Joanie's Random Ramblings

A Teeny Favor.

2011-10-13T20:00:00.000-04:00

I have so many friends who live all over this country and indeed, around the world. If anyone wants to help my great nephew out, I'd appreciate it and he'd be so thrilled!

My sister, Peggy's grandson Marty has a postcard project at school. The class is collecting postcards from all over and the class will learn all about the places in the postcards. It would be great if people reading this would send him a postcard from their state/country. If you'd like to help out, here's where to send it:

Marty C.
c/o Mrs. Prahm's Class
Saint James School
830 W. Broad Street
Falls Church, VA 22046

Please send a postcard, please! Thanks!

This is a yearlong project, so if you want to participate, and are afraid of missing a deadline because you live far far away and the post takes weeks to get here, don't worry!

Thanks! Thanks! Thanks!

Tenth Anniversary. Never Forgotten.

2011-09-09T22:37:00.000-04:00

Even 10 years later, it's difficult to remember that fateful day. A few years ago, I wrote a blog post about where I was and what I was doing on September 11, 2001. It's still so hard to write about it, so here is my blog post from 3 years ago.

In Honor of September 11, 2001

Where were you when it happened?

I don't think there is an American alive who doesn't know where he or she was and what they were doing when they heard the news about the attack on New York and Washington DC on September 11, 2001. I was driving to Kutztown, PA to my job at the restaurant my ex-husband and I owned. I was listening to Good Morning America on my car radio when Charlie Gibson reported a plane crashed into Tower 1, the North Tower of the World Trade Center. They didn't know it was intentional at that point. It wasn't long before the 2nd plane crashed into the South Tower and the world knew America was under attack. I rushed into work and put the TV on. The employees and I spent the better part of that day and indeed the rest of the week, absolutely glued to the TV, watching in horror as the government tried to get a handle on this horrific event. Our business took a major nose dive as Americans stayed in their homes, afraid to travel anywhere.

I have a friend who was in the air, flying home from France on business when the towers were hit and his flight was diverted to Canada. He somehow managed to get his hands on a car and he and a colleague drove home. It took hours to get over the Canadian border.

I knew 2 people who died that day. On the night of September 11, we got a phone call from Greg's sister, Rita. Rita's husband, Bryan had a sister named Deborah Jacobs Welsh. Debbie was the head purser on Flight 93 that crashed in Shanksville, PA. She was the first person to die on that flight. Debbie tried to keep the terrorists out of the cockpit and they slit her throat. What a shock it was to get that phone call! We didn't know Debbie well, but we saw her from time to time over the years when Rita would have a christening or First Communion party or something like that.

The second person I knew was Maria Behr. Mia worked as a Securities Trader at Cantor Fitzgerald in Tower 1. She is the sister of Dr. Edith (Delmi) Delmar Behr. Delmi's son was friends with my son, Tim. I remember Tim coming home from school on the 12th and telling me they can't find Max's Aunt Mia, that she worked in one of the towers. I told Tim they probably just can't get in contact with her because communication was really bad at that time. It wasn't long before we found out the awful truth, that Maria was in the Tower and that she did die that day. Mia was a beautiful, vibrant, sort of wacky woman who had so much going for her! She left this world way too soon.

Our restaurant was in a college town, and for most of that week, the place was like a ghost town. No one came out, whether they were afraid of more attacks or just glued to the TV for news. But that Saturday, we were so busy, with families... parents and their college children, coming in for lunch and dinner. You would have thought it was Parents' Weekend, but it wasn't. These kids had just gotten to school 2 weeks before and Parents' Weekend wasn't for several more weeks. It was just parents feeling the need to see their kids and spend time with them.

So that is my memory of September 11, 2001. It is a day that I will never forget. If you get a chance, visit Ground Zero in New York City. Say a prayer for those who lost their lives that day.... all the folks who were on those planes, the brave police and firefighters who entered those buildings, the people who worked in the towers, the brave military men and women who were working in the Pentagon in Washington DC. Pray for those heroic people on Flight 93 who fought the terrorists, knowing they were going to die, but realizing they must do this or many more would perish along with them. Pray for the loved ones left behind. Praise God for those brave souls who found Osama bin Laden and served him the justice he deserved. I just pray it never happens again

Six Word Saturday

2011-08-06T10:33:00.000-04:00

Party for my brother in NJ!!

My brother, Michael has accepted a job with the US Army in Saudi Arabia. His youngest child just graduated from college, he's a widower, and he says it's now time for him! So he has a one year contract (that I'm guessing can be renewed), and will be leaving for Fort Bragg next week for orientation and maybe some kind of training before heading to Saudi Arabia.

His oldest daughter is throwing him a Bon Voyage, We'll Miss You, Dad party at her place today! It's always a good time when the Mack Family gets together!

Want to try your own Six Word Saturday? Go see Cate at Show My Face and link up!

What are you afraid of?

2011-08-04T17:23:00.004-04:00

True story from a Kansas State Highway Patrol officer:

I made a traffic stop on an elderly lady the other day for speeding on U.S. 166 Eastbound at Mile Marker 73 just East of Sedan, KS. I asked for her driver's license, registration, and proof of insurance. The lady took out the required information and handed it to me. In with the cards I was somewhat surprised (due to her advanced age) to see she had a conceal carry permit. I looked at her and ask if she had a weapon in her possession at this time.

She responded that she indeed had a .45 automatic in her glove box. Something---body language, or the way she said it---made me want to ask if she had any other firearms. She did admit to also having a 9mm Glock in her center console. Now I had to ask one more time if that was all. She responded once again that she did have just one more, a .38 special in her purse. I then asked her what was she so afraid of.

She looked me right in the eye and said, "Not a damn thing!"

(Joanie talking here) I want to be her when I grow up!

John's Latest Health Update

2011-07-27T10:12:00.002-04:00

This should be the last update until late October.

John had an appointment yesterday with his oncologist, Dr. Sunita Nasta at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. It was a good appointment, once we got into the exam room to talk to her.

John thought he needed to be there by 10:30 for labs, but he really wasn't scheduled until 11:30. That was fine. He got his blood drawn, then we went to eat at the Potbelly Sandwich Shop, which is attached to the hospital. Great little place! There are several across the country. I had a lot of meals there when John was HUP for his transplant 2 years ago. I enjoyed the roast beef with provolone sandwich, while John had the Italian. We both got Broccoli Cheddar soup, since it was Tuesday. YUM!!

So we go back to the Perleman Center to wait for John to be called. John spent most of the time talking back to the TV which was set for a news station (CNN maybe, not sure) Not all the patients were waiting for Dr. Nasta (but it sure felt like it!). She only handles lymphoma and leukemia. But still, this place was hopping yesterday. John's appointment was for 11:45. They called him into the exam room at 2 pm. Sheesh.

Not long after, Dr. Nasta came in. She didn't look concerned, like the last time. She told us that the 2nd PET scan had her puzzled. They had the scan repeated because John was showing activity in his chest, with a couple of nodes lighting up (showing signs of cancer) but the nodes were very small, about the size of a bee bee pellet. The 2nd scan showed a node lit up in the groin, but the ones on the chest were gone. The 1st scan didn't show any activity in the groin. I said the node was like a gremlin, hopping about on the scans to confuse everyone.

Dr. Nasta has determined that the cancer is not showing signs of returning at this time. She did, however, ask for a CT scan of his pelvic area to be done in 3 month's time, in October. She doesnt' want John to get another PET scan because she says he'll be glowing in the dark if he gets any more! (PET scans are nuclear and CT scans have less radiation). John had just gotten to the point where he was seeing her every 6 months but now he's back to every 3 months, at least for the time being.

She does want to be told if John loses 10 lbs or more (he's already lost about 10 lbs, but that could be because of his diabetes) , if he develops a fever repeatedly or if he gets bad night sweats.

So the final diagnosis is that John is still in remission and he's coming up on his 2nd re-birthday on August 28! And yes, we do celebrate it! So stay tuned for another update around Halloween and hopefully, I'll still have good news!!

Six Word Saturday

2011-07-23T10:27:00.000-04:00

Unbelievably hot. Thank goodness for a/c!

Want to try your own Six Word Saturday? Go see Cate at Show My Face and link up!

Monday's Music Moves Me

2011-07-18T21:39:00.000-04:00

This week's Mon days Music is a Freebie theme. We can put up whatever we want! So I chose a few of my all-time favorites. XmasDolly is one of the hosts of Monday's Music Moves Me. You can follow the ink and see what other folks have contributed!

This first one is my very favorite version of Beethoven's Ode To Joy. It's the funky rendition of Joyful Joyful from the movie, Sister Act 2.

I've always loved Petula Clark! Here is My Love, from 1966.

I used to have a Best of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons album that I'd play really loud when I was cleaning. This song was written for just Frankie Valli. His producer didn't think it was a good song for him, but he recorded it anyway, and I'm sure glad he did! You're Just Too Good To Be True

Oh! Now this song brings me back to 1969, when I was absolutely in love with this song and BJ Thomas! I played this song over and over and over again! sigh! Hooked On A Feeling

And last, but certainly not least (and forgive me if I did this one before), when I was in 8th grade, The Cowsills stole my heart, Barry Cowsill in particular! The TV show The Partridge Family was based on The Cowsills, a family band with mom and all the kids singing! Sadly, Barry Cowsill lost his life in Hurricane Katrina. This is my very favorite song of theirs. Here is The Rain, The Park and Other Things.

Monday's Music Moves Me: I heart Broadway

2011-07-11T00:05:00.001-04:00

HEY!! Remember me? I haven't done a Musical Monday in quite a while! I guess I sort of took a break from blogging for a while and I'm getting back into it. Anyway, Dolly told me that this week's theme was a Patriotic song or a Broadway hit tune. Well, I don't know if you know this, but I am a Drama Mama!! I'm also patriotic, but I really am a Drama Mama! I might even get that as my license plate!

The reason I'm a Drama Mama is because my 2 girls were bitten by the acting bug. Both girls were in at least 1 or 2 high school musicals when they were in grade school and little kids were needed. Then, as each girl went to high school, they joined the Drama Club (Gina was President her senior year and Dani was Treasurer her Senior year). Gina had the lead in her Junior (Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz) and her Senior year (Narrator in Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat). Not to be outdone, Dani had leads too! In Junior year, she was Amazing Maizie in Seussical the Musical, and in her Senior year, she was Little Red Riding Hood in Into The Woods!

Both girls have amazing singing voice! Not sure where they got them. I can't sing to save my life and their dad can carry a tune but that's about it. I spent a LOT of time, volunteering at the school. I made the programs for 3 plays a year for about 7 or 8 years. I sold tickets, I worked in the costume shop, I sold T-shirts, and I drove those girls to a lot of practices over the course of 11 years!

Gina went on to earn her degree in Theatre, with a concentration on acting/directing. She now writes and does voiceovers for commercials. Dani went to college for theatre also, but decided by the end of her freshman year that she REALLY wanted to do hair! So she went to hairdressing school and is getting ready to take her state test for her license. Don't be surprised, if, a few years down the road, you find out that Dani is working for a studio in California, doing hair and make up. And trust me, if it happens I'll be shouting from the rooftops!

Oh my! I really do seems to be rambling on! So, to get to my selection for this week. A few years ago, I absolutely fell in love with the musical Wicked. Everyone knows what Wicked is about, so I won't get into that. This song, For Good is at the end of the play. It's a duet with Elphaba aka Wicked Witch of the East (Idina Menzel) and Galinda aka Glinda the Good Witch (Kristen Chenowith). It's very poignant, and I cry every time I hear it.

So, without further ado, I give you...

For Good

ELPHABA
I'm limited:
Just look at me - I'm limited
And just look at you -
You can do all I couldn't do, Glinda
So now it's up to you
(spoken) For both of us
(sung) Now it's up to you:

GLINDA
I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you:

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

ELPHABA
It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend:
Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you:

GLINDA
Because I knew you:

BOTH

I have been changed for good

ELPHABA
And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I've done you blame me for

GLINDA
But then, I guess we know
There's blame to share

BOTH
And none of it seems to matter anymore

GLINDA ELPHABA
Like a comet pulled Like a ship blown
From orbit as it Off it's mooring
Passes a sun, like By a wind off the
A stream that meets Sea, like a seed
A boulder, half-way Dropped by a
Through the wood Bird in the wood

BOTH
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
I do believe I have been changed for the better?

GLINDA
And because I knew you:
ELPHABA
Because I knew you:

BOTH
Because I knew you:
I have been changed for good.

Marie, at Xmas Dolly reminded me that I should join in to Monday's Music Moves Me again. Why not take a stab at it! Each week is a theme and it's fun to see what everyone comes up with!

John's health update

2011-07-10T18:36:00.000-04:00

John had his PET scan redone two weeks ago, on June 28. He couldn't get an appointment to see Dr. Nasta until July 26. So he called on Friday to see if they'd give him the results of his scan. And it looks like the test NEGATIVE!! And he's still in remission!!! Woo hoo! And WHEW!!!

I'll be doing another update after his appointment at the end of the month. But it was a relief to hear this news!!

Six Word Saturday: Wedding!

2011-07-09T11:02:00.001-04:00

The wedding last Saturday was beautiful!!!

and especially the Bride!

Want to try your own Six Word Saturday? Go see Cate at Show My Face and link up!

p.s. there are more photos on the blog post below this one!

The bride was breathtaking and I have the pictures to prove it!

2011-07-03T17:38:00.004-04:00

Yesterday my daughter's wedding day finally arrived! I have a few photos that someone took and posted to Facebook, so I'm going to post them here.

The rehearsal on Friday night went smoothly. A funny moment was when the parents had to go up on the altar and each light tapered candles. So Gene and Jane (parents of the groom) and Greg (my ex) and I walk up the steps to the altar. The priest tells Greg and me that we should be showing love and affection as we do this. I turn to the nun who is helping with rehearsal and say, "Doesn't Father know that we're divorced??" Later on, Father tells us to act like we know each other! LOL!! Too funny!

Rehearsal dinner was good! Hot roast beef sandwiches and baked ziti with meatballs and salad. Fresh fruit, cheese and pepperoni and crostini as appetizers. One of Gina's friends made a really fun cake out of Tastycake tandytakes! (if you're from the greater Philadelphia area, you'll "get" this!) What fun!

We woke up early on Wedding Day because all the bridesmaids, the bride, the flower girl and mother of the groom had appointments to get their hair done. My daughter, Dani, just finished hairdressing school, so she did Gina's hair. The salon owner was kind enough to give Dani a station to work while the others were getting their hair done. I did my own hair since it's so short.

We got back to the house for lunch and to get ready for the wedding. I kept my cool all the while Gina was getting her makeup done and getting dressed. Her Dad showed up around 2 pm, took one look at her in her gown and started crying. YES!! He cried before I did! Gina asked me to get a box out of the closet and bring it down, and THAT'S when I lost it! When Gina was Christened, someone gave her a hankie, sewn into the shape of a bonnet, with a poem attached. She was supposed to wear the bonnet at her Baptism, and then, when she was getting married, to carry it on her wedding day (ok, I'm getting all filled up just typing this!). I saved the hankie for Gina all these years, and when she got engaged last year, I gave it to her, in the original box! Then I forgot all about it. So, when I got the box out of the closet, I just lost it! So silly to be affected by something silly like that!

An amusing incident. I bought my shoes and bag at DSW. On Saturday morning, I showed the shoes to Jane (mother of the groom). She informs me that she has the exact shoes in silver! A few hours later, when Greg and Pam are at the house and I'm putting my shoes on, Pam tells me that she was going to buy those exact shoes in silver but chose another pair instead! And all of our dresses coordinated too. I wore light blue, Jane wore dove gray and Pam wore dark blue and it was a complete coincidence!

Click on the pictures to enlarge them

My son is escorting me down the aisle.

The ceremony went off without a hitch. The church is just lovely and Gina's good friend, Morgan cantored the wedding and she did a magnificent job! Morgan has a gorgeous voice! I guess Greg and I showed enough love and affection because Father seemed pleased with our performance at the candle lighting ceremony. Hahaha!!!

Here comes the bride!

Gina with her dad, going down the aisle

my daughter, Dani, a bridesmaid

the bridesmaids

I did get a little tickle from something. At rehearsal, only people directly involved in the wedding ceremony were permitted to be there, so Greg's wife wasn't there. Greg was sitting with me in the pew. On the day of the wedding, she sat in the row behind us and he went into a bit of a panic because he didn't know whether to sit with me or sit with her. He sat with me. Hehehehe I think if John was there, sitting in my pew with me, Greg would have sat with her. But John chose not to go to the wedding (the jerk).

saying their vows

the deal is done, and sealed with a kiss!

lighting the Unity Candle

The reception was held at the Clarion Hotel (Greg worked there as the food and beverage director when Gina was a baby, so we got some extra special treatment.) Open bar for 5 hours, sit down dinner, good food, drinks were flowing. The featured drink of the bride and groom was a Lemon Drop Martini. I think I had 6 of them! They were yummy!! They must have been weak ones because I never got even close to being drunk! I felt fine all night, although I would not have gotten behind the wheel of a car.

The DJ was AWESOME!! Her name is Jenny Z and she sometimes works at the radio station where Gina and Gene work. Jenny mostly works at a sister station in Maryland since it's closer to her home than Wilmington, but she has a DJ business on the side. I was very happy when Gina told me that Jenny was working her wedding! Some of the other DJs were there as guests.

A friend of Gina's made the cake. The cake topper was the bride and groom high-5-ing each other. My daughter, Dani spied the cake in the corner and realized the bride and groom were standing side by side on top of the cake, in what looks like a Nazi salute (Heil Hitler!)!!! She quickly found a server and asked her to fix it! I wonder if anyone got a "before" shot? By the way, the cake was scrumptious!!! Bibi did a fantastic job!

this wedding cake was yummy!

a close-up of the topper

she got him good!

When it came time to throw the bouquet and garter, not sure how it happened, but the ring bearer and the flower girl were the big winners!!! Hahaha!!! Patrick put the garter on Leah's arm!

the bouquet and the garter

The reception lasted until 11 pm. We had 17 rooms booked for overnight guests. The bar was scheduled to close at 9 pm (apparently Saturday is the slowest night of the week). Greg slipped the general manager some dough and asked her to open the bar for the overnight guests, and they did! We had that place filled and hopping until the wee hours of the morning! The father of the bride got rather drunk, and I'm happy to say I never did! He had to go to bed, which was disappointing because he was paying for my drinks! I still did my fair share of drinking (Captain Morgan and Diet Coke) and even did 2 shots (I NEVER do shots!)! My son bought me a Mind Eraser (kahlua, vodka and club soda), and my niece's fiance (and our wedding photographer) bought me a Dirty Girl Scout (vodka, Kahlua, Baileys and white creme de menthe) It tasted like a thin mint! I finally went to my room around 2:30 am.

these were taken with my cell phone.

Gina and me!

my favorite son-in-law and me!

my daughter, Dani and me!

my son, Tim and me!

Gina and Gene had the Bridal Suite for the night. This morning she messaged me to come downstairs for breakfast. And Gene called me Mom. It made my day! And on Monday, they leave for a week-long honeymoon in Aruba!

Six Word Saturday

2011-06-25T10:12:00.000-04:00

I'm finally starting to feel better!

Seven more days to Gina's wedding!!

I had to do two today!

Make that three! hehehe

Want to try your own Six Word Saturday? Go see Cate at Show My Face and link up!

Dear So and So

2011-06-24T00:05:00.012-04:00

Ah, it's Friday again (I'm writing this on Thursday evening, but all day long I thought it was Friday) and Friday means Dear So and So! Go visit Kat at 3 Bedroom Bungalow To Let In Crazytown. She's the genius who dreamed up Dear So and So. It's a great way to ~~get shit off your chest~~ say stuff you want to say to people but are too polite to do so. So here's mine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear House guest,
You know I love you, but it's really time for you to ~~get the fuck out of my house~~ go back to Oregon. I'm sure your mother misses you and ~~that bi-polar brat of yours~~ your darling 2 year old daughter. It was (ahem) wonderful to see you and I'm sure I'll miss you when you're gone (OK, even I'm not buying that) (SATURDAY!!! doing cartwheels)

Happy to be getting her peace and quiet again,
"Mimi"

ps. and thank you for this GD cold that I can't seem to shake. I'll be sending you a bill for my cold medicine you helped yourself to and all the missing tips I lost this week . and all the yogurt your brat ate that was supposed to be my breakfast.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear John,
I really do miss you since I haven't seen you since last Tuesday. I know I've been too sick to make the drive to your house, since you're too stubborn to come here when my youngest in residence. But that's your problem. You say you are coming here "to take care of me". We shall see, since you can't cook to save your life. I see a lot of take out and food delivery in our very near future.

Love you lots!
Joanie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Bosses at my job,
Thank you for being understanding when I leave early every day because I really still feel like crap. And thank you for not forcing me to go to the doctor since I don't have insurance right now, and I really don't want to pay $200 for my doc to tell me I have a cold. (duh!)

Swearing she'll be better soon,
Joanie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Gina and Gene (aka Eugina),
EIGHT MORE DAYS!!!!!!! The wedding is in eight more days!!!! I can't wait to party and have a great time on Daddy Dearest's dime (or $15,000)!! I'm so happy for the two of you I could just burst!!!

Hoping she's the best mother-in-law ever,
Mom

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Kimmy at work,
I'm so sorry, dear, but you really are too stupid to be a shift leader. The fact that you were able to take over my station today at work so I could go home because Jess was selfish and took away your good station for herself before I got to work, was just me being nice. My fault. I'm sorry I even told you to finish up the shift at my station. Trust me. I won't be doing that again. Besides, anyone who has 2 children and still insists on being called Kimmy (by people other than your parents and siblings) should not in charge of anything.

Still in charge,
Joan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Dani,
OH. MY. GOD. 'Smores turnovers are to die for!!! I'm so glad I only had one though. Any more would send my glucose levels through the roof!!!! And dinner was really good tonight. Thanks for making it so I could hide in my room for a while.

Love,
Mutti

Spin Cycle: Books!!

2011-06-23T00:05:00.009-04:00

Even though I just did a reading challenge update, I saw that Jen, at Sprite's Keeper has brought back a favorite of mine.... The Spin Cycle! This week's spin is about books. What we're reading now, what are our favorite books and authors.

Here's my spin.

I just finished Stieg Larsson's Millenium trilogy, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. I listened to these books in my car. I loved them!!! I was rooting for Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist throughout the books! I'm sad that Stieg Larsson has passed away and we won't get to enjoy any more wonderful books from this gifted author.

The Pond is a wonderfully spooky book! "A small boy drowns in a Pennsylvania pond, enters the ranks of the ghostly and seemingly returns decades later to haunt the family indirectly responsible for his demise." ~KIrkus Reviews Although this story is strictly fiction, the idea for the book is based on an actual event that occurred many years ago in the Reading, Pennsylvania area. You may have to get this book from Amazon, and it is available for Kindle!

Right now I'm reading False Dawn, the third of the Jake Lassiter series by Paul Levine. Jake Lassiter is a former pro football player, turned attorney-at-law in Miami, Florida. In the course of his job, Jake manages to find himself in the middle of murders and intrigue. I like the subtle humor in these books too!

If you like beach books, you can't go wrong with any or all of Elin Hilderbrand's books! All of Elin's books take place on Nantucket, and each story is unique. The first book of Elin's that I read was Barefoot, about a woman going through chemotherapy for lung cancer and how her summer on Nantucket affects those around her, including her sister and her friend, as well as her husband and children. I loved this book! My favorite was The Blue Bistro about a woman working in a restaurant over one summer on Nantucket. Maybe it's because I also work in a restaurant, I wanted to work here!! If I did, I could have taken the rest of the year off! All of Elin's books are wonderful! I'm waiting for her newest novel, Silver Girl to be delivered to my Kindle any day now!

This is my new very favorite author, Sarah Pekkanen! Her first book, The Opposite Of Me, I read in less than 3 days! I haven't done that in years! She was recommended by Jennifer Weiner (another favorite of mine!) and I'm so glad she did! The Opposite Of Me is the story of twins and how different they really are! Not long after I read it, her second novel came out, Skipping A Beat. This one was equally enjoyable! Skipping A Beat is about a married couple whose lives are completely changed when the husband suffers cardiac arrest and he dies for several minutes. Even Oprah says to pick up this book! Sarah just finished her third novel, but I have to be patient, because it won't hit the book store until April 2012!

So there are my recommendations for reading this summer! Enjoy!

Random Tuesday Thoughts: so not ready for grandkids edition

2011-06-21T00:05:00.010-04:00

I'm so glad Stacy took over Random Tuesday Thoughts. I enjoy reading what others have to say and sometimes it's fun to just put down lots of randomness on "paper" (so to speak).

My daughter's friend is visiting from Oregon (the real Oregon, not Vodkamom's Oregon). With her 2 year old daughter. It's been interesting, to say the least. My house is not baby-proofed. I haven't had to worry about that stuff for quite a few years now. I guess it's good practice for when I have grandchildren of my own. But this kid is driving me up the friggin' wall! I think God makes kids really cute so you don't strangle them.

Three times I caught Lillian scooping all the dry cat food into the cats' water bowl. The last time I threatened to make her eat it. She was making cereal for the cats.

She keeps taking my Longaberger baskets and trying to stand in them. If she breaks them, Mommy will be replacing them.

She keeps finding Sharpie markers. That alone scares the crap out of me! I have no idea where she's finding them.

She has eaten all of my yogurt. Tell Mommy to buy your own yogurt.

I retaliated. I ate her Apple Jacks.

Oh. She did give me something, quite unselfishly, I might add. She gave me her friggin' cold! Mommy brought her here with full-blown bronchitis and a fever. I've been hacking up lungs since Thursday and missed 2 days of work, so far. And Mommy keeps taking my Dayquil/Nyquil because she's sick too.

I have no idea when they are leaving. She hasn't made her reservations yet. I hope it's soon.

Hack, hack. Ah-choo!

Reading Challenge Updates

2011-06-19T13:46:00.003-04:00

I'm in the middle of 3 reading challenges for this year. I'm making some progress, especially since I'm down with a lousy cold and I'm home trying to get well. I seem to have lots of time to get some reading done!

I have a general reading challenge, called The Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge 2011. The Book Vixen is hosting this challenge! Click on the link to check her out! I'm keeping track of the books I've finished here. Outdo Yourself Challenge. So far, I have 29 books listed on this challenge. My hope is to read 100 books this year (I read 65 in 2010) I'm not sure if I can get to 100, but I'm sure going to try!

This next challenge is a James Patterson Reading Challenge. It goes from September 1, 2010 to August 31, 2011. I have to say I have read far more James Patterson books than I have listed on my challenge. Yvonne at Socrates Book Review is hosting this one! The thing I like about reading James Patterson is he also introduces you to new writers. At least one writer that I know of, Andrew Gross, has gone on to write fabulous books on his own! I just finished reading Gross's The Blue Zone and it was great!! Couldn't put it down! Anyway, I'm halfway through the JP Challenge, having read 8 of the 16 books I have listed. Check them out by clicking on the link!

And last, but not least, I have the Nicholas Sparks Reading Challenge. This challenge is also hosted by The Book Vixen. Until I started reading these books, I never read a Nicholas Sparks book, or seen any of his movies. I'm not a big Romance book fan, but these aren't like the romance novels I've read in the past. I thought I'd do my best to see if I could read all of the 16 books Nicholas Sparks has written. I have finished 5 of them. To be honest, I've been listening to these on audio, in my car. My list of all his books, and the ones I"ve finished, crossed out, can be found here. I've discovered that I do like his books!

In the past year, I have discovered many new writers (and some old favorites) that I really enjoy reading! You can Google them to see what they've written. I'm listing them below. Please check them out!

Sarah Pekkanen
Maryann McFadden
Tamera Lawrence
John Grisham
Claire Cook
Amy Hatvany
Paul Levine
Lisa Scottoline
Janet Evanovich
Tess Gerritsen
Andrew Gross
Elin Hilderbrand
Stieg Larsson
Patricia Cornwell
Sue Grafton
and so many more that I have yet to discover!

So, what authors do you love?

Dear So and So

2011-06-10T09:28:00.001-04:00

Dear Dear So and So,

I'm back! Did you miss me?

Trying to get back on the Bloggy Wagon,
Joanie

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Dear Dani,

Congratulations on finishing hairdressing school, and in record time! I hope you do well on your exam, get your license and find a job quickly!

Love you!

Proud Mama (and former hairstylist herself!)

Joanie

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Dear Former Co-workers,

I'm VERY happy that some of you no longer work with me. For the most part, you were lazy, inconsiderate and did little more than complain that you were too busy or not busy enough. Those other restaurants can have you. And because you work at those other places, I will no longer frequent those establishments. I had enough of you when you worked here.

Good riddance,

Joanie

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Dear Friends,
If you like Dear So and So, and want to give it a try, just pop over to Kat's Place at Three Bedroom Bungalow, hook up with her Linky and add your own! It's a great way to blow off steam, and you can read lots of other letters!

Love,

Joanie

True Confessions

2011-06-08T12:22:00.000-04:00

I saw this article on Facebook by a new author that I plan to read in the next few weeks. Her name is Amy Hatvany and her newly published book is called Best Kept Secret. (you should read it!)

Anyway, on Facebook today, she put up a link about signs you might be drinking too much. It's a short article, and one I easily could have written myself. Here it is if you're interested. (with permission)

My story is slightly different, but the basis is very similar.

Back in December 2004, I caught my husband cheating. He left at the end of January 2005 "to figure things out" and by that he meant "start a new life with a younger woman with no kids, a clean house, a slim body". He told me he was living with his brother. He was not.

My oldest child was away at college. My son was in high school and my younger daughter was in 8th grade. My son had a job but no car, so I had to pick him up from work.

I "needed" alcohol to be able to get into that bed alone every night, the bed I shared with my husband for 23 years. I'd wait until all the kids were in for the night before I'd start drinking.(sign #1, watching the clock. also rule #2, making rules)

I'd consume a magnum bottle of Merlot every night. That's the big bottle they have in restaurants when they serve wine by the glass. Or I'd down half a bottle of Captain Morgan with my Diet Coke with Lime. I'd pour the rum right into the soda can so the kids wouldn't know I was drinking. (they knew) (rule #3, sneaking)

When I was good and drunk, I'd go to bed. I have no idea how I functioned, but the doors were locked, lights were out, coffee ready for the next day, I woke up in my pajamas, in my bed. A few times I had no recollection of doing these things. I NEVER EVER intentionally got in the car and drove!!!

One time I started drinking early in the evening. When it was time to get coffee ready for the next day, I realized I was out of coffee. I can't wake up after a bender and not have coffee!! My son had his driver's permit, so I had him drive me to the grocery store to get the coffee. I wasn't drunk, but I had 2 glasses of wine and didn't want to take any chances. I thought I was being quite clever! I learned the next day that if we had gotten into an accident, I'd have been arrested for drunk driving (or something like that) because my son was driving with someone was was NOT a responsible driver! So don't do that!!!!

I did this every single night for about 3 months. The funny thing is, I was going to therapy once a week. I told my therapist what I was doing. He was concerned that I was developing a drinking problem. I told him that was not true! I was doing this very deliberately! I could stop whenever I wanted! I needed this to be able to go to sleep. Sigh. So in denial.

What finally made me stop was this. I was going to my therapy session on my day off. I had drunk a large bottle of wine the night before, as usual. One of my tires was getting low, so I stopped at a gas station to put air in my tires. When I got out of my car, I bent over to fill the tire and I nearly fell over! GASP!!! I WAS STILL DRUNK AND I DIDN'T KNOW IT UNTIL THEN! That scared the hell out of me! I still had enough alcohol in me that I had lost my balance.

I told myself that I had to get a grip and stop the drinking. And I did. That day.

I didn't have any alcohol for at least a year after that. Now I can have a drink or two and be okay. There are times, however, if I have a bottle of rum or tequila in the house I tend to have 1 or 2 drinks a night until the bottle is gone. So I rarely keep any in the house. Besides, with the diabetes, I shouldn't be drinking anyway.

I have gotten past my ex-husband's cheating and leaving me. I can even be in their company and be fine. If you saw us, you'd think we were friends (trust me, we're not. Maybe my girls get their acting talent from me after all!) Suffice it to say if (or I'd like to think when) their marriage breaks up (oh yeah, he married her shortly after the divorce was final... no one went to the wedding), I will celebrate!!

Even 4 years of dealing with John's battle with Lymphoma has not driven me to drink. My drug of choice now seems to be food, and junk food at that.

Today I'm happy. My kids all finished with school. They are living their own lives. My oldest is getting married in a month. And hopefully, at John next doctor appointment ( a few days after the wedding) we'll find out that the cancer hasn't returned. We have our fingers crossed. If not, then we begin the next battle to get rid of it. And I'll do it without booze to help me.

Random Tuesday Thoughts

2011-06-07T09:10:00.000-04:00

Geez! I haven't done a Random Tuesday in ages! I guess since Keely decided to go on Random Tuesday Sabbatical! Happy to see Stacy has taken up the banner and is running with it!

The countdown to the wedding has begun! Twenty-five more days! I have my dress, my shoes, my bag, a cute new do. Now if only I could lose 50 lbs in a hurry.

My youngest child graduates from hairdressing school this Thursday. I don't think there is any kind of real big ceremony. She'll be coming home on Friday and will go to the beach with her friend's family on Saturday for a week, but then she heads back to Pittsburgh to get ready for her State Board exam and to find a JOB!

Things are settling down a bit at work. Lots of new faces. One VERY annoying new server who is pushy and is a liar (no way in hell did you make $115 last Saturday when your sales were about the same as mine and we stood around with nothing to do for a good portion of the shift). His days are numbered. I just wish that number would come up soon.

I still haven't mailed a postcard to Captain Dumbass. I will, though! I promise!

I was informed last night that Gina and her future mother-in-law are coming up to my house on June 15 for my dress fitting. (Jane is doing the alterations on my dress) I thought I was driving to Delaware for the fitting. Shit. Now I have to clean my house.

The weather keeps jumping around. First it's hot, then it's pleasant and warm, then the nights are chilly, now it's going to get hot again. And with it comes the severe thunderstorms and chances of tornadoes (yep! even in Pennsylvania!) I used to worry that the high winds on these storms would knock over a tree onto my house. But I need a new roof and now I keep hoping it WILL fall on my house! I can pay the deductible!

I think I'm randomed out. Now go visit Stacy @ Stacy Uncorked and leave your random link with her!

Six Word Saturday

2011-06-04T10:18:00.000-04:00

Four more weeks until the wedding!!!

My daughter, Gina's wedding, that is! This year just flew by! And in 4 short weeks, July 2 to be exact, my favorite future son-in-law will officially become my favorite son-in-law! Yes, I will blog about it and yes, there will be pictures! Can't wait!!!

Want to try your own Six Word Saturday? Go see Cate at Show My Face and link up!

Thank you for your service

2011-05-30T21:16:00.002-04:00

Today is Memorial Day. So many people forget what today is really for. It's fine to have barbecues, picnics and the first official weekend of the summer at the beach. But today is also to remember the brave men and women who have fought for our freedom.

Like my brother, Michael reminded me just a short while ago, we must give special tribute to the soldiers of World War II. Without their sacrifice, bravery and profound sense of duty to God and country, we very well could be speaking German or Japanese now. I know for sure the citizens of France should thank their lucky stars they are still able to speak French!

My Uncle Francis Curry was a Tech Sergeant in World War II, fighting in North Africa and Europe. We just recently got documentation about when he was killed in action. His plane went down and we learned Uncle Francie and some of the others survived the crash only to be burned alive in the fire that happened after the crash. He is buried in Anzio, Italy.

Uncle Francie was the only person I knew of who gave his life for our freedom. Thankfully, my father survived as a radioman in the Navy and came home unscathed.

I have a decidedly military family. Three of my 4 brothers are retired Marines. One of my brothers served 20 years! My brother, Michael, served in Viet Nam. My brother Jimmy served in the first Gulf War. My brother, Marty somehow managed to miss every confrontation in his 20 years in the Marines. He was either in Korea or Okinawa at the time. For 3 years, he was a drill instructor at Parris Island.

My John served for 20 years in the Army with the 82nd Airborne and was involved in Grenada. His son, Mark is also with the Army's 82nd Airborne. Mark has completed 3 tours of Iraq, a stint in Haiti after the earthquake there last year and as soon as he got stateside after that, was sent to Afghanistan! He is stateside again, but still serving.

My brother-in-law, Jim served for 29 years in the Army. He did 2 tours in Viet Nam with the 101st Airborne Division. He went on to be become an Army Ranger and then a Green Beret with Special Forces. He retired in 1995 as a full Colonel.

My nephew, Steve served 9 years with the US Marines as a helicopter mechanic. Steve was part of the President's helicopter fleet. He had the honor of flying with some great dignitaries, among them Pope John Paul II. Then the Army said, "Join us and we'll let you become a pilot!' So he's been with the Army's 82nd Airborne for the past 12 years, piloting a Black Hawk helicopter! He has served in Iraq, Afghanistan and spent time in the Bahamas (aw, such a tough assignment) chasing drug runners. Steve is still serving in the Army.

Steve's sister, Marianne also served in the Army during and after college and law school in the Army Reserves! She resigned her commission when she became pregnant with her first child.

So thank a Soldier or a Sailor or an Airman or a Marine when you see them. They are willing to give their lives so we can have the freedoms we enjoy to this day. And say a prayer for their continued safely. Remember those, like my Uncle Francie, who gave their lives so we can enjoy our freedom. We are so very fortunate to live here and we have freedoms that people in countries around the world can only dream about!

Update: John's 6 month PET scan

2011-05-19T22:03:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, John had an appointment with Dr. Sunita Nasta, at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to get the results of the 6 month PET scan to see if his cancer has returned or not. For those of you new to my blog, you can read John's full story here. You can also read more of John's story by clicking on the Label, CANCER SUCKS on my sidebar.

** NOTE: my brother Michael describes a PET scan (positron emission tomography) as this: they make you drink nuclear shit and then they x-ray you, similar to a CT scan. If anything lights up, you probably have cancer.

Anyway, about 2 weeks ago, John had his semi-annual PET scan done. We drove to HUP for his appointment.
When he had his appointment in October 2010, Dr. Nasta leaped into the air as she popped into the room, with a big grin on her face and pronounced YOU ARE BETTER THAN EVER!!!

Not so much this time.

Yesterday, she walked into the room, no smile on her face. Oh shit. This isn't good.

She told us that the scan showed 2 very small nodes, less than a centimeter in diameter each. For those of us Americans who are not metric literate, a centimeter is about 1/3 of an inch. Teeny tiny.

But they lit up and that's not good. One in the groin, one in the neck. They are so small she couldn't even feel them.

She asked if John had been sick recently or had a fever. Nope. He has lost about 10 pounds since his last visit. He does get tired and often falls asleep when he gets home from work at 4 pm.

So John had 2 choices. He could get an ultra-sound and she'd then do a biopsy (on a teeny tiny node that she can't feel), or John could get another PET scan in 6 weeks to see if they grew and to also see if they light up again. He opted to get the PET scan at the end of June (6 weeks will have gone by since his last one) and see her again on July 6.

There is a possibility that the lighting up was a fluke caused by a fever or virus that John wasn't aware of. Or the scanner in the lab is new and maybe a little "enthusiastic" in his interpretation of the scan.

So, now John has an appointment on June 28 for his scan and then an appointment on July 6 to get the results. If the scan shows the nodes are cancerous again, John will have to start yet another round of Chemo.

We went to the Potbelly Sandwich Shop to grab a bite, since John had been fasting all day. While we were there, we discussed it, calmly. Again, we are taking a positive approach. This is another battle in this war called Cancer. He's not going to let this get him down. Hopefully, the next test will be a good one and we can relax for a few months again. If not, well, I guess I'll be driving the Schuylkill Expressway into Center City Philadelphia quite often again. I think I should get my AAA membership renewed.

Dear So and So: Royally duped!

2011-05-13T21:40:00.003-04:00

Dear Whoever Posted the comparison photos of Prince William and his lovely bride,

OK, you got me and a lot of other folks across America.

You see, yesterday, someone posted these photos of Prince William and Kate Middleton and compared them to the Disney pictures of Cinderella and Prince Charming at their wedding. Also in the picture are comparison photos of the Ugly Stepsisters and The Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. The similarities was astounding! Look for yourself! (sorry the photo isn't real clear. It's the best I could do)

We all laughed at the similarities. C'mon, you know you did! You might even have put them on your own Facebook page and shared them with your friends. I know I did!

Then this evening, I read an article online about how someone photo-shopped the Disney pictures to match the ones taken at the Royal Wedding. Surely they were kidding!!! So I googled Disney Cinderella wedding images and this is what I found.

They aren't even close! We were duped!!! Someone just pointed another flaw out to me. In the fake photo, Cinderella is a brunette. In the real photo, she's a blonde! I didn't even notice that!

I feel cheated, especially with the Ugly Stepsister/ Real Princesses photos! I thought that was brilliant!

Love,

Joanie

Update on the job front, and a surprise visitor!

2011-05-04T13:16:00.001-04:00

Okay, so it's been a few weeks since ~~the shit hit the fan~~ the new company took over, and ~~people are dropping like flies~~ quite a few employees have decided to move on to other jobs.

I'm pissed at the ones who just walked out. A few of the crew kids thought it would be fun to walk out in the middle of their shift, on a busy Friday night, hoping to cause chaos. Didn't happen. Fortunately, we had managers and trainers from other stores in to help with proper training and they took over hosting and bussing duties.

Our general manager discovered via a cook that there were want ads on our website, for a GM position and a kitchen manager position. When he asked if his job was in jeopardy, the response from our new District Manager was, "Well, are you doing your job?" (he wasn't... he is why so any are jumping ship). He packed his stuff and left. Rumor has it that he went back to his former store and tried to get his kitchen manager job back, but was turned down when they found out he walked out of this job. If he had waited until he got fired, he could have collected unemployment. Now he's screwed.

As of now, about 20 employees that I can recall have left. We are in the process of hiring and training new servers and hosts, as well as cooks and dishwashers. Soon we will have an entirely new staff working here! And they will all be trained properly! Our former General Manager was filling the place with bodies, didn't matter if they had any kind of training whatsoever.

The thing is, with leaving a job like serving, when you go to a new restaurant, no matter how much experience you have, you are still the new kid on the block. You need to earn the right to get good hours, good sections and make decent money. You WILL be one of the first ones out every night. You WILL get the crappy stations to work in. You WILL get smaller sections until you prove you can handle more tables.

I did learn when I validate someone I get a higher hourly wage AND I keep their tips!! Woo hoo!!! I made an extra $50 on Monday night! So I'll work extra hours when they need me if that's going to happen! Validation is when a server in training takes tables and I follow them around to make sure they are doing everything correctly.

We have managers and trainers from a few of our other stores to help out, mostly from New York. We have a temporary General Manager until they can hire someone permanently. I want her to stay forever! I HEART HER A LOT!!! She's fun. She's energetic. She doesn't take shit from anyone, but is quick to bestow praise when she sees it. I've seen her sit down and have quite a few little "chats" with disgruntled employees. Our place of employment is supposed to be energetic and fun. These folks are bringing fun back to our jobs! She gave me $5 the other night for answering a question correctly!!

There are two in particular that I will be happy to see leave this place and I hope it's soon. They are both disrespectful and rude to fellow workers, me included. They both had chats with management and I'm guessing their days are numbered. Good riddance to them. I don't need negative rude people around me. I like my job and I want to have fun when I'm there. This is a new company. If you don't like the rules, there's the door. See ya later. Bye. There are so many people willing to take your job and play by the rules. We don't need you.

We are cleaning (literally, with soap and water and Windex and degreaser, etc.) our place up, really good. They are getting us tons of new equipment. Everyone is getting proper training. We are going to be awesome!!

And in other news.....

While I was at work yesterday I had a visitor! It was none other than Matty from Matty Thoughts!! Matty stopped by to say hello! We've been reading each others blog for a couple of years now, and we live not far from each other. Matty's been telling me he was going to drop by one of these days and yesterday he did! He happened to be in the mall where I work and dropped in to see if I was working. We didn't have much time to chat, since I had tables to take care of, but we did get to chat for a minute. It was a pleasure meeting you, Matty! You look just like your picture!

And a great big WAY TO GO and an OO-RAH for our Navy Seal Team who took out Osama Bin Laden! Even if the photo going around Facebook is a fake, I still think it's a good look for him! And we can handle anything those extremists throw at us! Maybe now, some of the 3,000+ families can have some peace and closure. God Bless America!

I'm so happy I did this favor!

2011-04-20T00:25:00.001-04:00

Get your tissues out, ladies (and maybe some gentlemen), this one is a goodie!

Back in October 1984, my brother married for the 2nd time. His bride, Pam looked lovely in her wedding gown. My brother and his wife both worked at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, in civilian jobs. About year after their wedding, Mike and Pam had a baby girl, Shannon.

In 1987, Michael had the opportunity to take a job on Gitmo (aka Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on our Naval Installation) in a civilian job. They jumped at the chance to live in the Caribbean for a a few (5) years.

I had just gotten my own wedding gown preserved, after sitting in the closet for 6 years or so. Pam asked me if I"d get hers preserved and keep it while they were in Cuba. So I did.

They came home from Cuba, back to their home in NJ in 1992 (give or take.... I'm not real sure of the timeline). I had recently moved from NJ back to PA. I was always going to bring the gown back to Pam, but we never got around to it.

In 1995, Pam, at the age of 37, died suddenly from a cerebral hemorrhage. We were all just devastated!!! Shannon was 9 at the time and her brother Ryan, just 5.

Pam's wedding gown stayed on my closet floor, in the box for years.

About a year ago, I told my niece, Shannon that I still had her mom's wedding gown and if she got married and wanted it, I'd be happy to get it to her. Shannon was quite overweight and told me the likely-hood of her ever being able to wear her mom's gown was slim. I told her that she could use the material for part of another gown or use it to make a christening gown one day.

A few months later, Shannon underwent Lap band surgery and has lost about 100 pounds! This chick is HAWT!!!! And to top it off, every day she looks more and more like her mom!!! It just takes your breath away when you see just how much. ( a little side note: Shannon used to get upset whenever her dad started to date someone and it looked like it might get serious. She said she was afraid her dad would forget her mom. I told her, as did other people, that all Michael had to do was look at Shannon because she looks just like her mom. There is no way he could ever forget her!)

Over the weekend, at a Phillies game, Shannon's boyfriend, Ron proposed during the 6th inning. Their families were secretly waiting at the top of the section they were sitting in, for him to do the deed and to witness this wonderful event! Of course Shannon said yes!

Tonight, Shannon sent me a message, asking me if I could give her mom's wedding gown to her. She wants to see if she can use at least part of it for her wedding dress, if not wear the dress as is. I checked out the dress and aside from a little yellowing (which could have happened in the few years before we had it preserved), the dress is in good shape! Thank goodness no mice nested in it over the years (it did spend a couple of years in my attic).

So, sometime in the next several months, I'll get the dress to Shannon. I'm so happy I got the dress preserved and even happier to know that Shannon might wear her mom's wedding gown, or at least part of it. And I know for a fact that if Shannon wears that wedding gown, there won't be a dry eye in the church!

When the smoke clears, I wonder who will be left standing, besides me?

2011-04-15T19:31:00.000-04:00

I see mutiny on the horizon, at work. Rather than be concerned, I'm finding this all quite amusing!

Here is what happened.

I work for a national restaurant chain. We were part of a 7 restaurant franchise. Um... where I work, it's always Friday. Got it? Good!

Several months ago, we got word that our owner was selling off the franchise to a company out of California. Big changes were a comin'! Five of the seven stores were sold. We were told this new company would be running the stores like the corporate stores (i.e. STRICT!!) I heard some grumbling from some of my fellow employees.

I wasn't nervous about that. I did 12 years of Catholic schools, in the 60s and 70s. We had corporal punishment when I went to school. Playing by the rules at work would be a piece of cake!

So the new company takes over. We're all now on probation for 6 months. We are all considered brand new employees. Those of us left standing on September 4 would get back our seniority (I have 8 years in) and our vacation pay (I was getting 3 weeks paid vacation). But we all have to prove ourselves! OK, I can do that.

All of our perks were gone! No more extra pay to be shift leader (I am a shift leader a couple of times a week). No extra pay to train new servers (I was a trainer. Easy extra bucks each month). My manager told me what was going on.... no reflection on me, blah, blah, blah. This is the way the new company runs things for all 25 of their stores, blah,blah, blah. I told him I wish we were still getting the little perks, but I was happy to have a job. He seemed relieved.

Then, they put in a new computer system and brought people down from NY to train us on the new system.
I felt like a brand new server, left alone on my first day! Now? Easy peasy!! I zip through ordering! I still have questions from time to time but I'm getting it. Some, ok a lot of the employees didn't like one of the trainers, but did like the other one. The one they didn't like doesn't take shit off anyone. The other would sneak out to smoke with them.

I hear grumbling from some of the other employees. Some aren't happy. They don't like the way things are changing. I want to tell them to shut up and do their job or leave. No one is forcing them to stay.

Lots of the rules are changing. The new company didn't realize how things were before (aka lackadaisical, we could pretty much do whatever we wanted). Now people are getting written up or sent home for being late. Business is slow but the new company wants more servers on the floor, so less money for us (for now).

Now they are putting their foot down regarding smoking and also drinking after work. Lots of employees will go into the bar and give back half their tips in booze. Now we are no longer allowed to drink in the bar, period, even if it's our day off. We can sit in the restaurant part and order alcohol, but not in the bar ever. This rule is company wide, not just the franchise. No smoking on the property ever. In Pennsylvania, there is no smoking inside the restaurant, but employees used to be able to go out back by the dumpsters and smoke (I'm sure you've all seen cooks and servers hanging outside a kitchen door, smoking and chatting.) I don't smoke, and I don't drink (well, hardly ever), so it's no problem for me.

Every few days, someone else leaves, usually just walking out, like someone did today. Buh,bye!!

What all these people who are bitching and moaning don't realize, and I wish I could be there when they do, is that, if and when they go to another restaurant to work, they are going to find the smaller sections, no drinking in the bar after work, they have to tip out everyone like they do here, They'll be considered new servers, so they'll get lousy sections, cut early, less shifts. Management could be super strict.

Everyone was spoiled because the manager we had until last year, when he got caught stealing the deposits. Our old manager wouldn't fire anyone or reprimand anyone (well, hardly ever) because he didn't want to make any waves! He was trying to fly under the radar so he wouldn't get caught! Our owner wasn't much better! Wouldn't give us money to get things fixed or replaced properly, was late in paying bills so we'd lose internet and other things.

So now that things are being run the correct way, everyone is bitching!!! This company has MONEY!!!!! And they aren't afraid to spend it! They spent nearly $100,000 on a new computer system. Every few days, new equipment arrives. They are willing to put thousands and thousands of dollars into our store to make it a better place to work. And they are hiring a whole bunch of new people to work here.

And ya know what? When the smoke clears and all the people I've been working with are gone, because they've either quit or management has had enough of their griping, I'll still be standing and I'll be on top of the heap!

Update on my 3 reading challenges

2011-04-04T19:18:00.001-04:00

I signed up for 3 separate reading challenges this year. I think I'm doing pretty well, so far!

First off, I'm doing a James Patterson Reading Challenge. Most, if not all of the James Patterson books I'm "reading" are audio books. I do a lot of driving, so I listen to the books in my car. I've challenged myself to read 10+ James Patterson books. The challenge ends on September 1, 2011. I have 15 books on my list, as seen on this blog post . I'm happy to report, as of this morning, I have 6 books under my belt!!

Another challenge I have signed for is the Nicholas Sparks book challenge. I've never read any of Nicholas Sparks books and I've seen one or two of the movies! I have all of Nicholas Sparks listed here on this blog post. There are 4 books crossed off this list so far. This challenge ends at the end of the year.

The last challenge I'm doing is the Outdo Yourself reading challenge! This one is cool because I can include my James Patterson books AND my Nicholas Sparks books I've read to the list! I have those books listed here. I'm happy to report that I have finished 17 books so far and have 3 in the works as I type!

If you click on the links to see the books I've read, there is also a link to the Challenges themselves!

My goal is to read 100 book in 2011. I hope to read or listen to all he Nicholas Sparks books that are out there (he has a new one coming out soon too!) I had a big head start on the James Patterson books! I read quite a few of this books before this challenge even started, so all the books I have listed are his newest ones. In my more general challenge, I'm including my very favorite authors, among them Sarah Pekkanen, Jennifer Weiner, Janet Evanovich, Lisa Scottoline, Paul Levine, Stieg Larsson, Eleanor Brown, Elin Hilderbrand and many more! If you're looking for some new authors to read, why not check out some of these fine authors! My guess is you won't be sorry!

Dear So and So

2011-04-01T09:23:00.001-04:00

Dear Mother Nature,
If you really wanted to play an April Fool's Day joke on Al Gore, why not just make it snow over his town and leave the rest of us alone? I actually LIKE the fact that it's Spring!

Not amused by any means,
Joanie

Love,

Joanie

Dress shopping (and dinner) with my daughter

2011-03-23T11:48:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I met my daughter, Gina, aka The Bride at King of Prussia Mall in well... King of Prussia, PA. We were shopping for a dress for me, aka Mother Of The Bride. I had $350 in my wallet and was praying it was enough.

We wanted to go to KOP Mall because KOP had 2 malls in one. One is The Court. They have stores like Bloomingdale's and Macy's. Pricey stores that have evening wear departments. There is also The Plaza, which has stores like Sears, JC Penneys, but they also have Nordstrom and Lord and Taylor and Neiman Marcus .

We checked out Nortstroms and Macy's. I really didn't see much that I liked. We were on our way to the other stores and passed by JC Penney. I said, "let's go in. Wouldn't it be funny if I found my dress at Penney's?"

We started looking and low and behold, we pick out 5 dresses for me to try on! And they were on the sale rack!

I have to be careful what I get because I'm built kind of lumpy. Saddlebags at the hips from carrying 3 8+ lb babies and delivered via C-section, round in the torso (I'm an apple). I inherited my mother's wings, so I can't wear sleeveless. On the other hand, long sleeves in July? OMG! I'd be dying!! Turn up the AC!!!!

So we find this dress. It's green and white, with a green sweater over top. And it's on sale. For $53.99. And it looks okay on me... IF I wear something over it to hide the wings. Not crazy about the sweater it comes with. And it needs a little altering, which my favorite future-son-in-law's mother can and will do for me (Jane is the best!!! I love her!) We decide this is the dress, but we'll be getting a little jacket to wear with it rather than the sweater. This dress is not your typical MOTB dress. No sparkles, no glitter. But it's cute! And we send a photo to Dani, who is in Pittsburgh to see and she approves! Sorry, no pics of my wearing it.

Then it was off to the Intimacy store to get fitted properly for a decent bra. OMG!!! I'm so wearing the wrong size! I get fitted and try on several bras. The one I WANT is $165 (yeah, no shit!!! I don't even own a dress for that much!). The one I bought was $100. But now I know what size I need and can get bras elsewhere, but this one is for the wedding. Apparently I have to wear it a few times and wash it a few times to "break it in". No pics of me modeling the bras either.

Then I had a complete brain fart. I bought a pair of Spanx. Modern day torture chamber. But it smooths all my lumpy parts out. I just hope I don't have to pee too much that day because I'm going to have a problem if I do! At least, the Spanx isn't like the contraption I had to wear for my brother's wedding, back in 1995. I told that story here. Gina will never be the same after that day!

We did continue to look, but didn't really find anything. So we went to Rock Bottom Brewery for dinner. Then we checked out Nortstrom Rack (discount Nordstroms) but didn't really find anything there.

After a little Cold Stone Creamery, we headed our separate ways.

I told Gina I was going to look online to see if I could find something there and this morning I found a dress at JC Penney's online that's more of an evening wear dress. I ordered it. It was also on sale and I found a promo code for free shipping! Thanks to Garret at ~~Rving~~ Living With Jim and Garret for copying the photo for me and sending it to me!

I've decided if I like the blue dress, I'll wear that one to the wedding (it is more what I was originally wanting to get), I'll keep the green dress for the dress rehearsal.

Random Tuesday Thoughts

2011-03-22T10:32:00.000-04:00

I haven't been here for some weeks now. The desire to write about anything just hasn't been there. Ah well.

Today is a big day for me! It's shopping for my Mother Of The Bride dress with my daughter! I hope we find something today. I'm hoping to find a nice green dress. Green is my favorite color. So is red, but I think that would not be a good choice for a wedding.

The bridemaids' dresses are purple, the groomsmen are wearing grey suits. Guess what color Maleficent chose? Yup. Plum and grey. That's OK. She'll blend in. **I** will stand out! But I certainly will not outshine the bride! She will look magnificent!

John and I went to Cabela's on Sunday. It was like going to the zoo, only all the animals were very cooperative and posed very nicely for us! Every shot was perfect!

Polar bears and caribou!

John bought socks with batteries in them to keep his poor always cold feet warm. I bought fudge. Probably should have skipped that since we have a wedding coming up in less than 4 months.

I kept losing John in the store. There was so much camouflage in that store and he was wearing his BDU aka field jacket from his time in the army. He blended right in!

This one is short and sweet because I'm short on time today!

Why not visit Keey at The Un-mom for more fun randomness?

In A Word: Cheap

2011-03-01T09:34:00.001-05:00

I'm a member of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) The goal is to write a blog post every day, and each month, there is a theme. The theme for March is In A Word. I went to a site called One Word to get my word for the day. Today, the word is Cheap.

This isn't as easy as it looks!!! It's making me wonder.... am I a cheapskate? In some ways, yes. That's because my job makes it so. My lifestyle is much more modest than it was when I was married. I can no longer afford to get a new car every few years. My car is 8 years old, runs well, but I keep full insurance coverage on it because, if I get in an accident, I'd need to be able to replace it. I can't shop at Macy's and stores like that any more, but that's okay. JC Penney works for me.

I have one major credit card. I've learned to only buy things when I can afford them.

I manage to be able to go to the beach for a week each year. John and I save all year and my friend rents her little place in Ocean City, MD to us in the fall for about $250 for the week. I can't afford to go in summer when my friend has to charge full price, but tSeptember is lovely and warm! I don't really swim in the ocean any more, but I love going to the beach and ~~taking a nap~~ do some reading and people watching.

In other ways, I agree with the term "You get what you pay for". I rarely buy store brand foods. I can tell the difference between name brand frozen veggies (and other products) and the store brand equivalent. I discovered years ago that even if you shop in a quality department store, like Macy's, if you buy something that says "Special purchase", it's usually cheap items to get you into the store. Clothing loses it's shape or will shrink or fall apart or fade easily. Better to spend the money and get a product that will last a few years.

What I really hate are people who come into the restaurant and have no problem spending money on themselves, but are real cheapskates when it comes to tipping. We've been overrun with folks who got their taxes done and use their refund card to treat themselves to a nice meal but then leave a really lousy tip. Soon tax season will be over and they can all go back to eating at McDonald's.

I had 2 women who came in yesterday. They both ordered Baby Back Ribs.... NOT the half rack. Just the ribs. When you say ribs, I think full rack. When the bill came, they had an issue with paying $38 for their 2 orders of ribs (which they took home with them when they couldn't eat all of it). They assumed I'd order the half racks for them. (I'm not psychic. If you want a half rack of ribs, you need to tell me) They talked my boss into crediting them for the half racks. They tipped me fairly, but these women own a restaurant of their own! And their place is NOT inexpensive!! I think they knew exactly what they were doing. They paid for 2 half racks of ribs and went home with a full rack FOR FREE!!! Cheap bitches. You can be damned sure I will not be going to their restaurant.

So there you have it. My take on the word CHEAP.

Rest In Peace, Uncle Mickey

2011-02-28T10:29:00.000-05:00

We got word yesterday that my Uncle Mickey passed away. He was 83 years old. He was my dad's younger brother. And he was the last of his generation on both sides of my family. It's odd to know that I no longer have any living aunts or uncles.

Uncle Mickey had 12 children. Every time I try to name everyone, I miss someone and I miss a different one every time. I know the first 4 or 5, then I get lost. I remember the last 2 because they were 2 of the 3 boys in the family.

Let's see.... Michelle, Veronica, Vincent, June, Dorothy, Victoria, Dawn, Nora, Joseph, Brian, Bernadette, and.... see? One is missing from my brain. And I even cheated and went on Facebook to see who I missed. She's not on Facebook. It'll come to me, eventually.

It just occurred to me that me, my siblings and my cousins are all now the "older" generation of the family! We are the aunts who attend the wedding and baby showers of our nieces. I am not sure how that happened! It sort of snuck up on me.

CHRISTINE! Christine is the 12th child! Actually she's more like 5th or 6th. I could see her face, but I just could not get a name to the face.

There was another child in the mix, who I always thought was my cousin. Her name is Angel. She was a cousin of my cousins, but not mine. Angel's mom and my cousin's mom were sisters. We always thought she was because I think she lived with all the others. I guess what's one more kid in the mix when you already have 9 or 10 or 12? As an adult now, I can see the difference in Angel from the others. Angel is part Hispanic and everyone else is full Irish.

I was hoping to find a photo of Uncle Mickey in my cousins' profiles, but I don't see any.

Rest in peace, Uncle Mickey. Say hi to my Mom and Dad for me.

World's Shortest Books

2011-02-27T19:10:00.004-05:00

World's Shortest Books
_________________________________

THINGS I DID TO DESERVE

THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

By Barack Obama
____________________________________________

MY BLACK GIRLFRIENDS

By Tiger Woods
____________________________________________

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY COUNTRY
By Jane Fonda & Cindy Sheehan
Illustrated by Michael Moore
________________________________________

MY HUMANITARIAN ACCOMPLISHMENTS

& HOW I HELPED AFTER KATRINA

By Rev Jesse Jackson, Rev Al Sharpton,

Congressional Black Caucus,

99.9% of The National Basketball Association
______________________________________

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT BILL

By Hillary Clinton
_________________

Sequel: THINGS I LOVE ABOUT HILLARY

By Bill Clinton
_________________

THINGS I CANNOT AFFORD

By Bill Gates
____________________________________

THINGS I WOULD NOT DO FOR MONEY

By Dennis Rodman
_________________________________

THINGS WE KNOW TO BE TRUE

By Al Gore & John Kerry
_____________________________________
GUIDE TO THE PACIFIC

By Amelia Earhart

__________________________________

HOW TO LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST

By Dr. Jack Kevorkian
__________________________________

TO ALL THE MEN WE HAVE LOVED BEFORE

By Ellen de Generes & Rosie O'Donnell

____________________________________________

GUIDE TO DATING ETIQUETTE

By Mike Tyson

__________________________________

THE AMISH PHONE DIRECTORY
_______________________________________

MY PLAN TO FIND THE REAL KILLERS

By O. J. Simpson
_________________________________________

HOW TO DRINK & DRIVE SAFELY

By Ted Kennedy

_________________________________________________

MY BOOK OF MORALS

By Bill Clinton

With introduction by

The Rev. Jesse Jackson

*******************************************************

AND, JUST ADDED:

My Complete Knowledge of Military Strategy
By Nancy Pelosi

Dear So and So

2011-02-25T00:05:00.001-05:00

Dear Kat,
Happy 30th Birthday, my friend! I hope it was wonderful!

Joanie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Chachi (my car),

I'm sorry I haven't taken really good care of you this year. I promise to do better, especially since the 2 new tires, replacing the bent wheel (damned potholes) and the long overdue oil change cost me $375 the other day. Getting the other bent wheel replaced and the rear brakes today (ka-ching! another $260) should make you happier, even though my wallet is crying. Can you please be kind in July when I need to get you inspected and pass the emissions and inspection tests?? I know you're not as young as you used to be (Chachi was 8 on New Year's Eve) and you have 131,000+ miles on you, but I know we can have many more happy years together. I really do love you a lot, even though I don't always show it.

Promising to show you more love in the future,

Joanie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Mother Nature,

Flood warnings and high wind alerts for this weekend? Really? Haven't you punished us enough this year?

I just have one small request. If you must knock down one of my trees, can you make sure that it hits the roof? I need a new one and the insurance will cover it if you do this. A $500 roof I can afford... a $6,000 one? Not so much.

Tired of all this "weather",

Joanie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Greg from work,

Thank you SO MUCH for giving me your "old" Droid! I really do love it! I still can't believe you just gave it to me! I know you love your newer Droid X. It is so much faster than the Blackberry!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Joanie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Love,

Joanie

Random Tuesday Thoughts

2011-02-22T18:58:00.001-05:00

Keely is the host for Random Tuesday Thoughts. Go check her out at The Un Mom for lots more fun Randomness!!

We had Spring.... for 2 whole days. Then, cold and snow and wind came back. Yay us.

A friend from work gave me, GAVE ME, no charge, his old Droid! He bought the Droid last year when it first came out (and I bought his 3 month old Blackberry from him). He lost his Droid, so Verizon sent him another. He used that one for a couple of months, then his boyfriend gave him the Droid X because Verizon had a BOGO sale. When I mentioned that I really wanted to get a Droid, but I needed to wait until after my daughter's wedding to get it, he told me I could have his!!! How cool is that!!!

I discovered that the Droid is soooo much faster and cooler than the Blackberry! I'm having fun, learning my way around it and downloading free apps.

I'm keeping my Blackberry for my audio books. I listen to a lot of books in my car.

Maleficent has Facebook. Great.

I do a check every now and then to see if she or the ex has Facebook. She now does, he does not.

I also (for fun) check on John's ex-wives. Yes, I said Wives (plural). He has 4 of them. And you all wonder why I'm not chomping at the bit to marry him!

Anyway, 3 of the 4 of them have Facebook. We are NOT friends on Facebook. I do, however, post really glowing things on his family members' pages. I'm fun like that!

I've decided that my son shows up here every week or so for a few days, not to see me, but to catch up on all the shows he watches on Showtime. They don't have that channel where he lives the rest of the time. I'll take it though! He also gets to do his laundry for free. And I might even cook him a meal once in a while.

I think I'm randomed out. Cya!

Apple does it again!

2011-02-17T22:36:00.001-05:00

I thought this was too important not to share.

Apple does it again!

Apple announced today that it has developed a breast implant that can store and play music.The iTit will cost from $499 to $699, depending on cup and speaker size. This is considered a major social breakthrough, because women are always complaining about men staring at their breasts and not listening to them.

Blah

2011-02-16T08:06:00.000-05:00

I have a bad case of the blahs.

Don't feel like writing.

Don't feel like reading.

Don't feel like trying to be humorous.

Just don't feel like it.

I'll be back though (fair warning)

Musical Mondays Moves Me!: Love Songs!

2011-02-14T08:24:00.000-05:00

Lorie at The Shrewbridges of Celebration, FL told me about Monday's Music Moves Me,

so here's another cool music blog meme to do.

Amanda at Bloggin’ with Amanda hosts Musical Monday – What Move’s You?.

You can get the instructions by clicking here.

All month long, in honor of Valentine's Day, we are doing love songs!

When I was a teenager and young adult, I loved this song and wanted it to be the song I danced to at my wedding. Of course, time passed. I didn't marry my high school sweetheart (who turned out to be a cheating jerk). I met and married someone else (who, ironically, also turned out to be cheating jerk). I did NOT use this song as my first dance song. To tell you the truth, I can't even remember the song I danced with my new husband because the band didn't bother to learn the one we had chosen. But that's a whole 'nother story for another day.

So when I was a teenager, young and in love, I wanted to dance to Elvis Presley's I Can't Help Falling In Love With You. To this day, it's still one of my favorite love songs!

I also learned that I was chosen as a "Tag Dancer" on the Spotlight Dance! How cool is that!! Thanks Marie and Callie and Lorie and Larry for the honor!

Prompt Me! Wednesday: A Treasured Gift

2011-02-09T00:18:00.006-05:00

This is my first try at Prompt Me! Wednesday. This week's prompt is A Treasured Gift.

It took me a while to think of something to write about. Then I remembered a gift I received for Christmas 6 years ago from my daughter, Gina and my future favorite son-in-law, Gene.

When Gina was in college, she majored in Theatre. In her Junior year, she was cast as Dinah Lord, the bratty little sister in The Philadelphia Story. I thought she was simply marvelous, but don't just take it from me, an unbiased mom. Here's what Myra Yellin Outwater, a theater critic from the Allentown Morning Call newspaper had to say about her performance:

From the moment that Regina P walks out on the Labuda Center stage at DeSales University, her performance as Dinah Lord lights up Act 1's production of Philip Barry's "The Philadelphia Story." Regina, who plays the delightfully impish tomboyish younger sister of Main Line heiress Tracy Lord, is just great fun to watch, a troublemaker with a "Capital T." She mugs and sasses and stirs up Barry's 1930s period comedy of Philadelphia Main Line manners as she irreverently stokes the fires of mischief. (the only change I made here was to remove her last name)

Sorry... a little digression there. Anyway, in the lobby of the theatre, they post pictures of the dress rehearsals. There was one photo, of Gina, as Dinah, "performing" for the newsman and photographer who were there to document her sister, Tracy Lord's upcoming wedding. I loved loved loved this photo!!! It's a good 2 feet by 3 feet!

Imagine my surprise, on Christmas morning, when Gina and Gene come into my house carrying this large package for me! I could not imagine what it could be!! I was jumping up and down and clapping happy when I saw this framed picture of Gina! It hangs in a prominent place in my family room.

I thought I'd find the picture on Gina's Facebook page, but it's not there, so I took a photo of the framed picture. And here it is!

This is a most treasured gift. This scene was so damned funny! And Gina had to sing badly, but she has a lovely strong voice. I wish I had a video of this play!

Random Tuesday Thoughts

2011-02-08T00:01:00.002-05:00

Keely is the host for Random Tuesday Thoughts. Go check her out at The Un Mom for lots more fun Randomness!!

So my 20 year old daughter is in Las Vegas until Friday. She's not even old enough to gamble OR drink! How is this fair? Yes, I'm jealous! She's there for a Paul Mitchell Convention. She goes to a Paul Mitchell Cosmetology School on the other side of Pennsylvania. So it's a learning experience. Yeah, right.

We're getting some precipitation right now and it's ... RAIN, not snow!!! YAY!!! (I'm writing this on Monday evening)

I keep discovering new authors and of course, they have series of books, so now I want all of the books in the series! I just downloaded 2 more books in Paul Levine's Jake Lassiter series. I really liked the first one!

I few people commented on my blog post about Reading and have suggested a few goodies. So now I have MORE books to look out for! Good thing my Kindle can hold up to 1500 books!

I'm trying to write here, but Cameron has other ideas. Do you think he wants some attention?

So Christina Aguilera really messed up the National Anthem. It's sad that so many people don't know it any more. She looked like crap too. Why can't "professional singers" just sing it like we learned it in school? Look and listen, if you can stand it.

Have you met Bill Balsamico? He's the owner of a restaurant and lounge in North Versailles, PA, located in Western Pennsylvania. He puts messages on his sign outside his place of business, Casa D'Ice. I love this guy! He does NOT know the meaning of the term "Politically Incorrect". He takes shots at local government, the President, Illegal aliens, and more! He's now on Facebook and has his own website, www.casadice.com. Check out his website and you can see all of his famous signs! Here's an example. This is the sign he has displayed this week.

That's it for me! Now check out some other Random folks! I bet you find stuff you like!

Musical Mondays Moves Me!: Love Songs

2011-02-07T00:05:00.002-05:00

Lorie at The Shrewbridges of Celebration, FL told me about Monday's Music Moves Me,

so here's another cool music blog meme to do

Amanda at Bloggin’ with Amanda hosts Musical Monday – What Move’s You?.

You can get the instructions by clicking here.

It's February, and that means our songs will be all about LOVE!! I've posted about this video before. If I ever get married again, this is the song I want played. I know that Beyonce recorded this song, but nobody can do justice to this song like Etta James. Here is At Last.

Another lazy Sunday

2011-02-06T14:06:00.001-05:00

Oh Boy, do I love Sundays! We went to bed around 11:30 last night. I was so tired! I think I fell asleep rather quickly. Unfortunately, I drank way too much diet coke and water and was up just about every hour to use the facilities. This old bladder ain't what it used to be!

We managed to stay in bed until after noon. I guess by daybreak, my bladder was finally empty, once and for all, and I got several hours of uninterrupted sleep.

The only "work" I did was to move clothing from the washer to the dryer and do up the dishes I left soaking overnight. My plan was also to sweep and mop the kitchen floor and vacuum the downstairs, but I'm not really feeling it right now. We'll see how I feel after I finish this blog post.

In a little while, John and I will drive to his place because he needs to be at work tomorrow at 7:30 AM and I need to be at work at 11:00 AM. If he stayed here, he'd have to get up at 5:30 AM instead of 6:30 AM, so we generally spend Sunday night at his place.

We'll stop for brunch (usually) but it's so late, it'll definitely be lunch. No cooking for me today! We're going out for dinner too! Then a quiet night, watching a little TV, maybe some computer time, then back to bed for more shut eye!

Boy! Do I love Sundays!!

Six Word Saturday

2011-02-05T07:00:00.003-05:00

Here comes another round of snow.

sigh

Want to try your own Six Word Saturday? Go see Cate at Show My Face and link up!

Boy, do I love to read! (this is longer than originally planned)

2011-02-04T21:26:00.004-05:00

First of all, I love to read. I used to read 3 or 4 books a week, but that was BK (before kids). Taking care of small kids, my reading time was limited. I'd often fall asleep after reading only a few pages of a book. Then came household computers and the internet. I found myself reading message boards and chat rooms, rather than books. For a lot of years, I was lucky to read 3 or 4 books a year, rather than 3 or 4 books a week! I kept buying books, especially when Borders or Barnes and Noble had buy 3, get 1 free, or buy 1, get a 2nd one for half price. I'm a sucker for books and sales.

I was reading books on Oprah's Book Club, but so many of her books were SO DEEP, or books about women triumphing over adversity. They are all well and good, but every now and then, you just need a good trashy novel! I did find a few real gems in her books club though. House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III, Midwives by Chris Bohjalian, Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts, The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve (this book had me hooked from page 1) were the few books that I simply loved.

I discovered that the Good Morning America Book Club was even better! I found so many other books that I was more interested in reading! Books like The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, Three Junes by Julia Glass, The Dive from Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer (this book was sooo good!)

A couple of years ago, I made a deal with myself to try to read a book a month. I had a huge pile of books (50 or more), many from some of my favorite authors (Sue Grafton, Patricia Cornwell, John Grisham, Dan Brown, James Patterson, Jennifer Weiner to name a few) I was really surprised to realize that I read 23 books in 2009!

John gave me a Kindle for Christmas in 2009 (just months before the price dropped drastically!) I started buying books for my Kindle, even though I still had a good 30 or more print books at home, waiting to be read. I learned how to search for free books and the newest books were considerably less than the hard-cover versions in the store! (My Kindle has more than paid for itself this past year)

I also bought a Blackberry from a co-worker who just HAD to get the Droid as soon as it came out, even though he bought the Blackberry only 3 months before. I found out that I could download audio books from my local library to my computer and transfer them to my BB! So instead of having music on the MP3 player part of my phone, I have BOOKS!! And I listen to them in my car when I'm driving for 30 minutes or more. The best $10 I ever spent was for a Jupiter Jack. It works like a charm! (Thanks Billy Mays, wherever you are!) Plug that baby into my Blackberry, tune my car radio to channel 99.3 FM, and I hear my books clear as a bell (most of the time... it doesn' t like the mountains on the PA Turnpike and parts of Wilmington, DE)

So I now have 3 different ways to get my book loving in. The print books I keep in my work bag. I'm afraid to bring my Kindle into work. All I need is someone to spill a drink on it and it's ruined. I keep my Kindle in my regular bag or in my netbook bag. I often read that when I'm at John's. I bet I have 35 books on my Kindle right now. Some were freebies that are only so-so. Others are books by my favorite authors and I have some new favorite authors now.

I have happily discovered Elin Hilderbrand, whose books all take place on Nantucket. Janet Evanovich, who has me laughing out loud with the antics of her Trenton, NJ heroine, Stephanie Plum. Lisa Scottoline, who writes a series of book about an all-women law firm, as well as other books. Maryann McFadden who has 2 excellent books under her belt. Sarah Pekkanen whose 2 books I simply could not put down until they were finished. Tamera Lawrence,a local writer (I wait on her at Fridays all the time) who has one book published (The Pond.. it's spooky and really good!) and has another that will be out by the end of the year. And Paul Levine, who has a series of books I'm reading about an attorney in Miami. And I keep discovering new authors all the time!

In 2010, I'm happy and surprised to report that I've read 65 books!!

For 2011, I signed up for a few reading challenges and my goal is to read 100 books (or as close to that as I can get!)

I'm reading all of Nicolas Sparks' books. I have 2 (of the 15) finished so far.

I'm doing a James Patterson challenge that ends at the end of August (it started in September.) I'm hoping to read more than 10 of his books. I have 3 finished and 1 nearly finished. I mostly listen to his books on audio.

Then there is a general reading challenge. I keep track of all the books I'm reading on that blog. I have 6 books finished so far this year. I do keep track of all my reading on my sidebar. You can see what I'm currently reading and what I've finished so far this year. Check them out! Maybe you'll find a book or two that you might be interested in checking out!

Old Friends

2011-02-03T10:05:00.004-05:00

I had a completely different thing to post, but I was catching up on my blog reading and came across Peggy's Musical Monday's choice. It was a few songs by Simon and Garfunkle. I love Simon and Garfunkle, always have. I love their harmony.

Anyway, it got me thinking of what my favorite Simon and Garfunkle song was. I truly do love so many of them, but the one I can play over and over and over again is one that wasn't a big hit.

When I hear this song, I can picture my friend, Margie, who has been my friend since we were in first grade. We went through 12 years of Catholic school together. She lived around the corner from me. She introduced me to my husband (now my ex but that's a whole 'nother story). We were bridesmaids in each other's weddings.

That's me on the left and Margie on the right

The song is Old Friends and I can see Margie and me, as little old ladies, sitting on a bench and laughing about the good old days.

Ice, Ice Baby!

2011-02-02T17:58:00.000-05:00

Last night, we got that ice storm that was moving across so much of the US. I was lucky. Although I was prepared with flashlights and candles. I kept my phone and laptop plugged in so they'd be fully changed if I lost power. I had several half gallon containers filled with water (I have a well that won't work if I lose power).

I think my neighbor's tree looks really cool!

I was very lucky. I discovered in the morning that I had lost power at least once during the night, but it was on when I woke up. I don't know if it flashed off and back on or if it was out for any length of time. I kept my TV on in my bedroom, so I'd know if power was out.

this is what my TV looked like from 10 am until around 4 pm today.

One thing I wasn't happy about was my cable and internet were knocked out for about 6 hours today. I do have a netbook, but my Fios connection was lousy! I was able to get on Facebook and read what was coming in, but I wasn't able to respond to anyone all day. Like being gagged while all this great conversation is going on all around you!

my walkway this morning. you can see why I stayed inside all day!

As the day went on, the temperature went above freezing, to about 40 degrees and quite a bit of the ice melted away. All morning long, I could hear loud cracks as branches fell off trees in my neighborhood. I could also hear ice falling off the trees on my property. I had small branches fall to the ground, but nothing major.

Punxatawny Phil

In other news, Punxatawny Phil, that craft old groundhog, did not see his shadow this morning and legend has it that we'll be having an early Spring. Yeah. I'll believe that when I see it! I won't be breaking out the short sleeve shirts, capris and sandals any time soon!

Random Tuesday Thoughts: Winter Winter Everywhere

2011-02-01T09:38:00.004-05:00

Keely is the host for Random Tuesday Thoughts. Go check her out at The Un Mom for lots more fun Randomness!!

One week later and I still have hot water! Woo hoo!! Only I could buy the one water heater at Lowe's that was defective.

We're expecting an ice storm today. Got a bit of snow overnight. I still have to go to work today (where no one will come in to eat because duh! it's icy outside!) If I wreck my car, my boss is paying the deductible to get it fixed.

For the record, I got to work just fine. I waited on a grand total of 2 tables and made $12.50. Luckily, tomorrow, when it REALLY gets bad, it's my normal day off.

Speaking of this bad weather, Mother Nature and Old Man Winter are wreaking havoc on my sex life and I don't like that one. little. bit. Knock it off, you two!

Why do people with trucks and SUVs think because they have 4 wheel drive, they can drive as fast as they want and not be a danger to everyone around them when there is snow on the roads? I will admit to a little chuckle when I see them stuck in a ditch. I don't want them to be hurt. I just want them majorly inconvenienced when they're stuck and can't get their vehicle out.

My niece is on a 9-night Caribbean cruise right now. Lucky bitch.

How did it get to be February already?

(swiped from Candy's blog)

OK, that's it for me.

Got random?

Monday's Music Moves Me/ Musical Mondays

2011-01-31T00:01:00.016-05:00

Lorie at The Shrewbridges of Celebration, FL told me about Monday's Music Moves Me, so here's another cool music blog meme to do

Amanda at Bloggin’ with Amanda hosts Musical Monday – What Move’s You?. You can get the instructions by clicking here.

This week's theme is music from our favorite groups. When I was a tween and young teen, I loved, loved, loved The Cowsills! I remember seeing them on Ed Sullivan. If you remember, they are the basis for the show,The Partridge Family!! My friend, Maggie used to hang with them at the beach because they stayed at the same motel as her family when they would performing Atlantic City! I was so very jealous of Maggie!

I was madly in love with Barry Cowsill! He was soooo cute!! See for yourself!

Even as an adult, Barry Cowsill was still easy on the eyes!

In researching all this, I learned that Barry Cowsill has passed on. Apparently he drowned during Hurricane Katrina. I remember now, reading that he was missing and feared dead. I didn't know his body was found not long after the hurricane. So very sad.

So, in memory of my first bout of unrequited love, I give you The Cowsills, singing The Rain, The Park and Other Things.

How to be lazy on a Sunday aka how my Sunday went

2011-01-30T18:53:00.004-05:00

Stay in bed until around 12:30 pm.

Do whatever it is you do when you stay in bed until this late in the day. (Hey! Hey! Hey! You could be reading or sleeping or .... well, you know)

Reheat your Wawa coffee from yesterday, so you don't have to make a fresh pot.

Get in the car and drive to your favorite brunch place. If you have the ability to orb, or teleport, do that instead. Saves gas. (I really wish I could do this!!)

Get the buffet. Saves your brain from having to think about what to order.

If your buffet place happens to be inside a grocery store, pick up dinner that's already prepared for later on. I suggest you do this AFTER you eat the buffet, or you'll spend $100 on junk food.

Drive back home.

Take a nap, but set alarm so you only sleep for a short time so you aren't awake all night long.

Turn on the oven to heat up the already prepared dinner.

Surf on the computer while your better half watches Political Propaganda videos.

Pretend to listen to the videos. (otherwise you'll be ready for yet another nap)

Eat your dinner, using paper plates and plastic utensils.

Get your jammies on nice and early.

Watch regular Sunday night TV shows.

Go to bed after checking the weather.

Go to sleep or ... whatever...

Six Word Saturday

2011-01-29T19:06:00.001-05:00

I am so over this winter!

We had snow last Wednesday (Jan 19), around 4 inches. Then we had another storm this past Wednesday that dumped 16.9 inches. Tonight we're supposed to get a couple more inches and then on Tuesday night, we're supposed to get yet another storm! But I don't know what that will bring just yet. Yeah. I'm really over winter.

Want to try your own Six Word Saturday? Go see Cate at Show My Face and link up!

Snow, it won't be long before we'll all be there with snow

2011-01-27T22:25:00.001-05:00

As I was watching the snow fall and fall and fall, I couldn't help but think of the scene in the movie, White Christmas, when Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera Ellen and Rosemary Clooney are all in the dining car of the train heading to Vermont. Give a listen...

The weather man told us on Monday that we were getting a snow storm that was coming in from the Midwest. Our area (Pottstown, PA) could expect 4 to maybe 8 inches of snow. Whenever he has said that this year, we were usually on the lower end of the scale, and often even less than he predicted. Predicted. Now there is the optimum word!

The snow started on Tuesday evening, after midnight, like they said. When I woke up on Wednesday morning, I was surprised how much had fallen overnight! There was already about 4 inches of snow on the ground. Wednesday is my day off. YAY!!!

My son was home since Monday. He kept procrastinating about going to the gym. No gym on Monday. No gym on Tuesday. He decided he'd go first thing Wednesday morning. Boy, was he surprised when he saw how much snow we had! No gym for Tim on Wednesday morning!

We had a break in the snow storm for a few hours in the middle of the day, and the plows came though and the nice boys across the street came over and did their shoveling thing. (we have a deal. when the snow stops, they shovel, I pay them. they don't even need to wait for me to call them. just come over and do it. easy peasy.) So Max and Alex did the shoveling thing and Tim high-tailed it to the gym before the next wave of snow started. He got back just in time.

When the snow started again, it started in earnest!! We were getting an inch or two an hour! I took a few shots of my front yard during the evening. I nearly forgot to add that we thunder and lightning for a short while during the night time storm! That was really odd! I think they call it Thundersnow.

The snow finally stopped some time after midnight Wednesday night, going into Thursday morning. I wish I had grabbed my camera to take photos of the digging out.

My neighbor woke his sons up around 9 am to come over and get my driveway cleared because I had to go to work! Tim went out and cleared off our cars and as soon as the driveway was clear enough he moved the cars to the street so they could get the driveway as snow free as possible.

My neighbor, Dominic must have gotten a new toy this winter because the next thing I knew he was there with his snow blower! He got rid of that snow in no time! Even my walkway got done! (the cats were happy! they could finally go outside.)

The official number for snowfall for our town was 16.9 inches. 4 to 8 inches my ass!!!

I had to pick up a couple of gals on the way to work because they don't drive and/or have cars. I wasn't too happy about that, but it was either that, or I'd be hosting, bussing and serving by myself today and that wasn't going to happen! Two other servers had already called out (wimps).

The thing that really surprised me was, when I left for work, at approximately 10:30 am, the roads were clear! And I mean down to wet asphalt clear! Pottstown is not known for the great snow plowing abilities. They must have improved in the past few years, because my drive to work was easy!!! My township, which usually does a really good job plowing (my development looked great!) didn't do such a great job on the the main roads. They plowed but there was still a decent layer of snow on the road. I guess they were concentrating on getting the developments cleared and figured the cars would take care of the main roads. They did, for the most part, but even this evening, as I was driving home, there were places that were still snow covered and feeling like they were getting slippery.

We weren't real busy today, but with just 2 servers and a very hung over bartender (yesterday was his birthday and he partied hearty and apparently fell down about 5 times and injured his back) I made some fairly decent money (would have done better if 3 tables had given me more than the less than 10% they did leave me ... cheapskates)

I just hope Old Man Winter, along with that mean lady, Mother Nature don't stop by here too often with more of that white stuff (although I think we're getting 2 more hits in the next week.) We shall see.