Simply Me

Let's do a Journal Jar entry...

Remember these?

I figured this would be a good blog entry starter. Kinda get the juices flowing a bit?  Especially since some of my favorite people did leave me comments on yesterday's entry about whether I should continue blogging at all. 

So what was my nicest compliment? That's any easy one. A couple of years ago, while talking with my sister Sandy about the kids she told me "You are a great mom."  

Why does this stick out for me?  Simple!  The mom that Sandy and I had was not a great mom. She had her moments, but when looking at the whole picture?  The sad fact is that her life was more about doing what was best for her than ever about what was best for her children. So much of our childhood was very traumatic because of the decisions she made that were about doing things that made life easier for her. Not better, just easier. 

So, to get such a compliment from my sister, who really knows the difference between a good and a not so good mom?  I floated on that for a very long time. I'm not perfect as a mom, I know that! Ask my kids...they'll be more than happy to tell you how I probably yell too much. Still, having someone else look in and say you're doing a good job at one of the hardest jobs you'll ever have is quite the compliment. 

Thanks Sandy!!

Journal Jar - Write yourself a letter

 

  Journal Jar Kit from Studio Girls ScrapbookGraphics website

Dear Joy @ 16,

You've just begun your Junior Year at good 'ol Havre de Grace High School. You're still head over heels in love with that boyfriend of yours. Your parents are still crazy as loons but you don't realize how much all the drama in your life is the result of both your mom and dad, not just dad alone. I honestly don't know if it would have been better for you to know it back then or not. Sometimes I think you needed to still believe in your mom at that point. Your fragile hold on sanity, your belief in yourself and a future of hope and promise, depended on this lack of knowledge. You may have given up had you known she was as much at fault for the turmoil. 

I'm glad you have Susan in your life to get you away from it all. You're driving now too! That Chevelle was a fabulous car! Darn shame it got wiped out by a dump truck...another one to thank mom for :). The freedom is good for you. You were right to take advantage of it as often as possible. 

While the drama continues for you right now, it is at a bit of a lull. It will get worse. Some tough roads are ahead. The Rizzutos are about to come into your life...thank God!   At least you get to graduate high school first. You get to savor your success for a little while. Understand that this success sets you up for a lifetime of success going forward. Will you have everything you want? No, but neither does most other people. You will have enough though. You will eventually find a good place in the world. Your childhood dreams of being a mom do come true...so hang in there! 

I've never written a letter like this to myself before. Definitely feels quite odd, but nice too.

Sincerely,

Your 40-something self.

Journal Jar - Best Year of Your Life?

 Journal Jar Kit from Studio Girls ScrapbookGraphics website

Things have been a bit crazy here this week. Our A/C unit crashed and burned! The first couple of days were really hot ones on the thermometer. The temps have gone down but the humidity has been torture! As a result, I haven't had the mental energy or inspiration to write blog posts. I have been on such a good streak of almost daily postings though that I didn't want to lose that momentum, so you get a journal jar entry today!

I am finding that giving myself time to think about these questions is proving to be quite worthwhile. So, I'll be back with my response later today or tomorrow. In the meantime, tell me about your best year. Blog it, email it, leave me a comment. You can do it! LOL!

Journal Jar - 10 Favorite Things

 

Journal Jar Kit from Studio Girls ScrapbookGraphics website

Dear blog readers....here's today's journal jar question. Write out your 10 things then do one of the following:

• post it to your own blog or
• post it on your Facebook page or
• post it in the comments here 

If you post it elsewhere, don't forget to come back and leave me a link where I can read it too!

I'm working on my own list and will post it here soon!

More Favorite Toys!

I had a bit of a brain storm the other night while I strugged to figure out my own favorite toy. Why not ask my own kids this question? Then the real lightbulb went off in my head:  why not use the Flip camera and record them and their answer? Maybe even show the toy if they still have it?

I send a chore list to my daughter most mornings while they're at home this summer. Yesterday's list included recording each other talking about their favorite toy. I thought they might need some time to consider it. Turns out, they both knew immediately what they wanted to talk about and bing-bang-boom, they recorded themselves and I have a pretty cool bit of video to keep.

Here's Casey's video....notice how he didn't feel necessary to put a shirt on :P

And here's Sarah's video. I *know* she spent time getting herself "ready" before filming :P And I love how Casey can't but help to insert himself into HER video at the end :)

Journal Jar - My Favorite Toy

This turned out to be more difficult than I imagined it would be. As I ran this question through my mind during the day yesterday, I found myself utterly blank. I couldn't come up with anything. I began to get a bit distressed about it. I have so thoroughly shuttered much of my childhood memories away in an effort to hide the "bad stuff" that I've made it hard to recollect any of the good stuff. The idea that I have so little in the way of good memories, that come forward easily, makes me pretty sad.

The good news though is that I did finally push through those darn shutters and did remember something! It was a Baby Chrissy doll. I was a huge baby doll fan as a kid. I'm pretty sure I got a new one every year for Christmas. I also adored real babies....especially toddlers from about age 1 - 3. That's why Baby Chrissy was so special. She was the size of a real 1 yr old or so. You could put real baby clothes on her. You could carry her around on your hip like a real baby. The red "growning" hair was just a bonus! 

Thanks to Google and the Web, I of course found pictures!

 

 Photo Courtesy of Annie's Cupboard blog

My Baby Chrissy was actually a hand-me-down from my cousin Penny. She always had the coolest, newest and best toys. I coveted the doll from the very first second I saw her. Penny was always pretty nice to me and I think she really wasn't a big fan of Baby Chrissy, so eventually I ended up with her.

Before that though, my own mom tried to give me my heart's desire for Christmas that year. I don't know if she couldn't find Baby Chrissy or didn't realize that it wasn't the regrowing hair that I loved. That year, my sister and I got matching Chrissy and Velvet dolls. My doll looked liked the one in the plaid dress in this picture:

Photo Courtesy of Kaylee's Korner of Collectible Dolls

I can't remember what clothes my sister's Velvet doll had. She had gorgeous blonde hair. If you click on the link above it takes you to a page that tells about these dolls made by Ideal. I found the information quite facsinating! 

Sidebar:  OMG! There's a video of the tv commercial! The internet is so darn cool!

Seeing these photos almost makes me want to get my hands on them again. I've already found the Chrissy in the plaid dress for $75. Maybe some day....

Journal Jar Time!

 

I'm going to let this one stew for a bit. Look for my answer/response to this prompt later today.

In the mean time? Why don't you take a stab at it? Write your response in my comments or take the prompt back to your own blog or journal to write the response there. Don't forget to send me a link to your response if you do post it elsewhere!

Housekeeping Note:  I'm starting to get spam comments! Does this mean I'm getting noticed? Okay, probably not. So, you'll have to type in the "special code" AND I'll be moderating the comments so they won't auto appear until I "approve" them. The spam comments are terribly obvious so it's not likely that my lovely blog viewers will need to worry that I won't post their comments!

  P.S. In case you're new to the journal jar idea, you can look back at this post to see where I found this: Original Journal Jar post or go directly to Scrapbook Graphics to download your own kit now!

Journal Jar Entry #2

I thought I'd have another go at the "journal jar" today:

 

How's that for coincidence? I used random.org's number generator and ended up with a question about Sunday on a Sunday!

My answer?  Depends on the season! From September through the Superbowl...it's football baby! I am a rabid Baltimore Ravens fan. I developed my love of football as a teenager when I had a boyfriend who loved the game. Our time spent together happened mostly on Sundays so football watching was a big part of our activities. 

When we parted ways, I still loved the game. When I was 20 though, I met my future husband. He did NOT like watching televised sports. After a time, I watched less and less ball. It wasn't too hard. I didn't have my "own team" to root for and hadn't really ever picked a favorite.

Then in 1996, the Cleveland Brown owners made the decision to move out of Cleveland and chose Baltimore as their destination. For those of you who may be "hatrers" because of this...I'll tell you what Indiannapolis Colts fans have told us for 20+ years...get over it already. Why? #1 is because it's a GAME! and not worth that kind of emotion.

Anyway, in the last couple of years, this Sunday activity has become even more enjoyable because my lovely daughter has also become a huge fan. She picked the *Giants* to go all the way in 2007...and they did! She declared Flacco should be our starting quarterback in '08 when he was drafted in April. Through a set of bizarre, unexpected circumstances, he was! And has done more than an admirable job! 

Being given little options as a result, my husband is now watching most games with us and even cheering on the Ravens. Well most of the time.

It's been a tough season but we made the playoffs and even beat the Patriots today which was pretty unexpected. We face the Colts next week and the experts will tell you we have little chance of beating them. But who knows? The Al Pacino movie says it best "Who knows what can happen any given Sunday?"