Laughter IS the best medicine

Truly. Nothing heals the heart and soul like laughter. We have had a ROUGH week. I turned 35, took over daycare for a day (11 kids vs. me= me NOT winning or leaving sane. Until the margaritas flowed.) I caught some kind of bug, and the sun and the moon must be not have been speaking, 'cause they were WAY out of line this week.
But today was one of those days that you felt like you just might be in an alternative universe. When my husband and I first met, we both had great jobs and he had this fantastic apartment. We would have a night in and I'd make a fabulous dinner. Then we'd adjourn the balcony. He lived on the top floor in a very rural town and you could see the stars so clearly. On those magical, relaxing nights, we'd finish dinner and head to what we called "Lottery Land". We'd stand on the balcony and dream up a world that was pretty much untouchable unless you were Donald Trump or Jay Z. But we'd snuggle up, watch the stars and dream of our "perfect world". Manhattan Penthouses, boats big enough to land helicopters; Kitchens to die for.
Despite our crazy schedules, with me working weekends, nights, Holidays, etc., we still managed to have those wonderful nights.

Fast forward 11 years and we have 2 awesome kids. 1 is a small genius. And I don't use that word lightly. The kids a friggin' genius. And my son, a comedian to umpteenth degree. I run a small cake business out of my house, designing, creating and baking cakes. I cater occasionally. I watched the finale of Hell's Kitchen last night and felt that tug. That tug in the stomach of my heart and the heart of my stomach. Fine Food. How I miss being behind the line. For the first time, I truly felt the finalist's deserved to be there. They were both creative, talented and food driven. I felt that urge to jump back into that awesome world. I would lose so much of my children's lives.

There in lies the dilemma. Just before our new President was sworn into office, my husbands company did lay offs. We became a product of the economy. Not just us, but almost everyone we know has been touched in some way. Almost like a cancer.

Onto tonight; I don't think I have laughed SO HARD in a very long time. My neighbor's mother has pneumonia and happened to come out briefly today for some fresh air. My husband was standing on our front porch and yelled over, asking how she was feeling. She's old and Italian and I'm not sure she even answered in the same language....
Anyway, my Husband starts clapping his hands and yelling,"hey, look", and she's saying something along the lines of "I know, I'm sick". As this conversation is taking place, their dog was sneaking out of the gate. My husband finally stops yelling, hops the railing of the deck, and starts running down the road after the dog. IN HIS BIRKENSTOCKS!! The two granddaughters hop in the car and start to follow them. I, in the mean time, and crying I am laughing so hard. His shoes go flying off. He rounds the corner and from there it's seems to only have gotten better from there. He ran into someones yard and as he was getting close to the dog, two teenage boys come out of the house. They stop to watch this crazy guy trying to catch this dog. My husband does this stealth like leap and grabs the dogs collar. The two kids went nuts. Lot's of "dudes" and "nice moves" and "We've NEVER seen ANYONE Ninja smooth catch a dog like that." Okkkkaaaayyy. So my husband starts to trek the dog back to the house and the girls pull up in their car. They were beyond Thankful that he caught their dads dog. They drive back up the street and ask where he wants to be dropped off....."um your driveway is cool, since I ONLY LIVE NEXT DOOR!!" THEN the two of them start to argue about not dropping him off in the HUGE puddle (honestly a small pond, I saw a frog) in front of their house. I can't believe he made it through this without busting out in laughter.
Fast forward to a hour or two later, a shot or two or tequila, some dirt (gardening) therapy, and My wonderful husband retelling this story, in his own comedic way. Maybe you had to there...but for me was,
My very own Lottery Land.

Business is GOOD!

Check this cake out....I was SO thrilled with how it came out. Check out more pictures at http://www.fortheloveofcakenj.com/

How cool is my kid?

This morning, all that hair is being donated to Locks of Love. I am so proud! T has wanted to get her hair cut for a while and when she heard about this on the radio, she decided to go. Wmmr in Philly is having an event this morning, and she got a time slot. She's so excited. I have to watch some kids, (we're on Spring Break) so I couldn't go. I trust my husband won't let her get to crazy with the new 'do. Hmmmm, Well, keep your fingers crossed. I'll post after she gets home...New 'do pix!

Update: Here she is! She had so much fun. I am so proud!

Untitled, cause I just don't know what to say

Wow. It'd been awhile. I've missed my peeps. So much has happened. Where to begin?

Sadly, my sister's fiance died. He lasted a month and 10 days, and then past. My sister put it so perfectly. "The Surreal has become Real". Who does this happen to?! You go in to have surgery and never wake up. The Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda hits you hard.
Sort of takes the life out of you. How can you watch someone go through this, and have no idea how to help them. Time will tell.

I on the other hand, slipped TWICE on the front deck and have only had the use of 1 arm for a few weeks. I sprained/slightly tore my rotators cuff. Fun times. Thankfully it's my left arm, but it still sucks being 1 armed.

I want to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy Holiday season. I'll be back, just taking the time to heal. This year, make sure everyone knows what you mean to them.
You, my blogging peeps, I cherish and miss. Happy Holidays!

Life for what it is. Fragile.

OK. I'm sitting for the first time in weeks. Not true. I sat for three days straight while doing all the paperwork that comes with the end of a fundraiser. Proudly I can say, since we gave the 10-yr-long, same Yankee candle fundraiser the boot, and went with something different and diverse, we made over $13,000.00. We get a great portion of that and are using the money to plan a (HOPEFULLY) awesome Fall Festival, on Halloween day. We had "take the Halloween, out of Halloween" as the Principal requested, and planned all fall themed things. We have a large group of Cherokee Nation Native Americans and a Chief coming in to do a show, a huge pumpkin patch, made by us, Scarecrow contest, parties, and really nice safety goody bags for the kids for Halloween night. I'm happy to pat myself on the back, because we've all worked really hard, and it's coming together pretty well. I will be BEYOND relieved when it's over.

The Fundraiser explained in great detail to me why I will never have a desk job. TOO. MUCH. PAPER. And a whole lot of other work to go with it. I told the Pres. I did my time and don't even ask for help on the next one. (I know she saw the sucker tattoo on my forehead). I could go on for days about all this crap so here's the gist of it all...Yadda, yadda, yadda, Oh and I'm so happy I took on the Terracycle, wash-out-the-nasty-smelling-Juice-pouches and recycle them program. Just a Tip: You might want to snatch up some stock, from the heavy duty yellow rubber glove company. I just might bring the economy back with that. Nahh...That will take a miracle. Or a man named Obama.

On to sadder news. I'm not going to get into great detail, for the privacy of my sister, but I'll give you the basics.
Monday October 13th, her boyfriend we in to the hospital to have hip replacement surgery. (this was the second try...the first time they realized he was a diabetic and postponed the surgery.) Round 2: He goes in that Monday, they give him a spinal, and twilight sleep anesthesia, rolled him to his side and he flat lined. They had to perform CPR for about a minute and he went right in to ICU in Critical condition, no surgery. That was 9 days ago and he is still in a coma. Not breathing on his own, and when the sedative wears off, there's no response. So, Keep him in your thoughts and prayers. We're really not sure what's going to happen....
We have surrounded my sister with love support and best of all, comfort food. Sometimes, there are just certain foods that make you feel SO. MUCH. BETTER. Mine are my grandmother's macaroni and cheese, Her Codfish and potato balls, scalloped potatoes, and as of this past week, Eggplant Parm. has been added to the list. What makes your heart and body all warm, fuzzy and comforted??

It's worth a try....

SO school started on the 8th. By the 10th, my youngest was home sick. BY the 11th, I had it too. What a great way to start the first week of school! I'm still fighting the stuffiness, but feeling better. Life has been CRAZY busy. I thought PTO secretary was going to be an easy, little work job, just like last year. Wrong. Being that I am home all day, I get to take care of the majority of the things that need to be done. Just slap a label on me that says PTO 's Bitch.
I have spent everyday, all day this week being all consumed with this stuff. I know it's for the kids, but I wonder if I could get them foot the bill for my vodka intake everyday....they've driven me to that point, why shouldn't they support my new habit?! It's for a could cause people, ME!!!

Isn't this the truth!!!

A friend sent this to me and I was in tears. I'm sure it's made the rounds, but I couldn't help myself. If anything, it's a good lesson for our daughters right?! How many times has this happened, and with kids in the stall?! Have a Good laugh and a Great weekend!

When you have to visit a public bathroom, you usually find a line of women, so you smile politely and take your place. Once it's your turn , you check for feet under the stall doors. Every stall is occupied.
Finally, a door opens and you dash in, nearly knocking down the woman leaving the stall.

You get in to find the door won't latch. It doesn't matter, the wait has been so long you are about to wet your pants! The dispenser for the modern 'seat covers' (invented by someones Mom, no doubt) is handy, but empty. You would hang your purse on the door hook, if there was one, but there isn't - so you carefully, but quickly drape it around your neck, (Mom would turn over in her grave if you put it on the FLOOR! ), yank down your pants, and assume ' The Stance.'
In this position your aging, toneless thigh muscles begin to shake. You'd love to sit down, but you certainly hadn't taken time to wipe the seat or lay toilet paper on it, so you hold 'The Stance.'
To take your mind off your trembling thighs, you reach for what you discover to be the empty toilet paper dispenser. In your mind, you can hear your mother's voice saying, 'Honey, if you had tried to clean the seat, you would have KNOWN there was no toilet paper!' Your thighs shake more.
You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on yesterday - the one that's still in your purse. (Oh yeah, the purse around your neck, that now, you have to hold up trying not to strangle yourself at the same time). That would have to do. You crumple it in the puffiest way possible. It's still smaller than your thumbnail .
Someone pushes your door open because the latch doesn't work. The door hits your purse, which is hanging around your neck in front of your chest, and you and your purse topple backward against the tank of the toilet. 'Occupied!' you scream, as you reach for the door, dropping your precious, tiny, crumpled tissue in a puddle on the floor, lose your footing altogether, and slide down directly onto the TOILET SEAT. It is wet of course. You bolt up, knowing all too well that it's too late. Your bare bottom has made contact with every imaginable germ and life form on the uncovered seat because YOU never laid down toilet paper - not that there was any, even if you had taken time to try. You know that your mother would be utterly appalled if she knew, because, you're certain her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat because, frankly, dear, 'You just don't KNOW what kind of diseases you could get.'

By this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the toilet is so confused that it flushes, propelling a stream of water like a fire hose against the inside of the bowl that sprays a fine mist of water that covers your butt and runs down your legs and into your shoes. The flush somehow sucks everything down with such force that you grab onto the empty toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged in too.
At this point, you give up. You're soaked by the spewing water and the wet toilet seat. You're exhausted. You try to wipe with a gum wrapper you found in your pocket and then slink out inconspicuously to the sinks.

You can't figure out how to operate the faucets with the automatic sensors, so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry paper towel and walk past the line of women still waiting.
You are no longer able to smile politely to them. A kind soul at the very end of the line points out a piece of toilet paper trailing from your shoe. (Where was that when you NEEDED it??) You yank the paper from your shoe, plunk it in the woman's hand and tell her warmly, 'Here, you just might need this.'
As you exit, you spot your hubby, who has long since entered, used, and left the men's restroom. Annoyed, he asks, 'What took you so long, and why is your purse hanging around your neck?'

This is dedicated to women everywhere who deal with a public restrooms (rest??? you've GOT to be kidding!!). It finally explains to the men what really does take us so long. It also answers their other commonly asked questions about why women go to the restroom in pairs. It's so the other gal can hold the door, hang onto your purse and hand you Kleenex under the door!
This HAD to be written by a woman! No one else could describe it so accurately!