The List

I'm sure you've all heard about the list. The one people create listing everything they want to do before they die. I guess it's die unless people use other milestones like age. I never created one myself, but I've come up with an alternate plan. As I do things I've never done before I'm putting them on the list. That way I won't disappoint myself. And boy do I hate disappointing me. I can be very harsh. So last weekend I did a Spa weekend with my friend Lisa. No place to fancy. We went to Englewood Resort and Spa in Itasca. (No laughing.) We spent the day at the spa indulging ourselves in various services. I had a massage and a facial. We then headed to the pool, hot tub, sauna and steam. All in all a very nice way to spend a day.

We went back to the room, showered and got dressed for dinner (what turned out to be a mediocre dinner), but it's not easy finding a great restaurant in Itasca. This one had great reviews, but then again what do the people in Itasca know about great food. At the hotel we noticed while roaming the halls that there was a 60s party with a live band. We wanted to go in but everyone had name tags so we thought twice. We went out to the fire pit and met some people from Silver Cross group (the ones having the 60s themed party) and one of them gave me his badge so we could go check out the band. We got a drink and went in and sat down. There was one woman giving us a disapproving look. We got up and danced and even got another participant to dance with us. We knew she wanted to dance but felt a little awkward. We were just about to get up for another dance and a hotel person told us we had to leave. Well I've gotten kicked out of nicer parties. We then proceeded to crash a wedding down the hall and even ate a piece of wedding cake. This one we left on our own. So I have 2 items to add to my newly created list.

Simpsonize yourself at http://simpsonizeme.com/#

Where Does Time Go

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. Time is strange. Sometimes it goes by so slowly that I can't believe it (those darn 5 minute traffic lights) and other times it is so fast I wonder where it went. I try not to spend time wishing my life away and try to live in the moment, but that's not easy.

My last post was about my long lost first love. I haven't heard from him since his newest child was born. He's 62 and a stay-at-home Dad. My life seemed to be settling down. Work was busy, but that's OK. Until my sister called and said that she may need to move in with me because she is having big-time financial issues. OMG! I like living alone. Well I'm not really alone, I have Bernee.








So I seemed to be rabbling, but that's OK because I doubt that anyway is paying attention.

Bye for now.

As Time Passes

I don't know about you, but the older I get the more I feel the need to connect to the past. Maybe this is what they call a midlife crisis. Sometimes it's hard to move forward without looking back. This reflection carries a number of emotions - happiness, sadness, regrets... But taking an inventory of life is always a good thing. It helps me maintain a healthy perspective. This need resulted in locating my first love. I was 20 years old when we meet. It's not that I didn't think I was in love prior to this, but I knew the situations before weren't about love. There was Dennis Koluder in 7th grade. He came to a party I had in my basement and we played 7 minutes in heaven. My orange striped ruffled shirt smelled of his Old Spice cologne even after it was washed. To this day, Old Spice evokes strong memories. But there is only one first love. He was from Belfast, Ireland and the singer in a local band. After several months of being together, he went to England to record an album, but the deal fell through and I never saw him again.

Thirty-five years later we found each other. He is in Belfast and I'm an ocean away. I'm free and he is anything but free. I haven't really decided if being back in touch is good or bad. Actually, it has been some of both. I wrote and lived the past which can be both emotional and cathartic at the same time. I know now that he loved me as much as I loved him so no more time spent wondering. But I'm done for now.

The Big Red Truck

I don't know what it is, but I love the big red truck. It's huge and shiny and red and powerful. It showed up at work one day and I couldn't resist taking a picture. I hadn't seen it in ages and the other day it was there again. I've asked a number of people at work whose truck it was and no one seems to know.

Seven Defining Moments

I hear a lot about these seven defining moments. Is there anyone out there that has a clue what "they're" talking about? And who are they? I think I've heard Dr. Phil mention them. Now there's a source I trust - right! At what age should you have all seven? I guess one would be the day I was born, but I certainly didn't have much to do with that - not that I remember any way. Maybe I haven't had these defining moments yet or maybe I'm too afraid to figure out what they are. Maybe if I give it more thought I figure out at least a few.

After some additional research - it's 10 defining moments, 7 critical choices and 5 pivotal people. WOW - I have a lot of work to do. OK so I'm not a big Dr. Phil or Oprah fan, but maybe this stuff has some merit. Check it out at - http://www.oprah.com/spiritself/know/auth/ss_know_authentic_06_defining.jhtml and let me know what you think.

Salt or Snow

It snowed yesterday. This morning my car was covered in 3-4 inches of snow. I know that doesn't sound like a lot. But have you ever seen a piece of meat or fish encrusted with salt and baked. When it comes out of the oven the salt is hard and it needs to be cracked open to reveal the meal. That's what my car was like. I had to crack the snow shell to unveil my car. If there is one thing you can say about Chicago winters - they're interesting. I guess I need to start adding some photos so whoever might see this gets the whole effect.

Feeling Left Out

I started feeling so left out. The only person on my block without a blog. What was a girl to do? Start blogging. It's certainly not like I have nothing to say. I hardly keep my mouth shut even when typing. I hope this is the beginning of a long, long journey. And remember, it's all about the journey and not the destination.