This One Is Very Family Newslettery-ish - Warning

We managed to get a family photo just before Writer Son and Sassy Bride moved to Texas. They are the cozy couple in the upper left, been married just over one year! I love both shots and feel like they truly portray who we are. 

Miss Tattoo Girl, Rocker Son's girlfriend now has black hair. I have a suspicion that if Tattoo Girl ever officially joins our family, it will be difficult to keep the photos up to date due to her constant hair changes! Ha! That is one of the things I love about her, very artistic! I sincerely hope that she will be making our family photos colorful for many years to come. (C'mon Rocker Son, don't do anything stupid ok?)

Hubs and I are missing our eldest and his wife but our hearts have been totally gratified to see and hear the good things that are happening for them since making the move. It was the right thing to do and they are happy and thriving with lots of people around them who love and appreciate who they are. What more could a mom want? (...well...to be in the same state when grandkids arrive!....but whatever!)

Oh I remember what I came to tell you! Writer Son has finally created his own blog! I am so excited that he is following the urge to write again as he used to years ago. His writing voice is exactly how he talks, very funny, self-depreciating and clever with words and cultural phrases. He plays with words in a way that people love and find engaging. You'll see when you go to his site cause I know you will, won't you? 

Warning...His passions are very nerdy; movies, comics, and God. Name any superhero and he knows its entire history, name a movie and he knows not only the director but which actors were considered before they chose the ones we see.  And, yes, name a book of the Bible or a question about God and he has good, deep and often funny thoughts and stories to tell.

Ok, enough of the bragging mom, go check his blog out....BUT do not give him this blog address in your comments ok?

This is my secret blog that they do not read!!

Otherwise how could I post family pics and talk about possible future daughter-in-laws, etc? 

Got it?

ok thanks! I am trusting you.

Writer Son's blog is called Last Action Arnold.  You will love it, especially my younger readers, well I love it and I'm not young, but I'm his mom so......the rambling has begun so this is a good place to say good-night I think.

Blessings,

Family

Writer Son and Sassy Bride were here last night. I think they surprised me with a visit because they knew that Hubs was working until midnight and I just might have sounded a bit lonely when I called them earlier in the day.

I had an interesting little "aha!" moment while they were here. I have plans for this Friday night, but when they mentioned they may come over on Friday to do their laundry I nodded happily and said it would be fine.

I suddenly understood my own mother's ease at putting aside her plans if the "kids" were coming over.

There is just something lovely about being around my sons and their ladies. There is nothing I would rather do and I know that Hubs feels the same way. For his birthday coming up, he just wants them all over here for a fun meal.

Years ago I would have chosen my work or my work friends over them. I would. But this year I have learned a great deal about the value of family. Family is there with you through the garbage and tough times.

My family knows me. They know that silly stuff and the painful stuff and they love me still. They ask the right questions. They see beyond the "I'm fine." answer.

Cherish your family members while you have them my friends.

Just Discovered Picnik.com

My sons and their lovely loves!

Isn't that a great collage? I have never done much with all the tons of pics I take. I found a fun place called Picnik.com and it is really easy and free up to a point anyway. I can't wait to explore it some more. This was just my first practice session with them to see if it works for me. Have fun you creative people! 

Do Your Dishes Talk?

Have said it before but I am saying it again! I LOVE my empty nest. But it does get kind of quiet and boring every once in a while. ...I know that those of you who are currently chasing little munchkins around your house and yard are wanting to cuss at me after that statement.....Sorry, but your quiet, boring moments will come, they will.

As I was saying, it does happen around here, but not so often that I wish they'd move back home! Nope, that is not happening (knock on wood). But I really do love it when they come spend the evening or day with us. I never knew how fun it would be to be around my sons and their Loves as adults.

For a small peek at one of the best things about their visits, hop on over to my latest post at GoodBlogs, called I Think My Dishes Are Talking To Each Other and help vote it to the Top Posts for me won't you?

Thanks friends!,

Do You Have Old Kids?

I am trying to find the words to explain the pleasure I get from having my grown kids in my home. Even though my sons are 24 and 28, this is a new sensation for me. Twenty-four year old Rocker Son has only started coming around now that he has a new girlfriend and has cleaned up his life a bit. Writer Son is newly married and I think my enjoyment about his presence is that we are not always nagging at him about job, money, car etc. That's his wife's job now! Ha! Actually, being married has transformed him into a grown man taking on real responsibilities and that is totally a kick to watch!

I remember my mom talking a lot about how much she loved having us all home for visits. We could never stay long enough to please her. "Don't go home yet, spend the night!" I did not understand it. But I do now.

Well, I'm not sure that I really understand it, like I said at the beginning, I am having trouble putting my finger on why it brings me so much pleasure to have them around. After all, I am basking in the wonderfullness of the empty nest!

The empty nest is glorious for hubs and me! I have waxed rapturous about it way back here and several other posts as well. So what is it about sitting on the couch and watching my sons and their ladies laughing and jostling in the kitchen that warms my heart so much? Hubs and I will catch each others eyes and share a smile as we hear the loud laughter erupt, even if they are laughing at us. Which they definitely do. 

It may have something to do with watching them become grown-ups right before our eyes. Where did those messy, bumbling, noisy (well they are still noisy) little boys go? We can still see them very clearly in these handsome men that fill our kitchen up with their huge feet and tall bodies. 

Or it could be the joy in seeing them look at the girls they love! Oh my goodness! That is a truly amazing sensation to watch that happen! To listen to the cute, flirty banter and even the married bickering is funny to us.

I am so thankful that both my sons live close right now. I do not take it for granted, it could change in a moment. I intend to enjoy every minute I can while they live close enough to drop by if they happen to be passing by on their way to something else, or they want to watch a show we all love. 

And someday.....they will take a while to get in the house because they are busy unloading baby seats and grabbing the diaper bag! Someday, but for now they are more than enough!

Had A Great M Day!!I

I love gifts so much! This sat around ALL day without a mention, drove me craaazy!

Any moments with Rocker Son are a treasure to me. He is creative and hilarious!

I adore these people! My men and their ladies.

Hubs calls Writer Son his "Giant leprechaun" since sporting this beard. He is over 6 feet.

Sweet Sassy Bride made us some wonderful chicken tacos with homemade guacamole! Delish!

At last Writer Son handed me the gift bag! Wonderful scarf and a charm necklace that
 I cannot wait to wear!

I also love Rocker Son's, Tattoo Girlfriend, she is so funny and strong!

Amazing dessert of yogurt, fruit, sweet granola and honey! So good!

Not sure why Hubs took a pic of these guys, but we laughed a lot at them
on our fav show, The Amazing Race Finale!

Sassy Bride even insisted on cleaning my kitchen after all that hard work!

Hubs "helping" Sassy Bride at the stove.

Yay for a great Mother's Day 2011.

I hope yours was a good one too! 

Tick-Tock

It's after 11:00pm on Sunday night and Writer Son and Sassy Bride have just left. We hadn't seen them for several days so I Facebooked them yesterday and said, "Don't you people have any dirty clothes? I think you do."..........This morning Sassy answered my question with the comment, "LOL, yes, we'll be there this afternoon.". They come to our house to do their laundry, use my Mac and watch "The Amazing Race" with us and I love it! (But I will admit that they are the only two people that have such free use of my precious Mac!)

Now my house is totally quiet as I sit here in my family room. Well, it is not actually silent as in 'no sound at all.' The wonderful 1921 Regulator clock you see pictured here is ticking away and sending out it's beautiful chime each hour. 

I am looking forward to finding out the stories behind this clock that has been in Hub's family for ninety years. His mom is still on her death bed 600 miles away from us but she insisted we bring home their beloved wall clock. We are so honored and thrilled to give it a new home and would love to pass it on to one of our sons some day.

It really does look good on our brick red wall doesn't it? The second picture makes it look like the clock is crooked but it isn't. Must have been the way I held the camera. If the clock was crooked it would not allow the pendulum to move correctly. We are learning a lot about these seven-day wind up clocks.

The other favorite keepsake that hubs brought home was a sweet little pair of chickens his mom collected and he played with when he was little. She had chickens figurines every where, along with chicken dish towels, photos, calendars.... We ladies do love our collections don't we? Well, men do a lot of collecting too don't they? Sassy just told me about an uncle whose house was full of hundreds of clocks! 

Today we are enjoying the gentle tick-tock and the chimes that sometimes surprise us in this small house. It makes us feel connected to my mother-in-law and aware of what she is going through right now. She does not want to watch TV or be read to. She wants to just be. I can't imagine what that must feel like, to know you are living your last days. Making your peace with others and with God would definitely be all that is important to you. Everything else is pretty much meaningless, isn't it?

Not A Kitchen Lady....

Today is going to be a great day, full of loved ones and food! My parents are here from out of state. My new daughter-in-law's parents are here from out of state also and they have never met my parents. So tonight both my sons and there lady-loves will be here along with my folks and Sassy Bride's folks! Big crowd for me.

We will get to see the wedding pics finally, maybe play some board games and eat a yummy dinner.

As some of you know, I HATE TO COOK, so why will the dinner be yummy and why am I so sure of that?

We are getting TAKE-OUT from Tahoe Joe's!! Yeehaw!

PS......And thank you thank you for voting for me at GoodBlogs, I truly appreciate it!

Give A Damn Or Two

I am going to cheat a bit this morning and post the same thing on both of my blogs. Enjoy!

Give A Damn Or Two

The people of this world are so rude,

So arrogant and selfish,

Greed philosophy infects their brains,

All they can think about is themselves.

They take and take and take,

Never giving a damn about anyone else.

But I have been raised better than that,

So I will give a damn to all who want one.

I have lots of damns to give,

My closet is full of them at home.

I try to always pile some extra damns in my trunk

‘cause I never know when I might need to give one.

Saw an old woman broken down,

Her car burnt out on the freeway.

I stopped and gave a damn to her and her seven year old grandchild,

Then I waved and drove away.

Saw a homeless man with a sign,

It said, “Please give a damn”,

I checked my pockets for any spare damns,

Turns out I had 4 damns and gave them all to him.

I’m nothing special or heroic.

I’ve just been blessed with a lot of damns.

I give them away at restaurants,

I leave a tip and then I damn it.

I just love to give a damn away

Ever since God gave a damn for me.

People have given a damn to me before,

But there’s nothing like a Goddamn.

So if you think no one gives a damn,

Come and find me.

I am damn lucky

And will gladly give a damn to you.

By Writer Son in whom I am well pleased!

(He wrote this about 6 yrs ago.)

Enough With the Action Movies!!

I will now publicly admit that this movie is my all-time favorite. THE PHILADELPHIA  STORY has been my most loved and enjoyed movie for many years but in my house this was not discussed very often. I adore Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and who doesn't love Jimmy Stewart? This crazy fun movie has ALL THREE!!

I love Katherine Hepburn's rapid fire sassy talk to the men who are chasing her or trying to get away from her. Another reason this flick grabs my attention over and over again are the amazing clothes! I love her dresses and pants and swim suits so much!

Here is why I am feeling all bold and careless to publicly announce this movie as a favorite....I am and have been the only girl in this house for 33 years. I am an expert on the Star Wars Series, the Star Trek Series and Superman and The Justice League. 

I know the lines, the jokes and even tiny details like directors and costume changes. My sons and husband have saturated our home and garage with posters, toys, videos and dvds of these guys. As a matter of fact, my married son, Writer Son has a three foot tall plastic Batman in our garage that creeps me out every time I flip the light on out there!

If I ever wanted to get the TV to myself, all I had to do was pop The Philadelphia Story into the player and the family room was instantly cleared out. They dislike the exact same things I love about the movie. They find Katherine's voice and attitude annoying. And they do not "get" the cultural,  high-society snobbish humor of the story at all.

But I LOVE IT ALL! And believe you me, I'm gonna watch it again any day now! that is just one of the lovely perks of an empty nest! Now if I can just get Hubs to go for a long motorcycle ride......

Isn't she wonderful

Help Me Get To 200?

FOLLOW FRIDAY 40 and Over

Want to give me a sweet BIRTHDAY present

this Sunday?

I just noticed that I have 189 Followers

and I really really want more numbers 

I don't really

care about silly numbers but,

I am wondering if I could get to

200 by my birthday?

As I told you the other day

I have invited my sons and their

lady-loves to come over

and make us a great meal.

I am so excited about this!

They are making plans (I hope!)

and it will be fun to have 

Writer Son and Sassy Bride,

Rocker Son and Gorgeous Girlfriend

here waiting on me and serving me an

amazing birthday dinner!

None of us have a lot of $$$ for gifts,

so you guys have to come through for me by

finding me some more Followers OK?

Of course you know

that i really really really want

that I do not really care

about numbers,

but it would be fun to have 200!

UPDATE! wow!
at 7:50 last night I had 189 Followers
and I asked for help getting my numbers up
 (which of course I do not really care about!)
by my birthday on Sunday.
Today at 3:30pm
I have 196 !!
You guys are awesome!!
Thank you!

Hellooooo?!

I got a little snippy with the family last night. Writer Son called to ask if he and Sassy Bride could come over to hang out with us that evening and use my laptop to write his resume'. Of course I immediately said yes because I love having them here even if it means that once they get their own washer/dryer and computer they will stop coming.  (Yes, a bit of bitterness is leaking out right there huh?)

Hubs and I were planning on some snacky type dinner because I don't cook much. But the kids showed up well before dinner time so Hubs ended up going out for some food. He and Writer Son had a good visit in the car and Sassy Bride and I chatted about work and how much she misses home.

After dinner she asked if she could use my Mac to watch her good friend back home who was live-streaming her wedding back in Texas. It was cool to see the wedding and especially to watch my sweet DIL get all emotional and giggly as she "chatted" with other long distance friends who were all watching the wedding online. 

But, and here is where I got bugged, then WS used my laptop to browse around while he should have been writing the resume, SB got on her iphone to text her Texas friends and Hubs had Pandora on the TV and his computer on his lap......

Do you see what is wrong with that picture? Our family room looked almost like the picture above. They were all lined up on our huge couch and I am sitting across from them after cleaning up the dinner stuff just staring at them. 

They did not notice that I was silently staring at them.

I said to Hubs, "Can you at least turn the TV on? I got nuthin' here!" (My grammar skills went bye-bye.)

They all looked up and stared falling all over themselves apologizing and I felt like an idiot. Writer Son offers to let me have my laptop back, but he is the one who really had something important to do, so I told him he needed to write his resume'. SB feels bad and says she's sorry. Hubs tosses me the remote. 

Writer Son then says that it's getting too late to write the resume and he can't think clearly, SB apologizes for hogging the laptop to watch her friend's wedding and Hubs is lost on his laptop. 

Fun family night. Maybe if Rocker Son and his tattoo artist girlfriend were there it would have lightened the mood. We need the humor and goofiness that they bring. Without them we had a homesick bride, a jobless new husband and an old husband whose job is just not a good fit anymore. And then there is me, the MIL who felt bad that she had no food in the house at a moments notice, and still bummed about the writing rejection letter she got that morning.

Fun night.