Professor Says ...

Welcome to the new segment I'd like to call "Professor Says." Professor is my soon to be 4 year old; he is smart, serious, spirited (he gets that from me) & hysterical. Sometimes it is hard not to laugh at him because his delivery is just so pure. Here's a sampling from just this Friday ...

Background info - we call farts "Burps". Yeah, Yeah, it's weird but what do you call them?
Friday morning he was getting undressed so I could put sunscreen on & when I told him he needed to take off his undies he says with a straight face "Mom, there's a big skid in my underwear" to which I reply "Do you have to go poop?" without skipping a beat he says with a smirk "No, I was playing with my trains this morning & I made a CRAZY burp and got a skid!" He is a man in training. If he lets more than one rip he will say "There's a lot of big burps coming from my tush!" and laugh. He's awesome!

Friday night we are standing in the bathroom brushing teeth watching me in the mirror the entire time, he takes the toothbrush out of his mouth & says "Mommy your head is shaped like a bagel" I ask, "what is your head shaped like?" He replies, "My head is shaped like a bagel too & Bam-Bam's (his 1 year old brother) head is shaped like a bagel. But Daddy's head is shaped like a Cantaloupe."

He is scrumptious!

Who would have thought that ...

.... Two of my brothers are named Tom & Gerry

... I once told Ricky Henderson, the all-time stolen base champ that he needed to hustle. (My husband LOVES this one)

... I am a BIG Mary when it comes to lightening - it scares the crap out of me

... I lived in a haunted house - No shit!

.... I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Golden Gate Park & want my ashes sprinkled there when I'm done.

... When servers bring the Lobsters over to your table so you can choose which one you would like for dinner IT FREAKS ME OUT !!! (No shock that I don't eat Lobster)

... I dress up like a 70's Disco Queen for Mardi Gras & dance like crazy as we roll down the Parade Route. We are fierce!!!!

It's 10:55pm - do you know where you blogger is?

Flash - while you are dreaming of fantastic voyages and brilliant sunsets, I am sitting here trying to make sense of the world all because you ask "when are you going to blog again?"

So for you & anyone else who is so kind to read, I give you a few new posts and a promise to TRY to blog more frequently. I will share mindless rambles, sentimental baubles & wacky stories but for now I am off to bed.

"Goodnight stars, Goodnight air, Goodnight noises everywhere"

Friends

Every now & again I take a few moments to reflect on my life & the people in it; Sunday was one of those days.
I was talking with a friend who just relocated and completely remembered how lost I felt when I moved from NY to FL. I soo didn't expect that to happen in fact prior to the move when people asked me if I was nervous my response was consistently "I am an outgoing person, I'm sure it won't be a problem for me." Boy was I wrong. It was soo hard to start over building friendships in my 30's. When we are kids we choose friends by playground rules but as adults so much more goes into friendship. Whether we want to admit it or not we incorporate appearances, social status, economic status into our decision making process. I think we really are drawn toward people similar to ourselves b/c it brings a sense of comfort, a feeling of unity if you will. Now before you freak out let me explain that I have friends of all shapes, sizes, persuasions, etc - they are a diverse group & I know that within that group there are some who would label others "not their cup of tea." So I got to thinking about which friends I feel most comfortable with & why.
My best friend Pam is a down to earth, never a harsh word about anyone, honest, kind-hearted soul who I love dearly. We have the type of friendship where we can go months without talking to one another (she lives in NY) & then pick up as if we saw each other yesterday. I never feel out of place in her presence.
My friend Lisa (also in NY) is a bit of a looney but again she has a heart of gold and understands what is it to be a true friend. We talk often & never skip a beat. We know each others secrets & fears but most importantly we have each other's back.
Now here in my new life I have some friends that make people wonder. They can be so superficial at times so much so that I have left their home feeling bad about myself - YUCK! So frustrating but when they allow themselves to live in the moment & NOT for someone else they are fantastic.
Then there are two of my newest friends, Holly & Flash who I just think are beautiful. They remind me of home & for that I adore them. It hit me one day when I was watching their children & had to go to the junk drawer for some tape. I stepped back & laughed out loud because I LOVE that they have a junk drawer. I Love a junk drawer! I Love my junk drawer! It is not so much the stuff in it but rather the honesty involved in both having & admitting to a junk drawer. It is like declaring to the world "hey I have some crap, I'm not perfect & you know what that crap comes in handy from time to time - maybe even helped me "McGyver" my way out of a sticky situation." It is being comfortable in your skin & not afraid to show it that I dig.

So to all my friends - I Love Ya'!

A little less of me

Four pounds less to be exact. (this is where you say "woo-hoo")
Last week after deciding I didn't want to look in the mirror anymore I joined Weight Watchers or as I like to affectionately refer to it - Chub Club. The last time I did the program was in 2000 prior to moving the Florida & having 2 kids & I rocked it out. This time I really am going to take my time & not push for the super weight loss in warp speed b/c that is just going to trip me up in the end. I am going for the change of life event & if it takes me a bit longer than so be it, I'm up for the challenge.
I just got to the point where I realized I have been able to achieve anything I put my mind to EXCEPT for maintaining my weight & it really is about time to finally overcome that hurdle. I am finally in a place where I genuinely like who I am on the inside & want to feel the same about the outside. I would joke around and say "I may be fat but at least I am interesting" but I really want to be interesting and NOT fat. This week confirmed that I am one step toward accomplishing this goal. I'm counting points & learning to enjoy the ride.

How Clean is Clean?

This morning I was dust busting under my kids chairs, thought about all the time I spend cleaning and wondered if it was all in vain. Now my house is not "momma" clean (you know the kind of cleaning you do before you mom comes to visit) but it is pretty clean. I vacuum at least twice a week, wash the floors at least once a week, dusting is another issue that only happens when I am having a party or if I am really just having a clean freak kind of day. Usually I dust around objects but if people are coming over I will move them just in case someone picks something up they don't notice the ring of shame.
Anyway, I was thinking about how I am the one who does most of the cleaning & how my husband chooses to spend his time playing with the kids instead of cleaning which makes him the "fun" parent. So I was thinking about this and about how he has the right idea which got me to thinking about my Mom and her cleaning ways. She was a crazy cleaner, still is. In fact she was here a few months ago & decided to wash the walls for me. I can honestly tell you I have washed the walls in my house but it was definitely not within this past year. When she comes to visit one of her favorite things to do outside of playing with the boys is to clean. It "relaxes" her. One of her favorites is to clean the floors. On one visit I went out to the grocery store & came home to find her on her hands & knees using Soft Scrub on my vinyl floors trying to get the scuff marks out. She is nuts!
One time when I was 15 or so we lived in a house that had wood floors. Wood floors were a BIG deal to my Mom & she cared for them constantly. She liked them to Shine! Coincidentally, she worked at a department store where the floors squeaked which gave her an idea - she asked one of the maintenance guys for some of the floor wax so she could try it out at home. Of course she didn't have the big buffing machine they had but she was convinced she could do a great job with her trusty mop. So she went home, planned her Saturday around the waxing of the floor & truth be told, they looked awesome! Nice & shiny - she was so proud. But she noticed the floor looked much better than the stairs (also wood) so she decided to wax them as well. Again, same industrial strength wax & her trusty mop. The too were gorgeous. A few hours later the doorbell rang, Mom went to get it & "weeeee - Thud" there went Millie sliding on her bum all the way down her pretty stairs!!!! It would have been even funnier if she didn't break her leg but still it was pretty hysterical.
My house may be clean but you can bet I won't be slipping down the hallway anytime soon unless the boys are pushing.

Happy Cleaning Everyone!

Bye Bye Virginity

My Blog virginity that is. C'mon did you really think I was going to tell you all about how I lost my virginity, the crown royale of every girl's entry into "womanhood." How his breath was warm, his touch gentle & I felt like an angel on earth. Oh sweet memories... Hold on while I reminisce..... OK, OK, ... enough dry heaving for one night. Seriously, first times are tough & almost always fall way below our romanticized teenage expectations.

Anyway, back to the task at hand. I have had this blog account for a LONG time but never really got around to writing despite the continuous stream of words, thoughts and ideas that run through my head. "Maybe I should write about this .... But this would be more interesting ... OOO, what about that.... and more recently - who gives a crap what I write about." So tonight I am embracing my who gives a crap attitude & am jumping in. You see two of my good friends are bloggers & I have to tell ya, they crack me up. Not just because they are so mushy, gooey in love (although that does make me laugh and smile) but because they have attracted some "cyber-groupies" who I picture in my mind sitting by their PC's (or MAC's) laughing out loud telling their friends about the daily adventures of "Life Is" and "Along." or maybe I will call them Hollie & Flash. Regardless, I want my own cyber groupies :)

So I can't promise a subject focused blog - knowing me it will most likely be a shoot from the hip, foot in mouth, she is freakin' crazy type of a blog but I can promise it won't be dull. So hop in & enjoy the ride, it may be what you were hoping for.

Till next time ....