Friday, December 30, 2011

Happy New Year


May y'all have a very Happy, Healthy, Sexy, Safe, Rockin' New Year!


Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas, y'all!


"Ghost of the Future," he exclaimed, "I fear you more than any spectre I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with a thankful heart. Will you not speak to me?" 
~ Ebenezer Scrooge

Painting by ~ Dennis Matson

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Last Minute Gift - SLEEPER'S RUN




Reading a first novel by a first time author is a crap-shoot.  You get those that are real stinkers but you keep plowing through because hope springs eternal that something, anything will make the book more than just a sleep-aid.  Sleeper's Run by Henry Mosquera isn't one of those.  It will make you call in sick to work and keep you riveted well into the wee hours because you can't wait to see what is going to happen to the hero Eric Caine next!

Eric is an Air Force Special Operations Command veteran, suffering from PTSD. He's brilliant, a trained killer, multilingual, a technical geek and handsome! When a casual meeting leads to international catastrophe, Eric is off on a whirlwind race from the United States to South America to Europe fraught with danger effort to clear his name.

The author has filled this book with fascinating covert forces information as well as some truly intriguing computer hacker tricks. I don't normally read espionage novels but I think Sleeper's Run has changed that.

I found Eric Caine to be a likeable and believable character. He's tormented by villains that are equally unlikeable yet equally believable. It seems to me that Mr. Mosquera has done extensive research to make his characters seem real. His authors note says that he also likes to get first-hand knowledge of some of his characters skills. If Henry Mosquera continues to write books as filled with computer geekery and martial arts, he'll be a force to be reckoned with at the keyboard and away from it!




 I was given a free copy of Sleeper's Run in exchange for an honest review.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Hysterical!

 


Go visit, NOW!

Friday, December 9, 2011

Loser/Winner


Last Saturday, I attended The Buzz Bake Sale. The Bake Sale has been the premier festival concert event in South Florida for the past 16 years. It was something I looked forward to each year. 103.1 The Buzz was the only rock station in my area. The concert was out of control! Seether, Chevelle, Hinder, Everlast, Adelita's Way, Art of Dying, Middle Class Rut, Falling in Reverse, One and for the canceled due to illness Staind, AWOLNation. From 12 noon to 11:00 pm, my son's girlfriend and I rocked our asses off. We drank beer, ate arepas, talked to the very attractive band, Art of Dying, said “Hi!” to favorite DJ's, and just generally had a great time. The Buzz Bake Sale was exactly that, for 16 years – ROCK & ROLL & MAD, CRAZY FUN. Damn, it was good!

On Monday, December 5, I got in my car after work, the radio was tuned to 103.1 as usual. Instead of hearing Disturbed or Korn, my ears are assaulted by Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO and then something by Taylor Swift. And then (somebody kill me!) Lady GaGa! I was confused, angry, reeling! When the station announcement came on it said the station was NOW 103! Seriously, WHAT. THE. FUCK!!!! On Monday, December 5, 2011 at 3:00 pm, CBS Radio killed The Buzz. The Palm Beach Post has an article if you'd like to read it.

I was bereft. I had trouble sleeping that night, waking up at random times feeling great anger but also a sense of tremendous loss. My son, ever sensitive, thought teasing me about my reaction and the always compassionate Mulder, telling me to, “Rub some dirt on it and get over it.” Would be the perfect way to snap me out of the red funk I was in. Yeah, those things always work.

Tuesday wasn't much better. Can I just tell you that the anger/rage of a financially ruined, post-menopausal, white woman is EPIC! It also is repressed, under pressure like a seemingly dormant volcano. On Wednesday, Mt. Nitebyrd erupted.

A patient at work pissed me off because of his pompous, ass-hat attitude and I lost it. Because of the irrationality of this, “college educated, senior citizen”, demands, my anger bubbled right up to the edge and then spilled over. I don't get ass-ripping rude with patients often but this person was so totally out of line that I went up one side of him and down the other. Gods! It felt good! It was a totally shitty week and because of a total dick, I finally got to release some of my pent-up aggression. I still felt anger and sadness but it was a bit less.

Thursday, I wasn't really feeling much hope for the week getting any better. So, you can imagine my surprise when I checked my email and found out that I won, YES! WON! the InThe Powder Room's give-away of an original Alex Roberts artwork! I don't win a whole lot, I'm not lucky. If I was, I wouldn't be broke and have horrendous anger issues, am I right? This really perked me up. I think between the anger and happiness, a little brain bubble exploded and I started to self-analyze. Yeah, I know, incredibly dangerous!

Driving home on Thursday, I realized that Monday, December 5, 2011, the day The Buzz was ripped off the air, was also the same day my father died. It was also his birthday. He would have been 111 years old. Now, I know that you're saying the death of a parent and the loss of a radio station cannot be the same. Apples to oranges and all that. Yes, you're right. But my father has been dead 51 years, even though there is sadness and pain, it has lessened greatly over the years. It will never go away. I was a child when he died, the sadness, anger and the question, “Why my daddy?”, was profound.

I think that the strength of the emotion caused by the radio station being taken away was mixed-up with the deep loss I still carry over the death of my father and that the day, his date of death/birthday and that I once again lost something I cared about and had no control over losing, was why I was so irrationally upset. Understanding that allowed me to let the inner volcano to settle down. For awhile.

(One of my favorite blogger, A Daft Scots Lass, has a picture of me at the concert up on her site.  I won her photo caption contest awhile ago.  She sent me her temporary tattoos and I wore it to The Bake Sale.)


Friday, December 2, 2011

Gimme Some Lovin'

Megan over at MEGAN'S CREATIVE BLOG is showing me some love today. Please go on over and show her some, too!  Thanks!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Yo! Ho! Ho! A Pirates Life for Me

Hello, everyone! Hope all my U.S. readers had a good Thanksgiving. I spent it with Mulder's family. They were thankful I didn't kill one of them and I was thankful for wine.

Doesn't it seem like we should have Hallowgivingmas? Maybe it's because I'm getting older but once Labor Day comes 'round, I feel like there's only a week that goes by and then it's Christmas. Am I right?

Speaking of Christmas (or your particular holiday), Babeland has got some fabulous gifts! I was lucky enough to receive an early gift from them! *squee!*  I've told you about the Pirates products before and how much I enjoy them. Well, they've got a new vibrator that is perfect for a stocking stuffer. The Pirates Hidden Pleasure Vibe is pretty enough for jewelry and it comes with it's own little treasure chest to keep it safe! Tuck the vibe in the chest and it can be displayed on a night table or dresser. Snooping party guests or mother-in-laws won't ever guess that the sweet little treasure chest holds something that gets you off! Since it has it's own case, it's also perfect for travel.

Both the vibe and the chest are made of hard plastic. The inside of the chest is molded to fit the vibe and covered in satin-like fabric. The Pirates Hidden Pleasure Vibe is 4 3/4” long by 1 1/8” diameter, tapering at the business end. The hard plastic makes it an easy clean. It contains no phthalates and is splash proof. The vibe takes one (1) AA battery, not included. It's got three speeds, easily adjustable with the push-button control on the bottom. The attractive decorative diamond ribbing makes the vibe easy to hold on to even with lubed hands. Since it's longer and wider than a bullet, it can be vaginally inserted but not deeply. I would not use this anally. I enjoyed letting the vibe rest between my labia on the middle setting for warm-up and really, really enjoyed the high setting on my clit! WOW! Merry Christmas to me!

I have several Pirates products and while I'm always attracted to them because of their uniqueness, I've never been disappointed by their performance. The Pirates Hidden Pleasure Vibe is available in pink, pearl or black/gold. Mine is, of course, black/gold 'cause it's got a skull on it!

If you're looking for a li'l sumpin, sumpin for your special someone (or yourself), go on over to Babeland. They've got tons of things for men and women. Babeland is also doing a gift guide that they update daily – BABELAND GIFT GUIDE.



(I was given a complimentary product in exchange for an honest review.)

Thursday, November 24, 2011

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!


We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.  

~Thornton Wilder


Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale at my Etsy shop ~
nitebyrd's nest

Use COUPON CODE ~ FRIENDS20
for 20% off anything in the shop!

Thank you!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Come On Get Happy!

There seems to be a lot of sadness and general angst in Blogland lately. I thought that I would maybe brighten things up a bit. Holidays are coming up and those prove stressful for most of us, even though they should be happy. So … I want you to look at some artwork that will make you feel good. Perhaps you'll even smile!

I was an art major in college and I consider myself “artistic”, not an expert, just inclined towards the creative.  I’ve studied all types of “art”, looked at butt-loads of “art” (NYC = lots and lots and lots of museums, galleries, etc.)  I also make my own “art” but rarely have I seen and now own, pieces of art that make me happy to look at.  If you read my blog on a regular basis, you know “happy” isn’t a familiar emotion for me. But c'mon, we all have to feel happiness a sometime to offset all the shitty emotions we feel, am I right?

Art should always evoke emotion.  Whether you like modern, traditional, sculpture, painting, mixed-media, stitching or tattoos, art should bring forth feelings from the viewer as the creation of the work did for the artist. I think Abby's artwork brings only the best emotions to the forefront.

This painting makes me HAPPY!
Abby is an artist that creates HAPPY! How amazing is that!?!

I was introduced to Abby (and her mom, Bonnie) on Etsy.  Abby is autistic.  She creates her artwork as a way to alleviate the stress that builds up and as a beautiful (happy!) way to express herself.  She sells her pieces on Etsy to have money to continue her therapy and education.  You can read all about Abby HERE.

The way Abby uses paper, buttons, paint and whatever, is JOYFUL! Her artwork makes me happy. Go take a look over at AIDFORABBY, Abby's Etsy shop and make yourself smile!

And now for some more happy stuff! I purchased a piece of Abby's art for a giveaway for y'all. Abby, being the doll she is, sent me another piece to add to the prize and now two of my fabulous readers will be lucky enough to own an original Abby! You'll always have a little bit of HAPPY! Around. Just leave a comment and at one point, I'll use Random. Org to pick two winners.

ABBY Giveaway 1

ABBY Giveaway 2

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Thank You.

Vietnam War Protest, November 15, 1969


There are 58,272 names of soldiers engraved on The Wall. This number is still growing.




We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.
  ~Cynthia Ozick



Back when I was in High School, I sent for a POW/MIA bracelet.  If you're around my age or older, you know what I'm talking about.  In doing research for this post, I found THE WALL site.  Please go visit this site. For those of us who lived through the turmoil of those years during the Vietnam War, this site is mandatory.  Also mandatory will be a trip to Washington, DC to actually pay my respects at The Wall.

I was able to find out information about Maj. MICHAEL OWENS MCELHANON, the soldier who's name is on my memorial bracelet.  Unfortunately, I must still keep my bracelet and keep hoping that now Col. McElhanon, will come home soon.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Mind Boggler

I was in the middle of writing a post, looking for a picture when I stumbled upon this ~ 


Any further logical thought was impossible as my brain fell out of my head.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

I Know It's Over but I Couldn't Resist ...


Monday, October 31, 2011

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Cyanide and Happiness, a daily webcomic

*** click to make bigger ***

Yeah, it's sick - but funny!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Believe It Or Not - Bank of America is Satan


Since October 2009, I've been trying to get Bank of America to modify my mortgage. Back in 2005 something happened that altered my life forever. I won't bore you with details but let me say that it financially, emotionally and mentally ruined me. What was done may not have been logical/smart but it was done with the best intentions.

I'm not asking Bank of America to give me a “bail-out”, I'm asking that they delete their late fees, tack the past due amount owed to the end of the mortgage and let me continue to make payments that I'm now able to make. Being that I'm a white woman, a natural born citizen of the United States of America, don't have a disability and have been working non-stop since I'm 16 years old, I don't qualify for any of the government hand-outs that some people living in my country have the benefit of receiving. If that last statement offends you, FUCK OFF! I'm pissed and I really don't give a flying fuck about being politically correct. TANGENT ALERT! A school in Portland, Oregon is banning Halloween costumes because, among other reasons, “... cultural differences among our families that we must respect.” Wearing costumes and trick-or-treating is an inherently American tradition but this principal (he's not the only one) is telling us we have to be aware of cultural differences regarding American traditions for immigrants living in America. Are you fucking kidding me!?!

Back to Bank of America. My modification file that I have approximately 5” thick, there have been 6 different “Loan Modification Managers” handling my account. I've got a canned response letter from Barack Obama in response to a letter I wrote him about my issues and I've got some, “Bank of America - Rocks!” responses from the United States Department of Treasury, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency – helpwithmybank.gov. The latest manager handling my account is Stephanie Atkins Williams. She wrote me a letter, dated October 7, 2011 (this is the only correspondence I've received from Bank of America in months), kindly giving me her phone number to call her, “as soon as possible” to discuss my options. I called Stephanie Atkins Williams several times since receiving the letter only to get her voice mail that assured me after I left a message she'd get back to me in 24 hours. She never did.

Yesterday, I spoke to a homeowners insurance agent trying to lower the premium I pay through my mortgage escrow account. Not being sure that Bank of America would pay this due to the ongoing problems, the agent suggested I call them. I called Bank of America at their main customer service number. After giving my information, I was transferred to my “Account Manager”. Guess who answered the phone on the first ring? You got it, Stephanie Atkins Williams! I told Steph that while I had her on the phone, perhaps we could go over the letter she wrote me. Once again, I gave Stephanie Atkins Williams my info – account number, etc. This is the conversation that followed:

Stephanie Atkins Williams (SAW) ~ I'm sorry, I can't discuss your account with you.

nitebyrd ~ Why not? You sent me a letter to call you about my account.

SAW ~ We've assigned an Advocate to your account.

nitebyrd ~ Okay. Please transfer me to the advocate.

SAW ~ I'm sorry, I can't give you to the advocate.

nitebyrd ~ Well, give me their name and number and I'll call them direct.

SAW ~ I can't give you their name.

nitebyrd, (after a moment of mystified silence) ~ Let me get this straight. You wrote me a letter stating you are my Account Manager asking me to call you to discuss my account but now you can't talk to me about my account because Bank of America has assigned an Advocate to my account but you can't give me the name of the Advocate that is handling my account?

SAW ~ That's right.

nitebyrd ~ How am I supposed to find out who the Advocate is?

SAW ~ They should have contacted you.

nitebyrd ~ They haven't. Only you've contacted me.

SAW ~ I'm sorry, there's really nothing I can do.

My next call was to a lawyer.

Do you think this blog might incense Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, even more? Poor baby!


Monday, October 24, 2011

Hair ...

Sunday, October 16, 2011

I may have to buy an iPhone and I got interviewed!

Random girl from ... IT'S ON RANDOM, interviewed me for her blog. Go over and show this zombie mama some love, 'K?

And now you can watch this ...


Thursday, October 13, 2011

Death

For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity.
 ~William Penn
Susan, my co-worker who had a stroke last September, has died. 

Please send some comforting thoughts this way, her family will need them.  Thank you.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Blogiversary!

Thanks to everyone that participate in this last BOOBIE-THON.

Monday, October 10th, will be my 4 year blog anniversary!  I know I've only been half-assed blogging for the past couple of months but hope springs eternal that I'll get fired up soon and post the stuff that's been rattling around in my brain for awhile.

Since I won't be around much from Friday-Monday, I'm posting this today.  The reason I'll be busy this weekend is that a friend I haven't seen in over 20 years is coming down for a visit.  This is a very special friend that I've known since my middle-school days.  We've kept in touch on and off over the years but recently we connected on (ugh!) Facebook.  She sent me a letter that touched my withered heart deeply telling me that I was one of five people that changed her life.  I cannot fathom that I made a difference, a huge difference, in anyones life but she wrote it so it must be true.

Since it's October, my favorite time of year 'cause, you know - HALLOWEEN!  and because my birthday was last month (OMFG! I'm 58!!!!) I want to give someone a prize.  Leave a comment and when I get around to it, I'll use Random.org to pick a number and I'll send one of you a little something.  You know it'll be a bit weird because that's how I roll!

First Blog Picture I Ever Posted

Friday, September 30, 2011

Everyday Zombies!

Zombies have become very popular lately. AMC's “The Walking Dead” has really pumped up zombies Q-rating. Zombies have been around in stories, books and film for a very long time. While zombies aren't as romantic as vampires, they do have their own certain attraction. I've always felt that becoming a zombie was more attainable than becoming a vampire. Ask any person that's a parent. They'll tell you exactly what being a zombie is like.

Right after the amazement of creating a human being wears off, you realize that you're going through a metamorphosis and the life you knew is slowly becoming unrecognizable – as are you! Babies don't sleep. This trend continues right through to teenage years when they sleep all day and stay up all night. (My theory is that vampires are based on teenagers.) Do you know what sleep deprivation does to your brain? It envelopes it in a thick fog like substance so that even remembering to change your underwear becomes monumental task.

The brain vanishing continues as you spend days, weeks and months with your child watching things like Yo Gabba Gabba (this even sounds like zombie noises!), Dora the Explorer, Sesame Street; without adult interaction or beer. You start to loose verbal skills. You tend to babble unintelligibly. This frustrating inability to speak also continues as your baby grows. Have you ever seen and/or heard a parent standing over a screaming, heel-kicking, floor-banging tantrum throwing toddler trying not to scream at the top of their lungs, “FUCKING SHUT THE FUCK UP!”?
You really can't let loose and swear like a drunken sailor in front of your child no matter how unreasonable they're being. So the parent gurgles and gasps swallowing those nasty words as their eyes start to bulge and spittle sprays as they desperately try to hold down the anger and reason with the little monster darling. That's zombie behavior right there. And have you seen all the stuff you need to tote around when you have a baby? Car seat, baby carrier, stroller, thing you put in the baby carrier to keep the baby's head straight, thing to put in the shopping cart so you don't get germs on the baby, diapers, baby wipes, disinfectant, butt paste, wipes to get baby puke off of you, boogie wipes, bottles, make-my-baby-a-genius educational toys – it goes on and on and on. Parents look like pack mules going over the High Sierras. No wonder they all have back problems and touchy sciatic nerves causing them to lurch around like zombies!
Having children will transform you forever. That's scary, right? Probably scarier than the flesh-eating zombies from “Night of The Living Dead”. And you know what? Kids are even proud of turning you into a zombie. Check these items out by Howdygal. I'm a parent so I know of what I speak. My children are grown but once a zombie, always a zombie. It was because of my own zombiedom that I was able to see it in others.


Someday take the time to watch parents of young children leave a theme park, carnival, fair, etc. after a long day with the ankle-biters. Their eyes are blank, they move with slow, uneven steps, they're dirty – covered in ice cream, cotton candy, hot dog, yogurt and soy milk and probably vomit. They are usually pushing or dragging children, oblivious to the screams and tears being shed. Those parents know exactly why some animals eat their young. They have become ZOMBIES! Those poor, pitiful parents became the inspiration for my Zombie Mommie dolls. Just because I'm a zombie doesn't mean I lost my sense of humor along with my brain!

Zombie Mommies by nitebyrd

There are other types of everyday, semi-scary zombies beside the I'm-A-Parent Zombie. This is why I think that zombies are much more relevant than vampires. You undoubtedly know some, the Soul-Sucking-Dead-End-Job Zombie and the Depression Zombie. I actually am both of those type zombies, too. But those are stories for another time.

The Zombie Mommies in the picture have all gone to their final un-resting places.  I'm resurrecting some more right now.  Keep checking my Etsy shop!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I'd like to thank Sharon from GHOST HUNTING THEORIES for sponsoring this Blog Walk. I hope y'all will take some time to visit the other blogs that are participating. Show 'em some zombie love, 'K?



Thursday, September 29, 2011

BOOBIE-THON 2011

It's that time again, folks!  Bare your boobs and moobs for The 10th Annual BOOBIETHON

Pictures are being accepted now as are DONATIONS!!!!  I'm a volunteer editor. (Srsly, who wouldn't volunteer to edit pictures of gorgeous breasts for a fantastic cause?)

Please, join in. 'K?

Monday, September 12, 2011

Let The Madness Begin!





Be back on Friday! Well, typical of my life - come home to a shit storm. I'll be around but don't know when I'll crank out a post.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Ten Years

The deep pain that is felt at the death of every friendly soul arises from the feeling that there is in every individual something which is inexpressible, peculiar to him alone, and is, therefore, absolutely and irretrievably lost.  
 ~Arthur Schopenhauer


Monday, September 5, 2011

Back ... briefly!

Hi. How y'all doin'? Good? That's great. It's been awhile, hasn't it?

Let's see, what have I been doing?

I went up to Orlando to visit with my oldest nephew and his family. It was awesome to see him, his wife, their son (my GREAT-Nephew!) who is 20 years old and handsome as all get out. Having a 20 year old great-nephew makes me feel as old as freakin' Methuselah, but it doesn't stop there, my great-niece is 16 years old and she is absolutely GORGEOUS! I haven't seen them in 10 years. It was so amazing to see them all. We had a good visit and a wonderful dinner with copious amounts of alcohol. My niece and her husband were also there with their 6 year old son. My nephew-in-law is of Asian descent. My niece is Irish/Scandinavian. Their son is so freakin' cute that I'm convinced that is the best mix in the great melting pot of the universe. He's a sweetie, too. After many plan changes, we ended up at a fantastic restaurant, not in Universal and then went to Dave & Buster's. D&B was fun but I do believe I've suffered additional hearing loss. The place was too fucking LOUD!

We had a great time and I hope it won't be another ten years before I see my nephew and his family again. I also hope we'll have more time together when we meet up again.

I also listed a shitload of stuff at my Etsy shop and on eBay. I'm lookin' to get rich $5.00+ at a pop!

I might have mentioned before that I do CrossFit. It's a very intense form of exercise, mobility training, strength training and weight training combined with mental and nutritional conditioning. People that know about CrossFit wonder why in the hell a 57 year old woman who hasn't exercised in about 40 years would want to get involved in a form of physical activity that is like pushing a truck tire up a hill. With the truck still attached. With the emergency brake on. People that don't know about it wonder the same thing after I tell them what it is. The reason I do it? I like it. I don't LOVE it and haven't gotten to the point where I look forward to Box days but I'm workin' on it. One day, in the future, I'll have guns like The Rock and will be able to crack walnuts with my thoroughly toned, shapely thighs. You'll be jealous.

The nutritional part can be a bitch. Many of the folks in the Box (that's what the place is called where we go to torture ourselves) are full-on, balls-out Paleo Diet enthusiasts. Me, not so much. I need bread and pasta and some milk in my coffee but I do want to eat healthier and make better nutritional decisions. Protein is essential for maintaining muscle. I did some research regarding hydration and nutrition before and after exercise, let me tell you there's a bunch of stuff out there on it. Most of it is boring as hell and I'm not going to put you to sleep after all this time of not being here! Bottom line is, I wanted to be able to eat something that tastes really good, is good for me and helps my body. What I found, through BLOGGERDISE, is SUPREME PROTEIN.
I contacted them for a sample to review here, what I was sent was three whole boxes of these scrumptious protein bars! I handed out some to a couple of the non-Paleo dieters at the Box, my daughter who's training for a marathon, my niece that visits the gym almost every day and a gym-rat at work. The overwhelming consensus is that these are the BEST protein bars they've ever tasted. I agree. My niece thinks the Peanut Butter & Jelly needs a bit more peanut butter but she's hard to please.

No matter what the Mars Candy Company tells you, Snickers, is NOT going to help you lose weight, maintain muscle, or make you leap tall buildings in a single bound. Snickers is candy – lot's 'o sugar around a few nuts. Try Supreme Protein's Peanut Butter Pretzel Twist and you'll never look at “healthy food” the same way. DELICIOUS! And jam-packed with vitamins, minerals and other great stuff.

I was sent the 1.75 oz (there are two sizes 1.75 oz and 3 oz) Peanut Butter Pretzel Twist, Caramel Nut Chocolate (you won't want another Snickers, ever!) and Peanut Butter & Jelly flavors. Each one is yummy, only about 200 calories, contains 15 grams of protein (whey isolate is the primary source) and zero Trans-Fat. I've eaten one a couple of days when I had no time for lunch. I felt satisfied and didn't crave more food until dinner. I also have eaten one after working out the last couple of times and do not have that shaky, weak feeling that I've gotten after a particularly hard WOD (workout of the day). Look at me with all the lingo!

I can't encourage you enough to try SUPREME PROTEIN bars. They are delicious, good for you and do not have that, “Imma gonna be chewing this thing forever!” that you get with a lot of protein bars. SUPREME PROTEIN bars are available at 7-11 stores, WalMart, Target, GNC, etc. Check their website for all retailers or you can order directly from Supreme Protein. You'll thank me. Go "Like" 'em on their FACEBOOK page, too!

(I did not receive compensation for this review. I did receive product in exchange for an honest review.)

Next week me and Mulder are off on a road-trip to North Carolina for a concert. I promise to write all about it and not take forever to do it!

Bloggerdise™ - Where business and blogs take flight

Friday, August 19, 2011

Off


After several weekends of birthdays and other celebrations, I thought that I'd have this weekend free to do some writing.  I've got bits and pieces of posts all over the place that desperately need to be made whole.  But ... the best laid plans of mice and men ... A call from my niece Tuesday has got Mulder and me packing up to go to Orlando this weekend to see her and her family and my nephew and his family.  I haven't seen my oldest nephew in 10 years so I figured the writing can wait right along with the laundry.  We'll be having some Hurricanes at Pat O'Briens and maybe a few margaritas at Margaritaville. 

Y'all won't mind waiting for some actual posts for a little longer, right?

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Mommy Dearest

Approximately 18 years old
In 1928 my mother was 20 years old. Apparently she was “The Bees Knees” or in 21st century terms, she was “smokin' hot!” By this age, she'd been divorced from a man that believed in open marriage but failed to let her in on it. She had returned home to live with my grandparents and my aunts and uncle.

From what my half-sister has told me, my mother was quite a “party girl”. She also was very vain and self-absorbed, this according to my youngest aunt. Before my aunt died she passed along this tidbit to my sister. I never considered my mother's always being dressed well, wearing make-up and having her hair done, as vain. I thought she took pride in her appearance as she was a working mother. The self-absorbed part, I understood. Upon hearing that my mother enjoyed fun and was always up for a good time when she was younger definitely puzzled me as I only knew her as dour and needy.

My mother told me a story once about when she was in the early days of dating my father. Tequila was recently introduced to the wild children of New York. My mother and father were at a party enjoying the benefits of the juice of the blue agave to the max. She was sitting on a couch with one leg tucked up underneath her. As the tequila took hold of the party goers, my mother needed to pee. She made an attempt to rise but realized she had lost her leg! Looking down and seeing only one leg, the logical tequila conclusion was the other leg had departed for parts unknown. She announced to the soused group that her leg had gone missing. Her friends, being ever helpful, began a search. Apparently the searching lasted several minutes before a less intoxicated member of the group suggested she look under her skirt. Hilarity ensued when the missing leg was found.

My kids adore this story. I laugh when I re-tell it but still have difficulty in seeing this drunk, happy, silly, care-free woman as the mother I knew.
My maternal grandparents had emigrated from Scotland between 1902 and 1906. They had lost four children to a measles epidemic in Scotland and decided to leave their motherland for the golden streets of New York, New York, United States of America. My grandfather came first. His name was so common that I cannot find him on the Ellis Island documents. I was able to find my grandmother along with three of my aunts. They arrived at Ellis Island in 1906 with the grand sum of $36.00 USD and were released to my grandfather. In America they produced three more daughters and a son along with several miscarriages and a still birth. My grandfather was a master carpenter, an alcoholic and a union supporter. My grandmother was a homemaker and did piecework sewing for extra money.

By 1938 my mother was a widow with a four year-old daughter. She'd been through a World War, The Great Depression, a second marriage, pregnancy, the untimely and unnecessary death of her husband and had moved back home to her parents and siblings with my half- sister in tow. She'd also begun working at The New York Telephone Company as a switchboard operator. This was a career path she followed until she retired in 1978.

The reason I started down this pot-hole filled memory lane was a recent conversation I had with my kids. They were talking about family Christmases and how great they were when they were growing up. With my family in New York and Mulder's family 1.5 hours away, when my kids were young, we stayed home for Christmas. Our next door neighbors were close friends. Herman and Sheila were older than us, had three teenage sons and were a really nice family. They were also Jewish but were totally in love with all things Christmas. They all would come over for the traditional Christmas Eve and Christmas day dinner and festivities. We all had a fantastic time every year. We'd also celebrate Passover with them as well as birthdays, anniversary’s, etc. My children have fond memories of “family” (yes – Herman, Sheila and their boys are family!) Christmases when they were young. Me, not so much.

I have no memories of any “family” Christmas, Easter, and/or Thanksgiving celebrations. Wait! I lie! I do have a memory of going to someone's home one Easter. I was wearing an extremely scratchy white blouse and a pink wool suit. We got stuck on the Long Island Expressway for hours on the unusually warm Easter Sunday and I ended up arriving at whoever house it was in my underpants and undershirt with my lacy socks and patent leather maryjanes. So, no. Not any happy memories of any “family” holidays.

There are also no memories of my mother cooking anything wonderful. No family recipes passed down or some special tradition that I could pass along to my children. There are no pictures of me, my mother, my sister, her husband, my nephews, my niece or any relatives around the dinner table or at the Christmas tree. Although my aunts and many of my cousins were much older than me and my nephew, several were around our ages. Never saw them at holidays nor saw them much at all. I have memories of of getting gifts and seeing Santa at the department stores. Memories of me and my oldest nephew at the tree. But no memories of any “family” celebrations. Odd and rather sad, don't you think?

What I'm telling you here are my memories, they are the truth as I see it. I'm going to continue on with posts like this because I'm hoping that by digging into my past, I'll improve my present and future.