Special Delivery

So I had a rough day today. Things are crazy at work....we're behind on some stuff... I ended up working until nearly 8pm to get the schedule finished...blah blah blah. I get home and I'm exhausted. But I go out to water my plants on the porch b/c my mom yells at me if she comes over and I have wilted plants. By the way, I don't know how she keeps everything looking so green and lush. I kill everything I put on my porch. But I digress.... So I'm tired and a little grouchy and all I want to do is take a bubble bath and go to bed. After plant watering I grab the mail. That's when I see a bright blue envelope poking out from all of the junk mail and bills.

Don't you just love real mail? It makes my day to get a letter or card from someone. I think letter writing is a lost art. But anyways, the envelope is from my BFF's oldest girl, Emma. I sent her a little care package last week.

I think it's great when parents make their kids send thank you notes. Isn't this the cutest thing ever? In case you can't read it all, the important parts are "You Rock" and "You are the best". I'm guessing that the brown haired girl on the left with the big boobs is me. Thank you, Emma, for making me skinny. Don't tell the other kids, but that has secured your position as favorite.

The First Step Is Admiting You Have A Problem

I have a problem. I can't seem to stop turning the corners of pages over in books to mark my place. I've been doing it for years. I do it to library books, I do it to books I borrow, and to books I own. I even did it to this vintage copy of one of my favorite books in the world. (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.) There is no end to my madness. And I hate doing that! I love books. Love. Love. Love them. Always have, always will. But bookmarks annoy me because the come flying out of the book all the time.

Well, I think I have a solution. My friend Shannon gave me these super cute corner markers. I think maybe they are for scrap booking, because they also came with some cute little matching stickers. But look how wonderful they are for holding one's place in a book! AND....they don't fall off when I'm reading. Thank you, Shannon. I think you've cured me of my horrible habit!

So Over It

Okay I need to vent. I am so tired of the construction going on in my neighborhood. To be specific, I am so over the framing of the house and the roofing of the house. After that, it's not so bad. However...I'm in the new section of the neighborhood, and there is no end in sight. These guys work from 6:30am until 10pm most nights!! Isn't that crazy??? And just when I think one house is finished, they start another one. If I am working late or off, there is NOOOOO sleeping in because of the racket. So. Over. It.

But, at least I have a house, right? There are definitely worse things in life!

O.W.A.A. - Part Deux

So... I tried to call my mother today on my way home from work and her cell phone went right to voice mail. WTF???? Why isn't she answering? I was hoping for some tales of her OWAA trip so I could make fun of her. Did my normally responsible mother let her battery die?? I can't believe she would forget to pack her cell phone charger for her cross-country jaunt..... She's normally so prepared. And I mean that. My mother is a great packer for trips. She's almost as good as my BFF, Lori, who is probably the best getting-ready-for-vacation person I know. My mom would be the best, but she doesn't make lists. And, quite frankly, to-do lists are what separates us from monkeys.

But I digress.... What could she possibly be doing that she can't pick up her cell phone to speak to her favorite child? Maybe she and her college chums are just busy sitting outside a cafe drinking margaritas and oogling construction workers. Or maybe she ran off with a guy she met last night at the Blue Lotus Tattoo shop. So, just in case she decided to leave Curtie and not return to Columbus, I stopped by her house on the way home and inventoried her jewelry. My dad won't want it and she has some good stuff. Plus I can easily beat my sister to it since she has to drive all the way from Cincy.

I'm just sayin....


8:00pm UPDATE - I just received a phone call from Cheryl. Allegedly, the Wild Women of Wisconsin were at the Frank Lloyd Wright house & they had to turn off all cell phones while they were on the tour. Sure...I believe you, mom. Wink wink.

She also wanted me to know that these ladies attended grades K-12 together...so they've known each other practically their whole lives. I told her that I would print a retraction.

O.W.A.A.

So during my evening commute today I receive a photo message from my mom. That in itself is pretty good considering that she has just recently learned the fine art of texting. She sends me a pic of a sign for a tattoo shop....The Blue Lotus Tattoo shop to be specific. It's official. Cheryl has lost her mind.

Some background information: My mom has this friend....we'll call her Ann. (Ok - that really IS her name. I'm just too tired tonight to think of a good fake name.) They were BFFs in High School and they lived together at Ohio State. (I think that's how the story goes.....) Anyways, they've gotten close again recently now that they are both retired and crazy. Ann lives in Alabama and it seems like they are ALWAYS together. Cheryl will deny this, but for people who live states and states apart, they are often in the same state at the same time. But I'm okay with that, because Ann has good taste and they do some good shopping when they are together. And I have it all worked out that - God forbid - if something happens to Cheryl & Curtie, Ann is going to adopt me.

So ANYWHO.... Ann drove up from Alabama, spent the better part of last week in Ohio, and left with mom yesterday to drive to Wisconsin to visit another old college girlfriend. Are you kidding me??? That's a LOT of driving if you ask me! But, alas, no one did, so off they went. I told my mom that I was going to call them OWAA - Older Women Across America. I called mom right after I received the tattoo shop text and she just did a lot of giggling. I suggested she get something bad ass tattooed on her - like a quilt with flames coming out the sides - but she said they already have it all figured out. I think she may have been drunk.

I just hope she makes it back from her cross country shenanigans safe and sound. I think I may have to have her committed. And I could...I have medical power of attorney. So don't push me, Cheryl.

Back In The Day

Back in the day, I loved me some Michael Jackson. This was back before, as my BFF posted on her blog, "he got all white and crazy". (Seriously - she is one of the funniest people in the world. You must read her blog.) I've spent the better part of today watching MTV. One of the MTV channels (remember when MTV only had 1 channel...) is playing MJ videos non-stop. It's gotten me feeling all nostalgic-like for those middle school days. I remember memorizing the words to the songs on the Thiller album like it was my job! We made up dance routines to "P.Y.T". Remember when the "Thriller" video came out? It was a big deal. Big with a capital B. We knew the times it was playing (8:00pm, 10:00pm, etc...) and waited with anticipation. When is the last time a video premiere was that big of a deal? I hadn't seen any MJ videos in a looooong time, and watching them made me realize how much he has influenced the world of music. Can you watch a Michael Jackson video without seeing Usher or (my future husband) Justin Timberlake? Or even NKOTB? There are many words that people have been using to describe Michael Jackson these past few days. Crazy. Misunderstood. Evil. Genius. Groudbreaking. I prefer to think of the Michael Jackson from back in the day. Back in the day (I guess it would have been 1982) when he was ultra-cool and had just released an album that truly kicked ass!

PS - Isn't "Man in the Mirror" an amazing song?

And Then There Were 6

So my bff, Lori, loaded up her 4 kids and came to visit me this week. Yep - that's right. 4 kids. Please note, all of them are under 6! And have I mentioned that they live in North Carolina? Is that woman a saint or what?? I was so excited to see them.... My house went from 1 (plus Mollie) to 6 for a few days and, let me tell you, it was utter chaos. But it was a good chaos because I was soooo happy that they were here! Lori's hubby was really busy at work this week, so unfortunately he couldn't join them, but we still had a wicked good time. We went to the Columbus Zoo, did a little shopping, and went to my parents' cottage for an afternoon. Admittedly our evenings weren't very exciting. For the most part they consisted of us drinking Mike's Hard Lemonade (Light, of course), playing our Nintendo DSs and watching last season's True Blood episodes. Ahhhh....adulthood. When did we get so lame? But honestly, I don't have to do much of anything to have fun w/ my bff. I was able to recover the house a little today, but I miss them! I'm sure Lori's glad to be home. I'm so thankful that they were able to come visit. The girls are sooooo funny! I don't know where they come up with some things. Here's a sample:

Emma: "Auntie, how many dates do you have to go on before you can kiss on the lips?"
Me: "Uhhhh. 100 at least."
Lily: "What do you do on a first date?"
Me: "You shake his hand and say 'Thank you for a very nice evening'."

You're welcome, Lori.

And then there was the moment at the zoo when Lily loudly announced that she had beer for breakfast. (She didn't, of course!) Maybe Auntie should do a better job of throwing away her beer caps.... And, for the record, I don't have beer for breakfast either.