Family togetherness

I was home in California last week for my sister Phyllis's wedding (No, my parents are not really that cruel, her real name is Emily, but born of the love her siblings have for her was the name Phyllis...but that is a story for another day) which necessitated a lot of family togetherness both with our immediate and extended family and the family of the groom. Now I love my family, truly I do, but not long after we had converged upon the family home I had a bit of an "Ah-Ha" moment. My father was regaling us with entertaining and brilliantly enhanced family stories and it came to me: family stories are like a push-up bra.

Every woman knows that a bra is a bra, but as with just about everything these days you can get the basic model, or one with assorted bells and whistles. The push-up bra, for example, takes what is already there - I don't think I really need to elaborate on what I mean by that - and adds to it so it is more substantial and is shown off to its best advantage.

Family stories are exactly like that. While the essence of the original foundation is there the time passed, and the teller are factors that add to and enhance the original story until the finished product resembles the original tale in essence only.

No you might be wondering where I am going with this...and I am sad to say that I am not really sure, I just wanted to share my epiphany with you.

Kisses!

To schlep, or not to schlep: that is the question

Schlep
Function: verb
Inflected forms: schlepped, schlepping
Meaning: to proceed or move especially slowly, tediously, awkwardly, or carelessly.

Laundry is one of life's great jokes, or perhaps "joke" is to happy a word. We use the expression "do the laundry" like the action of doing it means something, like we wont have to do it again because it has already been done. Not so. The most cruel thing about laundry is that once it is washed, dried, pressed, folded, and hung, it invariably finds its way back to the "to be washed" pile and you have to start the whole process all over again!

The only bright light in this whole ordeal is that my present domicile boasts a room in the apartment in which to do laundry. Such a blessing! Before I moved out on my own I never really took time to appreciate what a luxury it was to be able to do this heinous chore from within the privacy, and warmth of your own home. Well I can assuredly tell you now that being able to do your laundry without having to schlep it to the laundry mat is a miracle. No more parading bags, baskets, duffels, and bins full of dirty laundry for all to see, and better yet no more dashing with the newly clean and dry garments through the rain and snow to get them back home.

So here I stand, decision firmly made: I choose not to schlep. I have seen the promised land and I am never going back to schlepping. If it must be that I am called upon to preform this thankless and never ending task so as to abide by my own hygienic standards, to say nothing of those of society at large, I hereby resolve to never schlep again.

As God is my witness, as God is my witness its not going to lick me. I'm going to live through this and when it's all over, I'll never have to schlep again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I'll never have to schlep laundry again.
(Insert swelling Gone with the Wind theme here)

My favorite things

I have been doing some work from home these last couple days and while I work I like to watch movies, more listen to than watch, but I like to have something on in the backgroud to keep it from being too quiet. Now since I tend to do this work from the bottom of a pile of warm, fuzzy blankets on my couch on on my bed I prefer to watch/listen to long-ish movies so that I don't have to climb out of my nest too often. Today's movie choice was the classic The Sound of Music and listening to Julie Andrews sing about strudel and silk dresses made me think about the things in life that make me happy, and I was overcome with the desire to share my crazy little list.

I love the sound of thunder. There is something powerful, yet soothing about that booming noise that rattles the windows.

I love Nutella - bless the person who decided to combine chocolate and hazelnuts.

I love shopping bags. Shocker I know! I just love the feeling of walking out of a store with something new in my bag, and watching people eye my pretty bag wondering what is in there.

I love prezel bites. If you have not had the pleasure you must seek them out and try them imediately, they are salty, buttery pillows of happiness that are only improved upon when they are dipped in mustard.

I love Great Danes. I want like 3, they are so big and cute. I squeal like a little girl whenever I see one on TV and have to fight down the urge to run out and find one to bring home.

I love the way the tops of baby's heads smell, so sweet!

I love bubble baths. There is something so indulgent about soaking in steaming hot water and feeling all your muscles relax.

I love pedicures, I could paint my own toe nails but it is the whole experience that keeps me coming back. The foot massage, the soaking, all of it.

I love a cold pillowcase when I am going to sleep. I want the rest of the bed to be warm but I like the pillow to start of cold. I am a freak, I know.

I love show tunes, it is so cliche but they make me happy and I love that I know the score of at least 50 musicales by heart.

I love the smell of coffee brewing, there is nothing that wakes you up like the smell of coffee.

I love Diet Pepsi, no revalation I know.

I love hammocks and sometimes contemplate replacing my matress with one.

I love Peeps, but only the yellow chicks - I am a purist that way.

I love creepy pieces of classical music like Toccata and Fuge in D Minor and the Symphonie Fantastique, they send the coolest chills down my back.

I love to snuggle.

I love a good crying movie, something that really turns on the water works. After a good cry I feel cleansed.

Last but definitely not least I love shoes - I just get so excited by a great pair of shoes. Maybe if I could really explain what it is that I love so much I could control it but all I have to say is that if this is wrong, I don't want to be right.

Feliz Navidad!

Only two more days and I am on my way to a beautiful California Christmas!

Sans snow.

But before I get on that jet plane, hopefully on time, I wanted to take a minute to say Merry Christmas to you all. May this Christmas season bring happiness and warmth to your heart, and may that light stay with you into next year.

I wish you many new shoes, delicious food, happy family, and massive luck at the New Year's day sales. ;)

Kisses and a very Merry Christmas!

Education is like Veal.

On this day, December 16th 2009, I have at long last completed my college education.

It has taken me more years, gallons of Diet Pepsi, tears, tranquilizers and breakdowns than I care to count (or openly admit to), but it is finally over.

I was filled with a deserved sense of celebration, which I expressed by buying new boots...

(Aren't they beautiful?! It is okay to be jealous.)

...And as I walked out of my last class this morning and felt the icy wind of freedom swirl around my earlobes, I was overcome with a feeling of accomplishment and pride. This thing that I have worked toward for for so long is finally done.

The birdies flew, the sun shone, and for about 15 minutes all was well and happy.

Suddenly the happy feeling was gone; and in that moment of panic the universe came into razor sharp focus.

I have been turned out of the chute.

I have been driven down this chute that is the education system like a little veal for years, I could only see what they let me see, could only worry about things that pertained directly to getting down the chute. (Please forgive the cow metaphor, I was inspired by something my younger sister Phyllis said many years ago that helped make everything a little clearer) Well I have now reached the end of the chute and am being turned out into the wide pasture that is the world. The problem is: what do I do now?

So here is today's question: where do we go when we reach the place where the asphalt ends?

Great Expectations

Sometimes I wonder if I expect too much.

I mean if I am sitting at home at night, especially on a weekend, I am most likely consumed with frustration because I'm not out doing something fun and exciting. I honestly have no cause to be bothered by that, I mean I have a ton of movies - I mean a TON - all of which I love...why don't I watch one of those? I have a stack of books that I want to read at least ten miles high, I should start reading one.

Alas, I am still not satisfied. I saw this video on Facebook and thought to myself:

"Self: he is so right! You have so much, and yet it is never enough. You need to get back to the simple pleasures in life."

So I was meditating on this tonight while watching my friends son, and some quality Finding Nemo, and I look over and he has removed the cushioned top off one of our storage ottomans and he is sitting inside it, laughing. Just laughing his head off, standing up, sitting down, standing up again, sitting down again. It was SO CUTE!

And I felt ashamed. If he could be so pleased with something so simple, do I really need so much to be happy too?

The answer is no.

Now I am not going to sell my belongings, give away my purses and shoes, and make my home in a hollow tree in the woods - that would be nuts...what, it is cold outside!

But I am going to be better.

I don't want chivalry to die, I just want it to be more observant

I may have mentioned in a past post that automotive issues and maintenance are not really my thing...but if you missed that let me say it now: I consider cars to be a necessary evil in this world.

Now my car has suffered a safety breach in the under the hood region, that is to say something is broken, which has resulted in the coolant leaking out of my car when I am not looking. I have every intention of having this actually fixed but for now I have been able to manage the problem by topping off my coolant when the light goes on telling me it is too low.

So Thursday night I left work and headed to the grocery store and on my way there my coolant light came on. After expelling a disgusted sigh I made a mental note to refill the coolant after I had done my shopping so that the engine had some time to cool off before I started poking around under the hood. Well I did my shopping and in the blinding setting sunlight I popped the hood of my poor little car and warily approached the cap of the coolant tank.

Here I think it is important to note that on the cap of the coolant tank it says that contents are EXTREMELY HOT and UNDER EXTREME PRESSURE.

So I twisted the cap ever so slightly to the left and listened until the sounds of escaping pressure subsided, I then removed the cap completely. Ugh! If you have ever smelled hot coolant (I am aware of how silly that sounds) you know that the odor rising to my delicate nose was not pleasant by any stretch of the imagination. I then opened the coolant bottle-jug-thing and started pouring it into the tank.

While in the midst of this delicate procedure, I suddenly notice this random guy walking up to me and he says:

"You should have your engine on while you do that."

Um, there are very few things that I know how to do on my own with regard to car care, but I think this is one I can handle as it seems to have more to do with common sense than actual automotive knowledge - it is probably a bad idea to have the engine on when I am pouring liquid into this tank where said liquid is made hot in the process of doing its job when the engine is on.

So I look at him and in the politest tone possible I say:

"Oh no it's okay, I am just topping off my coolant."

He says again:

"Ya, you need to have your engine on for that. Why don't you go turn it on."

I am all for chivalry. If you see me stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire or an actually non-working car please feel free to stop and lend a hand, but at this point I was like; thanks for the offer to help, but I've got this.

I suppose he finally got it that I was not going to start my car, so he just gave me this look and walked away. I then finished adding coolant to my car, got in, and drove away - the entire time mentally shaking my head not really sure why he seemed so bugged when it was me who was being annoyed.

Was that the right reaction? I am just not sure, the entire episode kind of confused me to be honest.

So that is my story, and if you are in the mood to hear another tale of a man offering a woman help when she really didn't need it you should read this, and know that I wish my story telling skills were just as entertaining.