End of Year Meme

Joe posted this so I'm going to answer the same questions!

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?

Ok, so how pathetic is this? The one and only thing I can come up with is that we stayed at a different hotel in Orlando this year. So sad.

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutsions and will you make more for 2010?

Well, I did lose 30 pounds and have gained back all but 9. So I lost weight - but gained weight - not where I wanted to be. Oh well, yes, I will try again. :)

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

One of my co-worker's gave birth to a little girl, Vivian.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No - every year that goes by where I don't lose someone, I consider it a big success!

5. What countries did you visit?

None unless you count all the times I went to Cal's Canadian Cave of Cool to read his posts!

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?

Where to start? More patience, more time with Joe, more money...

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory and why?

June 25th - Farrah Fawcett died in the morning, Michael Jackson in the afternoon. Farrah got the shaft in reference to coverage, that's for damn sure.
Can't remember the date exactly, but it was when Dave and I went to Universal - just the 2 of us.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Living to be 45.

9. What was your biggest failure?

See #2 above - failure is my middle name in regards to weight loss.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

A few times I felt like I wanted to just close my eyes and go to sleep forever, but I guess the worst was when I sneezed while getting up out of the chair and threw my back out. That was in January 2009. This year has to be better!

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Hmmm...tattoo

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

I'm with Joe - my oldest son and his wife are rockin' their lives! He's been promoted, she's graduated from college with some degree in stuff I could never ever understand and they bought a house. Life is good!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Appalled? Tiger woods and DG. Depressed? DG and the effect on the kids.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Mortgage, car payment, monthly bills, stuff for kids for school, vacations (GOTTA have vacations!)

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

I am always excited, beyond words, for vacations. We always have a great time!

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?

Forever by Chris Brown. Only because of the YouTube video from a real-life wedding that was then repeated on The Office - loved 'em both and enjoyed the song even though Chris Brown is a dirty dog (my commentary) haha

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a. happier or sadder? Happier
b. thinner or fatter? Thinner (and I use that term very loosely!!!)
c. richer or poorer? Not richer, but definitely not struggling like a lot of people are. We have been extremely lucky.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Keeping the weight off that I had lost so that I could just build on that.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Eating.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

Christmas 2009 was spent with the family and then drove to more family!

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?

Every day.

22. How many one-night stands?

None

23. What was your favorite TV program?

Comedy: Modern Family
Musical: Glee
Drama: Criminal Minds

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

I hate what one person has done to my husband and how that person has treated me and my family.

25. What was the best book you read?

Photographic Memories by J Mello

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Chris Brown's Forever (so sad, I know!)

27. What did you want and get?

I wanted to make it through the year without losing my job and still have money...and I did!

28. What did you want and not get?

What I wanted was to retire and move someplace warm.
What I got was a bonus at work and a freezing cold winter!

29. What was your favorite film of this year?

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs...tied with...Paul Blart: Mall Cop

30. What did you do on your birthday?

Went to dinner with Joe and the kids and opened gifts. :)

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

A move to a warm climate but still get to keep my job to pay the bills.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?

Whatever friggin fits.

33. What kept you sane?

Joe - plain and simple.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Shemar Moore - yummy!

35. What political issue stirred you the most?

Hmmm...not sure if it's a political issue or not, but when people bash Obama and it always references his color. Yeah, well he's half white too, people! He's an American - like the rest of us. So let him do his job.

36. Who did you miss?

Dad, Uncle John, Joe (but not any more for him!)

37. Who was the best new person you met?

Best? Hmmm...not sure but most frustrating has to be Jeffscape!
Best? Debbie Nordstrom

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009:

When someone starts ranting and raging after something you wrote on Facebook, simply delete what you wrote and then the offender is ranting on and on and on in reference to something that is no longer there and makes him look like an even bigger @$$hole than he already is!

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

"Don't look back. Keep your head held high."

Best wishes for a happy, healthy and better 2010!

Tenth Daughter - Fear in Shattered Color

She opened her eyes. Something wasn’t quite right. She squinted and looked towards the alarm clock. Hmmm…1:30 a.m. Why is it so quiet in here? She was staring at the ceiling now – trying to make out what the shadows up there were from. Still so very quiet. Huh, where is he? That side of the bed is still cool so he hasn’t been in here recently.

She sat up in bed to get her bearings and strained to hear a noise, anything, from one of the other rooms. Nothing. Something akin to fear flashed through her mind. Should she be afraid? Should she be nervous? Hmmm…well, no sense sitting here waiting for…what? What or who could she possibly be waiting for?

Her feet hit the floor and she crept slowly over to the closed bedroom door. Still no noises – just an uneasy quiet. She quietly opened the door and saw a sliver of light coming from under the closed bathroom door. The fear dissipated – relief set in – he’s just getting ready for work. Phew.

Knock knock. No answer. Knock knock knock. Still no answer. Okay, the fear has returned. What is going on? She opened the door slowly and gasped. He was in there, in the tub, but the tub water was all dark and discolored and there was some blood on the wall. He was on his side and partially submerged. She screamed then and kept screaming until their 3 year old son woke up and ran in to the room. She was crying and trying to calm down while trying to reassure him to get back into bed and fall back asleep. He put his head on the pillow and closed his eyes, probably thinking that he’d never seen his Mom like that and didn’t want to ever again.

She called 911 then – what had seemed like 20 minutes, 30 minutes, had in fact been only 1 or 2. The female dispatcher sounded unconcerned. Why would someone sound unconcerned when they manned the 911 desk? Shouldn’t she be alert – awaiting a panicked phone call from a stranger? The dispatcher asked what the emergency was. The caller was no longer screaming but the urgency was evident in her voice. She needed help, could someone come right away? Yes, what seems to be the problem? My fiancé, I think he’s dead, he’s in the tub and the water is so dark and his face is in the water. Police are on their way. The caller hangs up.

The dispatcher calls back. Stay on the line with me please until the police get there. Okay, I will. The dispatcher asks her how the evening went. She said fine, had a couple of beers and I went to bed and he went to bathe. I woke up, he wasn’t in bed. Then I opened the door and he was there. Okay, the police are here. Go and talk to them, and I’m sorry.

Theme Thursday - History

From the Bare Naked Ladies (Love 'em!)
If you haven't seen The Big Bang Theory yet - make it a point...it's hilarious!

Our whole universe was in a hot dense state,
Then nearly fourteen billion years ago expansion started. Wait...
The Earth began to cool,
The autotrophs began to drool,
Neanderthals developed tools,
We built a wall (we built the pyramids),
Math, science, history, unraveling the mysteries,
That all started with the big bang!

"Since the dawn of man" is really not that long,
As every galaxy was formed in less time than it takes to sing this song.
A fraction of a second and the elements were made.
The bipeds stood up straight,
The dinosaurs all met their fate,
They tried to leap but they were late
And they all died (they froze their asses off)
The oceans and pangea
See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya
Set in motion by the same big bang!

It all started with the big BANG!

It's expanding ever outward but one day
It will cause the stars to go the other way,
Collapsing ever inward, we won't be here, it wont be hurt
Our best and brightest figure that it'll make an even bigger bang!

Australopithecus would really have been sick of us
Debating out while here they're catching deer (we're catching viruses)
Religion or astronomy, Encarta, Deuteronomy
It all started with the big bang!

Music and mythology, Einstein and astrology
It all started with the big bang!
It all started with the big BANG!

Check out the link here

Blizzard of '78

If you lived in New England in 1978 and were old enough to remember, you'd remember the Blizzard of '78.

In the span of approximately 30 hours, my small Massachusetts town was hit with almost 3 1/2 feet of snow. We lived on a main road in town, but our house was set back on a hill. We watched many a car try to get up the hill, to no avail. As a result, my parents opened their home to many of the stranded folks while waiting for the roads to be successfully cleared.

I don't remember too many of the people that stayed at our house overnight, but I do remember that my mother made hot cocoa in a huge, electric pot to warm them all up. I also remember that my Dad took me and my older sister out with him the day after the snow ended. He was a supervisor for a local chain of convenience stores and many of them had not been shoveled out. We spent almost 6 hours out there going from store to store and shoveling out the doors in the front and the back.

The following week my Dad told my sister and I that the company wanted to pay us for helping out shoveling. We were so excited - even more so when we got $21.00! That was a ton of money back then for a couple of young teens. Looking back after I became a parent, I realized that the "company" didn't pay us for anything - it was my Dad who provided our payday. For a man with 5 kids, that had to have been a lot of money. I can remember pretty much every hour of that day, probably because even though it was a lot of work, I got to spend it with my Dad.

Here are some shots from that storm.

Theme Thursday - Friend

While I am known to be a huge Friends fan, this part of an episode was probably one of THE funniest I have ever seen.

Theme Thursday ~ Late

Halloween 1983

Four months since Dad passed away.

I’m 17 and two month’s “late.” What the hell am I going to do? How am I going to tell my mother that I could possibly be pregnant?

Thoughts running through my mind included how can I take care of this without getting caught? Am I going to have this baby if I am pregnant? What about adoption?

I ask my mother “How "late" do you have to be before you start to worry?” She responds “How "late" are you?” I reply “Two months.” She said “Worry now.”

One week later I’m in a Planned Parenthood facility with my mother. How ironic – Planned Parenthood – NOT. It’s confirmed, I’m pregnant. My mother asks “Who’s the father?” Me: “You don’t know him.” Again, racing thoughts – “What to do, what to do?? Someone please tell me what to do?”

My mother says “You have to decide what you are going to do.” I tell her that I need more time. She says “fine” and walks away.

Now what? I’ve graduated high school, thankfully. I think it would be frowned upon that a Catholic school student got pregnant. And had put off college for a year. Apparently, I’ll now be putting off college indefinitely. What to do?

May 12, 1984 – the day before Mother’s Day

My baby was due on April 28, 1984 - yup, he is "late." I go into labor at 6 p.m. on May 12, 1984 and go to the hospital at 9 p.m. where they promptly sent me home – you aren’t ready, I’m told. Back in at 11 p.m. and delivered a healthy boy at 11:34 p.m.

If I terminated the pregnancy, I never would’ve experienced the never-ending struggles that I had as a single mother. 11 years as a single parent meant paying bills "late"(if at all), "late" getting him to school because we had no car...but, somehow, we got by.


November 19, 2009

Now...much "later"...My son is 25 now. Married, college graduate and now buying a house. Bright blue eyes, curly blond hair. Looks just like me, except I’m not blond or blue eyed. If I had given him up for adoption, I never would’ve looked at a blond haired, blue eyed child and wonder if he was mine. Being “late” was one of the best thing that ever happened to me.

File this under: No Duh!

Headline on CNN:

Dr. Gupta: Food tied to teen obesity.

Really? I never would've guessed that.

See the whole thing here

Theme Thursday - Phone

The room was quiet. The grandfather was sitting in the corner, in his favorite chair; the grandmother standing, peering into the candy dish for a treat. The two young girls were sitting, waiting, for the phone to ring.

The grandfather had told them that there was a call when he was the only one home. The caller had said that the young girls' father was being rushed to the hospital - heart attack. He was waiting for additional information.

The phone rang. The grandfather picked it up and said hello. He didn't say anything other than "Okay, I'll tell them." He hung up the phone and said to his granddaughters, "I'm sorry, he didn't make it. Your Dad is dead." The safe, secure life the girls' had known was now over, in the ring of a phone.

Moon

Goodnight Moon

I have three children, although my oldest is now 25 and married. I had never heard of Goodnight Moon until I married and had 2 more children. My husband loved the book and every night he or I would read books to the kids and always ended with that one. Now that they are 11 and almost 14, the days of reading to them at night have long since gone; but I can still quote from the book...

In the great green room
there was a telephone
and a red balloon
and a picture of
the cow jumping over the moon
and there were three little bears sitting on chairs
and two little kittens
and a pair of mittens
and a little toy house
and a young mouse
and a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush
and a quiet old lady whispering "hush"

Goodnight room
Goodnight moon
Goodnight cow jumping over the moon
Goodnight light and the red balloon
Goodnight bears and goodnight chairs
Goodnight kittens and goodnight mittens
Goodnight clocks and goodnight socks
Goodnight little house and goodnight mouse
Goodnight comb and goodnight brush
Goodnight nobody goodnight mush
and goodnight to the old lady whispering "hush"
Goodnight stars, goodnight air
Goodnight noises everywhere.

A simple theme and a favorite memory.

Theme Thursday - Castle

Castle

Nathan Fillion is currently starring in the ABC show, Castle. He plays a mystery novelist named Rick Castle, who hooks up with a police detective, Kate Beckett, to help inspire him in his creative writing. Although they are paired as many characters have been in the past – with the intent to have the two characters pair up romantically. I hope that they don’t do that in this instance since they don’t really have romantic chemistry but more of a brother/sister relationship. The tendency with television shows is to pair people up for sexual tension – no matter what. This should be avoided for this show.

The fabulous Susan Sullivan plays Castle’s mother and the talented Molly Quinn, plays his daughter Alexis Castle. The rest of the actors who play the co-workers of Beckett are well cast and bring a lot of humor to the show. If you haven’t had the opportunity to check this show out, you should – it keeps you from being bored.

As an aside, what is most important in relation to Mr. Fillion is the charity he co-founded, Kids Need to Read, which provides books for underfunded libraries. You can find more information out here .

Theme Thursday - Traffic

Now, one would look at these pictures (as I did) and say "What the floop?" so I had to go and look into exactly where this conglomeration of lights was and how it affected traffic in the area.

This is actually a sculpture designed by Pierre Vivant in 1997! It's on the traffic island of Heron Quays Roundabout in Canary Wharf in London. The official name is Traffic Light Tree - although, really, shouldn't it be called Insane? We New-Englanders call it a "rotary" - what they call a "roundabout" in England. Can you imagine being a tourist and seeing that? I'm sure the residents are quite used to it and probably don't even give it a second thought - but if I went there and saw that, I'd cry and start walking. LOL

The Time in Between - Tenth Daughter of Memory

The time in between

If you think about times when you need a lot of patience, consider these:

…the time between getting pregnant and delivering the baby…

…the time between when you start high school and graduate from high school…

…the time between putting an offer on a house and it’s accepted…

…the time between getting engaged and getting married…

…the time between the start of the work day and the end of the work day…

…the time between putting the turkey for Thanksgiving in the oven and when it’s done…

…the time between Christmas Eve and Christmas morning (especially when you are a kid!)

…the time between discovery of a potential health issue and the actual diagnosis…

…the time between one paycheck and the next…

…the time between foreplay and orgasm…

Now, I’m sure everyone has their own ideas for when patience is needed…care to share?

The Tenth Daughter of Memory

I was 18 and in trouble.

I don’t think this would’ve happened if Dad hadn’t died in June. I was lonely, did not get along with my mother, took a year off before college and here it was, October, and I was “late” – every teens nightmare. And how do I approach my mother to tell her?

I got up enough nerve to ask her how late I needed to be before I should start to worry. She said at my age if I didn’t have it and if I was sexually active, then I should be worried. Ok, so now I was worried.

They didn’t have pregnancy sticks back then from what I can recall so she had me make an appointment at this unwed mother place “in the city” – where it was confirmed that I was pregnant. Options, options, options – I was told I had a number of options. But for me, being raised a Catholic and my father being a regular church-goer prior to his passing, the only option was to keep the baby.
Epilogue – my son is now 25 years old, married and about to purchase his first home. He was the best thing that ever happened to me and I can’t imagine life without him.

What felt like a trap then turned out to only be a different path.

For other submissions for Trapped, please click here.

BIIIIIG Understatement!!

Ted William's head mistreated...

see the full article here

Theme Thursday - WILD

Wild!

I couldn't write anything about WILD except for the 2004 Boston Red Sox being the Wild Card Team! Their regular season record was 98 wings and 64 losses - the best record in baseball that year. As a die-hard, long time Red Sox fan - heck, back when I was in my teens I would write down every game, every pitch, every out in notebooks - it was tough to BELIEVE that 2004 was THE year for us fans.

The Red Sox came back from a 3-0 deficit against the New York Yankees to win 4 in a row and win the American League Championship series. Then, the streak continued with 4 straight wins against the St. Louis Cardinals to win the 2004 World Series. Not only did they come out with 8 straight post season wins, but if you look at the team from then you'd see Curt Schilling and his bloody sock after having the team doctor stitch together his ankle so he could pitch...you'd also see Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz with their clutch homeruns. It was a magical time and then after winning the 2007 World Series, I think we in Red Sox Nation got a little cocky...we've won twice now in the 21st century and the Yankees haven't.

I'm okay with being a little cocky - it's better than the "better luck next year" motto we had for 86 years!



For more Theme Thursday entries on Wild, click here

Distance

Distance.

I have chosen to distance myself from most of my family. From the mother who never felt I was good enough, even though she never said so in so many words, her actions spoke volumes. From the older sister who moved far away in more than just miles. From the brothers who have serious paranoia issues and no sense of commitment to anyone or anything. From the younger sister who does enough in her day with no time for anyone else, or herself for that matter. Do I regret that I have distanced myself at this time in my life? No, I have not.

You know what I do regret? I regret that when someone I love, be it family or friend, becomes sick or different due to their age, I retreat. I am basically, selfishly, afraid. I do not want to see the person that I love become someone else. As in most cases of age or illness, people are wont to change - whether they like it or not. I don't want it to seem like I shut these people out of my life, I don't. I keep in contact via telephone or cards meant to cheer them up, but I do not go to see them.

My favorite Uncle passed away a year ago April. Prior to that he was in a "rest" home for 2 years. I never saw him in that place. To me, he was not Uncle John any longer. He was not the man that saw me through my own father's death, supported me through becoming a single mother, supported me through the death of a fiance. He was simply a sick, old man. And I failed him. I believe he knew that I loved him and I hope he knows why I did not come to visit him. I think he did - he and I were very similar. I choose to believe that he understood because that makes me feel less guilty.

Distance.

Theme Thursday - Over the Hill

Over the hill

I am 44. For the better part of 25 years, I've considered this particular age to be "the end." You see, my father died at the young age of 44. My older brother and sister have both gone beyond "the end" and I now have minimal doubts that I will as well (especially since my birthday is in 3 months). Once I hit my next birthday I'll feel more comfortable with the prospect of future birthdays. Would I even consider myself "over the hill"? Nope - not yet! I have a lot of life left in me - I'm going to go with considering 80 to maybe be over the hill...and 100 to be running down the other side!

For more Theme Thursday click here.

Understatement of the week!

Jessica Simpson's dog was snatched by coyote's...this was on Perezhilton.com

The first stage of grief is denial - but, this is ridiculous!

Jessica Simpson cannot admit that her missing dog Daisy is gone, considering she was last seen in the mouth of a coyote!

The singer has been in touch with FindToto.com, a dog-finding service that calls all of Jessica's closest neighbors to alert them of her "situation."

And although the "odds are against" her, a source claims that Jess is still praying for the Malti-Poo's safe return, especially because Daisy runs fast!

REALLY?!

We love dogs and wish that her pooch was okay, but unless FindToto.com kills wild coyotes, it's looking grim!

Yet another understatement!!!

The killing of Yale student Annie Le was not random and could only have been committed by one of a small number of people with access to the building where her body was found, authorities said.

"Only Yalies had access to that basement, and that seems to point to someone in our community being involved in this," the editor said.

Seems to??? YA THINK????

Click here for full article.

Understatement of the week!

Mom Says Leaving Baby Alone While Shoplifting...

click here

Sara - my absolute favorite blogger (next to my husband!)

Please please please check out her blog. She is a fabulous writer and I know you will enjoy her take on life. Thanks!

Check her out here

From the Beginning

So many beginnings - and in the end, I chose to share these lyrics
from an Emerson, Lake and Palmer Song, "From the Beginning."

There might have been things I missed
But don't be unkind
It don't mean I'm blind
Perhaps there's a thing or two

I think of lying in bed
I shouldn't have said
But there it is

You see it's all clear
You were meant to be here
From the beginning

Maybe I might have changed
And not been so cruel
Not been such a fool
Whatever was done is done
I just can't recall
It doesnt matter at all

You see it's all clear
You were meant to be here
From the beginning.



To view the other Theme Thursday posts, click here

Understatement of the Week # 1

From People.com: Jaycee Dugard's Alleged Abductor Called a 'Creep'

Theme Thursday - Limo

My older sister got married when I was 17. I had been to several weddings by then, but only as a guest. This time, I was in the wedding party and I was looking forward to getting to ride in a limo. Turns out that my soon-to-be brother-in-law was restoring a vintage Ford Thunderbird and it was decided that once it was completed, that would be their 'limo' for the day. Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed.

Yet once her wedding day came and I saw my sister and my Dad in that gorgeous vehicle, I realized there was no need for a limo. That restored T-bird was perfect. In my mind’s eye I can still see a picture from that day, my sister and my Dad smiling broadly. I can remember clearly that I told my Dad that I didn’t want a limo for my wedding either – I wanted that same car. I didn’t realize at the time that my need and want was not for a limo or even for this restored car, but for that special time with my Dad. I was jealous of my sister that day.

Turns out I got my wish, sort of. I did get to ride in a limo less than a year later - when we went to the funeral for my Dad.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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