Frenemy

While the Urban Dictionary has many descriptions for this useful word, I chose the following: The type of "friend" whose words or actions bring you down.(whether you realize it as intentional or not) I was listening intently to my new favorite XM station, Cosmo Radio, and heard the word frenemy for the first time. It is now part of my personal lexicon. In an earlier blog, I was whining about the state of my friendships. I had lost two good friends last year, and was lamenting the fact that my "inner circle" was getting smaller and smaller. I still feel this is a good thing. I want my gals to have my back as I would surely have any of theirs. We share intimate details that none of us would want any one else under God's beauteous earth to hear about. Most of the time it's silly, girly stuff - yes, even at my age! And, other times, it's serious and earth-shattering. This can be scary business at times, but there always has been a code that we follow in order to protect each other - at all costs. We laugh at times saying "What happens in _____, stays in ____". But, it's true and solid that it stays there. It also makes me think of that email that comes around every so often, describing how you are suppose to skid in to the grave with a cocktail in one hand, your make up smeared, your body used up ... etc. Life is suppose to be fun. PERIOD! I refuse to not have fun and to enjoy every minute God decides to bless me with! My inner circle certainly gets this. And, I would shoot daggers in someone's eyes if they dissed any of my inner circle friends. That is what you do. So, then why did I bring up frenemy? Probably because of the judging nature of these frenemies. The holier than though people that feel that their way is better ... no ... superior to any one else's. We all react differently to certain things. Death, divorce, anxiety, a midlife crisis, menopause, etc. There is no "right" way to react to any of these. However, those that feel they have the patent on understanding people, feel it's necessary to make sure you know there is a right way. No one knows what is going on in someone else's world. You have to walk a mile in my shoes to sort of understand my life as I would have to walk a mile in any one of my friend's shoes. You just never know. So, why pretend to know and to know better? If I am behaving in a certain way, it's my life, it's my decision, it's my bad, it's my good ... whatever! It's mine! I own it ... I always have and I always will. Frenemies be damned!

Addiction

I have to laugh because my youngest son asked for the Weird Al Yankovic song "eBay" to be put on his iPod shuffle. I had not heard the lyrics to this tune in several years. I believe that both my boys, especially my oldest, are addicted to eBay. Ever since receiving money for Christmas, they have been on eBay searching for Lord of the Rings paraphernalia, football jersey cards, and "authentic" Steeler jerseys. Both are in the process of depleting their cash funds on various items. Every day, they plead with me to log on the account so they can place bids. My house is being filled with this STUFF! I am trying to follow the Fly Lady mantra where if you bring something new home, then you have to rid yourself of something old. But, to no avail. These boys are stubborn. I wonder where they got that gene? At this point, each merely has pennies left of the Christmas stash. Thank goodness, because the eBay addiction is starting to pull me in with it's magnetic force ... you know, I already explained my magnetic aura dilemma. This eBay crack-addiction also has them collecting GameCube games, old football cards, and unused wii games, in order to sell on eBay so they can get more STUFF. I have images of people not being to step in to my house because of all the eBay STUFF lining my hallways, rooms, garage, perhaps even my driveway. Need to put a stop to this ...

My Magnetic Aura

I have heard about this type of thing before. Friends of friends of friends have watches that mysteriously stop working after the first few days of wear. I was always quite skeptical of this myth. That was until I started experiencing this phenomenon myself. Several years ago, I drove a Volvo XC90 SUV. It was a great crossover. I loved how it handled as well as how I looked while speeding through the "village" where I reside. Several months after tooling around, I noticed my radio was in and out. I would be riding along, sun roof open wide, all the windows down, wind whipping my hair, singing at the top of my lungs when the radio would just shut off. Not a good thing when your singing voice is slightly (?) off-key. I immediately went to the Volvo service center and whined my way in to an appointment. How could I possibly go even one hour without hearing my tunes? Volvo claimed they did everything they could to fix my radio. Blah, blah, blah! I didn't care ... my radio was working again! My delight was short lived. Half way home, I was singing a capella again, much to the chagrin of my neighboring drivers. For the entire time of my lease, that radio just didn't function properly. Last year, I leased the new GMC Acadia. Wow! I loved this car even more than the Volvo! Probably because it was new! I am kind of shallow in that respect. The "radio" in this car was much different than the Volvo. I had graduated to a Bose stereo with XM satellite radio. Amazingly wonderful! Not even two months in to the lease, the "radio" would not turn on in the car. I had to restart the car to get the radio to turn on. No one at the GMC service center can figure out what the problem was/is. They look at me as if I am making this up. Of course! What else do I have to do all day but spend my bon bon eating, martini guzzling time in the oh-so comfy waiting room at the GMC sales center? I have accepted the fact that I have some sort of magnetic incompatibility with my vehicles. However, I was completely unprepared for what happened to me just days ago. I decided to purchase a new nano-chromatic iPod PINK! I was so excited to download all sorts of cool tunes on my NEW iPod. After completing this joyful task, I plugged my ear buds in only to hear static! How could this be? I tried the ear buds on my sons' iPods, and they worked splendidly. Their earphones did not work so splendidly on my NEW iPod. Ugh! I am in the process of returning and exchanging the NEW iPod. This episode has convinced me that I do have a special body magnetism that will inconsistently haunt me for the rest of my days.

Downsized

We've had quite the winter blast this past week. All I can say is Brrrrr! The older I get, the more I despise the cold, the snow, the people that are driving in the snow that don't know how to drive in the snow, and lastly, the fact that the school district has me at their mercy. At times, I will awake in the morning to several inches of snow. I will scramble to the TV to see if my kids will be spending the day with me. But, alas, I hear the high school bus careening down the street. Hmmmm. Then, there are mornings like this morning where we haven't had much snow, but school is actually cancelled. I abhor the inconsistencies. Did our superintendent have a bad night? Why, oh, why would she do this to me? It used to be worse when the kids were younger. I would have to provide a fun filled day for them as well as 22 of their very, bestest friends! Organize snowball fights, create hills out of snow for tubing, lots, and lots of hot chocolate - with many marshmallows, of course, and then lunch! Yikes! That was alot to ask of me ... I think. Now, both are old enough to manage without me. I can tell you that I don't miss the 22 extra kids running through my house with snow covered boots! The wii and reruns of "That 70's Show" have replaced me. Funny how I used to be the center, the very nucleus, of their universe and now, guitar hero - with songs from my day, mind you - has given me the boot. Now that I think about it, I think I've been downsized ... laid off.

My Musings

What about Tom - I ran in to Tom again on Sunday. As soon as I saw him, I giggled. He gave me his now patented sideways glance. This time I wasn't going to let him ignore me. I commented that we needed to stop meeting like this. His response was that he didn't even know me. What?! He's a sly one, Mr. Tom. I, again, reminded him of when and where we met. Then, Tom resuscitated himself, and listed off all the places we had seen each other in the last several weeks. Surprise! He even mentioned the dentist's office where he spoke to my dad at length. There was eye contact for a mere moment, however, I cannot be sure. I may have blinked my eyes and thought I saw his eyes. I promised that I wasn't stalking him. Did I hear a noise? A laugh, perhaps? Tom said that he would only worry about that if he sees me on the slopes in Connecticut in two weeks. Yep, ya never know.

The Snooze Button - Just who invented this nasty device? Every night as I'm setting my alarm, I plead with myself not to touch the snooze button in the morning. I must not be a very good listener, or have a problem understanding myself, because sure enough, I'm slapping that snooze button silly every blasted morning. At times, I try to trick myself - hard to do when it's yourself! - and set the alarm 10 minutes earlier knowing that I'm going to open a can of whoop ass on that darn snooze button the following morning. Hasn't worked yet. I have even resorted to placing my alarm clock in a not-so-strategic location in my bedroom so that I cannot reach over and wail on that button. I am actually forced to throw off the bed covers, get my lazy rear out of bed, and begrudgingly shuffle over to where I placed that offensive clock. That lasted one time. I'm heading to Target today with my youngest son, and I am going to cruise through the alarm clock aisle looking for an alarm clock without a snooze button. It'll be hard, because I'm sure my unsuspecting hand will want to pound each and every one of those offensive buttons!

Email - How is it possible for email to suck up so much of my time? Usually, I have just one email I need to check on or I am waiting for an email. I think to myself that I have 10 minutes to perform this task. Two hours later, I am still sitting at the computer reading. watching, or forwarding email attachments that I receive from my friends. Wait a gosh darn minute! I'm suppose to be doing something ... now, what was it?! Email is a time sucker! One email begets another email. It's neverending. Sometimes, as I am trying to diligently work on a project, I'll get an IM. I have to respond. There goes another 15-30 minutes!Maybe, I should follow the FlyLady's advice (that was a New Year's resolution) and plant a timer next to me. This way, I can set the timer for 10 or 15 minutes, and stop emailing when the timer goes off. I'll let you know how it goes!

Happy Scrapper

Scrapbooking is a hobby that I absolutely enjoy doing. For the past two days, I have been rubbing elbows with our community's finest scrapbookers. Every time I put together a page, I think fondly of whomever the page is about. Mostly, it's a review of my life with my kids. I see their toothless grins as they swim, as they play on the seesaw, as they are blowing bubbles, as they jump on the trampoline, as they play with their friends, as they ride on the boat, as they make that basket or goal, and lastly, as my husband or me smiles along with them. It's a humbling feeling chronicling their lives. Since I have two boys, the importance of having scrapbooks that detail their lives is not worthy of a passing thought for them. Secretly, I hope they both marry women that will revel in all the detail I have so passionately transcribed. Heaven forbid if these future daughters-in-law don't appreciate and admire the worth of these scrapbooks. I may become a monster-in-law instead of a loving mother-in-law. All kidding aside, I truly hope my sons will appreciate the sheer love with which I assembled these cherished moments of their lives.

Fly, Lady, Fly

A couple of Christmases ago, my mom gave me the book "Sink Reflections" by Marla Cilley. On the front cover of the book it read: "The FlyLady's Simple FLYing Lessons Will Show You How to Get Your Home and Your Life in Order - and It All Starts With Shining Your Sink!". I thought it was a funny memoir. I placed it on the pile of books I was going to read that year. Not until months later did I pick it up to leaf through it. Didn't appear to be what I thought it was. I actually sat down and read through it. Ms. Marla, aka the FlyLady, had some gosh darn good ideas.

I became a FLY Lady myself. Atleast for a little while. It worked; my life was less distracted, and more organized. How I ever allowed myself to fall off the wagon is unimaginable!

Here I sit on the second day of January leafing through the pages again. Following the FlyLady is going to be one of my New Year's Resolutions. It's simple and at times, fun. I have also subscribed to her daily emails to keep me motivated. Sometimes, by declaring your intentions out LOUD for your friends and the world to hear, makes them stick just a bit more. Here's sticking to the FlyLady in 2009.