That time of year already?

The day before I was born, my oldest brother turned seven. What he'd wanted for his birthday was a puppy... what he got was a little sister that he'd have to share birthday cakes with for years to come. This is one of our most famous family stories.
"I wanted a puppy."
"He got a sister."

Funniest "Larry and I" birthday story I have involves my mom. I was a twenty-something, and my mom hadn't called me on my big day to wish me a happy birthday. Sure, I was miffed but this wasn't THAT weird, I knew she'd done it to other sibs before, she'd just forgotten. I called my brother on Valentines day and asked him if Mom had called him for his birthday - ready to commiserate and laugh that she'd forgotten us and wondering if this might not be the next great family story - and found out she had called him! Not me... forgot the child born the very next day... seriously, out of all her kids I have the easiest birthday in the world to remember - - it's the DAY AFTER LARRY'S! (And I'm her youngest, her BABY!) So, he got the call. I didn't. She heard about it, and my dad probably giggled that she got an ear full.

Happy Birthday to my brother who is now FIRMLY entrenched in his 50's (although he and my other brother, who turn 50 this year, actually look younger then I do). I'll be thinking about you today, wondering if you're having chicken cacciatore for dinner, and being sure I can almost smell the german-shepard-chocolate cake.



See, could a puppy blog you a birthday wish? I think not.

(not so) Wordless Wednesday

Guys you date vs. Guys you marry

Today, Penny Parker (Rocky Mountain News, "On The Town") had the following under her signature column wrap up, EAVESDROPPING:

"Eavesdropping on a woman's Facebook post: 'I want to date an iPhone guy but marry a BlackBerry guy."

That, my friends, is the way the new generation sees the age old situation.
1940's: date the musician, but marry the veteran.
1950's: date the rebel, marry the insurance executive.
1960's: date the guy you met at Woodstock, marry the guy you met at your parent's country club.
1970's: date the protester, marry the tax payer.
1980's: date the guy with the biggest hair in the band, marry the guy in the preppy polo shirt who held your hair after the big night with the band.
1990's: date the dot-com rebel, ....ummmm well, marry the dot-com rebel. The 90's were a strange time.
2000's: date the iPhone, marry the Blackberry.

Too recent?

1500's: date the cute, smelly stable boy on market day, marry the guy who's father is a merchant or a knight.

Who you marry says a lot about who you are, and what you expect from life. I don't think there is any getting around this, it's just the way it is - and society has always had certain standards that 80% of the population aspire to.

My own take on this, and my advice for anyone looking for stability and happiness in this world of chaos and foolishness: date the guy on facebook, marry the guy on LinkdIn. Some thing make all the difference.
For me, I have to agree: Blackberry trumps iPhone.

You?

Thank God for Antibiotics!

OK, whinging is over - antibiotics have kicked in and I feel human again. As a wonderful side effect, sinus condition that I've been dealing with since the day after Christmas also seems to be resolving itself - perhaps it has been an sinus infection all this time after all?

Happy Monday. House de-cluttering can continue. (Anybody interested in joining me for a large yard sale in May is welcome. I'm thinking we can turn it in to a multi family cul-de-sac sale with no problem!) It's just all too much for me to deal with, and I need the crap out of here before the remodeling can begin. (Otherwise we have no place to move the stuff we are keeping from room to room!) I hope that Goodwill is interested in lots of gently worn clothing... FROM THE 80's! LOL. I'll also be having a tea in the next couple of weeks so my friends can come over and go through the books I'm getting rid of. I've got some pretty good titles up for grabs.

On a not so cheerful note: Please send your prayers to those in Victoria Australia this week... massive forest fires have decimated over 900 acres. 130+ deaths so far, fire moving so quickly that people have died in cars driving away from the fires. Worst of all, perhaps, is they believe some of the fires were not accidental. As people who live close to "fire country", we in Colorado understand the terror and horror of massive forest fires. This is what it will be like eventually when the beetle kill all around Vail goes up. Sad, scary days. Danielle, we all certainly hope that your friends and family have not been affected. I know you live a long, long way from the fire areas - but I'm not sure about your extended network.

Hello??

Testing? One, two, three... testing... (sound of tapping the microphone) is anybody still out there?

(The only sound in the background is the wind whistling through this particular blogger canyon.)

Hmmmm, well I suppose nobody cares that I have strep and that my throat hurts so very badly that when I swallow it feels like my ears might explode like Mt. Vesuvius.

(Poor me.)

I'll just finish my hot tea, go pick up my prescriptions, and climb back in bed - where I'm sure my ears will explode and my throat will never stop hurting. (Seriously, I get the throat - it's STREP THROAT... but the ears? Cruel collateral damage, absolutely cruel.)

s i g h .

SMA Friday!

There are far, far sadder people than I out there... as evidenced by the fact that you can find him on a coffee mug. *

But, in keeping with the spirit of SMA Friday, here he is:

*There is even a Jesus mug out there that actually looks like Hugh - but that might cross the boundries into bad taste. After all, I don't want the police banging on my door like I'm some sort of internet stalker! Which, come on who are we kidding, I probably am since I've got like 25 pictures of him on my hard drive ready to post on Fridays. Ummm, wait. Was that an overshare?

Wordless Wednesday

Big Love

Did Sarah make anyone else cry on Sunday's episode of Big Love? She is killing me this season. And, I'm not sure how, but the Niki-crazy is even more explosive than last season - and don't even get me started on Lois. I'm not so sure I can head up "Team Lois" anymore.

Sisterwives, opinions?

P.S. He's still Chet.

Happy Groundhogs Day!

Well, Phil got up early today and saw his shadow. Six more weeks of Winter. Sigh. The good news is that it's only 6 more Mondays until Spring! (Or, depending on how you look at it, six more SMA Fridays!) I get Spring Fever quite bad this time of year... and long for the Summer days that follow. The color of "Pool Blue" is a happy color for me. I can't wait to see it again.

We went to our friends' annual Groundhogs Day Party this weekend, and it was really fun. They are old neighbors who have "moved on" as they say, and we miss them. In speaking to the husband, I got a more in-depth understanding of "Why Groundhogs Day?" It seems that around the Yuletide peoples' weekends get booked too quickly with the glut of holiday get-togethers, and then there is a big let down in the social scene. Seems like everyone enjoys a good party during the dark days of Winter... and so the Groundhogs Day Party was born. It isn't that he's crazy about the rodent, it's simply a really good time to have a party.

My husband told me his parents had a "last rose of Summer" party. Husband and I really need to have an annual party to call our own. We have claimed Thanksgiving as our holiday to host for our families, but we don't have an annual do for our friends. Wouldn't it be fun to have a certain time of year come up and have people be able to say; "Hey, isn't it time for Dodi and Whats-his-name's annual (something or other) party?"

Kids will be included. Evites will be sent. Now all we need is a good idea.

All Things February

February is (at least in the USA):

The shortest month on our calendar (This still really makes no sense to me.)
Black History Month (I'll be telling the kids a lot about my family.)
National Snack Food Month (Something I'll try to be patriotic about and remember everyday.)
National Dental Month (due for a cleaning?)
Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket Month (That's right, bring em back!)
National Grapefruit Month (Yum!)
National Cherry Month (Why?)
National Bird Feeding Month (okay...because most of them are still in MEXICO for the remainder of the winter...)
American Heart Month (makes sense.)
American History Month (wait, how come Black History can't have it's own month? Eleven other months available and it has to share with American History?)

Special days in February:

2nd: Groundhogs Day (Go Phil, Go!)
7th: Charles Dickens Day (his birthday.)
11th: Thomas Edison's birthday (his too.)
12th: Abraham Lincoln's birthday, and my brother's birthday (more on this later.)
13th: MY birthday (more on this, too, later.)
14th: Valentines Day (Awww. I love Valentines Day!)
15th: Susan B. Anthony's birthday (I know who she is, but she already has a silver dollar, does she really also need a day?)
16th: Presidents Day (I like this because it's a day off of school.)
18th: Anniversary of the Planet Pluto being discovered. (Is this really still a day of recognition now that they bumped Pluto off the planet list?)
20th: Hoodie-Hoo Day (Northern Hemisphere only. Don't you dare celebrate in Australia!)
22nd: George Washington's birthday (He'll be 277 this month.)
24th: Mardi Gras (This is when that "not really being Catholic" thing comes in handy. More on that later.)

So, if nothing else, February gives us a lot of blog fodder. Which, really, is a bonus since it doesn't give us much else other than cold weather, a rodent who predicts the coming of Spring, and my getting older every damn year.

February? Bring it.

SMA Friday already?

I cannot believe that the week is over already! I missed Wordless Wednesday, I didn't blog any really deep, narcissistic thoughts, and I've nearly missed SMA Friday!

Whew! Because a weekend without Hugh is like a weekend without sunshine.

Happy Monday

Because only on a Monday morning would this be AS depressing as it is today:




and, for my foreign friends - especially those who are in the middle of Summer and live by the most beautiful ocean beaches in the world - I give you the Celsius number - just so you KNOW how cold it is here today!


Driving and texting is worse than driving and taking pictures, yes?)

SMA Friday

Don't get tired of these now... Hugh is SMA until next November!

Maybe this one will get Miss Martha on board!

Hey! My husband works for that company!

Fortune just released their list of the 100 best companies to work for in 2009 - and #1 on the list is where Husband works! That's pretty cool, I have to say.

Here is the article if you want to see it:

100 Best Companies to Work for 2009

Wordless Wednesday

"Facebook Flair" beats out "Frank Lloyd Wright"

Well, this is weird... my post about Facebook Flair has had over 25 hits in the last 3 days. Again, as with the Frank Lloyd Wright wasp nest, over half being outside of America.

Don't you wonder why some of your posts generate hits? What's the secret? I've mentioned "facebook" in other posts, and nothing.

Sexiest Man Alive? Draws only my regular readers. Now, you'd think having "Sexiest" in there would bring some hits my way, but it seems to be the word "flair" that does it.

Lets try:
Pomade
Silly Children
Dryer Sheets
Sistine Chapel
Patio Furniture
Inauguration
Crate and Barrel
Dog Treats
Spring Flowers

I'll let you know which, if any, bring attention. I suppose this is why people hide key words in their sites, right? What word would draw your attention?

2008: My version of a recap (of course it's late... have you learned nothing about me yet?)

In 2008 I blogged 179 entries. That is, almost, 15 blogs per month. Some months were lighter in the blogging arena, some much heavier. Blogging picked up during the months including Project Runway... and I have decided that if I ever recap for a reality show again it will have it's own blog space. I think it was a little distracting for those who didn't follow the show. But, I was only 4 blog entries away from an 'every other day' average. Wild, right? Didn't seem like I really had that much to say. Maybe I didn't... but if I was a major league batter with these kind of stats I'd be making the big bucks.

In 2008 my mom died. I miss her every day, and what people told me is very true. It doesn't hurt any less now - but it does hurt less often. I love her, I miss her, I find comfort in knowing I'll see her again someday.

In 2008 I read 22 books, which is far less than my normal - as for months after mom died I couldn't concentrate enough to read an entire book. Between my sadness about mom and my hormone crash from our miscarriage I'd pick them up, read a chapter, and not be interested.

In 2008 my dog, Bo, was diagnosed with cancer twice. Once was a mistake, and the second time was all too real. He seems to be responding to the treatment we have chosen, and we have high hopes that he will be with us throughout the entire 2009.

In 2008 my girls both had their first Disney adventures. They both describe them as "the best day of their life." I feel very fortunate that my kids have as much "wonderfulness" in their lives as they do.

In 2008 I was reminded by the Universe that even if I can't have all that I want, I have an excellent life. I give thanks for my husband, my children, my siblings, my dad, my mom, my in-laws, our pets, the teachers who guide my kids daily towards good decisions, our home, our neighbors (life sans Kravitz is unimaginable), our wonderful friends, our neighborhood pool (which saved my sanity this last summer), my husband's job, my having been able to spend 9 years home so far with our kids, the Assistant DA (who showed mercy towards me during that whole drivers licence fiasco), the former neighbors behind us who looked out their windows at just the right moment and spotted our fence on fire, our Government - who provided my mother with a beautiful final resting place... the list could go on forever. I have a whole lot to be grateful for!

Adios 2008. I, for the most part, didn't love you. But I do appreciate the things you taught me.

At last, something I can use!

I found this on the internet, someone searched my name in Google and this was from one of the links:

"Ani L’Dodi V’dodi Li" ("I to my beloved and my beloved to me") is the well known verse from King Solomon's Song of Songs.

My nickname means "beloved". My real name, Dorothy, means "gift of God".

I? Am a beloved gift of God. You just watch and see how quickly I throw that one at Husband next time we have a disagreement!!

SMA Friday!

Yes! It's FRIDAY!!!

To celebrate this week's SMA Friday, I give you a veritable plethora of Hugh.



Sigh.

Why being a high school principal is perhaps the WORST job ever...

OK, I saw this on a gossip site today and it is so funny! It's a clip from "truTV" (which I guess is the old CourtTV, IDK, but this show is called "Principal's Office"), and these two guys are really quite funny. Even though you want to slap them, they make you laugh. And, even though I was laughing, I was sitting here thinking, "See? THIS is why I could never be in education." I would have come un-glued.

I'm not actually posting the clip, since you know - I'm all G rated and such. (Except for naked Doogies, which don't really count.) BUT THE LINK IS RIGHT HERE! (I would suggest you don't watch with your kids around.)

I'm going to have to sniff around that site and see if it's any good. I'll report back with my in depth critique once I get the answers.

(Not so) Wordless Wednesday: Memory Lane - Remember these??

(They were Kool-Aid's competition MANY years ago. I remember we had some of those mugs, too. Check out the oh-s0-very PC names on the drinks! In 1966 Chinese Cherry was changed to Choo Choo Cherry and Injun Orange was changed to Jolly Olly Orange. There was Goofy Grape, rootin tootin raspberry, Freckle Face Strawberry, Lefty Lemonade... come on! You remember these, right?)

Nine years old is....

Too old for Gymboree, too young for Justice.

Ipods that still have Disney music on them, some princess songs are still OK for now.

Long hair in your face, mom's suggestion of "Wouldn't a ponytail with a bow be cute?" are met with hostile stares. She might wear that out of the house, but it won't be on her when she gets home.

Her thinking she is old enough for a cell phone. Mom and Dad telling her that MAYBE when she starts middle school.

Her sneaking both lip gloss and Littlest Petshop toys to school in her backpack.

Two or three years until I am officially the most embarrassingly awful person on this planet... as in "do NOT let people know we are related." Sigh.

Hopefully a couple of years left before she gives up our GoodNight Snuggles.

Still happy when Mom shows up at school and pops her head in to say "hi".

Sleeping peacefully with stuffed animals, and McDonald's toys are still small treasures.

Seeing glimpses of what kind of friends she is drawn towards, and knowing this still has time to change before she will be "labeled" as part of a group.

Another few steps away from us - towards who she is going to be. God bless her, I hope she always knows we're here - even if someday we are the most God awful, embarrassing, stupid, hopeless parents she ever has.

Today? We still have the answers, she still loves to be around us, and she welcomes us in to her life. I'm going to spend her year of Nine trying to remember that, cherish it, and not think about what is coming our way when our Little Girl is not so little anymore.

Dooce in Denver!

Yea!!! Another Blogger that I love has written a book - and she's coming to Denver during her book tour!

If you don't know DOOCE, you should start reading her now. She's wonderful to read, she was one of the first professional "mommy bloggers" (meaning she really does make a living from her blog, so successful is she that her husband quit his job to manage the business of the blog with her.) THIS BOOK is her memoir about her having to deal with post partum depression after the birth of Leta, her (now) 4 year old daughter. I'm sure it will be poignant, honest, and surprisingly funny.

She is here in Denver (well, Highlands Ranch. I don't think we need passports to travel all the way there yet!) on April 6th at 7:30. I think it would be a fun Mom's night out!

TGISMAF!

(Thank Goodness it's Sexiest Man Alive Friday!)

Looking a bit "Harry Potter" here, but not enough to ruin the sexy.

Sigh. Tracey and I are two very lucky women!

Asked DD2 about the toys...

She was with me when I was checking my comments, and said, "Hey, that's my pets!" So, seeing an opportunity to explore inside my child's brain, I asked, "Yes, they are your pets. How come they're backwards?" DD1: "Some are upside down and backwards." Me: "But what are they doing?" DD1: "They're getting their books out of their lockers."

And, if THAT is what she is noticing when she watches High School Musical? She can watch it every darn day! Here I was worried she'd want to dress like Sharpei, or learn about having crushes on boys... and she noticed the coolest thing was they got to have lockers. I love her being six! She's so good at it.

Wordless Wednesday: Nine years ago today...

And the curious treatment of the toys continues...

It's possible that there was an attempt at Mutiny and most of the Littlest Pets my daughter owns are being punished. (I especially like the ones that are hanging upside down... they must have been the ring leaders. And what's with the hamster in solitary confinement up there?)

Perhaps that folding table is like some sort of Guantanamo Bay for tiny terrorist pieces of plastic?

Maybe they are like Somalian Pirates that take over other toys in our living room - and the coast guard has rounded them up for interrogation?

I don't know, every time I let my guard down around here I am greeted with some sort of weird toy display. At least I can be thankful they are all of the same toy type, and the Polly's aren't in there acting as aid workers or something weird like that. Right?

(Note: No, I don't actually think she is insane or dangerous... she likes lining things up - it's one of her quirks. It's just that the weird stuff catches my eye, as opposed to the 15 times she lined them up facing forward, which didn't seem nearly as funny.)

Follow up on Ugliest Photo Contest

Hey, did anyone ever take any truly hideous pictures at holiday time? (Pictures of my ass don't count, MARTHA!) Let me know if you got anything good. I didn't.

Facebook Flair

OK, so according to my stats there are like maybe 12 people who read my blog with any regularity. (Having sifted out those who find me by doing a Google search on "Frank Lloyd Wright" - whose name appeared in a post ONCE - and still leads people here for a 5 second peek. Also not counting my one reader in Manitoba, who lurks here on and off. Although I'd like to know who it is, I don't have any idea... they have never commented. But I'm sure it started with a Frank Lloyd Wright search.) Once I narrowed it down, I figured out that most of you (except Nana B) are on facebook. A site that I frequent often (hahahaha).

Facebook's greatest draw for me isn't finding friends, because I suck at that part of it. I am unable to find anyone from my past. I'm not kidding - no one. One person found me, so I can't count that as a victory for myself since she did all the work. I'm the only one at the gathering of the neighborhood coven who doesn't get to wonder, "How do I lurk on an old boyfriend's page without getting caught?", or "I found {insert name here}, who I thought was such a bitch in high school..." , or my favorite "I had to close my facebook account because there were just too many people wanting to be my friend..." because I can't find any of them. (And, perhaps worst of all? They certainly aren't looking for me.) I can only assume that I am too old for past associates to be tech savvy enough to use Facebook, OR they're all to tech savvy for me, and have figured out a way to cloak themselves from me. Either way? I have like 9 friends on facebook. Nine. Some of you have hundreds, I have nine. Not even Tom from Myspace has managed to find me, and I thought I could always count on Tom!

Anyway, my point - and I do have one - is that Facebook's GREATEST draw for me, since it isn't the social networking mecca for me that it seems to be for everyone else on earth, is Flair. I love flair. Love. Love. Love. It cracks me up... so I'm going to share you my four favorite pieces of flair to date. (Hoping that this will entice my other 3 readers to join facebook so I can have a couple more friends. I had no idea that it was so competitive out there for friends!)



...and if you don't get why flair is so great? You probably have more "friends" than I do.

Correction: I have 18 friends on facebook. EIGHTEEN. Beat that! (Oh, I see all of you already have.)

SMA Friday!

Starting the year off with our Sexiest Man Alive....




Oh wait... thats Doogie Howser. It's so easy to get them mixed up! (Nude Doogie! That was a surprise, right? Can I point out that with Doogie being gay and a celebrity and I expected a bit more manscaping.)



Here is the real SMA!


Ahhhh... that's better!