I've Been In A Slump...

Hi readers!  You've probably wondered where the heck I've been.  Or maybe you haven't noticed my disappearance at all.  Either way, I've been in a slump. 

If you read my last post, you'll know that a dear friend of the family passed away.  I posted about it back in September and now I've been unable to post again.  Everytime I pull up my blog to post something, I see that post and I stop in my tracks.  It's almost as if I feel like I would be doing a great dishonor to post anything after that post, but I also know I can't let my blog go like this.

Today, I'm trying to break out of this feeling.  Today, I think I can actually publish this.

So, what am I really saying here?  Well, please bear with me as I find my voice again.

Tunes for Tuesday - Memories & Memorials

As I write this Tunes for Tuesday post, I'm trying to come to terms with the recent passing of one of my Dad's best friends, who also happens to be my ex's father.  It's been many years since "JMB" (my ex) and I have been together, but I still care about his family deeply.  We dated for several years, have known eachother for over 20 years and our family's spent a lot of time together!  It's been a blessing to still be able to have a connection after all this time.

Now, it has only been a little over a week since "Jr." passed and I'm having a hard time with his untimely death.  You see, "Jr" was still quite young; only in his early to mid 50s.  He still should have had many more years on this earth, with his wife, his four kids, & his six grandkids, but the universe had other plans for him.

It should be known that "Jr." was a good, honest man.  He stood by his family.  He stood by his friends.  He didn't judge.  He laughed, he joked, he made you feel welcome.  There wasn't a day that passed that you couldn't find "Jr." sitting at the dining room table cracking jokes at someone.  And some of the stuff that came out of his mouth would leave you doubled over in stitches!  I can think of a few of his favorite sayings:

"Who's the best looking guy you know and why am I?"
"Hey, ____, how far do you think you would have gotten if I hadn't called you back?"
"Hey, ____, just checkin' assholes, you're alright."
And my two favorites...
"Hey Amy, who's the prettiest girl you know, and why are you?"   (*sigh* - he was a kind man)
"Petey, show Burdick your balls"  (This is what Jr would tell Petey (their dog)...to which Petey would react by laying on his back to expose himself...  "Burdick" is my Dad)


Sadly, his passing wasn't completely unexpected; he's been in and out of the hospital recently, but you always think there is more time.  Unfortunately, time waits for no man. 

So, here I sit, thinking of my past; thinking of the times we had on Beaver Street; my family & theirs.  The countless hours of laughter.  The good times.  I'll never forget the times we had together.  Now, a distant memory, but always a part of me. 

With today's Tunes for Tuesday post, I'd like to dedicate a song to "Jr." 

Until we meet again...

House Guests of the Unwanted Kind

When I refer to the "unwanted kind", I'm not talking about mice, spiders, or other critters that one might associate as unwanted guests.  No, I'm talking about the type of person who asks to stay with you for a little while and then never makes any moves to find another residence.

This is the scenario currently playing out in my humble abode right now.

Two and a half months ago, "D's" younger brother - we'll call him DK - asked if he could stay with us for a little while.  He never said how long "a little while" was  however.  I was not exactly thrilled about this; not only would my privacy be invaded, but so would my children's. I knew this would be very uncomfortable for everyone, especially me.  Things as I knew them would no longer be the same and I wasn't feeling it.  Change and I, well, we aren't exactly best buds.  Matter of fact, I'm pretty certain that I like routine; safe and decided routine.  Such is no longer the case...

Fast forward two and a half months to today; right now.  Our "guest" has overstayed his welcome and I'm losing my mind. I no longer feel comfortable in my own house and I hate it.  I have a laundry list of grievances.

I think the worst part about the situation is that I've tried to express to "D" how badly this is bothering me, but I don't think he cares.  I've asked him to address many things with DK, but he never really has.  He's masking my disdain to avoid hurting DK's feeling and it's only making me more furious.

So, since asking "D" to address it isn't helping.  I just need to get it all off my chest, so I'm going to write it.  This may seem petty to some, and yes, I agree it is...slightly.  Yet, I don't mind.

So, let's get down to it... here's the nitty gritty of what's bothering me about DK's overstayed welcome:

1. He doesn't seem like he's making any effort to find another place.
2. He only works part time, so I don't think he can really afford his own place.
3. He has only had two job interviews in the 2 1/2 months he's been staying, so I don't think he's really trying to find another job, to afford his own apartment.
4. He hasn't offered us a dime the whole time he's been here.  Not one single dime.
5. He's uneducated, lacks real life experiences and causes drama.
6. He always uses someone else's towel after he showers. (I don't know about you, but I personally don't want to dry my face with a towel that someone else may have dried their privates with)
7. He spits in the sink and doesn't rinse it out.
8. He leaves cell phone and computer cords plugged in without the device attached.
9. He follows "D" around from room to room.
10. Did I mention that he is not making any effort to find another place?  Yeah, I'm sure I mentioned it.

I'm sure I've missed a few things that have recently annoyed me about this situation, but 10, or nine with a prominent repeat seems sufficient, so I'll spare you the rest.  

I wish I could see the silver lining in this situation, but I already feel so jaded, so I know there's no turning back now.  Once I feel slighted, I can hold a grudge forever.  

At this point, I can only hope DK will get off his ass and move along, because this situation does not work for me and I just want my life and my privacy back! 

Please tell me, have you ever had an unwanted house guest overstay their welcome?  And if so, how did you deal with it?  

I've been away...

A lot of things have been happening around here and I just haven't found the time to keep my blog updated.  So, I'm going to do my best to post a little bit this evening in hopes of getting back on track.

Before I post again, I should mention that I think I may spontaneously combust soon if something doesn't give.  I'm trying to sway with the winds, but they've been blowing quite hard and I'm reaching my breaking point.

On that note, I've missed you all!  Here's to catching up!

Thoughts for Thursday - The Changing Seasons...

I may have mentioned that Summer is my favorite season...or maybe I haven't.  Either way, it is!  Living in the northeast, it's the only time of the year that I really enjoy to the fullest.  Green grass, warm weather, sunshine, etc... I love it all!

However, with that said, I have to confess that Halloween is my favorite holiday... and well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't love Autumn!  Mostly, I love the colors of Autumn; burgundy, dark reds, purples, oranges, brownes, etc...   These colors just seem rich, warm, and inviting to me, even though I know it means cooler nights and shorter days are ahead.  *sigh*

Truthfully, I really think it's Halloween that gets me through... I love the thrill of decorating my house, dressing up, and going to Halloween parties (or hosting our own)!  I think about Halloween months before it even arrives.  I spend the better part of the year thinking about decorating ideas; ways to make my house and yard look spookier than last year. 

So, here we are, about two months away from my favorite holiday!  I can already feel the anticipation building as I plot out my Halloween plans!  Stores have started to stock Halloween/Autumn decorations and different online sites have started posting deals... It's so exciting!  So, of course when I headed over to Etsy.com today, I was momentarily speechless when I saw all the amazing Halloween things they had displayed on their homepage!  I mean, seriously, did they know I was going to visit their site today?  Do they know about my obsession?  They must, because they shoved it right in my face!  LOL...and I loved it! ;)

Here are a few Halloween scenes/decoration/ideas that I just simply adore:

Ok, in an effort to not overwhelm you, I won't continue... but seriously, just know that I love Halloween! 

So, although I'm a quite sad that Summer is coming to an end and quickly, as each morning seems cooler than the last, I'm happy to know that Halloween is right around the corner! 

So tell me, what is your favorite season/holiday? 

Random Ramblings and Such...

I haven't posted in a few days...maybe even a week or so.  So, I just wanted to take a moment to mention a few things... more appropriately, random ramblings and such...

On a daily basis, I read blogs; many blogs!  Most of the blogs that I read are from a group of parents that have been chosen as Featured Bloggers for WhattoExpect.com.  These bloggers are very prolific!  They blog about their journey to parenthood, their pregnancy experiences, their children, their families, etc... and I read them.. each and every one of them.  It's my job and I enjoy it.  The content is quite helpful for other parents or parents-to-be also.  If you are ever looking for parenting blogs, head over to check out this fantastic group of bloggers!

Yesterday, I felt an earthquake.  It originated in Virginia...but was definitely felt here in the Berkshires!  My desk & chair shook.  It reminded me of the earthquake we felt in 2002 (my first experience)...so, I knew right away what was happening!  It was frightening and exciting all at the same time!

Today, I saw a few pictures on my friend's blog of a beach in Florida and now I have this overwhelming feeling of wanting to get out of here and head south!  I lived in Florida when I was younger. I haven't been back there in many years; almost 19 years to be exact.  I've always thought about wanting to go back at some point in my life, but right now, at this very moment, I have this real sense of urgency to get to the south shore!  I'm going to have to figure out some way to make this happen within the next 6 months of my life!

Tomorrow, I might bring the kiddos to the carnival that just popped up in town.  We'll see how things go, but I know as soon as I pick them up, they'll beg to go.  

Anyway, so there you have it... my random ramblings for this Wednesday night.  I'd like to promise that I 'll be back on track with this again soon, but that's never going to happen... my life is random...my thoughts are random... and well, I'm random.  So, truth be told, this blog will probably never be as consistent as it was planned in my head to be.  I hope you don't mind!  ;)

Until next time...

Yesterday I Helped Chaperone A Field Trip

I haven't chaperoned a field trip or anything in years.  Not since before my daughter started going to elementary school, she'll be heading into 4th, so when presented with the opportunity to chaperone a field trip with my daughter's summer program to Magic Wings, a butterfly conservatory (Can I get a "woohoo"?), I knew I just had to do it.  (Assuming I could get the day off, of course!  Which by the way, panned out in my favor.)

So, chaperone a field trip, I did.  And really, it wasn't all that bad.  There were a lot of kids, so it was a bit noisy, but I was only assigned three kids, one of them being my own lovely "L".  So, really, two kids.  Both of whom were really well behaved, so I felt privileged!  (Plus it helped that they were a few of the older kids in the group.)

The butterfly conservatory is a little over an hour away from where we are located, so after the ride, we went right in to see the butterflies.  According to the "guide" there is usually 3,000 butterflies at any given time and trust me when I say they were everywhere!  You could not turn around without have a butterfly flutter either right in your face or right past you.  It's truly incredible.  


So, instead of trying to explain the experience to you, I hope to be able to show you using a few pictures that I took.

Oh and there are coy fish too!  -- We also spotted a few different birds; quail, parrots, & other small birds.

Isn't it so lovely!  There were what felt like millions of butterflies, all over the place.  I simply adore this place.  A few of the kids weren't so eager to be any where near some of the bigger butterflies, but most of them enjoyed the butterfly conservatory just as much as I did!

Truth be told, I've been here before... several times actually, and I enjoy it every time!  Do you have a local (or semi-local) butterfly conservatory?   If so, I recommend visiting!  It's a lot of fun!

Until next time... keep fluttering...

Tunes for Tuesday - Do It Duet Style!

I love a good duet!  I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before.  To me, there's nothing better than two people bouncing off of eachother in harmony, while weaving melodies through the air!

Over time there have been many fabulous duet songs, and some not so fabulous, but we won't talk about those in this post.  ;)

In this post, I want to talk about a few of the duets that I simply love!  So, let's get to it, shall we?

These first few will be duets that I'm sure you'll recognize right away.  These songs have been around for a while and will continue to stand strong!  The others listed may just find their way to your favorites list, just as they did mine.

(You might have to hold the Control button when you click the links so they will open in a new window.  Sorry about that!)

Jackson - Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash
If I Were A Carpenter - Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash
Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys - Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson
Stop Dragging My Heart Around - Stevie Nicks & Tom Petty
Picture - Kid Rock & Sheryl Crow
Whiskey Lullaby - Allison Krauss & Brad Paisley
Please read the Letter - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Poison & Wine - The Civil Wars
Cheater Cheater - Joey & Rory
Cruisin - Huey Lewis & Gwyneth Paltrow

So, there you have it.  My Top 10 Duet List!

Do you have a favorite duet that you would like to share with me?  If so, please leave me a comment so that I may enjoy it too! ;)

Until next time... Do it duet!