Seriously Authentic

One year ago my family was on Spring Break in Panama. My hubs uncle and aunt owned a small bed and breakfast on the Pacific coast of the country about 4 hours south of Panama City in a town called Pedasi.  They have since sold it, but it is a beautiful part of the country if you ever feel inclined.

Tio Jack aka Papa Noel

Uncle Jack relied heavily on his wife and their hotel manager to converse with both the guests and the locals in Spanish for him. As far as we could tell he could only say "si" and "mi familia" in Spanish.  But the locals loved Uncle Jack. He is a delightful (word of the day), jolly sort of guy and has a strong resemblance to St. Nick,  hence his Panamanian nickname of Papa Noel.

On our first day in Pedasi we followed Tio and Tias (uncle and aunt in Spanish) down to the beach which is about 2 miles down a country road. This was Good Friday which is a major holiday for Panamanians. The beach was packed, we had to dodge the small motor boats driving up onto the beach (no docks) to drop off and pickup passengers to go over to Isla Iguana off the coast.  We lost Tio and hubs to some locals drinking beer. (Hubs ONLY Spanish is "un cerveza, por favor" which came in quite handy) The beaches in Panama will remind you of the Jersey Shore in the 80s minus the hypodermic needles. The concept of trashcans, let alone recycling is a very foreign concept in this part of the world. The beaches were covered in litter from ocean dumping, so lots of plastic floating and washing ashore.

The girls splashed in the water a bit and then after dodging a boat full of locals, a 2 liter of coca-cola and a plastic quart of motor oil, they were ready to call it a day, approximately 8 minutes after we arrived.  Tio offered to let the girls ride in the back of his pickup truck back into town. Since this is illegal in the US of A, we figured what the heck, let's let them live a little.  Approximately a half mile into the journey, Tio spotted some indigenous indians walking back into town. Since he is Santa Claus, he stopped to offer them a ride. All twelve of them. They just started climbing into the back with our girls. Hubs and I were in the car behind them and literally saw the fear of God in their eyes as the natives started piling in on top of them. I just kept clicking away! They may be scarred for life, but talk about a life story! Have you ever ridden pitbull with a dozen indigenous Panamanians?

Excited about riding pitbull in a truck, notice the hitchhikers, the brake lights and
that my kids have no idea what is about to happen. 

There were 6 others sitting with my girls that you can't see. 

Seriously Indulge

A couple of great moments this weekend! Champagne brunch with my book club today! I haven't done that in years. Gotta love a 3 hour lunch on a rainy Sunday! And, we laughed and laughed which is the best kind of day. And mostly at the expense of some of our teenagers and their friends and their antics which always makes us all feel relieved we are not the only ones and scared about this crazy world we live in. If you are wondering, we read "The Husband's Secret". Some of us thought it was predictable but overall we all enjoyed the story and the plot twist!

Yesterday, on the way to the movies with my girls, a song from my past came on my favorite Sirius radio channel The Spectrum (28). It was none other than Chicago's "Hard To Say I'm Sorry". This song conjured up one great memory.  My bestie from gymnastics/high school and I in the back seat of her mom's hatchback on the way to the Jersey Shore for the day. Avalon was the destination, the album was blaring and we sang along all the words. So, when this song came on yesterday, I sang along like I was 14 again! My kids were cracking up and scared I was going to wreck or get pulled over. I simply said, it will be fine. "Officer, don't mind me, I was just singing along to Chicago."

So, at Sunday dinner tonight I was relaying this story to hubs and the girls and I were cracking up all over again. I put it on youtube and sure enough hubs knew all the words as well. He still complained that they were the worst band ever, but he knew every.single.word. We were using spoons (well I was) as microphones and dancing around the dining room and MK threw in some air guitar which spurred many college memories as well! So great. Also played the music videos for "You're the Inspiration" and "I Don't Want to Live Without Your Love". Hubs also knew the words to both of those numbers as well. The videos were priceless for my kids to see some real authentic (i.e. 80's) MTV videos!

So indulge (word of the day) yourself and hop on youtube, crank it up and belt out your favorite 80's ballads. It's a great way to end a weekend!

#youknowyoulovechicagotoo

Seriously Poisoned

I always wondered if my challenging pregnancies reaped any lasting effects on my children. I so wish I signed up for some sort of 30 year research study so I would actually know and not just guess.

With MK I had morning sickness which required hospitalization, iv fluids for weeks and a Reglan (anti-nausea med) pump going right into my stomach lining because I kept throwing up the pills. I lost 15 pounds and then I hit my 2nd trimester and even though I still puked a lot, I started eating, gained a ton of weight and had a pretty good pregnancy after that. I had a terrible delivery and she was a colicky baby until 10 months old, then we "sleep-trained" her because I was going insane and smooth sailing with this kid from there on out (except when she is PMSing but can you blame her?)

With Car it was a whole different ball game. We had moved to my husband's hometown for a job opportunity, in addition to the fear of what another pregnancy would do to me with no one to watch the toddler. Odd, how some some fates just can't be avoided.  In this instance the other shoe did drop. I was hospitalized for months, lost 25 pounds, had a central line inserted by a surgeon (it took 9 tries to get a viable vein) and then a feeding tube because I had lost some liver function and hadn't eaten anything in over 3 weeks. The anti-nausea drug I used with MK caused severe diarrhea this time around. Those 3 days were super fun (word of the day), but another drug (Zofran) seemed to work a little bit, intravenously. Once I was "stable" at about 19 weeks I went home with the IV's and the feeding tube. I slept at night at home and then hubs would drop MK and I at my mother-in-laws each day. I slept on the sofa while she raised my toddler.

My in-laws were amazing, I was so grateful for the care they gave my entire family during this time. My mother-in-law birthed 8 babies naturally with very "normal" pregnancies, so this was new territory for her too. Oh, and she's a nurse.  My only complaint was about 5 pm each day when she started to cook dinner. The smells waifing into the family room caused the fastest mad dash an IV pole toting, anorexic pregnant woman could make to the bathroom. I didn't always make it. So, in addition to wiping my babies hiney, feeding my family, and making me comfortable she also had to clean up my puke. A saint, this woman.

She decided one late March day (somewhat like today, hence the story) that I should get out and get some fresh air.  We bundled up, put MK in the stroller and hit the pavement. It was a sight, a cute grandma with her granddaughter and then me, the limping, baggy eyed, washed out, 20-something, dragging an IV pole down the street.  One neighbor asked if I was an AIDs patient. Seriously. This was 2003, not 1987. But it is a small Allegany Mountain town in Pennsylvania, so I let it slide.

Then, one day when I was about 24 weeks pregnant and I was keeping down crackers in addition to the Ensure that was in the tube,  my m-i-l made tuna fish sandwiches for lunch. For whatever reason, I didn't dash to the bathroom, I actually had a sudden craving for one, as well. I inhaled two full sandwiches in 5 seconds flat. It was the best tasting food I had ever put in my mouth. In the next five days I think I ate at least ten tuna sandwiches.  About a week later I got to remove both my feeding tube and my picc line and even though I still puked everyday and had to take Zofran every day,  including the day I delivered, I had a somewhat "normal" last trimester.  Two weeks after the tuna fish overdose, an article came out about the mercury in fish being toxic and during pregnancy you should really limit this. Whoops.

But it could explain a lot about Car's behavior*. I would love to have a "reason" for her frequent drama filled meltdowns, her constant stomping around, her lack of memory when it comes to bringing books home from school and her inability to sleep in past 7am. It must be the mercury poisoning.


*I do feel like I give her a bad rap here on this blog. She is definitely the kid I bump heads with and lose my patience with daily, but she is super fun, a thoughtful friend and when she is laughing and the center of attention there is no other place anyone in the room would want to be.

Seriously Ivan

I have no idea why, but my autocorrect on my iPhone ALWAYS changes "I can" to "Ivan". So here's a glimpse of some recent texts I have actually sent. They make a lot of sense (word of the day) and some could even become actual heatherisms.

1. Ivan pick her up on the way to the party.
2. Ivan get the $100s broken down into singles.
3. Ivan stop by and see her if she needs help.
4. Ivan sign all names for $50 each.
5. You up? Ivan throw on some clothes and meet you?
6.  It was a group text, I got it too. Ivan just send you a reply though.
7.  If there is school tomorrow, Ivan not help, if no school Ivan.
8. Ivan feed them here while they get ready for the dance.
9. Right, Ivan make it $20, that will be good.
10. Ivan be home by 3 if you need me.

I am quite bossy with this Ivan, and I think hubs may need to start worrying about him as well.

Seriously Reflect

Facebook updated its look again which drives me crazy (or I have a virus). It asked me all kinds of personal questions and since I am cooling down from a run, I actually answered them. Let's hope it was legit. As this update was occurring a very old post came up on the bottom of of my page. It was under Notes and was from January 2009 - FIVE years ago - I haven't seen it since. You remember - 25 Random Things About Me. It was really fun to read through it, reflect (word of the day) and contemplate what I would change today and honestly I don't know if I would change much. Here is the post -

25 Random Things About Me - I'm jumping on the bandwagon

January 30, 2009 at 10:12pm

PublicFriendsOnly MeCustomClose FriendsLimited ProfileSee all lists...Goshen, New York AreaBrandywine High SchoolMiami UniversityGo Back

Rules:
Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. I love to cook and I love finding and making new recipes but if I could choose I would eat out every night.
2. I am the most accident-prone person I think I know, I've had 9 surgeries and a few new teeth.
3. Tom and I have moved 9 times and lived in 7 different cities in our 11 years of marriage, 8 of the moves happened in the first 6 years, so we've slowed down...
4. I want to do sports with my kids. I think it is a good way to connect with them especially as they get older, so we are working on biking, skiing, tennis and golf. So far they only like sledding.
5. I was a gymnast for 15 years of my life, I met Tom one month after I officially quit my sophomore year of college, so he never knew me as a gymnast.
6. I do tend to mix-up standard cliche sayings. My husband calls them "heatherisms" and has started writing them down for a book or a country song some day.
7. I truly enjoy the company of each of my inlaws, from Tom's parents to each of his 7 siblings and 2 spouses.
8. I am pretty sure I am allergic to being pregnant but am quite grateful to have 2 healthy beautiful little girls, regardless of what I went through.
9. I feel like I am just as close to my grandparents as I am to my own parents.
10. Even though I cannot carry a tune I have always thought being a backup singer would be the best job and if it happens to be after 1am and I've had a few drinks I like to practice this profession.
11. I just made snow ice cream for my kids this week for the first time. I made it the same way my mom did when I was a kid. It was delicious, I had 2 bowls.
12. I broke my neck on Friday the 13th when I was 13 years old doing my bar routine at Watkins Gymnastics in West Chester, PA.
13. I had my older daughter, Magdalen 13 years to do the day and she will turn 13 on Nov. 13 in the year 2013. It is not a Friday. weird, right?!
14. My entire 8th grade class (60+ kids) came to my house on a bus driven by Mr. Colliins to sing Christmas carols when I was recovering from my neck injury. It was simply the most embarassing moment in my life.
15. I have a turtle tattoo on my left hip named Bobo.
16. My goal is to give my children the same childhood I had growing up, i truly had an amazing childhood an can only hope that Tom and I can do and give as much as my parents did. And if we are able to give them more it will be to travel extensively and perhaps a car when they are 16 (the one thing I didn't have).
17. I love to plan everything and anything - trips, meals, outfits, furniture placement, parties, grocery lists, this, etc.
18. Getting tipsy with my husband is one of my favorite things to do.
19. We named our oldest daughter after a saint - my Catholic grade school in Wilmington, DE.
20. We named our younger daughter after a little girl from our neighborhood when we lived in Cincinnati. You know how when you hear a name and it just makes you smile as you think of that one person. Well, this hilarious yet devilish blond toddler used to chase dogs with sticks and we always wondered how her mother did it. The name just made us smile, so we used it.
21. Both of my girls' personalities completely epitomize their namesake. really. it's scary.
22. My kids are a complete source of amazement and awe to me. They are my joy 95% of the time and my frustration the other 5%. I love being home with them and feel fortunate that I can be (95% of the time)
23. I feel like I have been truly blessed with fantastic girlfriends in my life - from childhood to grade and high school, to college and in each move we have made. I just wish they all knew one another so I could plan a trip to see all of them at once.
24. I pray and think about (and worry about) my mom, my dad and my brothers every single day of my life.
25. I am excited to grow old with Tom. He is my best friend. I have a lot of plans for us after the kids grow up and leave us (well, hopefully they move out at some point)

My few 2014 Updates -
2. No new surgeries in five years, at least none that I can remember. But I have had 7 MRIs or catscans, 6 ultrasounds, 5 sets of X-Rays, 4 moles removed, 3 hospital visits, 2 heart tests and 1 spinal tap (you should sing it like partridge in a pear tree)
4. My kids like to ski and bike (sort of ) now, I actually don't think they like to sled anymore. Still working on golf, and tennis is o-u-t.
7. and 9. We have lost two of the most dear people in my life these past two years, my grandfather and my father-in-law. I still miss them both terribly.
11. I make snow ice-cream at least once every winter now!
13. MK survived her 13th birthday!
22. I am working part-time but it's when they are in school, so technically I am still "home" with them.

Seriously Really?

I was thinking about why I named my blog Seriously. It is a word I use a lot. I use it in any form possible about 20 times a day. Examples being: earnest intent: "I seriously think you should consider getting me that boob job, it would benefit you too." In a considered manner: "Do you think that shush'ing your mother would seriously have no consequences?" Really or sincerely: "Do you seriously believe I love the puppy more than you?" To add sincerity: "Seriously though, if you focus and study a little harder you can be as smart as your sister." To indicate surprise: "You remembered to brush your teeth, I am seriously impressed!" To a degree that is significant: "If you stop complaining about my spending habits, your sex life would seriously benefit." Very: "This gluten-free diet seriously blows."

I feel like most people have a word or phrase they go to or end every sentence with. For many, many years mine was "you know what I mean?" or simply "ya know?" I really have no idea when I dropped it, ironic, huh? I think the "you know" was my plea for acceptance and acknowledgment, maybe the middle child in me? I think motherhood has allowed me to come into my own in that sense. I still do have a strong need for acceptance among my peers but I think I have calloused some over the years and have come to accept who really wants to be around me and who doesn't. And, I guess I am OK with that for the most part. Or at least I tell myself that.

Moving to New York was interesting. The most common phrase we hear here, that we have never heard anywhere else we have lived is "not for nothing".  I would say 5 out of 10 people I know use it all.of.the.time. It is their phrase, so much so, it has recently become my husband's. It took 7 years of living here but New York has broken him. People call him Tommy, he says "not for nothin" and he folds his pizza in half (like a taco) when he eats it.

Hubs brought home a garden gnome as a prize for our daughter - kids these days expect prizes for everything, like remembering to bring your folder home from school two days in a row is "seriously" amazing.  Her garden gnome says "Really?" on it. This is her word. She constantly says it. I won't go through the examples but you can imagine what is "really" going through a 10 year old's head. She loves that gnome, it's on her bedside table. I just wish we had gnomes for the rest of us. We obviously know what mine would say. Mags would say "Get Out" And hubs would say "Not For Nothin" Can't you picture it? All organized (word of the day) in a row on our front path to greet you as you come to our door. You pick the order.

Seriously Shopping

Two years ago we hosted a Chinese exchange student. Her name was Seamas. Well, actually, her name was Xian but she chose Seamas as her "American" name. She had a hard time understanding (word of the day) that she chose a boys Gaelic name. My girls were 7 and 10 when she first came to live with us for the school year. We thought it would be this interesting cultural experience for our family. It was certainly interesting. I actually can't believe this is the first time I am writing about her. There are so.many.stories. I thought about her today when I was at the mall with my girls, so here we go.

Seamas, pronounced See-mus, that is what she told us she wanted to be called after we told her the correct pronunciation is actually shay-mus. Her English was quite good, but there were certainly many communication break downs. She got off the plane at JFK in an all white light-weight track suit with matching white sneakers. She came with one suit case and her laptop bag. In that suitcase she packed her school supplies, three track suits (another white and 2 black), two black t-shirts, one extra pair of sneakers (black), 3 pairs of underwear, 1 bra, 5 white pairs of sports socks,  5 black pairs of sports socks, one rain coat, one winter coat and one nightshirt. And that would be it. To live with us for 10 months.  Please note the ratio of total socks to total underwear.

I quickly introduced her to two of my friends that were also hosting exchange students. Three weeks into the school year we had to take the girls Homecoming dress shopping. Seamas wanted to wear her black track suit. I told her that she had to buy an appropriate dress or she could not go. She did try on maybe 3 dresses but did not show any of them to us. She would come out of the dressing room with her arms across her chest in an X formation and shouting a very adamant "No". After 5 hours, I convinced her maybe black slacks and a top. Once I said that she seemed remotely interested. I started throwing clothes at her in the fitting room (my thought - well now she will have something to wear for Thanksgiving and Christmas) After 2 more hours she settled on flowing black pants and a top with some embellishment around the neckline and a cropped bolero style cardigan. She looked like she was a twenty-something going to a dinner party, not a 16 year old, but I was exhausted and frankly did not care, I was about to just let her wear the track suit. A pair of black wedges from DSW and she was set. She was definitely the only girl in pants at Homecoming but her friends put some make-up on her and she looked quite attractive, especially for a girl who thinks she is a boy.

Fast forward many, many months. I was speaking to a host mom of a boy. She knew some of the struggles we had throughout the year and she knew about Seamas' preferred wardrobe. She then said, "Well, I know you have tried hard to get Seamas to the mall without a lot of success, I heard a story about a crazy host mom that didn't even take her student shopping for Homecoming that she just grabbed some clothes out of her own closet and made her student wear those to the dance." I was like, "You've got to be kidding me?" She says, "No, she was the girl that wore pants to Homecoming." I had to walk out of the room. I know for a fact, Seamas was the only girl in pants at Homecoming, so apparently everyone else (other than the two others that actually went shopping with us) thought I (crazy host mom) had dressed Seamas from my own closet. #priceless. #iwouldhaveificouldhave

Seriously Grounded

I need a break. Like a vacation kind of break. One is coming, but not for weeks.  So, the next best thing is to plan another vacation. I have spent approximately 20 hours over the past 3 days planning our family summer vacation. I have spent painstaking hours on the trip advisor, frommers, fodor, and the travel and leisure websites.  We are taking an 8 night, 9 day 1950 mile road trip this August. I have booked only 2 nights of those 8 nights so far, but I think I am "this close" to booking two more. I have emailed and called numerous inns, motels, hotels, lodges, and resorts along the northeast coast.  And, because I have taken so much time planning this, I am sure it will all blowup in my face and we will have a hurricane twice the size of Sandy hit shore the day we are leaving.

Five years ago I spent 4 months planning a trip to Paris for my husband and myself. I learned basic French, pre-booked tours of  Charte, Mont Saint-Michel and Versaille as well as a dinner cruise on the River Seine. I obsessed over chowhound for restaurants that we would love and planned each day around which Arrondissments (neighborhoods) we would explore. You get the idea. The DAY we were flying out the volcano erupted over Iceland and all air traffic across the Atlantic was grounded (for over a week!) Grandparents were already at our house to babysit the kids and so much planning had occurred to get them situated that my husband insisted we still go away. American Airlines and Hilton (5 nights of our stay were with Hilton points in Paris) worked with us and the ONLY place we could fly out the next day on an American flight and use Hilton points was Key West. So, after crying and drinking heavily for the first 48 hours I came around and enjoyed my week in the sun. It was no Paris, but it was nice to get away. We brought a pic of the Eiffel Tower mounted on cardboard and this "flat stanley" made it into EVERY picture we took in the Keys even the one of us parasailing. And, no, I have not rescheduled my trip to Paris, I am still hoping to one day.

So, have a I learned a lesson from my problem with over planning? I guess not. I did need a distraction from this cold winter that won't end and it has been fun learning about a part of our country and our country to the north that I really knew nothing about. I really hope this trip comes to fruition though since it is for the whole family.  But as of today, I am stepping away for a bit, I have grounded* myself for at least a week. My eyeballs, my children, my puppy and my kitchen are all sorely missing the attention they need. Well, my eyeballs just need some rest.

*Grounded is my word of the day - the intention was to be more grounded and centered today, then I spent 3 more hours on the internet looking at location vs cost of 7 different Southern Coast Maine hotels. sigh.

Seriously Full

We travel at Thanksgiving so that free turkey we get from Shoprite every year sits in our freezer until basketball and cheer season is over and we actually have a free Sunday.  So, since today is our very own turkey day it is a day to be thankful (word of the day). I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for my faith. I am thankful for my health. I am thankful for my wine. And I am thankful for my very full belly this evening.

My faith is something that I am not very vocal about other than the answer "Oh, I am Catholic" when asked. About every Saturday a lovely lady named Tina stops by to talk to me about the bible. More often that not, I am either walking the dog, at yoga or driving a kid to ballet and my husband gets to listen to Tina read a verse from the bible. She normally also leaves a pamphlet for us to peruse after she has left. Tina has been stopping by now for about 2 years. I am thankful for Tina - not because she is successfully converting me to be a Jehovah but because of her sweet nature and perseverance. Many neighbors question us, I am sure, but this woman is literally pounding the pavement for her faith. That IS why she is out there. And, I am certainly not. I know our new pope says we should be evangelizing our faith, I just don't have it in me. I am very much a "Golden Rule" kind of girl, which I am hoping is enough to get me through those pearly gates, we will see. But back to Tina, she always looks stunning, dressed to the nines. I always comment on how great she looks - keep in mind I am ALWAYS in either sweatpants or pajamas when she stops by every Saturday. And we invite her in the entry way so she doesn't have to stand in the cold. My dog knows her well enough to bark about 3 times, sniff her and then look up at me to pick her up. Tina asks after my children and my puppy. She always asks me a questions about how I feel about a certain topic, for instance - "Heather, tell me do you think that God is telling us to take the bible as man written word or as his word?" I say something like, "Well, that's a good question Tina, I am not really sure this morning, I am only on my first cup of coffee." She says, "Heather, thank you for your honesty." And thens she opens up to a verse and reads it in her soft engaging tone and I normally respond something like this, "Tina thank you for sharing that with me, that was lovely." Then she kindly leaves her pamphlet and goes on her merry way. I give her A LOT of credit, I am sure most people just shut the door in her face. More often than not, I yell as she walks away, "Thanks Tina, keep spreading the good news!" So, yes, I am thankful for Tina. I am just full of thanks today!

Sometimes, I do think I need to focus more on my faith. I send my kids to Catholic school and go to mass regularly, but I rarely go to confession and I know I curse more than single mom out of Southy. Even today, as I was thinking about our turkey dinner coming up I leaned over to Tom during the homily in mass and said, "We have to remember to take the chorizo out of the freezer when we get home."* He leaned over and said, "I love that you are thinking about sausage at mass."

*We make this killer chorizo-cornbread dressing every time we make our turkey dinner. And with a gluten-free cornbread mix and a side of green beans, it was satisfying gluten-free meal!

Seriously Shine

Today we hit 50+ with the temps, first time in over 4 months. We were all a bit excited. After Car got home from dance and the entire breakdown of how much her teacher hates her and never sees her "do" anything we helmut up and hit the road. I am not sure why I thought this would go well. I guess I was imagining open road, a happy family, the sun and breeze in our faces, blah, blah, blah.

Approximately, .2 miles into the ride (think 5 houses) the complaining starts. We get through our initial bumpiness on the way to a friend's house. After we pick her up for the ride and work our way over to the bike trail, the "real" fun began. Think adult sized person on a kid bike as we ride - my 5 ft. ten yr old refused to let us raise the seat on her bike so she is riding wide legged and painfully slow because no matter what gear we tell her to be in she is not high enough off the ground to make any forward momentum at a normal pace.

At one point, we are riding side by side and I am attempting to explain how gears actually work and we hear an "on your left" from behind us. I immediately slow down so Car can move in front of me so the voice can pass. What actually happens is Car also slows down, glares at me as I am saying "speed up, move over, there is someone trying to pass us." She is still glaring at me and says, "see I told you this bike can't go any faster" Ahhh this child.

So my message to the world is (or to myself since I have no followers yet)- May the fiery light inside of my youngest daughter shine* out into the world and surround you as the light within you guides you on your way. And may her light be guided by the Holy Spirit because God knows I can't handle it!

*shine = word of the day and also I think I mentioned we hit above 50 degrees today so thank you sun for your SHINE!

Seriously Farkel

It was Farkel Friday at work today.  It's a dice game where different numbers and combinations add up to points. You do have to keep score and be able to add up to 10,000, otherwise it's quite simple. To "farkel" essentially means you lose your points for that round. So, the 3 shop girls today were playing by the register. We had many amicable (word of the day) conversations with customers about Farkel and more quick transactions so we could get back to it. We also had many strange looks from customers due to our comments throughout the game - "Heather just farkeled again."  "I farkeled, you're up." "Why am I the only one who farkels?"

The shop owner is in her late 60's, very kind, fit and active and really a great boss. She loves to laugh and her customers loyalty in unparalleled. After lunch we were all in the back working on a large copy job. My co-worker had to hit the pound key on the copier to tell the machine to continue. She said to me, "I wonder why they call it hashtag and not just pound sign?" Our boss, who is catching on with most of the web savviness that comes with owning a shop, but has no idea what a hashtag is. So we tried to explain it to her. "When you want to exclaim something quickly and in few words that other people can search on". We gave examples such as #itsfriday, #sunsshining, #winewiththatcheese. She sort of shook her head like she didn't really get what we were saying and then said "So, it's like hitting enter on your thought." The pound button is traditionally used on phones to mean enter (think "enter your pin and then hit the # button") and on copiers it is essentially the enter button as well. I never thought of the hashtag as "enter" but love that a 69 year old can simplify it better than any of the rest of us. Still would love to know why they call it a hash vs the number symbol vs the pound sign.

#farkelfriday

Seriously Spring?

Today is the Spring Equinox. Let's just ignore that 3 foot gray pile of snow out front, temperatures in the 20s later on and those winter coats and gloves that feel like my second skin. Let's instead envision  birds chirping, buds budding and the Wiccan celebration that starts this evening - Ostara.  I looked it up and found out that the Goddess Mother Earth has a sacred marriage to the Sun God on this day. She conceives and gives birth in 9 months. I knew nothing about it other than it representing the change from dark Winter to brightening Spring.  I think I liked knowing less about it...

Moving on, my word of the day is celebrate. We can celebrate the hopeful start of Spring. We can celebrate our lives and loves. We can celebrate our family and our health. We should celebrate this every day, but if life gets in the way, maybe mark the Spring Equinox as your day to celebrate all of these things to? And guess what? Tonight is the night my local girlfriends are taking me out to celebrate my 40th birthday. It took awhile to get on the calendar (almost 3 months!) but I'm really looking forward to some wine, some laughs and being surrounded by good friends. So pour yourself a glass of your favorite something and celebrate Spring with me!  Get up and dance a little - apparently there are wagers - not on -  if I will dance on the bar but - when - I will dance on the bar. So I hope you all embrace this Spring Equinox tonight, dance a little, drink a little, love a little! I just hope to God (or goddesses) that after this celebration it's not a stork building her nest here this Spring.

Seriously Absent

So, once again, I have been led astray from my writing. 30 days from now my family is going away and since it is Lent and I always try to "do" things in addition to giving things up (ice cream and gluten this year) I am going to attempt to write for 30 consecutive days. I have also chosen a word of the day to focus my attention as my mind drifts or I get frustrated to bring me back and ideally center me for the day. Today's word is cleanse (I am sure you think this means I am drinking juices, eating raw,  and thinking healthy cleansing thoughts, but in reality I chose this word because my dog got groomed and I am cleaning bathrooms.)

I fairly recently turned 40, and then I threw my back out, then I gained 4 pounds. So,  I went gluten-free to see if that would kick start eating better and losing the weight plus, I have always wondered if it would make any difference in the auto-immune issues I have. Three weeks into being gluten-free I realized I had gained an additional pound and a half. It's so annoying. Hubs also took the bread and pasta cleanse and is down almost 10 pounds. Many friends are just telling me its because I am 40 and this is what happens, but 10 days into being 40 and this - it seems a little strange to me. My mom also said I would grow boobs after I turned 40, but unless boobs look like a bloated stomach then, not so much. I am hoping these next 30 days sheds some light (and lbs) from this pickle I am in. Oddly, I just ate a pickle.