Happy Birthday Liz!

Here's a Tuesday Talkie.....keeping it real!

Cleveland Rocks!

Ok, first of all, what is with the video stopping in the LEAST flattering frame? I mean, hello! I look like I'm stoned or something.....anyhoo...

Well, bloggers, I am loving C-town! Every time I come back and hook up with my friends (who are still there for me after 20+ years even though I don't live here anymore) and my family, it rejuvenates me. You can always pick up exactly where you left off. The people never change, they just get older. But the scene is still the same. Last night I met my friend Debbie at a "dive bar" where the patrons were mostly my age or older to see a local rock band (Alias) that she likes. I was apprehensive to say the least. I mean, I haven't been in that scene for YEARS! So when I first walked in, and was blasted with the sounds of the band right inside the door, I just thought, ok, here we go, buckle up! I sat uncomfortably at a high top table with a beer (something else I rarely drink anymore) and watched in amazement all the old rocker chicks who still had their hair either feathered or long and curly. They danced alone or with friends, they didn't care. They just wanted to rock out. No one was dressed up, there were a lot of leather jackets, hockey shirts, football shirts, tattoos, levis and beer and shots flowing. The music was so loud you had to scream to the person next to you to be heard (my voice and ears are still recovering). The smell of beer and alcohol was all around. The dart boards had been dimmed for the night in preparation for having the band, so the tables had been rearranged under the boards and were not in use. The solitary pool table just inside the door stayed busy all night long. I really wanted to play, but not tonight. There were no fruity drinks being served, nor wine either. Thankfully, the smell of smoke was not in the air, since smokers still had to go outside, but there was a steady stream of them going in and out throughout the evening.

Going to the bathroom and waiting in line with women in various stages of inebriation and having to wait for the single toilet that was available....we all made small talk and were friendly and introducing ourselves. When they found out I was visiting from California, they asked me what it was like. I found myself saying....I'm still a Cleveland girl no matter what. I have lived there for 11 years and have a husband and children whom I love dearly, but in all that time, I have only 1 dear friend who is like the kind you find in Cleveland, and a couple of former work buddies that I am in touch with but never make time to get together. And that's just it...no one makes time for each other. I went to my cousin's on Friday night, and they managed to get all my friends from way back when together in less than 2 day's notice. EVERYONE CAME! Even those who couldn't bring their spouses or girlfriends came because it was me and they wanted just to see me...it had been more than 10 years since I saw most of them. I was so grateful and happy and surrounded by love. It was amazing. I am soaking it all up. I am loving every minute.

And when I go back to CA, I will take these happy memories with me and look forward to my next visit. I will force my friends to see me more because I love it and need it. I will continue to teach my kids that this is what matters, the love of your family and friends. Nothing else. Not fancy cars or fancy clothes or what neighborhood you live in or who you know or any of those other superficial things that seem to drive life in La La Land. Humble beginnings, REAL people, genuine affection with people you know well or just have a connection with for the first time. This is what makes me who I am, these are my roots, these are my people. I love it, and them, dearly.

Talky Blog 2

Talkies are easier than typing....don't you love the freeze frame it got stopped on? BTW, the "farting noise" you hear in the videos is my mom's computer...NOT ME! :-)

Catch Up and Random

Hi blog buddies! Sorry for my prolonged absence...just seems like everything is moving in fast foward. Here is a brief update along with a viddy greeting from CLEVELAND, OHIO where the kids and I are visiting grammy and grampa. Hope to have a meetup with none other than Katie (Kelly's sis)! But waiting to hear back. If it happens, I'll post some pics. Anyway, we flew in last night/this a.m. on the Redeye so if I look bleary-eyed it's because I am. We went from 80 degree temps to somewhere in the 30's or 40's. We lost not only 3 hours, but 40 degrees! Finally got registered for all the classes I need to get started this spring! So my life will change drastically in terms of free time in a couple of weeks, which means even less blogging :-(. I'll do what I can. So here are my random thoughts for today:

• Girl drama seems to start earlier and earlier these days....like 3rd or 4th grade! I've been watching these girls being snarky at various schools and I just want to take them all and hug them and tell them to be kinder. It doesn't get any better with age.....


• My mom's scale says I weigh like 5 lbs less than my scale at home. I think I should pack it in my luggage.


• I love my husband for wanting me to take this trip to "re-charge" with my family...but I miss him so much. He stayed home to work.


• The teachers that are being lost to budget cuts in CA is almost criminal...unions are protecting the weak ones as usual and some of the brightest and most innovative minds to show up in our classrooms are getting cut. It totally sucks.


• So Obama made a social gaffe with the Special Olympics comment. Unfortunate, but once again, political correctness runs amok. I think we all know where he stands on the issue of Special Ed. Get over it everybody and grow a sense of humor. Gee, I can't recall ANY social gaffes made by our last Prez....


• I'm just too tired to say anything witty or funny so that's all for now folks!

911!! (Here we go again)...

Okay, first of all, I know I have not been writing as much lately. Just been picking up a lot of teaching jobs and getting stuff ready to return to school in a few weeks. But, as always, there is never a dull moment in our household...

This past Saturday, I awoke around 8:00 to my son telling me he smelled fire in the house. I was still groggy with sleep and kind of shrugged it off as the smell the furnace sometimes makes (you know, like the smell of burnt DUST when it has been shut off for awhile?). So I dragged my butt out of bed (hubby, the FIREFIGHTER was at work that day of course) and headed into the kids' room. Instantly I was on red alert, because I could smell fire too! Trying to avoid all out panic (those of my family who know me well understand I am not always the calmest person in the room during intense situations), I frantically started searching the room looking for smoke or flames. I found neither.

I went out into the hallway and stood directly under the crawl space (we don't have an attic) where all the home insulation (aka KINDLING) is...and the smell intensified. Still no sign of smoke or flame, but taking no chances, I told the kids to put on shoes and jackets and go out in the garage until I could decide the next step.

Well, the next step was escorting them downstairs and out to the garage, and checking to make sure the furnace wasn't on fire. Then I shut off the furnace (just in case), and headed back upstairs, phone in hand. Was I going to call 911? Not just yet, dear readers.....

So I call my darling at work and explain that I believe our house may be on fire, I just can't find the damn thing. In the back of my mind, I keep thinking "this cannot be happening, we don't have money to buy a new house and there won't be time to pack valuables and oh GOD what the hell am I gonna do?" But I haven't started screaming or running in circles yet.

So HE says, why the Hell are you calling ME when you should be on the phone with 911? Well, actually, that was after he started asking me silly questions like "what kind of fire? like wood smell or electrical smell?" Like I'm friggin certified in this area or something. I resist a smartass comment, but it is taking all my willpower, but at least it takes my mind of panicking and screaming momentarily, so I suppose I should be grateful.

Then he proceeds to tell me to go get a ladder and check the crawl space if I smell it up there. And he's irritated, like I'm bothering him or something. He finally says, "well, I'm in lineup and can't talk right now. What do you want me to do from here?" To which I respond, "well, I don't want to call 911 AGAIN after the last episode and have it turn out to be nothing". So anyway, I tell him I'll call him later and hang up while heading down to fetch the ladder. By now, the kids are wondering why they are milling around in the garage, so I tell them to just sit in the car, throw the cat in there with them (the other 2 are on their own, they pretty much live outside most of the time anyway), and also manage to get the dog corralled in the garage while I'm at it.

Okay, back upstairs. At least all this busy work is keeping me from the screaming and running in circles thing. Up I go, pressing the back of my hand to the crawlspace...feeling for heat. There is none. Now, I should say at this point, I have noticed the smell is not as strong as it was earlier. But my senses are a bit overwhelmed anyway, so I'm still convinced there is a fire somewhere. So I cautiously push up on the crawl space "door" (it's more like a small rectangular cutout) and peer upward. I can feel weight on the the "door" above me, so I don't push it up all the way, but I look around and am relieved to find no sign of fire.

I should have stopped there. Really.

Instead, I call my older brother (who also knows all about HVAC problems) and ask him what he thinks I should do....call 911 or let it go until I actually SEE visible signs of a fire. He says, might as well call to be safe, so okay, that's what I'm gonna do.

Fast forward to me hanging up from the 911 operator and tugging jeans and a shirt on since I absolutely VOW to never greet firemen in my pj's unless I absolutely HAVE to (I will also never call 911 if I'm on the toilet and need assistance no matter how bad it gets. But that's another blog). Then I'm thinking, hey, I should pull the truck out of the driveway to make some room so they can go through the garage. By now, the sirens are within earshot, the kids are all excited, the dog has now been relocated to the chain in our front yard, the cat has taken off and the kids have been shepherded to the steps at the neighbors. I'm running to jump in the truck and have just pulled out as the truck(S) pull up.

Yes, there are 3 of them. The whole dang city has come to my house. And the neighbors are naturally curious.

By now, the furnace has been off for 15 minutes. When I lead the ff's upstairs, the smell is completely GONE. I'm just the crazy lady who calls the fire department and squanders resources now. They check the crawl spaces anyway, search the rooms, send 2 trucks back to their stations, and as a last courtesy, look in the furnace for any signs of trouble.

I am horrifically embarrassed yet again. At least my pants were zipped up this time. I should have offered to burn toast or light a match they could put out so they could have something constructive to do while they were here. Oy!

And that was how my Saturday started.