What would Judi do?

It's been nearly a month since I last posted.  I've written several posts but didn't publish them.  All sorts of things have been floating around in my brain.  Let's see if I can make any of them work here. 1.  Men think differently from women.  This makes me insane.  I'm fairly certain that when I discover the key to interpreting the male brain, I will get some major award.  In the meantime, I am often frustrated. 2.  People die.  People who leave a great impression on those left behind still die.  It's sad and can't be avoided but when this happened to someone I knew recently, the outpouring of love and appreciation started and it got me thinking about the people who have impacted me in my life.  I'm not sure they all know the extent to which they have changed my life.  Short of a weird "you've changed my life and, um, thanks!" email, I don't really know how to convey my appreciation for these people. 3.  I dislike...

I'm not a real holiday kind of person.  I don't love the music.  I don't want a tree.  I don't like the stress. I do like the baking.  I love giving presents that people like.  There are good parts to it. I was thinking today about the Christmases I enjoyed growing up.  There were quite a few. My grandma and grandpa used to come stay over night on Christmas eve.  I wasn't allowed to open any gifts early but my grandparents would bring a stocking and I was allowed to open that.  I don't remember a lot about it (other than I loved opening it early) but in every stocking was a hand held toy that you pushed, the tree spun and opened and revealed something on the inside.  Much like this: Those were fun. One year, my grandmother was sick and in the hospital over Christmas.  My mom and I bought a small tree (maybe 4 feet tall), decorated it and put it in a big trash bag.  I took it up to the hospital and left it in her room as a ...

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a music person.  I love everything about music.  There's a ton of stuff I don't like, sure.  But I like a (semi) wide variety of stuff - and some of that stuff surprises me. But I hate holiday music.  Maybe it's because I worked in retail for 10 years and hearing it for 12 hours a day for well over a month killed it for me.  It's like maraschino cherries.  I loved those things.  Then when I was in elementary school, I ate an entire jar of them.  I haven't touched one since.  Overkill. I date a music loving guy.  Sometimes this is awesome (he knew who Jah Wobble is which got this relationship started).  Sometimes it is not awesome (Mellowmas.  Don't know it?  Google it.  If you listen to it all, it's not my fault.).  It is musically never boring. I don't like the stupid songs - Dominick the Donkey (http://youtu.be/hYlvfX3nwlc) , I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas (http://youtu....

I grew up in a small family.  It was just me, my mom and my brother.  My brother moved out when I was nine so then it was even smaller.  Yes, I have aunts, uncles and cousins, but not many and they weren't really a part of my life except on holidays. Twenty years ago I moved to Maryland.  Since then I've found a new family.  My girls and I call these families our family of birth and our family of choice.  I love my family of birth.  I cherish my family of choice. This is my first holiday without any of my family of birth.  I'll see my mom in the morning but dinner is provided where she lives and we all know there is a high likelihood of their food being better than what I can cook.  My kids are with their dad.  I'm not a member of my boyfriend's family.  It's a strange feeling. Some members of my family of choice are in the same boat.  This is why I love them.  When one of us is in need, we support each other.  ...

There are few acts I'm willing to pay to see. Paul McCartney (of course!).  But luckily I was able to interpret for him instead of paying to see him.  Marillion.  Kate Bush (but she doesn't tour so that doesn't really count).  Matt Nathanson (I'm a stalker).  Indigo Girls.  Always.  Pink.  Wow. My friend, C, and I went to the Pink show last night.  Wowza.  First, the seats were awesome!  That helped.  We made a few observations last night: 1.  Abs.  'Nuff said. 2.  How does she get insurance for that show?  Okay, that was my thought, not C's.  She's the sane one. 3.  The girl can ROCK. 4.  Probably the most interesting to me - we were the norm in the demographics for this show.  We both thought we'd be on the older side but we weren't.  There were a fair number of moms who brought their daughters.  I would totally do that - I think the message in most of the ...

During a conversation with some co-workers yesterday, I came to the realization that my world is a little different than others.  My girls and I celebrate Chinese New Year by going to the parade (fun!) and eating Chinese food.  We make latkes for Hanukkah (though we celebrate in no other ways).  We make cookies for Christmas. I grew up celebrating things that others didn't - but I had no idea.  Wikipedia knows about them (see definitions below). For example, until someone asked the question on Facebook, I didn't know that Mischief Night wasn't celebrated all over the country.  I knew Detroit did it a little differently (read: scary!).  But until the question was asked, I hadn't thought of the fact that I've never seen a yard here covered in toilet paper.  Interesting. The separation of Halloween tricks from treats seems to have only developed sporadically, often appearing in some areas but not at all in others nearby. [2]  In  North...

I have issues with my hair.  First, let me say I don't have fabulous hair.  I have good hair but it has a mind of its own and often I don't feel like arguing with it. When my world starts spinning out of control, I feel an urge, a need  to cut my hair.  When I was young and stupid and didn't care, I would go to work with a razor blade.  It didn't really matter because my hair was spike and normally punked out so no one could really tell. Last night, at 8:30 on a Saturday evening, I sent a text to my friend:   "I need to cut my hair.  Now."  Lucky for me, she gets it.  We met at Bubbles salon at the mall, but they wouldn't cut my hair.  So we took a chance and went to Master Cuts.  I don't usually go to places I don't know.  I've had the same stylist for years - until she went out on maternity leave.  This oh-so-nice woman in there recognized the "I need a hair cut right now" look.  No shampoo.  No blow dry. ...