Happy Birthday, Dad~!

This video shows how I felt all day yesterday. From beginning to end it was wonderful. I wanted everyone to join in.

My dad turned 80 on Friday, April 24th, and, of course, the only "present" he wanted from his kids was for us to be all together. He loves it even if he sits there and watches the Lakers in the playoffs~! And what more could he ask...Lakers kicked Jazz butt.

I actually got to wash my car yesterday and make it shiny and silver again and then drove out the Valley. My baby brother called me just as I was getting on the freeway because Red Writer was hungry. (Yes, that will be her name in the blog from now on. She did not like her stripper name, Cinnamon. Sheesh.) She was STARVING and wanted to meet somewhere to eat. We decided on the Old Spaghetti Factory off the 210. Duarte? Not sure, but it started the day in the best way. I told my brother that I finally give up--I am going to get the iPhone. Leo LaPorte convinced me. He did say though that once you get used to a smart phone, you can't live without it, so I may be in trouble. My laptop is already an extension. People just assume I always have it with me now. Poor Red Writer. She is so not a geek, not even a wanna be geek. Her eyes glaze over and you can see her mind wander off into Red Writer land. I pestered her into a blog because she tells the best stories and I know she would be a hit in blog land. Now, I am tormenting her to get on Twitter (my new love). When she started to glaze over I asked her what was she thinking right NOW? She said do people with hairy moles not own mirrors or do they think it looks cool or do they not care? LOL. She also wanted to know if graffitti could be done in the Comic Sans font? (She heard me ranting about how people had their panties in a bunch about this font.) Graffitti in a funny font?

Which reminds me. We had to go to CVS Pharmacy near my mom's house so they could buy a card for my dad and while waiting in line I noticed the tattoos on the guy in front of me. Don't get me wrong. I like tattoos for the most part. But this guy looked like a Mexican gang member, or if he wasn't, he sure was wearing the uniform of one. You know, kind of baggy pants, white t-shirt, attitude. He had sleeve tattoos, really well done, but the one I was dying to take a picture of was on the back of his neck. (I admit it, I tried to sneak a pic but I figured that probably was not too smart if he caught me.) It was a bar code with his birthday-09-18-1985. I really really wanted to ask him if the bar code was real. I mean it looked real. Thick lines and thin lines. Like the movie "Hitman."

We went home and had the best BBQ. These are my nephews up a tree in my parents' backyard. The youngest one is Mr. Stoic. He takes pride in not talking a lot and getting him to laugh is a challenge. Yesterday we got them both laughing so hard we were all crying and our faces hurt. Teddy Bear and Killdozer drove in late and I think Killdozer is now convinced I am nuts. It has been a long time since the family has sat around my mom's kitchen table and told family stories for hours, took tons of pictures, and laughed till it hurt. He has never actually seen me that way before.

We sang Happy Birthday to my dad (8 candles), he opened his gifts, and everyone ate cake and ice cream and jello with spray on Cool Whip. What is up with that? Cool Whip was made to eat right out of the container with as big a spoon as possible for goodness sake. I wish my sister could have been there with her family but she is in Coachella at the Stagecoach Festival with a good friend of hers. I hope she brought her shit kickers.

I love you, Dad~! Happy Birthday~!

Happy 10 Didgets, Nephew~!

My nephew turned double digits yesterday--the big 1-0~! His sucky aunt (me) and his other sucky aunt (my SIL) were buying his birthday card at Rite-Aid right before we went to their house for BBQ because...because...well, we have no excuse. We had way too much fun picking out cards to put our money in. My card mentioned peeing but I don't think he even noticed what the card said or who gave it to him, he just wanted the moola. I gave him $20 bucks. I have a feeling he thought it should have been triple digit money. Sheesh. Who does he think I am? Ben Bernanke?

Teddy Bear, Killdozer, and I drove out to La Jolla to help celebrate. I have a feeling I'm going to get a ticket in the mail. We got into the newly finished carpool/toll lanes because I have a Fast Trak and it said it was a Fast Trak lane but apparently it is a different Fast Trak than mine so it didn't beep when we went through it and now I'm pissed because the toll was only 50 cents but I think it's fun to be in the carpool lanes and now it will probably cost me $20 friggin' dollars.

We picked up Baby Brother and JuJuBeez. I like when they go because then BB drives. JuJuBeez and I could never live near each other because we would get nothing done except for goofing off and laughing. Some people have a different way of looking at the world and she is definitely one of those people. Her mother is just like that, too. Her parents are in their 80s now, her dad is hard of hearing and her mother's eyesight is failing, so spending time with them is like an episode of "Who's on first?" Her dad, Poops, complains that her mom talks too much. Go ahead. Say it. I know I did. How would he know? He can't hear...and that is what Peeps (mom) tells him all the time. One day, Peeps got so mad, she picked up a piece of junk mail and heaved it at him hitting him square in the chest. He accused her of lying about being blind because it was a great shot. They squabble but are inseparable. They have a caregiver who was spending the nights to help them out, but they let her go on the weekends. Why? Well, umm...well, ahhhh. Parents don't, you know, do it, you know, do they??

My brother's house was full of 1o year old boys. At first it was fairly calm because they were playing Call of Duty or whatever. (This is the game that Nazi Zombies is on, by the way.) They were pretty quiet until the huge inflatable bats and swords came out. Whose brilliant idea was that? Man, why do little boys like beating the tar out of each other? My brother, birthday boy's dad, the Doc, turned on a movie, the newest Ice Age movie, and turned UP the volume. Did I mention he turned UP the volume? It was incredible. His surround sound blew my hair backwards. I am totally going to house sit for him next time.

We ate cake and ice cream and headed home. Of course, Teddy Bear left MY make up bag and her expensive new straightener at the Doc's house. I TOLD her to it pick it up, but because it took too long to say good-bye, it was too much effort to hold it for that long. Gosh, five minutes is a long time when you are young. Anyway, she put it down and there it stayed. They need to call this generation "Generation Lazy."

Happy 10th Birthday, Nephew~! (And it's your aunts fault the card said didget instead of digit.)

The Sucky Aunt Club

My sister-in-law (JuJuBeez) and I are charter members and founders of "The Sucky Aunt Club." We even wanted to start an e-card web site with sucky aunt cards you could send to all these near and dear to you. I distinctly remember the time I was racing to go to our nephew's birthday. I had actually managed to buy a card, put his name on it, and seal it, but on the way down to San Diego, remembered that I left it at home. I frantically called JuJuBeez and she says she got a card. It was sealed but they would open it up for me so I could put some money in it and sign the card. We mangled that card good getting it open again, but I am sure he did not care. What makes it really bad, though, his mom is like supermom and super aunt. We got a thank you card from him and everything. Sigh. It really sucked.

So my sister is also a super aunt. It can be rather nauseating. But she has finally crossed over into the dark side with us. She admitted to being a sucky aunt. It was a pretty snarky e-mail she sent, but at least she admitted to it. We may lose her quickly, though. She is already looking for a 12-step program for this malady. That also sucks.

To further cement my place in The Sucky Aunt Club, I did not go to my nephew's birthday lunch yesterday, I went to the John and Ken Tax Revolt. I only get partial credit for sending my daughter and boyfriend in my place.

They like her better anyways.

Happy First Birthday Z~!

My incredible, darling, zany grandson turned ONE today~! You could not have ordered a more beautiful day in Temecula. Bright blue skies, perfect temperature, and lots of family and friends.

I got to see friends of my daughters that I have not seen in a long time. It is hard for me to believe that they are turning 25 this year. They are so young and so fun to be around. I have such memories of the girls dressing for prom, sleep overs, dinners, and parties. It is so hard when you are in the moment to stop and realize how quickly it goes. My brothers, my two incredible sister-in-laws, and my nephews came up from San Diego to help celebrate. Little Z was an angel and only one had one melt down all day. He has LOTS of aunts and uncles and cousins and a cousin to be
in May, so he was easily distracted.

I look at these pictures and I can still see his mom at 1. I think they even had the same amount of hair at this age. I can still see her chubby cheeks, we even called her "Chubby Cheekers." I just want to go back and kiss and hug that little face.

One year! Grandchildren are the best and I can't wait for all my friends to become grandmas and grandpas so we can have a bragging war. Of course, I win by default. So, bring on the Brag Books.

Happy Birthday, Baby Brother~!

Funny parody of Star Wars.

Happy Birthday, baby brother. I chose a Star Wars clip because my brother was only about 6 years old when it first came out and he did NOT want to go see it. My mother had to drag him kicking and screaming. I had seen it at the Grauman's Chinese Theater as it was known then and I was blown away. He has been a huge fan ever since and has basically grown up with it. I love my little brother! I cannot wait to see you guys again at Disneyland on Friday.

My daughter and her boyfriend and I went down to San Diego to have dinner with my brother and his wife (the soon to be famous author). We went to Phil's BBQ. We had a blast.


We met my brother's friends, the ones we went to Knott's Scary Farm with. Phil's used to be in Hillcrest but now is on Sports Arena Blvd. Dancing with the Stars was being performed down the street at the Sports Arena.

We always have so much fun talking with my brother, his wife, and their friends. They are all so silly, too. I hope you had a great day brother!~

Quick peek into my brain...

Go! Go! Go! You see, you go round and round and round... and then your ass gets thrown out of the wheel. HAHAHA. I love this You Tube video. It is not that I have been terribly busy and unable to write but more like I felt like a hamster in a wheel. In the interim since I last posted, my youngest daughter turned 19. She says she feels old. I mean, next year she will be 20 and no longer a teenager. Egads~! Let me call for a wambulance. She is so much fun to be around but sometimes she drives me nuts. At least she finally paid me a backhanded compliment the other day. She said that I did not look 51 and that I looked pretty good. I was afraid to find out how old she thought I looked.

We had Thanksgiving at my house with about 12 people or so. It was a lot of fun but it really was not my year to cook. If it weren't for my mom, I am quite sure it would not go smoothly or so well.

I went to an AC/DC concert at the Forum on December 8th. I almost have my hearing back. I loved it and I wished I known you could buy beer there. I would have been there a lot sooner~! I went with 2 friends and my daughter. She knows more about the band than I do but I remember the songs when they were new. Sigh. I had forgotten all about Bon Scott. His is the voice I remember for "Highway to Hell." The concert was so much fun though and I wish I had bought some horns to wear for New Year's Eve. I am sure Debbie and Tom would like that~! The next concert is Nine Inch Nails. Anyone game?? Thanks to L for bringing the "damn bitch" or Deb. She was a big help in navigating in LA looking for the Elephant Bar and Grill. It was the Verizon version of the GPS system. We annoyed the hell out of her though. She was constantly recalulating our route when we would go another way than the one she suggested.



Christmas is the around the corner now. All my friends with their Christmas countdown clocks are driving me nuts. I bought my tree on December 1st but it only got decorated last night! I have been doing some incredible soul searching on what the holidays mean to me now that I am divorced and my kids are grown. One is married with a kid of her own starting her own family traditions and the other one is not so much into the traditions of Christmas. She likes them but not enough to get into the spirit of it all. My brothers and sister have young children, so their Christmas is like the ones I had when my girls were little. I loved all the hoopla then but now....well, I am not so sure.

Going to a dinner at a friend's home tonight. I made green chile enchiladas. Hope everone likes them. I do not cook that much anymore. But at least Jack Daniels and I had can meet again~! Happy Hour to everyone~!