it's been a fun summer filled with visits to the river, reconnecting with family and old friends, learning lots about myself and figuring out what my expectations are and the direction I want to take my life. lots of changes are taking place around here and while some are difficult, the outcome, so far, has been mostly positive for me.... but more on that some other time.
the girl and I just got home from a trip down south to see some friends and do some back to school shopping. other than that we're busy wrapping up summer, kicking off soccer season ...pun intended :) and getting ready to head back to school... just two kidlets going back to school this year -still weirds me out that I'm old enough to have a kid who's graduated. the big kid is busy working odd jobs around the ranches, cutting firewood and enjoying a bit of 'freedom' before (hopefully) taking some college classes next spring. (xx fingers crossed xx)
guess that's enough of an update for now, duty calls... the theme around here this week is post-summer spruce up... today, the girl and I are cleaning out and re-organizing her room and closet in preparation for an even bigger 'makeover' in the, hopefully, not too distant future. wish me luck... -leaf mcbirdie... OUT!
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
catharsis
it's amazing how having your life thrown into a tailspin will make you stop and take inventory of what really matters. priorities come into sharp focus and trivial things that once seemed like such a big deal suddenly disappear from the radar. my mind has been working nonstop the past week or so, thinking about why I am the way I am and why I do the things I do.
I started a blog a couple of years ago, with the idea that it might be someplace to share the real me; my quirky, often immature, SOH, my true opinions on things -something "in real life" I often hold in check because I fear not being liked if my perspective doesn't jive with the popular kids. I wanted a place to bitch about things that annoy me, a place to share seemingly mundane things that, for whatever reason, make me stop and take notice - a place to post trivial accomplishments. I wanted my cyber-friends to nod at their screen saying "omg... ME TOO!". in hindsight I guess I was reaching out for the friendships and support I crave but lack the ability to manifest "in real life". actually, if I'm to be completely honest, I've never had a single relationship in my life, that's been 100% no holds barred -not that they couldn't have been that way, but I've never been willing or able to let go and open myself up to that -so, I started a blog.
I started a blog a couple of years ago, with the idea that it might be someplace to share the real me; my quirky, often immature, SOH, my true opinions on things -something "in real life" I often hold in check because I fear not being liked if my perspective doesn't jive with the popular kids. I wanted a place to bitch about things that annoy me, a place to share seemingly mundane things that, for whatever reason, make me stop and take notice - a place to post trivial accomplishments. I wanted my cyber-friends to nod at their screen saying "omg... ME TOO!". in hindsight I guess I was reaching out for the friendships and support I crave but lack the ability to manifest "in real life". actually, if I'm to be completely honest, I've never had a single relationship in my life, that's been 100% no holds barred -not that they couldn't have been that way, but I've never been willing or able to let go and open myself up to that -so, I started a blog.
nothing sinister in any of that except that once again, I stopped short at sharing the real me. I began posting right around the time my mom died. I was able to pour out my emotions -which was great but, soon after all of that, I retreated back behind my mask of worry and self doubt. the realization that the annonymity of the 'net is really a farce brought to the forefront my sense of obligation to always be nice, not rock the boat and always, above all else, avoid conflict and confrontation -because what if something I said was misinterpreted or hurt someone's feelings?! what if someone didn't like me? I was back at square one; I'd pour my thoughts out: typetypetype. read, then almost always: backspacebackspacebackspace. rewrite. think about my 'nice' factor and then either post or delete entirely. I have become a master at filtering. how the heck is it that, even with the relative annonymity of the 'net, I still can't be comfortable being me?
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
takin the day off
No school today, so the boys are out hunting (goose and duck), and the girl and I are veggin' out here at home. It's cold, wet and gray outside and we've both been fighting colds the past few days so we decided to take it easy (I know, nothing new for me, right?) and lay low -in fact, we're still in our jams -I love days like this! Kendall baked a dozen lemon/blueberry muffins earlier today and she's been having a blast playing Webkinz with her bff, Carson -it's so funny, Kendall has him on speaker-phone and they're hootin' and hollerin' at each other -pretty much the same as when they're together in person -little goobers! They're pretty dang cute! Poor Jack had to work. No rest for the weary -even if it is a federal holiday.
Friday, October 31, 2008
{UPDATE}
so much for our big storm. nothing more than a few sprinkles so far tonight so Kendall got to go trick or treating. for my troubles, I earned a 'fun size' butterfinger and a 'fun size' almond joy... pfffft. fun size??! puh-leeze! there's nothing 'fun' about having to open 16 dozen leeetle tiiiiny candy bars just so I can get my sugar grove on. gaaah, my laziness is probably the only thing saving me from slipping into a diabetic coma! lol dangit, I just realized I didn't bring the camera upstairs -I'll post a pic of K in her witch get-up, tomorry.
*update on my update*
okay, it's not exactly tomorry, but here's my dot, witched out for h'ween. after starting the eye make-up she decided she didn't want to be an "ugly witch" and put the kibosh on the creepy, full face make-up. *gaaah* impatient little party pooper! lol
*update on my update*
okay, it's not exactly tomorry, but here's my dot, witched out for h'ween. after starting the eye make-up she decided she didn't want to be an "ugly witch" and put the kibosh on the creepy, full face make-up. *gaaah* impatient little party pooper! lol
hoppy hollow weiners
hmmmph -woke up this morning with a bad case of the uglies and the mood to match. good news is I don't have to come up with a costume because nothing, and I do mean NOTHING, would be any scarier than what was looking back at me from my mirror this morning -yikes. bad news? I have to live in my skin all day and try to keep from doing or saying anything that makes peeps want to slip me arsenic laced candy bars. ggrrrr
go figger... we've had gorgeous fall weather here the past couple of weeks and last night, a storm rolls in. not a good, snuggle up inside by the fire, kick ass rain storm -no. it's a freakin windy, drizzly pain in the ass. I already told Kendall, in the event that it's pouring outside, mama's not hauling her bewitched booty from door to door -even if it means no overflowing candy bucket for me to raid. I know, bah humbug and all that crap. however, to make it up to my grill, I've agreed to endure torture worse than any ghosts or goblins could dish out... we're going to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua. *sigh* glutton for punishment? yeah, that would be me. obviously, my love knows no bounds.
**also, just want to pass on a quick little PSA that a friend of mine shared recently:
Sherwood's Milk Chocolate Pirate's Gold Coins
The little foil-covered chocolate coins are not safe for kids to eat this Halloween. They are made in China and contain the Melamine that children's deaths were related to recently!!!!! With Halloween coming soon, pass this on to your family and friends. It is true, Read the full story at the following link from Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/coins.asp
go figger... we've had gorgeous fall weather here the past couple of weeks and last night, a storm rolls in. not a good, snuggle up inside by the fire, kick ass rain storm -no. it's a freakin windy, drizzly pain in the ass. I already told Kendall, in the event that it's pouring outside, mama's not hauling her bewitched booty from door to door -even if it means no overflowing candy bucket for me to raid. I know, bah humbug and all that crap. however, to make it up to my grill, I've agreed to endure torture worse than any ghosts or goblins could dish out... we're going to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua. *sigh* glutton for punishment? yeah, that would be me. obviously, my love knows no bounds.
**also, just want to pass on a quick little PSA that a friend of mine shared recently:
Sherwood's Milk Chocolate Pirate's Gold Coins
The little foil-covered chocolate coins are not safe for kids to eat this Halloween. They are made in China and contain the Melamine that children's deaths were related to recently!!!!! With Halloween coming soon, pass this on to your family and friends. It is true, Read the full story at the following link from Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/coins.asp
Saturday, October 25, 2008
trading places
it's a bit ironic how roles change between parent and child as years roll by. Jack and I moved my Pop up here to live with us 2 & 1/2 years ago -and when I say live WITH us, I mean, we have him out in our front yard in a 38ft trailer. yes, it's true, I've turned my 73 year old father into trailer trash, and we couldn't be happier. :)
it's a win/win for all of us. the hubs and I don't have to worry about Pop not being able to get out and get his meds or groceries. Pop doesn't have to worry about being alone or having to take care of the upkeep on his big old house and yard -and probably the most important thing is that my kids get to hang out and really know their Papa.
I feel very fortunate that a) my hubs is cool with having my Pop around and that they get along. 2) we have the space and resources to make this happen, and c) that I'm able to share a friendship with my Pop that has enriched our father/daughter relationship.
Not having to worry about Pop being alone or being able to get out and about for his meds and/or groceries has been a big relief -a little background; Pop is diabetic and had a pacemaker put in a few years ago, he takes a multitude of meds for his blood pressure, cholesterol, blah blah blah and consequently due to the diabetes, he's got neuropathy which affects the nerves in his feet, in turn affecting his balance -he uses a cane to help keep him steady. like anyone with multiple medical issues, Pop has his good days, weeks, months as well as his more challenging times. before we moved him up here he was going through a rough spell which made it hard for him to do much of anything without easily exhausting himself. he had a hard time just going to the market for a half gallon of milk much less making the rounds for all of his groceries and there were spells when we weren't sure he was getting out to pick up his meds, and if he did get out we were worried about him driving. I do have a brother, that lived fairly close to Pop but he has his own set of issues and well, ...that's a whole 'nuther post. suffice to say, Pop was on his own and it was time that he needed help, he's a proud man so it took some finagling, but here he is.
my job as a 'stay at home' mom has now evolved to include 'caregiver' to Pop. honestly, I never in a million years would have seen this scenario playing out this way. my Pop has always been a big strong man who worked like an ox so, in my mind, I never thought he'd need looking after. it's funny how life has a way of throwing us curve balls.
since Pop's been here, I've learned so many things about myself and what I'm capable of doing. shortly after he got settled into his new digs, he had a situation come up that required debriding and cleansing his feet and changing bandages. it was awful -but not because it was gross (which it was) but because I was afraid I was hurting him, which just killed me... it was very much like taking care of my kids when they've hurt themselves, knowing that it just had to be done. I think that's when it hit me how much our roles have changed from me being a little kid, sitting on the bathroom counter while he cleaned out my ears, to me now, helping him trim his fingernails or put on his shoes. trading places hasn't been exactly easy but it's all good, and so worth it.
it's a win/win for all of us. the hubs and I don't have to worry about Pop not being able to get out and get his meds or groceries. Pop doesn't have to worry about being alone or having to take care of the upkeep on his big old house and yard -and probably the most important thing is that my kids get to hang out and really know their Papa.
I feel very fortunate that a) my hubs is cool with having my Pop around and that they get along. 2) we have the space and resources to make this happen, and c) that I'm able to share a friendship with my Pop that has enriched our father/daughter relationship.
Not having to worry about Pop being alone or being able to get out and about for his meds and/or groceries has been a big relief -a little background; Pop is diabetic and had a pacemaker put in a few years ago, he takes a multitude of meds for his blood pressure, cholesterol, blah blah blah and consequently due to the diabetes, he's got neuropathy which affects the nerves in his feet, in turn affecting his balance -he uses a cane to help keep him steady. like anyone with multiple medical issues, Pop has his good days, weeks, months as well as his more challenging times. before we moved him up here he was going through a rough spell which made it hard for him to do much of anything without easily exhausting himself. he had a hard time just going to the market for a half gallon of milk much less making the rounds for all of his groceries and there were spells when we weren't sure he was getting out to pick up his meds, and if he did get out we were worried about him driving. I do have a brother, that lived fairly close to Pop but he has his own set of issues and well, ...that's a whole 'nuther post. suffice to say, Pop was on his own and it was time that he needed help, he's a proud man so it took some finagling, but here he is.
my job as a 'stay at home' mom has now evolved to include 'caregiver' to Pop. honestly, I never in a million years would have seen this scenario playing out this way. my Pop has always been a big strong man who worked like an ox so, in my mind, I never thought he'd need looking after. it's funny how life has a way of throwing us curve balls.
since Pop's been here, I've learned so many things about myself and what I'm capable of doing. shortly after he got settled into his new digs, he had a situation come up that required debriding and cleansing his feet and changing bandages. it was awful -but not because it was gross (which it was) but because I was afraid I was hurting him, which just killed me... it was very much like taking care of my kids when they've hurt themselves, knowing that it just had to be done. I think that's when it hit me how much our roles have changed from me being a little kid, sitting on the bathroom counter while he cleaned out my ears, to me now, helping him trim his fingernails or put on his shoes. trading places hasn't been exactly easy but it's all good, and so worth it.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
the conclusion of WEDDING WEEK
it always amazes me how much work and money goes into weddings - an elaborate dress, flowers, cake, photos, reception hall, caterers, booze, -oh yeah baybee its all about the open bar! bottom line, it's a butt load of money and effort and all for just a few hours of "showtime".
Jack and I had a typical wedding with all the trappings and when I stop and think about how much money we could have saved and put towards a house, or maybe even towards that honeymoon we never took (because we were so po' after that big stinkin wedding), it makes me almost ill. seriously, when the big day is over and the guests have all gone home (or passed out in the parking lot) what do you have to show for all that money that was spent?? well, I can tell you what I have; a giant album that I flip thru every 5 or 10 years -usually when I need to prove to my kids that I did, in fact, used to be thin and Jack did, in fact, used to have hair. oh, I also have a luuuurvely gown, complete with reeeeally big poofy sleeves, that has been carefully heirloom packaged and is waiting in the attic for me to offer up to my dot when the time comes. pffft! I can just see her now -begging not to have to wear it! aaaaaaahahaha... poor kid!
anyway... the wedding we went to last weekend was a really refreshing change. the bride's mom made the wedding dress, the groom's mom made all the bridesmaid's dresses, there was no church, no reception hall, no superficial BS... our niece Katie & her fiancee Graydon (aka: Grady -Katie & Grady... isn't that cute?!) were married at my in-law's ranch out in Bear River, way up on a hillside overlooking the Bear River Valley with the Pacific Ocean for a backdrop. aside from the hellacious wind that threatened to carry us right off of that hillside, the ceremony was absolute greatness. not only was it very brief and pretty freaking hysterical but it was very personal and so THEM.
K & G were married by Rick, a close friend of the family, and who, for this occassion had the esteemed title of "Reverend Rick". I don't know all the nitty-gritty details but rumor has it Rick sent away and became ordained via some kind of mail order deal and now he's legit to do something like 3 weddings, 1 funeral and 5 baptisms... if I'm lyin, I'm dyin! LOL!
the reception was back at the ranch, where friends tackled the chores of setting up tables, cooking and serving a wonderful meal of spaghetti, meatballs, hot wings, bread, salad,... I don't even remember what else, but it was great food -none of that crappy, dried out chicken cordon bleu like you get at most weddings. the cakes were from Costco, delicious, and GONE by the end of the night... the music was played over speakers that were hooked up to a computer with a pre-programed i-tunes playlist. there was even one of those giant bounce-house things with a slide for the kidlets -as well as a few of the more erm, ...adventurous (read: drunk) adults!
after it got dark and things were getting mellow, we all gathered around the firepit, listened to one of Katie's bridesmaids, Jen, play the guitar and sing -wow! what an incredible voice that chick had- and then as the guitar was passed on and my FIL busted out his ukelele (yes, a ukelele!) we busted out the marshmallows, and got busy making s'mores!
the kicker here is that K & G live in Utah, and yet they managed to do a heckuva job planning this thing all the way out here in CA. they had friends and family who traveled great distances to be at the wedding, coming from Utah, Las Vegas, Iowa, North Carolina... all over the freakin place, many of them camped out at the ranch, either in tents, RV's, out in the bus barn that was turned into the "womens dormitory" and a few peeps even stayed in a horse trailer! some of the older folks stayed at the quaint little B & B's in town... but the point is, they came all that way just so they could be here for K & G's wedding week -and what a week it was!
The bride and her daddy:
The wedding party:
"Reverend Rick" performing the ceremony:
exchanging the rings:
smoooches!
Kendall with Chicago (groomsman) & Daisie (bridesmaid)
the bouncy house (this thing was worth it's weight in gold!):
Jack and I had a typical wedding with all the trappings and when I stop and think about how much money we could have saved and put towards a house, or maybe even towards that honeymoon we never took (because we were so po' after that big stinkin wedding), it makes me almost ill. seriously, when the big day is over and the guests have all gone home (or passed out in the parking lot) what do you have to show for all that money that was spent?? well, I can tell you what I have; a giant album that I flip thru every 5 or 10 years -usually when I need to prove to my kids that I did, in fact, used to be thin and Jack did, in fact, used to have hair. oh, I also have a luuuurvely gown, complete with reeeeally big poofy sleeves, that has been carefully heirloom packaged and is waiting in the attic for me to offer up to my dot when the time comes. pffft! I can just see her now -begging not to have to wear it! aaaaaaahahaha... poor kid!
anyway... the wedding we went to last weekend was a really refreshing change. the bride's mom made the wedding dress, the groom's mom made all the bridesmaid's dresses, there was no church, no reception hall, no superficial BS... our niece Katie & her fiancee Graydon (aka: Grady -Katie & Grady... isn't that cute?!) were married at my in-law's ranch out in Bear River, way up on a hillside overlooking the Bear River Valley with the Pacific Ocean for a backdrop. aside from the hellacious wind that threatened to carry us right off of that hillside, the ceremony was absolute greatness. not only was it very brief and pretty freaking hysterical but it was very personal and so THEM.
K & G were married by Rick, a close friend of the family, and who, for this occassion had the esteemed title of "Reverend Rick". I don't know all the nitty-gritty details but rumor has it Rick sent away and became ordained via some kind of mail order deal and now he's legit to do something like 3 weddings, 1 funeral and 5 baptisms... if I'm lyin, I'm dyin! LOL!
the reception was back at the ranch, where friends tackled the chores of setting up tables, cooking and serving a wonderful meal of spaghetti, meatballs, hot wings, bread, salad,... I don't even remember what else, but it was great food -none of that crappy, dried out chicken cordon bleu like you get at most weddings. the cakes were from Costco, delicious, and GONE by the end of the night... the music was played over speakers that were hooked up to a computer with a pre-programed i-tunes playlist. there was even one of those giant bounce-house things with a slide for the kidlets -as well as a few of the more erm, ...adventurous (read: drunk) adults!
after it got dark and things were getting mellow, we all gathered around the firepit, listened to one of Katie's bridesmaids, Jen, play the guitar and sing -wow! what an incredible voice that chick had- and then as the guitar was passed on and my FIL busted out his ukelele (yes, a ukelele!) we busted out the marshmallows, and got busy making s'mores!
the kicker here is that K & G live in Utah, and yet they managed to do a heckuva job planning this thing all the way out here in CA. they had friends and family who traveled great distances to be at the wedding, coming from Utah, Las Vegas, Iowa, North Carolina... all over the freakin place, many of them camped out at the ranch, either in tents, RV's, out in the bus barn that was turned into the "womens dormitory" and a few peeps even stayed in a horse trailer! some of the older folks stayed at the quaint little B & B's in town... but the point is, they came all that way just so they could be here for K & G's wedding week -and what a week it was!
The bride and her daddy:
The wedding party:
"Reverend Rick" performing the ceremony:
exchanging the rings:
smoooches!
Kendall with Chicago (groomsman) & Daisie (bridesmaid)
the bouncy house (this thing was worth it's weight in gold!):
Monday, August 11, 2008
where the hell have I been?
I mean, seriously.
Last Friday, I met up with my niece Katie -and about 15 other crazy chicks- for a "spa day". Now, honestly, I'm not really a 'spend the day at the spa' kinda girl but we'd all been invited to spend the afternoon together as part of Katie's pre-wedding festivities (in lieu of a bridal shower/bachelorette party), so how could I refuse? Having never gone to a spa (oh yeah, I was a spa virgin), I didn't really know what to expect... in fact, about 5 months ago, when we were given a list of different services we could try, I more or less closed my eyes and pointed to one -I mean, I don't know a Vichy Shower from a Seaweed Pack so, what the hell... eenie-meeny-miney-mo... I ended up getting a shoulder/back/neck massage along with a spa pedicure. oookay, fine, sounds safe enough, doesnt' it?
not so much.
please talk amongst yourselves whilst I make a valium cocktail with a chaser of prozac.
I gotta tell you that, while I love being hugged by my peeps and love snuggling with my kids, I'm not a thuper-dooper touchy feely person by nature and the idea of peeps I don't know touching me, weirds me out -I mean, it's not like I freak if I happen to bump into someone, but I'm just very concious of the whole 'personal space' concept that we learned way back in preschool, so, when I realized a perfect stranger was going to: a.) be touching me in a more intimate manner than oh, lets say, a handshake and 2.) I'd be nekkid from the waist up while they were doing that, not to mention c.) someone else would later be touching my FEET -eeeew, feeeet! I was a tad put off so, needless to say, I spent the next four and a half months trying to catch a cold, pneumonia, malaria ...anything, so I could gracefully skip out on spa-day. sigh... no dice.
fast forward to "spa day". I seriously consider taking a couple of beers... possibly an entire 6 pack, with me to shotgun in the parking lot before I join the girls, but I worry that stumbling in, slurring at 10am, I might draw even more attention to myself than I will with my sweaty palms and the huge sweat stains that are showing up under my pits.
I arrive (un-inebriated, damn it) and we all go thru the introductions, hugs and niceties and suddenly, I'm thinking to myself, hey, there are so many people in here, maybe I can just hang out and chat and no one will notice if I don't actually get anything done, I can just plaster the same mellowed-out smile on my face that all the other girls seem to have, and no one will be the wiser, right? -okay, good plan. a few minutes later, I was completely caught off guard when my name was called out by a gal, who apparently takes her fashion cues from the late, great Johnny Cash, because she's dressed in black from her head to her toes... hmmm, I don't remember meeting her -and then my eyes drift down to the little design just above her left breast where I see the words: The Spa at Personal Choice. DAMN IT, again -I'd forgotten all about that friggen sign up sheet, and my number was up!
Head hung low, I follow Johnny Cash, Jr. thru the catacombs where we finally arrive at a candle-lit room with soft Celtic music playing, there's even a little waterfall to add to the ambiance -I mean, they really go all out to create a calm, relaxing atmosphere. I kid you not, I had to choke back a nervous laugh because my first thought was, dayum, I hope Jr's not gonna put the moves on me back here -which I realize was completely random but eh, that's pretty much how I roll ...and as I'm kinda cracking myself up, it dawns on me that the Celtic music reminds me an awful lot of the pan flute CD that I used to tease my homegrill about after finding it in her collection. Zamfir, anyone. ...anyone? ah, but I digress... I'm on the verge of nervous hysteria when Jr tells me to take my shirt and bra off and get comfortable up on the table (SEE?! I knew she was gonna put the moves on me -I KNEW it!) -then, as if sensing that I was a spa newb, she added, "face-down". pfffft. yeah, ok, I knew that -and then she excused herself so I could disrobe.
I got myself undressed, carefully hiding my boulder holder in the folds of my discarded shirt -don't ask me why, but I've always folded my clothes, being sure to tuck my underoos out of sight anytime I have to undress (I'm talkin like undressing at the dr's office etc... NOT whilst in the throws of passion... wait, passion? pfffft... nevermind.). I turned to get on the table but it was too high to just back up and sit down on, so I looked around, but there was no stepstool. So, I start to panic that Jr is gonna walk back in any second now, and not only see me standing there half nekkid but witness me trying to hike my fat ass up on the table that is too high... ugh, I finally make it up there and as I'm trying to get myself turned around and flipped onto my belly, I reach out and grab something, which turns out to be the face stirrup thing, for a little leverage and the freakin thing completely falls off! O. M. G.! so, now I'm on my belly, trying to hold my head up so I can see what I'm doing, while keeping my bewbs plastered down on the table, as I try and reattach the face thing without getting up off the table... I sure hope the spa doesn't have any hidden cameras in those rooms, because I'm tellin you, if they do, I'm sure you'll be seeing me and my boingly-doinglies on one of those shows where you send in video clips for cash. I was seriously thankful I hadn't forgotten my deodorant because I was starting to work up a sweat -and that's the moment Jr chose to come back in. now, completely mortified, I tell her that I've broken the face stirrup (what the hell do you call that thing anyway?) and she calmly tells me "oh, ...don't worry, it's not broken, it. just. has to. go in liiike... uhm..." and then she procedes to fight with the stoopit thing for what seems like several minutes, until, thankfully, it *finally* clicks back into place. by this time, I'm so busy concentrating on not spontaniously combusting, I just bury my face in the newly repaired face holder and pray I don't do anything else embarassing... like fart.
heeere we go... Jr splashes some oil on my back but before she actually begins the massage, I hear her take a series of what sounds like deep cleansing breaths like they teach in Lamaze class -I'm guessing that was to fortify her for the work ahead because once she got started she really worked my muscles, to the point of it being almost painful. I kept hearing her taking these deep breaths in and slow breaths out and I wondered if maybe she was doing that to cue me to breathe that way in order to relax... meanwhile, I was busy praying I wouldn't become so relaxed that I'd let one fly -gaah, talk about the coup de grâce, eh? by the time it was over, I felt like a lump of clay after it's been smooshed and kneeded until it's smooth and pliable -I was completely relaxed, and I realized as I was getting dressed, that I had survived, and so had Jr., who's name it turns out, was Alisha... and I had in fact really, really enjoyed my first massage.
fully relaxed, I floated out to the pedicure bench to sit with my feet in water that was so warm, I instantly regretted not having relieved my bladder beforehand -especially in my newly relaxed state. after a nice soak, I had my feet scrubbed, and then got exfoliated all the way up to my knees (thank goodness I had thought to shave that morning... I would have been mortified if she'd seen the Yeti legs I had been sporting!), feet and legs lotioned, nails and cuticles trimmed... and then had my toenails painted Stilleto red... and finished off with a spritz of yummy smelling almond oil -B.E.A.-youuu-tiful! I was so distracted by talking with all the girls durring this process, I didn't even have time to think about how weirded out I am by people touching my feet... long (boring) story there, but it has to do with some surgeries I had 20+ years ago.
so now, that I've experienced (and survived) "spa-day" I'm thinking I may indeed be a "spa-day" type of girl after all... and Jack may have to work some extra hours, do some side jobs, maybe even sell a kidney to keep me in the style to which I'm quickly becoming accustomed.
ahhh... life's good.
Last Friday, I met up with my niece Katie -and about 15 other crazy chicks- for a "spa day". Now, honestly, I'm not really a 'spend the day at the spa' kinda girl but we'd all been invited to spend the afternoon together as part of Katie's pre-wedding festivities (in lieu of a bridal shower/bachelorette party), so how could I refuse? Having never gone to a spa (oh yeah, I was a spa virgin), I didn't really know what to expect... in fact, about 5 months ago, when we were given a list of different services we could try, I more or less closed my eyes and pointed to one -I mean, I don't know a Vichy Shower from a Seaweed Pack so, what the hell... eenie-meeny-miney-mo... I ended up getting a shoulder/back/neck massage along with a spa pedicure. oookay, fine, sounds safe enough, doesnt' it?
not so much.
please talk amongst yourselves whilst I make a valium cocktail with a chaser of prozac.
I gotta tell you that, while I love being hugged by my peeps and love snuggling with my kids, I'm not a thuper-dooper touchy feely person by nature and the idea of peeps I don't know touching me, weirds me out -I mean, it's not like I freak if I happen to bump into someone, but I'm just very concious of the whole 'personal space' concept that we learned way back in preschool, so, when I realized a perfect stranger was going to: a.) be touching me in a more intimate manner than oh, lets say, a handshake and 2.) I'd be nekkid from the waist up while they were doing that, not to mention c.) someone else would later be touching my FEET -eeeew, feeeet! I was a tad put off so, needless to say, I spent the next four and a half months trying to catch a cold, pneumonia, malaria ...anything, so I could gracefully skip out on spa-day. sigh... no dice.
fast forward to "spa day". I seriously consider taking a couple of beers... possibly an entire 6 pack, with me to shotgun in the parking lot before I join the girls, but I worry that stumbling in, slurring at 10am, I might draw even more attention to myself than I will with my sweaty palms and the huge sweat stains that are showing up under my pits.
I arrive (un-inebriated, damn it) and we all go thru the introductions, hugs and niceties and suddenly, I'm thinking to myself, hey, there are so many people in here, maybe I can just hang out and chat and no one will notice if I don't actually get anything done, I can just plaster the same mellowed-out smile on my face that all the other girls seem to have, and no one will be the wiser, right? -okay, good plan. a few minutes later, I was completely caught off guard when my name was called out by a gal, who apparently takes her fashion cues from the late, great Johnny Cash, because she's dressed in black from her head to her toes... hmmm, I don't remember meeting her -and then my eyes drift down to the little design just above her left breast where I see the words: The Spa at Personal Choice. DAMN IT, again -I'd forgotten all about that friggen sign up sheet, and my number was up!
Head hung low, I follow Johnny Cash, Jr. thru the catacombs where we finally arrive at a candle-lit room with soft Celtic music playing, there's even a little waterfall to add to the ambiance -I mean, they really go all out to create a calm, relaxing atmosphere. I kid you not, I had to choke back a nervous laugh because my first thought was, dayum, I hope Jr's not gonna put the moves on me back here -which I realize was completely random but eh, that's pretty much how I roll ...and as I'm kinda cracking myself up, it dawns on me that the Celtic music reminds me an awful lot of the pan flute CD that I used to tease my homegrill about after finding it in her collection. Zamfir, anyone. ...anyone? ah, but I digress... I'm on the verge of nervous hysteria when Jr tells me to take my shirt and bra off and get comfortable up on the table (SEE?! I knew she was gonna put the moves on me -I KNEW it!) -then, as if sensing that I was a spa newb, she added, "face-down". pfffft. yeah, ok, I knew that -and then she excused herself so I could disrobe.
I got myself undressed, carefully hiding my boulder holder in the folds of my discarded shirt -don't ask me why, but I've always folded my clothes, being sure to tuck my underoos out of sight anytime I have to undress (I'm talkin like undressing at the dr's office etc... NOT whilst in the throws of passion... wait, passion? pfffft... nevermind.). I turned to get on the table but it was too high to just back up and sit down on, so I looked around, but there was no stepstool. So, I start to panic that Jr is gonna walk back in any second now, and not only see me standing there half nekkid but witness me trying to hike my fat ass up on the table that is too high... ugh, I finally make it up there and as I'm trying to get myself turned around and flipped onto my belly, I reach out and grab something, which turns out to be the face stirrup thing, for a little leverage and the freakin thing completely falls off! O. M. G.! so, now I'm on my belly, trying to hold my head up so I can see what I'm doing, while keeping my bewbs plastered down on the table, as I try and reattach the face thing without getting up off the table... I sure hope the spa doesn't have any hidden cameras in those rooms, because I'm tellin you, if they do, I'm sure you'll be seeing me and my boingly-doinglies on one of those shows where you send in video clips for cash. I was seriously thankful I hadn't forgotten my deodorant because I was starting to work up a sweat -and that's the moment Jr chose to come back in. now, completely mortified, I tell her that I've broken the face stirrup (what the hell do you call that thing anyway?) and she calmly tells me "oh, ...don't worry, it's not broken, it. just. has to. go in liiike... uhm..." and then she procedes to fight with the stoopit thing for what seems like several minutes, until, thankfully, it *finally* clicks back into place. by this time, I'm so busy concentrating on not spontaniously combusting, I just bury my face in the newly repaired face holder and pray I don't do anything else embarassing... like fart.
heeere we go... Jr splashes some oil on my back but before she actually begins the massage, I hear her take a series of what sounds like deep cleansing breaths like they teach in Lamaze class -I'm guessing that was to fortify her for the work ahead because once she got started she really worked my muscles, to the point of it being almost painful. I kept hearing her taking these deep breaths in and slow breaths out and I wondered if maybe she was doing that to cue me to breathe that way in order to relax... meanwhile, I was busy praying I wouldn't become so relaxed that I'd let one fly -gaah, talk about the coup de grâce, eh? by the time it was over, I felt like a lump of clay after it's been smooshed and kneeded until it's smooth and pliable -I was completely relaxed, and I realized as I was getting dressed, that I had survived, and so had Jr., who's name it turns out, was Alisha... and I had in fact really, really enjoyed my first massage.
fully relaxed, I floated out to the pedicure bench to sit with my feet in water that was so warm, I instantly regretted not having relieved my bladder beforehand -especially in my newly relaxed state. after a nice soak, I had my feet scrubbed, and then got exfoliated all the way up to my knees (thank goodness I had thought to shave that morning... I would have been mortified if she'd seen the Yeti legs I had been sporting!), feet and legs lotioned, nails and cuticles trimmed... and then had my toenails painted Stilleto red... and finished off with a spritz of yummy smelling almond oil -B.E.A.-youuu-tiful! I was so distracted by talking with all the girls durring this process, I didn't even have time to think about how weirded out I am by people touching my feet... long (boring) story there, but it has to do with some surgeries I had 20+ years ago.
so now, that I've experienced (and survived) "spa-day" I'm thinking I may indeed be a "spa-day" type of girl after all... and Jack may have to work some extra hours, do some side jobs, maybe even sell a kidney to keep me in the style to which I'm quickly becoming accustomed.
ahhh... life's good.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Happy Monday
whoa! did this weekend fly by or what?! we went to our annual family reunion out in Bear River, soaked up the sunshine, ate waaaay too much good food... ahhh, good times!
I managed to read another book, too; The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I bought it over a year ago and just couldn't get into it so I set it aside and went on to other things, but I came across it again while I was prowling around looking for something to read this weekend, so I decided to give it another shot. I can't for the life of me imagine why I had trouble with it before, or why it took me so long to pick it up again, but I devoured it this time-SMK is a great story teller!
other than that, not much going on around Rancho McBirdie... I'm still slooooowwly working on my office/scraproom... finally got enough crap moved and got one wall painted (whoop-dee-fricken do, right?! LOL!) just need to get some shelves taken down now, so I can tackle the next wall... it's a slow process but I'm diggin the fact that I'm doing it all myself, and so far, I haven't screwed anything up -d'oh!, hope I didn't just jinx myself!
I managed to read another book, too; The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I bought it over a year ago and just couldn't get into it so I set it aside and went on to other things, but I came across it again while I was prowling around looking for something to read this weekend, so I decided to give it another shot. I can't for the life of me imagine why I had trouble with it before, or why it took me so long to pick it up again, but I devoured it this time-SMK is a great story teller!
other than that, not much going on around Rancho McBirdie... I'm still slooooowwly working on my office/scraproom... finally got enough crap moved and got one wall painted (whoop-dee-fricken do, right?! LOL!) just need to get some shelves taken down now, so I can tackle the next wall... it's a slow process but I'm diggin the fact that I'm doing it all myself, and so far, I haven't screwed anything up -d'oh!, hope I didn't just jinx myself!
Friday, August 1, 2008
today's blog post is brought to you by...
the letter B.
B is for BFF. My homegrill Shayna Lou and her stud-muffin Doyle brought their motley crew up to visit us earlier this week. It's always great to see them and I love love love that our kids are BUDS and have no problemo picking up where they left off the last time they got together.
B is also for BEACH. We went to a couple of local beaches while the crew was here and the kids had a blast playing in the freezing-ass surf. I'm pretty sure they each smuggled enough sand home in their pockets (not to mention their nether regions -helleeeew??...chaffing anyone?!) to create their own personal little beaches here at home! Good times. :)
We've had absolutely BEAUTIFUL weather the past few days. I got raccoon eyes from getting BURNT at the beach while I was wearing my big ol' glasses and then yesterday, I managed to flambée myself to a complete friggin' crisp whilst I was finishing up yet another BOOK out on the front patio. *gaaah* I seem to have knack for looking like a complete dork whenever we go out in public and last night was no exception, I was practically glowing neon red when we went out to dinner to celebrate Jack's BIRTHDAY. We celebrated with some of our family who are in town early for our niece's wedding next week. Jack opened all kinds of fun gifts and cards, but the kids and I gave him his big prezzie a couple of weeks ago. We got him a new stainless BBQ -and I think we've used it almost every night since then -it's a real step up from what we had, lemme tell ya!
B is for BIRDS -the kids and I have started keeping a list of the ones we see around here. We saw BROWN Pelicans at the beach the other day so we've added them to the list and then the day before yesterday, we saw some Quail in the backyard -ordinarilly that wouldn't really be that big of a deal except that they had a whole bunch of BABIES with them -they were so stinkin cute running all over the place!
A couple of weeks ago, we went to this awesome little BIRDING shop down in Old Town Eureka and bought some new hummingbird feeders. We've had lots of different kinds but these are by far the best yet because they're so easy to clean. I'm so excited that the hummers have started to visit them pretty regularly. I got a couple of decent pics of a Rufous Hummingbird at the feeder in the BACKYARD but I really wish I could manage to take a pic of the little hummers that I've been catching in my garage window lately. For some reason they come into the garage when the big door is up and they fly to the back window and hover there trying to get out. Eventually, they exhaust themselves enough that all I have to do is go put my hand underneath them and they'll land on my fingers and I can scoop them up. The funny thing, (funny -duh! not funny haha!) is that not only is there a full size roll-up garage door wide open behind them, but there's also a regular door about 3 feet away, that's wide open too! Derrr!
And finally, B is for BLABBERMOUTH... 'nuff said.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
the cat, the visit and some much needed down time
In addition to all the hustle and bustle that was already going on around here, we had a bit of trauma last Monday night with Pop's cat, Tom. First, a little background info: In a nut shell (so to speak), Tom is... 'special' -the last vet we took him to told us he thought Tom was psychotic (after said vet was forced to don elbow length leather gloves and a long handled net in order to capture Tom, who was in hyper freak-out mode, darting around an exam room that was roughly the size of a bedroom closet, hissing, growling and ready to eat the face off of anyone who got too close) anyhow, he's always been a bit neurotic, constantly licking and scratching himself (fleas and flea allergies have been ruled out) but Monday night we noticed that his scratching had gotten so severe, his head and shoulders were virtually one giant scab, he also had open sores that were bleeding -the poor dude was a mess.
Obviously Tom needed to go to the vet but considering that the last vet had said it "might be more humane to euthanize Tom than put him thru another visit to the vet", I was worried about trying to take him back there. I decided to stop by the vet's office the next morning and explain the situation and asked if they'd see him, the receptionist remembered Tom from the last visit (I'm telling you, it was AWFUL!) but said they had an extra doc on duty and they could see him that afternoon. The receptionist mentioned that they might need to tranquilize him and would that be okay?! Uhm... yes, by all means, and while you're at it how about a little sumpin'-sumpin' for me too?! Ugh, great -my aunt and uncle were coming that afternoon... and I need to pick Matt up from summer school... oh well, we'd make it work.
Came home to get ready to load up the psycho cat but could only find 1/2 of the cat carrier... wth!? I'm already a nervous wreck and now I have to figure out how I'm going to get our feline Cujo from point A to point B without being confined?! ...I don't think so. After a few frantic calls to my hubs, where I may have threatened to set his boat on fire, the rest of the carrier was found and Andrew was able to drop Tom into the carrier. Okay, the mere fact that Tom was able to be dropped into the carrier rather than stuffed, crammed or otherwise violently inserted was proof that he wasn't feeling well.
Arriving at the vet's office, I learned that the doc we'd be seeing was new there... in fact, it was her first day. I couldn't help thinking that after this experience, it might very well be her last day as well... I sincerely hoped that she wouldn't be traumatized forever. When she came into the exam room, I nervously explained Tom's history of going ape-shit once being released and I warned her that once the genie was out of the bottle, so to speak, it might not be so easy to put him back (without the help of a tranqilizer dart).
I have to hand it to this chick, she might have been a little leery at first but she was always in control. She opened that carrier and calmly grabbed Tom and then with the help of a tech she was able to take his temprature (which earned her some well deserved growls and hisses) then she looked at his teef and examined his owies... and then gave him a couple of shots -a steroid to stop the itching and an antibiotic to stop any infections and she applied a topical treatment for parasites. Amazingly, when it was all said and done, there was no bloodshed and she still had all ten fingers! Hmmm... can you guess who we're going to ask for should the need arise for another visit to the vet?! Doc Renner is my hero! :)
Whew! Tom was all fixed up and loaded back into the car, I remembered to gather up Matt from summer school and just as we were racing home, Andrew called to let me know that Aunt Ruby and Uncle Bob had arrived... the day hadn't gone as I'd planned but in the end it all worked out just fine, although I'm not sure Tom would agree.
I thoroughly enjoyed the time with my aunt and uncle -they were here Tuesday thru Friday and we had a nice, relaxing visit. We did some sightseeing in Ferndale and around old town Eureka and of course, lots of chatting and catching up. I hadn't seen them since my mom died last year... hard to believe it was a year July 5th... *sigh* Anyway, it was great to see them and I'm already looking forward to them coming back next summer -they're good peeps.
Jack took the kids up to the lake on Thursday for the long holiday weekend, and I was going to drive up late Friday or early Saturday but I was exhausted. I ended up staying home which gave me a couple of days to regroup and get things back to 'normal' around here. The peace and quiet was just what I needed. I read an awesome book (Driving Sideways by Jess Riley... omg, I laughed out loud so many times... LOVE her style!) and *insert happy dance here* I got to sleep in for the first time in a loooong time... and it was grrrreat! Pop and I went out to lunch on Saturday and spent part of the afternoon playing with his new power chair -now he's literally 'hell on wheels'! :) Today I dragged him with me to Costco just to get him out of the house for a bit -I'm so glad to have him here, we really do have fun together.
The family got home late this evening and it sounds like they had a great time too. Tomorrow it's back to the grindstone for some of us -back to work for Jack, summer school for Matt, which means I'll be draggin me arse out of bed early too... but it's all good! :) I'm happy to report that Tom is doing 100% better which has done wonders for his disposition -he really is a great kitty... as long as you don't piss him off!
Obviously Tom needed to go to the vet but considering that the last vet had said it "might be more humane to euthanize Tom than put him thru another visit to the vet", I was worried about trying to take him back there. I decided to stop by the vet's office the next morning and explain the situation and asked if they'd see him, the receptionist remembered Tom from the last visit (I'm telling you, it was AWFUL!) but said they had an extra doc on duty and they could see him that afternoon. The receptionist mentioned that they might need to tranquilize him and would that be okay?! Uhm... yes, by all means, and while you're at it how about a little sumpin'-sumpin' for me too?! Ugh, great -my aunt and uncle were coming that afternoon... and I need to pick Matt up from summer school... oh well, we'd make it work.
Came home to get ready to load up the psycho cat but could only find 1/2 of the cat carrier... wth!? I'm already a nervous wreck and now I have to figure out how I'm going to get our feline Cujo from point A to point B without being confined?! ...I don't think so. After a few frantic calls to my hubs, where I may have threatened to set his boat on fire, the rest of the carrier was found and Andrew was able to drop Tom into the carrier. Okay, the mere fact that Tom was able to be dropped into the carrier rather than stuffed, crammed or otherwise violently inserted was proof that he wasn't feeling well.
Arriving at the vet's office, I learned that the doc we'd be seeing was new there... in fact, it was her first day. I couldn't help thinking that after this experience, it might very well be her last day as well... I sincerely hoped that she wouldn't be traumatized forever. When she came into the exam room, I nervously explained Tom's history of going ape-shit once being released and I warned her that once the genie was out of the bottle, so to speak, it might not be so easy to put him back (without the help of a tranqilizer dart).
I have to hand it to this chick, she might have been a little leery at first but she was always in control. She opened that carrier and calmly grabbed Tom and then with the help of a tech she was able to take his temprature (which earned her some well deserved growls and hisses) then she looked at his teef and examined his owies... and then gave him a couple of shots -a steroid to stop the itching and an antibiotic to stop any infections and she applied a topical treatment for parasites. Amazingly, when it was all said and done, there was no bloodshed and she still had all ten fingers! Hmmm... can you guess who we're going to ask for should the need arise for another visit to the vet?! Doc Renner is my hero! :)
Whew! Tom was all fixed up and loaded back into the car, I remembered to gather up Matt from summer school and just as we were racing home, Andrew called to let me know that Aunt Ruby and Uncle Bob had arrived... the day hadn't gone as I'd planned but in the end it all worked out just fine, although I'm not sure Tom would agree.
I thoroughly enjoyed the time with my aunt and uncle -they were here Tuesday thru Friday and we had a nice, relaxing visit. We did some sightseeing in Ferndale and around old town Eureka and of course, lots of chatting and catching up. I hadn't seen them since my mom died last year... hard to believe it was a year July 5th... *sigh* Anyway, it was great to see them and I'm already looking forward to them coming back next summer -they're good peeps.
Jack took the kids up to the lake on Thursday for the long holiday weekend, and I was going to drive up late Friday or early Saturday but I was exhausted. I ended up staying home which gave me a couple of days to regroup and get things back to 'normal' around here. The peace and quiet was just what I needed. I read an awesome book (Driving Sideways by Jess Riley... omg, I laughed out loud so many times... LOVE her style!) and *insert happy dance here* I got to sleep in for the first time in a loooong time... and it was grrrreat! Pop and I went out to lunch on Saturday and spent part of the afternoon playing with his new power chair -now he's literally 'hell on wheels'! :) Today I dragged him with me to Costco just to get him out of the house for a bit -I'm so glad to have him here, we really do have fun together.
The family got home late this evening and it sounds like they had a great time too. Tomorrow it's back to the grindstone for some of us -back to work for Jack, summer school for Matt, which means I'll be draggin me arse out of bed early too... but it's all good! :) I'm happy to report that Tom is doing 100% better which has done wonders for his disposition -he really is a great kitty... as long as you don't piss him off!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Been a busy bee these past few weeks...
Nothing like finding out company is on their way, to get me offa my ass and kicked into high gear -lol! I found out my aunt and uncle are making the long trek from East Tennessee, driving all the way out here to Cali to attend a wedding, visiting friends and family along the way, and they're going to be in my neck o' the woods early next week. I'm completely stoked but when I realized they'd be staying with us for a few days, I freaked a little (okay, a lot) because we've never really had house guests -well, aside from my mom or Shayna and her brood -but that doesn't really count because they already knew we were slobs and chose to come anyway, my aunt and uncle on the other hand, don't really know what they're getting into...
Anyway, I've had several projects in the works over the past few months, many of which were close to completion but not quite to the point where I could cross them off my to-do list... my tendancy to get distracted and move on to other things has been out of control lately... SO, I've been rushing around like a crazy chick (don't be alarmed, I've had plenty of practice with this) dotting my t's and crossing my i's... tending to odds and ends and trying to make the house look like a family lives here instead of a pack of transient college kids. I've been a whirling dervish, RE-re-painting my front door (the red just wasn't workin for me, so it's back to green!), finishing up my interior painting, re-arranging and re-hanging pictures and artwork, doing a mini make over in my downstairs bathroom -installing one of those curved shower curtain rods and hanging my new shower curtain (it's WAY cute!), cleaning out kitchen cupboards to accomodate my new dishes (loooove them!), re-organizing kitchen drawers so I can convert 3 drawers into one slide out cabinet that will contain my trash and recycle bins so I can finally (after 13 years) get rid of the trash can that's been parked in front of my kitchen sink.... oh, and I've been doing LOTS of gardening.
Like I said ...a whirling dervish, but I have to say, that as busy and tired as I've been lately, I'm SO pleased with the changes around here. So many things I've said I'd get to "someday" have finally been done. I can't believe how rewarding it is at the end of the day, to fall into a heap on the couch and look around at all the changes taking place and realize that our house has fianlly gone from homely to homey. LOL!
Anyway, I've had several projects in the works over the past few months, many of which were close to completion but not quite to the point where I could cross them off my to-do list... my tendancy to get distracted and move on to other things has been out of control lately... SO, I've been rushing around like a crazy chick (don't be alarmed, I've had plenty of practice with this) dotting my t's and crossing my i's... tending to odds and ends and trying to make the house look like a family lives here instead of a pack of transient college kids. I've been a whirling dervish, RE-re-painting my front door (the red just wasn't workin for me, so it's back to green!), finishing up my interior painting, re-arranging and re-hanging pictures and artwork, doing a mini make over in my downstairs bathroom -installing one of those curved shower curtain rods and hanging my new shower curtain (it's WAY cute!), cleaning out kitchen cupboards to accomodate my new dishes (loooove them!), re-organizing kitchen drawers so I can convert 3 drawers into one slide out cabinet that will contain my trash and recycle bins so I can finally (after 13 years) get rid of the trash can that's been parked in front of my kitchen sink.... oh, and I've been doing LOTS of gardening.
Like I said ...a whirling dervish, but I have to say, that as busy and tired as I've been lately, I'm SO pleased with the changes around here. So many things I've said I'd get to "someday" have finally been done. I can't believe how rewarding it is at the end of the day, to fall into a heap on the couch and look around at all the changes taking place and realize that our house has fianlly gone from homely to homey. LOL!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Miss you Mom...
I've been feelin a little blue these past few days, thinking ahead to tomorrow -it will be my first Mother's Day without my mom. It's been 10 months since she died and almost daily I catch myself wishing I could call her to give her the scoop about Andrew's first 'real' girlfriend, or to ask about a recipe or just for advice on how to keep the nasty old earwigs out of my planters... our daily chats are definitely one of the things I miss the most. But it's not all sad stuff, I crack up when I catch myself using one of her silly sayings and think what a kick she'd get out of it and I smile each time I look out my kitchen window and see the new leaves on her memorial tree -knowing how impressed she would be with the beautiful deep burgundy of the new growth that is now gradually turning to a bright spring green as the leaves continue to grow and fill in the still small canopy. We have an abundance of birds that come to eat from the many feeders we have stationed around the yard, they love the tree and I can hardly wait untill it's branches are sturdy enough to support a feeder for them -mom would love that too.
I've finally framed the last photo I got of her -it's from last Christmas and she's sporting a festive red sweater and a great big smile. It sits on my desk, right next to my computer monitor -I get a kick out of seeing her there smiling back at me everyday. She's never far from my thoughts.
Today when I went down the road to get the mail, there was a small package waiting for me. My first thought was that it must be something for Jack or maybe it was from one of my scrapbooking buddies... but then I saw that the return address was from my Aunt June and Aunt Ruby in Tennessee. Some of you might remember that my mom lived with them the last few years of her life. I have always thought the world of each of them but I will never be able to describe how much love, respect and gratitude I have for their compassion and all the tender loving care they gave my mom -they were completely dedicated to her. They were, literally, the answer to so many prayers. After Mom died, Aunt June and Aunt Ruby took me aside and made it a point to tell me that they knew they could never take her place but they would be there for me on her behalf. {sniff}
So, fast forward to today, when I open the package and find a card and a small white box tied with a gold bow and shimmery stars.
The card read:
Dear Lisa,
The string of pearls in rememberance of the Mother gone, but not forgotten.
Love from Ruby and June.
I've finally framed the last photo I got of her -it's from last Christmas and she's sporting a festive red sweater and a great big smile. It sits on my desk, right next to my computer monitor -I get a kick out of seeing her there smiling back at me everyday. She's never far from my thoughts.
Today when I went down the road to get the mail, there was a small package waiting for me. My first thought was that it must be something for Jack or maybe it was from one of my scrapbooking buddies... but then I saw that the return address was from my Aunt June and Aunt Ruby in Tennessee. Some of you might remember that my mom lived with them the last few years of her life. I have always thought the world of each of them but I will never be able to describe how much love, respect and gratitude I have for their compassion and all the tender loving care they gave my mom -they were completely dedicated to her. They were, literally, the answer to so many prayers. After Mom died, Aunt June and Aunt Ruby took me aside and made it a point to tell me that they knew they could never take her place but they would be there for me on her behalf. {sniff}
So, fast forward to today, when I open the package and find a card and a small white box tied with a gold bow and shimmery stars.
The card read:
Dear Lisa,
The string of pearls in rememberance of the Mother gone, but not forgotten.
Love from Ruby and June.
Friday, April 25, 2008
20 years
I met my friend Andrea, what seems like a lifetime ago, when she moved to my hometown, to live with her mom and her younger brother. We actually met thru work, -we'd both just started working for Longs Drugs Store. Aside from being the 'newbies' at work together, we found we had lots in common and quickly became friends, hanging out, partying, doing all the stooopid stuff 19 year old girls do. We made tons of roadtrips back to her hometown, where I met her friends and before long, I felt just like one of the gang. Over the next couple years, she and I were more or less joined at the hip. We supported eachother thru breakups with boyfriends, family drama -everything.
It wasn't too long after she moved back to her hometown, and I was just getting over some major boyfriend drama, -feeling depressed and wanting to shake my life up a bit, -that she convinced me that I should up and move too. She told me about one of her old friends who needed a room mate... and so it went.
Just two days after my 21st birthday, I packed up my Pop's suburban, piled stuff in a trailer, filled up my little honda and hit the road. 300 miles and about 6 hours later I was here. I stepped inside the shabby old house I'd be sharing with my new room mate, Tim (whom I'd already met and loved like a brother ...still do, in fact!) and he introduced me to his friend Jack.... A year and a half later Jack and I got married and the rest, as they say, is history.
Here we are, 20 years to the day from when I moved here and Jack and I first met... -we've been married now for 18 and a half years, have 3 beautiful kidlets, and amazingly, even with all the ups and downs we've gone through, we've managed to keep it together pretty well. I can't wait to see what the next 20 years brings -I just hope they don't go by so fast!
Andrea and I have long since fallen out of touch. She moved back to my hometown, got married and I haven't heard from her in years. ...it's strange how things work out sometimes.
It wasn't too long after she moved back to her hometown, and I was just getting over some major boyfriend drama, -feeling depressed and wanting to shake my life up a bit, -that she convinced me that I should up and move too. She told me about one of her old friends who needed a room mate... and so it went.
Just two days after my 21st birthday, I packed up my Pop's suburban, piled stuff in a trailer, filled up my little honda and hit the road. 300 miles and about 6 hours later I was here. I stepped inside the shabby old house I'd be sharing with my new room mate, Tim (whom I'd already met and loved like a brother ...still do, in fact!) and he introduced me to his friend Jack.... A year and a half later Jack and I got married and the rest, as they say, is history.
Here we are, 20 years to the day from when I moved here and Jack and I first met... -we've been married now for 18 and a half years, have 3 beautiful kidlets, and amazingly, even with all the ups and downs we've gone through, we've managed to keep it together pretty well. I can't wait to see what the next 20 years brings -I just hope they don't go by so fast!
Andrea and I have long since fallen out of touch. She moved back to my hometown, got married and I haven't heard from her in years. ...it's strange how things work out sometimes.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
pffftt! who needs daytona beach??
Things are finally winding down and getting back to "normal" here at Rancho McBirdie. We had a kick ass spring break -totally different than any of our other 'vacations', because the family went in different directions (which may be the secret of our success!? lol), but we were busy and it was fun.
Jack had to work (work, Jack, work) and Andrew was busy building fence with his cousin Nate out at the ranch so Matt, Kendall and I left Friday after they got out of school and made the trek down to the clov-i to hang with Shayna and her gang. It's always SO good to see her and I love how the kids seem to pick up right where they left off ... it didn't take them long to figure out that they were on their own as far as entertaining themselves. They swam, played video games, and did a pretty good job of staying under the radar, freeing up the adults to drink margi's, tip back some beeyahs, and play a few cut-throat rounds of dominos (because, according to Bennett, that's what old peeps do), oh yeah... we're wild like that.
Saturday the kids colored eggs and the Easter bunny, along with her trusty sidekick, did a smashing (literally) job of hiding them. The next morning, the little grills pranced around the yard, hunting down the mangled eggs that the dogs hadn't already managed to liberate. After a delicious Easter dinner, we all hastened on down to the local bowling alley where a) we were entirely too high maintenance when it comes to renting shoes 2) were a little challenged by the automatic scoring machine, and c) Shayna kicked me arse in a bowling throwdown. I must say though, I was one proud mama when my girl managed to loft her ball onto the lane NEXT to us and then later, had an apparent 'early release' and sort of erm, threw the ball behind her... can't even imagine what might have happened if we hadn't been using bumpers! No doubt the PBA scouts would have our phone ringing off the hook ...if only our number weren't unlisted. *sigh*
As usual, I hated to leave so we stuck around for an extra day and got to see some other friends who came to visit (pffftt! go figure -they live within 10 minutes of me but I travel 8 freaking hours and see them!). I'm wondering if Shayna's fully recovered yet... at one point there were 5 adults and 9 kids bunking in her house. Crazy as it sounds, the kids were great and it was loads of fun! I laughed me arse off with Shayna over our retarded inside jokes, Doyle's goofy faces, Renee and her velcro pajamas and omg her 'my mom only has one eye' story will be a classic I'm sure. ...gooood times.
After a long drive home Tuesday night, I saw Andrew for about 20 min. before he headed over to Nate's house for the night, so they could get an early start over to Redding/Mt. Shasta to snowboard and stay with our friend Michelle (my kids' godmother). Thursday night Jack hooked up the boat and he, Matt and Kendall headed over to Shasta Lake to fish ...and to stay with Michelle. I had a few things to do so I stayed home and ran some errands with Pop, and then drove over on Friday night. We haven't seen these guys since last July/August so we had lots of catching up to do and we stayed up way too late.
Durring the days some of the guys went fishing and some went snowboarding, the girls just hung out and in the evenings all the kids played video games. Michelle and Jim took me around to show me some of the houses they've been looking at -kinda cool to see what's out there, totally can't believe how much the Redding area has grown.
Saturday night we took everyone out to Logan's Roadhouse for dinner to celebrate Tatum's 11th birthday. I'd never been there but it had a fun atomsphere and what's not to love about a place where you can throw peanut shells on the floor?! On a personal note, I learned it's not wise to start a peanut fight while wearing a low cut blouse -the upside here, is that with all that I brought home in my bra, I will be set once winter rolls back around.
Jack had to work (work, Jack, work) and Andrew was busy building fence with his cousin Nate out at the ranch so Matt, Kendall and I left Friday after they got out of school and made the trek down to the clov-i to hang with Shayna and her gang. It's always SO good to see her and I love how the kids seem to pick up right where they left off ... it didn't take them long to figure out that they were on their own as far as entertaining themselves. They swam, played video games, and did a pretty good job of staying under the radar, freeing up the adults to drink margi's, tip back some beeyahs, and play a few cut-throat rounds of dominos (because, according to Bennett, that's what old peeps do), oh yeah... we're wild like that.
Saturday the kids colored eggs and the Easter bunny, along with her trusty sidekick, did a smashing (literally) job of hiding them. The next morning, the little grills pranced around the yard, hunting down the mangled eggs that the dogs hadn't already managed to liberate. After a delicious Easter dinner, we all hastened on down to the local bowling alley where a) we were entirely too high maintenance when it comes to renting shoes 2) were a little challenged by the automatic scoring machine, and c) Shayna kicked me arse in a bowling throwdown. I must say though, I was one proud mama when my girl managed to loft her ball onto the lane NEXT to us and then later, had an apparent 'early release' and sort of erm, threw the ball behind her... can't even imagine what might have happened if we hadn't been using bumpers! No doubt the PBA scouts would have our phone ringing off the hook ...if only our number weren't unlisted. *sigh*
As usual, I hated to leave so we stuck around for an extra day and got to see some other friends who came to visit (pffftt! go figure -they live within 10 minutes of me but I travel 8 freaking hours and see them!). I'm wondering if Shayna's fully recovered yet... at one point there were 5 adults and 9 kids bunking in her house. Crazy as it sounds, the kids were great and it was loads of fun! I laughed me arse off with Shayna over our retarded inside jokes, Doyle's goofy faces, Renee and her velcro pajamas and omg her 'my mom only has one eye' story will be a classic I'm sure. ...gooood times.
After a long drive home Tuesday night, I saw Andrew for about 20 min. before he headed over to Nate's house for the night, so they could get an early start over to Redding/Mt. Shasta to snowboard and stay with our friend Michelle (my kids' godmother). Thursday night Jack hooked up the boat and he, Matt and Kendall headed over to Shasta Lake to fish ...and to stay with Michelle. I had a few things to do so I stayed home and ran some errands with Pop, and then drove over on Friday night. We haven't seen these guys since last July/August so we had lots of catching up to do and we stayed up way too late.
Durring the days some of the guys went fishing and some went snowboarding, the girls just hung out and in the evenings all the kids played video games. Michelle and Jim took me around to show me some of the houses they've been looking at -kinda cool to see what's out there, totally can't believe how much the Redding area has grown.
Saturday night we took everyone out to Logan's Roadhouse for dinner to celebrate Tatum's 11th birthday. I'd never been there but it had a fun atomsphere and what's not to love about a place where you can throw peanut shells on the floor?! On a personal note, I learned it's not wise to start a peanut fight while wearing a low cut blouse -the upside here, is that with all that I brought home in my bra, I will be set once winter rolls back around.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Jesus take the whee-eeeel...
'cuz if I'm driving, I just know I'm gonna get a ticket! Wooo-dawgies!! -this baby is soooo much fun to drive!
For the past few months we've been toying with the idea of getting a car that's easier for Pop to get in and out of than having to climb up into the Tahoe, we were also hoping to find something that would get better gas mileage since I do so much driving with taking the kids back and forth to school and running Pop to all his appointments. This week we finally started searching. Monday we looked at Malibu's but they were a little too small. We found a decent Impala but the salesman was a pud... we went to another car lot and met a really great salesman but they didn't have anything on the lot that we liked. *sigh* So last night Pop finds an add in the paper for an '08 Impala SS -fully loaded, with a 'too good to be true' price. Just for kicks I called the lot this morning and the car was still there so we took a drive up to see it. We hopped in and took it for a test drive and about an hour later we were signing papers and driving it off the lot!
I was a little bit late to pick the kids up from school, but the look on their faces when I pulled up was priceless! We had to sit in the parking lot for a good 10 minutes while they played with the XM radio and opened and closed the sunroof -lol! LOVE LOVE LOVE the new car smell! The little monsters are already begging me to take them to school in the new car tomorrow morning ...my poor Tahoe is gonna think I don't love it anymore!
For the past few months we've been toying with the idea of getting a car that's easier for Pop to get in and out of than having to climb up into the Tahoe, we were also hoping to find something that would get better gas mileage since I do so much driving with taking the kids back and forth to school and running Pop to all his appointments. This week we finally started searching. Monday we looked at Malibu's but they were a little too small. We found a decent Impala but the salesman was a pud... we went to another car lot and met a really great salesman but they didn't have anything on the lot that we liked. *sigh* So last night Pop finds an add in the paper for an '08 Impala SS -fully loaded, with a 'too good to be true' price. Just for kicks I called the lot this morning and the car was still there so we took a drive up to see it. We hopped in and took it for a test drive and about an hour later we were signing papers and driving it off the lot!
I was a little bit late to pick the kids up from school, but the look on their faces when I pulled up was priceless! We had to sit in the parking lot for a good 10 minutes while they played with the XM radio and opened and closed the sunroof -lol! LOVE LOVE LOVE the new car smell! The little monsters are already begging me to take them to school in the new car tomorrow morning ...my poor Tahoe is gonna think I don't love it anymore!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
and then there were none...
Sickness has taken over my house. I started the ball rolling more than a month ago with a cough/cold that seemed to drag on forever -the cough, although not nearly as bad as it was, is still hanging on. Since then, all three of the kids have come down with some variation of cough/fever/headache/earache. I swear I've bought so much cough/cold medicine these past few weeks, the feds are probably watching to be sure we're not running a meth lab.
As if that weren't enough, Jack came home from work last night, hacking and complaining about having the chills... he stoked up the fireplace until it got so hot I thought the house would melt.
We've all had spells where we've felt better and then just as quickly we're laid out again. It makes me wonder if we have more than one strain of bug and are just passing them around like some big cootie swapmeet. *sigh* Lysol is my friend.
I have this image in my mind from the movie ET, where all the vans come screeching up to the house and men with masks and white bio-hazard suits jump out and seal up the house-only this time they're at my house and they're packin a big ol' QUARANTINE sign to slap on our door.
It can only get better, right?! :)
As if that weren't enough, Jack came home from work last night, hacking and complaining about having the chills... he stoked up the fireplace until it got so hot I thought the house would melt.
We've all had spells where we've felt better and then just as quickly we're laid out again. It makes me wonder if we have more than one strain of bug and are just passing them around like some big cootie swapmeet. *sigh* Lysol is my friend.
I have this image in my mind from the movie ET, where all the vans come screeching up to the house and men with masks and white bio-hazard suits jump out and seal up the house-only this time they're at my house and they're packin a big ol' QUARANTINE sign to slap on our door.
It can only get better, right?! :)
Monday, January 28, 2008
Highlights from yesterday...
*eta -not sure what's up with the formatting here... maybe I'll fix it later. But then again...
Yesterday was Matt's birthday -the big one-four...
He opened presents early, then spent the better part of the morning dorking around with his new moving target system -this thing is pretty cool. When the rain started back up, he headed down to the shop with his new motorcycle stand/lift -it'll come in handy while he's tinkering on the BIG new Yamaha his Uncle Joseph handed down to him earlier this month -gaaah, he's a lucky (spoiled) kid!
Here's the birthday card we got him -anyone who knows him understands just how perfect it is:
inside it says:
There's one in every crowd...and you're ours!
Pffftt! perfect, I tell ya!
Mid-afternoon Jack and I took the boys to see Meet the Spartans (Matt's choice) -a spoof of the movie 300 - I like some pretty off beat movies but this was *so* incredibly lame... It'd be a safe bet that this one won't be showing up in my Blockbuster queue anytime soon. Surprisingly, I heard that it beat out Rambo for the top box office spot this weekend... crazy.
We had some of the weirdest weather yesterday -at least for those of us at, or near, sea level it's weird ...but SO MUCH fun...
yep -it SNOWED! We had lots of the white stuff coming down but it didn't really stick here at our house so we hopped in the family truckster to take a look around. About 5 miles up the road, when I stopped to snap a couple of pics of the scenery, the boys bailed out and had a blast bombing eachother in an impromptu snowball fight. There was lots of talk about 'yellow snow' but I think it was so darned cold, neither one of them was willing to, erm... brave the elements.
When we stopped to pick up Kendall at our friends' house, we all decided to head out for some chow at the Oriental Buffet -and seein' as how it was a special occasion and all... we decided to splurge! I tell you, nothing is too good for my family -lol! We ate and we ate and we ate till we couldn't pack away another egg roll, then waddled out to load up for the ride back over the mountain and home... Halfway back, we couldn't resist one last stop for a few more snowballs and a couple more pics of the white stuff before it melted.
I think the sweetest part of the whole day -for me at least, was when I tucked Matt in and we had our ritual evening chat, he kept going on and on about how fun the snow was... I gave him a smooch and wished him happy birthday again. Then, as I turned out the light he said "Mom, I had a really good day". Gotta luv him!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
happy faces
Last night I finally got around to pulling the 300+ pics off my camera that I've taken since Christmas. Granted, many of them aren't worth keeping due to maniac kids who became nothing but blurs, racing from package to package or taunting me with smooshed up faces and inappropriate poses. *sigh* Just when I thought my Christmas photo cache was going to be all but empty, imagine my surprise when I found this little gem in the mix.
My kids and their little cousins on Christmas Day. :) Andrew, 16; Matt ,14 this month; nephew Nico, 2 next month; Kendall, 9 1/2; and niece Siena, 5 1/2. This was such an impromptu shot, I can't believe how well they're lined up, smiling and BONUS: they all have their eyes open! :D
Thursday, July 12, 2007
a bit of closure
Mom's funeral was simple but beautiful. My Aunt Phyllis played the organ while she and my Uncle Darrel sang a duet. Uncle Darrel also sang a solo that was incredible. It's hard to believe he's 80 years old -he's definitely still got it goin on -lol! Mom didn't want flowers -just a single rose upon her casket. I got her a beautiful orange-ish rose with a bit of greenery -it even smelled pretty!
After the service we drove in procession behind the hearse to the cemetery. I was touched to see the respect that folks in the south still show by pulling off to the side of the road -even the on-coming traffic pulled to the shoulder and stopped. One man on the opposite side of the road even took his hat off -now that's class! :)
We weren't at the cemetery all that long. The pastor read a few passages and a poem, said a prayer and it was time to go. At that point, my Uncle Darrel handed me the rose from on top of my mother's casket and said 'for peace' -it was a gesture of kindness I'll remember forever.
From the cemetery, we all headed back to the house -which is probably no more than a mile away. Our friends Mindy and Anne had gone ahead after the service to get everything set up for lunch. They were such a help -really, really good people! When we got back to the house, Aunt Ruby put Mom's rose in a pretty little vase to show it off. There was tons of food and of course, sweet tea. As we ate, we looked at pictures and swapped stories about what a great gal my mom was. It was a nice afternoon.
That evening, my Uncle Bob's family came into town and stopped by for dinner. They were on their way back home to upstate New York, after spending a week at their place in Florida (must be nice, eh? lol!). We had a huge dinner of BBQ chicken and leftovers from earlier in the day and of course, we did some more reminiscing about my mom. One thing I've noticed about folks in the south... when someone dies, everyone starts cooking, food gets delivered to the family and then then they eat and eat and eat and EAT -lol! Seriously, I've never seen anything like it!
After dinner when it was a bit cooler out, I took a walk up the road to see Mom one last time before my early morning flight back to California. I think that was almost more difficult than her funeral. Needing to let go of some of my grief, I sat down in the grass and had a good cry. Finally, in the twilight, I stood up, brushed myself off, laid the rose at her grave and said goodbye.
After the service we drove in procession behind the hearse to the cemetery. I was touched to see the respect that folks in the south still show by pulling off to the side of the road -even the on-coming traffic pulled to the shoulder and stopped. One man on the opposite side of the road even took his hat off -now that's class! :)
We weren't at the cemetery all that long. The pastor read a few passages and a poem, said a prayer and it was time to go. At that point, my Uncle Darrel handed me the rose from on top of my mother's casket and said 'for peace' -it was a gesture of kindness I'll remember forever.
From the cemetery, we all headed back to the house -which is probably no more than a mile away. Our friends Mindy and Anne had gone ahead after the service to get everything set up for lunch. They were such a help -really, really good people! When we got back to the house, Aunt Ruby put Mom's rose in a pretty little vase to show it off. There was tons of food and of course, sweet tea. As we ate, we looked at pictures and swapped stories about what a great gal my mom was. It was a nice afternoon.
That evening, my Uncle Bob's family came into town and stopped by for dinner. They were on their way back home to upstate New York, after spending a week at their place in Florida (must be nice, eh? lol!). We had a huge dinner of BBQ chicken and leftovers from earlier in the day and of course, we did some more reminiscing about my mom. One thing I've noticed about folks in the south... when someone dies, everyone starts cooking, food gets delivered to the family and then then they eat and eat and eat and EAT -lol! Seriously, I've never seen anything like it!
After dinner when it was a bit cooler out, I took a walk up the road to see Mom one last time before my early morning flight back to California. I think that was almost more difficult than her funeral. Needing to let go of some of my grief, I sat down in the grass and had a good cry. Finally, in the twilight, I stood up, brushed myself off, laid the rose at her grave and said goodbye.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
