About Me

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I'm a 50 something daughter, sister, wife, aunt, mother and friend. I have a husband and a son with my parents living in my basement. Keeping it together through menopause, the teenage years and the golden years. I hope you visit often.

Friday, December 31, 2010

A look back at 2010

New Years Eve already? It seems that the years are flying by faster and faster. I thought we just closed the pool and school started. We've had snow and really cold weather and I must admit I am having thoughts of when the pool will open again and the weather will warm up. It will be here in no time. New Years Eve is usually spent hanging out, playing games and trying to stay awake until mid night to watch the ball drop. I have no idea why watching the ball drop is such a big thing. I usually get a kick out of Dick Clark. For as long as I can remember Dick Clark hosted New Years Eve. I have no idea how old he is, but he has got to be up there in age. Tonight Lees sisters and their families will be here to spend the night. There will be 12 of us. It's a combination party. We're doing the gift giving tonight as well as saying good-bye to 2010 and celebrating that we've made it into 2011. It will be a fun evening. 2010 was a pretty good year for us. Nothing drastic happened. Nobody died, or was sick for a long period or was diagnosed with a horrible disease. Mom and Dad hit a few mile stones this year. They have been married for 60 years and Dad hit the big 80! We took a great vacation to Alaska via a cruise ship and spent a week in Seattle. That was truly a highlight. We finished out our backyard and we really enjoyed it. The one who has seen the most changes is Jake. He not only changed physically but emotionally as well. I can honestly say my little boy is turning into a young man. I am having mixed emotions on that one. It had to happen. I also see my parents age as well. Another fact of life. We will be celebrating tonight. I am thankful for all our family and the time we've spent together. The memories that we have created this past year.  We will laugh and play games and ring in the New Year with Dick Clark. We will watch the ball drop in New York, then I will go to bed! I hope as you look back over 2010 you have wonderful memories. Take Care and Happy New Year!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Neighborhood Watch

It's been a busy last two weeks, with all the bustle surrounding the holidays. People come and go without much notice.  Then a neighbor up the street called to ask about the neighbor between us. It seems that the other day a flower truck made a delivery. Since the next door neighbors weren't home, the delivery person went up the street and left the flowers. Then, a few hours later they came back, informed my up the street neighbor that the next door neighbors were in Florida for the week and they wanted the flowers back. Today there was a blue van with a ladder on top parked in my next door neighbors drive. That prompted my up the street neighbor to call and ask what she should do. She knew my next door neighbors weren't there. She seen a guy get out of the van and walk to the front out of her sight. He never came back. She wondered if she should call the police. I said that might be a good idea, but I understood her not wanting to make a call when it was nothing. As I was talking to her, I decided to ask Dad what he would do. What else was there to do, we needed to check it out! I wasn't so sure that was a good idea. I mean, I looked out the window and didn't see anyone, but there was a big blue van in the driveway. I could only imagine that there was someone just lining up the furniture in the foyer ready to start moving it all out, or maybe just take all the small stuff. While I was talking with my neighbor about how wise it would be to send an 80 year old over to check out a possible crime scene, Dad was "taking the dog for a walk". One small problem, we don't have a dog. Up the street he went wandering along, down the side walk and up to the front door. My up the street neighbor was standing in the window, so I decided I needed to be back up and went to the garage.  That put me at a great advantage since that put me in full view of the neighbors front door. I found Dad on the front porch talking to a guy named Bill. Bill the painter. Apparently the job he had started before Christmas went over and he was just finishing up. I walked over and introduced myself, told him we were sorry if we offended him, but I couldn't imagine someone having work done when they were out of town. He just smiled and said it was ok, although he did say he was trying to think of who he could call to bail him out if we had called the police. My next door neighbor called about an hour later. My up the street neighbor had left him five voice mail messages and he wanted to make sure that we knew it was ok for Bill to be there. He said Bill was a great painter and very reasonable. I decided to go back over and talk to Bill again. When he answered the door, he just smiled and looked at me. I think he thought I was a bit nuts. I told him that he got a glowing review from my next door neighbor and I wanted to get his card to have the house painted in the spring. He had given a great price to my neighbor, I wonder if I'll get that same deal in the spring? After all, I didn't call the police on him! Isn't it nice knowing that you have someone watching over your stuff when you're not home? Take Care!

Friday, December 24, 2010

It's Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I hope that you are enjoying the Holidays. When I look back at Christmas past, it's hard to point to one memory. Usually on Christmas Eve, Moms cousin Buddy, his wife Sharon and their daughters Suprena and Mickie would come to the house. We would play games for the evening. Sometimes, my brother Greg and I would beg to open just one present on Christmas Eve. I remember the begging, I don't remember if we ever really did. When we were older, we did open gifts on Christmas Eve. When Santa would visit the house, the presents were never wrapped. Now I ask people how Santa brings gifts to their house. Some had them wrapped in a different color, usually solid red and solid green, some were left by the tree, others were left by the kitchen door because they didn't have a chimney. Most people left out cookies and carrots on a plate. Christmas morning we would open gifts, then head out to Grandmas house for the day. When she moved next door, she would come to our house. When Jake was born I couldn't wait for Santa to be part of Christmas at our house. I was always excited, we visited Santa in the mall, had the pictures taken, picked out a special outfit for Jake to wear and I had all these ideas of what it would be like. We would have the fireplace on, danish for breakfast and I would watch him light up over my first cup of coffee. Well, I didn't expect much the first Christmas, but the second and third I did. I never in a million years thought that I would have to wake up Jake Christmas morning! I thought the excitement of it all would keep him up. Not a chance! He was out like a light. We spent Christmas Eve at Mom and Dads with Gregs family. I guess all the excitement of being with the girls just did him in. I didn't have to put the not before six rule into effect until he was 8 years old! Christmas has changed in the past several years. Santa no longer makes a stop at our house. This year I have a teenager, not a little boy. His gifts are less in quantity and more in cost, and he has a pretty good idea of what they are. Today Greg and his family will come and we will spend Christmas Eve downstairs at mom and Dads. This is making memories for Jake and the girls. Christmas morning we will open out gifts to each other and have danish in the living room with the fireplace on. As I drink my first cup of coffee, I will watch my overgrown little boy open his gifts. I will still see him as toddler, sleepy and happy. I hope that you are making wonderful memories also. Have a very Merry Christmas. Take care!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

T'was the Week Before Christmas

T’was the Week Before Christmas
T’was the week before Christmas and all through the house,
There were boxes and papers all scattered about;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
If I don’t get to Target they will remain bare;
No one is nestled all snug in their beds,
While thousands of sugar cookies dance in my head;
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I ran from my wrapping to see what was the matter;
The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow,
Gave the luster of mid day to objects below,
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature herd of eight neighborhood deer!
I looked about, filling with gloom,
I knew in a moment my shrubbery was doomed.
I whistled and shouted and called them all names,
I would tell you what I said, but I’m a bit ashamed.
They ran past the porch and over the wall,
Now dash away, dash away, dash away all!
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
There came from the kitchen a horrible sound.
The smoke alarm blaring, the cookies well done,
And I was wondering, Where is my son?
He was in the game room flung flat on his back,
He looked like someone stretched on a rack;
His eyes were glazed over, the PS3 blaring,
I looked at his clothes and asked, What are you wearing?
He gave me the look that I’ve gotten to know,
The room turned so cold I thought it would snow!
With the rest of a cookie held tight in his teeth,
I threw up my hands and accepted defeat.
I closed my eyes, and thought of an elf,
I laughed at the thought, in spite of myself.
I walked to the great room and looked at the tree,
It had a few decorations, maybe three.
I spoke not a word, but went straight to work,
This was a job I really can’t sherk.
I’ve got a few days to make everything right,
So Merry Christmas to all,
 and to all a good-night!
My apologies to Clement Moore

Friday, December 17, 2010

When Pigs Fly

We're two weeks away from 2011. The beginning of another New Year. I never liked to make resolutions. I think that if you are going to start something, you should just do it. It's always so easy to say I'll start on Monday, but Monday never really comes does it? So I was thinking about some changes that I wanted to make. The catch phrase is to make "life style" changes. There are even life style coaches that you can pay to help you make these life style changes. I've decided that I don't need a coach to tell me the obvious things that I need to change.  My household clutter could use some help. Most of the time if I watch one of those hoarder shows, it does the trick. I say yes too often and this messes up my time management. This can be corrected by the just say no campaign.  My diet and exercise plan are practically non existent.  This I have started to change. I signed up for the Flying Pig 5K. Yes indeed, I will be running, walking or crawling across the finish line in April. I thought this might be fun, so I also signed up Lee and Jake. Lee was not amused, but Jake was excited. We are going to enjoy the great outdoors, breathing in the fresh air and doing something good for us as a family. The sign up was painless. I just went online and because I signed up before Jan. 1, 2011, my cost was only $25. For that we get a t-shirt and just for finishing a medal. Kind of like a participation ribbon. There are three different categories that you can sign up for, age group, walking or wheel chair. I thought carefully about each group. I knew there was no way I was going to be able to come up with a wheel chair by April. Well, not and convince anyone that I really needed it, tempting as it was. That left age group and walking. What really is the difference? I chose age group. I figure they might not expect that much if I'm dumped in with the over 50 crowd. After I signed up I thought about what I have done. I mean, have you seen some of the old people out there? They are buff! That means I will have to work at getting in a shape other than round to be in this event. So, I have four and a half months to be in good enough shape as to not embarrass myself. Did you ever notice it's more fun to do things in a group? I have a suggestion for you. Why don't you join me at the Flying Pig 5K? It would be fun, because in Cincinnati, pigs really do fly. Take care!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Green Christmas

Hey there! I haven't seen you for awhile. Why? Because it has been such a busy, busy time. I know that is no excuse for letting my blog sit unattended for a week, but life got in the way of writing. I'm back now with an observation. Last week we put up the tree, sort of. It stands strong, tall and naked in the corner of our great room. Well, it does have lights on it, but that's because they were on there when I bought the tree. I usually have the decorations on as soon as it's put up. Not this year. This year may be a green tree Christmas, kind of organic isn't it? There is the fact that the tree is plastic and doesn't smell like anything. That's not very organic. I guess I could spray it with fake pine smell. Since it is plastic there won't be any needles falling on the floor, that would require a quick assault on the shrubs in the front of the house. However, they are covered in lights, I did get those out at Thanksgiving, and about 4 inches of snow. That isn't very convenient now is it. So I need to decide if I want to have a fake tree standing in the corner without decorations or get the boxes out of the basement and decorate. The problem with a fake tree is the fact it looks fake. The only reason it can pass at Christmas is the decorating part. Hang so many ornaments on it that you can't see that the trunk is full of holes where the wire rods fit into it. There is one other option. Put the gifts under the table holding the menorah. It could look kind of neat. All the wrapped gifts sitting under a set of lights. Although it would be hard to bask in the glow when the lights are on a table lower than the couch. No, I need to get it in gear and decorate for this wonderful season. When I think of Christmas past what really comes to mind is the lights, which I already have on the tree. There was this set of twinkle lights that was on our tree. They twinkled randomly. You can't really find them anymore. The ones that twinkle are symmetric. Every third light will glow, on and off in a rhythm.  We bought a set that had a wheel that you used to set the timing of the lights. It was awful. They didn't twinkle, they flashed on and off like a sale sign. Or they would do the running light like at a casino. There was nothing calming about it. It was a strobe effect. The lights on my tree are plain, white lights. There is no twinkle. I do have ornaments that glow when you put them close to a light. There are glitter ornaments that Jake made when he was younger, those sort of twinkle. The only way to make my tree twinkle will be to decorate it. I better get going. I hope that your tree is glowing just the way you want it to. Take care!

Friday, December 10, 2010

Giving and Getting!

My Mom is famous for buying Christmas presents all through the year. She then "hides" them in the house so nobody can find them, even her. There have been many times that I got a gift on my July birthday that Mom had bought for December. Not that getting a snowman sweatshirt is a bad gift, it's just the timing is sometimes off. She also tends to tell you indirectly what she has bought. An example would be the comment I made about a new soap dispenser that she had in her bathroom. She told me not to go out and buy one, it "might be in my stocking". I just said it was cute. She gets it honestly. My Grandma Dorothy was know for her gift opinions. Not that she wasn't thankful for the gifts she got, she just wasn't good about hiding the fact she might not care for it. I got her a blouse one year that had 3/4  length sleeves. She opened it, held it up and went into a commentary about not putting this on to go to the "outhouse", then looked over at me, smiled and said Thank You! She also was a snoop. She would go through the closets looking to see what was bought. Then she would tell you what she found. Mom and Dad had bought my Grandpa Henry a coat for Christmas one year. Grandma found it and told me that Mom bought her the wrong size. When she opened her gift, she announced "Where's the coat!" Gift giving is hard. The older you get, the less you need. You also get more opinionated as time goes by. There are people who say, anything you want to get me is fine. Well, it really isn't. You think you know the person well enough to get that one of a kind, flying monkey with ruby eyes. But in reality, they hate monkeys. Then there are those who give you "the list". These contain, the item, the item number, and the web site to buy the item complete with pictures. And how about when YOU get the flying monkey with ruby eyes. You open the gift and stare while it stares back at you. You hear how excited the gift giver is when they explain that there are only a limited number of these made. Yeah, no kidding, it's hideous.  You then smile and nod, not knowing how to express your feelings. This is a good time to pass the cookie tray! I hope you get just what you want for the holidays. I'm buying lots of gift cards! Take care!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

White Death!

It's early December and the weather in the Ohio Valley is crazy as usual. We have already had a few inches of snow, but this weekend we may, or may not, have a larger snow storm. This all depends on which weather model you want to go with. Where the rain/sleet/snow line is. If you are on the East or West side of the city and if the stars and moon are in alignment. I actually feel sorry for weather people. They get grief no matter what they say, yet we always listen intently to the weather. Here in Cincinnati we freak out at the first sign of the "white death". Here is my prediction of this weekends storm. By Saturday morning, the grocery stores will be so jammed packed that you will have to park a mile away. By mid-afternoon there will be no milk, bread, chips or beer left to buy. Every cart will contain one or more of the following: sled, shovel, salt. During the carpool this morning the kids were already talking snow day. Let's say that we do indeed get snow on Saturday. The idea is that people will stay off the roads and let the snow removal begin, after all, that morning we bought enough staples for a month! But that is not what will happen. When the first flake falls, the roads will be jammed with cars. These cars will not be going to the grocery stores, they are already out of food. They will be going to the mall, the movies or to dinner. The thought process is this, it's snowing, nobody will be crazy enough to drive in this weather. We'll finish our holiday shopping, go to that restaurant we've wanted to try, and catch the latest movie. There will be more people out driving than if the weather were perfect. I hope we do get snow. I love looking out and seeing everything covered in a blanket of white. The neighborhood will be filled with snowmen and forts. Kids will have rosy cheeks from sledding. And I will have a quiet house, because the rest of the family will be out shopping and getting take out! Take care!

Monday, December 6, 2010

Deck the halls and everything else!

Tis the season for decorating.  Retailers start decorating for Christmas earlier and earlier. I noticed the card shops putting out ornaments and cards in July. There is even the Christmas in July sale! As soon as the Halloween candy went on sale, Christmas candy was put out. Looking for Thanksgiving decorations? Forget it! Those decorations were on the bottom shelf or made by your local Kindergartener. Every year decorating is taken to new heights. The weekend after Thanksgiving marks D-Day. That is decorating day. After all that shopping on Friday, Saturday and Sunday are spent decking the halls, the tree, the outside of the house, the yard, the car and don't forget the dog. It's hard to hang a pair of antlers on a cat. They have more dignity than that. But a dog can really be dressed up. You can put on antlers, a matching sweater, little doggie booties, matching collar and leash. They can be dressed up to match your kids! This makes a great family Christmas picture. People expect dogs to be treated like people, so we might as well dress them like one. I'm seeing more yard blow ups this year. 8 foot tall Santas standing in the yard at night. During the day it's nothing but a pile of plastic on the front yard. In the spring you can have an outline of Santa laying in the yard where the grass has died. HO HO HO! There is always one house who pays professionals to put up their decorations. They have the entire house outlined in lights. Not to mention the shrubs, porch and trees. This makes the other neighbors jealous. So they put up lighted plastic characters to make a scene in the yard, with elves working in the workshop, waving snowmen and Santas, lighted deer that move back and forth, then it is all set to music! What we have here is a display that gets attention. You have increased traffic to look at your display. You may even be on the news! If your display is large and loud enough, you get to meet your local police person. Maybe even the local utility company when you black out the neighborhood. That should get you on the news! All your neighbors will know who you are! That's attention! What is the most complained about thing in decorating? Lights! Everyone complains about putting up the lights. Funny huh? Take Care!

Friday, December 3, 2010

Chocolate Holidays

What are chocolate holidays? Chocolate holidays fall between October and April. It all starts with Halloween. How can you resist chocolate then. All those fun size bars. There are even kids running around dressed as giant chocolate bars.  You can't possibly be expected to hand out popcorn balls. Who does that? So you sit on your porch with a bowl full of chocolate. Then comes Thanksgiving and chocolate cream pie. You have to have a chocolate cream pie for all those people who don't like pumpkin. It would be rude to your guests. Every year there is a high school football team selling chocolate bars to raise money for better helmets. With the new helmets they won't scramble their brains when they take a hit. Sure, I could say no, but these kids are going to run this country when I'm old and I want their brains in tact. Up next, Hanukkah gelt, the chocolate coins wrapped in foil. The only way to play a family game of dreidel.  You surely want to support family game night. My stocking always contains chocolate at Christmas. There are chocolate santas, chocolate balls and bells. Not to mention the fudge on the cookie tray. You ring in the New Year with chocolate martinis and chocolate dipped strawberries. January usually brings snow. That means sledding, building snowmen, ice skating and a large mug of hot chocolate. That's the only reason to strap on shoes with thin metal blades on the bottom and try to walk across a frozen sheet of ice.  Then there is that giant heart shaped box filled with chocolate that you hope comes your way on Valentines Day. Chocolate is a mood elevator. If that box doesn't come your way, they are on sale at 50%  off the next day and you can get that giant box and eat it all by yourself. March brings out the leprechauns. The gold in that pot, it's chocolate! Hopping down the bunny trail is a giant chocolate bunny. How long before his ears are missing? Not to mention all that chocolate laying around in the basket. For seven months we have reasons to eat chocolate. Not that you need a reason, but it helps explain why you have all that chocolate in the pantry. You're celebrating! In the off season we use chocolate to teach pre schoolers colors and math. There is even a book out there called M&M math. You separate the M&Ms by color. Then you teach kids addition and subtraction by moving them around and then eating them. Chocolate is an educational tool. How can you not want to educate the future of America? Chocolate makes you feel happy and some studies show that dark chocolate is good for your heart. Chocolate may save your life! Think about it! Take care.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Hanukkah vs Christmas

December is a busy month for us. We have Hanukkah, Christmas, and throw in three birthdays and it's an expensive month. We, of course, bring this on ourselves. The real meaning of  Hanukkah and Christmas has nothing  to do with gift giving. Over the years Christians brought in Santa and Reindeer, while the Jewish people decided to compete with Christmas and add gifts to the festival of lights. This is very clear in our house. We didn't want Christmas to out shine Hanukkah, so we started the gift giving. We try to keep some religion in it, Lee and Jake say the prayer before screwing in the light bulb on the menorah. We don't use real candles, it's a fire hazard. Which is why whenever Hanukkah falls over the annual office Christmas party at our house, someone will end up screwing all the bulbs in. I guess they thought we forgot to do it. On Christmas Eve, my brothers family comes and we exchange gifts. We do say a prayer before the mayhem begins. I guess that we failed to put much holy in the holidays. We do however bring out that feeling of giving. Jake does a charity drive in December for Duffels for Darlings. We donate food for the food pantry. We buy socks for the homeless and put mittens on the mitten tree. We do over do it. Both holidays are based on faith. Faith that the oil would last and faith that a child would be born. We have the freedom to choose what we wish to believe. There is no right or wrong. If we choose to mix it up a bit, and still get the same result, so be it. What is that result? To believe that if you have faith, and give of yourself, the world will be a better place. So as the holiday season begins, we wish you a Merry Hanukkah, Happy Christmas and a Joyous New Year. Take care!

Monday, November 29, 2010

What's for dinner?

That is a question I have heard, and probably said, a million times. When you think about it, it's a great question. We need food, we like food and usually, food is readily available. Being in charge of dinner is a hefty responsibility. You control the dietary health of your loved ones. There are news reports, TV shows, and marketing hitting us from all sides that tell those of us responsible for dinner that we are in control of our families health! What we cook equates to how much we love them. Everything needs to be taken into account when planning out the meal. If my Mom eats to much salt, her blood pressure goes up, my husbands cholesterol is so high a french fry could kill him, Dad shouldn't eat nuts because of his colon, Jake is just plain picky and I get indigestion just thinking about food. Once all that is taken into account, you have to add taste too. Now, add that into what time we should eat. Experts say that you should finish eating 3 hours before going to bed. Hmmmm, that would mean that everyone would need to be home, at the table with food cooked by 7:00pm.  Not possible. It is for Mom and Dad, who are ready to eat while watching Oprah at 4:30. Which is why they have their own kitchen, but the rest of the family, not so much. There is all those practices after school and some people actually work until 6:00. Not to mention those stories that tell us families that eat dinner together are smarter, healthier, and happier. The rest of us are raising the next axe murderer. What to do? If I go through the drive through I make my kid happy and fat, but kill off the husband. Eat in, eat out, take out and eat in, it's crazy! My suggestion is this. If the pizza place recognizes your phone number and knows your order by heart, change pizza places. Same with the nice drive through person you are on a first name basis with. Get take out, bring it home and put it on your dishes. This "looks" like a home cooked meal and should count for something. If you do manage to eat something home cooked, and yes hot dogs do count, a few times a week you're doing great. Now, I have to go figure out what's for dinner. Did I mention that we are supposed to be exercising every day? Take care!

Friday, November 26, 2010

Black Friday

I'm posting late today because I slept in, watched movies, worked on some holiday cards and did a bit of cyber shopping. Now, according to facebook, many of my friends and family were up by 2:00AM or didn't even bother to go to bed, so they could take advantage of BLACK FRIDAY SALES. I have never liked shopping the day after Thanksgiving. Mainly because I am so tired from the day before that I sleep late, then lay around the house thinking about taking a walk. I do manage to walk back and forth from the couch to the fridge, but I don't think that counts. Apparently I'm really missing out. Yesterday on the news they interviewed people who were camping out in tents. Now I have tent camped before, but I can't think of anything at any price that would make me put up a tent on concrete and camp out on Thanksgiving. The weather here in Cincinnati over the past 24 hours went from 60*, record rain, sleet, light snow 26* and sunny.  I must admit they did look like they were having fun. They were cheering and talking about how much fun they were having, making new friends, enjoying each others company.  This made me look at the ads just to see what I was missing. There were some great deals, with fine print. The fine print said there would be a minimum of 5, no rain checks and the store opens at 2:00AM for your convenience.  That means there will definitely be 5, but no guarantee there will be 6. I can imagine that fellow campers have been talking about all those great buys to be had. After all, that is what compelled you to spend three days in a tent, on a concrete sidewalk with no amenities, in the cold on a holiday. That alone would make me cranky. Imagine if you were number 6 in line. What if after all this time spent with these new best friends, they got the giant big screen TV with every bell and whistle know to man at an insane price, and you didn't? Things could go terribly wrong. That is why CYBER MONDAY was invented. Cyber Monday is for people who failed to get black Friday deals. After people who spent Thanksgiving outside get out of the hospital for hypothermia, or jail for assault,  they can go to their computers and get great deals on line, mailed directly to your door. What to do if that fails? What if you didn't get what you wanted on Friday, now you can't get it on Monday, when do you get it? I think there should be a Thrift store Thursday. That's right, by the time Thursday rolls around everything, everywhere will be sold out. You better head on down to Guidos Pawn Shop. After all, that diamond ring will shine just as bright whether it's in the window of Tiffanys or Guidos.  You may not have as much choice, but hey, it's Thursday! The stress that the holidays bring. So, no matter when you do your shopping, I hope that you find everything you're looking for. If it's on sale, even better. Take care!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Giving Thanks!

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and it is always a time of reflection.  Where is the large platter to put the turkey on? Do I have enough forks to make it through dinner and dessert? Should I use my good china, or chinet? Should I assign seats or let the personalities fall as they may? What channel is the Macys parade on and why is there a parade in Hawaii? These are all age old questions. It also is a time to look back on Thanksgivings past. In our house, we always celebrated with the Seamon side of the family. My father is one of four siblings, and we would rotate who would host Thanksgiving each year. Everyone would come early, Dad and his brothers would go hunting with Grandpa Henry, then we would eat mid afternoon. There is a 10 year age range between the cousins. Rob is the oldest and I am the youngest. When the older cousins made it to driving age, the afternoon would be spent at the movies or bowling. That is how the "older" cousins would spend the day. My cousin Perry and I were always left behind because we were "too little"to tag along. By the time we were old enough to go, nobody wanted to. Then there was the kids table. That was always a great place to be. There was never a real food fight, although we did come close one time. My cousin Joan asked Rob to pass the butter, so he picked it up and threw it at her.  That didn't really go over that well, but it was entertaining. Then again, I wasn't the one having butter thrown at me. There was always stories. Some true, some not so much. When Lee was in the military, Thanksgiving was spent with friends instead of family. One memorable one was when we lived on Guam. A typhoon had come through a few days before and the island had lost power. The turkey was cooked on the grill, as were the sides. We sat down to eat and asked the youngest to say a prayer, Liam asked for the electric to come back on. Just as he finished, on came the lights! Everyone was stunned. Then there was a power surge and we were out of power for another day. As we changed, so did Thanksgiving. We now celebrate at our house, and I still have a cousin or two show up. Nobody wants to go hunting and football is on instead of the parade. I'm still not sure where my platter is and I will borrow forks. But some things don't change. There will be as many desserts as there are sides. There will be people on the couch in a "food coma". There will be laughter, there will be stories and this year, there will be a new baby. Another generation to enter the crazy world of my family. The biggest thing that won't change, is the feeling. The togetherness that comes with sitting around a table and sharing a connection. I hope that you connect with someone this Thanksgiving. Take Care!

Monday, November 22, 2010

Legalized Child Torture

I never had braces. My dentist didn't think it was necessary. My teeth aren't perfect, but so far they have served me well. When Jake was in 4th grade he had a Buckey the beaver thing going. His over bite was not quite the ability to eat corn through a fence, but he was getting there. He also had gaps in his front teeth that would make David Letterman proud. The dentist sent us to an orthodontist. The treatment room was an open space with 8 or so chairs in it. Dr. Torture (not his real name) would go from chair to chair, smiling at the kids, while telling his assistant what the next "step" would be. The orthodontist never actually did anything to the teeth. He would just look in his mouth, smile and tell his assistant in code what was to be done next. The first thing she did was take a mold of Jakes teeth. This involves filling the kids mouth with what looks like silly putty and telling him it really is ok that he feels like he's choking and can't breath. Once it is determined what needs to be corrected, they add the spacers, braces and rubber bands. These squeeze the teeth together so there are no more gaps. The "fun" part was being able to pick out the color of rubber bands. These were changed every month. Jake would pick the glow in the dark ones. Why would they offer glow in the dark rubber bands for something inside your mouth? Trust me, they don't glow. Can you imagine if they really did? Your kids teeth glowing after lights out at bed time.  A few weeks later we added the strap! The strap goes around the head and is connected with a rubber band to his back teeth. There are holes in the strap and every couple of weeks the strap is tightened to the next hole. Over time, you have moved the bones in the jaw to where they need to be. In Jakes case it was about an inch. During these wonderful months, the child gets to be tortured in another way. Food. You can't eat anything sticky or chewy. This is a pain if it happens to be over Halloween. You can't directly bite into anything hard, like an apple or corn on the cob. This means everything needs to be cut into bite size pieces. It's right back to the toddler days. You can't eat popcorn because it gets stuck under the braces. Jake was lucky. He only had to wear his braces on his top teeth and only for 10 months. Then came the retainer. The retainer is a piece of plastic and he wares at night. It keeps all that dental work in place. The problem is that if you can't ware your retainer for a few nights, the teeth separate. This revelation came after having a loose baby tooth move into a space that the retainer needed to be. The retainer no longer fit. By the end of the week, spaces between the teeth! That's right, the teeth started to move back to their original position. Almost a year of braces and thousands of dollars and in less than a week, spaces. At the last cleaning appointment with our regular dentist he mentioned that Jakes teeth are fine, but he could probably have another round with braces for "cosmetic purposes". I just smiled. I happen to like David Letterman. He seems to have done quite well in life with spaces between his teeth. I think that Jake will be just fine. Take care!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Rules Of The Road

Six of the first eight years of my marriage was spent attached to the US NAVY. While Lee was learning to be a Doctor at Portsmouth Naval Hospital, I was learning to be a Navy wife. There are all kinds of things about being the spouse of a military personnel. First, you are your spouses social security number. I know his as well, if not better than I know my own. Don't ware open toed shoes in the presence of a commanding officers wife. (That's a story for another time.) Learn the "rules of the road" at the commissary. Now, for those who don't know, that is a military grocery store and there are rules. The military is structured, and so is the commissary. There is one door in and one door out and they usually aren't next to each other. You will start your shopping experience in the fresh produce and you will end your shopping experience in the dog food. I must admit I don't miss that shopping experience but two things have stuck with me. This was the mid 80's and the Navy was big on reusable bags. That's right, before every store had bags for sale with their logos on them, I had canvas bags that said Save the Earth the US NAVY. When I came back home in 1992, I took my bags to Kroger and the bagger put them in a plastic bag for me. They had no idea what to do with bags brought from home. The other thing, and one I wish Kroger would do, is arrows on the floor. That's right, direction arrows. The isles were wide with arrows going one way. The next isle would be the other direction. If you were to dare go the wrong way down an isle, there would be an announcement over the loud speaker that the lady in isle 3 is going the wrong way, turn around immediately. Not that it took long for some other shopper to remind you of the rules of the road. Just try turning in going the wrong way and people would pounce on you. Not just a dirty look, you were TOLD! There also was none of this park and stand. You "pulled over" to the right, leaving passing room for the other carts.  Keep this in mind this week as we shop for our Thanksgiving feast. If everyone were to go in the same direction we would smoothly move down the isles. There would be no cart sitting while the shopper was two isles over looking for yams. I guess it also helped at the commissary that there were armed men walking around, but that might be overkill. Take care and enjoy your holiday shopping!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

A.R.K.

We recently watched Evan Almighty. I had never really heard of the movie, but I really like Morgan Freeman so I decided to watch it. It was a cute movie. The message was a really good one and I like to think that God is really the way Morgan Freeman portrayed him. Basically, the movie promotes being green, being kind and being a decent person no matter what anyone else thinks. Be yourself, do unto others  etc. A basic feel good movie. One scene struck home for me. That was the explanation of ARK. God said it stands for Acts of Random Kindness. Such a simple thing. Maybe this got me because Thanksgiving is next week and I know that I have so much to be  thankful for.  Acts of Random Kindness. It's nice to donate to food drives, clothing drives, spend time at a shelter or write a check to the charity of your choice. But what was your last ARK? It's so simple. Hold open the door for someone who can't. I mean, really hold it open, not just open it, walk in holding it for two seconds before letting go. Hold the door and let the other person actually walk in ahead of you.  How hard would it be to give someone a coupon for a grocery or restaurant item that you aren't going to use. If there is only one cookie left, let the kid have it! If your husband always takes out the trash, do it for him. I do mean take it all the way to the curb, not just out to the can. There are so many little things one could do that might make someones day. Now, be careful with some of this. Helping the little old lady across the street without asking could end up with a purse to the head. She may think you are trying to mug her. If she does say yes to being helped, make sure you take her in the right direction. If you are giving directions, make sure you really know which way to go. Probably best for the female to give the directions, since that's who you'd be talking to. Acts of Random Kindness is such a easy way to make someones day. I hope that you receive an ARK, but mostly, I hope you build one. Take care!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Can you hear me now?

When I was little, my Dad had his ear drum broken. He was playing with my brother and took a hit to the side of his head during a tickle fight. Add 50 years to that and you got a Dad who has a hearing problem. He put off going to the doctor until Mom decided she couldn't stand not being heard. My Mom loves to be heard. So, Dad had as much ear drum repair done as he could have and then added hearing aids. This was a big step. He said that when he came out of the doctors office he heard something that he hadn't heard in years, birds singing. Can you imagine that? Not hearing the birds sing. Most people tune something like that out. The things we take for granted. In the days that followed we would ask Dad how he was doing with his hearing aids. He would tell us what he could hear and still the things that he couldn't. We learned about battery life, being able to hear on the phone, and background noise. Dad was getting used to waring them every day, so it was a bit of a surprise when I found him working out in the yard without them. I asked him why he wasn't waring his hearing aids. He said that the sound of the birds singing was driving him nuts so he took them out. Sometimes I wonder when he has them in, if he really has them turned on?
Take care!

Saturday, November 13, 2010

The Magic Of Fiber

We always laughed about the fact that my grandparents would always want to discuss their bathroom habits. It seemed that the "old people" always wanted to talk about their bowels. Metamucil was on everyone's grocery list. Now we baby boomers have figured  it out. We have the magic of fiber.  Studies show that fiber helps with almost everything. You want to lose weight, eat fiber. Want to stay regular, eat fiber. Just walk down the grocery store isles. There is fiber in soup, pancakes, yogurt, and bread. You can't avoid fiber. The problem is, you are what you eat, and fiber causes gas. Yep, have you ever had one of those granola bars that has your daily dose of fiber? You can't leave the house! It's embarrassing.  Try eating it at night before bed, the fiber waits until you get up in the morning to activate the gas. Fiber is evil. You see a person with a cart full of fiber, stay away from them. They are bound to let something fly. That's really why people make over babies. They can relieve themselves of their fiber gas and blame it on the kid. Eating fiber may be good for your health, but bad for your social life. My suggestion is to only eat lots of fiber while on vacation. Your away from home and nobody knows who you are. You could clear out a place on the beach and have it all to yourself. In a restaurant, you could get great service just because they want to get rid of you. Think of the possibilities. Leave it to the baby boomers to figure out this great strategy. We will sit on the beach, a respectable distance from one another, and enjoy the day. When that family full of little kids claims the spot right next to us, we'll get out the huge bag of fiber filled corn chips and they should be gone within the hour. If all else fails, we'll have that back up can of Metamucil. Take care!

Monday, November 8, 2010

The "F" Word

Last year we had a incident involving the "F" word. No, not that F word, the other one. I am referring to the word fart. I will agree that it isn't polite language, but I never really thought of it as that offensive. Probably because that was the name of my Grandpa Henry's dog. My Grandpa was not one to pay money for a dog. I'm not sure how he came to own a full blooded dachshund puppy, but when he registered it, he named him Fart.  He was a cute little thing, and very happy to come running anytime anyone yelled Fart! My brother and I would call the dog more than necessary. So, from early on, I was never really offended by that word. It would just make me giggle or smile. That would explain why I didn't catch it in that English paper. Jake was writing a story about dragonflies. He had to have so many descriptive words in it. He had to do research on the subject and found out that some dragonflies have glands near their rear ends where they can pass gas. He wrote about farting in the water and the water full of bubbles or something to that effect. It was actually a very funny story. He was crushed when he was told he had to rewrite his story because of his offensive language. He didn't understand how it was offensive, and most of all, why didn't I tell him it was offensive when I read over the story BEFORE he turned it in!! I called his English teacher, who is a very understanding lady and one of his favorite teachers. I learned that she isn't fond of the word. She doesn't allow her 30 year old son to say the word. But, she agreed that it was a funny story and he could use it as extra credit. It turns out that she wanted him to rewrite it mainly because he would be reading it in front of other parents. Jake rewrote the paper and got an A and was happy to have an extra credit paper.  It all worked out in the end. I can only guess, but I'll bet the English teachers Grandpa named his dog Spot. Take care!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Finding God in the bowling alley

My Dad was what we call raised in the church. He attended church every Sunday. My Mom was an occasional attendee. Lee was raised in the synagogue. He attended services every Friday. I attended church in spurts. When we got married we had a civil service because neither of us were particular about religion. We both had our spiritual beliefs, we celebrated our holidays with our families. Picking and choosing what we did as we went along. Basically celebrating everything.  After we had Jake we decided to religion shop. We wanted him to feel a part of something spiritual.  We ended up finding a Unitarian- Universalist church that we both enjoyed. The people were nice, the service wasn't to early in the morning and there were lots of kids. The first few years were well attended. Lee and I even taught Sunday school. Then we took the summer off. Big mistake! The seasons went flying by, one year, two years and we hadn't gone back. Then we would rally and go for a few months and something would happen that stopped us. This became our pattern. Now Jake and his friends are closing in on their 13th birthdays. There are now bar and bat mitzvah to attend for his Jewish friends and his Christian friends are taking confirmation classes. It seems that everyone is getting their spiritual side in order. We got a letter from the UU church that we sort of attend asking us if Jake would be involved in the life classes they offer. This is the big leap for us. A commitment to religion. We sat Jake down and explained what he would be doing and if he was really interested. He was not. What to do? I want my child to develop a spiritual side. He knows what his father and I both believe, but I wanted him to find something for himself. What did I get out of church that I wanted passed on to my son? What values did Lee and I have in common from both the Jewish and Lutheran religions? There was the belief in God, kindness to mankind, and love of family. Neither of us felt that you had to go to a certain building to pray to God. I decided that we had to do SOMETHING on Sunday morning other than sleep in or go out to breakfast. So I signed us up for a family bowling league. That's right, we were going to find God in the bowling alley. It's a commitment to the team. It's family time together when we don't really have time to do anything together. We have met all kinds of different people. But most of all, it's fun. I have the same feeling of connection with my family as I did sitting in church. It's part of something. It's not for everyone, but it works for us. I hope that you have found what works for you. Take care!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

First Dance

Do you remember your first dance? I do! It was held in the gym. The girls were on one side of the room and the boys were on the other. There was a live band made up of high school boys. Mr. Thomas, one of the teachers, would get up and sing The House of the Rising Sun. The girls all danced together in a group, while the boys leaned against the wall trying to look cool. It was hot and everyone left deliriously happy. Jake attended his first dance over the weekend. It was held in the middle school commons, and the instrumental teacher played DJ. I asked Jake if he danced and he said yes. Since the only time I have seen Jake dance is when he is in the kitchen, I can only imagine that it looked something like a frog in a blender or seizures. I wanted to get as much information about the dance as I could, without getting the "MooooM"! I decided to throw caution to the wind and ask if his friends slow danced. Of course they did. Jake said he felt sorry for one of his friends. Apparently, his friend asked a girl he liked to dance, she got sick and called her Mom. I was confused. Did asking her, make her sick, or was she already sick? Thankfully, she had already called her Mom to come get her before being asked to dance. One boys ego saved. Finally Jake told me what I wanted to know. Yes, he did slow dance. He danced several times with one of his friends. I asked him how he knew what to do. He informed me he watched other people before dancing. Hmmm..how did they know what to do? Towards the end of the dance, he asked a young lady he kind of likes to slow dance. She said maybe later, another ego saved. It might have had something to do with the fact that she has a broken foot. The first dance experience was a good one. When Jake got in the car, he was hot and deliriously happy! Take care!

Monday, November 1, 2010

The Death of Halloween!

I have always loved Halloween. When we first got married, we would go all out in decorating. We had torches lining the sidewalk, scary music playing and things that jumped out at you. I would carve many pumpkins that we would set in the flower beds. Then we had Jake. It was then that Halloween started to change. The realization was that we weren't supposed to scare the kids to death before they made it to the door. We went from giving away mounds of candy to goodie bags filled with more toys than goodies. Twinkling lights and ghouls on sticks replaced the torches. Our real pumpkins have been replaced by large plastic things with lights in them. I decided I wasn't going to be the one to gut the pumpkins this year. My husband refuses to gut a pumpkin because of the way it "feels". I find this hard to believe considering he is an Ob/Gyn physician. Just think of where his hands have been and the inside of a pumpkin freaks him out???Hmmm...Anyway, Jake has decided that he will no longer trick or treat. This year, he and a few friends went off to play Laser Tag then back home for pizza.  While I sat with my husband on the front porch handing out candy, the boy was at his computer trying to conquer the universe. It's not the same. I still enjoy seeing the kids in costume and handing out candy. But I miss dressing up my little goblin, sending him out with his father to go door to door, then raiding his candy after he is in bed. Next year, maybe we"ll add a little music, or a jumping spider. But I refuse to carve the pumpkin! Take care!

Saturday, October 30, 2010

What's it all about?

That is a very good question. This is about my life. Some posts will be current events, some from the past and visions of the future, but mostly about family. MY FAMILY! Let me explain. I am a middle aged wife of 26 years, with a 12 year old son. I was raised Lutheran in rural Southeastern Indiana. My husband was raised Jewish in New York City. To make life more interesting, we moved my 78 year old Mom and 80 year old Dad into an apartment in our lower level. This was my husbands idea, I do believe he wants me have a break down. I have one brother and my husband has three sisters. There are also nieces, nephews,  and various cousins that come in and out of our lives. I hope that you will enjoy some of the stories about life in the sandwich generation. Take Care!