...and so it ends

Yep, another summer vacation has come and gone.  Tonight's last hurrah of sorts, a bookgroup outing for dinner and discussion and some pity shopping with Sue.  Sigh, a quiet end to a fairly quiet summer, but it is with sorrow that I say goodbye, yet again.  Today I was looking back at old blogs, of summers past, and reading about exactly the emotions I am having right now.  It surely is time to get back to reality, to schedules and structure, to regular bedtimes and to dependable tooth brushing.  It is time for cooler temperatures, crisp fall air, color in trees, and football on Sunday, but alas, for a moment I must look back.

This summer started out the summer of Lucy, our sweet little black lab, who is still sweet, but less little.  It continued with the regular fare such as our fourth of July festivities, day trips, and fun with friends, such as American Girls Night Out with  me, Gwynn, Sue and Jilli.  There were swim lessons and lazy days in the yard.  We moved a hot water heater, installed a mammoth invisible fence, and, stupidly, ripped apart a computer room in the week before school, but hey, it's progress.  We travelled, of course, this year ONLY to Ocean City, MD, Albany, NY and Tim and myself at least, to Burlington, VT...not too shabby for a summer we weren't going to travel much - gas prices be damned.  Tim realized how old he is in the advent of his 20th HS reunion, but I realized I am just one  year behind.  Friends from college moved back to the area, and I couldn't be more thrilled.  As a final, but not to be overlooked note as well, the kids went to Lansing and stayed with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins for about 1 and a half weeks of the summer ON THEIR OWN.  What a gift, both to Tim and myself, and to the kids and family.  Even in living an hour and a half away, we have nutrtured secure bonded relationships, between the kids and us, AND between the kids and the rest of their family, and I couldn't be happier.

This was a big milestone type summer for us too...15 years married.  We so wanted to do something big this year, something special.  Maybe we'd take a cruise, go to New York City...Europe even, but you know, we didn't.  Don't get me wrong, we did special things, like our day out at Empire Brewing, and wine touring and Dano's, and a couple of days in Vermont, but Tim said it best one night when we were sitting out on the patio eating a lovely dinner while the kids were in Lansing.  For our anniversary, we got TIME...Time to enjoy ourselves, time to enjoy eachother, and in being refreshed in such a manner, time to really enjoy our family as well.  

It has been a good summer.  I am thankful, but also mindful that we're headed like lemmings to the cliff of back to school.  As we careen over the edge, may I want to stay in touch with the peace I feel right now.  May I remember that a day is only a day and I am only one person.  May I continue to count my blessings.  Finally,  may I still realize that the present is a gift, and may I keep on giving myself, and my family, that precious gift that is TIME.

-Cheryl

The Hershey Let Down

So the big family vacation has come and gone for another summer. Of course comparing anything to last year's DISNEY would have to be tough...but come on. How can you mess up CHOCOLATE?

We arrived in PA on Wednesday the 13th and things were looking up. Nice weather, gas at $3.55 a gallon and a decent motel. In some ways, the motel actually topped Disney in the breakfast department. Each morning, we went down the stairs and across the front a few steps to the lobby for quite a nice spread, all included in our stay. There was cereal, fruit, bagels, toast, donuts, and boiled eggs. But the best of all, was a waffle maker for you to make your own custom made waffle with choice of toppings. Then there was coffee, tea and juices. After breakfast hours, the lobby had a movie theater popcorn machine with all the yummy popcorn you could eat in those cute little bags even! The kids just loved this! They had a decent inground swimming pool even. Our room had a nice fridge, microwave and coffee maker. So when comparing our Disney stay and the 4 mile walk to breakfast, carrying our cups, PA really was ahead.

On Thursday we drove to Hershey Park, about 15 minutes from where we stayed in Harrisburg. First, you had to pay $10 to PARK your car. Luckily we'd bought advance tickets from a friend of Margie's who is a PA resident and gets a discount somehow. We got into the park right when they opened at 10am. There were honestly more people at the gate than when we went to the Magic Kingdom (and not on the magical extra hours either). The kids waited forever in lines, some much longer than anything we waited in Disney. The water park attraction totally bit. Freezing water, CROWDS and CROWDS of people and you couldn't sit in chairs and watch your children, you had to physically be IN the water with them. We are spoiled by the expansive layout and casual family like atmosphere of Enchanted Forest. We all agreed that the water park blew.

Then lunch. 3 sandwhiches (Jillian and I shared) and 4 beverages ran us $35. We ate dinner the night before at Applebees, and for our 4 meals, desserts and a BEER...it was only $43. We were not at all impressed. Around 5pm the sky opened up and it began to POUR. Of course Jillian had been waiting in line for a hair wrap for about 40 minutes and JUST sat in the chair when the thunder/lighting began...and then the downpour. There we were, standing under a big table umbrella. If anything it forced her to choose the hair UNDER neath which only cost us $13, rather than on TOP which would have cost a lot more ($2 an inch!).

We left the park at 6pm and never looked back. We were glad to be outta there.

After a quick meal at WENDY'S we hit the convenience store across the road to bring dessert and beer back to the room. We grabbed ice cream, but there was NO BEER! We went back to the motel, and Billy left in search of beer. After several stops he was told he could go to a BAR to buy beer. WHAT!??! Yes, they can sell you a 6 pack or a 12 pack as long as it does not exceed x number of ounces. Are you KIDDING me? Or he could go to a DISTRIBUTOR. Someone gave him directions and he was off to purchase a case of BUD LIGHT. He returned with a 24 pack of 10 ounce cans. They were just the strangest looking cans! When he questioned the employee about the chase for the beer, she said to him, Welcome to Pennsyltucky! Alrighty then! You can smoke in restaurants here, buy fireworks and use your cell phone while driving but can't purchase beer at a gas station or grocery store!??!?! HELLO!

Chocolate World Tour was the next day. Another $10 to park. I don't know what I was expecting, but this was not it. I went to Hershey as a child, with my Aunt and did the tour. I would have bet money that we toured the ACTUAL FACTORY. I have one vivid memory of it. But now I am questioning whether it is that I am remembering, or if it is the UTICA CLUB BEER BREWERY tour I am remembering! Yes, as a child I toured a brewery with my aunt! Anyway, I looked online when I got home and it said that they closed the factory to the public in 1973. I am trying to get my mother to remember what year that would have been that I went. I doubt she'll figure it out, I will have to call my aunt.

The tour of today is a DISNEY-IZED ride through a pretend factory with singing cows. WAY disappointing. We paid a ton of money to watch a 20 minute 3D show that was kind of okay. The kids paid $15 to wait in a long line to pretend to be a factory worker and package Hershey kisses and get an ID badge. We spent over $100 at the gift shop and I refused to buy any chocolate there. All of the same chocolate is much cheaper every day at Walmart, and was actually on sale this week at Price Chopper. I was a little shocked. And they didn't even have my coconut kisses there! I was really kind of hoping they'd feature some of their retired flavors, but no such luck.

I was really all too excited to get in the car on Saturday morning, after our last yummy motel breakfast, and HIT THE HIGHWAY back to NYS!

GREAT, GREAT, GREAT book...To Be Someone by Louise Voss.  It is all the life story of a former 80's pop star, told through the soundtrack of her life.  It has a realtime storyline, and in the alternating chapters you hear the "backstory" as it relates to all these songs.  I picked it up out shopping with Sue, off of a bargain table, for $4.  We thought it sounded so "me" in its premise, although I recognized only a third of the songs, being that much of the story is set in England, thus the whole europop edge.  I didn't have high hopes, but it was a bargain, and in the end it did not matter in the least.  It was a wonderful story, with great writing, great feeling, and it has set my mind adrift to contemplate my "soundtrack."  Fine use of my day, I know, but hey, what else is summer for? ( I am concurrently multitasking through my day anyways - re-reading the second Traveling Pants book, cleaning my upstairs, and packing for our Albany/Vermont trip too, so hey, cut me some slack!)

Childhood Songs 

Get Off of My Cloud - Rolling Stones

Take a Chance on Me - Abba

Witchy Woman - Eagles

Hotel California - Eagles

The Greatest American Hero theme

Star Wars soundtrack

Annie soundtrack - even when Tomorrow was being played/sung by mom on the piano

I Love Rock and Roll - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

Flashdance - Irene Cara

Private Eyes - Hall and Oats

Peg - Steely Dan

Saturday Night Fever and Grease soundtracks 

(and I wonder where my love of a mix tape comes from - soundtrack queen)

JFS Middle School Year 

Eye of the Tiger - Survivor

Cum on Feel the Noise - Quiet Riot

Hello - Lionel Ritchie

DURAN DURAN!

Camp

Dust in the Wind - Kansas

Crosby Stills and Nash - Daylight Again album

new age guy Andreas Vollenweider or sthg...

Amy Grant Amy Grant Amy Grant!

Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel

Get Together - ?

Early Lansing

DURAN DURAN - STILL!

Stairway to Heaven - Led Zepplin

College

SO many to name...so many, but Steve Miller Band stands out for sure...

Early Marriage

All I Wanna Do - Sheryl Crow

You Gotta Be - Desiree

Hannibal Hell/Buying House

Long December - Counting Crows

If It Makes You Happy - Sheryl Crow

See, I could GO ON...but life calls.  Have to take Tim and Devin down to try out their new canoe "thing."  Rock the boat, don't rock the boat baby...

-Cheryl

AND JUST A THOUGHT SO SUE WILL REMIND ME...WE NEED TO ASK JILL IF WE COULD POST HER TATTOO ON OUR BLOG!!!!

And So It Goes...

So, as promised, my first entry in the Vacation Without Dog (VWOD)Blog as now Sue is away at Hershey Park.  It'd have been so much fun to go with her and her family, but alas, on Friday we are off for the next in the slew of Howell family weddings. At least for this one, we are simply guests, and there is no stress of flower girl duty.  Post wedding, Tim and I are off to Vermont for a few days without kids.  Now what is that?  VWODK?  Sounds a little weird, but I will go with it.

The image on the left SPOKE to me today, loud and clear.  I mean, here  I am on August 13th, merely three weeks from the start of school, and I am finally picking up on this writing thing.  Every summer, I have the intentions of writing...working on some new stuff, polishing stuff I have, setting up a writing assignment I envision for our extended family (ever the teacher you know...) and possibly even submitting some work to be published, somewhere, somethow, and alas, the time has flown by.  Mind you, I have no regrets for my summer.  We have had a great time, despite somewhat crappy upstate New York weather.  We had a great trip to Maryland.  We reconnected with high school and college friends, in part due to being 20 YEARS out of HS, and in part due to college friends who have moved back to the area.  I've had plenty of "me" time, cleaning, organizing, remembering, reading, and out with friends, relaxing, dining, shopping.  My kids have had swimming lessons, weeks at their grandparent's homes, and just enough playdates.  Last, but not least, Tim has done TONS around our home. I am thrilled, and in a really good place, and truth be told, school may be three weeks away, but it is the FURTHEST thing from my mind.

So the picture spoke to me, as I said, because summer is in its last hurrah.  We have done a lot, and there is more to do, but it is bittersweet in a way.  We are certainly in the home stretch...winding down...and I am bad at this part.  In fact, I am pretty sure I could look back at older posts and see many a maudlin rant about summer's end and school's start.  Yet, as every year, this time I am going to try.  I will try to relax, I will try to embrace, and I will try to change gracefully.  We'll see...

 

SUE IS A BLOGGING MANIAC!

( and I am LAZY!)

-Cheryl

If Walmart doesn't have it....
You don't need it!

After the big disappointment last night of Target discontinuing my pineapple salsa, I didn't know how I was going to be able to live. I tried a new one, a peach mango salsa, and it came with a big WARNING on the label: MAY CONTAIN PEACH PITS! Oh terrific. So I may break a tooth.

After a trip to Wonder Walmart tonight, my testimony is once again confirmed, If Walmart Does Not Have It...You Don't Need It. There it was...Newman's Own PINEAPPLE SALSA! So there! I do NEED it afterall...because Walmart has it! I just love Walmart!

Wallets come and go...and so do Blueberries!

Why must they do it to us? We get something we really like, and then they discontinue it. Like the much discussed wallet. Today's topic is the Yankee blueberry candle. I had my first one in 1994 I believe. I can remember it burning in the living room, and the guys working on our ROOF, OUTDOORS, asking what that smell was? It was going out the windows and up! On the heels of that came blueberry muffin. I may possibly be mistaken, but I want to say that they actually overlapped. I had the muffin candle in 2001 because it was my maternity leave with Jillian candle. It burned fast because I was home for 3 months and I lit it all the time.

THEN...what were they thinking? They retired them BOTH and we were left with NOTHING. No blueberry fix at all what so ever!

Last night was like coming home again. At the very newest Yankee shop in Great Northern, there it was...the newly released, Blueberry Scone. It is absolutely amazing. I may need to hoard them along with my French Wallets.

Another day, another wallet, another Vera...

Of course nothing can just be simple. With all the panic over the damn French Wallet, and what is to come 7-10 years down the road, I decided that I better not get too comfortable with just ONE wallet. So I had been looking at Vera wallets all along. But again, I can't touch them or look at them because there is no authorized Vera retailer in the area. But even so, I always look.

Tonight I happened to see this one, for just $9.99 buy it now (actually or BEST OFFER, which I hate because you have to make the offer, email it and then wait to see if it has been accepted) with only $2 shipping. So after comparing it to the ones on the authorized website, I saw that I could buy this exact wallet from Vera herself for $15 (because it is a clearance from 2 seasons ago) and then of course shipping. So a good deal. I decided to jump on it. I now have $ in my paypal account from selling some of my crap in my closet...so that made it worth it. I figured if I get it and hate it, I can always relist!

Remembering Love's....












So here are those 2 ads I found. The one on the top I can remember. You sent in $2.75 and could get that shirt. I WANTED that shirt. But I do not believe that I ever actually got it. Now the ad on the bottom is downright WRONG. It is disturbing. There was a lot of feedback on this ad all over the sights I went to in search of ads. How this girl appears to be 10. I was thinking 7, myself. There was one more ad that I tried to download but for some reason it didn't work. It was as disturbing only for different reasons. A college aged girl dressed up to be 10. It was all very odd. So the one on the top is really the only appropriate one. The young high school aged girl advertising the product in a sweet and innocent way. But hey...maybe we are just reading into it too deep. Was there an outrage in 1976 when this ad was out? Probably not. Perhaps the advertisers really were just innocent and were using slumber parties, nail polish sessions and such as inspiration, kind of like Katy Perry? It really probably wasn't that big of a deal. Maybe it was supposed to bring BACK your innocence and all that went with it? Let's ask Katy...

Isn't it great to have a GIRL?

Yesterday, while waiting for prescriptions at Kinney, Jilli and I wandered over to look at the perfumes. There it was, Love's Baby Soft. I told her how much I used to love it. We tried the tester on, but there were none of the shelf. Because it was just a body spray version, it was pretty inexpensive, and I was in whip it in the cart mode so I was kind of bummed. Not bummed enough to get the $11 spray version, but a $4 fix would have been fine. I told her we'd look at Walmart.

Sure enough, Walmart came through. We whipped it in the cart. I was on the look out for the powder, too. I remember having the powder and loving it. I was describing it to Jillian, and how I loved the clear pink plastic bubble that covered the top. Of course, there it is on ebay. I don't know if I'd pay $10 for it with shipping, but even so I have a watch on it.

That led to other searches for images of my pre-teen perfume. I found several ads. Of course what I hate about this blogger is that I can't get the images to insert like RIGHT HERE. Not at the top, above the first picture. And if I start a new one it will publish on top of this one. **sigh**

A little Sunday morning shopping...

So it's been a while, at least a week, since I have ordered any (won any?) Vera off eBay. My most recent purchase was the matching Vera leash to go with Zoey's collar. Today I spotted this NWT Amy purse in the Peacock pattern. I knew I wanted to get Elizabeth a Vera for her 11th birthday and really like this size and style for the 5-13 ish age group. It is kind of like Katie, only with the shoulder strap. It was also available as a Buy It Now...but I had to check with Lizard (her nick name) first, to see if she was into Peacock. I threw a couple of patterns out there, including Daisy Daisy (seems young and hip) but she shot that one down, giving the thumbs up to Peacock. So I jumped on it....BIN for $20....$3.50 shipping. Nice!

Reading the Sunday Paper
7/27/08

While reading the Sunday paper today, a ritual I enjoy every week with my coffee, I had some comments on some ads and some articles. First...Avril endorsing some line of clothing for Kohl's. My question is...WTF. And please, someone explain to me the BLACK EYELINER. While looking through my son's middle school yearbook, I notice more than half the 8th grade girls following this trend. Why? It doesn't even LOOK good! If Carmindy saw this she would definitely have some advice. Now I am even okay with the pink highlights....I can see that as artsy, funky, self expressive. But the black rimmed eyes? ALL THE WAY AROUND? Not so much.

And speaking of BOOKS....

In today's STAR there is a write up about Danielle Steele's new book. The headline CRACKS me up. Romance author HATES appearances, but comes out occasionally. Well COME ON! Look at her! She is turning 61 and is trying to look 25. The hair has GOT to go. It is making her look 81. It says she was in NY for the TODAY show. Well, certainly she could have stopped by Nick Arrojo's studio for some help. He wouldn't be shy in telling her that her hair is not working for her. It says she publishes up to 3 books per year, I am sure she could afford the $500 price tag on a session with Nick!

Been reading Loving Frank for the past 2 days and am totally sucked in. Makes me think of a blog I posted a few months ago....can one person really meet all of your needs? Just a question to ponder while Loving Frank....

What really bugs me about this BLOG

Alright...what I cannot STAND is trying to get the font size to be what you want. It will do whatever the freak it wants. I go back and repeatedly change some to make it smaller...and still it is larger than life. But then some, it will do what I want. I just cannot stand that. I have changed the one about the Mitsubishi at least 5 times (right now that is set on the smallest) and still it is big. But then, the one about the Santa Fe is exactly how I wanted it...I can't WAIT to see how this looks! As I have the title largest and then this type at normal. Also, the one about the ebay wallet has this strange purple box that I cannot get to go away. UGH! Now I know why I do not have a job that requires computer use!

My wallet, always one step ahead of me...

After finally realizing that my French Wallet was a thing of the past, I went to JCP Wednesday and took the plunge. This is the new version of the French wallet. It got me thinking of that very first French wallet that I had in 1985. Was it called that because the French are thin? Because their lifestyle is laid back? Uncluttered? I guess that would definitely describe my life in June 1985 when I received that wallet! When I bought its replacement several years later, it was the same size, only had an extra flap, for a few extra cards. But it was only a small change. It was an easy transition. At that point my life had not changed a whole lot, other than being married and having a job.

This new and improved wallet is much larger. A full inch wider and a full inch taller, with 2 compartments for bills, and double the flaps for cards. It pretty much is keeping up with the busier life I lead now as a 40 (ish) year old working mother of 2. It actually fits better with my extra 10 lbs since my 1985 body too. When transferring over all my cards and cash (ha!)...it wasn't as difficult as I though. I am still not thrilled with how much room it takes up in my purse, however...and I can't imagine how Lola will deal with it!

But now I am nervous. In another 7-1o years when I need to replace this...what will I be forced to purchase? I saw that one wallet at JCP called, My Big Fat Wallet...will that be it? Will I only be able to buy a Big Ass Wallet and will my ass be bigger to boot?

Bonding with Jill

So you are gone...and I have no one to email with daily. Jill has stepped in. I emailed you just before you left about her asking me if I had a tattoo and where and what and when I got it and where I got it done. So I answered her back and highly recommended Tru at Ink Haven. She said that she was going to go someplace on Marshall St. in Syracuse that John felt comfortable with. So I sent her to investigate his website and told her about my whole experience. Being turned down the first time...being sent away very frustrated, only to soul search and come up with something I absolutely now LOVE.

We kind of went back and forth and she claims to have never seen my tattoo. I don't remember where we were the book club of Oct. 2006 where I would have shown it off. But I am betting that Jill was not there.

So she decided after seeing his website and hearing my testimony, that she would go to him for a consult. She wants a monarch butterfly. Something about her aunt. Anyway, she got stuck in traffic trying to get there on Tuesday only to be turned away because his consult time ran out. She was really set back. So she headed back today, getting there 15 minutes before they opened as I recommended.

She emailed me this afternoon and was successful at meeting with him. She has an appointment to be inked on August 4. She is very excited. I told her about my blog on the correlation between sex and tattoos. Then I found it, cut n pasted it and sent it to her. I told her she could wait till after her tattoo if she wanted to have her own opinion. She said she was going to wait to read it, but only could wait 3 hours before she caved and opened it.

I began to worry about sending it to her. Like, was it too personal? But she wrote back that she loved it and was printing it for John to read.

So this has been passing the time along while you have been away, too. Ebaying wallets, acclimating dogs, analyzing libraries and shopping here and there. It's all been great, but, can't wait for you to come home!!!

Field Trip to the Newly Renovated Library

Not sure if you have ever been or not, but the old library was about more than the books. It was an experience for all the senses. While Jillian has no memories of the old library, as the last time we were there, she was 3ish...Ethan does. They were excited when I mentioned going on Monday. We began our trip with a stop at Dunkin', then went over to see it.


Upon walking in, you could see that the main room was bigger. The addition is built onto the back and stretches straight out ahead of you. The circulation desk which used to be on the right, is on the left. Something immediately felt out of place to me, and I realized that it was the tall wooden book shelves were missing! They have been replaced with short, white metal shelves. Ok, so what's the big dill, right? Well, the shelves also have NO BACKS. So while you are in any given row, you can see straight through ALL THE ROWS and see everyone in the entire room through the books! It totally removes the cozy, aloneness one used to feel in between the wooden shelf lined rows of the old library. The smell was also different. I was deeply saddened.


A librarian, noticing the lost look on my face, directed us to the elevator where the BOOKS are now kept. The downstairs is all reference, magazines, computers, videos, dvds, and a young adult section. My hope was renewed as we went to the 2nd floor. Maybe that library FEEL is up there!

Not so fast. Same white, metal shelves. Whose idea was THAT? It is wrong. Half the idea of the library was feeling alone when tucked between those nice tall wooden shelves! We wandered around a bit, the kids being overwhelmed with a lack of understanding where anything was, and the fact that 100 toddlers and kids in strollers were there for some kind of story hour! I recognized a girl from Js church school class and I asked her how to use the computers (I noticed that she was quite good at looking up books). She showed me how to use the digits on my card and what the pin number was to gain access. Of course mine did not work. My card was a dinosaur card that needed to be updated. So back downstairs we headed.


Or so we thought. We stood waiting for the elevator for what seemed 10 minutes. In the mean time, a woman we were waiting with noticed my tattoo and commented on it. She asked if it was a cave art horse. I told her that it was and that I teach art. Well, guess what? SO DID SHE! We got to chatting and I thought she looked familiar...ends up I used to sub for her when she taught at OMS. If I had been thinking...I would have remembered that she started her career as DAVE'S art teacher...one of the ONLY people he has any memory of from elementary school. She is retired now...shared HER tattoo story with me...and then the elevator was fixed and our visit ended.


What a small world!


To end this story...we all got new library cards, the kids each got out a stack of books...and I had Riversend syndrome. The Claire Cook book I wanted was out...so I checked Elizabeth Berg. My memory was working SO WELL Monday that I checkout out a book that, not only have I read before, but it is ON MY SHELF AT HOME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ugh!

Today on eBay!







You are considering a Ladies French Wallet made by Buxton in a pretty taupe color. If you like this French Style wallet, then you know, as I do now, that they do not make them anymore. The ones they make today are wider, designed to hold many credit cards, ATM cards, grocery store cards, and whatever else we use in lieu of cash today.

So here is the story with this wallet. I received one very much like this as a gift when I graduated from high school...about 20ish years ago. I loved this wallet! It was gray, and was the first nice leather wallet I ever owned. I carried it for the next 15 years, until it literally fell apart. I replaced it with a brown one, but it just wasn't the same. For one thing, when you opened it, you had to turn it around to take out cash with your right hand. My original one was obviously designed by a right handed person. Also, the new one had extra bulk that I just wasn't used to. More flaps for credit cards. Eventually I adapted to this newer Buxton wallet, but I never forgot my first love.

It's been about 5 or so years, and I am desperately overdue to replace my Buxton French Wallet again. Mine is ripping, and the snap doesn't want to stay closed. I have looked everywhere, including online, and the French Wallet as I know and love it, does not exist anymore. So I turned to ebay, and there it was! My original BUXTON FRENCH WALLET! Only in a different color. It was listed as new in box, although admittedly older. I am estimating it is from the mid to late 1980s, as that is when I received my first one as a gift. It is still in its original box. It is everything I remember.

The problem is, sadly, I have outgrown that original Buxton from my young adulthood. Back then I only carried cash, coins, photos of my friends and my prom date. I had a library card and one store credit card. My college ID joined all that and we were happy as could be. But now, as I reevaluate my needs, I am one of those 40 year old adults who has the gas card, the ATM card, the credit cards, the Wholesale Club card, and the frequent punch card at the coffee shop. I hardly ever reach for cash, so the turning to get to it with my right hand doesn't seem as big of a deal. Photos of my friends have been pushed aside to accommodate photos of my kids, nieces and nephews. It is time to face the fact that, I need to graduate up to the bigger, bulkier wallets I have been sticking my nose up at.

I enjoyed a brief reunion with this wallet, as it arrived today, still NIB. But I have to place it back up for bid, for someone who can give it the proper home it deserves, in a downsized purse. I did bid quite a lot for it...but it was actually worth it, even if I have to take a loss. It was a nice trip down memory lane.

Shipping will be $3.95. I prefer paypal. Thanks so much!

Slowly finding her place in the family...

Heading into our 2nd week with the Zoester, she escaped being returned to Canjo. We have a daily little routine that we go through. Dave puts her on the run at 6am- ish for potty and such. When we get up (around 8ish to the pool pump kicking on) we bring her up on the deck. She enjoys this sad old lounge chair that Dave brought up from the cellar because he HATES my wicker furniture! After breakfast we put up the baby gate, close bedroom doors, hide the cat toy bag...and let her in. If we kind of stay low key and ignore her a little, she will settle down. I love how she found the cat bed! And actually kind of fits in it! Good thing Colemy hasn't seen this!

Is this it?
Could she REALLY be gone?

On Sunday Dave decided that we should let her off the run and just see what she does. We can't possibly have a dog just chained up every single minute she's out! So here goes! FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, this has to be it! The dog took off like a bat out of hell. Running like she's never ran before (well, she hasn't!). Into the woods. Dave and Jilli headed out to find her, while Ethan heads back, giving up...my dog is gone, I knew it....she'll never come back. This all went on for about 5 minutes. Dave headed back to get in the truck to drive up to the other road to see if she made it across the creek and ran there. Just then...ears a flappin', tail a waggin', tongue a hangin'....she came running back home as fast as she could. That was it....just wanted to explore...I'm home now! When I told my brother about her excursion, he said that she got away from them once. Tom and Julie went in the house and closed the door. Oh well....she's gone. 10 minutes later there was a little scratch scratch at the door...she had returned home.

Goings on with Zoey

Well, Zoey was here 1 week to the day when you left for your VWOD. She does a little bit each day. On Saturday night we loaded her into the car for a trip to the parents. My father really enjoyed her, being the beagle man himself. After that brief visit, we stopped at Bev's for ice cream and she had her first experience at the lake. It was a lot of fun trying to keep her away from all the dead fish, but she did love rolling in the rocks.

While Cheryl is Away

I decided rather than to flood Cheryl's email, while she is away on her VWOD (vacation without dog), I would post on our blog, what I might have randomly emailed her about. Since my title as BLOG PARTNER has dwindled to Guest Writer, I thought this would also give me the opportunity to catch up a little.

I will start with Friday, July 19 and work my way to today.

We fired him then, we fired him again...

On Friday, even though Cheryl was technically still in the state, the story begins. Dave and I headed to Syracuse to look at vehicles. This is never one of my favorite shopping outings. Shopping is fun because you can look, decide what to buy based on the price and what kind of coupon you have or what kind of sale is going on. There aren't any games, it is all up front. Vehicles are not like that. There are the sticker prices, the rebates, the invoice price and then the secret dealer price, and God Forbid if you have a trade in, that adds another element of surprise and mystery. I just hate it.

We had 2 vehicles we were looking at Friday. The Mitsubishi Outlander first, then the Hyundai Santa Fe. I could basically care less. Pick one, get it, drive it and move on. But for Dave it is all about the prep, the hunt and the kill. So we get there, find them, get out and look...and wait to be approached by the dreaded sales rep. Here he comes...towards us...and it all begins. He introduces himself and shakes our hands...I am already hearing blah blah blah. He tries to make personal connection, talking about kids and family...needing a vehicle to fit everyone and friends, too. Once we decide to test drive one, Mr. Sales Rep goes to get plates and keys. While he slips away, I pull out his card and look at the name. My jaw hits the ground. Could it really be? I show Dave the name and ask him if it rings a bell. This was the man we hired in 1992 to be our wedding photographer, then fired 2 months before! Slowly, the details all come flooding back.

I chose him because, as an artist, I wanted someone GOOD. He took my brother's first communion portraits and I remember being impressed with his work. We went for our engagement pictures and I put down a $100 deposit and saved our date. When I got the pictures back, although nice, I was upset by my favorite, being off center. My head was cut off a little on the left side. As the months went on and I booked florists, ordered a cake, invitations, everyone asked who the photographer was. I distinctly remember the invitation printer saying, is there any way you can get out of that? For reasons I have since chosen to block, I secured another photographer. Ok, so he was a city cop....but I felt that due to a GUT FEELING, I had to get out of this other commitment.

2 months before the wedding, he contacted me about specifics (place, time...) and I told him that we decided to forfeit our deposit and go with someone else. Yeah. Kind of awkward.

So here he comes back with the plates...and we hop in for a test drive. I wonder now why he didn't really bite on the opportunity to share with us his OSWEGO connection when we told him where we were from and for that reason we would not buy a WHITE vehicle due to driving in white out conditions? So I come out and ask...So...didn't you used to be a photographer in Oswego? He said yes, but the tone was strange. I told him that he actually took our engagement picture 16 years ago. He asked my maiden name. I told him and he echoed back the mispronounced version of my name. He asked how to spell it (he was writing it down) It occurred to me at that moment...my Uncle was in the wedding business (flowers) along side him for YEARS (they alllll know each other) and yet he chose not to ask....if we were related. The whole thing was ever so strange. He mentioned that he probably still had our negatives. If he honestly did not remember anything about me firing him at THAT moment, on THAT test drive, I am certain that he went home and looked up our negatives and had some kind of record that we let him go.

After test driving the Outlander it didn't impress us, nor did the sales rep. So we fired him, yet again...and off to Hyundai we went for a completely opposite experience.

Do you still believe in Santa honey?

So at this point, we move on to the Santa Fe. The Hyundai dealership was WAY laid back. Our rep wasn't even legal to hold a driver's license yet. Dave knew more about the vehicle than he did. He was dressed like a high school kid doing his own laundry. On the test drive, however, we did decide that we really liked the Santa Fe. The one they had on the showroom floor of course was gorgeous. Leather interior, sun roof, power everything and gadgets we would never use in our lifetime, but Ethan would probably know how to operate.

While checking out the back end, we were impressed with the removable liner that covers the rug. It was so dog friendly. We made a private little joke about the DOG and of course the little boy picked up on it and asked what kind of dog we have. I embarrassingly admitted that we have a Beagle. Well...I guess the boy should have been working as a vet assistant, or as a breeder or trainer, because this is where all his knowledge was! He is was a total beagle lover. He told us all about his love of them and how he was working for the Save the Hound Foundation to save hounds rescued after Katrina....oh my. He went ON and ON about how beagles are just the BEST dog.

It was kind of funny...how the vehicle we hated had such negative aura tied to the rep, and here this vehicle we love came with this enthusiastic pep rally about the dog we are still so unsure of. I am sure Zoey set this all up...to help us get the vehicle that will work to her best interest in staying!

But of course they were closing at 6pm, and it was now 5:58 and the deal process was going no where. We decided to walk away...and continue the hunt.

...and if we have to have these dogs creating havoc in our lives, we may as well have some fun with them, eh?  Matching Vera Bradley Botanica collars, anyone?  Zoey is looking most stunning, but Lucy is NWT!  Ahhh, eBay!

-Cheryl

Need to start blogging this summer.  SO much has been going on already, and  we have been entirely off the radar.  Of course, this, in part could be due to Sue's and my tandem jump into dog ownership.  I am calling it "Dog by Design, Dog by Default" because we really planned to get a dog, whereas hers, literally, fell into her lap. Her brother needed a new home for a one year old beagle in the event of his second child being born, and her son, needed a dog.  I mean, Sue and I had LITERALLY and on several occations discussed Ethan's desperate want, but she felt like if they did get a dog it would have to "just happen."  Well, it did, and we did, and now we all are living the doggy life...and what a change in life it is.  Anywhoooo, you may as well meet 'em.  Above please get to know Lucy May Howell and Zoey Sincavage Hall!  Lucy May actually is Lucy May Merlot Cause I Like Ya A Lot Better After Some Merlot, and uncanny as it seems, Zoey is the one member of Sue's household, that shares her maiden name.  As I told Sue, as much as the pup is, at the moment, cramping her style, someday they will both sit down, her with a glass of...Merlot... perhaps, Zoey with a bowl of cool water, and discuss their similarities.  For now, though, we will just try to hang in there, right Sue?  Summer chaos, here we come!

-Cheryl

So, are you there God?  It's me, Cheryl.  Here I am, home, alone, well, with my 7 year old daughter, and my husband and son are gone on a Cub Scout camping trip, and I am here, as I said, home, and essentially alone.  It is a funny thing, really, that in 37 years of life, and nearly 15 of marriage, I do believe it is the one time I actually have been alone for any length.  Isn't that sad?  I can even retrace the path of my lack of aloneness.  I mean, for 18 years I lived in my parent's house.  Then it was on to college.  Directly out of college I was married, and now we are here.  I have been away from my home, alone, two times actually, to give birth...Tim didn't stay at the hospital with me.  And I did make a solo trip or two to overnights and weekends at friend's houses, camps, and even one trip sans husband to New Orleans, but to be alone in my house is an unusual thing.  I am actually feeling a little empowered.  I have done what I wanted, gone where I wanted, and it has all been on my schedule.  I've avoided cooking, drunk too much wine, eaten too much crap, and have overdosed a bit on old Gilmore Girls episodes.  I have re-read Are You There God?  It's Me Margaret, again, this time with a flashlight under the covers with my daughter, fast asleep next to me, as on her insistence she had to sleep in my bed.  Nicer I'd say, than the first time I read it...when it was me and a flashlight, in the nook between my 70's bedroom paneling and my bed, hoping I wouldn't get caught.  It has been a girly weekend...and as much as it has been a little odd, and a little different, and admittedly a little quiet and void of adult conversation (thanks for remedying that a bit by coming over for a while Sue!  And bearing jewelry to boot) it has been nice.  It has also been a time of realization that if something were to happen in my life, you know, I suppose I really would and could survive.  I mean, it is not lost on me that it IS a great comfort that my daughter is here in the house...granted she is 7, but still, I am thinking that even if something happened...and you all know what I mean...I could go on.  Maybe, finally, at 37, I really am a grownup?  Maybe...

...and so vacation winds down. It has been absolutely beautiful here in upstate New York for the last several days. Quintessential summer weather has been upon us...high 70's, breezes, full blue sunny skies. You couldn't ask for much more. It is going to make going back to work on Monday a real bear, although, for the most part, the time between April break and the end of school really does seem to fly. This is surely in no part due to the fact that as one ages, the relativity of time changes. As I am sure I have stated before, I am in no way getting any older. (yeah, birthday month is still fresh in the mind...takes a while to come down off the hat trick that is what we call the March Birthday Season for our family of 4)



When you live in Upstate New York it is hard to convey the absolute high that comes from weather like this to "others." People that live in the south, or Florida in particular, can hardly relate to the extremes that we experience. It was under a month ago that we were in a deep freeze, under snow, and not sure if or when it would end. May has brought snow to us in the past, so when it is "summer" in April you really take notice. I was talking with Tim on a drive the other day, sun glaring, music blaring, and we came to a conclusion. Human beings, on the whole, resist change. Oh sure, we want stimulation and excitement in our lives, but when you really think of it, those things are different. Change is hard. Change is adapting to new places, people and things. Change is struggle and acceptance. Change is often part choice, but often part put upon us as well. Perhaps those of us that live in Upstate are better equipped to deal with change in general because it is forced upon us, at least four times a year, if not more, due to where we live. We get the excitement of the first snowfalls and first sunny days, but have to deal with annual maintenance of both snowblowers and lawnmowers. We get the cool temperatures of fall and winter and de-thawing warmth of spring and summer, but must get out, and again store, wardrobes to cope with each. We live change at all times, dealing not only with springsummerwinterfall, but ice season and mud season as well. Change is inevitable because change is a part of who we are, where we are and what we are. So, embracing change, I am headed out into the sun...to enjoy this taste of summer, and anticipate our wonderfully long teacher vacation to come!
-Cheryl

So, my quick and dirty "I have to go to work tomorrow and my husband, as well as all that work in Cayuga Onondaga Oswego BOCES don't" question is the following.  When is someone going to break on to the music scene at MY age?  I mean, I just found this great new chicky Sara Bareilles...love her...have loved MANY young newbies.  But the question remains.  Why is it all the new wonders are in their 2o's?  I lived my 20's, and they were a lot of fun, but you know, I feel I have a LOT more to say now in my 30's...I love my 30's...who is going to speak for the thirtysomethings out there, or did we have our day in the sun with early the 90's TV series?  Ahhhh, the tragedy!  Oh well, Happy Easter anyways! - Cheryl

Today's thought to ponder:
Is it possible to have an emotional attraction to someone but not be attracted to them in other ways? How about having a spiritual connection but not a physical attraction? A sexual attraction but not an emotional? Are we attracted to other people with different parts of our brain? Different intelligences so to speak? Is it possible to have all your needs met with one person?

Just as a note, there was something on Yahoo just now stating that Barak Obama's books are hot sellers again.  The article went on to note the sales of Hillary Clinton's books, and John McCain's books...does anyone notice a pattern here?  Regardless of who ends up in the running, all three of these people have written BOOKS?!  All three have written MEMOIRS?!  All three can put a sentence together without stumbling over words...hmmm...what a novel idea for the leader of the free world.

Well, you know, a raspberry, at times, really says it all.  

I was looking back at our blogs recently, having just put the blog on favorites lists for both my parents and my brother and sister in law.  (Probably checking to see that I hadn't said anything truly incriminating:)  Still, I harkened upon February last.  

We are coming off February break right now, which SUCKED!  Yeah, I yell at my (almost) 10 year old son for using that word, but it really sums it up.  We started Feb break sick, ended it adequate, and went back to work 100% healthy.  I was FUMING over this at numerous times, having the "I love being home, but hate when I HAVE to be home," argument with Tim.  He was patient, as always, but in looking back, FEBRUARY BREAK 2007 WAS THE SAME!  Literally the SAME!  Thing is we had umpteenmillion snowdays both before and after break.  It was no big deal to be sick for "the real thing."  I live in a snowbelt for a reason - I expect snowdays - and right now I feel gypped!

Should I ever even breath a thought of traveling over the February break period, anyone out there reading this, HIT ME, and hit me HARD!

-Cheryl

Second quick thought of the day...as Devin was making a precocious comment at dinner, and as I sipped my second glass of wine with "Much too good for Tuesday night homemade soup,"...I said to Tim "This kid is finally going to hit his stride at age 32."  HELLO - my brother, who Devin is, quite regularly, the second coming of, IS 32!  So, is this "wine-induced prophecy" for Devin or Scott?  Hmmmmmmmm...

The Things we Don't Throw Away - aka "The Vera Revolution"

It happens this time of year, each and every year.  With the incoming glut of Christmas giving, we realize our house is full of crap and we need to pare down.  This year was no different, and then again, in every way different than last, for I received, from Tim, for Christmas, a Vera Bradley bag.  

Never really being a "purse girl" it is interesting to note that  I have eyed Vera Bradley's for a long time, but have never been able to commit.  How like me, ideas a plenty, no follow through. Well this year, with Tim searching for a gift that could keep on giving (Vera's have a ton of coordinating accessories, making his subsequent gift giving simple and guaranteed)  I suggested a Vera bag and gave him two styles and two prints to choose from.  He made a great choice, and knowing that he ordered it and had it shipped to school, I have  a cute little vision of him and a bunch of 10th grade girls perusing the Vera website on his Smartboard - a fine use of taxpayer money if I ever saw one!

Christmas came and went, and Vera became my new purse,and all her wonderful compartments and pockets became my salvation as I realized how out of organizational whack I had become,and perhaps in a bigger way, how out of emotional whack I had become as well.  My emotional issue is actually the fact that I have grown and changed a lot as a person the last couple of years, questioning at every turn where my life was going.  I think I finally kind of "grew up" so to speak, in as much as I don't think I was that bad off before, but have in a lot of ways gone through acceptance of my teacher/mom/wife status.  I don't think it showed on the outside TOO much, but those close to me know what I mean.  

I had immense stress and anger to work through at work over a number of things ranging from being ousted repeatedly from grade levels, disregarded for a library job, and in the middle of a huge contract dispute.  I would say that I am finally over that, finally just enjoying my job for what it is.  Although tempted at a number of times, my job, I did not throw away.

What did I toss?  Well, I lost 20 lbs, which speaks in a lot of ways to change, and have kept it off for half a year or so.  That has happened before, sure, but this time feels different, like I want to stay the way I am for more reasons than just vanity.  Certainly a change, and a reverse type of growth as well, or a realization as I age of what must go.

There also seems to be a lot of clearing out going on in the world around me as I have recently watched some marriages fall apart, or be put through situations of public upheaval, and in seeing things like that one can't help but evaluate their own relationship.  I love my husband and my life in every sense, but I think people, normal  well adjusted people, often go through times where they wonder what might have been different.  If you don't then more power to you, but I do and did, have and probably will again.  Over the last couple of years I have just learned that this is ME and just because I question does not mean I am in trouble or that there should be change, just that I tend to reflect and to embrace reflection and not to be scared of it as it can cause growth.  I look at things critically at times, but think carefully before I throw away.

Lately as well, there has been the beginning and not ending of projects in my home...an immense frustration laced in joy over the last couple of years.  It is the product of living in any house, but in particular an old one...the project that it is is never ending, and a constant balance of what you keep and what you throw away.

We don't just throw away perfectly good old houses.  What else do we NOT throw away?  We don't just throw away marriage, or long old friendships.  We try not to toss memories in the heat of the moment, ideas.  Hopefully, if we live our life consciously, and conscientiously, we don't throw away WHO WE ARE.  We rid ourselves periodically of clutter, but try to remember to savor and stash those things that will help us find our way later in life - old cards, letters, personal things, journals, photos, videos, little notes, even Chinese fortunes.  Sometimes it can be cleansing to throw away those old things (Sue, this is a documented reminder about the journal you just tossed in the fire- you know my memory!!) but we don't do anything like that quickly or without consideration.  We must cleanse to be able to continue to receive the good in life, but we hold on to the past as a touchstone of who and what we were, as a compass towards who and what we may become.

And for those things we can't seem to part with can probably find a little corner, somewhere, in our Vera Bradley bags.

-Cheryl 

Last week sometime, Oprah had Nate on her show. They were talking about how your home should tell a story about WHO you are the minute someone walks in. He said that every home should have a few key things. First thing was souvenirs from a trip that made you happy. Next: a special framed letter or note from someone, and then he talked about framing children's art work and getting if off the fridge. He said everyone needs something from the sea and also a weird chair that doesn't really match anything else in the room. Through it all, I kept thinking about my Uncle Dave's little apartment in CT. It was all of like 200 square feet or something like that. Even though I last saw it at age 8, I can still recall the layout, and what it all looked like. It told a story about who he was. It was great.

After the Nate show I set out on a mission to do some of the things he talked about. I still have deep regrets about the letters I threw away before getting married and moving out of my purple Murray St. bedroom. My Uncle Dave and I had written since the late 70s, tapering off slowly as I got older and ending with his death in 1994. I had hundreds of cards, letters and who knows what in a box under my bed. I am 99.9% sure they all went even though I can't actually remember DOING it. I did save a handful of cards and notes because of the fun or artsy cards they were written on. I knew they were in my desk at school.

At Kohl's that weekend I found a frame that I knew Uncle Dave would have loved. I had pictured one of the few remaining notes being framed and hung in my home, earning me a "Nate point". I felt this is where I needed to start, and I couldn't go on until I accomplished this.

I finally got around to finding the small stash at work. I was hugely disappointed in what I found. A few of the notes were on cards that I removed the backs from, thus losing half the message. The others were on strange postcards with nose cut outs in case you were in need of a quick Halloween costume. In other words, nothing suitable for framing from Nate's point of view, or my own for that matter.

This morning I searched the house frantically for maybe an overlooked note stashed in with my wedding cards. I did find a couple, but they were formal and not at all what I wanted. I was looking for the random, trivial ramble of his busy life. I again returned to my small stack of postcards. I spent some time wondering why the notes I wanted so much were gone, as was the person who wrote them, while I hung on to a few stacks of stupid school girl notes from friends I talk to every day. Then I had an idea. At Bed Bath and Beyond I found an 11x14 frame that floats a document between 2 pieces of glass. I got it and put together a collage of the cards and a favorite photo. I hung it over my computer where I will see it often. I am not sure I am happy with the layout, but for now I feel at peace with it.

Next project is to go through the stash of the kids art work and see what is frame worthy. Cheryl already told me that my little school desk qualifies as my 1 chair that doesn't "go" and I need to bring home my Florida shell from 1975 that sits on my classroom shelf. Aunt Barb and I bought that right before the car was broken into on the beach. So not only is it a piece of the sea, but a souvenir and a story in itself.

DORK that I am I found tonight that an iPod can make doing the dishes a hell of a lot more fun. Now, I should begin with the fact that dishes and I have a long and sordid history. I never helped with the dishes growing up, being a kept child with a, for the most part, stay at home mother. Then came college, and my dear friends will attest to the fact that my HotPot would sit on the corner of my desk ofttimes for a week (or more...I'll admit) at a time, much to the consternation of my roommates. Early marriage brought the sink pile that we both could ignore due to immaturity, independence of living on our own and by our own rules, and general stubbornness towards what neither of us wanted to be the first to do. Our marriage thrived, but the dishes regularly became a tower threatening to crash, wrecking our wedding gift stoneware. A few years into marriage, with our first baby on the way, the hubby and I decided a dishwasher would be a good investment in marital bliss, with the advent of baby bottles and such on the horizon, and it surely was a factor that kept the fighting and power struggles at bay during those early baby lack of sleep days/nights.

Well, let's just say a few years and two dishwashers later, our baby, about to turn 10, arrived home from his Cub Scout meeting finding his mother dancing around the kitchen, in plaid flannel PJ's and shearling slippers, iPod aglow in my pocket, and putting things in the dishwasher. After a little nod and a giggle, he, responsible young boy that he is, informed me that my music was much to loud, and I should turn it down, as he scurried off to bed. I though, continued to rock out, in particular to my new Lenny Kravitz, Culture Club, Colbie Calliet mix...two stepping towards the mugs, and sliding to the silverware, making the most of the things that must be done. It's how we get by.
-Cheryl