"Moonstruck"

I just finished watching the movie "Moonstruck". I saw it in the theater when I was a kid, and I don't think I have watched it on cable, or rented it even one time in all these years. After seeing it again I realize it is definitely in my top 10 favorites! I like it enough to own it, and I own very few movies.

There are so many things I could blog about this movie, the Twin Towers featured so prominently in the skyline, the beautiful moon, the family aspect, or the lovers. I'm choosing one small part to focus on. It's a brief discussion between Loretta and her mother when the mother finds out Loretta is engaged. Even though I hadn't seen the movie in all these years, I have always remembered the line.

"Do you love him Loretta?" "No, Ma." "Good, cause when you love them they drive you crazy."

Ain't it the truth?

I don't think I could be in a relationship with someone I didn't love, although it sure would make things a hell of a lot easier. I've never felt it was fair to the other person. We all deserve someone who loves us, just the way we are. Otherwise, what's the point?

Bramble

My cousin Natalie is studying abroad this semester. She has taken herself off to Ireland, and to say that I am green with envy would be the biggest understatement ever! I follow her blogs and pictures religiously, and although it isn't the area my family is from, I soak up every detail like a homesick fool. Nat is in Portrush, in Northern Ireland, and will be moving on to Belfast for her internship. My family is from Co. Claire in Southern Ireland. A little town by the name of Newmarket on the Fergus. It's five minutes away from the Shannon airport. So how easy would that be? Step on a plane in Duluth, couple of connections..... bam!

My Great Grandmother, Anna Frawley, was born there. Her mother Honora passed away when Anna was about two, and her father John sent her to live in the U.S. with a sister. She basically lived as an indentured servant to that family until she met my Great Grandfather, Daniel Lenihan. He had hopped a train to escape farm life in Wisconsin and somehow, somewhere on the East Coast their paths crossed. He brought her back to Wisconsin and so forth and so on, and here I am.

Natalie's travels have brought back my dreams of escape. The little voice whispers, go ahead and take the retirement money, scrap it all, hop on a plane and go to adventures among the green hills. The sea beckons me, and it's a sea that I do not know. How does a person feel so tied to a place they have never been? Is it a past life looming forward, or perhaps something of an ancestors' memory carrying through into me? My Great Grandparents Meys were both born in Belgium, but I have no feeling toward that country at all. Although I do feel a strong connection to Emma, but that is another blog entirely. Someday I will tell her story.

There's a little cottage for sale, called Bramble Cottage. Isn't that just precious? Yes, it's falling down, and no, even at the falling down cottage rates I can't afford it. I will dream about it though. Moving to Ireland, fixing up Bramble cottage, just me, Milkie, and my (fictional at this point) Golden Retriever, Jack. I would white wash the cottage and add the emerald trim so it would look similar to the cottage in "The Quiet Man." Cliche I know, but it's MY dream. I can see myself sitting on a hillside with Jack, wind blowing wildly through my hair, mug of hot tea in my hands, looking out over the waves. *sigh* Bramble Cottage really exists, it isn't a "dream." Not that I'm looking at Newmarket real estate, or employment opportunities..... or anything of that sort. *whistling

The Milk Report

Hi! It's me. The famous "Got Milk." Yeah, well, you can't help the name you get saddled with, and my new owner doesn't call me that anyway. From now on it's Milkie. Got it?

I'm not really sure why I've come to live with the lady who used to visit me in the country. Heck, I'm not sure why I went to live with that mountain man last summer. I have to say though, I get a lot more attention these days. My new Mom always leaves the blinds open so I can look out on my world. The box is clean, the bowls are full, and I'm never left alone at night. She has no life. This human will even play with me when I ask her to. She's learning that it's all on my terms, so even though she keeps closing the damn toilet lid so I can't drink out of it, I think I'll keep her.

I tried to escape again today. My run at the door as fast as I can trick never works, so this time I just nonchalantly wandered on out. I really just want to know what's out the back door. Where do those stairs go? Why does Sam (that damn dog) get to go out there with the lady, and I have to stay in the house? She caught me again and put me back in. Bitch. I don't understand what "Damn it Milkie if you get lost in the creepy basement walls you are on your own." means. *shrug* I'll try again tomorrow.

I am a little concerned because I hear the goovers are coming over on Saturday. The one named "Tater" thinks "I am so adorable it makes her eyes want to cry." If she tries to cuddle me they'll be crying all right! I like to snuggle up to the one called Hannah. She's a gentle girl. If I get lucky one of them will leave the toilet seat up! I check every time strangers are over, cause I'm a smart kitty.

My favorite things to do these days? The best fun is the 5 am wake up call. Every morning at 5 I bang around with the bag of litter until it wakes up her crabbiness. Then when she tries to go back to sleep I jump in the bathroom sink and clank the drain stopper around until she gets up, boots me out, and shuts the door. Buzz kill. I like playing with my new Mom, a lot. I stalk her, and she laughs like crazy when I lay on my back and let it all hang out. What? It's comfy! Plus, it lulls people into a false sense of security. When they go to pet the adorable kitty's belly........

Speaking of biting, I am learning that Mom and I can play and I don't have to bite to join in the fun. It's taking me a long time to adjust, but "no biting" is becoming clearer every day. I just cant resist the slipper though. I will bite it every time. It isn't like my teeth go through to her foot or anything. I don't know why she gets mad.

Life is good, although I keep hearing that now that we're settled in my diet will be changing. I don't know what the problem is, I like my girlish figure! Last time she vacuumed I peed on the floor, and my new Mom hasn't been brave enough to do it again. Wait til you see what happens if she puts me on a diet! Stay tuned Milk fans!

Happy F V D :)

Yes that F stands for a bad word. (FUUUDDDDGGGEEEEing )Go ahead, wash my mouth out with life boy. I dare you! That is my second reference today to the move "A Christmas Story", which is my favorite of all time. The first one was trying to convince my assistant Tom that when he gets his scooter he should get a helmet/goggle combo like the kid who stands next to Ralphie in the Santa line. "I like the Wizard of Oz." Odd that I would have two references in one day, but there we are. I'll talk about anything except the actual holiday. BLAH

I did get flowers at work today. I always get flowers for FVD from my little valentine CC. Thank you CC, Auntie loves you too! Happy Valentine's day Goovers, and TAFKAP (the artist formerly known as Pablo) Auntie loves you guys too! I also got a pile of valentines and chocolates from all my little valentine's at work. I sent my x a "Happy Hallmark Holiday" text. He was always such an ass when FVD came around. I couldn't resist. Gee, I don't think I heard back from him. mua ha ha!

A friend of mine, Tina, said it best (without bad words) so far. Happy Singles Awareness Day! Now give me the chocolate before someone gets hurt!

Pass the Catch Up!

What a great lunch! We visited for two hours, and didn't' even begin to cover catching up! That's the way it goes when old friends sit down, time just seems to melt away. The same thing happened when I went out to dinner with Nancy last spring. When you don't see someone for 20 plus years there's a LOT to cover, and that time it was four hours that slipped away!

Shannon and I talked about the twenty *gulp* five year reunion that will come around in 2012. Heck, maybe we'll all be dead and I wont have to worry about "to go or not to go". I really should go...... *sigh*. We'll cover that epic battle many times before the day arrives I'm sure. I love catching up with people, but I want the real deal. I hate the fake crap. Then there's the bigger matter, Wally will not be there. People will bring it up, they are bound to. It's still as tough today as it was 12 years ago for me to talk about.

Today got very real for me, because like I said last night, Shannon and I have been many things over many years, but she's the only one who "gets it." It did something for me though, feeling a bit of those things again, and spending time with someone besides family who has known me my entire life. It has reminded me that my life as a whole is so much bigger than the last three months. I have the music is on tonight, and I think we have the first shades of acceptance appearing. I don't expect it to last very long, I know it will ebb and flow, but it's the first time I've felt it since the beginning of October. Maybe that light at the end of the tunnel isn't a train after all.

A Tale of Two Sisters (part 2)

When we were seven Shannon had a baby sister. I was so jealous, but then through some twist of fate my Mom went back to working nights as the church secretary, and babysat Sara during the day! I had nothing to be jealous of anymore because we had a new baby to play with and love for about two hours every day after school. We knew all about babies by the time our youngest brother came along two years later. My Mom watched Sara during the school year until she was about six. I hated letting her go to Colleen and Shannon during the summer. I just KNEW they didn't love her like we did. She'd sneak over all the time and my Mom would send her back over to her sisters. I wanted to steal her away and keep her forever.

Sara was always called Saralynn by my Mom. She was hell on wheels at home. We heard stories then, her family would tell you now. She was an evil child. Climbing cupboards to get into medicine, etc, etc, etc. Sara honestly was good as gold at our house. She listened to my Mom and never, EVER, got into anything. I think that Jerry, Katie, and I just loved playing with her so much, and then she had David to be a "big sister" to, so she didn't have time to cause trouble. Plus my Mom was one tough broad when it came to behavior.

Growing up across the alley, and attending the same church down the block I did have the chance to watch Sara grow up. I remember being teary eyed at her wedding, and I definitely will never forget attending her baby shower shortly after Mom died. I had to give her the gifts that Mom made for Paige. That was one of life's tougher moments, and I did wait until after the shower was over to find her and give them to her. Mom was so excited about that baby! I have tears now just writing this.

So tomorrow I get to have lunch with my littlest sister. We have a girl scout cookie/check exchange to make, and Sara thought it would be nice to get together. I wholeheartedly agree. It has been too long since we had a face to face chat. Facebook has eased that gap some, which I once again am thankful for! Our respective sisters will join us, and it should be a good time!

A Tale of Two Sisters (part one)

Tomorrow my sister Kate and I are having a lunch date with another set of sisters. They are the sisters in question. We've known them our entire lives, and the younger is also considered our little sister. Once again, I'm getting ahead of myself.

One of my earliest memories is of Shannon. She is about six months older than I am, and she and I were "frenemies" long before the term was coined. My Mom always made me play inside of the chain link fence that went around our back yard. It wasn't that I was a wild 4/5 year old, she just had two younger than me and wanted to be sure we were all safe. I hated that damn fence. Vicki would come down the block with her older sisters to play at Shannon's house across the alley, and inevitably she would find her way over and come in to play with me. Shannon always hung out on the other side of the fence to taunt me, and then finally entice Vicki away with something or another. Until one day Vicki told her to forget it, and pretty much stuck by my side for the rest of my growing up years.

When I was finally sprung from the fence Shannon used to push me down ( I was a little thing) and Vicki would clobber her. :) Then as we grew it became the boys. It seemed like I only had to mention a boy was cute and there she would be, "stealing" him away. I was a tomboy, she a girlie girl. Vicki and I would play sports with the boys, and she and Laura would lure them away. They always came back though. That all came to a head in ninth grade. I was "going with" Wally, and one day the Town Crier on the football team told me that he had seen Shannon snuggling up to him on the bus coming home from a game. Since the tattler was definitely going to repeat it I told him that if I ever heard anything like that again I would beat the $#W$ out of her. She confronted me, I confirmed it, and being that I was not a tiny peanut anymore it ended then and there.

Now we did not spend our entire childhood in hostile animosity. There were times of friendship and laughter, pinball machine in her basement, sleepovers, youth group nonsense, walks and talks, and we rode together to High School for a few years. She and I share a common bond that one would not have expected. The man she was going to marry was killed in a car accident. Wally was also killed in a car accident, and although he and I were no longer together, I know that Shannon is one of the few people in my world who really understands.

We live in the same city, but our paths almost never cross. She and my sister are in a singing group together, so really they have more in common and more of a friendship these days. I'm looking forward to seeing her tomorrow, to see how she's doing and where life has taken her. It will be nice to spend some time together. On the same side of the fence.

Snow Snake

I have seen the illusive northern Wisconsin snow snake! It was slithering wildly around the playground outside of UCC this afternoon! We watched it glide across the frozen snow, whirling and twirling, dancing on the wind. Don't worry, we were all safe. The wind chill never came above zero today, we were all watching out the window.

What actually happened: I was sitting on the floor singing with two of the girls, and little "C" walks over. He stops dead in his tracks and looks out the window. "Miss Joanie! There's a snake on the playground!!" I looked at him and said "It's winter "C", I don't think so. A snake would be frozen." The girls and I continued our song, but he just stood there looking out on the playground. So I got up to take a look, because he was definitely focused on something. A few other kids crowded into the window. We have these awesome windows with a box "seat" in them. They, and I were now all staring out the window at a snow snake. It was actually a curly reed, but it was blowing and twisting across the icy snow at breakneck speed, and it sure did look like a snake.

Of course, being the prankster that I am I grabbed the kids and yelled "It's a snake!" Of course they screamed and jumped and then we all laughed like crazy. This brought the rest of the crew over, including Mr. Tom, and we all watched the snow snake frolic around the playground. Tom commented "Easily amused." as the kids stared and laughed. Just then the snake whipped right over the snow hill and I burst out laughing. I looked at him and shrugged. "Apparently I am too."

Then the snake went out of the chain link fence, and got stuck just at the end of it. It was time for me to go, so I suited up and trudged across the playground to retrieve it for them. I tossed the snow snake back onto the frozen snow and watched it dance around some more. Man it was freezing out there. It has been over a week since the kids have been out, and tomorrow we'll be stuck inside too. I've cleared the calendar for Friday, we will be OUTSIDE dancing with the snow snake!!

When you work with kids some days are really rough (YESTERDAY) and you drag your butt home wondering why in the world you keep doing this. Then days like today come along and you get to watch snow snakes and laugh and be silly, and you remember why. ♥

The Boys Are BACK!

♫ Guess who just got back today? That awesome football team from Green Bay! ♫

Wow!! What a game. It went exactly as I expected, and man am I glad this season is over! Congratulations Green Bay! I am always a proud fan, but I'm SUPER proud today. :)

I had a huge case of heartburn by the time the game was over. At about the six minute mark I turned to Leon, who was doing his quiet intense thing on the other end of the couch, and said "If I have a heart attack just bury me in the back yard, I don't have health insurance anymore!" After the game we were both just spent, and he ended up having to lay down with ice on his neck to cure a fast building tension, turning to migraine, headache.

Over all it was a nice evening. Leon invited me out, cooked some delicious steaks and waited on me hand and foot. I watched a fabulous game, visited the worlds best dog, got to see the downed trees, (sad...I liked those trees) helped him through his headache, and then headed back in to town. I was nervous about drunks on the road, but I waited long enough for the ones who had to work in the morning to be home, and the ones who didn't were still out partying. I didn't see one car the entire country portion of my drive home.

I really want to run for office, and my platform will be: Creating a national holiday for the day after the Super Bowl. If your state is in the bowl you get a holiday the following Monday, win or lose! I was too wired to sleep, and had to do this day on about four and a half hours. It went well, but it will definitely be early bedtime for this little girl tonight.

Congratulations Packers fans! It's a great day to be a CHEESEHEAD!

Super!

Well here we are, Super Bowl Sunday!! I am starting mine with some bacon, cause that's how I roll! I wish they would play this game at noon on Sunday, or better yet Saturday night. I never feel like going out on Sunday evenings, it's definitely a time for snuggling in at home to enjoy the last few minutes of peace before it all begins again.

I'm not really sure what I'm going to do to celebrate. I have a couple of options, and I'll just go where the mood takes me. That could very well mean watching it in the comfort of my own living room, although it would be more fun to at least go over to Kate's. I have several hours to decide.

So there he is, Aaron Rodgers, the man of the "hour". Will he be able to lead us to victory?? I really think so. I love his quiet confidence and strength. Every game this year, besides the one against Seattle, has been a nail biter, and I expect the same from this one. He is calm, cool, and collected, and gets the job done.

Living up here in way northern Wisconsin we don't get the Wisconsin news media. All of that comes from Minnesota. This has been a week of whining on the air waves, and I'm glad that's going to be over. Haters. While I am no Viking fan, I can't even root for them when they play the Bears, if they ever (quiet chuckling) make it to the Super Bowl again, I would let the fans celebrate and keep my big mouth shut. It's a great achievement, why rain on someone's parade? Sour grapes, that's all. (The sour grapes is for my cousin Ray, who continually uses that phrase on me when I diss the Vikings. WHAT exactly I am jealous of, I do not know. Actually, he just likes to torment me.)

One cute thing that happened this week: The kids at UCC were building a structure in the block area. They said it was for me, and it was the Packers! lol I assume, from the shape of it that it was Lambeau field. Very cute!

Gotta Dance!

If you were in the SCCU drive up at 12:20 today, yes..... the crazy lady in the black Mitsubishi Eclipse might have been me. I have talked about music before, and I have mentioned that the best crazy dance your ass off song for me is "The Boys Are Back" by Thin Lizzie. Well, what am I supposed to do when that song comes on in the car, just as I'm sending my deposit through????

First I cranked it up, had the window open and it isn't too bad out today. Then I started tapping my foot. Uh oh. Furtive look to the left, no, I don't recognize anyone. Glance over my shoulder to the right, no familiar faces. Slight head nod to the beat as I'm waiting for my slip to come back. Oh please hurry up!! I know that forces I can not control are going to cause me to make a spectacle of myself. I'm tapping the drums on the wheel, nodding my head a little stronger, and I start singing, when I hear the "Have a nice day" and a chuckle..... OH, the security camera! Must drive away quickly before the awesome drums start!

So I crank it up some more and head toward home, slapping out drums on the wheel as I go, head flinging around crazily (I have realized I have a pony tail in, and that is excellent for whipping around when you're dancing like a nut.) The look I got from the twenty something crabby faced gal at the corner by my house was priceless. Lighten up sweetheart, you've got a LONG way to go. Plus, flipping the bird to the music toward a neighbors house who will remain nameless, but is a former employer...... well, that was just bonus points.

I love the way that song makes me feel. ALIVE! ♫Guess who just got back today♫

Hot Toddy

MMMMMMMmmmmmmMMMMMMMM Kahlua! It was my sisters birthday yesterday, and somehow I got a present! Don't you just love when things work out that way? Kate and Tom had dinner at the Shack, and bought me a bottle of Kahlua for watching Cierra. Now let me tell you, between the pull-up incident and the chocolate cake debacle, I earned that bottle! It's really more of a bribe than a present I think. Please keep watching our child, pretty please? We will buy you booze, snacks, even the lobster you keep requesting! (I had to try.)

Every time it stops snowing here the temps plummet. We have been below zero with the windchill for two days now, although a warm up is slated for tomorrow, and the 30 number has been mentioned for Friday. Hmmmmm....what do you want to bet it's going to snow again? Well, I am armed and ready for this weather now! I came home from work, brewed a pot of Dark Chocolate Truffle coffee and dumped in a little too much Kahlua. ;) We'll top that off with a hot bubble bath and probably a nap in said bath, and be good to go!

I had 20 children for Preschool today, and while I am actually getting used to those numbers now, I could really use a snow day!! The Kahlua will have to do for now! :D Thanks Kate and Tom!