My Second Journal

I know that just because you come here and talk to me I can’t assume that you read everything that I read..and if you don’t you are missing out on some stuff. So..here is what you need to do and read!

Connie and her family just got back from Alaska. OMG the pictures are awesome.

There are a couple new bloggie babies baking in the oven: Here and Here

I blogged the other day about Jason getting married. Well Kate is getting married too!

Linda got a new hot tub..and his having some MORE work on the bathroom.

Pumpkin is moving from an undisclosed location back to Scotland and is VERY excited.

Sandy’s baby girl is going to SCHOOL for part of the day.

Raquita redid her blog..to combine w/ her photography business. OMG it’s awesome.

I haven’t totally caught up on all my commenting and reading since..Oh July 2ndish.. I may get caught up today!

Those were the wise word of a very sweet, very cuddly Italian woman, who happened to be my Grandma. Grandma died in 1980. She was 96 years old. I remember her death like it was yesterday.

I was lying in my bed, the phone range around 2am. Our phone was in the hallway, there was a special little shelf for the phone. I could hear my dad cry, it was a scream and a sob. I could hear my mother saying “Oh John”. I knew Grandma was gone. Dad put on his clothes, I asked to go too but he told me to stay home.

Grandma lived 3 doors down from us, my Aunt lived with her. There was no “hospice” back then but there was a lady from the neighborhood that always sat with the dying. She was there and dad’s sisters. Even though she was 96 years old it hit my dad VERY hard. To this day dad still talks about his mom and how he can’t wait to see her again in heaven. When he was in the hospital a couple years ago that was all he talked about; the idiot doctor had him on morphine and he was talking outside his head. There was no way in hell Grandma was going to have another visitor. I had his meds changed.

I took Dad to see Grandma’s grave the other day. The cemetery isn’t far away but we’re not “cemetery” kind of people. I knew where it was though, I would drive down the road near by and would thinking of Grandma every time I went by. Dad was surprised I remembered where it was in the big cemetery, I mean it’s been almost 29 years ago. I found it though, big huge stone w/ Jesus. Kind of Resurrection type of a pose. There at the bottom were Felicia and Enrico. Grandpa died in 1947…I never knew either Grandpa. Dad got his cane out and I head him as he navigated the grass and dirt. We laughed at all the names, he felt like he was walking down one of our neighborhood streets; Rugerri, Columbo, Marlo, Berra.. “There’s Josie!, Oh look there’s Ceasar”.. Dad was very happy to see where Grandma was. More than likely that will be our last time there..unless he asks, of course I would take him back. It makes him so sad though.

Back to Grandma. I always remember her as very big..not fat just tall and big boned. Now though when I look at Dad and his too living sisters…I don’t think Grandma was that big, there is no way she could have been. Grandma started going back to speaking Italian only toward the end of her life, I used to tell her, “Grandma SPEAK ENGLISH”.. but she would shake her head at me…kinda like how dad does know when he doesn’t know what the hell I’m talking about. It’s a disgusted look.

As a child Grandma used to tell me that I had “Porka Chopa Legs”…yes I always was a bit plump. Her favorite saint was St Rita. She was always saying prayers or the rosary while she looked out the front window. She didn’t care too much for TV except every Sunday morning she would watch Wrestling At The Chase. Dad and I would eat danishes with her and watch with her. It was very exciting.

Grandma always used to tell me. “DON’T GET OLD”… and she’d shake her head in disgust. She never complained but I’m sure she had many aches and pains.

Yesterday I took mom and dad to my cousin’s youngest daughter’s High School graduation party. Walkers..canes…all that good stuff. Well mom got stuck on the toilet..not really STUCK..but we went in the one nearest to where our table was and it wasn’t handicapped…and it was a low toilet.. There were the two of us in the stall. I couldn’t pull her from under her arms, she’s just too darn heavy..I wouldn’t let her use the toilet paper holder, she would have ripped that right off the wall…at one point she used my arm fat to try to pull herself up..and let me tell you that hurt like a bitch. Eventually she did a shimmy to the side and pressed up off the seat. I told her next time she’s to just go in her pants..I mean she wears a depends. She looked at me and I had to look away…the sadness in her eyes. She felt defeated, defeated by what her body has turned into..she is a sharp woman..pain in the ass but smart none the less. She reminds me constantly that SHE has a college degree. She told me, “Grandma was right you know, DON’T GET OLD”… I laughed, just like I did back when Grandma told me… I have a feeling though one of these days, God willing, I’ll be telling people the same thing.

I have a million meme’s to do..busy at work…gotta take Dad to the doctor this afternoon then we’re going to Sam’s club. OH..the bathroom now has plumbing that works… Now we need drywall, new floor, new kitchen plumbing… and that should be July. Anyone have an extra 10 grand?

JASON GOT MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations…Get over there and throw some rice! Grab me a hanky while you are at it!!

I had a BRILLIANT idea for a post. (yes another one) but it would be alot of work, and it’s almost 2pm on the 3rd of July and I’m hoping to get interrupted shortly in order to go home….but I’m still waiting.

So I’m showing you some of my favorite pictures that I’ve taken in the last couple of weeks.

bench

So, how is your week going? We had a fricking Serial Killer! A psycho Meth Head Serial Killer. Yesterday afternoon before he was caught I read, “Last seen Monday night at the Cardinal Baseball Game”.. This would be 8 miles from my house. You can read all about it here and here.
This psycho just killed people, he didn’t have a “reason” and it’s not like he even KNEW them. The last people were just a nice couple in town for a graduation party. They drove up from Arkansas w/ their dogs and were staying at a Comfort Inn. Unreal.
I’m very glad they caught him, he had called his Ex-wife and told her that he wasn’t done killin yet. Could have made for a real mess over a holiday weekend w/ all the extra tourists in town.

We were talking about this last night when I got my hair cut. Many of us watch reality crime shows, Law and Order, Criminal Minds, CSI, Without A Trace.. Well at least I do. Talking about a real life killer was strange…Andrea was cutting away at my hair and I said, “So, you hear about our serial killer?”..she said, “Oh, no. You mean like Bundy, Son of Sam type killer”.. You had to stop to realize the craziness of it all, that randomly anyone could be at the wrong place at the wrong time and be this guys victim.

It’s funny that this happened, do you remember a couple days ago about my “brilliant post”. Well my idea was going to be about the good old days, my Title (it was a working title) was “Anybody Home?”. The idea was inspired the other day when I was at mom and dad’s, this is the house I grew up in. I grew up across the street from my Aunt..dad’s baby sister. We lived 3 doors down from my Grandma and Aunt and about 5 blocks from my Aunt and Uncle. These are the Italians in the family. People never had their doors locked. We would visit each other when we wanted to, no one called first. I would go across the street, open the door and say “Anybody Home?” and then just start walking through the house trying to find someone. Sometimes there was no one home…usually I would end up opening the fridge or finding a cookie or two. I used to walk in my friends homes too..but I think I knocked first, THEN walked in. We’d yell outside each others house to play..knocking didn’t seem like it was necessary.

What happened? Does the media just scare us more than in 1975? 1985?

I can’t imagine any relative of mine just coming over, unannounced and walk in my house..can you?

Did you notice what I did.. One post with 2 subjects that were related to each other, and not really really random. I didn’t even tell you about how the boys went to see Hancock w/out me or that the shower is broken now and we’re spending the 4th of July w/ the plumber..I did good!!

It was a little less than 2 hours. I forgot to turn the flash on so this is what you get.

OK, I was majorly head blogging and I have a GREAT post coming..well not great, I don’t want to get you all excited.. but I realize my problem is I have more to say..and when you end a post about a certain topic w/ a PS it just doesn’t work right.. So I’m interrupting my great post which hasn’t been written yet to tell you stuff. Get it?

Hair appointment has to be rescheduled. Tonight we’re going to see Hancock…my hair would have taken 2 hours.. I’ll let you know when.

Plumbing is totally a mess..it’s jerry rigged until after Hilton Head…now the tub and sink won’t drain right. I skipped a shower today..gross.

Last night my brilliant step son learned…ALL BY HIMSELF… how to do fart sounds under his arms. He showed me this while he danced naked around the living room. He wanted to know what mommy would think about his new talent…I told him that she will be VERY proud. He also asked if he could use this new talent and show it off at the Talent Show at camp. I told him that he could if he learned how to arm fart a song..try with Twinkle Twinkle and practice after I leave for work..he told me he would.

Drew and I played some basketball out in the street last night. Damn…I’m good, especially now that the ankle is feeling better.

They saw Wall-E without me.. :-(  Hopefully I’ll still have an opportunity.

I finished Fearless Fourteen..AWESOME!

OK, big meeting. If I have time later I will post my awesome post.

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I was so rushed to post earlier I didn’t type the word random in my title..scatterbrain

I actually feel like I had a long weekend, it didn’t fly by like normal. By 7pm last night I said to J, “I can’t believe this is all the same day that started with me going to church!”

Friday was pretty non-eventful. Saturday we were up, went shopping, took my dad to a bbq, went house hunting, went to the movies. Sunday I was up, went to church, went shopping, went to the movies, read my book then picked up Drew.

I missed the bloggie event on Saturday..I’m sure there will be more. By the time we got out of the movie it was 8ish so I didn’t go by.

Movie Reviews

Wanted

There will be no spoilers so feel free to read away. This is a Rated R movie. The F bomb is thrown around, sex and violence which includes blood. I’m not a prude or weird about that but thought you should know. Personally I really liked the movie and would recommend. You have action, comedy..and a twist. What more do you need. I actually laughed out loud a few times, and you were supposed to. Some of the voice over stuff was really great. The car chases and special effects were awesome. The plot is NOT to be believable, this isn’t a crime drama..it’s got a smidge of sci-fi which I loved. Go to the theater…enjoy on the big screen w/ the great surround system. Leave the kids at home.

The Happening

This is an M Night Shyamalan movie. His stuff is kind of funky and his problem is that he hasn’t had a huge blockbuster since The Sixth Sense… but J and I had an opportunity to see another non-kid movie so we went. Bottom line, I give the movie a C. If you are the least bit interested wait until the DVD comes out.
I can’t talk too much about the movie without it being a huge spoiler, if you want to know them leave me a comment and I’ll email you and tell you what happens. The story and plot work..it STILL has me thinking but the way the story played didn’t work for me. There was way to much gore..I think that w/ the deaths you could imply that something happens. For instance…and this is in the VERY beginning…a woman is going to die and she puts a knitting needle through her neck.. Yeah. Really. I didn’t need to see that…You could have done it where it’s right AT her neck and I could have figured out what happens next, you know what I mean? ALSO I was in a theater w/ people that talk to the screen…. you knew before something was going to be sick..I covered my eyes and the people behind me were all “OH NO…HE’S GONNA DO …..” you get the idea. The other problem that I had was Mark Wahlberg. Normally I really like him and he was one of the reasons why we went. For me, his character played sissy. His character is a HS Science Teacher. His wife was just weird and he was way too sensitive.. I don’t know, I can’t put my finger on it..it’s like he played w/ his voice an octave higher and his inflections were like he was overacting. I think it would have made a good book, was it a book? I’ll have to look.

Book.. Did you know that Janet Evanovich’s latest Stephanie Plum novel is out? Yes it is!! Fourteen and Fearless. I’m about 1/3 of the way though. So far..so good. All our characters are there. I love Grandma.. I was going to get to pick it up again this afternoon cause I was going to the doc office w/ dad..but we had to reschedule. I think we’re going to see WALL-E tonight…we’ll see.

*** Oh the house hunting this is that we’re in the curious stage…seeing what is out there and what exact area we plan to look, once we’re ready.

Sometimes when I post a couple times in a day people don’t read my previous post…So go over there and tell me what the hell to do with my hair..then come back.

This is going to be one of those random time things..you know then one that usually wears you out.

First thing when I got to work I opened the Internet and was OVERJOYED to see that our Archbishop is being sent to Rome. IMO I would have fired him…but this IS the Catholic Church. They gave him a promotion. Good riddance.

I was totally psyched to see white octagonal tile on a section of our ripped up bathroom floor. Short lived excitement..hubby hates it. It will not be uncovered and restored

I am SICK and tired of Bike Riders. You know the ones I’m talking about? Tight clothes, water bottles riding their bikes RIGHTINFRONTOFMYCAR!!! For the love of GOD get on the sidewalk, buy a car, take the bus…do something but don’t hold up rush hour traffic by riding your fricking bike in the lane that is meant for automobiles. That’s great your are some tree hugging hippie who is showing off you are all green…..JUST MOVE before you get run over or cause an accident. OH and see that red light up there??? Well if you think you have all these rights to ride your bike in my car lane then you have to obey the fricking traffic rule…STOP at RED….don’t ride next to me on the shoulder either, I can’t see you!! (I feel better)

There are some REALLY crappy movies out there. I’ve been recording movies that I alone would like in the bedroom..rephrasing, I am recording movies in my room that I would like to watch, and that I know my husband wouldn’t like to watch. Two movies I deleted right away…Lover’s Prayer w/ Kirsten Dunst and Everything is Illuminated with Elijah Wood. OMG, I gave both of those movies about a half our of my life and deleted them. Then I watched Bobby..the story of RFK. WTF was up with all the characters? Many I didn’t care about at all… I would have rather had the story center around a few people at the hotel…a few people in the staff or through the eyes of the killer.

Did you go to the previous post yet and give me hair suggestions, you really should.

It is hotter than hell today but we’re supposed to have a “cool front” tonight w/ big ole storms..which is what our area needs w/ all the flooding. Speaking of flooding another levee broke.

I’m having major food issues…my appetite has changed or something. My frozen weight watchers lunches just aren’t cutting it anymore. I’m hungry again.

Another weekend w/out Drew. Not sure what we are going to do. Shopping tonight since I need something for storage in the bathroom. Dad wants to go to a BBQ tomorrow…there is a St Louis blogger event on Saturday too… I don’t know…we’ll see.

I still owe 2 people meme’s.. maybe this weekend. I also have pictures on my computer at home that I need to upload to flickr.

Anything exciting this weekend? Must see movies on cable?

Ok, lets get right to work. On Tuesday (as in July 1st) I am getting my hair cut. Cut, Color, Eyebrow Wax. This appointment is a LONG time coming. My last appointment was before Aruba..early April.

Help: Do I get a trim…get layers..go short? What do I do. Right now I have a ponytail. If I wear it down it looks like the above picture.

What do I do, help??

Give me links to haircuts that would work with my face. I have ZERO body to my hair. It is healthy hair yet very fine. I have the kind of hair that I couldn’t wear it up in a scrunchy cause it all falls out. It fell out and looked like crap on my wedding cause the bobby pins don’t hold it.

I trust the girl that cuts my hair..but she is happy w/ status quo too..

I have way more to talk about, I have a feeling this will be a 2 post day..especially if the phones stay this dead.