Category Archives: gary

June 20, 2009 · 10:43 pm

Back in the Attic

Me: Gary, can you go into the attic and get Jana’s husband?

Gary: WHAT?!!

Me: That backrest pillow, they call it a husband. (no I do not have some guy up there waiting for the day when my daughter is ready to marry. We do not save anything with a heartbeat. At least not intentionally).

Gary: Oooh, the attic? (eyes glistening) Sure thing!

For those who read the last attic post you will remember we have a tendency to save EVERYTHING and that attic is a scary place. Gary now jumps at the chance to go up there and throw stuff down to get rid of. At least today I was not called a crazy old hag.

This week he found the box to the activity rocker. Yeh, it was from my kids. And here they are holding the box. What, 15 years is too long to save that? Do they even make these things anymore or have they deemed them unsafe and likely to cause brain damage like everything else my kids played with?

activity-rocker

I would also like to mention that he found an Apple llci up there. Yes, this baby was my first color mac. This sucker came with a whopping  80MB hard drive (note I said MB not GB) When did that come out, you ask? September 1989, 5 months after Jana was born!

Hey, at least I did not have her ‘husband’ up there for that long!

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On another note, would you be so kind as to vote for my blog buddy blondemomblog as the best local blog/nashville because she is really cool and I would love to see her win. Click here and vote.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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June 15, 2009 · 10:38 pm

Time to Cry Tuesday – Family Movie Night

family-movie-night

Countdown to the kids leaving for the summer. When they were younger this was the 10-day period when I was both anxious about them going and elated to have 7 1/2 weeks of adult time and freedom from schedules. (except for work, but doing only one job was like a vacation).

This is the eighth summer that they will both be away. People used to ask us, “what do you do all summer without your kids?” and our response would be, “whatever the hell we want!”

Now that they are older, the thrill of having all that time to ourselves is tempered with the fact that during the year we pretty much do whatever the hell we want! And truthfully, our first choice of social companions at this stage of our lives are the kids themselves.

At almost 17 and 20 they are truly fun to be with. They throw us a bone now and then and agree to hang out, especially if we are paying.

Last night was Family Movie Night (yes on a Monday!) Infants that we all are, we decided to go see The Hangover –  a fine example of good parenting, I might add.

Sitting in the movie theater, with the glow of the screen illuminating what are now the grown up faces of our offspring, I could not help but flashback to their little faces watching the insufferable kids’ movies we used to take them to. Invariably there was always a kid that puked in the next row.

This time the puking remained on screen.

I glanced at Gary and could read his mind. He gave me that misty-eyed Gary face that said: remember when they used to sit on our laps? Remember how his fuzzy little head felt under your chin? Remember how her hair smelled? How one of them ALWAYS had to go to the bathroom at the best part of the movie? When we were sitting in the middle of a row. Next to a very cranky family with a really big tub of popcorn.

Last night, the sound of their laughter, the feeling of being this family unit – one that we do not get to have often – THIS is what it is all about.

For real.

The news, the distractions, the daily grind; they all melt away at times like these when we realize what we have built. These small moments that could burst through the walls if they got any bigger. In a world where there are no answers, I have found mine right under my nose.

In my family.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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Filed under danny, family, gary, Jana, relationships, Time to Cry Tuesdays

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June 14, 2009 · 8:55 pm

If the hag fits, wear it!

attic

Let me preface this with the fact that I have lived in my house for 20 years this month and my attic is, well, let me say where we keep EVERYTHING! Skeletons, portraits – ok, those are not so subtle proverbial examples – but truthfully I have a playpen up there and my youngest is taking his road test this Friday.

When the central air conditioning guys come for maintenance I win the award for the scariest attic. “M’aam (I hate when they call me that) you have a lovely, well-kept home but your attic is a horror show.”

This weekend Gary went up to the attic and passed down the camp trunks and duffles to Danny. I stood at the bottom of the steps bossing them both around because that is what I do.

After the camp crap beloved camp items were dragged down to the living room, I heard Gary banging around in the attic. There could be nothing good about this. Let me explain that when Gary gets a burst of homeowner energy I know there will invariably be something else that catches his attention in the middle and the task will go unfinished. His intentions are honorable but his desire to close is simply not there. At this very moment I was rather annoyed that after 20 years of recklessly filling the attic with useless crap he chose 4 days before the camp trunks were being picked up to clean it.

Me: What are you doing up there?

Gary: Leave me the hell alone, you crazy old hag.

I am not sure why this struck us both so funny, but at the same moment we both started cracking up. And there was poor Danny, standing on the landing between us in a bewildered state.

Danny: I will never get the two of you.

Seriously, Gary was lucky I was in a good mood. That comment could have ended badly if I were in a hormonal rage.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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May 10, 2009 · 8:02 pm

Will you marry me? (Jordan Feil proposes to Heather Goodman in the NYT!)

Jordan-Feil-proposes-Heather-Goodman

Here is something you may not know about me. I am a rabid reader of the Sunday Styles section in the NYT. It is kind of funny for a woman who cares little about fashion and certainly does not fall into the category of a traditionalist.

But the Vows column always gets me. I love to read the stories of the featured wedding. And of course the other couplings always entertain me. ‘The bride is completing her second PhD. in clinical canine psychotherapy (the first being in neonatal brain patterning) while training for a marathon and chairing this year’s most prestigious charity event. Her husband is a hedge fund manager, brain surgeon, olympic medalist who makes jewelry in his spare time and created her engagement ring. All four of their parents are Nobel Prize winners!”

Seriously, don’t any waitresses marry any auto mechanics in New York?

Today, as I finished reading this section I came across the proposal above in the bottom right corner of the page. Yes, ladies and gents, it would appear that Jordan Feil has popped the question to Heather Goodman in the NYT today! I am on pins and needles for her reply. I googled them and so far nothing. How will I find out if she says yes? Heather, please, I beg of you, throw me a comment here.

In case you are wondering, no I have no idea who these people are. But I am a hopeless romantic and I love the whole idea of this. That is if she says yes, of course. If it is a no good old Jordan will be needing a drinking buddy.

This particular proposal gets me all misty-eyed as it falls on the eve of my wedding anniversary. Yes, ladies and gents, May 11th is the magical date that Gary agreed to put up with this crazy bee-otch, in sickness and health, till death do us part. (hoping there is no meat cleaver hiding under the bed, I have been unusually cranky lately with headaches and a sore throat – a terrible patient)

Happy Anniversary Gary! To the man who is always up for any adventure, may you never lose your love of life and spontaneous nature. You are always a good sport and ready to jump into whatever antics I ask you to partake in. Thanks for always being there (especially when there is a dead mouse in the dog food) but mostly for loving me…

no matter what.

More than life itself, baby!

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog.

For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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May 8, 2009 · 5:15 pm

Would you like a side of mouse with that?

Ewww. EWWWWWW! EEEEEEEWWWWWWWW!!!

This is how my day started. Lying in bed I actually heard the dog’s stomach rumbling. That would be the same dog that Danny forgot to feed last night. Feeling bad for her I got up, brushed my teeth and went downstairs to feed her.

Before I even made coffee!! (I am such a good mother)

Picture this:

1. Open door to garage.

2. Lift (unsecured lid) off the ‘rodent-proof’ dog food container.

3. Reach for a really big scoopful of dog food cuz I felt bad for the starving dog.

That is when it happened. I lifted up the cute dog-faced blue scooper filled with dog food and…

Dead Mouse with Feet to the Skystuck into the kibble – head first mind you – with his little mouse butt and rigamortis tail and feet jutting out, was the deadest mouse I had ever seen. Of course I threw the scooper back into the container but was not exactly sure that the mouse landed back in there.

(I would like make a side comment that I am not your typical girly girl. Bugs do not bother me. Live rodents are a nuisance but I don’t freak when I see them. Slugs, hmmm, I hate these too. If you are a long time reader you will remember the last time I was really grossed out by something).

So I did what any self respecting, independent, fearless, i-can-handle-anything (but a dead mouse in the dog food) type woman would do. I stormed upstairs, woke Gary out of a dead sleep and demanded that he de-mouse the garage immediately. His protestations were short-lived as he could see I was not going to wait another minute. (yes, living with me IS paradise).

I will not describe his de-mousing outfit because that would make me seem ungrateful for the fact that he not only threw out the food AND the mouse but washed the container. This was because he ascertained that we had us, in fact, some ‘fresh mouse’ as there were droppings in there. This sucker had one last big ole meal, took a crap or two and expired in the depths of the kibble.

The fact that he wanted to still feed the food to the dog was a bit concerning, but again, I don’t want to criticize and appear ungrateful.

For now on when we feed the dog, the desire to ask, ‘Do you want a side of mouse with that?’ will be very tempting.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog.

For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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April 29, 2009 · 10:11 pm

Flesh Eating Zombies

flesh_eating_zombies

No, I am not talking about an upcoming family reunion. Families can eat your heart out but flesh? No can do.

There is a never ending supply of toys that entertain me. This was something that Gary really wanted for his office but was afraid it was too large. If only there was a mini-version.

Although the Evolving Darwin playset is still my fave (I think the fishman won my heart) this one is a close second. The dog zombie is wonderful, he even has his own blood spatters like the rest of them. The business man zombie looks a lot like the people walking down the street after they get off the commuter train in my town.

Best part?

Glow in the dark, of course.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog.

For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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April 18, 2009 · 6:28 pm

Oh, honey

honey_head

Anyone who has ever shared a meal with my husband is accustomed to the familiar, “Tea please. Earl Grey. With honey.”

Everywhere. He could be at a diner in Manchester, Tennessee with Dr. Jimmy and he will just assume that they will be able to accommodate his needs.

So, when we happened upon this jovial honey vendor with the very creative hive hat at the fabulous Dane County Farmers’ Market on opening day, it only seemed fitting to ask if he would pose with Gary. (Gary is such a good sport. Actually, I think he loves this shit). I little plug for Marsden’s Pure Honey since this honey man was so willing to allow us to take his picture.

Of course we purchased a pack of honey sticks so I could carry them in my bag in the event that a restaurant does not have honey.

Always fun when you dine with us.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog.

For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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