Friday, April 13, 2012

Chauffer or Housekeeper?

Yea, I spent some money on lottery tickets when the MegaMillions prize was $640MILLION!  We play at work, four of us, and even when it's PowerBall and nowhere near $640MILLION, we toss around ideas about what we'd do if we won...

One woman said we can't just quit, that we have to come in and quit all together.  No, we don't, but we will, until we each get our share, THEN, ladies and germs, I'M SO OUTTA HERE!  The other three of us are ready to quit now, but can't, but since she's the one that walks to get the tickets...

I don't want to win $640MILLION.  I just want to take home about $5million, $2million, enough to share with my sisters and my mom, and my kids, with the rest there to ensure hubby and I don't have to eat catfood during our retirement.  Enough so that if our friends call and say, "Hey, last minute cruise tickets, $500 each for 7 days to Bermuda, wanna go?" we can say, "Hell, yea, count us in!" without worrying if we'll be able to pay the taxes on the house next quarter.

The other day someone asked me if I'd rather have a chauffer or a housekeeper.

H.O.U.S.E.K.E.E.P.E.R.
ALL THE WAY!!!

I like to drive.  I wouldn't want someone to drive me around.  I wouldn't even get a new car until I needed one; I love my 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe!

But I hate housework.  I hate laundry.  I hate scrubbing the tub.  In fact, the other day, when I was working from home and when I do, I still got up before 6am to shower and dress.  I went to Starbucks and bought myself a caramel macchiato and a slice of banana walnut bread.  Then I went home and went to work.  I went to the doctor in the middle of the day (the reason I was working from home) and came home after lunch.  I made myself a sandwich, ate while I checked emails, then went upstairs to use the potty.  In the afternoon we get a lot of sun in the main bathroom, and I noticed I'd forgotten to pull the shower curtain closed.  I walked over there to close it and happened to look down.

How can a tub/shower get so darned dirty when you're using soap and water in it twice a day?!?!?  So down on my hands and knees I go, scrubbing soap scum and me scum off the tub, cursing the whole time:  "Sure, $17 in lottery tickets isn't enough to win!  The first thing I'd do is get a housekeeper!  I hate scrubbing the tub; I'd rather clean the toilet!  This sucks!"  Interspersed with words I say out loud but won't type on my blog because they're not nice words...

Oh, by the way, don't ask me to choose between a housekeeper and a chef, 'cause then I'd have to win more money so I could have both, because the closest I am to a cook is my maiden name.

Cook.

Good luck if you're playing, and YAY!!! if you win!!!  (Are we related?!?  Or bestest friends?!?)

Who knew???

Not me.  I didn't know that Tuesday April 10 was National Siblings Day.  Now that I know...

I'd like to take a moment to introduce you to my two (and a half!) wonderful siblings.

P

The older of my 2 younger sisters is about 5 years younger than me but about 25 years more active!   She hikes, she walks, she does yoga and other exercises at home.  She's also still wearing the same size she was wearing years ago, 8/10, or medium - which is officially 1/2 as large as my 14/16, or large/extra large. 

Her hair is curly from the root to the tip, and as you know, the grass is always greener:  I want her curly hair and she's always telling me I wouldn't want it if I had it! 

She is a scientist, probably one of the two smartest people I know in this world, and probably the ONLY one I can say went to school straight through to her PhD and got a job in her field and stayed in her field to this day! 

One of my favorite childhood memories of her was the day my parents brought her home from the hospital.  It's such a vivid memory.  My mom has a metal serving cart that happened to be outside the side door that day, with a yellow cotton skirt covering the lower shelves.  I was in the kitchen and could see them carry her in the side door.  It was a beautiful June day, warm and so very sunny, and my baby sister had curly red hair!!!  (It's not red anymore, but it sure was the day she came home, especially in that sunlight!) 

She has had a grand total of 5 cats and 3 dogs over the years (and there are still 2 dogs and 2 cats in her family today!).  [Correct me if I missed a cat here or there, P!]  She has the biggest heart I know and actually rescued her most recent cat from the jaws of a dog, at great potential risk to her own self! 

She has traveled quite a bit, both in Central America and in Europe.  She spent a semester in Cambridge University.  That's right, in England.  (Told you she was smart!) 

She cooks really healthy food for herself (yet another way we have nothing in common) and at the complete, far opposite side of the food spectrum, actually LIKES tofu.  (Don't even TRY the ole "it takes on the taste of whatever you cook it with" 'cause I've tried it and I DON'T like it!) 

She has a memory like an elephant, never forgets a thing!  She is the best of all of us at remembering to send cards for holidays and birthdays, but I feel so much better that this year, she had to email my hubby for his birthday - time got away from her and she forgot to send a card.  She's human!!!  Yay!!! 

I'm so very proud of her and I love her so very much.

C

C is my baby sister and will always be my "baby" sister.  In fact, whenever anyone asks me how old she is, I have to do the math.  It's IMPOSSIBLE that my baby sister could be "that old."  (Don't take that the wrong way, C!)

When I think of my earliest memories of her, they include not really seeing her when she came home from the hospital because she was a preemie and they had to keep her away from her germy older sisters until she was strong enough.  So we had long, heavy, floor to ceiling drapes covering the doorways to keep us (and our germs) away from her. 

And another one of those vivid, Polaroid moments is her platinum blonde, pageboy haircut.  She had Marilyn Monroe blonde hair!!!  She doesn't have that hair color anymore either, but she had beautiful silky, thick medium brown hair.  The grass is always greener, remember? 

She is smart as a whip, too, but has the added bonus of being an artist, too.  She has created some beautiful canvases, and there are two that especially stand out:  one of our childhood dog, and another of Jesus.  She was offered a gallery show but that never happened.  I really wish she'd take up her brushes again:  [HEY, C - I'm trying all sorts of art journaling myself.  Why not come up to the lake one day with me and E and we can art together!!!] 

She had my nephew in 1990 and my niece in 1992 and they are the two best gifts I've ever gotten.  I love them so much, and they just wouldn't be the gorgeous, smart 20-somethings they are today without their mom. 

She did some freelance work for my company many years ago and then came on board as an in-house employee.  Those were my favorite work years, actually spending time with her every day.  I never felt closer to her.  I look back at those days so fondly, wishing we were STILL working together. 

She went through a painful divorce and I hope I was there for her like I wanted to be.  She is in a relationship now and if she's happy, I'm happy!  I like T and they bought a beautiful home a couple of years ago - I'm happy for her. 

I'm so very proud of her and I love her so very much.

R

R is actually my cousin but we grew up so close that I try to find cousin/brother cards for him for each holiday.  Not surprisingly there aren't a lot of cards with a sentiment that reads, "Thanks for being the best cousin/almost-brother on earth!"  He is fodder for a lot of stories, though, as evidenced here...

His mom and my mom were sisters (2 of 3, just like me and mine!) and my Cioci E and my Babci came over almost every night during the week to have tea with mom, and R would always tag along.  I remember so clearly having to go to bed at 8:30/9:00pm but HE could watch Family on TV, or Starsky and Hutch.  That wasn't right - he was YOUNGER than me!  Why was HE allowed???

My strongest visual memory of him?  Platinum blonde surfer hair, and a week or two at his Seaside Heights beach house every summer.  (Loved his outside shower!)  There was the day he decided we should cross the street and swing on the swing on his neighbor's front lawn.  We heard our moms calling us for lunch (soup, I believe) and ran across the street.  We got caught.  Our punishment for crossing the street alone at 6 years old?  Kneeling on dried beans in the corner behind the front door and getting spanked with my aunt's black patent leather belt.  I don't think I crossed the street alone again until I was 16!

Then there's my 8th grade birthday, when we were waiting for him and my aunt and my grandmother to come over for birthday cake, and they never showed up 'cause he had to go and break his leg playing basketball.  His timing sucked. 

He was a sleepwalker.  We were at the beach and he woke up out of a sound sleep, picked up a baseball bat and headed for the back door.  He peeked out the door, saw all was well, went back to his room, put down the bat and hopped back into bed to sleep the rest of the night away. 

And my scar...  Dad left for work and told us not to go into the garage.  R had to go into the garage.  So I followed him in, kicked him out, and slammed the door, staying on the inside.  He stood outside the door, mugging for the cameras (!), and I got mad and punched him in the face.  Through the glass window.  I can still remember him running into the house, crying that a couple measly pieces of glass hit him in the face and "Krys punched me through the window!"  (You little crybaby, you!)  I was dripping blood behind him and wound up with 6 stitches and a scar on my right hand, but all you'll ever hear from him is that the nurses had to use tape to pull the glass out of his forehead and it hurt...  Waa, waa, waa.  He got a lollipop, and me, the girl with stitches, didn't. 

He dated a girl named P who I REALLY didn't like; she was a drinker and turned him into a drinker, too.  My favorite memory was the day he told me they broke up and I said, "Good, now I can tell you I never liked her." 

He married M and they've given me another smart, beautiful/handsome niece and nephew.  Love you guys, too!

Happy Siblings Day to my sisters and my "cousin/brother"!!  I love you all!!!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Twas the week before Easter...

Hubby's school was closed the week BEFORE Easter.  Guess the Board saved themselves having to give the teachers an extra day off by not having to give them Good Friday PLUS a holiday week...

Anyway, I took off the Monday and the Thursday and Friday of last week.  Thought I'd post a few photos from the week and insert the stories (you know there are stories!!!)...

I have no story about Shemar Moore other than to say he is probably the best looking man on television, in my humble opinion...  Now remember, Clint doesn't have a regular show these days...


My sister's dog Duncan is on the right, with the blue leash.  She just got his mom, Beanie, last weekend.  The breeder gave her up because she had a bad last litter and hemmorhaged badly and isn't show quality anymore.  Sounds a bit harsh, but sister is happy to have another doggie around the house!


On Holy Saturday, Mom and Little Sister C and I met at church, St. Valentine's in Bloomfield.  They had a Food Blessing, a lovely tradition we've been participating in all my life.  You bring your food for Easter dinner, or a representation of what you'll be eating, and you get it blessed by the priest.  We brought eggs, ham, kielbase, butter, salt/pepper, wine, candy for the baby's basket, holy water, etc.  It's nice to see newer, younger members of the church come with their baskets, decorated with doilies and napkins and flowers and herbs, not just the older Polish ladies who are left...


We've both been noticing our memories aren't what they used to be so we stopped in The Vitamin Shoppe to see what they had to say.  They suggested after Jack finishes his current bottle of Focus Factor, that he try some Acetyl-L-Carnitine (?), 500mg.  So that's the plan...


I spent Holy Thursday coloring my eggs.  I read the instructions and paid attention to them.  Left the eggs in the food coloring for the full 5 minutes, and was pleased with the colors this year.  Instead of weak, blah colors, they were deeper and who knew?  5 minutes dying time and the colors are better than if you pull them out in 2 or 3 minutes.


I went to get my hair cut AND I got new glasses, all in the same week.  Purple glasses, with green fading to yellow on the temple bar corners.  Love purple!


This is my new favorite shampoo/conditioner duo, Yucca Root Shampooing Cream and Conditioning Cream, by Nick Chavez.  It really makes my highlighted hair healthy and shiny and full.


Here's my new haircut...  I really liked the highlighting she did, and that was weeks ago.  She got real close; I have almost no roots showing!!!  (Pardon the double chin - NOT the most flattering pose!!!)


Here are some forsythia bushes on the road leading to our lake house.  I love this road in early spring, with these bushes flowering, and in fall, when the leaves on the trees have turned brilliant red and orange and yellow, but haven't fallen to the ground yet...


Here's my new Tom Bihn bag.  Expensive, yes.  But apparently it will last forever!  I like the idea of forever :-D

Monday, April 09, 2012

It Gets Better at Brigham Young University

I can't pretend to "understand" being gay because I'm not. 
I can't understand it any more than my gay friends can understand being heterosexual.
My worries and fears about friends or family who are or might be gay have nothing to do with "you shouldn't be" or "how can you be."
My worries and fears about friends or family who are or might be gay are solely and completely based on the bias and prejudice they will face in their lives.  It's not "okay" yet, people still "notice."  I love my family and friends, and I don't want them to feel unloved, not good enough, not accepted, not by anyone.
Until people don't "notice," they can look at you, point in your direction, they can notice. 
Or they can think they can.
I pray for each and every one of you, even those of you I don't know personally:  be yourselves and be strong.
Please take 9 minutes to watch this video.
It.Will.Get.Better.