6 unremarkable things about me!

I've been tagged by Elastigirl.

1. I HAVE to start my morning with coffee. Usually 2-3 cups. I have tried to go without, and it just doesn't work. I like the taste, the smell, the texture....and especially sitting on the back porch watching the sun come up while sipping. All of these things signal morning to my brain. The oldest child will sometimes come ask if I have had my first cup of coffee yet before he asks question of me. How thoughtful.


2. I skipped 4th grade. I don't know exactly what happened, but near the end of 3rd grade I was tested and sent to a shrinky and they moved me on up into a 5th/6th grade combination LEAP class. Talk about a kick in the butt!!! I struggled for 2 years to get caught up and start making decent grades again. Anything I can't answer these days, I smirkishly say under my breath, "I probably would have learned that in 4th grade".


3. I have an unnatural fear of Santa Claus. I have always thought of him as quite creepy. I don't even take my children to sit on his lap. We wave from a distance. Whoever thought of children sitting on a creepy fat man's lap...was out of their mind!


4. My face is extremely uneven. I have worn glasses since 8th grade (the same time I got braces...man I was soooo good looking) but I rarely wear them because of this. My left ear is lower than my right which makes the glasses lean. The bridge of the left side of my nose is flatter than the other side which adds to the problem. And to make matters even worse, my left eyebrow is higher than my right. Which creates the illusion of them being crooked even if I have the glasses corrected to fit properly. I have found a way around the crooked glass look with sunglasses....just buy ones that are so big they cover my eyebrows. But wearing regular glasses, as much as I love them, is a pain!

5. I hate using a top sheet. I have tried using a top sheet over and over, but it always ends up bunched up on the floor. I can't stand the feeling of my feet being bound while I sleep. They have to be on top of the blankies. I also have to have a "knee pillow".

6. I too have a few movies I will watch over and over again: Ever After, The Princess Bride, Sound of Music, Pride and Prejudice, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Love Actually, Dangerous Beauty, Anchorman (The Duke and I quote that movie daily)....."When in Rome....". He he. I still cry at sappy endings....even if I have seen them a million times.

I tag MB, Dana and Dawn Michelle.

Insanity hits the burbs!

Today, in a lovely suburb of large metropolitan area, in a small shopping center, in 90 degree weather...Christmas lights were being hung in the trees with care.

SOOOOOOOO not ready for the fat man in a suit just yet. Let me have fall first please!

Even yuckier Saturday

I wanted to go to a craft show today and buy shoes at Macy's. Like retail therapy will help with sadness...right? Maybe I will still try.

Today marks the 5 year anniversary of my brother's passing. It kind of snuck up on me. No anniversary has hit me like this before.

To make matters worse, we lost a beloved choir member this week, and I will have to sing at her Memorial...exactly 5 years to the date (Tuesday the 30th) since my brother's service. If she weren't a choir member, I would have to pass. But, I know C would have been there for me, and she also sang at my brother's service. It's the right thing to do.

Yuck Friday

I've probably never mentioned this on the blog, but about a month ago a corporate giant fitness company bought out our small home town, family-oriented gym. I have been a member there since Drama was a baby. The staff there was caring and the programs and atmosphere were geared towards a family environment (i.e. no showing your belly in the gym, it must be covered).

So they came in and stole our gym, said we would have to move over to Lifetime (the corp. giant), then hiked our rates more tan $70 a month. Our rate went from $42 to $108 a month. Naturally, over 300 members left and went other places. The gym was also a place for rehab patients that were covered by Medicare. MC paid their dues...Lifetime is not a partner in that program. Where will those seniors go? Then they made the employees "try out" to keep their job. I know of 3 instructors that will go with us to Lifetime, but the others are gone. And those going with us have had their schedules cut way back, AND I can't take class with any of them because they teach at times not convenient to my schedule.

We went ahead and made the switch though. LT is the closest facility to us that does not mak you pay per workout for childcare. The second nearest decent club is LA Fitness. I tried driving to all 3 of them in the area and all took around 20 minutes in traffic. I know I wouldn't use it if I was busy and waffling on whether or not to go. So, we followed the masses...which is what LT wanted everyone to do (eliminate the competition...get more members....make more money).

Today was the last day that formal classes will be taught at HAC. I went to lift weights, but took time to walk through the halls. I won't be able to work out here anymore since the childcare center is being closed. The walls were bare, the pool stripped of all it's toys, the cycles being wheeled out and loaded onto a big truck, the office windows darkened. All the signs of my family health club...gone. It was so sad to walk through and see the staff, maybe for the last time. What a shame that corporate greed has led to this. I realize the owner of HAC agreed to sell, so it's not all LT's fault, and I know I will grow to love my new club (they make a great smoothie and I already have a friend to work out with on T/Th)...but it will take time to get used to it. Ugh....I hate change!

Sad but true

I am appalled at the immaturity of seemingly normal educated people during this election.
This is something a middle schooler would do:

TV anchor who resembles Palin gets 'hate mail'

Seriously??? Why don't you guys spend your time learning about the huge financial mess that is going on instead. Maybe you would learn something important, like who is actually responsible for the crisis.

And another absurd headline today:

Palin Syrah: Wine Drinkers Balk at a Chilean Wine With Hints of Alaska

Come on people. Over wine? Really??? What if they had switched the label. Would it have hint of moose in it then? I think not. For Pete's sake grow up!