(43-274) Back In The Day...

Lately I've been spending a lot of time looking at old high school yearbooks.  Not mine, but those of Arizona high schools that could be potential reunion clients.  I've been to various school district offices and high schools; and I still have several more to visit.  I'm currently looking through yearbooks of the 1982, 1992, and 2002 classes; and it is everything from amusing to provocative.  The layouts range from impossible to impressive.  The comments vary from intelligent to insane and yet they all manage to capture the very best of that high school's experience.

Today I was in the library at a high school in Scottsdale, and all of a sudden I heard "In A Big Country" coming from somewhere, followed by another 80's tune that escapes me right now; and I thought it was really unusual to be hearing music, let alone songs from the 80's.  Nonetheless, being on campus, looking at the yearbooks and hearing 80's music, made me reflect on some of my favorite songs from when I was in high school.  So tonight I'm going to share five of my fave tunes from back in the day. 

I was a big Yaz fan, and  to this day I still enjoy "Upstairs at Eric's.  The song I liked best on this album was and is, "Midnight."   LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

Who didn't like Tears for Fears?  To this day "Shout" still gets a lot of play; but I preferred "Everybody wants to rule the world."

For some reason, I don't think that Go West's "We close our eyes" was actually very popular; but there was something about it that I always liked.

I heard "This little girl is mine" by Gary U.S. Bonds, one Saturday, on American Bandstand and flipped for it.  What can I say, my taste in music is nothing if not eclectic.

There's absolutely no way that I can pay tribute to my fave tunes from back in the day without including a Rick Springfield song.  I was GAGA for Rick before GAGA was born this way, and "I've Done Everything For You," was a song that gave me great listening pleasure.  I hope it has been for you too.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

(43-210) Pizza Timeline

Even though the kids and I have yet to rid ourselves entirely of the lingering cough that is caused by the Flu; I thought that we were all on the mend.   But at 530 this morning, Nicky came downstairs complaining of a pain in his neck.  His glands; to be more exact.  His gland underneath his right ear, was visibly swollen. I could feel a small lump when I touched it; so I gave him some Ibuprofen and told him to try and rest, until I could call the Doctor's office at 8am.

I was able to get an appointment for 10:30; and thankfully, the Dr. assessed that it appeared to be an infected gland; which was unaccompanied by other symptoms or illness.   The Dr. prescribed an antibiotic and some sour, sucking candy.  No need to read that again; I DID say SOUR, SUCKING CANDY; like Sour patch kids or lemon heads etc.  The Dr. explained that sometimes little nodules form in the gland and the sucking motion and the sourness of the candy, somehow helps to shrink it.  I looked it up (yes, I did;) and found a few references to sour, sucking candy and swollen glands, but nothing definitive; Queen of RESEARCH that I'm not.

It was just about lunchtime after Nicky and I purchased the yogurt that the Dr. recommended to counteract the anti-biotic; and the sour, sucking candy; and I suggested that we get "Real" Pizza.  Now surely I'll explain.  I put pizza into two different categories.  Category one includes:  Pizza Hut, Domino's, Hungry Howie's, Little Caesar's, Sam's, Costco etc.  Category two includes New York Style, Pizzeria Pizza; which in our area would be purchased at Number One Brother's, Ray's, NYPD etc.  The pizza in category one, tends to be a little less expensive; but it's also not nearly what I would refer to as authentic pizza.  The pizza in category two, is about as close to New York pizza as I'm going to get for quite some time; and since it's been 17 years since I've actually had Pizza in New York; it's as similar to what I can remember it to tasting like.  If you know what I mean.     

Luis didn't grow up eating pizza; and he's not the biggest fan; so we don't order it very often.  When we do, it's usually pizza from a category one place; and it's typically just the kids that eat it. But today, I was in the mood for "Real" pizza and Nicky was the perfect person to share it with; because out of the three of my kids; he is the one with a profound predilection for pizza. 

After making two trips to the Pharmacy; we were able to head home to enjoy our lunch.  Nicky and I took a bite of our respective slices and we were both in heaven.  It's amazing how great something can taste when you haven't had it in a while.  While eating my cheese slice, I travelled through my Pizza Timeline and recalled the pizza places that my family used to go to when I was a kid.  Richie Howell fancied himself a foodie (even though that wasn't even a term back in the day;) and he drove out of his way to get what he considered to be "Good" pizza.  While some that lived in the condo, were happy to get their "pie" from Mr.Pizza, just two minutes away; Richie Howell was content to drive 10 minutes away to Peppino's, for his.  I remembered the meatball pizza that I loved from The Nanuet Hotel, and the stuffed pizza from La Pizziola in Southampton; and how I stupidly ate it the night before my tonsillectomy, when I couldn't have water after midnight.  I recalled the early 90's and grabbing a slice of pizza in the Bronx after leaving a bar with my roommates; and then I was brought back to present day and the perfect piece of pizza that I was enjoying with my extraordinary, son.

It's absolutely amazing how a bite of a food; can cause you to time travel.  In the few minutes that it took me to eat my slice (OK, two slices) of pizza; I went from being a 43 year old, mom in Arizona to being a kid in New City, a teen in Piermont, a young adult in Southampton; a 20something year old in the Bronx and back to a 43 year old, pizza loving mama, in Arizona.  YUM!  What a delicious journey.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING   

(43-192) FANILOW

In yesterday's post, "A Spirit Lift;" I reminded you of #31 from "100 MORE Random Things About Me;" which was, "I make lists."  Which I suppose I probably didn't have to tell you since that was actually a part of a list; BUT, I'm sure that you understood that I meant that I make lists, beyond that of 100 Random Things or 100 MORE Random Things etc.  It's not called the Bumpy Ride, for nothing...

Anyway, one of the really great things about having made the previously mentioned lists; is that in times when I am at a loss for a blog topic, I can look back at the obscure little tidbits that I've shared; and choose one to elaborate on.  Today I'm going to go with #2 from "100 MORE Random Things About Me;"  I'm a Fanilow.  

A "Fanilow" for those of you who aren't familiar with the term, is a fan of Barry Manilow; and indeed I am.  There are quite a few reasons that I'm a Fanilow; starting with, my mom was a big, (yes) HUGE, Barry Manilow fan.  I remember how much she loved "Can't Smile Without You," and "Copacabana;" and although I enjoyed those songs; once I became more familiar with his repertoire; I became a big (yes) HUGE fan as well.  I love the fact that his songs can make you happy or sad.  I think that he really evokes emotion with his music and lyrics (so much so, that I even cried today when listening to "This One's For You;") and I don't know many other artists that I can say the same about.  I find his songs to be timeless; and I think that he is a sensational, showman (although I've only seen his performances and concerts on TV, to date.)  

I know some may scoff at Mr. Manilow; and I definitely run the risk of dating myself by professing my appreciation for him; but that's a risk I'm willing to take.  My music preferences are diverse for sure, and I think that everything has it's time and place in our lives.  With the kind of week that I've had, I feel like I could use a little Manilow; so I'm going to share some of my all time favorite Barry Manilow songs with you today.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

Daybreak

Jump Shout Boogie

It's A Miracle

Mandy

This One's for You

(43-96) Happy Halloween!

I think that fall just may be my favorite season.  The weather in Phoenix is perfect in Autumn. I've forever been a big fan of Halloween.  And as someone who is always willing to express gratitude and give thanks; having an entire day to celebrate being thankful has my name ALL OVER IT; not to mention the Thanksgiving meal!

Growing up in the condos, Halloween was a treasure trove for trick or treaters because there were so many homes there.  I remember my mom having to buy copious amounts of candy, so that she would be fully stocked for all the kids that would stop by; (even those who didn't actually live in the condos.)  Trick or Treating in the condos could have been an Olympic event because it was one that required great strength and endurance.  There were 3 sections and 2 different sides of the condos.  The first section, you would just walk right up to the door; but the second section had stairs that you would have to climb in order to get to the person's door; so yes, given the number of homes in the condo, you needed great endurance to climb up and back down each time you wanted a piece of candy.  My favorite home in the second section belonged to a compassionate and innovative individual who used card board alongside of his banister to make a candy shoot.  This kind man would sit at the top of his stairs and instead of having to walk up the stairs, all you'd have to do was put your open bag at the end of the banister, and he'd shoot a piece of candy down to you.  AAHHH, what relief!  If this was one of those crazy Budweiser commercials; I'd actually salute this guy. (Announcer's voice)   "Here's to you considerate, innovative candy giver!"  "Mr. considerate, innovative candy giverrrrr"  "Sits at the top of the stairs so kids don't have to exhaust themselves for candyyyy."  "Mr. considerate, innovative candy give - errrrr..."

I've covered the endurance portion of the Olympics; so let me explain the strength.  Imagine, if you will; how strong a young child would have to be in order to lug the stash from a 500 home development.  Thinking back, I remember the bags getting so heavy; but I suppose it was the promise of what was in them that helped us make it home, bag in tact. 

I have some fantastic memories of growing up in the condos; and many of them were from Halloweens gone by; so I always strive to make Halloween memorable for my kids as well.  Since our development isn't a Hot bed of
Halloween activity; we went out to Surprise, so that the kids could trick or treat with Jenny and David's family.  We've trick or treated with them a number of times before and the kids always have a terrific time; so we decided to take them up on the offer to come out for Halloween.

Kelsie was the first of my kids to get her costume.  She decided to be a fairy; and I must say that I'm very proud of her because at school the Kindergartners and first graders were told that they could dress up, but only if they were a character form a book and they did a book report on it.  Kelsie has been reading these chapter books about fairies, and had one from the library that worked perfectly with her costume.  I volunteered in Kelsie's classroom twice on Friday and I was truly impressed with how many children had done the book report and matched their costumes.

After much deliberation; Nicky decided to be Luigi (from Super Mario Bros.) which by the way, they pronounce Mario bros (exactly how it's written; and not Mario Brothers;) and this cracks me up.  Lyndzi had originally wanted to be a pirate, but once Nicky decided to be Luigi; she chose to go as Mario.  Despite the uncomfortable, over sized mustaches, (which they didn't keep on long;) they loved they're costumes and they got quite a nice reception. People seemed especially tickled to see Lyndzi dressed as Mario; and I think they both looked like SUPER, Mario Bros.

It was an Amazing, Autumn, Arizona, night.  It wasn't too warm and it certainly wasn't too cold.  The kids got an ample amount of candy, BUT they will be giving most of it to my dentist; who will give them gift certificates for a free meal at Red Robin in exchange; and send the candy off to our troops.

I love the excitement of Halloween and the time that we spend together as a family.  I want to remember each and every minute and savor the sweetness. 

Till next time...

Queen of EVERYTHING

(43-6) Holy Scrap!

Today I finished working at 1230; and I got back to the matter of re-organizing my scrapbook stash.  After 4 days of examining all of my goodies; I think that I can honestly say that I have way TOO MUCH stuff for a scrapbooker of my caliber.  Now when I say "of my caliber" it's not that I'm putting myself down; I merely mean for someone who scrapbooks as infrequently as I do.  While I was sorting through all of my supplies, I found that I had at least 4 different means of storage for brads (paper fasteners of all colors, shapes and sizes - for you non-scrapbookers;) and I don't think I've even used a brad since 2007.   I divided my alphabet stickers, my chipboard and my rub-ons; all into different organizers and yet, all will have to be further separated and categorized at a later date.   I realized that while I'm spending my time putting everything in it's neat and tidy place, the last thing I'm going to want to do is pack up my arsenal and take it to a crop (a get together, party or gathering where scrapbookers work on their layouts - for all you non-scrapbookers.)  I further acknowledge that not only does scrapbooking take up the time while your cropping; but it also requires time prior to the crop to figure out what you're going to work on, pull out paper and coordinating embellishments and pack it all up.  Since time is something that I don't have a lot of; I think this may be one of the MAJOR reasons that my scrapbooking has come to a halt.

While going through ALL of my gadgets, great deals and must haves; I came to a few realizations:
1.  If  I wouldn't buy something at full price; I don't NECESSARILY need to buy it when it's on sale.  I think I would be much better served to pass by the sale and ONLY purchase something  (even if, DARE I SAY, I have to pay full price,) at a time when I know for sure that I'm going to use it right away.  This is a HUGE statement for me considering that I am the Queen of The DISCOUNT; but nonetheless, I think these are words that I need to heed.
2.  I must commit to either USE it or LOSE it.  If I don't start scrapbooking on a more regular basis, I really will need to try and sell off what I have because it won't be doing me any good.
3.  While I was putting away some of the layouts that had yet to make it into my kids albums, I perused all of the pages that I'd done thus far  and I found that I was very proud of many of them.  I don't toot my own horn often when it comes to scrapbooking; but I think I've done a great job to date and I am assured that my kids love what I am passing down to them.
4. When I compared the pages that I'd completed to the photos that I still have hanging around in boxes and bags; it became apparent that I need to GET BUSY because what I can pass on in a scrapbook is so much more than the pictures themselves.
5. I need to take some advice recently offered to me by the very wise Julie Tucker; which was NOT to spend too much time stressing over designing a layout or  worrying about the placement of EVERY little embellishment; because my kids are NEVER going to turn back to me and say "This is great mom but you should have put this flower in the other corner."  By listening to Julie, I believe I will be able to be a lot more productive.

And so, by tomorrow night my guestroom / office / craft room will be renovated and I will actually have enough room in there to scrapbook with 1 or 2 friends at a time;,without feeling claustrophobic; so consider yourself invited.  Let me know when you want to come by and preserve some memories with me.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING