Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm taking a "bloggy" break for a while...I'll be back, though, don't you worry!

I'm gonna be here:

to enjoy some good times, great food and FUN with my family!

Take care y'all and don't forget to give thanks!

Love ya!

Please Don't Hate Me...Sincerely 'Fro Me to You

My best friend for most of my life -- Jenny in Utah -- joined a cool online carnival a few weeks ago (maybe more?) called "Sincerely 'Fro Me To You" on the blog We Are THAT Family.

This week she (Jenny) posted dance pictures from high school. Since I was in one of them, I felt compelled to join in and return the, er..."favor".

Love yer guts, Jen! Please don't hate me!


Here are a couple of my dance pictures from high school...although I couldn't find the one I was looking for that corresponds to the comment I left at Jenny's blog...





And, here's my cute friend, Jenny, and me...with a shout-out to her fabulous 'fro' and to those glasses. LOL! Too funny...





And lastly, and homage to some great 'fros from earlier decades!





...including mine (notice the blue eye shadow?)... aargh!



...and a mullet.



Aaaaah -- the 80s!



Check out the carnival at We are THAT Family, for more great "Sincerely 'Fro Me to You" pictures that didn't make the scrapbook...or shouldn't have. :-)


Take care, y'all!

My Funny Valentine, part 1

On Friday, February 13, 1981, I was walking home from school just like I would on any other Friday afternoon. I had my "valentine mailbox" under my arm (for some reason, I even remember that it was my left arm) because we'd just done our valentine card exchange in my 3rd grade class. I always liked making my 'mailbox' and seeing what others had done. Mine was never the cutest or cleverest (is that a word?) but it was fun anyway. I just came around the corner of the schoolyard when I saw the family car pull out of the driveway (we lived 3 houses away from the school -- it was a really short walk) and head down the street toward me. I thought, Oh, we must be going to the store. I fully expected the car to stop and pick me up. It did. What I didn't expect was that the whole family -- Dad, Mom, Brother and Sister -- would be in the car. They were.

That was the moment when I learned that I was about to become a big sister. (Actually, I was already a big sister x3, but I didn't know it.) This baby was to be the first (and only) child after me in my adoptive family -- and I was 8 (almost 9) years old! I'd love to say that I was thrilled and excited because that would make this a really great story. I wasn't. I was mad!

How DARE they get another baby? I'M the baby! How dare they not tell me until we were ON OUR WAY to another state (albeit a nearby state) to GET the new baby? How DARE they not ask me if it was okay with me? Let me assure you...it was NOT okay with me!

Well, happy or not, I was on my way (family in tow) to 'get' a new little brother or sister -- we didn't know which yet. Literally, we were ON the trip from the moment they intercepted me on my short walk home from school. *sigh* Oh brother!

It took us about a day-and-a-half to get where we were going. Some of these details I knew at the time and some I've learned since then. I can't really remember which is which anymore. We had to get 'there' as soon as possible because 'the baby' was due to be born the next day, on Saturday, Feb. 14th -- Valentine's Day -- and we had to be ready to pick 'the baby' up one day later. Well, we arrived early on the 15th (as best I can remember) and 'the baby' decided not to make an appearance until Tuesday, Feb. 17th sometime in the evening. I don't remember much about those two days of waiting except I do remember that we stayed in a hotel room (and I have vague memories of the hotel room itself -- dingy, yellow curtains) and that we took a few "day trips" to various places of interest around where we were staying. I have to say, though, that the term "of interest" is relative. Even though I haven't said exactly where we went, here are some pictures of the 'waiting' days -- I have a feeling you'll be able to figure it out, more or less.

The house belonged to a friend of DadUtah, his best friend actually, who lived there at the time. The other picture is of the LDS temple in the area. The only thing I remember about that particular visit is that the home didn't have a lawn (too hot) but a paved/bricked 'courtyard' instead (I don't actually remember going inside the house or seeing DadUtah's friend at all) and that my older brother picked a grapefruit right from the tree in the garden outside the temple. And yes, that is my older sister dumping her soda on my head. Nah...I wasn't picked on at all!

Other than that, I remember a lot of 'down time' in the hotel room, some of which was just the three of us kids -- our parents were elsewhere. I think I know where they were but I've never had it confirmed.

After all the waiting...and waiting...and waiting, we all went to the hospital together on Feb. 18th and I saw my new little sister, Harley Mama, for the first time. I'd like to say that I fell in love instantly and that I was enthralled, enraptured, ecstatic...whatever. I didn't -- and I wasn't. I was utterly underwhelmed. I remember that one of my first thoughts as I stared at this little black-haired, black-eyed creature (I had very little experience with babies up to that point) was, She's really 'dark'. Everyone is gonna know she's adopted. Cool! It hadn't actually occurred to me at the time that everyone would also know that she was adopted because 1) our mother had not been pregnant the last 9 months and 2) our mother was closer to 50 than 30, if you know what I mean. No, those thoughts did not enter my 8-and-a-half year old brain...just that she looked nothing like either of our parents...or any of the rest of us, for that matter (even though we don't look much like each other, either).

February 19th found us packing up the car, collecting 'the baby' from the hospital, and heading for home. I don't know exactly how long it took to make the return drive but it felt like a really, really....REALLY long trip. If you asked me what it FELT like, I'd say about a week. (I'm sure it wasn't actually that long.) Here's what I remember about the trip home. Somewhere along the way, our parents (I think it was them...I certainly wasn't included) decided to name her 'Felicia'. Just so you know, I didn't just 'out' my sister's name after all these months of calling everyone by catchy nicknames. They changed their minds later. But, for a few days at least, she was Felicia. I also remember that (keep in mind there were no car seat laws in 1981) for the entire trip home I was never allowed to hold her. (grrrr!) If I'm going to be forced to deal with a little sister (blech!) you should at least let me TRY to get to know her! (That was 8-year-old me thinking to myself...) I wasn't allowed to hold her even when we WEREN'T in the car!

Overall, this trip was not one of my favorites, so far. Other than that, the trip home was pretty much a blur for me. I remember one other thing...my older sister, age 13 at the time, was taking Spanish in junior high. She kept saying words to the baby in Spanish that I didn't understand. That was when SHE got to hold her -- both in the car and out -- sheesh!

Here are a couple more pictures from the trip home. Notice who ISN'T holding the baby in any of the pictures...okay, maybe I'm still a little bitter about it. (Hang in there, though. The story actually does get better.) :-)

To be honest, things are a little 'fuzzy' in my memory regarding the first few days (does a year or so count as 'days'?) after we brought Harley Mama home. I remember that some of the neighbors gave MomUtah a baby shower -- I was at least in my 20s before I knew that mom's usually only get a baby shower for a first baby...unless there's an 'unexpected' baby after a many-years 'gap'. That's what happened in this case. Yes, strange as it seems when you actually say it (or write it) there is such a thing as an 'unexpected' adoption -- Harley Mama is living proof. I also remember taking a trip one state to the North to introduce our newest addition to the grandparents. I vaguely remember trying to 'dupe' DadUtah's mother into thinking MomUtah had given birth to her. It was more of a practical joke thing (as was customary between DadUtah and his mom) as I don't think anyone really believed she'd fall for it -- but I remember something about stuffing pillows in MomUtah's shirt...how weird. Did they actually NOT tell their own parents they were adopting again? I can't even fathom it.

Well, this blog post is getting really, really long...and I haven't even got to the 'good stuff' yet. So, I've decided I'll make it a series, rather than one long post. I was inspired to write some of this down because of a comment MomEast made to me a while ago, wondering what it's like to grow up adopted...having a family but not MY family...not my natural family. And because I've been thinking about Harley Mama a lot lately (more than usual...which is a lot anyway). And, because I've been thinking about adoption a lot lately (not about adopting, but about adoption as a social construct, if that makes sense). It's funny, I've never experienced having a mother be pregnant and 9 months (or however long, after a child learns of his/her mother's pregnancy) of anticipating a new baby. Usually, only youngest children can say that. My 'anticipating' all took place in a matter of 3 days. I never really thought about how 'different' that is in the big picture...because it was the only 'normal' I knew.

I'll end this 'episode' with this thought. I DID eventually fall head-over-heels in love with this little stranger that 'invaded' my world. I think I was pretty much on board and 'over' the bitterness by the time we got home from picking her up. I don't recall any negative feelings once we were back into our routine (as much as one can be 'back' when a new baby comes home). But, I did fall in LOVE with her. Yes, indeed.

How could I not?

To be continued...

WTFT? Wednesday

Hey all...

Just wanted to give a quick update via my new "thingie" that I'll call "What the French, Toast? Wednesday". LOL!

There's a commercial for Orbit (I think) gum with a perky, cute-accented blonde girl whose standard phrases are "Dirty mouth? Clean it up!" and "Fabulous!" (speaking of the sparkling white teeth of those who chew the gum). Anyway... one of the commercials features a 'fight' between a wife and the husband she just caught 'canoodling' with (what one presumes to be) his secretary. One of the lines is, "What the french, toast?" which we couldn't stop laughing at -- so we picked it up.

Moving on...

The Zombie has been sick this week -- and home from work -- so I'm doing more nurse-type duties than usual this week. On top of that, the crazy-wet-cold-weird weather we've been having has done a number on my arthritis and I've been 'flaring' for the past many days. Hence, the lack of blogging.

From what I've been able to gather, it's been going around. ("It" being the odd, kinda-sick-then-better-then-sick-again illness that's been hanging over Zombie Manor the last few days.)

Basically, we're doing okay. Our holiday plans are taking shape and we're plugging along otherwise. Is it too early to say I can't wait for Spring when it's only Nov. 12th? *sigh* We really need to move to a warmer climate...or become "snowbirds" like so many of the retired folk from this area (and I'm sure lots of other areas, too). Is 36 too young to consider myself 'retired'? Aaaah, if only...

I have subbed some more with no really major (or majorly funny) stories to tell. I'm standing by my assertion a while back that it's much slower this year than last -- and it's not just ME that's slower. I used to get a call (or several calls) every single night and I could sort of "cherry pick" the jobs I wanted at the schools I wanted. This year, I'm lucky to get two calls a week -- and I still can't always take them, depending on how I'm feeling, what else is going on, and the circumstances of the job itself...there are still some assignments I just can't bring myself to accept. *sigh*

The Zombie is doing well. I'm pretty good. The babies -- Ladybug and Butterfly Baby -- are gorgeous (as usual) and Harley Mama is fabulous (also as usual). I have a funny post about banana bread in the works. I'm working on a post about Harley Mama -- cuz she just cracks me up -- almost daily. I have a little ditty I'm writing about neighbors (with the 82-year-old widow that lives across from us featuring) and more...these are all just ideas right now (except the Harley Mama one, which I'm struggling not to make 'too long') and it's possible I'm writing this now so I can come back and look when I find myself thinking, "What was that idea I had a few days ago?" to remind myself.

And so it goes...

Tuesday Musing -- Joyful, Hopeful, Thankful!

Thank you God!



I am weeping with JOY and with HOPE tonight. I am filled with GRATITUDE and PEACE tonight.

God Bless the United States of America!

God Bless the American People!

God Bless President-Elect Barack Obama!



God Bless the people of the World!

God Bless Humankind!

Happy Birthday, eman!

Happy Birthday to my Sweet, Beautiful, Charming and very, very Intelligent Sister.

I love you, Sis!

Here's the first picture of eman that I ever saw:

I know, I know...pretty intimidating, right? (Right!) But how could I NOT think it was awesome to be related to such a beautiful girl? (Not to mention my two handsome brothers -- but this is HER day!)

I haven't spent a lot of time with my dear eman but I love her like no other. And, I'd be lying (by omission) if I didn't say I'm WAY MORE than a little impressed by this talented woman that I'm so blessed to have as a sister.

Here are some things about eman that are SO COOL!

She's done the 60-mile, 3-day "walk for the cure" to support the Susan G. Komen breast cancer research foundation. Yes, those are 'boobs' on her head. You Go, Girl! :-)

She's one of the most prolific readers I know -- and that's saying something. :-) I don't have a picture of eman reading, so here's one that I love of her and our aunties.

She's been parasailing -- which I'd really like to try and hopefully, someday, I will.

She's GORGEOUS (obviously) and I love to brag about it (living vicariously...ya know).

She's got a really cool post-graduate degree and a really cool job with a very important organization -- sorry I can't be more specific...you know how I am about privacy. LOL. So, some more favorite pictures:

She's FUNNY -- extremely FUNNY -- and in a way that I'm uniquely qualified (same brain-wiring) to appreciate. Here are a couple of her Halloween costumes. Can you guess which one was THIS YEAR?

(hint: yes, that's a hockey stick and puck, an American Flag, a large game animal common in the cold northwest, and a political button -- and notice, please, the RED blazer...) LOL.

I love you, eman! I miss you like crazy!

Happy Happy Birthday, Sister!

I hope it's the best!