A new shark vacuum that has a brush that self cleans so that hair won't build up on it. (which is how EVERY vacuum I get eventually dies)
Yep....I'm excited about it too. Which means something is seriously wrong with me.
Oh did I mention it has swivel action too????
Ok, I'll stop now.
It's funny, that I rarely get to decide what I want to do on this day since other people make plans for me instead.
Isn't this a day I want to celebrate my way?
It's also the day I dread seeing what gifts I'm going to receive that I don't want or need. I'd rather they save the money and just say a greeting or come by for a social visit instead.
Hanging out with friends and having a good time is more important than a random gift you'll never use.
Then again, I think everyone feels this way when they're older.
Another reason I'm happy not to be on Facebook, because this way I'm not bombarded by congratulations from folks who had a bot remind them it was my birthday.
I enjoyed the artwork and the gameplay of "pushing" tiles for actions was decent, but when the opportunity arose for a trade, I didn't hesitate.
Regrets: It was a mediocre game and I have plenty that are better. It won't be missed.
May they always remain so close in the years to come!
So much fun that Meridian even thanked mom for "the best day"
I love my little girls!
My Aunt was able to provide me a picture of myself at her wedding decades ago!
Look at that guy. It appears I was also in her first wedding as well as her second! So that makes another Wedding I was in!
Pretty sure they told me to pose that way. Funny how I look like a husky version of my daughter Piper. :)
We're not too worried as parents at the moment because he has so much energy and smiles more than Ella does in an average day.
I love my mighty man and I know he's going to pull through this, but any prayers out there will be more than welcome.
She's only 3. I know this'll get worse as she gets older.
I wish Memom would've been able to see it.
Now that they're both gone, I wish I'd asked them more about their lives growing up. Family, friends and interactions they had. I never did that much of it, it was always me doing the talking about my life.
My advice, if you still have grandparents get to know what their early lives were like. You'll be glad you did once they're gone.
Last year we fell apart in a dismal 2nd half performance. It was embarrassing. Sure we have a different team from last year but I still can't shake the feeling the dominating performance is only short term.
Nothing would make me happier to see my Mets in the World Series again. At the moment, I think they could take on anyone in MLB, but we'll just have to wait and see what happens in July to see which Mets come to play.
They're hard to find in my area however. Only one gas station around the corner where I live is the only place I can find them.
I'm not switching my energy drink brand but it IS a unique flavor Bang drinks just don't offer.
If you love Twix, you need to try this. I think you'll like it.
Though not as bad as last season, this season only had one person worth cheering for and that was Jonathan.
But when he left it was a no brainer Mike was the clear winner. He orchestrated SO many votes and was directing the entire game almost the whole time, it isn't shocking anymore to see the person who did the least to rock the boat wins again.
Maryanne did NOTHING the entire season but laugh and be clueless on most of the tribals.
So she had an immunity idol and never told anyone....so what?! She didn't DO anything with it!? Like the rest of the game she just sat there and let the game play around her.
The one jury member she voted out didn't even bear the support of the tribe. She did it on her own. She was USELESS.
But that's what Survivor is. It's not about who deserves it the most but who hurt the least amount of feelings across the way to get to the end.
Survivor is about a big a joke as it's winners these days.
When Megan and I would visit, we'd drive down the road and they'd both ooh and ah over the houses there. Passed it on the way back from her funeral this week and thought about her again.
We came back with a lot of her old furniture so she'll always be a constant reminder of the good times we had with her when she was alive.
Regrets: None. Again, I have plenty of little filler games like this so I was happy to give it away.
But as I've said before, my collection has plenty of filler games and needed a few less so I traded this one away.
Regrets: It was fun to play, but looking at all my filler games at the time, this one was at the bottom of the list which made my decision to get rid of it, easy.
Regrets: At first there was, but now I'm over it.
Hardly any.
My pooch is down a little but still there and I believe my body has shut down in to starvation mode and is stubbornly holding on to whatever fat reserves I have left. It won't budge.
It's been screaming for more carbs which I won't do and even made me a little sick last night because it doesn't want to use the stored fat. It's been 20 years since I've been this thin.
So really this last week wasn't worth it. From here on out hard exercise is the only thing that'll do it and I plan to get on the workout videos next week when my energy levels are restored.
Overall, the diet was a success but unlike other times where I'm hesitant to get off the diet, today, I'm ready.
Lesson learned about skipping the diet in January. Never again. (unless I can control my weight better over the holidays.
But for now....it's time for a bowl of plain Cheerios with milk.
See ya!
I knew quickly after I had to dump it. Don't know why it loss so much love in over a year but it did. So I traded it away and moved on.
Regrets: None whatsoever.
My ultimate favorite memory of my Memom was the one that happened at Christmas 15/16 years ago when they came to visit.
My sister wanted a "nice" looking tree this year instead of our usual tree which consisted of us putting every ornament and light on it.
So for the entire season Charity got her wish and a "cleaner" tree reigned over the holidays.
Until the night before Xmas that is....
My brother, Memom and I got up in the middle of the night, went up to the attic and got all the decorations for our tree down and back on just before Christmas day.
Charity saw it that morning and bawled. We were laughing....everyone but Memom that is. She felt terrible and hated that she was a part of it. Paw Paw just gave her the evil eye the whole time, now looking back on it, it's really the best memory I'll have with Memom. From co-conspirator to regretful accessory in under 5 seconds.
Later that day we got another pretzel only to see Memom order it was dip and tell Megan "I've always loved it this way"
We laughed all the way back home that week over it. Because it seemed like everything Megan showed her how to eat, she changed her eating habits that way to match Megan.
She did the same thing when she saw my wife pour milk in with her ice cream. The very next night Memom did the SAME EXACT THING!
I called her "Megan's Bestie" because she copied just about everything my wife did that week. Megan loved her for it too.
However he did agree to take us the next week.
When Memom and Paw Paw came in to visit, Memom took us to the movies. What did we watch?
You know.
Well the next day Dad was set to take us, not knowing we'd already gone yesterday. Before we walked out the door Memom asked Dad what we were going to see. When Dad told her she replied "Well boys, isn't that the movie I took you to yesterday?"
I remember dropping to my knees begging dad to take me to it again. HA!
He did but later on in life Mom told me that's because HE really wanted to see it again!
Guess my begging didn't really have any effect on the outcome like I originally thought it did!
She lost her reading glasses and had the entire family scouring the beach house for them. After 30 minutes I found where they were....on her head.
It was a moment that had everyone laughing, even her.
Good times!
I remember her showing them to Megan when we first went down to visit. It's one of the things I wish Megan could've witnessed. I know she would've loved it.
I haven't been to a square dance in years but I'll always have fond memories of it from my childhood.
Meridian Lee is named after my grandmother "Lee"
We thought she'd be thrilled to hear the news and she was....each time we told her that weekend.
She must have asked us like 20 times over that weekend what their names were and each time we told her it was like she was hearing it for the first time.
I made a joke that we should start changing the names around each time she asked but Megan thought that was mean.
I'm proud to have one of my girls named after her. She will always be special in my family.
I remember she called her up and then gave me the phone. It was super embarrassing for the both of us so after a few minutes I hung up and listened to my Paw Paw get on to her for doing such a thing in the first place.
Memom was so sad. She moped around all day.
To cheer her up I offered to ride with her to the bank. She got excited right away and I thought it was because I was speaking to her again.
Turns out it was another reason. Stella worked at the bank and she wanted me to meet her right then!
It was 2005, I had long hair and ragged jeans on when we met. She was dressed in proper banking attire making things all the more awkward for the both of us. Another embarrassing moment.
By the time the week was over she had given up on the 2 of us ever making it and I was relieved.
When I returned home I noticed something. The 2 streets I passed by every day when I turned onto the road to my apartment were "Stella St" and "Vernon St"
The girl's name was Stella Vernon.
When I told my Mom she exclaimed "It's a sign!"
To which I responded "Actually mom, it's 2 signs."
I was mad.
I remember calling Dad and complaining that she was being difficult and that's when he reminded me that she was 88.
I still thought of her as 60.
I remember thinking "No Way!" but then realized how much time had passed and that he was exactly right. So imagine an ungrateful grandson dragging his grandmother around town, pissed off at how slow she's moving around.
Ha! That was me.
After the new key was "found" she decided she had a 3rd copy somewhere that was lost. That's when Megan and I decided to go back home.
I believe it was the very last time we'd spend the night with her at her house before she eventually went into a retirement home. Though not the best memory, it brings a smile to my face today.
I got rid of it though because I already have Grand Austria Hotel and like the game mechanisms in that one better than this.
However, if you can't afford Grand Austria but want a hotel theme, this is a good choice for you to pick up.
Regrets: Not really. Like I said, when I want a hotel theme, I was usually choosing Grand Austria over this one. So I knew it had to go.
Years ago on a visit. Megan and I asked if we could go in the shop located in the garage and pick out a few she made. We have them still with us today and I plan on picking up a few more later this week when we visit.
This was a hobby I wished she'd had stayed with in her older age. It would've given her something creative to do and I think she would've gotten better at it as time went on.
So instead I left a note under the coffee table for her to find when we left. When I hugged her I secretly told her where it was. She didn't say a word.
That Christmas....I got it. Dad was stunned and asked my grandmother if I'd said anything to her.
She replied "Steve, I promise...he didn't talk to me at all about it!" Of course not.....I wrote it down instead.
Still a great game with a lot of memories attached to it. One of course being how I got it in the first place. I remember my first ever journal entry being about getting this game from her too.
Her gumbo was amazing. Mom can replicate it very well so we'll always have the recipe. But EVERY seafood place I've eaten at, the gumbo is TERRIBLE. One of my favorite places here in town serves it and because I love their menu so much I decided to try it....I spit it out after the first bite and ordered something else.
Her crab cakes took a while for me to appreciate. First off, they were made fresh and usually carried pieces of shell in them which I hated biting into. But the meat was so fresh that I eventually got over the shell bits and enjoyed it for what it was. This is one thing I'll never have again and that's a shame.
A game Memom would play with me as a kid would to have me look up at the sky at something then kiss my neck as I looked up. I'd turn around and do the same thing to here and we'd sit there and laugh.
I'm sure plenty of people had similar memories with their grandmothers too. This is something I do with my girls all the time. And each time I think of Memom and myself.
Another happy memory.
My Memom heard us and thought it was the radio. When she found it was turned off she asked my Paw Paw if it was the TV. Then she finally looked out the window and screamed "They're Here! They're Here!"
It was a heartwarming memory I'll always have with me.
I remember a few years back telling her about these but she couldn't ever remember making them. Guess it'd been too long since she had.
Mom's made them for me before and they're still great. Maybe I should ask for some for my birthday.
For 10 years since Megan and I were married the same jar sat in her kitchen counter. Every year she'd ask if we wanted one and every year we kindly passed.
I laughed with Megan and suggested we should just throw it away and tell her we ate it but then she'd just buy them all over again and have them sit on the counter far past the expiration date!
My Paw Paw's newspaper was selling one and I begged Mom and Dad every day to take me up there and get one for me. Little did I know my grandparents had already done so and were trying to save it for me as an Xmas present. But my Memom relented in the end and gave it to me before I left.
My Dad told me that would be my early Xmas present and not to expect something from them in December....but I got another gift anyway. : )
It's great being the favorite in the family.
I remember getting in trouble with Dad when we stayed too late for lunch at someone's house and I yelled at him to go faster because I was missing my Batman program.
After missing the first 10 minutes I watched the rest of the show standing due to my fanny hurting.
We SO would've called but it never aired in Forest so we missed out on it for the longest.
Watching both these shows for the first time was magic however. Just another in a long line of great memories from my past.
I can't explain it, but they were the perfect bowls for cereal and the only thing I ever wanted from her home. Sadly, someone beat me to the punch years ago and took them their own.
If not, I swear they'd be in my kitchen cabinets today!
My Memom let me go out and pick out a shirt and pants all on my own.
I picked a light grey striped white shirt with stone buttons (at least that's what they felt like) and a pair of stone washed jeans.
I loved them so much I hardly wore them so as not to wear out the knees. Unfortunately I grew out of them too fast and rarely got a chance to wear them at all. By the time a year had gone by they were too tight and way too short to wear.
I was bummed. Still, it was the first time I'd ever gotten to pick out my OWN clothes! The only time a 13 year old boy wouldn't complain about getting "just clothes" for his birthday.
She never got to see my newest set of twins, we planned on taking them down to her this summer. I know she's happy up there and has a lot of catching up to do before she thinks of anybody down here. I'll just have to wait and tell her myself when I see her.
As I get older and have kids of my own, I know how she feels. You never want your kids to live too far away. Megan even jokes that if the girls move away, they're taking her with them!
It didn't have a tune but my brother and I put on a concert for our grandparents right there. And because they were are grandparents they watched the whole thing without complaint.
Like everyone who passes away unexpected you wish you could've told them one more time you loved them before they went. I was planning on going down this Wednesday to pick some stuff up from her old house. Now I'll also be attending a funeral.
She was 2 days away from her 94th birthday. I wanted to wish her a happy belated in person.
So many good memories of my grandmother. I'm going to share as many as I can remember over the next few days.
I love you Memom.
Yes, the "season finale" to the White Season wasn't the best. Yes "Revolution" isn't the best mechanisms either but I was interested to hear where the story would go and I do enjoy this game. However, with the series looking dead in the water at the moment, it'll probably freefall from its #2 ranking on my list this year.
Shame too. Such a great game. I wish Space Cowboys believed in it more.
And these guys have been full of excuses lately. They've been busted "suspending" the truth several times already to the point where they're losing customer confidence at a rapid rate.
My games were delayed AGAIN and at this point, though I'm not canceling my pledges I'm done with the company. Terrible mishandling of projects. Unacceptable in today's era.
Regrets: Surprisingly none! I thought I'd miss this one more but now that it's out of my collection, I don't feel like playing it anymore so maybe I was done with the game and didn't even know it!
Gave it away to my nephews who've lost all the pieces by now.
Regrets: Nope!
