Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone…yet I can still hold on to it for a bit…according to my scale! Yes, I am able to eat turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, string bean casserole, candied yams, and cranberry plus a little pumpkin pie (no crust). My portions were small but it was nice to be able to enjoy these traditional foods that bring back smells, tastes, and memories.

Let me begin with out Thanksgiving Weekend from the-night-before-turkey…

Kelly, Logan, and I were able to finally see The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Logan had only finished reading the book when I walked through the door and two hours later we were on our way to see it on screen. Without ruining it for anybody, you can imagine that there will be some very sad and hurtful scenes considering it is about little boy in a concentration camp. Kelly cried a bit as we knew she would, then a bit more, and sniffed her way through most of the movie. Logan already aware of her soft heart from previous movies experiences couldn’t help jabbing me and stifling his laughter at her. The movie did the book justice which is not an easy thing to do. After, we went out for a quick drink and appetizers across the street. Logan enjoyed his night out with the girls and his DS Game Boy.

On Thanksgiving Day, as traditions calls for it, I called my mother four times as I was preparing to prepare the turkey and even while actually preparing it. Logan made his delicious S-W-E-E-T potatoes with ginger, cinnamon, brown sugar, marshmallows, and half-n-half and let’s not forget the sweet potatoes. It was a diabetic coma waiting to happen! Of course, we loved them! Dad came down to join us and within 30-minutes, maybe less, we were done. After cleaning up, Logan and I went out in front and threw a football and then Frisbee around in the dark. After being beaten up by the ball and the Frisbee, I went in to start the desserts…and we had a lot. Our dear neighbor Lisa brought over some home-made pumpkin cake. Pies, cake, and even rice-crispy treats put us over the top. (Again, I could only have a bit – but it was yummy!)

Unfortunately I had to work on Friday which left Logan and Papa home to their own devices. Luckily our day was shortened and I got to spend a little time with Logan before he left for his weekend with Bill.

Hoping to get my Christmas tree set up in its new location in the living room over the weekend so that when Logan returns on Monday, we can dig into the new holiday season!

And so the curtain closes! (11/20)

As only a very few of you know, Logan had a fleeting thought of joining the school play this year. He unknowingly missed the mandatory meeting on 11/10 and only received a packet of info yesterday. Within this 24 hours, we got the sheet music for the theme song of Mamma Mia which he was going to sing. Luckily enough they requested only Broadway shows and Logan knows only one. It was fate!

Together we filled out the paper work, checked our conflicts for rehearsal dates, made note of his special talents – juggling, British accent – and packed his juggling balls. Both he and I signed a contract that was part of his “audition packet” and we…I mean…he was ready.

After spending the day in the city for a class trip to see Cirque de Soleil: Wintuk, Logan arrived back at school. I, in the meantime, was counting the minutes until his big break would occur.

As time neared, I called my father and told him half-jokingly, “I’m waiting for Logan to call to tell me he’s on the bus coming home.” Then I walked down the hall, with cell phone in hand and handed something to my boss. I told her “Logan’s auditioning any minute now for the school musical.” Her response, “How exciting!” And then it happened….CHIME, CHIME…I look down and see a text “ma, i changed my mind.” Followed by an actual phone call. Being the ever supportive mom, I told him that it was okay and that maybe next year he could give it a shot.

Head hung low, mother shuffles back out of the spotlight, and longingly looks across an empty stage

Boy in Striped Pajamas

While waiting for a movie to begin a while back, I was drawn into a preview of the Boy in the Striped Pajamas. It showed a young German boy befriending a young boy through a barbed wire fence. Quite obvious from this scene was the fact that the German boy was healthy, clean, and well-cared for compared to the toothless, sickly, young boy in striped pajamas. I waited patiently to see this movie and was surprised when it opened on November 14th and could only be found in five theaters within a 500-mile radius of my home – only two in my state & too far for me to go.

So what’s a girl to do?

I went to the library, only to find that it was out and already on hold. I thought maybe the audio book version, that too out and on hold. When I noticed it was in the Young Adult section, I took a quick look-see. Lo’ and behold – it was there! I opened it up to learn more.

Let me say that if you read the inside of the book jacket and hadn’t seen the coming attractions as I did, you’d have no idea what it was about. The inside flap of the jacket said:

"The story of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is very difficult to describe. Usually we give some clues about the book on the jacket, but in this case we think that it would spoil the reading of the book. We think it is important that you start to read without knowing what it is about.

If you do start to read this book, you will go on a journey with a nine-year-old boy called Bruno. (Though this isn't a book for nine-year-olds.) And sooner or later you will arrive with Bruno at a fence. Fences like this exist all over the world. We hope you never have to encounter one."

In less than 1½ hours, I was done with it. All I can say without adding any spoilers is...

Wow!


PS Logan is now reading this novel for a school book report.

Being Content (11/9)

Yesterday in Church my seat-mate, a sweet Italian lady who has been visited by St. Padro Pio three times, touched my shoulder and said "you seem so happy." The funny thing is I was just sitting there chatting with Mrs. Salerno before mass began. And to realize that my aura is one of happiness, pleased me beyond words. About a month or so ago, I listened to a visiting priest talk about being content. We always think "the grass is always greener in the neighbor's yard."

I don't think that way.

He went on to say that when we're 10, we want to be 18. When we're 18, we want to be 21. When we're 21, we want to be 25. When we're 35, we want to be 25. When we're 50, we want to be 35. With all those examples, I understood what he was saying: appreciate every moment and realize the beauty of that age. The priest did admit that at 70 years, he most certainly did not want to be 18 again…but 50 wasn't so bad.

And I think that's where I'm at in life - my "content stage." This includes my weight-loss story. I'm no longer calculating how much I'll weigh in six months. I'm happy to know that I'll get there. I'm not regretting that Logan's not my baby anymore (always will be!) but instead, I'm enjoying his pre-pubescent years and the wonders of discovering that girls are not entirely icky. Though they're not babes…yet. And finally, my family is healthy - what more can I ask for? So yes Francesca...I am happy!

Are you?

Let me end off this little monologue with a saying that I have taped on my computer at work:

"You'd better slow down. Don't dance so fast.
Time is short. The music won't last."

Slow down folks and enjoy every moment of this song we call Life.

The Day After (11/5)

So…there’s a new president-elect. As a woman, I am excited to see a minority achieving a top position. It’s going to take a while to get used to the non-traditional American surname. With predecessors like Bush, Clinton, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, Johnson, and Kennedy – I think you get my picture – Obama is not going to run off our tongues.

I mean out of the names I mentioned maybe a foreigner would struggle for a split second on Reagan but then again the south said “Ree-gen” and the north said “Ray-gen” so that was more of an accent issue not pronunciation. Obama just doesn’t flow for me. Not yet at least. (I don’t think I have to mention Barrack Hussein falls under that same direction for me.)

I’m sorry. I’m losing my thoughts. As a woman, it’s wonderful to see the glass-ceiling of politics cracking. But is it going to shatter the nation into a multi-cultural unity? I for one hope that we become one nation – American. No black American. No white American. Just American. But truthfully…my main issue is color-blind. What is going to happen with our economy? If President-Elect Obama can turn this around and help us to pull away from Bushenomics, then he’s my man! And if he can’t, he’s just another president to me.

Many of you know that I do get involved with local politicians and issues that touch my world. My faith in my voice counting continues to give me the confidence to believe that America is still the best country in the world. And if in four years, the nation is worse off, there are two options. We can elect a woman to finally get it right or maybe we can elect *Tom Clancy for President. She or he may be the only ones to save us!

Good Luck Mr. President Elect! As a nation, we are behind you. We have to be.
*Ref: “Executive Orders”

Doctors, Doctors, Doctors! Oh…and a New President (11/4/08)

On this Election Day, I was pretty busy bringing dad to his doctors. He had had blood work done on Friday and was then surprised when his doctor requested from him on Monday morning to make an appointment to come in and discuss. I – of course – am thinking the big “C” but didn’t share my paranoia with him. (End result – no cancer!) So I was able to make an appointment for Election Day. Why not – we already had an appointment for his semi-annual chest cat scan for that morning and his monthly allergy shots. What’s another appointment? {{{Dad felt horrible eating up Logan’s day off.}}}

So we began with 9:30 a.m. cat scans, on to voting which was in and out, on to 11:00 a.m. allergy appointment, and rounded out his day with a 2:00 p.m. appointment to find out his blood is not too bad. No big issues. So why did his doctor ask him to come in? I’ll tell you. The HIP center he belongs to now requires the specialist doctor to send a referral to the primary to tell him why he needs to come back. Sooooo this means that when his primary sends him to the pulmonogist, the pulmonogist has to write back to primary to ask him to allow him to come back. Too much red-tape. Dad finally blew a fuse and called the head of the PBA which agrees that chronic patients (asthma and chronic bronchitis) should not have to ping-pong back and forth. We have a lot of respect for Dad’s primary care physician so we will do what needs to be done. Ugh!

I also spent time setting up a blood drive donor sign-up table at Logan’s middle school which was being wo-manned (“manned”) by my small committee of four and then later in the evening, I sat on duty at another table that I set up at his elementary school. I did get about 20 people to sign up in the 2 ½ hour time I was there. Hopefully they will follow through when we remind them in January.

The night ended with a new day dawning. President-Elect Barrack Obama is that new day. Some of you know my political views and this is not my place for them. We’ll see how he does and hopefully keep with the thought that it can’t get any worse. Or can it?!?

Trick-or-Treat! (10/31)

Once again, we joined Vinny and Kenny along with Michele for some trick-or-treating after school. From about 3:30pm to 6:00pm, we walked their neighborhood and watched as the two burglars and the karate kid filled their pillow cases with treats (250 was Logan’s final count later that evening.)

Some of you readers may not know about the newer way to leave out candy when you’re out and about with your own little goblins. Well, what happens is that the kind parent leaves a bowl of candies or treats on the front steps. Some of us leave a note attached asking to only take one or two pieces. Others just leave the candy with the hope that the children will not dump the entire contents of bowl in their goody bag. Every year, I come home to a few straggler pieces at the bottom of my bowl. (pssst! Logan doesn’t agree with me but I always am surprised to find them when we come home; so I know I’m right!) This year we had a few firsts.

Let me begin with the Karate Kid. Logan decided to hand out “free class” coupons for his karate center a.k.a. his dojo. For every child that winds up signing up for a month of classes, gives Logan a $50 credit at the dojo to use for classes or products. So we put Logan’s name on all coupons and taped them to the candy that we left in our bowls as well as left one behind at all the people’s houses that left candy for the kids. In those cases, the coupon had a “thank you for the treat” message written on them. Hoping that with the 50 given out, Logan may see at least one possible credit. So that was a first for us – truly capitalizing on a holiday.

The second first was that when we got back to Michele’s house. Not only was the bowl empty…it was missing. Looks like some little prankster thought a good trick would be to take the bowl. After all that’s what “trick-or-treat” means. You can choose to give a treat or pay the consequences with a trick. Sorry Michele! That wasn’t very nice of them.

After Trick-or-Treating, Logan and I met up with Tina’s crew at her house and enjoyed some pizza (Logan not me) and then went off to a very scary Haunted House in the neighborhood. School mates/parents of Tina’s set up a haunted backyard filled with scary monsters and horror scenes. They ask for donations that go to help different causes. This year’s cause was for a very sick young lady. We were happy to donate a few dollars as Logan, myself, little Christopher, and two of Courtney’s girl friends, walked through the backyard in a huddled mass. Things popped out at you, spider webs were blown on you, legs were grabbed from below, and screams were every where…the monsters and OURS! What a blast!

Postscript:
There was one upsetting moment earlier though. Dennis and Barbara’s daughter Haley ran into Logan while playing tag and needed 5 stitches inside her mouth. I must say though for the very first time in Logan’s life NOBODY blamed him. It was a pure accident. Logan says he was standing still and turned to her when she ran into him. Courtney thought he was moving but no matter what it was nice to know that Tina’s crew recognized this for what it was. Logan got a bit of a bruiser over and around his eye, but no lasting bruises. I guess no holiday can go totally stress-free. But if it could…this was almost there.

A “Boo-tiful” Pre-Halloween Weekend (10/26)

Our original plans for Saturday were rain dated to Sunday due to icky, wet weather. I was thrilled with that. Instead of our plans to go to a local amusement park, Logan and I visited our library and spent some quality time there. While I was looking for some good books for my daily commute, Logan found some great books on the Mayan civilization for a project he is doing. This is the first time that Logan is actually researching a project with pen and paper in hand. After a good jumpstart on this project, we checked out our books and went home to a nice quiet evening. I made my now famous (famous to me…because I made them) Buletten and Logan and NuPapa watched two “Scary” movies – Scary Movie I and Scary Movie II. These very ridiculous spoof comedies were a perfect time for me to catch up with some of my taped shows.

The next day, Logan and I enjoyed the town’s annual Rag-A-Muffin Parade which consists of local neighborhood kids dressed in their Halloween costumes marching up our main street. This year, Logan’s “pseudo-cousin” Christopher joined us as we walked on down to the Fire House. After some High School entertainment and speeches from the Fire House, it was time for what we came for…the raffles. Unfortunately once again, we did not win a bike, an iPod, or the college scholarship $500. The boys did enjoy hot dogs and drinks before we walked back home.

Part two of this gorgeous fall day …we went to Pumpkin Park at Adventureland for an afternoon of trick-or-treating. The nice thing here is that the kids understand we’re there strictly for the treats and the scenery. No rides. No games. The upside for me – no money! As you walk in the entrance to this popular amusement park, you are handed a Trick-or-Treat bag with a sheet of coupons. Each coupon has a sponsor’s name on it which you give to the sponsor as you visit their tables spread throughout the park. Besides candy, the park gives out free pretzels (big, hot ones!), Icees (slushee sweet drink), and ice cream cups (this year’s flavors: Play-Doh and Cotton Candy.) After a couple of hours of eating & drinking, you are ready to go home. When we got home, I snuck in an hour nap and then made some sausage and peppers. The house still smells yummy! (Let’s see if I feel that way tomorrow.)

It was truly a weekend that makes you happy to simply exist.

Miscellaneous Happenings (10/20)

It’s been a great October. I’ve had a few different get-togethers with new and old friends. My dear neighbor Lisa had a “Tastefully Simple” party where old neighbors got to catch up with each other and taste some little treats. My tastes were limited but I nibbled, tasted, and licked enough to know it was a successful party. One old friend – old friendship, not OLD friend – who I saw was Margaret.

The following weekend, I went to have coffee with Margaret and her younger son Bryan. What a treat to sit in their cozy kitchen and catch up on two years of adventures. Margaret was there during the divorce era and some of that was rehashed but at such a different level now that it’s so far away. We left off with promises to keep in touch.

I was also able to enjoy a Principal’s Tea with Logan’s new principal. All parents are invited, but only about 10 of us made it. (Let’s be fair, it was in the a.m. and I was off that day.) What a great chance to go around the conference table and bring up personal concerns or issues. I touched on bullying from an incident that Logan had with some students the day before on the late bus. Also went to the second PTA meeting of the year. As usually…nobody goes. There are over 1300 students and there was less than 20 people there including school reps. How sad. And to those who say “I used to go”…tell me why is now the middle school years less important to your child? Don’t mean to be preaching from my high-horse, just can’t hide my feelings.

On to nicer things: I had a 3K night – Kelly, Kerry, & Karen at Café Symposium. Another perfect night there!

And I even added some depth to my life by taking a 6-hour Defensive Driver’s Course. For a $24 fee, I will get in return a 10% discount on Auto Insurance for the next three years PLUS may even be a better driver for it.

Introducing “Logan PHELPS” (10/14)

The day finally arrived – the first night of swim practice via the route of CYO Swim. Logan joined the Catholic Youth Organization Swim team for our local school’s parish. They will practice 2x a week for 2-hour sessions. We missed the registration day since I was at Madonna the week before, but were able to register right before practice.

And boy was it overwhelming.

Bill took Logan in and I met them there at the beginning of the session. As I walked into the pool and smelt the smell of chlorine, I had flashbacks of some not-so-good memories, more like feelings from the past. When I walked in with Zach (hitched a ride with Karen & Zach), you could see the apprehension on Logan’s face as he was still dressed in his sweats and hoodie.

After signing him up, he & Zach swam back & forth one lap for a coach & were put into a swim group. I think they were supposed to go to a different group, but they just hooked up with their classmates in the 11/12 year old team. Logan reminded me before joining the group, that “I’m just trying this right?” After swimming a few laps – which I have to say he did quite well with – he came over and said “…I don’t think this is for me.” I snarled at him “Oh, give it a try for a few sessions; don’t make any decisions this soon.” He snarled back and then turned back to swim. (Then his good friend Zach felt overwhelmed and sat out for the rest of the session. It was quite a work out and many lungs & legs were feeling it that first session.)

A few minutes later, I noticed him laughing & talking animatedly on the sidelines with boys and girls. There are a few classmates of his from prior years that he got on quite well with – girls of course! At the end of the night, he turned to me and said, “It’s not so bad. I’ll come back.”

P.S. Both Logan & Zach came back and are having a blast. The second week was much less chaotic. Less people came which I believe is because other commitments occur & the week before everybody made a point of “claiming their spots.” They also divide the four teams into four stations: diving, kick boarding, laps, and calisthenics. A great 2-hour workout for all! But hot as hell for the audience…my mascara was unclumping as I sat there cheering Logan on.

Oktoberfest ’08 (10/11)

Heute war ein Oktoberfest bei Kelly’s Haus. Yes, that’s right – today was an Oktoberfest at Kelly’s house. What a blast! We are begging her to make this an annual event.

My day began with Karate for Logan and my cooking – for the first time – Tic Tac Omi’s Bulletens (German meatloafy-hamburger.) Personally, I think that they were delicious! Anyways…back to the party…it was great!

Almost all of our shared friends were there from Tina, Michele, Kerry, Lenora, etc. etc. The only persons missing were Anna & crew. And the kids were EVERYWHERE but by us. Could it get any better?!? Yes – Anna could’ve been there!

They actually extended the guest list to their neighbors and classmates’ parents. So there were more children then normal which added some flavor. One little boy, a friend of Lil’ Charlie’s, took a shine to Logan. Or should I say nearly took a ‘shiner’ from Logan. For some reason this boy & my boy rubbed each other wrong. Ironically, I got on nice with this boy’s dad and had fun with Logan as I teased him by saying “…oh…this is Brian’s dad…and we’re going out next week.” Ha ha! Logan found no humor in this joke but I did (and that’s what counts, isn’t it!)

The food was plentiful, the beer was brewing, the wine was pouring, and the party had it all – laughter, tears, new friends, old friends, and a few things that are better left unsaid and put behind us. With the exception of one or two things…I’d say it was a perfect autumn party and hope that we can do it again & again. Vielen Dank Kelly & Charlie!

ML-fest starring…MADONNA! (10/6)

Once again our entire department was treated to an awesome night at Madison Square Garden. Carol was able to get us the luxury box once again. Everybody but Joe made it and it was some night!

The food & drinks were abundant. The privacy and cozy seats were quite inviting. And the best part was enjoying the company of my dear colleagues. We are very close and quite a dysfunctional family – but lots of love and laughs.

Knowing that most of us know Madonna from the ‘80s, I burned CDs for everybody in the department and gave them out the day before the show. This gave us all the chance to pop them in either at our desks or able to bring home and learn some tunes. Quite often you’ll know a song and not realize it’s one of hers.

The only negative was that towards the end she decided to use her Freedom of Speech rights and started trashing Sarah Palin. As somebody close to me said, “…I’m here to enjoy her music and show not her political views. I come here to get away from all that.” As it was the end of the show and there were maybe two more songs, people started to leave. Truthfully that could have been strictly coincidence. Timing was perfect for me – I don't need political vice from the "material girl" and it was time to grab an 11:30pm train.

All in all, this may be our last MSG hurrah. Not sure if when BoA takes over ML, if we’ll still have access to these treats. I’m thinking not. But you never know – that Carol can pull a rabbit from a hat!