Family

Today's Throwback Thursday is a picture of me and my sisters-in-law, Steve's four sisters.  One year, maybe for his parents' anniversary, his mom made us all dresses alike. We wore them, I assume out of respect for his mom and her efforts.  I'm pretty sure none of us wore them many, if any, other times, and certainly not at the same time.

But the point of this is that my mother-in-law didn't have to make me one.  She could have just made Rachel, Kitty, Judy, and Dot a dress and left me out.  Certainly being the "in-law" would have exempt me from being part of the group.  But she included me.  And throughout the years, they have all included me, in both the good and the not-so-good times.

Because that's what family is really all about.  It's not always about how you got there, but that you're loved and part of the family, no matter how or when you get there.  You're part of the group and share all things family.  And if you're really lucky, you get a matching dress.

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Today was a great day because:  I got a project finished and in the mail; made an airport run for Sam; Maribeth helped with Sam's car return; Steve's fun at the Masters and safe travel to Birmingham; getting a few tasks accomplished

Maggie, The Guard Cat

Generally, Maggie does not like to be around when Lindley and Everley are over.  Possibly because sometimes they like to chase her.  Maggie's preferred spot is under the covers on my (or any) bed.  The only issue is when Everley or Lindley want to take a nap on that bed and find a huge lump (sometimes purring).  Lindley prefers that the lump be extricated and be put elsewhere - preferably in another county.

So it looks like today Maggie the Cat is getting even.  Instead of guarding Lindley's chair, it might appear that she is considering retaliation for all those times she was rudely awakened from a good nap by a particular four-year-old.  Maggie has that look of "so where's the four-year-old now?"

Luckily for everyone, Lindley was at school and Maggie decided it was beneath her dignity to mark and/or otherwise deface Lindley's chair.  We'll see if the peace talks hold out ...

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Today was a great day because:  Four slow miles with KB; sort of rescuing Rambo; Steve's safe travel to Georgia; watching Jeopardy with Maribeth; delivering a package and a little shopping

What We Do

The other day, Sam had a random encounter with someone he went to church with many years ago.  When the person asked what Sam did now, Sam replied that he is an entrepreneur.  To which this person replied, "That's vague."

When Sam told me about this encounter and the response he got, I was a bit baffled.  First of all, I wasn't surprised - that person is sort of an odd conversationalist.  But I'm always surprised at the responses people seem to make when it comes to commenting on the eternal question of "What do you do?"  Sometimes I just wish instead of blurting out a quick comment to the answer to that question, the person would just stop, think, and then say, "And what does that entail?"

For Sam, my answer for him would be that he dreams big dreams and then sets about getting them into action.  He finds stories in everyday life and then tells them so that others can hear the stories, enjoy them, and maybe even learn from them.  He speaks and encourages so that others can dream big dreams and persevere to see their own dreams move into action.  Dictionary.com defines an entrepreneur as: “a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.”  Instead of finding that vague, I find it intriguing.

But the same question is asked daily, and when the answer is given, very few people wait around to hear the whole story.  "Oh, so you're a stay at home mom."   "Oh, so you work in an office."  "Oh, so you're a teacher."  "Oh, so you're retired."  Oh - so do you really have any idea what that means?

I guess the point of this soapbox sermon is the next time I hear somebody tell what they do, I hope I have a chance to ask them what that means.  Because if I am interested enough to ask the question, I should be interested enough to hear the whole story.

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Today is a great day because:  I actually got a room cleaned out/up; Molly's beef stew for lunch; some Wal-Mart/Target therapy; Steve's safe return home

Paper or Cyber?

I recently got an offer for "Good Housekeeping" magazine - the print version.  It seemed like a pretty good deal, and I'm thinking about getting it.  I just have to decide if I'm willing to be eco-conscious or not.

I have an iPad.  I also have access to one of the electronic reader devices (obviously I don't use it so I'm not sure what brand thingy it is).  I also have a computer.  So you can see that there are several non-killing-a-tree ways for me to read a magazine.

Maybe I'm old-school.  I like having the feeling of a magazine or book in my hands.  I like being able to tear something out of a magazine if I want to keep it, or go back and forth in a book to keep track of who's who (yes I know you can go back and forth electronically, but it just doesn't seem the same and I think I might get dizzy from spinning the pages back and forth).  I also like being able to fold up a magazine and take it wherever I want (yes, I know I could do that with an electronic devise, but if I drop a magazine down the toilet or in the pool, the loss is not quite as dramatic).  I also just seem to feel some sort of tactile comfort in the pages of a book or magazine.

So, do I order the magazine via print/snail mail or electronic/cyber mail?   According to my coupon, I have 15 days to decide and send back the postcard. 

Even the order procedure is old school ...

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Today was a great day because:  Lindley and Everley time; quick visit at Molly's to pick up food

It's Typical, Not Unusual

So today's story is another example of how things happen in my life.  Be forewarned - this may get a little gross ...

Anyhow, today I decided to get a massage.  I haven't gotten one in awhile, and decided that in keeping with trying to be a better me and take care of myself and treat myself well (blah, blah, blah), I would get one.  So I went in and met with Bob-bo (yeah, I am not saying his real name to protect the innocent).

A little backstory:  several years ago when I started getting massages, I went to Gigi (again, not her real name, but mainly because I don't remember it).  She noticed I had a bump or blackhead or something on my back and decided she would pop it/push it/whatever it to get it cleaned out.  I don't know if she did since the object of her efforts is between my shoulder blades, but I can say that she certainly tried.  She also talked the entire hour, but that's another story.  Anyhow, I left the massage with supposedly a cleaned out place on my back.

Only it wasn't so cleaned out, as it decided to have a party and get bigger.  Not cancer-like bigger, but lumpy zit/blackhead bigger (I warned you it was a little gross - and it's gonna get worse).  Over the years, massage people would comment on it.  Like one girl who said, "Do you know there's a lump on your back?"  Like I wasn't aware?  Some massagers (I know - masseuses) would ignore it, some would work around it, and some would just work over it.  Did I care?  Nope.  As long as I left feeling somewhat refreshed, I was okay (except for Mr. Jiggly Armpits - again, another story for another day). 

Okay, so fast forward to today.  Bob-bo (whom I've never had before) and I had our usual pre-massage chat and I told him that since I had been out of the massage loop for awhile, I just wanted to concentrate on my upper body today, which seems to be my most tight area (and I wasn't sure if my legs had been shaved in the last six months).  Anyhow, he said "Dandy," - well, maybe not - and left so I could disrobe and hop up on the table, face down (which will prove to be pivotal in this story - which, by the way, I have never figured out why some massager-euses prefer to start face up and some face down.  Should I solve this mystery one day, there shall be a blog post - now live in that anticipation!).

Anyhow, back to Bob-bo.  I get properly situated on the table (face down, remember), and he knocks and comes in and gets started.  I pretty quickly noticed that he was attending to my knot (just for reference, it was the size of a marble maybe).  I'm thinking maybe he was trying to determine what his course of action was going to be - ignore, work around, or work over.  And then his course of action became obvious - HE WAS GOING TO WORK IT OUT!!  Yes, people, Bob-bo was going to get every bit of that lumpy blob out - I guess through whatever pore (which I assume became larger) he could.

What did this entail?  A lot of pushing and prodding and PUSHING (think of popping a pimple and magnify the effort like 1 billion times).  At some point he wanted to show me what he was getting out, so I'd raise my head as he requested so I could see his finger nail.  Luckily I had on my contacts and cannot see anything close without my readers, so it was all a bit fuzzy, but I at least could see it was sort of gross.  He kept pushing and prodding and then once we became best friends, he talked about what he was doing.  And how it hit him in the eye but he would wash his face afterward.  And how he used 10 paper towels already.  And how this just made his day.  And how he is super-qualified to do this.  And how he felt bad that I've had to live with this for so many years.  And how he's getting all the infection out.  And how it's in the muscle but it also affects the nerves (which is probably why when he did some of the pushing and prodding, my elbow tingled).  And how I should probably used Glipity-gloopity cream (like I understood what the heck he was saying) that I could get at Whole Foods in the vitamin aisle to help with the bruising that was probably going to occur.

Anyhow, after around 50 minutes of this (yes, 50 minutes or so) the session was over and my marble was gone (for the most part).  Bob-bo apologized that I didn't get a massage, to which I replied that I got my money's worth to have my bumpiness removed.  Of course, as I recounted my story to the female members of the family, they were all horrified and are taking bets as to when the infection will REALLY begin (so in other words, I don't need your comments, but perhaps you can contact them and enter the infection bet).

So the point of this story is that while this may seem unusual to us, it's pretty typical of the way things happen in my life.  You go in for a massage and come out with no back bump.  You just have to find the good in the detours that come your way.  Just remind me of this when the infection starts ... 

Oh, and yes, I have another appointment with Bob-bo in the future.  Whatever ...

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Today was a great day because:  Everley's birthday party at Chucky Cheese; Charity/Molly party at Sonic; Lindley and Everley time; bump-busting with Bob-bo; Cracker Barrel dinner with Everley, Maribeth, Mathieu, and Steve