did i get old?

or is it just them?

check these out...and see if you don't suddenly feel real old. i know i do.

Shaun Cassidy - then & now (gah - i loved him in the Hardy Boys. even saw him in concert)

Donny Osmond - back when i used to tape the "Donny & Marie" show with a cassette tape recorder next to the speaker on our tv. and now, on Broadway.

Sean Connery - as Bond and well...still easy on the eyes.

so if they got old(er), does that mean i did, too? that i'm not the apple cheeked cutie-patootie i was (if i ever was)?

well, duh. but i so love living in denial.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog...

...to bring a rerun from Memorial Day 2006. In honor of my step-pop, my nephew in law, my friend's son currently serving in Iraq, and to all the men & women serving in the military - laying their lives on the line every day.

Remembering...
this is my step-pop, Ed. he turned 80 earlier this month. Ed fought in WW2, and was on the beach at Normandy on D-Day. He's never seen "Saving Private Ryan" - didn't see any need to, because the movie was only a remake of the original.
And he was there.

He doesn't like to talk about WW2. Occasionally a story will come out, but it seems to be one of those things that stays in. It kills me. Being a total history fiend, i want to know more about a time in our history from someone who lived it. From a scrapbooking perspective, well, same thing. It's a layout dying to be made.

Yesterday was my Mom's birthday. Knowing we were having dinner with them, my husband asked me to make a card for Ed, thanking him for his service to our country. He wrote a little something, and we gave it to him at dinner last night.He laughed at first (which of course made me feel real good!), but as he read what Brendan wrote, it sobered him up. Then, he thanked the husband.

As Tom Brokaw put it, they were the Greatest Generation. And they're vanishing as rapidly as the rain forest...and it's more of a loss.

Today is Memorial Day. In 1971, Congress passed the law that made it a three day weekend. In 1971, it likely ceased to truly be a Day of Remembrance and became the First Three Day Weekend of Summer. But i remember. Because i see a reason for it at least once a week.
So, for all those, past & present that served our country - the husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, sons & daughters that gave their lives. Take a moment before the BBQ fires up to remember.
And, to quote R. Lee Emery from the Hubb's favorite show Mail Call: Semper Fi. Carry On.

introducing new legislature.

i am about to introduce legislature that will change the landscape of America.

literally.

Shall campaign volunteers/employees be required to remove all advertising regarding their candidate, regardless of voter outcome, or be charged $50 for each sign remaining?

oh yeah.

iffn i had thought about it before, i would've taken a picture of the median by our house. it's at least a third of a mile of a sea of "elect Joe Blow" signs. and heaven forbid if there's a fence.
there was a gas station by our place, now going through the usual "lie fallow" rules for a few years...and of course, there's a chain link fence around it. usually, it's home to Little League sign up signs, PeeWee football notices as well as "Jim's YOUR Handyman - call 555-8729(cell)".

now, though, it's a sea of voting demands. and the election was almost a week ago.

so - that's what i want to do. how hard could it be? all they'd have to do is the day or so after the election, anyone who worked for the campaign would need to go & take down all the damn signs they put up.

then i can work on my next plan: getting rid of all the whining, yapping politicians that are currently clogging the evening newscasts.

just doing my part to Keep America Beautiful.

that's LOSER with all caps.

oh my freaking gosh.

did i not say that she needed to cut bait and run?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061109/ap_en_ce/spears_divorce

whoda thunk it?

guess what? she ain't as dumb as she appears.

go Britney.

the people spoke -

the elections are done...well, at least until next year.

Ali's husband, Chris, was elected to the Oregon House of Reps. What a road lies before that family.

now, will someone from each of the people that ran for office or campaigned for or against each proposition please take your signs down?

it's like living in a Burma-Shave Twilight Zone nightmare.

it's a strange, strange world.

yes, kids - it's a weird world we live in.

it's bad enough just watching the news: death, destruction, mayhem, and a puppy that saves the lives of everyone in the house.

but when the two biggest stories are Faith Hill making a joke about losing (thank heavens. i get tired of everyone playing the gracious loser) and Britney finally getting K-Fedup and dumping his ass.

biz-zar.

think i'll watch some real news. Geraldo or Springer have got to be on one of these channels.

and we're out!

So after spending a-l-l d-a-y in a courtroom, i'm free.

We sat while fellow perspective jurors were questioned and some released. Some tried to be released (like the one juror origially from Cuba, who said she's been in America longer "than Ricky & Lucy. " Then, when she was accepted as part of the jury, raised her hand to disqualify herself because she "didn't understand english all well." The judge just chuckled and said she didn't do too badly up to this point, so she was staying.)

i have decided that if i'm ever arrested for a crime, i'm going to plead guilty. i don't think i want a jury of my peers, because the peers i was with yesterday weren't quite that bright. Or, maybe they were brighter than i thought and just played dumb well.

In other news...
* today is election day. Go vote. i'm thrilled that after today, the phone calls & bazillions of mail telling us to vote their way will end.

*the Personal Assistant for my niece (aka her mother, my sister in law)placed a call to us last night on behalf of the niece. Poor Husband...usually, he's the one the niece wants to talk to and she totally has him wrapped around her cute little finger. Not tonight. There's a new kid in town, and brother it's me. Yep, little angel wanted to talk to Aunt Balery. She also wants me to come over Thursday. Not sure why it has to be Thursday, but hey...when a three yr.old. speaks, of course i obey.

It just won't be Thursday.

Back to the grind. Don't forget to vote.

Guilty, Guilty, Guilty!

So today - i'm off to jury duty.

Woo-hoo.

i'm not a big fan of it...it hearkens back to the days of me as a SingleGirl when jury duty meant spending a whole bloody week driving back & forth to downtown L.A.

That sucked.

But, since getting married & moving to our current locale, i gotta admit, i love the "one day/one trial" situation. (of course, just after i did get married, L.A. changed over to the one day/one trial, too.) i also love that i don't have to drive 30 miles/40 minutes(or longer depending on L.A. traffic) to jury duty, only about 15-20 minutes to the courthouse.

(You can also add this to my Things i Will Never Understand list: why in the world was i always sent to downtown L.A., when there was a perfectly good court in my then hometown - again, only 15-20 minutes away?!)

And, thanks to the wackos out there, who feel it's truly better to shoot/stab their attorney/soon to be ex/whatever. Thanks for being koo-koo enough to keep me from bringing embroidery scissors to court. No needlework for me. So i'm bringing a backpack with a couple of new magazines and a new book that i should finish today.

Oh, and if you're reading this, and have a court date today where they are choosing your jury...watch out for the redhead with an attitude.

(p.s. - before you start sending me nasty emails/comments - let me just say: of course i believe one is innocent until proven guilty. yes, i want impartial jurors if i were on trial. i've served on juries before, and the System works - albeit slowly. i just don't like going.)

trying to get an attitude

an attitude of gratitude, that is.

November, Louisa May Alcott wrote in "Little Women," is a most disagreeable month.

i don't think so.

i love November..actually Fall & Winter are my favorite seasons. the air is cool, crisp, not quite cold. Christmas is just around the corner. yum-o.

Thanksgiving is almost here as well..and i, as usual, will be ordering my dinner from Knott's, and just heat everything up come Turkey day.

i just don't feel the vibe.

see, this whole "grown-up" thing? i don't like it. i don't want to be a kid, (well, OK, sometimes i do)but a simpler, easier time would be nice. so instead of thinking of all the things i have to be grateful for, all i can think of are:

• the stress of marriage
• stress of work
• stress of my parents getting older
• feeling like i'm in a rut
• wishing the whole baby thing was different

most of the time, i'm good with my life. i have a good life, a great husband, wonderful friends both in real time and in cyberland (hi april! hi linda! hi cyn! hi melissa-who-doesn't-think-i-mean-her! hi jolene!). i am blessed beyond reason.

and yet...

well...Ms. Alcott thought November was a disagreeable month. OingoBoingo said "nothing lasts forever." and neither will this attitude.

thanks for riding this out with me.