Horrendous Flashback Friday

Only because I promised on the 70's Palooza post....

You thought the pics from the 70's were funny looking.-

Well here are the 80's.
Now I have done late 80's here (shaved sides and mullets) so I am doing the very early 80's up to 1983.

These photo's are so awful that I can't believe I am doing this.
I have postponed this long enough since I said I'd put these up here.
Okay let's just pretend I lost my mind.
I am sticking with the story that I was over taken by shoulder pads and perm solution.
I think it may be best to do this like a band aid.....just do it quickly and hope the pain is over just as fast.

This lovely ditty is from a birthday at my Grandma's house. I got wind chimes for my apartment from my sister I am hugging.
Oh God that hair makes me a frightful sight. WHAT WAS I THINKING?

Between my hair and his pants we both should be taken out back and flogged!
Why was no intervention done to us for the hair, the clothes, the glasses on him?!
Did our friends and family hate us?
Check out the polaroid camera on the chair next to him.
Ugly chair and carpeting courtesy of Grandma.

I must have just finished clown college....Look at that blush I have on for heavens sake.
Make up instruction taught by Clown College.
This must have been after the perms because my hair is shorter.
I am again at Grandma's house and I am estimating from this house that this is 1983.

Okay no more of the 80's.  These are worse than the 70's. 

Besides you've seen a lot of the 80's from past posts.

I think I need to only post nice photo's from now on.  Hah. 

I don't take nice photo's so you may never see another one again.

Rick now has the creeping crud that had me sick for a week.

We were suppose to head to the lake house this weekend.

Some friends were renting a house down at the lake and this weekend we thought we'd all get together for some fun.

But Rick is so not up to it so we'll be hanging around up here in the city/suburbs.

It  is suppose to be a cooler less humid weekend too damn it.

Oh well.  I'll get another one of those by October.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Here's someone who always takes a good picture.

Thursday Thoughts and Loud Opinions

I am going to be an old bitchy curmudgeon today.
I've got a few things that have got me fired up.

The first didn't fire me up per se I just found myself saying things my Grandmother would say.  That is not comforting in any way shape or form let me tell you.

I was doing some crafts and I had the television on in the background but was not watching it.  I looked up at one point to refill my glue gun and I noticed the young woman on the tube wearing what I think is my bathing suit while on a game show. (minute to win it I think is the name) 
I say out loud to hubby, "is she wearing my bathing suit with a sweater over it?"

Rick says, "it appears so."

"Why would you wear a bathing suit on a game show?"

"Well I don't really think that is her bathing suit Margaret"

"But doesn't it look EXACTLY like one of my suits?"

"Yes but I think this is just shorts and a halter top that matches so she can move easily."

"You can't move easily in a pair of yoga pants and a top you have to wear a bathing suit?"

Rick is laughing and says, "Well at least you can be thankful she didn't wear a thong."
Okay he got me there. But it WAS my bathing suit only it looked better on her.

Last night after work I went to get a pedicure.
Couldn't wait to relax and get a little pampering.
It's a lovely salon and it's not only aesthetically pleasing it is a nice group of people who work there.
The manager had gone home for the day by this time of the evening.
There were only 3 women working on a Wednesday night.
I was done with my pedicure and was now sitting at the table where you put your feet under this blue light and dry your toes. 
I had my back to the front door and was facing another woman sitting at this table drying her hands and feet.
I also happened to be facing the lined wall of pedicure chairs and the women working on their customers.

This loud obnoxious woman comes in and proclaims she needs a pedicure NOW.
"Where is the manager?" She asks so loudly we women all look at one another.
A technician says excuse me to her customer and says to this woman, "she has gone home for the day may I help you?"
Obnoxious woman says, "I am going out of town tomorrow for my wedding and I want Tammy (manager) to do my nails now - CALL HER FOR ME RIGHT NOW.

This nice young technician again apologizes to her customer and gets up and calls Tammy.
Tammy speaks to this obnoxious woman.
I know Tammy, she has very small children and I am sure if she was not there it was because of family time and obligations.  But that shouldn't matter she was off work ...period.
Obnoxious woman gives the young technician back the phone and mutters some choice words. The technician looks away.
The woman sitting across from me rolls her eyes.  I smile.

The young technician states that she will be done shortly and she will be able to help her.
Obnoxious woman proclaims, "I want to know if anyone is any good here?"
They all look at one another as if to say, "what do we say?"
One of them speaks up and says, "We all do our very best"
Obnoxious woman says, "But who is the best I am getting married tomorrow and if Tammy can't do this I don't want a flunky"

(I wanted to smack this bitch into next week)

The technician again repeats that they will all do their very best.
Obnoxious woman shouts - WHO IS THE FUCKING BEST? CAN YOU JUST ANSWER A SIMPLE QUESTION? I AM GETTING MARRIED AND LEAVING TOMORROW"

(wish she were leaving NOW!)

The woman facing me says quietly, "How Rude!" 
She really said this in a low whisper and I didn't hear her well and so I leaned in and said, "pardon me?"
Obnoxious woman came pounding her feet walking back to our table and says to this woman, "What did you say?" (apparently she has ears of a bat)

 I thought this poor woman who looked so meek was going to cry and melt right there in her chair.
But God love her she said, "you are being very rude to these woman, they are all good."
At which point I apparently smiled.  I say apparently because I don't remember doing it but Obnoxious woman says to me, "What the fuck are you smiling at?"

(Oh if only I had had the cogliones to bitch slap her she was so close.)

Obnoxious woman says, "it's none of your fucking business"

The technician said she would be done in 15 - 20 minutes and would be very happy to help her.  Please pick out a color she tells her.  She remained polite and kind to her.

The obnoxious woman walks to the door and tells us all to go Fuck ourselves she will go where she will get good service! 
She left and the women in the chairs applauded. 
The woman who I was facing was now crying. 
Poor thing said she has never ever stood up to anyone let alone someone like that in her life.  "I think I was being rude too," she said. 
I told her that she was my hero. 
She wasn't rude and that woman was Bridezilla.
The technicians all gathered around her and thanked her and told her she was nice to help them.

C'mon what did she think those techs were going to say when asked is anyone any good here?  That alone is a rude statement. 
If someone went to where you work and asked is anyone any good here how would you feel?  That is like the dummies who ask at a restaurant if anything here is any good? 
No, it all sucks, leave right now.  C'mon that is not only stupid it is indeed rude.

And lastly on this topic of this mighty witch, if this day was so important why just walk into a salon at 6:30 in the evening and not have an appointment made before hand?  If having Tammy do your nails was so important why not make an appointment ahead of time with her at the time you needed? Wouldn't that be the best route to travel?
Ooh how I hate people. 

There is a new show with William Shatner.  It's called Aftermath. 
He had another interview show that I really liked. 
It was called Raw Nerve.
Very up close, personal and different and it was with celebrities. 
He got them saying things they wouldn't normally say.
He was so much better than I ever thought he could be. 
Because he impressed me I thought I would check out his new show.(it's on BIO)

Aftermath is Shatner interviewing people after an event. 
The upcoming show is of 3 survivors of the DC Sniper. 
The 1st one was of Bernhard Goetz. 

If you are not familiar Bernie Goetz was a man who shot 4 youths in the NYC subway because he felt fear and was touted a hero. 
He got no prison time or punishment. 
The young men all have severe impairments and one is paralyzed. 
Bernie was not hurt, mugged or even touched. 
He just assumed because they were black and standing close to him he could be in trouble.  Imagine that, being close to someone on a crowded NYC subway. 
He claims they asked for money. 
No witness heard this and they all say that never happened. So it is a he said - he said.
They were petty neighborhood criminals so Bernie feels they got what they deserved.

This interview made me so damn angry I had to delete the rest of the recording before it was over.
Bernie is a odd, odd man to say the least. 
Socially inept/awkward is a very good way to describe him.
A hateful racist bigot would be another.
His stories were riddled with his racist remarks.

Shatner called him on a few of his comments a couple of times.
Bernard would look at William as though he was disgusted that someone would call him on this type of thing. 
He told a story about the cab driver who picked him up after he shoot the 4 boys and left them for dead. 
But you see he can't tell a story without telling us that the cab driver was an Egyptian. 
He couldn't tell us anything about anyone without their nationality or race being peppered into the conversation. 
He had no remorse whatsoever for these shootings. 
Shatner asked him questions and he was so cold hearted and filled with hatred.
This is a man that was made a hero?  How did that happen?
I still do not understand how this man who had an illegal weapon got no time.

At the end of what I watched the nut job went on to talk about a squirrel. 
He is in love with this squirrel. Guess if you are a nut this makes sense.
He spoke of the feeling one gets when a loved one walks into a room.
The warmth that creeps up to your face....."I have that for this squirrel." he coos.
The look on William Shatner's face was priceless! 

I turned it off after that.  I was so hoping that William would have told him that he was an Iraqi squirrel or perhaps a boy squirrel since he has such hatred for all things that aren't American, white or heterosexual. 

Now if I could put this Obnxious woman and Bernard in a room together for a week it would be interesting to see who would come out alive. 

Lists, Lists, Lists

Tammie at Irregular Tammie made a list of her Top 10 Cheesy Songs that she loves.
She suggested I try this.
However if I love the song is it really cheesy? 
I mean I don't think any of the songs I love are cheesy.
So I would have to tell you my list and then someone else would define cheesy.
Hmmmm.....then I may hear a collective groan and that would make me feel badly so I think I'll skip this exercise.

But I can give you a list of 3 things not to say to your mother or father like I did and got punished, slapped or soap in my mouth (yea I know today social services would be called on them for 2 of 'em)

1. My father was lecturing me because I would NOT eat the damn lima beans on my plate and in his frustration he yelled at me that there were starving kids in India.  I asked him to name one.  Oooow, that one hurt!  And I still had to eat those gross beans no less!

2. I was 6 and playing old maids with my cousin when I lost for the 5th time.  I threw down my cards and said, "vaffanculo"   I didn't really know what that meant but she said it when she dropped her pie on the floor or anytime she was upset.  ICK!  I got soap in my mouth for that one, while my cousins watched on and laughed at the bubbles.  She never did tell me what it meant but I knew then it was a bad word.  By the time I was a teenager I knew what that meant.  oops!

3. One school day morning I told my step mom that I was tired of not having my clothes ironed when I needed them.  (I was 15) I ranted, "Everytime I look for something it is in the pile to be ironed, could you just iron them already?"  Ooh that was dumb of me.  From that moment on I had to iron all my own clothes... forever.  She washed, dried and laid them on my bed for me to iron.  So I learned quickly that a blouse under a sweater only needed the cuffs and collars pressed.

....to name just a few.

C'mon give me your list.

Random Things from my weekend and Fresh Balls.

I have not had a weekend like I just had in years.
No obligations, no one to look after with two feet or four, no one who needed fed, no laundry or floor that needed scrubbed. Okay they needed scrubbed but I just didn’t do it.

Whatever horrible creeping crud I got while visiting my family knocked me for a loop.
My husband and the dog went to the lake house Friday afternoon until Monday.
He couldn’t go without mothering me so he made me some of his great homemade chicken soup & went to the store to be sure I had everything one could need.

I didn’t need for much let me tell you.
I just laid on the sofa wrapped up in a blanket and dozed off and on for days.
I remember waking up at one point just starving.
I had a big bowl of his soup and brought the bowl to the dishwasher.
Feeling like I may have some energy  I went upstairs to dress and brush my teeth etc.
I thought this would be a good time to do some laundry too while upstairs.
By the time I got upstairs to my bedroom I apparently was exhausted.
I laid across my bed and out I went…..for 5 more hours!
I never even made it across the hall to the laundry room.

I have not slept this much in 10 yrs let alone in one weekend.
The coughing just killed me last week.
My rib cage is actually sore from coughing so much.
Last year I got some cough medicine from a friend in Canada.
She sent it to me and told me that while it tasted foul it really worked.
Oh she was right, it was foul,real foul. 
I have never had anything stop my coughing including prescription medication that worked this well.
So the awful taste is something I deal with to just stop the coughing.
The cough medicine is called Buckley’s and honestly it just tastes like liquid Vicks.
You can imagine how great that must be can’t you?
But it works like nothing I have ever experienced before!
At times over this weekend I would wake up from coughing, chug some cough medicine and go back to sleep. I did miss Rick and Izzy….when I was awake that is.

Other random things from the weekend - -

My sister called me yesterday to tell me about something that reminded her of me.
My sister told me she and her son heard about this on the radio.
“Fresh Balls? Fresh Breasts?” they asked.
She laughed and thought she heard the wrong thing until her 16 yr old son asked, “Mom did they just ask if you had fresh balls?”
They both laughed through the rest of the commercial.

Now my sister knows that I sometimes use stick deodorant under my breasts in the summer. She finds that weird. That’s because she has little itty bitty titties.
The sweating can cause a horrible rash or worse. I know TMI so I won’t go further but apparently I am not the only one because now they make Fresh Breasts.
Needless to say that when I was vertical I had to go to this link.
What cracked me up most was the first line on the home page, “For people who suffer from sweaty balls or sweaty breasts….”

All I could see was Alec Baldwin in that Christmas SNL skit about his sweaty balls.
I’m so immature that cracked me up. But seriously they couldn’t have phrased that better?

My sister Stephanie was happy to know it isn’t just me who deals with this problem.
Apparently she really believed that no one else in the world had this issue.
But because we have different moms she didn’t get boobs so she just thought I was crazy.
She got a great ass and no boobs. I used to ask for a trade.
I got the boobs but no ass.
Basically I’m an aspirin, it’s flat and round with a line down the middle.
No JoLo confusion here!

But you see I have a theory.
I will leave you with my theory today. I don’t think I have shared this before.
Now if you tell the man in your life this theory they will tell you they are doing research while at the beach, the mall etc. You have been warned.

Now my theory doesn’t not apply to Black women or Hispanic women.
This is just your ole white women.
If you are at your fighting weight and you have bigger than a C cup you have a flat/flatter ass. If you are smaller than a C you have a great bubble butt that I covet.
If you have both you bought one.
Now there is that 5 % of the population that got lucky and did get both without paying for them. (my youngest sister is one of them)
Those are the ones that we refer to as lucky shits!

Cynical Bastard may want to get begin his research of this theory right away!

Under the weather

Got the creeping crud while up north visiting family last week.
Been fighting this all week and I am now seriously down for the count.

See you all soon....in the mean time laugh with David Sedaris again.

Don't Speed.

In Northern VA if you get a traffic ticket and don't pay on time they send you a very nice letter in the mail to inform you that your license has been suspended. 
If you pay your fine late then you must bring your receipt to the DMV and show them that you have paid so that they can reinstate your drivers license.

This is what happened to my husband. 
He left the ticket in his work veheicle.
If he had brought it into the house I would have paid it. 
Yet, somehow this event became my fault. Hmm...imagine that.

After reading his mail last week he looked at me and said, "Didn't you ever pay my ticket?"
I had no idea what the hell he was talking about but apparently my tone really fired him up.
He went to my desk and began moving things around and well that didn't make me happy shall we say.
After he turned my neat desk into a small mess he asked, "What did you do with the ticket?"
Again I say, "I never saw your ticket Richard."
Yes, formal names are now being used.....I'm pissed.
I suggest he look in his work truck.

He goes outside and imagine my surprise when he comes in holding his ticket.
He mumbles something like, "Sorry I'm just a big ole jerk aren't I?  Because you are the omnipotent one and I should always listen to you." 
Yea, he said something like that.

I immediately pay the ticket online and now he has to go to the DMV which really makes the big bear grumble.  I chuckle because I know I don't want to go to the DMV to sit for hours.
Thankfully this isn't my problem because I was not the one caught speeding for once.
And I didn't leave it in his truck.  It is just my fault you see.

Now here in northern VA we can renew our license online. 
No new pictures need to be taken  just fill out the paper work and they will use the current photo on your license. 
They will then mail you your new license that is no longer in color but it has all these halograms and such as well as the photo from 1997. 
Odd to me but that is what they do. 
And since he had more hair in 1997 he didn't mind keeping that photo.

But when he got to the DMV they grabbed his license quickly and cut it up. 
They told him he had to have a new license now that he was in there in person. 
He explained that he just got this one in May 2010. 
Doesn't matter if you show up you have to go by the new laws invoked since 9/11.
The cheery people who work there instructed Rick where to go next to get his photo taken.

The DMV "happy" people told Rick to take off his glasses. 
No photo's can be taken with glasses.
Because he was working he had on a baseball cap with company logo. 
They made him take the hat off as well.  So now he has "hat head" oh so attractive! 
They tell him he can NOT smile or show teeth only stare at the camera. 
They ask him to open his eyes more, real wide they yell - then click! 

The result is so horrendous I begged to have him allow me to put it up on my blog.
He will not. 
After all those funny mustache and swim trunk pictures he draws the line at this apparently.

He looks like a deranged serial killer for sure. 
His hair is all funky, his eyes are opened very wide like he is on coke or some such drug.
His head is in a position where he looks like he is listening to the voices in his head. 
Honest to God if you saw this man you would run for your life. 
I took one look at this picture and about peed my pants.

This alone will make me honor the speed limit. 
I do not want to have my photo taken like this!
Apparently this is how they spot terrorists....yea right.

The Story of Old Age Eyes

Once upon a time when I was a young girl I had wonderful distance vision.
My sight was 20-14. 
I could read things blocks and blocks away while driving down the street.
But I wore reading glasses since the age of 14. Crazy wasn't it?

Then I turned 40 and I remember saying to Rick that I can't see very far anymore.
He began to tease me and tell me it was old age etc.
Rick did not wear glasses and he found this all so humorous.

I went to have an eye exam and I could no longer read the bottom line or the small print below it that said where it was made as before.

The doctor confirmed to me that I was indeed correct, I couldn't see as far as I have in the past.
My vision was now 20-20 so the good news was I didn't need glasses but I needed to make my reading glasses stronger. 

Rick went to have his eyes exam shortly after and not only did the old fart need them for reading but he needed them ALL the time for distance.  So much for teasing me now old man!  That's karma isn't it?

Fast forward a decade and I am 50.
I could not longer read my new AARP card that arrived so off to the eye doctor I go. 
I told her how seeing the computer was becoming more difficult.
She told me that I also needed them a little bit for distance, for computer and for reading.
Wow.  What a difference that decade made.  Holy Shit.

Today I just have trouble seeing period!
Far, close, arms length - you name it I can't see it.
Honestly braille may be something I have to learn next. 
I am deteriorating rapidly it appears.
Tell me again why Oprah says 50 is great?
'Cause the bitch can afford Lasik I suppose. 
Why didn't my eyes fall apart before I was downsized and my corporate insurance paid for Lasik? 

Now I know a lot of you will tell me you can get your Lasik for only $99 an eye or some such cheap price. 
Honestly discounts for eye surgery is not where you need to save money or use coupons. 
These are my eyes. 
I don't think shopping for discounts for my eyes is a way to go.
Besides if I am spending money on my eyes it will be for plastic surgery.
Lift those lids.

I think I mentioned here that I accidentally threw my eye glasses away over Memorial Day and have been using some old ones from the 90's which aren't as helpful as one would think.
Yesterday I went to have my eyes examined and to get some answers.
I wasn't sure if I wanted glasses or contacts or to  learn braille if I needed to so that I can see or read. 

I opted for contacts.

They were just a bit more than glasses. Not much though and that surprised me.

Having never worn glasses full time I find there is an adjustment curve.

Now add in contacts and I realize there is a lot to think about before going on with my day.

Who knew?

So I now have contacts that are for distance, computer, and reading. 
There are circles in my contacts for each thing. 
While I don't understand this completely I do see that it works.
My doctor told me that it will take up to 2 weeks for my brain to adjust and I see how it's better today than yesterday so we'll see.

Putting them in and taking them out hasn't been all that difficult like I thought it would be. 
However last night my allergies really kicked in. 
They have only been hovering and then last night BAM.
Normally this doesn't start until August but apparently it's close enough for my allergies. 
Today I have a very very sore throat, cough, post nasal drip and my eyes are itchy. 
I was to wear these contacts 4 hrs yesterday and 6 today and I want them out so I can rub my eyes. 
Bad thing is that I don't have my new glasses yet. 
So if I do take them out to rub my eyes I will be unable to see and have to go back to the 1990's eye glasses. 

All of this is just too much.
I just want to be able to see damn it.

That young girl in the photo's yesterday never realized how good she had it.
She just got up and went on with life.

Someone call Oprah for me - I need to tell her that 50 is not so awesome for we little people.
I think that's a full episode for her fall line up.

70's Picture-palooza

Going home is always stressful for me. 
First the drive.  Then of course the family dynamics.
While I love my family it can be difficult and some days that is an understatement.
My Dad being older now he is very mellow and that sure is easier.
But at the same time it's sad to see him like this as well.

This trip was so much more light hearted.
What I find interesting in this whole thing is how we were all there at the same time and we all have different memories of a situation.
My reality could be completely different than a sisters reality of the same exact situation.
I would love to know the why, the how and what that all means.
But I suppose I need a therapist for that.

My sister Pam and I were the only 2 kids when our mom died.
She was so young (10) and she doesn't have the memories that I do.
Pam and I normally are the least close of all the sisters. We are oil and water.
But this weekend she was so easy to be around. 
As my sister Jennifer said, "maybe she's mellowing with age"
Whatever it was she wasn't defensive and she wasn't snarky to anyone of us.
But as all of us spoke about this situation in a photo or that one we all remembered something a little bit different and I really find that fascinating.  When I said that to all my sisters they laughed and said, "Only you would find that interesting like a science project when the rest of us don't even notice it!"
So it goes to show you that it's true, when you go home you revert to who you are in the pecking order of your family!

Here are some of the photo's from the 70's that made my sisters and I all laugh.
I will take you right through the 90's. 
You have to promise not to make fun of me - I know the hairstyles and the clothes are damn funny though.  The 80's were not good to me!

This is Pam and myself one Christmas morning and that little bald head in the bottom right hand corner is our new sister from our new mom and our dad. As you can see I am not a happy person in the morning - nothing has changed.  Yes those are big ass rollers on the top of my head.  Check out Pam's "Mrs. Carol Brady" hair do.  She took a lot of shit this past Saturday about that look.

This is my cousin Betsy and I in 1970. Check out the poster!

I can't believe I am putting this photo into the universe.
I will have to find one to counter balance but it is funny I will admit that.
I think I had the "Rachel" before the real Rachel did. 
Someone should have removed the tweezers from my hands for God's sake I plucked them to nothing! (15 yrs old here) I have skinny and not straight eyebrows here. Oh my.
You can stop laughing now!

These are my 2 youngest sisters. 
Ann Marie is the toddler and  Jennifer is the baby. 

I am 17 yrs old here. When I took these two places everyone assumed I was their mother.  

I remember this picture being taken yet I can't remember where the hell  I put my purse or my cell phone at any given moment.  How does that happen?

Off of me for a moment PLEASE.

This is my favorite Uncle, Uncle Angelo and his wife Ruthie.
This is my favorite Grandma, a.k.a.Grandma C who you can read about here.
Love Grandma C!
Uncle Ange and my Dad are brothers and never without a cigar in the 70's.

Back to narcisstic me.....Why in the hell would I wear a shirt like this? 

I don't remember owning it. 

I think I may have blocked out that time of my life for such poor taste. 

I don't know who these kids are which I find hysterical.

And I wish I didn't know the girl in the stupid shirt with the flipped back hair on the sides.

Maybe it's not me but someone who looks like me.  Yea, I'm sticking with that.

Okay I am going to leave you today with a set of 4 and then an old wedding photo. 

(We will visit the 80's later this week.)

It is my guess here that it was my 19th birthday.

My high school sweetheart and now ex husband bought me this opal ring which I wanted so badly.

He first surprised me by coming home for my birthday (he was in the minor leagues then) 

He then surprised me with this gift which as you can see from these dorky pictures I so loved! This was my last year at my parents.

And now to end the decade this below is 1979

That hat!  The whole thing!

I have no words.

That's all for now folks.....I've bored you all enough for today.

Now damn it, stop the laughing!

Back to our Regularly Scheduled Program....

I made it to Pennsylvania with a boat load of coffee.
I checked into my hotel, washed my face because driving that long makes me feel icky and I collapsed on the sofa and I was out like a light.  Coffee and all.  My husband finds that amazing.  I'm telling you driving does this to me.

I got to see a good girl friend for lunch on Friday afternoon and it was fun but too short.
Then it was family, family, and more family.

My sister Stephanie who had been there for a week was in control mode.
She came in and told my mom what she was going to do while there.
They went through the attic and purged.
They went through all the things in the basement and purged.
But in these areas items were grouped together of boxes and items sorted by daughter.

We all went through our stuff and laughed and made ourselves feel old.
One afternoon we looked through so many photo's that I couldn't take much more.
But oh how we laughed.  The clothes, the hair styles, and all Christmas photo's in our nightgowns and crazy morning hair.

My sister Pam had the craziest hair do's.  Mullets, perms, shags, boy cuts. 
At one point she picked up a picture and just shook her head and said, "this is just sad why didn't someone do an intervention?"  
Probably because I had some bad ass perms myself.
I looked ridiculous with that frizzy look!

Then there is my sister Jennifer. 
She is so damn cute and being the youngest we all give her grief.
She is 37. 
When she was a baby she was not so cute.
I know that sounds mean but really, she wasn't so cute.
In fact our Aunt and Uncle approached my parents because they thought something was wrong with her.  Poor Jen!  My mother cried.  She thought she was beautiful.
Well the jokes on us because now she is so pretty inside and out!

Her daughter was looking through this with us and she kept saying, "what's wrong with you mom?"  And that of course would throw we sisters into a fit of giggles.
Jen put it best, I looked bad, then good, then bad again and now it is what it is. Which is Great the little shit!

Stephanie has had her share of bad hair styles and glasses that were the size of her face.
Literally there is a picture of her and all you see are these big glasses that go down to her check bones.  I think those were from the early 80's.  She was real young and those glasses were ridiculous.  Thank goodness she got contacts when she got older!

I will posting some pictures this week.
These are too funny not to share.

My Dad on the other hand gave us all a scare.
He is so small and frail looking now compared to the big imposing figure he once was.
We girls and their kids all piled into my SUV to go to the beach for a break.
My father was on his riding mower when we hear a strange noise and then my mother scream out back.  We all got out of the car and ran to the back of the house.
My father who was on his mower hit the swing/gym set in the back and the mower flipped throwing him and gasoline everywhere.  The way that the mowers tire hit the pole of the gym set it got caught.  Thankfully it did because other wise it would have landed on my father and who knows what would have happened.

My father was more embarressed than anything. 
His pride and stubborness kept him from saying that it scared him or that he was hurt.
My nephew and niece right sided the mower back on it's 4 wheels. 
I began to hose off the gasoline as my sister got a bucket of soap and water to be sure we had it all off.  We took the keys away from my father.
My nephew mowed the lawn.  The lawn that didn't even need mowed I might add.
Honestly when I get to be 82 will I be like this? 
Another reason they need to down size. 
They shouldn't be doing all this lawn maintenance.
They have a big yard for them. 
At 82 you don't need to deal with a 1/2 acre you know?
He was bruised and by Sunday his bruising showed.  But he was okay thank goodness.

I have to get caught up with my life and I'll be back with photo's to make you all laugh at me!

Out of Service

I'm heading north for a few days to visit the family. 
My sister from the west coast will be there with her family.
So all 5 of the sisters will be in town at the same time.
Should be crazy.

I am going up alone and I admit the 6-6 1/2 hour drive is daunting to me.
I am like a baby in the car. 
You all know those babies/toddlers that are screaming and as soon as you get them in the car they relax and fall asleep? 
That is me.
That poses a slight problem when I must drive.
I could sleep for 2 straight days but immediately upon getting in a car for any length of time I must put my head back and nap.
I am leaving tomorrow at noon so nothing but a light lunch if any at all so that I won't add anymore reasons to want a nap other than being in the car.

My sister from the west, better known as Stephanie, is already there.
I spoke to her 2 days ago and heard about all the work we have ahead of us.
Yard work, sprucing up the house, things that our parents are having a hard time doing these days.  I told her to get busy so by the time I get there they are almost done.
It looks like another Advil week.
But it will be great to see all my nieces and nephews as well as my folks.
(yeah, talk to me about this when I get home!)

So many of you out in blog land talk about being writers and the hope to be published one day.   
I thought of you all when I saw this link in the newspaper the other day.
This page will ask you to put some of your work in the area designated.
It can be the novel you are working on, a blog entry etc.
It will tell you the author you are most like in terms of writing style.
It's just for fun.

I am not a writer as we all know, but thought that might be fun to leave you.
I posted several blog posts on the site and found it interesting.
So I thought all you writers out there may get a giggle out of it as well.
So I leave you this link today.
Enjoy! I'll be back next week.

Tuesday Random Notes

Blogger is determined to piss me off every chance they get.
I went to sign in this morning and it told me I had to have a new blogger sign in and password or link via my old sign in.
Either way I needed to begin with my current username.
I put my username in and it tells me it is wrong, no such username exists.
To access this they ask me to put in my email address and they will email me my username. 
My username is my email address.
They send me my email address which I was just told didn't exist.  Aargh!!!
Somehow I got in but if there is a link in someones blog I can not access it without having to sign in again.  I try and it says I don't exist.  .
But I can not upload any photo's here today and that made me scrap what I was writing to bitch about random items. I am so frustrated right now

I have been watching a lot of HBO documentaries lately.
Last night I watched Lucky.
What a sad movie.
Not sad in My Sisters Keeper type of sad.
But sad that the majority of the people who won a large lottery really couldn't cope with what came with it. 
I found it very interesting on so many levels.
The jealousy, the envy, the paranoia, and the inability to enjoy it all.
My biggest question is always the same - Why do you go public? 
You can be anonymous. Everyone then knows and wants a piece of it and worse yet feels you owe it to them. 

They did show 2 very different people who each had won a large amount of money in their state lottery. 
These 2 continue to have money and make their money work for them.
They both live a better life for themselves and their family. 
They couldn't be more different but it is working for them in their way.
It wasn't easy for either of them to learn to live with the wealth.
It got Rick and I talking about some of the issues these people had to deal with and wondered if we could cope.
I would so very much like to find out!

Last night my boyfriend had on Jeffrey Dean Morgan who is a cutie patootie to me.
I would love to be this woman with these two on either side....a nice sandwich shall we say.





I am leaving you with this ecard that I found hysterical.

How Did I Not Know About This?

I have become the person who cooks in the household but only under protest.
As I have mentioned before it has always been my husbands job to feed us.
Cooking has never been one of my favorite things

When I first met Rick he asked if my last name was Italian.
I nodded yes and he said, “Oh you must be a great cook”
“No, but I’m a great eater”
So he knew the drill from the very 1st day he met me that I was better at cream puffs than a meal.

To me creams puffs can be a meal but for some reason he claims to want what he refers to as Sustenance...oh please have a cream puff!

I am also a big reader and believe it or not I love to read cookbooks.
Which comes in handy because Rick loves to buy them.
So how the hell did this book ever escape my radar???

This book is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary this week. 

In the newspaper this morning I read the following, “ This book is for those of us who want to fold our big dishwater hands around a dry Martini instead of a wet flounder, come the end of the day," wrote Peg Bracken, a columnist and author.

(C'mon you guys this is my long lost twin and she even has the same name!)

The article went on to say that the author was "Practical to a fault, she offered simple, tasty meals that could be prepared quickly. Frozen vegetables were a staple. She appeared in Birds Eye ads as everywoman."

So I think this is going to be a new cookbook I am going to get.
This time though it will not be to just read and point out to Rick what he should make.
There may actually be things in there for me to try and even conquer.

I am struggling with something to make for dinner these days.
I grilled chicken breasts and then chopped them and made chicken salad.
Stuffed that chicken salad into big beautiful tomatoes and topped with cheese and baked them yesterday.  They were yummy and light.  Perfect with a glass of wine I must say. 

But here we are another day and another damn meal.
Oh God how did June Cleaver do this? (in heels and pearls no less!)
I think a pint of Ben & Jerry can constitute a meal....Rick doesn't agree though.
He may be on his own tonight while I give in to Ben and Jerry.
So hopefully this book will have some great easy recipes for we who are challenged at cooking. 

In the mean time I made a kick ass cheesecake this weekend.
No calories - I'm that good.

Tips

It may seem as though I am having a rant week but I don’t mean this to sound that way.

Talking to a friend about her massage and she asked how much to tip her masseuse.
That got us in a conversation about all the tipping that is EXPECTED.
She and I discussed the stress of the expected tip and all that goes along with it.

Now before you start yelling at me hear me out.
I was a waitress while in school for several years.
It truly was one of my all time favorite jobs.
Wait staff get paid way below minimum wage so tipping is essential and everyone knows that is why one tips them.
However it has come to the point where there is a tip jar everywhere these days and everyone has their hands out.

Here are a few of my tip pet peeves.
My hairdresser who makes a six figure income and works 4 days a week gets tips.
Why?
Please understand that I don’t begrudge her pay, she deserves it because she is very very good and she has a wait list of 6 weeks to get into see her.
She does not take new clients unless one leaves her or dies.
She considers herself a professional yet she expects tips.
I do not tip my dentist when he does a great job so why am I tipping her?
But boy oh boy I sure do tip because I don’t want to have Elmo red hair or a bad cut.
It feels like peer pressure and I have to. I do it because I HAVE TO.
Having to do something never makes me a happy gal.

When I lived in Ohio in the 80's I went to a hair salon that had a sign up front that said, "We do not accept tips.  We are professionals.  Do you tip your dentist?"
Exactly!


But the way our society is set up we have to tip everyone today.
Should I be tipping my doctor when she cured me? 
Was a thank you enough?  Were my thousands of dollars enough?

My friend paid $120 for her massage.
She wanted to know if the tip should be 20% or more like you would wait staff or a hairdresser.
I honestly didn't know what to tell her. 
I just do 20% but I didn't know what society thought was the proper amount.

The masseuse is a professional why are we tipping professionals who make a working wage?
So where does this stop? Dentist? Doctor? Mechanic? Plumber? Teachers?

I read a good book recently should I send the author 20% of the cost of my hard cover because I was so engrossed in the book I was taken away from my life for hours at a time?

No one tipped me when my clients were happy with their sign on bonus. It was my job!
So why do I have to tip the barista at Starbucks because he made my coffee correctly?
He's paid to do that.

I had a wonderful boss who was originally from Ireland and now living in Manhattan.
We were all at a conference in a Midwest city and the group was being shuttled from our hotel to our restaurant for the evening.
We all were getting money out for the driver and our boss went bonkers.
He said that we American’s are tipping for every damn thing.
It was his job to drive us there and he was being paid for this by our company so why must we tip him?
He just said everything I always think ….only where I still tip, he refused to do so.
He went off on the tipping of hotel maids, the man who puts your bag on the hotel shuttle van, the cab driver who takes you where you need to go.
He felt that these people were just doing their jobs and we American’s were bloody nuts!
I couldn’t have agreed more....but I tipped.  What the hell is wrong with me?

I am a great tipper when it comes to my wait staff.
Normally much more than 20% because if done well and they only get $2.00/hr they deserve it. I did it for years and I know it's not an easy job.

But I admit my tipping for a hairdresser and other professionals is done only because I have to not because I want to. I begrudgingly give the obligatory 20% and leave it at that.

I know, I know, you are all thinking I am a tight wad. That's okay.
But don't worry you can still tip me and make yourself feel better and you'll show me won't you?
If you like my posts I expect a tip….you can send American Express gift cards to my email if you are at a loss of what to give.  I accept cash in the mail too.