Mental Meanderings for Your Friday Afternoon

Ah, Friday.  I have been waiting for you all week and finally, you have arrived, bringing with you some sunshine to chase away the rain and the still-chilly temperatures of fall that we have been missing.  What would I do without you and a glass of wine to end the week?

I checked our our Valley's new 99 Cents Only store this morning.  Holy crap, what a zoo!  I think the store opened earlier this week and you would think that these people have never seen one of these stores!  (In case they, or you, are wondering, there is one over on Lyons Avenue, just a hop, skip and a jump away.)  Maybe it is because the carts are new and therefore all wheels pull in the direction they are supposed to.  Maybe it's because it is the holidays and all of the low priced decorations and wrapping paper are out.  Maybe it is because this store seems to have an expanded grocery section.  I'm not sure what it is, but people are out in droves and they are all crazy!  It's been ages since I've been personally rear-ended with a shopping cart and it happened twice today.  Fun stuff.  I think I'll wait a few weeks and let the excitement die down before I head back there to bargain shop.

The election is finally over.  Whew!  We made it.  I had to laugh at a few posts on Facebook on Wednesday, comments with pictures of women about "stopping that" and nipping things in the bud.  It's interesting how the media is wondering why Obama pulled off that "last minute" surge, and I have to say that if women make up 51% of the population and Romney's ticket was identified with those anti-women statements, you don't have to look very far or do much math to figure it out.  That is just my take on it, who knows what the real reasons are.  I will say that I was a bit troubled by some of the post-election-results posts of some friends.  I saw one that said "Not my President!" and another one that made a joke (I think) about moving to Canada.  I don't understand how people can say things like that.  I recognize that the party of their choice did not win.  I recognize that they may not be happy with the current administration or the economy or things in general.  But it seems to me that he is still "their" President, because they are American citizens and he is the President of the US.  Am I missing something?  No, you may not have voted for him, which is your right, as a citizen, but he is your President.  Maybe I'm looking at things a little too simply.   I saw another post that I really liked and I wish that I would have thought to save it somehow.  A friend shared someone else's blog, and in the blog the writer spoke about living in Russia just a few years ago and not knowing if there was going to bread to eat that day and worrying about being shot or harmed just for seeking out basic human rights.  The writer felt blessed to be living in a country where we can choose which person we want to run our country, and where we can voice our displeasure when things aren't going our way.  We should all remember to feel so blessed, even when it seems to some that the "wrong" person won.

Fashion - I had a run-in with my jeans the other day.  They are nice and soft, a little stretchy and I washed them.  Which means that when I went to put them on, they didn't quite fit the way that they were supposed to.  I'll admit it, I'm a size 10.  I'm not quite the size 8 that I once was, but I'm working on it and have lots of clothes waiting for me in my closet when I get around to it.  But in the meantime, why are my current clothes taking it out on me?  Really!  Is it too much to ask that my jeans fit when I take them out of the dryer, without my having to go through the "breaking in" process all over again?  I remind myself (alot) that Marilyn Monroe was curvy and supposedly a size 12.  (And I'll ignore the fact that sizes have changed a bit since then and the 12 that she was probably isn't quite as big as a 12 is today.)  But seriously.    The same day that I fought with my jeans, I read an article on TMZ or some other trashy news site that the Victoria's Secret models are supposedly fairly small chested.  Some, the article claims are a mere 33A or 34B.  Um, right.  sure.  And if you believe that, I've got a bridge I'd like to sell you.  The article linked to photos of some of the models and gave their measurements (but not cup size, so I hesitate to believe the claim.)  The interesting note (aside from which celebrity they were dating, married to or recently split from) was that all of their waist measurements were 24 or 25, and many of them were 5'10 or 5'11". Yikes!  I haven't had a waist that small since I was in college!  Maybe I should have chucked it all and found a way to get a modeling gig with Vickies.  I guess that wouldn't be too bad - maybe I'd be dating Adam Levine right now.  (Yum!)  Ah well.. as fate would have it, my waistline expanded (having kids will do that to you) and despite my height and my seemingly "average" chest size, as far as Vickie's goes, my waist is much to big, so I will have to content myself with my current lot in life.

I wanted to mention something about kids at a young age being rude.  I'm sure that the thought stemmed from a conversation I had with B, but now I don't remember the details.  She is funny sometimes.  She listens to conversations all around her and picks and chooses parts that she wants to add to her own vocabulary.  Sometimes it is words, sometimes a tone or facial expression.  Unfortunately, she doesn't quite "get" sarcasm, and sometimes she just sounds mean or rude.  I'm sure all kids go through this (at least, I hope they do and that mine is not singularly nuts) and we just have to work with her on it.   I hope.

And finally.... a topic that I've discussed here before, but have a new take on.  I am calling this part "My Disneyland, covered in dust."   Some of my faithful readers may remember from posts long-ago, that someone who did not like me very much came into my home, spent some time, and then left to make disparaging remarks about my decor and my housekeeping, and she said it looked like "Disneyland covered in dust.".  At various times it has come back to haunt me, only from the standpoint that I felt like I never got the chance to defend myself and because of what was going on at the time.  A few weeks ago, I was cleaning up the house to get ready for K's birthday party and found myself dusting off a set of shelves.  As I wiped away the dust, I was struck by the memories that sat there on those shelves, reminding me of things and people that have come and gone.  On the top shelf, a photo of Rob and I on our wedding day, in a frame made by my best friend.  On the side of one shelve, several painted ornaments made by my aunt, and next to those, a paper piecing picture that same aunt made for me when I was just a year old.  The shelf below holds two tiki carvings from our honeymoon.  One I purchased for Rob and I, and the other I purchased for my great-aunt Kay.  When she passed several years ago, I got it back.  Another shelf holds a Pooh Bear dressed as a London Bobby and Mickey Mouse dressed as a Palace guard.  Both were from my first trip to London.  Another shelve holds a family of nesting dolls with Pooh and Friends on them, that Rob got for me on a trip to Europe which included a trip to Turkey.

As I dusted these shelves and these things, I realized (maybe a bit late?) that the shelves in my home hold mementos of memories and tie me to the people I love and the adventures we've had.  The reason they are dusty is because we are busy living and enjoying (and because I have kids.)  I also realized that I don't need to feel defensive about her comments, because I am pretty sure that any house or apartment she might have is empty of such memories and quite possibly, love.  What she saw and commented on was on the surface.  If she had taken any time at all to get to know me, she would have seen so much more.  Fortunately for me, she is long gone from my life and won't be coming back. But I've still got my memories and my Mickeys and Pooh Bears and Figment (from my first trip to Disney World) and crystal Snoopy to remind me of friends and family and adventures.  And yes, they are most likely still a bit dusty, just the way I like them.