Breaking Traditions

My favorite day of the year is just around the corner, March 1.  For me it is the official day of Spring.  I know that if I make to that day I have survived another winter.  Just like any other holiday, I celebrate with some traditions.

One tradition is to head off to Wilson's Garden Center.  It is the local gardening mecca down the road!  It closes on Christmas Eve and reopens on March 1 every year.  Starting January 1st I start the countdown.  I literally have a calendar that I mark off the days as they past.  It is really like the  child who counts down the days until  Christmas.  I also have a standing date with my neighbor Sue.  She, too, is a gardener.  We spend the winter pouring over gardening magazines and dreaming of March 1.  It, too, is reminiscent  of a child at Christmas going through the Toys R Us catalogue.  We mark pages and make wish lists.  We eagerly await the opening.  Well, this is year is a bit different.  This past fall Wilson's completed a $1 million renovation project. By doing so, they are now able to stay open year round.  At first I was so excited because I could now go whenever I wanted.  But then I decided I couldn't give up the tradition of March 1.  So I have been patiently waiting for the magical day to arrive only to realize there are two hitches.  One, I have parent teacher conferences on Tuesday!! Yep, there is no way I can go.  Two, Sue will not be home from Florida until Tuesday night.  Her mother passed away this February and, therefore,  she and Daryl got a late start on their annual snow bird trip.  So I spent the entire winter sticking to my guns about not breaking a 24 year tradition only to have it unravel.  So, what to do?  I'm going to pretend that tomorrow, Feb. 28, is March 1.  I am heading to Wilson's as soon as school is out and by myself.  I guess Sue will have to fend for herself on Wednesday!

My second March 1 tradition is to break out the sandals and crop pants.  I don't care if it's still snowing or not, I refuse to play winter a moment longer than necessary!  Trust me there have been days that I have walked into the school in a couple of inches of snow with my toes hanging out.  Millie, one of the secretaries, will just look at me and shake her head.  She'll ask, "De-nephew aren't your toes cold?'  I just smile!  Once again this tradition is being interrupted by parent teacher conferences.  No matter how tough I talk, I just can't wear such attire for conferences.  It just doesn't seem appropriate it.  So I have broken tradition once more.  Today was my March 1st.  I pulled out the white jeans, bold and bright blouse, Sketcher sandals and my new turquoise purse.  I complemented the outfit with bangles and baubles of blue.  I screamed spring! Luckily the weather cooperated.  It was in the 60s today!  I had posted a similar description on Facebook before I left for church.  When I arrived my friend Jackie was waiting on me.  She had read my post before leaving home and  wanted to see if I really had on sandals.  Sure enough, I did.  I proudly showed off the only  remnant of my last pedicure from the fall.,,my big toes had chipped Waitress Red polish.  Jackie in turn showed off your outfit...a turtle neck under a sweater with long johns under her slacks!  She was dressed for a snow storm and I was dressed for a day at the beach!!!!  Needless to say several of the parishioners got a good laugh at us this morning.

When all is said and done, nothing really has changed but the preconceived  date I believe things should have occurred.   Spring is here and I made it through another winter.  The robins have returned.  My primroses are starting to peek through the ground.  The backyard is a mud hole.  Sophie and Stormy are leaving paw prints everywhere.  The days are getting longer.  My mood has been lifted.  The neighbors are starting to stir from their winter hibernations.  Life is good.

Of course with Spring also comes shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops.  I guess I had better make an appointment for a pedicure.  After all I want my toes to look good with my chubby white legs and ill fitted shorts!  That's one tradition that will never change!

Make Everyday Count...
Denise

I've Become One of THOSE People

I never thought it would happen to me.  In fact, I have spent the last two decades fighting against the trend. I swore I would never succumb to the norm.  I have put down those who buy into the frenzy.  Like they say, "Never say never!"  I am now a full fledge technology junkie!  I am the queen of gadgets.  I am now a card carrying member of the nerd herd!  I'm addicted to the World Wide Web!

How did this happen?  Well, I can pinpoint the exact date.  Three years ago, I became the National Honor Society advisor.  The day I said yes was the day my life began to change forever.  Little did I know I would be thrown into a maelstrom of technology based activities...senior videos, power point presentations, audio equipment, etc.  All of which I had no experience in!  The first year I was like a deer in the headlights.  I depended on the expertise of the kids, the librarian, and the school tech gurus.  During my Sophomore year as the advisor, I became a little more comfortable.  I was armed with some knowledge of the tech world.  That's when my first big gadget purchase happened.  I bought what I like to call me my Big Girl Camera!  I even ventured out of Black Friday to get it.... another never say never moment.  I left Best Buy with a Nikon digital camera.  I had two lens, case and everything!  I decided the NHS kids needed it to help produce the senior video.  I actually became quite proficient with downloading, photoshopping and burning pictures to discs.  My confidence started to swell....bad omen!!!

As I approached my third and current year as the advisor, I decided we could produce the senior video ourselves.  The first two years we worked with a great guy who produced it for us.  At the end of the second year, he had to resign due to family commitments.  So, I began the task of researching laptop computers.  I consulted with the King of Gadgets, my brother-in-law Randy.  In October I became the proud owner of a MacBook!  Things just spiraled out of control from that moment on!!!  Next thing I knew I was knee deep in iCal, iPhoto, iMovie and iWorks.  And I liked it!!!!  The addiction had begun.

Next thing I knew, I had a Facebook account.  Once again, never say never.  I looked down on people who had a need to share their lives with everyone.  By Jan. 1, 2011 I was writing a blog, letting the entire world into my hectic, neurotic  life!  BTW,  I know the world has access to my blog,  but I also know that only a handful of you actually read it! And the only reason for  that is because you are my friends and I have forced you into it!  But this latest foray simply boosted my confidence to another level.  I  am no longer afraid of anything shiny with a touch pad.  So what did I do next?  I bought an iPhone this week!!!  Oh yeah, I now have Internet access 24/7.  I have become permanently attached to my phone, and it only took 36 hours!  I'm texting, downloading apps, checking emails, etc.  This weekend I hope to sync my laptop with my phone.  Imagine the possibilities!  One of the guidance counselors took my phone at lunch yesterday and I started to shake from the withdrawal.  So sad!!!  She yammered on about it being for my own good.  Something about dopamine and an intervention.  I just think she was using it as an excuse to fondle my iPhone!

You have to understand I have been so judgmental of people who seem to be addicted to technology.  I constantly complained about family and friends who spent more time texting on their phones than participating in the engaging conversation at the dinner table. And talking and driving, oh my!?!?!?! I would just roll my eyes at them.  Now I get it!  I now understand the fascination of the entire concept. I now know the shame of having someone roll their eyes at me...especially someone named Rick. I am a technology geek.  As one of my students told me today, " I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks!"  Bow wow!!

Well, I've got to go.  My friends are blowing up my phone with text messages.  They think it is funny to inundate my inbox with them.  After all I did proclaim I wouldn't be caught dead texting...or Facebooking...or blogging...or ............

Oh wait, I hear the UPS man.  My Nook is finally here!!!  I have a new toy to play with tonight.

Make Every Day Count...
Denise

Denise vs. Rick With a Little Bit of Karma Mixed In

Saturday was my husband's 53rd birthday.  I hounded him for 2 weeks about what he wanted to do for his birthday.  Each time he responded with I don't know. Now here's the difference between Rick and I.  My birthday is in April 30.  I already know what I want to do that day!   I will spend my morning  at the 2nd Annual Panther Schoarship 5K Run  (Don't get any ideas, I'm not running IN it.  I'm running it!) Then we will go to the local Japanese steak house for dinner.  I like things planned; he likes spur of the moment.

Fast forward to noon on Saturday, Feb. 12.  When I got home from helping my friends set up for a dinner/auction, I posed the question to Rick once more...What do you want to do for your birthday? I get the same answer, "I don't know".  A 1/2 an hour later he finally decided that he wanted to meet our best friends Keith and Toni for beers at Leghorn's to watch the second half of the OSU basketball game.  Okay, so far so good.  When the game is over, he wanted to go for an early dinner at Red Lobster.  Great! So he called them and set the whole thing up.  As he is talking to Keith, he then invites them back to our house to watch the OSU men's hockey game.   WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!  Please tell me he didn't!  Oh, he did.

You have to know that I grew up in an environment where the house was always company ready.  Of course, my mom also had 6 kids with a chore list!  You never crossed Judy when it came to her house. So it has been instilled me that your house must always be presentable. What would happen if someone stopped by unannounced!   I'm pretty sure you know where this story is going!   You see, I hadn't cleaned the house in two weeks.  I was just too busy with meetings and work to get it done.  We have two dogs, a black one and a white one, who shed all over the place. No matter what you either see black hair or white hair. Rick isn't known for picking up after himself. So there is always clutter about.   I have sewing threads all over the place.  AND we are in the midst of remodeling again.  So, add all of these things on top of regular dirt, and you get a house in total disarray.

My first thought was to kill Rick. How could he do this to me?  But I decided if God  could spare his life after two bouts with cancer in 3 years, it was not for me to take him out.  So instead I set out to clean the house in 2 hours or less.  This sounds reasonable, but karma kicked in!  Our sweeper is on its last leg.  It will only run for about 4 minutes at a time.  Then you have to wait 15 minutes before it will run again.  We are in the midst of putting in hardwood floors, so buying a new sweeper just isn't in the cards.  In addition, the attachments fall off because they've been used so much that the fasteners don't work.  It's an upright.  The lever to raise and lower it is broken.  So it falls over anytime there is any force applied to it.  I spent more time trying to make the darn thing work then sweeping!  As you can imagine, I'm not really in a good mood and karma isn't helping matters.

At some point my husband had the nerve the ask me what I was doing.  Didn't I want to sit watch the first half of the game with him!?!?!?!?  Dude, are you serious?  You've been married to me for 24 years.  You really can't gauge my mood at this moment and figure out that wasn't the right question to ask?  Perhaps 'what can I do to help?' would have been more appropriate it.  I mean really, the man can build a shed from scratch, but can't navigate the mood swings of a woman.  Well, needless to say, I did get the house cleaned and got myself a shower.  Of course I had already taken a shower, but I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off and needed another one.

We meet Keith and Toni and have a wonderful time.  The conversation was great and the food was awesome.  So we head home to watch the OSU hockey game. The house is company ready and the dogs are on their best behavior.  Sophie has decided tonight that Keith is okay to let into the house.  We are all standing in the kitchen around the table.  Rick plays the host with the most and asks if anyone needs something to drink.  Of course, Rick and Keith want a beer and Toni and I want a Diet Coke.  Rick opens the refrigerator and I am horrified.  There is apparently something dead in there.  The odor permeates the entire house.  I wanted to die.  I spent the entire afternoon cleaning and whining only to be  defeated by the ice box.  Of course everyone saw the irony in this...I had whined at dinner about my ordeal.

Good old Karma.  She wins every time, doesn't she?  I wish I had a little more of my husband in me.  He couldn't care less about the need to have every thing perfect.  I wish my husband would have a little more of me in him.  If I had known about his plans the day before, I could have cleaned on Friday and avoided the entire scene.

So what was the offending odor?  Broccoli in the back of the refrigerator.  I bought it when I had this idea we should eat healthier.  Whatever!!!!

Make Every Day Count.....
Denise

Retreat 2011: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

The 2011 Heart of Ohio Quilters Guild Retreat is over.  Once again, it was an incredible weekend with 70+ women.  Thank  you to everyone in Coshocton for making our weekend the best.  As always, there were a huge number of highlights and a few lowlights.  So  indulge me for a moment, if you will,  as I review the weekend for you.

The Good

#1.  The Coshocton Village Inn and Suites.  The staff at the hotel was amazing.  Every year they let us overtake their hotel. If you have ever spent 3 days with a hotel full of women, you know what I'm talking about!  This year's theme was Mardi Gras.  The staff allowed us decorate the entire hotel.  They wore beads and dressed accordingly.  They played canned jazz music all weekend! They catered to our every need.  They even tracked down a member  at the local fabric store to get a message to her from her frantic husband!  Thanks folks, you rock!

#2.  Mercantile on Main.  Heaven in Coshocton!  It is the local quilt shop owned by Denise Guthrie, also known as Thing #1.  She made sure we were pampered and treated well.  Her new store was gorgeous and  representative of her personality.  Thanks for the discounts, free gifts, business coupons, laughs, and memories.  You always spoil us.

#3.  Alternative Therapies and Massages.  All I can say is a "puddle of liquid."  That is howI feel after one of Kristy's massages!  This is the second year that I've scheduled a full body massage at the beginning of my retreat.  It is heavenly and one of the bright spots of the weekend!  Then Kristy and her posse of two come to the hotel on Saturday night for chair massages.  Everyone looks forward to Saturday night.  You should see these women swarm the sign up sheet on Saturday morning!  Thanks Kristy and friends.

#4.  Meeting up with old friends.  Being from Coshocton, I always look forward to seeing old buddies from high school.  The top two are Kelly and Denise (Thing #1).  Kelly, a fellow quilter,  and I have been friends since the 6th grade.  Can you imagine being my friend for almost 40 years?  That takes patience, understanding and forgiveness.  We always get together for lunch or dinner and shoot the breeze.  Then there is Thing #1.  She is just  a crazy as I am.  I think it's because we both have 7 siblings.    We have too much in common.  We had dinner and laughed our butts off.  We were loud and obnoxious.  You know when you both are laughing so hard that you keep snorting, you are annoying those around you.
#5.  The Uncorked.  It is a great wine and coffee bar in Roscoe Village.  Love it....a little something for everyone.  And to Lori the owner and a friend....sorry you had to sit beside Thing #1 and Thing #2 at dinner!  You only wanted a quiet dinner with your man and instead you had to put up with us!  I'm sure we sounded like a bunch of barnyards animals with the snorting and cackling.

#6.  My Guild Sisters.  It was wonderful to spend a whole weekend with 70+ women you have one common goal:  to share their love of needle and cloth.  This is a wonderful group of cackling hens to be surrounded by.  Their knowledge, talents and wisdom is inspiring.  A special thanks to Becky, Tonda, and Diane for planning a great retreat.  As a past retreat co-chair,  I know how hard it is to plan such a huge event.  It's not easy pleasing so many women at one time!  But you succeeded.  To my own personal quilt posse, I loved every moment of it.  You are the best.  And to Jen my table mate, I'll share my space with you anytime.

The Bad
Unfortunately, every gathering has its blemishes.  There is always that one person who is loud and obnoxious.  You always hope she won't show up, but she always does.  You spend your weekend rolling your eyes at her and wishing she would shut up! You just want to tape her mouth with duct tape.   All I can say is  I'm sorry everyone.  It is hard to keep me under wraps.  I get wound up tighter than the energizer bunny and can't stop.  The only solution is to wear ear plugs or sign up for a table on the other side of the room next year!  Just know that I appreciate your friendship and tolerance!  I promise to work on my inside voice for next year.

The Ugly

#1.   Driving in the sleet on the way home!
#2.   Dodging the 11+ dead skunks on the road while driving in the sleet on the way home.
#3.  Listening to the Buckeyes lose to Purdue while dodging the 11+ dead skunks on the road while driving in the sleet on the way home.
#4.  Walking into a dirty house after listening to the Buckeyes lose to Purdue while dodging the 11+ skunks on the road while driving in the sleet on the way home.

The pay off for walking into a dirty house after listening to the Buckeyes lose to Purdue while dodging the 11+ skunks on the road while driving in the sleet on the way home.....the greeting I get from Sophie, Stormy and Rick.  It's good to be home!


Want to  know the funny part of my yearly sojourn to Coshocton?  I spent all of my teens and most of my twenties trying to get out of that town.   Now I count down the days until I get to go back.  Only 364 days until next year's retreat.  I can't wait!


Make Every Day Count....
Denise

Do you admit to reading my blog?

Hello Peeps!  How's it going?  I have to say for me things are going super awesome!  You see, the sun is out and the temperature is above 32 degrees!!  It makes me very happy. In fact, and prepare yourselves because you aren't going to believe this one,  I am actually sitting outside in the sun writing this post.  No shit!   I' m wearing jeans, sweatshirt, wool coat, big ass scarf, and gloves! Yes, I'm very talented; I can type with my gloves on!   I have my sunglasses on too.  It's bright out here! If  you need further proof of my lunacy, look at my profile picture.  That's me,  sunning myself on a beautiful winter day!  Of course, I don't know how long it will last.  My computer is getting cold and doesn't want to work.  What the heck!  I paid a lot of money for this thing.   It should work 24/7 regardless of frigid temperatures!  May be the MAC isn't all it's hyped up to be!  I think I'll email Bill Gates and let him know about my disappointment in his product.

Of course, this latest escapade begs the question...do you really admit to people that you read the blog of a ranting lunatic?  The answer is yes, some of you do!!!  Just today I had Follower Lissa ask me if I had blogger's block.  She said it has been a week since my last post!  My first thought was "life sometimes  just gets in the way of my free time.  I haven't had time to share my inner personal thoughts."  Then my second thought was "Whoa, Lissa, you need to get a life!  I wouldn't admit to people that you are concerned about my blogger's block.  Do you really want people to know that you read it?"  (BTW, don't tell Lissa, but she thinks she invented the term blogger's block.  I wouldn't want her to know that it has been around for an Internet eternity!)

Last night Follower Kay asked me about my Weight Watcher's struggle.  If you remember in post #5 (I'm not 30 anymore), I gave my followers  permission to ask me about my diet when they saw me in public.  Well, she did.  First, I had to admit that I'm a WW dropout...AGAIN!  Just not willing to do the work.  Then, I'm like she just admitted in front of 5 others that she reads my blog!  How cool...or pathetic....is that!  There are actually people out there publicly admitting they read my blog.  Awesome!

Now if you are one of my followers who doesn't want anyone to know, I'm fine with that too.   I like to think of myself as your guilty little pleasure.  You know, kind of like a trashy beach novel by Lori Forrester.   You only read it when no one is looking and then dream about it at night!!!  So the next time I see you, if you give me a sly smile, I'll know you are one of my closeted readers.  It will be our little dirty secret!

Make Every Day Count....
Denise

PS:  I just want you to know that I can display some decorum when in public.  Last Saturday night I sat beside Jym Ghanal at the OSU-Michigan State hockey game.  Not once did I give him a piece of my mind. You see we were in the midst of another hyped up meteorologist white death prediction.  Not a flake materialized.... well, there were flakes, but most of them were in the MSU student section of the hockey rink! ( See post #4 Denise vs. the Weatherman)   Of course, I can't take credit for my demure behavior that night.  Rick was beside me threatening me with all of kinds of damnation if I opened my mouth! Sometimes I listen to him!!

Facebooking for Two

Some women are eating for two, but I'm Facebooking for two.  (Of course, if you have seen me eat, then you know the first could be true too!)  The other day Rick asked me what I was doing.  I told him I was blogging about Jeni's Ice Cream.  I asked him if he had read any of my posts.  He said a few of them and they were good.  I suggested that he become a follower, and he would get notices with each new post.  He said he didn't need to because he just gets onto my account and reads them.  That's when I realized I was Facebooking for two!!

He has his own Facebook account, but only has 5 friends currently on his list.  And not because he doesn't have any friends, but because he doesn't log into his account.  I'm sure there are many friends requests awaiting him.  But you see, we pretty much have the same friends and I have all of the family on my friend's list.  So, there is no reason for him to check his account.  If he has a question to ask someone, he has me post on my wall.  If  anyone has a comment or question for Rick, they just post it to me.  So in a way I have become my husband's social networking secretary!    In fact just tonight one of Rick's old friends from Matesich's posted on my wall a message for Rick about the weather not being kind to the beer man today! So  as any good secretary would do, I relayed the information to Rick. Then I promptly posted a response. Who knew 24 years ago when I said my vows it would mean that I would be his Facebook partner!

I don't mind that he uses my account.  As you all know I am an open book.   But I had thought though. What happens if he decides to impersonate me on my own account!?!?!?!?!?  He has a warped sense of humor too!  I guess I had better not make him mad or he might seek revenge.  Technology...got to love it!

Make Every Day Count...

Denise