UD Alumna

My nephew - well, actually, he's my first cousin's son so technically he's my first cousin, once removed.  I think.  Anyway, my nephew first cousin, once removed, is going to the University of Delaware!!!  Yay!  Just got this video from our alumni association so I thought I'd post it here...

Sunday Is Mother's Day

I know you're all going to say, "MY mom is the best," but the only other two people on this planet who are allowed to say this are my sisters!

Our mom IS the best.  THE best.  The BEST.  THE BEST.

My mom hasn't had an easy life.  Let's just recap it (very briefly):

She was born in Poland.

She left Poland at the start of WWII to go to Siberia.

She left Siberia, traveled through Iran and Iraq, and left for Africa from the port of Pahlavi.

Went to East Africa, Mombasa, to be exact.  She was then relocated by train and trucks to Nairobi, then to camp in Koja, Kenya.

They were relocated again, to Masindi in Western Uganda, and then to England by way of Egypt.  She traveled by boat, went through the Suez Canal, through the Mediterranean Sea, throught the Strait of Gibraltar, and up to Liverpool, England.

She lived near Newton Abbot in Devonshire (now Devon), in England.  She attended high school and college in England, then relocated again.  She traveled by boat on the second Mauretania in 1952, to New York City, and eventually to NJ, where she met Daddy and the rest is MY history...

She is without a doubt the strongest woman I know.  She has survived WWII, living in camps an surviving on potatoes, the loss of her home, the deaths of her sister, parents and husband.  She has struggled with many surgeries, survived bladder cancer, suffered much physical pain, with not one complaint.

I have always said that if I could be half the woman she is, half the mother she is, I'd consider myself a total success.

Mommy, thank you.  Thanks for teaching me right from wrong.  Thanks for showing me what a good, strong, loving marriage is.  Thanks for showing me, by example, what a good, strong, loving woman is.

You are an incredible mom, and am proud of you.  I love you. 

And that awesome news you just gave me?  That you're cancer-free again? 

YAY!!!

The Baby's 1st Joke

... and I thought it would be a knock, knock joke, but it wasn't...

(and read it out loud the way I write it)

Q. What did the banana say to the docto?

A.  Docto, I don't peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel good!  (and end it with a hysterical giggle!)

Playing Catch Up...

It's been a busy couple of weeks...  When last I posted, my cousins were coming in from Arizona.  Here's a photo of my cousin K, her husband P, and their beautiful granddaughter, A.  We had a lovely time at dinner - and it turns out A is a huge Harry Potter fan, too, so she had fun looking at the HP book J got me for Christmas... 

Our families live thousands of miles apart, and have for many, many years.  It's amazing to me how much can happen, how people you are related to can be so very different from you, can have different morals and ethics (NOT my lovely cousins in the above photo!), can live lives you wouldn't dream could be real...

Our 13th wedding anniversary was July 25th.  To celebrate this year, we decided to take a mini vacation to Lake George.  We visited the Historical Association, the library, etc.  We hadn't planned to stay more than two days, max - we booked a room for one night and thought we'd wing it for the second night.  We took a ride up 9N to Bolton Landing, walked around the downtown area, sent some photos home to daughter M, then started to drive up to Fort Ticonderoga.  We passed a gas station outside of Bolton Landing, and I suggested we get some gas but J didn't want to spend $4.69 a gallon.  So we continued up the road, and eventually found a visitor's center.  They said we had to turn around and go back to Bolton Landing for gas, continue the 10 miles up to Ticonderoga, or try to make our way out to Route 87 and find a gas station on the highway.

So we decided to head for 87 - the downhill part of 9N above Bolton Landing did a number on our brakes - they were hot, hot, hot AND our check engine light went on!  That clinched it - we decided to make our way home, rather than stay another night in NY state.  J didn't bring his code reader for the car, so we had to cross our fingers there was nothing seriously wrong with the car and head for NJ.  We stopped for gas, then for lunch, then got home in the late afternoon.  While I certainly wish our vacation had been longer, we had SUCH a great time!  Proof positive, in my humble opinion, that J COULD actually learn to enjoy retirement, if only he'd decide to actually retire!

Here are some photos from Lake George:

This was a beautiful hibiscus flower outside one of the tourist shops on Canada Street.  It was probably the most beautiful thing I saw in or around those stores - there were a lot of kitschy souveniers but not a lot of quality gift items, at least in my opinion.

This is the building in which the Historical Association is housed.  The curator told us that the reason there was scaffolding outside and windows boarded up is because a major hailstorm several months ago broke many of the windows and damaged the exterior.  They are now beginning the renovations.

This is one of the many artifacts we got to see, up close and personal.

We had just checked in and we were deciding where to go first.  I should have taken a photo of the back seat of our car:  there were probably 50 tourist maps and brochures we picked up in the rest stops on the Thruway...

We had coffee in this little coffee shop in Bolton Landing on Friday morning.  I had teased J the day before:  "So, do you think we'll run into anyone you know here in Lake George?"  We always do - we were in Las Vegas and ran into neighbors who lived near him when he was married the first time.  We ran into people in Atlantic City, on a cruise...  So we were just walking into this coffee shop when a woman and her child came out and started chatting with J.  I really thought it was just stranger-speak - you know, "Thanks for holding the door," etc.  Until I realized she was telling her son to "say hello to Mr. S."  He was a pre-K student this year; J said he saw either the mom or the dad 5 times a week when they were dropping their son off at school!  Go figure!

We stopped by the side of the road, on 9N, and I just snapped this photo.  GORGEOUS!

When we got back we picked some vegetables from our garden.  Last year we were amazed at the size of our cucumbers.  Well, 2012 has last year beat!  See?

We picked onions, tomatoes, basil, oregano, cucumbers - mmm...

You can see how overgrown the garden is in this shot - the tomato vines are through the railing and growing across the deck!

Lunch yesterday:  our tomatoes, our onions, our basil, our oregano, and some mozzarella and pomegranate balsamic from Saratoga Olive Oil Company in Saratoga, NY (we stopped for lunch on the way up).  We also bought dark chocolate balsamic (for me!) and fig balsamic for my sister-in-law.  Mmm...

Last night J helped me start hanging frames on the wall in the upstairs hallway.  Some of the frames are empty, and I have more frames to hang, and more to buy...  The gold frame will eventually be replaced with another white one - I want a new look.  I originally had mis-matched frames on this wall but I decided to make them all white this time around.  What do you think?

Well, that's it for now - it's almost 11:30pm and I have to go to work tomorrow, darn it...

Family tomorrow!

I'm very excited!  One of my cousins is coming to visit tomorrow with her husband and her granddaughter.

K is my first cousin on my dad's side.  She lives in Gilbert, AZ, and I haven't seen her since my cousin T died in May, 2008.  Before that, she flew out for my wedding in 1999.  I saw her in 1998 for her mom's funeral here in NJ; they had moved out to Colorado in the 1970s, after my grandfather died.

I don't see that side of the family very much, but in recent years, with email and Facebook and IMing and texting, it's so much easier to stay in touch.  We used to go to Granddaddy's house every Sunday; he lived in Bloomingdale, NJ, and I loved it there.  It was a small town.  And everything you thought you knew about a small town was true in Bloomingdale.

Yes, everyone knew each other.
Yes, it was safe.
Yes, we played outside whenever we were there, unless it was winter and cold outside.
Yes, we played on swings and walked around town and caught fireflies.
Yes, we picnicked under the giant shade tree.
Yes, Granddaddy hid candy in the newspaper for us every Sunday.
(And yes, Mom knew nothing about that until Todd's funeral when we talked about it!)
Yes, spending Sundays with my Dad's family made me feel loved and special and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Yes, I have lovely memories of my childhood and I wish everyone had the same...

I'll take some photos tomorrow.  I'm leaving an hour early today, and spending tomorrow morning cleaning and straightening the house for visitors, then shopping for food.  The family is coming over for dinner late in the afternoon.  Can't wait to update you all!!

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!!!

Thank goodness it's over!!!

For the past two weeks I've been planning a surprise party for my husband - it was his 60th birthday and I thought that deserved something a little special...  To make it that much better, too, his friends D and A came down from Massachusetts for the party!  He teared up when he saw them.  I'm so grateful they took the time to come down for the party; the only thing that would have made it better is if we could have spent more time with them...

J and I talk about EVERTHING and for the last two weeks, since I last-minute-decided to throw this shindig, I've had to watch every word that came out of my mouth.  "Maybe I'll call T to join us for b'fast tomorrow..."  My instinct is to say, "Don't bother, he's in PA this weekend."  "How do you know?"  "He texted me to RSVP for your party."  Nope, that would have certainly spoiled the surprise...  "M called."  "Oh, where is she?"  "On Rte 3 en route to Bromilow's?"  "Why?"  "To pick up your chocolate motorcycle lollipops, the favors for your party."  Nope, probably not a great conversation starter unless I wanted to spoil the surprise... 

I HATE lying.  I know it wasn't really lying; it was just avoiding saying certain things.  Even his friend K struggled not to slip when they were talking.  D's birthday is a few days after J's - he wanted to call when we weren't home so HE wouldn't slip and he was planning on screening his calls when J called HIM so he wouldn't slip then...

That whole surprise thing is stressful.  Maybe had I started planning it earlier, I'd have been less stressed, just concerned with not slipping rather than worrying about every last minute detail...

Wish you all could have been there.  Rather than tell you all who was there, it would be easier if I just post some photos and add some captions....

Introducing... 

My handsome nephew J and my beautiful niece A... now if only he had smiled, with his eyes AND his mouth!

 My beautiful mom and J again

 My niece T and my darling daughter M

Our friends from Massachusetts, D and A

Our friends E and T - T was one of our best men at our wedding (we had 2!  Best men, not weddings!)

My sister C and her beau T - I think almost every photo I have of them is in a similar pose!

My niece C and my sister-in-law P

My great niece E and me - isn't E gorgeous?!?  She is SUCH a good baby - not a peep out of her and she was up WAY past her bedtime...

E and my daughter - how I wish the picture was clearer...

Me, J and M - nice family photo!

A and me in one of those self-portrait photos you take at arm's length...

E and her great uncle, the b'day boy himself

Went to a bridal shower yesterday...

My nephew (on hubby's side) is getting married in April.

In Cabo San Lucas.

Mexico.

And we're going.

YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!

Yesterday was the bridal shower for his fiancee R.  We love R.  She's so nice and he's so happy with her. 

The shower was at a restaurant named Jane in NYC.  I really wouldn't voluntarily go to NYC on a Saturday for very many people, but R is one of them!  The food was great - here's what we got to choose from:

Starter

Mushroom Soup - Portobello, brandy, truffle oil

Seasonal Fruit Salad

Main Courses

Shrimp Risotto - lemon, chervil butter, lobster broth

Steak Salad - organic arugula, goat cheese, red onion, beefsteak tomatoes, shoestring potatoes, balsamic vinaigrette

Egg White Scramble - sauteed spinach, goat cheese, mixed greens

Sides for the Table

Spicy Garlic Broccoli

Rosemary Fries

Desserts

Profiteroles - espresso ice cream, caramel and chocolate sauce

Warm Apple Tart - puff pastry, cider caramel, vanilla ice creaam

Mimosa, Bloody Mary

juice, fountain soda, coffe & tea (they also had green iced tea)



MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!  (I boldfaced my choices!)

Here are a couple of photos from the party...

The gifts

The bride (R is in the middle) with her bridesmaids

My dessert - I could have eaten 3 plates!

The clock we got her (along with the hamper she asked for - see that HUGE box behind her head!?)

R with my nieces (the groom's twin sisters) and their cousin-in-law (K) on the right, along with the ribbon bouquet they made with the ribbons from the gifts

The party ran from 11:30 to about 2:30 - we got home around 4pm-ish, after we packed the cars to bring all the gifts back to NJ, made our way through Holland Tunnel traffic, etc.

It was a fun party, not without a little grandma drama (she's 95 and a little too used to being the center of attention), but all in all we had a great time and it was a lot of fun spending time with my nieces and my sister-in-law and meeting the bride's friends and family.

Welcome to the family, R (almost!)!!!

Mom's Home!!!

You probably didn't notice, but a couple of posts ago, I was talking about Jack going to shovel out Mrs. D's house and Mom's, too, and how I asked her to give him some lunch...  Such a casual mention of MOM BEING HOME!

She got in on Tuesday evening, at 4:38pm.  I went to pick her up and the announcement board said her train was arriving on Track 1.  So I went to Track 1.  And I waited on Track 1.

Then she called me and said it was too cold on the platform so she was waiting in the Waiting Room.  Mom was home.  And Mom wasn't where she was supposed to be so things got back to normal really fast.  I started yelling at her that I was IN the Waiting Room and she wasn't there, where was she, the train hasn't even come in yet...

The train came in on Track 2.  Mom was in the Waiting Room.  On Track 2.

So although I was waiting with camera-in-hand on Track 1, I put it away quickly and ran down the stairs then up the escalator to get Mom from Track 2.  And I never took a photo of her arrival!

But I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOO glad she's home!

Of course, it can't be without some sort of trauma:  her luggage didn't come in with her.  In fact, her luggage didn't come in until yesterday, Friday, 3 days later!  We picked it all up this morning at Penn Station in Newark.

Last night we had Christmas with Mom.  She came for dinner, which has traditionally been a full turkey dinner, but this year, with the snow and people's schedules, and all the rushing around we all had to do, I picked up two pizzas from Costco and someone sent us tamales.  MMMMMMM, they were yummy!!!  So it was a bit of a pot luck dinner, and Sister C brought some candy for dessert...

And I didn't take any photos of Xmas in January, either.  (For someone committing to taking more photos, I'm not doing so well!)

Today we picked Mom up to go get her luggage and stopped at the Lyndhurst Shop-Rite for breakfast, so I took a photo of her there, wearing her new hat and scarf that Santa brought her from C last night...  (It's not the Rat Hat!!!  Private family joke, sorry!)

And tonight we had a 19th b'day party for my niece, who made me swear not to post any videos or photos on Facebook or on YouTube, but since she knows nothing about this blog, and the only people who read this blog will never rat me out to her, here's a photo of my gorgeous niece and nephew!!!  (The photo seems a bit grainy - I'll have to check my camera battery...)

Well, that's it for now...  Once I get caught up on my scrapping projects, I'll post some photos...  I'm doing three of them at once, one quite actively, and two, well, not so much...

I have to brag...

I have an absolutely BEE-YOU-TEA-FULL great niece.  Here, let me prove it to you...
And my mom?  She's beautiful, too.

I'm a Great Aunt!

And while yes, I AM a great aunt, I'm also now a Great Aunt!!! (Please read this with all of the appropriate fan fare it deserves!!!)

My great niece was born on Friday, July 2, 2010, at 3:51 in the afternoon. She was 8 lbs, 4 oz, and 20-3/4 inches long. Effective immediately she will be referred to as "great niece E" on this blog - it's not my place to post her name and all that...

Last night great niece E's mommy invited J and me over to see the baby.  When I got home from work, J was already home and the first thing out of my mouth, before "Hi, Hon, how was your day?  I missed you!" (Sure, that's EXACTLY how we greet each other after a long day at work!  Well, that's true at least a couple of times a week...   LOL!) was "C invited us over to see the baby tonight!"

J's response?  "I guess that's what we're doing tonight!"

And we did.  And she's so darned adorable!  She's gained some weight, she's fitting perfectly into all these beautiful little outfits we all bought her, AND J and I got to entertain her while her mommy and daddy ate dinner!  Her parents are already trying to get her onto the right day/night schedule; she's got them a bit mixed up!  Now, I never birthed me no babies, so I kept my suggestions and opinions to myself (yes, I can do that when I want to!), but you know something?  They're going to find out soon enough that they're on the baby's schedule, at least for the first couple of weeks!  The baby isn't even 1 week old yet!  Gradually that beautiful little baby girl will get her days and nights straight:  you're just naturally more active during the day, and it's naturally quieter and darker at night... 

Welcome to our world, Little E!!!

Happy (Not So Much) Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, J! You are a wonderful man, a fantastic father, and the best husband a girl could ever have! Thanks for putting us first, your kids and me, ahead of yourself, ahead of the rest of the world. Thanks for worrying about me through my recent health scare, thanks for helping me stay strong, thanks for helping around the house (okay, thanks for doing everything around the house!), thanks for wanting it all for us and doing what you have to do to make sure we achieve it. You are the absolute BEST! I love you with all my heart!

And now I'm simply reprinting my blogpost from a couple of years ago, dedicated to my dad and J's dad. It's been two more years since I wrote this, and I don't miss you any less. In fact, I probably miss you MORE each day!

http://krysworld.blogspot.com/2008/06/happy-fathers-day-daddy-you-must-know.html

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

You must know how much I miss you. I know you're there, somewhere, still a part of my life. Still watching over me. Still keeping an eye on me and guiding me when I need a helping hand.

When I hear the dishes settle on the drainboard, I think, "Hi, Dad!"

When I see a gardening book, I think of you.

When I see an Oldsmobile, I think of you.

When I visit the Harley Davidson factory and I smell the odor of machinery and grease, I think of you.

When Jack starts a project at the house, I think of you. (And I hope you keep an eye on him,too!)

When I see a cemetery, I think of you.

Whenever it's March 16, or June 14, or July 25, or August 12, or December 18, I think of you.

Whenever I have a moment, I think of you.

It doesn't really require a specific thing to make me think of you - you're still so much a part of my every day life that even though you've been gone since March 16, 1987, I talk to you every day.

I think of you every day.

I miss you every day.

When I got married, I stood up on that altar, wishing not for a happy marriage, but that you were there. I prayed for a sign from you: a breeze in that hotter-than-hot church, a window slamming, a car backfiring - I wanted you there so badly that anything would have been a sign from you!!! I wanted you to walk me down the aisle. I wanted to dance that father-daughter dance the worst way. To this day, nine years after I got married, twenty-one years after you died, I can't watch a bride dance with her dad without crying. And it doesn't matter who the bride is: Vanessa, Carrie, or a complete stranger on television.

I cry.

I miss you.

And I am angry that I didn't get to dance with you on my wedding day.

But you know what?

When it's time, when I move toward the light, when I die, you'd better be there to dance the first dance with me.

Happy Father's Day, Mr. S.

I wish you were here.

I wish I got to have a father-in-law.

I know I met you. I know you know who I am, and I truly believe that you know Jack and I are married and happy and I know you're happy for us. And I'm happy to hear Patty talk about you and say that she knows you liked me, that you were happy when Jack and I were together, and that you were annoyed with him when we split up.

But I wanted to know all that in the first-person!

I wanted to visit you during the week, have a cup of coffee or tea with you, and eat some sugar-free Jello with you.

I wanted to see you with your grandchildren. (I truly believe if you and Mom were still here that all that nonsense with Johnny would never have happened. And if you're bored wherever you are, we could use a little help with your grandson!)

I wanted to get to know you as your daughter-in-law, not just that nice girl that Jack was dating.

I'm going to have to settle for making you a part of my day, a part of our day, in all those small ways you would have been were you still here.

I mention you to Jack, I ask him about you as a dad, as a grandfather. He misses you. So very much that he can't really talk about you without tearing up, and that's the way it should be. You know what he says? He says all those times you asked him to hang around and do some work with you and he didn't 'cause he was on his way out to play or to hang with his friends - he says he should have spent that time with you. He misses learning from you, learning to do things like create the Christmas wreaths and grave blankets. He does that for you. In your memory. In your honor. Not 'cause he really likes to do it. It makes him sad. But it's a way to keep you alive with us in a really small way.

I never got to tell you I love you in real life. I hope you know now, though, that I love you and I miss you. And I'm going to be the best daughter-in-law you ever had (not a tough task, I know, considering the competition!) and a great wife to your son. I promise.

I'm a StepMom

Most of you reading this know I have two stepchildren. While I may not have "birthed no babies," they are the children of my heart.

Today I was reading a blog entry by Angie Lucas. She's a name in the scrapbooking industry, CEO of Ella Publishing. She really put it into words. I couldn't really add anything to what she says here: Advice for Stepmoms.

If anyone doesn't understand the difference between a mom and a stepmom, there it is.

Thanks, Angie, for the words.

Good news for a change...

No, GREAT news!

My nephew G got engaged yesterday! And we love R, his new fiancee! Don't know all the details yet, but apparently he won a vacation at some fundraising auction: penthouse suite somewhere in sunny Mexico, a terrace that runs along the entire side of the building, 1/2 covered, 1/2 open to the sun, lounges and chairs and pools, oh my!

They spent the afternoon in the pool yesterday, and came in to get ready. After they had dressed for dinner, he proposed. As I said, I don't have any details yet (they're still in Mexico!) but I hope he said something cute, something along the lines of "You look beautiful, but that dress needs something... something sparkly..." At which point I hope he dropped to his knees and swore his undying love and begged her to make him the luckiest man in the world!

A Week in the Life: Updated

So I'm thinking maybe I won't be able to do 3 pages a day... But one page is just fine, right? The idea is to record your everyday.

My everyday, quite honestly, isn't all that interesting. As I browse through posts by some of the other participants, well, I just don't think to take a picture of the really cool brick road near my child's school (no child, no school, no brick road). I don't take self portraits of me running on the treadmill (while I DO have a treadmill, I DON'T run on it!). There are no pictures of me taking care of my stunningly beautiful baby girl (although I did take a picture of my beautiful daughter when she popped by the house to see her new tire rim the other day... and I took a picture of her rim...).

What did I take pictures of? Okay, here you go, an update:

• the new shoes I ordered from Zappos - FitFlops for those of you who care!
• as mentioned before, the new rim we bought for M
• my work PC screen when an IM popped up on it from an ex-colleague
• the backyard at the lake with more dirt dropped and more plants transplanted
• the vitamins I bought for my sister's dog
• the shop I bought a cup of coffee at
• the parking garage I parked in this morning (REALLY bad photo - no idea if I'll be able to use it)
• the waiting room at the Imaging Center where I went for my annual mammogram (be sure to get checked!)
• the front door of the building where I work
• some wall art around the corner from my job that illustrates Hoboken and its history, painting on the wall around the park at 4th and Hudson
• the salad I had for lunch yesterday
• my groceries on the conveyor belt in the Shop Rite
• the little bagel shop we had breakfast at on Sunday
• the pills I take every evening: BC, Calcium+D3, and D3
• a page in the art journal I created for an online class I'm taking
• the weather monitor showing the temperature in the house and outside at the lake on Sunday
• dinner cooking in the pan on Saturday night - in honor of my MIL, who died 9 years ago next month - we had one of her classic meals on her b'day Saturday
• J driving the truck
• the Burger King where we ate on Saturday afternoon
• a few really cool photos at the place where we bought some turfstones on Saturday - a huge factory, different exterior stones, big bales of fencing wire
• the container plants we planted for our new faux front porch - this warrants a photo and a post all its own at some point in the future... remind me if I forget...
• our street sign and a couple of shots coming down the road to our lakehouse
• the church we attend at the lake
• some clothes I tried on in the store on Saturday
• me reflected in the mirror in the dressing room - fully clothed! No worries!
• the appetizer I forgot to take a picture of until it was almost all gone

Okay, so these photos were perhaps a bit more of my everyday than last weeks photos from work... One desk, 10 hours sitting in front of the same computer screen - doesn't lend itself well to various photos of my everyday!!!
I think I'm going to take pictures a few more days; tonight is our usual Monday night at my SIL's. I didn't take any photos there last week and it's definitely something I would want a record of it (the only night I eat dessert every week!) and time spent with family. This weekend I'll take a ride up to the lake and get some supplies; I think we might be home working at J's niece's house to get her nursery ready for the baby-to-be!
J will finally find out if it's a boy or a girl! Neither of us wanted to know but my SIL slipped and told me. I've been keeping it quiet until J finds out but will tell you all once he hears! (I don't think I told you already!) I really feel very strongly about not knowing; I have a 100% record of guessing when I guess, but it's usually in the 9th month, just before the baby joins us. I wanted to guess this one, too, and I was leaning toward either a boy or a girl (;-D), but when my SIL spilled the beans, well, I was right! I will admit how much fun it's been going shopping for either a boy or a girl, looking at all those cute boy and girl clothes... I admit to enjoying that, but still, DON'T tell me if you're pregnant whether it's a boy or a girl! I like to guess!
Well, gotta run - it's time to go home!

Yay!!

My nephew just got his first job.

We've been, quite honestly, a bit worried about him. He's been without direction, a bit lost, starting college, dropping out, applying for jobs but not following up on them, sleeping all day then going out all night and coming in during the wee hours of the morning, listening to music but doing little else of anything...

His mom's boyfriend offered him jobs a few times, but J never took advantage of the opportunity before. THIS time he did. And when he called me today to say he starts on Monday, well, he was SO excited! He even said to me that I "missed how excited [he] was when [he] found out!"

It's been a looooong time since I've heard such enthusiasm in his voice. A looooong time since he sounded like he cared about something other than AC/DC and whatever other heavy metal groups he's currently listening to... A looooong time since he's sounded as if he wanted to do something other than sleep the day away.

Can I ask you all a favor? Please pray for him. Please pray that he finds his way. Please pray that he listens, does well, and keeps the job. It's seasonal, so it's not permanent, but it's good. For now. For spring and summer.

Please just pray he does well enough to believe he can do well.

One down, nine to go...

So I have 10 toes. If one's broken, and it's only my right pinkie toe, I don't really need it anyway, right? I have nine more! In fact, my sister said they could amputate it and I'd never even miss it!

Jack's Aunt Anna died last Monday. Because of the holiday and traveling issues (a lot of her family had to come from Texas), they delayed the wake and funeral to Friday and Saturday. My first thought was that although we'll miss her and it's terribly sad that she died, and sadder still that it's over a holiday that her family has to deal with this loss, she's finally with Uncle Nat and maybe, just maybe, she's not so cranky anymore. She's been one unhappy camper for the last eight or nine years, ever since her husband died. She missed him something fierce. So now, even though we've lost her, she's back with Uncle Nat and she's finally happy again.

Anyway, the wake was Friday night. We went to the lake and came home early to shower and get ready to go and pay our respects. That night I asked Jack to wake me at 7am so I'd have time to shower and get ready for the 8:30am service at the funeral home without rushing. I overslept. I'd like to blame Jack and say that he didn't wake me after the alarm went off (which I ignored 'cause it went off at our usual 5:50am and he shut it off), but he says he woke me and I said, "Okay, just another minute" and proceeded to sleep another 20 minutes or so.

I got up and when I realized how late it was I started scrambling and somehow I was taking a step forward with my right foot at the same time that I was pulling the bedroom door closed toward me. OW! I went right to my knees!

But being the trooper I am, I powered on and showered, dressed and drove to the funeral home. We went in separate cars 'cause Jack wasn't going to go to the repast after the cemetary service, and I was. By the time he changed his mind and we were en route in two cars to the repast, I was realizing that my shoe was feeling a bit tight. I sat down at the restaurant, ate a good meal, socialized with the cousins, and when we were leaving around 2:30 or 3:00, I decided it would be a pretty darned good idea to visit the Immedicenter and have them look at my toe.

I'd always hoped to hear "Congratulations, it's a girl!" rather than "Congratulations, you have a broken toe!"

But after three x-rays, it was confirmed. I broke my toe. And as I'm sure we all know, you can't do anything for a broken pinkie toe but buddy tape it to its neighbor and hope for the best. So I'm taped, and she did give me a very attractive black boot to wear for two to three weeks. I'm stylin' now!!!

Anyway, other than that, Thanksgiving was nice. Mom was home but spent the day with my sister at said sister's boyfriend's house. Just to play with her head, I told her we were all waiting dessert for her, and why didn't she ask C or T to drive her to my SIL's house? After a VERY brief moment of silence, she said she knew I was pulling her leg and she moved on... Well, I thought it was funny!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday - lots of family, food and fun, and (private joke to come!) I sure hope your oven worked and your pies remained intact!!!

I'm officially overwhelmed!

I'm taking three online Xmas scrapping classes - and I can only scrap on the weekends! I will try my darndest to keep on top of the photos and the journaling and the note-taking and list-making, and hopefully I'll be able to have a finished product at the end of the season (or, let's face it) at the beginning of the next season!

Spent all weekend in the hospital with my husband's 93-year-old aunt. Aunt Fanny literally looks like she's in her late 60s or early 70s. My girlfriend has a theory that being cranky keeps you young!! She's been falling a lot and refusing to use a scooter or a wheelchair - why? Because in her youth she made fun of people in wheelchairs (according to the rest of the family) and now doesn't want to be on the receiving end of what she dished out years ago! If you can't take it...

There's also some tension in the family among some relatives of the husband - I think it will all shake out in the end and resolve itself, but suffice to say that some people should just butt out of other people's business!!! 'Nough said!


My niece C is 8 weeks along and her due date is June 28th. How exciting!!! I think I'll have to do some baby shopping this weekend!!! Or even tonight before we see her, if I can squeeze it in...

I'm going to be an aunt!!!

My niece C on hubby's side just announced she's pregnant!

YAY! She's newly pregnant; her doctor hasn't even seen her yet. He said to wait until she's at least 9 weeks pregnant. I think she said the online calendar/calculator put her due date somewhere around June 26th-ish so she's, what, minutes pregnant??!! But we're happy for her, that's for sure! Nervous for her, but happy! She had to immediately go and get the swine flu shot which scared everyone, but it's definitely recommended for moms-to-be. She catches colds so easily - with a headache on Tuesday she couldn't even take an Advil...

Already asked her if I could be called "Cioci" by her baby, instead of Great Aunt Krys (which, thankfully, C knocked right out - "you'd NEVER be Great Aunt anything, Krys!") and she agreed. Thanks, C!!! I have such great warm memories of MY Cioci Eliza and I still get a special flutter in my heart when my sister's kids call me Cioci - a new baby to call me Cioci?!?!? Yes, please!!!

My sister-in-law is thinking about what she wants the baby to call her - she does NOT want to be "grandma." AT.ALL. Personally, I like "grandma" but still want to be Babci if my stepdaughter ever gets pregnant. Babci is grandma in Polish - no idea what Jack would want to be called... he's still getting used to "his" baby being engaged - a grandbaby? We can't even conceive of that right now, in our house! (Well, HE can't!!!)

So swamped at work that I haven't had time to post any photos; I know I owe you a few... Will get to it when I can (maybe this weekend???)...

Photos - as promised!!!

In no particular order...


Sean, me, Maria, and Jack


Jack and me


Jack, Maria, Sean, and me

Darling daughter and dad!

Cutting the cake (practice makes perfect!)

The flower arrangements I made - 2 or 3 per table, on average