oops, Oops, OOPS!.....

On my- today is "Pink Saturday" and I'm running late!

sorry...

But I do have a good excuse.......reason.....uh......alibi..

You'll see my reason later to day in a......

"Ground-breaking-2nd-post-in-one-day-post"

(that needs to be read really really loud in your head like a TV announcer...)

So, here's some cute things-pink. I guess that's redundant - just about anything pink is cute, huh?!

Grand daughter Ella Ireland

Grand daughter Emily Amanda

Not too sure he's wants to be included in the "pink" category, Braxton..

Beautiful pink flower in my daughter's hand

Beautiful pink flowers with Ella when she was a wee one..

a couple of pink ads you may be able to use in your artwork..

And last, one of my favorite role-models....Maxeine...

Have a pink-week-end and I can't wait to meet even more of you!

-Colleen

Customer Service as it's best...

Yep..and sarcasm is just another service we (I) provide.

Take today...

Pleeease...

TaBoom..Rodney Dangerfied, watchout..

I had this person, whom shall remain nameless, writing emails as to the status of his DNA test.

I explained, nicely, that these things take time and one wouldn't want to "rush" the resuts...and we've gone back and forth a little...me explaining ..he not "getting"...

So, I get there this morning, all chipper and awake..

And I get this email...first thing...

"Hay Pal !!! (spelling??..oh yeah..I already know this is going to be a good one... )

When are you going to tell me they lost my sample? I deal with most of the Far East and Pacific Rim, so I have a lot of test results to deal with and application questions.

Several times my technician has lost information and I dealt with it. But you guys don’t have the CHUTZPAH (Yes, he typed in in RED) to tell me the sample is lost.

Crank up your CHUTZPAH or ask me to explain how to do it."

Honest - that is the real email he wrote...

Sooo, seeing how my supervisor was not in yet.....

I thought I'd respond to him myself....

Conversation: DNA Testing

Subject: Re: DNA Testing

Hello again -----,

Well, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Believe me, I am a “no-nonsense-tell-em-like-it-is” Bubbe (Yiddish for Grandmother) and IF they had lost your sample, I would have apologized and had the fulfillment house send out another......

......because I am also a mentsh:An honorable, decent person, an authentic person, a person who helps you when you need help. Can be a man, woman or child. ( or a Customer Service Administrator)

So (name shall remain hidden) just for fun I looked up the meaning of the word chutzpah:Nerve, extreme arrogance, brazen presumption. In English, chutzpah often connotes courage or confidence, but among Yiddish speakers, it is not a compliment

Anyway, don’t plotz:Or plats. Literally, to explode, as in aggravation. “Well, don’t plotz!” is similar to “Don’t have a stroke!” or “Don’t have a cow!”

And don’t kvetsh:In popular English, kvetch means “complain, whine or fret,” but in Yiddish, kvetsh literally means “to press or squeeze,” like a wrong-sized shoe.

So don't be a putz: (you do know what that is, right??)

In closing, I was just trying to be friendly.

You know, shmooze:Chat, make small talk, converse about nothing in particular.

OK, enough kibbitz:In Yiddish, it’s spelled kibets, and it’s related to the Hebrew “kibbutz” or “collective.” But it can also mean verbal joking, which after all is a collective activity.

Shalom!It means “deep peace”

Colleen.

Ah well, as they say...I was looking for a job when I found this one...

PS - He wrote back. Said he was just trying to , and I quote "twitch your nose & now I know how to do it!"

hahahahahahahaha - ain't life a hoot!

-me

Sing along...People let tell me 'bout my besssst friend.."

Remember that one? I think it was from The Courtship of Eddie's Father....with Bill Bixby

..pre Hulk days....

(note to the younger readers...yes..Bill Bixby played the "Hulk"...)

(Note to even younger readers...he was an actor who did a few things on TV in the 70's.. He worked on the following series: The Courtship of Eddie's Father, The Magician, The Incredible Hulk and The Love Boat. ("The Love Boat...,exciting and new.......Come aboard....We're expecting you. ..)

Wha..?? Why do I remember that and I can't remember what I had for breakfast??

Anyway, I got to thinking about friends today. I have so many more now that I have started blogging.

Photo from Betty at Joy in Our Lives

Friends I would never have know in far away places..and some close by!

So, I thought I'd have you think about your friends....

...Or old TV shows...or what you had for breakfast..

Or what you did with all the money your Mother gave you for singing lessons.....

Have a fun Wednesday and remember... in the words of Archie Bunker....

"I got a lotta best friends. Some o' them I don't hardly know.. "

-me

Good advice? Hmmm..I don't know....

So OK Mr. B gave me some advice the other day…

“If it works for you, stick with it.”

Which is really good advice if you’re talking about husbands…or laxatives…or pain relievers.

But not so much for hairstyles.

I’ve had the same hair for about 20 years. Well, not the same hair(s)..

The same “do” .....

In every photo, ..sometimes a little shorter (just after the haircut) and sometimes a little longer (just before the haircut) but always the same.

Oh, and OK a little "bull" heehee

Mr. B thinks “So, what’s the problem?”

This coming from a man who buys 7 of the exact same shirts, at times in the same color, because they work” for him…

When I was younger, when these feeling came over me, I just colored my hair. Red, redder, blond, dark red, lighter blond. Orange (a combo of the dark-er red and blond-er blond)

But, I like my gray hair. It’s easy and sort of pretty. And I earned each and every one of them.

It can sometimes get me a showing of “respect” from young(er) people. They don’t know I am a 30 year old in a 59 year old body…

It has gotten me the Senior breakfast at IHOP. Not quite into the Senior Center TaiChi class though…

So, here I am, in the in-between place of setting up the appointment with the hairdresser or wearing a hat for another 3 months while it grows past that “oh-my-you’ve-changed/done something/need-to-do –something-with-your-hair” look from everyone you meet. What to do…what to do…Or what not to do… what not to do….

Guess I’ll wait it out another few weeks to see how many folks I can scare before Halloween…

-me...not so much "me" as "Mimi"..which sounds lot like "me" ....but not so much....it's Mimi..

really.

It's "good-news" Monday !!!

OK, so all of you that have been praying for and hoping for and sending good wishes for...

The Kindergarten Cowboy...

Niece Lisa, Kathy Larry & Gerri (Lisa & Gerri were in a Drill Team with the horse shows..we're usually NOT that flashy!! Well, Kathy wasn't on the team...I'm just saying...)

Larry's love of horses started WAAAY early..in Chicago.. go figure..

His cancer "markers" are going DoWN!!!!!

Larry, Gerri, Kathy, Mother & Daddy about 1985-ish

He found s support group he thinks he'll like and met a woman who had the same diagnosis (stage 4- terminal lung cancer) and she's.....4 years out!

That calls for a big whoohoo!

...and mashed potatoes???

...apparently so...

He feels pretty good between chemo treatments, has not had nausea, no "taste-bud changes"..he still experiences the pain in his legs (his bones are re-generating bone-marrow) but he said that goes pretty much away after a couple of days.

My Daddy, Mother & Larry circa 1960-ish

He did say he walks into a room and "forgets" what he went in there for...I told him it's not the chemo..

....it's old age...

He rides his horses, has company, wears a ball cap or his cowboy hat, and is generally enjoying life.

Lary & Kathy's grand daughter, Kailee

See...real cowboys DO wear shorts...and tennies??

His wife is supporive..his children are close (some not in distance..but in heart) and his animals love him.

Larry with his first born, Lori (now has a married daughter herself!)

He's going deer hunting with his son (ahem..not something I really condone) so, while you all continue to pray for him, send one up for the deer - I would SOOO appreciate it!

...probably not as much as the deer...

Anyway, again, my sisters and I thank you all.

Gerri, Me, and Kathy

You have confirmed what we believe to be true...

We believe in prayer, karma, power of positive thinking and laughter.

..wake up Larry..the prayer is over...Larry..Larry..LARRY!! ARE YOU SLEEP-STANDING???

We believe in blogger-buds, long-distance friends, guardian angels and the boogie man.

Larry & Me

We believe in big brothers...

We believe I should say good-night.. hey!..


Good-night, Gracie...

-me

Thank you, thank you, thank you...

Me & Mr. B wanted to thank you all for such great well wishes!

We had a great day (or couple of days) that we celebrated - Saturday, had a wonderful lunch at Café Rio - a favorite of ours - then the kids came by, with a fun anniversary card (and a gift certificate for a new restaurant we've never tried....did I ever tell you we're "recreational eaters"??) and a cute movie (Get Smart) for a nice evening of "film & family"...

On Sunday, we went to breakfast (but not with the gift certificate to Baxter's - we're saving that for a "date night!") then home to do some relaxation and enjoyment of the lovely "Indian Summer" we're having.

Mr. B decided to grill some steaks - and realized we had enough to share with the little family next door. They are remodeling their entire home and have actually had to move-in with a relative while the work's been being done all summer- so Sundays are a good time to play "catch up" and hear about the progress...

We had some great steaks, bread and veggies. Jenny brought over some freshly baked dinner rolls and all were happily fed.

Got to talking about this "technology-driven" world and had some thoughtful questions...are we using our brain less ( don't have to remember phone numbers, to-do-lists, appointments, etc) because of technology - or using it to figure out HOW to use the darned thing?

Handwriting...I find myself hating to "write" anything out, yet I'll type tons...is my handwriting suffering? I know it's not nearly as "legible" as it once was..most times I can't write nearly as fast as my mind is racing...(but if you've tried to read my sometimes dyslexic typing - you'll question if my hands could ever keep up with my crazy-mind..)


Spelling? There's "spell check"...Math? A calculator....Music? In my ears..and my ears only with my earphones...

Letters - This one is hard, because I LOVE getting "real mail" however, I also love getting email..I am great at thinking about sending cards, but love the convenience of an email...

...."they" say no one has ever cherished an email - but I have...and I'd much prefer the actual "getting" an email from someone like my brother who doesn't "write" too much, but will shoot out an email....

Photos? I took all of these today..instantly..and now I can post them here - no matter f I take too many - just hit "delete" and only keep the good ones..amazing!


The one thing I can't seem to get my mind around is computerized books. I know they're convenient, but there's something about the "feeling" of a book in my hands..the weight of the paper, the texture of it...the tactile-ness of the page...sometimes even the "New-book" smell..

Great conversations starters as well as "thought-provoking"...and there's one thing technology cannot improve on....

...it's sitting down to a meal with good friends or loving family and sharing God's bounty..

Have a great Monday..and think of all the technology you use - is it adding to your lives..or taking away from the pleasure of "doing" ?? Maybe, because we are sooo smart..we can have the best of both!!

-me

26 years & 3 years dating...and still crazy in love..

Yeppers, today (Saturday..or yesterday if you're reading this on Sunday..) is our 26th wedding anniversary..

The man was going for sainthood...a divorced girl with 4 kids, a psycho ex-husband, no visible means of support, and big ol' Irish family 2000 miles away....

But we met, fell in "like" first, and, because we were both a little "commitment-shy" after not-so-good marriages, decided to date for a while, you know, to "see"...

He had no children. I had four. He was a partner in his family's restaurant, I was a waitress ..

He was handsome, I was pretty..

So, despite our own reservations...we fell truly, madly, deeply in love.

Still are.

It's embarrassing sometimes..I can't help it..he walks into the room and a big smile takes over my face...

He has silly names for me and always holds my hand in public.

You'd think we were a couple of teen-agers...silly, sweet, adoring love...

So, on our anniversary, I wanted to tell Mr. B that I {love} being Mrs. B..and here's to you, Honey..

On our anniversary, I want to thank you for being with me..

for better or worse,

for richer or poorer,

in sickness and in health,

through thinness and thickness,

In red hair, blonder hair, gray hair, big hair, and no hair at all..

in joy and in home improvement...

Happy Anniversary Mr. B ......I'll love you for ever and always,

-me