Sharing Sharolyn's Joy

I still feel a rush of emotions when I remember my uncle and when I reread my post (here) I wrote after he died.

My birthday is still bittersweet because it was on my birthday that my family buried my uncle.

Now, 6+ years later, a lot of those feelings rushed back to me.

A few days ago I got word that his ex-wife as ill, in the hospital on life support, and had multiple organ failure.

I remember when they were married.  She was the American wife to a kind of old-school Nigerian man, but in front of us at least, she was always so friendly.  Always full of cheer.  I rarely saw her not smiling.

To me, at the time, their divorce seemed sudden and out of nowhere.  Looking back and at my uncle, I'm sure being married to him and dealing with all of his issues could have been draining and straining.

Even after the divorce, she would sometimes be seen at some Nigerian family/friend functions.

At my uncles funeral, she was there with us as my siblings, my father, and my mother went through the emotional service. She was there smiling as I read my blog post for the mass of guests.  She was there with us even through the after events.

Once she found us all on FaceBook, it was on.   She was often one of the first to compliment me or my family on our recent photos and wished us each a happy birthday each year.  Always two days early.

She was so freaking nice that her illnesses and the fact that they made her suffer for longer than I could imagine dealing with illness make me cry just typing this.

It hurts to think that I didn't speak to her since early March, and even that was through email correspondence.

It makes me wish that all people in my life - current, past, close, not-as-close-as-we-once-were could be seen now, given a hug, or at least share a laugh and some messages.  Messages of how they've touched my life, improved my mood, made me think, shared my joy, helped me in times of sorrow, made me stretch beyond my comfort zone, made me question myself, made me improve myself, or even just sat next to me during a boring workshop or meeting.

I always hold myself out to be strong and steadfast in my stoic nature.

I remember when some crazy stuff happened to Kid Sis #2 and my mom was shocked at how hard I took it - shocked at how much it impacted me and that I cried, hard.

I cry over shit.

I've started to cry at little things - including stupid scenes in tv shows.  I cry at joyful things as well as sorrowful things.

I am almost always impacted when events involve people I love, have loved, or care about.

I can't help it.

I don't know that I want to help it anymore.

I'm fine with my emotions coming out at times.

What I want to be better at is contacting people I care about more regularly.  I need to be better about letting them know how much they mean to me before it's too late, or before they forget that I ever cared.

I need to spread the joy that my Aunt Sharolyn spread with her smile and all of her kind words.

Hopefully, she knew how much I loved her and her energy...

December photo-a-day: Last week

December photos I have taken during the past week using prompts given by Fat Mum Slim.

I wish you all a happy new year and safe celebrations!

December 24 - Something you always do

24. Every day, I get on a subway.  Sometimes the stations are nice like this one at 96th in Manhattan, other times they are pretty dingy.

December 25 - Lunchtime

25. Late breakfast/lunchtime meal before Christmas dinner hosted by my sister.  It was her first time hosting, and she and I cooked a good mix of food for my BF and my visiting brother.  We had roasted cauliflower, sauteed green beans and shrimp, chicken, Japanese fried rice, meatballs and spinach tortellini, kale salad, and some awesome Oreo cake.  We even FaceTimed with my two sisters and cousin in Houston.  Good times.  Good food - and I didn't even get the 'itis'!

December 26 - Mess

26. On Boxing Day, my sister, my brother, and I went to Grand Central Terminal.  It was pretty spectacular to see in the main area.  It cracked me up that everywhere we saw, my brother referenced it to at least four movies he has seen.  This was one place that I could also remember from movies and books that I have read.  Nice to see it in person.  We went to the Apple Store on the side that was super massive and, from there, I took this picture of the crowd that looks like a mess, but is really quite organized chaos as people go to their destinations.

December 27 - How you relax

27. Despite some of the not-so-good areas, mice crawling between my feet, and trash I have encountered in NYC, there are several really beautiful areas.  This is one of the ponds in Central Park.  Walked through this area for the first time with my brother and sister.  It was really peaceful, beautiful, and relaxing to see the water, not see any cars, and not see any trash.

December 28 - Cold

28. Nothing like spending a cold night sitting with people watching old episodes of Jem on Netflix.  Hilarity ensued the entire time!

December 29 - Hot

29. In all of my apartments, I have had to walk to a different floor to do laundry.  In my parent's house I rented for four years, I had to go into a nasty, unfinished, unsafe basement.  My last place (which caused me the most drama after moving out) had washer and dryer in the unit, right across from the awesome kitchen.  So much bliss.  So easy to do laundry.  So wonderful.  I read a statistic that only 30% of apartments in Manhattan have a washer and dryer in the unit.  Another reason this place is slightly backward in my opinion.  I don't have one in the building and have to take trips to the laundromat to get clean clothes.  It is actually pretty common here to have a service pick up your laundry from your place and bring it back clean for you.  I'm sure it is convenient if you have decent hours where you will be home.  I just do it myself once a week.  This day was the day.  I always wash in hot and am usually there at off-peak times.

30. Something that made you smile this year. I used a video from Christmas night from my phone, but it was so great that it still makes me smile.  This was in the Columbus Circle subway station on our way back to my sister's place.  It was so nice to see her playing the violin and hoola hooping and just being merry.  I had to give her some money.

December 31 - Self-portrait

31. Had a slight headache this morning; it felt like someone had taken a bat to my head.  I felt a self-portrait as such was appropriate.

Here are photos from the rest of my December camera adventures: Week one, week two, and week three.  I hope you enjoyed and I hope you have a wonderful new year!

October Photos: Week 3

October Photo-a-Day continues.  Prompts were selected by Fat Mum Slim - click the link to see the month's full list.

October 17 - Fruit

17. Nothing better than sweet, crisp Fuji apples.  Especially during apple season.  These, from Trader Joe's were delightful!

October 18 - Made you smile today

18. Left: my ticket when I walked into Time Warner Cable on 96th and Broadway.  Right: The number they were serving when I walked in.  You can see my estimated wait time was 37 minutes.  I was called after about 40 minutes, so they were pretty accurate.  The wait was annoying, but it all put a smile on my face because the trip will help me save money.  I was returning the cable box since I don't watch tv.  I now only have internet in the apartment.  I have honestly only watched about 4 hours of tv in the two+ months that I have been in NYC.  Very strange considering that the tv was always on and I was basically always watching something (likely stupid) when I was in St. Louis.

October 19 - Letters

19. I finally have an income! (Though it still may be 6-8 weeks before they give me credit for years I taught in MO and for having a master's degree - but don't get me started on that... I just look forward to the back pay.)  I don't have a bank here and am not sure if I will open one.  I am fine with my online bank and my StL credit union.  I mailed two checks to the credit union for deposit and they mailed me back (without me asking for it) some deposit slips and pre-addressed envelopes for if (really, when) I send them more checks.  Unfortunately, I sat on my yoga mat opening mail after I had already sent another check to them in the mail.  I'll be ready next time.

October 20 - Four o'clock

20. Weekends are for roaming the city.  There are always so many new things to see.  New York is known for the little dogs.  Also for dog walkers since people may not be able to get home early enough to let their dogs out.  Now that it is getting cooler, the dog sweaters are coming out, too.  Around four o'clock, I saw this Pet Hotel in Chelsea and had to take a picture to send to Kid Sis #1 and her new dog.  I have seen such places on tv - along with the spas and eateries for dogs, but never in person.

October 21 - Calm

21. On this Sunday, I walked around in various parts of the west and east sides of Manhattan.  On the west side, I saw this amazing building off of 42nd Street.  It had nice trees outside, but had this amazing greenery inside.  I'm not sure what the building is for, but it was beautiful to see.  I just wonder how many bugs they have in there.  It always makes me pause when I see green in the city since it cannot be found everywhere like I am used to in Missouri.  The lower picture is closer to the east side close to 28th Street.  There was this amazing aroma of flowers and plants and this really cool plant store.  I had to take a picture.  I love how you can see the rays of sun in the photo!

October 22 - In your town

22. I found this nice pizza place close to school that I can get lunch from (I love being able to leave school during lunch break and get some food, especially with so many places within two-three blocks walking distance.  I try not to do it more than once a week since the money adds up, though)  I know that in my new town, New Yorkers have some accents where they drop the Rs of their words, but I didn't think they dropped them in when they write the words, too.  This soup menu calls it New England Clam Chowde.  I'm not sure if this is a different variation or just a mistake.  It was done for both of the "chowdes" on the menu.

October 23 - The view from here

23. My four year old, super cute nephew watched some of the debate with Kid Sis #2.  As he watched and the issues were discussed, his focus was likely on the way the men talked and the way they carried themselves each time he looked up from his toys or books.  If only everyone's views were so simple.  I love that he loves the President's 'flawed' ears.  I'd like to think that this young boy is going to continue to like people despite what some consider their flaws.  I love it!

You can see photos from Week 1 and Week 2 of October by clicking those links.

I'm almost ready to go

Today, I take more of my furniture to Kid Sis #3 for her to sell (I'm really looking forward to getting the money, too - been a long time since I've made money and this move and all it entails is really making me dip into my do-not-touch savings).

My living room is just a shell of a place with barely anything in it besides the rest of the items to be packed and the rest of the items to be sold/lent out.

The only things left after I give my sister various items are the things I will take on the plane with me and the television I will ship tomorrow.

It really is real.  It is official.

I changed my address with the post office, mailed some items to my new location.

I'm moving and leaving the town I have spent all but my college years in.

I found Spidey

When my cute little four year old nephew found out that I was in New York City, the first thing he said was, "New York City!  That's where Spiderman lives!!"

He then proceeded to ask if me or Kid Sis #1 had seen him yet.

I can appreciate his love for the webbed-one.  When I was younger, I had a Spiderman stuffed toy, Spidey.  He was my favorite.  When he started to fall apart, I performed elaborate surgeries on him using my sewing skills - his neck, armpits, ankles, knees, and eventually his abdomen all were reconnected, refurbished, and reloved.  He is still somewhere in the depths of the storage of my parents' home, probably with my favorite Cabbage Patch Doll - Crandell.  I should find him and send him to Nephew #1.

I kept my eyes open during my time in New York for Spiderman.

Finally, on the way to the Mega Bus to DC, while I walked near 42nd street and near Times Square, I saw him.

It was as though my Spidey-sense from my childhood still worked because there he was, on one of the back streets, just perched on the side of a building looking at me.

I took the picture and sent it to Kid Sis #2 to show to her son.  It made him happy that I had finally found Spiderman in NYC.

Fortunately, he was not distracted by my reflection in the poster's window.

Reassurance after anticipation

I bought the ticket on Saturday and was in NYC on Sunday.  There wasn't even time for anticipation.  Just getting ready to see my sister and to see the city.

There was a peace that took over me as we flew the tiny plane over lower Manhattan and I saw landmarks I recognized from real life and from movies.

There were some jitters as I got off the plane and tried to remember which bus I had to take and where to get the Metro ticket.  Fortunately, my boo had given me really good directions before leaving and a quick call to him reassured me that I knew what I was doing.

I made it to her house.

I have wandered the city for a week, mostly on my own.  I have not gotten lost.  I went to Harlem, Brooklyn, New Jersey, and am now in DC.  When I go back to NYC, I even plan on visiting Chinatown with all of their non-English signs.

It has been fun and I anticipate that I will have fun while here in DC hanging with Big Bro and his girlfriend.

I don't really want to do the touristy things, but I feel that since I am a teacher of history, I should at least do a walk-by of some of the historical landmarks and buildings in the Mall area.

This was my Stream of Consciousness Sunday post hosted by Jana A at Jana's Thinking Place. Today's prompt was anticipation.

And my anticipation for this trip has settled and has turned to reassurance that I can do a lot of things.



You can join in by free-writing for five minutes on the prompt, or on whatever you have on your mind. This is a great brain-dump exercise.  You can link your post to Jana's page, or just go to her page to read what others wrote.

Sore feet and Final Jeopardy

Enjoying time in NYC.  I always forget how much walking is done here.  Last night my feet were really tired, a little sore, and just wanting a rest.

I went to a Thai and Japanese place for dinner and did something I have never done before.  I sat and ate dinner in a semi-fine dining establishment by myself and didn't take out my cell phone to make myself look busy.  I just enjoyed the food and Jeopardy on the television.

My new experience with the dining seemed to bring me good luck because I was able to answer over 75% of the questions on Jeopardy, including the Final Jeopardy question.  I was getting some correct that the contestants were missing.  I felt so smart that I slightly over ate and then decided to walk almost 40 total blocks back to my sister's place to work off some of the excess food I ate.

Wandering was nice.  I would had gone even farther, but I saw lightning and didn't want to risk walking outside in the dark with no umbrella in the rain.

More wandering and viewing the city today.  Unfortunately, it is still going to be super hot and it looks like there is not a cloud in the sky.

The joys of flying

I love how it feels to fly.  I love being in an airplane over the farms and cities of the United States.  I love trying to guess at which point a plane has reached the necessary velocity to achieve a good liftoff from the ground and I love trying to guess when the plane is flat enough and slow enough to achieve a good smooth landing.  I love when I get a seat on an airplane that is right behind first class so that I have a ton of leg room.

I also love seeing that I am in row 9 and knowing that I will again be in the front of the airplane.

Image source

I don't love delays that are over an hour long. 

I don't love being taken to a different part of the tarmac to be let out in front of a plane that is so small that it still has propellers and looks like some sort of Tonka toy.

I don't like that the plane is so small and dainty looking that I spend much of the flight making sure I can still see row 4 - location of the emergency exit.

I don't like that I also spend much of the flight determining which of the people in the 5 rows in front of me I can beat or take out in order to get to the exit row quickly.

I do not like getting on said small plane and realizing that it is so small that row 9 is actually the LAST ROW of the entire plane.

I don't like being seated in the middle of that last row (five seats straight across like a couch) with my body not protected by a seat in front of me.  I don't like that I fear that the plane is so small that I fear that my body will be hurled through the aisles upon some sort of inevitable malfunction and I will land in the lap of the flight attendant who sits facing me throughout the entire flight - no snacks, no drinks, just her strapped to a small chair facing me the whole flight.

I do not like when my normal sized backpack does not fit in the over head bins.

I do not like when the plane is so small that the tires come out of the wings and not the underside of the plane.

I do not like when the plane, due to the delays, is stuck on the runway for 17 minutes and the engine is so powerful on such a large plane that the plane continues to rock side to side for the entire 17 minutes until we start forward motion again.

I don't like when the plane starts its decent and each lowering motion brings that stomach-moving up in your innards feeling even when there is no cloud turbulence.

I do like that I made it alive to NYC and get to spend some time with Kid Sis #1, though.

Summer is tasty plastic tubes

Summer always reminds me of freeze pops.  I have such strong memories of eating entire 100-pack boxes of them over the course of two to three days with my siblings and our childhood homies.

We would eat pop after pop.  So much so that we would start throwing the wrappers away in different containers or put them directly into the outside trashcan so that our mother would not realize we had eaten so many of them.  (Looking back, she must have known when Saturday came and she was buying another box or two of 100.)

Summer is still memories of eating those freeze pops and driving all around town laughing and having fun.

Every time I see those in a store or see a forgotten wrapper on the ground it makes me smile.

How flavored water in skinny, flimsy plastic tubes could be so delicious and addictive, I will never quite understand.  But, I still love them.

Stream of Consciousness Sunday hosted by Jana A at Jana's Thinking Place.  Today's prompt: What does summer smell or taste like to you?  And why?  You can take part - write for five minutes, link up to Jana's site, read others' posts, and share your own post.

Thick and full of body

During my 12-hour adventure in hairdressing, the lady repeatedly told me that I have more hair on my head than anyone she has ever seen.  I still don't fully understand this.  My head is not much larger than others.  I have discovered that I sometimes have three hairs seeming to come out of one follicle - I guess others just have one in all of theirs.  This is why my hair is so thick - I guess.

I remember in my youth, I was helping Kid Sis #2 with some sort of assignment she was doing for school.  She had to create a commercial and I still don't remember what the class was, but I helped.  The product was the A.H.C. - I don't remember what that stood for, but I was one of the voices of the commercial that used the product successfully.  I just remember using a strong Nigerian accent and saying something about how the A.H.C. would make your hair "teeek and full of bo-deeee!"  We all still laugh at that commercial.

I think I have been secretly using this product since my hair is so thick and full of body requiring me to use more of the extensions than other people for the twists.  Despite getting the amount she said that everyone needs, we ran out before my hair was 3/4 finished.

I had to go to the store with 3/4 of my hair completed in braids and a small afro puff.

I looked crazy.

Two good things did happen, though.

1. There was no one else in the store when I went in there, so no one except the cashier saw me looking crazy.
2. The hairdresser put my hair in an afropuff, so I now know I can rock a bunch of those when the twists eventually come out.

A third thing happened about 3 hours after the store run... she finished the twists and I was able to go home, clean up, and sleep.  Fourth good thing that happened is that I slammed down some diner pancakes, bacon, and eggs the next morning to make up for not eating much during the marathon twisting session.

June fourth photos

Here is my fourth week of somewhat random photos I'm taking to participate in Fat Mum Slim's Photo-A-Day-Challenge.

21. Where you slept - I love gathering together with family.  We are so accustomed to all being in the same house that we are pretty good at finding places to sleep.  There was a time when we would all visit my parents' house and a few of the five children would be sleeping on couches.  Somehow, the dog had earned a bed in my sister's room, but we were on couches.  Go figure.  My place for the past week was this couch.  It is so comfortable that I even slept on it after all the bedrooms and the air mattress were free when everyone left before me.

22. From a high angle - This was an easy, not very creative one this week since I was flying.  This is taken somewhere over the land between Atlanta and Houston.

23. Movement - Nephew #1 is trying to be paparazzi to Kid Sis #3 during a car ride in Houston.  It still amazes me how easily young kids adapt to technology that we never had as kids.  This kid is so into his technology that the other day he was watching television and Kid Sis #3 told him he had to go to the bathroom to clean off his face and blow his nose.  His response was that he had to wait for the commercial because the television he was watching didn't have a pause button.  Seriously, kid?!?

24. On your mind - I have been having pain in my elbows for some time now.  About a month ago, it became unbearable in my right arm.  It hurt to squeeze soap from the dispenser, to turn my wrist, to lift anything off the ground, or to push my self up from a chair.  I finally gave in and went to the doctor who diagnosed me with tennis elbow (which is apparently common even if you don't play tennis, which I don't).  The treatment includes deep tissue massages to work out any scar tissue.  These hurt like a mother.  After two treatments, I'm not sure if it is improving yet, but I do think I have figured out that the twisting of my hair (like little braids all over my head) has caused the pain in my elbows.  I guess I may have to give in and pay to get my hair done.  It's been over a decade and a half since I have regularly gone to someone and paid to do my hair.  There have been two times that I have paid.  I'm really not trying to pay to have someone do my hair, but I guess I may have no other option if I want my arms to heal.

25. Something cute - Nephew #2.  So freakin' cute!!  It was awesome to get to finally meet him and so fun to make him smile.  He is wearing a onesie from the place of work of Big Bro and his girlfriend.  She shot this picture of him looking totes adorbs!!

26. Where you shop - I've been meeting my boo for lunch each day.  It's a nice little thirty minutes of us time in the middle of the day.  Some days I make lunch from home and supplement it with some food from this fancy grocery store in the middle of downtown.  It's a Schnucks (if you know the store) but goes by a much fancier sounding name.  It is pretty nice on the inside and makes me feel like I need to dress up like all the business people that shop in there at lunch time.  Instead, I typically have on a pair of jeans and a blouse - casual Friday everyday for me, right?

27. Bathroom - I was living out of a three bags all week: one for clothes, one with laptop, and one with toiletries.  I am organized enough to make it work and fortunate that Kid Sis #2 allowed me to use her washing machine a few times during the visit since I pack very lightly when I travel and reuse outfits.

You can see pictures from the first, second, and third week, too.

Next installation will be abbreviated since June ends before next Wednesday.

Same, same, same

I grew up in the suburbs.  I have since lived in more urban areas.  I love visiting urban areas.  I hope to live in an even more urban area where shops are close, you can easily get public transportation and all of the homes don't look alike.

On my last day in Houston for this visit I am still amazed by all of the different neighborhoods.

They look so much a like that when I went for some walk/runs in the mornings, I had to check my route on my phone to make sure I wasn't turning down the wrong street.  (This is even more shocking to me because I am a really good navigator and am usually really good at finding my way around even when I don't know the area.)

Every street looks the same.  Every house looks very similar.

The houses are cute, I suppose.  The interiors are suitable for living despite the great rooms with the high ceilings that I feel are a waste of second floor space.  My sister's place is done well and has space for the adults and spaces for the children.

Big Bro, his girlfriend, and I were driving to the grocery store this weekend and noticed that the homes are even landscaped the same.  Each one has three trees in the front yard - two on the side where the driveway is and one on the other side.  Each also has a tree close to the sidewalk.

How strange.

Easy to build, I admit that.  But, still kind of eerie.

Reminds me of the Malvina Reynolds song from Weeds.

They're all made of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.

Family cup holders

The weekend with the family was excellent!  I'm the last visitor left in Houston after a house of six visitors and my sisters' family of four were all together.  We definitely missed Kid Sis #1 who couldn't come since she was studying for the Board Exam she had to take today.

One of the reasons I love my family is because we can just laugh together.  We have so many old jokes and one liners that we use with each other.  Yesterday, my Big Bro, Kid Sis #3 and I were doing one of our regular gags on each other and my brother said he honestly didn't remember the origin of it.  We explained it to him and he said he had completely forgot; he just associated it with us now.

One of the traditional jokes we have goes back to when my brother was in college (I think).

I don't remember how it started, but we would put an old cup holder in someones bag or somewhere in their room and they would find it sometimes days, sometimes weeks later and then have to pass it on to another sibling.

The cup holder is always ugly and for all of us, it is useless.  But it is the thought that counts, right?

Now that most of us are in different cities, it is even more fun to do.

Last time my brother was in my town, I knew he would be trying to get it to me.  I didn't take my eyes off of him for a second.  Or so I thought.  In the 15 seconds it took for him to move the seat forward to let his girlfriend out of the back of my Mini, he slipped it into my glove compartment where I did not find it for a few weeks.

I got it back to him somehow.

With all the fun of the weekend, I had completely let my guard down.  This morning, I was starting to repack my clothes.  Found the ugly thing in a side pocket of my backpack.

I succeeded in my mission this weekend of getting my nephew to call his mother Mommie Dearest.  Now I have to start plotting how to get this cup holder back to another sibling.

All right stop, collaborate, and listen

I love flying in an airplane.

There is something about the science behind it and how people long ago discovered how to put an object in the air and get it to stay there and go to far off places.

I don't like when flying feels dangerous, though.

Yesterday as I sat on the plane and it started to taxi backward, the engine of the plane shut off.

It was reversing.

And the engine shut off.

Shut.

Completely.

Off.

And then all of a sudden, the plane intercom started playing music from the movie "Rio".

Over the loud speakers.

This went on for about 5 minutes and then the plane magically turned back on and we safely made it to Atlanta.

In ATL I was had the good fortune of seeing my sisters first husband.  Before Kid Sis #3 was married to Brother-From-Another-Mother-And-Father she had a brief marriage to Robert Van Winkle.  She even had a shirt with his image on it.  She was ahead of her time - she wore Tall Ts before they were unfortunately in fashion.

She would always make her sisters play his music for her and would rap and dance and just have so much fun with her husband Vanilla Ice.

I saw him as I walked through the airport.  I was tempted to go up to him and tell him to "Stop.  Collaborate and listen."  But, I know that the hates his old persona and has for years tried to get people to stop associating him with Vanilla Ice.

So, I just walked by him and acted like he was an ordinary guy in the airport.  Then I internally squealed and started texting everyone that I saw Robert.

As I walked onto the plane to Houston, the flight attendant came on the intercom and asked everyone to make way in the aisle for the mechanic to get off the plane.  That put some fear in me, but he was getting off, so I figured things were ok.

As I sat on the plane waiting for us to leave, another mechanic came on and walked to the back.  Then a second one came on.

I don't know why I seemed to be the only one disturbed by the sight of mechanics on a large machine that is supposed to transfer us to a different location, but I was the only one looking nervous.

Despite the mechanics and the loud, winy, dog-like noises that the plane made, I made it to Houston.

Now, I have to try and achieve my mission.

I must get rid of wire hangers

I hate clothes that have to be dry cleaned.  I try not to buy them.

I have some clothes that have needed to be dry cleaned for over a year and I finally took them in.

When I went to pick these clothes as well as my winter peacoat up from the cleaners, I was told that the coats were not finished yet, despite their giving me a ticket when I dropped them off that said they would be done two days prior to when I showed up to get them.

Oh, well.

What really bothered me when I got home (Other than the excessive plastic wrap on my clothes - how wasteful and unnecessary!) was the hangers.

I can't stand wire hangers.  Perhaps it is due to the fact that I think they look cheap.

More likely it is more due to the fact that I watched and rewatched and rewatched "Mommie Dearest" so many times in my life.

I fear that a woman will come at me and yell at me for putting decent clothes on wire hangers and then make me scrub the bathroom floor with powdered Comet begin thrown all over me after beating me with the bent wire hangers.

I can't even say the words "wire hangers" without screaming out the words of Mommie Dearest at the top of my lungs (well, at least in my head if I am around other people) - NO WIRE HANGERS!!!



I loved that movie.

The siblings and I started calling our mother Mommie Dearest when she would do things we didn't like.  It was fabulous until we finally made her watch the movie and she got mad at us for ever calling her by that title.

This week, my goal is to get my 4 year old nephew to call my sister that a few times during my visit.

That and to finish catching up on my blog reading.  I barely touched the surface yesterday!

Wish me luck!

June third photos

Here is week three of my June Photo-A-Day Challenge hosted by Fat Mum Slim.  Each day I took a photo related to the key word for the day.

14. Time - There was a time when I watched movies so much that I was sending them back to Netflix one or two days after getting them in the mail.  I was streaming them regularly, too.  Times have changed.  These two movies have been collecting dust behind the gaming system and Time Machine.  I actually moved them forward just for this picture.  I have had these two movies since September.  Time has flown by and I have still not watched the films.  I couldn't even remember what they were until today when I read the information about them.  They do sound interesting, but I still don't know that I will watch them anytime soon.

Top picture I took, bottom picture is the way the
StL Woolworth's looked back in its heyday.

15. Yellow - When I learned about the Civil Rights Movement of the US that happened in the 1950s and 60s I always was disturbed and intrigued by the sit-ins of Greensboro, NC that led to the desegregation of Woolworth's eating counter, as well as other institutions in the US.  I knew that the building on Grand in St. Louis used to be a segregated Woolworth's.  Still has the same look on the outside.  The other day, I decided to jog/walk past the building and saw that this yellow and red engraving is still on the ground outside of each of the entrance doors - I had to take a picture.  I love that the city has kept this on the ground.  And I'm glad that, although there is still not full equality for everyone, there is no more segregation in public buildings.

16. Out and about - I hate being behind cars that are driving slow and now knowing the reason for the traffic.  On this day, I was driving behind slow cars and realized that a burning car was the reason for the hold up.  Of course, the first thing I thought was, "I need to take a picture of this!"  I wasn't alone.  After I took my picture, I looked around to see if people were staring at me and realized that there were 20+ people on the sidewalks and in the street and in their cars taking photos and making videos.  I turned off of the street at the light after seeing the fire trucks and police cars arrive to help the vehicle (which had no driver in it).  I guess it all worked out because on the way back a few hours later, there was no sign of the car, and no evidence that this event had occurred.

17. In your bag - I don't regularly use a purse.  I prefer small metal wallets, or my newer leather case-thing that can fit my cards, my money, and my slim cell phone all while fitting in the back pocket of my jeans.  I am going to give you a look inside my school/work bag.  It has all the basics.  I love my bag.  I love the design and that I have not seen anyone with the same style.  Items from left to right:

• check book that I barely even use anymore
• post-it notes
• leopard-print screen cleaning cloth for cell phone or for laptop that I don't like to touch, but for some reason my students love to touch and point to things when I call them up to look at something on the screen.
• oil absorbing sheets because my face gets super oily and I have to regularly wipe it dry
• portable manicure set since I have learned to keep my nails smooth (I once stabbed myself in the eye while I was waking up.  It was so bad that I had to call in to work and go to the hospital and then had use steroid drops and wear a pirate eye patch for a day)
• lip balm (My sisters and I all have several of these in various places because you cannot have too many - unless you want to look like Dave Chapell's crack head character.)
• larger post it notes (I am not completely addicted to technology and enjoy writing little notes by hand during the day.)
• lotion (Like lip balm, I have these all over the place because I don't like to look like I have been punching flour.)
• hand sanitizer (I prefer soap and water, but like this especially during times at school when kids seem to want to be around me more despite the fact that they are clearly sick.  Also used after walking around and touching things in the school... I heard once that railings are one of the germiest items in a building and have not wanted to purposely touch one since.)
• various colored pens (I don't like to grade in red, but also don't like to grade assignments in a color that is similar to any color the students are using.  I guess because I can tell that it was me that put the markings on their paper.  Plus it adds variety to my sometimes tedious work.)

18. Something we don't know about you - I don't like older model American cars.  (Or the newer ones made to look like the old hoopties.)  I think they were way too long and I still don't understand how people drive them and turn without making super-wide truck-like turns.  I much prefer smaller cars that can easily fit in parking spaces and that you can reach the items in the backseat easily if necessary.  It tickles me each time I drive past this old car on a body shop lot.  I thought it was being fixed, but it is actually a show piece for some reason.  It was once huge, but is now been cut in half to make it the perfect size for a car... if only they could put a steering wheel and an engine into it somehow without making it longer.

19. Imperfect - The siblings and I have always joked about our inability to tan our feet.  It is really quite an annoyance.  There was literally a time when I was standing behind a screen and all that could be seen were my feet in sandals.  When I came out, a person told me that they thought I was white based on my feet.  I have tried everything, including a spray tan.  Nothing has worked.  I guess I will just be left with imperfectly pale feet and a pale torso.  Fortunately for all of you who don't look at computer screens with sunglasses, the contrast of my feet didn't come out as much as they do in reality.  If you look closely at the top of my left foot, you can see the makings of a slight sandal tan line. This is likely as dark as my feet will get this summer.  At least they don't blend in with the carpet.

20. Fave photo you've ever taken - I don't really have a favorite photo that I have taken, but there is a picture on some sort of shiny stone that I have kept wherever I live for some time.  It is fabulous and represents how I feel about many of my close friends that I don't talk to nearly as much as I should.  But, I do still cherish the friendships.

More photos to come next week...

You can see the first week and second week photos, too.

Amazing family moments

It always amazes me to see the way other people's families interact.

Saturday evening I went to my BF's grandmother's 90th birthday celebration.  I've never really heard her talk very much, but when they gave her the mike to say thank you to everyone for showing up, she went on and on.  Talked about how she is the oldest member of the family, pointed out the second oldest.  Mentioned that she is waiting and waiting for her reproductively able grandchildren and great grandchildren to provide her another generation of people for her to get to know before she dies.  

She even talked about how she has a Facebook page that she uses to keep up with a lot of people in her life.

That was really amazing to me.  

She is 90, but still willing to use newer technology that is like nothing she could have imagined as a child!

I love it.

I also loved seeing my BFs niece sitting alone with her great grandmother talking for about 20 minutes. I don't know what they talked about, but it was just great imagining that she was sharing stories of the family and comparing her early 20s to her great granddaughter's current life.

This coming weekend, my parents, all of my siblings (except one), and some other extended family and friends will gather in Houston for my sister's finale to her residency.  Really excited to see everyone and extremely sorry that I missed the past weekend in DC where my other sister celebrated the end of her residency.  I had to choose based on the cost of the dinner ticket and the plane ticket, and Houston won out.

June second photos

I'm taking part in Photo-A-Day-June Challenge hosted by Fat Mum Slim.  I added each day throughout the week and now present images from my second week of June.

I'm very much enjoying the different tricks my new phone can do with its camera - it basically has Instagram tricks built into the phone.  My old phone was so old that I couldn't download anything or store any pictures or have any games on it or have too many text messages or it would freak out on me.

7. Drink - Watching the Stanley Cup game four was even better with a little cheap dranky-drank.  I always wonder about games when they have all of the paraphernalia ready to go and the team doesn't win (Picture the Super Bowl... they have hats and t-shirts ready for BOTH teams since they always don them right after the game).  Turns out they are sent to "third world" nations and sold in markets to the people there.  So, you can go to one of these countries and see people who have bought and are wearing Super Bowl Championship shirts with the winner identified as the team that was actually the runner up (and donated old school/team shirts).  With all the clothes I have donated from schools I have worked in, there are indubitably people rocking those, too.  Remember, your donations are not necessarily DONATED to the people that they are supposed to be benefiting.  Everyone has to make a profit.  The picture of the wine bottle is a little off kilter on purpose, right?  My attempt at art... or maybe just too much wine.

8. 6 o'clock - I was going downtown to pick up the boo from work.  I was waiting in my car, windows down since it was cool in the shade and their was a slight breeze.  Suddenly, I heard the click, clopping that can only be a horse walking.  I looked in the rearview mirror and saw it coming.  Took this picture with some kind of camera effect.  I momentarily wondered if they still use the little baggies for horse carriages - the ones so that horse shit is not littered in the street.  The smell, and my involuntary gagging, as soon as the carriage passed let me know that there had to be a collection of its defecation being carried behind that big clunker.

9. Your view today - This isn't something I saw today, but it is part of my mental view today.  I know that love can't cure all, but if people really love each other and love life and love to see others do well/better, then the world would be a different place.  (That was my hippy-give-peace-a-chance moment.)  Plus, baby monkeys and puppies are some of my fave animals!  Saw this picture posted on someones FB wall - I don't even remember who posted it - but I love it!

10. Best bit of your weekend - I always love talking with my sisters and brother.  I especially love talking with my little 4-year old nephew (I have two nephews, but the second one doesn't seem to like talking to me in our Skype meetings.  He can't seem to find the words and the concentration level to carry on a conversation with me.  I sometimes blame it on the fact that I have not met him in person.  I sometimes blame it on the fact that he is still young - four months right now.  He is really cute!)  Friday, Nephew #1's father scared him by chasing him around the house doing a monster face with his eyes like in the picture.  Saturday, we Skyped.  Nephew #1 could not stop showing me the new trick he had learned that was no longer scary to him.  I don't know how many times he asked me if I could do it and asked me to look at his eyes.  No matter what the conversation turned to, he found a way to weave it back to doing his eyes inside out.  But, I loved each time he did it and loved feigning disgust and fear when he did the face.

11. Door - I know this is not the most impressive door you have ever seen, but to me it is.  In my last place the laundry was in the unfinished, leaky, damp, moldy, dusty, ground-opens-up-to-dirt-outside basement.  I hated doing laundry.  I hated going into the basement - I always feared that an R.O.U.S. like from The Princess Bride would pop out at me and chew off my face.  On top of the grossness of the basement, the washing machine was on one side of the basement and the dryer was literally 22 paces away on the other side of the basement. (Yes, I count my steps... I do it often and don't always realize it.  You should try it to see just how far away 22 steps is... it was ridiculous!)  Now, I have the two laundry machines side by side and right off of the kitchen, so I can do laundry without feeling gross, without having to change into my "basement" shoes, without having to count steps from one machine to the other.  This door has simplified my life.

12. From a low angle - Another day picking up the boo from work downtown.  I took this picture between some buildings.  Don't fret... it was not the makings of a tornado.  I took it with a bunch of different effects, and liked the green sky better than the normal blue.  All the different lines and framing reminded me of my photography class years.

13. Art - This is the only really artistic thing in my place right now.  I think my apartment was one of the "show" apartments before I moved in.  There were nice candles, fake plants, floor mats, and cooking mitts in the kitchen, matching towels, an ugly shower curtain and gross rugs that I got rid of in the bathroom.  This piece was left as well.  I haven't put any scented oil in the container, but I still like how it all comes together with the rocks and the tumbleweed-looking things.

You can see the first photos from June.

More photos to come next week...

Anonymously public

Years ago, I had to close down a blog because some anonymous person associated with work (I think a parent) found it and thought the comments I made about how the district should have hired a friend and colleague of mine were uncalled for and out of place.  I had written that blog anonymously, but had it linked to a colleague's blog who had her name on it.  I think they put two and two together and discovered who I was.  I had a lot of good writing on that blog, but because I was so fearful of the admin at the time, I erased the entire blog without backing up or copying any of my posts.

It was a very sad day.

Now, I write fairly anonymously.  My family and some friends know I write this blog, but I leave my name off of it.  I don't name names and I don't detail who I work for, just that I am a high school teacher and coach.  I'm sure there have been some clues that if a person really wanted to figure out my identity, they could.

I don't really know that I care anymore if my place of work finds my writing.  I did the unthinkable and friended some of my current colleagues on FB and they can see the links I sometimes put up to this blog.  I have had a few of them tell me they are reading posts, or leave comments on the FB links.

It is kind of weird knowing they see this side of me.

At first, I didn't even tell my parents about this blog.  But I have opened it up to them.  Not sure how often they read it, but when I send them links to posts, they comment on how they read it and enjoyed the posts.  Siblings, same way - not sure if they are regular readers, but I know they at least read every so often when I write about them.

My boo doesn't read the blog and doesn't even know that I've been writing daily for this year.  I have told him about it and he has said that he will get around to reading, but I don't force it.

I kind of like that I have this outlet that is not regularly read by a lot of people I know.  I kind of like that most of my comments are from people I have never met IRL.

At first, when people at work started to tell me that they were reading my stuff, I thought about being more cautious.  But, this is my blog, and I will write whatever I desire.  I don't write things to hurt people, I don't write things about work using names.

I was debating a summer project of starting a Google+, FB, and Twitter page for this blog, but am not sure if I want to open it up that much.  I have a few regular readers, and some randoms, and maybe even some lurkers.

I'm not sure if social networking sites are necessary at this point since I'm not sure if I want to make this blog bigger than it is.  I do, and I don't.

And, I'm not sure that I want to keep up with posting information on all those different mediums.  Though, I think there is some sort of way to have posts cross to each medium with one click... though that could be annoying if followers are connected with each one and receive the same notification thrice and in their Google Reader.

For now, I guess I will remain somewhat anonymously public.

I will continue to write my thoughts.  Just what I am thinking at the time.

Once again, it is Stream of Consciousness Sunday.  Five minutes (though today was a bit longer) of free writing.  Today's prompt on Fadra's site, "Do you have a secret blogging life?  Are you connected to your "real life" friends and family through social media?  How does that affect your writing?"

Aftermath of a young wedding

Many moons ago, Kid Sis #3 and Brother-from-another-mother-and-father were the flower girl and ring bearer for a family friend's wedding.  

Pictures of them from this wedding always make me giggle.  Because they were both just so freaking cute, and due to the fact that she was about 3-4 years old and thought of this as her real wedding to her favorite boy.

You can see in the picture that her bliss was his trepidation, though.  Or perhaps, he was already perfecting that I'm-a-guy-I'm-too-cool-to-smile-I-must-look-hard thing that some guys do.

The other night as the three of us sat for our last dinner together as the "St.L Family" at Kobi Steakhouse, we did what we usually do.  We were laughing about random things, telling inside jokes, telling old stories, catching up on life, and trying to identify the NFL player that was sitting at the table to our right.  We slyly took a picture of him with my phone and then tried to go to the Raiders page and see if we could find a person that matched his size and look.

We didn't succeed at identifying him, but we did succeed in laughing so much that the people we were at the table with thought we must be there celebrating some sort of occasion.

That family was celebrating their young son's birthday.  They asked us what we were celebrating and, without pause, Brother-from-another-mother-and-father said that we were celebrating an anniversary.

He said so with such a straight face that I was a bit confused for a second.  "It's our wedding anniversary," he said as he was looking at his phone and pointing to Kid Sis #3.

The other family oohed and aahhhed at us and asked how long they had been married.  BFAMAF said that it had been about 20 years.  Still straight face.  Still looking at his phone.

I busted out laughing.

At that point, he turned the phone to the family and said, "We're African.  It was an arranged marriage."  The family gasped, but tried to look joyous and happy for the young couple.  Somehow, he had the above photo on his phone.  They smiled politely at the picture.

I almost choked on my fruity adult beverage as he said these things and continued in my laughing fit.

Fortunately, the dinner was full of good food and good times for us and the other family.

Unfortunately, we didn't get any free cake out of the deal.

Kid Sis #3 is still seeking alimony with about 20 years of back pay, especially now that BFAMAF now has his dream job in the Chi (working in a big management position for a company that means we can now no longer mention or show Coke products in his presence) and will be making money rather than hemorrhaging it since his MBA is finished.  If she can't get the money, she says she will settle for some free tickets to an NFL game since he is childhood friends with some players.