7 Random Things

OK Karen has challenged me to share 7 random things about myself. Here goes:

1. My office has no windows so I daydream about sunny bright days when I'm bored at work.
2. My C-section scar from 19 years ago has never healed properly.
3. Black Jelly Beans rock my world.
4. Mark just got a raise and he doesn't know it but I've already figured out what he's spending it on!
5. I will be reorganizing my scraproom for about the 7th time in the last 5 years this weekend - I think it's a ploy by me to avoid scrapping in general.
6. I have the same birthmark on the back of my neck that my mom, sister and niece all have.
7. My maiden name spelled backwards is NOSBIG - which is probably why my nose is so BIG!

1974

I’ve been challenged by my friend Susanne to write a short piece on the happenings in my life in 1974. Good pick, Susanne! Not only does it tax my memory bank but it has major significance for me on many different levels.

First off, 1974 – my first full year out of high school! I was the same age that year that my own daughter Laura is this year! Oh to be that young and have all that opportunity again!

I was dating several different guys at the beginning of the year after having had a steady boyfriend for most of my high school years. I had been introduced to society as a Debutante the previous fall (stop laughing, Karen) and during the Debutante season had been introduced to several Air Force Cadets. My fellow Debs, Kathy, Jill and I had great fun with these fly boys. None of us wanted a future with these egotistical maniacs but they always had plenty of money to spend on us which was all we cared about.

My best friend at the time Penny went through a horrible ordeal that year when her mom committed suicide. I had never had any experience with death up to this point, especially not someone this close to me. I learned a valuable lesson from my mom during this time. She told me I had to go and visit Penny even though I had no idea what to say or do to comfort her. I have always been the type that finds it easier to crawl under a rock then deal head on with problems. As hard as it was my mom insisted and kept saying to me “when someone dies you need to comfort the survivors, that is when the true measure of a friend is taken.” Years later when I suffered losses myself I came to understand why my mom had been so insistent. Thanks mom!

On to happier thoughts. One of my good friends from high school, Linda was a year older than I was and already off at college. She knew I was struggling with what to study at college since by this time I knew that nursing school was not for me. What had I been thinking? Me who can’t stand the sight of blood? During trips home from San Diego State Linda would call me and invite me down to visit as well as inquire about my love life. By Spring Break I had grown weary of the AF flyboys and was lamenting to Linda that I needed to meet a nice guy. Without hesitation she said “I know someone that would be perfect for you!” She told me she was throwing a birthday party for one of our mutual friends and would make sure this new guy would be there. That guy turned out to be none other than Mr. Mark himself! We hit it off immediately at the party and when he kissed me late in the evening in front of the pool table I knew I wanted to see this guy again. Thirty four years later I’m still seeing that guy!

Meanwhile school life was boring me to tears. My parents were reluctant to send me off to a four year college after my abrupt end the previous winter to my nursing school career. I hated the thought of one more minute in the little town of Lancaster and concentrated night and day on figuring a way to get out. I knew I had to sell my dad on the idea for the plan to work. I systematically made a list of all the reasons why I HAD to attend San Diego State. Fortunately for me I had Linda to rely on for information about the school and Penny to rely on as a potential roommate – both of us were desperate to move on with our lives. This was the beginnings of my list crazed phase – a phase I really have never left. When I want something bad enough I list all the pros and cons on a piece of paper and then evaluate the situation from there. I must have made a hell of a list because Dad thought San Diego State was a great idea. Penny and I left in the summer of 1974 for San Diego and neither of us have ever left this beautiful city!

The only bad thing about moving away was leaving Mark. By this time we had been dating steadily for several months. Mark’s parents did not approve of him attending college and so he was forced to stay in Lancaster and attend junior college and work until he could afford to transfer to a four year school in his junior year. My parents were sympathetic to me pining away for Mark but thought this would be a good test for our relationship, especially since they told me I wasn’t allowed to have a car while away at college. I worked part time and managed to save a few bucks for a bus ticket home. The bus station wasn’t too far from Mark’s job at the local newspaper so I found his car and thought I would leave him a note that I was home. I managed to have nothing to write a note with so I had the brilliant idea to write on his car with toothpaste! The mere fact the man stayed with me after that is still one of the great mysteries of our relationship! That note stayed on the car until the car died some 10 years later!

1974 was also the year for:
· The Sting to win Best Picture (also Mark’s and my first date movie)
· Patty Hearst kidnapped by the SLA
· Nixon resigned as President ( I remember driving by the San Clemente Inn on my move to San Diego and seeing the marquis say “Welcome Home, Mr. President”)
· Cost of a stamp was 10¢
· People magazine was published for the first time
· Stephen King publishes “Carrie”

Peony In Love

Went to an absolutely fabulous book event last night to hear Lisa See speak about the paperback release of her new book, Peony in Love.

This is the latest book set in China. Here is an excerpt of what it’s about from Lisa See’s website http://www.lisasee.com/.

Ultimately, it’s about universal themes: the
bonds of female friendship, the power of words, the desire all women have to be heard, and finally those emotions that are so strong that they transcend time, place, and perhaps even death.

As she was speaking she was telling how she became inspired to write the novel. During the 16th and 17th centuries in China many women committed suicide rather than face what for many was a life of unbelievable struggle and hardship. Many of them prior to committing suicide wrote notes on the walls of their houses. Some of these messages were as simple as their names or their family's name. Others contained messages of who they were in life, mothers, daughters, friends, lovers, etc. This was their way of holding onto their moment on Earth and declaring “I was here and I mattered”. This was such a powerful message for me. It got me thinking that these desperate Chinese women were the first scrappers. They were using what they had to preserve their history and place in time. I salute these women and shall continue to preserve my history as a woman who was here on this Earth and whose life touched others.

Celebrity Look-Alike!

http://

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

OK so this is from my buddy Dalovely Damanda. Not so sure I really look like these ladies but this was such a fun exercise. I wonder if we could trade shoe closets?
I'm so excited for 4 days off from work! Ever since getting home from Minneapolis we've just been working non-stop plus I had two events at the store[http://warwicks.com] this week. No plans for the weekend which is good since I have my tax appointment today which means I probably will have no money left after paying Uncle Sam. Yet another excuse to stay in and play with my stash in the scrap room.
Valentine's Day came and went and thankfully I did get a f moments to spend with my honey. After working two nights in a row an coming home to a sleeping sweetheart I arranged for "date night" in the middle of the week at our favorite little neighborhood fish spot. Mark was so sweet - he had left my annual red heart of See's candy on the dining room table in the morning along with a bottle of champagne in the 'frige. We enjoyed some ofthe champagne before heading over to the restaurant. A nice relaxing dinner together - nothing could have been more perfect for Valentine's Day.

Alive & Well

Wow! It has been forever and a day since I posted here. Nothing spectacular happening - just life! The stock market has made for crazy busy times at work. This is when the hand holding and reassurances to clients that have planned for this type of volatility can be tricky. The ones that crack me up are the clients that call and say "why didn't you tell me this was going to happen?" This question usually comes from people that refuse to plan and my favorite response to these folks is "if I knew this was going to happen to you honestly think I'd be here answering the phone?"

Had an awesome trip to Minnesota last week and for the first time experienced -19 degree temperatures! Thanks for the experience but I'm glad I don't have to deal with that on a regular basis. Who knew people in that part of the country actually had an entire room at their offices devoted to hanging coats?

Speaking of weather here's an excerpt from my newspaper this morning:

SAN DIEGO – People with a tendency for unrestrained gloating about the local weather should refrain from all contact with friends and relatives back East. That's because while much of the Great Lakes states and the East Coast could battle rain and snow storms this weekend, Southern California is expected to bask in almost ideal weather.

Mark and I were enjoying the weekend a bit early last night as we dined OUTSIDE at a great little micro pub not far from his office. Yep, this is why I live here!

Sorry East Coast pals. Start saving your pennies to come and visit. We have excellent guest room accomodations, a personal chef and four of the best tour guides in the area!