Oh Crap! – Musings of an Unperfect Mommy

This and That

November 3, 2016

Here’s what’s going down at the Oh Crap House:

*I’ve been to Starbucks a lot this year – enough to garner a free drink (sometimes two) every month.

* Reading books on Advent and Christmas and how to be more mindful during the holiday season. I will write more on this in a few days.

* Still haven’t had the big cry since everyone left in August. Just little rounds every now and then.

* Coming up to the anniversaries of people’s deaths – early November sucks.

* I have our turkey in the freezer awaiting Thanksgiving. I do this early every year in order to avoid the Roast Beef Thanksgiving 15+ years ago.

* Thinking about my “resolutions” for the year and how I’ve done on those. Progress has been made to some degree in each area.

* Looked at Oprah’s Favorite Things for this year on Amazon – found a few things that might be worth getting.

Now I’m off to bed because I’m super tired (hence the crappy post for today). Hopefully tomorrow I can get the words churning in my head down and be brave enough to hit post. Goodnight. :-)

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Blog Throwdown 2016

November 2, 2016

So, my son Matt and I are having another blog throwdown since neither of us have been posting regularly lately. :-P For the month of November we will be posting every single day. Okay, you say, we missed yesterday, but I did post on October 31 so we’re pretty well square on this deal. So, without further ado – let it begin!

I’m starting off with my Little Black Box or you could call it Mommy’s Little Helper Box – either way it’s got booze in it. See, I had this idea about a year or two ago when I was trying out Birchbox. One of the best things was – ahem – the box! It was perfect to keep around to put other stuff in when all the goodies inside were gone. And I thought, hey!, I know what I’ll do! I’ll get some of those little booze bottles to put in there and I’ll have some goodies waiting for a weekend and time to myself.

Well, time rolled on and I kept the box thinking I’d get around to it. Then, I used the boxes for some other things (I also dropped Birchbox because it wasn’t for a 52 year old woman) and I forgot about it. In September, Matt arrived for a surprise visit (which would be a post of its own) and we went to the booze store one day and that’s when I remembered my idea! So, I bought a few cute little bottles of booze and I put them into another box I had saved – a black box that a cute little purse came in – and voila! Mommy’s Little Black Box was born!

After the kids went off to bed one Friday night, I got my martini glass out (a Goodwill find) and poured Bailey’s over ice. I loaded up some songs from my Amazon list, and I curled up with a magazine. All in the comfort of my room. Kind of like old times when I was single. :-) It was so much fun that I’ve decided that my little Mommy’s Night In could be a new ritual. It’s a great way for me to wind down after a busy week and I like doing something special just for me.

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Music Monday – Suite Madame Blue

October 31, 2016

Today’s choice is one that is timely now that elections are coming up. The song is “Suite Madame Blue” by Styx. It was written by Dennis DeYoung to honor America’s Bi-Centennial and it gave a different perspective on the 200 years since 1776. (Remember though that the Spanish actually came here first and settled in the Florida, California, and Southwest areas of the US. It wasn’t until 200 years later that the pilgrims came here.)

This is a good time to reflect on our past and our future. The world is very small now – we can jump on a plane and land in Japan in around 12-16 hours – a lot shorter than the months it would’ve taken hundreds of years ago. People of every land mix with everyone else and it is a grand thing. We can learn from each other and love each other but if we don’t learn to do those things, and we keep promoting hate, then the world our children and grandchildren will inherit will be a dismal one indeed. Still, even in a Culture of Death as JPII the Great put it, we can do little things each day with great love (as St. Mother Teresa put it) and propagate a culture of life, love, and happiness for all.

That said, let’s get to the song. Again, I loved it the first time I heard it. Yeah, I know I say that a lot, but all my favorites are that way. I don’t warm up to songs – I either like them or I don’t. I expect most of us are that way. I’ll get into the lyrics here in a sec, butfirst let me say that the music is genius! The word “suite” in the title refers in music to a composition with several parts or movements that are thematically and tonally linked. So, Suite Madame Blue starts out with just guitars and then builds to a climax of full on rock when you get to the bridge and then at the height of the song, crescendos with guitars and drums and then we ride the roller coaster on down to the beginning guitars and synth again. Okay, now that I’ve set it up, let’s listen.

Time after time I sit and I wait for your call
I know I’m a fool but what can I say
Whatever the price I’ll pay for you, Madame Blue

Once long ago, a word from your lips and the world turned around
But somehow you’ve changed, you’re so far away
I long for the past and dream of the days with you, Madame Blue

At first, the words seem to be about a young man thinking of a woman he loved, maybe a woman of the night, but because this is a song about America, we see that it’s about the call of a new land to people in other lands who hoped for a better life. Many did not find streets paved with gold, but factories and poverty and still trying to find a better life. However, most stayed and didn’t return to their mother lands and made something of their new lives here.

Then we see the lover remembering the old days when the relationship was strong and nothing could separate them – all was bliss. Then, things changed and the past is really gone. Here again in terms of a country – America was different and new once. New government, freedom for all (still working on that), and a chicken in every pot. Yeah, mixing idioms – sue me.
Now, 200 years later, it’s all changed and messed up and we long for those golden years again.

Suite Madame Blue, gaze in your looking glass
You’re not a child anymore
Suite Madame Blue, the future is all but past
Dressed in your jewels, you made your own rules
You conquered the world and more …………..heaven’s door

Here we ask America to look in her mirror and realize the past is gone and she’s growing older – things aren’t the same as they were. I like the lines “dressed in your jewels, you made your own rules” because it refers to how America was kind of an expdeiment of sorts for the times – the people were involved in the making of this country. Also, I like to think the line “heaven’s door” is referring to the moon landing in 1969 – heaven’s door indeed for that time! Don McLean in American Pie put it thusly, “And there we were all in one place, A generation lost in space, With no time left to start again”. Yeah, I feel like that too a lot more now than I ever did before. Cue the awesome bridge!

America….America…America..America..
America….America…America..America..
America….America…America..America..

Red, white, and blue, gaze in your looking glass
You’re not a child anymore
Red, white, and blue, the future is all but past
So lift up your heart, make a new start
And lead us away from here

It’s now been 451 since St Augustine, Florida was established. And 240 years old since declaring our independence. The past is gone, the country isn’t young (although we still are by Old World standards), maybe we’re in adolescence now and thus the growing pains? It’s a scary, uncertain time right now. So, let us take Styx’ words to heart – let’s be brave, start anew and let’s get away from where we see we could be heading.

I’m going to end with the wise wisdom of JP II again because right now we (all of us on this planet) need to hear them: “I plead with you – never, ever, give up on hope; never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid!” Amen!

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Weekend Gallery

October 2, 2016

I’m going to call this week’s Gallery the over marketing of fall and Halloween. Everywhere I turned in the store there was something that was pumpkin spice flavor or made over for Halloween. It’s so obnoxious!! However, it does make good blog fodder, and I sometimes worry that I’m going to get booted out of a store for taking pictures of all the stupid crap. :-)

Let’s start off with hot chocolate – we all love hot chocolate on a cold morning or drizzly afternoon right? And nothing says cozy like…The Avengers? Um, guess so. And Frozen. I won’t say it, but the UGH I let out when I saw this was loud enough to wake the dead.

And here are some cute candy corn shaped marshmallows to go in your hot chocolate. Actually I did buy these because they are cute and it would jazz up the hot chocolate for the kiddos. NO, not the above hot chocolate! I make my own thank you.

For breakfast you could have your choice of fall flavored sugar blocks…I mean Pop Tarts.

Or you could choose one of these breakfast cereals. The bummer is they all have skeleton marshmallows – I thought maybe there would be different shapes, but no.

For snacks (or trick or treating) there are Fruit Roll-Ups.

Or Chocolate Scream Twinkies. *shaking my head*

I like this one – Halloween Butter Flavored. Just what does Halloween butter taste like anyway?

And the fall-a-palooza winner – Little Debbie. Just look at all those fall offerings. Folks – this was only one side of this set up! There were so many fall offerings it boggled the mind. Makes me cringe to think of what the Holiday season will bring.

Seriously though, if I want to experience fall all I have to do is step outside and breathe in the crisp air, look at the colors of the trees, hear the crunch of the leaves under my feet, and smell smoky fires from neighborhood fireplaces. And it’s all for free.

Maybe next week I’ll veer away from all the marketing nonsense and post some pictures of fall beauty. The leaves are just starting to change and the air is getting cooler too. It’s my favorite season.

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September Update

September 30, 2016

It’s been awhile since I’ve had an update here, but this year has been one of THOSE years. A lot of anger, tears, leavings, and a lot of personal change for me. Last month was the mass exodus from the family home. This month has been trying to find a new normal. For the most part I’ve been doing all right, but this week kind of blew me off kilter. So, today will be a quiet day with a park visit thrown in. For dinner it will be chili and cornbread and then, after the kids are in their rooms for the night, I’ll be taking to mine for the night. There will be chocolate, music, magazines, and maybe a movie to end it. There may be tears too as they are finally starting to fall. It’s time to breathe deep and say to myself, “You did all right” and take some new steps forward again wherever they may lead. I’ll talk about it all later, but for now, it’s all good.

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Weekend Gallery

September 11, 2016

I looked at my photos today and decided a more positive Gallery is overdue. I haven’t found any truly stupid items this week, and the pictures I did take are all of really fun things I actually like! So, enjoy today’s less cringeworthy gallery. It’s also short and sweet because we have a really beautiful day going here and we’re not going to waste it. On with the show!

This is a really cute “snake” bracelet. I kind of wish we had bought it from our much loved now going under bookstore.

Remember back in the 80’s when Kool-Aid came out with a whole host of fun flavors? Well, some are back for another round! I hadn’t seen Purplesaurus Rex in quite a while so we bought it. We also bought Sharkleberry Fin because that was also a favorite. One I haven’t seen in a long time is Pink Swimingo – I really liked that flavor. Son #2 said he remembered the one with the Octopus on the package – The Great Bluedini. Yeah, haven’t seen that one either. I hope sometime one of the stores around here will get these rarer flavors because I’d really like to taste them again.

Speaking of the 80’s – here’s a cute Pac-Man bank! It’s Blinky (yeah, I had to look that up)! The one and only video game arcade in town boasts a dual cabinet with Ms Pac Man and Galaga. Yep – we play it often because the classics are always in style.

We thought this leopard print piggy bank was cute too. :-)

And lastly, Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale. It’s one of the few of the 5,000 pumpkin flavored items I’d actually try.

Thank you for perusing today’s Gallery. Enjoy your day wherever you are.

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Weekend Gallery

September 5, 2016

You know you’ve read Go, Dog, Go one too many times when this happens.

You see this and think 3 little chops and 3 big chops.

And THEN you’re next thought is: 3 big chops going up – 3 little chops going down. As per this:

Oh yeah – I’ve officially gone ’round the bend!

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Weekend Gallery

August 28, 2016

I really should call this week’s gallery the Stupid Marketing Edition, but that seems to be every week anymore. Every season and holiday has to have special food, clothes, etc. and it’s just ridiculous! I long for the day when it will stop, but until that time, I’ll have quite a supply of blog fodder. Let’s take a look shall we?

Let’s start off with the newest flavor of Cheerios – Pumpkin Spice. As if we needed another new flavor of ANYTHING! Secretly I wonder how they are, but the realist in me balks because it’s senseless.

And, in other new flavor news – cookie flavored coffee creamer. There’s not much real about this stuff anyway so why add useless cookie flavors?? I’d just make the damn cookies from scratch and have my coffee with half and half. At least you know all the ingredients in those!

These should not need an explanation. Although, the marshmallow thing reveals the ending of the original movie and so if you haven’t seen that movie, the ending won’t be nearly as fun and surprising. Major spoilers everywhere thanks to marketing.

And these. O.M.G. – I am sooooo sick of the emoji craze! For a while everything was mustaches (still don’t understand that fad) and now it’s emoji’s. So, I’m asking, since we have 5,000 emoticons to use when we text, or Skype, or email – do we really need snack cakes with them??

This one at least makes some sense – there’s a lot of kids with nut allergies so someone came up with this idea of a peanut butter alternative made from soy. But then, if you don’t want any soy in your diet you’re screwed again. Just have a turkey sandwich!

I only took a picture of this for two reasons: 1) It’s a coffee maker! and 2) it’s the MOZART coffee maker. ‘Nuff said.

And lastly we have the head wisk. Yep a head wisk. Apparently it’s a scalp massager and it’s a thing – you can find them in all sorts of shapes and sizes (including wisk-like ones) at Amazon. Still, the picture of how it’s used just made me laugh. I’ll stick with brushing my hair 50 strokes every night with a brush as in the old days.

And that’s all for today. As the holiday seasons start in earnest, I know there will be lots more of this type of stuff so look for more snarky and silly Weekend Gallery in the weeks to come.

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Music Monday – The Boxer

August 15, 2016

I’ve decided on a 70’s song for today’s offering – The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel. Although it tells the story of a boxer from his arrival in a big city as a young boy to his career as a fighter and beyond, there are things mentioned that are similar for most of us. I found this very excellent article on the song, meanings, and how Paul Simon wrote it. I like information like that because it rounds out the song for me. As I’ve mentioned before it’s not just the tune, it’s really the words that draw me into a song. I have included the extra stanza that is usually only performed live, but I wish it was in the original song because it really completes it. With all that said, let’s go on to the song with my notes.

I am just a poor boy
Though my story’s seldom told
I have squandered my resistance
For a pocketful of mumbles
Such are promises
All lies and jest
Still, a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest

When someone tells their life story they know so much more than when they started out. Humbled (or hardened) by life, they can understand now what they couldn’t at a younger age. I am at that point in my life now – beginning to see things a little clearer now. So much truth in those last two lines too. What’s that thing about hindsight? Ugh.

When I left my home and my family
I was no more than a boy
In the company of strangers
In the quiet of a railway station
Running scared
Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters
Where the ragged people go
Looking for the places only they would know

Lie-la-lie . . .

I like to think this song takes place in the early 20th century when boys did often leave home quite young for many reasons. This boy probably ran away from home, and he knows where to look for help – with the people he is acquainted with due to his station in life. The poor and ragged ones. I understand some of that. The times when we have had very little money, it was so much easier to go to stores where most of the people were poorer too. There is a camaraderie there and I feel like I have friends in those places – friends that don’t give a crap how you dress or how much money you have but know the struggle you are in.

Asking only workman’s wages
I come looking for a job
But I get no offers
Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue
I do declare there were times when I was so lonesome
I took some comfort there
Lie-la-lie . . .

This is the way it was for many immigrants in the early 20th century, and of course for most men in 1930’s during the depression – looking for a job but finding nothing. For a man, it is a heavy burden not to have a job to bring in money for your family or just for yourself to live on. Almost a disgrace. Harper Lee described the depression in these words: “There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with”. Some people might think it terrible that this man engaged with prostitutes, but don’t judge, unless you walk in that man’s shoes you don’t know how crushing loneliness like that can be. This man was looking for companionship where he had none and found it in the only place he knew to go.

Now the years are rolling by me
They are rocking evenly
I am older than I once was
And younger than I’ll be
But that’s not unusual
No, it isn’t strange
After changes upon changes
We are more or less the same
After changes we are
More or less the same

Lie la lie…

Okay, here is the stanza that’s left out of the recorded song and I think it was a mistake. This is the part that connects all of us to this song. And now that I’m in my 50’s it has much more meaning. Although for me the years aren’t rocking evenly, but the narrator is probably talking about after retirement and he’s looking back and accepting the aging process. I am beginning to accept my getting older, but I have been looking back a lot lately to earlier days trying to hold on to what’s been and wondering if maybe it’s time to let go of some of it. I especially like the line “that’s not unusual” speaking of getting older. In other words aging is a normal process. We ALL get older and all that goes with it – that’s the way life is.

Then I’m laying out my winter clothes
And wishing I was gone
Going home
Where the New York City winters aren’t bleeding me
Leading me
To go home

Here we have circled back to earlier days and probably the boxer is fighting in cheap fights because he has to make a living. He wishes he could go home, but he probably knows that it’s impossible now. While I don’t live in a northern state, I do know of some winters here that were brutal and I get the gist of those lines. And again, it’s about life when it isn’t going well – wishing we could go somewhere else but realizing we must stay because this is our home now and we must still live our lives the best we can.

In the clearing stands a boxer
And a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of every glove that laid him down
Or cut him till he cried out
In his anger and his shame
“I am leaving, I am leaving”
But the fighter still remains
Lie-la-lie . . .

When I hear these lines I see the boxer – the man – standing in the ring with his hands raised to his face trying to protect himself in a fight. He is angry and hurt inside and out. Sometimes he wants to leave but he won’t – fighting is “his trade”. It’s become part of him and he’s in it for better or worse. Some of us also stand broken and bruised by life and wanting to quit sometimes, but we know we’ll stay for the long haul. We know there will be better days so we keep on going.

I want to mention the actual music here – simple like the boxer, reminiscent of the 20’s or 30’s. This is what makes a song great – the music ties in with the lyrics in a very powerful way so we get the full meaning of the song and it engages with us on a very personal level. A lot of Simon and Garfunkel’s songs are like that – powerful words with simple but evocative music.

So that is today’s Music Monday. Please take a moment to listen to the song – it is worth the time. And sing along if you already know it well.

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Book Report

August 5, 2016

Well, apparently I have read a lot of books already this year – 25 to be exact and working on a few more. Geez! I don’t know quite how I’ve done it, but glad I have! I suspect it has something to do with the reading glasses I bought earlier this year.

I decided to track my reading this year because I’m not sure how much reading I’m doing for me outside of what we do for homeschool. What a surprise eh? So, I thought you might like to know what I’ve read and am currently in process of reading. It’s in chronological order with a few notes. (Note: No links – I think you’re all old enough to look them up on your own if you so desire :-D)

What I’ve Read:

1. The Life Giving Home by Sally Clarkson

2. Freedom to Love by Fr. Emmerich Vogt

3. Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton

4. The Sharper Your Knife the Less You Cry by Kathleen Flynn

5. The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flynn (I really think these two books are what propelled me forward to reading this year – I read both in about 2 weeks time)

6. Spark Joy by Marie Kondo (Okay, didn’t read it all, but enough to take away the gist of her program)

7. The Hours by Michael Cunningham (First novel I’ve read in quite a while – I also watched the movie)

8. Large Family Logistics by Kim Brenneman (Had to do an interlibrary loan – it was also a physically large book)

9. School As A Journey by Torin Finser (I had wanted to read this for YEARS and wish I had read it when I first saw it)

10. The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris (I actually annotated this one – so much to think about!)

11. Wifey by Judy Blume (Found it used, hadn’t read it in 20 years at least – forgot how raunchy it is – heh)

12. Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler

13. Whatever Happened to Molly Murphy’s House of Fine Repute by Jaffie Tayar

14. Who Are You Supposed To Be by Darren Stone (Another reminisce of Molly Murphy’s)

15. How to Really Love Your Adult Child by Bob Schultz

16. How to Be Lovely: The Audrey Hepburn Way of Life by Melissa Helstern

17. Happiness is a Warm Puppy by Charles Schultz (a beautiful reprint in all it’s original glory!)

18. Yes, God! by Susie Lloyd

19. Lace by Shirley Conran (A blast from 30 years ago reprinted! However I did not remember it being 750 pages!)

20. Mercy In the City by Kerry Weber

21. Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton

22. Humans of New York Stories by Brandon Stanton

23. Little Humans by Brandon Stanton

24. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

25. Little House on the Prairies by Laura Ingalls Wilder

What I’m In Process of Reading:

1. French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billon (For parents, but I could actually use these ideas for me)

2. Invitation to Solitude by Ruth Haley Barton (this I’ve put off for awhile – it’s a DEEP read/practice)

3. The Quotidian Mysteries by Kathleen Norris

4. I Hate to Housekeep Book by Peg Bracken

Maybe at the end of the year I’ll return to give the full list of my reading for the year. As it is, I feel quite satisfied but I also don’t want to think about it too much and let my interests lead me where they will. Otherwise, perfectionist me will get caught up in what I should read next and I won’t read anything.

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