Celebration Saga

Check out Part 1 of the Saga of Deana and Gina as they prepare for the celebration:

Things Are Different In These Here Parts…….

For those of you who have been readers of this blog for a while, you may remember how I shared living and working in the SCV and The Valley were very different than the good ol’ OC.  Well, now that I reside in beautiful Belmont Heights/Long Beach, I would like to articulate how different THESE part are!

However, first I’d like to mention that today is my Grandma Minard’s Birthday – if she were still with us, she would have turned 91 today.  However, the Good Lord thought fit to call her home in May 1999, so it’s been a while since she has blown out any candles.  I miss her SO MUCH and will be smiling all day thinking about all the wonderful memories I have about and with her.  I LOVE YOU GRANDMA!

Okay, so I still work in the Valley, and due to problems at work, now WALK to two banks every morning there as well.  Crossing a major street in the Valley is VERY dangerous!  But that calls for a different post in itself!  ANYWAY, you may remember I said – in general – Valley peeps are impatient, rude, drive like crazy people, and THE TRAFFIC FREAKING STINKS!  If you run into a nice person on the street, the first thought is to beware as they are either crazy or about to rob you.

However, there are VAST differences I’ve noticed so far in LB.  First of all, everyone seems overall laid back.  Not as much impatience, cars don’t freak out and rush forward if you dare to put your blinker on the change lanes, and the sort.  People actually say HI when they pass by walking on the street and may even add, “Have a nice day!”

And the neighbors?  In the SCV, no one talked to each other.  You could walk by and they wouldn’t even look at you.  Once I said hello and was looked at like I was crazy.  (maybe they work in the Valley, too!)  But here, about 12 neighbors have come over, introduced themselves, offered help, etc.  There are A LOT more people who walk, ride their bikes, etc. and everyone interacts.  It is glorious.

So, what have I deduced from this?

1)  The ocean must be better for personalities than smog!

While the reason I moved was not the most relaxing, I am thankful that things worked out the way they did!  I am less than a mile from the ocean, love my neighborhood and neighbors, my new landlord rocks, and it all rocks.  So I am thankful AND becoming less uptight (AKA “de-vally-ized”) with each day!

Now, if you wouldn’t mind praying with me that my payroll check will clear……..

The Powerful Mind

For the last few days I have been pondering – and quite amazed, really – about how powerful our minds are.  What do I mean?  Well, never mind that our BRAINS keep our hearts going, make sure we breathe, etc.  But my focus has been more on the fact that so many things can trigger reactions in us.  Wow, I am not making sense……

For example, it totally amazes me that a certain smell can trigger very real memories.  Many peeps tell me when they smell cookies baking it reminds them clearly – vividly -  of a memory from their childhood.  For me its garlic; whenever I smell garlic I think of my Mom making a pasta/olive oil/garlic meal we called “Macaroni I Owe Ya”.  Phonetically, it sounds very Italian, but it really was very cheap to make.  My mom would laugh that us kids liked it so much because, as she would bemoan, “I only made it when money was tight!”  (Get the “I owe ya” part?)  But wow, yummy.  So ANYWAY, that image of her making it (which really was when I was REALLY young), is very vivid when I smell garlic.

And some people, when they get home, even as adults, are “conditioned” by their minds to do certain things.  Like, kids who usually had a snack and drink waiting for them after school often are thirsty or have the munchies when they get home.

Another thing that I’ve noticed is this – when you need to go potty, you say “okay, better go”.  No big deal, you have it under control.  But for me, the very moment I stand in front of the toilet, about to undo my pants for the deed, I REALLY REALLY need to go.  It’s like my mind is already telling my body “hey, you get to go now, it’s gonna be great, and it’s about time”.  The urgency meter goes WAY up at that point.  So, the few moments that I am fiddling with my button and zipper is HORRIBLE, because I am physically fighting my mind’s control over my body, who thinks “hey, let’s let this thing go!” and I am like, “NO MY PANTS ARE STILL ON!!”  I have tried to “trick” my mind, but dang it, it never seems to work.  So, like thousands before me, I do the “Oh my gosh I am gonna pee my pants” dance, hoping that will muddle the mind impulses long enough to allow my pants to be removed…….

I shared this verbally with D, and she laughed at me.  Hmmmmm.  My intellect must intimidate her…….

Gina OUT!

Kenny and Mother’s Day

This year, Kenny’s 14th birthday falls on Mother’s Day.  He has been very gracious to me, giving me the day.  And, because his humor is a bit like mine, I wanted to share his card message to me with you all!

Dear Mom,

Thank you for being the best and coolest mom ever.  Its kinda funny that you had to get surgery because you stood up on a surfboard for 2 oh sorry “10″ seconds.  I love you so much.

Love,

your favorite son ever,

Kenny

Holy Vicodin

I haven’t taken it for months, really, but today was different.  I have had a MAJOR headache all day and NOTHING even came close to touching it.  Maybe it was the stress at work or this allergy thing or just being old…..but this headache was kicking my butt!  It was not a migraine – no light or noise issues and the pain was different.  But the pain was definitely intense.  You get the picture.

But, miraculously, Holy Vicodin has done a wonderful job kicking the crap out of this headache!  And I have a bit of a buzz to go with it, too!  If that’s not holy, I don’t know what IS!

However, I must admit that TYPING this dang blog is a bit more troublesome than usual.  Huh.  Holy Vicodin and all that.  I am thinking I might be embarrassed of this post in the morning.  And not even one drop of wine!  Oh, but I don’t really miss the wine…….brings back bad memories many times, as does American Idol and Dancing With the Stars.  Long story there, but alas…..truth be known they were not all bad memories.  Perhaps I am still processing other things that have mixed into the memory and all that.  Ramblings in their finest.  Don’t imagine that made any sort of sense at all.  Dare I blame HV?

So, thank you Holy Vicodin, for providing a reprieve from the pain that has haunted my day!  Now, gotta run as this concentrating-on-my-typing is getting too tough!

Gina, the user of the Holy Vicodin, OUT!

Okay……..

…..so yes, I haven’t been feeling well and that is part of the reason why this blog has been so boring.  “Wow,” you say with shock, “now she’s coming up with excuses why this blog is always so boring????”  Yes, yes I am.

So let the boring-ness begin!

Work – we made it through last week (thanks to those that prayed) but – as the saying goes – we won the battle but the war is not over.  Lots still going on and I am fighting the urge to say “hey, you made this mess now deal with it” to the powers that be.  Instead, I plug along, do the best I can, and hope I will get paid for my effort.

Kids – the countdown to the end of school has begun.  Kenny is getting back into his surfing mode (a little more of a drive now that we’re in the Santa Clarita Vally, but that’s okay) and Josh is ready to write more songs.  Kirstie is finishing up her first year of college and I believe she did well, although like her mother probably would have reacted, is frustrated that she didn’t get a 4.0.  I am looking forward to lots of outdoor fun with them.

May – this is a busy month for sure!  Lots of birthday’s!  In fact, Kenny’s 14th birthday is on Mother’s Day this year!  We have worked out Sunday, so don’t worry.    This weekend will be very busy with family festivities and next weekend will be his “birthday with friends” celebration.  I think Edgar and I are going to Magic Mountain with them, which should be fun since Edgar HATES rollercoasters and I love them!

Me – as mentioned earlier, I am not feeling well.  I think it’s the psycho-schematic flu based on all the exposure to the swine flu on tv.  But seriously, I am dealing with something I am allergic to; I itch from head to toe, inside and out!  Yesterday I could barely move and my face was a site!  But today I feel a bit more human.  Which is good because my boss was obviously stressed that I worked from home yesterday…….

And since I missed Monday’s Song, here is a throw out – Evanescence, Everybody’s Fool:

Gina OUT!

Ah, What To Write?

I feel the need to post something here, although I am not sure what……this is a huge dilemma! I mean, what if another blog bot finds this blog and hundreds of peeps read this post, and it is totally lame???? THE PRESSURE!

Sometimes I wish my life could be as simple as Gracie’s. I mean, she gets to sit on the back of my comfy chair as I type this blog, she gets extremely excited just to be able to go outside to go potty, and a small treat makes her day. Me, well, I don’t jump all over the room when I get up to go potty…..it just doesn’t seem fair, does it?

I also wish there was an easy way to convince some people that everything is not about them. For example, if I am in a bad mood because of work, it does NOT mean that a specific, unrelated person somehow offended me and that I no longer want to be their friend or whatever it might be that their brain manufactures. So, if you’re reading this an somehow feel angst that I have these angry feeling towards you or anything like that, please be kind and rewind.

And specifically to “you know who you are” – the only frustration I felt with you was specifically to your actions YESTERDAY, as I specifically noted in my phone call to you. Nothing prior to that or after that has entered my mind and had nothing to do with you. I request that you move forward with the plan and the real person involved and leave me out of it. Unless, of course, you do NOT agree with the voice message I left, in which case feel free to contact me directly and not anyone else. I can and do listen to words that express that I was out of line, and if this was the case tell me. I will probably even apologize……I am ready and willing to move on and let you be, and even discuss YESTERDAY if needed – but I really should never have been part of the plan at all as it has nothing to do with me……

On that note, for my readers who pray, I would appreciate a few coming my way in the next day or two. The days will be directly related to how well the company I work for survives a couple huge hurdles. Also, that the decision makers make better ones so that – if we survive – the issues at hand do not arise again. Thanks.

I am planning to meet Eddie again on Saturday; he is getting another tattoo or maybe two…..he asked if he could get the same cross tattoo I got on his leg. Of course, I told him yes! Isn’t that cool? Truth be known, I got a little teary eyed when he asked. He and I have this hard-to-describe bond, we always have. He is such an amazing brother and I love him so much. So anyway, I am looking forward to that! And I will have to fight the urge not to get another one myself!

Okay, well, that’s all I got. I apologize for the lame post!
Gina OUT!

Yada Yada Yada and Real Pics of Easter

The subject line is in response to Martin, who used that phrase in an email to me (which, he pointed out, was NOT blank! I am not as lame as I thought!) Yes Martin, I am writing more now on the blog……it’s amazing what I can accomplish when I don’t have never-ending homework!

So, I am realizing that I am losing my Orange County “style”. Well, not that I HAVE much style, but when I lived in the valley, I still considered myself an OC Girl. But now that I am in the Santa Clarity Valley, I am allowing myself to feel like a valley girl…….and I recall my years in the OC (OMG, I said “the OC”…..more proof that what I am sharing is true!) are becoming a fond memory. Other than my daughter, who attends Cal State Fullerton, and Disneyland (where my love Goofy lives), I am not sure I would GO to the OC! Okay wait, there are myriad other reasons why I would go there……Mission Presbyterian Church, my other friends there, etc. So chill people! I am MAKING A POINT! lol

So anyway, I like my new digs. I stopped by Borders on the way home, which is close to my house, and it was SO NICE! My neighborhood is quiet and clean. I don’t have to drive that far to work. It feels so nice here. And that rocks.

I have heard from a couple peeps the link to the pics don’t work. Sorry about that. So I am uploading here until I remember my password to snapfish!

The better side for Kenny, Me, and Josh

Kenny about to take a shot……

Josh and Gracie being dramatic after receiving a shot

Me and My Boys – Yes, I got dolled up!

Oh, and not to be missing out on the cool hype associated with this clip, check out this amazing performance by Brit Susan Boyle:

Sorry Tuesday – it’s a Blah Day

No offense to Tuesday, per se.  I mean, it never really DID anything to me actually. It’s not like it is a MONDAY, signifying the return to work, or anything like that.  It’s not like I hear the word “Tuesday” and my gut pulls in or I say a few choice words in my head.  Yet, without any hesitation, I am telling you that THIS Tuesday is a blah day.

Can’t explain exactly why.  Some factors though; I am tired, I am still sick, I seriously have stacks of CRAP on my desk at work and no way to really address them, and I am in the mood to just bury my head in my pillow and wait for the day to pass.

Wow, I am so PATHETIC!

I have lots to be thankful for, believe me, but I am not really feeling it right now.  And that is the truth.  And I guess that is okay!  And now, having gotten that off my chest, I will now go get ready for work.  I better dress for crap duty, because well, there’s gonna be lots of it!

Gina OUT

p.s.  I promise to post pics soon of Disneyland et al.

Another Beautiful Tuesday

So, to start of this post, of which I have no real agenda, check out this cute commercial:

Guitar Hero

So what is new with my readers?  I don’t have much to share, but feel compelled to write for some reason.  Hmmmm.

I learned yesterday that my sister and her oldest son, Matthew, are coming to visit in April!  I can’t wait!  I haven’t seen Matt in 6 years I think.  Linda, a couple.  Matt was in the Army and served in Iraq and then worked in Iraq as a civilian for one year.  I am thankful he is back home!  It is going to be GREAT to see them for sure!

I also read in the news that home prices dropped in January by 19%.  Sheesh.  Part of me still feels the pain of this and I feel for the peeps who are struggling with high house payments and no way to get out of it by selling or refinancing.  But I also hope, selfishly, that I get to a point where I can purchase a new home again.  Perhaps, with the lower prices, I will be able to…..we shall see.  But I am going to be very conservative and get something that is well below a certain percent of my income.  And it doesn’t need to have all the bells and whistles……..not sure that makes sense.

And I have also been pondering how stubborn people are – myself included.  At least, that is how I perceive it.  We get in our mind that we “are right”, and because of that friendships end or communications have to cease.  Sometimes that makes totals sense, but sometimes its purely pride.  I mean, if I were to reach out to someone I had a falling out with, then it could mean I was WRONG!  When, instead, perhaps it can mean I have evolved into a more healthy person and can actually get paste a bad situation and look to the future.  Or maybe there is the forgiveness thing, which is the most unfair concept in the world.  Why do we always have to be RIGHT, anyway?  But anyway, the bottom line is most of us are too stubborn to even try.  Maybe I need to stop focusing on “people” and focus on Gina……

So, my steady 2.78 readers, I wish you a wonderful Tuesday!  I hope that your jobs are going well, your families are healthy, your friends bring you comfort, and you are touched by at least one miracle today!  That’s what I am aiming for!