Girls Only

I am starting to pack for my first "Big Girl" vacation. I am going down to the Keys to see Allison for the weekend - (Sat-Tues). My sister-in-law, Wendy, is coming with me. Wendy and I married the same year - and we have never taken vacations without our husbands. The only way we could pull this off, was to say she is accompanying me to visit my daughter, her niece. We started planning this as soon as Allison was transferred.

Our trip went from "just checking on the kids (We plan on seeing Michael,too)" to - VACATION WITH THE GIRLS as soon as we added a couple people. My cousin lives in Florda (Daytona area) and will meet us in Ft. Lauderdale (where we land). Wendy's dear friend also lives in Florida (Tampa area) and will also meet us in Ft. Lauderdale. We will then begin our trek to Islamorada where my daughter has secured us a 2 bedroom suite on the beach.

The plane has not even taken off yet and we are planning to make this an annual event - by invitation only - GIRLS ONLY!

I am looking forward to sitting on the beach, a drink in my hand, watching the waves, getting a tan - AND ANSWERING TO NO ONE!! This weekend, it will be good to be me!

If your invitation has not arrived by March 15, 2007, suffice it to say you will not be included in next year's journey.

Fairy Tales

This is the fairy tale that should have been read to us when we were little!


Once upon a time in a land far away, a beautiful, independent, self-assured princess happened upon a frog as she sat contemplating ecological issues on the shores of an unpolluted pond in a verdant meadow near her castle.

The frog hopped into the princess' lap and said: " Elegant Lady, I was once a handsome prince, until an evil witch cast a spell upon me. One kiss from you, however, and I will turn back into the dapper, young prince that I am and then, my sweet, we can marry and set up housekeeping in your castle with my mother, where you can prepare my meals, clean my clothes, bear my children, and forever feel
grateful and happy doing so. "

That night, as the princess dined sumptuously on lightly sautéed frog legs seasoned in a white wine and onion cream sauce, she chuckled and thought to herself: I don't f*ckin think so.

Thank you, Wendy!

"Toodles" lives on

When I was a child I had a favorite doll, "Toodles" - she was a gift for my first birthday. Toodles went everywhere with me as we were inseparable. Every Aunt and Uncle has a story about me and Toodles!

I am happy to say that Toodles has survived all these years and is alive and well, living in my house - in my (spare) Granddaughters' bedroom. Ally plays with Toodles all the time - she and Ava are about the same size now - she even wears Ava's hand-me-downs. I told Ally all the stories I could remember about the adventures Toodles and I went on and I guess she understands how special that doll is to me. She is not the prettiest doll in the world and she doesn't do any tricks (no batteries involved) - however, she is gently weathered and I swear I can see tear stains on her(my tears).

In my youth, I shared all my secrets, joys and hurts with Toodles. Perhaps Ally can feel a part of me that was lost a long time ago when she is holding Toodles - maybe not...

What a thrill it is to see a piece of my history live on in the gentle hands of my Beautiful, First Granddaughter. Although Ally is young in years, she has a sense of what is precious - and you just can't teach that to a child.

Thought For the Day

Some people are like Slinkies...
Not really good for anything......
But they still bring a smile to your face
when you push them down a flight of stairs.

Kissing Cousins

We spent Saturday with cousins. We were together for hours, but it seemed like minutes. Can't remember the last time we were all together - a wedding or a funeral, I am sure. It was so good just to be together because we wanted to, not becuase we HAD to. I have to say, it was worth the round trip from Long Island, on the tortuous Belt Parkway, the evil trek through Staten Island and the always frightul crossing of the Outerbridge. Thank goodness Mr. Wonderful has a wonderful sense of direction - he could write for Map Quest - AND NEVER GET YOU LOST - (nor will he send you to the same place twice the same way!) The man has a navigation system in his head! But, I digress..

The good thing about cousins is that we can make fun of each other, ridicule each other, tease each other, and comfort each other - all in the same sentence! No subject matter is sacred - we can talk about ANYTHING (or anyone!). Thank goodness for email and cell phones. We are closer now than ever - even though we are usually separated by over a 1000 miles.

We will come together again for weddings and funerals - but nothing beats getting together just for the hell of it!

Anonymous, NOT!

I suddenly feel some pressure to 'post more often' per an anonymous comment. It didn't take me long to figure out who he was - a simple "ooffah" was the only hint I needed to determine the culprit. This entry is dedicated to you!

I will always cherish our special memory of the first time we danced to "My Way" - with MY LYRICS! I will always remember that you were the one who told me the dirtiest joke I ever heard (13 martinis).

There are years between us - but the gap seems small as we always managed to stay close - even if we didn't see eachother often.

We will always have the memory of our dads living together. I saw them together - it was quite a sight! Those two knew how to laugh! They could tell stories to make you laugh and cry. Their genes are within us - yet we are joined by our mothers' genes - WHAT A COMBINATION!

To my dear cousin - MFC - I simply say, "Thanks for the memories..."

Summertime...

Had a great weekend! There was nothing special planned and we just 'went with the flow'. Did some shopping on Saturday, met some friends for lunch, had dinner with the grandkids (and kids).

Sunday, we took Ally to watch her Uncle Bobby play baseball. It was fun to see all the guys who played ball together in high school messing up on the field as adults! I was overjoyed to be rooting for my son as he suited up (he's a catcher). When he threw a runner out at second, I was screaming just like I did when he was a kid!
Ally fell asleep in the car on the way home and we deposited her home to her folks and went on our merry way.

After dinner, my daughter called and said, "How about you and Dad come over and hold Ava in the yard for a while, it's such a beautiful evening?" Who could turn down an invitation like that? Chip had taken Ally miniature golfing and Trish was alone with Ava. It was nice to have some quiet time just with Trish and Ava.

A perfect Summer weekend...

kids

Suffice it to say, my kids are sucking the life out of me. Do you think it is too late to decide that I want to remain childless??

I am sure I will feel better in a day or two, but right this very minute, I am re-thinking all my life changing decisions of the late 70's!

Perhaps it is time I do something about getting a good night's sleep - any suggestions???

Auto # 3 (aka: Still happily married)

I am happy to report that Mr. Wonderful totally loved my new car. He was pleasantly surprised and relieved that we don't have to continue car shopping in the worst of heat waves. I think he is also secretly relieved that his prized possession can remain covered, in a climate controlled garage, untouched by human hands! (see first "Auto" blog)

It was so nice that all the kids knew about it and kept it a secret from him. It was also nice that they all called upon his arrival to see if (confirm that) he loved it. It seems they were all sure he would be thrilled - can it be they know him better than I do?? What am I saying, I know, deep in my heart, he would be happy. It is all-wheel-drive and it is a turbo (whatever that is) - I just know it is RED and it is HOT!

I have a 3 year lease. In 3 years, I will be ready to settle into a "grandma" car - but for now, I'm going to make believe I am on the "A-list".

Autmobile Crossroads, part 2

I picked up my new car on Monday - a RED AUDI! Mr. Wonderful comes home this afternoon. I wonder what he will think....