Not Merde, It's Shit

First of all, I’m not trying to be Debby Downer, but last Wednesday, I was released from the hospital, diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure. Scary shit. My appointments with the specialists are next week but I was told at the hospital to watch the sodium. I have to literally rethink my lifestyle. I mean what if what you are eating is killing you? I want to say shit again but maybe I will use the French word “Merde”. No, it might mean the same in France but I need to say shit. I guess I should be Suzy Sunshine and say I am happy to be alive and I am but I like to go out and have a couple of drinks and occasionally have a crazy night out with my friends and now when I go out I’m afraid that everyone visualizes the Grim Reaper standing behind me. Including me.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Just a Little Bit

I’m sure that no one had any idea that their words would inflame the mind of a lunatic. Maybe not so much the words themselves, but an atmosphere of approval of violence against people you disagree with politically has been created. And I know that Democrats have also engaged in such speech and it could have very well been Republicans as victims of a liberal-leaning nutcase. But everybody should realize that there are consequences to that type of talk. Otherwise, this will happen again and no one will be able to tell themselves that they didn’t know this could happen. They will have to live with the knowledge that they were partially to blame for the death of innocent people.

One side of the polical spectrum will disparage the other side to the point that the opposing side is seen as evil. This has to stop, we are all Americans who love their country. We should treat each other with respect, if only for that reason.

Disney and Christmas

My kids are older (20 to 26) and unmarried right now. Since we don’t know what life will be like a year from now (Dear God, I need to be an empty nester!), we decided to have a short family vacation. Living in Florida, I can get the Disney Florida Resident Passes. My husband and I got passes for each other and each of our kids for Christmas. We will get there Thursday night by car and leave Sunday night. We are staying at a cheap moderately-priced hotel. (We get two rooms.) We will give them $100 each for clothes that they needed anyway. Since they are older, the only souvenirs we buy are a couple of Christmas ornaments. We’ve been there before, so we know the cheaper places to eat. Since we are not the earliest risers, we usually skip breakfast except for one day when we might splurge at a Golden Corral for breakfast. One restaurant meal (German pavilion all you can eat) will be where we have Christmas dinner. Other than that, we do counter service. Best of all, though, are the Christmas decorations and lights. You see, I am from Philadelphia (not the classy section), where Christmas lights are considered to be works of art. The bigger the display, the more it takes my breath away. Main Street Disneyworld actually looks romantic with the pretty wreaths and poinsettia plants. But Hollywood Studios, is an OMG display of millions of lights that go off and on in time to the music. All I need is a cup of hot chocolate (really, I’m gonna get one right now).

Another Lifetime Ago - Giving Birth

During my first pregnancy, I was diagnosed with preeclampsia. A few days before my due date, I was hospitalized for observation. I was told that since I also have small hip bones (which I do), that I should have a c-section. In spite of being prepared for a natural childbirth, I had the procedure. The only problem I had was after my daughter’s birth, when I started to be able to feel my rib cage. Since the doctor was not quite finished yet, I expressed my concern. They immediately gave me morphine, which put me out and I slept the rest of the day and the night, as well. I did not hold my baby until I woke up the next day. I went home, rested for a couple of days, and then was full of energy.
When I was pregnant again, I had switched healthcare plans and was told that I had to have a vaginal birth. They handed me a form to sign in which I was warned about the increased chance of an emergency c-section. To their dismay, I refused to sign it on the grounds that I would rather have a planned surgery than an emergency one.
During my last pregnancy I had a c-section. During the procedure, I was surprised that they performed the Apgar test twice on my baby. The next day, a staff doctor said to me “Are you the one whose baby was born with the cord wrapped around his neck”. I said that no one told me that. He looked nervous and said “I must have the wrong file”. Since my baby had the Apgar test twice, I think that the staff doctor did not want to be the one to tell me what really happened. I am glad that I had a c-section because if my baby went through the birth canal with the cord wrapped around his neck, well, I don’t know if he would have made it without brain damage. Fortunately, he was fine.
I know that their is a group of people who are against c-sections. But every woman has the right to decide what is best for her and her baby. I think I made the right decisions at the time. My children were all born healthy. And that is what counts.

Glad to Be a Boomer

One of the nice things about being a boomer (I am 57) is that we grew up listening to great music: rock and roll as well as big band and classics like Sinatra (thanks to our parents). As the years passed we also enjoyed music from the 70’s, 80’s , 90’s, etc. When I’m driving, I like to turn on my satellite radio and listen to today’s music. It amazes me how much they borrow from previous generations. , I doubt that she is aware of this, but the melody actually came from the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.

There's a place downtown,
Where the freaks all come around.
It's a hole in the wall.
It's a dirty free for all.

It goes to show that the average young person may diss music from previous generations , but the people who actually create the music they listen to, are inspired by it.

Anyway, my new interest is Jazz. I went to New Orleans in July and you can hear many kinds of music,: R&B, Country, Rock (60’s to today) and a lot of Jazz. Smooth, Dixieland, Fusion, etc. I think I liked the Blues and Dixieland Jazz the best. Although listening to smooth jazz at breakfast was fun, too.

Why I Rarely See My Sister-in-law

My in-laws passed away fairly early in my marriage. So I had to deal with a sister-in-law. So to represent her side of the family, my husband and I would attend every freakin birthday party her kids had. Then when we started our family, they would make up excuses not to come. They preferred to spend the time schmoozing her rich aunt and uncle. Sometimes they would stop by for 15 minutes on the way home. My sister-in-law, her aunt and her aunt's daughter-in-law would go out to lunch together and even when I was unemployed would not ask me to join them.
Years later, all of us had moved to Florida and my sister-in-law divorced and re-married. She and her new husband called to say they were in the area and wanted to visit, ON ONE HOUR'S NOTICE. They arrived and stayed 15 minutes. During that time, her new husband kept talking about nicer houses that he had seen.
I used to feel bad about the fact that we were so low on their list of priorities. But as the years went by, these feelings started to fade. I don't expect anything out of them and I am never disappointed. I try to enjoy my life as much as I can. "Living well is the best revenge".

How I Celebrated Thanksgiving

In a large glass, pour 3 oz. of red wine and fill the rest with diet lemon-lime soda. Tastes like sangria. And sip it, don't chug it down. Start AFTER the turkey is in the oven.

Put 4-5 ounces of skinless turkey on your plate, then veggies, then small amounts of your favorite foods side by side, don’t pile anything. If you run out of room on your plate, remind yourself that the other foods are not your favorites. Also, chew your food slowly and enjoy the taste. By the time you clean your plate, you will be reasonably full. Then stop eating. Tell yourself that you feel fine now and you don’t need a stomach ache later. After dinner, clean up as much as you can. If you must serve dessert, purchase one and make it the smallest one you can get, and cut very small servings. Again, eat slowly and enjoy the taste. If you find yourself going back for seconds, you will be aware that you are in the danger zone and at this point you need to put the dessert in the fridge and leave the area. If you have kids, it will be gone by morning.

Watch Kill Bill Vol. 1 with family.