Day 17: My Favorite Memory

Ok, seriously.....who came up with this list of 30 days of blogs?
How am I supposed to decide what my favorite memory is?
That's like having to decide what my favorite pair of shoes is.....
or my favorite purse.....

A pair of my boots and my red purse

I truly think that this one is just impossible for me to decide upon, so.....I'm not going to.
Instead,
I'm going to tell you about a memory that always makes me smile...

I have a cat named Jake who I've had since he was just a wee, little, tiny thing.

Jake next to a teacup saucer in the bathtub.

He weighed all of 6 oz. when I got him.
He had no teeth.....
his eyes were barely open....
the vet that I first took him to told me not to expect him to live.
He was just too tiny.

My little man.

Well, survive he did.
Not only did he survive, he thrived.

He practically bounced off the walls he had so much energy.

Jake bouncing on the bed.

One day, after a long day at work, I came home and went to the bathroom that he was kept in (why he was kept in the bathroom is another story for another day)
and opened the door to find toilet paper strewn everywhere.....
and when I say everywhere,
I mean EV-ER-Y-WHERE.
The floor....the tub.....the towels on the towel racks.....the sink.....the vanity.....
and there.....
in the middle of the room....
stood my very proud, tiny, little kitten.
The look on his face was priceless.

It still makes me smile.


Remind me, sometime, to tell you about the time he landed in the toilet.......

Day 16: My first kiss

My first kiss looked like this.....


Sorry, I couldn't resist.
I realize, though, that this isn't what you want to hear.
You want.....the down and dirty, nitty gritty.

So.....you shall have it.

My first kiss was on the stairwell at my high school by our gymnasium.
I was a freshman.
I had braces.
He chewed tobacco.
Are you getting my drift?

I still laugh when I think back on it. My lips were hungry for his until I tasted that damn tobacco, not to mention the effect he had on me when he tried to slip me the tongue. I was mortified! I clenched my teeth so tightly together it would have taken a pair of pliers to pull them apart. I was thoroughly disgusted by the whole....shall I say "ordeal"?
Needless to say, I didn't date that boy for very long, although in my teenage brain,
6 weeks was like forever.

You may be relieved to find out that my opposition to the tongue quickly dissipated with the next boy or you may really not care one bit. Either way, I was on to much better kissing experiences. They were more like this.


But, those are kisses that will remain untold, because they were not my first and that's what today is about.

Day 15: My childhood

The whole idea of blogging about my childhood has resulted in my blog being put on hold for the past 2 weeks. It is difficult for me to know where to start or even what to say. There is just so much that could be said but maybe shouldn't be. Don't get me wrong.....it wasn't bad. In fact, I have many happy memories of being a child. It's strange, though. When you have the chance to look back on what was.....the reality seems somehow different than what the innocent child saw. Suffice it to say, I was a child and I was loved and my story is still being written......I prefer to live in the now and let what is in the past stay there.

Day 14: Where I Live

So, you want to know where I live in this great big universe, huh?

I live here, on Planet Earth.

Where the Statue of Liberty lives.

Not here, though......

......this is Japan.

Oops, not here, either.....

.......this is France

Ah.....here we are.....

.....in the United States of America.

Ok....let me get a little more specific.

I watched this mountain blow when I was 12 years old.....


I played on this beach every summer.....


I see this mountain every single day.
We used to drive over it to get to my
Great-Grandmothers house
when I was a little kid.

I used to call it "Grandma's Mountain".

This is the city I see at night when I drive home after fencing.

This is the house with the front door that my key opens.

This is my backyard.

So there you have it. This is where I live. If you've figured out where, then I applaud you.
Well, unless that is, you already know where I live because you know me.
To those people I say....come on by....
....let's hang out.

Day 13: My mode of transportation

So, this is my ride......

It's a 1983 Volvo 240D.


I got my drivers permit in 1983.

The right windshield wiper doesn't work, the fan doesn't work, the back tail light is covered in tape......

It rattles....

It hums....

It has a lot of miles on it.


257, 345 miles to be exact.

Some say it's just about broken in.

The doors creak when you open them....

It has a sunroof.

It's a manual car with electric overdrive.....


It rails and I love it.

I bought it from a man whose son used to drive it.

His son died when he was just 19 years old.....from meningitis.

I understood how difficult it was for Tom to sell this car.

We cried together at the DMV when we transferred the title.

I feel honored.

I think about Thomas all the time when I drive. I wonder what he would say when the window stopped rolling down, or the car wouldn't start, or the overdrive stopped working......

I wonder who rode in the car with him...

Who he laughed with while on road trips.


I wonder what music rocked the speakers.......

I wonder.....

Did he love this car like I do?

Do I love it partly because of him?

I think I do.

His family has become very special to me.

In fact, they've become like family.

Oh, and have I mentioned.....

I love my car.

Day 12: What's in my bag

What's in my bag?

If you asked my husband, he would probably say "the whole damn house". If you felt how much it weighs, you might agree with him.

Here's the list of contents.

Wallet
Cell phone
2 check books
camera
ipod w/charger
Q3 recorder (most of the time)
Audio Technica noise cancelling earbuds
Ibuprofen
Bi Yan Pian (for allergies)
Nail set (clippers, files)
guitar picks
capo
tuner
Gum
hair bands
lip gloss
kleenex
inhaler
homeopathic remedies for vertigo
eye drops
a couple of pens
usually a shopping list
small umbrella
deodorant

I often wonder if I really "need" to have all these items in my purse. I will go through it and try to eliminate items. It usually goes something like this.

Q: Do I take ibuprofen daily? A: No, but when I need it, I've got it.

Q: How 'bout the umbrella? A: Well, it is Portland.

Q: Camera? A: Gotta have the camera.

Every time I end up taking something out I end up needing it one day and putting it back in. It's all about being prepared for anything.

Day 11: My Siblings

This one is kind of complicated as I have had many "siblings" over the years. Most were in the form of foster children that came and went in a rather short period of time and I promise you, it was never without drama. They all had an impact on me, though, and I have never forgotten any of them.

I have one biological sister. She is 3 years older than me. We are polar opposites. In fact, most people have a hard time believing that we are related. She is the mother of my niece who I adore. We may be very different people, but she's a good gal and I love her.

I also have a brother who was adopted and then "un-adopted" 6 years later but I have never stopped considering him to be my sibling. For 20+ years I didn't know if he was dead, alive, in jail, a millionare.......then one day his face popped up on Facebook as someone I may know. My heart started beating so fast I thought I would die (well, not really DIE, but you get my drift). I contacted him and am proud to again have him in my life. He has overcome much to become the Dad and man that he is today.