I Want, Want, Want.....Need, Need, Need

A friend of mine sent me a link to a really cool purse organizer that she had just bought. She got it in the mail and LOVES it! So, of course she had to show it to me and go on and on about how much she loves it, etc., etc.


So, of course, me being me.......now, I WANT IT!

Of course, it is practical, especially if you carry your life in your purse like I do. AND you like to have several purses a year, one with each season, or one with each outfit, or just one for each mood,...whateveh....

Come on, ladies, 'fess up, you know some of you do!

So, here is the little number:


Isn't it cool how you can take it apart if you have a purse with two sides in it? Or that it is actually big enough for a book----so that means that I could fit my daytimer/wallet in there!

What...YOU don't have a wallet that is as big as a hard-bound best seller? Well, I pity you then, I truly do----but at least you would have space for it!


Oh, I am so excited about this one. I could actually have a new fetish for purses!!


....To add to my fetish for shoes, clothes, hats, and all things accessories.

I think that I will call this day.....Fantastic Friday!


Or should that be Fabulous Finds Friday? Hmmmmm, yes, I like the sound of it....


So-----lets hear about your fabulous finds.

Come on,.....bring it!!


***Oh, dear, I am feeling an alliteration moment coming on....Fabulous Finds for Fetishs on a Friday?***

Life Of Leisure

My life this past week has been one of leisure.

I have been visiting my daughter and her amazing children---all of them being creative, adorable and just the coolest kids ever! (They do get excited and scream every once in a while, but they wouldn't be human if they didn't do that!) I have done lots of eating, some sleeping (finally), enjoying talks with my daughter, played and played with the twins, and even done some babysitting. (I also got to go to lunch with two of my blogger friends---YAY---that was way too fun!)

So, it has been enjoyable.

A respite from my busy, busy life-----of which I have to return to----tomorrow.

And I won't be back for quite a while.

I have to do a new show, then my summer musical theatre camps, and then maybe I can get away again for a week or so....

Its hard, because I do miss everyone so much.

But then again, there is a chance that Hailey and the kids can come to Boston in the early summer. I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed, because we all know how much these little ones grow up and how much they change.

They need to be around their "Mimi" so that they learn to love me as much as I love them.

My kids never got to be around my parents very much and I think that they don't feel that close
to them. I don't want this to happen to me---and the relationship that I have with my G-babies.

Now, I don't want to say anything to jinx it, but Hailey's hubby is doing an internship in New York this summer and there is a chance that the whole family might be moving back East next summer...

Oh rapture! What joy!

If only...

Lane...

and a big grin from Lucy!

Ethan hamming it up at one of his birthday parties.

The twins on Aunt Margy's amazing new bed!

The four generation "girl" shot...with Lane, Me, Hailey, Lucy, my Mom,
and Mila, Hailey's eldest.

I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes-----or at least am there helping her unpack.


Only then will I not be able to stop grinning.

I'm Still So Vain, Or How I Realized That I Can't Talk To People Without My Makeup On

Every once in a while, something happens that shakes up my world.


As you all know, I am one of the vainest creatures that ever walked this planet. I mean, if I don't have my makeup on and you come to the door.....I won't answer.

If you need to refresh your memory about this, and one of the incidents that are a testimony to this fact, read about it here.

Well, to continue on with this story, (and yes, isn't it sometimes annoying how stories keep continuing on?) I took Aydan out to the bus about a month ago, and VOILA!....there was someone sitting in a car. It was a cold day, so I figured that one of the kids had missed the bus earlier on the route and the parent was dropping them off.

So, I didn't really think much about it. I nodded my head in the Dad's direction, as he got out to put his son on the bus with Aydan and then put it out of my mind.

Well, that afternoon, as I was sitting in my car, waiting for the bus to arrive, another car pulled up. It was frigid cold, mind you, or I would have gotten out and made polite conversation. (I had my makeup and was fully outfitted out by this time, mind you...)

Well, the woman in this car did exactly that.

She got out of her car and came over to introduce herself.

I, of course, rolled down my window. (I wasn't going to get out---I'm not stupid----my warm car was just fine, thank you very much----I leave socializing to warm times of the year.)

Well, after she introduced herself, she told me that her son was going to be at our bus stop now, as they were living in a rented house just down the street. I then realized that the name sounded familiar, and that, about a week before Christmas, her house had burned completely down when there was an explosion in the basement.

The family was all right, as they were in church. But, since they were on our bus route, the bus driver had asked for donations to help and we had all given some money for the cause.

So, as all this hit me,....I was struck by two things.

I felt very sorry for her loss and expressed this, as well as asked if there was anything that I could do---to which she replied that they were taken care of, as they had most of their relatives in the area and they had taken care of most of their needs.

Now, the second thing that struck me was this: HOLY CRAP, THAT MEANS THAT THERE IS GOING TO BE SOMEONE HERE EVERY MORNING AT MY BUS STOP AND I LOOK LIKE HOLY CRAP IN THE MORNING!!!

Ok, call me vain and pretentious, and yes, shallow----that's fine, I can handle it. I am used to jealous rejection.


Alright, so I know that this story needs a long story short version, so I will cut to the chase.


I went out the next morning----with my weird hat, scarf, huge bulky coat, snow boots, and sweats version of me. I thought to myself: "You can DO IT, girl! Don't worry that you look like you are in a scary movie and you are the one doing the scaring!"

I arrived at the bus stop and there was this nice looking man standing there, smiling................

......AND I FROZE!!! I MEAN----FROZE!! (I know that this is the perfect choice of word, as it was also wicked cold outside at the time)

I nodded my head and turned away and couldn't for the life of me say a bloody thing!!


WHAT THE HECK? WHERE IS MY BUBBLY PERSONALITY, MY CHARM, MY SASSYNESS?

All gone. All stuck behind the face that I felt was horrific!

Now, I am sure that you are all nodding your heads, tsk, tsking at the waste of such a brilliant human being hidden behind huge winter wear.




The next question that is foremost in your minds is this: "What has she done every day since?"

Well, I now wait until the LAST possible minute to run out and put Aydan on the bus. If the bus is ever late, I am forced to mumble something inane about the weather, or how hard it is to wait for the bus in the cold.

Its PITIFUL!

I even tried to wear some lip gloss one day, to see if that would help. I'm sure that the poor man had to try to stop staring at me with my peachy lips that contrasted so HUGELY with my white pasty face. I have no idea what he thought....

I always see his wife in the afternoons when the bus arrives, and I wonder if she ever mentions anything about me----like how nice and conversational I am, and isn't it amazing how many different coats that I have to go with my hats and boots---you know, girl talk.


I'm sure that he is quite positive that the creature in the morning must be a different person than the one she is talking about.


Which is just fine with me.

WHAT Is Your Answer? One Word Only!

I rather got intrigued by this particular challenge on Facebook, so I thought that it would be fun to do for a blog. So, I am going to give my answers and then I challenge the first 5 commenters to do the same on their blog,....OK? OK! ***Then let me know---so I can read it!***

USING ONLY ONE WORD! It's not as easy as you might think! Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It's really hard to only use one word answers. Be sure to tag the person you received it from!

1. Where is your cell phone? Pocket.
2. Your significant other? Work.
3. Your hair? Stylish.
4. Your mother? Subservient.
5. Your father? Controlling.
6. Your favorite? Family!
7. Your dream last night? Weird.
8. Your favorite drink? Pepsi.
9. Your dream/goal? House.
10. What room you are in? Kitchen.
11. Your hobby? Reading.
12. Your fear? Broke.
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Boston
14. Where were you last night? Airport.
15. Something that you are not? Normal.
16. Muffins? Yum.
17. Wish list item? Money.
18. Where you grew up? Texas.
19. Last thing you did? Movie.
20. What are you wearing? Tunic.
21. Your TV? Comedy.
22. Your pets? Home.
23. Friends? Miss.
24. Your life? Different.
25. Your mood? Hopeful.
26. Missing someone? Bret
27. Car? Prius.
28. Something you're not wearing? Jeans.
29. Your favorite store? Target.
30. Your favorite color? Green.
31. Your favorite kind of house? Old.
32. Where do you want to go on vacation? London
33. When is the last time you laughed? Today.
34. Last time you cried? Weeks.
35. Who will comment on this? Dunno!
36. One place that I go to over and over? Theatre.
37. One person who texts me regularly? Maryn.
38. My favorite place to eat? Shabu-Ya.
39. My favorite food? Any.
40. What do you like about the person that sent this to you? Unique.

Happy Loser Holiday!

Today is Friday the 13th.

It is officially a loser day holiday.

What? You didn't know that?

About 12 years or so ago, when I lived in Claremont, a suburb of LA, I used to direct shows for the high school there. I hung out a lot with the high school kids and of course we know how young at heart that I am....and I met and became friends with a really amazing person, Sharyn.

She and I were going through rough times----I don't remember all the details----maybe it was family things, men things, (definitely on my end, as my marriage was basically on its way out) and I was pretty close to a nervous breakdown. So, she used to come over and hang with Hailey (my oldest daughter) and I.

That was when we started the loser club.

Now, I have always been the President of the club. Why? Because I seem to have really stupid things that happen to me. If there is something that can go wrong---it will go even further wrong. It just always seems that I have the worst time no matter what I do.

When my daughter got a scholarship for college, she had to drop out of the loser club for awhile. To be a real loser, you have to be the one that gets the letter that you are getting a scholarship and then find out that the letter was supposed to be for someone else.

Yeah, you get the idea.

We losers are proud of our membership and realize that only a "few" can be recognized as real losers. You have to qualify.

For instance, if you go to a fast food eating place, such as Taco Bell, and order their chicken salad with a side of guacamole, which is what you REALLY wanted, and after you drive away and get 15 minutes away, you check out your bag and find out that not only do you NOT have your side of guacamole, but they didn't even put in a fork for you to eat that chicken/rice/salsa/lettuce salad with. AND you were charged for the guacamole, thank you very much, and you are on your way to your next destination, so you have to figure out how to eat your messy salad with your fingers.

That is what I am talking about. (ok, does this sound like a personal story?---uh, huh----just happened yesterday)

So, I guess that I am putting it out there----for new members.

That is, if you can leave me a good "loser" story.

Just the fact that I started this blog two days ago and am just getting around to getting it published (its late Sunday night) gives you an idea of what my loser life is like----(sigh)----I just can't seem to get it together....

10 Things I LoveThat Start With the Letter B

There are so many wonderful things about blogging and the blogging world. I have made new friends and even met some of them---but thats another story.

But in the process, I have started reading some new amazing blogs, and one of those is this one. Omgirl did an entry for her blog on a letter that was given to her, (?) Ok, so I'm not really clear about that part---I guess I need to re-read the explanation, but who the heck cares, right?

The important thing is that she gave me the letter "B", and I am supposed to write ten things that I love that start with this letter. So, here goes: (These are not in order of importance, by the way)

1. BERRIES! I love berries----my favorite fruit. Raspberries are the bomb, blueberries make me happy, strawberries are so delicious!

2. BRIMFIELD! This is the coolest outdoor Antiques/flea market in the country! We go every year and love to wander through 6 football fields of vendors---about 3000---(that is about how big it is) It is held about 40 minutes from our house, near Sturbridge, in May, July and Sept. We like to go on the last day----it goes over five days----because you can get great deals as most of the vendors don't want to take back anything to their stores, etc. The vendors come from all over the country, so you get a huge variety of furniture and collectables. We have gotten most of our large antique furniture there.

3. BOOTS! I love to wear boots in the fall/winter time. I like to get new boots every few years, and wear them all season long. They are great, as my feet are always cold and I can get some smoofy socks with a bit of wool in them and my toes keep toasty! I like them high on the calf or I like my little 60's style boots---pointy toes and small heel----ankle boot----so cool.

4. BRET! My hubby is such a fabulous man, despite the fact that he is sometimes annoying and stubborn, but then he is a man, so that can't be helped. Otherwise, he is a sensitive, quiet, giving man, who does things for everyone and hardly ever thinks of himself. He is my best friend and I feel blessed every day for being so lucky to have him by my side.

5. BOOKS! They have been my best friends for most of my life. When I was younger, I read non-stop, and my mother even took my books away for punishment, if I wasn't getting things done. I still love books, and wish that I had more time to read. I take about 15 minutes each night to read and try to also read once in a while in the morning for 1/2 hour. I love good writing and have a whole list of favorites----check those out on my Goodreads, if you are interested in some of them.

6. BIRTHDAYS! My mom was always big on birthdays, and I kind of inherited this love from her. I always have tried to make my kids birthdays extra special days,----sometimes going to sing to them at their schools when they were young, (they probably didn't like it too much, but I think secretly it made them feel special) writing a personal ditty about them so as to embarrass them just a bit. I love interesting and different birthday parties, and always loved to come up with something new. I love giving presents and enjoy spending money on those that I love----it makes me happy!

7. BED! My bed is my escape from the real world. I love my bed with its firm mattress, and Memory Foam topper. (is that what they are called?) I travel a lot with the band, but am always so excited to be back in my bed after a long trip. There is no other feeling like it! Its one of those "aaaahhhhhhhhhhhh" moments....

8. BRACELETS! I really enjoy jewelry, even though I was told by my first husband that I didn't. (I think that it was an excuse to not have to ever get me any.....huh!) But I really love earrings, rings and yes, bracelets. There are always two or three that I wear all the time---they never come off,----they are sentimental, you might say.

9. BLUE! This used to be my favorite color, and even though I tend to favor green more now, I always love to have a bit of blue in the mix somewhere---unless its during the winter, when I use reds, greens and golds. Color is one of my favorite things----some days I just crave it!

10. BLOGGING! When my daughter suggested that I blog a few years ago, I thought that it was a great way to vent. To be able to get some things off my proverbial chest and put a little humor in it once in a while. I have now realized that it is so much more. I have been able to connect to other people and even make some new friends. I love the connection between bloggers---kind of like a cool club---it is so nice to read about so many interesting people that I would have otherwise not had the opportunity to meet or might not ever meet, but I feel some kind of junction, of sorts.

Well, these are the best that I could do. It was pretty fun trying to think of things starting with this letter, even though I couldn't touch on most of the things that I usually classify as my favorites. So, if you decide to do the same exercise, let me know, so I can check it out on your blog!

My Husky Voiced Girl

If you can believe it, this is the time of the year when I have A LOT of birthdays! Yup, and today I get to wish my gorgeous Brinna Happy Birthday. She is my second daughter and I refuse to say how old that she is---lets just say that it is over 25.... I have always told my kids that they would catch up to me and then pass me by in age, and she is coming really close!

Brinna was born in Denver, Colorado, after only eight hours of labor. (Trust me, this was my shortest labor and felt like a breeze!) She was such a beautiful baby with black, curly hair---so tiny and petite. She was a great baby, seemed to be pretty easy going until 18 months old hit.

Then, she changed.....over night.

She was very angry for some reason and always wanted something that I couldn't give her. I was modeling a lot after she was born and sometimes I think that I wasn't around enough for her. I don't know. She had about four or five tantrums a day, on average and I,...I was just flummoxed by it all.

I was also very young and not at all patient.

Oh, yes, I tried everything---from time outs---for her, first----she wouldn't stay anywhere---then finally time outs for me. It was a hard time for us both.

I am going to admit right here in front of everyone that I actually threatened her once----to try and stop the screaming----that I was going to put her head in the toilet!

Ok, so I didn't do it. Don't call social services. Its too late for that anyway.

Actually, Brinna looked a lot like me and I think that that is what saved her....with her dark hair and those amazing eyes looking up at me. So, no matter how much she put me through, I still loved to grab her up and hug her and make her laugh---and to hold her close by the time that she had calmed down----to apologize for me losing my patience. And I loved to sing to the girls at night before they went to sleep. Those were the good times....

So, that is how she acquired her husky voice. It was the cutest thing ever---this little girl with the deep voice.

Those tantrums continued for most of her growing years. Then, one night, at the age of 14, after an especially bad one, we had a long talk---way into the night. She was crying, I was crying.
I apologized to her for not understanding her, for not knowing how to handle her when she was angry---for not making her life easier.... We hugged and hugged and held each other, then as I went to bed that night, I knew that something had changed.

That was the last time she ever had a tantrum.

After that Brinna was a delight! She has always been one talented girl. She started singing at an early age----singing with the family as well as her sister, Hailey. She has always been very gifted in art, doing amazing sketches from the time she was small, and winning an award in high school from the state of California for her costume design. She loves to read----both she and I have that in common----and she is an amazing writer---writing stories, her own books and even a play. (but I'm not sure that she finished that one) I still hope some day that she will continue this pursuit, as she is so talented at it.

She has grown up a lot since then. She actually got married very young, but it didn't work out, (long story there...) so she started singing in a band with me, South Station. This was one of my favorite times of our lives together. I love singing with my children and I cherished the times that I got to sing with Brinna. We also got to travel together and spent many a night sharing a hotel room----each in our own queen beds----three o-clock in the morning----in total darkness----just talking and talking. I loved those times. I looked forward to those times.

I miss those times.

She now lives in Western Mass. and sings in another band, "Eight to the Bar", (you can check out the website here)---a swing band. She loves to sing the oldies, and her voice is amazing as she does those tight harmonies. And of course, she is gorgeous, so all eyes are always on her.

We get to hang together now once in a while, and I treasure that---when we meet for a movie or for lunch. We have a lot in common, as we both love fashion, clothing, SHOES, decorating, music, performing, and well, just girl talk...



....and the best part is that she is one of the most laid-back gals now, nary a tantrum in sight.


**I need to add a disclaimer to her pictures, as I tried to get the scanner to work and it wouldn't---so annoying! So, I was only able to get this one pic of her when she was young (she modeled a lot and did a national commercial for Nabisco that played during the Rose Bowl---such a cutie!)---but not any more of her growing up years. I will keep trying, so check back for those.**

Here she is at age two, in one of her first catalog shoots---wasn't she so adorable?

All grown up---Christmas time 2005

Then, with her equally talented sister, Maryn---don't they look like movie stars?

Well---there's me making a face and Brinna looking quite amazing....

I told you that her eyes were beautiful---and so green.

A recent shot of her at a band gig---such a great smile.

Happy Birthday, my beautiful girl.

Plastic Surgery Nightmares, Or Have You Seen Cheryl Tiegs Lately?

I decided to write a new blog entry early this week, as I have an extremely busy week ahead, with tech week coming up for the show in my new theatre, The Cannon Theatre. Oh, you haven't heard of it? Well, check it out here.

Anywho, I am constantly thinking about plastic surgery these days, with my tummy roll getting larger with every year, and my body is just begging me for lipo. I am the perfect case for it, apparently, as I exercise,----walking about 3 times a week, doing my bowflex at least once, and then ride my bike trainer once in a while----I eat healthy, and not too much, although my sweet tooth takes over a couple of times a week. I don't ever eat fast food and only eat whole grains, and snack on appropriate foods, but I can't ever seem to lose this inner tube.

So, now you know what I think about, at least once a day. The other night, I decided to watch a new show that I had TIVO'd. I had seen a preview of it and thought that it might be a hoot, so I recorded it. It is called "True Beauty" and is a reality show about these young gorgeous people that have been chosen for their outer beauty to compete to win $100,000.00 for being the most beautiful. (why is it always $100,000.00---anyone know?)

Well, the twist is that they don't know that they are REALLY being judged for their inner beauty! Huh? Wha? Does anyone ever care about that anymore? So archaic....

Well, this is rather intriguing, right? You want to watch it now, right?

So, I was just getting into it,----they have to do different competition/game type things to see who gets voted off each week, and they were doing one and the camera did a cut-away to the judges faces. (I guess that I hadn't been paying attention in the beginning when they introduced the judges)


"AAAHHHH", I cried, as they did a close up of one.


It was THAT scary! I couldn't believe what I had just seen, so I rewound and scared myself again.


"AAAHHHH" There it was again....that face....that scary face.....and it was.....hang on.....give me a second......oh no!

It was CHERYL TIEGS!

Surely some of you remember her----she was a super model in the....er....70's and half of the 80's----blonde, great body, thin lips, and that classic All-American look.



Well, she DOESN'T look like that now!!

She looks like she has had some collegen put in her lips, for starters. EEEEWWWWW! If you are famous for your thin lips, why the heck would you want to plump them up? She looks as if someone has hit her with a pipe and the swelling is still there----kind of uneven and lumpy.

Then, the second time that they do a close-up on her, after you shriek again, (its hard not to do it---trust me, its scary!) you realize that her eyes are puffy and maybe she has had one too many botox treatments under the eyes. One can only imagine....

Now, granted her body looks great, so I'm sure that every man out there would say----who cares? A couple of brown bags and shes good to go....

Well, I tried to find the exact picture of her from the show that I watched a few days ago, but I couldn't find one, but I was able to find this----which isn't quite as scary, but you see what I mean....

Just check out those lips....and something is wrong with the cheek bones....hmmm.

Ok, so her body still looks great---so I am jealous of that, but yellow---with that blonde hair?
Puh---lease! (too bad you can't see her face closer---scary)

Ok, so you are all probably saying that its not as bad as that comedienne that we would rather not name, but trust me---I don't know if she hadn't had any sleep the night before the taping, or her makeup was put on by an eight year old, or maybe she had put on some of that "bee sting" stuff to make your lips look extra puffy.....

But whatever it was...it has made me think twice about getting face surgery.


Now, the lipo, that's a different story......

My Little Minnie

It seems like just yesterday that I brought my third daughter into the world.

But actually it was 21 years ago today and she was my last baby girl.

My husband, at the time, wanted another boy, as I already had two girls and a boy. I didn't really want to get pregnant again, at the time---my husband and I were going through a lot of rough times in our marriage and I didn't really know if I wanted another child, but my husband just HAD to have another boy----and he tended to control most everything in our lives.

So, when Maryn came out and the doctor said, "Its a girl"----I couldn't stop smiling. I had at least won this small round, and was overjoyed that it was a girl. She was so tiny and had the biggest eyes with long brown hair. So beautiful.

I thought, at the time, that she was my last baby.....little did I know.....so I treated her as if she was my last. She didn't like to sleep much, so I had to move into the babies room to be close to her, as she would wake up my husband and of course, we couldn't have that, as he had to get some sleep for work....and what was I, chopped liver? But that's another story...

So, every 2 hours she would want to nurse, and didn't sleep through the night until she was about 18 months old. I used to wonder if I was destined to ever sleep again. (And now you know----I wasn't)

We all adored our little Minnie, as she was called, and she was spoiled rotten. I would rock her to sleep almost every night and just enjoy her little body cuddled up to me, her heart beat matching mine. She sometimes had tantrums, but I was older now and handled things better, so I would just grab her up and hold her tightly until her tantrum was over---stroking her head and whispering how everything would be alright. It always worked and she would calm down.

She was my sweetheart and we spent many days together when all the other kids were in school, going to the park or just going on walks.

One day, when it was raining, she decided to take a walk by herself out the back door, while I was in the shower. She must have been about 3 years old at the time, and she had taken her new umbrella. She wasn't worried, as we had walked this street many times, but you can imagine how freaked out I was when I came downstairs and saw the open back door and no Maryn. I went to the front of the house and looked up the street----there she was standing at the corner......just standing there. I yelled to her to stay there, not to cross the street! My heart was beating at a 100 miles per hour and I was praying as I ran the length of the street.

She turned and waved at me.

I said, "What are you doing?" as I scooped up her tiny body and hugged her to me, all the while trying not to scare her or freak out.

" I go for a walk", she replied.

"Why did you stop?" I said, as I realized how lucky that I was that she did and didn't try to cross the street.

"Big bird said that we had to have a Mommy hold our hand if we want to cross the street," she said proudly, beaming a huge smile, "So I was waiting for YOU."


That was how our relationship went as she got older. I have always felt a special closeness to Maryn, maybe because we are so alike in seeing the world in an abstract way---she is a bit of a rebel, but she has a heart of gold, and she has always been my sweetheart. She grew up to be such a bright and artistic child, testing into a gifted class where she was the happiest that she ever was during her school years. She thrived on hands-on, and visual projects that she could develop with her inquisitive mind.

She moved out about two years ago and went to Mass Art in Boston. She is an AMAZING artist---blowing me away with her paintings, a beautiful singer----writing her own songs, getting accolades for her voice in high school,----a great actress---you should have seen her comedy monologue in "Moon Over Buffalo"---a writer, and a great friend to all who know her.

She just moved to Ohio about a month ago. I am still going through withdrawals. I have a hard time being parted from my children. As I have said before, I love my children with such an intense passion, and I want to be able to see them at least once a month and if not, I need to know that they are close... It is very hard for me to not have her near. She assures me that she will come home every few months, but it sometimes hurts my heart to have her gone.

I feel that I need to have her near, so we can go hang out once in a while, go to a movie, or she can come over for parties, or impromptu dances or dress-up nights.

And I really NEED her to give me one of those amazing hugs that she does so well. She gives the worlds best hugs, hands down----the ones that envelope you in warmth, that squeeze you up and down---the kind that you don't ever want to stop.

So, I look forward to the next one....and hope that it is soon.

Halloween at 9 months....no wonder she always liked to dress up!

First day of kindergarten.

Maryn at 9 years old---such a great smile!

She even sang with our Andrew Sisters numbers----that's me, Brinna, Hailey, and Maryn.

Maryn singing in Madrigals in high school.

All dressed up and ready to go for "Moon Over Buffalo"

One of her artistic pics---there are lots of them, trust me...

And on her last trip home---this past Christmas.

Happy Birthday, my little sweetheart.

News Flash! Hot Flash.

I have tried to stay away from this topic, as I am a card carrying member of Forever 21, and am now seeing my children grow up and pass me by...in age. But its a bit hard to ignore the signs of aging these days.


And I DETEST it!!

When I was awoken from my small amount of sleep yet again last night, I decided right then and there to come out with this,............my big secret and get it over with....

Yes, world....I too, am having hot flashes.

This subject was never spoken of as I was growing up. I guess that it was taboo. I had no idea what this was or that women went through this kind of thing until I experienced it first hand as a young mother. There was a woman in my church that would constantly fan herself all through church. I thought that she was very hot-blooded, as she would do it even in the winter time and on extremely cold days.

Being the inquisitive person that I was, I went to the church gossip line and asked what was up with her. "Oh,....she has an extreme case of hot flashes," was the answer that I got.

Ok, so I had heard of that "M" word that we all dread, but then again I didn't know the particulars of what it entailed. But as I read a lot of women's fashion magazines, I started to see more ads displaying cures for this curious time of life----I was intrigued, but put it out of my mind.

Fast forward about....ummm....15....ok, well....20....years or so, and I start noticing certain changes in my body. And they are NOT good changes!

If you are like me, I couldn't wait until all my kids were grown so that I could get some sleep. Every mother knows that you wake up, on average, at least two times a night for something or somebody. Yes, ladies, I can see you all nodding in agreement---we've ALL been there if you have kids...

But when I finally got all of them beyond the point of waking up----it started.

At first I wasn't sure what was going on.

I would wake up first---wide awake----then feel a huge wave of heat go through my body, then after a few minutes, the cold sweat came, accompanied by a bit of a nauseous feeling.

So, off go the covers, as you try to cool down---then after the cold sweat breaks out, you pull them back on to warm up. Its a strange feeling, and one that is definitely annoying.

Ok, now you are wondering what the heck can I do about this? (Or maybe you don't care---but you will---someday) I thought the same thing. So, I read up a bit on it and of course, googled it to see the best way to deal with it. I should have asked my doctor, but I haven't been too good about seeing one for the last few years.

I decided to use the herbal method. It works pretty well. It works most of the time. It isn't always very reliable.

But then again, the next step would be to mess with my hormones, and I can't imagine all the things that could go wrong with that. So, I just keep waking up,-----sometimes several times a night, and take Valerian before I go to bed so that I can fall back to sleep.

So far, so good...its just that time of my life.

And they say that it only lasts about 7 years or so. That seems like a small amount of time....considering.


*Thanks so much for the use of the scary lady picture, word to your mother. It is truly the way I feel, encountering this exhausting new time in my life...