End of July

Can you believe it's August tomorrow? This month flew by so fast.

Today is my niece's 16th birthday. Time is flying! I remember when that chick was born, 16 years ago. Actually, I wasn't even able to be there - that weekend I had training with INROADS and we were away at the Cornell campus.

We were thinking she'd be born on my aunt's birthday (the one whose birthday would have been yesterday), because that's when my SIL went into labor. Alas, she held out and was born the next day. :)

I have so much work to do today, it's crazy. I just want to go home. But then it will just pile up, making next week a nightmare for me. So I'll try my best to do what I can before 5:30 hits.

I Miss You!

My aunt (left) and my mom...June or July 1989, right before my sister's wedding

July 30, 1945 - December 20, 2001...

Like Michael sang, "gone too soon." My Aunt Lennie would have been 64 today. Esophogeal cancer. What was crazy is that she had stopped smoking years prior. But she said she felt like she had some kind of blockage in her throat. I think she knew something was wrong, and that's why she waited so long to get it checked out. Had she gotten it checked out sooner, would she still be here? We'll never know.

Aunt Lennie was my mom's youngest sister...the youngest of my grandmother's 6 kids. She was the life of the party. She made family gatherings so fun, because she was always being crazy. We have lots of photos of her just making silly faces. She was always there for us. She never had any kids, but she was like a second mom for us. If my mom decided to take us to Darien Lake (which is now a Six Flags park), she would be along to help with the driving. If I remember correctly, she is the one who got my brother into bowling.

She and my mom were really close. They had each other's backs. They used to always act silly together, but my mom knew if she needed something, she could count on Aunt Lennie. Back when my brothers were toddlers, my grandmother lived with us. My brother Jay had done something bad (who knows what he did, lol). He got a spanking. He was full of theatrics and that prompted my grandmother to say something to my mom about the way she was disciplining my brother. My mom started telling my grandmother that she couldn't tell her how to raise her kids...knowing my mom, it came out a bit attitudinal. Well grandma didn't take kindly to that and she reached out in reflex and socked my mom. My Aunt Letha, mom's oldest sister, wanted to know what mom did wrong, etc. Aunt Lennie called laughing and said, "well did she get you with the upper cut, or overhand?" That was the kind of personality she had. She could see the humor in just about everything.

Aunt Lennie had this way with animals. I don't know what it was. She could go to a shelter, and if there was a dog in there that hated everyone and everything, the dog would somehow just be in love with her. That's how it was with her second dog, Mookie. She had no intentions of getting a dog that day, but when they took him out of the cage and let her hold him, that fool would not go back in the cage. And he was aggravating. One of those little ankle biting noise makers. But like I said, he liked her. It was the rest of us he could do without.

When I got out of undergrad, I spent the summer in Buffalo trying to find a job. Ultimately it didn't work out, and I moved home. I ended up finding my first claims job within 2 weeks of being home. I'm glad I went home, though. I ended up getting on a bowling team with my Aunt and my mom. We had so much fun! We came in first and second place in the two years we bowled. And we also took a trip to Atlantic City. That was my first time in a real casino. I'm so glad I got to do those things with her. If I had moved down South right after college, I would have missed out!

I remember when I first got the call that she had cancer. My sister Shelley was the one who called and told me. I was upset, but I just thought - radiation and chemotherapy, and we'll move on with life. She had her treatment, and we thought she was going to be ok. This was the spring 2001. I remember at one point during her treatment, they accidentally punctured her esophagus. She had to go in for emergency surgery. But since they were in there, they tried to remove the cancer as best they could, and rebuild her esophagus. Even though we were pissed that they punctured her esophagus, we thought it was good that at least now they could go in and get the tumor out.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving, 2001. I remember talking with my mom, and she said that Aunt Lennie just didn't look well to her. She went into the hospital the week after Thanksgiving. They told her the cancer had spread to various organs, and they gave her 6 months to live. She never left the hospital and she was gone 3 weeks later.

When my mom called me and told me that I needed to come home, because Aunt Lennie wasn't doing well, I just remember going numb. I told my managers, and they were very understanding. I arranged my PTO, and my other aunt got me a buddy pass so I could fly out immediately. I flew in on the 19th and went straight to the hospital to see her. She was very weak. They pretty much had her on morphine and she wasn't talking much. But I'll never forget, when I walked in the room and she saw me, her eyes got so wide. She didn't know I was coming. I hugged her, and held her hand. She said that she liked my hair (I had cut it short and she hadn't seen it). We sat with her for a little while, and then we left. I remember trying not to cry, because I didn't want to upset her, and I didn't want to upset my mom. But I knew that was going to be my last time seeing her. The next morning, I woke up to a call from my mom, saying that she was gone.

That's the first time someone I was really close to had passed away. My Uncle Rafe had died from cancer in 1989, but he lived down south - we didn't get to spend that much time with him. But this was different. I cried my eyes out for a few minutes. My mom was distraught. I really didn't have much time to break down, though. I had to make the calls to people, because my mom couldn't handle it. I really wished my sisters had been there that day, but they were still en route. Things had to be taken care of, and we just had to get it done.

Sometimes, I wish I had NOT seen her at the hospital. I wish my last vision of her would have been when she was happy and healthy. But other times, I'm glad that I did get to see her before she passed...I know she was glad to see me. I could see it in her eyes.

I love looking at old pictures of us from Thanksgivings and Christmases past. We talk about her all the time, and her memory definitely lives on. I found this old picture of her, me and my cousin. It was summer time, and we were at the annual cook out that the hospital used to have (my mom and both my aunts all worked at the same hospital). We all have our bathing suits on. We've climbed up into a tree, and she's holding us there. We're all smiling and happy. I think I was about 5 years old. I'm going to try and scan it later, and if I can get it done, I'll upload it here.

I miss you, Aunt Lennie! But I know you're up there cutting up, probably with Uncle Rafe. You two have probably started your own bowling league, like Monique said yesterday. :)

Awww, Shucks!

Woke up this morning to the email - there was no grand prize winner in the Powerball. Guess I'm going to work today! I don't recognize any of those numbers except the 2, so I can't even hold out hope that I won the $100K. Ah, well. Time to jump in the shower, and get back to reality!

LOL

I Don't Think I'm The Marrying Type

People always ask me why I'm not married yet. I get the, "you seem like a nice person...you have your life together, etc" speech. I just nod and and tell them I haven't met the right person, and leave it at that.

But I honestly don't know if I have the temperament. It would really take the right, patient person. I've been so used to making decisions on my own for so long. To actually have to stop and confer/defer/discuss with someone? That's just so far from my nature.

This whole thought process was triggered by a conversation I had with one of the members of my bowling team. I don't live in their house, so I can't say for sure, but it seems like she can't jump unless her hubby tells her how high. 2 weeks ago, when we really did need everyone to be there bowling, her husband got called out on a work assignment. She did not show up either. OK, your husband had to work, YOU didn't. I fail to understand why you couldn't come, when you dang near live around the corner from the bowling alley, anyway? Tonight is our awards ceremony, and then we're going to do a no-tap tournament afterwards. I emailed her and told her that tonight is the night to pick up the money. She called me and started telling me about how her husband's work schedule has been really unpredictable, so she just doesn't know...etc. The whole time I'm thinking...um, if somebody told me I could come and pick up some MONEY, I'd be right there to get it, with or without my husband! Hell, I'd pick up HIS money too! In the years I've known her, it's always been like this. I can see deferring to your hubby on major decisions, but EVERY. LITTLE. THING???

I've had claims where the wife is injured, and I call to check status with her and ask her how SHE'S doing, and she just hands the phone to her husband. Um, you're the one with the broke wrist, not him! Why do I need to talk to him? I just can't see me being this person in a relationship. But I have run into some guys who have expected this.

I know that not all marriages are like this. I guess I'm just trying to work through the thought process on this. My brother and sisters have certainly provided some good examples of marriage. They are definitely not perfect, and have their ups and downs, but they keep striving to work together. I guess that's the part I just need to look forward to.

Another Weekend Has Come and Gone...

...but it was a GREAT weekend! I left work early on Friday (around 1:00) to drive up to VA. I drove to my sister Pam's house. We were going to go roller skating, but we thought about it too late. We ended up taking my niece bowling that night, and we had a good time. They are running a summer special - games for $1.99. I wish the AMF lanes down here would do that. I'm not sure of anywhere you can bowl for less than $4, without a league discount card. Craziness! My mom flew in from NY on Friday afternoon. She was asleep when I got there, and didn't even know I was there until the next day. When I got up the next morning and walked out of the guest room, she said, "what? What are you doing here? Lookin' like your daddy!" LOL! We all got a good laugh out of that. I do look like my dad's side of the family.

That morning we all drove up to Shell's house. I hate driving on I-95. I don't think there's ever a time when it's NOT congested up that way. Maybe in the wee hours of the morning. The closer you get to DC, the more of a mess it becomes. Ridiculous! We got there around 10:30, which was good - we had to change clothes and be ready to go by 11:10. We were meeting up with some other cars so we could car pool, since Shell's friend knew her way around DC. That was Shell's first time driving the Max, and she had the pedal to the metal! We made good time, but of course, got stuck in traffic. Where we came in, we drove right by the Pentagon. I also saw the Washington Monument. That was my first time in DC. I think I need to go back and see the sights when I have time.

Let me tell you, The Color Purple was EXCELLENT! Fantasia has really stepped up her acting game and I was very impressed. We laughed...we cried...it was just awesome! The whole cast was given a standing ovation, but when Fantasia took her final bow, the applause was just thundering. I didn't realize LaToya London was playing Nettie, so that was a bonus for me. I really, really enjoyed it.

After the play, we went to a restaurant called Sweet Georgia Brown's. It was ok for me. Our waiter was slow as molasses on a winter day. Given the prices, the food was just "ok" for me. But I definitely enjoyed the fellowship. Here's a pic of us at dinner:



Yesterday, we got up in the morning, and initially planned to leave the house around 10:00 a.m. That moved to 11:00 a.m., and then to noon. LOL! I never feel like leaving when I visit my family, but the trek from Fredericksburg to Charlotte is kinda long. While we were home in NY for the family reunion, Pam and I found a baton at my mom's house. We all used to run track back in the day - well, everybody except my oldest brother, but he's fast, too. I know that somewhere packed in a box in my storage area, there is a baton. I tried to find it last time my sisters were here, to no avail. So when we found the one in NY we were psyched. We brought it to Shell's house, to "surprise" her.

Needless to say, she laughed at us and told us she was not gonna participate. But we made her put on her sneakers and come outside anyway. Let me tell you, jogging on the treadmill is nothing compared to sprinting in the street. My abs are sore today, even my shoulders. Clearly, I need to get to the track so I can vary my workouts! Anyway, we got out in the middle of the street and were doing relay hand offs. It was so much fun! It reminded of that adrenaline rush I used to get right before it was time to race. I was the anchor for our relay, from my sophomore through senior years in high school. I loved that feeling when my teammate came around that curve in the 4 x 100. I couldn't wait to take off and bring it home. Of course, it had to be timed perfectly to make sure I got the baton, but Amy and I never messed up our hand offs!

I need to find some type of adult track program. I would love to get back into it. But first, I need to get my knee checked out. It was definitely hurting yesterday. I don't think it was ready for the 5 hour car ride. The problem is, by the time I get the appointment with the ortho, it's not hurting anymore. I'm just going to have to relent and let them do the MRI. I need to find out how much I'll have to pay, though. Right now, the dentist is about to take all my spare cash/change.

Here's a couple of pics of us in the street:


We couldn't quite get ours right...I kept running up on her. It's easier to get the distance right when you're on an actual track, LOL


This was a good one...I wish she had been able to capture the pic right as she handed it to me. And look - I still have calf muscles. Yay! LOL

Happy Monday!

Dad's Still Cancer Free

I forgot to post some of the pics from the family reunion visit to NY and DC. Oops! When I arrived on 7/9, we took my dad to dinner for his birthday. He racked up the cash (about $300 - dad, can I borrow some $$? LOL) and had a good time hanging with his kids. It would have been perfect if my oldest sister was there, but she couldn't make it this year.

He is doing well, and so far is still cancer free! Still too skinny for my linking, but you can only eat so much when you've had part of your stomach removed :/ I'm just so happy he's still here with us, and I enjoy every moment I get to spend with him.


Me, my brothers, one of my sisters, and my dad. :)

I have more pics, but they are on my home computer. I will post when I get back from VA.

The Color Purple

I'm leaving work early this afternoon, to drive up to VA. My sisters and I are going to see The Color Purple in DC on Saturday. The original date was in August, but then we found out that Fantasia would not be appearing in that particular showing, so the date was changed.

I'm looking forward to another fun filled outing with my sisters. My mom will actually be in VA as well. After we go see TCP, my sister and her hubby are leaving on a trip, so my mom is going to watch the kids while they are going. So it'll be like a little mini-reunion for the girls.

I'll definitely report back regarding the show. I have a feeling it's going to be excellent! We are planning on going to a restaurant after the show. It's called Georgia Brown's. Anybody ever been?

Henna'd Hair

Here's a pic of the hair, 2 days after the henna process:




For those who want to completely cover gray, and do not want it "highlighted," you will need to follow your henna application with an indigo application. I don't mind the highlights, so I'm fine with not using indigo.

2nd henna treatment

I am officially in LOVE with Henna! Karishma Henna, to be exact:



I put in my second treatment on the 17th. The first time, I only left it in for 4 hours, and I did not condition before, and I did not deep condition afterwards - I just used co-washes to get the powder out. That was too drying, and I won't be doing that again. This time, after reading up on it again on LHCF, I decided to leave the treatment in overnight.

I mixed the henna with 2 cups of green tea on the 17th at 7:30am. This time I used 5 tea bags in the water. I covered the bowl with saran wrap and sat it in my bathroom - I think it's a tad warmer in there. I did not use an iron bowl, as listed in the directions, because I don't own one. I just used a plastic bowl.

I didn't get home from work/working out until around 8:30. I checked it and could see that the dye had released - you will start to see a reddish liquid forming. The powder starts of green, but as the dye releases, the mixture turns a brownish-red. I stirred it up, hit the shower and washed my hair. I conditioned lightly with my Moist 24/7 conditioner from HairVeda. I towel dried my hair, and put it in four sections. To those sections I applied the tiniest dab of coconut oil. I didn't want anything to interfere with the dye uptake.

I got around to applying around 10:30 that night, so basically the mixture had sat for 15 hours. It doesn't need to sit that long, that's just how it worked out that day. My gray area is in the front, so I applied the mixture there, and then started in the back. It was a little more messy this time - I made the mixture less thick, because I felt like I was running out of henna the last time. This time it was closer to the consistency of yogurt.

YOU MUST WEAR GLOVES. Otherwise your hands will be bright orange! Not cute! Last time, I did not wear the gloves to rinse it, and I did end up with orange hands. So rinse your gloves and save them for the rinse-out process. Trust me.

By 11:00pm it was all applied. I wrapped my head in Saran Wrap - which stuck surprisingly, I was impressed. Then I put two plastic caps over that. I ended up sleeping on my couch - I didn't want to get henna on my bedding, if there WAS a spill. I laid out two towels over the area I'd be sleeping, and I called it a night. When I woke up in the morning, I noted that the Saran wrap had slipped off the back, so I was glad I had the two caps to catch that. There was no henna anywhere on the towels or on my t-shirt.

The next morning, I was up around 7:30, and in the shower rinsing at 7:45. Definitely more color this time! The grays are an even darker shade. I am trying to figure out how something that starts out orange (if you place henna in your palm for one minute, and then rinse - it should leave an orange pumpkin-like stain), makes you send up with reddish-brown or burgundy hair. I don't know how it works, but it works! After rinsing, I applied my HairVeda Sitrinillah deep conditioner, and sat under my heat cap for 30 minutes. When I rinsed that out, I could see that the rest of the henna that needed to be rinsed out, was coming out. Don't be surprised to be rinsing henna out for 2 days after you apply it. And if you play in your hair a lot (like I do), expect to have slightly orange fingers for the first couple of days. My hair felt really good. I applied a mixture of shea butter and coconut oil, and put my hair in twists. This was around 5:00pm on Saturday. I took the twists out around 7:30pm on Sunday, and had a great twist out.

I don't have pics, because I have to be outside in the sun for you to really see the henna. Inside, under fluorescent lighting, my hair just looks dark. Although someone at the skating rink did notice the color change, I think that's just because of where I was standing and where she was sitting - the light was behind me, so she could see it then. But it's also relatively dark in the skating rink - in an office setting there are lights everywhere. I will try to get some pics over the next couple of days.

What I love even more than the color payoff, is the FEEL of my hair. Last night, after my workout, I washed with my HairVeda Amala Cream Rinse, and then followed with the Moist 24/7 conditioner. While I was working the Cream Rinse and the Conditioner in, I could just tell a difference. My hair felt smoother to the touch. More silky. It's hard to explain...just know that it feels much better than it felt 4 weeks ago.

My plan is to henna every 3 weeks. I stocked up on Karishma, and I have enough to take me through the end of the year. In between henna treatments, I will use my other powders. I have brahmi, amla, maka, shikakai, fenugreek, and hibiscus. I havea little bit of aritha left, but it can be drying, so I don't know how much I will use it. The hibiscus powder is like a bright magenta...I have heard that may deposit some red color as well. I need to read up on it, because I don't want anything to mess up my henna!

My nightly and morning torture

So, I had my 6 month cleaning last Thursday. They did find one small cavity (booo!), but it was next to a filling I already had...it's in between two teeth, and she said it likely formed because of the filling next to it. I also have to get my crown re-done. I don't know if I posted about this before, but last May I ended up with an abscess. This tooth had been cracked 3 years prior, and had a root canal and a crown applied. Which I had to fight with Delta Dental to pay for...that's another blog. Anywho, well somehow the root canal got abscessed - that is a pain I would not wish on my worst enemy! I know women who have had kids, who said the abscess was WORSE than child birth. Just to put it in perspective.

The end result of that was me having to go to an endodontist to get the root canal re-done, to the tune of $800...of which DD only paid $600...ugh. Anyway, he was trying to get the crown off and he could not do it. That jammy was cemented on there perfectly. He had to drill through the back of it. Which left me with a hole in the back of the crown and a temporary filling. The dentist told me that I needed a new crown. In my head I was thinking, "the devil is a liar," because I know that DD only pays for a crown every 5 years, and my 5 years ain't up! I kept putting it off, because I just did not have $1300 to be coming out of pocket for a new crown!

Last Thursday they discovered that the temp filling has come out (I thought it was feeling weird), so now I really do need to get that crown ASAP. Well my dentist is truly a blessing, because she is going to do the crown for FREE, and all I have to pay for is lab fees. So now, instead of $1300 + the filling, it's going to be about $215 + the filling. I just wanted to cry happy tears right there...but I was really stunned that she was going to do that for me. Definitely a blessing!

So back to the cleaning. The hygentist recommended that I rinse with Listerine Total Care. She said that it has flouride in it, and instead of me having to do a separate flouride treatment along with the mouthwash, I could just use the Listerine.

I tried to put in my bid for Crest Pro Health. She vetoed me. Apparently the Crest does not have the flouride in it.

Y'all know Listerine burns like the dickens. If you read the bottle, you are supposed to keep it in for 30 seconds. Not the end of the world, and definitely doable. However, with the Total Care, you have to keep swishing for ONE MINUTE. ONE MINUTE is an eternity when you have Listerine in your mouth, burning like the chambers of hell! I fight with myself every night, but I know I have to do it. She also gave me a smaller bottle and I keep that at work. I'm still working up to using it after lunch. It really, really, burns. On the plus side, your breath is straight fresh in the morning! Well, as fresh as it can be, considering you've been asleep fro 6-8 hours.

I guess what they say is true - no pain, no gain!

If you haven't been to the dentist in a while, get there. And make sure to have your 6 month check ups and cleanings done. I slacked on these for a good chunk of years, and now I'm dealing with the consequences on the back end.

I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

But not like Potergeist, though. LOL!

The family reunion was cool. I mostly just like getting together with my immediate family, but it's nice to see the extended family as well. There were three different reunions (including ours) at the hotel that weekend. I think we had the best t-shirts out of all three. In a 'six degrees of separation' moment, a girl I went to college with posted on FB that her family reunion was in Detroit as well. Turns out it was one of the reunions at the hotel. Too bad she didn't go - it would have been nice to see her.

Anywho, I will post a couple of pics when I get them uploaded. Most of the family on my mom's side is older. My Uncle T planned this reunion, and he is the oldest out of her siblings. He has like 8 kids, and apparently they are all trifling! I don't think any of them helped him with the food and preparation. He wasn't able to get a pavilion at the park, so thankfully it did not rain. We would have been drenched! He is too old to be doing all of this by himself. He does have one daughter who halfway has sense, and she planned the reunion we had two years ago in Savannah. She didn't even bother to show up for this one, though. I guess if it ain't in her state, she can't go...

My sister and I decided that some of the goings on were shenanigans, so we have volunteered to plan the reunion for 2011. We wrote down all these ideas we came up with. We need to get started soon. Only thing I am worried about is the food. I'm not tryna cook for 50 people...even if my mom was helping us, it would be too much. We're going to have to figure something out for the cook out. But, we've pretty much told people it will be in Virginia in 2011, so I guess we better get crackin'! We also need to have a wider menu selection. At every meal I was having to ask if stuff was pork (I stopped eating pork about 3 months ago). So glad Uncle T made the greens with smoked turkey!

We went to the casino in Detroit, and I didn't win a dang thing. I was doing good, and I let that nickel machine take my dang money back. LOL! Somebody probably came along after me and hit it big. My mom, in her usual lucky manner, sat down next to me and was just aimlessly playing, not even thinking about it, and the chick won like $400. Makes me sick!

I did take a bunch of old pics of me as a baby, when I was at my mom's house. She also told us that we were finally allowed to take our baby books out of the house. Mine is really random, and pages where she should have been writing things down, she just put a bunch of pics in. LOL! But I love looking at the old pics, and seeing parts of the house I grew up in. I really need to find my scanner. I found an old black and white photo of my dad at the beach in swim trunks. I tell y'all, it's like looking at my brother J. My mom always says how much J looked like my dad - like if you took their elementary school pics and looked at them, it was almost the same. But I didn't see it, and was thinking he just looked like a combo of my mom and dad. When I saw this beach picture, it was crazy! I mean down to the way he was standing! They have the same stance, the same body shape...my dad even had a little 6 pack going on. LOL! My brother is just a taller version. Some days, I do see more of my mom's features, though. I can't decide who I look like. Everybody who sees a pic of my mom says I look like my mom, but I think that's because they haven't really seen a good pic of my dad. I don't even know.

Do you guys enjoy reminisicing and looking back at old family photos, or is it just me? :)

Where is she when I need her???

My alter ego is a little more assertive than I am. But she generally shows up when people piss me off. Sometimes I need her to nudge me out on the limb and make me take a chance with things.

Case in point: I went to lunch today with my friend Michele. We went to Olive Garden (note that I am stuffed to capacity and had to bring food home). Our waiter was cute! His name was Joey.

Joey seemed to be getting his flirt on with me the entire time. He kept calling me sweetheart, but he only said it to me, not to Michele. But did I ask for his number? No. Did I write my number on the receipt? No (well I paid with cash anyway, so I didn't have a pen. But still.) Why? I JUST complained about this horrid dating scene earlier today. I know the main reason why I didn't ask for his number...that's another story for another blog, though...

Oh well. I did give him a very nice tip.

Really random

This morning I wore my 'fro out. I was driving in to work, singing along with Luther on the radio. This pick up truck is going by me in the left lane. I just happened to glance over and it was some dude. I didn't look long enough to tell if he was cute. :lol:

So he has his right hand hanging out the window and he's gesturing and pointing back and over towards my car with his thumb. Like maybe he was talking to the driver and referencing me. By this time they are about a car length ahead of me, but still in the left lane. He looks back and then he gives me the thumbs up.

I'm just wondering if it was for the 'fro, or the Dallas Cowboys star on the front license tag??
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You ever get to work and just know that you have so much ish to do, there's no way you can get it done, so you just lose all motivation? That is me today. I KNOW how much stuff I need to do. I have new claims from yesterday that I need to get to. And yet, I'm moving at a snail's pace. I'm so happy I have 4 days off I don't know what to do. Clearly I need to refresh and recharge.

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I'm always a little leery of people trying to fix me up to go out on dates. Because if it doesn't work out, I don't wanna be looking at the fixer-upper like, why did you do that?? Pickings are slim out here...maybe I will revisit my thoughts on this.

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I really dread that it takes me almost 5 hours to get to my sister. I want to be closer. My nephew "jokingly" told me that I was a "dead beat aunt" 'cause I don't come and see him enough. The mind of a 15 year old. Anywho...I really would love to come see them more. I'd love to be like 2 hours away or less. At the very least, in the same state. It's looking like both of my sisters are going to stay in Virginia. So...I think I'm contemplating a move to VA. No time in the next year or so. I'd really like to stay with my current company as long as I can, before I move anywhere else. If we keep the account I'm working on, I will stay here. If it turns out we are going to lose the account, I will start my job search in VA. At the end of the day, I'm not anchored to Charlotte. I haven't purchased a house or anything. We shall see. I don't want to bring on any more financial hardship...it is definitely something I will think carefully about.

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My sister Pam brought out some old photos of our room growing up. I really have to find my scanner 'cause I want y'all to see the EVIDENCE of her taking down my train to make more room for Michael Jackson. I really had forgotten how many pics she had on the wall until I saw these photos. There is a pic of my mom standing in our room, dressed up and ready to head out on the town. She's 43 and I promise you she looks better than I look now. I just wanna look half that good when I"m 43. And she had 5 kids to boot. **keeps fingers crossed that I inherited that gene**

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I'm leaving for NY/Detroit on Thursday morning. I fly to NY and then we are driving to Detroit the next day for the family reunion. We drive back to NY on the 12th and then I'll be in NY until I fly back on the morning of the 14th. I'm not taking my laptop 'cause it's bootleg. The keyboard is broken and I have yet to purchase a new one. So I have a computer keyboard plugged into the USB port. I know that is GF (ghetto fab) but a laptop keyboard was just not on my list of priorities. If anything, I need to get a hard drive to back up everything on that laptop, because I will cry if I lose all that stuff. Anywho, I'll be out of pocket and probably won't get to check in until the 13th. But I'm sure I'll have more nonsense to post about before the 16th. :)

Men crack me up

I say this to myself on a daily basis. And I have various characters in my life, who live up to this on a daily basis.

The particular man who inspired this post is New York Undercover. We haven't talked about him yet. He's another skater. He's from NYC...and like may of the skaters from NYC, he is very disenchanted with the skating scene down here. I can't really blame him. Truly, if you really want to get down, your best bet is Atlanta. But who wants to drive 3.5 hrs every weekend to skate?

Anywho, he has been missing in action since some time in February. RB said he heard that NYU had gotten married. I just didn't believe that, because he seemed like the person that, come hell or high water, he'd be at the rink. He and RB have some kind of (likely imaginary) rivalry going on when it comes to the rink. RB thinks that every time he takes the time to skate with someone, NYU has to make it a priority to start skating with that person as well.

This seemed to be the case where I was concerned. Mind you, when I got to that rink in January, that was the least friendly rink I'd ever been at. How does a single woman - who doesn't look half bad - come into the rink alone, and nobody asks her to skate??? That is just so not the case in Atlanta. I was really confused. RB was the first to break the ice. Then came NYU.

NYU skates NY style (of course). He is determined that I am going to skate NY style. I'm really not interested in it. It's very similar to Chicago style, with a lot of bouncing and spinning and flying around the rink. I like to be cute...I'm not trying to look like I"m in Olympic speed skating.

When he first approached me, I tried some of his moves, but at that time I really needed new, harder wheels. It was hard for me to turn as easily as he could. Next thing you know, RB decides to get me some Bones (those are a type of wheel) and some new bearings. I had actually been researching wheels and had been [ ] <-- this close to buying some, when he showed up with these. How about 2-3 weeks later, NYU shows up at the Skate-a-Thon and says, "I got some Bones wheels for a good deal, and I was gonna see if you wanted them." It's raining wheels from heaven! Of course I declined, because I already had some new wheels. But that was one of those "things that make ya go hmmm" moments.

Slow songs at the rink were a real challenge when NYU was there. As you all already know, if I have to choose, I'm gonna choose to skate with KC. **insert goofy smile here** I would literally find myself hiding from RB & NYU...it was madness. How does one hide in a rink? I mean I would have to pretend not to hear my name being called. Once I was skating towards KC and NYU came swooping across the damn floor...what the heezy? It was a mess.

Anyway...so we noticed that NYU has been MIA for a while. Last night he came back. I almost didn't recognize him. He had been MIA because he had brain surgery. **insert cricket sound here** Um, why are you at the skating rink when you just had brain surgery 5 months ago?? I asked him if he should be there, i.e., did he have doctor's approval. He said that the doctor told him it was ok. I gave him "The Rock eyebrow," but he assured me it was ok. He told me that he intended to get at least one skate in with me, and I told him that would be fine. I figured he would take it easy, which would be better for me. He has a habit of making sudden turns and cuts, that just don't go with my skating style. We'll be gliding backwards just fine, next thing you know we're cutting an 80 degree turn. Um, no! He did end up telling me last night, that he does this to get away from the crowds, because he likes to skate in open spaces. OK. Just don't kill me, please.

At one point he got in a collision with someone and he fell, but he didn't hit his head. He tried to get up and was feeling dizzy and had to sit back down. They stopped the music and everything. Again - why are you here??? I saw him sitting down and I went over to check on him. He grabbed my hand and told me for the umpteenth time how soft they were. I told him that I use shea butter mixed with coconut oil on my skin. He said that must be what he smelled, and that I smelled really good. OK...do you smell everyone you skate with? When he grabbed my right hand, he saw that I had a ring on my fourth finger. Then he went to look at the left and saw there was no ring.

He said, "what's up with that? What are these dudes doing wrong? You seem like you are a very nice young lady." Did I mention that he's probably like late 40s? I just told him that I really didn't know. Men crack me up when they wanna ask why you're single. I mean, if we knew the answer to that, do you think we'd be single??? He was acting like he was about to ask for my number. I was working through my "thanks but no thanks" speech in my head, and wishing the Sandman would come and dance me off stage left. Thankfully, another NYC skater came up to complain about the DJ and confirm that she had the right number for him, and I was able to escape! LOL

Like I said - men crack me up!

Welcome to Virginia

I am up in VA visiting with my sister Shell and her family. As of 7/1, my sister and her husband have been married for 20 years. I was 14 when they got married. My sister was 23. I thought for sure that I'd get married in my 20s. Not so! Probably not going to get married in my 30s, either. *sigh*

Anywho, no matter what's going on, I can always count on my niece and nephews to get me laughing. Today, we took them bowling - my sister signed them up for some program where they can get 2 free games every week. Not sure of the specific details, but it's with AMF - if anyone with kids wants the details, let me know. After bowling, it was off to CiCi's Pizza. That's the best bang for the buck with her kids, because they can eat!

For some reason, my niece was in a rush to get home - I guess she wanted more time to play outside. I eat slowly, so I was finishing up my dessert. I forgot what she said initially, but then she said, "can I drive us home?" Mind you, she's 12. My 10 year old nephew busts out, "are you trying to get us killed?" Now, on the surface, that is not a hilarious conversation. You have to know my niece and nephews. The youngest always has something classic to say. I just started laughing and I could not stop. It was the way he said it. I had tears coming out of my eyes. It was too funny. It's always good to have a belly laugh. I know I'm guaranteed at least one while I'm here.

Tomorrow, my sister Pam gets here with her husband and daughter. I think we are grilling out, and then we'll head to the base to see the fireworks.

I have some photos from today's adventures, but I'm feeling too lazy to upload. I'll probably have them tomorrow.

I "friended" my niece (my brother's daughter) on FB the other day. I really felt old. I remember when she was a baby and I was changing her stinky diapers. Chick will be 16 this month! Time really flies. She has grown into a beautiful, smart young girl. :)

My dad's birthday is Monday - I will actually fly up there next Thursday, to go to the family reunion for my mom's side of the family. My brother said he wanted us to take my dad out to dinner when my sister and I get there, so that is the plan. I'm excited to go home and spend some time with my dad.

Time to veg out on What Not To Wear and then hit the sack. I know the youngins will be up bright and early...auntie needs to get some sleep and be ready.