Advice To Myself Today

The Perfect Dress (By San Martin Bridals)
Modeled By Brook Theiss (Just The Ten Of Us)
Modern Bride Magazine ( December/January 89/90)

"A happy marriage is a long conversation that always seems too short."

~Andre Maurois

 

With all the hoopla surrounding the Kardashian/West nuptials, I couldn't help but take a trip, no not to three different countries, no, just a short trip down memory lane. Back to a sunny, warm day in October 1989. October 8th 1989 to be exact! That's the day Alan slipped a gorgeous solitaire diamond ring on my hand, as we rode the carousel at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. 

I was amazingly in love, but had no idea he loved me enough to ask me to marry him.

Needless to say... I was... speechless!

But finally I managed the words... "Yes, of course I will marry you silly!"

 

Right after the ride ended, we went for a lovely lunch at the Wharf. The restaurant we ate at fell into the bay, a little over a week later, as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake! LOL. I always felt a tiny bit responsible. LOL. There is a whole story that goes with that earthquake, and it's ties to the wedding we were planning, but I will save that for later.

 

Anyway, the road to the wedding day was paved with STRESSSSS! And I can't stress that enough! But when the day got there, even the stress of THAT day couldn't take my focus off of the point of the day, beginning a life with Alan. Nothing... not one thing that happened along the way would have stopped me from marrying the best person I have ever known. The one who knew everything about me, and loved me anyway. Here we are, almost 24 years later, and I still can't believe how lucky I was... and AM!

Why in the world celebrities want all that added stress is beyond me.

Just marry the one you want to wake up to every day.

It's just the simple.

If I could go back and talk to myself the day Alan proposed, I would have to tell myself...

Go ahead and get the dress you have always dreamed of.
Order 25 of the invitations you loved so much.
Get yourself a cute two-tiered wedding cake.
Go with the same bouquet of pink and cream roses.

Invite a total of 10 people to the wedding, and enjoy the day in peace.

LOL.

In other words, at the end of the day, everything else is completely unnecessary. In fact, forget the 10 people altogether!

 

Go ahead and get the dress you have always dreamed of.
Order 25 of the invitations you loved so much.Except change them from invitations to announcements.
Order 2 Large gourmet cupcakes.
Go with the same bouquet of pink and cream roses.

Then head to Reno! Get the Bridal Suite in one of the upscale Hotel/Casinos. Get married in a cute little chapel, then go back to the hotel for a nice dinner in bed, ordered from the room service menu!

Next... make love for the next week or so! ;)

Now, that's what I call the perfect wedding day!

 Mood: Happy/Nostalgic

~Me :)

What To Say?

"In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it 'Christmas' and went to church; the Jews called it 'Hanukkah' and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say 'Merry Christmas!' or Happy Hanukkah!' or (to the atheists) 'Look out for the wall!"

~Dave Barry

Talk about taking the focus off of the true meaning of the holidays! How about stirring up a falsehood about the fictional war on Christmas? Every year since that particular bee flew into Bill O'Reilly's bonnet, we have the conservative right claiming to anyone who would listen, all 4 of them, that there is an all out war on Christmas! And now, because she can't seem to come up with an original idea or observation of her own, Sarah Palin has joined the pack of rabid elephants, sounding the warning cry, just like Paul Revere did before her, "by ringing them bells and firing those warning shots" and proclaiming, you'll never take our Red Ryder BB Gun! In fact, here is an excerpt from Sarah Palin's book, regarding guns, and her present to husband Todd on Christmas 2012...

*"Last year, however, I think I was able to pull off a good one for him. To combat the anti-gun chatter coming from Washington, I surprised him with a nice, needed, powerful gun. I then asked him for a metal gun holder for my four-wheeler. Not only was this small act of civil disobedience fun, it allowed me to finally live out one of my favorite lines from a county song: "he's got the rifle, I got the rack."

~Sarah Palin, from her book, Good Tidings and Great Joy 

Doesn't that just about say  Merry Christmas in the most joyous of ways? She didn't pick out a gift that said, I love you. She didn't choose a gift that reminded Todd of their lives together, or their many blessings. She didn't even consider a gift that reminded him of the simple joys we all have in our lives, most of which can be found just be looking around us. No, she bought Todd a gift that said, FUCK YOU CHILDREN OF SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY, I FIND MY JOYS IN PANDERING TO THE SPECIAL INTERESTS OF THE NRA! 

Jesus Is The Reason For The Season! Don't ya know?

I don't know about you, but after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, I didn't really feel in the Christmas spirit. I didn't feel in the holiday spirit... or New Year's spirit for that matter! I did do a lot of crying, and signing of petitions, to hopefully put an end to the gun craziness. I prayed that our president and vice president, would finally do something about the Assault Weapons ban. Both men promised to try, both men failed. And relatively speaking, I have heard very little, at least less than I would like, about it since the middle of the year. Poor President Obama... he can't get anything done! At least that's his traditional cop-out. There... I said it!

Look, I am feeling better this year, and this week Alan and I are going to put up the Christmas tree and the yard decorations, life goes on. But for GOD'S sake, and that of the baby Jesus, while we are on the subject, can someone please shut Sarah Palin up for another 27 days or so? Nothing violent of course, just maybe the media could stop covering ever stupid syllable that falls randomly from her uneducated sour mouth. Maybe someone could explain to her that writing a book, about the joys of the holidays, and then fixating on everything that's wrong with people who embrace peace, is nothing more than shameless self promotion and commercialism at it's most vile.

I don't actually believe that there is an accurate word for anyone who would put a FALSE IDOL like a gun, before the safety of a child, but if you can't think of one, feel free to share in this comment thread. All I ask is that it's a real word, and you back up why you believe it to be accurate. It's not enough to know how you feel, you must know why you feel it. Think it through... don't be a Sarah Palin! And whatever you do, embrace this time of year, in your own way, but please consider all the free and simple blessings available every day. 

There is NO war on Christmas. There is however people who will use the season to garner attention, and a buck, for themselves. And by the way, commercialism is exactly as commercial as you make it! You, and only you, have the power to control that! If you feel Sarah's book is the niftiest thing since the Bible, then by all means buy it, and give it to anyone and everyone. But, if buying presents annoys you, make gifts! Think for yourself!

 Now... HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

NOTE: As of today, Sarah Palin's book is #615 and has 2 1/2 Stars from Amazon reviews. 

Mood: Weary

~Me :)

He Makes Our House A Home

"I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become it's visible soul."

~Jean Cocteau

Oh boy, here we go again! I like to make the bed when I get up in the morning. I like it when everything looks comfortable, and in it's place! I don't always succeed in keeping things perfect, God knows that is true, but I try. My mother-in-law once told me that it is more difficult living in a small place than a big one because a small place is harder to clean! That bit of advice made no sense to me at the time, but I certainly get it now! Alan and I have always lived in relatively small places since we got married. We had a house for a couple years, but that didn't work out. Oddly enough it was in the bigger place we began to drift apart a bit. But after the house we moved into this cottage in the hills, and with the exception of a nasty neighbor or two, things have been lovely.

This cottage is our home. It's where we were when 9/11 happened, and nothing felt better than feeling safe in our home on that awful day! We still have the ethereal musician dropping by with notes on his saxophone drifting along the cool breeze that comes from the bay. We have owned the best cats ever in this place, first Elvis, then our current two children, Hendrix and Dylan. We have made some four legged friends here. Opossums that clean up the back yard when the last of the fruits have fallen in the autumn. Cats that belong to other tenants that drop by to say hello, like any good neighbor would. And sometimes you might even see a tree frog or two hop by. It's nice here. And lately, it's been quite calm as well!

So, when Hendrix climbed under the purple IKEA duvet cover, and snuggled himself in, what could I do? I let me sleep as long as he wanted to. It wasn't that much to ask for! Hendrix never complains... about anything! He takes care of his baby... Dylan. He takes care of us, all of us! He even worries about the little animals that make they're way through the yard sometimes. And look at him! He looks so comfortable, so safe, so content! Oh, who cares if the bed didn't get made today? Right? Hendrix is way more important making the bed! He's my little boy! He tells me he loves me, every single day, with kisses and snuggles, and hugs! I am so lucky! He, and is brother, make this house a home!

I love him so much, and I am so thankful he came to live with us after we lost Elvis!

Mood: Thankful

~Me :)

A Mid June Sunset

"Dusk is just an illusion because the sun is either above the horizon or below it. And that means that day and night are linked in a way that few things are. There cannot be one without the other, yet they cannon exist at the same time. How would it feel, I remember wondering, to be always together yet forever apart.?"

~Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

 

When I walked outside to check on the roses last night, I actually didn't even make it to the garden. This sunset just grabbed my attention, and my imagination, and all I could do is spend the last few moments of light watching the colorful clouds move past. It was breathtaking!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)