The Missing "L"

I have an easy last name. It only has four letters but people still get it wrong. One of the letters appears twice. Friends that I have know for years address mail to me with only three letters. There used to be a mattress commercial whose telephone number was m-a-t-t-r-e-s. The slogan was "Leave off the last "S" for savings. In my case it is leave off the last "L". When I have to spell my last name for someone, I say the four letters and then the person looks up at me. I then say, "That's it". So my last name is, "ABCD that's it". People also pronounce it differently. Po-tay-to, po-tah-to. Here is the best part. Three of us in my family pronounce it one way and one of us says it the other way. Isn't that crazy. Or should I say "crazee".

Calgon

There used to be a commercial, and it still may be running, whose slogan was, "Calgon, take me away". It referred to a bath salt product that was supposed to relax someone to the point that they felt they were on vacation. Throughout the years I have used that expression frequently when I feel that too much is going on. I used it this morning. After thinking about it, with the way things go for me, I would put the product into my bath and soak for an hour and relax. Then I would dry off and see a rash forming. I would have to go to the dermatologist for medication to take away the incessant itching. I am not the type of person that can be "taken away". I am the type that needs to stay in the situation until the problem is solved.

Fear Factor

Everyone has fears. Some handle them better. Some hide them well. My doctors are doing a YouTube video on fears. To make it real they are doing exposure exercises on what frightens each one of them the most. Exposure exercises make you face your fears in real time and work through them. I found out that one doctor is afraid of dogs. Two are afraid of spiders. One is afraid of injection needles. Another of birds. Yesterday in my office we had a dog, a bird, a spider and a needle. Each doctor was put in a room with their "fear" and had to describe how it felt. I heard screaming from the hallway. These are the people that help others through their fears. They each did the exposure and lived through it.

Open or Closed

My boss is having family from a foreign country stay with her for a few weeks. They needed sim cards for their international phones to be changed to United States ones or they would get no service. There is a local AT&T store that has the cards. My boss went there yesterday and at 11am the doors were shut. It was closed. She passed by again at about 1pm and the doors were still closed. I called them and it went to voicemail. At about 2pm she passed by them on her way home from shopping and saw a light on. The doors were now open. She went in and saw two young girls behind the counter. She asked what time they opened today and they said 10am. She said that the store was closed at 10am. They said they were open. She said that she was at the door, it was locked and the lights were out. They said they opened at 10am. She said she passed by and even called until 1pm and they were not there. They said they opened at 10am. They blatantly lied to her. Maybe they slept late or forgot they had to work. They both stuck to the story that they were opened. She just gave up.

A Smashing Time

Yesterday was my great nephew's first birthday. My niece had everyone over to her house for a party. She has a beautiful home that is very welcoming to company. It is a relaxed warm atmosphere and we always have a wonderful time. We had delicious sandwiches and salads and before we knew it, it was time for birthday cake. In the past few years the concept of "smash cakes" has come about. You make a small cake for the birthday child and let him smash it and eat it. The messier the better. When his sister was one, she had a beautiful cake that was made by her grandmother, my sister. She looked at it and removed one sprinkle. She never thought to smash it. Finally we smashed her hands into it and showed her what to do. Even then she was a neat little lady. Now it was her brother's turn. My sister spent five hours making a masterpiece of a cake with three tones of blue frosting shaped like flower petals.  We put the cake in front of him and in one second he was smashing and eating. The cake was a full size 10" cake, just for him. He ate and ate and ate until 1/3 of the cake was gone. His mother took it away because if he ate any more he would surely get sick. He cried as the cake left and then licked his fingers clean. It was so funny to watch. It was the best day. I would even call it "smashing".

Simple

Today's blog is going to be simple but thought provoking. It is a quote from Buddha.
It puts into perspective how we think about our lives.

Let us rise up and be thankful.
If we did not learn a lot today at least we learned a little.
If we did not learn a little at least we did not get sick.
If we got sick at least we did not die, so
let us all be thankful.

What are you thankful for?

Riding The Wave

When people are young, "riding the wave" can refer to surfing. To me it means hitting every green light on a major street. Have you ever been on a major roadway and at every corner the light is green? You start off not realizing it then after a few blocks you observe that the timing is perfect and you are coasting. At each new intersection you hope that the momentum keeps up and when it does you feel a sense of accomplishment. When the ride is finally over, you feel a bit sad but are glad that you rode the wave for that long.

Who Babysat Who?

Last night I was babysitting my grandson. As he gets older, it gets more fun. We are now friends that can chatter away all night. He talks more sensibly than most adults. He has opinions and ideas. His parents are putting up chair rail and ceiling crown molding in their living room.  When I say it yesterday he told me that, "The top molding is my taste but I do not like the rail molding." He actually used the term "my taste".  He told me what utensils to use when I cut up his grapes. He told me that we need to clean up the rooms after we play so his mother will be pleased with us. I was instructed how to properly brush his teeth and not to forget his tongue cause that's where bad breath is. I try not to look like I am laughing when he says these things but he is just so darn cute.

ROI

Does the gain outweigh the cost. That is what ROI is all about. Return On Investment. My office is still run using paper and pen. Sometimes pencils. My boss wanted to move into the 21st century and go paperless with electronic records. Paperless is not really "paperless". It is less paper. You still need paper for some things. Our only need in using electronics was for progress notes. After every session the doctors write down in a few lines what went on. The electronic records program would cost about $4000 and the electronics computer support would be $1620 a year. I see no value in this.

All's Well

When I recount a story, as long as I can say, "In the end everything turned out fine", I am happy. As my parents grow older their adventures become different. Last night I got home from yoga class and was very relaxed. My Mah Jongg friends were at my house waiting for me. Within a half hour my sister's phone rang. It was my mother. She was half calm and half frantic. It seems that my parents were leaving the parking lot of a diner when the curb cut was not clearly defined. The car went over the high part and got stuck. Five men tried to push it off to no avail. A crowd gathered to help. The diner owner called a flatbed tow truck to help. The truck came and lifted the car down to the street and off they went. By that time it was 9 pm. They called me when they got home to tell me about all of the wonderful people that helped them. They were calm and laughing. I was wound up like a clock. I will be back in the yoga studio this afternoon.

Toning Up

Last night I took my second yoga class. I was able to do more last night than I did on Saturday. I guess my muscles were a bit looser. I realized that I have not really exercised since I was 15 years old. I hated gym class and made every excuse in the book to not participate. I think I said I had my period for 365 consecutive days. Since I am paying for these classes I am motivated to continue. The exercises are not hard, but they are stretching muscles that have been on vacation since 1972. The facility is run by a Korean woman who is kind and supportive. When she sees me struggle, she will come over and help me. She will massage my leg so I can hold a pose longer. She will tell me to do my best but not to overdo it as the strength will build up over time. This makes me want to try even harder. I will go again tonight and continue for five days a week until my one month membership is done. Then I will practice on my own. It is the best thing I have done for myself in years.

Manners

Manners are learned. If you teach them at a young age they become second nature. The other day I was with my family at a local mall. We were shopping in a store and as we were going out of the door, a woman was walking in. She got to the door first so she held it open for us to walk out. I was holding my grandson's hand. As he walked past the lady he looked up at her and said, "Thank you". We were all shocked. He is only three. No one told him to say it. He just did it naturally because he hears his mother and father say it. The woman looked down at him with a shocked look and smiled. My grandson continued chattering away to me as he kept walking, never realizing what he just did. 

Painful

I started my yoga/meditation class yesterday and this morning I feel like every bone in my body is aching. That just shows me how out of shape I am. The exercises were not strenuous. They were stretches and circular motion ones. I had no trouble doing them but they awakened muscles that had not been used in a while. If an exercise was too strenuous, I tried my best and stopped when I felt it was too much. The teacher said that is what we are supposed to do. It is what is good for you and not what the other students are doing. It is a look at yourself and not other people's philosophies.  The meditation part was relaxing as we cleared our minds and sat without thinking about anything else but our breathing. At the end we had this wonderful tea and sat in a circle and reviewed how the class went. I enjoyed being there and look forward to going again tomorrow.

Something For Me

This morning I am doing something for me. It is something I have thought about for years but never made the effort to do. I have joined a yoga/meditation class. I went to see the place and learn a bit about them yesterday and then I made the commitment to go for one month. The classes are for breathing, meditation and yoga. Not the type of yoga that twists your body like a circus balloon. The kind that loosens your tense muscles. I can go to unlimited classes for the month and if I like it I can continue for as long as I want. It is not cheap but I realized that I give to everyone else and never to myself, so I do not have to have anyone's permission. My goal is to go 5 to 6 days a week until I learn the skills to relax my mind, body and soul. It may take one month or it may take a year but this will be a skill that I can carry for a lifetime.

Mind Over Body

Our minds are very powerful. More powerful than our bodies. You can have abs of steel but if you have a weak mind, they will get you nowhere. You can be weak as a fly but if you are strong willed and determined, the world can be yours. I see this everyday at work. People whose outsides look great are falling apart on the inside. We find it easy to go to a medical doctor but feel shame in going to a psychological doctor. Society needs to reevaluate its perspective and consider total health.

New Arrival

It is here. The new car is sleeping soundly in its garage. It was a long "birthing" process but it is finally done. By the time it came home yesterday it was dark out. I had to drive my car home in the rain at night while my husband drove the new addition home. I know there is a God because I could barely see on my way home so he must have been at the wheel with me. The traffic was terrible and it took two hours. I pray that this car makes my husband happy as I cannot go through this nonsense again. It looks beautiful and drives nicely. All it needs is to be tweaked to my husband's standard.

Another First

There are many "firsts" in our lives. Each one is precious and creates a memory. Yesterday was my grandson's first day of nursery school. The tiny little three pound preemie is now a handsome young boy. No one would know that his entrance into the world was tougher than most. My son sent me a picture of him standing proudly as he went off to school. He had a few minutes of hesitation as he marched into the classroom. He had never been away from his parents. Usually play dates always included them. This time he was on his own. After a few minutes he was fine. He came home happy. Later today I will see him and ask him all about his exciting first day.

Hand Cut

I was reading a menu the other day and came across wording that is commonly used. The item said "Hand Cut Fries". For some reason this struck me as being funny. How else are fries cut? With our feet? Even if a machine slices them we need our hands to put the potatoes into the machine. Either way our hands are involved. Why does the saying hand cut make the potato more appealing. I was with my sister and we decided to get out a potato and a knife and take a picture of her toes slicing the potato. It was a funny picture that would have been a novelty on a menu. "Toe Cut Fries". Yummy.

Anxiety

Anxiety can do damage. It not only effects your mind, it also effects your body. I haven't slept in two days. I have no idea how I will make it through today. I am so tired but just cannot rest. My mind will not let me. It keeps ruminating on situations that are going on in my life. Some are nonsense and some are real but they are all taking a toll on me. I worry about my family. One person creates his own problems and the other has no control over his. That is the one that scares me the most.

Wonka

I never watched the movie "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". I always thought it was a children's movie. After Gene Wilder died, I decided to watch it when I had some time.  Yesterday was that day. I was mesmerized. It was a child's movie geared for adults. It taught valuable lessons and made you think. The writing was on par with "Young Frankenstein". Sarcastic and thought provoking. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Last night I had dinner with my brother in law and sister in law. We went to their house for dessert and it was there that I realized he had created a "World of Pure Imagination".  There are toys on the walls and horses hanging from the ceiling. Everywhere you look is another surprise that will make you smile.  Like Willy Wonka, he can take the mundane and turn it into magic. He has created his own world of imagination and it is a wonder to behold. I have put the link to the movie scene I love the most and hope you can watch it to see what I mean. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2pt2-F2j2g

All The News

I have become lazy in my daily news gathering. I used to read a newspaper but that was before my eyes got tired after two pages. I moved on to the internet. I like the written articles and shy away from the videos. I do not like news being told to me, I need to evaluate for myself. I scroll through the articles about most celebrities as I feel the information is planted by their marketing team. If I see an article about a child being hurt, I pass it quickly. If I read it I would be upset all day. I look at world news (propaganda) and recipes. I read and then evaluate what I find the truth to be. I hate the stories about celebrity children as they are doing nothing different than any other child. They will just be more screwed up as adults. On weekends I am on a no news regimen. Anything earth shattering will be told to me. 

Agony and Ecstasy

It is amazing that two people can live the same set of circumstances but to one person it is agony and to the other it is ecstasy. That has been the scenario of buying my husband's newest car. For the past two months I have been living in agony as he sold one car and bought another. The phone calls, the constant repetitive conversations, the obsessing. Will his car be sold? Who will buy it? How much will he sell it for? When the selling ordeal was over, the buying ordeal was kicked into full gear. What car do I want? First it was a Corvette that somehow morphed into a T-Bird. Where will I find the car? How much can I pay for it? Where is it located? Is it perfect? On and on the circle went. Last week he "bought" a car only to cancel the deal. My happiness was short lived. Last night he bought another car that should be the "one". He is in ecstasy. I will remain in agony until a car is actually in my garage. The funny thing is that he was oblivious to my agony while living his ecstasy.

Nothing and Everything

When someone asks me what is new, I stop and think. The answer is nothing and everything. Sometimes there is so much going on that I do not even want to talk about it. Too much nonsense. Too much insanity. Too much stress. So when I am asked what is new, I say "Nothing".

Luck

Is there such a thing as luck? I can go either way answering this. While I do not think that the concept of luck exists, some people just seem luckier than others. I can use the casino as an example. I am not a gambler. If I lose ten dollars I will be upset. On the two occasions that I have gone to a casino I have lost. I go with a few dollars and lose it within five minutes. I have a friend that recently won $25,000. He won that on the first pull of the machine.Yesterday, he went to the same casino. He tried two times and on the second try, he won $2,500. Is that luck?

Memory

Some people have good memorys. Some have great ones. The other day I was talking to a few friends about skin spots. I mentioned that I have a spot that looks lighter than the rest of my arm. One friend said that it was the spot where I burned myself. When did I burn myself? I had no recollection of a burn. She said that a few years ago when I was cooking, I leaned against a pan and burned my skin in the exact spot that is now lighter. I did not recall doing that. The more she said it, the memory started to come back. This was at least five years ago. Why did she remember it and I did not? I can remember the minutest detail of unimportant things so why did this slip my mind? That question will remain unanswered.

Seventy Days

There are approximately seventy days of summer. By summer, I mean pool days. This was one of the best summers I can remember in a long time. I spent all weekends and a majority of work afternoons at the town pool. Since many of the women I am friendly with are school teachers, they were there every day. We sat and talked for hours. Some days it was the exact same conversation as the day before, but no one cared. It was just so pleasant. Today, even though it looks cloudy outside, we may all get together and spend the last pool day together. At 10pm tonight the pool is drained and will look empty and sad until next June.

Sweet Sixteen

Last night we went to a Sweet Sixteen. My husband has watched the girl grow up. Her mother is his co worker and she brought her daughter to work most nights so she could make sure she was safe. The little girl did her homework and watched the lab run. She is now a high school senior and on the track team. She is planning on becoming a doctor and hopes that her high grades allow her to go to a good college. No one is quite sure who her father is, but her mother took on the roles of both mother and father and has done a wonderful job. There were two hundred people at the party. The room was decorated as if it was a wedding. The young people dressed beautifully and even put on a dance show. There was enough food to feed an army. The music was loud and everyone danced. We had a wonderful time.

Last Hurrah, Maybe

This is Labor Day weekend. I usually spend it at the town pool. The last three days of summer will come to an end. I am talking about summer vacation, as we all know that summer extends into fall. It is supposed to be sunny today but might rain Sunday and Monday. If that is the case, this may be the last pool day. I had a great summer but it flew by too fast. I will try to squeak out the last moments of today just in case the weather is bad tomorrow.

I Say, You Hear

I have a favorite expression that I "stole" from my friend. I use it frequently when I speak to my children. The saying is, "You don't need to hear it, but I need to say it". As a parent I still worry about my children. I want to tell them things that I know they are already aware of. I want to tell them to watch their children and hold their hands. I want to tell them to cut their kid's food into small pieces. I want to tell them to be careful around swimming pools. My children used to get offended when I told them these things. They would say that they are not babies or idiots. If I did not express my feelings, I would think about them all day. Now, if I premise the unwanted statements with, "You don't need to hear it but I need to say it", they listen. It is amazing how one sentence can change the tone of a conversation.

Spot or Lot

Yesterday I was in Brooklyn. It is so overcrowded. People and cars roaming around like ants. The parking is horrible. You drive around in circles looking for an opening. I am not used to parallel parking. I an used to pulling into a parking lot and finding a spot. I could never live in the city.