Memories from the Forgetful

Twenty Questions....

2010-01-29T13:33:00.003-05:00

You know 20 questions the game? If not you can e-mail me I'll explain it to you. Anywho!! We used to play it in the car whenever we were traveling. We always had fun and were pretty good at guessing who the person was at the end of our 20 Questions. Well, right now I am going to tell you about a time Allayna was the champion of 20 Questions.

It was Allayna's turn to come up with any person in the world and we had to guess who it was in 20 yes or no questions. It went a little something like this:

Allayna: "OK guys, I've got someone. Guess who it is."
My family: "Are they a man?"
Allayna: "Yes!"
Family: Are they Famous?"
Allayna: "Yes!"
Family: " Is he a movie star?"
Allayna: "No."
Family: "Is he a singer?"
Allayna: "No."
Family: "Does he play sports?"
Allayna: No
Family: "Is he a politician?"
Allayna: "YES!!!"
Family: "Was he a president?"
Allayna: "No."
Family: "Is he president NOW?" (See you have to be specific.)
Allayna: "No."
Family: "Was he ever Governor?"
Allayna: "No."
Family: "Senator"
Allayna: "No."
Family: "Allayna, you know judges aren't famous. Grandpa and Dad aren't famous!"
Allayna: "I know, keep guessing"
We are at a loss at this point.... Allayna was only 7 or so at the time. So what politicians is she talking about? What famous politician would my 7 year old sister pick to be the answer of her 20 Questions?
After exhausting all of our questions... we give up!
Family: "WHO IS IT ALLAYNA?"
Allayna: "Tony Upton"
Family: *roaring with laughter* "Tony Upton is not famous"
Allayna: "Yes he is, he is a famous politician."

*Chirp chirp*

WHAT!? You still don't know!?
Well, he is trustee of Green Township in Ohio 1 of 3. Our mother is now a Green Township Trustee I wonder if any little girls playing 20 questions think she is famous... ?
Mom, I think you're famous... and I was just wondering.....

Can I have your autograph?

(I promise I won't sell it on Ebay.)

Anyone want to see a movie?

2010-01-19T10:30:00.003-05:00

This is the only movie I can think about these days. Space Jam.... circa 1996. I loved this movie when I was little, like slightly preteen. Preteen girls are supposed to love things like Twilight and Beverly Hills Chihuahua. I cannot think of a comparable movie to those movies from 1996, but I just really really need a fill of Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny right about now. Oh wait Tom and Huck? Robert Pattinson is definitely not as cute as J.T.T... Am I right all you 25-30 year old ladies out there? Huh? WHAT!!!??? 25-30 ladies love Robert Pattinson? OK... fine.

And I'm just gonna throw this out there, but I believe basketball was at it's supreme high in the early 90's I mean I can't even name one basketball player from 2010. I'm being serious. Unless Shaq counts and speaking of Shaq I used to have a large, life-size, cardboard cutout of Shaq in my room.

I did...

really....

and I LOVED IT! and also I wanted to play in the WNBA.... and I might have been obsessed with basketball, but then about 3 years later someone told me I ran on my heels and I realized I wasn't as awesome at sports as I had always thought. This is pretty mish mash but it is what I was recollecting as I sat here watching dumb movies that have nothing on Space Jam.

Space Jam for life.

"No Way, Me Too!"

2009-12-23T14:32:00.003-05:00

Meet my baby sister, Allayna.

She is my goober.

I wasn't lying she is a goober... next example "Blue Steel"

Well, Anywho! At one of our recent Sunday Night Family Dinners she revealed one of her memories. She started speaking of a time she was choking... I didn't recall her ever choking... and it was on a piece of candy. This story was very interesting because I had never heard it from her before.
Then she said that our dad picked her up and hung her upside down to get her to stop choking. I laughed and I said this happened to you? She said "Yeah, at our house on Crestknoll!" (our childhood home) I laughed more and said "Really? This happened to you...?" she said "Yeah and dad shook me upside down from my ankles until I puked out the candy."
To which I replied, "and it was a yellow spree and when you puked it looked like a sunny-side up egg?"
"Yeah!"
"Allayna! That was not you! That was me!"
"No I swear it was me!"
"Allayna that happened to me and I wouldn't eat yellow sprees until I was 12 yrs old"
"NO, I DIDN'T EAT YELLOW SPREES!"
"Allayna, are you joking? This is my story that I have told 50 times."
"Really? No! I thought it was me.... I tell people that story all the time."

Oh man, I thought I had a bad memory! At least I don't have to steal other peoples memories and use them for my own! Allayna, I love you but I am diagnosing this as a case of vicarious memories. I'm going to start copyrighting all of my memories so you can't use them!

Ok but she's forgiven because she is cute.
Evidence of that is right here.

Need to Smile?

2009-12-22T08:45:00.002-05:00

Honestly, How could you not smile when you look @ this babies sweet face?

Seriously

This is pretty sweet too.

Love these kids

and look @ my handsome, handsome Husband.

I love my sweeties... all of them.

I forgot.... Surprise!

2009-12-19T20:44:00.004-05:00

I forgot to tell you all! My beautiful sister in law Sarah had her sweet baby girl last Saturday!! Her name is Vivienne Michael Novosel and she is beautiful and perfect! That baby will have more love than she could ever know what do do with!

Vivienne's parents, formerly known as Sarah and Dave, have taken so well to their new roles as parents. I am so proud of both of them! I envy Sarah's patience, it is definitely something I need a bit more of, and seeing Dave keeping track of all the bodily functions on a chart made me smile. The excitement that they have for their new journey is really contagious! I am sooooo in love with our little Vivienne and when I think about all of the amazing and fun times we will all have as a family I tear up. I tear up when I think of my sweet mother in law saying over and over again on the phone within minutes of Vivienne's birth, "Andrea, It's a girl, she is perfect and beautiful, she is beautiful, she is just beautiful!"

We are all so proud of Vivienne's parents for being calm even though everything did not go as planned and we are proud of Vivienne for making it to 36 and a half weeks and for being the best week old baby we know!

We are happy for you guys and are truly so overwhelmed with love for all of you!
Welcome to the world Baby Girl!

Oh Christmas Tree!

2009-12-07T08:31:00.002-05:00

Our Christmas tree is up!!!

I am pretty excited about it!
I haven't put it up in a couple years, so I was surprised by a few ornaments I didn't remember I had. Like this one.... Where did this come from?
It's a creepy Santa.... I'm guessing I bought it from a garage sale. That sounds like something I would do.
Then there are ones I hide at the back of the tree near the wall.

Then there are ones that were made for me and my family.

I like these b/c it reminds me of what happened that particular year.... like I got married... or Chris goes to work in his jammies. Really, that one puzzled me for a bit, but Chris did go to work in his jammies, he worked from home for about 3 months in 2006. See I would have never known what year that was if it hadn't scrolled on an ornament. Thank you Aunt Marcia for carrying on a special tradition! You are so sweet!
Then there are some ornaments that don't make any sense at all!

Like this one... it has an Angel in a turtleneck... and a bunny that looks like it is humping the Angel's leg... Weird. Very weird.....
Let's move on... and try to get that image out of our heads.

I love Christmas time and I love my kids... even when they eat too much candy and drive me crazy. Look at 'em! Ain't they SWEET!?

Lincoln is not accustomed to the flash.... he makes me smile.

I hope everyone is as excited about the Holidays as I am! If you haven't put up your trees yet.... DO IT!!!

"Pook"

2009-11-23T08:22:00.004-05:00

This is a sad day. I am writing about a baby memory, not my baby memory, but my babies memory. Wait.... I mean a memory of my baby. A sign of things changing, a baby becoming a boy.
As some of you may know, Harrison speaks another language. Something between French and Chinese, we're not sure. One of my favorites of Harrison's made up words is "pook". Sounds like book, but means pillow. So when we get ready for bed Harrison would grab his "pook" and obsessively adjust it until it was in the right spot. When Harrison comes into my room in the morning to wake me up, he brings his "pook" in so he can snuggle-bug (one of my made up words).
My husband, Chris, and I would giggle and say "PILL-OHHHHH" and he'd smile back and say "POOOOOK!"
Something changed this morning. Harrison opened my bedroom door and walked in and said "Lay down, I got my pildow."
Now while I am pleased he threw a "d" in just to show me he hasn't grown up completely. I am still a little sad that my little baby is growing up. So in five years when my blog is just a bunch of cached pages on google search, and Harrison and Lincoln are both in Elementary school hopefully I can find this entry and remember my baby sharing his "pook" and blanket with me on chilly mornings.

I did it, I stole....

2009-11-17T07:40:00.004-05:00

OK, I'm never promising a post again.... I said tomorrow, but it's all relative. Right? OK.... so what did I steal? I know you've been praying for my soul after my two sins I revealed last week....
1.) Stealing grocery store bag closures. ( Which are free.)
2.) Disobeying my mother. ( Which is never a good idea, she'll embarrass you. See previous post.)

I said I would never steal again, but I lied..... there's the third sin I'm admitting. I stole something just as embarrassing as the bag closures, if not more. "How could it be more embarrassing than the bag closures?" you ask.

Need I say more? It gets worse I stole it from the thrift store. Yes, it was marked 40 cents and a yellow tag that day... so it was 50% off. I can't recall my justification here.

Was the line too long to wait in to purchase my 20 cent item?
Could I not find 20 cents?
Was I embarrassed?
Was I mad they were SELLING toys you could get for FREE at McDonalds?
Or was I just feeling mischievous?

I know I had intentions of using it... I had 7 others clipped to my purse. I certainly needed an 8th. Each one had a different annoying thing it did, squeak, shake, close it's eyes, open it's mouth. If I had to guess what special talent this one possessed. I would guess it was the one where you pulled the tail and it shimmied across the table.

Anywho! I pulled off the tag clipped it on with my 7 others and walked out the door. I had my treasure! But at what cost?

That thrift store went out of business 5 years later and who could say it wasn't because of my 20 cent steal? They reopened last year, I think I owe them a visit, and an apology, and 20 cents, my mother would be proud.

Confession...

2009-11-08T08:37:00.006-05:00

I have stolen 2 things in this life, not including the gas incident. Honestly, I should be ashamed. No, not because of the normal reason involving morality, but because I stole two of the dumbest items ever on the planet.

Let's do the time warp... punches in 1990 and a few other buttons because I am sure there are more buttons to make this time machine work.... ummmm... ah.... click, type, click....Ah Ha! There we go.

We have arrived in 1990 at a Thriftway Grocery Store in the Cincinnati area. I spot a little girl and her mother walking into the produce section. Hey, That's me!!! Awwww I look so cute and innocent, but believe me people, this is where it gets ugly! I am spying the plastic bag clips and my mother is picking up some regular fruits and veggies. Wait... you might need a visual here.

Yes, this is all my little five year old heart desires. So I ask my mom if I can take a few with me. And she gave me at least three reasons why I couldn't. I don't understand. How is Barbie going to get backstage at the New Kids on The Block Concert without her pass. What? You don't see it?

See it now? Barbie would just slip that over her wrist and she could make it into the concert. I had to make the ultimate sacrifice for my dear friend Barbie! I would sneak just a few of these into my keds and walk out with them in my shoes. Great Plan! So, I pick a few out of the bowl and bend over like I am tying my non-existent shoestrings and slip them in the heel of the shoe. I walked around the Grocery Store with my great find in my shoe, we came to the checkout lane and I nearly broke a sweat. I was for sure the clerk would find my steal! I walked casually whistling, well probably not whistling, but I was smooth. I made it through the checkout line and out of the store. I was in the clear. When we got home I immediately took my find to Barbie and we went to the concert.
My mom came into the room mid-performance. Probably one of my personal favs "Hangin' Tough", and spotted the bag closures around Barbie's wrist. She yelled and took them back from me and swore we were taking them back to the store. I cried and she did make ME TAKE THEM BACK to the store manager. He probably thought my mom was crazy for bringing those back, because they are free and I could have taken the whole bowl and no one would have never known. But it's the principal, she wasn't going to let me get away with being a sneak and a thief.
And from then on, I never stole again.... well, almost....
To hear what other ridiculous thing I stole many years later check back tomorrow.

Family Photos!

2009-11-06T08:17:00.002-05:00

If you are in need of some family photos in time for the holidays, now is your chance! For one day only, we are offering 1/2 sessions for $50. We will have a holiday backgrounds set up inside the lodge and the lodge’s beautiful outdoor landscaping will also be an option if you prefer and the weather permits. Your photos will be available on a private online gallery where you can view, share, and order professional quality prints. You will also have the option to purchase a high-resolution printable CD for $15/each.

With 2 photographers, we have a total of 20 spots available on a first come, first served basis, so don’t wait too long to schedule your session. Email andrea@daphnephotostudio.com or call (513)675-3167.

Random Panda

2009-10-28T06:09:00.003-04:00

See, you thought this was going to be about a Panda Bear.... Unfortunately, it's not. It was just me, spewing the first word I thought of (after "Random") onto the title bar.

So here's my randomness this week.

1.) Something that bothers me every year around this time is this.... I think I am a semi-ok to good artist and I can't carve pumpkins. I'VE NEVER CARVED A COOL PUMPKIN!!!! That makes me sad.
2.) I have the best video ever to load to this blog, but I don't know how to get it loaded myself, so it may never get done.
3.) Allison mentioned the other day, that I was always her sidekick for Halloween. I never noticed, but there may be some truth in it. One year I was the White Rabbit and Allison was my sidekick though.... you know.... the white rabbit's sidekick? Alice in Wonderland? Isn't that how it goes? The books all about the rabbit? Well maybe not. But this makes me think I must have been a pretty happy kid, because I don't remember being sad about it.
4.) Blogging gets harder when you get a life, but I like having a life. So my internet-blogging life may continue to suffer.
5.) Sometimes I put whiskers and a cat nose on my face and forget they are there. Then little kids come up and ask me "Why do you have that on you face?" and I think, "Damn kid! You've never seen a mole!?" and then I say something like "Because that's just the way my face is." and then I get out to the car and look in the mirror and see my cat face and realize that kid wasn't a jerk and now he's telling his mom that a lady at the park has a permanent cat face.
6.) I want to go trick-or-treating.... I love candy, but I think my neighbors will know I'm not a kid. Isn't that sad? No candy for me..... sad sad sad.
7.) I love you guys..... and for that reason I am determined to figure out my halloween video and post it VERY soon.

I'm the middle child

2009-10-23T07:41:00.002-04:00

This is the first car I've ever driven........

When I was 10.

Ok, Why was I driving at 10 years old? A few reasons:
#1. I'm the middle child and I need attention.
#2. I was only going to move it back 10 feet.
#3. I was confident and it looked pretty easy.
#4. My mom was on the phone and I didn't want to wait.

So the story, my version at least, goes like this:
I wanted to play basketball and hone in on my mad skills, because I needed to practice so I could play in the NWBA. (Yes, I wanted to be a professional basketball player.) I asked my mom if she could move the car and she told me to wait because she was on the phone. I waited at least 15-1 minutes. Maybe it was closer to the 1 minute mark, she was taking a while on the phone.

I was good at getting attention when I wanted it. So I began to make remarks like.
"Mom, you're taking forever. I'm going to move it myself."
"Mom, where are your keys?"
"I found your keys! I'm gonna go move the car."
Then I walked outside and slammed the door behind me. I was sure she would be right behind me. I walked to the car and looked back at the door. She wasn't coming yet.

I got in the car and slammed the door and sat for a minute. Still no sign of Mom.

I put the keys in the engine and started it up. STILL NO MOM!

Well, I think I've seen this done about one thousand times. I can do it. So I put my foot on the brake... Wait.... this IS the brake right? Yeah this is definitely the brake. I slip the car into whatever, the R mode is, I let got of the brake and I start rolling forward. Wait a stinkin' minute... I wanted to move the car back... not forward. How do I stop this? What did I do wrong? As the car begins to scrape the side of the house I realize I am in the N mode not the R. So I slam the bar back to R and plan on moving it back to the original spot without Mom ever knowing. Well it was too late.....

Mom was behind the car at this point screaming at me to stop and get out of the car. I didn't know about rear view mirrors and stuff and am already backing up. My mom quickly jumps out of the way and continues trying to get my attention. I see her and put on the brakes she yells at me to get out of the car. I obey, as usual, I always follow the rules. See I'm a good kid. I got out and Mom returned the car to it's spot on the driveway. On the DRIVEWAY!?!? In front of the hoop?!?!

Wait, I don't get to play basketball?!? What? I have to go to my room? Now I'm never going to be a professional basketball player! Thanks Mom!

Hello out there!

2009-10-21T08:15:00.002-04:00

Hello all of you beautiful people! I have wonderful plans brewing for a blog series, called Home Movies featuring "Coily".... That's me, just in case you were wondering. I have a new site up and it is not done, but you should check it out! I love you guys and I think I will leave you with this. Allison used to call umbrellas.... "rainbrellas" How CUTE is that?

Noah Thomas & Jesus

2009-10-18T16:12:00.003-04:00

Noah got baptized yesterday morning and I think that kid really loves church, God, Jesus, and old priests. Or he loves life and just smiles all the time, but I like to think on his baptism day that was what he was happy about Jesus.

As the Godmother of Noah I was given a folded napkin-looking thing and the Godfather was given a candle. Honestly, I didn't know what either of these things were for. I was not raised Catholic and haven't been to an infant baptism in quite some time. First, Noah was prayed for and his parents and Godparents promised to be an example of Christ in Noah's life. He liked that.

Then we went to the alter and he was baptized in the holy water and the Priest talked to him. He liked that.

Then I figured out what the heck the cloth thing was, it was a baptismal garment to be placed over Noah's shoulders. I think he liked that too.

Then the Godfather lit a candle symbolizing the light of Christ in our lives. He liked that.

Then Grace, Noah's big sister, realized this thing wasn't all about her.

And she threw a temper tantrum.

But don't worry Noah probably liked that too.

After the ceremony we went back to Noah's house for a party ate some and watched some football.
The only thing I heard Noah complain about that day was this.

His Grandma and Great-Grandma wore the same outfit! Not really, but kinda. I didn't notice until he said something, but Noah I think you're right. "Total fashion faux pas." WHAT!?! He said it, NOT ME!!!! Don't look at me that way grandma...!! I'm just teasing you! Love you guys!

Stop Bugging Me...

2009-10-15T02:54:00.003-04:00

Chris and I got married close to 5 years ago and our first Spring in our first house we got a major bug issue. I hear this is pretty common in the beginning of the Spring, but I couldn't believe it. We had ants galore all over our home. Those crafty little buggers made their way into MY home and I was going to make sure they found their way out!
I did the first "new wife-y" kind of thing I could do..... act helpless to my husband. (I know this is not looking good on the woman self empowerment front.) I called him and he didn't sound too worried about the ant infestation that had begun to take over our tiny home. I informed him it was no small matter and that I needed help. Alas, I would have to wait for my Knight in shining armor to get off work.
I hid in my basement until I heard Sir Knight walk through the front door. I took him too the sink and showed him our issue. He quickly brushed all visible ants into the sink and sprayed them down the drain. He said that was probably the end of that. I told him I was glad he was home because, "I was minutes from calling the terminator."
He looked at me and asked me who I was going to call.
"The Terminator! You know who kills bugs."
He stared at me.....

*Crickets (or ants) chirping*

I'm thinking "What...? This guy has never heard of a "terminator"?"

What is he laughing about, it's not funny. IT'S NOT THAT FUNNY! Lot's of people call the "terminator" to help solve their bug problems. Right?

Well, fine I will go Google the closest terminator and ask them to solve the bug problem. who needs a stinkin' Knight in shining armor?

As, I start to do another new wife-y thing, pout and storm off, it dawns on me...... "EX!"

"EX"terminator! EXTERMINATOR! Damnit! He'll never let me forget this.

Well, it's a good thing I didn't call for a "Terminator", I don't think he could have resolved my bug problem and it's probably best I didn't get a hold of him. If the Terminator tried to take on exterminating our ants, my kitchen would have probably been one large crater and then we never would have been able to sell it. I mean.... Who wants a crater for their kitchen?

Mole Saga (cont.)

2009-10-13T22:15:00.005-04:00

My dear friends Fran informed me that a saga contains more than two stories, someone should inform her of the virtue "patience".

So the saga continues:

I used to work as a corrections officer in a local jail and it was an interesting job. Not just because of the felons I saw day in and day out. Or the fights, or the handcuffs, or the maglites. It was mostly because of the odd people I worked with. Like a man I will call "Mr. Flynn" to protect the innocent.
One day I was visiting "Mr. Flynn" and he had a knack for saying the darndest things. and he told me I look like... Guess.... Guess who he told me I look like.
No, not beautiful gorgeous Charlize Theron.
Guess again.
Nope, not Scarlett Johansson.
Guess again.
OK give up!
I know this was going to be your next guess.

Well, if you guessed George Hamilton, you guessed correctly. (It doesn't count if you remember this from my Facebook status. That's cheating.)
Don't you see the resemblance?

Obviously we were separated at birth.
I mean look at our hair, it's the exact same shade of Blondey-black.
You certainly can't deny it.... it must be our skin tone, we were both going for that tanny-pale look.
Oh wait, I see what "Mr. Flynn" meant. He was saying how much I looked like a man. I get it. Yeah, I totally see how much I look like that George Hamilton guy.
Or wait.... maybe it's the mole.

Damn mole, always going and trying to make me look like George Hamilton. I'm going to have it removed.

Monster Mash

2009-10-11T05:14:00.000-04:00

This thing cracks me up every time!

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Hmmm.... Interesting

2009-10-10T07:41:00.002-04:00

Well, it's interesting to me that's all that matters....Right?

My new favorite thing is going out and taking pictures and my friend Kelly from Daphne Photo Studio has been letting me go along on shoots with her. I have also done a few solo and it is not as easy as it seems. You have to direct people: tell people how to sit, move their hands, choose a setting, etc. This is what I've been up to over the past couple weeks and I've really been enjoying it.

So here are a few shots I took:

These are from an in love session with Kelly.

And, these are from a baby session with Kelly.

And here are a few I did alone.
Baby Edie, my cousin's little girl.

Look at her little ear folding down! She kills me.

Here are the Paff Babies, my best bud Joanna's little cuties.

So that's what has been keeping me from blogging, I'm looking through 1,000's of pictures some days! Remember I love you and here's a little story for you.

Harrison ate some of his own poop. It was disgusting and hopefully accidental, but from what I hear not too unusual. UGH... it was bad and I hope he remembers what it tastes like and doesn't try it EVER again!!!!

Pumps pump up your calves

2009-10-08T23:03:00.003-04:00

Speaking of pumps..... I'm am super pumped.

One of my photos made it onto Pioneer Woman's Photography Blog! There were over 7,000 submissions, so I feel good about being one of the twenty portraits chosen to be featured.

It is this photo that I took of sweet little Grace. You may remember her from here.

Some of you may not know The Pioneer Woman, but I think she is a hilarious blogger and known the world over so you are a little behind if you are hearing about her from me. (I think 4 people read my blog. So she's probably getting a lot of traffic coming from my site today. Her server will probably crash.)

Go check her out and bake me something amazing after visiting her cooking page.

Mole Buddha

2009-10-07T06:27:00.002-04:00

OK, I can't find a great pic to describe my story #2 of the mole saga. But I think I will describe it well enough. We'll see. For now, here is a pic of my face if you need a reference during the story.

When I was in middle school I might not have been the nicest person. I can't really remember, but I say that because I must have hurt this boy's feelings. We were in language arts class and in the 7th grade and I remember sitting there and all of the sudden he, Brett, called me "Buddha". I, of course, think Brett is talking about the big fat happy Buddha and I really can't figure out where it came from. Then he starts pointing to his forehead saying "Buddha, Buddha, Buddha" over and over and over again. Then he changes up his hand position and has each of his hands are on the side of his head and he's now SINGING "Buddha, Buddha.....". Then he breaks out in dance and is still calling me Buddha. I told him he was an idiot and he stopped shortly after.

It took me quite a bit of time to figure out what was going on...... at least 10 minutes. As I gazed over into my reflection in the window I knew why his hands were on the side of his head. I was wearing my hair in pigtails, but the Buddha thing was still puzzling. I looked at myself just a bit closer and saw I had 2 moles in the middle of my forehead. I never thought much about those particular moles. Hmmmmm, maybe I have a permanent Bindi, or maybe that kid is a schmuck and I should've smacked him when I had the chance.

The thing is, I didn't feel bad about myself or think much about the way I looked that made the boy tease me. I have never gotten the image of this boy dancing and singing and chanting with his hands on the side of his head. I think if he knew how dumb he looked he probably would take it back, because I will never forget that! I am sure he has long forgotten my moles and pigtails.

By the way Brett, Buddha would never make fun of someone. If I believed in Karma I would say you are in for some good teasing right about now.

Moley Moley Mole

2009-10-06T05:25:00.004-04:00

I don't know how many of you have noticed. I am never sure how it looks to other people or if people even pay attention. I have something on my face. Well, a few things on my face. I have many moles, many many moles. ("MANY, MANY POGS!!!", a different story for a different time. Wait, but do you guys remember pogs? I loved pogs. Ok, I digress.)
See Exhibit A:

Why, hello mole! Nice of you to show up! I was just talking about you.
I don't know how many people experience talk about their moles but I have a few memories surrounding them. So, odd or not, I will share them with you now.
(Side note worth mentioning. My friends and I used to count all visible moles in class when we were bored, one time we got up to 50 or so.)
Memory #1 "Bus Mole" (See... I'm creative with my titles, because this one happened on a bus.)
In elementary school I would ride the bus to and from school every day. When I was in the 5th grade I finally got to sit in the back of the bus. That's something you had to wait for on our bus, like a privilege meant for the older kids. Less supervision and more goofing off happened at the back of the bus, so it was obviously the best place to be.
I went to a public school and I don't know if it's any different than private school, but all the boys started talking about kissing when they were around 10 or so. (Sorry to all of you mothers of boys around 10. It happens, your boy talks about kissing or at least thinks about it. Sorry if I burst some bubbles there.) KISSING!!! Yuck! I was a tomboy and kissing did not cross my mind... well rarely crossed my mind. But there was this boy on my bus who was obsessed with kissing. He would make smoochie sounds at me and ask to make out and I would cringe at the thought.
I would say "I would never kiss you. That's like totally gross."
I REALLY did not want to kiss this boy, EVER!
One day as I was getting off the bus I felt a tug on my shoulders from behind me. I didn't turn around, because I knew it was Mr. Kissy-Face. I tried to keep walking but he wouldn't let go of my shoulders. I finally pulled away from him and turned around to give him a nasty look and he jumped up and kissed me. Oh, my heart sank as he quickly popped up into my face and took a quick peck. Wait, did he just.... Yes, he missed. I ran off the bus as all the boys around him were laughing and I remember sprinting down the stairs and onto the pavement with the boy behind me, Mr. Kissy-Face, screaming "Yeah, I kissed her mole!!" Uhhhhhh... weird.... does it count as a first kiss if it was on the mole? I'm not sure, but that was one of the most horrifying experiences I had on any bus ride, EVER!
After that story I need some time to process. Grieve my mole virginity. I have an even more traumatizing one for tomorrow. Come back for Mole Saga #2 tomorrow, with an even more creative name. "Mole Buddha". Are you curious?

Photo Vomit

2009-10-04T05:19:00.004-04:00

Ok so after I post these pictures I will accept that I cannot change the fact the we are back in Cincinnati and will get on with writing my blog in more regular intervals. Unlike some people I know who blog more often when they are on vacation. So now I give you...... Photo Vomit.

Yes, my two year old smokes cigars. What's it to ya'?

Ok, he didn't really smoke a cigar, but he did have lots of fun this week.
Ohhhhh Vacation..... I miss you. Come back soon

Beach Bums

2009-09-29T11:33:00.003-04:00

It's Allayna's Birthday ya'll!!!

Happy Birthday Allayna!!!!

Here are some pictures from our vacation!!!!
Gratuitous walking on the beach holding hands shot.

My sweet boy on the beach.

The BEANS!!!

Harrison doesn't look too happy, but that's because his sweet sensitive baby skin and the salt water and sand don't really agree with one another!!

My guy has style.

My cute Hubby at dinner.

Look at this cute little group of people!

Here's my little Lincoln

Chris took our little family down to the boardwalk.

We went to the Gay Dolphin... there is a ridiculous amount of stuff in that store.

This is scary... Harrison and Chris playing an arcade game together.

Lincoln was less than impressed.

It is only Tuesday, but I'm feeling sad about coming home already.
I guess it wouldn't be called vacation if I didn't have have to come back eventually. I will try to savor every moment. More pictures coming soon.

"Let's just call a peach a peach"

2009-09-28T01:59:00.004-04:00

"Let's just call a peach a peach"?
I had never heard this expression before 10 or so days ago. I knew what it meant, but thought it was funny, because who would call a peach anything but a peach? Is this a common expression? I need to know. The phrase comes from my dear fiend Joanna. Joanna has other catchphrases like, "It's not a big of a deal." So as you cn see I don't trust her 100% in this arena.
I imagine the phrase would go something like this, "Let's just call it what it is." or "Let's just call poop, a poop. It is what it is." or "Let's call a roach a roach." Sometimes people try to make bad/gross things not so bad/gross by calling them a different name.
This is the real reason for this post.

Ack!!!! One of these crawled up my pants while we were on the pier yesterday evening. My husband called it a palmetto bug, my eyes called it a cockroach. I felt some relief, because I thought... "Hey it's just a palmetto bug, nothing too bad." Of course I get back to the beach house and type "palmetto bug" into the google search bar and lo and behold... IT'S A ROACH!!!! UGHHH. So to my dear husband "Let's just call a roach a roach." I'm not falling for that palmetto bug thing again.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

2009-09-25T07:17:00.003-04:00

It's Dwarfs not Dwarves I've checked a couple times.

Ok, so I said I would gather up some vacation memories.

In honor of our traveling day I will tell you about our traveling days we've had in the past. You will all want to come on vacation with us from now on.

Our parents would wrap gifts and put them in our trunk. If we were good we would get a gift to open for our next leg of our journey. It would usually be things like coloring books, crayons, dolls, stuff like that. But I remember one year specifically. My mom got us Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It was so cool and exciting. This is the sad part. I can't remember if we got all the dwarfs or if Allison got something different. I would imagine I would remember only one of us having the princess and the other being very disappointed. This is how it would look if we hadn't both gotten a doll.

"Can we open a gift now?"
"Sure... let's look in the trunk."
We each pull out a gift get back in the car.
One of us beats the first one in opening and we peer over to see a sparkly dress on a beautiful princess we start ripping at the paper wildly to find.....!!!!

A wrinkly old man with a gray beard, who is short in stature and wearing sack cloth pants. Just what I ALLLLLWAAAYS wanted!

I'm sure I would remember how this went.... unless I was the one who opened Snow White. In that case who cares... EVEN SCHMEVEN.

Ok

2009-09-23T22:55:00.005-04:00

I have been a bit overwhelmed lately. Nothing serious, but have had a hard time trying to concentrate on writing a blog. These are my thoughts for the day, it is easier to write what I am thinking randomly instead of trying to make any sense of it.
1.) I am cheap!!! Some of you probably know this, but I should have my picture next to the word "frugal" in the dictionary. I have been squeezing my poor big baby into tiny jeans because I paid full price for them. From what I understand... some people buy things full price and never wear them then donate them to Goodwill. I am not one of these people. I buy things years in advance to save myself money. It's a problem and my babies rolls have been speaking to me, I need to relax. I will pay $5.49 for a combo meal, but I pay $7.00 for a pair of jeans and have a heart attack! There is something wrong with me.
2.) I like that people notice I am trying to lose weight, but then I also think, "Well, was I looking fat last time you saw me, because it must've been an obvious change for you to comment." Then I think I should be proud of my tiny accomplishment and stop over-analyzing everything. When people say I look good and were curious if I've lost weight, my response should be, "Yes, I have been losing weight, thank you for noticing." I will work on this.
3.) Also, I am tired of racist, sexist, nasty jokes. Even when it comes from people I love. I can't take it.... It is... uh... I will stop there.
4.) I can't wait for vacation. I will have to uncover some long lost vacation pictures in celebration of Friday when we leave for South Carolina.
Here is one of Allison, Allayna, and I. Man, I was a tan kid.

Just some pictures

2009-09-20T05:37:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I got to take pictures of sweet Harper Jane. She and her mommy came into town this weekend to visit the many new babies who have arrived over the summer of '09. I was honored when Harper's mommy, Elaine, asked me to take pictures of her! I brought Lincoln along for the ride. (He was not nearly as cooperative as Harper!)

Isn't she the cutest little girl!? She made it nearly impossible to take a bad picture.

This guy was not nearly as cooperative, but I love his little face.

After Harper pooped out from all of the picture taking.....

My wonderful mentor, Kelly, and I snapped some ""nudey booty" shots of baby Lincoln.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Elaine, thank you for the opportunity to take some cute pictures of your baby girl.
Kelly, thank you for coming with us. I am much more confident when you are around!
Harper and Lincoln, Thanks for being super cute!

Sister Carol Ann was da b@#ch!

2009-09-17T12:45:00.004-04:00

This is a memory from the school memories I asked for a while back. It was written by my lovely mother, who also is a lovely cusser.

As an 8 year old third grader I had what was possibly the worst teacher in the universe, Sister Carol Ann. She was just an unhappy person. Ted would say that she needed "the cure" but that is beside the point. I recall that Sister didn't much like me. I don't know, perhaps I was immature. One day in particular, I had to urinate "like a race horse" and I raised my hand to be excused. Now, Sister saw that my hand was raised and in fact looked at me many times but she refused to call on me. I swear that this went on for at least 30 minutes. She just would not call on me. I stared, I willed her to say my name, my arm was cramped and the staring produced a weird effect of rings around sister's entire body. Finally......I let loose. All over the floor. There was urine everywhere. Sister was mad! Like it was my fault! No, she did not like me. That is probably why another time when I was getting something out of my desk and not paying attention to her that she said, "Glandorf, you jackass!" I swear to you that this profanity did indeed come out of the precious sister's mouth and smacked me in my 8 year old psyche forever! I am sure that sister smacked me with a paddle too but these 2 memories have scarred me for life and I shall never forget them.

I will see if i can get a photo of sister and/or a 3rd grade photo of me.

Mom

Mom, you jackass, where's the picture!? You never sent it. I'm disappointed.

Why would....?

2009-09-16T08:29:00.003-04:00

Why would someone think this is ok?In case you didn't feel like clicking it, it is an article about a stranger spanking a toddler at a local store.
The insane thing is.... people are commenting in support of the spanker! This makes me so angry. Just to let you all know... if you grab my child and spank him... I'm going to grab you and spank your face.
As a mother of two young children I know (Oh, how I know!) they can be annoying, loud, and bad. In public, I do not respond to the craziness that my two year old unleashes, other than hightailing it out of the store or firmly speaking to him. If I ever chose to spank my son in public I would probably have ten people call the police on me for disciplining him, if I don't publicly discipline him someone is going to smack him? I am sure this is a rarity but it is the second such story I have heard in the past month. (A stranger smacked a child in the face for screaming in Walmart.)
What ever happened to a little compassion for a mother who has a hard time getting anything done in a timely manner because her children will not cooperate? I hope I do not turn into a crazy old lady who gives evil stares to young mothers. I get those looks and it doesn't help me at all, but I am often relieved by a helpful stranger who is willing to smile (or even lend a helping hand) because she knows even good moms and good kids have bad days.

Harvest Home Fair

2009-09-14T07:08:00.005-04:00

We went to the Harvest Home Fair on Sunday afternoon and had a good time. Don't worry I didn't let any strangers watch my baby this time!
There is so much to be seen!
There were horses. The barrel racing was pretty cool. Harrison would have stayed here all day if he could have.

Then there was a tent full of farm animals. There were goats, sheep, cows, rabbits, the biggest pig I've ever seen, baby chicks, but I couldn't tell what this animal is....

A llama or an alpaca? Are they the same thing? Can anyone tell me what this is?

Here are some more pics of us roaming.

And Grandma won an honorable mention in the flower show!

Then it was time to go, and Harrison wasn't the only one who was sad. This kid was screaming like a maniac. So what would normal people do? Try to help the mom by distracting the child. Or tell a funny joke. What do I do? Take a picture of him.

I felt his pain... I think he was babbling something like.... "I can't believe that cost $5.00! In this economy!?! I so did not get my moneys worth."

In True Form

2009-09-11T11:15:00.003-04:00

Last night I went to the Harvest Home parade. It was to be Harrison's first parade and I was pretty excited. We went to the zoo earlier in the day and I had just enough time to run home to grab my camera. I ran in and grabbed my camera and ran back out to the car. I called my mom and told her I was going to pick her and my dad up in minutes.

I picked up Mom and Dad, then we headed up to Cheviot for the parade. We had to drop my mom off at a float she was riding in during the procession. Then it was time to find a parking space. This is a nightmare on the narrow roads of Cheviot, especially driving my Expedition. We finally parked and got the kids out of the car and into the stroller. We found our seats and got cozy. Well almost.... Lincoln spit up all over himself so I ran back to the car to grab him a new outfit. I left my little baby in the arms of a stranger that I had met just 5 minutes before named Gerri who was standing near my father, who was taking care of Harrison. The woman seemed normal enough and my dad was practically right next to her so this seemed fine. (I know, I am crazy.) I informed my dad of the goings on and ran off to grab the new outfit. When I returned a minute or so later I couldn't spot my dad (normally an easy task considering he is 6 ft 4 in. tall) I freaked a bit. Then I spotted the woman cuddling Lincoln and looking after Harrison. My dad must have trusted this woman as well because he left her in charge of Harrison too! (I know, he's crazy) Luckily, for both of us, there are still good people in this world and both babies were still exactly where we left them. Okay, so after you all pick your jaws off the floor from being shocked by my idiocy we'll get back to the story.

Okay are your jaws back in place? Let's continue.

The parade was starting so I got adjusted in my chair with one baby in my lap the other next to me in the stroller and I saw my mom was in the third or fourth vehicle in the parade line-up. I had to quickly grab my camera and get the lens cap off. I turn the camera on. (My friend Gerri offers to hold my baby so I can take a picture of my mom. My mom has also met Gerri and trusts her and left her with her bank account information and social security number so why not let her hold the baby one more time.) I snap a wonderful picture of my mom and look down to check it in the screen of my camera and see it is not saved. I check to see why and in a classic "forgetful" moment realize I forgot my memory card! AGHhhHHHHhh! So frustrated!

So I reclaim my baby and sit and pout because I have nothing to blog about tomorrow. Maybe I will remember something funny to blog about. No, nothing. Now what will I do. I am pretty sure I am never gonna blog again because I am so mad at myself for forgetting my memory card. I QUIT!!! Oh wait.... did I just write a blog? Oh..... well...ummmm maybe I did think of something to write about.

And all is right in the world.

About to pop.

2009-09-09T04:54:00.002-04:00

My friend Carrie is due any day now. My friend Erin had a baby less than 24 hours ago. This makes me recall how I felt the days leading up to the birth of my youngest son who is just 4 1/2 months old now. Unlike Carrie and Erin, I was completely spent and told everyone about it. I would not shut up about having my baby as soon as possible so I could be done being pregnant. I was ready to drop the nearly 50 pounds I had gained. My legs, hips, and back hurt constantly and anyone around me knew it.
I have not heard Carrie do much complaining at all. She is not in a rush, does not babble on and on about herself and her pregnancy, (Even when people are trying to get her to.) and has not complained much about discomfort. (That I have heard. Ryan, her husband, may tell a different tale.)
With just weeks/days to go I was letting everyone know about the hard work I had put in so far and that I had no plans to do this pregnancy thing again anytime in the near future. I would say things to my husband, Chris, like "Don't let me forget how I felt at this point." "If you ever hear me tell someone I enjoyed pregnancy, tell me and them. what a liar I am."
The sad part is, I took the easy way out, I had my epidural and did not take on the full experience. Erin just had a completely unmedicated birth and her baby came out sunny side up, which I hear is very painful, but everything went great! She fought through it and did not give in, even when it got tough. Carrie plans to have a natural birth as well and I am confident that she can do it. I am proud of them for being strong enough to do natural births and admire their courage. I do not plan on getting pregnant again, but if I do I will try to remember to complain less and enjoy the experience for what it is.

P.S. I think this guy is ready to be a dad. (Ryan hangin' with the kids.)

Mom...

2009-09-07T10:59:00.003-04:00

The lady of many talents. My mom is very skilled in many ways.
I've seen her:
Fix/replace her own brakes on her car.
Fix many toilet problems.
Update run down homes.
Lay her own patio.
Coach many sports teams including soccer and softball. She left basketball to my dad.
Create skits from scratch for church.
Make costumes galore, and they were good. Seriously.
Make my sisters' and my holiday dresses.
Nap like she'll never nap again. Almost daily.
Cut/Color many many people's hair.
I couldn't possibly name them all.

One skill that I liked the most, was the costume making. Here's one example.
I think these are pretty pro.
She also made a costume for:
My 8th grade play, when I was the Tinman.
Vacation Bible School, which at a later date aided in me getting me my first job. (A story for another day.)
Many for church skits. One was so funny it made a dear friend pee her pants.

So, I was thinking, she should make Harrison a Halloween costume this year. What should she make? Any ideas?

Did he just say...

2009-09-03T23:05:00.007-04:00

Meet one of my many high school crushes. This is Dan. He is a super cute and funny guy that was always a joy to be around. He lived right down the street from my best friend in high school. We would walk down to his house and hang out whenever we felt like it. I always thought he was cute and date-able until the night this pic was taken.

This was taken the night of my Junior Valentine's Day dance! We went to Burger King before hand because we were really classy. We wore our King hats and laughed our butts off. We also showed up at the dance for a bit, but, of course, there were parties that night, too. So we didn't stay the whole time. We left the dance in search of a party. We found a big party and did regrettable things like drinking and such, no details provided because I am still to embarrassed to admit it to the entire internet. (I do remember after my date's parents found out about our night, we weren't allowed to hang out anymore.) But while we were living out our teenage angst that evening. Dan was being more lovey-dovey than normal and saying very weird/funny things. All of the sudden, out of nowhere, he blurted out, "Can I kiss you?"
I suppose to some people that would be the proper way to go about it, but I just laughed and declined. Dan was cute enough to kiss, for sure. But with that blurb and the awkward moment, I had to refuse. If he wouldn't have asked I probably would've have kissed him, maybe even more than once, but the damage was done. In my mind, my funny friend was no longer date-able, he was just that, my "funny friend", who asked my permission to kiss me.
I don't think it was more than a month or two later that Dan came out of the closet to all of our friends. It made me wonder if I should have kissed him? Maybe I was his going to be his last experiment to test and see if his suspicions were true? Maybe he was drunk when he asked me and he doesn't even remember it? Maybe he was so crushed by my rejection he turned to a life of homosexuality? HAHA Probably not!
Oh, cute Dan and all other cute boys all over the world. If you have to ask if you can kiss a girl (or boy) your chances might not be good. Dan was the ONLY boy who ever asked permission to kiss me and probably the only boy who got totally shot down.

Alice Ruth (Spelled like tooth)

2009-09-02T23:26:00.005-04:00

I've mentioned my Grandma Alice more than once today. I just keep thinking about her sweet little face and voice. Sometimes I joke on here about having a bad memory, the truth is in some ways I am a little bit afraid of my bad memory. My Grandma had Alzheimer's Disease and Dimentia for the last 6 or so years. It came on fairly slowly, but I am sure if we looked back we could catch some of the signs leading up to her going to the "dungeon" as she would call it AKA the nursing home.

She was so funny all the time and sweet to boot! She had 6 children and (I lost track maybe) 27 Grandchildren and only Jesus knows how many great-grandchildren and I think we all felt extra loved by her. She would whisper in our ears things like:
"Don't tell anyone I said this, but you're the best one."
"I love you the most, shhhhhh."
"You are my sweet little Manderea" -That was probably only to me.

She also would say/do very funny things. We had something called Girl's Night and eventually it wasn't just girls the boys joined in too! We would get together every week and we would play "dice" and Grandma would cook for us. We would laugh at all the cute and funny things Grandma would say. She would roll the dice and say, "Gooooo Me!" (I'm just smiling, thinking about how much fun we had.)

One time on Girl's Night we went over and Grandma took us outside to show us her garbage can. She had decided to burn all of her bills and receipts and other things normal people would throw away or shred. She forgot one important thing, plastic garbage cans probably won't work the same way as her metal cans. There was her can, bended and melted, and there was Grandma looking just as defeated as her trash can. We all smiled and then giggled and then laughed until we cried, including Grandma.

The FIRST Girl's Night Grandma sat around telling us love stories about her and Grandpa. The LAST Girl's Night we had, we were sitting around telling Grandma love stories about her and Grandpa. I miss her dearly. The laughs and the whispers in our ears (And I think Ryan got licked on the ear once, too.) The sitting around telling stories and her expired candy and cheese. Her sweet giggles and her bracelets bangling. Even singing to her in her last few days with our family by her side and her faint voice while trying to sing along. I miss those things, a lot.

Kid's do the darndest things

2009-09-01T17:27:00.006-04:00

Meet my friend Joanna!

Meet her little girl Grace. Grace is one of Harrison's best buds and she is only one day older than him.

Ok just to get them all out of the way meet Noah, he is 2 months younger than my baby Lincoln. Happy guy, doesn't cause any problems.... yet. hehe

Grace is quite advanced. Everything she does, Harrison will copy in the coming weeks or months. Crawling, walking, talking, well he doesn't talk as well as Grace, that may take a little extra time. This has me very concerned. Really very very concerned. Not that Harrison cannot talk but that Harrison follows in Grace's footsteps.

It started with jumping on beds.

Then trampolines.

Bikes.

But those are nothing compared to this.

Grace swallowed a pin from the front screen door. From what I understand. Grace's Dad, Corey, came home from work and the screen door was swinging in the wind. He went searching for the pin to fix the door and couldn't find them anywhere.

He asked Grace where the pin had gone and she said in her mouth.

He asked where it had really gone and she said in perfect two year old words, "It's gone, I swallowed it."

Let me tell you something, Harrison could never articulate this to us if he had to. Some people think Harrison has been learning Chinese behind our backs. He is very difficult to understand. I have said more than once that I should be paid as a full time translator.

Joanna and Corey calmly called their doctor and he got them in to get an X-ray down at Children's Hospital. I am sure they were wondering the whole time if Grace really swallowed the pin. They told me the x-rays are digital and come up pretty quickly now. They immediately knew Grace was telling the truth. She had swallowed it.

The doctors at the hospital said the poor girl will just have to pass it. I haven't received an update yet. But I hope for the poor girl's sake it all goes well.

I hope this is one thing Harrison will not do in time. We aren't talking about it at this house because we do not want him getting any ideas.

Oh Grace, you are a nut!

First Foods.

2009-08-30T21:02:00.002-04:00

My sweet baby just turned 4 months old a couple weeks ago. We have tried cereal many times and had little to no luck. So I bought a few different kinds of food to have him test them out. I don't think he is too crazy about it. Hopefully he'll acquire a taste for some of them soon.

First the applesauce.

I think it was a bit sour.

Do you think he likes it?

Now on to Sweet Potatoes.

I think he liked those a bit more.

Now just a few cute pictures of my sweet baby Lincoln.

Where's Harrison? Oh he's doing his regular thing. Drinking juice. Does/did anyone else have a child who always has a juice cup in their hand? Is this normal?

Oh and why does my 2 year old fit in this infant seat? But my four month old does not?

That's what brothers are for!

2009-08-28T12:56:00.004-04:00

I grew up with 3 sisters. No boys! Ryan is the closest thing I've ever had to a brother. Ryan (my brother-in-law) posted a link to my blog on his blog thisisreverb. (Without warning!) I would've had told a really great story about when we first met him, but that will require some photo scouring. So here is a previous post that features Ryan, to satiate anyone who hopped over here from his blog.

http://memoriesfromtheforgetful.blogspot.com/2009/07/just-like-dog.html

Dearest Ryan,
There will be a great memory posted in the days following. Just you wait... and believe me when I tell you.... there will be no warning.
Love Andrea

Wait, I think I just warned him while telling him I wouldn't warn him. Well, I will just have to tell a story he would never expect.

Pictures will be included.

I hate Donuts

2009-08-27T21:12:00.005-04:00

Ok, That's a lie. I actually LOVE donuts, but I hate them for making me love them. I'm not making any sense but sometimes love will do that to you
.
I found a recipe that is going to be the death of me.

Firstly, because it is so easy.
Secondly, it is cheap.
Lastly, it is delicious!

Look!!! Only three ingredients.

Cut holes in the middle of each buttermilk biscuit.

Use the donut holes to do a quick test of the oil for frying donuts.

I burnt it to a fried crispy! Good thing I tested it!

That's looking a little bit better! 3 or 4 minutes on each side on medium heat.

Toss it in the powdered sugar!

Repeat!

Mmmmmmmm!

Now enjoy with a big glass of milk!

Delhi Park

2009-08-24T16:27:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was beautiful. Chris and I thought it would be a great day to take the kids to the park and snap some cute pictures. Sometimes it doesn't matter how cute your kids are, you just can't get a good picture.

Here are some examples of Baby Lincoln.

Here's Harrison.

I have no clue who they take after.

Ok, we might have gotten one or two good ones.

Just realized- Not everyone....

2009-08-22T17:56:00.003-04:00

I just realized yesterday, after my post, that not everyone has even had one campaign experience. I wrote something about my earliest campaign experiences. I have been campaigning for the Winkler name since I was a wee tot.

It never seemed odd or foreign to me. You go to fundraisers, parades, festivals, go on photo shoots, and commercial shoots, wear your t-shirts, pass out campaign materials and smile. Nothing more natural to a girl like me.

Last night my Mom had a fundraiser, she is running for Green Township Trustee. As I looked around I felt so proud of her. There were people there who supported my mom for the work she has done over the past four years. For the decisions she has made, not all of them popular. For the kind of woman she is, strong and a good leader, but loving and kind. For her love of her community.

I sometimes say negative things to my Mom about her job and how people are too mean to her. I mean, her and I are people persons and nothing makes us more happy than to be loved by others the way we love them. As you can imagine not everyone is going to love all of your decisions. So it would often times be hard to hear some of the hateful things people will spew out of their mouths in politics. Even when people are rude and hurtful I watch her try to be calm and listen. I'm sure many times she would like to take both sides of an argument and work it all out so everyone would be happy, but this is not possible. I've seen her make hard decisions (even when people will be upset) because her decision is truly best for the township that she lives in and is proud of.

So there I go unintentionally campaigning for my wonderful, smart, and beautiful mother. I really know she cares and does what is best for her community. Mom, all of the times I've told you to quit because it's not worth the hurtful words and hateful looks, I just want to say I'm proud that you haven't given up and keep standing up for what you believe in. From the fundraiser last night it looks like I'm not the only one.

I mean look at the pride on this kid's face.

Campaign Central

2009-08-21T14:55:00.002-04:00

This year my mom is running for Trustee in her township. She has a fundraiser tonight and this brings back memories from my earliest campaign experiences.
There was the time I was in a commercial when my grandpa was running for Judge. It was classic. I don't know how to get a formatted version of it for the computer, but that's probably a good thing. I said things like "Vote for my Grandpa." and other judge type things like "justice", "Bop you in the head with a gavel", "lock you up for life". You know all the regular stuff. (I'm making that up..... Or am I?)
One of my favorite campaign memories is riding in parades. We've done this as long as I can remember, but one year when my father was running for judge something funny happened. We always gave out stuff like notepads, cups, pencil, etc. This year in particular we were handing out candy. All of my cousins were there in the walking in the back of the campaign mobile and we were told to hand candy to the people in the crowd. Well, my one cousin (who will remain anonymous at this time) missed the operative word in the sentence. HAND!
We got tired of walking after a while and decided to hop in the back of the big truck with my Dad's name plastered all over it. A lot of kids were screaming stuff about no candy and maybe even had some booooo's thrown in. So An---, I mean my cousin, started throwing candy out to the kids. We all joined in! Everyone loved chasing after the candy. Now Ann--, I mean my cousin, is not the most athletic of all of my cousins and eventually the inevitable happened. She pegged some unsuspecting parade goer right in the face with some candy. We all ducked down into the truck and giggled. I think we got caught by our parents and were told again not to throw the candy any more. But to us I think getting yelled at was worth the laugh.
After the parade we all went out for pizza and probably had a lot more laughs about the person Annie (oh man I gave it away) hit in the face with candy.

Lady that got hit in the face,

If you are out there, reading this right now. I am sorry we laughed at your misfortune. But please remember we were only 11. From what I can recall getting hit in the face with anything is funny.
Sorry 'bout yo' face!

Andrea

That was the worst apology ever.

Mixed memories.

2009-08-19T16:37:00.003-04:00

Ok guys I need your help to pull this one off. It may take a while to get together, but I think it will make us all laugh in the end. I want you to give me your most lucid back to school memory or any school memory is fine. If it could be in 3 paragraphs or less that would be awesome. I will make a conglomerate post of all the stories I receive! The more I get the more fun it will be. If you could send them to me by Friday the 21st @ midnight that would be awesome. My e-mail is puddlegirl@gmail.com

If you have pics that will make it even better, but do not fret over finding one.

Foreign Exchange Student

2009-08-18T20:03:00.003-04:00

When I was a senior in High school there was a foreign exchange student at our school from Macedonia. She was one of the funniest people I have ever met. A lot of the kids at our school didn't get her sense of humor, but she always made me laugh out loud. Here is what she wrote in my yearbook my Senior year.

"Andrea,
This is Alexander the Great speaking. Or the Egyptian... but whatever I'm still a flower in my soul. I liked hanging with you and you are nice and cool friend, but very unique.
I'm wishing you everything the best in the future. Good luch with college and art and I hope you become a great artist or something. Have a great summer.
(HEART) Milicza
DA MACEDONIAN!!!"

Every time I read this I smile. There are some entries that I will have to black out before my children ever see them, but most are very sweet. This one in particular makes me remember my friend from World Religions class that said funny/creepy stuff to me everyday and always made me laugh out loud.

She really told me every day that I was a flower in her heart. I miss being a flower in her heart.

5 Thingies

2009-08-17T13:58:00.005-04:00

I was checking out Ryan's blog today and will steal his idea for my blog today.

5 Things I am all about in mid-August.

1.) Beating up invisible alligators with Harrison.

2.) Putting Lincoln in hats and funny bathing suits. I love his little chubby face!

3.) My new lens and learning a lot about my camera from Kelly. (Who also magically gets my baby to fall asleep every time I cannot!)

4.) Hanging out with Allayna before she has to go back to school.

5.) My hubby. He's pretty cute.

Last Family Vacation '08

2009-08-15T07:23:00.008-04:00

I cannot wait for our family vacation this year. Last year we went to St. George Island. Never heard of it? I am not surprised. We hadn't heard of it before Mom booked the vacation either. It doesn't matter where my family goes we have fun together. We laugh until we cry. Everyone has a good time and it is just relaxing and fun for a week.

Here are some memories from Vacation '08

This photo here is Ava and I singing karaoke.

It was bad. Very bad. Not Ava... me.

So, I thought I could sing karaoke. I chose a song from my child hood, that I enjoyed when I was 12 or so. It was a mistake! It was "Killing Me Softly" by the Fugees. The song started and I quickly realized it didn't go quite how I had remembered. (Whhaaaaat?!? I have a bad memory?) It was a sad and pathetic attempt I was looking at my family and they were trying so hard to help me and sing louder to try to get me to sing it right. I couldn't get this DAG song! Chris was standing at the bar. (Most likely ashamed to claim me as his wife) He witnessed one guy lean over to his friend, roll his eyes, and say sarcastically "Killing me softly?" Soon Ava came up and sang with me. She must have felt my pain and wanted to save me. She might have known more words than me. I was sure I was going to be attacked by an angry mob afterwords, but with a cute baby saving the show I was pretty sure they forgave me. It was awful.

This is Grandma Cheryl, you may recognize her from my zoo pics. She makes everything fun, even dominoes. Well dominoes is pretty fun to begin with, but it's more fun when she makes trophies.

Guess who won?

Are you having a hard time figuring out which one was the winner? You were probably wrong. See I tricked you. I said guess who was the winner and then put up a picture of my trophy. I actually was the loser. Grandma couldn't find a horse at the thrift store for the "horse's ass" prize. (I don't really know what that means but everyone else seemed to think it made sense.) So she bought a unicorn instead. She was so excited to show us she ended up pulling it out of her bag-o-trophies and exclaiming "And the loser gets the U-corn's ass!" She doesn't cuss very often so she must've been looking forward to it or nervous about it because she just skipped a good portion of the word unicorn. Ryan's trophy is a crappy wad of aluminum foil and painters tape, he was in first place, and Chris' was a crab with eyes glued on to it and 2 shells for the "butt" and it was glued on top of a pinecone. (The best part about Chris' trophy is, it had it's real eyes but grandma couldn't see it's little crab eyes so she glued some on it's backside and she glued the shell butt close to the crabs real eyes.) Sorry Grandma, I called Ryan's trophy crappy! I meant it was an awesome wad of aluminum foil.

Here is a collection of just a few more pics from St. George Island.

Hopefully Harrison likes the sand more this year.

Mom Hates It.

2009-08-13T18:50:00.003-04:00

My mom hates the zoo. It's true. Growing up my sisters and I didn't ever make a trip to the zoo with our mother, unless it was with a field trip. (Our mom was a good helper in the classroom.) This is the first exhibit and she was already looking pretty happy that she came along with us. Can't you tell?

The best part is that it was not just her four grandkids, I also brought my sweet niece Emma (10), and my funny (I will share some quotes later) nephew Evan (8). So six kids on a hot day in the stinky zoo for 2-3 hours. Recipe for success. Meet Emma and Evan.

Sweet beans came too! She is a ham. I love this kid so much. I do wish my son didn't want her pink crocs though. Can we donate those soon Allison? Look she's showing them off.

Harrison loves the monkey exhibit it is his favorite! Here he is telling Grandma all about it.

Oh yeah and Lincoln came just to look cute. He did a good job.

This woman loves the zoo! This is Grandma Cheryl she makes everything more fun. The picture isn't too great, but can't you tell how excited she is just to be at the zoo?! I love her!

OK! So I had to come home and write down Evan's quotes from the day right away!

On the way down there Emma and Evan were telling me about a show they watch with their dad called "When Animals Attack". Emma told me about an alligator who pulled a boy under the water and chewed his arm off. Evan shared about a whale that took a woman 40o feet under water and she lived. I am wondering how this is measured, I don't trust it. Maybe he made that up? Then Evan shared a story about a man who lost his eye to a jaguar.
Emma told him it was called a cougar.
Evan said, "Who cares? Anyways, the COUGAR "attackled" a man and scratched his eye out, but the man had a knife and stabbed the COUGAR in the throat."
Disturbing right? But did you catch what made me giggle? He made up his own word. It was not attacked or tackled but a combination. At the time, I think maybe I just heard him wrong so I do not feel the need to correct him. (And I kind of think the word is awesome so I am hoping he says it again.)

While we were at the zoo we walked up and down the dreaded bear hill, it is so steep and difficult to push a double stroller up. While we were in front of the ?black? bear exhibit Evan starts exclaiming "There's an egg! The bear's egg is in there!" I smiled and let it go for a bit, but he continued to talk about the bear egg. He will be starting school in just a couple weeks and I did not want him to tell people he and his Aunt Andrea saw a bear egg at the zoo. So I tried to explain it couldn't possibly be a bear egg, because bears are mammals and blah blah blah... He stares at me for a while and says "Oh, well... maybe a bird dropped it." I didn't have the heart to tell him it was a rock so I just smiled and nodded.

On the way home he asked me "Do you know if pandas can climb?" I told him I was not a Panda expert and I couldn't give him too much information on this. He decided to take advantage of my lack of knowledge to make up a story.
"I saw a movie and they said pandas climb 400 feet into trees, I'm pretty sure."
Short pause
"And they climb even higher in bamboo, they said pandas climb 500 ft in bamboo"
I'm also not a bamboo expert, so I did not correct him, but I'm pretty sure Bamboo doesn't grow to be 500 ft.
Later he told me that men can be attackled (Yes, he really is saying my new fav word "attackled") by deer.
I asked what makes a deer attack?
"Sometimes when guys wear too much deer pee.... deer will attackle them. But I don't blame the deer... I blame the man... He wore too much deer pee."
Evan thank you for the information! I will remember to keep the deer pee to a minimum.

Last but not least, I saw a dead raccoon and made the "roadkill chill" face. He asked me what was wrong and I told him about the raccoon on the side of the road.
Another pause

"I like to see dead animals on the side of the road."

WHAT?!?!? What did he just say?

I couldn't let this one pass. I had to tell him how disturbing it sounded, he smiled and explained he doesn't like seeing cute animals dead, just nasty ones. Oh my what a funny/weird/exhausting day. I got an animal overload yesterday. Animals dead, attackling, stinking up the place, and so on. I'm glad I do not have pets, I couldn't take one more dose of animals this week.

Apprentice

2009-08-12T02:46:00.003-04:00

No not the TV show! ME!

My friend Kelly has recently taken me under her wing and let me tag along as an "assistant" to one of her photo shoots. It was so nice to just hang out and take some pictures of some cute people! The best part was, there was no stress on me having to capture a good shot. I was just there to practice. Although I think I got a couple pics that I feel pretty pleased with.

I felt timid at first, like I would be a hindrance to Kelly's work performance, but she was super encouraging and let me kind of do my thing. What that thing might be, I'm not sure yet, but I will let you know when I figure it out.

I have tons more, some were good, some were very bad, but the best part is that I had a great time learning to do something I really enjoy. Kelly can I officially call you my mentor?

Bath time

2009-08-11T08:25:00.003-04:00

Getting my stinky face clean!

Love this kid!

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

2009-08-10T07:15:00.003-04:00

Does anyone remember this show? A group of teens would get together at night in the woods and tell scary stories. They called themselves "The Midnight Society"

Well, That's not really where I was going with this.

I used to be so ridiculously scared of the dark. I had a night light for a long time, until I was at least eight years old. (I won't go into the story about having my night light taken away.) After my night light WAS taken away, I did not magically become NOT afraid of the dark I was still RIDICULOUSLY scared. What was an eight year old to do?

I would sneak down the hallway with my pillow and blanket to the bathroom. I would flip on the light and push my pillow up against the doorway, so the light would not shine under the door. I would sleep in the bathroom under full lights on the hard floor. I did try to go Stephanie Tanner (Full House reference) style and sleep in the tub, but it was not as comfortable as you would think. (Warning: this is the whole episode. I couldn't find the tiny clip or image.)

Watch Full House 5x03 - Take My Sister, Please in Drama | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

I would wake up in the morning and sneak back into my bed before anyone got up. No one ever knew... or maybe they did. I like to think that no one knew. Anyways, that didn't last forever, I got over it eventually and now I yell at Chris for leaving lights on in the house at night. I can't stand lights on at night, but I still kind of miss my bedside night light. It was a fishbowl, with a turtle in a derby hat inside. How cool is that?

Have I mentioned...

2009-08-07T21:34:00.007-04:00

That I have a super cute new nephew?

He's a bit tinier than Lincoln.... ok a lot tinier

Who doesn't like baby feet? (Well other than that Burger King manager who kicked a baby out of Burger King for not wearing shoes)

I may be a bit biased, but I think he is one cute guy!

No! I would never let my 3 month old hold a one week old while his mom was in the bathroom! It was Grandma's idea! (The picture didn't come out to great but it made us laugh.)

I think my baby was that small once, but it's hard to remember when he looks like this. (Ryan said he thinks he knows where all the hot dogs went this afternoon. I hope my 3 month old is not sneaking hot dogs.)

After School Snacks

2009-08-07T09:37:00.004-04:00

Growing up we usually had snacks in the house. Normal kid snacks like: cookies, chips, juice, ice cream sandwiches or cones, crackers, frozen grapes etc. When I was younger I didn't have a particular snack that I liked, I might have liked all snacks, I'm not really sure.

I remember coming home from school and being too short to get into the cupboard. So I would climb up onto the counter and get my snacks out, go in to the family room and watch afternoon cartoons. (What ever happened to after school cartoons?) As I got older I started requesting certain snacks. My all time favorite after school snack was a sandwich bun from Grote Bakery and a Sunny D but the Sunny D had to be in an individual bottle. I didn't like Sunny D in a glass and the buns HAD to be from Grote Bakery. (Which closed in 2002 I think. So sad=(.) Every once in a while I would stray from my routine for a pickle, pickles are awesome. I traded in my afternoon cartoons for Billy Madison. I might have watched Billy Madison 4 times a week for close to a year.

Now I'm a bit older and I have two kids so my snacks consist of leftover banana, crusts of peanut butter sandwiches, animal crackers, goldfish crackers, whatever I make for Harrison that he refuses to eat etc. And I watch Blue's Clues and Wonderpets all day.

Hey speaking of snacks.... here is a picture of my niece having a snack when she was a little over 1 year old

What was your favorite after school snack?

Grandma's Guy

2009-08-06T07:45:00.003-04:00

Meet Grandma Sherry, Chris' mom, My MIL, Harrison's best bud.

These guys are always together. If you can't see, this is Grandma and Harrison just relaxing by the lake.

She loves this kid more than you'll ever know.

Hey! Who can blame her? He's pretty cute!

Even when we lived with them for a month, she couldn't get enough of him!

Thanks Sherry for loving on him all the time!

Harrison and Grandma B.F.F.

it could get you in trouble.

2009-08-05T04:52:00.004-04:00

Now this is where my forgetfulness could get me in deep doo!

When I used to work ay River City Correctional Center I would get up between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m. every morning. One morning I noticed I was running unreasonably low on gas. So I had to make an extra stop on the way to work, which was fine, I had a bit of time. I stopped at the BP at the top of our street and got some gas. Then I was on my merry way and arrived at work just 3 minutes early.

I clocked in. I got keys and my walkie-talkie. (That term is frowned upon in the Corrections business, but That is what it is people!) I walked back to my supervisor's office and start shooting the breeze.

Uneventful, right?

Then I do a play by play of the morning.

Alarm
Shower
Clothes
Teeth
Car
Gas.......

Holy Guacamole! I forgot to pay for my gas! I am a thief! I freak out and everyone at work is trying to figure out why I am panicking. I explain everything to my Supervisor on duty and she allows me to go back to pay. I speed on my way there about 7 minutes of torture! (I cannot believe I STOLE gas!!!

I pulled up and there was a police cruiser there! Oh my God, I am going to be arrested! I am public enemy #1! I ran in and the guy was smiling at me! Why was he smiling? I immediately tried to explain that I would never steal gas on purpose. He was still smiling. I explain to the police officer (who wasn't smiling) I PROMISE! I DON'T STEAL! Now they are both smiling at me! The clerk explains to the officer that I was a "drive-off". I take a second look at the cop... donuts and coffee are in front of him and he's a paying customer! What are the freakin' chances of that? I told them I had returned to pay and it was an honest mistake and they smiled at me again and let me pay. As I was leaving I said to the P.O., "I thought you were here on a police report and you were going to put me in hand cuffs when I walked in!" They laughed at me!!!

Since when do policemen laugh at a crook like me? I guess, since a crook like me comes back in near tears for stealing less than $20.00 worth of gas. I suppose I was not meant to live a life of crime.

What doesn't belong?

2009-08-03T17:20:00.004-04:00

Ok so those of you who don't know me might have guessed the dog, or my hair do. But the answer is the guy standing up in the back row next to my sister Allison.

One year we missed our church family portraits and they were putting together the directory and we wanted to get our picture in. So a man from our church stopped by to take our family portrait. This is that man's son. If I remember correctly, at on point the man told his son to hop in the picture with us. So now we have this picture at our house. Now, this is not the one that made it into the directory but there is something that kind of makes me laugh when I think about this pic.

That boy kind of liked Allison and asked her on a date or two, I believe. The part that makes me smile is, I imagine them giggling to themselves on the way home. Saying things like, "When you marry Allison, this picture will play on your slideshow." Or "Well it's official you're in with the family." But then I realize only my family would have these conversations on the way home and it was probably nothing more than a dad wanting his son to be in a picture.

Or was it?

Either way, this picture has gotten little use. I guess because there was never a photo montage of Allison and this boy at their Wedding. I wonder if he kept a copy? If so, maybe it has a special place in an album somewhere at his mom's house. What do you do with these photos? Do you have any you have been keeping for 10 years plus? I want to see someone's out of place pictures!

I can see clearly now...

2009-08-02T05:42:00.005-04:00

This is me with glasses, but I just got Lasik surgery.

This is me with no glasses, well not really. This is me with sunglasses I have to wait at least 30 days to go outside without sunglasses.

This is how awesome I look when I go to bed. I have to wear goggles to protect my new eyes!

I know what your thinking and , yes, this will surely improve my love life.

I remember when I was in school and thought everyone saw just what I saw. I really believed that no one could see the chalkboard from the back row in class. I remember thinking they should work out the seating so everyone can see the board. But that was not the case, I was probably the only one squinting and straining to take notes. My dad is actually the one who figured out I couldn't see while he was driving one day. He asked me to keep an eye out for a street sign and of course I didn't see it until it was too late. We turned around and he was frustrated with me, but then it dawned on him that it was my eyesight and not my ADD. (I've never been diagnosed with ADD but I wish I would have been. I could have gotten away with so much more.) So anyway, in the 9th grade I got new glasses and I loved them.

But more recently I have some additions to my family, Harrison and Lincoln. Harrison really loves playing with my glasses. I know he looks sweet but don't trust him. He's taken courses in breaking glasses and I am pretty sure he passed with flying colors.

So, I either needed new glasses or needed to wear contacts. (I hate contacts.) So, my dear sweet Daddy and Mommy got me Lasik surgery. and I have only been "glasses free" for a day or so, but I love it.

Take Care

2009-07-29T17:45:00.004-04:00

This dear man is my Father in Law. He is funny! The pic is from his days serving as president of AmVets. One of my favorite things about him is he thinks he is the first person to come up with the saying "Take care." I'm not joking he really does believe it. That is like me saying I coined the phrase "What's up?" We thought he was kidding but then he explained how it derived from "Take care of yourself" and he decided to shorten it. He thinks it caught on like wildfire because everyone says it now. What do you think? What are the origins of "Take care!"? Was it Bill Boettcher? Maybe..... I can't get to the bottom of it, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't him.

Handcuffs, Strip Searches, and Lockdowns

2009-07-28T19:07:00.004-04:00

Some of you may or may not know this about me, but in my past life I was a Corrections Officer. (Well, not really my past life but what feels like lifetimes ago.) If you know me you are probably trying to picture me with a taser or something. Don't worry, I didn't carry a taser! I just bopped people on the head with my maglite and I pretty much looked identical to this lady right here.

Haha, I know that's incredibly inappropriate and inaccurate, but I couldn't find any pictures so you got stuck with that. My job was actually interesting and I felt like I was helping people who really needed it. It was also safe, we got the petty felons with drug and alcohol related convictions. The point was to rehabilitate through behavioral therapy. It was called a therapeutic community although I am sure it did not always feel therapeutic to our residents. (Yes, in our facility they were not prisoners or inmates, very P.C.) And the closest I ever got to being hurt was when a resident got mad and threw a chair in my direction, I did not get hit and he was sent to real prison.

The worst part of the job was strip searches, I recall, at one point, one girl was so embarrassed and kept apologizing. It was so weird and awkward. (Like performing a strip search was not awkward enough already.) I do not miss that. Also, there was a co-worker who made me cry on more than one occasion. She didn't like me at all and I had never been anything but nice to her. Oh yeah and working on holidays sucked, too. So maybe it's not as great as I remember.

One thing that I learned from working in a "jail" was speaking my mind and standing up for myself and what I believe in. (This was a huge milestone for me, because I was also a doormat in a past life.) Maybe it was the lady who made me cry or maybe it was having to be responsible for more than 45 felons at a time... ALONE. I'm not sure but I am glad I had the opportunity and I kind of miss it every once in a while.

Holy Guacamole!!!

2009-07-27T13:42:00.005-04:00

As some of you may know, (This is a confession some of you may not want to know.... but).... I don't like animals. I know! I'm a bad person! I am sorry and I truly wish I did, but I am not an animal person! I like the idea of them from afar and in pictures, but up close is a whole other story.

I especially don't like tricky animals! Like one of these.

Ewwww RACCOONS!

My dear friends Joanna and Allison were here this morning and the kids were playing outside. I decided I was going to take out our garbage from the kitchen. I bagged it up, took it outside and walked around the side of the house. I lifted the garbage can lid, began tossing the bag in and I glanced down and there it was, STARING AT ME!! A raccoon! I screamed and maybe cussed, (I do that when I am caught off guard) and ran as far away from the trash can as possible. Allison and Joanna were just staring at me. I told them what I saw and they laughed but were as weirded out as I was. It was still in there and I had not managed to get the bag all the way in! So, there is the can, halfway open with a trash bag and garbage pouring out of the bag. and the raccoon is moving the bag just enough so a piece of trash falls out every few moments.

I looked at Allison, who is 38 weeks pregnant, and Joanna, who is holding her 3 week old son, and I asked them to take care of it! Haha! Now Allison being the kick-butt kind of person she is put on her brave face and told us to get all of the kids onto the porch. As I watched my round-bellied sister walk off to battle the beast I had a sweeping guilt wash over me. So we put Joanna and the kids inside and I grabbed a mop. Allison chose her weapon, a broom, and we decided to knock the can over. 1.... 2..... 3.... and push. The can falls and garbage spills, but no dag on raccoon! Allison was trapped behind the can and we don't really think she should walk in front of it so she sneaks behind the house while I decide to take on the 'coon. I hit the can a few times with my mop's soft end and that wasn't scaring it out. So I went and grabbed the biggest stick I could find and I went out to the can one last time. I raised it over my head and slammed it down onto the side of the toppled can. The raccoon jumped and ran even further away than I did after our first run-in. I still feel really nervous about the situation and can't get the image of that raccoon staring at me out of my mind. I do feel a little bit sad for that poor raccoon because it looks like he was eating up the diapers and from what I hear diapers are not on the revised food pyramid. Poor guy didn't even get a decent meal.

Just like the Dog

2009-07-25T22:05:00.002-04:00

Allison's 19th birthday party may have been forgetful to some, but for my family there are two quotes from the night which are definitely memorable.

My family has a way of adopting others into our clan, no questions asked. And from my experience it has never been awkward for the Winkler's old or young, pierced or tattooed. Everyone is welcome and treated like family. When we lived on Reemelin Rd our neighbors Cliff and Leora were in their late 80's/ early 90's and were invited to Allison's party, along with Grandma Frieda, Allison's new boyfriend Ryan, and all the regulars.

Isn't she beautiful?

As some of you may know, my mother loves to eat dinner by candlelight which was lovely and I'm sure delicious. After dinner we turned up the dining room lights. Our dear friend Leora has very poor eyesight and as we turned up the lights her eyes lit up and she exclaimed, "Ohhh, I can see!" with a smile on her face and Grandma Frieda also in her late 80's said while covering her face, "My eyes! The light is too bright!" (Typical for dear Grandma Frieda, a bit of a whiner.) Well, we all laughed and I think we may have given into Grandma's whines. Poor Leora had to go blind in the dark just so we wouldn't have to listen to Grandma! To this day we still laugh about the old people party.

Now some of you may recognize this guy right here! Now known as Pastor Ryan.

Ryan was our new pierced friend and we loved him dearly already. After dinner we were relaxing in the family room and gabbing our jaws off. Mid-conversation we turned to Grandma Frieda and asked "Isn't Ryan cute?" and Grandma being the positive person she is said sweetly, "Yes..."

"And so is the dog."

Ohhhhh hahaha poor Ryan! You are cuter than the dog.... mostly.

Dance Your Pants Off

2009-07-24T08:47:00.006-04:00

I started to take dance class when I was four years old. It was short lived. I believe I was done by the time I was six. So there aren't very many pictures of me in crazy 80's and 90's dance costumes. (I won't pull out Allison's pictures.) But here is proof I did it.

This is my question. Why am I not a good dancer?

Oh yeah, I remember now! This man is my father.

What's that called?

2009-07-23T09:13:00.003-04:00

Do you ever have a complete brain fart and can't remember something that seems like it should be so clear?

The other day I was trying to be tough on Google Chat, so I said something like. "If Ryan doesn't stop saying I have an attitude I'm going to give him a noogie and also put his head in the toilet and flush it." It doesn't sound as tough when you can't remember the name for it.

Allison told me it's called a "swirly". That sounds about right

2 Weeks in Cali

2009-07-21T22:29:00.005-04:00

Warning! It's a long one. I need to filter some info probably. I will get the hang of this.

My parents rock. (Although I might not have always known this) It is so true. Growing up I know for sure we went on vacation every year, well, at least as far as I can remember we went on vacation every year. It didn't matter if Dad was still in school or we were poor and lived in North Fairmount, I'm pretty sure we still went.

When I was 15 I so did not appreciate the fact that my parents did this. I had just finished my freshmen year @ Colerain, Allison had just graduated, and Allayna would have been 6 almost 7. We were on our way to California for 2 weeks. Now to any normal kid this would have been awesome, but this was the summer of bummer for me. I had lots of new friends at home and had been hanging out with them since school had let out. Now, poor pathetic me had to go to California. Whaa whaa whaa!

The trip started out with us having to make 3 connecting flights and one was through a super big airport (which I can't remember right now.) We knew we'd have a tight squeeze at one point but we were being optimistic about it all. (Ok, I want to say it was O'hare, but I may have to correct it later.) So we land in "O'hare" and realize we have about 15 minutes to get on our connecting flight and if I recall correctly it was over a mile to get there. We had to take a shuttle to the concourse and after that we had to run. It looked like it was straight out of a sitcom. My mom took off her shoes and was sprinting and my dad booked way ahead of us. We were running on the moving sidewalks trying to catch our flight. I am sure you are trying to picture us dragging poor little 6 year old Allayna behind us to get there. Now this is sad, I can't remember if we made it after all that drama, but I'm gonna say we did. We deserved it after that long run!

Our first stop was in San Francisco and we stayed in the Adelaide Inn now known as the Adelaide Hostel. It was in a dark creepy alley and pretty difficult to find, and kind of.... old and stinky. Allison and I shared a room together and Allayna stayed with my parents. I called my friends every night and Allison wrote love letters to Ryan or something like that. We went to China town where Allayna got a bright red kimono and we skipped around holding hands, once again like a sitcom family. We saw lots of jade objects and after a while we said we should start a collection. Dad would say every time the jade was for his "correction" and we would all laugh (every time). We walked down to the pier where we saw sea otters breaking things over their bellies and got some really cool pics of me in orange pants and a pokemon shirt. I hope they do not surface.

This is getting long, but I must remember more than I thought. I will recap the rest in tidbits. Like flashes of memories.
*flash* Allayna would do this creepy surprised face where she would look at something in amazement rub her eyes and then look again in amazement, this made us laugh everytime.
*flash*We went to Big Sur where we talked about lighting farts, played the "HAHA" game and got whipped in the face by sand. It was beautiful. We laughed.
*flash* Dad wore his sunglasses without one of the lenses for a long time without noticing, we laughed.
*flash* Allison made fun of me when I was on the phone with my friends and I punched her, we didn't laugh.
*flash* We did our morning exercises in our underwear, we laughed.
*flash* When we got home, my luggage was missing, with all of my new clothes, I didn't laugh.

This was before teenagers had cell phones and text messaging. I'm glad. I wouldn't have such great memories, blurred or not, if I would have had one in my hand at all times.

Mom and Dad, I don't know if I ever thanked you for that trip, but I want to say it now. Thank you for always making me laugh even when I am a big, teenage, brat.

Never have I ever...

2009-07-21T14:46:00.000-04:00

Written a blog. I suppose it is time I gave in.

Firstly, I am not good at writing and am not particularly good with words.

Secondly, I have the worst memory ever. (Well, for a 24 year old) So I thought it would be interesting to try to remember funny stories (to the best of my ability) and share with you. If you know the story better than me we will have a re-post with more accurate details posted later correcting my beguiling story.

Let me apologize ahead of time for how awesome my blog will be. You will probably cry every time you read it because of the extremely profound things I share. You will laugh often because of my sharp wit. And you may fall asleep often because it will be soOOOooo interesting.