18 Again

No I do NOT wish I was 18 again!! Those years were not my best, but it is however my third child's 18th birthday. J2 was born on a really hot July Sunday in 1990. It seems like it was just last week. Now 18 years later, my big brown eyed little man is really becoming a man.

He has been here with me all week, and as I see him I realize that he soon will be own his own, not coming to stay with dad for the weekend, or a week or two in the summer. His days of fun and doing nothing are over and he will have to go out and meet the world head on like the rest of us.

He has one more year of High School left and then it's off to college or the work world. His whole life is ahead of him. Remember that feeling? I know he will do alright, and whatever path life takes him he will do his best. All I hope for him, as with all my children, is I want them to be happy. Life is too short being unhappy. So, Happy Birthday, Son! and remember if the path get's a little rough (which, I am sure it will) I'm here for you, I love you and I'm very proud of you!

Welcome to the Laundromat!

Laundry is the least favorite thing for me to do regarding household chores. I hate doing laundry, especially socks.

But today I did laundry, lots of laundry. That was until I heard this huge sound coming from the laundry closet. It sounded like the washer had reguratated it's entire contents and then was trying to tear it's way out of the laundry closet so that nothing else could be put inside it.

Actually it was the motor. Which burnt up. Now we have no washer, and Dan still has no car. What is it with us and motors this week?? So no I will hate laundry even more than I already do. It now off the the laundromat!!

Post #555

555 posts! Wow, that is a lot of postings. But then again the blog is almost 5 years old so that is not a lot of posts really.

Well on with the post. I wanted it to be something exciting and memorable for you to read and laugh, however our weekend was not something laughable. It actually was somewhat disheartening. DJ's trusty vehicle, "Linda" a 1998 black Chevy cavalier blew a rod. Now I was somewhat lost as to what this really meant, but I soon found out that it means, she will never grace the highways again. She will go to the graveyard that is specially designed for her breed. Or we could pay over $2,000 to have a new motor placed into her body, but it wouldn't be "Linda" anymore. I mean it would be like a total organ replacement for a human, it just wouldn't never be the same. And spending that much money on her would not guarantee she would last another ten years. So we are on the lookout for a new car to replace "Linda".

Regardless of what we buy, both DJ and I require two things. Gas efficient and the color. It HAS to be a shade of orange. Yes, you heard me orange. So, off we went this weekend car shopping. We have narrowed it down to two models, a Hyundai Accent Hatchback or a Chevrolet Cobalt.

Fortunately for us, the orange colors are only available is certain areas and Cincinnati is one of those areas, due to the legendary Cincinnati Bengals....

So we are pondering our decision, and awaiting the results of our financing to see how much this new purchase is going to set us back per month. But regardless of the monthly cost it beats the $400 a month I am putting out for gas to travel to and from work each month. Stay tuned, maybe by post #600 we will have our new family member!!

King for a Day

I have to start taking my camera everywhere I go. It's a must. Because people never believe me when I tell them the things I see on the way to and from work. Seriously, it's everyday that I see something bizarre or entertaining in my car as I travel the highways and byways of Cincinnati.

Many times it may be a person, or a sign. Sometimes it is an animal or just something strange that sticks out and catches my eye. Today though it was something quite entertaining. As I was driving down a major road in the beautiful Queen City, I saw what had to have been the King of Cincy. He was standing there waiting apparently for the Metro (Cincinnati's Bus Line), minding his business and making sure that everyone knew he was...the man.

I would venture to say he was in his late 60's and decked out in one of the finest polyester suits I have ever seen. His shoes matched the color of the suit, which was almost a turquoise shade. His hair was cropped close, from what I could see, and his general appearance was clean, yet not OCD clean. On every finger and thumb he had at least one golden ring attached to it. Around his neck were several golden necklaces and chains. Over his shoulder was what looked like a golden Louis Vitton bag. And upon his head was the crowing achievement, so to speak.

It was a golden crown with stunning jewel inlaid around the circumference and pearls that lined the tops of each spire. It was a vision of splendor that would have made even the Queen of England green with envy. As I drove past I looked in my rear view mirror and caught my final glimpse of him heading into the bus carry his green garbage bag, ready for another day of whatever it is the King of the City does.

Yes, I need to start taking my camera with me everywhere! There is so much I could share.

Meet the Neighbors

DJ and I have lived in our apartment now almost a year, and we really have not met our neighbors, or at least all of them. I've never been one of those neighborly kind of people that want to be friends with everyone in the neighborhood. I got that from my mother. As a child I never even knew the woman's name that lived right next door to us.

Well, we finally met our neighbors it all started after DJ and I went to bed....

I was sleeping soundly, dreaming of the apoycalpse (that is another entire blog post) when suddenly I was awaken by....WHAH WHAH WHAH WHAH!! Damn, I thought, time to get up already? It seemed like I just went to bed. I reached over and hit the snooze button, but the sound kept reverberating in my ears, and it seemed to get louder. I reached over and slammed my alarm again, knocking it onto the floor and the sound STILL was coming louder than ever, like I really pissed the alarm clock off. I realized then that it wasn't the alarm and that it must be the fire alarm. So I ran into the dining room and pulled out a chair and stood on top of the chair and tried to turn off the fire alarm. But this wasn't working either. I tried to take the battery out, but to no avail. DJ comes from the bedroom and asks what is going on. I replied I had no idea, the fire alarm would not go off...

No, it wasn't our fire alarm, it was the ENTIRE building alarm and we now were going to have to go outside and wait for the firemen to arrive. We clothed ourselves and headed out to the parking lot where low and behold there were ALL our neighbors!!

There was the cute guy, who lives alone but tonight he came out with his girlfriend; the other cute guy with his wife, both couples had a dog each; then there was the resident nosy neighbor who knows everyone by name and probably their date of birth; the single lady that refused to mingle in the parking lot with us and stood by her door in her robe; the two guys that live right next door to us (two guys in a one bed room apartment?? Could they be...?); the really hot guy downstairs, who for whatever reason did not have his dog, but did have his flip flops on; the other single guy who had his flannel shirt, jeans and work boots on, and DJ and I (who did not even have time to do anything with my hair!!) There was one missing however...the one that no one has ever seen. I didn't even know anyone lived in that apartment. However, how could he NOT hear this alarm?

He, we surmised was the culprit of the 2:30 a.m. meet the neighbors party, as he never came out. And for that matter, after 25 minutes the firemen never arrived either!! The building manager came over and stopped the noise and we all scurried back into our own little worlds.

I wonder if tomorrow anyone will say hello?

A Birthday Week

Yes, last week I got another year older. On Thursday I turned 48 years old. There were no big parades or fanfare, although the team at work went all out with a major "food day" on Thursday, bringing in all kinds of goodies to eat. So all day I indulged in those food items that I should avoid. Cakes, brownies, salsa you name it they had it!

DJ and I celebrated at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Cancun. Over all it was a great birthday week and I didn't suffer too much from the overeating and the high starch, high carb diet. It was one day for goodness sakes.

My favorite girls, Lil Bit, Paris and Louisville Sweetie, all went together and got me a beautiful Fossil watch. I've owned several watches, and at one time I had over 16 but I've never had a Fossil watch. It was a very nice gift and a pleasant surprise.

I received calls from my parents, DJ's mother, all four of my kids and both brothers and my bff Silver wishing me birthday goodness, and I even received a few e-mails and one birthday wish on my blog.

Once it was all said and done, I realized getting older is not that bad. It's just a number, right?

Birthday!

A Lady in My Life

I have a new lady in my life. I have named her Scarlett. Not sure what her real name is so Scarlett will have to do.

Scarlett is a glimpse in my childhood and when I saw her sitting there in the cousin's curio cabinet I just knew I had to have her. Now that I have her sitting out proudly in my living room I don't want her to be alone. I am on the lookout for another lady to join her...maybe Melanie?

This little lady is actually what is called a head vase. They were made in Japan back after WWII and then they made their way into American homes by way of florists. In the top of the hat, or head as it may be, there is a hole. (No comments about all women having holes in their heads, please) In this hole, florists filled with dirt and flowers, and Americans would sit these planters or vases out for all to see. Once the flower died of course they could still be used for decoration.

My grandmother most have received a lot of flowers in the 40's and 50's because I remember her having at least 10 of these ladies sitting on a shelf in her kitchen, peering down at me while I sat the looking up at these strange mysterious women. It was kind of freaky... Plus she had more gazing at me from the living room.

Fast forward to today (and like most of the things in my grandmother's home that no one knows what happened to after she passed),these little ladies are collectors items. Hell, they have their own convention!! And their very own web site called HEAD VASE MUSEUM. These ladies can be found all over the country in garage sales, vintage sales, and flea markets. But bring your pocketbook, because these little ladies like to drain the wallet dry, they will suck the numbers right off your credit card. Some of these women can go for as high as $2,500. Now don't come running over to my house and try to steal Scarlett, thinking she will bring you that much. At last check she was only worth about $250, so HANDS OFF MY LADY! Needless to say I will be collecting these ladies, along with my vintage movie posters and Wizard of Oz Memorabilia.

With my birthday coming up in about 4 days (hint hint) I know a great gift....

When I Knew

Yesterday, in between the cat waking me up in the morning standing on my chest meowing, the neighborhoods illegal fireworks waking me up from my late evening nap, and early this morning when I finally laid my head down and settled in for the night, I came across a very interesting little TV Show on Cinemax.

When I Knew. This show is based on the HBO documentary film by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, in association with Cinemax Reel Life, and based on the book by Robert Trachtenberg. It is a collage of random people and asks them just one question...When did you know? They each then relate how they first realized that they were gay. I think it was a great show and for those that would watch it, they can begin to understand the angst, guilt, excitement and oh so many more emotions one feels when they realize that they are different than those around them.

It made me stop and think about when did I know? To be honest I can not remember a time when I didn't know, know that at least I was different than the other boys. But I think the first realization came on the playground in 2nd grade. I was at a new school and didn't know anyone and it was recess. The time for all the kids to go out and let their frustrations out for having to sit in a classroom with a really boring teacher. Being new, of course I was the last one picked to play softball with the boys. (The teacher split the boys from the girls by the way, sending the boys to the baseball field and the girls remained closer to the building playing hopscotch). I was the third to bat, and I had no idea what to do. I stood there with this huge piece of wood in my hand, (no pun intended) while I waited for this really cute boy in front of me to wing this softball at my head. He did just that. Hit me right in the head. After the teacher checked me over to make sure I was okay she looked at me and smiled and said...

"Maybe you should go over with the girls and play jacks or hopscotch."

Which I did, and continued to do so every day afterwards for the rest of my grade school experience.

Anyway watch the show, I think you will enjoy listening to the stories.

America's Birthday!

Happy Birthday America!!!