"Let the 'Countdown" begin!" :)

"What are you doing New Year's...New Year's Eve?"...Harry Connick, Jr. sings...

Yet another year is drawing to a close, and a "New one" approaches nigh...bringing forth a deluge of memories of "Yesteryear".

Isn't New Years Eve so much different for you than it was when you were a child?

I remember that when I was little, this festive occasion was celebrated much differently by the members of my family, than it is now.

For "one"...that was the 1970's--a time when people were just generally "looser"...with "everything". Going bra-less was the new trend; partying like rock-stars with virtual strangers was the norm; tossing bags and bags of "fast-food"- litter and beer/soda cans out of a moving vehicle and onto our country's roadways was randomly done in staggering regularity; and drinking-and-driving was not considered to be as taboo as it is now.

Only after people began to realize:

1. How absolutely GROSS the "bra-less"-look ACTUALLY IS...

2. That if you "party like a rock star", then you had better be able to AFFORD it like a "rock star"! --Also, you are not immune to DYING like the many talented souls our society has lost...

3. The mindless ejection of garbage into our environment was destroying our Eco-system, and contaminating our society...

4. Thousands of innocent victims were maimed/slain by drunken motorists...

...did people finally sit-up and take notice...and take ACTION.

The 70's were ripe with idiotic trends, excess, and ideas...just a general, overall bizarre "vibe". (I may have been little, but I CLEARLY REMEMBER everything that went-on in not only my little "bubble" of a universe, but within the world surrounding my bubble.)

Just because the times were so far skewed from what had prevailed in the previous decades, does not mean that they were not fun, unique, and fascinating...well worth the trip down "Memory Lane". .. ;)

As a child, my brother, sister, and I luxuriated in the lifestyle of the "Rich and Famous" (to a degree)...however, we were too young to fully realize that other people did not generally live that way, and too young to fully grasp the possibilities of our situation...as well as take full-advantage of it! ;)

My parents married in '58...Mom was 18 (Catholic-school virgin) and Dad 24 (Hell-raiser, phenomenally brilliant, driven to the extreme, Marriage-count: #3!)

They were dirt poor...yet Dad (with Mom's help) worked his fingers-to-the-bone, and made a pile-O-money as an Engineer, eventually owning his own "Tool and Die / Engineering" business.

Dad and Mom worked their way up to a custom built-home (which Dad designed) in 1974...5-acre lot; MONSTER 2-story, all-brick house; wrap-around wrought-iron balcony; tennis-court in the back-yard. A FREAKING AMAZING house!

All of us kids had our own HUGE bedroom with custom bath (mine was a walk-in), and French doors leading out onto the balcony (mine overlooked the tennis court.) It was positively amazing...and I--being 4 years-old, was a bit young to actually appreciate the incredible beauty of my surroundings. (However, NOW I would KILL for that bathroom! ;)

My Dad--since he had built his empire--(and invested well), liked to "buy things". And I mean, BIG things...and "NOW".

There was this nightclub on the "Rock Road" in St. Louis that he like to frequent with all of his family and friends... "El Rancho Cocktail Lounge". "El Rancho" was actually (at the time) the most "happening" bar on the "Rock Road"--which was the most "happening" street in town.

The Rock Road was a miles-long strip of bars, nightclubs, pool-halls...you name it. This was the time before the "Dawn of Disco" and discotheques, it was still the era of 1970's Rock and Roll, and live bands in every club.

So, Dad and his cronies discovered "The Ranch" (as it was lovingly referred to.) At the time, Dad was close to turning 40, and Mom was 34...

(MAN! I am currently "smack-dab" between those two ages! How I wish I would had known my parents as "PEOPLE" when they were my age...and not just as the "OLD" parents I mistakenly thought I had!...Hmmm...how "time" changes our perception, huh?)

(Okay..."back at the Ranch!" ;)...This was THE place to whoop-it-up in the 70's...and Dad began this annoying little habit of "BUYING" the bar every night that he went there and "tied-one-on".

Uh..yeah...NOT kidding!

I recall that in the morning, when I would crawl into the MONSTER king-sized bed with my much-hung-over parents, Dad would ask my mom, "What happened last night?"

To which she would invariably reply, "You bought the bar again."

I would sit there between them, with my pink wind-up-music-box "Teddy" firmly gripped under one arm, my satiny ivory-colored "blankie" in the other, and watch in fascination as Dad would--ONCE AGAIN!--have Mom call the bank and "cancel the check"...(whatever THAT meant!)

In the beginning, I did not have the FOGGIEST idea of what was going on during this exchange. but after a month of weekends, and Saturday-morning "bank-calling/check-cancelling", I soon figured it out!

Every Saturday morning I would "rise with the chickens" to click-on the TV (with our NEW, "hi-tech" REMOTE CONTROL!) to watch my much-loved cartoons...all the while listening for sounds which would herald my parents slowly stirring awake.

At the first "sign of life" from their palace of a bedroom, I would abandon my cartoons for the live-theatre which was sure to unfold within their "inner-sanctum". I would then sail-off of my ornate and frilly, pink and white, canopied-Princess bed, and scamper-off to launch myself up-onto their bed...the sound of the plastic-bottomed "feet" of my pink, zip-up, fuzzy pajamas--scuffling over the carpets--signaling my arrival.

It was one particularly fascinating morning, at the end of the month, that I remember vividly...Dad asked Mom the same question, to which Mom gave the standard reply. Dad then said, "Well, good...I guess it is time to start remodeling then, isn't it?!" ;)

I was "fuzzying" with my Blankie as fast as I could, eyes bugging-out, enthralled by this newest turn-of-events.

Dad (who LOVES to tell his stories, and expound-upon them in great detail...hmmm...and I wonder where I got THAT from! ;)...proceeded to explain how the previous night he was SOBER when he bought the bar!

(Now, I don't want to have my parents come across as some kind of raging alcoholics...they weren't...but it just so happens that THIS story takes place predominately in a bar...where there is an abundance of beer and liquor...so the "natural progression" will surely take place. And, HEY...my family was certainly NEVER "boring", that's for sure! ;)

So, THAT night (the night AFTER he bought the bar), we ALL piled into the truck to go to El Rancho..."our" new bar! (Yes, I mean "WE ALL"...it was the 70's, and we owned that bar for YEARS afterwards, and I cannot TELL you the number of times that my entire family headed off to "The Ranch". (I was 4, my sister 8, and my brother 14...and I recall still going there in high school!)

Anyway, that Saturday night, I remember Dad getting on-stage at the end of the night--after the band had finished playing--and announcing: "Well, I've got some 'bad news', and some 'good news'."

...And expectant hush fell-over the crowd...

"The 'bad news' is: 'We are closing the El Rancho'!"

...The startled crowd "boo-ed" and "hiss-ed"!

"The 'good news' is: 'We are going to remodel it and and re-open in a month'!"

..."Cheers" and "shouts" abounded!

For the next month, the club was a swirling site of construction and massive renovations. The Ranch was always kind of a border-line "Road House", and now it was transforming into a REALLY nicely-appointed nightclub.

Dad let my sister and I select the lighting-fixtures for the club (from a catalogue)...and being the consistent-"Glitter Girl" that I am, we chose RED-blown-glass chandeliers with long crystal-droplets dangling about the perimeter!

We were there almost every day, watching the metamorphoses within the bar. At the end of the month, there was a MASSIVE "Grand Opening" party, with the radio station there, our house-band,"Firechild"; and-it seemed like--EVERYONE in the St. Louis area trying to get in the doors.

I practically "grew-up" in that bar, dancing with the cocktail waitress at night-- all-decked-out in my ruffly, pink-and-white sun-dresses!-- and crawling-up onto a bar-stool in the near-empty day-time hours--primly ordering myself a "Shirley Temple"! :)

I would play the electronic "shuffle-board/bowling game", the pin-ball machine, and the juke-box FOR FREE! :) --Because my Daddy would "flip the little switch" underneath the games that allowed "open-play". I occupied myself for HOURS with those games.

And, often, I would fall asleep, stretched-out in one of the red-leather booths, a wet bar-towel pressed to my eyes, to keep the MASSIVE AMOUNTS of cigarette smoke at bay. (Oh, I vividly recall my eyes STREAMING tears from the amounts of smoke which continually hung in that low-ceilinged room...even WITH the "smoke-eaters"! Ughhh!!!)

I had no idea that at the time, my sister and brother BOTH were sneaking drinks from the bartender and waitress!

Like I said, it was a waaayyy different "time". I mean, no parent in their RIGHT MIND would bring their kids into that environment these days...much less let the littlest girl--ME!--associate with a bunch of drunks in a bar, and fall asleep "SOMEWHERE" in a booth! I could have been abducted at ANY TIME...but that was not the "scene" back then. Well, not as predominately, anyway.

Irregardless, we all stayed "safe", and turned out RELATIVELY "normal"...well...KINDA!

With one GLARING EXCEPTION...that same little pink-cheeked, ruffly-dressed girl eventually grew-up to WORK in a bar...and then manage night-clubs..."Drink -Slinger-Extraordinaire!" ;) ...HRMMMPPPHHHHH!!!!!

Now, to RETURN to the original idea behind this diatribe: "NEW YEAR'S EVE!!!"

(...*WHEW!*...That had to have been the LONGEST "TANGENT", ever!...However, a necessary one!..)

"Back-in-the-day"...(SEE!...Now, with the help of the "tangent", you actually know what that "day" was like!)

Anyway..."New Year's Eve" was totally cool back then, at least in my little-girl's eyes. All of the adults would get all glitzed-up and head off to The Ranch, and all of the kids would be shuffled-off to one house where we would be baby-sat by the older kids...and we would spend our New Year's Eve together there.

We would have tons of frozen "Jeno's Pizza" to munch on, as well as chips, pretzels, and soda of every flavor imaginable. We would play games like "Twister" and "Monopoly", and then tune-into "DICK CLARK'S-NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE!" :)

The sights and sounds of "Times Square" coming out of the TV was the "feel" of New Year's...especially the sound of Dick Clark's voice, as he introduced the bands, and counted-down to the New Year.

Watching that high-wattage, multi-lit "BALL" drop down to have the digits of the "NEW" year illuminate in a fiery glow--with the shouts and sounds of "bells, whistles, and horns" from the crowd in "Times Square" in the backround--was what it was "all about" to me!

I STRUGGLED to stay-awake until Midnight when I was younger, drastically disappointed if I "missed" the "BIG EVENT"...but I could count on my sister to awaken me for the count-down...and I would groggily watch the Ball descend...then fall right-back asleep amidst the revelry!

The adults would return either that night, or the next morning to collect their own brood of kids...finding us all stretched-out on the living-room floor in front of a TV that had already gone to broadcasting the "TEST PATTERN"! :)

However, I have GOT to say that the BEST and most MAGICAL part of New Year's Eve was ALWAYS the FABULOUS: Crowns, Tiaras, Frilly Leis, and AWESOME "noise-makers" which "Mommy" would ALWAYS be sure to bring home for me! These souvenirs of that fabulous night always represented that MYSTICAL transformation from the "OLD" year into the "NEW"!

Even though times have surely changed (some for the "better", some for the "worse")...the New Year will ALWAYS ring-in with a *BANG*!, the dropping of the "BALL" in "Times Square", and with parents all across the globe bringing those party-souvenirs home to their kids. :)

"HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!...MAY IT BE SAFE, FABULOUS, AND FULL OF FESTIVE-FAVORS!"

"BEST WISHES FOR A REMARKABLE AND WONDERFUL 2008!" :)

*STAY-TUNED FOR MORE "SNOW* DAYS" IN THE "NEW YEAR"! ;)

"Wrap, "*HACK!* ;) , Drop, and Roll!... (you'll "get it"...just keep reading! :)

Not only is "Christmas Wrappings"--by: "The Waitresses", one of my VERY FAVORITE Christmas songs (as well as Annie Lennox's --of "The Eurythmics"--version of "Winter Wonderland"!)...

but that is exactly what I have been doing for the past 11 hours...STRAIGHT! ...WRAPPING!!!

All of my gifts are finally wrapped!...OMG...every year I have a massive wrap-fest-a-palooza of wrapping...*WHEW!* I wrapped everything in the dining room, where the PINK! tree is. The ENTIRE room was "Ground Zero", and the shrapnel consisted of an array of sparkly, velvet, and glitter ribbons; bows of every size and shape imaginable; rolls-upon-rolls of festive wrapping paper; glitzy and adorable custom gift tags; colored pens (to MATCH each individual gift tag!); 3 pairs of scissors; and about 8 rolls of tape.

Why so many scissors and tape? Well, if you have ever sat on the floor to wrap anything for any length of time, then you are well-aware of the phenomena which occurs that makes the tape,scissors, and pens COMPLETELY DISAPPEAR! So, I end up searching and searching in vain for the stupid things...and it is only after several minutes of frustrated searching, that I manage to finally locate them...UNDER MY BUTT!

Now, my booty is NOT that big; I don't know how it could possibly be giving shelter to my "wrapping tools"...much less have me not FEEL them under "thar". I am convinced that it is some sort of devious little plot to make me crazy.

So, now I have learned to start the wrapping-process with PLENTY-O-"stchuff"...seems to work out pretty well for me, too.

Oooo...back to the topic of fav Christmas songs..."Trans-Siberian Orchestra's": "Christmas Eve / Sarajevo 12/24" is DEFINITELY in the top 3... Wicked-awesome! It just happens to be creshendo-ing thru my surround-sound at this very moment. WOW...very, very cool!


I used to have the wrap-fest ritual on Christmas Eve...and end-up staying awake the entire night. Christmas morning will find me at my parents; house...with everyone ripping apart my loving handi-work in about 3 seconds flat. Then, my parent's house will be the one which the "snow-globe exploded in"!...piles of torn bits of paper will be strewn about the basement, around Mom's BLUE tree!

After we open the gifts, I will help Mom finish cooking her big Christmas-feast (YUM!-YUM!-YUM!)...My mom is the BEST cook...however, I know that everyone says that about THEIR mom. Except in MY case, it is SOO TRUE!

My family does NOT get together more than this ONE time each year (it used to be because we did not like each other that much!) However, as my brother, sister, and I have gotten older, we have learned to appreciate each other (and our crazy family!) a bit more.

This one time each year around the dinner table with our parents (who have been married for 50 craze-filled years!)...is now always the BEST of times! We all end-up laughing and joking about all the unbelievably stupid and insane high-jinks we used to get into as kids. (Hmmm...when's the last time YOU used "high-jinks" in a sentence? --Unless you were describing what happened on "Scooby Doo"!...Hmmm...when was the last time you watched "Scooby Doo"? ...That's too long!)

My dad--who was always SUPER-DUPER strict when we were growing-up (probably to keep us from the life-threatening harm which we were determined to get into!)--is always shocked speechless when we "confess" our "sins" around the "Christmas dinner-table"...while Mom pretends surprise and ignorance of any of our schemes, which she was usually a party to!...Hey "Good-cop / Bad-cop", Don'tcha know...that dynamic usually plays-out in every family. ;)

Oh, it is FUN! My dad always thought that his word was "LAW"...and he STILL DOES! However, to have him find out all the "crap" that we pulled, his reaction is PRICELESS! WELL, he cannot very well take our cars away, or "ground us for life" anymore, 'eh? I bet he wishes he COULD, though!

So, after we all have "risked the 'Wrath of Dad' ",and laughed our asses almost out of the rickety-old dinning room chairs which my parents have had since BEFORE I WAS BORN!-- It is always time for the guys to disappear to...well, WHEREVER the hell it is that guys go after dinner!...And my sister and I help my mom clear the table, and get the kitchen back into some semblance of order...no small feat, let me tell 'ya!

Oh, I should say, my sister and I help-out RIGHT AFTER we have excavated the "wish-bone" from the cavity of the monster turkey...a little tradition Sis and I have...and we are QUITE SERIOUS about it, too. I "cheat", and she usually wins! (Hey, a girl's gotta have a chance to examine the wish-bone, and map-out where the potential weak-spots are!) Hmmm...all that "cheating", and I STILL lose...Hrmmmpppphhhhh!

When we leave my parents' house, my boyfriend and I have to head out to his mom's house...and she lives practically in East-frickin'-Egypt! So, we eventually make it to "Egypt", and do the whole "gift-exchange"-thing with his family...right after yet ANOTHER meal is placed before us...*MOOAAAAAANNNNNNN*..."Alka Seltzer", anyone?

("PLOP!, PLOP!. FIZZ, FIZZ!...Oh what a relief it is!)

After spending time at his mom's house, choking-to-death on all of the second-hand smoke which the plethora of "Egyptians" feel compelled to contribute to the steady mantle of potential lung-cancer already hanging in the room...we head over to his dad's house, visit there for a bit, and then head-on home to have OUR private Christmas (with the puppies and kitties.)...and a few glasses of my "Kool-Aid"-ish "Arbor Mist"!

I strike-up the Christmas tunes on the satellite, he builds a fire, and we "COMMENCE TO OPENIN'!"...FINALLY!

*SCREECH!!!!!*...WHOOPS! That was the sound of my brakes being slammed-on....NO ONE is going to get ANY peace here, until the puppies and kitties are fed their little baggie of left-overs!

So, as I pander to the cacophony of barking and meowing...(Oye-Vey!!!)...My boyfriend builds a fire, and I go hop into my beloved "Celtics" sweat-pants and "Baja Beach Club" long-sleeved "T".

Now, back to our program...IT'S FINALLY PRESENT TIME!!! -*YIPPEE!!!* -WOO-HOO!!!

After much tearing and shredding of the gilt paper, the dogs crawling into my lap (ALL 4 of them!...Good thing that they're SMALL dogs!...'Cause my "lap" is just not that big!)...and the constant threat of the real tree toppling-over, due to the now-Christmas-tree-possessed, manically delirious kitties continuously attempting to climb to the top...we all pass out into the pile of glitter and bows.

At some point in the wee morning hours, we will invariably awaken...the fire has long gone-cold, a draft will be blowing down the chimney flue, I will have rolled-over into a pile of hacked-up tinsel which one (or more) of the cats has barfed-up precariously close to my "pillow" of presents.

I will look up into now-serene, slanted green eye-balls of several of the cats, and they will simply just stare back at me and blink--as if nothing had been amiss while we dozed. I pull 3 or 4 bows out of my hair, and creakily roll over and up, just as--as if in a slow-motion freeze-frame--the tree begins to fall...4 of the cats riding it down to the carpet with the finesse of seasoned "saddle bronc-busters"!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!...AND TO ALL A "GOOD NIGHT"! (And, those darned cats had better start RUNNING!!!)


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Chips, Salsa, and Tinsel... ;)

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"...Isn't that what "Frosty" said everytime that ratty 'ole, magical top-hat was place on his head, and he "came to life"? Well, the North Wind has apparently blown it's own spiffy little millinery creation atop my rockin' 80's video-chick "do", and put a wee bit 'O life back into me as well! :)

Yes, it HAS been a few months since I last posted. Things have been so hectic and crazy, that I have not known exactly WHERE to begin. However, I believe that it is fortuitous that it is the Christmas season, for I shall just take a page out of Frosty's book, and begin afresh...sooo..."HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"...er, ahem!...that is..."MERRY CHRISTMAS!"...It's a new frickin' day! ;)

I just LOVE the holidays! The holiday season begins with Halloween (MY BIRTHDAY! :) ...and then, right after Halloween, the Christmas season gets into full-swing. The preliminary hearaldings of this bright, shiny, and wonderful, holy season are the Christmas departments magically being erected overnight within the department stores. Whole sections of stores dedicated to trees, ornaments, ribbons, and wrapping paper!

Hand-in-hand with the "trappings" goes the Christmas music!...And, I have just got to say, "I love the Christmas music!" :) I listen to the Christmas station in my car, and at home on the satellite, 24/7...from Thanksgiving to New Years Day. Either that is a mark of insanity, or proof-positive of my festive spirit. I prefer to think of it more as: "I am insanely festive!" ;)...(Or is that "festively insane"???...Hmmm...just doesn't sound as good!)

This affliction carries over into my home as well...with all of the decorations up, it looks as if a "Snow Globe" (no pun intended!) has exploded in my house...a freaking veritable "Winter Wonderland" of: (what else?)...PINK!

I have collected hordes of decorations for EVERY holiday imaginable over the years...and they are all safely tucked-away in their holiday-coordinated matching "totes" in a special storage room in the basement...with "Christmas" definitely taking up the most space in that room. This room houses a veritable treasure-trove of holiday goodies...although my boyfriend refers to it all as "crap"; and he would be quite happy if I were to toss most of it out in the trash. (Yeah, THAT'S so NOT gonna happen.)

Think of my "Christmas Closet" (how my mom refers to HER decoration-storage room...hmmm...I am beginning to detect a pattern here. Well, at least I come by my insanity HONESTLY! ;)

ANYWAY...think of it as "Uncle Scrooge's 'MONEY BIN' ". Recall how Scrooge McDuck (sounds like a "McDonald's" sandwich, doesn't it?...The "Roasted 'McDuck Sandwich' "!... YIKES! ;) ...ANYWAY! (You DO recall that I warned you all about those "tangents", right? It may have been a few months since I have posted, but some things are just NOT going to change!)... As I was saying...Scrooge used to dive into his money bin and go "swimming" around in the gold coins. That is the mental image I have of ME, whenever I forage into the "Christmas Closet".

Every year I acquire WAY more ornaments and do-dads than the previous year...usually at the day-after-Christmas sales. However, THIS year I "won" a "truck-load" of new "crap" (boyfriend quoting, again!) off of eBay...(by-the-way, I have now quit my eBay addiction "COLD TURKEY"...I am proud to announce that I do not even log-in anymore! :)

Tonight I have been dragging all of the shiny trapping and wrappings up from the basement, and have decorated most of the house. (Why-o-why is it always so much more fun to decorate, than to "undecorate"?) At least when I have to put all of that stuff away, it is a much easier task to haul it all DOWNstairs, than it was to huff-and-puff my way UP the steps with hundreds of pounds of ornaments. I would ALSO like to know how in the hell ORNAMENTS, bubble wrap, tissue, and RIBBONS got to be so damn heavy!? *SHEESH!*

My dogs love to stretch-out by the fire, and watch their nutty momma as I turn-on "Sirius Satellite Christmas" music, crack-open a frosty bottle of "Blackberry Merlot--Arbor Mist" (HEE-HEE!), and merrily go about the business of tricking-out the house and the trees in my best "Snow Globe"-fashion!

(Whilst my passel of kitties get progressively more and more wound-up--diving in and out of the trees, and amongst the piles of ribbons and bows. The cats THRIVE! in this yearly experience of lights and sounds...their whiskers quivering, pupils fully dilated, fur standing on-end, as they dart and dash around the house like escapees from the kitty-insane-asylum!)

"TREES?!", you say?...Ohhh, YES!..."TREES!'...(PLURAL!) In the front dining room I set up my much beloved and coveted artificial PINK! tree, and in the living room we set up the monster REAL TREE...a "Frasier Fir"...the "Cadillac of 'Charlie Brown' "-Christmas trees!

The real tree is 10' of perfection, loading the air with the pungent aroma of pine--which, apparently to my cats, is tatamount to the best cat-nip on the planet! After hours of careful deliberation and decorating, it is artfully loaded-down with numerous strings of festive clear, fuschia, and pearl-hued lights; hundreds of ornaments--collected over the span of my lifetime; sugar-frosted"-artifical apple and cranberry garland; ribbons, bows, and strand-upon-SINGLY HUNG--strand of glittering silver tinsel! (Along with some of the homemade ornaments which my mommy saved from my childhood...nothing beats a "Shrinky Dink" for bringing back memories of the "good old days"! :)

My PINK! tree is an 8'-tall confection comprised entirely of everything PINK!, crystal, and silver...a study in delicate beauty and grace...and I freaking LOVE IT!!! ;) These ornaments have also mainly been acquired over the last few decades...and...YUP!, all PINK! ;)

I'm thinking: probably not a whole lot of people out there would be able to decorate a tree entirely in PINK! just from the "crap" (look, another "quote"! ;) they have lying around in the basement. (Hey, we all have our own little "proud moments" of eccentricity...let me have mine! ;)

Well, after I FINALLY had the real tree all set-up and decorated, I kinda pooped-out post-vacuum/pre-tinsel. (The whole "tinseling" thing really blows...but I still gotta hang it all STRAND-BY-FLIPPIN'-STRAND!...My mommy taught her daughter very well...on how to be a LUNATIC!)

I was contemplating on beginning my "FANTASY TREE OF PINK! CONFECTION" :) , however I lost my stride when I broke one of the CARDINAL RULES of "one-nighter/power decorating":

"DON'T STOP TO CRACK-OPEN AN ICE-COLD DIET COKE, AND SURVEY YOUR HANDIWORK... ESPECIALLY AT 4 IN THE MORNING!"

At THAT point I realized that I was hungry and tired...so, I foraged through the pantry, and came up with a jar of salsa and tortilla chips. Well, the salsa was terrible...not my usual "Casa Gallardo" brand of yumminess! However, it was the only kind I could find at "Wal Mart", when I popped-in there today to do my daily "cruise" through the Christmas aisles! (Mmmmmm..."Wal-Mart"!...24-hours of "impulse-buying bliss"! Ah, well, I gave-up eBay for my local home-town mecca of "Suburban-convenience"!)


So, after I tried to unsuccessfully "doctor-up" the "grody" salsa (WHOOPS!--Now, THERE'S a throw-back-quote of 80's-"Valley Girl" proportions!...Don't get me started! ;)... I gave-up with my little "after-midnight fiesta". (Hmmm...maybe it was "Jose' Feliciano's": "Feliz Navidad" blasting out of the sound system which put me in the mood!) Whichever the case, the crappy salsa led me here to YOU ALL! Quite fortuitous, 'eh?


Now that my little crystal tiara-version of "Frosty's hat" has "blown" back onto my head, I shall
be a much more consistent and gracious (although, never TYPICAL!;) hostess of your "SNOW DAYS"!

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!...MERRY CHRISTMAS!... FELIZ-FREAKING-NAVIDAD!" :)

"Inaugural Address...'High School Days' "...

It's funny...I love to write, and I love to ramble..."tangents are my friend"! ;-) I also enjoy punctuation, and the good "smiley" from time to time.

So many people have told me that I need a blog, or that I should write a book. In truth, I had always thought that I would have been a successful author / journalist by this time in my life (...Or: High-fashion model, Academy Award-winning actress, trauma surgeon, veterinarian, President, Super-hero, Animal Crusader-Extroardinnaire, etc...)

However, I am instead: a repressed-author, ex-model, retired-super-hero, career student, bartender-to-the-"stars", shop-a-holic, determined to bring back the "80's", mother to a plethora of doggies and kitties...the loves-of-my-life!

{***Oh yes...my dad is SOO PROUD!...*GRIMACE*...'Nothing quite like never meeting or exceeding Daddy's expectations...a truly grand feeling!***}

I do not have any ACTUAL children of my own, however...someday I am quite convinced that I will steadily evolve into "The Crazy Cat-Lady up the street"...the one where the children are reticent to go trick-or-treating at her house on Halloween. Although, if those future wee-ones are clever enough, they will soon realize that THIS "crazy Cat-Lady" is ALSO a "Halloween baby"...and I will ALWAYS have the GROOVIEST decorations, and the absolute BEST candy!

{Like I said ealier..."tangents and me...never far apart!"...}

So, as I finally sat at my laptop, and sprinkled the magic pixie-dust over the keyboard...commencing to take the inaugural steps to give life to my blog, I pondered...

..."What should I write? What will be the absolute best posting to slap-up onto my newly created PINK!... ("PINK" IS the "happiest color!")... format? I have so much to say (always!), and (more than likely) absolutely NO ONE to actually READ it...but WHAT should I write?...And, more importantly: WHY am I stressing about this?

And then I remembered back to my much-loved school days...

Remember when the yearbooks would come out at the end of each year? Our parents would shell-out a few dollars in grade school / middle school for a thin little 50-page, black-and-white, chronicle of our past year.

And then, in high school, our folks (or, US!) would have to fork-over a hefty chunk-O-cash for the much more ostentatious version...hardback, glossy pages, full-color features, sometimes leather-bound, or with our names embossed in gold-leaf on the front.

When the yearbooks were FINALLY distributed, the VERY FIRST thing that we all did was: LOOK FOR OUR OWN PICTURES!...(And, thus...the ego reigns supreme!...We know who our favorite person really is! ;-)

So, after we flipped through our books, checking out our friends' pix, and those of any hot guys that we had secretly drooled-over during the course of the school year (probably explains why I did not date much in high school...all that "secret pining and drooling"!...Maybe I should have actually SAID something, huh?)

Oh well, that's what high school reunions are for, I suppose...to go back and see "who looks like what"; discover if that once-hot 16 year-old crush is still handsome (or if he has morphed into someone totally unrecognizable!); if said "boy" is "single", or not; and possibly obtain a little closure...now, almost 20 years later...I can finally say, "Hi!"

And that ends "Tangent #2", (or is it #3?...I do loose track after a while....so: NO COUNTING!)

Anyway, they all eventually meet-in-the-middle somewhere...

So, as I pondered my very first blog-entry, and revisited my yearbooks of 'yore, I vividly recalled how my friends and I would agonize over WHAT to enscribe on those hallowed-pages of our youth.

...It had to be something memorable, clever--witty, and possibly tear-jerking at the same time. We needed to use a brightly-colored pen, and utilize our very best penmanship...this was our chance to SHINE!...to be immortalized forever!

...And then, we usually ended-up writing the same drivel as everyone else:

*It was great being in home-room with you!
*Stay sweet!
*Have fun over the summer...See you next year!
*LYLAS!...("Love you like a sister"!)

...and, Blah, blah, blah....

So, as I sat here and pondered the great-abyss of potential-posts and witty antecdotes, I went a step further, and went into the basement and dug-out some of my past year books. I was quite curious to see what my fellow co-horts...the absolute best friends of my youth had written TO me, and ABOUT me.

Was I surprised when I cracked-open those pages! Who WERE these people?...I had a hard time matching faces with the names of those who signed my books. These were the kids that I had spent the better part of my life with...almost 17 of my formative years...and I was mind-boggled!

I perused the pages--of course, going to MY pictures FIRST! ;-) --and read the scrawled posts, written in various shades of purples, pinks, oranges, greens, and blues...and was completely FASCINATED by these mini-time capsules.

Not only who were "these people"; but, more importantly..."WHO WAS I?" I had a hard time recognizing myself...not just the fresh-faced, line-free complexion that I COMPLETELY TOOK FOR GRANTED at the time (and would kill for now!)...but, the girl I used to be...the girl with such grand hopes, dreams, and expectations for the future.

It was a bit of a foundation-rocking moment I had there...awakening, too.

I have not really...shall we say: "utilized" my intellectual assets to the best of my ability over the years. (Probably why Dad is so proud.) However, having had this awakening, I am currently setting in-motion my mini-plan to change my life...a mini-plan which should morph into the final grand scheme of becoming the "New Me".

...Or, better said: RE-BECOMING the "Old Me"...with a few more lines and wrinkles. (However, being the confident shop-a-holic that I am...I am always on the look-out for a better wrinkle-cream!...Huh, when I was younger, I called it "moisturizer"...and now it's "wrinkle-cream"...Ugghhh!)

So, to close-out my "Inaugural Address", I would like to share a few excerpts from said yearbooks...and these will be strictly from middle school...I should save SOMETHING for future posts, 'eh?!...

*JEFFERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL"--1982-1984 (6th-8th grades.)*

*"Only though I just met you this year, I really like you. I hope you and I are friends forever!"...Debbie ("Debbie"?...Who the hell is "Debbie"?)

*"To a funny chick who was the best in "Art"...Rusty" (Yes, Rusty...I DO remember you...unfortunately, my "famous artist"-plan did not exactly pan-out...but, I like to think that I am still pretty amusing, and still have the ability to creat a MEAN DOODLE!)

*"To a very nice girl who is strange sometimes"...Joe (Yes, probably true, Joe!)

*"I am glad I met you...may your hair grow even longer, and your teeth ever straighter and whiter!"...Andrea (Yes, Andrea...I still qualify for "Rapunzel"...and could definitely still star in my own "Colgate" ad!)

*"To a nice girl who never gives me a whole piece of gum!"...Scott (Oh, Scott...I should have been more forthcoming with the gum with you!...You turned into such a HOT professional baseball player!)

*" 'Ozgood' predicts that you will be a female heavy-weight boxer when you turn 45...HA, HA!"...Mike (Mike, you always were a strange dude!)

*"If I write anything offensive, don't hit me. I don't mean to be offensive. I agree with Mike; but I say you'll be a ranch-hand, and change your name to 'Tex'. No, seriously, I think you're pretty cool when you're calm. I don't mind if you get mad, as long as you don't hit me. I hope you're in some of my classes next year...it would have been pretty boring in Algebra without you!"...Clint (Clint, you were cool too, dude! ;-)...Hmmm...Apparently I had this penchant for smackin' the boys...and here's my views on THAT:

1) I am sure that they deserved it!;

2) I only smacked ONE of the boys in Algebra (and it was NEITHER of THEM!), because I LIKED HIM!...Yup, that's how it works in 8th grade...at least for me...that was my form of flirting...also probably explains my stellar success with the boys!)

3) I may have been a tall chick (still am), but I was always slender..."RANCH HAND"!...INDEED!

*AND THIS CONCLUDES OUR "BROADCAST DAY"...PLEASE TUNE-IN AGAIN!...THANK YOU FOR TAKING A "SNOW DAY"! :) *