Yada Yada Yada

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

(Recited by JuJu after failing to blog this week.)

To be fair to myself, this week has been a bit out of the ordinary.  You know the deal, a four day work week, combined with extra curricular activities.  All of a sudden, it’s Friday.  I haven’t seen much of my house all week.  I don’t think I’ve even sat in my recliner since last Friday.  (That, ladies and gentlemen, is a crime.)  I do think it might be the end of the craziness starting today, here’s hoping?

This week has included the normal trip to Columbia for work, graduation dinner with Taylor, Sir and Taylor’s dad, nail appointment, WORK, and stressing about getting Taylor to San Francisco safe and in one piece.  She leaves Tuesday, and I think that all the i’s are dotted and the t’s crossed.  Man, she’s going to have a great summer.

I am planning to sit in my recliner tonight, enjoy some red wine, eat some tasty spicy olives and catch up with all the things I’ve missed the last few weeks.  The short list:

    1.    Candy Crush (okay, so I admit, I’ve played, but not nearly enough!)
    2.    Some Crime TV
    3.    Snuggles with the four legged babies
    4.    Facebook Lurking
    5.    Chilling
    6.    Oh, how about some blogging?

I did manage to see The Great Gatsby last week.   Leo looks pretty nice in that one piece mankini.  And the pink suit.  I would love to have Daisy’s wardrobe.  And figure.

Tomorrow night, we will be celebrating Steven’s 45th birthday.  Can you join us?

Happy Weekend to all of us!  I hope your week went by quickly and without event.  See you on the flip side.

Pre 21, Pre San Fran, Congrats and Memorial Day

My female child is spending the summer in San Francisco.

And while she's there, she'll be turning 21.

So, this weekend we had a little party to wish her a happy day and bon voyage.

She requested Risotto.

Not only is she turning 21 and spending the summer in San Francisco,but she recently completed her program at Trident Tech and is graduating with her Associates in Arts.

She now gets to figure out what her next step in life is.  Where to finish her collegiate studies?

Where she will study.  Where she will live.

In one way, I don't want her to leave the little town of Goose Creek.

But, I know that she needs to keep spreading those wings and flying.

She's smart, funny and talented.  

She has the whole world at her feet.

And I couldn't be more proud.

I'm gonna be better

I've been uber lazy about posting of late.  But, I'm gonna put that thing in overdrive and find some renewed zeal.  Until then, here's what I did tonight:

Feeling Weird

Yeah, I'm feeling weird.

Is anyone else feeling weird? 

It seems like all sorts of things are coming to an end.

Taylor is graduating from Trident with her Associates in Arts.  Now she decides where to complete her college career.  I'm guessing it won't be somewhere nearby. 

Jake graduated from law school yesterday.  Now he's an "official" grown up and moving into the adult world, and all that it holds. 

The English Football season is over.  All sorts of players, managers and television folks retired. 

Season Finales on TV,  graduations, proms, etc etc.

These things always make me sad.  It signifies all sorts of change around the corner.  And Mama does NOT do well with change.

I moved too many times in my life, and I just resist it as much as possible.  I hate saying goodbye.  I feel like there are all sorts of goodbyes right now. 

Oh, I know, I know.  You have to say goodbye before you can say hello.   I'm sure it will all be good, but right now, I'm just feeling weird about the endings.  I guess I have to get through that before I can be excited about the hellos. 

Memorial Day is the unofficial HELLO to summer.  Maybe that hello will get me out of the goodbye funk?

(I would have liked to say hello to winning that Powerball though...)

Mid Week Mute

Well, here's something I didn't know about the duck penis.

Credit to little Breann for the link.  And the alternate title, "What the Duck?"

Let's Catch Up!

Whew, I am really really behind on posting, eh?  Because I'm feeling super lazy, but still want to get caught up, we will just do this quick and easy.  So, no more procrastination, here's the recap of the last week!!

Ate great Mexican food for Cinco De Quatro AND Cinco De Mayo.
Got free Tshirts at the good restaurant. 
Sir shaved a goofy chin strap on his face and got free food and drinks at same restaurant.
Worked four days.
Watched AMC on line.  The jury is still out...
Marveled at Charles Ramsay.
Tried to hire an attorney for the firm.
Wrote a goofy bio for the firm website.
Watched TV with Taylor.
Drove to Columbia.  Drove back.
Listened to three hours of my book. 
Got my nails did.
Went to Savannah.
Stayed in a really cool loft in downtown Savannah.
Walked a lot.
Drank beer at the Rail Pub.
Played loads of songs on the jukebox.
Had BAD Mexican food, never thought that was even possible.
Saw a bird explode.  Seriously.
Watched ManU get their trophy today and got choked up when Sir Alex spoke to the crowd.
Got caught up on Grey's Anatomy.  Please don't let Meredith lose the baby!
Ate some Angry Pasta.
Thanked the powers that be for my two wonderful kids.
Talked to my Grandma.
Ate a few Munchos.
Took a couple naps.
Took the lazy way out to get caught up on the blog.

Happy Mother's Day to all of us.  Even if you aren't a mom, I know you have mothered someone or something in your life.  Kudos  to you!

Sir and I celebrating fourteen and two.

photo by Sir

Friends of Ju

Welcome to Part III of the series, "Friends Of Ju."  Tonight, I bring you another boy.  Ladies and Gents, meet Neil Caruso:

Steven and I met Neil through soccer in the summer of 2001.  He was a young buck, single and out there, living large!  He was Steven's "best defender."  The boys played games on Sundays, and the games were always followed by recap sessions (aka drinking sessions) at Moe's Crosstown Tavern.  Many a Sunday found us closing down the place and somehow making it through a productive Monday at work.

(L to R:  Chris, Jon, Neil and Sir)

  See why he's special?  He's listening to some really stupid story of mine and acting like it's really important.  I'm sure I'm discussing Dave Matthews.  

 

One of the things I've always appreciated about Neil, and the trait that makes him unique, is that he has developed and maintained a friendship with Sir, with me, and with Sir/Me.  I am his friend, independent of Sir, even though we met each other together.  I enjoy speaking with him, listening to him, and laughing with him.

I've watched him go from single dude to married man, to homeowner, to daddy of one, to vodka entrepreneur, to daddy of two, and to mini van owner.  (ouch?)  There's something to be said about watching your friends grow.  He's an excellent cook, an avid sports buff, and apparently a fantastic defender. 

Neil and his WONDERFUL wife, Jodi, are like family to Sir and I, and like an aunt and uncle  to Taylor.  They include us in family activities, traditions and celebrations.  For a gal who has such little family, this means the world to us.  Steven took the photos for their wedding and for the christening of their first daughter, Addison Grace.

 

Oh yeah.  That reminds me.  Neil's grandma, Mariette.  You can see from this photo that they are the spitting image of each other.  After spending time with her, I realize that he was the male version of this spunky special woman.  And, the love and respect he felt for her made me that much more enamored of him.  We will all miss Grandma, as she was one of the special ones.  Mariette, I'm watching out for them.

As I said before, Neil is now a vodka entrepreneur.  He and his partners have developed and are marketing and selling a very cool vodka by the name of Chilled Dills.   This was created from evenings  in their backyard where they combined vodka with pickle juice, dill pickle juice.  Let me just say--AWESOME in a Bloody Mary.

We have known Neil for years, and in so many capacities.  One of the most special remains the fact that he was the officiant who married us at our very impromptu wedding.    The wedding was just like Neil:  straight to the point, no bulls***, mixed with a bit of emotion.

(still a look of shock on my very fat face)

So, there you have it folks.  The guy Steven and I both pegged as our favorite friend, many many years ago.  He rocks. 

And, while I was composing this blog, I received a text/photo from him of Jodi and Daughter Number One:

I love seeing those I love so happy.

****************************************************

Bonus pic of Sir and I from back in the day.

Oh, the glory of youth!