Monday, July 28, 2008

Going Green w/Chipping and Cigar Smoking Area



Someone on a network show today said that summer is almost over. Can that be possible? The kids will be back to school in a couple weeks I know.

My husband Roger and I are still getting bids on the front and back yard landscaping water smart redo, replacing the pool decking and patio with pavers and resurfacing the pool. I suspect that my husband's unrelenting eagerness is based more on his enthusiasm for his soon to be new artificial putting green and chipping area. (see future site of putting green on the right above)

Thankfully he spends a lot of time in the back yard chain cigar smoking, which I am sure also contributes to all of this new found excitement. (Not thankful he smokes, thankful it isn't inside)

With any luck the project should be ready for his birthday on September 1st. He deserves to squeeze all the passion and enjoyment he can muster out of the backyard during his remaining years. I look forward to watching him stand in the shade of his newly planted Canary Island palm tree while sinking a putt with a cigar hanging out of his mouth. (aka Phoenix palm)

PS. That isn't my cute bumbossity in the picture above although the resemblance is remarkably similar! Don't cha think?


Friday, July 25, 2008

Barack in Berlin

This is a photo I took  following my daughter Christine's introduction of Barack Obama earlier this year in Las Vegas.

I just read and listened to Obama's speech that he delivered in Berlin July 24th.  For that opportunity go to -

http://my.barackobama.com/berlinvideo



This is the truly the moment to join this brilliant man in creating a better world for all of us.

Caution, Oblivious Brain on Loudspeaker


A client at the salon suggested that it takes a certain personality to want to blog. I think she meant someone who is self disclosing enough that they have the urge to puke out every detail of their daily existence as if it matters.

For many I am sure my urge to do so must befuddle them. It helps to be slightly mad. Think of a volcano about to erupt. Such is the drive to share inconsequential details on a regular basis.

Bottom line I fear, is that nobody really cares. Does that stop me from describing the amazing color of a recent bowel movement or some irrelevant thought I had while bathing....I think not.

Mental illness takes many forms. Be gentle with me all you self contained, completely sane, private individuals. I argue that holding such madness in could be dangerous or perhaps even lethal. Ponder on the possibility of that ugly result while judging me so harshly.

And don't forget I am officially a senior citizen staring downhill at a gradual decline in memory and reason. Most important I suppose is that my need to regurgitate is far greater than my shame and pitiful notoriety.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

The Dog That Would Be Cat


Two years ago I rescued a two year old Siberian Husky. I named her Princess Di because she was blond , blue eyed and regal. She was very much like an untamed wolf; jumped on all the furniture, would not come when called and if given the opportunity would dart out at lightning speed disappearing to unknown adventures for at least eight hours, then limp into a store with bloody pads on her feet so some stranger could read her name tag and call me, usually at 3 in the morning. Huskies are insane addicted runners looking for a sled to pull.

Princess is also the pickiest eater I have ever encountered, eating only meat or cheese. She will only sniff a cheese twist and turn away as if to say, "Processed food, you can't be serious." Keep in mind that dogs lick their own butts so how bad could a cheese twist taste or smell?

She is extremely independent, (I am used to Golden Retrievers) more like a cat than a dog, not the needy type at all. After two years of intensive training she will come if you call "cheese!" or if she thinks it is time for her beloved walk and finally stays off the furniture. (thanks to a motion detecting alarm I purchased off the internet)

She has a small family of stuffed toys consisting of a Dalmatian, teddy bear and bunny, which she constantly spreads throughout the house. She doesn't bark in the traditional sense, instead she communicates in her unique whelping human like demand reminding me that it is time for her walk and that I should get up off my fat ass and take her right now.

Princess is definitely the strangest dog I have ever owned but I wouldn't trade her for the world. She is after all a part of our family.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The Ultimate Payoff




Grandkids are definitely the reward for raising your own children. It tickles me to no end to hear of their many exploits. Imagining where their individual quirks and personalities might take them in the future provides for hours of guessing games with my husband. Matt's love of making money we hope molds him towards a Donald Trump type success and not bank robbery. Nickie's oppositional defiance could lead to any number of different directions. After all a streak of independence could be an advantage, I just hope I am still on the sidelines able to watch the anticipated outcome. Whatever they ultimately end up being I am sure I could not unconditionally love them a smidgen more than I do right now.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Blog Freak


Why blog you might wonder?

For me this is a new form of creativity. It's like publishing your own newspaper or magazine. You are the publisher, editor, reporter, editorial manager, fashion editor, photographer, art director and humorist.

You are the boss, the king, the lord and master of your very own domain. It is the perfect pastime for a control freak like me. I can't wait to post my next blog each day. To hell with simple journaling. Blogging is quick, fun, easy, therapeutic, and invigorating. It's an ego freak's way of falsely believing I am leaving my mark somewhere, anywhere! I think I also find exposing myself to be ever so slightly living on the edge.

At the very least it will be something to read at my wake. I blog therefore I am!!

Monday, July 21, 2008

Role Confusion


I just watched the first 8 episodes of "Mad Men"on AMC's free-zone. It takes place in the late fifties and early sixties. Wow, it is mind blowing to realize how far we have grown socially in my short lifetime. Woman's place was either married and in the home or single and sexually harassed at the office. No wonder it has taken us so long to shake the Cinderella syndrome nor is it surprising that men are often confused. Change has come so slowly that it has falsely appeared imperceivable. I highly recommend viewing this series as a history lesson or as a magnified peek at exactly how far our respective roles have transformed. I promise that if not entertaining it will at least provide a giant grateful sigh of relief. For me this has shed a huge light on our emerging generations. Young boys and girls, I envy you, your freedom. The good news is that we are headed in the right direction toward tolerance and acceptance and away from our stereotypical past.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Yes we can!


Tomorrow I will join many like minded citizens in an effort to elect Barack Obama president by attending the Campaign for Change Leadership Organizational Meeting here in Las Vegas.

I recently saw a video clip of a woman saying, last time I just assumed Kerry would win the race, this time I refuse to sit at home and hope.  This time I will do all I can.
  
My sentiments exactly, we cannot afford as a nation to have "Bush light" in the White House.  I refuse to remain silently inactive and merely keep my fingers crossed for change.  Thank God I am not alone in this endeavor. 

It cracks me up when people try to diminish Obama by casually admitting, "Yeah, he makes a good speech, big deal."  

When we open our mouths, what comes out is who we are.  It is the one thing that reflects our character, courage, sincerity, priorities and vision.  Barack is the real deal.  If any one can help undo the crater in which we are currently buried it is this great American visionary.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Instantanious Connections


Today a young pregnant woman stuck her head in my room at the salon to say what a great space it was. Within moments we were sharing intimate details of our mother's deaths.   I love to connect instantly with a stranger on such an elevated level. 

Her authenticity and heartfelt pain left me with a deeper appreciation of the human condition and our ability to speak the truth. 

I ache for her deceased mother's missed opportunity to experience her very first precious grandchild and the moment this young lady looks at her newborn and thinks, my mother could never have loved me this much, or could she have?    If present I would go way out on a limb and shout a resounding,   YES, YOU BET SHE DID!

Chocolate Endings



I am currently enrolled in a memoir writing class. Each session we have a different assignment, something to jog our memories of the distant past.

It seems as though the common denominator of all my ramblings revolve around my obsession with some version of chocolate. Something to look at indeed. All my life I have falsely prided myself on being complex. It is appalling to realize that the sum total of my very existence can be explained in one universally simple, common word.....CHOCOLATE! I now know that all has been diminished to my primary addiction....CANDY. All forms of CANDY; expensive, homemade, borrowed or stolen, I froth at the mouth at the very thought of a stale bag of candy corn.


I ponder revisiting therapy. What is to become of me??

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Extreme Denial


Today is my wonderful, beautiful daughter Christine's forty first birthday.  It is another thump on the head that I must be getting older.  It is hard to deny your age when you have been  a teenage mom.  I envy my childless friends who can continue deceiving themselves year after year.  The mile marker for aging that I enjoy escapes them.  Of course there is always thinning hair, failing eyesight, drooping eyelids, teeth implants, sagging breasts, crows feet, puppet mouth, bladder urgency, increased clumsiness, hemorrhoids, an overloaded medicine cabinet, loss of memory and an out and out greater capacity for stupidity.  Now I feel better.  I happily celebrate the greatest day of my life, the day Christine Lynn was born.  She has surpassed all my expectations, is a stellar mom, extremely bright, deliciously considerate, loving and appreciative. Happy Birthday Sweetheart.  Your mother loves and adores you. 

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Weight to Go


My friend Judy told me of this new wonderful way to lose pounds.  It's called the Five Bites Diet.  You can eat whatever you want but can only have five tiny bites, exactly like people who have had the stomach bypass surgery.  I guess she doesn't share my enthusiasm for stuffing yourself senseless.  I like to quit eating a half bite before passing out from a carb overload. So many problems come to mind.  Where does one go to get such small portions?  What do you do with the other 1,439 minutes in each day?  I would imagine bloody stool or nonstop vomiting or whatever are the consequences  of overindulging, might deter me from stealing that sixth bite, if I actually had a bypass.  I think I will have more success if I just hire some mafia hit man to kill me if I chomp down on bite number six. Hmm it's just not worth the risk, I'd rather be fat and still breathing.