New Blog

Hi!  I'm not even sure who looks at this blog anymore but figured it wouldn't hurt to throw this out there.  I've started a new blog to capture all of my creative endeavors.  Feel free to check it out if you like:  www.gabbysews.blogspot.com.

Thanks!!

A New Tradition?

Ok...so I’ve never been one to really celebrate New Year’s. I’d even go so far to admit to you all that I’ve only been awake at the stroke of midnight maybe 10 or 12 times in my life and none of those times have actually occurred in the recent past. I did actually go to a party last year but I was home and in bed snoring by 10. Now that I am building a new life for myself I thought it might be fun to see how other people celebrate the new year and maybe find a new tradition of my own. I did a quick search on Google (have I mentioned I totally heart Google?) and this is what I found according to www.gadlings.com:

South America - in countries like Brazil and Bolivia, it's what's inside that counts. Residents in cities such as Sao Paulo and La Paz ring in the New Year by donning brightly colored underpants. Those who choose red are hoping for an amorous year ahead, those with yellow wish for money. I guess this begs the question of how you tell who is wearing what color underwear. Perhaps that is best left unanswered...

So what do you think it means if I wear these?

Denmark - as if the effects of plentiful New Year's alcohol were not disorienting enough, many Danish revelers leap off chairs at the stroke of midnight, hoping to banish bad spirits in the year ahead.

Nope...no way...nada...we know what happens when I stand on chairs: http://wingsaway.blogspot.com/2008/05/dont-shake-wobbly-chair.html

Philippines - New Year's celebrations in places like Manila tend to be circular; Filipinos focus on all things round, consuming "round" fruits such as grapes and wearing clothing with round shapes like polka dots. The spherical theme is meant to remind celebrants of the "round" shape of coins and prosperity.

These are round, right?

Spain - at the stroke of 12, Spaniards begin to consume 12 grapes, attempting to eat the whole bunch by the time the clock stops chiming.

I could so do that! Having a big mouth is good for something I always say!!

(Nope..that's not me..I just thought that was a hilarious picture. How much you wanna bet this poor girl is wishing she would have never taken that trip to the vineyard?)

Belarus - the new year in Belarus is all about getting hitched. Unmarried women compete at games of skill and chance to determine who will tie the knot in the coming months. One game involves setting piles of corn and a rooster before the potential brides-to-be whichever pile the bird chooses apparently picks the lucky lady.

Uh, I think I'll pass on letting some crazed rooster peck stuff in front of me.

(Yes...I did meet this rooster and take his picture. He was nuts!! Scared the feathers right off me - well...if I would have been wearing feathers, that totally would have happened.)

Once I really think things through I think I’ll stick with my old stand-by of trying to stay up to see the ball drop in NYC while attempting to figure out how old Dick Clark really is. He’s still on, right? I told you it’s been a while.

Tiny Theater Thursday - Saturday Edition

I heard this group on the radio today. They are amazing and I just had to post this for you all. Enjoy and Merry Christmas everyone!

What a difference!

So...remember the backyard from the video of Peanut? Well....this is what it looks like today! Ugh!!!

SwimBoy has the 4WD pickup truck so he's ventured out to work but I'm staying home and working at the kitchen table. Luckily I have more than enough work with me to keep me busy!!

I also have some sewing projects to work on when my office work is done so I doubt I'll get bored being stuck inside. But...this better not last much longer or I will have to bundle up like the kid in The Christmas Story and find my way to the coffee shop - I am missing my chai something awful!

Peanut and the Big Stick

While cleaning up the leaves before the snow starts to fly, Peanut found a big stick and he and SwimBoy had a good time!

A Sad Goodbye

At 12:45 pm yesterday CarGuy lost his battle with Leukemia. SwimBoy and I were right there with him and he was in his own home as he wished. He fought a hard battle against this insidious disease suffering through many rounds of chemo, a bone marrow transplant, and additional chemo when the cancer returned. He will be missed but never forgotten.

He who has gone, so we but cherish his memory, abides with us,
more potent, nay, more present than the living man.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Tiny Theater Thursday

This is an awesome video! This guy is really talented and it's amazing how he filmed the video. This must have taken a lot of time!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gTqc5U8lx4

Unfortunately I am having issues with youtube lately and the embed codes are not working so you'll have to click the link to go see the video. It's worth it though...I promise!!

Tiny Theater Thursdays

SwimBoy turned me on to this - it's pretty cool!

Tiny Theater Thursday

A friend shared this with me -- this would be so humiliating!!

A funny thing happened on the way to the art show...

This weekend I went to this big sculpture show. Amazing pieces and really nice people (well, mostly). Ok…I gotta deviate and tell you about the mean lady. I have a friend who is totally into art but he couldn’t come to the show so I planned to take lots of pictures of the pieces and e-mail them to him. So, I’m walking around with my so professional looking Kodak Easyshare Point and Shoot camera from Wal-mart. I’m snapping pictures and the artists seem so pleased that someone likes their stuff enough to take a picture of it. I came to this one display of these strange little figurines doing yoga poses. I actually thought it was kind of creepy but intriguing at the same time. I snapped a quick picture and the artist said to me, “you should ask before you take a picture.” I apologized and asked her if she would like me to delete the picture. She said she did and that she is tired of people stealing her ideas. I thought to myself not only am I not stealing your ideas but I can’t imagine who would want to. And…if I had money to spend here, it would not be on your creepy little lumps. My girlfriend, Bee, was with me and she was appalled at how the woman acted. But don’t worry we verbally berated her to each other the rest of the afternoon – I’m sure her life will be deeply saddened that she can’t count us as fans of her work! ;-)

So back to the subject of this post…if I were normal, I would be showing you my favorite pieces but come on, admit it, we all know I am not exactly normal. I could show you art that inspires you and makes you want to be a better person. I could even show you works that bring back memories of a special time. But, instead, here is what you get…



Yep…that is a tooth whitening stand. I know, I said the same thing. Exactly who goes to an art show to get their teeth whitened? And this wasn’t just your run of the mill put this nasty gel stuff on your teeth for 20 minutes kind of place. This place had the chairs and the lights and everything. Maybe I’m just weird but sitting in a chair with my lips stretched in an unnatural way and a bright blue light shining in my face is not something I plan to do in full view of the public. I’m just sayin’….

Flying Birds

Well…one of the times a mother hates to see has come my way. SwimBoy has now moved out on his own. He rented a small 2 bedroom apartment in a 1939 home that has been converted into a tri-plex. He applied last week and needed me to co-sign for him. He was a nervous wreck the whole weekend but I kept reassuring him that there would not be a problem. He started packing his things over the weekend and moving them into the garage. It was so sad to see the little gifts he would leave in front of my bedroom door as he was cleaning things out. Just a few of the treasures he left me were certificates he received in swimming in middle school, a painting he did in 5th grade, and his cub scout shirts. I told him I would hang on to those things for him and that when he wanted them back just to let me know. All that is left in his room now is a tub of legos which I’m actually surprised he didn’t take with him. Everyone needs a tub of legos…right?

The call came on Monday that he got the apartment and that he could get his keys on Tuesday afternoon. See…I told him so but don’t worry I didn’t say it. By the time I made it over to his apartment on Tuesday evening around 6 he had all his things moved in and was putting them away. I remember when I first moved away from home. Everything I owned fit in my little 1972 Toyota Corolla with some room to spare even! Sometimes it seems like that was just yesterday and other times (like today) it feels like it was hundreds of years ago. I can still remember the excitement I felt at flexing my wings and going off on my great adventure.

But back to SwimBoy….it’s a cute little apartment with arched doorways and curved ceilings. The appliances are a little dated but given his propensity to cook that won’t be much of a problem. Although…he showed me his wish list last night and it included a cook book on it! All you other moms out there know which cook book he needs and I’m going to go pick up that little red and white checked gem at Barnes & Noble for him. He has blinds on all his windows but he’s asked me to help him put some curtains up. I’m so glad that he’s asking me for my help. I think it will be fun to watch his style emerge. I’ve already noticed that he seems to like black furniture. He painted his dresser and bookcase black before he moved and purchased a black futon for his living room from his new neighbor.

So far the hardest part has been seeing his room empty. This is the first time in over 19 years there hasn’t been a bed for him in my home. He was always pretty quiet in the house so sometimes it was hard to tell if he was there so it’s not noise I am missing. I have to admit I am looking forward to the decrease in dirty dishes and not finding his stinky socks all over the place. I figure my grocery bill will go down a bit too and that will definitely be a welcome side effect! But overall I will miss him more than I will welcome these little perks.

You spend so much of your life nurturing your small child and trying to give him what he needs in order to be a fully functioning member of society. It’s sort of hard to turn that off when your job is done. However, I refuse to become that mother who continues to meddle in their child’s life after they set out on their own. I will not be just stopping by (he only lives about 2 miles away now) and I will not be calling him everyday to see what he’s doing. It will be a struggle to cut those strings but cut I must. Does anyone have some handy-dandy, non-painful, ever-sharp, user-friendly apron string scissors just lying around that I could borrow? I’d be ever so appreciative and would remain your best friend forever!

Tiny Theater Thursday

Yet another reason not to kayak on the ocean...as if I needed another one. Aren't boats supposed to come with a karaoke bar, 3 pools, and a casino?

Tiny Theater Thursday

Ok...now don't have a heart attack on me but yes, this is truly a Tiny Theater Thursday! Enjoy!

Long time no blog

Hi all! I'm so sorry I've been MIA. Things have been crazy and like I said before I've been writing but just not anything that is fit for human consumption. Hopefully I will soon emerge from this place and begin doing stupid things that I come and tell you all about or find fun little videos for you to watch or tell you about a product that you just can't live without or maybe just come over to tell you how much I love you all -- which I do by the way!! In the meantime, thanks for all your well wishes and prayers. I really do cherish them. Please be praying for me today as I file the legal papers with the court to begin my new life. I know without a doubt that I am doing the right thing but that doesn't make it any easier.

Big hugs to you all!!

Times they are a-changing

I’m sure you all thought I fell off the face of the earth. Well…not exactly but my world has changed a bit. I’m not sure how to put this so I’m just going to say it simply – CarGuy and I are separated. It’s been a long time coming and I think it will be best for both of us. I’ll admit the timing was pretty horrible but when things like this happen you cannot control much about it. We are still in the same house but as soon as he doesn’t require my help with his health care then we will work on other arrangements. Until then, it is what it is – that’s my new mantra. We are living pretty separately right now but I’m there to help him with the few things he still needs help with and I take him down to Denver for his appointments twice a week. He’s doing really well – at his last bone marrow biopsy he was showing 100% donor cells and no cancer is present. They are starting to wean him off some of his medications and he’s doing well at every phase of that. He hits that magic day 100 on July 12th so hopefully by the end of the summer he will be able to be totally on his own.

I have been writing quite a bit of stuff during this time but none of it has been fit for public consumption. Maybe someday I can walk back down that road but for now I’d rather live in today and just post about things that I find make me happy. Like…my garden! I know, you all live for my annual garden posts. This year it will be a little less crazy since I only put in cherry tomatoes, cukes, cantaloupes, watermelon, and pumpkins. That means that there won’t be much activity in the garden until a little later this summer. I do need to get out there and take some pictures for you though and I’ll do that this weekend. I will also get my hiney out on the net and dig up some fun videos for you for Tiny Theater Thursday. I’ve really been a slacker! Forgive me?

Tiny Theater Thursday

I don’t think I even need to introduce this commercial – I’d love to hear your thoughts on who you think will be buying this product.

Still...

CarGuy is still in the hospital and getting extremely grouchy about it. I'm doing my best at biting my tongue but sometimes it's too hard and emotions come spilling out. I think I've been in tears a couple times today due to his outbursts at me. I know he wants out of the hospital -- he's not really in any pain so I can't even blame it on that. I try to keep that in mind but being the overly sensitive type I can be makes it hard to hold it together. I think we need to have some basic niceties met even when we aren't where we want to be.

So...my plan tonight after I get back to the apartment? I'm gonna crack open a fuzzy navel wine cooler and then kick some Wii boxing butt!!! Nothing better than beating the heck out of cyber opponents who have no actual arms. Does anyone else find it disturbing that those folks at Nintendo couldn't find it in their programming skills to give these creatures some arms? The WiiFit is even creepier because the trainers never move their lips. Sort of like having a ventriloquist on the screen. Yep...they can give my little Mii an eerily similar curvy shape like mine while they tell me I'm obese but they can't let my trainer actually open his mouth. And I think I heard the little "measuring" person giggle at me when I stepped on the board -- how rude! Anyone have the address where I can file a harassment complaint against my video game?

So...in closing...I don't think I want much! My husband to try and treat me like a person, my boxing opponents to have arms, and my trainer to move his lips. Common courtesy people, common courtesy! Now...where is that drink I ordered?!? Nurse!!

Tiny Theater Thursday

Horribly bad puns...please forgive me!

Scenes from a Hospital Bathroom

As you know CarGuy is back in the hospital and while I'm not having to sleep on the floor in his room this time around (thank goodness!!) I do have to use the community bathroom. While I have an aversion to public restrooms in general, I am glad that the bathroom is right across from his room rather than out 2 doors and down the hall and around the corner like the last time we were here. I'm sure I was 12 degrees of entertaining to the staff around here before with my sprinting at Olympic speed to the bathroom all the time. I can move pretty darn fast sometimes!

Why am I telling you all this about a bathroom? Well...something struck me as funny in there today. Oh, come on now, stop looking at me like that, those who either know me IRL or have been reading this blog for any length of time know that I see the world a little oddly and have no trouble sharing my musings with anyone who will listen (or read). So...come along with me...if I go into TMI territory, see that little red x up in the top right hand corner of your monitor? Just click it, go take a cold shower with lye soap, get yourself some hypnosis therapy, and you will soon forget what I shared with you (or maybe you won't). ;-)

I should probably tell you first and foremost that I am a voracious reader. I read a lot and I will read anything and everything that crosses my path! When I was a kid I drove my parents crazy because I had to read, out loud mind you, every sign, bumper sticker, reader board, etc. that I saw. Yes...I HAD to do it, not I WANTED to do it, I HAD to do it. It's an illness - I need therapy - I know this. TMI warning ahead -- when I am in the bathroom I have to read stuff. I will look for things to read even if it's the naughties that are written on the bathroom walls -- although sometimes those are pretty darn engaging! Well anyway...in this particular bathroom there's really not much to look at but there is a can of disinfecting spray. So...I grab the can and am happily going along reading everything on the can -- yes, I did say happily -- it does make me happy to read stuff like this.

While I'm reading I'm thinking to myself that it really does amaze me that you have to tell people they should not spray this kind of stuff in their eyes and that it's not meant for internal human consumption. Who are these morons anyway? Oh, wait, I think they are the same ones who sue McDonald's when they spill their coffee on themselves and it burns them -- uh, clue one, it's coffee!! Carry on...

But...this particular can was even funnier than that. This one told you that you must don goggles or a face shield when using this product. Huh?!?!? We are talking about a household product that is supposed to make your life more pleasant by dissipating obnoxious smells and killing germs in order to keep you healthy...right? In fact, this product actually touts that it should be in nurseries -- it's been a while but I think that's where you store your babies. Those little wiggly creatures who are entirely dependent on adults to ensure their safety. Now...I am supposed to spray this spray in their living environment but I better put on a face shield first?

Oh, but, wait...that's not all!! The can also directs you that you must clean up any "gross filth" before using this product. *snicker* In my mind I see filth that has grown to the 144th power, has sprouted arms and legs, and is crawling toward this little June Cleaverish woman trying to spray it into submission -- wearing her face shield of course! Yes...you could say I've been watching way too much SciFi Channel!

I want to know what team of lawyers or industrial hygienists were involved in drafting up that packaging. I bet they are just loads of fun at parties!!

Tiny Theater Thursday

This weeks video was brought to my attention by Happy Hour Sue -- you don't know her? OMG -- you have to go visit her!! She is irreverent, funny, and the girl seriously changed my life. No, really, if you only knew -- she changed my life!

Late Line Special Report - Snuggies: Warm, Comfortable, Deadly? - watch more funny videos