Okay, I confess....

I now live in the land of contrasts and the bizarre work environments.

Contrasts, well, as we drove out to dinner this past Saturday night, I have been craving Mexican and there is a small restaurant north of town called Rocky's Villa. Likely one of the few places where the menu offers both Italian and Mexican. So, a great option for us, my craving, and my family loves Italian. Anyway, as we drove the probably 30 miles, on a lovely evening, as the sun was going down, casting wonderful shadows from tall trees, and as we live in "The Horse Capital of the World", and it seems to be foal time, it was wonderful to watch the mothers and their young foals. I could not help but notice the contrast as we go just a few miles further and enter one of the poorest small towns in the area, one minute, upscale horse farms, the next minute low income houses, I am told by my husband that often when the kids enter school they do not even know colors, it strikes me sad, or as we drive by one of the two prisons in the area there is a field across from one that has power towers in the field, and roaming the pretty green hills with the power tower are beautiful horses....across from the prison. I guess our whole world is a contrasts, one minute a lovely neighborhood, the next street, small, near shacks. Restaurant, half Italian, half Mexican.

Boy, am I rambling...bizarre work environments, well, I am not sure I have it in me right now to cover that subject. I think I must get back to you on that....just think on this...how in the world is someone not following a dress code if they have a blanket on their lap, especially in an office where there are constant "thermostat wars"? If this girl worked in my office she would not be in compliance with the dress code!

Okay, I confess...

Okay, I confess, most will not be surprised when I say in the past I have narrowed my movie viewing to mainstream movies, "top-40 movies" if you will. I am now realizing that I have missed out on a lot of great flicks. As you likely see by my "recently viewed flix"-- if you click on them they will take you to "IMDB" which is a great site-- anyway, if you look at my list you will see that there are not many that you could say have been "recent" films.

We have been watching many movies from the Turner Classic Movies network. Some, I have seen years and years ago growing up, but many, sadly, I missed out on. It is funny, too, when you watch many of the movies, you can say, "Hey, I bet you whoever wrote ____ watched this as a child". Tonight we watched what I referred to as "comical horror". It was reminiscent of "Addams Family" or "The Munsters".

So, if you happen to see "Spider Baby" as you are scanning through the channels looking for something to watch, my family enjoyed it, and I recommend it. Don't be afraid to find out what you have missed out on...

Okay, I confess...

There is something else I say quite frequently- "I've never been a big fan of....." I wonder what that says about me, does it say I am chicken, afraid to take chances, to try things. Well, that is rather true, but, I am also getting better at it. The other night we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant that my husband had heard about on the radio, he wanted to go there because the correctly pronounced "Manicotti", he figured it had to be authentic. It was on the other side of town, we live in the north west section and it is in the south west section, we pulled up and it is in a store front of a really small center, a convenience store in one end, and this restaurant "Leonardo's" anchoring the other end, if I remember correctly the front of the building that housed the restaurant was painted like an Italian flag.

We entered as skeptics, and left as fans. The old saying "don't judge a book by it's cover" was proven true. We each had something different and tried each others food, my husband got manicotti stuffed with lobster, my stepdaughter is not a big fan of seafood even liked it. There is not one thing we got that was not delicious, well, the cannelloni shells were a little hard but....everything else was so good. On the way there my husband said "I hope it is not as good as Lorenzo's", which is an Italian restaurant we go to nearby, and well, it actually was better. The people behind us ordered the lasagna and it looked and smelled amazing, not frozen and made ahead from one big pan and...I know what I am getting next time we make the trek.

Taking a chance and trying new things is so worth the risk, you never know what you will "be a big fan of" if you don't....

Okay, I confess...

I learn more and more about myself daily. Who would have thought at my age, I'm half way to 88 and still do not really know myself. My husband actually knows me, better than I know myself. I don't think it is a conscious thing, but I do tend to live life blindly, for me life is a blurred line. There are so many ways that I need to improve in myself, for one thing, I tend to let little minor things get under my skin and I can be a bear to be around. That is the thing I like the least about myself, I have never been my own biggest fan either, I now have someone who is my biggest fan, my wonderful and loving husband. With his help, I am learning to be a better person, and who knows, maybe soon I will be able to say that nothing gets under my skin.

I titled this blog "Okay, I confess" because, well, that is something I say fairly often. From telling my husband I wore one of his shirts to work, to spilling milk, I am the queen of guilt, and drama, my mother raised me with a healthy dose of guilt trips, she still on occasion sends me off packing on one. Don't get me wrong, I love my mother dearly, but I do not think I would be my own worst critic had I not always felt as if I had failed her. I still to this day feel like that way. My oldest sister passed away almost 9 years ago and I have often felt that my mother lost the wrong child. I never really accomplished much in my life, I never tried to excel at anything, always been happy with just being average, never pushed myself in school to learn more, never pursued higher education in part because I was afraid of math, and in part because I was afraid of failing, and....well...I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up.

Enter, one, highly educated, loving and loyal man, and who did he fall in love with....me....heaven help him.

Okay, I confess...

"Failure is not falling down but refusing to get up" - Chinese Proverb

I think Chinese Proverbs are very wise, and thought provoking. They amaze me how they say so much, yet they are relatively short, well I guess you could say they are "short and sweet and to the point". A quote about quotes, if you will.

Though, as with anything in life we don't see as much as we could see. We are closed minded, and deaf. We watched a movie the other night, "13th Warrior" - Antonio Banderas, basically a viking movie, my husband said, "Antonio Banderas", that is what makes you think of a Viking movie. A true statement. His character was an Arab who accompanied Norseman on a mission to aide a northern settlement, though he came as a visitor to their land he joined them, watched them, learned their ways, which were much different from his own, and I believe he came to respect them. This character was open minded, even willingly put his own life on the line for people from another culture.

Our society sadly falls short of doing this, even though we are a land made up of immigrants. I'm not sure where I am going with all this, I even often find myself just as guilty of having a closed negative mind, but, as long as I keep getting up when I fall down, and learn from each fall then life will be great, I am fortunate that I have such a loving husband now, and he is the best at helping me up when I fall down.

Okay...

I confess...."I tried it- I liked it"!

Many who know me would be quite surprised to hear what I had for dinner tonight. It is St. Patty's Day, so of course I had, a hamburger- ha, I bet that is what most of my friends would expect to read, but no, I had Corned Beef and Cabbage. My husband put it in the slow-cooker last night, and tonight we had a delicious dinner. My life has changed, so much, and for the better, just by being willing to try things. As you see, it may not be the most appealing meal, it is one of those meals that one may just write off and say "ewe", I'm not eating that, as I have done many times in the past, but it is worth the risk, go ahead, don't let the pictures turn you away....take the chance! A big bowl of it to sit and eat as you watch "The Quiet Man" with John Wayne and you have the makings of a great St. Patty's Day. Oh, and of course let us not forget a bottle of a hearty beer.

To often in life we stay behind a door that we keep ourselves shut behind. I'm glad I finally opened the door and walked through, because now, I finally have a life.

Take the chance, life is too short...give it a try!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Okay....

I confess, this blogging is fun, my husband showed me how to ad links, for instance under "my recent flix" you can just click on the movie and it will take you to IMDB to read about the movie. I am also going to try and do that with the books I have read.....gee....this is like getting a new toy to play with!

Band-Aids and Disclaimers...

Ok, I confess....

As I made dinner Wednesday night I tried to cut an onion like Emeril was doing it in a recent show that we watched, and well, I cut my thumb. It looked pretty easy when he was doing it, and it was going well until...somehow the knife slipped on the outer layer of onion and into my thumb. That is the best way I can explain what happened. You know, I almost sharpened that knife before I used it, guess it is good that I did not.

I for one now believe that cooking shows should have disclaimers on the bottom the screen, you know, "this is a professional chef, do not try these methods at home", they have them in the commercials when the car appears to be driving on the side of a building, seems logical to me, especially as I look at the Band-Aid on my thumb.

Something so interesting that it had her glued to her seat!

Ok, I confess, I am a terrible person.


A co-worker told us that she heard on the news this morning that a woman had spent the last two years on the toilet, and after than length of time she had "become one with the toilet", they had to remove the toilet along with her to get her out. Her boyfriend stated that he has tried to get her to come out, but she was afraid of her family.

At first I could not stop laughing, now I am to the point where it conjures up many disturbing visuals. Can you imagine how clean a toilet would be after being sat on for two years, and that is just one disturbing thought, I am going to stop at that.


It is just hard to imagine what would keep a person on the toilet for two years.....

Life sure can be amazing sometimes...

You know, I have always been amazed at the stories you read in newspapers or magazines, the ones where someone has found something that belongs to a person and returned it to them, long after they had given up hope of ever seeing it again. You know, the kind of stories that warm your heart, especially knowing that there are good and honest people out there that would go the extra mile for someone they do not know.

Well, it happened to my husband this week, ok, I confess, by now it has been just over a month ago.

Monday afternoon, February 11th, as I was eating lunch at work, my husband called me, which is unusual, and he excitedly told me that he had gotten an email from someone who had found his rings. I was blown away. A man who had retired from the military bought himself an expensive metal detector, and he happened to be in a field, and well, found my husbands rings buried.

About two years ago, my husband discovered that three rings of his were missing, his college class ring, his father’s retirement ring, and the wedding band from his first marriage. These rings held great sentiment for him and would be irreplaceable.

The suspicion was that his ex-girlfriend took them. She tried to point the finger at his daughter Emlyn, or myself, this, needless to say, could not have been further from the truth. The suspicion was reinforced by the fact that they were found in a field next to a restaurant that she and my husband used to eat at.

My husband has thought about the rings so much over the years, wondering what she had done with them, we had even made the rounds of the many pawnshops in town to see if she had pawned them.

The ring box that all three were in had partially disintegrated, but the rings, after the man spent much time polishing them looked great, especially to my husband. The class ring, he possibly could have replaced, the old wedding band, well, not likely, and his fathers retirement ring, well, it was irreplaceable, and even if he could have, it would not have "truly" been his fathers, it would have never been on his fathers finger.

I believe that God puts people in the right place at the right time, so thank you God for putting that man and his metal detector where he needed to be. This man actually took the time to track down my husband by his class ring, it is so rare these days to find people like this gentleman that go above and beyond for a stranger.

Life sure can be amazing sometimes.

The Sky is Falling!!

There will be many who know me that will be surprised to find out that I have started to watch football, I even enjoy it, and more and more am starting to understand it, I still have a lot to learn, I get hung up on the different positions, fortunately my husband is used to answering the same questions over and over. Many who know me will also be surprised to hear that I actually know the name of one of the football analyst from ESPN, "the guru", "the professor"- John Clayton, too me, he is fondly known as "Chicken Little", I could not help but notice that he bears a striking resemblance to the character "Chicken Little", as soon as he comes on I say, "the sky is falling, the sky is falling", much like whenever I see the Patriots coach Bill Belichik I say "grouchy old woman", you have to admit that whenever he is bundled up for an outside game and has his headband on that the man looks like a grouchy old woman.

Amazingly John Clayton released to me something he has not even put on ESPN yet; a surveillance camera capture of Belichik and his New England Patriots coaching staff watching a digital video of a Philadelphia Eagles' practice before the 2004 Superbowl. Congressman Arlan Spector may want to get a look at this incriminating Spygate evidence: