Happy 30th Birthday Bug

I use to sing this to you almost every night. It still holds true.

You are and always will be my sunshine.




I love you very much.

Oh, and.. llama llama




Love ya!
Mama

What's so special about July 8, 2009?

What is so different about the 8th of July this year?

At 34 minutes and 56 seconds after 12 on the 8th of July this year, the time and date will be:

12:34:56 07/08/09

AND

At five minutes and six seconds after 4 on the 8th of July this year, the time and date will be:

04:05:06 07/08/09

That's all. Just thought it was a cool thing to share.

Until the pics work right...Have a Bidet!

I know! I know! You want the vacation post. Well I'm having trouble getting the pictures to download right. So, until I get my camera to behave, I subit the following for your viewing pleasure.

I Have A Bidet! (Had A Bad Day Parody!)




Peace, Blessings, and Clean tushies to all!

Evil in a box.

Seems like everywhere I turn these days I'm being attacked by The Evil One. No! Not that Evil One. His meaner, eviler twin brother, Bebellyzebub. What? You really thought all that bad stuff could be created by just one of 'em?? NO WAY!! Anyhow...

I really began noticing it about a month ago when I started being accosted by his cute little green-vested and brown-sashed minions as I tried to exit the grocery store with my bags full of less expensive junk food healthy, nutritious snacks. I know they were evil because I was immediately overcome with the irresistibly lustful NEED, yes I say NEEEED!, to purchase at least two boxes of their sinful delights on every shopping trip. Then, while looking for a periodic table to include in Bug's new company website (to be announced later!!), I found this. (Click it to make it bigger. Really. Click it!)

Imsebeus, I dell ooo. Viabowicly imsebeus! Oh, sorry. I was talking with a couple of dunked Trefoils food in my mouth. Now that I've washed the sin down with some cold milk, what I said was:

Insidious, I tell you. Diabolically insidious!

Bebellyzebub has even found ways to infiltrate the best sources of healthful holiness. I recently learned about something called the Joy Fit Club for "...determined people who have lost and kept off 100 pounds or more...." WOW! My heart 'bout exploded right outta my chest, I got so excited. See, I don't know anyone else in the real world who has 100+ pounds they need to lose, so seeing all these people succeed at it really got me motivated. I eagerly jumped onto the Today Show website to watch this video:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

You don't see them in this embedded version, but when you watch it on the site they play commercials between video segments and place advertisers' (AKA Bebellyzebub's silk-suited hawkers) bugs or teasers below the video screen. Here's the advertisement I saw when I was watching:

Hmmm... Dove. Just for you. And if you click on the picture you'll see that at the very bottom of the copy they added in the faintest of print, "My moment. My Dove" AACK! But, I'm a strong woman on a mission, I thought. I can ignore that commercial. Bebellyzebub's demons weren't quite done with me yet, though!

What do you see on this screen: Salmon salad or DOOOOVE CHOOOCOLAAAATE?? I got up to get a drink of water and clear my head before continuing.

The next great food suggestion was

But all I could see was CHOOOCOLAAAATE. Even as I sit here typing this my head is starting to swim and my mouth is beginning to water. This is EVIL, I TELL YOU!! I couldn't even listen to what they were saying much less read the screen titles because ...

CHOOOCOLAAAATE... Take it off today, my butt! The only thing I wanted to take off was the wrapper!

I finally just gave up and headed to the bank. That should be safe, right! NOT! Now, we all know that bankers are notorious for finding clever ways to extract as much money from our pockets as possible. However, I never thought they would stoop THIS low!

They actually had the audacity to put stacks and baskets of these on every available flat surface in the building. And then they dressed a couple of the shorter demons in little league baseball uniforms and had 'em stand there all big-eyed and cute making it totally IMPOSSIBLE to leave without buying a box. Or 3.

Needless to say, I won't be joining the Joy Fit club anytime soon. Now if you'll excuse me, the neighbor's high school band kid is at my door wanting me to look over their fund raiser catalogue. Do you think if I hung a cross and some garlic on the front porch it'd discourage the rest of the neighborhood demons from trying, too? Probably not. They'd just dip it in chocolate and try to sell me that, too! And I'd probably buy one. Or 3.

Peace and Joy Fit blessings to all.

Keep Believing

I sat down here to write something profound about the fact that today is not only my husband's birthday but also Angie and Brian's wedding anniversary. I was going to talk about how blessed we both have been to have such wonderful men in our lives. But for some reason the words won't come. That always happens when I try to write about the things that are the absolutely most important in my life. There are just no words that seem adequate -- No turn of phrase that fully describes the total peace and gratitude that having this man in my life brings.

That was hard enough, but then I tried to add in something warm and insightful about Angie's loss of Brian and how hard it must be and how so amazingly, incredibly strong she is, and all I could do was cry... Cry for Angie as I try to imagine what her life must be like as she learns to walk through the shadows on this new path she's been pushed down... Cry for the fear that I wouldn't ever be able to be that strong...

In the end, the only thing I can really say coherently is this:

My best friend, strongest supporter, toughest critic, and most amazing lover turns 55 today. I am grateful to have been given 30 years (so far) with this amazing man. It seems like Only Yesterday that we met, and no other song says how I feel better:




HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HUBBY!
I am going to Keep Believing that we will have at least another 30 together.

My Girl is 5 today!

Dear MG:

Wow! I cannot believe that it has already been five years since we stood in front of the judge and vowed to become a family. I'm still not sure you really wanted to make it legal. You had such hopes of somehow being able to live with your little brother. (I'm sorry we couldn't make that happen for you. At least we've been able to maintain contact and see him a few times a year.) I'm so glad you you didn't back out at the last minute; that somewhere deep inside you knew that in this family you would finally have a forever home.

What a rocky road we've had. You came to us so hurt by the life you'd already led. You were one angry, bitter, and often mean and cruel little girl who had built tall and thick walls around her heart to avoid being hurt anymore; who used emotions like a poisonous snake uses venom to paralyze anyone who dares get too close. But there were tiny slivers of cracks through which your true self shone so brightly that it was almost blinding. In those moments, when you let down your guard, Daddy and I saw a beautiful, loving, delightful spirit that we knew we had to free.


Now here we are, 6-1/2 years into our relationship, on the 5th anniversary of the day we finalized your adoption. It hasn't been easy, kiddo. There have been times when we wanted to turn tail and run for the nearest exit. But then we'd notice something miraculous: The cracks in the wall had widened a little more. With each catastrophic event came new insights. With each major blow-up came more cracks. With each heart-breaking, gut-wrenching setback came a few more steps toward you finding yourself.

Today, I can honestly say that there are more holes than wall. More and more the true heart of the little girl I fell in love with shines through.

My sweet little Girl, I want you to know that we have never stopped believing in you. No matter how hard things got, your dad and I have never (for more than a minute or two) been willing to give up on you. And we never will. And, until you can start believing in yourself enough to stand on your own, we will believe enough for you and be there to help you stand. Together, we will tear down the rest of the bricks and free that beautiful, loving heart for good and ever.

Please remember, honey, that you will not always be 17, with 17-year-old angst, hormonal upheavals, and fluctuating brain function . One day you will be a woman with an open and secure heart. And though I will ALWAYS be your mother, I will not always have to mother you. I look forward to the day when my daughter becomes a woman whom I will be honored to count among my best friends.

I love you, you sweet, ornery, uplifting, disheartening, insightful, stubborn, delightful pain in the butt. Thank you for being mine.

xoxoxo

Love,

Mom

Wall Photo Credit: Jonathandes

Twenty Five Years

One-quarter of a century of birthdays and Christmases.

Three hundred months of love and laughter.

9,125 days of successes and failures, sadnesses and joys, triumphs and defeats.

219,000 hours of growth and understanding, of wisdom gained and sanity lost.

13,140,000 minutes of life void of a mother's advice. And annoyances.

Not one moment of regret for having been chosen as your own.



It's been twenty five years since I last heard you say, "I love you, my angel." Yet, somehow, I know that you've never left me. I've felt you near; heard you whisper softly in those wee hours of the morning when I'm not quite awake but not fully asleep.


I see your presence in the mirror of my mind when I have to live through hard times.

I remember the laughter in your eyes when I use one of your lines to deal with difficult people.

I live in the warmth of the love of the heart of the kindest, most loving and giving woman I've ever had the honor of knowing.

You were only my mother here on earth for 17 years, but you have never stopped being my mother here in my heart.


Happy 25th Heavenly Birthday, Mom. I love you very much. See ya in a few...

Mother and me - 1967

Brains for Sale!

The other day I was driving down the road in a state of complete and utter puzzlement trying to remember why it was that I'd chosen to come this way instead of going the back road I usually prefer. That way has soooo many lights and the traffic is always horrendous. Now, there I was, sitting at one of those much despised stop lights, behind an 18-wheeler, trying to remember just what it was that I was supposed to do. The thought crossed my mind that what I really needed was a new brain. Especially since this old, hormonally-deficient piece of gray matter is obviously wearing out or I'd be able to remember why I was sitting there instead of cruising down the no-light road. UGH! About then the light changed and ever. so. slooowly. the 18-wheeler lumbered forward revealing this:





A New Brain in a Box!! Finally!! A store I can actually get excited about checking out!! Remember that I hate shopping unless it is absolutely necessary? Well, with the way my mind seems to be faltering lately, I do believe that a trip to this store may very quickly become an absolute necessity.

Being the creative genius forward thinking desperately aging weirdo person I am, my next thought was that, hey! if they can put a new brain in a box why not a new butt in a bottle? I mean, come on... how hard could that be? And lookie what I found at my very next stop!



Ok, so I'll give you the fact that it's really for rash relief, but think about it: How cool would it be to have something that you could sprinkle on your butt to turn it into the perfect posterior everyone dreams of? And since monkey butts are pretty ugly, that'd be a great name for it!

All right, enough of this fantasy fixers stuff. Guess I'd better get my monkey butt out of the chair, turn off the computer, and go finish planting my new flowers. Maybe the fresh Spring air and sunshine will clear out the cobwebs. And, now that I think about it, when it comes right down to it, I hate shopping so much that I'll even go exercise if it means staying out of a store.

Peace, Blessings, and Sunshine to all!