These are the thoughts and observations of me — a woman of a certain age. (Oh, my, God, I'm 65!) I'm single. I'm successful enough (independent, self supporting). I live just outside Chicago, the best city in the world. I'm an aunt and a friend. I feel that voices like mine are rather underrepresented online or in print. So here I am. If my musings resonate with you, please visit my blog again sometime.
There has been much ridiculous criticism of
Michelle Obama for appearing on this year's Oscar telecast. It wasn't
"appropriate." "No other First Lady ..." It's all
nonsense, of course. As First Lady, Nancy Reagan not only appeared on Diff'rent
Strokes, she posed sitting upon Mr. T's lap and gave lengthy interviews to
her friend, talk show host Merv Griffin. While President, her husband called a
few innings of a Cub game at Wrigley Field alongside Harry Caray. As First
Lady, Barbara Bush appeared with Big Bird on Sesame Street and she and
her Presidential hubs attended the CMA awards. So this negative chatter about Michelle Obama is just partisan bullshit.
No surprise there.
As always when the talk turns to First
Ladies, my mind wanders back to my all-time idol, JBKO. She never appeared on
an awards show but she does have the distinction of being the only First Lady
to ever win an Emmy. It's on display at the John F. Kennedy Presidential
Library and Museum (where I swiped this photo). She won it for her televised Tour of the White House,
highlighting her restoration of The People's House.
Jackie was like every other First Lady in
that, during her time, she was slagged relentlessly in the press. She was so popular internationally that The State Department took her
televised tour and added subtitles so they could honor requests for it from all
over the world -- including the Soviet Union. But here at home, The Jackie
Show, as it was condescendingly called, received a ton of criticism. She
was "stiff" and "phony." Her breathy voice was parodied in
a top-selling, award-winning comedy album called The First Family.
First Lady is a thankless job. It has no job
description and no official responsibilities and yet somehow, no matter how
each woman performs it, she's doing it "wrong."
Jackie was so self-contained that it's always
been easy to assume she was immune to the criticism. But she wasn't, because
she loved her husband. As she said in her own words, she worried about being a
political liability because of all the people who "didn't like your hair, that you spoke
French, that you just didn't adore campaigning or didn’t bake bread with flour up your arms." I bet every woman who was ever mistress of The People's House loved her husband, and felt that same anxiety. And that's probably part of why no First Lady has ever looked into a camera or a reporter's face and said, "Screw you all!"
101.
What does happiness/joy feel like physically? There's a lightness to it as tension melts to make way for euphoria.
102. List five things you love starting with the one you love the absolute
most.
A Books
B Cats
C Cubs-- Opening Day at Wrigley Field is Monday, April 8!
D Movies
E Alone time
103. How many movies have you gone to see this year? So far in 2013 I think I've only seen three, but they have been stellar: Les Miz, Silver Linings Playbook and Amour
104. If you could have 3 wishes...but none of them could be for yourself, what
would you wish for? This Recession has been brutal for many around me, so: 1) A job for my best friend; 2) A job for my former boss; 3) A financial windfall for my underemployed friend in the Keys
105. In what ways do you relax and de-stress when you are really tense? Cardio helps, if I can get off my fat ass and get to the club. I've been napping a lot. I have been known to turn to vodka (year round) or Bailey's Irish Creme (winter/spring).
106. How much money would it take to get you to sell your blog address? It would depend on who wants it and why.
107. Have you ever been hunting?NO!
108. Have you attempted this 5000 question meme in the past? Only if it was part of a previous Sunday Stealing.
109. What do you think of cloning? I don't. I mean, it's not a subject that interests me much. Like life on other planets, it only comes to mind when I'm asked about it in memes.
110. Do you read or watch TV more often? Yes. It seems I'm always doing one, the other, or both.
111. With all this talk of terrorism going around are you willing to sacrifice
rights and freedoms for increased safety? No. If we give up our rights and freedoms we become like those who try to defeat us. Of course, I don't think it's a right to board a plane or enter a skyscraper without going through security.
112. What is the punishment you would come up with for Osama Bin Laden if you
caught him alive? Trial and imprisonment. People I respect have pointed out that my way would give him a platform (at a trial, he'd have the right to testify and then he could give jailhouse interviews a la Charles Manson). So maybe his ugly story ended the only way it could. Still, there is no way I'm going to applaud the murder of another human being -- regardless of who that person is. I can accept that it may have been a necessity but I refuse to cheer it. That goes against Christian teachings and I simply won't do it.
113. Have you ever named an individual part of your body? No
114. Have you ever been on the radio or on TV? Election night 1992, Bill Clinton's Chicago campaign headquarters on Michigan Avenue. The local ABC affiliate showed campaign workers viewing his acceptance speech, and I was in the front row because I'm so short. My mom saw me.
115. Have you ever won a lottery, or sweepstakes? More than 20 years ago I won $6,000 in the Illinois State Lottery. I was excited about the $6,000 for getting 4 of the 5 numbers, till my boyfriend pointed out I was 1 digit away from $2 million.
116. Have you ever won a contest or competition? In third grade I won an essay writing contest sponsored by the local newspaper.
118. Do you know what your grandparents and your great grand parents did for a
living? My grandfathers worked together twice -- first doing construction on a WPA (Works Progress Administration) Project during the Depression, and then at a factory that made train engines. It was a small town so obviously they knew each other, but they had nothing to do with my parents getting together. (My mom and dad met at a party.) My maternal grandmother worked in the office at that same plant for a while, then had a number of retail jobs. My dad's mom worked but as a volunteer at church and the Girl Scouts. She was tireless and even though she wasn't paid, she worked hard and made very valuable contributions.
119. Is there anything really interesting in your family history? My grandfather vs the Nazis. Grandpa left Germany, alone, right before Hitler began his reign of terror. While he was penniless here, he came from money -- his father (my great grandfather) was a wealthy orchestra conductor. My grandpa had a really awful falling out with his parents (he refused to talk about it to anyone but my grandmother, who honored his request and kept his secret), never corresponded with them and certainly never asked them for money, even during the Depression while he was working so hard to care for his family.
Anyway, my great grandparents died together in a car accident and left their fortune to their only child, my grandfather. The catch: he would have to go to Munich to claim the money. By now the Germans had invaded Prague so the war was beginning, even though America wasn't yet in it. Our government advised my grandfather not to make the trip because the Nazis would likely not acknowledge his American citizenship and draft him. So my grandfather had to pass on the money, which was then lost to him forever, even though he suffered many sleepless nights about how he was going to feed his kids.
Usually a very happy man, Grandpa's mood got very dark whenever I asked him about his parents and Germany. "What difference does it make?" he'd ask. "We're here now." There was no one more patriotic about the United States than my grandpa. He always self-identified as American. Not "German-American." Just American. He had no use for his homeland.
120. Is there anyone you trust completely? My best friend
Yes, it's Saturday night and my tummy is killing me. But still, my mood is pretty good. Here's what I'm smiling over: • "She said yes." I have heard from Tom a lot today. He's the coworker we lost to layoffs nearly two weeks ago. His first concern. even before he opened his packet and saw how much severance he was receiving, was his girlfriend. They're both in their 30s and she is so eager to have a baby. He was going to buy her a ring and propose before they go off on their long-planned California vacation next week. "This is gonna break her heart," he kept saying, referring to the impact his layoff would have on their plans. "How can I tell her about this? It's gonna break her heart." I kinda gave him a verbal Cher/"snap out of it." I told him that she will take it just fine. That she loves him, and her first reaction will be about his pain, not about her ring. Well, apparently I was right.* She was excited and happy to keep him facing forward, toward his job search, instead of reliving what went wrong at our office. He felt so happy -- so positive -- that he bought the ring anyway. My day started with a photo of it in my inbox. And then, this afternoon, I got a text: "She said yes. You are one of the first ones I'm telling."
• Levis. I found a pair at Macy's that fit me perfectly.
• My tax return. I filed today. The sooner the IRS reviews it, the sooner I get my refund!
*I am almost always right about other people's lives, you know.
Saturday 9: It's a Sunshine Day 1) The best known Brady Bunch song is, of course, the show's theme. Do you know the lyrics? It's the story of a lovely lady who was bringing up three very lovely girls ... I bet more people know all the lyrics to the Brady Bunch theme than can sing The National Anthem. 2) The Bradys were a blended family. Do you have stepparents, stepchildren or stepsibs? No.
3) Samantha admits that, when she was
12, she taped Greg Brady's photo over her bed. Before you judge her too
harshly, come clean yourself. Did you have a major pre-teen crush? Who
was it? Bobby Sherman. This very photo looks familiar, and I would argue he was cuter than Greg Brady. 4) Which TV character do you wish lived next door? Judge Marilyn Milian or Judge Judy. No one would mess with our block with either of those two around. 5) It's a sunshine day! Describe your sunglasses. Slightly upswept ovals in a black/white frame. I'm very happy with them. Less than $15 at CVS!
6) You're on a 90-minute flight. How will you spend the time? Do you read a book? A magazine? Look out the window? Take a nap? If my Xanax is working, I'm asleep. If it's not, I'm sitting there with white knuckles. I don't fly well at all. 7) Do you have a favorite brand of toothpaste?Close-up, if the store I'm in carries it. I like starting the day with cinnamon.
8) How many keys are on your key ring? Oh, God! Too many! And I have no idea what some of them are for. I suppose my key ring is a metaphor for my life. I hang on to things when perhaps I should discard them and move on.
9) What do you miss about summertime? BASEBALL. I'm always happier when I can watch The Cubs.
According to the online shopping site, Peapod, these are their 13 best-selling hairstyling products. All retail for under $10, with the most expensive being the only one marketed specifically to men. Would any land in your shopping cart?
1) Tresemme Extra Hold Aerosol Hairspray (I admit I'm typical; this is in my bathroom now)
2) Suave Max Hold Unscented Non-Aerosol Hairspray (Least expensive at $2.79 for an 11 oz. bottle)
3) Tresemme Extra Firm Hold Aerosol Hairspray
4) Tresemme Extra Hold Mousse
5) Pantene Pro V Touchable Volume Flexible Hold Aerosol Spray
6) Aussie Scrunch Catch the Wave Strong Hold Pump Hair Spray
7) Dove Style + Care Flexible Hold Aerosol Hair Spray
8) Pantene Pro V Anti-Humidity Aerosol Hair Spray
9) Aussie Mega Hold Aerosol Hair Spray
10) Pantene Pro V Curly Hair Styling Mousse
11) AXE Whatever Messy Hair Paste for Men (Most expensive at $7.99 for a 2.64 oz. jar)
To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading? Where We Belong by Emily Giffin. It's only my second Giffin, but I can see why she's crazy popular. She so clearly likes her characters and draws them so compassionately. Very good chick lit.
• What did you recently finish reading? Sybil Exposed by Debbie Nathan. Fascinating and really quite shocking. Sybil -- both the book and the made-for-TV movie starring Sally Field about the woman with 16 personalities -- was something of a fraud and worse, the real woman behind the story was used as a marketing tool.
• What do you think you’ll read next? So many possibilities! Perhaps Kinsey and Me, by Sue Grafton. Or Anne Frank's Family, a biography of the entire clan that gave us that extraordinary young diarist.
Today we were treated to a mix of fog, rain and snow. From the sidewalk, the city looked like a slushy gray mess. But from my office on the 40th floor, it looked like we were inside a beautiful swirling snow globe. The fog was so thick and active we could see swirling shapes outside our window.
First Job: Babysitting. I loved it. The kids went to bed pretty early and then I got paid to eat potato chips, drink Pepsi and watch TV.
First Real Job: Administrative
assistant -- OK, back in those days it was called "secretary" -- at
Sears Corporate HQ in the building that was once known as Sears Tower.
First Volunteer Job: Scrubbing litter boxes, clipping claws and cleaning away ear mites in the cat adoption room at Chicago's Anti-Cruelty Society.
First Car: A 1971 Impala. It was live driving a big green, rusty boat.
First Record: "I've
Got Rings on My Fingers and Bells on My Toes." A woman sang it, but I
don't recall her name. I couldn't read the label, as I was still in
pre-school. My Grandpa gave me the record and I still remember all the
lyrics.
First Sport Played:Tag in the backyard
First Concert: Bobby Sherman. Don't judge me! I was in 7th grade and "Julie, Do Ya Love Me" is a classic of the bubblegum genre (she said, super defensively).
First Country Visited: We went to Canada the summer I was 9
First Kiss: David, the boy next door. (OK, three doors down. Details! Details!)
First Speech: Not memorable. Sorry.
First Girlfriend/Boyfriend: See First Kiss.
First Encounter with a Famous Person:
I ran into Black Hawk great Stan Mikita while we each shopping in the
same department store. He was shorter than I expected and smelled of
cigarettes, which disappointed me. But he was very gracious and let me tail after him as he bought dollhouse furniture for his little girl.
First House/Flat Owned: Owned? I have a mortgage I'm making dents in each month, but I can't honestly say I own this place.
First Film Seen at a Cinema: Mary Poppins
First Media Appearance (Radio, Newspaper, TV): In
third grade I won an essay contest about what made my teacher the best
in town. I won $50 and got my little paragraph reprinted in the local
paper.
First Hospital Stay:In 1994 I had uterine fibroids removed. Want to hear more about it? I didn't think so.
First Book You Remember Reading: Abraham Lincoln by Ingri & Edgar Parin d'Aulaire. It's a children's book with really gorgeous
illustrations. My parents bought it for me as a souvenir after we
visited the Lincoln sites in Springfield that summer between
Kindergarten and first grade. I flipped through it over and over and
over again during the long car ride home.It's still in print and, if you have a young child in your life, I highly recommend it.
First Pet: Tommy. He was a truly terrific cat.
First Election You Voted In: 1976 I got to vote for both President and Illinois governor.I
truly don't recall if I voted for James R. Thompson, who became our
Governor, but I'm going to give him a shout out as he's one of the few
governors of my lifetime who didn't/hasn't done jail time. Props to you, Big Jim!
I am in the grips of Oscar fever again, as I am every year during awards season. So when I saw Amour was playing at my local theater, I couldn't wait to get over there and buy my ticket. As an Oscar aficionado, I'm aware that Emmanuelle Riva, at age 85, is the oldest actress to be nominated in the lead category. She also seems to be the only one who has a chance to upset Jennifer Lawrence tomorrow night. So I was stoked.
I'd heard the film was a love story about two long-marrieds reaching the end of their lives. That's true, as far as it goes. What I was unaware of was what an unsparing portrait of old age and illness it paints. After Anne, the character played by Riva, suffers a stroke, she is on a swift and brutal decline toward death. She loses first the use of her right side, then control of her bladder. The meds she must take to combat the pain leaves her speaking gibberish. She is frightened and angry. Her loving husband is forlorn and exhausted.
It reminded me too much of watching my 77-year-old mother fight for her life last September. Like Anne in the movie, my mother ultimately lost her battle. And it was one very brutal battle indeed.
So while there is much to this movie to recommend it, I'm sorry I let my Oscar mania overrule my sense. This is not the movie I should have seen while battling the blues. There's a Die Hard movie playing on another screen in the very same theater. Why didn't I opt for Bruce Willis in a torn t-shirt? That's always guaranteed to raise my spirits.
1) Do you owe anyone a phone call? Yes. I was supposed to have lunch with an old friend today and I blew her off. I left her a vm and an email in advance (I mean, I didn't stand her up), but still, I should try to talk to her in real time so I can explain.
2) Do you still have a landline phone? Yes, indeedy. I'm old school. It's still my favorite mode of communication. 3) When was the last time you looked up a number in the phone book? Last autumn when my modem went out. I was so freaking HELPLESS without internet access. 4) Do you receive more calls or texts? Calls. I don't really like texts. Call me or email me. 5) Carly Rae made the Final 3 on Canadian Idol. Can you name another cultural import from Canada? Michael Buble.
6) Sam grew sick of this song by hearing it too often on the radio. Where do you listen to the radio most often? Car? Work? Somewhere else? I start each morning singing badly along with a shower radio like this one.
7) Mother Winters can work wonders with an iron and a can of spray starch. Every blouse and shirt she presses looks good as new. Is there a domestic chore you excel at?I can pretty well remove any stain from any piece of clothing. Oh yes, I can! 8) Do you consider yourself competitive?I am at canasta. I am a wicked good canasta player. 9)
Tell us your superhero name -- as determined by the color of your shirt
and an item to your right. For example, Crazy Sam now fights crime
as The Light Blue Coffee Mug! Addy set this up beautifully and I'm stealing it: By day I am the mild-mannered Gal Herself…but by night I take
to the streets to spank the criminal element and save small kittens in
my crime fighting alter ego The Green Striped Tissue Box!
Forget Angelina Jolie and her silly leg pose. THIS, ladies and gentleman, is a star.
Tonight I'm kicking off Oscar weekend by watching Butterfield 8.
It's a fairly run-of-the-mill soapy movie that's elevated by a
positively electric performance by Elizabeth Taylor, who (obviously) won
the gold statuette that year. When she was good in a movie, when the role fit her unique talents (and
Gloria Wandrous was one of those roles), you can't take your eyes off
her.
BEST PICTURE: ARGO (Saw it, loved it)
BEST ACTOR: ABE (I mean, Daniel Day Lewis)
BEST ACTRESS: JENNIFER LAWRENCE
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN (in that movie that has nothing whatsoever to do with Scientology!)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: ANNE HATHAWAY (I believe this is by acclaimation)
BEST DIRECTOR: STEVEN SPIELBERG
Yesterday we lost another coworker to layoffs. Lana. I really liked, respected and depended on her. She and Tom were the two I willingly spent the most time, socially, as well as the two I had the most in common with professionally. They are gone and I am hurting. One of my officemates is blissfully unconcerned about the human toll of these layoffs and really, I couldn't bear to be around her another moment. Perhaps her attitude is, ultimately, healthier because this is advertising and it happens a lot. But the insensitivity of it really, really rankles.
So, last night, as I was packing up to go home, I decided not to come in today. My work for the week was already done, I was at the end of my tether, and I thought the alone time would rejuvenate me.
I was wrong. I remain slothful and sad today. All I've done is fart around on the computer, wash some clothes and take myself out to brunch. And, of course, fought with my cat Reynaldo, who believes that if I'm going to be home I should be doing his bidding.*
My mail was a bummer. Two (count 'em, two!) letters from the reverse mortgage company regarding my late mother's house -- even though it was never my property and they're on notice to speak directly to my attorney, not me.
My oldest friend is making plans to visit me this summer -- for more than a week (Friday to Sunday). That's a lot of togetherness with no alone time. I'll put a bullet in my brain! We've negotiated it down to Friday to Wednesday. I don't want to hurt her feelings -- I know she loves me and I'm grateful -- but I'm hoping we somehow have to scale it back even further.
I've got to get my mind right.
I miss baseball.
*I'm trying a new behavioral tack with him. Every time he does something to get my attention, I give it to him. I pick him up and kiss his nose, which he hates, and announce into his face, "I am giving you attention!" He really loathes this. It hasn't deterred him yet, though. Maybe it takes a while for cause/effect to penetrate his cranium. Or maybe, once again, resistance is futile and he will get his way.
1) A "soap opera" is defined as "an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction."
2) Originally broadcast on radio, these daily dramas became known as "soap operas" because they were frequently sponsored by soap manufacturers like Dial, Palmolive, and Procter and Gamble.
3) As the World Turns (1956-2010) is one of the longest-running, most popular daytime soaps ever. Most Americans who were home and watching TV during the day were tuned to it 50 years ago and received the first word of President Kennedy's assassination when Walter Cronkite interrupted the broadcast.
4) In 1972, the National Association of Television Arts and Sciencesbegan giving out Daytime Emmy Awards. The NBC show TheDoctors won the first for Best Daytime Drama.
5) Today, the daytime drama has hit on hard times. Ratings are down and costs are up. Court shows like Judge Judy and talk shows like Dr. Phil are cheaper to produce because fewer sets and less scripting are involved. The longest-running shows -- As the World Turns, All My Children, Secret Storm and One Life to Live -- were all recently cancelled after more 30 years.
6) Peyton Place was the first nighttime "soap opera." It premiered on September 15, 1964 and ran two (sometimes three) nights a week for nearly 5 years. In its last season it was still in the Top 20 in Neilsen Ratings. It was cancelled because of costs -- reruns were never aired and the production values were high.
7) Dallas (1978-1991) was the next prime-time soap blockbuster. CBS learned from ABC's Peyton Place missteps. Dallas aired one hour-long episode, one night/week and there were reruns. The repeats not only reduced costs, they were quite useful in maintaining the public's interest in the series and the resolution of each season's "cliffhanger."
8) Dallas had the biggest "cliffhanger" of all with "Who Killed JR?" In November, 1980, 83 million people tuned in to see that Kristen Shepard pulled the trigger. That means there were more viewers than there were voters in the 1980 Presidential election. At the time, it was the highest rated show in TV history.
9) Dynasty premiered in 1981 and gave Dallas stiff competition. Joan Collins gained fame as Alexis Carrington, the soap's first prime-time vixen.
10) Divas and vixens and bitches were no stranger to daytime viewers, though. Lisa Miller (Hughes Eldridge Shea Colman McColl Mitchell Grimaldi) of As the World Turns and Erica Kane (Martin Brent Cudahy Chandler Montgomery Marick Montgomery) of All My Children -- shown here -- staked out that territory years earlier.
11) Movie actresses who appeared in soaps include Meg Ryan (As the World Turns), Demi Moore (General Hospital), and Kathleen Turner (The Doctors).
12) Movie actors who appeared in soaps include Christopher Reeve (Love of Life), Kevin Bacon (Search for Tomorrow) and Ray Liotta (Another World).
13) Singers Ricky Martin and Rick Springfield appeared on General Hospital.
For more about the Thursday 13, or to play along yourself, click here.
I now share an office with three other coworkers. We are in one another's pocket, day in-day out. And I'm at the end of my tether with one of them. If I were to strangle her, how much time would I get?
A little jailtime might be worth it.
We lost a coworker yesterday. I am sad about this. It hasn't escaped my notice that she can't be bothered to offer him contacts for a new job, or even shoot him a "how are you doing the morning after?" email or text. Instead she's blissfully on the phone, yammering all day with her sisters and friends. She's also been known to strum her ukelele and sing softly, right there at her workstation, in the office we all share.
In a world where lay-offs may still be imminent, I don't appreciate her advertising how NOT busy we are in this office.
I'm not violent by nature, but slamming her cranium with the gavel shown above might be satisfying.
My friend, Tom, was let go Tuesday morning. One of the first things he mentioned was his girlfriend. "This is going to break her heart."
Camille is 35 and eager to get married and have a baby. She and Tom have discussed what kind of engagement ring she would like. He was planning on giving her one for Easter. I'm sure she was expecting one, and she will be disappointed.
But she is also a pediatric nurse whose job regularly presents her with sick, sometimes terminally ill, babies. I suspect that when you handle life and death in your hands each day, the loss of a job at an ad agency probably isn't that big a deal.
Also, I believe she loves him. I bet that when she saw the pain he's in, she wasn't even thinking of herself.
Behold Anna and Bates, two of the best fictional people I know. Whenever they show up together on Downton Abbey, I smile. Mary and Matthew were the prettier couple, but to be honest it's his looks that make me mourn Matthew's passing. I just love everything about Anna and Bates, though. Swoon!
Saturday was a good day because I had a lunch date with my nephew. He is so enthusiastic! About his upcoming class trip to Springfield -- on "a luxury bus with two bathrooms!" -- to see the Lincoln sites,* about the upcoming Academy Awards because he has seen two Best Picture nominees (Lincoln and Argo), about Chaos Walking, the new sci-fi trilogy the school librarian turned him onto.
He's also very enthusiastic about eating. Two slices of pizza, an order of fries, and a chocolate shake. I got the feeling that if he wasn't worried about being rude, he would have asked for more, too. What is it about pre-teen boys?
He visited with me when I got my hair cut/colored. While that was sweet of him, my big takeaway from my salon appointment was my visage in the mirror. GOD, I AM SO FAT! Seeing myself in the mirror in a different setting made it obvious and rattled me. That's it! I'm back to calorie counting on Livestrong/My Plate.
Sunday I dropped a bag of clothes off at Goodwill. And then, reducing the amount of de-cluttering I'd done, left with two blouses for myself and a cheesy romance novel for the troops, all for about $8. My trip into Goodwill began innocently enough -- I wanted to see if I attributed the proper fair market value to the items I donated. But then I spied this whole rack of short sleeved black t-shirts and I need some to wear under my cardigans and, well, why not?
I admit that I was embarrassed carrying the Goodwill-emblazoned bag around my next stop, which was Kohl's. Isn't that silly? I made perfectly sensible purchases that helped someone in my neighborhood get job training. That's all good, right? And then there's the whole, "What do I care what anyone thinks?" aspect of it all, too.
At Kohl's I bought another trio of "under cardigan" pullovers, a shower curtain, and a Barbie doll and a Cars activity book. My niece and nephew are too old for them. They're the seeds for my 2013 Toys for Tots bag. If I buy a little something every now and again, by Christmas it will be full and I will be happy.
Here's an invitation to the wedding of Senator John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Lee Bouvier. It was addressed to one of the groomsmen, Dave Powers, JFK's close friend for 15 years -- beginning with Kennedy's first foray into politics until his murder in 1963. Powers was the first curator of The Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. And many of Powers' personal items are available today through John McInnis Auctioneers. As I understand it, a portion of the proceeds will go to the Library.
Fortunately the McInnis website is pretty difficult to navigate. Otherwise I'd be tempted to bid. And I really can't afford these things, much as I might want them.
I find the things that humanize Presidents the most touching. I have been honored to run my hand along the original banister in Abraham Lincoln's Springfield home, and as I did I wondered about the life he led there in the only home he shared with his four sons, how it helped shaped him.
Likewise, it would be a privilege to touch this birthday card, the last one John Kennedy, Jr., would give his daddy and the only one he was able to sign himself. With this card, I'd be holding history in my hands.
But it's not going to happen. And I suppose it shouldn't. There are so many more useful, earthbound things I should be doing with my money. But ... but ... but ...
38: How did you spend Valentines day? Eating Girl Scout cookies. I feel bad about it. I bought a box from a coworker's niece and then just kept devouring them until they were gone. I have no self control!
39: Do you eat enough vegetables? No. I try to eat two servings/day, but I mix it up between fruit and vegetables.
40: Do you like horror movies? How about thrillers? I like thrillers more than horror. For example, Side Effects with really good, and it was all about the suspense. (And Jude Law looks and talks soooo cute.)
41: Do you like scotch? No.
42: Who is someone you would never swear in front of? Members of the clergy.
43: Coolest thing you've ever seen on Halloween? Nothing comes to mind. I'm sorry.
44: If you could change your natural hair color, would you? To what? I'm done with that. But for decades, I was a redhead, courtesy of Nice 'n Easy.
45: What subject would you take if you were forced to take a free class? Spanish. And you wouldn't even have to force me.
46: Do you use a reusable grocery bags? Yes.
47: City or nature person? City.
48: Have you ever used something other than "makeup" as makeup? (Like paint? Markers?) No.
49: Do heights bother you? Can look look out the window on the top floor of a skyscraper? Not really. I've worked in tall office buildings since I was teenager.
50: Post 5 awesome things about your blog. BRAG AWAY!
• I post often. Come back here every day or two and you'll have something new to read. I'm very blabby.
• I'm frank. I don't pull any punches here.
• I try never to leave you hanging. Since I blog mostly for myself, to create a digital diary of my life I can look back on, I sometimes have to remind myself that I have readers and they deserve to know how incidents turned out. That's also why I try to include links. • My new layout is easy to read.
• My content is pretty eclectic. This is important to me as I grow older. Yesterday, as part of Saturday 9, I used the phrase "hair metal band." One of the responders -- a Baby Boomer like me -- kept complaining that he didn't know what it meant. I'm not kidding. He said it on his own blog and then again and again while commenting on other responders. Did it not occur to him to Google it? That would have taken less time. Was he that incurious? Or did he just enjoy sitting back and complaining like the old Muppets in the balcony? This gentleman didn't mean to, but he gave me a great example of how not to be, and I'm taking it to heart.
1) Do you have a favorite "hair metal band?" I used to be quite the snob when it came to this genre, and I still can't tell my Poison from my Whitesnake. But then I saw Rock of Ages (both the movie and the play) and I realized how many of the individual songs I have always enjoyed and know all the lyrics to. But I still can't point to a single glam band and say, "I love those guys!" 2) Def Leppard got their start in South Yorkshire, England. Have you ever been to the UK? Nope 3) Who would you rather chat with, one-on-one: Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Prince William or Prince Harry? Prince Charles. Yeah, I know. He seems like such a dweeb. But he's seen so much life. He's met all kinds of people I'm curious to hear about, from Winston Churchill to Jackie Onassis. He was there the day the Beatles got their MBEs. And of course, Diana. I'd love to hear what she was really like. Like Jackie, she continues to fascinate me long after she's gone.
4) Do you use real sugar, or a sugar substitute? I put Truvia on my breakfast cereal and in my tea, and it works just fine.
5) Valentine's Day is big for candy sales. Did you indulge in any Valentine-themed, sugary treats this week? One of my coworkers gave me milk chocolate heart.
6) Do you regularly balance your checkbook? Well, Quicken does. That count?
7) What was your last impulse purchase? I got the entire series of Peyton Place on DVD. Every soapy episode! I can't tell you how much I'm loving it! My parents watched it when I was a little girl, and I wasn't allowed to because of the "adult content."* That made me obsessed with it and I always tried to sneak into the room when it was on or watch it at friends' homes. It's amusing to me how much I remember. And I still think Dr. Rossi has kind eyes. When I was a kid, I thought he'd be gentle when he gave me a shot.
8) When Sam was a girl, she had nightmares about snakes under her bed. When did you last have a bad dream? The most recent one that I can recall was after I had surgery in 2011. The pain meds inspired the most awful dreams -- and there was one especially upsetting one that had me struggling to save a black and white dog from the Chicago River, only to have him leap out of my arms, race away and get squished in traffic. The doctor told me the dreams were my body's way of protecting me, that the last dose of pain medication was wearing off and I was waking myself up to take another pill. That makes sense, but I was very glad when I no longer needed the medication!
9) We're ordering pizza. Do you want deep dish or thin crust? Hmmm .... I think I'd like thin crust. *How quaint it seems by today's standards!
