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Tools of My Own
A couple of weekends ago, we called an all-hands-on-deck family garage-cleaning day. We needed help—desperately. Over the last year, Craig and I had fallen into the habit of putting things “out in the garage,” which really meant anywhere: along the edges, on the floor, or somewhere in the vague vicinity of Craig’s workbench.We usually tackle a full garage overhaul every fall, but last year I only cleaned out my side. That was it. The rest never happened. So this year, we drafted everyone. Craig reorganized his tools, Kadon and Luka hauled things to the back shed, and I swept and blew out dust, leaves, and whatever unidentifiable debris had settled in since the last solar eclipse.
As we put everything back where it belonged, I noticed something I’ve always known: most of the tools in our house belong to Craig. The garage proves it. The basement confirms it. And honestly, I’m fine with that. I don’t need all the tools. I just need the ones that are mine.
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Frustration in Three Acts
Some people collect stamps. I collect other people’s emotions. For most of my life, “managing the mood in the room” felt like a job I didn’t remember applying for…but somehow kept showing up to anyway.
I’ve always been a bit of a chameleon. My own feelings didn’t matter—I could “read the room” and instantly morph into whatever version of myself I thought someone needed.
Act 1: The first time someone called me out on this talent was in my late teens. A boyfriend and I were walking arm-in-arm through a school playground late one crisp fall evening. Out of nowhere, he started singing Air Supply’s “Every Woman in the World to Me.” I don’t remember the exact conversation that followed, but I do remember him gently telling me he didn’t need a cheerleader. He wanted me. My real thoughts. My real feelings. My real presence. Awwww… right?Act 2: Scene change: age 32. I was married to my ex-husband Tom. I’d come home late from teaching and listen—literally—to his mood before I walked through the door. If the TV blared, it was “walk on eggshells” time. If I heard guitar riffs floating out of his music room, all was well.
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Truth and Trust
“Hey Sandy, you had better talk to your daughter… she has hickies on her neck,” my dad said.
“You’d better talk to your daughter. I don’t like her lying on the floor with her boyfriend under a blanket,” my mom later told me my dad had said.
Growing up, I was probably as truthful with my parents as many people of my generation—more than some, less than others. I tried to live my life and be in relationships to the best of my ability, but I was a teenager after all. Teenagers are works in progress, not fully formed moral philosophers.
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Serendipity at Panera
Panera isn’t known for life lessons.
It’s known for coffee refills, baguettes, soup in bread bowls, and a reliable place to sit and talk for a while.And yet, that’s exactly where serendipity found me.
Many years ago, I sat at Panera with my teaching colleagues after a Target run on Madison’s east side, spending our yearly classroom budget money. The best kind of shopping—the kind that delivers a dopamine rush without touching your own wallet.
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The Final Season
This, the new season of my life:It appears this is the final season of my life. Depressing, oh yeah. Come on, I want to live forever. I always say I want to see how this all turns out. I was told that everyone has to leave the party early at some point. It is a reality. Often, I can be heard saying, “I can’t imagine life without me.”
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Anniversary of Teenage Years
It would have been sixty-three years this year, not to mention the several years of dating before our marriage. We got married on July 6th, 1963, and I swear it was one of the hottest days of the year. -
25 Years and Counting
This summer, Craig and I are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. We got married on 7/7/00—a date Craig will never forget, mostly because in aviation, “squawking 7700” signals a mid-air emergency that requires immediate attention. Fitting, right?We met on January 31, 1999—Super Bowl weekend. I had just moved to Beaver Dam and separated from my (now ex-)husband, Tom. That night, my friend Bonnie called and asked if I wanted to go out for dinner. I said “yes,” and she immediately replied, “You pick the restaurant, I’ll drive.”
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Karma Construction Zone
Tonight’s Sidetracked Sisters writing topic is “karma,” and let’s just say… we’ve been circling the cosmic drain trying to make sense of it. Karma as payback? As justice? As some universal scorekeeper in the sky? Meh. It’s all a little murky. But then, I landed on a metaphor that actually clicked for me…
Each choice we make is a brick in the structure of our lives. Karma might not be a cosmic slap on the wrist—it could simply be the quiet architecture of cause and effect. What are you building without even realizing it?
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Game Night Gone Wrong
Mom and Dad often left my older sister, Sandy, in charge of me. This happened when they had friends to play cards or just to visit. This was often a recipe for disaster. We would stay upstairs, and we were supposed to keep quiet. Since this was usually on a Saturday night, Mom would do my hair before their company came. In those days, doing hair meant washing and setting it on rollers and drying under a bonnet hair dryer. The idea was that the hair do would last for church the next day. -
Monopoly Madness
Board games may seem like a thing of the past, but after discussing them with my fellow Sidetracked Sisters, I realized how important they were to our gatherings and childhood memories. It also became clear that we need to put away our phones, turn off the TV, and—dare I say—reinvent the wheel. In other words, it’s time to bring back game nights with family and friends. -
Game Night…Grandma Style
I’ve always loved a good game night. Cards, dice, you name it—I’m in. But when I think of the games that truly shaped me, I always come back to Canasta and my Grandma Is. Our games were more than just a way to pass the time—they were moments of laughter, competition, and connection. And no, I never cheated. I never even considered if I could get away with it.
Growing up, Grandma Is and I would spend our summer afternoons playing card games and dice games on the round fiberglass table in her patio. She taught me Kings in the Corners, Go Fish, and Old Maid. As I got older, we graduated to a long game of 500, a Rummy-style challenge that I always suspected she secretly let me win. One of our favorites was Zilch, a dice game. I still have the little jewelry ring box that holds the six dice and her handwritten instructions—proof that some traditions deserve to be preserved. -
From Board Games to Bullsh*t
Some families bond over sports, others over shared hobbies—but for me, the heart of our family connection has always been board games. From my childhood at Grandma Is’s house to summer vacations and even Mother’s Day, board games have been a constant thread, weaving together laughter, competition, and the occasional scandalous act of cheating. -
The Moments After Goodbye
Dad passed away on December 30.
That morning, I got up early and made a quick stop at the grocery store for juice. Before heading home, I decided to drop by Mom and Dad’s house. Michelle had been doing so much over the past few days, and I wanted to help when I could—and this morning, I could.I walked into the house and climbed the stairs. Mom was in the bathroom, and I let her know I was there. Then I stepped into the bedroom. Dad lay there, peacefully asleep—but something about his stillness felt off. I walked around the bed and sat down beside him. His skin looked too gray, his face too motionless. I reached out, touching his cheek. It felt cold beneath my fingers.
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Perfectly Imperfect Discipline
I consider myself a disciplined person. When I have a dream, a goal, or a vision, I follow through on the actions needed to see the end goal.
But I know that a lot of people get stuck in the “discipline is perfection” trap.
On the contrary, I believe that discipline is about consistency. Thinking that you have to be perfect discourages progress and can lead you to giving up when mistakes happen.
This was the case when Craig and I decided to start our family. We started out with infertility work. Lots of doctors visits, expensive drugs, and nasty shots. I committed to driving to Milwaukee several times a week (before work) to make my appointments. And then when that didn’t work, we took a 90 degree turn and decided to adopt. Our journey to Russia was filled with too many ups and downs to recount. The process took 4 years to bring our boys home. But the goal was a family. Not pregnancy. The journey was messy but we succeeded in starting our family.
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From Grief to Giggles: The Power of a Support Squad
After having a death in my family, my husband of sixty-two years, I have discovered several ways to be resilient. It is traumatic enough, but having family and friends engulf you helps you to recover more quickly from a hardship or traumatic event. Another way would be to get out of the house and do an activity that has been put on the back burner. Such activity could be anywhere from lunches with old friends, movies, or getting together with those we have shoved away due to heavy schedules. -
Nine Years, One Condo, and Zero Rings
The year was 1976. Chris and I had been together for nine years. We enjoyed each other’s company and were good friends. We shared friends and fun times. Chris had a great sense of humor. He was a disc jockey on the local radio station. He would talk about things we had done together and as he told his story, I could barely recognize it as a place I had been. He was able to make it sound like an enviable experience and one that anyone would like to participate in. -
Resilience, Relatives and Rolling with the Punches
Ah, the holidays. A time for twinkling lights, delicious feasts, and… navigating the emotional minefield of family gatherings. Add in the inevitable challenges—burnt turkey, last-minute gift shopping, and Uncle Bob’s annual political rant—and you’ve got the perfect storm for testing your resilience.But resilience isn’t just about surviving the holidays with your sanity (mostly) intact. It’s about showing up when it matters most—especially during the hardest moments, like the loss of a loved one. When grief collides with the season of joy, resilience is what carries us through.
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Love, Laughter, and Loss
The year 2024 has been a difficult, strange year for me. It is strange to be retired after working for over fifty-six years. To add to this my husband has been diagnosed with dementia. Having noticed some rather strange behavior on his behalf it became apparent that he indeed did have dementia as a result of Alzheimers. -
Popcorn and Snuggles
I do not enjoy watching TV regularly. I have a hard time finding a program that I can enjoy and that is not repetitious or just plain boring. I do, however, like to watch TV if there is a special movie that I want to see. Then again, it is getting cold outside and this means outside activities and time spent in our screened-in porch are limited, When it gets dark earlier and is cold outside, then TV tends to be our evening entertainment. I would rather we use this time to get caught up in those projects that are left to do, but I turn into a mushroom in the evening after supper and fall into that TV-watching mode. -
How TV Brought Us Closer
When I first met Craig, I was absolutely anti-TV. My small television was banished to the sunroom, nestled between a loveseat and a jungle of plants. We’d snuggle up and pop in a DVD whenever we spent time together.After we got married, I caved and got cable—and a bigger TV.
Fast forward several years into our marriage. Craig often retreats to the basement family room to watch football or whatever sports game, while I putter around in the kitchen, read in the living room, or work on a project upstairs.
Then came the pandemic in 2020.
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Happy with Hallmark
Watching a few hours of TV in the evening is enjoyable for me. It relaxes me and lets my mind wander. When my husband was alive we watched crime dramas. NCIS was a favorite. We also loved Castle and the various forensic science dramas. -
Drama, Abs and Time Travel
So, here we are again. It’s the weekend (or Tuesday afternoon, because who even knows what day it is anymore?), and I’ve decided to once more embark on an epic journey through the lands of Outlander, Grey’s Anatomy, and Arrow.You might be asking, “Why? Why do you keep doing this to yourself?” And my response, my dear reader, is this: comfort. These shows are like my emotional support blanket, my trusty old pair of sweatpants, the thing that’ll never betray me—unlike my Wi-Fi when I need it the most. And yes, I’ve seen every episode at least seven times, but here I am, clicking “Play” on the first episode like a moth to the flame.
Let’s break it down.
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Lifelong Tooth Tales
Teeth have caused challenges in my life. First, when my permanent teeth started to come in, I had 7 baby teeth that never loosened up to make room for the next set. I had to have the teeth pulled. By this time, the new teeth were growing into the roof of my mouth. The dentist then had to slit the roof of my mouth to make a route for the permanent teeth to come down. I was tasked with pushing on the big teeth to keep them moving. Not so fun and painful. -
Cool, Calm and Toothless
Some people don’t have a very high pain tolerance. Then there are others that can handle quite a bit. My Nathan has always been the latter. His pain tolerance often shocks me. -
Dental Drama
Sitting at the dining room table after dinner, I absentmindedly run my tongue along the back of my bottom front teeth. One tooth feels thicker and smoother than the others. My mind jumps briefly to the day I clutched my throbbing chin, wet hands trembling, as tooth fragments filled my mouth. -
French Kissing Frustration
I hate my teeth. The first problem is that they are not white, and despite different procedures being completed to correct this situation, they are still not white. -
Saturday Morning Magic
It’s 1973. The house is calm and quiet except for the quiet rustling of cartoons on TV. Saturday mornings were sacred—a special time, just for us kids. Mom worked part-time during the week and Saturday mornings, so she took my baby sister to Grandma Meister’s house. I was easy to entertain. All I needed was the TV and a lineup of Saturday morning cartoons. It was the only day of the week devoted entirely to children, where the shows were designed for us and our interests, and nothing else mattered.
While Grandma drank her hot, black coffee and read the paper, I was glued to the screen, lost in the world of “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?” and the wacky, larger-than-life adventures of “H.R. Pufnstuf.” “Schoolhouse Rock” did more than entertain; it sneakily taught me lessons about conjunctions and how a bill becomes a law. -
Battle of the Network Stars
When I was a kid in the 1970s, there were only 3 major TV stations: ABC, NBC, and CBS. During the day, there were only soap operas on (which didn’t appeal to a young kid), and at night, sometimes, there were no shows that I was interested in. There wasn’t the plethora of channels and choices that are available today. -
Still Going Strong After 61 Years!
I am married to Art, my high school sweetheart, my soulmate, the father of my children, and oftentimes a pain in my ass! I say this last part as a joke, but I think you can imagine this can happen. -
Quirks and Conditions
Relationships come with many quirks and challenges. I experienced two failed marriages. I entered into each of these relationships with high hopes. I have learned that there were issues that got in the way of our happiness, that we never considered or discussed. Looking back, I realize I was very young and lacked the wisdom to make the best decisions. -
Adventure at 10,000 Feet
What is the last thing I got excited about?
Wow, we’re not talking about gratitude or feeling blessed. Not just happy or content. No… I mean EXCITED!!!
As an adult, that feeling only comes around occasionally for me. I used to get excited before trips, when we adopted our children, and when starting new jobs. But excitement is a rare emotion these days.
I most recently felt it was for my son’s 20th birthday party. But it wasn’t about the party itself—it was about the gift I was giving him…and myself. We were going skydiving!
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Beware of the First Step
Do you ever wonder why when you get older you seem super clumsy? Well, for some reason, this is happening to me on a rather frequent basis and I don’t like it one bit. I think I am just not paying attention to where I am going. Being active can also help with this problem and I need to step that activity up a lot. -
See You in the Fall
“Have a nice trip!” “I’ll see you in the fall!” These little phrases with double meanings used to be funny to me until I started experiencing unwanted falls with no explanation. -
Slicing and Dicing
One of the reasons I love writing with the Sidetracked Sisters is that after we’re done, we sit and read our words out loud. What follows is a mix of thoughtful edits, helpful suggestions, and the occasional laughter at the absurd lessons we’ve learned—or haven’t.
Sometimes, though, the lessons come before the writing even starts. This week, we were all racking our brains, searching for unwritten, unpublished memories about an injury. It wasn’t easy. We’ve covered this topic from multiple angles already.
I’ve shared stories about my broken leg and even breaking my “va-jayjay.” Judy’s written about her diving drama, Mom almost lost a toe during a bike ride, and Michelle had her ACL rupture saga.
Everything seems a bit anti-climactic after those major traumas.
But let’s be real—my life is peppered with mini-traumas. Little, insignificant ones that I willingly walk into on a regular basis—like nearly every time I cook dinner. You see, I’m a frequent victim of the fillet knife and my trusty mandolin.According to Michelle, I cut myself about once a week. My personal guess is more like once a month, but who’s keeping track?
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Scarred for Life
As usual, our 2 labradoodles had managed to break out of our fenced-in backyard and I hadn’t had a chance to fix it. They needed to go out and I didn’t want them running away so I asked Jessi to let them out on a leash. She put Lucy on a 20-foot leash and Lily on a 6-foot one and started to open the sliding glass door. -
Curly Chaos
I’ve never thought of myself as a “girly” girl. I avoid ruffles. I like pointed collars instead of rounded ones. V-necked T-shirts are my first choice. When it comes to hair, I have always avoided curls. They didn’t seem to suit me. -
From Terrible to Great
First of all, I don’t think I have ever been happy with my hair. Short, Medium, Long, nothing seems to work.I want a maintenance-free, kicky, fun, shiny, healthy hair. Join the club right?
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Keeping It Even
I just got 9 inches cut off my hair. I went into the salon with a picture of a cut and highlights. When I left, my hair was much shorter than I anticipated, but I liked it. Besides, hair grows.
I have no anxiety whatsoever when I get my hair done. I always look forward to the experience and have a nice time talking to my stylist. Sometimes I talk about the traumas of my boys. Sometimes I’ll tell of my daughter’s exploits. One of the stories I told her this time was how I learned to cut hair. Here is the full story:It was summer 1985. I was in Washington DC for a summer church leadership conference. Sara was cutting a girl’s hair in the corner dorm room. I was super interested. So I went in and pulled up a chair.
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Salon Nightmare
I was in high school and it was time for the Turn-About dance, where the girls invite the boys to the event. I had everything planned, from where we going to eat to how I wanted to do my hair.
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Rindercella
My first job out of college was to train adults on how to use computers. As I would begin a class, I would inevitably stumble through my words because I was a bit nervous and would be talking too fast. At this point, I’d have the opportunity to take a breath and add a little levity to the morning. I’d start out by saying “You’ll have to excuse me. You see, I grew up hearing my dad tell me stories of Rindercella and at the moke of stridnight, she was running down the stairs and slopped her dripper.” -
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Over the past several days, I have picked my brain to remember when I heard fairy tales. I remember the more recent telling of fairy tales through Disney films and children’s books. All of these mediums have softened up the original tales told by the Brothers Grimm. -
How the Sea Became Salt
I loved sleeping at my grandma’s house. When I was young, I would sleep in the front bedroom. It was small with a twin bed pushed into the corner. Shelves held books and knick-knacks above the bed. A Lane cedar chest and a round natural rattan chair were just across the narrow room. The sheets were white, always felt crisp, and smelled freshly washed. A small light on the bottom shelf was available for nighttime reading.
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Cinderella
I don’t remember ever having someone read to me as a child. I would have assumed that is when fairy tales would have been introduced into my world. But I don’t remember having this activity in our home for some reason. -
The Music That Shaped Me
The music I enjoy depends on my mood. I like music that I can sing along with. Sometimes if I sing loudly enough, I can change my mood. Fortunately, this can work in the shower where no one hears me but me. -
My Musical Mashup
I always avoided conversations about music. It seemed like everyone else was fluent in the language of trending tunes, effortlessly dropping names of “in” bands and belting out the words to popular songs. Meanwhile, I was stuck on the local pop station. Pop songs, as everyone reminded me, weren’t cool.
Feeling like a musical misfit, I kept my preferences under wraps. The pressure to fit in with the musical elites was daunting, so I perfected the art of nodding along in conversations about the latest indie darlings while secretly bopping to bubblegum pop hits.Every now and then, curiosity got the best of me. I’d hear a catchy tune floating through the air and, swallowing my nerves, ask what it was. This is how I discovered the songs that would come to define my eclectic musical taste.
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My Musical Journey
I love just about any kind of music. On my least favorite list are opera, jazz, polka music, or what I would call head-banging music, and let’s not forget rapping. I think rapping is dumb unless it is done well. -
Raised with Grandma
My niece, Michelle came out of the rustic cabin on Green Bay shaking her head. She had a smile on her face but it was hiding her disbelief that my 10 year old son did not know how to make toast by himself. They had been in the kitchen when Matt asked her to make a piece of toast for me. She said “Wouldn’t mom be proud if you made it yourself?“ “Just put the bread in the toaster,” and he said “I know that!!” ‘At this point she said “then you’re halfway there! Next you push down the lever and when it pops up, you put butter on it”. -
A Golden Adventure: Finding Eli
It was my nephew Brad’s first birthday party. Standing in the kitchen of my sister’s house, we were talking about pets. Mom knew she had just heard the death knell of my marriage when Tom told me, “You will NEVER have a dog.” The look on my blank face showed that this was not connecting with me or my reality. He was drawing a line in the sand, and I was not intimidated, not cowed by his threat. -
When Outfits Go Wrong
Here’s a picture from High School. I was dressed for “Punk Day” during Spirit Week. Perhaps it was my Junior year in High School. I worked hard on my clothing, makeup, and hair. I wanted to present myself as edgy, fun, and…“out there”.
When I go to work, I shower, put on makeup, and do my hair. I like to experiment with long, dangly, and whimsical earrings. I give thought to what I wear. But my sense of self, how I present myself to the world isn’t always as I expect.
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Big Ass Hair
There were so many fads of the 80s that I tended to follow. I had Care Bears, a Cabbage Patch Doll, a Boom Box, Neon clothes and accessories, talked like a Valley Girl, went to the Video Arcade for fun, and… had BIG ASS HAIR! This is one thing that immediately makes me think of the 80s. From rock stars to television personalities, everyone seemed to embrace the motto: the bigger, the better. -
Are You Really Living?
It was the spring of 1977 and the end of 6th grade. I was sitting on the grassy hill beside the building where I had spent my early education–Washington Elementary. Mary and I were talking about our dreams and plans for the future. I was excited that I had actually gotten up the courage to ask Mom if I could shave my legs, and she said yes. But I was planning on waiting another year or so because once you started, you couldn’t ever stop. I was also wanting to give myself a makeover. I wanted elephant bellbottoms. They were so cool. You see I needed new clothes. Every year I always got new clothes for school, but I felt that I had really held off this year. I wanted everything new for seventh grade. Clothes represented on the outside how I would feel on the inside.Cool. Fresh. In style.
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Oh Such Memories!
Remembering past fads is fascinating and laughable.In particular, I am thinking about the 1970s. I was beyond my years for the most part not having gone on to school, but that didn’t stop my wanting to fit in with those my age. I got married in 1963 and started my family shortly after that. I always enjoyed fashion and tried to keep up with all the trends.
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Simpler Times
I remember as a kid riding my new bike through the neighborhood. My hair was blowing in the breeze. My thoughts were on the beauty of the day and my mind was free of worry. I remember being in the present moment loving my freedom and enjoying the smells and sounds around me. -
Bullshit!
Have you ever thought about when and where you have been the happiest? For me, the first thought that comes to mind is the time I spent with my kids and mom playing “Bullshit”.If you’ve never played this card game, here is how it goes.
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Pond Paradise
Tossing this question over in my head I would say the most significant time and place that I have been the happiest was during the births of my two children. I don’t think anything can quite top those events. -
Always Looking Forward
In the past, I had so many things to look forward to in the future. When I start reminiscing I go way back to graduating from high school, getting engaged, getting married, buying our first house, and having our children. I loved seeing those children excel in their endeavors and eventually graduating from high school, then college. -
The Best Is Yet To Come
When did I stop looking forward to the future?
I think back to my past…I loved celebrating my birthday. We always had family around to sing “Happy Birthday”, lots of presents, and my favorite angel food cake with Grandma’s slippery frosting. Our family went on yearly epic summer camping trips. My favorite place to visit was Jellystone Park up in Sturgeon Bay, WI. The days were filled with swimming, bike riding, eating onion sandwiches in the afternoon, and singing around the campfire in the evening.
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There’s a Mouse in my House
I am going through a rather precarious time in my life. I am having a difficult time identifying anything that I am excited about or looking forward to. I am finding small joys in the little happenings of life. -
A Former Night Owl
I’ve trained myself to be a morning person. But I am naturally a night owl. I was born to a night owl and raised to be a night-loving person. My mom loves to watch t.v. until the wee hours of the morning.
When I was a child, a favorite memory is laying on the sofa with my mom, nestled behind her legs, head on her butt watching “Love American Style” on Friday nights and “Soap” on Saturdays. I’ve read until the birds began singing more than once a few times in my life. I’ve worked hard to make myself get up in the morning–to be a morning lark. It is pretty simple. You just have to go to bed earlier. That sounds easy. But really, it is HARD. But here are three steps that I use to get myself to bed at a reasonable time…
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A Wallflower’s Tale
I couldn’t wait for the next Jr High Dance. I loved going into the dimly lit gym and feeling the anticipation of dancing with a really cool guy. This is pretty funny because I was the biggest wallflower you could imagine. -
Prom Fashion Failure
When I was in school dances were a big thing. We used to have a dance after every football game, basketball games, and at miscellaneous other times. But, the biggest event was always the Junior Prom. -
Everything Except the Dance
My boys attended Prom only during their Junior year in High School, which differed from my own experience. Back in the 80s, I attended prom as a Sophomore, a Junior, and a Senior. What made the Junior prom so special was the opportunity to plan and take part in creating the event.
For me, the most exciting part of prom each year wasn’t the event itself—it was the shopping for the dress that brought the most joy.
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Mortified at the Dance
I was a sophomore and starting my first year of senior high. We were having a dance at the beginning of the school year. I was very interested in a senior guy that I had met, but we weren’t going out. He and I both decided to meet at the dance and I was very excited. -
Letting Go of Overthinking
Sometimes when something is troubling me or I don’t understand why people do the things they do, I have a hard time not overthinking the issue. Thinking about a problem or situation can keep me awake at night and cause me to fill my mind with nothing else. -
Get Your Ass in Gear
Something to let go of?Procrastination. This is what I am best at. Pretty sad, but true.
I don’t remember when this became a trait that I became a master of.
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The Green-Eyed Monster
I have a bad habit of comparing myself to others and then feeling bad about how things are going in my life. I look at the people around me and see people with more money or bigger houses or people going on fancy vacations and I get jealous. Why isn’t my life like that? -
No One Special
Favorite or least favorite celebrity??Boy, this is a hard one for me. I have never met a real celebrity to classify anyone to be a favorite or not.
As a teenager when everyone was wild about Elvis, Tom Jones, and the Beatles, I was interested in their music, but never actually went all crazy for any of them. I liked to watch Elvis (who didn’t as a teenager), but in movies not so much. Tom Jones starred in a couple of movies that I really liked, and I liked his performances and music, but I didn’t go crazy over him. Now, I am one of the few it seems, but I really didn’t care for the Beatles or their music at all.
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Pat McCurdy
I can’t say that I have a favorite or least favorite well-known celebrity (with the exception that I CAN’T STAND the Kardashians), so I thought of a local celebrity that I really enjoy. Pat McCurdy! -
Why Bother?
I went to Louis Tussaud’s Waxworks on a trip to San Antonio, TX. It is billed as a place to “walk among the stars and snap a few selfies as you come face-to-face with unique, lifelike wax figures of superheroes, characters, and celebrities!” I passed up Brittany Spears, Madonna, Harrison Ford, Prince William, Princess Kate, and various presidents. I did sit with Jimmy Kimmel for a moment to laugh with him about a joke I recently heard, but I soon went on my way. (Yeah, I know he doesn’t look much like Kimmel, but that’s pretty much the problem with these “lifelike figures”. They may look like a famous person, but you have to use your imagination with most of them.)
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Shallow Meetings
I have 3 very nice photos of myself with 3 different celebrities. One is with Barbara Mandrel. Another picture is with Olivia Newton-John. The third picture is with Barry Manilow. One would assume that I knew these folks. We are smiling and looking comfortable with each other. -
My Fab Four
Meet the Fab Four of my life – the four pillars that keep me grounded, inspired, and constantly entertained. They’re not a rock band, but they sure do rock my world in unique ways. So, let’s start with number four, shall we?
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Favorite Things? Too Many to Count
Whenever I think of my favorite things I think of the “Sound of Music”.I have yet to figure out how to put my favorite things to music so they rhyme and become singable. -
A Few of my Favorite Things
<music note> “These are a few of my favorite things…” <music note>Thank you Julie Andrews for putting that song into my head.
We’ve talked about our favorite things before and the first thing that comes to mind are physical things. This time, I thought I’d also incorporate some non-tangibles.
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My Loves
Here goes.
I love my family. They are all different and wonderful in their ways. Each one makes me feel loved (well most of the time). They all seem like caring and nice individuals. All are very different and take on individual roles in my life, and I love them for their differences.
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The Notebook
I had a hard time thinking of a movie that I would deem romantic. To figure that out, I had to determine what I find romantic. What gives someone that feeling? Is it having someone do thoughtful things for you? Is it having someone speak sweet nothings to you? Is it having someone who thinks of nothing but you? -
P.S. I Love You
Romantic movies… where do I even begin? The first one that springs to mind is “P.S. I Love You.” It’s not just the love story between the characters that captivate me, but the transformation of Holly, the main character, that truly intrigues me.
In the movie, Hillary Swank portrays Holly, a vibrant and independent woman who meets Gerry, played by Gerard Butler while traveling in Ireland. They fall in love, get married, and move to New York. However, tragedy strikes when Gerry becomes ill with brain cancer and passes away. Over the next 12 months, Holly receives letters from Gerry, each guiding her through life without him and ending with the poignant phrase, “P.S. I Love You.” -
Splendor in the Grass
A romantic movie that made a real impression on me was “Spendor in the Grass”. This was a movie made in the early 1960s and was staged in 1920 in Kansas. I was probably at the most impressionable time of my life being a teenager and it left me feeling very romantic and sad all at the same time. -
An Affair to Remember
When I think of romantic movies, I want to feel weak in the knees and relate to the relationship that I am witnessing on the screen. There have been several movies that I consider to be extremely romantic. Dirty Dancing, The Bodyguard, and Pretty Woman are near the top of my list. The one movie that takes the prize is “An Affair to Remember” with Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant. -
More Holes in My Head
All my friends were getting their ears pierced and I felt like the odd man out. I swear I was the only girl in my school that still had my earlobes intact. I begged and pleaded with Mom to let me get them pierced, but it did no good. She was a rock. It wasn’t happening. Finally, it was Christmas and Mom and Jackie had conspired together to gift each other’s daughter with a coupon for “Two more holes in your head”. -
Read to Me…Not
When I was in high school, I loved to read–but not necessarily the books that were assigned in class. Even if I hadn’t read the whole book, I could contribute to the conversation by reading the dust jacket, the first chapter, and the last chapter.I decided that I would change this habit when I got to college. I signed up for an English literature class. One of the first books we were assigned was Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin. I loved the idea of reading this book. I loved the first line. It is the only first line of any book that I’ve memorized.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
I loved the discussions about family, wealth, reputation, social class, and of course, pride and prejudice. But I didn’t actually read it until years later.
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A Good Climbing Tree
I pulled into the driveway and parked my car. Putting the car in park, I waited for Aubrey to emerge from her friend’s house. While waiting, I glanced around the front yard, noticing a bird feeder hanging from a shepherd’s hook, a shovel leaning against the garage, and a big, old tree.
Upon closer inspection, the tree seemed almost ideal for climbing. If a couple of 1×4 pieces of board were nailed to the trunk, one could reach the lowest branches.
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Excessive Daytime Sleepiness
For as long as I can remember, I love sleeping. Taking a nap while snuggled in a cozy blanket, next to a crackling fire – mmmmm – there is nothing like it. But when you have no control over your sleeping – that is an entirely different story. -
Oops, I Did It Again
It was the summer before Kindergarten. I was swimming in the kiddie pool at my neighbor Donna’s house. We were running around her backyard, and as I neared the wet grass by the pool, I slipped and fell.
I can still feel the burning pain. Her mom picked me up and dunked me in the cool water repeatedly. Then she carried me home on the path that cut across the field that connected our houses on opposite sides of the block.
I begged Mom and Dad not to take me to the hospital. The next morning, I remember Mom coming into my room to know what I wanted to wear. Since this wasn’t the way things went in the summer, I asked what was up and was informed that we were going to the hospital. You see, I couldn’t move out of bed, much less walk.
I wasn’t given crutches for weeks. I think I finally got them just in time to start school.
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Medflight to Madison
I have always taken antibiotics for granted. I felt that an antibiotic was prescribed for different kinds of Illnesses, but didn’t really pay attention feeling that one would probably work for any kind of illness.Well, I was wrong.
I have had many UTIs in my life and took any antibiotic that I could get my hands on when I couldn’t see a doctor.
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Diving Disaster
One of our last outings before starting my Senior year at BDHS was a trip to the Fall River Pool. I had heard so many things about how nice it was. It was a busman’s holiday from the YMCA pool where my boyfriend and I worked. My sister Sandy and her husband, Art drove us to the pool. My boyfriend, Spencer was a great diver. He had been promising to teach me to do a one-and-a-half somersault off of the three-meter board. I loved doing regular dives and was excited about adding a new dive to my accomplishments.
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Orange Fuzz Isn’t Flattering
A funny story to some isn’t always so funny to the person involved. My husband was away on a fishing retreat. It was a Friday, I was bored and had decided I needed a change.
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Teenage Romance
I was planning on staying home, but my best friend Janice insisted I had to come with her to Mary’s party. Mary’s family was having a party for their exchange student and all the girls were going to be there. I didn’t feel like going but resigned myself to an evening of socializing. The last thing I was looking for was romance. -
Meeting Mr. Right
I had just bought a house and moved back to my hometown in July of 1998. By January 1999, I was separated from my ex-husband, living alone, having fun remodeling my old house, and excited about being single.
Mom called me after work on Friday and told me that her friend Bonnie was looking for someone to go out to eat with that night–and mom wasn’t available. She told me to give Bonnie a call.I did.
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Blind Date Success
I met my husband, Art, on a blind date. As it was told to me a friend that I had gone with had this friend named Art. He always spoke highly about him and said what a nice guy he was. Well, he wanted to go to the outdoor, needed a date for Art, and called one of my girlfriends to see if she could go. She couldn’t go, so guess what? He called me. Well, my Dad knew this friend, liked him, and thought he was the one asking me to go out to the outdoor. So, he said I could go. Now, I was only fifteen so this was a huge thing for me. I couldn’t believe he would let me go to the outdoor, in a car with boys, at such an early age.
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Friends Forever
My first real job after High School was selling driving lessons at a driving school in Madison. Every day it was my job to take the bank deposit to the bank in the Hilldale Shopping Center. It was a highlight of my day because the staff was friendly and fun. -
Night Night
I’ve prided myself in consciously becoming a morning person. I’ve developed and practiced a routine to help me be successful at getting up early and starting my day positively.
My Bed: Evie at the foot, Aubrey on the left, me hogging the duvet in the middle, and the 9 1/2 inches on the right is left for Craig. One strategy to set yourself up for success is to begin the night before.
We all know a good parent needs to put predictable patterns into their child’s evening routine. There is dinner, bath, tooth brushing, stories, maybe a night-night song, and lights off.
Well, it’s the same with us grown-ups. Why do so many people fall asleep on the couch watching TV or lay in bed watching TikTok on their phone? I would be a mess if I did either of these activities!
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Time for Bed
As I’ve mentioned before – I LOVE sleeping. So, it naturally follows that bedtime is my favorite time of the day. But, before I indulge in this most joyous event, there are a few things that need to happen in order for me to feel ready to jump in.My bedtime routine used to be very simple. Hop into bed and you are done with the routine. I know you are supposed to brush your teeth and wash your face before hopping in, but as a kid and a young adult – that just seemed like too much work.
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Making Time
In a real perfect world, this is what I should do as a nighttime routine: First make sure the kitchen is clean, the dishwasher either full or emptied, the cupboards clear of stuff, and the dogs let out one last time for a potty break, lights turned off, doors locked, teeth brushed, nighttime pills are taken, help my husband with his drugs, CPAP machine, prayers, lights off. -
Tenacious Taurus
If you look to see what personality traits are associated with a Taurus, you can find a variety of different answers. The websites I found state that a Taurus is possessed/obsessed, fussy, stubborn, chilled/zoned out, and sensuous/greedy. Some things that a Taurus is into would be money, food, chilling, flirting, and shopping. For the most part, I’m in complete agreement with what I’ve read. -
Authentic Aries
The Aries woman is honest, driven, competitive, and energetic. At least many of the Aries women have these traits. I find myself exhibiting the shadow side of many of the Aries qualities. For example, I carry a secret insecurity that creates intense stress and pressure for me. On the surface, I appear confident, competitive, and driven. In truth, appearances can be deceiving. Inside, I am often feeling anxious and inadequate. This surprises the people I know well because they say they don’t understand why.
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Creative Cancer
I really don’t pay much attention to my sign, but doing this exercise found it to be interesting. There are a couple of traits that I can identify with. One trait of the cancer is being nosey. I don’t consider this trait as being nosey at all, but am interested. I find people fascinating. I love to know their story, their interests, occupations, and the list goes on and on. This is how I get to know them and find other people primarily fun and interesting. -
Spiritual Sagittarius
My birthday is in mid-December, which makes me a Sagittarius.Although I was a child in the 70s, I was really too young to be into the zodiac. As a child, I would occasionally read my horoscope in the paper, but the predictions always seemed vague and random. For example, my horoscope for today says this:
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Could Not, Would Not
I don’t remember not being able to swim. This doesn’t mean that I could swim in deep water. It only means that I didn’t drown in a kiddy pool. My Aunt Judy claims that this is because she (a swim instructor) taught me to swim before I could even walk. Judy says this was called “drown proofing”. But, of course, this doesn’t mean I can remember that–but it might explain my natural confidence in the water.
As far as remembering the learning process, I do remember taking lessons at the local YMCA. I started in level 1-Polliwogs. I thought it was silly that some kids had to practice putting their faces in the water and blowing bubbles. Jumping up and down in the shallow water was fun. We called this “doing bobs” And I was seriously motivated to make it all the way through the levels… Polliwogs, Guppies, Minnows, Fish, Flying Fish, Sharks.The only glitch in the process was diving. We all know that diving is NOT swimming. I believe that I got stuck somewhere in the level progression because I could not, would not do a back dive.
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Dusty Dreams and Ukulele Strings
My ex-husband, Tom, played the guitar. He began playing after High School–taught himself. He was a natural musician as was his father. Going into college, he was a music major. Vocal jazz was his passion. But the thing that is important here is that he began taking finger-picking lessons when he was in his late 20s. This whole idea was absolutely foreign to me. He was a grown-ass adult, an accountant who just loved to play guitar. He didn’t even play in the band at church anymore. But he wanted the routine, the commitment, and the accountability that taking lessons from a guitar teacher gave him.
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Starting the Dream at 36
I had major speed bumps and difficult times in my childhood and early adulthood. When I turned 30, things started to improve and gel. When I reached 36, things got downright amazing.
