relish phone conversations about everything from our family, our jobs and everything from home decorating to topics as mundane as what we cooked for dinner the other night. As Martha Stewart would say, "It's a Good thing!"

As I was driving home from the grocery store, I began to marvel at this technology which provides me the opportunity to stay in close contact with my sisters far away in California. For the price of my monthly cell phone bill, I can talk to them whenever and for as long as I wish. I remembered when this wasn't always the case, that the cost of a phone call could impact your phone bill to the point it could make a serious dent in your checkbook. So a lot of times connections, important connections, we're never made.

When I was 10 yrs. old my mother moved to Chicago with my Step-Dad and Step-Sisters. I moved back in with my dad, step-mother and little brother and sister. Over the course of the 6 yrs. my mother lived back East, I saw her twice. Once when I went to visit for the summer and once when she came out to California and took me shopping and out to dinner. Communication during those 6 yrs. was severely limited. She wrote letters every one in a while and I wrote even less. She would call me on my birthday and maybe Christmas, but I can't really remember. Milestones which were important to a young girl going through Jr. High and High School went by without regard. I'm not complaining, just explaining... It just 'Is, what it Is.' Or, in this case, 'Was, what it was.'

So here's what got me wondering... How different might life have been if I'd grown up in the era of cell phones? I wonder if the accessibility would have made us closer. My relationship with my mother has always been strained and it may be in part to our lack of communication over the years. On the other hand, I'm curious if to know if teens today, faced with a similar situation, might find the convenience of a cell-phone relationship with a far-away parent less of a connection and more of an intrusion... Not that it makes a difference but it just got me pondering.

Valentine

2011-02-15T18:33:00.003-05:00

Note: I hate calling it V-day because it sounds like a disease.

So yesterday was Valentine's Day and I thought to myself, "Here I sit just perusing Facebook and bopping around on the web, why not post something on the long forgotten blog?" So here I am.... Posting, that is.

Valentine's day for our family is mostly understated. There's never a BIG romantic dinner out, sometimes roses but not always, usually a card from that guy I sleep with every night and Chicken Rolls.

Chicken Rolls? Yes, Chicken Rolls, the most time consuming, dirty dish inducing, recipe in my repertoire, which of course makes it the family favorite. So, I show my undying affection for those I love each and every Valentine's Day by slaving away in the kitchen. I should add it's also the one day out of the entire year in which I set the table with crystal, china and linens. 'Cause it's nice to be classy at least one day out of the year.

Now I wouldn't say my family has come to expect their favorite meal and all it's fanciness and you know why? Because every single year I manage to convince them it's just not happening because I have any number of other things on my plate (on my plate! see how I did that?) And every year they look at me with a mild expression which scarcely manages to hide their disappointment and say, "That's okay Mom, I (we) understand." It's always a joy to witness the fist pumps when they realize I've come through, despite the scheduling conflicts.

But you know something... This whole fancy dinner thing is getting SO much harder to pull off now that we're each running in a different direction. With a soon to be 18 and 21 yr. old in the house and me with an ever changing schedule at the shop, it's a wonder I can manage a 'Family Dinner' at least one day out of the week, which has always been a huge priority until recently.

I have to say that last night lacked the luster our Valentine's Dinners normally hold as 'Computer Boy' had to work until 9:00. So there were only the three of us and a wrapped up plate in the fridge, which tends to lose a little bit of it's flavor when it's reheated in the microwave and the only one at the table at 9:30pm is your mom watching you eat. Kudos to the boy for not complaining.

Maybe next year when he's away at college we'll go out for one of those fancy restaurant meals and I can forgo the Chicken Roll kitchen massacre. Oh wait, that's right, we won't have any money for things like that when he's in college... Hellloooooo, Chicken Rolls.

Dusting off the cobwebs

2011-02-09T22:53:00.004-05:00

Well hellloooo there! *crickets chirping*

I know, it's been like a zillion years since I last posted but hey, it's not like I was going for some sort of bloggers medal or anything, it's just that there's this thing called 'TIME' which seems to be a rather hot commodity in this household these days... 'Cause I mean to tell ya, there's all kinds of crazy *&%# that's gone done since I last posted.

Let's see, where to start..... For one, I became a business owner, that's right, ME! Can you EVEN believe it? Because I sure can't! To be completely honest I must tell you I'm not the sole owner of the business. In fact, I'm in business with 5 of the most beautiful, amazingly bright and talented women on the planet! (yes, I know there are more of you but hey, your not my business partners so you'll just have to deal with second best.)

So here's the story... On January 3rd we went down to Baltimore and filed for a LLC under the new name of that artists co-op I once told you about. And yes, believe it or not, it's still afloat!... Who knew? So yes, I'm pleased to announce:

The Palette & The Page, LLC

You can check out our snazzy website and read all about it here: The Palette & The Page
We're also on Facebook!

The Long and Winding Road, indeed Mr. McCartney! The trip that I've been on with this endeavor since Nov. 2009, has been anything but smooth but now it feels as though everything is beginning to fall into place, mostly due to those AMAZING women I mentioned earlier.

In other news, since the last time I blogged, 'Computer Boy' became gainfully employed by that big red & white office supply company so many of us know and love. 'Computer Boy' is, of course, a 'Tech Support' and let's just say he provides the 'EASY' for the customers. Things seem to be going well with the job and all but after only a few weeks there he came home and announced he had NO plans of working for 'the big red office supply store his whole life'... He was DEFINITELY going to college!

Which leads me to my next bit of news... It's a bit premature because there's still some hoops which need to be jumped through but 'Computer Boy' is hoping to get accepted to a school on the other side of the earth... Uh, I mean country! It just SEEMS like it's on the other side of the earth. 'Computer Boy' is in LOVE with a school in Redmond, Washington which he and I went to visit back in November... And I have to tell you, with all of his computing experience, I can't think of a better school for him. In fact, it's highly doubtful there's any place on the planet he'd be happier. So he's gotten the SAT's under his belt and now he's working with a tutor on Pre-Calc in order to prep for the CLEP test he'll need to take before too long. Oh, and there's also the matter of a couple of essays he needs to write... But I'm not supposed to mention that because I'm like his mom, ya know, and I'm not supposed to be telling him what to do and when to do it, ya know... Because he's like, old enough to make these decisions on his own... But if it were me, and I desperately wanted to get into the school of my dreams... I'd TOTALLY have those essays in by now.... I'm just sayin'.

'Nature Girl' continues to rock the photography world. Her Smug Mug website continues to grow and the big news is she'll be featured for the month of June and the Syracuse Library in Syracuse, New York. If your interested, here's the link to her Smug Mug site and if you like her work and have some time, Please leave her a comment... Things like that make her head swell to biblical proportions and contribute to her drive to be the BEST!

Oh, and I guess I should mention my husband... He's working REALLY hard because after all, we've got the cost of a college education looming ahead.

So there you have it! WHAT?... That wasn't enough for you?.... Sheesh!

Rush Hour!

2010-11-26T10:57:00.003-05:00

There wasn't much to do on Friday after we attended the Admissions Interview and checked out apartments for THE SCHOOL. So I looked to Computer Boy and he said, "I know, let's go to Krispy Kreme!" (Seriously, the boy is a Krispy Kreme addict, especially since they closed the chain in our part of the country.)

I thought sure, why not, don't have anything else to do but sit in out hotel room. So Computer Boy plugged in the coordinates to our GPS and away we.... SAT... In traffic... Bumper to Bumper... On our way to DOWNTOWN SEATTLE AT 5:00 in the evening! But that's cool, it's not like we had anyplace we had to be. It's just that trying to navigate rush hour traffic with a GPS that tells you to stay right and at the next block informs you to turn left, which in fact is 3 lanes over... Well, let's just say it can be a bit daunting.

And just to add insult to injury, as we got closer to our destination, the GPS would update us by saying, ".5 miles to Krispy Kreme Doe-NOTS on left."

My reply, "Listen bitch, DON'T judge!"

That Trip...

2010-11-25T21:50:00.003-05:00

So you know that trip Computer Boy and I took to Redmond, Washington?

It was FRIGGIN' AWESOME!!!

But I'm not going to say any more about that until he meets his prerequisites and gets accepted. He didn't even want me to buy him a school t-shirt for fear it might jinx it.

But here's my favorite line from the weekend:

Setting - Open House weekend, after listening to a school adviser talk to a room of roughly 80 people at which time I raised my hand and asked a few questions.

Me: I hope I didn't embarrass you at all by asking questions.

Computer Boy: No, not really.

Me: That's good because I really wouldn't want to embarrass you.

Computer Boy: Thanks, I know it's hard for you.

Funny But Oh SO True...

2010-11-10T22:57:00.002-05:00

Late at night 'Computer Boy' scours the inner-nets for stuff to amuse me.

The link is pure comedic gold, mostly because there's great humor in simple truth.

Enjoy!
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/printers

Crazy Heart

2010-11-08T20:18:00.003-05:00

'Computer Boy'.... My first born.... My 'Boy'.... is preparing to apply to a school.

A school on the other side of the WORLD!!! Okay, maybe I exaggerate a bit but we live in Maryland and his choice?.... DigiPen in Redmond, Washington.

(Enter Chandler impression here) I mean, CAN he GET any further from home?

Regardless, next week he and I will be flying to Seattle to check out the school, attend the Open House and get a 'feel' for the area, housing situation and all the pieces of the puzzle we'll need to discover and figure how to fit together, for living life thousands of miles from home.

It sounds a lot like I'm thinking in the 'When' instead of the 'If' but that's because 'Computer Boy' has spent the last several months researching schools and he's determined to do whatever it takes to get accepted to THIS school.

What does this mean for me, the Mom? My heart is all over the place... Thrilled beyond belief for the possibilities the future holds for my 'boy'... Nervous! I mean, what if he blows a hole in his other lung 2800 miles from home? But the one thing that keeps spinning around in my brain, the one thing that both thrills me and terrifies me is the fact that following the 4 yrs. of rigorous education in RTIS (Real Time Interactive Simulation), he'll be snapped up for employment, the same 2800 miles from home, because Seattle is 'home' to the computer gaming industry.... I see frequent flier miles in our future.

Smells Like BBQ!

2010-09-27T13:58:00.002-05:00

Big day today folks!

I got my braces off... But like most things in my life, it's rather anti-climatic. You see, I imagine things in my head to be so much more wonderful then they actually turn out to be... Bummer right?

So yeah, the whole removing of the braces was rather uncomfortable... It's kind of like having each tooth put in a vice in order to pry off the tiny adhered bracket... The technician clamps it, then pulls And then SNAP! Your tooth vibrates for a while with the force. After the removal of the brackets a Dremmel like object is used to sand off the excess bracket glue. I've never had the pleasure of a root canal but at times, it kinda feels like their sanding the root of your tooth off... Hmmm, fun!

Oh, and somewhere in the midst of the removal, a permanent wire was placed behind my bottom teeth... An interesting fete of engineering which involved floss to hold it in place and an extra pair of hands. And now I feel like I've got this big bulky sand papery thing in the bottom of my mouth that my tongue just can't seem to leave alone. *damn tongue*

So I saw my teeth briefly before 'IT' happened...

You see, I have (not very surprisingly) THICK GUMS!!! And why not, I mean everything else about me is THICK! So my orthodontist recommended I have some of my gum tissue removed, for cosmetic purposes. And because I AM that vane, I said, "Go for it!" Because I mean, why go through a year and a half of orthodontia only to have people notice your gums instead of your teeth?

So after my braces came off I had 'Laser Gum Surgery'... This procedure involves having your gums painted with a numbing gel and then having them shaved back with a laser. It's like Star Wars meets......... Well, if I could think of a famous dentist I would... But I can't. Anywho, while the laser is burning away the gum tissue, there's a smell that begins to fill your nostrils and I can only describe it as BBQ... But it's BBQ without the seasonings and sauce and the funkiest kind of meat you can imagine. Trouble is, now (3 hours later) I just can't seem to get that smell out of my sinuses and no matter what I eat or how many times I brush my teeth, my mouth still tastes like death.*

As for appearance... I won't even show my husband what my newly unclad orthodontia looks like because my gums are so hideously grotesque! Imagine if you will, allowing your dental hygienist clean your teeth with a X-acto knife instead of that metal pick she normally uses. The doctor says it should clear up in a few days, so until then, I'm the sullen looking gal over there in the corner.

*I tell you all these things dear Internet, because I couldn't find ANY description of the procedure ANYWHERE when I went looking for it. So if YOU happened upon this blog because you were searching 'Laser Gum Surgery' for more information... There you go and You're Welcome!

The Boomerang Story

2010-09-22T21:10:00.004-05:00

So we were at the beach last week and the resident teens allowed me to sit in on their pow-wow... They were playing the 'psychic' game (trying to guess what playing card the other person was holding from the deck of 52, yeah... it was rainy, they were bored!) Anyway, Chloe guessed the card on the first try, quite by accident I might add. So that's when I told her, "Pack up your briefcase and go home!" Not literally of course, because that would be mean but she looked at me quizzically and said, "Huh?"

So I told her the boomerang story, which I'll share with you now... And who knows, maybe YOU'LL have a brand new euphemism!

True Story:
My husband and my father-in-law used to design and build their own boomerangs. And on a side note, their picture once hung in the Smithsonian Museum of Air & Space in Washington D.C.... Really! I kid you not... Of course the picture had like a hundred other people in it because it was taken at a boomerang throwing competition on the Mall in D.C. (I know we're such geeks, keep it to yourself though.)

Anywho, they (husband and his dad) got really good at throwing boomerangs. By good I mean, they could throw them out a good long distance and they would come back relatively near to where they were standing when they threw them. Hey, it's not as easy as you might think.

Well, my father-in-law would tell his co-workers about the boomerangs he was creating and they kept hounding him to bring one in to work sometime and give them a demonstration. So one day 'Dad' showed up with a boomerang in his briefcase. At the end of the business day he led a group of men out to the large field alongside the building where they worked. You can just imagine the men eager with anticipation to see this handmade item, hewed out of Lexan, in Ol' Jerry's basement, actually take flight. So Dad set his briefcase on the grass, carefully lifted the lid and withdrew his mighty handmade boomerang. Without saying a word he drew back his arm and flung the boomerang into the air with all he had. The boomerang whizzed through the air in a high arc, spinning in circles as it made its way around the field. And then, something magical happened... The boomerang came back to the spot where Dad's briefcase lay open on the grass. It hung in the air spinning for a brief moment and then dropped squarely into the briefcase, the centrifugal force left within it, just strong enough to bring the lid of the briefcase down on top of it.

Dad's co-workers were agog! They'd never seen anything like it and Dad, knowing they'd never see anything like it EVER again, because even HE didn't believe it... Without a word, closed up his briefcase and went home.

The Teens loved hearing this tale and I think the retelling of it even made me cool among them for a while.

So the other night my son and I were watching a movie together. In the movie, one of the characters carries in a box of 'Krispy Kreme' donuts. Now there are few things in life my son loves more than Krispy Kreme... His computer maybe, but that's about it. But I digress... Anyway, he turns to me with drool dripping off his lower lip and says, "Oh man how I wish I had some Krispy Kreme donuts right now." Unbeknownst to him, I had purchased some KKD's the day before for an event at the shop. And yes, there were a few left over which I had brought home. So I looked at him and said, "They're over there on the counter." Just the fact that there were donuts on the counter at all was a minor miracle but the fact that they were Krispy Kreme's was in fact equivalent to the parting of the red sea because I just don't buy KKD's on any kind of a regular basis.

So my son sees the box... Looks at me with a smile bigger than the whole outdoors and says, "No Way!!!... Pack up your briefcase and go home!"

The Fear of a Failing Memory

2010-08-24T21:38:00.003-05:00

The other day I made up a grocery list.
At the very top of the list I wrote 'Paper Towels.'
I went to the grocery store WITHOUT a pen to scratch off the items I had listed as I put them in the cart.
By the time I'd reached the paper goods aisle, I'd completely forgotten what I needed and didn't look at the top of my list.
While walking down the paper aisle, a nagging feeling pulled at the back of my brain. Something was telling me I needed an item from this aisle... But what could it be?
Ultimately I picked up parchment paper, which I had used up about a month ago but very seldom need.

Parchment paper is NOT an adequate substitute for paper towels.

I fear my family will be putting me in 'The Home' in the not too distant future.

The Little Engine That..... ???

2010-08-07T13:18:00.002-05:00

It's been a loonnngggg time since I've mentioned 'The Shop.'

'The Shop' being that little artists co-op which came together on a wing and a prayer last November. "You mean that place is still up and running?" you ask. Hell Yeah!... Well, in a manner of speaking.

"In a manner of speaking?" you say. Well, let's just say it's been a long, hard road. At times, one might consider 'The Shop' wildly successful. I mean, what other business comes together in just 2 weeks time, manages to stay afloat without the use of credit card capabilities or even a phone line. What other business manages to draw people in even though the roof leaks and there's an odor along the line of old shoes wafting through the air. (by the way, it's August now and sure, maybe it's due to the lack of rain, but I think the leaks and odor problem are under control.)

So yeah, leaky roof and Master Card/Visa issues aside, we're still managing to plod along and my husband will tell you that this experience has been huge a character builder for me.

It's probably no secret that artists are unique people with their own distinct ideas about 'What IS and ISN'T Art.' And when ideas and visions collide, things tend to get rather complicated. So yes, as Manager/Facilitator/Grand PooBah (whatever title you want to give it) of this endeavor, dealing with complications has been a monthly, weekly, daily, sometimes hourly event... And why do I continue to do it? Well, despite the fact I often feel like a fly caught in a web or maybe more aptly, the captain of the Titanic*... I DO have a reason, a goal if you will, to make this work.

*Just an aside here but were any of you aware they're coming out with a Titanic II? No joke, actually yes, it is a lot like a joke that apparently the producers of the film are the only ones oblivious to... See the preview here and try not to laugh.

This is where I could go into my 'I have a dream' speech but I'll just whittle it down to one sentence. I'd like to replace EVERY, okay at least HALF of the bail bonds offices with Artist Studios... Well now, seeing that staring back at me, in black and white... It even LOOKS stupid! But the truth is, our town needs something positive to build on and if the powers that be, all work together, I believe that positive 'thing' is ART.

Last night we had a First Friday event which included 2 visiting artists, live music and fresh fruit and vegetables donated by a local grower, for refreshments. We greeted 40 people or so, who seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves but alas, sales were low. You see, that's are one problem, despite the fact we have beautiful one of a kind pieces of art, jewelry, purses, skin care products and low priced gently used books, we're just not making the sales we need to stay viable (ECONOMY). This is such a tragedy since our goals are so lofty. In fact, here's our vision and mission statement:

Vision:

The arts are a vital component of any community. They foster pride, spur growth and contribute to the happiness and well being of the people who live there. In order to promote the arts in _________, we will establish commercially viable venues for artists and artisans to create, showcase, and sell their work to others. In addition, these venues will allow artists from this and other communities to meet and get to know one another, and to share their knowledge and their talents with others in our community.

Mission Statement:

To establish a commercially viable venue in __________ for local artists and artisans to assemble.
To provide artists with the opportunity to create, to showcase, and to sell their work.
To foster a co-operative environment for the purpose of attracting business and sharing the artists talents with others.
To advance the arts district in __________, and give back to the community with special events and other promotions.

It's funny, I read through this again and the unity I felt last night came to mind. Customers were stopping in before or after they explored the art show opening at the nearby Arts Council, friends and acquaintances mingling, viewing and discussing the artwork and enjoying the delicious bounty of fresh organic fruits and vegetables by the local grower. Later in the evening my daughter and I took part in a collaborative art project at the studio of some fellow downtown artists. My daughter and myself were thrilled to find such a friendly and talented clutch of people with whom we could take part in creating art. It's all a part of what I've been hoping we'd achieve downtown but without the sales, our little shop isn't going to last... And I don't know, maybe it doesn't matter, maybe we got the ball rolling.

But, do me a favor if you will? Keep your fingers crossed that this little engine is going to see a successful Fall season.... And with the continued effort by all the artists involved... which entails copious amounts of Inspiration and Perspiration, we'll eventually make it wildly successful in ALL aspects!

Overcoming Narcissism

2010-08-02T15:56:00.003-05:00

While out in California I had the opportunity to spend time with my dad's wife. "D" is a very nice lady who I had the opportunity to host at my home some 15 yrs. or so ago. However, 15 yrs. is a long time to have gone without one on one time with someone and sometimes it's just not that easy to fall into the simple give and take conversation with someone whom you're not very familiar. Heap on top of that, meeting your sister for the first time in 18 yrs. and having your family along for the ride and well, there's just a lot of personal stress involved.

So yesterday, I received a call from "D" asking if I was mad at her or if I'd heard something about her that made me change my opinion of her..........

WHAT?

Okay, so this is where it gets weird and because you, dear internet, have only the most minimal of grasps as to just how insane my extended family is, this post will probably only make sense to just me.

A few days following the somewhat awkward visit at the home of my little sister, "D' called my other sister 'Deb' (who she's NEVER met) in order to ask her if for some reason I was angry with her, "D". I was out shopping with my daughter at the time the phone call was received but my husband was there and realized the sort of questions my sister 'Deb' was fielding and asked to speak with "D", because he's just awesome like that. Following roughly an hour long conversation "D's" feelings were soothed and she seemed to understand that I held no animosity towards her.

A week and half later we settled in back home and I decided to send cards to the family to thank them for their hospitality. I sent one to my dad and "D", once again assuring "D" that all was right with our world and if anything I was distracted by the overwhelming emotion of it all.... Meeting my little sister, meeting my little sisters family, my family meeting her family, seeing my dad, viewing old family photos, memories good & bad... Needless to say, I was caught up in my own head and I guess, I wasn't very good at making conversation.... which I guess, can be misconstrued as "Alright, I'll sit with you but I'm not going to like it.".... I guess?

So yeah, yesterday "D" called me and once AGAIN asked if I was angry with her... Had I heard something about her?... Did I not like her anymore? An hour and a half later and I think I've FINALLY convinced her, after several apologies, that she did nothing wrong and I am to blame for the lack of communication. "D" told me she wanted to hug me as we sat there together, in my little sisters house, sort of staring out into space, at a loss for words or meaningful conversation. And now, all I can think about is how much I wish she had. I really needed a hug right then, even though I didn't know it at the time, I was just too disconnected with thoughts and memories.

It's so sad really, the chance to bond with a special person, a golden opportunity missed. All because of my narcissistic tendency to dwell in my head and not in the moment... And "D's" narcissism over whether or not she was liked.

I must take note and learn because it was such a waste of precious time and opportunity.

Remember When?

2010-07-26T20:52:00.007-05:00

I remember when my kids were little and all my friends were so jealous because my little ones were such great sleepers.

Now my kids are grown... and the sleeping thing? Well it's just not cute anymore and I doubt my friends consider me the lucky one.

Hey, it's 1:00 in the afternoon, do you know where my kids are?
Still sleeping.... Grrrrrr!

Adventures in Orthodontia

2010-07-25T07:31:00.007-05:00

Nearly 17 months ago I made the decision to get my teeth straightened.

Yes, that means I'm a woman in her mid-forties who appears to be either going through puberty or desperately trying to cling onto any form of youth she can grasp. And you know, it wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't waited to go through with this until now. I mean, for whatever reason, I seem to be in one of the most high profile positions I've ever been in. Not that this means I have any form of power mind you, it just means I'm meeting people all over the region (with braces... myself, not the people I'm meeting), been featured in my local newspaper a few times (with braces) AND took part in a television interview for a Baltimore morning news show (with braces!) Whew! It's a good thing I don't spend a lot of time or money focusing on my looks... Oh wait, I have braces.

Anywho, there was a point in this orthodontic process which thrilled me to no end. I'd always had a gap in my two front teeth and when that gap closed and I could run my tongue along the inside, of my smooth, even teeth of my upper palette... Well, it all seemed worth it.
However, in May my 'pal' the orthodontist put a new wire in with big ugly posts attached and then added this thing they call a 'Chain'
Well, the orthodontist calls it a 'Chain'... I call it a 'Cargo Net' because believe me, there is nothing more effective for catching every size food particle imaginable and trapping it in such a way that even a sandblaster couldn't remove it, let alone a toothbrush.

Anyway, I can take the new goal posts framing either side of my top teeth and I can take the cargo net... The pain involved with these new apparatus only lasts a day or two. BUT! What I couldn't fathom was the fact that once these items were applied, my once uniform teeth, the ones that got all straight... the ones I could run my tongue behind and feel smoothness... STARTED TO SHIFT!!!
"Wait just a gosh darn minute Dr. Ortho!" I said after I made an emergency appointment to point out my teeth were getting crooked again. "Oh don't worry about it." he said, with the nonchalance of someone who obviously wasn't toting around Grandpa's tool box worth of metal in his mouth... "It happens and then we just install a corrective wire later."

"A corrective wire later?" Oh okay then, yeah sure... Whatever!
So now, one of my two front teeth has shifted to the point that I'm starting to resemble 'Nanny Mcphee'
and I'm supposed to remain happy with my decision to go through with this whole blasted braces thing. BUT, I'm not allowed to complain to my family about it because pay back is hell when you don't show enough sympathy for your kids during their years of orthodontic bliss.

BUT NOW!!! Now it's WAR!!! Because last week, at my regular appointment, I pointed out my obvious disgust with the 'Goal Posts'... the 'Cargo Net'... And what appears to be my future as Emma Thompson's stunt double. And guess what my orthodontist did to appease me? He said, "Today you get a present!"... "A present!!!" I said, with all the excitement of a kid on Christmas morning. "Yes, a present!" he said. Shortly thereafter his assistant came over with 2 packages of teeny-tiny rubber bands. And now I'm rockin' this whole look. After I finished making my next appointment at the front desk I wandered to the back and informed my orthodontist that the next time he had a 'Present' for me, I'd really like it in the form of a gift card.

And he's driving?

2010-07-20T20:18:00.002-05:00

Today Computer Boy made plans to take a friend to the movies... But I had to work at the shop. So, a momentous occasion took place... My boy drove ME to MY destination, dropped me off (actually dropped US off, Nature Girl has been joining me at the shop), and drove away... by himself... alone... on his own... at the helm... Of MY van *sniff*

The tears? They're not so much the milestone my son has reached... They're really about my inner control freak screaming at the loss of... well, CONTROL!

Late in the afternoon my boy called my cell and the conversation went something like this:

Me: "Hey!"

Son: "Hey!"

Me: "So, how was the movie?"

Son: "Great! So, where are you?"

Me: "Ummmmm, you have the car SOoooooooo, I'm.... right.... where.... you.... left.... me. "

You know, it's really difficult to WRITE sarcasm but that's how I roll... So it's no wonder I have it dished up in heaping bowls full by my own children.

High - 'Anything Can Happen Day'... How could I have forgotten the Peacocks?

2010-07-19T19:59:00.004-05:00

Seriously, how could I forget 'Peacock Day?'...
Whenever we vacation we have a family tradition... It's called 'Anything Can Happen Day'... The rules are:

Get in the car and drive.
See what happens.

Yep, that's about it and its never failed us yet.

We actually had 2 'Anything Can Happen Days' on this trip. The first was a drive DOWN the coast. That was the day we discovered Crystal Cove State Park. The second was a drive UP the coast (not to be confused with our LONG drive up the coast to Carmel/Monterey.)

Sarah and I wanted to show the boys some of the sights we happened upon during our drive along the coast last year. Unfortunately, I forgot that we didn't stay on PCH (Pacific Coast Hwy.) that entire trip... At one point we branched off to Beach Blvd. which ran along the ocean and we took in some incredible sights in Long Beach. However, miss Beach Blvd. and PCH takes you into some neighborhoods where the term 'incredible' has a whole different meaning. Needless to say, the guys were NOT impressed.

Eventually I acquiesced and 'allowed' the GPS to point the way to Palos Verdes. We were getting hungry so my husband broke the other rule and that way to allow the GPS to point us to a restaurant. I forgave him because the restaurant was in a quaint little mall and I'm always up for shopping at quaint little malls. The bonus was the restaurant looked over an ice skating rink where we watched adorable little girls practice their spins and jumps (little jumps, but hey, even Kristi Yamaguchi had to start somewhere.)

Anywho, following lunch we got back on track with 'Anything Can Happen Day' when I forked over $2 to step into a machine that simulated a hurricane.... Having my hair blown into a tangled mess? Not something I'd normally be up for BUT, it WAS (say it with me now) 'Anything Can Happen Day.'

So we shopped around a bit and eventually found the cutest little toy store that soaked us for a $20 gizmo for my niece & nephew. But as we were leaving the store we noted a sign out front hawking a book about the 'Wild Peacocks of Palos Verdes.' I urged my daughter to go back in and find out more... yeah, okay, I HAD to go with her. What we discovered was there are hundreds of wild peacocks which were brought to the area YEARS ago, long before multi-billion-dollar houses littered the hillsides... Back when some foreign sheik owned all the land and determined it was MUCH too quiet up in those hills, so he shipped in a bunch of peacocks (notoriously noisy birds... beautiful but noisy.)

So the owners of the shop pointed us to a street called Strawberry Lane, which was quiet a bit further away then we had anticipated but thanks to the GPS we were able to find it.

At first we thought the lead was going to be a disappointing one but then "LOOK!" Nature Girl shouted from the back seat. "There's a peacock right there!" And as I slowed the van eventually we started seeing them everywhere! Some of the peacocks were quite bold and ventured right up to the van hoping for a handout but we were fresh out of breadcrumbs... Well, not quite, there were those stale 'Cheeze-its' in the back but we thought better... It simply wouldn't do to return the rental car with peacock dents all over it.

It really was an amazing sight though to see peacocks just lazing in peoples yards, hanging out on their driveways, sitting on their fence posts... And OH, what yards, driveways & fence posts. Nature Girl says she's decided where she wants to live when she leaves home............ Um yeah, good luck with that!

Since I was driving the following pictures are courtesy of my husband. So if you consider these less than stellar shots?.... It's his fault.

Anything Can Happen Day?... It was a real HIGH!

High-Low - California Vacation 2010

2010-07-18T11:29:00.010-05:00

Hello?....
I said, Hello?...
Is this thing still on?

Allow me to just clear some of the dust here and let's get reacquainted, shall we?

A long time ago, a dear friend of mine shared with me a family game they used to play each night at dinner. The game was called 'HIGH-LOW'... Perhaps you've heard of it?

The object of 'HIGH-LOW' is for each member of the family to take turns sharing both the HIGH of their day and the LOW. It's a genius way of staying connected and understanding what each person might be either celebrating or grappling with. Since it's been such a LONG time since I've written, I thought possibly, my own personal game of HIGH-LOW might help put things in a kind of perspective.

I'm rather rusty at this whole writing thing and I have to admit my feeble memory makes it difficult for me to compartmentalize ALL of the circumstances which have occurred in the last... Oh how long has it been? 6 months, 8 months? So instead I'll start with a recent event of which the details are still fairly clear... Our California Vacation.

So, here we go... The HIGH-LOW of our 2010 California Vacation:

HIGH - Seeing my little sister Dena (10 yrs. my junior) for the first time in what we finally determined to be, 18 years. For reasons still not entirely clear, my sister and I became estranged roughly 16 yrs. ago. We hadn't communicated at all since this past September. In fact, it wasn't until I saw my niece (Dena's daughter) singing at a school concert on YouTube that it even occurred to me we needed to rectify this situation. So I reached out and there was my dear little sister waiting with open heart and open arms to bring us close again.

LOW - Gaining obscene amounts of weight partly due to the nervousness of seeing my sister, her kids, my dad, his wife and my new brother-in-law, who my sister married just weeks before our visit.

This picture perfectly illustrates both my high and low, hugging my dear sister whilst the camera does little to hide my weight gain and road weariness.

HIGH - The California Coast.... Seeing sights so beautiful it literally brought tears to my eyes. Even though I was born in California, I was raised in what is known as the High Desert... In the High Desert, everything is brown, there aren't a lot of trees and not a lot of color... Therefore the memories of my youth are hued in sepia tone gloom. However, along the coastal regions there are a rainbow of colors everywhere you look. Flowers in brilliant Purple, Blue, Yellow and Orange. Succulents in soft greens and lavenders. The succulents grow wild right out of the face of the rock walls.

The Pacific Ocean and how it's colors change under the light of different weather conditions... Steel gray on an overcast day. Bright Blue under the Laguna sunshine. Clear Azure along the dizzying cliffs of Hwy. 1. It was all breathtaking and inspiring to my Art loving heart.
The view of CA. Hwy. 1 out the rental car front window - I'm glad my husband was driving for this part of the trip... Scary!

Julia Pfeiffer State Beach... I only remember this because I kept referring to it as
'Julia Roberts/Michele Pfeiffer State Beach'

Currently my favoritist spot in the whole world - China Cove at Point Lobos State Park

This picture reminds me of the 'Not enough hours in the day - LOW'... Because I could've walked this beach for hours on end searching for sea glass with my daughter.

LOW - Not enough hours in a day! Seriously, how can one see EVERYTHING there is to see with only 24 hours and at least 6 hours of that has to be devoted to sleep. It's just not fair!

HIGH - Time spent with my family. Sure the quarters were close.... 2 weeks of 4 people in the same hotel room.... But that night that we spent laughing until we could barely breathe, wiping tears from our eyes, all because of the way 'Nature Girl' talks when she's wearing her retainer... Well, it's a priceless memory, I'll always hold dear.I like to call this pic 'Man on Vacation!' - Taken at China Cove

A BEAUTIFUL shot of my favorite 'Nature Girl'

Computer Boy got bitten by the photography bug.

LOW - This trip was so great, I'm running out of lows.

HIGH - That evening at the laundromat with my sister Debbie.
Doing laundry a high, you say? OH YES!
Firstly, one can complete 3 loads of vacation laundry in one fell swoop at a laundromat. Secondly, it's pure one on one joy, if one does said vacation laundry with a sister one seldom gets the opportunity to talk with for longer than 20 minutes at a time. At a laundromat you're given an uninterrupted period of time to broach the deeper, more meaningful topics and finally get the chance to tell your sister how incredibly proud you are of her on a bench outside the facility. You know, it's kind of a metaphor... As the laundry got clean and fresh, so to did my relationship with my sister.

LOW - Coming home... Okay, not too much of a low... It's nice to be sleeping in my own bed again, without having to hug the edge of the mattress because my daughter is in the midst of her nightly imitation of Leonardo deVinci's - Vitruvian Man. The downside however is coming home means getting back to the grind... Getting re-acclimated to East Coast Time, Grocery Shopping, Making dinners, Doing Laundry without the laundromat or my sister. It means facing my continuing struggle to determine what my place is in this world... Hey, it's easy to forget about heady stuff like that when you're primary focus is, "What's the GPS say?"... "Are my camera batteries charged?" or "Where should we go for dinner?"For you East Coast people... Yes, it's July and Yes, I'm wearing a sweater because I'm sorry to admit to you that while you were toasting your buns at 105 degrees, we were attempting to stay warm with 60 degree temps.... Sorry, but I had to brag!

So for now my primary focus is, What's my place in the world and I wonder what I should fix for dinner tonight? But maybe getting back to blogging will help me figure it all out.

Big Boned

2010-03-12T22:56:00.003-05:00

Last week I submitted to the dreaded mammography machine. Once I reminded the technician I in fact was NOT Elastic Woman we got along fine and I was pleased to learn the 'girls' are all clear.

Seeing as I'm now 45 my doctor suggested it was time I had a 'Bone Density' screening. Unsure of what that particular procedure involved I went in with some trepidation. However, the test was a piece of cake since all I had to do was lay on a table for about 10 minutes while I had a lovely conversation with the bone density technician. Turns out I'm very good at laying down for 10 minutes. In fact, I'm pretty sure I could lay down for even longer but you know, they needed the machine for another patient.... But I'm willing to bet that next patient wasn't as good as me, at laying around for 10 minutes.

Anyway, yesterday I had my annual 'lady bits' exam and the doctor informed me he had the results of my bone density test. When he looked at my chart he said, "WOW!" Unsure what that exclamation meant I said, "What?" (In an 'oh shit' kind of way) To which he replied, "Well it seems you have the bones of a teenager."............... Let's just take a moment and let that sink in....... I... have... the... bones... of a... TEENAGER! Sorry, I'm a little excited by this because the only thing on me thus far that's even remotely 'Teenager' is my orthodontia and sadly, that isn't the least bit brag worthy.

So yeah, it turns out that a bone density of -1 is considered 'normal'. If your bone density falls into the -2 range, you're considered a candidate for osteoporosis and you'd better start taking Sally Field seriously when she prattles on about the benefits of 'Boniva'. If your bone density is -4 your body is essentially a house of cards. But, my bone density reading was +4! We're talking bones so thick... Well, I don't know they're just really thick!

So this all got me to thinking... That extra weight I've been carrying? It's because of my BONES! Obviously, my bones are SO thick they're adding an incredible amount to my overall weight, they may even need their own zip code.... And I always thought the term 'Big Boned' was a flimsy excuse but now I'm SO going with it!

Sexy Fairies

2010-03-09T22:02:00.003-05:00

Now that I'm one of the Member Artists at The Main St. Art Bazaar - Artists Co-Op, I've stepped up my game a little bit and started branching out from the card making and I'm trying some new things.

I've always enjoyed drawing fairies but I came up with the idea of making them more dimensional by creating their wings out of vellum, glittering 'em up a bit and extending them past the confines of the mat board. Dressing them in flirty little undergarments just seemed fitting. My husband likes to refer to them as 'Fairy Erotica.' I just call 'em 'Sexy Fairies.'

Without further adieu... Presenting my very own version of 'Sexy Fairies'
(My apologies for the blurry photos)

Bond, James Bond

2010-03-09T21:45:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow I'll be taking on my first official duty as 'Arts & Entertainment Director' by attending the Annual Meeting of Maryland's Arts & Entertainment Districts in Annapolis, Maryland. A high honor as it includes Free lunch and a tour of a local gallery.

I'm sure hoping someone at the meeting can tell me exactly what my role as 'Arts & Entertainment Director' IS exactly... Because I still have no clue.

Hey, you know what I think I just figured out? Perhaps they don't tell you because it's like one of those 007 positions. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm presented a dossier and a permit to carry.

Um, did I just blow my cover?

An Attack of the Munchies Gone Bad

2010-02-08T21:04:00.003-05:00

You know how it is... You're sitting around late in the evening and that pang suddenly hits. That burning desire to eat something, but what?... WHAT?

So Saturday evening an attack of the munchies... Strike that, A SEVERE attack of the MUNCHIES, struck both my daughter and I around 10:00. (I know, I know, BAD time to be shoveling food down your throat! And you're saying, "Don't you know that's the time of day those calories don't go anywhere but straight to your already gelatinous thighs?".... Hey, It's all part of building up fat reserves should we lose power during one of these snowstorms that keep heading our way.)

So yeah, as I was saying... 10 o'clock hits and the girl child and I look at each other and start quizzing one another on the snack possibilities... Cookies? Pudding? Donuts?.... Hmmmm, how 'bout ICE CREAM? Sure it's only 18 degrees outside but somehow the notion of ice cream seemed to fill the need. So we jump up, girl child grabs the scoops, I pick through the various choices of flavors and opt for vanilla. Vanilla? you say... Why yes, because somewhere in the back of my mind I'm remembering there's some hot fudge sauce deep in the recesses of one of our kitchen cabinets. Twice I'm thwarted by imitations... Hershey's syrup in a bottle? blech! A squeeze bottle of aging Caramel topping? Ugh!... Mrs. Richardson's Hot Fudge Sauce? Come to mama!

So I check the date, pry open the lid and dish up a couple of spoonfuls of chocolaty goodness and pop it into the microwave. As I wait for my molten dish of yum, I noticed a canister of chopped peanuts, to add a crunchy topping to what was certain to be the best sundae ever!

A bowl, A couple of scoops of Vanilla and the molten choclatey goodness, my creation was just waiting for the crunchy topping. So I opened the canister and started sprinkling the peanuts over my sundae when something went TERRIBLY, HORRIBLY WRONG!!! For as I sprinkled, I began to notice the peanuts weren't so much sprinkling over the ice cream but more like coming out of the canister in cob webby strands. Something... SOMETHING, had breached the canister of peanuts and had made it's own little eco-system. *Copius amounts of gagging ensued*

That's when I turned on the garbage disposal, dumped my bowl of tainted sundae down the drain and made myself a cup of tea.

It's going to be a VERY long time before I have the desire for a sundae again.

A Gardner or A Sailor

2010-01-30T21:33:00.005-05:00

I haven't posted a whole lot lately because this job I've taken on as 'Facilitator' of the 'Artists Co-op' has been pretty damn all consuming.

Let's see, what exactly HAVE I been doing?
Writing Contracts
Designing A Logo
Creating Business Cards
Working Hours at the Shop
Organizing Meetings
Writing Agendas
Attending Meetings
Acquiring Licenses
Painting Walls
Tearing down walls - Actually that was my husband (thanks sweetie!)
Cleaning Carpet - (thanks for your help Bill!)
Managing leaks - As in, climbing ladders and placing buckets in the ceiling to keep it from falling in.

And when this is all done:
I create art in what my husband likes to refer to as my 'rubber room.'

Who knows where all this activity is going? I hope towards creating a sustainable artist community... That IS the ultimate goal anyway.

So, some days I feel like the Gardner, carefully nurturing the tiny seed we've planted:Other days, I feel like I'm on the deck of the Titanic, the band is playing and the ship is going down:The highs and the lows have been both amazing and character building. I'm learning a LOT but damn am I tired!

*Where DO I find the time to play with my crappy 'Paint' program? The shop doesn't have an internet connection, pffffttt!

From the 'What Are The Odds' File...

2010-01-28T20:25:00.004-05:00

So the other night as I was folding clothes the phone rang. The caller ID did her thing (yeah, my caller ID is a girl) and when she announced the name of the caller I thought to myself, 'I know that name' even though I hadn't heard it in years.

Several years ago, I used to teach Scrapbooking classes. I'd hold workshops on a regular basis and lovely women, who ultimately became dear friends, would pay me money to schlep their pictures over to my house. They would hang out in my basement and listen to me give them advice on how to make a meaningful and pretty scrapbook. And you know, it's hard NOT to get close to people when their sharing their photographs of families, vacations and special memories with you.

So when the caller ID announced the last name of one of my former 'students'... I thought, Wow! How did J.M. track me down? (I've moved since retiring from being a scrapbook instructor.) So I picked up the phone, said, "Hello?" And heard that same sweet voice I remembered from like 10 years ago say, "Hello... Judy?" I replied with, "I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong number but is this Jean?" To which she answered, "Yes, who's this?"

Imagine Jean's surprise when I told her, "It's Margie." She then said, "Oh my goodness, you live in Florida now?" That's funny huh? Jean thought she was calling Florida. "No" I said, "You called Maryland."

Eventually, Jean realized she was calling her friends old phone number... Her friend Judy, the one who moved to Florida, that is. We laughed at the coincidence of it all and shared a lovely half-hour conversation. We talked about what each of us has been up to over the last several years and she told me how much she missed hanging out in my basement. She may have just been saying that to be polite but I'm glad she did. I have some fond memories of those times too. So I have to ask you, What are the odds?

Answer: V-O-L-U-N-T-E-E-R

2010-01-22T18:37:00.002-05:00

Question: What is, the word I have emblazoned upon my forehead.

Doesn't everybody just LOVE a Volunteer?

Today I attended a meeting in which I was asked twice to join the board of Tourism. - I wisely declined. "I'm already spread pretty thin." I explained.

Later I had another impromptu meeting in which I was asked to become Director of the Arts & Entertainment District. - Since I'm already doing a lot of what the job entails... Well, "Hello! I'd like you to meet the new Director of Arts & Entertainment."

Next week I have a meeting with Obama. *just kidding*

Taking Some Time For Me

2010-01-13T22:55:00.003-05:00

Things have been pretty damn crazy around here and since I'm getting rather tired of this 'thing' taking over my life, I'm not going to talk about 'it' and post something completely off the topic.

Yesterday was my friend Lori's birthday and after we all went out to dinner to celebrate we ended up back at our house where the topic of discussion was:

What would your answers be to James Lipton's list of 10 Questions from Inside the Actors Studio?

It was a lively discussion, with some very interesting answers. Below are the questions along with my answers.

What is your favorite word? I have a lot of 'favorite' words but the one I always come back to is 'Serendipity'... I like the meaning AND it's fun to say.
What is your least favorite word? Barge... It's such an unattractive word to not only say but also hear... Also, It rhymes with the shortened version of my name and I hate my name, so there you go.
What turns you on? Unfortunately, food. No really, I get excited just thinking about the next meal... Especially if it's something I didn't have to prepare.
What turns you off? Hypocrisy
What sound do you love? When a baby giggles... You know, like this.
What sound do you hate? Whining... Or should I say Whiiiiiiiiiiiiiininnnnnnnnnggggg!
What is your favorite curse word? I have a slew I use, mostly when I'm driving, but my standard expletive when something isn't working the way it's supposed to is... 'Son of a Bitch!'
What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Comedic Actress or just a Comedienne. I've wanted to be an actress ever since Jr. high... Nothing major, just regional theater would make me happy or stand-up but I've never had the guts to go for it.
What profession would you not like to do? I've watched a lot of episodes of 'Dirty Jobs' and hands down, the one that grossed me out the most was the time Mike Rowe worked at the 'Waste Treatment Plant'... In fact, any job having to do with the maintenance of human fecal matter is strictly not for me.
If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? "You made a difference"... However, I really liked my daughters answer of, 'The line for the never ending buffet begins right over there.' Hmmmm, I wonder where she gets it from?

Now it's your turn...

Pushing

2010-01-04T15:02:00.005-05:00

It's like I'm pushing a boulder uphill, through deep snow, with the wind in my face. I'm frustrated so I drew a picture... I really rock that paint program.

What does one do when they're giving 110% and it feels like the people around them... The very people one is trying to help... Quite simply don't give a shit! Should one just throw their hands up in the air, walk away and have all the hard work they've already invested be for naught?

Last night we were watching the last installment of the Lord of the Rings saga and even though I've seen the entire trilogy, I really can't keep it all straight (is it Narnia they're fighting for, is that Dumbledore, where's Willow?) I've mentioned before how that whole back and forth struggle to get that damn ring to the fires of Mordor is just too frustrating for me to bear. But last night while I was busy working on this stuff, this stuff that sometimes feels so pointless, I find myself wondering if I'm just wasting my time... Anyway, while I was working away, I asked my husband, "What's with that guy, that king guy, why does he want to burn the body of his son when his son isn't even dead, what's that guys problem anyway?" To which my husband replied: "He's given up, he's a giver upper, he's a big wuss!" Meanwhile, I'm watching poor Gandalf (who's no longer grey but all white now), ride hither and yon, putting (quite literally) fires out everywhere. I mean, how many battles can one guy fight, am I right? And then when one of the hobbits (Mary, Pippen, Lucy... whoever) starts talking about dying, Gandalf makes even the end sound so wonderfully wonderous (and he should know, he's white afterall) that he convinces that little hobbit to be brave and well, just happy to be a part of it all (you know, because Peter Jackson is going to make a killing on this whole franchise along with anyone associated with it.)

So, long story short. I have to ask myself, am I a big wussy quiter like that king with the itchy torch? Or am I like Gandalf, ready to fight each battle as it arises, keeping my eye trained on the big picture?

Nope, I'm just a huge geek, working hard, looking for answers and pushing... Always pushing.

Like A Scene From A Dark Comedy...

2009-12-30T18:56:00.002-05:00

So today as I was sitting in our town office, during an informal meeting in which were discussing ideas for enhancing our 'Arts & Entertainment District'... A very different scene was playing just outside the door.

It was difficult not to stray from the subject of promoting our small town, new businesses, friendly shopping atmosphere and arts... Whilst in our peripheral vision we could see a homeless woman just outside the door, denuding the town Christmas tree of its sparkly garland and move it to the street sign, where she'd carefully wrap it around the pole. Once she'd finished with that project, she'd shuffle back over to the tree, remove another strand of garland and start over again on another sign. Eventually, she enlisted the help of homeless gentleman (a friend?), who at first, became a co-conspirator in the deconstructing of the tree ornamentation. However, as our meeting progressed, some sort of shift had taken place outside. At some point, the two unlikely elves, altered their strategy and began RE-decorating the town tree.

I'm wondering just how, we can go about marketing that particular brand of small town charm.

To Give Is Divine!

2009-12-29T00:57:00.003-05:00

My husband and I debated back and forth for weeks, months actually. The kids both wanted laptops... Nay, NEEDED laptops... But 'that much money' as a Christmas gift... For BOTH of our offspring seemed, well, OVER indulgent!

The boy, well, his laptop was well into antique stage... I guess we got him that for Christmas something like 5 maybe 6 years ago. Surely it belongs in some museum somewhere and the noises it had been making every time he used it, led us to believe it just might give up the ghost at any moment.

The girl, well, like most 2nd children she survived on hand-me-downs or just had to do without. MY laptop became her recent 'dumping' ground for ALL those photos she takes and my hard drive was beginning to groan with the strain of it all.

It wasn't an easy decision for my husband who kept mumbling phrases like, "Wish MY parents had been 'rich' when I was growing up!"... "Laptop bags cost WHAT? I'm not spending ANOTHER penny, this Christmas is just getting outrageous!" (or something to that effect and that's when I had to set him straight by telling him, "Listen, either you go through with this gift, giving it with a generous heart or DON'T bother GIVING it at ALL!"... At which point he acquiesced and never made another derogatory statement.)

Christmas eve morning arrived (the day we give our gifts to one another before venturing off to spend time with family) and we went through our usual routine of the youngest handing out her gifts first, then my son and then my husband and I exchanging gifts back and forth, whilst giving the kids a gift here and there. It was a very generous Christmas indeed and the kids just assumed that the videos, tickets to a show, various clothing items and books culminated this years Christmas 'take'... They were completely flummoxed by the large box my husband and I pulled out from the back of the tree at the end, a box that listed both of their names on the 'To:' portion of the tag. Once they got the tape loosened from the box and made their way through the piles of paper filler inside, they discovered 2 laptop bags. That's when my husband said, "For Someday." My daughter says she immediately thought, "Maybe I'll get a laptop for my birthday" which is in April. My son says he thought possibly the laptops had been ordered but not yet arrived. But then 'Dad' said, "Or you could go look in my office."

The ensuing clamor as both kids jumped to their feet and raced up the stairs left both my husband and I laughing. Especially when we heard my daughter yell to her brother, "No fair, your legs are longer!" Her brother politely stood at the top of the stairs, stepped back and said, "After you." There was a long pause once they entered the office and my husband and I both yelled up, "Hey, open 'em up down here please!" They both came down the stairs much more carefully then they'd climbed them, both cradling their still wrapped gifts.

My husband and I watched as our two wonderful kids opened their laptops with mile wide smiles upon their faces and that's when my daughter looked up and said, "I'm gonna cry." And then, this daughter of mine who isn't one who is easily moved to tears... Her eyes begin to fill up which in turn made my eyes fill up... And all that doubt my husband and I had regarding 'Over Indulgence' went right out the window because we knew how truly grateful our kids really were for the gifts they'd received... We've been thanked dozens of times by both of them in the last few days... And another really big advantage... I can use MY laptop again, without having to kick someone off of it... Well, except for maybe my husband.

3 Days More

2009-12-28T09:34:00.003-05:00

You know, an answer would be nice!

I'm still managing the Artist Co-op I mentioned a while ago.

You see, it goes like this...
In November the owners of the shop conceded to giving several artists a 'cut rate' for the opportunity to sell items out of their building for a 2 month period... A building they've been trying to sell for the past 2 years and would otherwise be empty and a complete drain of money without the Co-op.

The owners originally agreed to a 2 month lease, facilitated by the local Chamber & Alliance. In 3 more days the lease will be up. However, 2 weeks ago I submitted a letter to the owners asking that we might sit down to negotiate staying at the shop and possibly moving forward with a month to month agreement. As of yet the answers I've received have been vague and non-committal.

3 days... In 3 DAYS!!!

We need answers people... ANSWERS!!!

I'm not very good at living with frustration and unanswered questions.

What would YOU do?

2009-12-17T22:27:00.004-05:00

So the other night I had a very vivid dream that I won $138 million.

$138 MILLION!!!

How does my brain, in a state of dream-like consciousness manage to come up with such an untidy number? Well, at least it's an even number.

But here's where it gets really weird... Having won the money in my first dream, I segued into a second dream where I was telling David Cassidy I had a dream I'd won $138 million dollars. For what it's worth, I don't think David Cassidy was all that impressed by my dream... Now that I think about it, I'm willing to bet your reaction at reading this post is in line with David Cassidy.

Anywho, turns out sharing my dream with our friends the other night led to quite an interesting conversation over just what we'd do if we were to win $138 million. Everyone seemed to agree they would hide under a rock somewhere and tell only those folks closest to them (spouse, kids) and the first thing they'd do is find a GOOD lawyer (which could obviously take a serious amount of time.)

Past the intial plans, most folks decided to keep enough for themselves so they could live off the divendends (In today's economy we never did arrive at what figure that should be) and with the remainder they would become philanthropists. Others came up with some crazy ideas. It's been a fun question to ask people and here are some of the answers I've received:

Offer $100,000 grants to anyone named Zak.

Build a Lego bridge across the Elk Neck River.

Open a rent free hotel for people down on their luck, help them get back on their feet through education and job opportunities.

Note: I asked how they'd handle deadbeats and the answer was they'd be incorporating their 'Bullshit Meter' which is highly sensitive.

One gal said she'd hop in her car and travel from one side of the U.S. to the other, visiting small towns and the overlooked and under appreciated parts of America.

I think she's interested in channeling Charles Kuralt.

As for myself? I can't even fathom what I'd do with that kind of money. It's painfully obvious even my sleeping brain couldn't conceive of an answer, as the dream ended before I even had a check in my hand.

Now, I'd like to propose the question to you... What would YOU do with $138 million? I'm sure David Cassidy would like to know.

Beat The Clock

2009-12-14T21:59:00.003-05:00

Is it true, tomorrow makes us only 9 short days away from Christmas? But how can that be?

I just started MY shopping today.
I have just half of my Christmas cards signed and addressed.
While we DID manage to get the tree up and the house decorated, my living and family room are littered with storage containers, unused strands of lights and all those magazines I managed to purge which now need to be taken to the recycling center. (It was one of those stupid activities which had me thinking I had an unlimited amount of extra time on my hands.
Oh and let's see, what else? There's that little matter of landing another front page story in the local newspaper about donating my gift wrapping services to raise money for our local hospice foundation. Either people are going to forget about the article OR this time next week, I'm gonna be up to my eyeballs in gift wrap.

Little wonder I don't seem to be able to catch up to the speed of those hands spinning around the face of the clock on my wall... But you know what? I'm still able to take deep cleansing breaths.... It'll all get done... And if it doesn't? Nobody's really going to care because I'm fortunate my kids have reached the age where they're not asking how many days 'til Christmas but instead saying, "Are you freakin' kidding me, there's ONLY 9 days 'til Christmas?... *deep breath* *deep breath*

Gotta' love it!

Let me tell you again saleslady... NO, I DON'T WANT TO USE MY SEARS CARD!

2009-12-14T16:48:00.002-05:00

ARGH!!!!

Liar Liar Pants On Fire

2009-12-08T22:51:00.004-05:00

Last night I was watching the show 'Bait Car' on 'TRU-TV' with my daughter.

Hoo-Wee!... What an eye opener.

Because last week I was dealing with someone who wasn't exactly honest with me and at the time all I could think was, "Wow, how does someone go through their life thinking a lack of honesty will get them out of the circumstances they've put themselves in, by lying in the first place. Obviously I'm being a bit vague here, but you know what I mean. Little kids typically learn early on, that lying usually results in more trouble than the initial indiscretion but it never ceases to amaze me when I come across an adult who never learned this simple lesson.

So, I'm watching 'Bait Car'... If you haven't heard it, the whole premise behind the police department's 'bait car' program is to entice an auto thief to take the rigged automobile and get caught. The real fun ensues when, after being caught, the perpetrator(s) try to talk their way out of the 'situation' they've found themselves in... And the more they talk, the deeper they sink into the bullshit they're dishing out.

My favorite part of the show last night, had to be the guy who explained his way out of stealing the 'bait car' by telling the police he surmised the car was stolen and he didn't want a 'stolen' vehicle sitting near his house, so he decided to 'move' it out of the area. Good one Jose, but I don't think the cops bought your story, especially after watching the hidden video where you giggled at your good fortune and the stupidity of the person who abandoned such a 'fine' vehicle (Cadillac Escalade.)

Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.

The Jewelry Lady

2009-12-01T09:17:00.003-05:00

We're now up to 9 artists at the Co-op I'm managing. I have the luxury of pretty much flitting in and out of the shop, tending to 'important' business-like stuff but every once in a while I get the opportunity to linger and learn a little bit about each of the girls.

Last night I made an off-hand comment to the 'Jewelry Artist'. I asked her if she'd had anything to eat, after spending the entire day at the shop. When she said, "No." I teased, "So you subsist on nothing more than coffee & cigarettes?" That's when she said, "Well after I was shot I don't have much of a stomach left, so I don't need to eat much."

*blink-blink*

"Shot?"

"Yes" she replied. "I worked at a Burger King and one night I was robbed."

"Did you refuse to hand over the money?"

"No, I gave him the money and just as I was telling him there was someone else in the back, my co-worker came out carrying a armload of pans... When he saw the gunman, he dropped the pans. This startled the gunman who shot me and then my co-worker." "I was the lucky one" she said. "I was shot in the gut but my 15 yr. old co-worker, working his first job, was killed."

I guess in an attempt to lighten the mood a bit she followed with, "But they didn't get rid of me that easily, I went back."

I had to ask, "How can you even consider working in retail after something like that, I'd be terrified!"

"For a time, that's exactly the way I felt... The only place I'd go is to the physician and the grocery store and then I'd hide in my house... But I knew I couldn't do that forever, so I fought back."

I then asked her if that's why she walks with a cane?

"No" she said. "I walk with the cane because I was smashed in the back with a heavy metal fire door, while I was crouched down doing an inventory of salt packets, yes, you have to inventory EVEN the salt packets, at the restaurant where I worked. The only way to get through the heavy door was to put all your weight against it. One of the guys I worked with did so, I was on the other side and the door hit me squarely in the back, with such force, it shattered 4 of my vertebrae."

*blink-blink*

I've come to the conclusion that there are some people who refuse to let life ground them and it's these people who I hold in high esteem. Because there are some who have dealt with far less, who think the world somehow owes them. But people like 'The Jewelry Lady', push on with an attitude of refusing to give up on the business of living a full life.

26 Years

2009-11-26T19:51:00.004-05:00

26 years ago today I experienced one of the sweetest moments of my life.

Marrying the man I love? Well yes, THAT was a very sweet moment, unfortunately it took place during one of the most awkward weddings of all time... Seriously, imagine 'Hadfield's & McCoy's' or 'The Sharks & The Jets' or even 'Israel & Palestine' all coming together to sit down at the same table and 'try' to pretend to at least 'get along.'

My god, I have NO idea why we didn't just elope. My father & step-father always hated eachother since that day when my dad nearly tossed my step-father out the 4th story courthouse window when I was 10 yrs. old. My mother hated my father and evidenced this fact by loading up on so many 'happy pills' she barely functioned for formal photographs. Then, of course Everyone from the family I was marrying into hated my step-monster after all the turmoil she caused... But you know, we all had to be nice to keep the peace.

So yeah, the wedding? It pretty much sucked!

But the sweetest moment, the one I will forever cherish in my heart, was that moment just before I walked down the aisle on my father's arm and he turned to me, with tears in his eyes and said, "I just want you to know, I think you're marrying a good man and I'm very proud of you." It didn't really matter what the rest of the day had in store... The fact that my father shared this sentiment with me, following what was the most tumultuous period of my life, having fallen in love with a man who my step-monster did everything in her power to break apart, well THAT meant EVERYTHING!

And that part about me marrying a 'Good Man'... Well, my father couldn't have been more correct.

Is it just me?

2009-11-19T15:03:00.003-05:00

Or does this guy,
Look a hell of a lot like this guy,
The both of them totally creep me out!

While Pumping Gas.... Really?

2009-11-17T21:37:00.003-05:00

We all know when we see those little clusters of people, wearing their Sunday best, trolling through our neighborhoods, it's time to run in the house, close the blinds and pretend we're not home when the doorbell inevitably rings...

But today, while I was filling my gas tank, AT THE GAS STATION, a woman at the next pump approached me and in a bright voice said, "Good Morning"... I thought to myself, "How nice, rarely do people in the midst of pumping gas take time to greet one another." So I in turn, offered my own friendly greeting. And right after I did she pulled out a 'Watchtower' flier and said, "Here, I think you'll really enjoy reading this, it has a WONDERFUL article on Family... It's really a WONDERFUL article!"

Not wishing to be rude, because seriously, it's not like I could ditch inside my van and pretend like she didn't see me (however, thinking back on it that would've been a pretty hilarious move), I accepted the flier and said, "Uh, Um, Okay, Uh, thanks." When what I really wanted to say was, "Oh, I see... Get me when there's nowhere to hide."

Beware folks, the Jehovah's Witnesses have gone NINJA!

Are YOU prepared for the final days?

Vanity Takes A Back Seat

2009-11-16T19:27:00.003-05:00

Life has been an absolute thrill ride over here at the Treehouse. I'm busier than ever and having the time of my life, doing EXACTLY what I love... Managing! And can I just say that, as a supreme control freak, I'm the best damn manager that ever managed anything EVER!

Last week was a freakin' whirlwind of activity. Throughout the week, the artists I've been working with got each of their sections decorated and stocked in preparation for Friday's Grand Opening. Tuesday I went down to the shop and painted a mural on the back wall, you know, to infuse an 'Artsy-ness' to the place and just as I was getting ready to start sketching out the mural, I got a call that the local paper was sending a photographer over to do a story on the place.

*blink* *blink* Photographer? Did I just say Photographer? Yep! And guess who didn't bother showering or putting on make-up that day because all 'she' had planned was painting a wall and then adding a mural to it? One doesn't 'need' to shower for such things.

"Well hello Vanity... Meet Free Publicity... Now shut up and climb in the back seat!"

Seeing as I was the only one at the shop at the time, I did my best to represent the place, t-shirt, sweat-pants and all. Did I care when on Wednesday morning I opened my morning paper to find my t-shirt & sweat-pants clad figure ON THE FRONT PAGE!!! Did I mention I hadn't had a shower? Not only that but there was a $250 size ad block on page 3 with a close-up of me sketching the mural.... Uh yeah, NO make-up! Did I care? HELL NO! Okay, well maybe a little... But we're talking FRONT PAGE, FREE Publicity here, on a Wednesday! The second biggest day of the week for newspaper sales!

And it was all TOTALLY worth it because the turn-out for our Grand Opening on Friday night was FABULOUS! We had over 70 people walk through the door and at times it was wall-to-wall people in the front of the shop. Sales were good and the energy of all involved was through the roof, up to the moon and back again.

I handed out four contracts on Friday, to other artists interested in a spot in the shop and gave out yet another contract today. It's all SO exciting, so busy and so mind boggling that this whole thing came about in just 3 weeks time and seems to be taking off like a hot match on a dry Southern California hillside, during a Santa Ana windstorm... But in a 'Good' way, ya know.

Like any proud new parent or 'control freak' manager, I'd like to share a couple of pics with y'all:

Our 'sweet' little store front.

Still in the midst of getting everything set up but here's a shot of the mural I created.

Sorry, no pics of the cover story because... Haven't I suffered enough humiliation?

Portrait of Valor

2009-11-11T09:12:00.003-05:00

Sgt. Richard Yarosh
Portrait by, Matthew Mitchell

This painting quite literally takes my breath away.

Read the article here.

God Bless ALL those who sacrifice SO much.

Of Arts & Entertainment

2009-11-11T07:26:00.002-05:00

A few years ago our town was designated an Arts & Entertainment District. What does this mean exactly? Well, I 'think' it means more tourism exposure for the town and a bit of financial aid for artists looking to start a small business here. However, the whole process of getting A&E thriving in our little corner of the world has been a slow going process.

You see, our small town is also the county seat. Meaning, all of the county services are here... Specifically social services, which send a lot of homeless folks our way, and the courthouse which means the upper side of East Main is littered with Bail Bonds offices. So the downtown district isn't exactly Shangri-la.

BUT! There are those of us who see the 'bones' of a lovely little place to shop, dine and simply enjoy the downtown atmosphere. I consider myself one of those people and as a volunteer, am doing what I can to help it be so.

Just 3 weeks ago, I was asked if I would be interested in getting an Artist Co-Op started downtown. This seemed like a GREAT stride in jump-starting the A&E 'ideal' so I jumped at the opportunity. It's been a whirlwind of activity ever since. The contract for the rental of the shop was signed last week and this week we've been cleaning, painting and scrubbing everything down as the place had been empty for a few years, just waiting for the perfect tenants.

There are currently 6 artists involved with the project and each needs pay only a minimal rent fee since they're all sharing the space. I was asked to take part in the co-op but since most of my work is of the commission variety, I really didn't have anything to 'fill' a space. So I've taken on the roll of managing the group and getting it up and running. HOLY MOLEY! What a BUSY job this has been but what a WORTHWHILE endeavor!

The Grand Opening is on Friday and there's still a sizeable laundry list of items to take care of but today our little 'gem' made FRONT PAGE of the local newspaper! This is a VERY good thing.

You know, some would say that in this economy, starting a new business is a fruitless task but I like to think of it in a more positive light... I like to think this is the beginning of the 'Phoenix rising from the ashes' and this small town of ours is destined to meet every potential of it's 'Arts & Entertainment District' moniker.

Stimulating the Economy

2009-11-09T23:24:00.006-05:00

Saturday I decided I'd had it! The carpet in the family room HAD TO GO! I've had it cleaned but there's only so much you can do with contractor grade carpet, especially when it's light beige and you live with a dog, a husband and two kids who seldom if never wipe their feet. So yeah, NEW CARPET!

Saturday I picked out the color and style and yesterday my husband and his buddy went and purchased the amount we needed for the room.

Today, our refrigerator broke!

New carpet and a new refrigerator all in the same week?
It's like I won the lottery... Except I didn't and now that little 'nest egg' we've been slowly building upon has toppled out of the tree and now lays broken and oozing all over the patio of our life... However, did I mention I'm getting soft cushy fresh new carpeting and a big shiny new fridge?

There's something there that wasn't there before...

2009-11-05T23:06:00.002-05:00

Because my son has a real knack for finding the weirdest things on You Tube:

It's important you pay attention to the lyrics and keep an eye on that naughty beast.

36 Degrees Groan

2009-11-04T07:57:00.003-05:00

It's 35 degrees out this morning... Freakin' winter!

The trees around here are starting to get that barren look, where all the color disappears and all that's left are gray sickly twigs. This is all I'm going to see for months and months, just gray and barren tree lines... Freakin' winter!

I'm not the type to be in the need of anti-depressants but if I was, this is the time of year I'd have to start taking them because just the thought of all that color being washed out of the world and being holed up inside to stay warm makes me want to cry... Freakin' winter!

This winter could be especially challenging because my daughter, who is perpetually cold, will want the fire on 24-7. Then there's myself who is swinging so violently, from one hot flash to the next, I've got my own personal global warming crisis in effect. Watch tv in the family room with the fire place cranked up? Doubtful! Sit for any minimal amount of time with my laptop on my lap? Puhleeeease! Drink tea? Eat soup? I start to perspire just thinking about it (perspire sounds so much classier than sweat doesn't it?)

Wait, why was I complaining about it getting cold outside again?

Post-Halloween Wrap-Up

2009-10-30T10:14:00.003-05:00

So Halloween was kind of a bust.

We had a few trick-or-treaters, a few of the really cute little ones who show up in the early part of the evening and are either frightened of the whole idea of accepting candy from strangers OR are ready to walk into your house and check to see if you have anything cool to play with.

However, just as Halloween 'officially' got itself underway, the heavens opened and it rained monsoon style. You know what that means don't you? Yep! A big-ass bowl of Halloween candy is currently sitting on my kitchen counter. Talk about runnin' with the devil!

Anyway, Halloween wasn't a complete wash. We had our friends over for a pizza party and some pool. The best conversation topic of the evening was, "If I were 'hot' what slutty costume would I wear?" Seeing as there's a monstrous bowl of candy currently residing nearby, it's safe to say there are no slutty costumes in my future.

Here are a few of the costumes we came up with, can you think of any others:
slutty nurse
slutty maid
slutty cheerleader
slutty witch
slutty fairy
slutty pirate
slutty bunny (I especially liked the way the title of this one rolls of the tongue.)

We had completely forgotten about 'slutty teenager' until my husband and I went shopping yesterday and saw a group of girls wearing THE.... SHORTEST.... SHORTS, I've witnessed since high school, when in 1982 the students in our school staged a sit-in (so 1960's) over the banning of 'Sex Wax T-shirts' and 'Dolphin Shorts' (anyone remember these?)
Now considered part of the Official uniform of the 'Hooters' waitress. So yeah, don't forget the 'slutty teenager' costumes. Oh, and I guess 'slutty waitress' should also be added to the list.

My Mood In Food

2009-10-29T11:25:00.004-05:00

The above photo pretty much sums up where my head is right now.
Because of Halloween?...... Nope!
Because my braces just got tightened?.... Possibly, but No. *damn my mouth hurts*
Because my house is a pig sty?....... Any other time, Maybe.
Because I've got a meeting tomorrow with a group of artists to open a co-op, in a huge shop on Main street, for the holiday season.... Which means there's like a million and one details to consider and a paltry sum of art for me to sell?...... Bingo!

So why am I spending precious time blogging?....... Here's an answer for you, why does a deer freeze in the headlights?

Munched!

2009-10-28T11:52:00.004-05:00

My friend Lori was in an auto accident today... Not focusing on her driving, she ran a stop sign and got hit broadside by a florist van (the same florist who's shop is right next door to the clay studio where Lori works... Awkward!)

Both parties are fine. Though my friend Lori, who sometimes... Okay, a LOT of times has a flair for the dramatic, while explaining the accident was going on about "blood" and "life & limb" and "I didn't say goodbye to my son this morning, what if I died?" However, because the accident took place in the middle of our teeny tiny downtown district, neither car was moving any faster than 20 mph. Yeah, her car is munched on the passenger side and an air bag deployed but 'life & limb' were spared for both parties involved.

I'm not trying to make light of the situation because I'd have been shaking in my boots too... I was just trying to give her a little perspective. The luck of the situation was, I just happened to be driving down Main St. when I saw Lori and her husband and pulled up to say Hi!... Right place, right time (wrong place, wrong time would've been in front of the hospital just 15 min. earlier when she ran that stop sign), I was able to take Lori home and get her calmed down.

Fortunately the guy from the florist shop was extremely understanding and other than a munched up car, everyone is going to be fine. On a side note, the boy almost killed us (okay, maybe I stretch the truth a bit... just a bit) driving to school this morning... So learning to drive in rainy conditions is definitely something he should start practicing........... WITH HIS DAD!!!

Suggestion Box

2009-10-27T15:20:00.003-05:00

So the old man and I are coming up on 26 yrs. of wedded bliss and we're trying to decide where to go for a one or two night getaway that won't break the bank.

We're talkin' late November folks... Any ideas? And might I add ANYPLACE that boasts 'in room, heart shaped jacuzzi's' will not be up for consideration...

Because, EEEEEeeeWWWwwwwwwww!!!

Recipe for Life

2009-10-20T08:10:00.003-05:00

As an extended birthday celebration, the family went out to my FAVORITE restaurant on Saturday night... 'Sweetwater Tavern' in Merrifield, Virginia. Even though the place is obnoxiously loud and the wait interminable, the food is so incredibly superior, it makes all other food hang its head in shame.

The most amazing item on their menu... No, I mean ONE of the most amazing items on their menu, is their 'Chop House Salad'... Think, sweet yet tangy buttermilk dressing, romaine letttuce, basil, roasted corn *damn I hate it when I drool all over my keyboard*

So as I sat there extolling the merits of my delicious salad to my sister-in-law, she said, "Why don't you ask them for the recipe?" I explained to her that I had a pretty good idea the recipe was a closely guarded secret. In fact, there were probably ninjas protecting a safe in anti-chamber under the kitchen, along with a 3 headed dog and... Well, you get the idea.

After an appetizer of mouth watering Calamari and the tavern's amazing basket of donut like rolls and herbed butter, the family sat eagerly awaiting the main course. That's when a lovely little Asian woman walked up to our table, introduced herself as the manager and politely apologized for the wait but added the kitchen was just finishing a fresh batch of their redskin, basil mashed potatoes... and did we mind the wait? Even fresher potatoes? Of course not! But that's when my sister-in-law popped up with, "You can make it up to us by giving us the recipe for the 'Chop House Salad'." For a moment I thought the manager might go all ninja on us but instead she replied with, "Well, I can give you a list of the ingredients... Would that be all right?" "YES, YES, that would be wonderful!" I piped up!

Roughly 5 minutes later, after our freshly made potatoes were sitting before us, mine with a heap of delicately roasted chicken... Everyone elses topped with salmon... The manager handed us a tiny 3" square piece of paper, listing the ingredients for the 'Chop House Salad'... But here's the thing...

It's JUST the ingredients...
No measurements...
Just a random list of ingredients...

Yes, it puts me one step closer to being able to make this, oh so delicious salad, in my very own kitchen... HOWEVER, I see this as kind of a metaphor for my life...

It's like yeah, I know what the ingredients are but exactly how much and when and how to mix it all together? Well, that's the REAL question!

So, does anyone know where I can find 'Champagne Vinegar?'

The Party's Over

2009-10-16T13:24:00.002-05:00

Hey All, thanks for the birthday wishes...

I had a lovely day, at the start of which, Nature Girl made me a surprise breakfast... Believe me, there are precious FEW things in this world MORE surprising than Nature Girl in the kitchen! That girl can cook up a mean egg & cheese on an perfectly toasted English muffin, Ill tell you... Topped off with apple slices and a hot cup of chai tea... My belly was happy for hours.

'Computer Boy' in all of his computery goodness got me an adapter for my van so I can now play my 'Kick-Ass-I-pod Shuffle' music wherever I go... Gone are the day of mixed cd's... I now have almost every tune I could ever want whenever I want it... I say ALMOST because my husband gave me an i-tune gift card, so any desired tune I don't already have, I will acquire very soon (once I can figure out how this whole i-tunes thing works... I know, I'm SO old!)

So I didn't get the 47" flat panel screen tv I wanted for above the fireplace (spoiled much?) but I did have a lovely birthday celebration with family and friends. My friend Lori made what shall now and forever be known as my favorite birthday cake... A double chocolate cheesecake! When I took the first bite the words, "Oh sweet mystery of life at last I found you!" swirled around in my head... Come to think of it, there's large chunk of that cake sitting in my fridge right now and it's calling my name...

What? There are NO calories in birthday cake!

Four & 1/2 Decades

2009-10-14T14:11:00.008-05:00

1. .45 - It's a movie (sorry, never saw it.)

2. Forty-Five - The number of days this little guy was going to have to spend in reform school. (insanity)

3. 45 - A Local TV station

4. Free 45 - Vintage baby!!! (I REALLY like Olho de Boi.)

5. 45 Screens - I LOVE Tanzania

6. 45 DAYS Until - Well, less than that now, but for the purpose of illustration, I'm going with it.

7. I'll never forget this forty-five!

8. M-45 - Really?... Awesome!

9. A Theatre

10. A scary Forty-Five

11. Drive it

12. Too slow?

13. Something to wear... Cool!

14. 45? - Well shiver me timbers!

15. Time to buy the t-shirt!

It's the 15th and I'm Forty-Freakin'-Five!

I'm Gonna Make Myself A Hat!

2009-10-14T13:35:00.005-05:00

Don't you just love the holidays?

Does the idea of shopping downtown on a quaint little Main street somewhere warm your cockles (cockles?)

How about picturing that Main street filled with holiday charm, each window aglow with sparkling lights and magical holiday goodness?Yeah? Me too! Somehow, because I too cling to this 'vision', you're now reading the ramblings of the Design Committee Chairman for my little home town. The committee, I should add, currently consists of.... wait for it.... wait for it.....

Moi! and.... wait for it........ wait for it.......

That's it! Just Moi!... Me.... Me, Myself and I... And no, that doesn't count as 3 people, it's still just one. ONE, an indivisible number... I am a rock, I am an Iiiii-land.

Today I have sealed my fate as the town idiot...............*pause*
......... You know, I'd like to take a moment here and exclaim that as 'The New Town Idiot', I'm going to make myself a tri-corner paper hat and inscribe on it, with a black sharpie, in a curly serify font, in HUGE CAPITALIZED LETTERS, with a giant arrow pointing straight down... TOWN IDIOT!

Or maybe this one will do:
So, what was I saying? Oh yes, Today I sealed my fate by addressing a gathering of town merchants to implore them to allow ME to 'help' them decorate their shop windows for the holidays... Thereby insuring either my vision of holiday goodness will be fulfilled OR My family will have me donning and cinching up a straight jacket festooned with sparkly, SPARKLY, garland...

I'll keep you posted.

Overdressed?

2009-10-13T19:11:00.003-05:00

Computer Boy attended a meeting in town with me today. He came along as my representative. His job was to make sure I didn't volunteer for anything and if so, he had permission to smack me upside the head... By the way...Ouch! my head hurts.

Anywho, following the meeting I asked if he'd like Burger King for lunch, "my treat!" (What a stupid question... It would be a cold day in hell before my boy would ever turn down a king size order of chicken fries.) Since I was 'dressed up' for the meeting we attended, he jokingly asked me if I thought I was overdressed for Burger King. I looked at him, sitting there beside me in the van, dressed in an old t-shirt and a pair of jeans the likes of which, I have absolutely no idea when they'd last seen a spin cycle, and I asked, "I don't know, do you think YOU might be overdressed for Burger King?"

Party for one... Your table is ready.

2009-10-12T09:19:00.003-05:00

The whole orthodontia thing is moving along rather quickly. That space I had between my two front teeth, since I was like 7? It's gone now, likewise for that tooth on the bottom row which was beginning to take up residence 'behind' all of my other bottom teeth... Can I just say how amazed I am by that miracle of orthodontic engineering?

So my hygienist asks me the other day, "How long did your orthodontist say it would be until you got your braces off?" I told her he had predicted 20 months. She said, "Well maybe it's like when you go to a restaurant and the hostess tells you it's going to be a 40 minute wait but then calls to seat you after only 10 minutes."

I've got another appointment coming up in a couple of weeks and I intend to use that exact analogy with my orthodontist when I ask him if, per chance, I'm ahead of schedule. It looks like I'm heading out to California for another visit in May and I can't think of anything more awesome than to make that trips sans braces (well that AND a 30 lb. weight loss 'cause if you're going to dream, DREAM BIG, or in this case, dream small.) 14 months vs. 20 months? C'mon, it could happen!... Couldn't it?

Damn Crooked House

2009-10-09T12:57:00.003-05:00

So the other night, 'Computer Boy' was loading the fridge with soda cans, when the sodas shifted within the oblong carton on the counter and began tumbling to the floor, one.... after.... the... other. 'Computer Boy' was quite obviously frustrated and said, "Well this wouldn't have happened if this entire house wasn't on a slant!" I said, "What?" and began laughing.

I could tell by the smirk on his face, he knew very well he was just making an excuse for the accidental soda drop but it still didn't stop him from locating a marble to see if it would roll off the counter, which it didn't so consider that myth BUSTED!

For Uncle Bill

2009-10-08T12:33:00.002-05:00

You fought so hard for so long... Rest in Peace.

16 Miles and what do you get?

2009-10-03T14:01:00.003-05:00

From Monday to Friday, I walked over 16 miles this week and last night I realized the one thing thinner on me is my ring finger (my wedding band nearly falls right off)... Yes, my FREAKING RING FINGER!!!

WTF???

And don't you dare say it's because of the Panini's... Don't you DARE!

*I know what the billboard is saying, and it doesn't have anything to do with losing weight in my ring finger but I still think it's hilarious.

Oh Yes I Did!

2009-09-29T15:28:00.001-05:00

Take a picture of what was probably the most awesome sandwiches I've EVER made!

I'd like to present - Smoked Turkey, Provolone, Pesto-Mayo & Cherry Tomato Panini's

It kind of goes without saying but, I LOVE my Panini maker?

Delicious Panini Goodness

2009-09-28T10:22:00.002-05:00

This weekend I purchased a Panini machine and Oh MY GOD! Such deliciousness! I find myself wondering just HOW I went all these years without one.

On Saturday I made Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella Panini's with London Broil (okay, the meat was little dry, so if I try it again the meat will have to be very rare and sliced paper thin.)

Yesterday I made Tuna Melt Panini's with cheddar cheese on fresh Italian bread and the bread? ooooohhhh the BREAD! So toasty, So tasty!

Today I'm going to step it up a notch and make Smoked Turkey with Tomato, Provolone and a Pesto Mayonnaise spread. I'm thinking of adding bacon too but that just might be too over the top.

My husband is working from home today and come lunch time, he's not gonna know what hit him. As I handed him the Panini I made on Saturday, I paused and said, "I'm trying to figure out just when I went from the luckiest wife in the world, to you becoming the luckiest husband."

And let's not talk about what all this bread is doing for the diet... okay?

Today's Kick-Ass I-pod Shuffle Tune:
Yes, I DID walk today but I dedicated the walk to my dog Anna. This made it more of a leisurly stroll so to speak, with lots of stops for sniffing rocks, trees, grass and just about EVERYTHING else. I didn't walk fast, I just allowed her to set the pace. No evil looks from passersby, just lots of admiring nods as to the beautiful animal I was walking.

Since the pace was slow, I spent time listening to the more relaxed music on my I-pod. One of the songs I enjoyed the most, instantly took me back to the first time I saw THIS, one of my all time favorite classic television moments.

Thanks... And there's MORE!

2009-09-25T11:01:00.002-05:00

My deepest thanks to all of you who went over to Smugmug and shared the love with Nature Girl. She positively GLOWS every time she reads a new comment.

I was surprised to find this morning, she's added even MORE of her stunning photos. You can see them here.

Now, I have to be honest and tell you that if it were me, and I didn't know Nature Girl, there's NO WAY I would believe a 16 yr. old took those pictures. But I swear to you, they're ALL hers. She has remarkable patience and an incredibly steady hand. My favorites are her macro shots but they're ALL pretty amazing... And I'm not just saying that because I'm her mom.

I'm Trying.... I'm REEeeeAaaaalllllLLLYY Trying

2009-09-24T10:07:00.003-05:00

So the boy still doesn't have his drivers license... The reason being, he has to accrue 60 hours of driving time before he's able to apply.

60 HOURS!!!

Yes, he needs the practice but dammit, I'm the one riding shotgun 99.9% of the time!

I'll say it again...

60 HOURS!!!

Today he was driving to school and was nearing the point where he needed to make a right turn.... but.... he.... was.... STILL... IN.... THE.... LEFT.... LANE!!! I had made a pact with myself when getting in the passenger seat of the car that I would NOT say ANYTHING during THIS trip.
a) Because I sound too controlling.
b) He's got to make responsible decisions for himself.

So here we are... STILL IN THE LEFT LANE... When my daughter says, "Hey, aren't you going to get over?" and yes, I couldn't help myself, I immediately echoed her words.

That's when he went, "Huh? Uh, Oh yeah... I forgot where I was going."

?????????????????????????????????????????????

Nature Girl Gallery

2009-09-17T09:15:00.002-05:00

If you've got a moment or two today, I'd like to invite you over to THIS site.

My husband had offered to sponsor Nature Girl with her own Smug Mug Gallery. We think it's time she start sharing her photography gift with the world.

I'm sure she'd be ABSOLUTELY THRILLED if you left her a comment or two... And go ahead, add the link to your browser, I'm pretty sure she'll be adding photos all the time.

Nature Girl Photography

2009-09-15T11:19:00.007-05:00

So the other day Nature Girl and I took a mini photo safari around the front yard at our friends house. The results of some of my shots can be found here... But I thought I'd dedicate a special post to these pics:

Well looky, who do we have here? This not so little guy/gal? would like to say Hiya!

(I was able to get this shot with the tutelage of Nature Girl. She was all, "Okay, wait, wait, refocus, wait, okay, take it NOW!" All while holding her own camera and that giant bug!)

I am definitely not brave enough to actually hold insects of this size but for 'Nature Girl' it's well, second nature. I am consistently amazed that she can hold the camera still enough with one hand to manage clear, crisp macro shots. Eventually our little friend wanted to get a better idea of just exactly what this big black thing was. If it were possible, I think our Mantis buddy would've started taking his own nature pictures.I have to tell you, at one point when I was shooting my macro shots the mantis climbed onto MY camera and I managed okay until, I felt this guy sneak up beside me and start flicking his tail against my right arm....That's the only time I let out a scream.

Oh yeah, my Kick-Ass I-Pod Shuffle Tune of the Day: C'mon, like the Beatles EVERY I-Pod should have AT LEAST one song by this artist. It's a perfect walking beat, add a little bounce and maybe a little hip movement and your walk becomes a half-dance... And when you pass someone looking at you with a smirk... Just smile, nod and keep on shuffling.

A Quandary

2009-09-15T10:09:00.005-05:00

Our dog Anna is getting old...However, that doesn't stop her from becoming an unbearable nudge EVERY morning over going for a walk... And her favorite spot is 'The Walking Park.' The minute she sees me fill the water bottle and grab the leash she bounds over to the front door, tail wagging furiously and whimpering pathetically. She can scarcely hold her shit together until she's in the van, perched on the back seat and if we don't get there fast enough, she starts whimpering again.

Now this is all well and good UNTIL, we get about halfway through the walk. Then her advanced age begins to take its toll and I start to look like as big an A-Hole as Michael Vic, dragging my poor gimpy dog around the park, trailing 5 feet behind me.

Would you think me EVIL if you saw me walking a dog that looked like this? (Advance to :28 and again at 6:32 and again at 7:34 and there you have Anna, my very own Lassie Come Home.) What am I supposed to do? Leave her at the door, sad and dejected? I'm hardly getting a workout when after the first mile and a half I'm slowing to a crawl and turning around every minute or so to play out a scene from 'Brian's Song' saying, "C'mon, you can make it!" All while others walk past me either looking at Anna with pity or to me with contempt.

I could walk her around our neighborhood but I'm here to tell you that my old dog would still feel slighted if I left her behind. I'm thinking maybe I'll try to walk her in the evenings at the park, along with my husband who also complains that I walk too fast for his liking.

As for my Kick-Ass I-Pod Shuffle Song of the Day:
So OK, THIS song has a really kick-ass beat that seriously got me pumped and moving when I otherwise felt like dragging. I seriously doubt however, this would be one of Anna's favorite tunes. I wonder though, if they'd consider selling doggy I-Pods? Hmmmmmmm?

Summers Last Sigh

2009-09-14T18:29:00.006-05:00

The boats are dry docked...

There's a touch of red on the tips of the trees...All those books I'd hoped to have read before summers end? Still waiting for their spines to be cracked.

The days are shorter...The flowers are sharing their last fragrant blooms...

There seems an audible sigh at the close of each warm day...So, here comes the sucky cold weather... I'm really gonna miss you Summer.

Wave Action

2009-09-11T19:22:00.001-05:00

The above photograph illustrates just why my bathing suit stayed packed in my suitcase this vacation.

Why we won't have a tan after vacation...

2009-09-10T14:21:00.003-05:00

A very brief break in the clouds:
Cloudy with a very good chance of wind:

And More wind:

And MORE wind:

And Even MORE WIND:

White Capped & Wind Blown

2009-09-10T13:22:00.001-05:00

Last year it was Hurricane Hannah, this year it's just like a hurricane but without the weather service christening the weather with a name.

For the past three days we've been mostly holed up in the beach house, ducking out of the wind and the rain between visits to the nearby shops. Fortunately we ALL like eachother and we have a plethora of books, games & puzzles to keep us occupied. While the 13 of us are capable of entertaining ourselves at the cottage... There are, inconceivably, 3 CRAZY men out golfing in this today. My husband however, has always told me it NEVER rains on a golf course.

This is the view of the ocean today from the deck off my bedroom:

And this is a view of the furniture on the deck off my bedroom (kinda reminds me of the sinking scene in Titanic.):

Last night my husband was griping about the amount of banging the kids were doing so late at night. I think he should've been upset at the patio furniture instead.

My Kick Ass I-Pod Shuffle Tune of the Day:
What? You don't think I walked today? YES, Yes I did! Fortunately it wasn't raining at the time but if I didn't have this extra girth the wind might have just lifted me up and taken me out to sea. I didn't walk yesterday due to rain aaaannnnd a bit of laziness, I'll admit... So today's walk started out with seriously burning calves but I was determined to plow through. I was really losing hope that ANY song would have an effect on the pain in my legs until THIS song came into rotation. Now this is the beauty of the I-pod, how a song can transport you to a place where fatigue and aching, burning muscles are no longer in the forefront of your conscience.

Chivalry

2009-09-09T10:02:00.004-05:00

I found this one on the site of a fellow blogger and fell in love with it...

"Jessica. For God's sake," he said. "Allow me to do at least one common courtesy for you. In spite of what 'women's lib' teaches you, chivalry does not imply that women are powerless. On the contrary, chivalry is an admission of women's superiority. An acknowledgment of your power over us." - Beth Fantaskey, Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

What a beautiful thought to share with both my daughter AND my son. Maybe you'll want to share it with yours.

My Husband - The Fashion Plate

2009-09-09T09:14:00.001-05:00

So the old man needed some new clothes for vacation this year. Not a problem. However, I discovered recently, the guy needs a little instruction on exactly HOW to dress.

Seems he doesn't exactly know what to DO with new clothes. He spent the entire day walking around like this:

And I thought it was bad when he walked up to his brother and pointing to the large strip of XL's that ran down the front of his new shirt said, "Look, my shirt comes with a cool logo too."

I can dress him up but I sure can't take him anywhere.

The Death of Summer & Common Vernacular

2009-09-08T07:50:00.005-05:00

Our Bethany Vacation usually begins the weekend after Labor Day, so this is the first year we've been in town for all the end of the summer festivities. On Saturday night we had the pleasure of listening to and meeting the members of the Beatles cover band, Fabmania... Four really nice guys who look, dress and sound the part. All the while maintaining the character and accents of the fab four. It was only after I got into a side conversation with 'Paul' about where we were both from and that he works in my home town, that the Liverpool accent kind of faded... Naturally.

Later, I was talking with my beach house buddy Janet, who is herself British, South African born and spent a great deal of her life living in Britain. I expressed that it might've been funny for her to introduce herself to the members of Fabmania, possibly giving them the impression they were being mocked (I have a rather twisted idea of what's funny... Speaking of which, I'd really like to hear Janet do a Benny Hill impression, which knowing Janet, it'll be a cold day in hell before that happens.) My very British friend Janet, in typical British form, obviously didn't see why I found this idea quite so hilarious. Anyway, I realize Janet's accent and the Liverpool accent are quite different. I mean, have you ever noticed that when the Beatles talked, whatever they said always came out sounding like a question? Case in point "He's Paul's Grandfather."

So Janet and I get to talking about the different accents in England and I say something regarding the 'Liverpoolian' accent. She looks at me and says, "Liverpoolian?" (exactly as a Liverpoolian might say it) and she says (very British like), "You mean 'Liverpudlian'." "LiverPUDlian?" I say, "What the heck is LiverPUDlian... Why that just sounds derogatory!" Cause I mean, how does someone who comes from a place ending in 'POOL' end up being referred to as a 'PUDDLE?' Why, I think that's just rude. The argument ensued as to which was the proper reference and only until we looked it up on Google did I admit to being wrong. Leave it to someone from Britain to KNOW the proper vernacular for someone who hales from Liverpool but it continues to boggle my mind. Puddle indeed!

So back to the end of summer festivities. Last night the adults went out for dinner together and left the kids to fend for themselves (put down the phone, childrens services division doesn't want to hear that we expected a bunch of teenagers to procure their own dinner), when we got a call from Chloe who explained that she a the others had been quote: "Touched by DEATH!" Expecting they'd had a close call with a rude tourist behind the wheel, my husband asked if they were okay. Turns out there's a ritual here in Bethany called, 'The Death of Summer.' Mourners gather dressed in black, a dirge is played and a woman walks around with a long black scarf and wipes away the 'tears' of the vacationers and tells them they've been touched by death........... Creepy? Yes! But I guess everyone has their own way of kissing summer goodbye.

My Kick-Ass I-pod Shuffle Tune of the Day:
For high energy you can't get much higher than THIS tune. I own the cd of this band or should I say, Orchestra and nearly every tune exudes this kind of energy. So I'm certain this won't be the last time I post a link to this tattooed genius.

Sleeping through the Sunrise

2009-09-07T11:15:00.002-05:00

My husband and daughter are nuts! They get up every morning of vacation at O-dark-thirty so they can photograph the sunrise. It's VACATION for heavens sake... In my book, sleeping in on vacation is not only mandatory it's a God given RIGHT!

The result of their efforts is however, quite spectacular!
My Kick-Ass I-Pod Shuffle Tune of the day:
Maybe I'm just in a mode because we had the opportunity to see a the cover band of this group on the boardwalk the other night but when THIS song came on rotation during my walk, I was in complete sync with the beat... An awesome FEELING!

Sand Blasted

2009-09-06T16:58:00.003-05:00

Last night, after an amazing, family prepared dinner, of ribs, potato salad, coleslaw, fruit salad and corn on the cob (beach eating, at its finest) my sister-in-law and I mutually agreed that if we were to partake with wretched excess, we must also exercise with wretched excess. So we laced up our sneakers and off we went a mile or so down surface streets to a pod of high-rise condos. After working our way through the parking lot at the far side of the buildings we located a beach access and made our way out across the sand. Did we walk the shore line along the hard packed sand? Hell No! The REAL workout is the walk through the mounds of loose sand... And I'm here to tell you, even my ARMS hurt today... My ARMS??? How can that even be possible?

Beachward Bound

2009-09-04T19:00:00.003-05:00

It's here, it's FINALLY HERE!

It's time for our annual family/friend vacation to Bethany Beach. Since our vacation falls at the VERY end of the so called, 'Vacation Season', it seems like I'm always bidding others adieu whilst I long for some getaway time of my own. As my Father-in-law used to say, "I'm not complainin' just explainin." Because the nice thing about vacationing after Labor Day, is the diminished crowds and mild weather. MMMmmmmm, I can almost smell the salt sea air already.

I've been busy packing and organizing ALL day but I did have time to listen to my i-pod whilst I mowed the lawn this morning, so the wait is over....

Here is your Kick Ass I-Pod Shuffle Tune of the Day: How about something with a little Latin flavor? I had goose bumps the first time I heard this song was when it was performed LIVE at the Grammy's. The message is such a positive one... Lively, Foot Stomping, Wave your arms and Take on The World kind of Positive!

The Mouth of Pain

2009-09-03T07:56:00.004-05:00

There's a distinct difference between the way my daughter and I look at Orthodontia.

Whenever She has an appointment looming on the calendar, she begins to dread the days leading up to it. In stark contrast, whenever I have an appointment coming up, I look forward to it with great anticipation.... Because I like pain? Duh! NO! I'm no masochist. I'm excited to see the orthodontist because I look at it as being one step closer to straight teeth. You see, my daughter has difficulty looking at the Big Picture. She lacks VISION and NO, I'm not saying she needs to see an Optometrist.

So last week my daughter had her appointment with Dr. 'Game Show Host' the Orthodontist. She was miserable a couple days leading up to it and then miserable for two days after due to the discomfort of having her braces tightened.

Yesterday was my appointment, I couldn't wait, my teeth are coming together so nicely, I was excited to have Dr. Game Show Host, note my progress. He told me, "Things are really moving along nicely." And then his assistant replaced the upper and lower wires with piano wire and today I'm sitting here worried about how much it's going to hurt when I eat my morning oatmeal.

Just to be a complete killjoy, my daughter said, "Oh, he says 'Things are moving along nicely' to EVERYBODY Mom." I'm certain in a couple of days my mouth will be back to normal... Well, as normal as it CAN be when it's full of metal and piano wire, but I am determined to be impressively stoic in the meantime... Just to prove to my girl that one doesn't have to be a baby about these things.

Today's Kick Ass I-pod Shuffle Tune:
Now you just KNEW I was gonna through some FOB in here didn't you? This tune came into rotation nearing the end of a good strong walk. Anna was at this point, kinda dragging a few feet behind me. I kept turning back to her and saying, "Are you doin' okay girl?" Then she'd step it up a few paces and eventually fall back again. When this song came on though, I just couldn't help myself. I pounded out the beat but when the chorus hit, I started jogging. Anna half galloped along and when the chorus ended I'd start pounding out the walk again. Then the chorus would hit and off we'd go. If Anna could talk, I'm quite sure she would've been cursing me a blue streak because seriously, she had a marjorly pissed off look on her face.

Sky Gazing

2009-09-02T07:58:00.004-05:00

Astronomy has never much been 'My thing'... I think it's because I just can't wrap my head around the idea of 'The Universe'... It's quite enough for me to try to focus on 'This Planet' and everything IT encompasses. Is there life out there? Perhaps, maybe, I don't know. All I know is, it's just too much to consider. So I don't care, call me narcissistic.

For my husband and my daughter though, star gazing is becoming a bonding experience. My husband received a telescope for his birthday this year and he and the girl child are so excited by each new discovery.

Today, they got up at Oh-dark-thirty so they could see this:

Amazing isn't it? Can you guess what star that is?

Surprise! It's not a star at all, it's this:

It's the Space Station and it flew over our house at 5:32 am this morning.

In my husbands words, this is what they had to do to prepare for the sighting:

We had to figure out which way WNW was (we did this the night before)…

We used google earth to find North relative to the front of the house,
We then magnetized a needle, put it in a cork, floated it in water, and found north that way,
Finally, we located the North using the North Star.

Then we drew compass points on the driveway in chalk based on the results of the various methods. The needle method differed from google and the north star (which agreed fairly well), so we went with the majority opinion.

We went out this morning at about 5:25 and sat on the sidewalk facing WNW, positioned so our little tree in the front yard blocked the annoying street light… and watched.

Of course, eagle-eye Sarah spotted it first, slightly north of where we had 'computed' it to appear. It moved quickly, going from horizon to overhead in about 2 minutes. We watched with binoculors and Sarah tried a time exposure with her camera. After it went overhead, we got up, went to the driveway, and watched it some more.

A very nice way to start the day.

A very nice way to start the day, indeed! A Dad and his Daughter bonding under the stars... Well, it makes for a wonderful life. Where was I? In bed, asleep, of course!

Kick Ass I-Pod Shuffle Song of the Day:
First off, I have to fess up and admit to not walking this morning. I'm giving the dogs a rest, meaning my feet AND the actual dog, 10 yr. old Anna. She's been gimping around too much to subject her to 3 days in a row. But anyway, this song was in my rotation yesterday and while it may be a little too 'Alternative' for some of you, it's got a kick-ass pounding rhythm. Anyone else out there a Blue October fan?

TNS Tuesday - The CSA

2009-09-01T09:23:00.001-05:00

Gee, I haven't written about The New School in ages and since it's getting to be that time of year again... Back to school time, that is... I thought I'd share with you all what some of the members of the school have been up to.

It wasn't until late June that land was acquired by Omnia Humanitas (an off-shoot humanitarian group of The New school) for a farm or CSA, which stands for 'Community Sponsored Agriculture.'

The way a CSA works is at the beginning of the season members buy shares to 'Sponsor' the farm site. As items become ready to harvest, members pick up there freshly grown vegetables once a week and reap the rewards of healthy organic produce for a very minimal cost.

Vegetables are coming in with such bounty, I scarcely have room in my fridge to contain it all. Here are just a few of the items being cultivated. These were taken back in July. My daughter is the official photographer for the project.

With this project I've been given the opportunity to try vegetables I've never eaten before. Who knew I'd like 'Chard'? I've taken to being a little more adventurous with cooking the veggies too. One night I cut up yellow squash, green onions and chard. I minced some garlic and sauteed everything in some olive oil, sprinkled some sea salt and fresh cracked pepper and viola! It was delicious! My kids, unfortunately are gutless wonders when it comes to trying new food. Especially something green.

Today I'm really going to take the plunge and roast some fresh beets. I've never had a fresh beet before but I'm damn well gonna try one. I'll let you know what I think.

Kick Ass Shuffle Tune of the Day:
This tune didn't just make me feel good... It had me feelin' 'Hella Good'... Oh, I just totally gave THAT one away.

By the way, I'm not the craziest person at the walking park. Yesterday I saw a woman holding her I-Pod up to her mouth and singing into it. I had my ear buds in at the time so I'm not sure if she was lip syncing or treating everyone to her own special brand of I-Tunes.

Scale FAIL

2009-08-31T08:32:00.005-05:00

Although I'm determined to NOT turn this blog into a site chronicling my struggle with weight loss, I HAVE to take a moment to whine and whine LOUDLY!

The day I decided to 'Slim Down' if you will, I went directly to Kohl's to purchase a new bathroom scale. I wanted just a standard old fashioned scale as the one I was replacing was digital and worked for about oh, 2 minutes. You see, it sat directly below the towel bar and when I inadvertently hung my bathing suit to dry directly over the scale, the resulting water accumulation landed directly on the scale and apparently fried it's circuits.

Anywho, seems your standard bathroom scales aren't as available as they once were and all they had at Kohl's were various brands of the digital variety. Sure, I could've ordered a scale online but that would mean waiting to verify a starting weight. You see, I need to be able to chart progress. Oh sure, I could just wait to feel my clothes becoming looser or perhaps hang in there until someone throws a compliment my way... But I'm an instant gratification kind of gal. Which of course, is obvious, or I wouldn't be in this diet predicament to begin with. So, I purchase this scale by 'HealthoMeter'
bring it home, immediately weigh myself and offer up a prayer of thanks that at least I'm not at the heaviest I've ever been BUT there's still a world of improvement to be made.

I continue weighing myself morning and night for an entire week, noting my progress and am thrilled to see I've reached a 6 lb. loss after 9 days. 9 DAYS!!! 6 LBS!!! This is FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!!! At this rate, by this time next year, I could be super model material (hey, I can dream can't I?) All right, I can be at the very least, no longer shopping in the plus size section.

Have I mentioned how much I HATE the plus size section? They always put it right next to the petite section, in EVERY SINGLE STORE!!! This means that if you're a plus size gal and you see something cute on that rack a few feet to your right, when you pick it up and look at the tag you realize you've stepped into petite world and feel as though every eye is upon you saying, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" "IT WOULD TAKE MORE THAN A SHOE HORN TO GET YOU INTO ANY OF THESE OUTFITS!" "GET BACK ON YOUR OWN SIDE, LARGE WOMAN!"

So back to my 'Home-Medic' brand scale story. On Friday I walked, and all was well with the world. I'd lost 6 lbs. and I was feelin' like a goddess, or at least 6 lbs. thinner... Until that night!

My daughter had taken a shower and came downstairs and said, "I don't know about that new scale of yours, I stepped on it once and it gave me one reading and then I stepped on it again and it gave me another." I said, "Perhaps you had it sitting on the tile catawhompas?" She said, "What the heck is catawhompas? But yes, I made sure I had it leveled on the tile floor." So later, I went to check the damn thing out for myself and sure enough, I stepped on it once and it gave me one weight (you didn't honestly think I was going to share that weight HERE did you?) and then I stepped on it again and it gave me another weight 2 lbs. and 4 oz. HIGHER!!! What the Hell? So I spent the next 10 minutes shuffling that damn scale all over the bathroom floor, weighing and re-weighing myself. I'd get the same reading 4-5-6 times in a row and then, sitting in the same exact spot, it would shift again and give me a different reading, sometimes less, sometimes more.

........And then I wanted to go eat a large bowl of ice cream. Hello 'HealthoMeter'?... You FAIL!

I can't even explain what that damn scale has done for my psyche these last couple of days. I feel like that guy who lost to Michael Phelps by 1/100th of a second. You know, thinking you've won it big but then.... Okay, I know that's a completely unfair comparison but you get the gist.

So after weighing myself repeatedly on Saturday and getting readings that fluctuated between 3 and 5 lbs... I decided yesterday to NEVER step foot on that damn scale AGAIN! There's $40 down the drain.

HOWEVER, I walked again today and my mood is brighter again. I'll let you know when the clothes start getting loose or someone says, "Wow you look great! Did you lose weight?" Til then, I'll try to stop blogging about weight loss.

Here's My Kick-Ass Shuffle Tune of the Day:
This song might be a little heavy for some of you but I'm dedicating this one to Chris... It's a song he might be able to admit listening to and not catch any crap from his boys. I have to admit, this is a tune you gotta double time to or else it's too slow, but when I hear, "Now get in the pit and try to love someone" it just makes me feel like hugging a stranger... Which I would never do because the folks at the walking park are already keen on keeping their distance from that crazy woman madly stomping her way around the path.

Singing It's Praises...

2009-08-28T09:37:00.005-05:00

I've said it before, I'll say it again... Forget Tae Bo, Forget Nordic Trac and forget that overly tan, super toned, blonde haired, goofy guy with the pony tail, trying to sell you the latest fitness apparatus for your home... You know who I mean:It's just my opinion, but I think the greatest invention to get one motivated is the I-Pod Shuffle. BUT, you can't use those stupid little paddle type earbuds, oh no... You gotta use the buds that sit directly in your ear canal so NO OTHER sound but the tune of a pounding beat is blasting straight into your brain... And, it's GOTTA be a POUDING beat!

I know it might sound like I'm being fecetious... I'm not, I'm completely serious, when I say I LOVE my 'Shuffle.' I have to admit though, it's immensely difficult NOT to break into song while I'm walking... However, I figure, since I already look like a complete dufus, half-way bustin' a move as I make my way around the walking park trail, I'd prefer to not have the authorities apprehend me for the crime of being a complete asshole because I'm singing BADLY at the top of my lungs. So, instead I just move my lips to the music. I save my singing out loud for my kids at home... Yeah, they love it!

Now, every time I exercise there's ONE song that really gets me pumped. I keep my 'Shuffle'... well, on shuffle, so I never know what song that'll end up being. I can always feel that song of the day, the minute it begins to play. The SONG brings on a major adreneline rush and I actually get goose bumps (even though I'm usually sweating like a one legged man at an ass kicking convention.) I can feel my hair sort of stand on end and a smile spreads across my face, like I'm the only one in on the worlds greatest secret. I just feel sorry for anyone walking past me who isn't in my head at that very moment. Any of you ever feel that way when you're listening to your I-pod?

So when todays song began to play I thought I'd add to my blog...
'The Ass Kickin', Foot Poundin', Lip Syncin', I-Pod Shuffle Song of the Day'
Better known as TAKFPLSIPSSOTD...
Yeah, I know it doesn't spell anything... You got any better names?

Anywho, rather than list right out what the TAKFP.... blah! blah! blah!... song is, I'll leave a little hint and then you (my 3 readers) can click to see if you were able to figure it out. Sound like fun?

Okay, here's today's TAK....SS....OTD:

A tiny little thing but DAMN, this artist has a set of pipes and boy can she blow... There just aint no other like her.

Same Basic Ingredients

2009-08-26T07:39:00.005-05:00

Last night as my husband and I made our way around the 'Walking Park' (6 miles yesterday, yeah me!) we talked about 'Life'... Not in the 'how's life?' sense but in the deep extissential sense... Extissential? I don't even know how to spell that?

Anywho, my husband came up with the analogy of pancakes vs. souffle. He stated that one could use the same basic ingredients and end up with either a pancake or a souffle depending on how they're cooked. Well, I looked up both recipes this morning and found that each have differing ingredients so I'm going to change his analogy to pancakes vs. biscuits. I understand the point my husband was trying to make. A lot of people are given the same ingredients to start with and some become something stunning like a souffle or more accurately a biscuit. Others are kind of lacklustre and manage just the minimum of expectations. Is it the heat? Is it the subtle tweaking of ingredients?... And why do my husbands analogies have to center around food?

In order to explain this odd conversation one must understand that my husband is 51 years old. I'm not 51 (not even close!) so I can't quite relate to this angst about life in general, that he keeps eluding to. But, after almost 27 years as a programmer in the aerospace industry, I think he's beginning to wonder if that's all there is to define him.

My husband speaks with great admiration of acquaintances who take risks (leave their family and homeland to better themselves in a new country), live life by the seat of their pants (risk financial ruin to live a dream) or go on amazing adventures (sail for 2 weeks up the northeast seaboard.) I suppose he considers these men to be the 'Biscuits' of life. But I think my husband has forgotten the risks he's taken. Leaving his family and all he knew in Virginia to start a promising job in California took a lot of bravery. Having to deal with my insane family, in order for us to be together, proved he was a man of honor and dignity. And in my book, ANY man who willingly takes on the role of being a father and proves himself worthy of the title by having teenagers who love and respect him is a real hero.

You know, I've never really cared for biscuits... I DO like pancakes! But regardless, they're just food items... There's nothing all that extissential about food... But that man I married, he's pretty damn WONDERFUL and I hope he's capable of pushing that angst aside and see it for himself.

My Life Is A Lot Like My Tupperware Cabinet

2009-08-25T10:49:00.003-05:00

Roughly a year ago I completely organized the cabinet in my kitchen I refer to as 'The Tupperware Cabinet'. This is the cabinet which holds all my storage containers for leftovers and a bunch of misc. plastic stuff.

A year ago, my Tupperware Cabinet was in a word, Beautiful... A completely organized creation. I had lids sorted by size in a slotted, re-purposed, plastic office sorter. I had bowls nested according to size and nestled in cake carriers... I'm telling you, it was organization at its finest!

Today, my Tupperware Cabinet is a mess! Items are tossed in and the door is quickly closed before anything can fall out on the floor. When I'm in search of a storage container, I go through the frustrating chore of searching through piles of plastic to find the right sized item. The search for a matching lid is like running the gauntlet on a Japanese game show... The Tupperware Cabinet is a deep corner cabinet and I'm telling you, one could get lost trying to reach into the back of the thing.

Now, I'm well aware the Tupperware Cabinet didn't become a mess overnight. These things happen over time... One unloads the dishwasher in a rush and rather then nest that large bowl under those smaller bowls, you just toss it on top. Eventually what you've got is Tupperware Jenga.

So I'm in the shower this morning, following my 3 mile walk and subsequent weigh in and I'm thinking to myself... "Self, you've let yourself go, just like that damn Tupperware Cabinet!" One second helping at a time, one bowl of ice cream before bed... It's just like resting the larger bowl on top of the smaller one or tossing that lid where it doesn't belong. The bitch of it is, I could spend 30 minutes and get the Tupperware Cabinet reorganized (and I plan to get to it this week) but it's gonna take a hell of a lot longer to reorganize this body... But I'm working on it. As of today, I've lost 5 lbs.

Here's a link to my I-pod song of the day... I don't know what the hell he's trying to say with these lyrics but it makes for a damn fine tune to pound out a walk.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuEEvH_PAoc

A Foodie Watching Her Figure

2009-08-24T12:31:00.003-05:00

Last night I went with a couple of girlfriends to see 'Julie & Julia.'

It's actually the 2nd time I've seen the movie. I saw it first a week ago with a very surly husband. I might add that I don't find movies nearly as enjoyable when the person sitting next to me is experiencing a mental breakdown because they couldn't decide BEFORE the movie started as to whether or not they should've purchased some popcorn.

Last night, with the girls, the movie was even more enjoyable, but for one minor exception... THIS time, I was dieting. Have you SEEN this movie? Butter, Cream Sauces, Cakes and CHOC-O-LATE CREAM PIE! But of all that, nothing and I mean NOTHING brought on my hungry more than the Bruschetta the character Julie makes, early on in the movie.

Last night when I went to bed, I felt like I hadn't eaten in months I was SO FREAKIN' HUNGRY!

Going to see a foodie movie while you're watching what you eat? Well that rates right up there with slathering yourself in syrup and laying on an ant hill.

The Color Project

2009-08-20T08:09:00.004-05:00

As last week ended and I looked at the calendar for what this week might hold, I was dismayed to see a long string of nothing, and I mean NOTHING going on. Not one appointment, not one meeting... just crickets chirping.

I know I complain a lot when things get too busy and hectic, but were you also aware that I tend to complain when there's nothing to do? Well of course you did, because by now, I'm sure you've come to the conclusion that I complain about everything!

Anywho, I needn't have despaired because my calendar magically filled up this week and I've been having SO much fun as a result. You see, my friend 'J' whose family has been renting a home for the past couple of years, finally found a place to settle down. I'm so happy they've finally planted some roots here.

So, 'J' and her family are fortunate to have a couple of weeks in which to move everything out of the rental house and their storage unit, into the new place, so the process is WAY less stressful. It's a good thing too, because this way they can have a painter come in and do his job without having to work around a bunch of furniture. And it's a good thing they hired a painter because DAMN! The former owner of this house LOVED her some PINK! We're not talking ANY pink, we're talking PINK-PINK! As in, hand me the Pepto-Bismol honey because I think I'm gonna hurl Pink! The master-bedroom is a 'peachy' pink... The master-bath is a baby girl nursery pink... One of the bedrooms is nipple pink... And then to tone down the pink Corian countertops in the kitchen, the former owners sponged the walls mint green with you guessed it, a pink patterned wallpaper border... This of course flows perfectly into the mint green family room and at the end of the hall you'll find a Carnation Pink powder room.

So my job, and I chose to accept it... Actually I begged for it!... Has been as a color consultant for 'J' and her Pepto-Pink house. On Monday we went through each room cringing and laughing at all that needed to be painted over. With paint chits in hand we struggled to imagine an entire wall painted the color of a 2" swatch... A daunting task, mind you. With notebook in hand, 'J' wrote down colors and corresponding numbers.

On Tuesday, we did a lot more of the same (this is a BIG house, with a MASSIVE open floor plan.) We also came up with a fun paint scheme for her daughter 'H's' room, which I can't wait to get started on.

Yesterday 'J' picked up paint samples from 3 different dealers so we could test the colors on the walls and see if they worked. And I must say, even that was a trial with all that Pink! You have to kind of cup your hands around your eyes and try to focus solely on the block of color on the wall, otherwise the Pink can mottle up the whole look.

Today 'J' meets with the painter to instruct him as to the color choices she's made. I'm both excited and nervous that I've helped steer her in the right direction, with colors she'll be happy with for a long time. One thing you can bet on... None of the colors she chose are even CLOSE to Pink!

The Season of Wretched Excess Draws to a Close

2009-08-19T10:31:00.003-05:00

Before someone asks me, "When are you due?" I'm announcing TO-DAY that this is IT! My season of wretched excess has come to a close. I'm putting this out to the universe because I know if I keep something like this bottled up in my head, it's a lot easier for temptation to get the best of me and no one is the wiser... Except for that little nagging imp in my head and she's pretty easy to shut up with a bowl of chocolate ice cream.

SO, today I started a food diary... AGAIN*... And I'm about ready to head out to the store to purchase a new bathroom scale because the one we've got... that fancy digital gadget... it broke about a month after we got it. So I'll just blame all this extra girth on the bathroom scale.............. Nah, I know it's my fault. I know I haven't turned down an extra helping of well, ANYTHING, for the last several months.

Why now? Why today? Because last night as I sat down with a magazine and a generous helping of leftover chocolate cake, every damn article in the magazine was about weight management...
For instance: 'Conquer What You CRAVE'... 'The Mother Load - Sometimes it's hard to solve food issues until you untangle them from Mom issues'... 'Don't Eat Out (Without Reading This)'... And the most obnoxious of all, 'This Is What Happy Looks Like'.

With each bite of my cake I felt a little more guilty, like me sitting down with this magazine, and this portion of cake was in some way a cosmic bitch slap! Okay Universe, I get your point!

This morning I drove to the walking park along with our poor old dog Anna and with my i-pod ear buds firmly implanted in my skull, I drug poor Anna's ass over the nearly 3 mile track, heat, humidity and all. I'm like this the first day with anything... TOTALLY PUMPED! And if I'm not pumped tomorrow or the next day, or the next?... Well, too late, I already put it out to the Universe.

*4 years ago I kept a food diary and lost 30+ pounds. Writing down everything I ate really worked for me.

He of the Million Dollar Mouth

2009-08-17T13:23:00.007-05:00

I just wrote a check to the dentist for $780.00

Seems if you get your wisdom teeth out and get your teeth cleaned in the same year? You max out your dental coverage for that year. So when my son had to have 4 cavities filled at, get this, $195.00 EACH!, the bill comes out of our pocket.

Further proof that our kids will be living with us forever because there's NO way they're going to be able pay to take care of their teeth... Of course, if you've ever seen some of the folks who live in our county?... You might come to the understanding that dental health isn't deemed all that important around here.Yep, I think they're going to fit right in.

Worth the Orgasm?

2009-08-12T12:30:00.004-05:00

I'm helping out with our towns annual 'Fall Fest'... I've got another meeting today.

*hanging head in despair* Why?... Why?....... Why do I get involved in these things?

I say yes when I'm asked to attend a meeting, while at said meeting, I raise my hand or say I'll help do thus and such and then I go home and figuratively kick myself in the ass repeatedly until the next meeting when I do it all over again. Then I ultimately push my entire life aside to do shit I didn't want to do in the first place.

My friend Rose had the perfect analogy for this situation. She said, "Embe, it's like an orgasm. At the meeting they fill your head with all this, 'Oooo, you're SO talented and SO creative, we need you, we love you!'... It's the orgasm! Then you gotta spend your time giving birth to the project... Carrying it around in your womb, morning sickness, swollen ankles, general all-around discomfort and then, labor and delivery... That's the really HARD part. Ya know, it's really not worth the orgasm when you end up pregnant EVERY goddamn time!"

My friend Rose, she's such a freakin' philsopher.

Ignorance of the law is not a defense...

2009-08-12T08:57:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we joined our friends from TNS summer camp for a trip to Rehoboth Beach. This is an activity we've taken part in each August for the last several years. And let me say here, I enjoy the company but the actual sand, heat, bath house grunge and boardwalk thing don't, for me, equal a Good Time.

*I bitch a lot about the opportunities I'm given to go to interesting places, don't I?... I'm sorry, but that's just how it is... I'm a snob when it comes to cleanliness and creature comforts.

I make this trip every year because, like I said before, I enjoy the time spent with nice people... and because extra drivers are a necessity... also, because my kids really enjoy it. Having said that, there was an element to our trip yesterday which wasn't all that enjoyable... Especially for my son... He had another run in with the police. (what is it with that boy?) Oh, I just realized I didn't blog the story of his run in with the law back in March... Long story but the gist is he was picked up an taken to the police station, in the back of a squad car, for sitting blindfolded 10 ft. off the side of a road.... Which ISN'T illegal but when a cop gets a little freaked and you don't answer his questions fast enough, and said cop thinks teenagers are ALL degenerates... Well, that's reason enough to take you down to the station.

Anywho, last night, not 4 minutes after we made our way onto the boardwalk, I look over to see my son standing there with an officer breathing down his neck and an outstretched hand saying, "Give me the laser pointer." Seems my brilliant and light obsessed son was showing off his laser pointer to a few of his friends. He wasn't doing anything as nefarious as aiming the beam into the eyes of oncoming tourists, he was merely shining the light on the nearby dune reeds in order to display the unique patterns that resulted. However, when a cop sees a teen with a laser pointer it MUST be confiscated. It's the LAW! I've been searching the web but I'm hard pressed to find the actual ordinance... However, if a uniformed police officer tells you to hand over an object that is illegal, I guess you don't have much choice but, to do just that, hand it over.

I couldn't help but get involved as I watched my son give the officer his $80 pointer. EIGHTY DOLLARS??? Yes, E-I-G-H-T-Y $$$!!! He bought it with his own money a few months back and yes, I thought it was a stupid purchase but it's his money. So anyhow, I piped up and said, "Bud, isn't that a really expensive item?" And he replied with, "Yes, yes it is, it cost me $80." The officer then turned to me and said, "Are you the parent, I didn't realize he had a parent right here." Like I guess that makes a big difference because it somehow makes the illegal act MY fault... The boy is 19, but yeah, he looks like he's 16, so I guess that makes me responsible. After a brief conversation with the officer about my son knowing to never point his laser pointer at anyone or in anyone's eyes, the officer graciously gave me the laser pointer to 'hold' but kept the batteries. Seems fair right? I mean, my son did break the law... A law which he had NO idea existed but like the title of this post, 'Ignorance of the law is not a defense'... One can still be held accountable for a law broken even though one didn't know it existed.

So here's the rub... And you just knew there was one, right? Turns out, the Rehoboth boardwalk is rife with laser pointers. Seriously, you know that commercial where all the diabetic test strips rain down from the sky, fill the gutters and slip down the sewers? Well, Rehoboth boardwalk is like that with laser pointers. Rehoboth boardwalk is the freakin' Katrina of laser pointers. For a town with an ordinance to BAN laser pointers, they're sure liberal with handing them out. I watched to 30 something year old guys play an arcade game which awarded them BOTH a laser pointer in a matter of 3 minutes... And what did they do when the machine spat out their prizes? Well of course they opened them up, popped in the batteries and trained their beams on one another and the arcade walls around them. While walking down the boardwalk I got hit with so many red and green beams of light, I might as well have been playing laser tag... But where are the cops then?

So let this be a lesson to you folks... Life, it's just not fair and sometimes it's just plain inappropriate, like the parents we watched, who stopped and paid the henna vendor to create a design on the lower back of their 8'ish year old daughter... That's right, a 'Tramp Stamp' on a girl who isn't even out of grade school! When she's 10 maybe her mommy will buy her a stripper pole. Perhaps that's who the officer should've been reprimanding.

F#@&ing laser pointer!

Cracked

2009-08-10T07:52:00.006-05:00

My husbands cousin was in town on business and professed a desire to see The Liberty Bell. Now I'm gonna let you all in on a little secret here... I despise Philadelphia. If you've ever been there, you most likely know why... If you haven't? Well, let's just say 'The City of Brotherly Love' is a misnomer.

However, I'm an amiable kind of gal so a quick drive north to see an overrated piece of American history, for a favorite cousin, wasn't too tall of an order. Traffic was actually pretty sparse and the GPS helped me locate the historical district without incident.

We were however, a bit confused as to exactly where we needed to go to actually see the bell. So we waited an interminably long time to speak with a very chatty park ranger. 'Ranger Rick' gave us directions but informed us that the queue would be interrupted by a visiting VIP between noon and 2:00pm. I stated we were VIP's but 'Ranger Rick' didn't miss a beat and stated that yes, we were and as such, other, less notable, historical landmarks were awaiting us. Ever hopeful we'd get to glimpse the 'bell' before the forced closure we trekked across the street, only to meet up with a line which surely wasn't about to move fast enough for us to see anything more than a lengthy wait in the summer sun, before they closed everything up for the VIP.

Who was this mysterious 'Vacation Crasher'?

We decided to ride the 'Duck Tour'... An amphibious vehicle which takes you around the city and on to the Delaware River... And NO, I didn't do the Macarena, but I did blow on the duck billed kazoo like trinket the tour bestows on all its passengers. Note: Pictured here is neither myself, nor my cousin. Found this via Google search.

Side note: Somewhere, right now, there are mother's of kids who took the tour that are either screaming, "For GOD SAKES, quit blowing on that thing!" or they've already ripped the duck bill out of their child's mouth and have smashed it into a hundred pieces under their shoe.

On the Duck Tour, we saw some lovely historical landmarks whizz by at 10-15 mph... We also bore witness to a hairy bare ass, when some clown mooned us along the riverfront... Awww Philly, just another reason to love ya... Um yeah, so following the tour, it was evident the VIP(s) were making their entrance because streets were closed down and the line for the Liberty Bell viewing had magically disappeared. Unimpressed by VIP's who'd spoiled our plans we wove our way through the gawkers and hoofed it down to South Street, where we had a relaxing lunch. An hour or so later, when we got back to 'Liberty Place', the cops had gone and the line to see that damndable defective bell had increased by roughly 500 people? 700 people? a 1,000 people? It was hard to tell because the 1/2 mile queue wrapped around itself.... Great, juuuuuuust Great. We decided to pack it in, pay our $16.25 parking fee and head home. Nice picture eh? Had to find it through Google image search because we didn't get anywhere near the damn thing.

But! Just WHO was that VIP? None other than Michelle Obama along with Malia & Sasha. How lovely that she could share a bit of American history with her girls after a 130 mile drive on the taxpayers dollar, during the height of the summer tourist season... Oh well, guess that's what it's like to lead a life of privilege.

*My thanks to Chris for his thought provoking comments on this post.

Just a few more gray hairs...

2009-07-29T09:07:00.003-05:00

Yesterday my bachelor buddy and I took a drive down to the Swedish particle board wonderland that is known as Ikea. Since our neighbor from Sweden is just an hour down the interstate, this seemed the perfect opportunity for 'Computer Boy' to log some driving time... Not to mention the chance to jockey for lane positions with a plethora of 18 wheelers.

It should be noted, the boy had driven on the interstate only once prior to our trip yesterday and that was with his driver's training instructor... So needless to say, this was going to be a first for ME.

Things started off a little rocky when he nearly missed the turn to get to the interstate. A turn our family has taken umty-gajillion times! But I guess if you're a passive passenger like my son, you tend not to notice things like, where the vehicle is taking you at any given time.

I should also mention that our trip TO the interstate had the added joy of being tailed by an irate driver who didn't much like the fact that my son was unwilling to IMMEDIATLY turn right at that red light. Thanks for the horn dude, like this trip wasn't stressful enough already.... Aye Carumba! I made a mental note to, in the future, always try to be tolerant of other drivers.

Anywho, our trip down the interstate was blessedly uneventful but that still didn't manage to allow for relaxing even one muscle in my body... Remember? Control FREAK!

Now the problem with getting to Ikea FROM the interstate, is that one must cross 3 lanes of traffic almost immediately after exiting. How does one teach a new driver how to merge across heavy traffic coming at you from behind? I don't know and I wasn't ready to try. So I had him make a right at the light and then make a U'y.

Once we were in IKEA we sat on a couch for 10 minutes so we could just TRY to relax. Apparently I make him tense... Really? Who knew? After a tour through the labyrinth that is IKEA we ate ourselves some Swedish meatballs and I began to mentally prepare myself for the ride home. Initially he said he was too tired and asked me to drive. I tried not to display any visible signs of relief, but then he changed his mind. So then I tried not to display any visible signs of stress.

I didn't mention this earlier but to get to IKEA, one must drive across the 'Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge', a bridge that spans the Susquenhana River and to anyone who might be a bit squeamish about high bridges, it's a terrifying ordeal to cross. Was I tense going over it southbound? You bet! Was I tense going over it northbound? Well I was pretty much okay when we were in the center lane but when the boy changed lanes... mid-span... for no apparent reason... to the slow lane... the lane right up against the guardrail... which is FAR TOO CLOSE to a certain drop of death to the river below... Well I was Freakin' TERRIFIED!!! Especially since the boy has a habit of riding the right side of a lane marking. Now because I didn't want to make any sudden moves or comments which could result in him losing focus... We're talking CRITICAL focus... I somehow shakily peeped up with, "Could you move to the center of the lane more, puhleeeeeeaaassee!" You know, I think he made that lane change on purpose!

Good news though, I lived to blog about it.

We're Bachelors Baby!

2009-07-27T10:54:00.004-05:00

For some time I've listened to my Mother-in-law, Sister-in-law and my husband sit around and talk about how great it would be to visit New England. When my husband was young his family spent 13 summers on the Cape and seldom is the time when we're all together that someone doesn't bring up some aspect of those summer vacations with their cousins. In fact, when my husband and I were dating, we'd sometimes walk from my house, across the street, to the elementary school. We'd sit in the warm sand beneath the playground swings and he would tell me about those wonderful summers on Horse Neck Beach in Massachusetts. My husband would woo me with tales of swimming, fishing, running his little boat into hidden coves and blueberry picking.

After we were married he did take me on that trip to Massachusetts for a family reunion. Unfortunately, our trip coincided with one of the hottest, muggiest, most inhospitable summers in New England's history. Our accommodations consisted of a run down, moldy beach house where the only method of bathing consisted of an outdoor shower with three flimsy walls and a nasty shower curtain, all situated on a cement pad, which allowed every manner of bug, access to the water around your feet.

As fo our bedroom, it was situated in a screened porch so that when it rained, our beds could've passed for the steerage level of the Titanic. Accomodations aside, nothing compared to the horror of blueberry picking. The very same past-time which my husband spoke of with such longing was, for me, one of the most miserable 2 hours of my life. I remember standing in a grove, on what was the hottest, muggiest, most soul crushing day in New England's history. As I clutched my pail tightly between clenched fingers, I stifled screams as gigantic beetles dive bombed all around me. The sound of their approach was equal to WWII Kamikaze pilots. So as not to appear the major whimp I truly was, I kept my screams to myself and repeated the following mantra in my head: "Just pick your bucket of berries and get the HELL out!"... "Just pick your bucket of berries and get the HELL out!" And no, I haven't been blueberry picking or anywhere near the Cape since.

So back to my husband and In-laws. A month or so ago I planted the seed and told my husband that he and my daughter should take a trip together somewhere. I thought it would be a wonderful bonding opportunity. After a lot of thought on his part (before he makes ANY decision he has to spin it around in his brain for a while.... a Loooonnnnggg while.) and a bit of discussion on mine, we thought it would be a wonderful idea for his mom and sister to be a part of the trip. And since there's been years of romanticizing about New England, it seems the perfect destination for them all.

So this week, thanks to a LOT of nudging on my part, my husband, daughter, Mother-in-law and Sister-in-law are off on a New England Vacation. It took a LOT of prodding on my part because... DAMN, this group would've NEVER made it as far as the Delaware border without my persistent "Go Already!" So that, along with my mad skillz at internet searches and hotel booking gave them the incentive.

They're of course, wondering why I might seem so desparate to send them off on vacation without me? I'll tell you why, because for a glorious week my son and I get to 'Bach It' (as in bachelors.) There are no demands to meet and since it's just the two of us? No food planning other than, "Which fast-food franchise should we patronize today?" So, in the spirit of 'Bachelorhood' I leave you with these:

It's Like Magic

2009-07-26T21:44:00.003-05:00

The Scene -
Getting ready to watch a video with 'Computer Boy.'

The Dialogue -
Between a boy and his mom.

Computer Boy: "Where's the remote for the dvd player?"

Me: "Um, I don't know, I haven't seen it in a while."

Computer Boy (after sitting in the same spot for roughly 5 minutes, announces): "That's SO frustrating, I've looked everywhere and don't know where the dvd remote can possibly be?"

Me: "You've looked EVERYWHERE?.... Are you kidding me, you haven't moved from that spot."

Computer Boy: "No, but I'm thinking about where it COULD be."

Me: Looking under the coffee table I spy the missing remote, grab it and hand it to Computer Boy along with a major eye roll.

Computer Boy: "See, I knew it would come to me."

Life Lesson at the Tip of My Finger...

2009-07-20T10:34:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I spent a glorious afternoon propped between two lawn chairs on my deck, reading a book. The weather was absolutely fabulous, a cool breeze, a glass of iced tea and a blank 'To Do' list.

Whilst I lounged there reading away, I was interrupted by the tug of skin at my fingertip... "Damn, a hangnail!" I pulled at it a bit until it felt uncomfortable. I thought to myself, "You know, you should run upstairs and grab a pair of clippers to take care of this." I argued back with myself, "But I'm so comfortable sitting here, *whiny voice* I don't waaaant to get up." Back and forth, back and forth, this little argument played out in my mind until I finally made the decision to pull at the hangnail until it opened a sizeable painful opening on the side of my finger.

Had I taken the 2 or 3 minutes to run upstairs and clip off the offending tag of skin, I wouldn't be left feeling the nearly constant annoying burn, of the open cut on the side my index finger on my right hand... That would be the same hand I use for just about EVERYTHING I do.

2 or 3 minutes of physical effort were saved but I'm paying for it with a day or two of pain.

Just Muggling Through*

2009-07-17T08:08:00.005-05:00

*Spoiler Alert
So last night the family decided to take a second mortgage on the house and fatten the coffers of the already engorged Harry Potter franchise... Which is to say, we went to the movies. (Great! Now I've got that damnable song from 'Annie' playing in my head...."Let's go to the moooovies, let's go see a show... ARGH!)

Anyway, First let me lay it on the line... Harry Potter? Meh!

I read the first couple of books but I'm just not that good with 'Fantasy' reads. I have a hard time conjuring up in my head something which doesn't exist in the real world. So I guess you could say I lack 'Imagination' (sure you can judge but I think it's fair to say, I had my imagination beaten out of me as a kid, so give me a break.) Therefore, at some point I determined it was just easier to see the Harry Potter 'movies' in which I left all the interpretation up to the directors.

I'm the type of person who gets caught up in the frenzy of media hype. So yes, I started reading the 'Half Blood Prince' reviews following its debut in London. The reviews were more than favorable, stating this latest installment was the "best yet." "Not as dark as the last movie." and was "The most humorous Harry Potter so far." Since I like humor and I'm not too wild about movies with 'Dark' situations, I figured this could possibly be my favorite Harry Potter movie thus far.

So what did I think of the movie? Well, I think I went to see 'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince' but there were several aspects of the movie which left me wondering if I weren't in fact watching 'Lord of the Rings'... "Wait, is that Dumbledore or is it Gandalf?".... "Did I just see Harry fighting off Gollum, 10 Gollums, a 100 Gollums?" "And hey? That Deatheater on the screen, he's really an Orc, isn't he?" And now Harry will have to spend the next two movies (one book, split into two movies because the studio wants to ride this money horse for as long as possible.) chasing down six different 'Hoorcrux' and believe it or not, there was something that had to do with a 'Ring' which belonged to Tom Riddle aka Voldemort. I'm not sure what though, because all those heavy british accents had me repeatedly turning to my daughter asking, "What did he/she say?"

Allow me to expound a moment on my thoughts about 'Lord of the Rings' (yet another fantasy book series, I just couldn't get through.) I've seen all the installments of LotR, my husband is a geek, uh I mean fan... and Linda H., I know you're going to disagree vehemonously with me but, OH MY GOD! I get so incredibly frustrated watching those movies!!! It's like, GET TO THE FREAKIN' FIRES OF MORDOR ALREADY! I'm sorry but, I've got enough examples in my life already of the 'One Step Forward, Two Steps Back' theory. I certainly don't need to spend 16 hours watching somebody else do it. Frustrating it's just FRUSTRATING!!!

Back to Harry Potter... There was one part of the movie that unintentionally made me chuckle. Dumbledore is lamenting to Harry about how he's aged since they've first met. Harry looks up at him admirably and says something like, "Oh no Dumbledore, you haven't changed a bit since the day I met you." And I'm thinking, "Well there was that period where you looked an awful lot like Richard Harris and then you suddenly looked at lot like Gandalf, uh, I mean Michael Gambon... How do you do that? Oh right, you're an all powerful wizard, much like Gandalf the Grey or the White? Oh bloody hell, I don't know." I know I should be cutting a break here because you're kinda left hanging when a lead actor dies but why would you want to point out in the script that he's always looked the same?

Now here's the big spoiler and if you don't know this, you've been living under a rock or just care a lot less about Harry Potter than even myself. Dumbledore dies and I actually heard people in the theatre supressing sobs and the sniffling was everywhere. Now I must tell you that I am the BIGGEST wuss when it comes to sap. I cry at the drop of a hat. I cry over music videos, Hallmark commercials, sappy e-mails even... But at this point in the movie, I felt nothing other than a brief query as to when Dumbledore the White would appear. Then when all of the principals gathered around Dumbledore's lifeless body, (which included lengthy close-ups of the side of his face, in which I could tell he was still breathing... Awkward!) and raised their wands, lit up rock concert style? I was wondering when I'd start to hear strains from the lead guitar and well, it was all I could to supress the laugh that was welling up from the bottom of my cold, muggle heart.

Let's Take A Walk

2009-07-08T10:56:00.006-05:00

Much to my husbands dismay I brought my camera along for our walk last night. He didn't feel he'd gotten quite the workout he hoped for with me lagging about snapping pictures here and there. So indulge me if you will, while I show you some sights along that 'Walking Park' we 'Drive' to most evenings.

Parking at the 'Walking Park' is getting more and more difficult... Clearly we aren't the only ones who 'Drive' to 'Walk'. We started our walk off near the Tennis and Basketball courts. Haven't seen anyone playing tennis yet but the basketball courts are always crowded in the evenings.

Next we wind our way around toward the most heavily wooded portion of the path. There is a portion of the pathway here that branches off into an unpaved trail (Freedom Trail) which meanders through the woods. The trail is just long enough to give you the impression you've left civilization completely except for the fact, the park has provided wooden bridges to aid in crossing over creeks beds. It's one of my favorite areas in the park and few people who visit seem to know about it. Most everyone sticks to the paved path. Sorry though, we didn't take the 'Freedom Trail' last night.

Next we meander our way around a large opening which skirts the tree line. It hasn't rained for a week or so but if it had, the ponds along the trail might be teeming with frogs and other creatures.

Winding our way around, we come to another branch off the trail which we call 'The Hill.' It's not too terribly long and not too terribly high. Just enough to give some folks an option for optimum fitness. Such as the guy we watched last week, who had weights strapped to his ankles and wasn't running up the hill he was JUMPING up the hill. I kid you not, he was making his way to the top by jumping with both feet together, taking great leaps, one after another in succession... WITH ankle weights! We've seen other guys with weighted vests running up and down 'The Hill' too. As for us, we didn't take 'The Hill' this time but we have in the past. I don't care for it too much because it cuts off a portion of the 'Walking Trail.'

Having made our way past 'The Hill' we now work our way toward what I call 'The Grove.' It's a stand of trees which completely ensconces the trail... You can see it's like walking into a tunnel. Should you have wandered here on a hot day and brought along sustenance, inside 'The Grove' are a couple of picnic tables.
Okay, so now we're beyond the grove and on the back corner of the course. The path is raised here and travels along marsh on either side. I'm not sure either of these mom's were all that thrilled I was taking pictures in their general direction, so do me a favor and don't click on the this pic because I don't think they'll be very happy about it.

(You just clicked on it, didn't you?)

I took the opportunity to snap a pic of she, who is clearly the better photographer in the family.

I am however, pretty proud of this shot I captured of the backside of 'The Hill.'

This is what most would consider the 'Front' of the 'Trail.' It wanders along the main highway but they did a pretty good job of masking it with low trees and bushes they left intact. There's a large portion of the 'Walking Trail' I left off here. Someone started complaining about how walking with two photographers was really cutting into his 'workout' so I put my camera away... Until we saw this gorgeous sunset and he agreed it was too good to pass up.

Thanks for joining us for a walk... And aren't you glad, you didn't even have to drive to get there.

Driving to the Walking Park

2009-07-07T16:26:00.003-05:00

Sounds a bit insane, I know... But yes, our family has taken to driving 5 miles up the road so we can walk. But why not walk in your own neighborhood? Meh! Been there, done that. It's just so much of the same ol' same ol'. Whereas the 'Walking Park' is 300 acres of parkland. It has a nicely paved trail that winds for just under 3 miles around trees, marsh, basketball and tennis courts and a playground for the younger set. There's an area called the 'Freedom Trail' that winds through the woods which I find very pleasant. It's difficult to walk in the woods around our neighborhood because they're part of the golf course and unless I want to risk having my skull caved in by some Moe who fancies himself the next Tiger Woods, the only time I can walk the course is long after the sun has set. So, the Walking Park it is.

The park is brand spankin' new and in some areas, still a work in progress. It can get pretty crowded but that's the fun of going there. There are all walks of life and all shapes and sizes. It's nice to see people doing something good for themselves and it feels nice to be doing something good for me.... But driving somewhere so you can walk?... Crazy, I know.

Here's a pic of the trail I found online but when we head out for our walk tonight (and I know we will) I'll try to capture something a bit more interesting with my camera.

The Sweet Taste of Lime

2009-07-03T16:32:00.003-05:00

What's that you say? Lime isn't sweet, it's sour? Not the Lime I'm referring to. I'm talking about Lime as in Michelle from House of Lime. Whilst heading south for a trip to the beach, Michelle stopped by the ol' treehouse for a visit and I can attest to the fact she's anything but sour. No, she's bright, sweet, tangy and a real pleasure to be with. I'd say she's a bit of a tart but that's just me trying to be funny.

Anyhow, it's an interesting thing when bloggers meet. I had the opportunity to meet 'Lime' face-to-face last summer. We had a lovely lunch at a nearby eatery where it would be safe for either of us to make a hasty exit should they find themselves face to face with crazy. Fortunately, Lime wasn't just normal, she was lovely, fun to be around, good natured and best of all, neglected to detect the crazy in me... Which is odd, because by my account, I didn't do a very good job of hiding it. So imagine my surprise when she contacted me last week to let me know she'd be passing through town again.

So Wednesday night, two bloggers came together once again but this time Lime got to meet the whole family for dinner at the actual 'Treehouse'. Since my husband wasn't sure what to expect, unbeknownst to me, he logged on to my computer, found my blog roll and spent some time familiarizing himself with 'The House of Lime.' Which added quite an element of surprise to our dinner conversation.

Fun huh? Bloggers getting together for an actual face to face. Or as Lime's daughter like's to refer to us 'Freaks in a Box' makin' it real... Even more fun is when blogger friends bear gifts.

Look! She gifted each family member with a pair of tie-dyed tube socks... Now THAT'S a really special splash of Lime!

Passenger Seat Hell

2009-06-30T12:51:00.003-05:00

*If you eventually read this son, I'm sorry. I just couldn't hold the angst in any longer so I'm putting out to the universe.

He's completed the 'Instruction' part of the Driver's Training School. Now he's on to the actual 'Driver's Training' and that's all well and good, as long as I don't have to play the role of 'Instructor.' I know he wants to practice... I know he needs to practice... It's just the Practicing that's got me all tied up in knots.

It's become obvious that I just don't have what it takes to sit silently and let the learning take it's course. I'm a control freak... Doesn't he know that... A Control FREAK! So when he stops a half-mile short of the stop sign, I want to say, "Why are you stopping HERE, a half-mile from the stop sign?" And when he turns a corner while shuffling his hands along the steering wheel, I want to say, "Haven't you EVER paid attention to how Dad and I steer when we drive?"... Or when he creeps down the road with a line of cars stacked up behind him... Or when he took that turn too fast... Or that other turn too slow?... Or when he made that turn yesterday going the wrong way on the divided street and then yelled at me because I told him to go left without pointing out the street was in fact divided, even though this surely wasn't the first time he'd been on that street, how was I to know it was the first time he'd actually been paying attention?

I try to relax and not pay too much attention, even sit back and close my eyes, you know? I mean, I doubt he's at the point where he's going to hit anyone, but he's definitely at the point where he's most certainly annoying 99% of the other drivers on the road. But he's gotta learn, right? He's gotta learn. And I have to just stick a pin in it, in order to keep myself from going off... But DAMN, it's not easy for a Control Freak like me.

*Shaking head* Nope, it sure aint easy, for a Control Freak like me.

Black or White

2009-06-25T22:09:00.003-05:00

I graduated from high school in 1982, Michael Jackson's music is so deeply buried into my psyche, I could measure many of the events of my life, by each of his hits.

Listening to 'Off The Wall' while babysitting.

Dances

Video Premieres

Receiving the Thriller album from my husband on our first Christmas together.

That time I was shopping with my husbands college buddy and I talked him into buying that stupid Thriller jacket.

Laughing about just how BAD Michael Jackson could possibly be?

The thrill I got sharing Michael Jackson's music with my son.

Trying to explain to my kids how a black man became a white man, and why.

Questioning guilt or innocence.

A boy who never grew up? A man who loved children more than he should have? A wacko? A freak? A black man? A white man? A misunderstood celebrity, whose life was manipulated by the media? All I know is, I feel a sadness, like a thread from the fabric of my life has been pulled loose... And yet, I criticize myself for... for what? For suddenly caring about the life of Michael Jackson.