A healing or a curse?

Some days are just easier to bear than others. Surprisingly to me, there isn't even a correlation between good or bad things happening in a given day. Sometimes you just roll out of bed and you know it's going to be a difficult day. It's at those times I find it impossible to listen to music on the radio. I have always loved and listened to music. Perhaps it is part of the CAPD that I have struggled with through out my life, but up until recently, there were very few songs that I could make out the words enough to follow the lyrics and the storyline. For the most part I liked a song based on it's sound. I could make out some words and the sound of the music would clue me into whether it was a love song or an angry song etc.

Well sometime in the last 6 months I had a healing of sorts when something shifted inside my brain, I remember quite clearly sitting in my car, driving around doing my errands, when I realized for the first time in my life I was hearing the lyrics, and actually understanding the story line of the song. It was awesome....till I realized that some of my favorite songs that I had always loved just depressed the hell out of me. It was almost enough to make me switch to a Christian music station. Almost, but not quite :)

Anyway, on those difficult days, I can't bear to listen to music....at least 80% of the songs coming on the radio are about love and loss in every imaginable way. Parents that didn't love there children enough, unrequited love, lost love, love betrayed...the list is endless. And those upbeat moody rap songs I loved so...whoa Nellie! Glad I took peoples' words for it and never played those in the car with the kids.

(Wall E) Yes kids the end is near!

Boy! Saw the movie Wall E with the kids today. What a film. Definitely entertaining, though somewhat alarmist in tone. Interesting that the author of the script claims that he had not intended to comment on the environment or scare kids into ecological responsibility. I'm not sure I buy it. Decide for yourself after viewing the clip. entended.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lkbqgsrRXg

The end of the movie was the funniest and MOST disturbing part of the film. After 700 years in space, hundreds of clinically obese people floating around in their lounge chairs (they are too fat to walk) on board the space craft Axiom, are jarred out of their special seats and slide/roll across the lido deck into a heap. It was the most pathetic/disturbing albeit funny thing I'd seen in a while.

In my opinion the message of the movie was clear. The world is going to Hell in a hand basket! Both girls left the theater saying "That's going to happen eventually isn't it?" I was looking for a movie to entertain, not scare my kids. Having said that, both kids and I did enjoy the movie. And you have to appreciate PIXAR's computer animation. It was a fantastic piece of work.

What's for dinner?

I remember a time when eating was enjoyable and having friends
over for lunch or dinner was a simple pleasure.  While having
friends and family over is no less a pleasure, it sure can get
complicated.  When I was young, seemingly no one had food allergies.
There might have been the 1 or maybe 2 kids that were allergic
to peanuts but that was it.  And everyone could breath…I don’t
remember kids running around with inhalers or going to the nurses
for asthma medication.  (But that’s for another post)

So many people now have so many different food restrictions due to
disease, allergies or weight loss regiments, that it becomes
virtually impossible to have more than a couple people over for
a meal and meet all dietary needs.  Lets say you have a couple over
with lactose intolerance and another with Crohnes disease allergic
to shade plants, and another whose following the eat for your blood
type diet and wants everything organic…..what do you serve?  That
doesn’t even address the pickiness factor of any children involved.
My child for example as far as cheese goes, only eats Kraft
individually sliced American cheese.  I tried getting the same
cheese sliced fresh at the counter and she could taste the difference.
I even tried the individually sliced organic version and she tasted
the difference. What difference you might ask?  She could actually
taste the absence of certain preservatives present in that horrible
pre wrapped cheese.
Honestly, I don’t entertain often.  But have any of you ever felt
the added pressure when entertaining to meet everyone’s dietary
needs or do you just take it in stride?  Are the days of dinner
parties over and potluck gatherings becoming the norm where
everyone knows there will be at least one dish they will be able
to eat?  

Thoughts on the Cayuga wine trail...

This past weekend, as part of my cousin's bachelorette party, I took part in a wine tasting tour visiting some wineries that were part of the Cayuga wine trail in up state New York. During one of many surreal moments this past weekend, while tasting the wine, I flashed back to when Peter and I used to subscribe to Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Besides the interesting articles, we both always loved reading the reviews of the various wines in this magazine and always sought out the ones with the least points awarded to see in just what creative way the critic would describe his richly offended palette.

I dug up one of these magazines and found a few reviews I liked.

As I was reading them I had the image of what these various critics might be like at a party….summing up everyone around them in a 3 sentence quip.

“He is light, arrogant, with a touch of effervescent zeal. The top notes of intelligence and sophistication only lead to disappointment, as he is completely devoid in body and spirit. All right for a quick lay.”

“This well structured specimen of the female variety feels smooth and polished. Light in spirit with a smooth finish. An easy companion for small and large gatherings alike.”

Does anyone out there know any wine or food critics? Does their critiqing come out in other less appropriate ways? Probably no more or less then the rest of us I suppose....just a passing thought.

The Lies We Tell

(Not inspirational but definitely introspective….boy it gets dark in here sometimes!)

No matter the primary orientation of our moral compass, varying levels of deception exist. Deception takes its form in the lies we tell ourselves, and the lies we tell others. The conscious ones, that help us get through each day, can be as insignificant as the face saving white lie “No dear, I don’t mind when you leave food in the sink.” and as destructive as “It’s only cheating if I get caught.”

How about the unconscious more insidious lies we tell ourselves. The ones that hit just below the surface. That unsettling feeling you have after you make a decision that you are SURE is right….How many of these decisions are merely a series of intellectual justifications slowly yet surely leading us towards an emotional death.

How can something be right, yet feel so wrong?

May we all be centered and somewhat introspective enough to get to the truth of the matter, what ever THAT may be.

Playing by the rules

Scrabble and variations of it like Upwards are games that I have grown very fond of in recent years. I love words and though I have a descent vocabulary, I am a horrific speller resulting in a built in handicap. I love to play serious competitive games with those that are equally competitive. And I like to play by the rules.

I am a rule follower by nature. I know how hard it is to make rules and set boundaries in the first place and feel that when possible, rules/policies/ boundaries should be respected. I like the predictability and order they afford.

Now here is the question. What if, what you thought were the rules weren’t? And you had been playing this way for years. Having discovered the “right” way, do you try to relearn the game the way it was designed? Or do you just keep playing it the way you know and love, with others who play by your rules?

As far as the board game is concerned, when ever there is a rule question, I think the rules established by Hasbro are the ones that should be followed. But that question got me thinking on a whole other level.

In life, how often do we get caught playing by one set of rules, only to find that they have been rewritten? Sometimes I have felt like the whole game itself has been swapped out and here I am with my tiles, while everyone else is playing cards.

Is this a feeling anyone else can appreciate?

Just a a day....

Just a day.....nothing exciting. I wanted to stay home and have a lazy day today but the children had other plans. "What are we going to do today?" they asked. Always the pressing question in the summer months.

I forgot to have any coffee today and had a wicked headache by the afternoon. Arghhhhh. After receiving a last minute invite to my neighbors birthday celebration I popped an ibuprofen and went next door to the birthday party shin dig.

The kids got to swim and play on the trampoline(...a home owners insurance agency nightmare as far as I'm concerned) and had loads of fun. I mingled with the family and guests...got some free advice about my window leak....(mold situation) and had a descent time.

I Need to get my house in order before I leave for my cousins bachelorette party this weekend. Thanks to a friend of mine they will have a friends and a pool to occupy their time tomorrow, leaving me free to get work done!

It feels wonderful to have a long weekend....

Not so subliminal advertising and fireworks (Why I want a Big Gulp NOW!)

What a wonderful 4th of July! We spent a relaxing day catching up with old friends as well as new ones. Having missed the local fireworks display the past 2 years, we decided to head on into town for the celebratory lighting of the night sky.

A certain amount of investigative work was done before a meeting place was chosen. However, our sources were mistaken, and the fireworks were set off in a completely different location than previous years. Fortunately, we were still able to turn our chairs and see the fireworks fairly well, with the exception of the 7 eleven sign smack in front of them.

It was a great show, though they took the unusual approach of what appeared to be 3 separate finales. It was genius really. Every year, at the end of the show people pack everything up as quick as they can, run to their cars and try to get out as quickly as possible to avoid the traffic. So after what appeared to be the finale the first time, a few cars started to leave. After a minute a second huge display of finale like fireworks was set off and again people left thinking that was it. But a minute later they set off a bunch more. The end effect was slightly frustrating, a lot of fun, and certainly helped ease the congestion of traffic.

And after staring at that fireworks display for 15 minutes or so....I'm just so craving a Big Gulp...

Who didn't have a livingroom like this in the 70s....minus the cartoon characters that is.

I was looking at some other blogs and found this guy's stuff. Loved the picture....Liked the idea of the cereal cartoon characters reuniting after years gone by...realizing a little to late that the old magic was indeed gone.






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One step closer.

For those of you following the ongoing mold saga, a wonderful new development has occurred. The source of water has been discovered. After removing the electric baseboard heater and more of the drywall (Thank you Paul for all your help.) we were able to visualize dripping water coming in through what appears to be a separation of the caulk surrounding the outside of the window. A simple fix. :)



The picture to the right is of the dead carpenter ants...also molding ...sigh.


However, in my search for the water source, I discovered that independent of the mold fiasco, I really do need a new roof. :( So I am pricing out different roofs. After the roof ... the leach field. It's all a work in progress.