Mall Madness

Trey and I went to the mall together last week. That sounds so inconsequential, but trust me it was a big deal that he asked to go shopping for clothes! The boy usually follows his dad's fashion advice which is "let the woman in your life buy your clothes, and wear whatever she brings home". So things must have been desperate for him to initiate a shopping trip.

With the girls a "shopping trip" is an event that usually involves lunch at the tea room, stops at numerous stores, much trying on, and searching for matching accessories. I guess it was silly of me to hope that Trey might want to spend the day at the mall with his mom. My first idea that this was a desperation trip and not a pleasure outing was when we exited our neighborhood and stopped at the gas station. There were some girls about his age hanging around and he immediately slouched down into the seat. Since he is a guy and I'm not, it is understood that he is the gas station attendant when he is with me but apparently it is not cool to be seen in a Volvo station wagon with your mom on a Saturday afternoon. ( or at any other time which is why my kids refer to my car as the loser cruiser) Who knew??? So I spared him the social suicide that he would be committing by pumping my gas and did it myself while he cowered low in his seat.

Apparently my son inherited his fathers shopping prowess because it took us approximately 30 minutes and two stores and we were back in the car with enough clothes to last him the whole school year.

There was no tea room, he never came out of the dressing room to ask my opinion, and he was not a bit interested in any matching accessories. But on the upside I made it home in time to catch the Michigan game so it turned out to be a pretty good afternoon.

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

I do one healthy thing for my body each morning. I make a kefir shake with blueberries and flax oil,acai powder, omega 3 fish oil, and any other healthy sounding thing that I can throw in there for good measure.

After that I party like a rock star with my BFF's Little Debbie, Frito Bandito, and Twinkie the Kid.

Sadly Twinkie and I have partied together so much over the past few years, that I'm starting to resemble him.







He pulls off the whole western wear thing so much better than I do.


So I've decided that it's time to part ways with my pals and try to find new healthier friends before my family puts me on an episode of Intervention.

So goodbye Deb,Frito and Twinkie! We had some good times together, but our relationship is not a healthy one. Please don't take it personally when I pass right by you at the grocery store and pretend I don't even know you. You see I can't even stop to admire you because I might be tempted to bring you home... and well... we know what that will lead to. So it's best to just wish you a fond farewell.

I won't forget you..... mostly because the evidence of our trysts lingers on my rear end and jelly belly but non-the-less, it was a good run while it lasted.

Some Things Get Better With Age

Tomorrow my husband and I will be married for 24 years. I would love to go back and ask the people at our wedding if they thought we would make it to 24 years. I'd be willing to bet a number of them would have said no. But here we are all these years later still hanging in there. Last night in celebration he took me to a fondue restaurant with some friends. It was fun and yummy and I recognize the sacrifice on his part because I know he would have preferred a side of beef cooked over a fire and served man-style instead of having to skewer little tidbits of vegetables and meat and cook them in a pot on the table. So in honor of 24 years, I give you 24 reasons I love my husband not in any particular order. Just a side note, I left out the many "personal" reasons I love him so as not to gross out my children.

1. He played a major role in the production of our three terrific children.

2. He has seen me at my best and my worst and has never made me feel less attractive or desirable to him.

3. He can fix just about anything.

4. He is a talented guitar player.

5. I love the way he is passionate about his faith and beliefs.

6. He is a great artist and can see potential in just about anything.

7. I love how he will help anyone who needs a hand with something.

8. He is a great cook.

9. I love how he loves our country and never fails to thank our military personnel for their service.

10. I love the logical side of him. It offsets my irrational side.

11. He sometimes rubs my feet after a long day.

12. He always gives people the benefit of the doubt when I tend to question motives and reasons.

13. He can keep his cool in stressful situations.

14. He has patience when teaching someone something new.

15. I love how he doesn't gross out when having to do yucky stuff like burying dead animals or playing doctor to a hurt dog.

16. He never complains that the house is messy but will tell me it looks good when I have spent the day cleaning it.

17. He is a loyal friend,brother,son etc.

18. I love how he is quick to forgive and never holds a grudge.

19. He has wicked-mad computer skills.

20. I love how he makes me laugh.

21. He is an awesome dad and loves our children more than life itself.

22. I love how he loves to be home with his family. He rarely if ever goes out after work or on weekends.

23. I love how I can volunteer him to do things and make things for church and school and he never complains about it.

24. I love how he has stuck with me and put up with my stuff for the last 24 years!

I could have written many more reasons, but I will save them for the next anniversary post. Here is a wedding picture of us. Remember it was the 80's so you must excuse the fashion choices, and for the record, P had a much more pronounced mullet, but he photo-shopped a majority of it off! That is totally not fair because he should have photo-shopped that flying saucer off of my head while he was at it!!! I love you honey! Happy Anniversary!!

What If?

The weeks leading up to the start of school are pretty busy around here. There are supplies to buy, school open houses to attend, haircuts to get, and new clothes to buy. For me it also means time for my yearly well woman check up.

You know the one that we girls always look forward to.

After my appointment as I was leaving the doctor's office the receptionist told me that if everything came back alright I would get an automated call with the test results but if there was a problem they would call me from the office. Yesterday I glanced at my seldom used cell phone and I had a voice mail from the doctors office asking me to please call them about my tests. Immediately I knew that something was not right but of course by the time I got the message the office was already closed.

The rational person in me kept saying that these things are common and often nothing to worry about but the irrational worrisome person in me kept making my thoughts turn to the "what-ifs".

The next fifteen hours were spent dwelling on the "what-ifs" When I called the doctor first thing the next morning I was told that while the results were abnormal they didn't feel that it was due to anything major and for me to come back in for a recheck in six months. Suddenly the "what-ifs" evaporated and I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Then I thought about all of the women that get that same call but with different results and instead of being able to be thankful and relax, the "what-ifs" become their reality. I found myself saying a prayer for those unknown women who are suddenly dealing with that unwanted news.

For the next six months I will be able to go about my everyday life and not have to give those test results a second thought. Some women are not that fortunate. For them those test results have changed their lives forever. I will never meet them face to face, but I will keep them in my prayers with the understanding that one day I may be confronting those "what-ifs".

School Days

I remember that August of 1992. She was starting Kindergarten and although it is an inevitable right of passage that she had to take that didn't make it any easier for her mommy who now had to share her with the world. I couldn't even go outside to watch her get on that bus. A friend had to take pictures for me while I watched through a window sobbing as she drove away. Everyone told me that she would be fine, and of course she was but sending her out into the big bad world that day was the hardest thing I had ever done.

In August of 1999 she was starting seventh grade. That age is hard for anyone but add to that the fact that we had moved that summer and she was starting a brand new school and suffice to say we were all stressed about school starting. This time I was able to watch her drive off but tears of worry came when I was safely hidden in my home. Deep down I knew it would all be alright but it was a long anxious day as I waited for her to come home so I could hear all about it.

This past Friday I went to visit her after her busy week of teacher orientation, room set up and lesson planning. This time it was her turn to cry from frustration, information overload, and anticipation. Again I know deep down inside it will be alright. But I have a feeling tomorrow will be an anxious day as I wait to hear all about it.

There might even be a few tears shed.

Savannah you will do a great job!

Just Call Me Cleopatra Queen of Denial

A couple of weeks ago Savannah was visiting and she logged on to show us the cute little e-card that Greg had sent her. Oh Newlyweds! It was cute and had a silly song that all of us are still walking around the house singing. Anyway a couple of days later I opened my e-mail and found that my husband had sent me something as well! How sweet! It was entitled Info for you.. hmmm could it be a " Just wanted to tell you I love you" or "You are the best wife in the world". Nope. It was a link to an article that was entitled "Peri menopause - The Beginning Of Hormone Change"

Sorry ladies, this Mr. Romance is all mine!

So what if I recently brought another fan into our room because I can't seem to get cool at night. Big deal if I only have a couple of pairs of pants left in my closet that I don't have to unbutton to sit down comfortably. I don't have mood swings, it is just that everyone else acts in irritating ways. None of these could possibly point to me being Peri-menopausal.

But I read the article anyway. Not because I think it applies to me, but because I have some friends that are older than I am and I want to be supportive when they go through these changes.


It was actually quite informative and I decided to get a few books on the subject for when that time comes. So I spent a good portion of last week reading up on bio identical hormones and supplements and such. The irony was that I consumed half a bag of Hershey's Kisses while doing so. Strange how not one of those book talked about the healing powers of Hershey's Kisses for Pre- Pre -Pre -Peri-menopausal women!

Oh I know my husband loves me and is just looking out for my health ( and his well being) so I didn't get upset about the very unromantic e-mail. But just remember honey Peri-menopause is just a preview of the real thing! You might want to look into a hobby that takes you out of the house a lot, and while your at it buy a few shares of stock in Hershey. I have a feeling their profits are going to go up.

Birthdays Past and Future

I had a birthday this weekend. It made me think of my past birthdays. Of course I don't remember all of them, but some I do remember. A few I can't figure out why I remember them because they weren't really that monumental but I guess they just made an impression on me. Come take a walk down memory lane with me.....

In 1975 I turned ten years old. I got three albums that year! I no longer had to use my siblings albums when they weren't looking because now I had my own. I remember I got Toys In The Attic by Aerosmith, Welcome To My Nightmare by Alice Cooper, and Venus and Mars by Wings. I was ten years old people! What were my parents thinking????? Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, ten years old!!!! Maybe that is why that birthday sticks out in my mind because even then I knew I wasn't supposed to be listening to that stuff....

In 1981 I turned sixteen. I was still basking in the glow of watching Diana Spencer marry her real live Prince and become a princess a few days earlier. All was right in the world - fairy tales do come true and I was getting my drivers license!

When I turned twenty I was planning my wedding that was going to take place one month later. I don't remember how I spent that birthday except that I'm sure I did something wedding related.

My thirtieth birthday was spent lying in a hospital bed crying my eyes out all day long. I suppose it had a little to do with turning thirty and a lot to do with the fact I had had my third child the day before and I was very hormonally imbalanced.

My fortieth birthday celebration lasted a couple of days and involved beautiful beaches, dolphins and spending a couple of nights in George Bush's bed. Just writing that makes me laugh because it sounds so decadent. For the record, nobody even remotely related to the Bush family was in the bed while I was in it. So National Enquirer reporters stay away.

Sometime after my fortieth birthday I realized that I had probably celebrated more birthdays than I will celebrate in the future. Not exactly a happy thought, but it put things in perspective. Now instead of expecting elaborate gifts or parties, just time spent with friends and family is the perfect way to celebrate the beginning of a new year in my life. That's why my forty-fourth birthday was great. Family, good food, good friends... what more could a girl want?

So here's a little nugget of wisdom for future generations to take away from this:

Whether your birthday is spent in a hospital bed or a presidents bed, if your family and friends are with you it's all good.

I hope Hallmark gives me credit when they use that quote in a birthday card!