Blah Saturday

Well my mom was suppose to come out and I was running around tidying up, hanging some new sheer gold curtains in the family room and trying to look nice in general. I had just had my hair done for cripes sake! Then I was playing the waiting game. She mainly wanted to come out to give Sean his belated birthday gifts. At 2 she called and said she had just left Kohls in her area! I told her I wasn't crazy about her driving in the dark and she was only giving herself a few hours to visit. She decided she'd wait to see us tomorrow when we would come down to see the kids in their Halloween outfits. She called again and this time she was in Dennys eating. Anytime she eats I thank God as she is still so thin. Mom's sciatica is kicking in again and I feel it's from her driving again. She didn't drive for almost 5 months, so she didn't use her legs in that pedal pushing way. She could do things to help ease up the ache-rub, stretching, herbal pills, but she relies on the pain pills and lies in bed. I guess when I am 74 I will be damn lucky if I don't hurt like she does as I have had major achiness this fall.
Sean went to the movies in my van and his dad is cutting up the leaves with the mower. I have been uploading my photos to my yahoo albums. Last night I printed out about 35 photos as I haven't done that for 6 months. I had to put in a new cyan cartridge and it wouldn't work right away and I ruined some good glossy paper. Brian and I have a pink haze to us in the beach photo I tried to print out as a 5" x 7"!
Last year we went to Fort Washington to a Tech Expo so Sean could mainly have a book signed by the author who happens to be the chief weatherman for NBC 10 here in Philly. His name is Glenn 'Hurricane' Schwartz and he wrote a book about Philly weather through the years. He was nice enough to sign it for Sean and he named a few colleges that specialized in meteorology, Sean's proposed major. The anchors who were there were all nice and so tan. I look so pale next to consumer reporter Tracy Davidson in the photo we took. I loved posing (again looking ghostly) with the new guy on the block last year, cutie Vince DiMentri. He is married to QVC hostess Pat James DiMentri. I asked him about a ring he was wearing and he took it off so I could get a better look (like I was looking at the ring) and told me it was a gift from the city of New York for his work there. Seems he was a news reporter up there too. We met some Passion soap opera people and I had no idea who they were. Not into the soaps. An interesting event.

If Meme

IF you were to complete this sentence "I hate myself when..." how would it end?

I hate myself when I put down people I love. I usually don't do this unless I am provoked, but sometimes you say things you really don't mean. It's not like they don't do that to me either and Brian is really good at taking little jabs at me. Does he really mean it? I don't know. Weight is an issue here. We are both overweight, but not grossly overweight, but to the point where our triglyerides are high, and his are really high. My mom says I look thinner than I weigh. Brian has a tummy and really big Popeye type legs. So if we jab at each other, it's usually a weight issue. My meanies came out when that new show came on last week called 'The Biggest Loser'-I said, Brian, your show is coming on! That could have two meanings, and that was rotten of me to say that. But sometimes he says, 'they are fat like us' including me in the us part. I could go on, but that's a sore spot.

And lets not forget his facial hair too! 

Not going to get into a serious Passion of the Christ discussion. It did move me, especially the wonderful, exhausting performance of Jim Caviezel. I wanted to compare what Jim really looks like and what a new nose, brow, brown contacts and long hair transformed him into a handsome Jesus.  

Blogger doesn't like me...

I have no idea why I couldn't get on here through my AOL account. When the photo service uploads a photo, it opens Blog in the IE on the desktop, not AOL. So I was getting error messages for two days thinking it was a Blog in general problem. I looked at a few of my friends' blogs listed and they had posted, so I knew it was my problem. I opened the dashboard in the desktop IE and then cut and pasted the address here, so it is up on AOL again. At least I know what the problem is. Crossing fingers.

I wanted a funny photo for Tribe.net and did this a few weeks ago. I also want to see if this will open up blogger for me as I can't post now for 2 days. 

Sean at age 3 as Mickey Mouse. 

Mind Hump-Halloweenie

1. What are your favorite Halloween songs?
The Monster Mash and Thriller, but Iike the video a lot more than the song.
2. Do you know the words to any of the songs from The Rocky Horror Picture Show? (Which ones?) Let's do the time warp, Dammit Janet
3. The spooky monsters are coming after you. You know that music will soothe each one long enough for you to escape...but each monster requires different music, what do you play for:
a: Dracula- Strangers in the Night
b: Frankenstein-Whenever I see your smilin' face
c: The Wolf Man- I wanna hold your furry hand
d: The Mummy-Wrap your arms around me?
4. You've been cursed and turned into a spooky Halloween creature.
What creature are you, and what's your theme song? George W. Bush and my theme song is 'She bang' Now all my Republican friends will really get up my crawl
5. Halloween is a time for creepy movies. What creepy movie has the best music, in your opinion? Psycho

JT at the World Series

I'm a big James Taylor fan. I bought my first JT lp when I was 13 or 14 and have followed his career through his personal struggles and three wives and 4 children! I am not a fanatic, but I have seen JT 3xs over the yrs-'79, '82 and '97. I have even seen his daughter Sally perform in a free outdoor concert a few years ago. So I heard that JT sang the national anthem on Sunday night and I missed it! Thank goodness for the internet because Brian found the website and there was JT!

James singing the anthem.  

Pennsylvania is a popular campaign state isn't it?

The # is 21-that's how many electoral votes Penna is worth to the candidates. They have been stumping in my homestate with vigor over the past few months. Today had to be the most interesting rally yet down in Philly. As much as I would have liked to see Bill Clinton and Kerry along with all the PA elected Democrats, I would never be caught in a crowd of 30,000 up to 100,000 (what I heard). The newcasters are saying Clinton will help warm black voters to Kerry. It just may work. I do believe Bill has an office in Harlem and is very popular in that community. It was interesting to see Patti LaBelle up on the stage too.
Now Bush has been here at least 41 times and had his mama here today. They want our votes so bad! Will they remember us after Nov. 2nd? The old Keystone state?
Presidential poll:
Nicest prez: Jimmy Carter (and also first prez I voted for back in '80)
favorite first lady:Jaqueline K. Onassis because she brought a certain flair to the White House
Nicest kids: Amy Carter and Chelsea Clinton
Best looking prez: Reagan wasn't bad looking when he was younger and was a Democrat! JFK had 'the look'.
Sneakiest prez-Richard Nixon
Good war prez-FDR and Eishenhower
Who would I like to meet: Jimmy Carter-what a great guy for 80 yrs old.
Cutiest pet:Bush Senior's Millie-a dog that can write a book is cool with me. I liked Buddy the Clinton's dog. Macaroni was a neat pony for the Kennedys. Who had the goat? : )

Here I am with my son on his 18th birthday in Lancaster, PA on a day trip.

Birthday milestone

Yes, my only child just turned 18 yesterday. No longer a child and now a man. He is still my little boy and I know we will always be close. We just have that kind of relationship.
I have to tell you what happened on Saturday though. Brian and I were cleaning up the yard getting it ready for the winter and Sean came out and said he was off to the park for a run. Well, surprise, surprise! He hasn't gone running for many months. When he got back there was a car behind the van and being a mom I thought maybe he had had a fender bender, then in a more calm state, he was giving directions to someone. Well, glory be! Some girls from his class had recognized him in the van and stopped by to chat! It was like he had groupies. He was moving his arms around in an animated way. When he came in, he was grinning ear to ear. We were teasing him in a nice way. I thought it was cute.
Yesterday we took a family trip to Lancaster, PA. It's just the three of us. I told Sean he could invite friends to a local restaurant for pizza and he knocked down that idea saying birthdays are 'family times'. We aren't much on parties for bigger kids and I wouldn't know who to invite. I think it's hard to tell people what to buy someone who has everything he needs and more. So we took a shopping trip anyway. Sean wanted another pair of sneakers and had money burning a hole in his pocket from his grandfather. The other thing he wants to buy is a fancy calculator. He only did buy the sneaks. I actually got a little Christmas shopping done, mainly for my internet friends and my niece and nephew. We went to a smorgasbord place and it was good, but could have been better. It was a nice time for the three of us.

Fahrenheit 911

My brother wanted us to see this when it first came out and we didn't. Sean went down to the video store and brought home Fahrenheit 911 and the Passion of Christ. Talk about different flicks.
Well we watched the Michael Moore documentary first. I think every voter needs to see this. And it's not garbage (as my father-in-law told my son, and he probably didn't even see it) and so what if Moore is a big man. I hate when people say that about him. He connected the dots for me-I saw how the Bush men work. I'm not going to go into a rage here, but I still think the US is in Iraq for all the wrong reasons. A scene in the movie showed Iraqis doing what we think is normal a few days before the invasion-children flying a kite, a couple marrying (the lady was in a white wedding dress). Then the next scene was an attack and a man putting a bloody dead child in the back of a truck with other bodies and asking 'why, what did we do?' I don't know how anyone could watch this and not think the same thing. Do the bigwigs smell oil? How can we look at the scenes of our young, injured men saying that 'they still feel their hands', though both are missing and not feel something? And then the mom who reads the final letter from her son that tells her how great it is to get mail as it makes it more tolerable there. His final question to her-what are we doing here? Please rent this movie. It's important.

Be afraid, be very afraid! 

Cosmo takes over the new area rug. 

Hitting TJ Maxx

I just haven't felt much like shopping lately. Yep, it's a cash flow issue. October basically sucks big time. It's time for car insurance and all the other bills due in the 3rd quarter. December is another balancing act. Anyway, I've had this family room on my mind and it's coming around. The painting is done except for along a wall where Brian didn't tape between two colors and it needs touch up. My son is driving and our insurance went up, way up. He hardly ever drives. I was hoping and thinking-hmmmm.... I need some shrimp, Sean can run down to the store for me so I don't have to put makeup on, that kind of thing. Nope, doesn't happen. And it's Sean's 18th birthday on Sunday. He had picked out things as mentioned in a previous post, but being he's my only, I had to get a few surprises for him, so I went to TJ Maxx. I hadn't been in there for ages and they had good stuff! I won't say what I bought him-ok it's clothing. I got a chenille throw rug for the family rug that coordinates well with my lounge chair. It has a burgundy background with red flowers (think sofa) with green accents. I also walked past this crystal turkey and then came back and looked at it and bought it! I like candy jars and also have a small turkey collection, so it fits. It's really pretty. I got Colleen's (sis-in-law) mom a few things as she'll be 60 on Sean's birthday. She just had an operation and I wanted to get her gifts. I blew a bit in there and headed off to 'Big Lots' which is usually lots of junk. Got some 50% off Halloween stuff and birthday supplies, so I'm ready for Sunday.

The Bush Bulge

Darn, this has been bothering me lately. There are a few blogs on here with just photos of 'the bulge' that has been noticed on Bush's back with an obvious wire leading up over his shoulder. Hey it's like Nancy and Ron, ya know. Mommy gave Ronnie the answers to hard questions sometimes. I mean they are saying it could be a way he communicated during the debates or could be a defiberator or whatever that medical device is called. They are saying his mouth looks droopy like he had a stroke. They said it looks like he had a nose job. Man, he's just falling apart! I wish someone would just come clean with what the heck it is. It's probably a machine that brainwashes you to vote Republican if you shake hands with him!
Bush had about his 40th visit to the grand ol' state of PA. Good luck, we have Ed Rendall as the governor who is really pushing for Kerry. And Philly usually votes Democratic.
This is what I am talking about:
http://www.bushwired.blogspot.com/
http://homepage.mac.com/c.shaw/BushBulges/PhotoAlbum15.html

Hot Pocket Heaven

Well after a long post, I tried to publish it and it got eaten! Just like all the Hot Pockets in my freezer do! I know that Hot Pockets have been around a while, but these frozen filled pastries (for lack of a better word) are just delectable! Most of them are. Forget the Philly cheese steak ones. I should know what a good Philly cheese steak tastes like. I started buying them in the summer as Sean got tired of sandwiches and won't eat soup. I was buying mostly the pizza ones, but now I enjoy the fajitas and chicken and broccoli pot pies. For breakfast they have Lean Hot Pockets Bacon and Eggs and the lady on the box lost weight eating them! You can have a strawberry pastry with icing too. Now the Lean ones are like 4 grams of fat. The others can go up to 17 or more grams of fat. I don't eat them all that much and if I do, I need to move more during the day to burn that off. I noticed if I have too little for lunch I burn out by the late afternoon.
I am also lucky because Sean will eat and take leftovers for lunch. He'll feast on leftover spaghetti or tacos! I will eat leftovers, but I like the 'Soup at Hand' creamy tomato and vegetable. I just wish they didn't have all the added salt.
My mom and brother are both diabetic, not the bad type, but my mom just started testing her sugar again and it was 94 in the morning and about 145 at night. She was worried, but she can't just go by a few tests, but an average of a week or more. I don't know if Dave is still being careful with his eating. I hope I never get this. I never had a sugar problem even though I am overweight. Mom is 111 pds and showed sugar when she was pregnant many decades ago.
I am hoping I don't get a phone call from the gyn about the tests I had on Monday. I figured someone read them by now. Say a little prayer for me, will you? : )

TV Tuesday

We've been doing a lot of redecorating around our home lately and checking out some of the home decorating shows, I'd never really watched them before but have found a few kind of interesting so this week Home shows are in the spotlight!
1. Do you watch home shows regularly? If so, which ones?
All of them!!! I love HGtv and TLC and even the Style network and DIY shows. Top of list are most definitely 'In A Fix', 'Trading Spaces', 'Divine Design', 'Design on a Dime', 'Guess Who's Coming to Decorate' and the getting yourself organized shows which make me antsy like 'Clean Sweep', 'Mission Organization' and 'Clean House'.
2. Have you ever followed a tip that you learned from a home show or TV?
Several I would think, mainly unintentional maybe? I did paint one wall in my family room a different shade in the same color family recently. Also found out how great that blue masking tape is. : )
3. What is the best (worst,stupidest,coolest...) thing you've ever seen on a home show?
When Hildi on Trading Spaces glued straw on the living room wall of a house. The homeowners had small children that were probably going to pull it off and eat it!
~Bonus~ If your home had it's own show what would it be called? Why?Remember to leave your link or answers in the comments!! :)
'3 men and a lady' (one male is a cat) or 'Our Catastrophe!' (because we never quite get the house the way we want it mainly from hoarding too much stuff.

Closing thoughts-A tv host on a cable show (I don't really know him too well) commented 'What's with these undecided voters? Is the problem they don't know how to get to the polling places?' LOL

If Meme

If you had to name a time when you wished someone in particular had used more candor than you, when would you say it was?
Ok this is really weird. I was trying to have another baby back in 1990 and Brian and I went to the gyn/ob doctor to see why we weren't able to conceive. The doctor said we both had problems and asked us if Sean was our conceived child! Now I wish Brian had said something back then. I don't know if the doctor was really being offensive, but if you look at the two of us, we are clean cut people and look like we are in a monogamous relationship. I mention this because Brian will cough that one up in my face for some reason and just did recently. I think deep down he has an issue with not sticking up for himself. I answer him by saying that Sean belongs to the mailman! I found out from a wonderful midwife later that I have uterine fibroids which would hinder my ability to conceive.

MammoSlam!

It's not a brutal as they say....I'm sure if you are around the age that I am you've seen the 'jokes' about it feeling like someone backed over your boobs with their car. I'll tell you what hurts-the darn ultrasound. They make you drink 32 oz of water and hold it for over an hour. I never can, but I just drink more to try and make up for what I lost. What added more hurt was going out in the cold and driving myself there. They usually take me right in and the tech usually always says 'your bladder could be fuller', as if! I have always had a tiny bladder anyway, ask anyone who I've been on a car trip with. The ultrasound was to check my uteran fibroids.
I had to wait a bit for the mammogram. I didn't know it was for almost an hour later. The mam tech kinda gave me grief about it. The waiting room was empty while I sat there for about 20 minutes. I rebounded by saying I had no problem waiting. She wanted to get me in anyway it seems because this older woman was having one done and taking forever to find her insurance cards.
This is over for a year, so the tech said. I don't know what they will say about the fibroids though. I had several small clusters last year. I am hoping to live with them until menopause. It's not easy being premenopausal.
Boob Poem
Author Unknown
For years and years they told me,Be careful of your breasts.
Don't ever squeeze or bruise them.And give them monthly tests.
So I heeded all their warnings,And protected them by law.
Guarded them very carefully,And I always wore my bra.
After 30 years of astute care,My gyno, Dr. Pruitt,Said I should get a Mammogram.
"O.K." I said, 'let's do it.""Stand up here real close" she said,(She got my boob in line),"And tell me when it hurts," she said,"Ah yes! Right there, that's fine.
"She stepped upon a pedal,I could not believe my eyes!A plastic plate came slamming down,My hooter's in a vise!My skin was stretched and mangled,From underneath my chin.
My poor boob was being squashed,To Swedish Pancake thin.
Excruciating pain I felt,Within it's vise-like grip.A prisoner in this vicious thing,My poor defenseless tit!
"Take a deep breath" she said to me,Who does she think she's kidding?!?
My chest is mashed in her machine,And woozy I am getting.
"There, that's good," I heard her say,(The room was slowly swaying.)
"Now, let's have a go at the other one."Have mercy, I was praying.It squeezed me from both up and down,It squeezed me from both sides.
I'll bet SHE'S never had this done,To HER tender little hide.
Next time that they make me do this,I will request a blindfold.
I have no wish to see again,My knockers getting steam rolled.
If I had no problem when I came in,I surely have one now.
If there had been a cyst in there,It would have gone "ker-pow!"This machine was created by a man,Of this, I have no doubt.
I'd like to stick his balls in there,And see how THEY come out!

~~~~~
Whoever thought up the word "Mammogram"? Every time I hear it, I think I'm supposed to put my breast in an envelope and send it to someone. -- Jan King
~~~~~

Clothes horse

Actually I hate that expression. It doesn't pertain to me, no not ever! LOL I am not a label whore either though I love Liz Claiborne stuff. I wasn't impressed by what I saw in the outlet in Atlantic City this past August. She makes the best stretchy pants, so tailored. I do have my fair share of clothing. Some of it's not that old and some of it's many years old. I was switching out my summer clothes with the winter (which are my favorite) clothes today. We have a 3 bedroom ranch house with lousy storage space. We have 3 of those sliding door closets with the basic wooden pole and shelf above and a closet we put in the family room for coats, the vacuum, games, video tapes and junk. We bought 2 armoires for each of us about 4 yrs ago. What happens with the armoires is we get tall, leaning, folded piles of clothes and the stuff on the bottom gets lost and I forget to wear it. I need to go to Wally World (Walmart) and get some flat plastic see through boxes so we can divide the short sleeves from the long sleeves and everything in between.
Poor Bri has to go up in the attic and get the two 'doggie caskets' as I call them with all the needed clothing in them and drag them down the fold up stairs. Now I am thinking about getting space bags as we are getting older and want to not hurt anything! It's a 3 hour ordeal and I cringe and open up my donation bag (try to have one a season) and quickly pop in the things I hate that wrinkle or don't look right on me.
To me, pure heavenly bliss would be a walk in closet like my sister-in-laws both have. I hope they don't read this, but neither have the clothes I have, sorry gals. One wears hers a year or so and they are gone. The other one seems to have the same outfits for years.
Update-I went to a book sale yesterday and was very good and only bought a small bagful. I had been at my mom's and she went to the sale before me (the sale was in my hometown) and she bought me 20 books! I wasn't thrilled to say the least. I had many of what she bought and they weren't all that great. Sorry my mommy.
Mom told me one of her uncles was in WWII and she told me the division too. I need to write it down. He was an musician, so played for the troops as well. Incidently, he and his brother were in a band in the 30s and some of their music was used in the 'Paper Moon' soundtrack. Seeing Tatum O'Neal on Oprah made me remember this.
We took my son to the mall last night so he could pick out a few birthday gifts as he will be 18 on the 24th. I dropped $80 in the Gap for 2 items-a button down shirt and tan cords. He had a gift certificate for Macy's for $100 so got himself a new winter coat-dark blue microfiber with gray fleece lining. Mom got him 'The Day After' DVD. I think he wants some surprises because he said he couldn't believe he was picking out his bd gifts! I have one thing for him and my good friend in Alabama is sending him a few things. He's hard to buy for. We are probably going to take a day trip to either New Hope, PA or Rehoboth Beach, DE. on his birthday. We'll see next weekend.

Comparing 1948 to 2004

My grandmom was the same age as I am now back in 1948. She was seeing the end of WWII. I couldn't help but think about what she was facing back then. She had no kin in the war, thank goodness. My uncle had a medical problem and was dismissed from active duty. I think her brothers were too old- not sure though. She had the same worries with aging parents, in fact her dad died around this time. She was probably scraping by as she did most of her life. It's not easy for us right now. I guess we should be a two income family, but it's too much for me right now to work a 9-5 job. I think I will look for something either later in the day or early evening. I am not a morning person.
My mom was 18 then like my son. She was working as a secretary like she did most of her life. My mother has the singing voice of an opera singer. I wish she had gone to New York or out west. I think her life would have been so much different. I could tell she wasn't really a happy person unless she was shopping. She's still that way. Mom is a bit down right at the moment as her sciatica is acting up again. She is spending a lot of time in bed and isn't doing much around the house. I know she needs help, but I do too. Sometimes it feels like I am living in 1948 in a very male dominated household. I was cleaning in the kitchen and it was a crummy mess. No one wipes down the counters except for me. I am here and it's my job. Oy.

Campaign commercials are driving me nutso!

I am so damn sick of them all. Not just one or two, but the whole explosion of them. I was telling Sean that once the elections are all over, do we even hear from most of the politicians until the next elections? I'm not talking about the Prez, but the congressman,etc. The ones who get the great insurance plans that Bush says no one else is entitled too. That's another peeve of mine. We had my son in the ER in August because he almost cut off the 'pad' of one of his fingers with the electric hedge clippers. Sean's all healed now-they 'glued' the 'u' shaped flap down. We got a 'this is not a bill' statement from the hospital a month later and gulp-it was over $1K!!!! I ended up buying the same kind of glue at the supermarket for under $6. The hospital charged $160 for a dap of glue. I guess it was made by elves in the Himalayas! That's just crazy.
Anyway, I will say a few of the local politicians do send out newsletters. Usually of them standing on the steps of the capital building in Harrisburg with the National Honor Society kids. They are a little informative-like talking about road repair and all. Yawn.
Please, no more 'I'm Joe Blow and I approve of this ad'......ayyyyyy!!

Hail Superman Christopher!

I just wanted to add a note of sincere condolences to the Christopher Reeve family. I hope he is walking again somewhere. 9 years of living like that was something else. I'll always remember him as Superman in the movie. George Reeves was the tv Superman (I use to watch that show). Christopher was perfect for this role with his great bod and angular face and piercing blue eyes. I do hope that stem cell research continues in his name. He was braver than Superman in how he struggled to live day to day. The image of his long body in a wheelchair at the Oscars lingers in my mind. God Bless him!

Write like an Egyptian

Something fun for you to do, see your name in heiroglyphs....
Write Like an Egyptian

Home Remedy in the new millennium

I have to give my grandmom a lot of credit for saving me from a lot of misery when it came to illnesses. She had some interesting remedies, one of which I adapted lately. Mom mom's was for congestion. I remember when I was in high school and we had gone to see a show that my younger brother was in. I was sitting there in the audience feeling sicker and sicker. By later that evening, I was flat on my back with a lot of chest congestion. My grandmom got busy down in the kitchen. First she got a piece of old sheet. She then mixed up a concoction of vegetable oil and dried mustard to make a paste. She may have heated this before or after she spread it on the sheet, or the heat from the mustard was sufficient. She folded the sheet up and then placed it on the sick person's chest. It burnt slightly, but that was a great way to break up congestion. She always spoke of saving her own mother-in-law from getting pneumonia.
I have had some congestion from that bug I had a few weeks ago, just enough that you feel like you swallowed glue. I found a new way to break it up. I got the Icy Hot in the deodorant type rub on container and just rub some across my chest before I went to bed. I think it helped! I also just bought one of those Sudafed vapor plug-ins. I am not a big fan of eucalyptus which is one of the scents. I also think that helped, but I couldn't have it right next to the bed or I felt like I was getting high all night!
I still wake up most mornings stuffy and then it takes a while for my sinuses to drain. I'm sure it's having a cat plus a dust mite thingie. I need to change the sheets more, vaccuum more and dust more. It just seems that no matter how much I clean, I have to repeat the process a few days latter. It may be because we are so close to a busy road.

What I like and all that other stuff...

I saw this on a few blogs, the latest being Annette's Acres.Here you go, I know you are excited!
1) What time do you get up?
I stay up until 1 am, so I don't get up until 9 am or so. This all may be changing if I have to get a job any time soon.
2) If you could eat lunch with one person, who would it be?
My grandfather who I never got a chance to know as he passed on when I was 2 months old.
3) Gold/silver?
Both
4) What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and loved it!
5) What is your favorite tv show? I like all the 'reality' shows like Survivor, The Apprentice, Extreme Home Makeover, Amazing Race....
6) What did you have for breakfast?
First a cereal breakfast bar and a few hours later half a big old bagel
7) Who would you hate to be stuck in a room with?
Someone who has really bad body odor, I'd puke.
8) What/Who inspires you?
People who do unselfish things for less fortunate people.
9) What is your middle name?
Carol
10) Beach, City or Country?
Beach
11) Favorite ice cream?
Anything with chocolate and nuts
12) Butter, plain or salted popcorn?
Butter, but the Cinnabun flavored is to die for!
13) Favorite color?
Teal or aquamarine, but you'd think red with the sofa and van
14) What kind of car do you drive?
1996 Ford Windstar Minivan
15) Favorite sandwich?
Hands down-chicken salad, preferably with apples or grapes added to the celery
16) What characteristic do you despise?
Liars or pompous asses
17) Favorite flowers?
Gardenias
18) What is your dream vacation?
One of those almost secluded islands that has all the luxuries, but is like a picture postcard
19) What color is your bathroom?
It's got tan wall paper with lines of flowers and an Raphael Angel border at the top to look Victorian
20) Favorite brand of clothing?
I'm not a label whore (is that the right expression?) I like Liz Claiborne a lot and White Stag from Wally World has some nice items
21) Where would you retire?
The beach!
22) Favorite day of the week?
Friday
23) What did you do for your last birthday?
It was pouring rain, my mom was here and in lots of pain from her sciatica. It was a bit of a disaster. We ordered Chinese take-out.
24) Where were you born?
West Chester, PA
25) Favorite sport to watch?
Maybe figure skating
28) Which detergent do you use?
All or what's on sale
29) Coke or Pepsi?
Coke-but the one with less sugar
30) Are you a morning person or a night owl?!
Night owl
31) What is your shoe size?
7.5-8
.32) Do you have any pets?
A brown tabby boy cat named Cosmo.
33) Your favorite season?
Autumn
34) What time is it?
8:56 Saturday night
35) Name as it appears on your birth certificate.
Dianne Carol Knowles
36) Nickname?
Diadsie-thanks mom!
37) Number of candles on your last birthday cake?
44
38) Kids?
Son almost 18
39) Hair color?
Light brown with caramel highlights and gray roots
40) Tattoos?
No
41) Eyes?
Hazel
42) How much do you love your job?
As homemaker-it's peachy keen-I need help! LOL
43) Favorite foods?
Chocolate, lobster tail, chicken salad, peaches, pie, pizza.
44) Been to Africa?
No
45)
Been toileting papering?
I may have gotten the supplies one time! LOL
46) Have you ever been in love?
Yes. Still am.
47) Been in a car accident?
Yes, head on in a VW Bug-no seat belts! I fractured my nose and had glass in my mouth. I looked like Rocky! This was back in 1981
48) Croutons or bacon bits?
Croutons
49) Favorite saying or phrase?
Live each day one day at a time
50) Favorite restaurant?
The Little Inn in my hometown or Marina Deck in Ocean City, MD
51) Favorite non-alcoholic drink?
Iced tea with lemon or green tea
52) How many times did you fail your driver's test?
Twice or three times? I forget!
53) Do you sing in the shower?
Almost every time!
54) At which store would you like to max your credit card?
Boscovs a local dept store
55) What do you do most when you are bored?
Usually clean, go outside, surf the web, call my mom
56) Bedtime?
1 am or so
59) Glass half empty or half full?
Half full
60) If you could live anywhere in the world where would you live?
Someplace warmer or near the water
61) What is your most annoying habit?
Throat clearing
62) When was your last true vacation?
August trip to Atlantic City, NJ.
63) Time you finished this post?
9:08 PM Saturday

Martha! Martha! Martha!

Geez, never thought I'd see the day when Ms. Martha gets sent to the slammer. She is all over the news as she is now in 'Camp Cupcake' as they call the West Virginia prison that is now home to her for the next 5 months. All this for a measly 40K out of her millions. It's rather greedy. But I love her omnimedia, darn it! Martha gained popularity right when I was a new homemaker and wife. I wanted to be just like her. She is from Nutley, NJ which is a small town. She didn't have money back then, but was in the top 10% of her high school class. Her entire persona is 'adopted'. (My mom use to say that about Grace Kelly too-who was from Philly and acquired a very preppy manner of speaking, though her daughter Stephanie could be from South Philly from her manner of speaking).
Martha Stewart Living is one of the best magazines ever. I have almost every issue from the beginning. My subscription stopped once and I really missed it. I still think a lot of the 'other' shows try to copy her show. She is definitely the Martha everyone knows by her first name. Wonder what she will be allowed to do with her prison cell to make it more 'homey'? At least Rosie O'Donnell is sticking beside her. Good luck MS.

More than you can handle

My mom always says this to me when I am down, 'the Lord never gives you more than you can handle'. I guess I agree somewhat as these are comforting words. But tell that to the parent who is watching a child slowly dying from cancer. In these situations, the parent or parents must be really strong people. I was just reading a note from parents thanking the 'Make A Child Smile' webmistress (and group) for their only child's (daughter) grave marker. I guess you have to look at the whole picture to get by and cope. They were grateful for their little girl, even the short length of time she had on this earth.
I do believe I come from strong stock. My maternal great grandmom watched her oldest and very longed for child die from pneumonia at age 7. She had 3 or 4 other children, but this must have been heartbreaking. My late grandmom could remember viewing her big sister at rest in her coffin holding a handful of daisies.
Most of us learn that life goes on and we have to take the punches and get on with it. I like to say 'live each day one day at a time'. Deal with today and tomorrow will hopefully be better.

IF meme for Thursday

If you were to choose the single most joyous thing about life, what would it be?
Sounds like a loaded question to me. The most joyous (feeling of happiness) thing-being a mother? a daughter? a wife? a sister? a neighbor? a salesperson? I have to say that being pregnant and finally being a mom has to be it. I have always wanted to be a mom since I hugged my first Thumbelina baby doll. (If you grew up in the 60s you know about that doll). I just wanted to mother people my entire life. Sean's a great kid and I can't believe he's almost 18 (on the 24th). I love almost everything about him, though I will cuss him out when I don't like anything too self-centered that comes out of his mouth. But that dear little boy, my only child with the pacifier has shot up so fast and on the verge of manhood. It's not fair. I only got one, but a good guy. Thanks God. : )
I've had a weird day. My uncle is not well. He had a procedure to quarterize his bladder and it didn't work. He's 81 yrs old and like a dad to me. He's helped my mom so much over the years I can't tell you how much. To see him going through this is crushing us. They will try another procedure and if that doesn't work, he will lose his bladder. This happened because of radiation he had for prostate cancer. We feel so bad for him. Now it's a waiting game.

Tribe.net

I found tribe.net through a blog I read once in a while. It's a pretty neat site and you have to invite people with the same interests to be pals. There tons of tribes, some like recipe exchange to the other extreme of being erotic. I am not in it for the later, no thank you. I joined a left handed group and I hate to tell you what they were talking about. Yes, it had to do with doing something with your hands in private. If they keep it up, I'm going to another tribe. I joined on Sunday and have about 4 friends now. I think it's neat to be able to do all these things on the internet. Tribe is also good for selling things in your area, recommending restaurants, group meetings etc. I think I will be a lurker a while. My one pal said she has met half of her 150 pals! Maybe many are from the same area. I have met a few of my online pals IRL (in real life) over the years. Most I have talked to on the phone. Where I live there isn't many ways to meet people except through church and volunteer work. I tried the church choir group and they didn't want to be friendly IRL that much. We went to each other's houses which was nice. With the school, I was always helping out teachers etc. I was even in the PTO (org here) as the corresponding secretary one year. After elementary school, I wasn't needed anymore. I try to think that all that volunteering helped Sean but lead to not making any money for me. I did make some money about 8 yrs ago through a lady I met at the school through another lady who was a friend. I hand-painted stenciled 'Welcome' slates for many months-did about 400 of them if not more. I think a job may actually do me good to get me out of the house once in a while.

Spazzy Cat

What is it with this cat of mine? Cosmo is doing some really weird stuff these last few weeks. First he was climbing into one the of the windows in the basement via junk and a metal shelf. That was keeping him out of my hair for a few hours. Now between 7:30 to 9:00 am, he'll cry loudly outside my closed bedroom door to get me awake. He'll then push on the door and get it open and then jump and walk all over me and then take off like a bullet down the hallway. Darn! I do get up between 9-9:30 only because I go to bed around 1-1:30 am. Today I had to get up because I was so thristy. Usually Cosmo gets on my lap for a half hour or so and calms down, like he needs that reassurance that mama is there for him. I decided some of his claws needed a trim and managed to do a few while he tried to warn me with an open mouth on my hand. Oy. Maybe Cos is feeling the change in the weather too. I try to take him outside everyday so he doesn't feel trapped. I try to give him lots of love. He is always in front of his dish and I don't want a Buddha kitty. Maybe it's a faze-do cats have these?

Tuesday ticking down

It's after 11 pm and I just grabbed about 4 of my houseplants off the front step as there's a frost advisory tonight. Another short warm season for us in the northeast. I'm getting over a virus and it's in the postnasal drip stage, lucky me. I feel like I do in February instead of this time of year.
I dug up some 'wild begonias' to send to a friend in New York. I had to cut most of the flower part off as they had grown about 2-3 feet! I added some gourds that I had grown a few years back because I know A is crafty.
After I mailed some things off I went to the grocery store. Now I have the option of going to 1 of 4 supermarkets in a 5 mile range, with 2 of them being about 1 mile away. I usually pick one of these as I am lazy. The one I went to today has Patricia Heaton as its spokeswoman (Acme/Albertson). There were mostly old ladies in there today. It's like this a lot of times. Only a few of them have their husbands. I saw this one lady who use to work in Jamesway (long gone) and I recognized her by her back hump. That is sad, let me tell you. And you know its an effort for them to get out, yet they only have a couple of items in their carts. This year I feel for them more than anything as everything I do that is strenous is either hurting my feet or arms or back. This is bit scary for me as a past Lyme Disease sufferer. And more than anything, it's watching how much pain my mom was and is in this past year. Is this what I have to look forward to? I sure hope in the next 30 yrs there are miraculous cures for people who suffer with daily pain.

Mundane Monday and slapping paint up on the wall-again

Yep, I felt like painting again. It's been two weeks and I want to finish up while I can still open the window. I have only one wall left now and it's a complimentary color of gold. I put up a sample to see how it's going to look and I think it's rich looking. Sean turned up his nose a bit. He had the nerve as his room is that light avocado green. Brian said it looked like pumpkin color. It's GOLD, man, gold!!! As soon as Bri pulls out the entertainment center I can finish up. I am not looking forward to the edges. I have one of those paint pads with the wheels. I had blue tape and it is missing. I am sure it will look fine. 'The Kiss' came today and I need to figure out how to hang it in the existing frame I have.
How much am I moved by the show 'Extreme Home Makeover'? I want to work on that show. I haven't said anything like that in a long time. I would want to go buy the stuff for the kids' rooms like wacky wallpaper, Barbies, swings, you name it. I just love to see the family flip out after the bus pulls away from the front of their new home. Great job ABC! I hope this show goes on for a long time. Can you imagine the worries being lifted from these people's shoulders if they are hurting financially? I will watch the over Extreme show but that one creeps me out a bit. I really love when they fix their teeth. That's the best.

Indian Summer Sunday?

Not sure if that applies, but since it's fall now and it's a nice day, it reminds me of a day in summer. I was out trying to enjoy the weather a bit. I had the cat on his harness which he is very good about. We were on the back patio and I am starting to gather my garden decorations so I can clean them off and pack them away for next year. My yard is in good shape this year. I worked hard at maintaining it. I stopped weeding, but things still are blooming and look decent. I promised my friend in Arizona some freshly dried herbs for her retro spice jars.
My mom did a disappearing act on all of us yesterday. I knew she was going to a local yearly fair, but when I couldn't get in touch with her all afternoon and my uncle and brother hadn't heard from her either, I got panicky. She couldn't be reached for over 6 hours. Turns out she left the fair and went to a Farmer's Market that isn't even near the fair. I had the phonebook out at 5:15 to call the police to ask about accident reports. We tried for the 15th time around 5:20 and Jim the boarder answered the phone. I was in tears with him and really hung up on him. Mom called back and I told her how pissed off I was. She was embarrassed and I feel bad I made her that way, but I love her and was worried to death about her. That definitely aggravated my cold and I am worst today as is my sore neck. Darn, what to finish my painting and decorating. It's been over 2 weeks since I've painted in the family room. I can see my piles diminishing though. Why did I have to be such a pack rat and marry one too?

Saturday sorting and purging

I got 2 large plastic boxes yesterday-hooray! Right after I got up this morning and had my tea and French toast, I started to load VHS tapes into one of them. Then I started pulling tapes out of the coffee table (bought for it's cavernous storage underneath). I found some tapes to share with my niece and nephew (hopefully they will forget to give them back-lol) and then my organizational skills kicked in and I separated all the Titanic tapes, Harrison Fords, etc into piles. One of the piles is work-out videos of all kinds-yeah from Jack Lalaine (LOL) to Cheryl Ladd slipping and sliding on a mat thingie. I do enjoy my Richard Simmons tapes, so I did keep them. When I ran into the ones that said 'Sean at pop-pop's house 1990' and 'Our Wedding 1984', that pulled at my heartstrings. I'd hate to lose them. I should put them in my cabinet in the living room closer to the door. I opened the closet door in the family room and that is a mess in there with more videos!!!
My mom went to a church fair down near the 'main line' of Philly today. I try to go once in a while, but it's an hour away and if you don't go right when they open, everything gets picked over. It's like an elephant stampede to rush to the book tent or the knick-knacks. The people who donate have some money, so it's a popular fair. Every year they have 100s (maybe thousands by now) of people come and they charge an admission which is getting steep-like $5 a person to walk around and then buy their donated stuff! I overheard someone there about 15 yrs ago say they made 90K from it-that's only in 6 hours! With all the moola,you'd think they would get the white elephant tables out of the old horse stalls and get some bigger, nicer smelling tents. Most of the time you can't move from one table to the next. They run out of food early too. I wonder where all the money is going? The main reason I use to go is for my auction sales. After last year, it wasn't worth me going again this year. I use to go there when I was a little kid too.

I was into photoshopping pictures for another site. The contest was to make a statue out of someone. This was suppose to be a statue of James Taylor near his home in Martha's Vineyard. The real JT is looking out at the ocean behind the statue. I didn't get the highest marks as it didn't look very 3D, but it was my first try. Notice I snagged this image from the concert photo below. I also had to find 2 other images (the ocean and little JT) to make this work for me.

Taken last either last year or earlier this year. I can't take credit for the photo, though wish I could. Thank you photographer! That's my favorite singer James Taylor with his wife Kim behind him. Teresa is holding Kim's hand.

It's not a bull in a China shop-it's a deer in a chicken joint!

True! Down in West Philadelphia a few nights ago, a buck (deer with antlers) somehow got into a chicken joint! Now this area is all row houses with no open spaces except for Cobbs Creek park that is miles away. I am just picturing this buck walking through the streets of Philly. He must have been walking down alleys as no one saw him before he got himself stuck in the restaurant. He head butted a few teens, but they were okay. The authorities finally tranquilized him and got him out to return to him to 'the wild' somewhere. It was weird seeing his deer hooves hanging over the side of the stretcher. The reporter said about the experience, "Now I've seen everything." Check out the photos of 'Bucky' at the following link:
WPVI.com: Deer Trapped in Restaurant

Four for Friday

FOUR FOR FRIDAY
Q1: Did you watch last night's televised debate between President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry? If so, despite which candidate you support, who do you feel did a better job? If you didn't watch, are you planning on watching either of the two remaining televised Presidential debates or next Tuesday's Vice Presidential debate?
It was so obvious-John Kerry sounded and looked very Presidential while GW Bush paused a lot, said 'you know' and 'ummm' and drank a lot of water. He is better speaker all around and Bush knew it. Bush also repeated himself and couldn't even fill some of the allotted time he was given.
I do plan to watch the remaining two debates. I can't wait to see Edwards against Cheney!
Q2: Have you ever given something up--either for religious reasons or just because you wanted to--for a specified period of time? If so, how did that work out for you... were you able to stick with it for the duration of time you had originally planned or did you cave earlier than planned? If you can remember, what was it that you gave up and why?
Oh the Lent question. I am pretty good at giving up meat on Fridays, though I get tired of it during the duration of Lent. Another time I tried to give up food is during diets. I tried not to eat hamburgers once during a Liver cleansing diet and I think that lasted one month. I am not a big hamburger eater, I substitute ground turkey now. But I like a Junior Whopper once in a while. My willpower stinks because I am by myself so much and could be busier. The busier I am, the more weight I lose anyway.
Q3: If you could change jobs tomorrow in order to start working directly for anyone in the world--either dead or alive--whom would you choose to work for and what would you do?
I'd love to work at Martha Stewart Living magazine and help design craft items for her magazine. I think that is one of the classiest magazines out there.
Q4: Halloween is just 30-days away. What's your best Halloween-related memory and/or costume?
Once I dressed my brother up as the grim reaper when I was into Monty Python. He wore my grandmom's hooded, bulky bathrobe. I made him a sickle and did his makeup. I really loved dragging my costumes to elementary school. Once I wore my mom's wedding dress that she had cut off (it didn't hold any meaning to her anymore). I also loved trick or treating with my brothers. I made most of my son's costumes. The last time he dressed up, five yrs ago, he was a crewsman from the Titanic. He had a whistle and a life preserver. He has been the Phantom of the Opera and a Wizard to name a few of the costumes I assembled for him.