I’d lived a whole life by age 21…or so I’d thought!

 Back when I was 21, I fancied myself a writer. I enjoyed writing for the sake of writing. I had a penpal who I’d known since I was 18 and felt especially close to because we both shared a love of groupie-ing. (That’s a whole other blog post.) I suggested we both write our life story and share with the other. Yeah, at 21 I thought I had lived already. So we swapped memoirs and got to know each other even better. Consequently, as time passed and I moved to another state and our basement flooded, I lost track of where my one and only hard copy was. This was before computers, people. The only people who I had let read mine were this penpal, my husband (before we got married) and a psychologist I went to a handful of times. (That’s an entire blog post there as well.) I wasn’t agonizing over the fact that I couldn’t locate it. There’s a chance it’s here somewhere. But I did ask this penpal, who I’m still in touch with via Twitter, if she still had the copy I sent her. Thankfully, she still did and offered to send me a copy just before Christmas. We were out of state for the holiday so I didn’t get a chance to peruse it until Jan. Even then, I could only stomach a bit of it at a time.

Here are some of the revelations I got after I read it:

1) Boy, I was really a good writer. I wish I could write half as good now.

2) I really swore a lot in my writing. I don’t remember starting to swear IRL until I was 25 and started working nights at the Post Office. It was a factory type setting where everyone swore like longshoremen. In this memoir, I was throwing around every cuss word I could think of, just for emphasis.

3) I’ve always had a flair for the dramatic but OMG, I almost can’t stand how melodramatic I was. It makes me realize that I’ve actually toned it down quite a bit.

4) It wasn’t a full life story. I dwelled on a lot of incidents and events but clearly not everyone or everything. A lot of what I mentioned then is unimportant to me now. Some of what I left out was really noticeable to me as well.

5) I don’t remember some things or I remember them differently. Other things are still the same in my memory bank. Weird.

6) A lot of what I told seemed intensely personal at the time but now I would probably air most of it on my blog, a chapter at a time. Mine didn’t consist of chapters. It was one 50 page run on sentence. With punctuation.

7) I still feel stupid for being so gullible and letting a “friend” take advantage of my trusting nature. I’m no longer as angry about it but I haven’t forgiven her either. I no longer feel a need to protect her and now want the world to know what kind of person she is. The damage from this incident is why I can’t really have friends or don’t have friends. A future blog post will recount word for word how she “played” me.

8) I need to write about the years since I was 21. Those are just as important, if not more. I need to write about all the ups & downs of my adulthood before I forget them. Obviously, some will never be forgotten but plenty will if not documented.

9) I’ve always been a sensitive person but I noticed how much more deeply I felt things. Everything was a huge insult, a criticism, a snub, etc. I was hyper-sensitive and took everything to heart. I’ve outgrown this to a degree just from no longer tolerating being a doormat or taking crap from anyone.

10) I can’t believe how much I used to lie! Not in the memoir, I told the truth about everything in there. I even mentioned how I lied to people and what lies I told. These weren’t things I ever said to impress anyone, it was what I considered self preservation. People would ask me things and I would feel bad so I’d lie. Like if I didn’t have a job, I felt terrible. I wanted to work but didn’t have enough experience so couldn’t get hired. If someone asked me, I would say I worked part -time at such and such. I felt like letting on that I didn’t have a job was admitting I was a failure. I felt like a failure. Another part of my life story was my disappointing 18th birthday which made me feel like my life was ruined. When some of my “friends” asked what I’d done, I lied and said I’d gone out with a friend, instead of what really happened–staying home. When I look at it written in black & white, it looks awful to lie like that. I never lied to make anyone else look bad or feel bad. I hope this is something I’ve outgrown.

11) Possibly the best thing I learned from reading my life story which was titled, “The Heartbreaking Saga of The Life & Times of Chrisor Bowana” was that I need to own my story. I need to bring it out into the light and not keep any of it in darkness any longer. Sometimes I think I know myself very well, too well. Other times I wonder if I’ve even looked deep enough into my being to know for sure.

 

Stay tuned for excerpts from the first 21 yrs of my life! They will confound you but also make you know a life was lived…

My Resolution Stands: No New Year’s Resolutions

Since the arrival of 2012 (and probably a few weeks before), people have been blogging their New Year’s Resolutions. They have such high hopes for the New Year, setting goals, making wishes out loud and planning to become “better” by announcing their will to lose weight, save money, read more books, spend more time with loved ones, devote time to relaxing or growing their own vegetables, pampering themselves via spa treatments, etc. The lists go on and on. I have nothing against New Year’s Resolutions for others, aside from being skeptical that they will be long lasting. For myself? I don’t think I’ve made any since I was about 15 years old! I already knew myself well enough to know that a diet I would start on Jan. 1st would not make it to Day 12. It wouldn’t matter what I would resolve to do, I have poor follow-through.

 

Due to not wanting to set myself up for failure, I decline to set goals or announce any big plans that will more than likely fall through. Ideally, I suppose even the most happy people have something they want to better about themselves or their lives. I shouldn’t say I don’t want to “better myself” but I don’t want to be unrealistic. I don’t want to set myself up for disappointment, to be made worse for not accomplishing something else. Also by broadcasting my resolutions, it just draws attention to my inability to follow through and shows how lacking I am as a human being.

 

If I had a resolution this year? It would be to blog more. I can’t even make that “promise” since I know deep down, I’d be content if I even blogged as much as I did last year. It’s too easy NOT to do things. A resolution doesn’t really put the right kind of pressure on me. It doesn’t motivate me but it does make me feel like I’m not living up to what I could or should be doing. Hence, to me, it’s a negative thing, not a positive one.

 

I try to be positive in life as much as I can which seems to have caused me to drop my own expectations for myself. In some ways I have thrown in the towel on things like trying to lose weight, dressing up, keeping a dust-free house, etc. I don’t really push myself beyond trying to be a human being. I don’t know if that makes sense but some days it’s a victory just to survive. Not that my life is so bad or anything of the sort. It’s more a feeling like whatever I get done over and above the basics every day, is a bonus. I get dressed every day, no matter what. I haven’t resorted to laying around at home, expecting others to do things for me. I wonder if I’m letting myself off the hook but not striving for betterment? I don’t know if people are doing those things to impress others or just to make themselves feel better inside. I don’t think setting goals and riding myself hard to complete them would make me feel better inside.

 

Reading others’ New Year’s Resolutions makes me feel like an underachiever most of the time. The stuff people think up to do is quite ambitious. My favorites are ones like “Smile more at random strangers”.  Now they’re coming up with one word that you’re supposed to choose to define your 2012. I’m not someone who could limit myself to 1 word to describe ANYTHING. I couldn’t even pick several words for this year. If you held a gun to my head, I would come up with one: HELP. Not to get help from others or even to give help to others but to help myself as much as possible. I worry too much. I hold myself to a standard that most couldn’t live up to: expecting my memory to be perfect, expecting myself to be able to think of everything at all times, berating myself when I make mistakes (big or small), etc. I need to help myself cope with life so it’s not such a struggle. Sometimes I feel bad saying my life can be a struggle. Obviously, it’s not–it’s my perception of my life. I am so naive to think that even though life isn’t fair, if I do everything right, life will go smoothly. It doesn’t!! Never has and never will! And yet, I can’t accept that and still think I have some kind of control. Even at my age, I’ve got a lot to learn…

Why does anyone need 3 dogs?

As everything else in my life, adding a new family member happened in a whirlwind. My husband & I had talked in the past about possibly getting a 3rd dog. The city we live in allows only 3 dogs max so the discussion ends at 3. We didn’t know if we could handle 3 so just tabled the idea. Since our beloved Jack Russell Terrier Bridget died in May 2008, we’ve missed having a Jack. Occasionally hubby would look online at JRT puppies but hadn’t seen any that called to him. Then Oct. 28th he was looking under the website Petfinder and saw the face that would melt 1,000 hearts. He showed it to me and I thought it was adorable, as did my mom who lives with us. Temporarily named Rascal, he was (then) an 8 week old male from a Kill Shelter in Georgia. Just to think of that poor, sweet puppy being killed hurts me through and through. Rascal was saved by Catahoula Rescue of South Elgin, IL and had been placed with a foster mom who had 7 other dogs. She had him since Oct. 14th and was fostering 2 other similar aged puppies from the same shelter. We had never heard of the Catahoula breed of dog and found it odd they were rescuing outside their breed.

 

My husband emailed the rescue to see if Rascal was still available. He was and they sent back an application that needed to be filled out before any further discussion went on about even seeing the puppy. We’ve always avoided any type of application process when adopting our other dogs because it just seems like too much trouble! This application was 5 pages long asking for references and every question under the sun pertaining to current dogs. From what dog food we give them, to if we crate them at all, the size of our yard and if we have a fence, etc. My husband filled it out and sent it back that night. We knew they had to call our vet to see if we keep up with vaccinations and how we are as pet owners. They don’t seem to take anyone’s word for anything. It sounds like a lot of people lie about things…

 

Then we found out we would need a home visit! That just about did it for me. My first reaction was to say no way. If I wanted to go through all that, I’d adopt a human child! I don’t like feeling like I’m being treated like a criminal. I also am very funny about having people come in the house. Don’t get me wrong, I like entertaining at times under the right circumstances. I haven’t been able to have the house the way I want since we started running a home business and the basement keeps flooding. It makes things not as organized as I’d like. If I know we’re not having people over, I don’t stress about it. I vacuum and clean every week but don’t dust as often as I should or knock myself out. If it’s between dusting or playing with the dogs, you’ll find me playing with the dogs.

 

I don’t judge others on how they keep house. If someone opens their home to me, I am just grateful they invited me in and enjoy their company. I know others are not this way and so I worry about being judged for a less than perfect house. My husband doesn’t worry about such things but I say it’s because it only reflects on me, not him. Anyway, it was a really big deal to me to have this home visit and be scrutinized. At first I told him no, I couldn’t/wouldn’t do it. Then I thought about it and decided I couldn’t deny him his dream of having a Jack Russell. So then we had to figure out when the home visit would take place. We couldn’t do it Monday Oct. 31st because we were having trick or treaters from 3-8 pm. So then we decided on Wed. That would basically give me 1 day to clean and get ready. I’m happy to say I got the living room almost to my standards and just basic stuff in the other rooms. If I’d had a couple weeks, I could’ve done more.

 

Tracie (the foster mom) came on Wed. at 11am and brought all 3 puppies for us to see. First she came in alone and got to meet our dogs. Amber barked a little but then settled down and was fine. Ivy loves everybody so took to her right away. Then she brought Rascal in and we fell in love with him. He is just the sweetest, most loving pup. He ran up to both dogs right away and they all started playing. Then we took them outside, into the backyard. Rascal ran around like crazy and had a great time. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to catch him. Tracie saw we’d be fine with him. She mentioned that she had one couple return a dog because it was too affectionate! That it wanted to be up on the couch with them and they had just gotten a new couch so returned the dog. I can’t even fathom it!! I had told Tracie on the phone before I met her, “You can either have nice things or you can have dogs. I choose dogs”. That pretty much sums me up in a nutshell.

 

We found out we couldn’t get Rascal that day. Tracie was taking him to the vet for shots and he was getting microchipped. The adoption fee was $350 but that covers some of his vaccinations, the microchipping and his neutering. We  have to take him to their designated vet in Jan. to have the procedure done. So we set up a time to meet her in Elgin the next day. We store our RV in Elgin so figured we’d go early and clean and vacuum it before picking up the new puppy. Hubby had us leaving on vacation 5 days after adopting the puppy! Within 2 hours of picking up the pup, we had taken him to our vet to be checked out. It turns out he had Coccidia (an intestinal parasite) which is common in puppies. We had to give him 10 days of antibiotics and then get a stool sample checked to make sure it was cleared up. We were down in Mississippi on vacation then but found a vet in Hernando, MS to visit. Puppy was fine and I just about fell over when they didn’t charge us!! Talk about southern hospitality! Our vet charges a minimum of $50 for the same thing and we’ve been going there for over a decade. To have strangers do such a nice thing really lightened my spirit.

 

I’m sure people wonder why anyone needs 3 dogs. 2 is plenty. Most people couldn’t handle 2. Why does anyone need 3 (or more) children? I guess the answer is they don’t. They just want them. It’s kind of crazy that a city limits the number of dogs you can have but not the number of kids. If properly cared for, dogs are a true family member, like real children. I’ve seen some moms complain that they hate when people compare pets to children. They just don’t get it. If you don’t have kids, they ARE your children.

 

The temporary name Rascal was cute but we wanted to name the pup ourselves. We all agreed on Elvis and now he’s finally answering to the name. He also follows me everywhere and wants to nap on top of me when he’s not roughhousing with his sisters. This is our first shelter pet and I didn’t know they could be so wonderful. Elvis has made himself at home in our home and in our hearts. He is our forever dog, as all of them are. The irony is that the day we adopted him was Bridget’s birthday (Nov. 3). I’ve got to believe she was happy about our new addition. Now our family is complete.

Halloween: Get off my lawn

I was over at Jeez Louise’s blog earlier this week for her Eden’s Fantasy giveaway. She asked for comments telling about our best Halloween ever. As usual, I started writing a super long comment and decided that wasn’t the place for it. I kept it short (for me) and concluded I had better write my own blog post about Halloween.

 

I’m not exactly a huge fan of Halloween. As a kid I went to Halloween parties, dressed in costume, bobbed for apples, trick or treated after dark (on the night of the holiday), answered the door at home for the trick or treaters, etc. The usual stuff. My mom made my costumes and I remember being a witch a lot. I’m a witch a lot now but I don’t wear a costume. Things are definitely not the same now with kids trick or treating during the daytime, on a day that’s not even Oct. 31st. I trick or treated every year with my friend Kathy who lived less than a block away. We didn’t go to school together (she went to Catholic school) but played together all the time. Back then, you went out without parents or any adults along. You also went only in your neighborhood and only as far as you could walk in a set amount of time. You got your sack or plastic pumpkin full and you went home. The candy was safe and didn’t have to be inspected or xrayed for razor blades or foreign objects. Now kids are being dropped off in different neighborhoods by the vanfull. They fill their bags, drop them off and go out again to fill another bag. That’s probably what gets me the most: the greed. Kids think it is owed to them. We were taught that we didn’t get anything unless we said “trick or treat” and always had to thank the person giving out the goodies. Nowdays, the kids will hold out their bags without saying anything & at least half don’t say thank you. You hear complaints if they don’t care for the specific sugar rush you are handing out and if it’s their favorite, they ask for more! I’ve had that happen several times when they ask if they can have a 2nd one. I tell them to trade with their friend, which is what we would do to get what we wanted.

 

I remember being one of the kids who had to carry the small box around and “trick or treat for Unicef”. Each house would put a single penny inside. Even then I wondered how the few pennies could make a difference.

 

Years ago, Halloween was a scary holiday. The costumes were all made to frighten. Now there are as many “cute” costumes as scary. I never cared for giving out the candy at home. My mom was always working and my dad was home but he used to pawn the job off on me. I only trick or treated a few years, I’d say from ages 5 or 6 to 10. I started babysitting at 11 so thought I was too grown up to trick or treat. I kept running into the problem of answering the door and kids that were 15 (in 10th grade) trick or treating. They weren’t even wearing costumes but had a pillowcase for the candy. You were afraid to turn them down or they’d egg your house. That’s what you get when you live in a “tough” neighborhood. On the other end of the spectrum, now you get kids under a year old trick or treating. I realize the baby looks adorable and you want to show him off but if the kid can’t walk, he has no business trick or treating, let alone eating candy. The parents carry the baby up to the door and have a little bag they hold to put the kid’s candy in. There’s a good chance the parents are eating the candy themselves.

 

I think what bothers me the most about Halloween is that you’re not given a choice. It’s expected that you participate and I’ve always rebelled at anything I was told I HAD to do. It’s not the giving part that bothers me or even the expense. A lot of it is the inconvenience and how uncomfortable it makes me. I’m pretty unconventional when it comes to all holidays and want to give to who I choose and not be dictated to by society.

 

My Halloweens as an adult have gone from wild to tame. The best one was when I was in college in Madison, WI. My mom was with me and we walked among the throngs of revelers on State St. from the capital to the area by the university. It was so crowded it was just a mob that moved as a sea of bodies. A lot of people were dressed in ghoulish costumes but plenty were not. Anything went and it was a feast of people watching and mingling. The only costumes we wore were headband type things with antennae or eyeballs shooting off the top supported by springy wires. It was so fun! I don’t recall if at the time they allowed alcohol (beer in plastic glasses) but it wouldn’t surprise me. I went to several parties on State St. during other times of the year where everyone carried beers from one bar to another. The same went for block parties at other Madison locations. Anyway, that stands out as the highlight of my Halloweens past.

 

My husband’s older sister has been throwing an awesome Halloween party for decades. She goes full out with decorating her home inside and out and her and her husband’s costumes are always over the top. We’ve gone several times. Since we live 1 hr. & 45 min. away, it’s not that fun knowing we have to drive there during bad Sat. traffic, stay from 7-12 or so, not drink and drive home being so tired. We’ve tried taking turns drinking and the other one drives. It’s not fun riding in a car when you’ve got to pee bad either or if you’ve drank too much and everything’s spinning. We usually end up skipping dinner so we can leave at 5 pm, to get there by 7 pm. We like seeing everyone but neither one of us gets into dressing up. For one thing, I can’t see spending a ton of money on an outfit I’ll only wear for a few hours. I also can’t  handle spending a lot of time thinking about what I’m going to be. It’s not that I’m not creative but I just don’t feel inspired. If someone else wanted me to help them think up a costume or make a costume, I’d be really into it. But to do it for myself, no way. I can’t put my finger on why. I guess if someone just GAVE me a costume (that fit) every year, I’d wear it and be glad. I’d love a full body cow costume complete with udders. Hubby & I bought costumes a few years ago–a nun outfit and a prisoner outfit at Spencer Gifts. We took turns, the first year I was the nun, he was the prisoner and the next year the opposite. It was hilarious seeing my husband as a nun! We’ve also been fishermen, a TSA agent, a blind person, etc. Whatever we can be without spending a ton of money.

 

Our very first Halloween together was also our engagement party. My hubby had been cohosting a Halloween party with a friend of his for a few years and we decided to combine it with our celebration. We went as an engaged couple! He had his best friend from college and his girlfriend come for the weekend. They wore a combined 2 person costume where they were literally side by side in the same suit. Greg drove my car at the time, I sat in the passenger seat & the suited couple sat in back. When I got out, I slammed the door and the girl in back had put her hand over the piece of metal that framed the car and divided the front from the back. She was trying to get leverage to pull herself out but I hadn’t noticed. My head was in the clouds with all the excitement, I had shut her hand in the door. Obviously she shouldn’t have put her hand there but I felt TERRIBLE. The door was locked and it took a minute for hubby (who had the keys) to open his side and pull up the knob to open the door. Needless to say, we ended up taking her to the ER at the hospital instead of the party. Nothing was broken but we spent most of the night in the ER. I think we might’ve made an appearance late into the night at the party but only for a few minutes. That’s the worst Halloween in my memory bank.

 

Some other fun Halloweens were when hubby and I first got together. A year or two after the debacle above, I went as Mrs. Butterworth. A younger, hotter version of Aunt Jemima. I wore a short black wig, brown face paint, a brown dress to the floor, etc. Everybody knew who I was which made me think it was a success. This is in the days before political correctness. The following year I went as Oprah (her early fat years). Shockingly, I really did look like her once I dressed up like she did. Those were the most fun costumes. My other favorite costume was a toga made by just wrapping a white bed sheet around you to look like how the Romans dressed. I love any excuse to wear a toga. They’re sexy.

 

I love looking at others’ Halloween decorations and admire them for their creativity. When we first moved here, I went all out decorating inside the house for all holidays. Somehow it got to be too much trouble for me to bother with. The holiday comes and goes so quickly and I hate putting decorations away. It’s easier to just not put them up. I don’t know if it’s laziness or me being cynical. It just seems like in the long run it doesn’t make a difference if you do or don’t. I wish I could get enthused to start decorating again.

 

I’ll be giving out the candy this year for trick or treat since hubby is working on Monday from 3-8 pm. Hubby says he doesn’t mind giving out the candy yet somehow he is always either working or away on a business trip. The 5 hours it goes on makes me feel like it’s 5 hours I can’t get back. We don’t have a doorbell now (long story) but when we did, it would put me so on edge to have it rung like mad. I feel like I can’t start anything because the munchkins will come along. So if the weather’s nice, I get Mom to sit outside with me on the step and we chat inbetween giving out candy. I’d love to have the dogs outside with us but so many are afraid of dogs. We usually get over 100 kids and it’s all spread out over that time. After an hour or two of that, we come inside and I stand by the door until my nerves give out.

 

I want to wish all my internet chums a Happy Halloween however you choose to celebrate it! In the comments, please tell about anything Halloween related: your best or worst costume, your favorite Halloween, a nightmare of a Halloween, if you enjoy giving out Halloween candy, etc. Oh, and by the way, get off my lawn!

Apparently, I like to hear myself talk.

I am an all or nothing person. I don’t like things wishy washy, I prefer everything cut and dried. I try to plan for every possible scenario. I don’t like change. I know it drives my husband crazy when I ask him questions about what’s going to happen next. He likes to tease me that I’m like Rainman since I like a predicatable routine. I like to be in control of my life but life has other ideas.

 

Knowing all this about me, you can imagine how stressful this summer has been with our electricity going out for 2 days, then a few weeks later it went out again for 3 days. We purchased a generator (during the first outage) so we can keep our fridge, freezer, tv and cellphones going. That requires twice a day trips to the gas station to fill up gas cans & constantly timing how long the generator’s been running and when it will need to be shut off, cooled down, filled with gas and restarted. My husband’s been travelling more than ever this year for his job. With trips to: Pueblo, CO; Kansas City, MO; Woburn, MA, Indianapolis, IN & Philadelphia, PA, It turned out that he was away during the last power outage. He was also gone for 2 weeks when we got over 13″ of rain in 24 hours and our basement flooded. That’s something we’ve had to deal with several times since we moved here. The first time it happened, it was devastating since we’d never expected it. Each time, the pain lessons but it is still a nightmare to deal with. 3 years ago this month it happened and we lost our washing machine and our hot water heater. We replaced both at a hefty expense. A month ago when we flooded, our hot water heater was ruined again! I had to have the repair guy come out to tell me it couldn’t be salvaged and then when hubby got home we went to order a tankless water heater. We had looked into it 3 years ago but it was so expensive. The installation costs as much or more than the unit. We never dreamed we’d need to replace it so soon but this time we wanted to solve that problem once and for all. The tankless is placed on the wall high enough that the water will never take that one out. We were without hot water for 10 days before they were able to install it. Then they forgot to put in a condensation pump so had to come back the next week and do that. With the unexpected expense of the tankless water heater and the generator, we’ve parted with over $3 grand. It seems just about impossible to get ahead when you’ve got stuff like that coming up out of the blue.

 

The car repair I had done yesterday was $590, all of it was labor except for $75. The window makes noise now when put up and down. All the other windows run silently. They claimed it wasn’t the motor and was the regulator. I don’t know if I’m expecting too much for an old car but when paying that kind of money, you’d think it would be fine. Hubby thinks since it’s something we can’t fix ourselves, we have to accept it. We dropped hubby’s Jeep off to have the things that hold the hatch open in back and under the hood replaced. As I was driving us home, I was complaining about the window and telling him how I was going to mention it to them today when we go get his. Well, this sparked a huge argument. My hubby thinks it’s not a big deal and I’m making too much out of it. I think it’s because it’s not his car, he doesn’t care. He also doesn’t understand my affinity for my car. He’s not a typical guy in that he’s not into cars at all. So he really has no attachment to his own Jeep. I am madly in love with my Pontiac. He doesn’t understand why I wouldn’t rather have a new car. Even after all these years of marriage, it’s hard to make the other person see your point of view sometimes!

 

Speaking of out of control, besides the traveling, hubby’s job has had him switching his hours up until I’m about buggy. He usually works 4 10 hour days with Thurs., Friday & Sat. off. To me, this is ideal and just about as good as it gets. His regular hours are 8:30 am until  7 pm. This works out so perfectly. We both get up together, go to bed at the same time. Have dinner just after 7 when he gets home (work is only 3 miles away). Then this week he has to do 5 8 hour days and work today (Sat.) for comp. He has Monday off and is working Thurs. Plus he’s working 5 am until 1:30 pm all week! Last week they had him working 5 8 hour days of 1:30 pm until 10 pm Monday through Friday. I know with the economy and job market the way it is, he’s lucky to have a job but it feels like punishment. It’s been weeks since he’s had a 3 day weekend like he’s “supposed to”. When they switch him from working Sun thru Thurs. to Mon- Fri, he is losing a day of Sunday pay and 2 off days. I don’t see it changing in the forseeable future. Hubby takes it in stride and doesn’t complain about it which kind of makes it bother me more. I guess it’s a guy thing not to complain and just soldier on. We women like to have someone commiserate with us. Misery loves company.

 

None of the adjustments I have to make in my daily life to all these changes are earth shattering. Then why am I bringing them up?! Apparently, I like to hear myself talk. First world problems, ya know?! I need to get back to being grateful that we’re all in good health and not expect life to go smoothly. It only appears that others’ lives are perfect, right? Everyone else is coping with problems and upsets on a daily basis. Things that they never planned for. It just doesn’t throw them off their game or make them feel like life is too much for them sometimes. Either that or they do a great job of hiding it and cover up the bad with only mentioning the good to make it seem like their life is all flowers and sunshine. You can always count on me to keep it real whether what’s going on with me is good or bad.

Forget Me Not

This is getting interesting. I started 2 posts prior to this one. One I started last week and never finished about writing styles and how some bloggers make me feel dumb. Someday I will tackle that one again. In the meantime, I started another one last night about relationships and how they almost never seem to be the way we want them to be. Hopefully, I will go back and finish that one soon. Except for my list of 100 things, all my other posts I just sat down and wrote in one sitting. I don’t like this going back later and trying to finish since there’s a good chance I won’t. Lack of follow through, remember? Plus I’ve lost the initial writing adrenaline for the topic. It’s also too easy to pick apart what I’ve written and lose where I was going with the subject. Where was I again? I’m only partially kidding. That’s what made me change course and decide to discuss what’s really bothering me right now.

 

In between making appointments this week to take my mom to the ENT doctor and the audiologist, I made dental cleaning appts. for both hubby and me. Tomorrow I’m taking my elderly car (almost 18 yrs. old) into the dealership to have the passenger side window fixed and the door (it won’t open, probably due to the window). It’s been a few weeks that I’ve been driving it with the window up and unable to be opened (probably the motor) which wouldn’t be a big deal but I haven’t had working air conditioning for years and it’s summer. I drive it very seldom, like a few times a week at most to do errands (library, grocery, bank, etc). the You should’ve seen me take my mom to the drive-thru at the bank. She had to sit in the backseat and it was like “Driving Miss Daisy”. I’m not having the a/c fixed since it’s an old car and I’m not made of money. Besides, it’s almost autumn and I won’t need it. There are a lot of little things that need to be fixed on it as well but I’m just going to opt for the major thing and hope the price doesn’t kill me. It’s still cheaper than a new car. I happen to love my old Pontiac which still drives like a dream!

 

My life is as busy as the next guy’s and with having a garden I’ve been trying to use up whatever I harvest as it comes along: rhubarb, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, etc. I can’t stand to see food go to waste so It’s taking up a lot of time making spaghetti sauce and cucumber salad from scratch. The reason I’m bringing up all this stuff I’ve got going on is I’m wondering if having too much on my mind (and my plate) is what’s causing my memory to falter.

 

It is scaring the bejesus out of me that I can’t remember what I used to. My husband never had a good memory so I don’t notice his being any worse than it was and I don’t think he does either. My memory was phenomenal. On a scale of 1-100, it used to be about 99 3/4. Now I’d rate it about 29. That is a long way to deteriorate. I realize age is a factor. My parents were in their 40′s when they had me. More than once my dad “forgot” to pick me up after school. I usually took the bus but due to some function I’d need to be picked up occasionally. This is back in the day when there were no cellphones. I never had money to use a payphone so would wait awhile, then start walking home. My junior high was 5 miles away. High school was 2 miles away. Eventually he would remember and I’d be at least halfway home. I would be so mad! I couldn’t understand how you could forget your own kid. Now I get it. I also used to be horrified at news stories of babies in carseats being left on top of cars while the parent got inside and drove away. I never thought I could do something like that but if I had a child now, I’d be so afraid I might. I haven’t forgotten anything major YET, it’s just the little things. I always say “I can’t think of everything”. I try to but I still forget stuff. I forget to wash parts of my body (in the bathtub) or can’t remember if I did them so do them again. I used to hear about people checking the stove to see if it was turned off or the door to see if it was locked over and over. Now I can’t remember if I just did something like that myself. I also need a list even for a few items at the grocery store. I used to be able to remember without a list. Now even if it’s 3 things, I need a list. I also forgot salt in a cake I made. I’ve never forgotten any ingredient before. It turned out fine but it shook me up thinking I’d have to give up baking if I can’t even follow a recipe anymore.

 

Alzheimer’s is the cruelest disease out there. I’m really not too afraid of having that but I would like to find a supplement or something to improve my memory. I am having a hard time just accepting that my memory isn’t what it was. My mom is 90 and just in the past year or so, her memory has started to slip. It’s not even every day but she’ll not remember that I made something before or won’t remember someone I’ve talked about a lot. She doesn’t let it worry her though. She has some days she’s like her old self and other days when she is not all there. But she’s 90! Probably watching her memory fade is causing me to worry more about losing mine.

 

Am I the only one losing their memory? Or is there something in the water? If there’s a vitamin or supplement you’ve taken that has actually worked, I’d appreciate you sharing it here. Also, any funny (or not) stories about something you or someone else forgot would be helpful.

Emotional Spelunking

It’s been so long since I’ve blogged, I reached the point that I was afraid I might never blog again. There isn’t a “point of no return” where blogging is concerned but I just know myself too well. I am worse than average at following through with things. I get brilliant ideas and am excited and after a couple of attempts, it turns out to be too much “bother” for me. I love to write and blogging is good for my soul. You’d think that in itself would be enough incentive to whip out the old laptop and fashion a new blog post. Unfortunately, it isn’t. :0

 

I’ve mentioned how I got away from reading books in the past and now have conquered that problem. I read every day, even if it’s only a few pages or a chapter. I’m very happy to have reading back in my life but all the excuses I had for not reading, have all switched over to be excuses for not blogging. Plus a few more thrown in. I realize it’s entirely up to me to inspire and discipline myself enough to produce a written piece. Whether it’s of quality or not is questionable. I came to the conclusion that even though I haven’t been blogging, I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time (in the middle of doing other things) thinking about blogging. What I’ll say, how I’ll say it, what my goals are, etc. Maybe I’m overthinking the whole process. That wouldn’t be surprising since I tend to overthink everything else in my life.

 

I am going to write for myself alone and hope it brings some benefit to me internally. If it also benefits me by garnering readers, so much the better. A lot of bloggers seem desperate for validation and I understand that. I love attention under the right circumstances. However, I am not willing to go to great lengths to get them. As I learned a long time ago in real llife, people either like you or they don’t. You can’t change that no matter how hard you try. There is still fear when revealing parts of your personality and opening your flaws up to examination by the unknown masses. So far I’ve been lucky but I’ve also been laying low. I haven’t been calling much attention to myself.

 

Part of my dilemna is that my blog doesn’t fit any niche I have seen. I cook with the best of them and love trying new recipes but won’t attempt a food blog. Too many others are already doing that better than I ever could. Same goes for photography. I enjoy pictures but there are an astounding number of photography blogs that I couldn’t hold a candle to. A humor blog is out of the question since I’m so not funny. I have a great sense of humor but I play the “straightman” in most all situations including with my husband. I’m not a mom so can’t be a mommy blogger, etc. I really don’t know what direction I want my blog to go in. Maybe emotional spelunking? I hate that word but it pretty much sums up what digging into the caves of hidden feelings could unearth.

 

I have no burning desire to be the best at anything. I don’t have a competetive bone in my body. I don’t need to win. As a child, I preferred hitting or throwing a ball back & forth with someone else to see how many times we could do it to playing a game of tennis, volleyball, baseball, etc. No scorekeeping, no rules, no blame, no expectations. I pretty much still live my life like that. Afraid to fail and also afraid to succeed. If I was met with any kind of success, I’d crumble. If I don’t try, I won’t fail. If I do try, I’ll do my best but not expect anything. It’s kind of a simplistic view to life but it keeps me from dealing with more than my share of disappointment. It also keeps me from starting things I know I won’t follow through on, like a diet or exercise plan. Maybe I can incrementally change this part of me by blogging more often and getting out my feelings and trying to figure out how I became the way I am. Some of it I know, other parts I don’t think I’ve ever reflected upon before.

 

This is the first blog post I started without having a definite topic in mind. To me it just sounds like a bunch of rambling. In any case, I’m going to start blogging more. I’m going to make up a list of subjects I want to blog about but also am going to blog about the little things that I thought weren’t worth bringing up or putting on paper or into the blogosphere. Don’t give up on me! I’ll see you back here real soon.

100 Things About Me

 

I’ve finally narrowed down to 100 from the millions of things about me to choose from. This isn’t all there is to me. Some things I’ve elaborated on, while others I’ve left somewhat vague. Each and every one of these could be a blog post in itself. Maybe eventually they will be. In the meantime, if there’s any of these you want me to expound upon, list it by number in the comments.

 

1. I was born and raised in Eau Claire, WI. On the poor side of town. I grew up in the same house my dad grew up in and went to the same grade school he went to. I couldn’t wait to leave. I spent most of my childhood trying to convince my parents to move and when that failed, I got out of Dodge first chance I got.

 

2. My childhood home was a small house with a clawfoot bathtub, no shower. I’d never taken a shower until gym class in jr. high school. To this day, I still prefer baths. It was a story & a 1/2 so the upstairs bedrooms had slanted walls. My closet was tiny and you couldn’t stand up straight in it but it did have electricity so I sat in the closet and played records.

 

3. My dad was a 32nd degree Mason & around age 12 he made me join Job’s Daughters. One of my good friends was also made to join at the same time. We were the only girls from our school, the rest were from the rich side of town. She quit going shortly after joining. I had to keep going for a few years. I might’ve liked it if the other girls were friendlier to me. Later when I was in 10th grade, my geometry teacher (also the h.s. football coach) came over to our house and my dad “coached” him cuz he wanted to join. It was beyond weird.

 

4. My grandmother founded the tiny church I grew up going to. We were Presbyterians and the congregation was a few dozen people. I had to go to church every Sunday and Sunday school as well. I was the only kid my age so they grouped me in with the older kids. We had a couple of Italian ministers and then one from India. As I got into high school, I started putting up a protest and didn’t go to church. I’d still go on holidays but not weekly. I still have an aversion to organized religion. I believe you can talk to God anywhere and don’t need to be in a church.

 

5. My ancestry is: Swedish, Irish, German and Polish (1/4 each).

 

6. I abhor cruises.  Mom & I tried one once and had a horrible experience. I honestly don’t think I would ever go again, even for free.

 

7. I was secretary of my 3rd grade class because I had the best handwriting. I got a small trophy for having the nicest handwriting.

 

8. I didn’t go to any Proms and the only Homecoming dance I went to was in my senior year when a pen pal and I went to one in Sheboygan, WI. We went to see the band that was playing there. She was dating one of the guys in the band.

 

9. I went to college in Madison, WI. I didn’t graduate. I enjoyed the socializing/partying a little too much. I also worked at Gordo’s (dorm cafeteria) the entire time I went to school. Every weekend I went to Gordo parties one of my coworkers threw. I was popular.

 

10. I don’t drink coffee or tea. My favorite drink is Diet Dr. Pepper.

 

11. Up until my 40′s, I had the best memory of anyone I’d ever known. It was almost photographic. I could remember anyone’s name, their birthday, anything they’d ever told me, etc. I don’t recognize myself now that my memory is so bad.

 

12. I had braces. TWICE. I had a failed dental implant. I have inheirited gum disease from both parents. I didn’t have my first cavity until age 16. I had my last cavity at 19.

 

13. I am almost Amish when it comes to technology.

 

14. I was a cheerleader for 2 years.

 

15. I flunked my driver’s test when I took it for the first time (on my 16th birthday). I waited over a year before taking it again.

 

16. I love to dance. When I hear music I like, it’s like someone set my chair on fire. You’ve never seen anyone move that fast to get up and onto the dance floor.

 

17. I love horror movies and psychological thrillers.

 

18. I’ve never done karaoke but someday hope to have enough nerve. One small problem is I can’t sing.

 

19. I hate the color red. I love pink and green.

 

20. My parents owned rental property. I was forever being dragged along to one of the 2 places while they did maintenance. They put me to work and I was raking leaves, installing linoleum and painting whole rooms by myself in jr. high.

 

21. I legally changed my first name. My middle name is Bowana. I kept that. I always loved my maiden name but now I love my married name even more.

 

22. I was afraid of cops as a kid. Still am a bit. I watched too many 1970′s tv movies where someone was framed by the police for a crime they didn’t commit.  I was sure it would happen to me. Paranoid much?!

 

23. I don’t like injustice or incompetence.

 

24. I took 4 years of French class. I went to 2 weeks of french camp in Hackensack, MN.

 

25. I had penpals. I also signed and swapped slams.

 

26. I have 3 half-sisters and 1 half brother. They are 11 to 25 years older than me. The sister closest to my age is schizophrenic and at least one of my nephews is bipolar. My oldest half sister worked with my mom and introduced her to my dad.

 

27. I’ve known 4 people in my life who’ve committed suicide. 2 hung themselves, 2 shot themselves. They were 1 classmate, 2 coworkers and my nephew who was 3 yrs younger than me.

 

28. My parents were in their 40′s when I was born. I’m my mom’s only child. Dad retired when I was 9. He made tires at Uniroyal for 33 yrs. My mother has had severe hearing loss since very young. She still managed to work 35 yrs. as an operator for the phone company. She’s worn hearing aids for the last 18 yrs. or so.

 

29. I love drive-in movie theaters. The best part is the “Let’s all go to the movies” short they play at the beginning when the hot dog jumps into the bun!

 

30. I love all music except jazz and opera. I have such varied tastes ranging from Eminem, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ to Lady Gaga.

 

31. Soap Operas have a special place in my heart.

 

32. I heart mermaids and seahorses. I collect spaghetti poodles (only cute ones, some are butt ugly) and nodders.

 

33. I have a thing for purses, earrings, pajamas and perfume.

 

34. I dislike shopping for bras and shoes.

 

35. I had piano lessons at age 5. I couldn’t read music but could play whatever the teacher did. In 4th grade I picked the cello to play as an instrument. I played it until college. I also briefly tried to learn the bass when I was asked to join an all girls band in 10th grade.

 

36. I was a groupie for local bands: The Coast, Bad Boy, Yipes! and The Rage. My definition of groupie doesn’t include sleeping with the band.

 

37. I wished I was one of The Go-Go’s.

 

38. The way girls feel about Justin Beiber is how I felt about Huey Lewis. I wanted to have his baby. I was all googly eyed over him. Now I look at him and wonder what the hell I saw in him.

 

39. I’ve been varying kinds of fat all my life.

 

40. As a tween, my neighbor and I sat on the fence and pretended to be Trixie Beldon and Honey Wheeler.

 

41. I let my husband pick the house we’ve been living in for the past 15 years. (There’s actually a blog post on this.)

 

42. I had a butterfly & clam for a pet.

 

43. I had acne until age 19 when I took Accutane. I get so angry when I hear people are suing and claiming that Accutane made some teen commit suicide. I won’t believe it. Having acne makes you want to commit suicide! Accutane was one of the best things to ever happen to me. It’s wrong to take it off the market when it helps so many. My hubby (who I didn’t know at the time) also took it. When I see someone today with bad acne, all I can think of is there’s no reason anyone needs to have this in this day and age. Acne is like scurvey. They had a cure for this for 30 years already!!

 

44. I had a paper route at age 15. I used the money to buy hard contact lenses and a toboggan.

 

45. My car is 17 years old. It’s a Pontiac and I may never find another car I like as much as the ones they made. I’ll never buy a used car if I can help it.

 

46. I’ve taken planes, trains, buses, cars & RVs cross country.  I love to travel. Our RV is like our 2nd home. We spend about 82 nights a year in ours. I’ve never been in a limosine but hope to someday.

 

47. My dad ate things like: lutefisk, lefse, head cheese and drank buttermilk.

 

48. I’m kind of a daredevil.

 

49. I’ve gone on a couple of blind dates.

 

50. If I didn’t have to trim my chin hair, I’d never look in the mirror.

 

51. I hate wearing glasses but am terrified of having my eyeballs sliced (Lasik). My fear is being blind. Who’d cut my chin hairs?

 

52, I’ve hit a deer in a car and on a motorcycle.

 

53. I’ve been to a gay bar.

 

54. My idea of a good time is a toga party. I’ve been to both good and bad block parties.

 

55. I don’t believe in giftwrapping.

 

56. We don’t exchange gifts for Christmas.

 

57. Fireworks are the biggest waste of money I can think of. Don’t get me wrong, I like them but think once every 5 years would be fine.

 

58. I was a Camp Fire Girl & a Girl Scout.

 

59. I hate baby & bridal showers. (I wrote a blog post on the bridal shower portion of this.)

 

60. I detest taking down and putting away Christmas decorations.

 

61. Halloween irks me to no end.

 

62. I don’t like doing anything that is expected/ traditional. I want to do things without feeling obligated to.

 

63. I love to gamble. Slot machines are my poison. I love the penny ones. The only time I ever won a sizeable amount was $2500 on a quarter Wild Cherry up in Green Bay, WI. It was back when I played quarter machines. After that win, i went and bought a new car. (The one I currently own.)

 

64. I will never wait in line for hours or overnight to be the first to get a new gadget, see a movie premiere or get concert tickets to anything.

 

65. One of my favorite luxuries is time spent in a hot tub.

 

66. I love my dogs so much, it’s like they came from my body.

 

67. I had chicken pox at age 30.

 

68. As a kid I dressed up my cat in doll clothes and pushed him in a baby buggy. My arms were covered in cat scratches all the time.

 

69. I’m a foodie. I love to cook and eat. I love reading cookbooks & recipes online. I try new recipes at the drop of a hat. Sometimes 3 a day.

 

70. I adore magazines but never have time to read them.

 

71. I hate talking on a cellphone and use the speakerphone when I have to do it.

72. I get a small thrill being Mayor of my bank, post office, vet and several casinos on FourSquare.

 

73. I cut Chemistry class in 11th grade, repeatedly.

 

74. I hate having my picture taken.

 

75. I feel uncomfortable taking other people’s pictures.

 

76. I love looking at pictures and postcards. That’s why I’m wild about Instagram.

 

77. I wish I was funny. If I was funny, I’d be a stand up comedian.

 

78. I used to be terribly shy.

 

79. At age 25, I started standing up for myself and haven’t stopped since.

 

80. Some people deserve to be told off and I’m willing to do it.

 

81. I’m a former disgruntled postal worker. I worked nights for almost 8 years.

 

82. I feel ill at ease around my hubby’s family. Even after 25 years.

 

83. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for my mother.

 

84. I love who I am when I drink. I will mingle and go chat up someone sitting alone. I give away my possessions when drunk.

 

85. I can wait for a good thing. I love a deal. I can’t enjoy something I’ve paid too much for. I’d rather have 1 good thing, than 10 cheaper ones.

 

86. “Family Guy” is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. It makes me roar with laughter.

 

87. I hate remakes of movies and sequels.

 

88. I grew up hating antiques since I was raised in a house full of them. About 10 yrs. ago, my hubby & I used to go to antique auctions and buy things to resell online. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gained an appreciation for vintage things. Now we sell collectibles online.

 

89. As a child, I was called Chrissy, Critty and Kitty.

 

90. I love gardening and indoor plants. I love having fresh flowers in the house but think they’re too expensive for how long they last.

 

91. I love being tickled and used to beg to be tickled as a child. My hubby hates being tickled so won’t let me tickle him nor does he want to tickle me.

 

92. I’ve had botox but not in my face. And not out of vanity but out of a medical necessity for pain relief.

 

93. I get embarrassed by things others don’t seem to, yet things that embarrass others don’t embarrass me. I’ll wear just about anything printed on a t-shirt.

 

94. I’ve had my tonsils out but still have my appendix. For my entire childhood I thought that all the seeds you ate went into your appendix and caused it to burst. I wouldn’t eat any seeds, not even in bread.

 

95. I had to clean my plate as a child. Even if it meant sitting at the table long after the food was stone cold. The only foods I didn’t like were lima beans and liver.

 

96. I never got an allowance but was given 25 cents for washing dishes a few times.

 

97. One of my best friends lied to me for 2 years in jr. high school. I have never fully recovered from this and it makes me never give 100% of myself in friendship.

 

98. I wrote my life story at age 21 and exchanged it with a pen pal.

 

99. Around age 26 I went to a psychologist for a few sessions. I wanted to come to terms with the unfullfilling relationship I had with my dad. She was NO help and in fact after he died and I was in crisis, she fell asleep as I was pouring my heart out to her in a session. That gave me the strength I needed to walk away from therapy and I realized I needed to cope on my own. I couldn’t count on anyone, even someone being paid $90/hr. to “listen”.

 

100. I don’t like hurting anyone’s feelings. I also don’t like sharing my opinions with people for fear they will stomp all over them.

 

 

Picture This

We got back from our vacation last Friday and between all the excitement of getting the new iPad2 (this goes at the top of my list of favorite things EVER) and picking out plants for the garden, I haven’t had a moment to get my wits about me. I find myself getting stressed out simply due to the sheer busyness of my life. All the catching up when one returns from a trip is taking place plus starting to plant the garden (should finish tomorrow), getting a mammogram, taking urine samples in for Amber, paying bills, cooking meals and a thousand tiny things too numerous to mention. It makes me wonder how people with kids manage so well. In the midst of this, a brilliant idea came to me.

 

I don’t really have the time to do a post about this justice but can’t hold it in anymore either. I am absolutely loving Instagram! It is like Twitter with pictures. You can “like” others’ photos as well as make comments and even have whole conversations. You can follow different people and check out their photostream. I’ve always loved looking at people’s pictures, no matter the subject. I find it is the quickest way to learn about people’s lives and get to know them as individuals. It is so great to get to peek into people’s homes, see them, their kids, pets. yards, their collections, etc. I am one of the biggest Instagram cheerleaders. It’s like Twitter on crack. Now that I’ve convinced you all how wonderful it is, get ready.

 

I think we should have an Instagram Convention! Where anyone who wants to from around the country can come together and meet. We can take pictures, of course, but also just get to know., in person, the people we feel we know via Instagram. Silence (you can hear a pin drop). I was afraid of that. I don’t have anything set in stone yet but wanted to send out feelers to see who was definitely interested, who might be interested and who has no interest.

 

First let me say that I in no way feel like I should be the one running this. I’m great at coming up with ideas. I don’t think I’m the big cheese on Instagram (I’ve only got 112 followers where some have thousands). I don’t want to step on any toes or overstep by even suggesting this. The reason I am calling it a convention instead of just a party is because it’s the first one (that I’ve heard about). It’s such a long story but I was a co-host for the very first Slam Convention. Slams are little booklets with questions that you sign with your name and address and answer questions, then send them on to other swappers. There was probably 100 in our slam community and 13 came to the first one back in July 1997. It was Nancy’s idea (host) and she asked if I would help. I didn’t know what I was getting into but said yes. She provided the location, a cute 2 bedroom house in Gulf Shores, AL. My husband took off work and helped me load the car with all my baking & cooking supplies and we drove the 16 hours to AL.

 

It was a very informal setting with people arriving on Thurs. & Friday and leaving on Sunday or Monday. People were flying into Mobile, AL & Pensacola, FL and my hubby and Nancy would take turns taking them to or from the airport. I spent the entire time cooking which I loved. Between the 2 of us, Nancy and i were able to provide food for everyone, including desserts. Due to the expense of buying airline tickets, a lot of people didn’t have extra money for lodging or food. Nancy was able to set up cots in the LR and let several sleep there. Others got hotel rooms nearby. We’d get together every day in the morning and have lunch and dinner together. I made up games to play, gave out prizes, had a ceremony giving out awards for different categories, etc. People would break up into little groups to do different activities like going to the beach or shopping. I thought it was planned really well for being the first one.

 

I just wanted to throw out the idea and see what suggestions people had. I have no intention of doing this alone so anyone who wants to cohost, I’d be thrilled. We need to decide the venue, if someone had a location they could provide or would want to open their home. Or if they knew of a hotel that would give especially good discounts. Or maybe renting a huge beach house where the parties involved would kick in X amount per person.  I live near O’hare airport so picking people up at the Kiss & Fly lot would be easy for me. I could possibly arrange a hotel in the suburbs near me (trying to afford downtown Chicago for several nights is not in my budget). I’d be more than willing to cook. It keeps me from being nervous meeting new people.

 

If anyone likes this idea and wants to be the one to run it, please do! All I want is credit for the idea. Maybe instead of an individual convention, it should just be a party at a blogging convention? I’ve never gone to a blogging convention so I don’t think anything I could put on would rival a sponsored party. Everyone wants plenty of notice so a year from now would give enough time to get time off and make plans. Sometimes I wonder if I can handle the challenge but then I think about how much I love having something to look forward to.

 

Please let me know in the comments if you’d be interested and what the criteria for you to attend something like this would be. Like you’d only go if it was in a certain city or state, or certain month of the year, or if you could bring your family, etc. If you don’t want your thoughts made public, email me at edenbabe@aol.com and I will keep it on the down low. Thank you so much for reading this and any feedback is welcome. As I said, I just came up with the idea and haven’t had time to flesh it out or even bat it around with anyone.

Hair 50

I’ve been working on my “100 Things” post for a few months. By “working on it”, I mean I typed up what that came to mind in one sitting and never looked at them again.  I did realize that too many of them centered around hair. One day I wondered why not make up a “Hair 50″ and leave more room for the “100 Things” post? So here I am. Anything you want to hear about in detail, you can mention by number in the comments. Feel free to use mine as a guide to post your own “Hair 50″.

 

1. I had cornrows once. I couldn’t resist getting them in Barbados.

2. I donated 13 1/2″ of my hair to Locks of Love 5 yrs. ago.

3. I want to do it again but can’t find a hairdresser.

4. I’m so uncomfortable in the hair salon setting. I just don’t like the atmosphere. Not to mention how hairdressers talk to you in such a judgey way.

5. I’d shave my head for charity.

6. My hair is naturally curly and gets frizzy in humidity.

7. I refuse to wear hairspray. Aside for my dislike of the chemicals, it makes me feel like I have helmet head.

8. I had a perm once at age 15. Never again. Plus the perm smell is one of the worst for me!

9. I don’t like using blowdryers either. I prefer to let my hair air dry.

10. I went blonde when I was 21 for 7 years.

11. I loved it. Blondes do have more fun!

12. The first time I did it from a box at home and turned it red.

13. Then I went to the salon and had it corrected by a witch.

14. The upkeep on the roots was horrid.

15. Usually I had my mom touch up the roots. When I went to a salon, they accused me of waiting too long between trips. I always went 6-8 wks out and they would argue that the growth looked like 3 months.

16. I was told by my hubby’s sister-in-law in front of everyone that my hair was green once (from swimming pool chlorine). How embarrassing.

17. As a kid, my mom took me to the beauty school for haircuts.

18. I’ve never cut my own hair.

19. My mom makes me cut her hair. I hate it and I’m terrible at it.

20. My husband trims my hair. He’s bald. He does a great job.

21. I used to get compliments on my hair more than anything else.

22. I don’t see a lot of hairstyles I like on others or in magazines.

23. I collect barrettes. I don’t have a ton but have more than most people.

24. I had the Dorothy Hamill wedge haircut at age 14 and liked it.

25. Riding a motorcyle without a helmet is never a good idea. Especially if you ever intend to get a comb through your hair again.

26. As a kid, my mom accidentally tried to brush my hair with pennies in the the brush (stuck in it from the bottom of her purse). Ouch.

27. I don’t like wearing hats but do when necessary.

28. I like the look of hats but not on me. I have a huge head.

29. I only use a comb on my hair, no brush.

30. I’ve had dandruff all my life. Even though I use Head & Shoulders.

31. I haven’t tried a lot but my favorite haircare line is Biolage.

32. I used to get Lori Davis hair products sent to me in the mail every few months.

33. Anyone who tells you Suave or other cheap drugstore brands are the same as the more expensive shampoos & conditioners, is full of it.

34. I’ve started getting a few gray hairs. My dad had a full head of hair and no gray when he died at age 74. My mom started going gray at age 18.

35. I’ve never done anything wild like had colored streaks in my hair or hair extensions.

36. I’ve wanted to have a piece of my hair tested for vitamin and mineral deficiencies ever since a coworker I knew had it done.

37. I get too hot to wear wigs but have worn them for Halloween. My fave costumes were Mrs. Butterworth (the younger, cooler version of Aunt Jemima) and Oprah Winfrey.

38. I hate my long hair getting caught in the vacuum and hubby hates long hair down the bathtub drain. Ack!

39. My hair was always oily but now it can be normal or dry depending on the weather.

40. I’ve never been one to wash my hair every day. 2-3 times a week is about right for me.

41. I won’t use a regular, plain rubberband on my hair. Scrunchies are never strong enough to hold it. Banana clips look ridiculous so I use barrettes.

42. In college I used a curling iron but never used a flat iron for straightening.

43. In high school and college I slept in curlers a lot of the time. The old fashioned, ugly type. There was a fire drill in college and I went outside in my curlers with no shame.

44. The first radio contest I ever won was for 2 tickets to the movie musical “Hair” and the soundtrack album.

45. I know how to braid but can’t braid my own hair. I love the look of a french braid but never learned that either.

46. I’ve had bangs and liked them except when they get too long and hang in my eyes. Also the awkward phase of growing them out sucks.

47. I’m fascinated and creeped out by hair jewelry. Made from human hair. Hair never decays. This trend was popular until about 1925.

48. I’ve never had head lice and just the thought of it would make me itch for a week.

49. Split ends are the enemy. So are tangles.

50. I’m hair challenged. It’s easy for me to think up 50 hair related things. Also it’s easy to enjoy angel hair pasta and the song “Sister Golden Hair” by America.