Oklahoma/F5

On Monday Moore, OK, was obliterated by an F5 tornado that "touched down" for 40 minutes.

40 minutes.  F5. 

I can't conceive of that violence being on the ground for 40 minutes.  (It will never be an EF5 in my mind - I'm too old to change now.)

The images are horrific.  Tornado?  Massive destruction?  Implosion?  There aren't any words to describe the devastation.  When someone says "it's like a war zone," yes, yes, it is...

24 people died.  Including, I believe, 9 children, 2 of whom were babies.  At least that's the last I heard.  Entire schools were demolished.  This morning there was a video taken during the storm.  At first it was completely black, with someone screaming in the background.  Then there was light, daylight, seen through walls that were no longer there.  A water fountain attached to a cinder block wall with the rest of the school surrounding it gone.  Children walking around, totally disoriented.

[I am stunned that I am writing a post using words like "obliterated," "violence," "horrific," "destruction," "devastation," "war zone."]

There were heart-warming images, too.  The older woman finding her dog on camera, crawling out from under the rubble.  The black puppy sitting, just sitting, waiting to be rescued.  Just sitting above the body of his deceased owner.  (I heard a story later that it might not have been his owner.  Either way, they found that person because the puppy wouldn't move.)  A neighbor running, full out, to the damaged school to see if the little boy who lived next door, his special little pal, was okay.  Their hug, once they saw each other, the way the little boy just jumped into the man's arms.  The woman whose neighbor helped find jewelry that belonged to the woman's grandmother in the remains of what was her house.

The stories, OMG, the stories.  The mother who covered her baby with her body and was killed saving her own child.  The man who held onto his daughter by her hair, refusing to let the wind take her.  The 22 people who sheltered in a bank vault and survived.

Interviews with Hurricane Sandy survivors show people saying that this tornado was worse than "what we went through."  Certainly it was, for some of us - I lost some food, was a bit cold for a few days.  But people on Breezy Point or the NJ shore, for instance, lost everything.  Those words I mentioned above?  They apply to the loss of homes on Breezy Point and the Shore during Hurricane Sandy.  But those victims were interviewed yesterday and they said the suffering from this tornado?  It was worse.  "We lost a lot.  Many homes were damaged.  But nothing like the all-out destruction of Moore, OK."

Amazing.  Simply amazing.  It restores my faith in mankind, that even those people who have every right to feel sorry for themselves can recognize that others are worse off, can sympathize, empathize, can help, can recognize the scale of the destruction...

I'm making a donation to the Red Cross.  Are you?

RIP Zach Sobiech

This wonderful young man died Monday after a bout with cancer.  He learned in 18 short years what I sincerely hope I learn in my lifetime, that we need to live life to the fullest, with joy and love and an appreciation for all we've been given.

Rest in peace, Zach Sobiech.

New Floor Update

I realized when I was responding to a post on Young House Love that I'd never posted a photo of the new floor at the lake house.  So how could I point them to a photo if I never posted one?  So here you go, photos of before, during and after.  And yes, hubby did much of this with a bum arm, prior to surgery...

Keep in mind we only took these photos for ourselves, not for publication, so don't count on any white balancing, cleaning up of clutter in the background, or consistent points of view...

 

 

I'll have to take photos this weekend when we tear out the kitchen island that is at the opposite end of the room in this last photo, to your left if you're standing where I was when I took the photo.  The floor will be extended into the kitchen then all the new cabinets and appliances will be installed.  Then I'll have to take some more photos!

Miami, Part 1

I got to Miami Sunday night, to the hotel at about 9:35. Asked the front desk dude if there was a restaurant open at that hour and he assured me that, yes, there was. Would I like him to make a reservation for me for, say, twenty minutes from now?  For some tapas and a glass of wine, perhaps?

Sure, I responded, as long as I could wear my pajamas to the restaurant.

Okay, so that wasn't the best picture to put in his head 'cause he VERY quickly suggested room service.

I called room service and they said it was a hour wait, but since I had no plans to go anywhere or do anything other than plop in front of the TV, that was fine. 

I ordered my chicken enchiladas and a large coke. Proof positive I didn't really read the menu very carefully?  It was delivered in 20 minutes (I picked the right thing!) and I took a huge bite.

It was FULL of jalapeños!  Thought I'd be a Tums customer for sure that night but it didn't bother me at all!  Of course the "large" coke was one of those new small bottles, the ones you can drink 10 of if you're not in NYC (Mr. Bloomberg is not my friend!).  I was still thirsty when I was finished but at least I wasn't hungry anymore!

More Miami excitement to come in the next installment!

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!!!

Lip Sync-Off with John Krasinski

OMG!!!
Found this on Stephanie Howell's blog.  Thanks, Stephanie!  Laughed until I cried!!!

Cleveland Horror

On Monday, May 6, three women were rescued from 10 years in captivity in a house in Cleveland.  Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight were kidnapped by Ariel Castro in the 2000s, kept in the basement and later in separate rooms in the house, tied up and chained.

He raped them, impregnated them, starved and punched them to force miscarriages, for all but one child from one of the women, Amanda Berry.

He's on suicide watch.  I have mixed feelings.  He deserves the death penalty but suicide seems an easy way out for him.  Perhaps life in prison where he'll most likely be murdered?

I don't think it's right to wish him death, but I can't help but think of the 10 years, MORE than 10 years, these girls and their families have been suffering.  His obvious mental illness is no excuse for what he did.  It might explain it, but it doesn't excuse it.

And his two brothers, in and out of that house all the time over the past ten years?  They knew nothing?  So far police have released them and not charged them.  And his mom, living two blocks away?  Really?  No idea?

THIS is why I always want to know my sisters or my mom or my daughter or my son or my husband is home safe, at school safe, wherever they are.  THIS is why I have no problem "checking in" with my mom so she knows I'm home, safe and sound.  THIS really could happen to just about anyone, anytime, anywhere.  There are a lot of crazy people in this world, just walking around, appearing normal...

Random Bits

Some random photos from the past month... I haven't been here, so I thought, not all of you are on Instagram so these little pieces of my rather boring life, well, you haven't been bored by them yet!

 

So here you go...

 

I got my hair cut.  It looked so silky and full of movement and body.  It has not looked like this since the day the stylist did it.  I love the randomness of the colors, I like the chunkiness...  Too bad I'll never see it this way again.



 



The lake is looking rather beautiful...   The water is up, the sun was out...  Was.  It rained all day today.  Three inches of rain overnight and into this morning...

Every child in the school made a get well card for hubby.  700+ cards arrived in a box.  I cried reading some of them.  The kids were told to just tell Mr. S. what they missed about him, or wish him well, or just write "Get Well Soon."  Some of them really took the instructions to heart.  Once kid wrote "You're like a grandfather to me!"  Another wrote, "You've been a part of my life as long as I can remember, since I was a baby."  Another wrote about how he's taught her grandma, and her mom, and her older brother, and "Now you're teaching me!"  Several mentioned that they missed him at the front door, saying, "Good Morning!"  And many of them quoted his "It's another day in Paradise" line.  Balled my eyes out, I did...

My first attempt at sushi.  Yes, I'm 52.  And proud that I've been right all along.  Not a fan of sushi.  Now I can say, "Been there, done that, won't do it again."

This little stuffed whatever it is has been propped on this cubicle wall for over a month.  I must have walked past it 200 times before I noticed the backside, courtesy of our digital manager...  Laughed out loud...

Bought this knob plate and key on Open Sky.  I've had it for about three or four years.  Finally found a place to put it, in the upstairs bathroom.  I toss my damp face cloth on it - love the look of it...

I'm really going to try to write more regularly, but today I only had time for a couple of photos and a couple of lines... 

A New Schedule

I'm so worried that when J goes back to school, I'm going to have to pick up the slack around the house.

He's been one-armed for eight weeks now, but still doing the laundry, the vaccuuming, the dusting, and the cooking with that one functional arm.

I thought I was spoiled before, but now that he's been doing it all around the house (heaven forbid he be bored for a minute!), I'm scared to death I'm going to have to cook dinner again...

Quite honestly, I'm okay with doing the dishes every day.

(Google Image)

Especially when it's all I have to do every day.

(And yes, I realize we're only two people and we use paper plates a lot, but two forks, two knives and two glasses just don't a dramatic photo make!)

Bring Your Child to Work Day

Now, this doesn't work for me.  My kids (steps that they are) are 34-almost-35 and 33, respectively.  Pretty soon I'll be retired and they can bring their old parents to work with them on Bring Your Old Parents to Work Day!

But today, one of my colleagues brought his son and his nephew in for our Bring Your Child to Work Day.  And after the morning breakfast, and after the tour "to places people who work here aren't allowed to go to," the boys have some time to kill so they're sitting in the hotel cubby next to mine.  (We call empty cubbies "hotel" spaces and colleagues visiting from other offices are assigned one when they come to HQ...

They're in the 9 and 11 year old range.  Cute as buttons, they are!

AND THEY TOLD ME I DON'T LOOK 52.  I LOOK 31!  AND I EVEN LOOK THE SIZE OF 31!!!

I told their dad/uncle to give them double desserts today!!!

50 Shades of Chicken (Random House)

Wait, ANOTHER video that made me laugh out loud, although admittedly I'm so glad I had earphones on, and this didn't play out loud in my office....

To those of you who have read or heard about the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy (yea, those books!) AND who love to cook, enjoy!

Kristen Bell's Sloth Meltdown

I SO needed a chuckle this morning.  I didn't know I needed to see this particular video again, but once I did, it was EXACTLY what I needed!  Watch this - I can't help but like Kristen Bell just for this video...



And then, a follow up...

Dove Real Beauty Sketches

Take three minutes from your day and watch this video.  It's so true, that we are our own worst enemy.  I have learned, over the past twenty years or so, to give myself a break, to appreciate what I am and what I have rather than to beat myself up for being too heavy or not pretty enough.  This experiment, sponsored by Dove  Real Beauty, says it all - we are toughest on ourselves and we really don't see ourselves as others see us.

http://youtu.be/XpaOjMXyJGk

They Got Their Man!

Boston law enforcement, along with the FBI, ATF, State Troopers and National Guard caught Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev (19) hiding in a boat in Watertown. His brother Tamerlane (26) was shot early this morning during a wild chase. His brother ran over him when he continued to try to escape.

Congratulations to Boston law enforcement, FBI, ATF and State Troopers on getting their man!

I'm so happy tonight.

The Boston Marathon 04/15/13

I should have posted this yesterday but I was glued to the television screen when I wasn't listening to the radio.

Someone, we don't yet know who is responsible, set off two bombs (three were planned but one didn't go off and was defused).  They killed three people (so far) - one was an 8-year old.  Over 130 people were injured, at least 15 or so critically.  More people might still die.

I just don't understand it.  Where do people learn to have such little regard for human life?  Where do people learn to not just hurt other people, but KILL them?  I know they're sick.  I know there's the proverbial screw loose.  But I know plenty of sick and screwy people who wouldn't KILL someone. 

I wonder sometimes, when I'm thanking God for all those young Americans who are at war, fighting for my liberty, for my country, for ME.  I wonder how they'll struggle and suffer after they are forced to kill someone.  For ME.  And I thank them, each and every one of them.

But this person, or persons, who did this?  They're not suffering.  They're not going to live with the guilt.  They're never going to take a split second to care about any of the families they've destroyed.  This person who decided one day that it would be a good idea to make a bomb, or two or three, thought about it long and hard and decided that the Boston Marathon would be a good place to detonate them and hurt hundreds, if not more, innocent people?  People who were running.  People who were watching.  People who were outside enjoying a nice sunny day.

That person, or persons - YOU SUCK.  YOU ARE HEARTLESS.  I know you're someone's son or daughter, someone's brother or sister, someone's mom or dad.  But you are a HORRIFIC, TERRIBLE excuse for a human being.  This thing you did?  In my humble opinion, it WAY overshadows whatever you might be to or for someone else.  I don't care how great a husband you might be, or how awesome a mom you are, or what a caring child you might be for your aging parents.  YOU ARE A SON OF A BITCH and I hope you are found, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and subjected to the absolute maximum penalty.

And an eye for an eye?  Yea, I'm okay with that.

IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU

I'm not gay.  But I do believe in equality.  I do believe God loves us all, each and every one of us, regardless of our sexual orientation - or our hair color, or our weight, or our religion, or our gender, or our race...

If a child of mine came to me one day and said he or she was gay, I'd be both loving and supportive, and devastated.  NOT because being gay is wrong or sick or anything like that, but because it's 2013 and people are still torturing and bullying and disowning and hurting their loved ones because they're gay.

I do support gay marriage.  And I'll be seeing this movie in its entirety when it is released.

http://youtu.be/pR9gyloyOjM

Lightening my life...

I simply have too much.  I'm not complaining, per se, but I'm feeling bogged down with all the "stuff" I own, and I want to simplify.

I am so very blessed.  We are far from wealthy but we really don't actively worry about where our next meal is coming from, or if we can afford to put gas in the car, or if I want to buy an extra magazine in the grocery store...  Since J's retirement is looming on the horizon, we've been talking a lot more about how we spend, what we buy, what we need, what we want, how we'll live, where we'll live...

But when I walk into my house, into my room, into my spare room, when I go into my closets, I just feel as though there's too much stuff in my house.  I simply have wasted too much of my money in the past buying things, things I don't need, things I just wanted, and now I feel the need to just unburden myself.

I've always donated clothes and miscellaneous household stuff to the Vietnam Veterans of America, or to the Lupus Foundation.  I've decided that I'm going to put together a selection of work clothes I don't wear too much and contact a woman's shelter to donate them:  there are so many women escaping abusive husbands, women who need a helping hand to move up in the world, and perhaps my work clothes will be just what they need to wear on that special interview. 

I have so many extra scrapping things; I've been donating them to my scrapping group.  But now I'm going to put together some small activity kits and bring them to the hospital and donate them to the pediatric ward.  Perhaps there are a few children who can use a distraction while they're in the hospital for treatment, or while they're recovering...

I was so enlightened by the sheer amount of food I had to throw away after Hurricane Sandy.  I just go to Shop Rite, and I buy what catches my eye.  I never worry about a food budget, or if I should or could buy those chips/cookies/sodas, etc.  I vowed to not buy too much anymore, not more than I can realistically use.  I promised not to overstock my refrigerator and freezer.  FAIL!  I'll have to take a picture of the inside of my fridge/freezer and add it to this post tonight...  We are cooking more, and eating out less, since J is pretty much homebound since his surgery, but I still have so much I really don't need to store.  So I'll be putting together some dried goods and bringing it to the church this weekend.  We have a food box in the vestibule where you can donate foodstuff, and members can help themselves to what's there.  There are quite a few elderly parishioners and some lower income families in the parish, so there are some more people I can help.

I haven't done any of this yet this week, but my heart already feels lighter!

What You Would Find in My Purse

This post needs no further explanation.  Feel free to play along...

1. wallet
2. phone
3. checkbook register
4. coupons
5. mini makeup bag (lip gloss, Tums, Boroleum ointment, lipstick, eye drops, mini perfume atomizer sample, Advil Cold & Sinus capsules, eyeglass cloth, tabletop purse holder, Dayquil geltabs, Tagamet, bandaid)
6. recently paid bills, separated into an envelope for me, and an envelope for hubby
7. business card holder with club cards, gift cards, membership cards
8. reading glasses
9. sunglasses
10. mini hairspray
11. rosary beads
12. receipts
13. comb
14. 2 pens
15. house and car keys
16. whatever book I'm currently reading, and on odd days,
17. my Kindle

Quirks and Pet Peeves

We all have them.  But I've recently discovered that one pet peeve of mine just tops 'em all. 

Without going into graphic detail, I just have one suggestion:  when you use a public restroom, TURN AROUND before you walk through the stall door and leave whatever it is you leave behind...  NO ONE else wants to see what you left behind. 

This has been a public service announcement.

And quirks?  Lord knows I have a few!  So just so you don't think I'm perfect, here are a few of mine, in no particular order:

1. If I have to remember something the next day, I "write" it on my forehead in reverse writing so it would be readable in a mirror, remembering to "wipe" the board "clean" between words.  It hasn't failed me yet.  (No, I'm not nuts, I swear!)
2. I toss my bag, my coat, my scarf and gloves on the nearest chair or sofa when I walk in the house and they can stay there for days.  (I walk through the foyer and right past a coat closet to get into the house.)
3. I make my bed every single day, without fail, but I can go weeks with clothes piled on the chest at teh foot of the bed.
4. I can't go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink but I can go weeks without dusting.
5. I pay for my Weight Watchers membership every month but haven't been to a meeting in I don't know how long.
6. See #8 but replace "WW" with "gym" and "meeting" with "the gym."
7. I am newly addicted to meringue cookies.
8. I am very competitive and HATE to lose at board games, Words with Friends, or any other game.  This is why it's best I play Bejeweled against myself rather than against others.
9. I am addicted to my smartphone, despite denying it every time my husband accuses me of it.
10. I don't care if the inside of my car is messy.

I have many, many more, but since I'm writing this at work because I don't feel like working, I'll stop at 10.

A Day in the Life of the Patient...

If it were up to me, a man would have to disclose the type of patient he is (read:  IMpatient!) before marriage.  NOT that I would trade my guy in for anyone, but really?  He's SO bored during this recovery period that I'm being slowly driven insane.  The only thing getting me through this is knowing this is my purgatory:  I'm going straight up to heaven when it's my turn!!!

Here's his typical day:
1. Get up after I shower, around 6:15am.
2. Complain that even with Advil PM or ZZZQuil, he didn't sleep through the night.
3. Forget entirely that he hasn't slept past 5am in YEARS!  Even without his surgery...
4. Go downstairs and have a bowl of cereal while listening to one of the Harry Potter audio books.
5. Kiss his loving wife goodbye and wish her a good day at work.
6. Pace around the house as many time as he can while waiting for the PT person to pick him up for therapy.
7. To keep from being bored, he vacuums.
8. Every day.
9. We don't have a pet or a child.  Every day?!?!?
10. Call his loving wife at work when he gets home from PT so she knows he's home safe and sound.
11. Eat a bowl of ramen noodles for lunch.
12. Disregard all the good FOOD in the refrigerator and choose ramen noodles.
13. On a good day, answer the phone and if he's lucky it's his sister or his friend and not a telemarketer.
14. Go on the computer and search Craigslist for free stuff, watch YouTube videos about repairing snowblowers or carburetors or search Google for "work at home opportunities."
15. On a bad day, sign up for "more info" and generate loads of spam emails into our home email address.
16. Walk the 1+ miles to the train station even when it's frigid outside to meet his loving wife at the train station.
17. Stand outside the car and wait for her in the cold even though he has a key on his key chain.
18. Kiss her hello when she gets off the train.
19. Remove clothes from the dryer and start dinner.
20. Insist on heating up dinner because he can.  He's not an invalid.
21. Complain that he's been bored all day and doesn't his loving wife have anything for him to do?
22. Complain that all his loving wife's suggestions aren't what he wants to do.
23. Watch some TV at night, then drink his Sleepytime Tea and take his ZZZQuil and sleep.
24. Repeat.
25. His loving wife will deny this post if any of you mention it to him.