Well, we have just survived another holiday season at our house. No, you didn't miss something...it is a holiday specific to our family; The Month of Birthdays, and truth be told, in the grand scheme it is not even over if you count peripheral family, but for our nuclear bunch, it is, finally, DONE!

It has been kind of crazy around here in March as I turned 36 on the 2nd, Gwynn turned 6 on the 8th, and Devin 9 on the 12th...if my tired mind is not going dyslexic on the numbers. As the month has gone on, and on, and on, we have attended a John Mayer concert for me (photos from my "friend" to come in the next blog), had home birthday parties, brought treats to school, had friend parties, all times two of course, and had the whole famdamily up for an afternoon. It has been exhausting, and exhilerating at the same time, and fun overall, but I am finding a first moment for quiet reflection right now - a treat to the time crunch that we have been living for about 3 weeks.

Along with birthday celebration, somehow, we have all aged another year...the overall premise of birthdays being, naturally, to mark in some signifigant way, the passage of time. Yep, when you get down to the proverbial brass tacks, it is true...I AM getting older. Of course going to a rock concert for your birthday, while youth inducing, can remind you of how much older you are as well. This was actually my second time seeing Johnny M. in concert...and he was wonderful just the same...but I did notice, it is getting a little loud, you know? I will give myself some latitude here, as the concert was in the Onondaga War Memorial, essentially a hockey rink, fairly small, and concrete and metal, so the acoustics, shall we say, leave a bit to be desired overall, but still...it was a little loud. Not to mention, a commercial today informed me that both VanHalen, who I just LOVE, and R.E.M. (never favorites of mine, but still, who could forget "Losing My Erection...I mean Religion?") are being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I guess we are all in this together, my generation really IS growing up.

There are a lot of things cropping up like that lately. Things where I am reminded that I fit into a different demographic...times where I have to check a different box, you know, the 32-42 box on the survey and such. Things take a little longer, I get a little tireder a little earlier, a little more oftener, I forget things more. It seems as well like a lot of patterns and events in life are repeating themselves. It is not like life is becoming boring or anything, but it is a bit more predictable, and in turn, it goes SO fast. It is the end of birthday month now, but it will be a flash, I am sure, and it will be here again.

In as much as I am willing to acknowledge this passage of time, and while I will fully admit that it is preferable to the ultimate alternative, I am also finding myself fighting it in subtle, and not so subtle ways. We recently read the book I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron for my bookgroup, and while Sue and I both had the same opinion about it, namely that we didn't QUITE relate to it yet, and that we could've written a few of the segments in a more humorous and cohesive way, it still brought some thoughts on aging to the forefront of the mind. I have been more conscious of my hair for example, and have been enjoying skin care and makeup more than I have in a long time, finding ways it can help and hide things that, admittedly could use a little help and hiding. Makeup was so exciting at about ages 10-12, when you were so despearate to look OLDER. I am finding, now, it is my friend again, but in that money sucking quest for the fountain of youth.

My clothes, too, have gone through something of a metamorphosis in the last few years, as I have felt "olderness" creeping up on me. Here, I feel, though, that as I have aged, my clothes have become more "me" and more modern. For example, as much as I used to love the "teacher jumper," now I refuse to wear the clothes that scream "I'm a teacher/I'm a mom." I hasten to say, it is in some ways a response to the cultural shift, which can be seen in the evolution of "Teacher Barbie" from jean skirt and "teacher print" vest to red print strappy, but appropriate sundress and red platform sandals. See, Barbie's right with us girls, using the clothes to preserve her youth, and she'd got a lot more years on her than I do. While I will readily admit to the roles of both mother and teacher, I don't want or need to wear either as a label...after all, they are as much a part of me as any other part of my identity. The way I DO want to dress these days is as a woman ; beautiful, current, successful, powerful and sexy...I want to dress as an adjective, not a noun. (see, told you the teacher thing was inescapable...)

Finally, there is this fascination with all things of my youth. Another marketing ploy to be certain, but oh well. I have already expressed my love of iTunes, and truth be told, the vast majority of my downloads are certainly 70's and 80's hits. Truth be further told, I was just pulled away from finishing this rant by "VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's," and final truth, I have some issues with their picks and orders. Then there is this attempt at recapturing youth through my children. You all know this one. The joy of buying my daughter the clogs I wasn't allowed to have, and watching Star Wars the RIGHT way (Episodes 4-6 and THEN 1-3) on several Saturday and Sunday afternoons, with my son, when surely I should be cleaning my house, or paying some bills. It is in these moments when I reflect, relive and revel in the joy and plentitude that has been, and will be, my life. I suppose that is it, in a nutshell. Life goes on, and is a one way street. There is no going back, but there are times to reflect, times to try certain things again. As I watched VH1 I saw Keith Richards, once playing "Start Me Up" near 40 in 1982, and more recently in some taped footage from that Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which he must've been invited to perform at. I mean, the guy looked old in '82, looks positively pickled now, and is still on a long worldwide tour with the Rolling Stones as we speak, despite a nasty fall from a coconut tree. Maybe we all ought to take a few hints from Keith. Life is for living, age really is just a number, perhaps booze and cigarettes have preservative qualities, and being a little nutty can really help us along at times. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY to us, to 36, and bring on the coconut, be it chocolate, tanning lotion or preferably the coconut rum seved up from Coco the Cabana boy! Life is here, it is now, and it is good!
-Cheryl

Just some notes on days of perfect synergy...

I have about MINUTES before I need to head out the door with my daughter for bookgroup/dinner at my favorite high carb chain bistro (Panera anyone? Hello - LOVE IT - and they deserve kudos - starting up a BAKERY restaurant at the height of Atkins - look who's still around...) and shoe shopping, the perfect ending to a perfect day, but those few minutes deserve some reverent reflection.

Last week, even though it was February break, I felt a bit trapped and penned in, not only due to immense amounts of snow, but also due to a sick family. February break is usually such a wonderful treat - FREE DAYS OFF - NO HOLIDAY INVOLVED - and then it all went to Hell. In my pessimists mind, also, I knew that we had tickets to a John Mayer concert for the Tuesday after break and I could just see it playing out with break ending, all of us healthy and heading back to work Monday, and me coming down with the disease on Tuesday.

Well, guess what - THE WORST DID NOT HAPPEN!

The opposite, in fact happened, a day, or perhaps even a day and a half, of perfect synergy.

- PERFECT weather to travel down to the concert - and Dave driving - Thanks Dave!
- Great dinner at Red Lobster - COCONUT SHRIMP - yummy!- AND a good waitress!
- Getting to the concert on time, actually with time to spare
- Buying tee shirts and Sue finding that they were made by American Apparel!
- A wonderful show - Johnny M. in a scarf...need I say more?
- Me making a new friend!
- A safe drive home
- A good night's sleep, with no little urchins waking up, and Tim not snoring:)
- Sending the kiddies off to school
- Seeing on school email that our union approved our contract - only the board to go:)
- Online shopping with mom and getting a great deal on new dishes
- A personal day today as I was BEAT, complete with napping:)
- Sun on snow

...and to top it off, well, at least before "girl's night," doesn't my Lia Sophia order come - new jewelry! I can DEFINITELY make it though the rest of the week, and face my 36th (yikes!) birthday on Friday:)
Here's to good friends, good food, good music, a good LIFE!
-Cheryl

Treating Ourselves

Today's random thought is about treating ourselves. It is such a wonderful thing. Such a necessary part of my life. I think back to some article I read about people who were challenged to go one entire year without buying anything new. I believe food was not included in that. Anyway, at first I thought, hmm, one year, I could PROBABLY do it. But really, I don't think that I could.

I have always gotten enjoyment out of the little things. As a young teenager, when many of my friends were "out" on a Friday night (their parents thought with a group of friends at a movie, but it would be at a party or out with an older boy their parents didn't approve of or know about), I found peace with a trip to the store with my mother. I would get a new nail polish, or a magazine, or that LUXURY SHAMPOO (refer back 5 blogs). At 14 or 15, this was all I needed to make me happy. That and a telephone hooked to my head. I had a friend who actually teased me about my lack of a social life at that age. The biggest excitement of Susan's Friday night is going to Fay's with her mother! Oh yes, it was the big laugh. Several years later, when this same friend came home pregnant at age 15, she admitted how jealous she was. Had she only gone to Fay's with her mother on Friday nights, she might not have been a Mom when I was going to the Prom and beginning my own social life. Even more years later, when her own daughter was 14, she told me that she wanted the biggest excitment in her daughter's life to be going to WalMart (Fay's had long since closed) with her.

I often think of the trouble I have kept myself out of by treating myself to the little things. Instead of turning to heavy drugs or alcohol in times of sadness, I would take a bubble bath, or get a new haircut. Instead of doing something I might later regret, I buy a new skirt. Of course this can also be seen as a problem. And sometimes I have my issues. But in the end I think I am still further ahead.

Something else that is interesting to ponder, is that I am not into the big things. Like, I do not have fancy new cars every other year, nor do I have a snowmobile for the winter months. I do not own a boat or a summer getaway cottage. All these things would certainly be attainable if I did not splurge on the little things. If I was a saver. I wonder how my life would be if I didn't spend money on the little things, but instead saved it. But I don't wonder for long, before whipping a bouquet of roses into my cart at the Chopper. They will make me happy all week.

So back to the people challenged to not buy anything for a year. This could possibly work for me if I was only allowed to shop at a grocery store. I could possibly get by without any new clothes (although I did see the Chopper carrying jeans last week!) or shoes for a year. But I could survive with an occasional new makeup or magazine from the Chopper, or perhaps a new basket or set of spa towels. They sell books, too!

As I head back to the working world tomorrow, after 12 days off, I will think of my roses, at home waiting for my return. My children each picked out a plant for their rooms today, too. I am teaching them the way!

Swimming, anyone?

Just a few photos from our house after the storm of February 2007.

Just the photos du jour in the continuation of "The February That We Didn't Work."
Call the first one "5:15 am SnowBLOW"...the second "Snow Up to My __________" ...the third "Drifts Up to My ________" You can fill in your own body part depending on age and gender:)
TO SNOW - L'CHAIM!!!
Cheryl

Mother Nature gives day 6

Well, the Lord giveth, the district tries to taketh away. That is pretty much the story of today. Let's back up and review the month of February, shall we? We'll even leave out the whole kick off on Monday, January 29, when a blizzard was predicted well in advance but our Super was playing God and chose not to dismiss before it hit. We learned, via channel 9's website, that one of our district's buses rolled over. 7 were sent to the hospital and all were forever changed. Our first snow day was a peace offering, Tuesday, January 30. But like I said, we will leave all that out.

So we worked February 1 and 2. Winter was scheduled to arrive in full force on Sunday the 4th. Sure enough, I couldn't make it out of my driveway and had to cancel my church school class. The snow came as predicted and we got our first legitamate snow day on Monday. How exciting it was! A day to stay home and watch tv, read, cook, eat. Tuesday came and other districts remained closed. We went with a 2 hour delay. A very nice bonus. Wednesday also warranted a 2 hour delay. We certainly were getting used to these bankers hours!

Thursday arrived and the weather was still center stage. Oswego was closed yet again, while the county remained in a state of Emergency. Celebrities were flocking to Mexico and Parish to report live and give the weather report. Red Creek managed to go to school on time that day, although I was unable to see the bottom of my driveway and had to call in at 8am. Having planned to be out for the afternoon anyway, I couldn't see the point of killing myself to get there for the morning, only to possibly be trapped for the afternoon. It cleared temporarily later, long enough for us to make a scheduled Dr. appointment. Red Creek decided to play it safe and dismiss an hour early. That bus incident still replaying like a bad dream.

Friday came and we closed after a 2 hour delay and several plans in place for what I was doing. The weather was roaring and kept me from driving to Syracuse for the workshop I was scheduled to attend. Cutting all the details of this story, which could be a separate blog in itself, we were IN for the day.

The weekend gave little reprieve. I left here for my grocery shopping on Saturday with the sun shining and the roads clear only to run into the yellow radar of white out conditions. I made it home, filled our fridge and our pantry, happy to be home. In the meantime, our church school coordinator decided to cancel for the next day.

Sunday was the one bright spot. It was clear and sunny. Dave, Jillian and I went to Syracuse for a brief shopping trip and out to lunch. Ethan went with a friend to the Hannibal Winterfest and won first place in the snow sculpture contest.

School returned and life was back to normal on Monday and Tuesday. In the midst of this little calm arrived my first nephew, Owen William! Born at 5:18am on Tuesday, weighing in at a lucky 7 even!! I was dying to get up to that hospital to see him while the weather was holding off. NOT SO FAST, laughed mother nature. A huge noreaster was in the works. It was all the buzz at school on Tuesday and bets were placed on when we'd see each other again. As we left school, see ya in March was the joke. February 26, to be more accurate, but at the same time, that is the first week of March. I did make it up there to see Owen, and back home in time before Mother nature struck again.

Sure enough, all schools in a radius of 100 miles were closed. Valentine's day was spent at home with kids. It was kind of nice and we were happy to get it. On Thursday my children returned to school on time, but Red Creek felt the need to delay. I was happy with this and looked forward to a 2nd cup of coffee, putting my kids on the bus here, a late shower and a shortened work day. NOT SO FAST! We closed for day #5 at 7am. Quite the shock. It didn't even seem that bad! But mother nature had plans for more horror later in the day.

Today, Friday February 16 brought snow day #6. The weather band sat right over our district and several others, closing several once again. Could this really be real? A total of 7 working days between Feb 1-Feb 26? NOT SO FAST. The principal called with news of a plan to bring us in for a couple of days next week. In a way we were expecting it, but a little voice in the back was saying, not so fast! Someone very much on top of things gently reminded our Superintendent that we have 7 days in which we can use in case of an emergency and that he already has a plan in place in the event that ALL SEVEN of those days are used. After a brief scramble, we received this email:

Good Morning everyone, Today, Friday the 16th, is our 6th snow day of the year. We have one more built into the calendar. Considering the forecast for next week and the amount of snow we have received recently, we will not try to make up any days over the February break period. This means that if we have to close for more than one day after the break, we will have to make up the days as necessary. The school calendar calls for April 13, 12, and 11 as emergency make-up days respectively. There are other options that may be feasible i.e. student day on Good Friday and conference day after graduation, but it all depends on how many make-up days are required (some years March has been cruel month weather wise). Hopefully, we will not have to cut into the April break and the snow will avoid us in the future. If you're a faculty member enjoy the time off next week. If you're a 12 month employee, enjoy the holiday on Monday. Take care and be safe!

So, it looks as if we are in the home stetch. Perhaps if mother nature calms down we will make it to our April vacation without having to use day #7. But even if she has other plans, we still do have that day. What an unbelievable month this has been.

Shampoo is more than just washing your hair.

Shampoo. Definitely unchartered territory. Something I may have not thought about to blog on my own. But after reading Cheryl's thoughts on the subject, I couldn't just post a comment. I have my own thoughts.

Having lived a deprived childhood when it came to things like wardrobe and hairstyle, (I went to a school requiring a green plaid uniform and my mother hated complicated hair), I was, shockingly, not deprived of luxury shampoos! Which is very shocking, as my mother was the queen of generic items (a separate blog, about my phobia of geneiric products).

Growing up I can recall the tube of PRELL (or a glass bottle). The commercial showed a PEARL being dropped into the bottle. The shampoo was so thick that is took forever for the pearl to sink to the bottom. Looking back on PRELL, it would be the equivalent today of washing your hair in TIDE. Talk about DETERGENT! Those were the days you washed your hair on a Saturday night and couldn't go out because it was an all night event (detangling must have been a nightmare before conditioners!). Around that same time was BRECK. Funny, because I recently saw BRECK at Big Lots and bought a bottle just for the memories. It is in the TIDE category. I should actually finish up the bottle by pouring it in to wash towels or socks.

I remember the EARTH BORN NATURAL Ph BALANCED SHAMPOO and can even still sing the jingle. I definitely remember the Clairol Herbal Essence bottle. I can recall the shape of it, the cap and the girl with the long flowing hair of flowers. I remember the smell.

I definitely had GEE YOUR HAIR SMELLS TERRIFIC. I want to say around 5th grade which would have been the late 1970s.

Another product I remember at that time was BODY ON TAP. The shampoo with beer added for body. Had that.

Then there was the introduction of the BLOW DRYER! Our first one was only 800 watts (maybe?) and had loads of attatchments. It took an hour to dry your hair with, but wow, was it something! Then came the shampoos designed for use with a blow dryer. I can still sing the ULTRA MAX song. Start with Ultra Max shampoo and your hair's gonna do what you want it to do! It's gonna flip, the way you want it to, it's gonna curl the way you want it to! The shampoo was a thick golden color but didn't smell the best.

Probably my fondest shampoo memory is VIDAL SASSOON. This was definitely 7th grade. I can recall the shape and color of the bottles. The shampoo itself was clear and smelled of almonds. Conditioners were just becoming the IN thing and Vidal offered a 3 step system. Very high maintenence, but as a 7th grader, what else did you have to do with your time? I haven't thought about Vidal in years. I wonder if it is the same?

In high school, Mom got hooked on a shampoo from her hair dressers called APPLE PECTIN. Wow was that nice! Thick, creamy and apple scented. She would buy it by the pint and we all shared. I also just recently found this at Sally Beauty supply and bought us a bottle. It is everything I remember from the early 1980s!

In between there were the Salon Selectives, the HDR and PERT. Remember PERT??? I didn't (and still don't) like any of the 2 in 1s.

In college I got hooked on PAUL MITCHELL. I still enjoy that line.

Perhaps because I was never deprived of these splurges as a child, I don't feel the need for them today. I really prefer to use the Suave versions of the salon shampoos, and an occassional real PANTENE purchase is sometimes all I need to feel spoiled! I think it is the same idea of not banning alcohol from your children. Growing up we were always allowed to have a sip of wine, and then a very small glass of our own around age 10 when adults got together. It was never a big deal and therefore I never felt that need to BINGE drink in high school or college. Nice correlation there, eh?

Now MAKE-UP? There is another story!

So, I thought to myself, as I was home on the 4th and 5th snowdays of the season, and merely 1 day away from a week off/February break, GOD it is GREAT to be a teacher! No, really, I was thinking we hadn't yet examined shampoo. I mean, I blogged about life through lipgloss, and Sue threw out the whole fragrance map of life thing, but shampoo, now there's uncharted territory.

Thing is, shampoo is a life necessity, you know, so I think you can tell a lot by people's choices. Some people are "down to business" types, and are going to choose the quick and dirty. Literally, what will quickly make me less dirty. Then you have the "pennypinchers" who say, I need it, so how can I do it as cheaply as possible. Me, well, surprise, I am one to try "the new thing," reminisce in the old, and treat myself well if I damn well feel like it. Yeah, yeah, you can read that last line as sometimes I will "pay the price" to get what I want. My marketer's wet dream trait, again, SURPRISE! There's my personality, in a nutshell, well, a shampoo bottle, well, whatever...

I guess it goes back to childhood, as all good psychosis does...and I am going to begin by attributing it to Clairol Herbal Essences shampoo. You know the one, green like the old Tube 'o Prell, but in the pretty bottle with the girl with the long flowing blonde hair that turned into flowers? Well, did I ever want that! But did I get it? No! According to mom, it was a "want," not a "need," and even when it was time to go to summer camp for a week, and I needed some shampoo of my own, mom had already taken care of it and I had a half sized bottle of Fabrege Organics that she had gotten somewhere on special. And that bottle lasted me for YEARS of camp, YEARS! Aargh, probably my "If I want it I am going to buy it, damn it..." attitude comes from that. And as much as I am usually pointing to Dad for my formative moments, a shout out goes to mom for that one, Thanks mom!

Then came the middle grades - 5th - 7th I would say - and "Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific" hit the shelves. Again, I believe I was told I didn't need it, but with my own solvency due to babysitting gigs, I bought it myself. And, gee, my hair DID smell terrific, but alas, I was young, and who was smelling it but ME?

Moving on to the High School years and along came Nexxus. I was IN LOVE with Nexxus Therappe, and it was expensive, but I did not care. The rich creamy lather and texture, and the smell, OH the smell. I think that was where my love of all smells tropical began, and it has not wavered in all these years. In fact, I just bought myself a bottle of Therappe the other day, needing something rich and thick to buffer my hair from the harsh upstate NY winter we are enduring. It is just as good today as it was all those years ago, and now, years older (and wiser?) the name gives me a little giggle as well...Therappe in a bottle? I'll take it!

High School years also brought swim team and Helene Curtis Salon Selectives. I will always be drawn to the smell of apples and chlorine...always...

College was full of years of frugality, all in the name of conserving more cash for drinking and fun, and so came the years of Suave. Not a bad product overall, and the Suave Mega Hold Styling Spritz DID plaster up those 90's bangs to hold strong against the Oswego State wind, but it was really the only time I was shopping completely based on price. I would occationally splurge on some Aussie product, but their grapey smell would draw me in, but then wear on me, and often the bottles of product would go unfinished...

And we end our journey, for now at least, in Adulthood. I have come full circle in that I have gone out and gotten that Clairol Herbal Essences of my youth with my OWN money. Now packaged to provide a "Truly Organic Experience," a la "When Harry Met Sally," it entices, but really, I still long for the flowing haired beauty of my childhood. I can buy what I want, I can clean as I please, but the pleasure brought to me along with my bathing necessity, that is what it is all about.

Off to shower, and to be transported, for a short time at least, away from the frozen tundra and off to my tropical isle. Therappe - take me away!

-Cheryl

As promised to my friend, some images of good 'ol Oswego, post recent "lake effect event."
You know it's winter when the icebergs pack in behind Rudy's! Frozen fish anyone?

Of course, these are being uploaaded on the eve of the up coming "Nor'easter event" that is already closing schools faster than the flu...stay tuned for tomorrow's weather update.

From the Snowy North,
Cheryl

The Lord will provide...

Okay, so I am not really religious, and Bible quoting is not my forte. But I often think of this one quote (in my own words). When I was little I remember my mother's verison was God knows what we need and will take care of us. I remember really thinking about that. What does that mean? How does God know what I really need? I really need those new clogs with the braided trim at Vona's shoe store. I really need to have Mom let me have Trish spend the night this weekend. When things didn't go my way, I would really wonder what the message was behind why I was being denied.

As an adult, I often try to put things in God's hands whenever possible. When I really have a tough decision to make, I try to go with my instinct and let God handle the rest. I have never been let down.

There are weeks when things are tough at work. There are days when things are tough at home. There are times when I promise myself a day off to go do something that I want to do, for me. I will admit that I feel guilty taking a day off like that on my own. What if I need that day later? What if my kids get sick or the weather is too bad for me to drive to work? So I try to push on. Go in and work even though I really want to give in and take a me day. Monday (1/29/07) was a perfect example.

I heard the weather report and saw the radar. The afternoon was not looking good. A big storm was headed our way late morning/early afternoon. I didn't want to get stuck in a white out situation driving home. I actually considered calling in for a sub at noon. But I put my trust in our administration, that if it truly was as bad as they said it was going to be, that they'd dismiss early. I knew deep down that that was stupid. It was like putting your trust in a pathological liar. In fact, who I was really trusting, was God.

Sure enough, right on time and just as predicted, the heavy band sat on our district and pounded, relentlessly all day. No early dismissal. We learned, by seeing a breaking news report online, that one of our busses rolled over. Another was in a ditch. Very poor decision making by our Superintendent. I left at 3:45, knowing how bad the drive would be, but again, trusting. An hour and a half later, I was safe at home. I was shaking and mad at myself for not trusting my own instincts to leave at noon.

The next day, God gave us what he knew we all needed. A recovery day at home. I put my children on the bus on a 2 hour delay and went to Oswego for me time. The sun was smiling at me as I followed dry roads all the way to pick up my new Norah Jones CD, some wine, a book for my son and a latte at Dunkin' Donuts. I came home to a phone call from Cheryl, we laughed and talked about in laws. I drove out to pick up my children from school and took my son to a Dr. appointment. It was a day when time stood still, not a day of rushing to beat the clock. It was the perfect day.

The day was truly what I needed. Little did I know, more was to come. A beautiful stretch of snow, causing us to delay, close early or close completely, every day the following week. I enjoyed being home with my kids, watching tv, shopping online, staying in pjs and cooking meals. A chance to stop time, have to be no where, and just be.

It has been a stressful year and a half without a contract at work. Many of us are feeling frustrated and burnt out. I feel that this was really what we needed. A break from school, but not our vacation. We still have that to look forward to!

The Lord really is good to us. If we look for his hidden messages and see his gifts, they are there every day!

So, a friend pointed out that I really needed to get some photos up about the "historic" events that are taking place all around me. "Historic," yes, that is how he put it. Well, you can tell he has sold out and moved South as this is wild, but I don't know about historic. We are hearty folk up north here, and where 8 feet of snow would paralyze most areas, we are really business as usual, just business as usual under States of Emergency and such. We are business as usual, with one snow day, two two hour delays and one two hour early dismissal. We get by, even when we have to tunnel to our cars and scale small mountains to fetch the mail. We have been in a Lake Effect event, as the (tired!)news weather guys call it, since last Friday...same band, oscillating back and forth, like a fan, blowing fluff all over the lake shore, endlessly. It is tiring, but it is life. You can see it in everyone's windblown faces, and the hobbled gait of people who have spent WAY too much time shoveling out enough to even USE the snowblower. It has been interesting, exciting even, historic maybe as Oswego State did cancel classes for THREE DAYS, but you know, I have had enough. It can stop now - before I lose track of my house. If it was one story, I think I'd be a little nervous. Time will tell.
-Cheryl

Our life story, one fragrance at a time.

This weekend, while getting ready to go to a Mary Kay party with my sister in law, I was inspired to pull out an old Mary Kay perfume that I had not worn in years. JOURNEY. I could remember what was going on in my life when I bought it, how much I loved it, and pondered for a moment why I stopped wearing it?

On the drive home from the party, Margie and I discussed, the fragrances of our lives. We had a good laugh, wondered what ever happened to certain perfumes and how could we smell them again? Her long lost love was Debbie Gibson's ELECTRIC YOUTH. That was the one we laughed over. I, being almost 5 years older, missed out on that one. We traced it to circa 1987, when my fragrance was probably LIZ CLAIBORNE. She said she also did the that, but probably a couple years later, when electric youth died out.

My earliest fragrance was probably Avon's SWEET HONESTY, probably purchased for me for Christmas by my Aunt Barb in 3rd or 4th grade. Not counting the countless Avon pins with the fragrance glace tucked inside a trap door that was like your training period with perfume. I still have my yellow kitty pin somewhere with a tiny bit of glace still remaining.

I remember a perfume called BLUE JEANS probably from 4th grade. It came in a box with a denim looking texture. If there is any fragrance I would love to return to for a day it would be BLUE JEANS. I have no idea who even manufctured it. In 5th grade Mom got me the Avon Church Mouse decanter filled with Delicate Daisies perfume. That wasn't as big a hit as I still have it in my drawer and it is 3/4 full.

Love's BABY SOFT was probably the next fragrance which began in 6th grade. I had the powder and the pink spray with the bubbled tops. Weren't they the best? Every now and then I have to take a sniff while at Walmart. Just to go back for a minute.

In junior high I began the stockpiling fragrances. I recall several Christmases and several Avon decanters. There was some bird from my grandmother, with most likely Bird of Paradise inside. I remember Here's my Heart and others.

High school brought new friends and new influences. A friend of mine wore Jean Nate, but I couldn't do it because that is my Grandmother's fragrance. When she branched out to WINDSONG I gave that a try. It was a little on the grown up side, but pretty. I also became very much a fan of ALYSSA ASHLEY'S musk. BONNE BELL's skin musk followed as did Avon's soft musk. Yes, just as high school was a time of trying to find myself, it was a time of no one particular signature fragrance.

College came and the musks did follow. But then I went through a time of testing the newer, not usually ME smells like BIJAN! and Opium (the generic of course). Liz Claiborne was a favorite as were some of the bath and body works scents like GINGHAM.

The one perfume I wanted so badly was ETERNITY. It was just so expensive! I finally splurged on that in grad school and was horrified to find out how completely overpowering it was! You could TASTE it! I recall putting it on BEFORE showering and then being fine.

When I got married in 1992, my fragrance was Victoria's Secret's VICTORIA. I am not even sure if they make it anymore. In my drawer I think I may still have a brand new bottle of it (purse size of course).

Then came the years of MARRIED WITHOUT CHILDREN. A part time teaching job with lots of time to shop and explore fragrance. In 1996 I fell in love with OCEAN DREAMS. Not for myself, but for a very close friend I left behind at Hillside Children's Center. I bought an expensive bottle of it as a goodbye gif for her when I left to work at the Crick. The photo at the top is of that perfume. I never did buy a bottle for myself as promised, as I learned that the salary at the Crick did not allow such extravagant self indulgences!

Then came children. I don't recall wearing much other than Bath and Body works bath splashes as fragrance (cheap!). The Christmas after Ethan was born I told Dave that I wanted Estee Lauder's Pleasures. I got it and used the whole bottle that year. It was nice, but I never really felt it was who I was. But the expense made me pretend!

In 2000, around the time I got pregnant with Jillian, I had bought myself a bottle of Mary Kay's JOURNEY on the black market (ebay). Again, still at the Crick, I couldn't shell out the $36 price tag. So I bought a full sized sample bottle for less than half the price. I lived in that fragrance and loved it all through my pregnancy. I had a happy pregnancy, as stressful as it was. The house building, house selling, moving....perhaps that is why once we moved, I never unpacked it?

After that I did a 2 year stretch of CLINIQUE'S HAPPY and HAPPY HEART. They were what they say...happy. Not sexy or heavy or beachy or musky....just....happy. It was all good. But then....I found ME! Well, the ME of 2005 anyway!

So we wrap the story up with where I am now. Sarah Jessica Parker's LOVELY. I am on my 2nd bottle now, my 2nd year stretch. Will it carry me into my 40s? Not sure. Depends on whatever else is out there for me...

So, I was happily watching an episode of Men in Trees (great show, by the way) which I taped (yeah, didn't TiVo, or download, I'm hip, but not that hip) and I saw that one of the main chicks had that knack, which I just DO NOT, for layering necklaces.

(Now, this chick also happened to be Justine Bateman, so I had to launch into a chorus of the Family Ties Theme Song, much to my husband's irritation, but you know, as much as I'm not hip, my mind is a steel trap of useless Pop Culture Knowledge. Ever going on Millionaire? I might be a good "phone a friend" for such things. Keep it in mind, but know I'll want a cut!)

So, I watch, check out the chick, sing a bit, but then ponder again, why is it some can layer the necklaces and some, like myself, just look like they couldn't make up their mind on what jewelry to wear? Now, in the photo above, you will see Jewel, (I will refrain from singing - but I may strumm a guitar) off another episode of Men in Trees, also working the dual necklace thing. Of course, she does have the boobs, which help her to pull off many the wardrobe trick, but I digress with my jealousy. I finally had the epiphany that the wardrobe woman for this series must be the one with the knack. You know, I'm offering up my pop culture knowledge for all the world to pillage, she ought to give it up with the fashion tips.

Many looks, for whatever reason, just stay illusive for some of us. No one but Diane Keaton, in my opinion, really has any business with the menswear look - except maybe Heidi Klum in some Vicki's Secret ads, but there is another dynamic at work there. Audrey Hepburn had the skinny black pants, as much as Gap tried to use her to bring the look to the masses, it remains hers. Some pull off the layered necklaces, or layered clothes, and some of us just end up looking like refugees. And, final case in point, let's face facts, French women have their scarves. There are some lines in the fashion sand that are really hard, for some of us, to cross.

So, to Justine, or Jewel, or wardrobe woman, as much as you brought aggrivation to my TV viewing experience, more power to you with the layered necklaces. I will continue my lifestyle of envy. I will, most likely, never quite get it, I am sure. I will always look like I am trying too hard to make it look as effortless as you. But you know, in this crazy life, if we don't have a fashion goal, what do we have, really?
-Cheryl

Thank you Santa! Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, for my iPod! Even though I was not, at all times, a good girl, goodness knows, I do believe, that maybe in some small way, I was good enough to deserve it.

I am so impressed with it, really. What a cool device. It is so seamless with the iMac, and subsequently, I feel so techno savvy! It is a real youth inducing turn on! I mean, I know, to most "kids these days" it is no biggie, but the fact that now I can carry around 1,000 songs, expertly organized by me, self proclaimed "Music Gal," blows my little "brink of the technological revolution" mind. I have always felt that people of my EXACT age (...35 soon to be 36 - ack!) are just a TOUCH behind the computer curve as it is. In elementary school, I had NO computers, whereas my brother, 4 years my junior, had a burgeoning Commodore 64 lab, tape drives and all, at his disposal. In highschool, my class took keyboarding and subsequent classes took word processing. In college, papers would still be accepted if handwritten, and some of us did haul ass to the on campus computer labs, but I had an electric typewriter. Actually, I recall mine being a hot commodity around the end of the semester term paper crunch. When one of "us" in college got an electric typewriter that actually had word processing capabilities, it was the hot, HOT commodity on the floor. In the next four years, everyone came to school with their own desktops, and now you have wireless capability surging through most dorms. I have always, in this venue, felt just a little bit behind...but not anymore. I was already the Apple cheerleader, but I have gone totally over the top since the iPod...Apple really ought to be paying me for the free advertising I give out everywhere I can. Tim always calls me a Marketer's Wet Dream, and again, he has been proven true. Thank you Apple Gods, I will now buy anything you market to my quickly becoming middle age little mind!
-Cheryl
(...can't believe I mentioned the "S guy" at the beginning of this blog and wet dreams at the end!)

So, I said to myself, Self, it is TIME TO GET BACK TO NORMAL. This Christmas season, while wonderful and fun, has been exhausting! I now have been back to work, teaching, for two days, and it feels like it has been a MONTH. The first day back was the toughest, due to the need to "retrain the students," but also, in particular, because of not being able to graze all day on snack foods. I found myself arriving home with the best intentions of just having tea or something, and instead noshing on chips and dips in an almost visceral way. I HAD to have them. I also am craving sleep like nobody's business. By nature, I am a night owl...not a crazy one, but left to my own devices I like to go to bed around midnight and sleep until 8 or so. Over vacation, a couple of days I slept until NINE - as did my daughter, aka MiniMe. Now, as we arrive home each night, my daughter plays with her new dollies endlessly, and I can't help but be envious. They sit up, their eyes are alert, no struggle with the snooze button, no need for undereye concealer. They lay their heads back, they are asleep, with not a care in the world, no worries that they didn't water the Christmas tree, or forget to pay the cable bill. They are played with, but then left in their beds, sometimes for DAYS on end. "Vacation" should come with a buffer zone time at the end, maybe some half days back to work. Or,even better, practice days...where you are required to "keep" your normal hours, but aren't actually asked to teach any kids. Maybe an item to throw on the old contract negotiations table - yeah - like that'll fly! I'd probably have a better chance of getting to live the life of my daughter's dolls, if only for one, sweet, sleep filled day! Dream On!
-Cheryl

The Music Gal's Musings...Christmas Songs that send me over the EDGE

...and this is meant in a melencholy, oh my, another year is over, what have I done with my life, why does time go so fast, what happened to my misspent youth, what is with the world/people/kids these days sort of way...

1. River - Joni Mitchell
I actually have recordings of this song by several artists, James Taylor, Sarah McLachlan, Joni herself. Still, my favorite is a recording by some Broadway dude named Michael Ball. It is actually the first version of the song I ever heard. It starts with a few piano bars of "Jingle Bells" and then goes into this great singer/songwriter vibe. The very The first time I heard it, in my car - SURPRISE - I cried. "I wish I had a river I could skate away on..."

2. Same Old Lang Syne - Dan Fogelberg
Don't even need to get more than 2 or 3 notes into this one and I am there. I remember hearing this one as a little girl, SO interested in boys and love and romance and wondering if that kind of heartache awaited me somewhere down the line. Well, I now know, that kind of heartache is just life, and feeling, and love. "Drink a toast to innocence..."

3. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - PREFERABLY The Pretender's version
Just a great tune, but the part that gets me "Through the years, we all will be together. If the fates allow." Just sends me down that path of having NO control on this ride we call life, and being the daughter of a controller - yep, not QUITE ready to claim this trait as my own - I HATE THAT!

4. Silent Night - AT Christmas Eve candlelight service
Every freakin' year, can't even sing verses 3 and 4 'cause I have tears streaming down my face. It is just one of those times, where the feelings, and the sights, and the sounds just get the better of me and I am filled with such wonder that I just burst. And you know, as much as it drives me crazy, I hope I am always well aware of the beauty and mysticism around me.

So, have a listen, and I'll be sure to have the tissues at the ready.
-Cheryl

All I can say is WOO HOO!
Tim and I have been joking about me being all about the Mediterranean diet lately - like throwing feta and black olives on everything - and hey, here is yet another reason to love it.
Bring on the Baklava,
Cheryl


Alcohol in moderation may extend life
Tue Dec 12, 12:32 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Moderate drinking may lengthen your life, while too much may shorten it, researchers from Italy report. Their conclusion is based on pooled data from 34 large studies involving more than one million people and 94,000 deaths.



According to the data, drinking a moderate amount of alcohol -- up to four drinks per day in men and two drinks per day in women -- reduces the risk of death from any cause by roughly 18 percent, the team reports in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

However, "things radically change" when consumption goes beyond these levels, study leader Dr. Augusto Di Castelnuovo, from Catholic University of Campobasso, said in a statement.

Men who have more than four drinks per day and women who have more than two drinks per day not only lose the protection that alcohol affords, but they increase their risk of death, the data indicate.

The reason why men are protected at up to four drinks per day, while women lose the protection after two glasses has to do with how men and women metabolize alcohol, researchers say. It's been shown that when men and women who drink the same amount of alcohol, women experience higher blood alcohol levels than men.

Therefore, women who consume more than two glasses of alcohol per day may be at increased risk for diseases of the liver and certain types of cancer.

"Our findings, while confirming the hazards of excess drinking, indicate potential windows of alcohol intake that may confer a net beneficial effect of moderate drinking, at least in terms of survival," the Italian team concludes.

"Heavy drinkers should be urged to cut their consumption, but people who already regularly consume low to moderate amounts of alcohol should be encouraged to continue," they add.

The manner in which alcohol is consumed also appears to be important, the researchers report. "Little amounts, preferably during meals, this appears to be the right way (to drink alcohol)," said Dr. Giovanni de Gaetano of Catholic University, another author on the study. "This is another feature of the Mediterranean diet, where alcohol, wine above all, is the ideal partner of a dinner or lunch, but that's all: the rest of the day must be absolutely alcohol-free."

"The message carried by scientific studies like ours is simple," Dr. de Gaetano continued. "Alcohol can be a respectful guest on our table, but it is good just when it goes with a healthy lifestyle, where moderation leads us toward a consumption inspired by quality not by quantity."

SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, December 11/25, 2006

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The Music Gal's Musings...aka songs that make me want to DRIVE FAST!

I had this "Top 10" type thought, but then realized that was kind of lame. I need to do more of a "Top 5 with Liner Notes" to be true to my authentically longwinded self...so here goes.

1. "I Alone" by Live - This is honestly one of the best songs ever...gets me up and dancing around the room in a spastic headbangerish way every time I hear it...and I am generally not a headbanger type. The lyrics are totally bizarro but I could care less. It starts slowly, almost hypnotically, with very metered, monotonously repetitive type singing...then builds and builds until it explodes. OK, now I'm thinking about sex. The song goes through this mellow to loud transition like three times too...woah, now I am thinking about multiple orgasms! See? Good song!

2. "Bring Me to Life" - Evanesence - You know, very similar song in a way, where its strength comes from contrast...Amy Lee's ethereally high voice paired with gravelly male voices and hard rockin' guitar. This one, thought, rocks on the lyrics too and if it is playing in my van, trust that it is loud and I am belting it out right along with Amy! And on the topic of singing in your car...you may look foolish when you are caught, but it's better being caught singing than, say, picking your nose or something!

3. "Thunder Island" - Jay Ferguson Didn't think I was gonna go all hard rock on ya there did you? Now HERE'S a classic 70's tune to beat 'em all. Catchy as all get out. When you hear it in the morning, you'll be humming it all day, and driving fast to try to get to the beach. Doodoodoodoo - Doodoodoo - Doodoodoo doodoodoodoodoo...

4. "Middle of the Road" - The Pretenders "Come on baby, come on now, in the middle of the road -Yeah!" WAIT NO! Bad choice...but check that song out - the drum beats have you pressing the accelerator at hello.

5. "Sexy Back" by Justin Timberlake "Honey" by Mariah "Finally" by CeCe Peneston, and "Don't Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls, "This One Thing" by Amerie when I'm "feelin' my groove," ya know?

Alrighty, my "Top 5 is suddenly a "Top 9!" Oops! But that's the thing, there are just so many great driving songs! Take for instance, "Interstate Love Song" by Stone Temple Pilots, "Even Flow" by Pearl Jam (which can also make you drive into a ditch, laughing, as you and your husband recall the Adam Sandler/"Opera Man" version of it on SNL) , "Running Down a Dream" by Tom Petty, "Rock the Casbah" by the Clash, "Owner of a Lonely Heart" by Yes (just don't envision the cat from the video jumping in your lap as you drive...), "Sowing the Seeds of Love" by Tears for Fears, "Sympathy for the Devil" by The Rolling Stones, "Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff, "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder, "Girlfriend" by Matthew Sweet, any NUMBER of songs by Journey, in particular, "Ask the Lonely," and who wouldn't be pushing the pedal to the metal as Madonna belts out "Like a Prayer" or "Into the Groove." On further examination, maybe I ought to be asking Santa for a radar detector to go with the iPod...

And somehow, the "Top 5" is now a "Top 22!" Oh well, get behind the wheel and DRIVE!
-Cheryl

Rumors by FLEETWOOD MAC was first released in Febrary 1977. Where were you then? I was 9 years old and in the 4th grade. How ironic, as that is exactly where Ethan is. Here is a photo of me with my Dad when I was in 4th grade. So this is where I was when this album was released. Sure, the songs were on the radio, sure I knew them all. But it wasn't until 3 or 4 years later that I went out and purchsed the album myself and really fell in love with the song, Dreams.

What a great time in life though. The only stress we had was getting homework done (which at the time seemed huge!) and whether or not Mom was going to let my best friend sleep over on Friday. Life was full of joy. I was making plans to get my ears pierced on my upcoming 10th birthday and reading books like Ramona the Brave. Billy was 5 and not yet in school, Tommy was 18 months old and the darn cutest thing. Dad was working at the steam station and Mom baked while we were off to school. Check out those plaid uniform pants and the cross necklace!

So here is another one of those freaky math things. My Dad, in this photo, is where I am NOW in my life. He was 39 years old with a daughter in 4th grade. I am 39 years old with a son in 4th grade. Hm. Never thought about that.

So now I am thinking that I either need to:
1. Fix my turn table so that I can listen to this album once again
2. Buy it on CD

I better do it THIS YEAR and get a photo of me with Ethan in front of a door like this to put in a time capsule!

Isn't she pretty? Home again for ANOTHER day with sick kids, I found myself on Yahoo just screwing around and wouldn't you know it, she was ranked #1 on some Custom Autos list. But OF COURSE! Classy AND tough, fast, rare, a great symbol of open road rebellion, THAT'S my Mustang!
You know, I have been thinking a lot about my car these days, anyways, as I spend a seemingly inordinate amount of time in it. Where I live it is 10 minutes to ANYWHERE, 20 to SOMEWHERE, and and HOUR to a small city. You get used to driving, a lot, and I have come to love it in so many ways. It has certainly become my therapy.

In my car, I can be ALONE. Now this can happen in a number of ways. Sometimes I literally AM alone. I resisted getting a cell phone for a long time for that exact reason, wanting to be, at times, UNREACHABLE. I guess I am the type of person that just needs alone time, and my car has always been a place to get that. There is nothing more peaceful for me than driving down a winding road, preferably on a warm fall day, a panorama of autumnal hues, the AC on AND the windows open (Impractical Cheryl - Air Conditioning the WORLD again, as my dad would chide ) and, naturally, fitting tunes on the radio. That is the way I relax, that is the way I return to the rat race that is my life with a somewhat clearer head, that is my therapy. It is a good therapy too, practical, as I can drive for a bit and run errands, drive for a bit and get the groceries, drop off prescriptions...Purposeful and peaceful, who could ask for more?

I feel fortunate, even, to have kids that are GOOD in the car. They have obviously inherited their mom, and grandpa's, car loving gene as we have FEW toys in the car, snacks only on long trips, and, at my insistence, no integrated DVD system. We don't even listen to many kids CD's in the car. I can be "alone" in my car, even with my kids there, as I tell them "Let mommy concentrate, she needs to drive." With that, little eyes look at the passing scenery, little ears take in the classic rock tunes, and, as adorable as can be, little voices start to sing..."Keep on rockin' me baby..."

And so, with all that my car does for me, don't I deserve a good one? Now mind you, I have a wonderfully "tripped out" MOM VAN, with automatic doors, hatchback, the works. And I DO love it. Vans are a fun, smooth ride, with SUCH versatility. I probably will own one for a long, long time. BUT, since my car provides me SO much, don't I deserve a play car? Since I call it my therapy, and yet don't GO to a therapist OR take any antidepressants and such, couldn't I use said cash for a FUN car? Could I claim it on my insurance - or at least use pretax dollars? Come on! It IS a thought...we do need some change in the health care system in this country. Well, I am READY, and WILLING to do my part!
-Cheryl

The Music Gal's Musings - aka Obscure Song YOU Should Know...

In an attempt to emulate my heroine The Sport's Gal, I have finally begun the weekly blog on that thing I know so well, MUSIC. Now, Scott, relax, we're not talking about me entering your realm - ie. Stodgy musicologist - oh no, this is just me, waxing poetic about my favorite pop and rock tunes...don't lump me in with the "Famous Musicologists" set. I don't have THAT much unruly grey hair, yet.

This week's offering "Under the Skin," ethereally recorded on Lindsey Buckingham's newest solo offering of the same name. I have always been a Fleetwood Mac fan, and always loved Lindsey's writing, so harmonic, and guitar style, so complex. In my opinion, no better does it show itself than on this album,and even more specifically on this song. I read a bit about the production of the album overall and found that much of it was crudely recorded, in hotel rooms and such, as Lindsey was on tour with the reunited Fleetwood Mac. It is a simple recording on one level, kind of guitar singer/songwriter music, but such at its best, rich, complex and layered...like a fine wine that has found its time.

It is so interesting to me to hear what musicians put out there as they age. Sting, another perennial favorite of mine, just released a recording of ANCIENT music - literally - these are songs that were part of a traveling oral music history from the 1600's. Now, not really my cup of tea melodically, but interesting for sure, and inspiring, as it always is when someone does a project for the LOVE of the project. Eric Clapton as well has just recorded an album with a reclusive R&B songwriter with whom he has had a long standing relationship. Worried less about the commercial success and more about the art, the passion shows through.

"Under the Skin" not only satisfies melodically, but lyrically, with such haunting lines as "I hear your heart as you pass through" and "I know it's hard being so hard to find, your passion swallows you whole; deaf, dumb and blind...under the skin, everything shows, under the skin." Lindsey allows us all to feed our soul searching selves like all of the good introspective songwriters do. He allows us not only our breathing room, but our brooding room.

So, give it a listen...download off iTunes...also recommended off the album, "To Try for the Sun," a rich rerecording of an old Donovan tune. Also, great Lindsey tunes, "Bleed to Love Her" off of FM's "Say You Will," and of course, the 80's pop classic "Go Insane." I am sure that on many levels Lindsey wonders WHY about that song, but it is pure pop candy to me.
- Cheryl

It has been so long, dear Blogger, but I am back with a weekend entry. It is truly uncanny how DOWNHILL my writing went AS SOON AS I took the time to commit to the process IN PRINT. Well, I guess there will be no more of that!

So, enough whining, and back to the music! My habit continues and, again, I have made the weekend trip to MY dollar store, and downloaded a few more songs from iTunes. I DARE anyone to name the artists in my newest obscure collection, 70's to present...and more genre than I care to notate...
1. Goodbye Girl
2. Go Insane
3. Radioactive
4. Love is Like Oxygen
5. I Alone
6. Magic
7. Deja Vu
8. (a little embarrassed about this one) Toxic
9. No Way Out
10. Chasing Cars
11. Ready or Not
12. I Just Wanna Stop
13. Promiscuous
14. 1 Thing
15. So Into You
What I wouldn't give to be my own KTel record mixer...but you know, that is the TRUE JOY of downloading music - I AM! I will never forget my KTels, "Wings of Love," which I HAD to have for like my 8th birthday because I LOVED Michael Jackson and "Rock With You." Then there was "Reflections," which secured my life long obsession with sentimental love songs, and I also believe may have contributed to my problems crying at Hallmark commercials and such...just SO sappy. I had a couple of others that I can't recall the titles of, but OH the love of a mixed album, and later a mixed tape, made on my own with the 'ol dual tape deck...the JOY is back.
So, game on, name that artist! I know there are some of you out there with the skills and wherewithal to succeed...
Prizes will be awarded, but you MUST ACT NOW!
- Cheryl

HAD to upload this picture, just to prove that Sue and I ARE alive! Granted we haven't had time to BREATHE as of late, with our teacher's union officially at "Work to Rule" in regards to contract negotiaions, but as you see, we have still had time to party and drink!

Truth be told, though, we have had quite a month at the old workplace, with more and different crap everyday. We could've even uploaded a picture of ourselves on the picket line, but it was blurry and depressing, and Sue looks SO cute in her pink hair...

SO, to this weekend. May I have some time at HOME! May I have some time to cook, clean, organize and BREATHE, and may I also, please, have some time to blog something INTERESTING?!

Time will tell,
Cheryl

See? I officially have jinxed myself with the proclamation of a "blog plan!" I have been so damn busy I haven't even gotten Sport's Gal's "Dressing Slutty at Halloween" post up here...OR taken the time to talk about this thing I read about this week...Fantasy Congress, which I understand as people (geeks - sadly - my "kind") playing with Senators and House Reps LIKE THEY ARE A FANTASY SPORTS TEAM! SO much to write, SO little time all of a sudden...
And so begins the 2006 holiday season, I suppose...Halloween this week, then Thanksgiving and Christmas. Oh well, I know I will have PLENTY of "blog time" when we are up to our necks in lake effect snow come winter:)
See ya then I guess - Ha!
-Cheryl

...and wouldn't you know that JUST as I declare my "Blog Plan" online, I would screw it up. I mean here I was last Wednesday, all cocky and ready to get more blogging done in a regular, real life, workweek...and the power goes out. Then came important union meetings/furnace guy Thursday, Work to Rule AND a broken down car Friday, brothers in town from Boston on Saturday, parents to visit on Sunday, and a car to pick up from the shop on Monday (not to mention work!) . CRAZY! We'll see this week...see if I can get a real midweek blog up and see if I can resume my "weekend edition" on Saturday!
Beck's "I'm a Loser Baby" is playing in my mind. See? It is that whole "Personal Soundtrack" thing...I'm telling you! AND, to think it is Happy 5th Birthday to iPod today! Santa, do you read blogs? If so, PRETTY PLEASE?!

I had this great thought today to begin a weekly addition to the blog..."Obscure Song YOU Should Know." I have been trying to discipline myself to put some sort of post up every weekend, and as much as my contributions are essentially mindless drivel, I have had no problem living up to this personal expectation. Therefore, I was thinking that this midweek post would up the ante a bit, if you will. SO, I sat down tonight to begin...and therein is my problem. WHERE do I begin? What is the FIRST song to feature? I mean, those of you who know me well know, this is like choosing which of my children I love the most. What I thought would be simple, suddenly is complex.

Then there is this thought. Do I want to feature obscure songs, or "soundtrack of my life" songs, or my "songs I'd want on a desert island" songs? Am thinking the last one in particular could be more fun.

Off to ponder over root beer floats with my daughter, then she's off to bed, and I'm off to CD land...stay tuned to see which baby I pick.
- Cheryl

"The Friday Night Alcoholic Speaks"

SO, since I am CRACKING UP at Sue's proposal for Adult Happy Meals, and since I am half in the bag, I thought, why not blog?
So sad that my Friday nights have come to this. Sitting around at my house, drinking, emailing and blogging! Somehow, I don't think these activities would be allowed up on the new "Wall of Wellness" at my school, eh?

Thinking about Friday, though, you know when you get those annoying email surveys and one of the questions is "What is your favorite day of the week?" Well, for me, always and forever, it has and will be Friday. As a kid, Friday always meant pizza at school for lunch AND pizza for dinner. Now you have to understand, this was no government cheese pizza that our school served either, oh no! Ours was made by those Italian lunch ladies...granted, they were brutal when it came to broken Kising Potion, but could they ever cook! When I was little, Friday was family trips to the library. Yep, you're right, total dorkage, but trust that my friend and I found our way into the "naughty" area of the nonfiction. I knew about a lot by about 4th grade - very technical stuff, but still - it's the POWER of reading kids, the POWER of reading!!!!! Friday as a kid meant sleepovers with my best friends AND The Dukes of Hazzard. Oh Bo Duke, how you helped me over the heartbreaking realization that Leif Garrett was a drug addict.

Then, in Jr. High, Friday meant dances, which were cool at that time, but became horribly passe with the onset of Highschool. Teenage years were Fridays running all over God's creation with whomever had just gotten their driver's liscence. We could so easily amuse ourselves...sporting events, ice cream at Friendly's and renting VHS movies at a different person's house each week. Well, then of course there was, in the advent of the highschool years, making out with boyfriends evey now and again! Yep, Fridays ruled!

Then the true debauchery of college started. THAT is where the drinking began! I can recall MANY a wonderfully fun Friday, and at the same time, have a few I really can't remember...or have to rely on others to remember for me. What a time! All through it, though, I watched "thirtysomething" and WISHED to be "grown up" and "responsible" and "adult." WHY was I in such a hurry?

Well here I am, in the Friday nights of my thirties, and as I said, drinking and blogging and emailing. What is my problem? But you know - I am happy. I have a terrifically comfy home, a husband who, for whatever reason, understands, and some damn cute kids. My parents and brother are all (generally) happy and (generally) healthy - we're nothing if not optimists. I have great, true and long lasting friends, one that is my partner in crime on this crazy website! I have coffee and shopping and wine, and I have my iTunes habit. I think I have decided that it is my own online dollar store. It seems that for $.99 I can relive those Friday nights of the past. I can sing along to "I Love Rock and Roll," or to "Centerfold," where THIS TIME I actually UNDERSTAND the words. I can be your "Venus," or channel the vixen in the Whitesnake videos. It is my house, and I can "Rock the Cradle of Love" around my living room in my underware if I want to, although I MAY opt for a glass of white wine over stains from red. I guess even in the years since highschool, I am still pretty easily amused, and you know, that may not be such a bad thing. I still love a good FRIDAY!

- Cheryl

Today's Random Crap: Adult Happy Meals

So I had this thought over the summer but after a few glasses of wine out of the box (I know, Tim...you don't approve..), I am going back to ponder it. You bring your kids to McDs, and no matter what the theme, they are excited to see what toy they get in the Happy Meal. The toy must be opened before any food is conusmed and any sticker application or assembly must also happen before the meal commences.

So why then, can't we as adults get a toy? I think of the small items that could be added to my #4 meal that would just totally make my day. A BIG LIP SMACKER lip gloss, perhaps? Or a little sex toy from the new KY line. Any of these things would just make that Big Mac all the more exciting!

If you recall, McDs did try this for a while. They gave out pedometers with their salads for a short introductory time. This was a big hit. Not for me so much, as I was forced to face the fact that I really don't move enough. But they had the right idea...they just need to broaden their prize offering. Like fun book marks for us reading type. Or perhaps pocket calcultors for those of us who need help figuring the tip?

It brings to mind just how much the little things mean in life. I mean, add a polly pocket with a 4 piece McNugget meal and you have made a little girl's day. Add a matchbox car to a little boy's cheeseburger meal and life is good!

Perhaps I should sell this idea to the King of Franchises...

OK, ever read something like THIS? The Sports Gal on Page Two ESPN - she's my heroine!

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The Sports Gal Speaks
Bill and his friend Hench own a fake baseball team together. I call it the League of Dorks. It's hard to say how much time they spend on it, but I'd guess five hours a week, maybe more. Hench is one of Bill's nicest friends, but he's even nuttier about this stuff than Bill. One time, I peeked over Bill's shoulder as he was reading a bullet-pointed e-mail from Hench about their fake team. It was like a legal document, I couldn't believe it. Hench used to leave messages and not identify himself, you'd just hear, "message No. 1" and then Hench complaining about something that happened with their fake team. He wouldn't even say, "Hey, guys, this is Hench" first. So I made Bill get a second phone line just for Hench's calls -- they call it the "Bat Phone." I can't believe I married someone who needed a second phone line to talk about a fake baseball team.
You'd think the extra line was enough, but no. A couple of weeks ago, Bill and I were driving home from somewhere and trying to figure out something. Bill said, "I bet Hench knows," and before I knew it, he was calling Hench and they were talking about the League of Dorks. And I was trapped in the car listening to them. It was like being at the nail salon when everything's quiet and relaxing, then something happens and the nail ladies all start screaming in another language. I have no idea what they're talking about, but they're agitated and talking in annoying voices and it's not relaxing at all. That's what Bill and Hench sounded like. Actually, this was worse because I can understand the language and still can't understand them. Finally, I got mad and told Bill to hang up or I was going to jump out of the car.

This week, I noticed playoff baseball started, so I asked Bill, "What happened with the League of Dorks?" Bill said they won first prize. He didn't even seem happy about it. He was just relieved that they didn't lose. Then he said he's having a celebratory lunch with Hench next week. I said they should order a bottle of fake champagne and fake pour it on each other. I hate the League of Dorks.

Here are my picks for Week 5:

Titans +19; Giants -4.5; Lions +6.5; Bucs +6.5; Packers +3; Patriots -10; Bills +10; Panthers -8.5; Jaguars -7; Cards +3; 49ers -3.5; Cowboys +2; Steelers +3; Ravens +4.

Last week's record: 10-4
Season record: 35-23-2

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She blows my MIND! It is like she is ME! I could have written this same column about my husband and all of his Fantasy Friends - which in and of itself disturbs me. My husband has Fantasy Friends...sound like I ought to be calling a marriage counselor. And you know, that is one really funny thing about it. What SHOULD he call these friends. I mean, some friends he plays with are actual friends, but some are people he doesn't even know face to face. It is like his own little Internet Porn Ring - but it is all this Fantasy Sports crap. I guess ESPN already capitalized on this whole concept last year, with its advertisements where the cute cheerleader girls were laying around on the bed talking fantasy football...yeah...like THAT happens! But that's the whole deal...fantasy is fantasy I guess. If only I had thought to get on the horn and talk about my husband and his geeky friends! There's been QUITE the drama and throwing down on the league this year too - name calling, new members talking trash, old friends quarreling, down to the wire trades...it has been a veritable cornucopia, if you will, of fantasy mayhem. (yes - Jay - I used the word cornucopia!) If only I'd tapped in...but you know that was baseball. The real drama of football, I suppose that is yet to come.

-Cheryl

How interesting! This guy, normal everyday photographer Danny Goldfield, set out on a little project to photograph a child from every country in the world. Yeah whatever, you may say, just sounds like a coffee table book, until you find that every child had to reside in NYC. He has been working on the project for two years, and is not done yet, but the press machine is moving now. I love when you read something, or see a TV show about someone, who just had a crazy idea, about a random thought or concept, ran with it, and somehow it panned out into some important work. It is how I see this blog. I mean, yeah, blogging is becoming somewhat ordinary, and tons of little teenybopper kids, adults, AND of course whackjobs and freaks, everywhere, maintain them. Not to mention, as I have explored a number of times, I am not unique. (you know, the "Super Subconscious Dad" thing!) Still, I can't help but think, if I keep posting on here, and keep looking at the world in a way that I am seeking things I could write about, PERHAPS as I blog, a thread of an idea will develop. I will get that little spark that starts a project, a theme, or some further writing. Who knows, but as I read about Danny Goldfield today, my hope was renewed in a number of things. Thanks, Danny, for showing us the universality of family, the innocent beauty of youth, the uniquely diverse place that is our country, and for showing us how ideas can GROW!

(check it out at http://www.nychildren.org)
- Cheryl

OH MY GOODNESS - now "Super Subconscious Dad" is sending me messages through tee shirts!
:)
Cheryl

SUNDAY'S SALIENCE

This is probably going to be a very random blog, due in part to my random nature on the whole, and to my attitude today, and to two beers consumed with a dinner my son cooked. YES, my son...may he become the next Emeril or Alton or Tyler so I can eat for free on my CRAPPY R.C. salary...so first, to him...

Learning the Point Spread

It was a big day in our household as our son learned about the point spread. You see, we have a Jets fan on our hands. We believe his loyalty lies with the Jets for the rather shallow reasons of liking aircraft and wanting a team from N.Y. OTHER than Daddy's Giants and, well, The Bills (sorry Dan and Matt!) , but then again, loyalties have been formed for lesser reasons, I am sure. SO, today, KNOWING that the Jets were going to lose, my husband taught our child the wonders of the point spread, ESSENTIALLY teaching him about gambling...we're nothing if not a wholesome bunch. THEN, the dinner he cooked was Turkey Sloppy Joe's and cheese fries, which our daughter professed, over and over, to LOVE. Our children love gambling and pub food - we are screwed!

Learning Individuality

And so we segue (LOVE that word, and LOVE that people very often can say it but not spell it:) nicely to my daughter, who learned this week that she comes from "out there" stock. Thursday evening, the FIRST night of the week that we really had time to breathe, she curled up in the rocker with me, wanting some "Mommy Time." We just rocked and cuddled and talked for a bit, then she sat up on my lap and very seriously said "Mommy, I need to tell you something." She proceeded to explain, in wavering voice, about a graph that her Kindergarten class had made. She was one of the first to make a choice on the topic "What I Want to Be When I Grow Up," and her choice, which went on the class graph, was to be an Artist. Now, as the lesson progressed, her best friend in the class said she wanted to be a Horseback Rider, and concurrently all the little girls saddled up. G was heartbroken, and literally SOBBED in my lap, while we had the inevitable "Get used to it, Mom's a whack job and so are you," discussion, but truth be told, I was thrilled. Maybe we FINALLY will get an artist in the family with enough childhood trauma to really make a go of it, eh Scott?!

Learning About Obscurity

So, speaking of/to my brother, the ball and chain and I were watching CBS Sunday Morning while the kids were at church school (need to do SOMETHING with them to counteract the debauchery they learn at home) and they mentioned a famous musicologist - even showed his picture! We both burst out laughing when we saw this old, furry faced man that could have been panhandling at any given metropolitan location, if not busy being a "famous musicologist." Sorry, bud, I guess NOW I know what your lot in life is!

Learning About My Own NORMALCY, thanks AGAIN Dad

And lest I wield my vile tongue TOO much, I got my own dressing down over the last few weeks. I always think I am so funny, so original and quick witted. WELL, my husband reads two weekly web columns quite religiously; Tuesday Morning Quarterback and Sports Guy, both off Page Two on ESPN. (GOD, I am impressing myself with my sports knowledge!). SO, recently, they have had stuff on their blogs, because they are essentially just blogs, that I swear are thoughts they sucked off my personal brainwaves. First off, one of them trashed the show "Rock Star Supernova" (guilty pleasure, I know, but hey, if I hadn't been an elementary teacher...) in the EXACT same way I had been verbally trashing it the night before. Then TMQ (see, SO savvy I can use the INITIALS!) ranted eloquently about homework, JUST as Sue and I had. And finally, this week, Sports Gal, (whose stats I might add are DAMN GOOD! Watch out Sports Guy - see I am SO good I even look at stats - pat my back, PLEASE, I NEED to feel important!) had her day with "Clip Shows," one of the EXACT TOPICS I had thought about ranting about this weekend myself. You know, those shows where you settle in for a new episode of your favorite serial and find yourself watching a review of the season thus far? CHEAP T.V. at its FINEST! Not to mention, insullting to the "real fan" who has watched all along, and HAS A BRAIN that can RETAIN INFORMATION enough to follow a story line withough visual Cliff's! Well, when I read her post, and realized she had stolen my fire, I heard the little voice again"You are COMPLETELY normal!" "Super Subconscious Dad" was visiting again! Now, granted, he originally said such so as to keep me from becoming a FREAK in Highschool, but, much to my demise, it is becoming quite true in fact. Overall,though, the thing that PISSES ME OFF (can't imagine that, can you?) - if I didn't have to work at my damn "dayjob," maybe I could get my thoughts out there FASTER!!!!!!!!!! What the hell am I thinking, I come from a long line of procrastinators and I am SURE an at home pedicure would take precedence.

All this AS my son states "Awww, back to school tomorrow" in the background, and such is...

Learning About LIFE,
Cheryl