So Much Left To Do...

Again, got this from Rev. Dr. Mom.

As seen all over; things done in bold. Furthermore, I starred the stuff I want to do.

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii*
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris*
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch (quilting, even if it has been forever since I've been able to touch my sewing machine)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty*
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France*
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice*
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors*
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David*
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (if giving someone the money to buy themselves a meal counts, then yes)
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person*
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris*
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business*
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching* (J gets seasick, but I can't wait to do this when Liam and Ella are older)
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I should donate more often, actually)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp* (I think this would be immensely powerful)
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter (my father tried to take me when I was very young and I freaked the hell out on him so we never took off)
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (several)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar (NEVER!)
72. Pieced a quilt (and quilted them, too!)
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London*
77. Broken a bone (well, it was a toe, but it was still a broken bone!)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (no, thanks)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person*
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican*
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible*
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (I'll leave the killing to someone else, thanks)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Ridden an elephant

Name Meme

Got this from Rev. Dr. Mom...anyone else want to play along?

1. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names):

Lee Clement

2. NASCAR NAME: (first name of your mother’s dad, father’s dad):

Earl William

3. STAR WARS NAME: (the first 2 letters of your last name, first 4 letters of your first name):

Waheat (I'm using my maiden name as my "first" last name, since I'm a hyphenated girl)

4. DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal):

Green Turtle

5. SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you live):

Leigh Concord

6. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite alcoholic drink, optionally add “THE” to the beginning):

The Blue Strawberry Daiquiri (I don't drink alcohol, but this was my favorite drink when I did)

7. FLY NAME: (first 2 letters of first name, last 2 letters of your last name):

Hewa

8. GANGSTA NAME: (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite cookie):

Mint Chip Oatmeal

9.ROCK STAR NAME: (current pet’s name, current street name):

Jack Middlebury

10. PORN NAME: (1st pet, street you grew up on):

Sammy Sanborn

Grossness And Goodness

Cait and I went downtown last night to check out Midnight Merriment (where the downtown merchants stay open later and there are all sorts of festive Holiday goings-on for those who brave the cold and crowds in support of local business).

We ended up running into my sister, N, and her children in one of the stores and they didn't really have an agenda for the evening (except for hitting the local toy store, which was insanely busy when they first tried to scope it out) so we chatted for a while before deciding to check out some stores together.

Before we headed out, my nephew noticed something on my sister's lapel. She instinctively reached out and managed to touch the spot exactly where whatever it was was. Well...wouldn't you know?! It was snot. Someone else's snot. And my sister had just rubbed it all into her coat! It was so amazingly nasty and she was freaked the hell out. She ordered her daughter to go get her some sanitizer, which I promptly pulled out of my bag. N then asked for a kleenex, but I did one better and pulled a package of wet wipes from my bag. My niece was amazed at my bag 'o tricks, but I assured her it was only because I'm the mother of small children that I am so prepared (even when out without said children) for seemingly any situation. Eventually, my sister calmed down and she and the kids recalled a man in another store sneezing in close proximity to them...so the assumption was that it was his little gift left behind on my sister's lapel.

Disgusting!

After all was cleaned up, we headed down Main Street and ended up in a wonderful little bistro that has only been open for a few months. Oh so good! We sampled the risotto balls (in love!), the lasagne (delicious!), and Cait tried the crab-stuffed mushrooms (she loved them...I don't do mushrooms or seafood, so I'll take her word for it). Cait and I even headed back there for a quick bit of lunch today. It's so exciting to find someplace new to grab a bite!

Now, I need to find a recipe for risotto balls...

It's The Little Things That Make Me Happy

Yesterday, as I was making a rather large dent in the guest room so that it's presentable when Cait and Jeeps sleep here for Christmas (and so I could sort through the copious Christmas gifts that seem to be multiplying of their own accord in there), I finally got around to hanging up some pieces of art that I hadn't yet found the time to find homes for (or, in some cases, hang pieces back up that had homes but Liam liked to play with them so we took them down for a while - here's hoping that phase is over).

I purchased a piece from a local New England artist back in late September and found the perfect spot for it yesterday.

Oh, how I love it! Just hanging the one small painting totally made me happy.

I'd like to take a trip down to her studio and select some other pieces at some point in the not too distant future - that'd be so fun!

Just thought I'd share.

Cough, Cough

When I was meeting with the trainer last week, he said that it's good to take a week off every few months. I thought he was insane! The thought of not working out for a week just blew my mind...I couldn't not work out. I'm addicted, damnit!

And now I'm sick. I pushed it and worked out Monday night, but called it quits after only doing my weight routine (an hour workout in and of itself). And I haven't been back since.

I was going to try tonight, but I opted to try and rest instead. I went up to bed and let J take over the kids. Liam, however, spent most of the time that I was resting by sitting at the top of the stairs repeatedly saying, "I want to see Mommy." He also left the hall light on and, being the original Princess and the Pea, it bothered me to have that sliver of light coming through the door.

I did manage to rest, though, going in and out of sleep and having some funky dreams to boot.

When I emerged from my room a couple of hours later, Ella bounded up the stairs and asked me if I "waked up" and told me she was "so happy to see me." Dude, my kids rock.

I'm looking forward to returning to the gym, but I'll be smart about it and not push myself until I'm (close to) 100%.

I Couldn't Make This Stuff Up If I Tried

My day...

The scene: Liam's been sick for the past couple of days and has been having a particularly bad time with diarrhea. As I was changing his diaper, he was holding the Desitin for me and taunting me by telling me that he was going to eat it.

H: No, we don't eat that. If it's meant for your bum, it's most certainly not intended for your mouth.

(Really, I think that's advice we can all use.)

********

The scene: I'm standing in the kitchen dishing out some dinner and Liam is standing beside me.

L: You making dinner, Mommy?

H: Yes, go tell Daddy that we're having tofu casserole for dinner.

L (running off and in an adorable sing-song voice): Dad-dy! We're having tofu asshole for dinner!

********

The scene: I'm exhausted and worn out, sitting in the living room and listening to Liam play in the front room, wondering what's going on with the barrister bookcase.

H (to J): Can you go check on him, please?

J (walking into the kitchen and glancing at Liam): Whatcha doing? Trying to decapitate yourself?

Ella (running from my side into the front room to see what her brother's up to): Liam! You crapping yourself?

********

The scene: I'm holding Ella right before heading upstairs for bedtime.

H: Let Daddy wipe your face and hands before bed. You need to be all clean.

Ella: I want to be a dirty girl! I need to!

And such is my life...

Always Remember

Today is World AIDS Day.

Here's what I wrote last year about my brother, Danny, and his death.

It comes to me, now and again, all of the other memories that I could have shared in that original post...about how Danny looked so eerily similar to Tom Hanks' character in Philadelphia just before he died (and how that movie just reduces me to pretty much a sniveling ball of memories and tears), or how sometimes he would come home to visit without telling anyone and it wasn't uncommon to find him walking up the road to our house to surprise Mom. How he introduced me to chicken in peanut sauce (which I thought was just one of his quirky, fancy New York City recipes that I found utterly revolting at the time and now absolutely love) or, how I confided in my favorite teacher what was going on because I just needed someone to talk to about the insanity that was having a loved one die at home and he immediately went to "warn" the principal of the school and I had never, ever felt so betrayed or hurt before (it was 1988, people were still freaked the hell out about AIDS, but I was beyond devastated that someone I trusted could do such a thing).

Mostly, though, I remember the beauty, love and self-sacrifice that my family poured into Danny's care and, ultimately, his death.

I cannot believe that it has been over 20 years. The memories are still so sharp and his absence is still keenly felt, especially at this time of year.