Wordless Wednesday...Brothers

A brother is a friend given by Nature.  ~Jean Baptiste Legouve

Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero.  ~Marc Brown

I sought my soul, but my soul I could not see.  I sought my God, but my God eluded me.  I sought my brother and I found all three.  ~Author Unknown

Help your brother's boat across, and your own will reach the shore. ~Hindu Proverb 

When brothers agree, no fortress is so strong as their common life. ~Antisthenes  

Our siblings. They resemble us just enough to make all their differences confusing, and no matter what we choose to make of this, we are cast in relation to them our whole lives long.
 ~Susan Scarf Merrell



It snowed last year too: I made a snowman and my brother knocked it down and I knocked my brother down and then we had tea  ~Dylan Thomas



The highlight of my childhood was making my brother laugh so hard that food came out his nose. ~Garrison Keillor  

My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass." "We're not raising grass," Dad would reply. "We're raising boys." ~Harmon Killebrew

Wise Words On A Post-It

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Weekend Recap

Spring seems to have packed up its bags and headed straight outta town without so much as a note, a kiss goodbye or a forwarding address.  How rude.

The rain and cold temps. did not, however, stop Brisco "Big Boy" Darling the wiener dog from going outside and slinging red mud all over the backyard yesterday afternoon, forcing us to bathe him twice.  And even after I made him look me in the eye when I demanded, "DON'T DIG."  in my best Darth Vader voice.  I guess I wasn't scary enough. 

Speaking of scary, I finally had the first of the two root canals on Friday and maybe it was due to the anti-anxiety medicine they gave me to take before my appointment, but (and I can't believe I'm saying this) it was not that bad.  Really.  

The sound of him opening up the tooth with that drill was a little intimidating but after that, I was kicked back and relaxed in my sexy red-tinted shades they put on me, and found it amusing when his assistant told me that she'd give my husband the same instructions she was giving me just in case I couldn't remember. 

Come again?  Why would I not remember? Apparently, it happens a lot with patients under the influence of the anti-anxiety medication they gave me, Halcion.  I remember everything.  From the first shot (that managed to numb the entire left side of my face, including my eye) to the paying of the big fat bill at the end, which was actually the worst part of the whole experience. 

I asked Charlie to stop at Sonic on the way home for a shake and he at first thought I was kidding since I've been on this calorie-counting kick for the past week but I was so not kidding.  I couldn't eat and I figured I deserved a little treat since I was such a big girl at my appointment and all.  

I got home and went straight to the laptop to look up how many calories are in a regular sized hot fudge shake from Sonic.  Do you have any idea?  Care to guess?  SIX HUNDRED AND EIGHT!  6.0.8. calories in one little shake.  

I gasped, slammed the laptop shut and slept for the next 3 hours.  Devin creeped into the sunroom where I was awake but still lying down when he got off the bus and asked if I was knocked out.  I had warned them that I may be since I'd never taken this drug before and didn't want them to be freaked out to come home and see me in a semi-comatose state. 

He seemed relieved that I was indeed awake and wanted to make sure I remembered that he had cleaned his room the day before so that he could have a friend sleep over.  I assured him that I remembered though looking back on it, I should have faked amnesia and messed with him a little bit.  Gah, I always get the best ideas way after the fact. 

Saturday afternoon Charlie and I had a movie date.  We saw Limitless  which was very entertaining, although I could have done without the violent parts and the young couple in the back of the theater who could not seem to control their chatter, giggling, endless trips to the bathroom/concession stand and the dropping of some sort of candy all over the floor, which they found absolutely hysterical.  

I looked back to shoot them my evil eye when at the same time Charlie turned around and asked them, (though it didn't really sound so much like a question) in his best Darth Vader voice, to be quiet. And they obliged. We didn't hear so much as a peep out of them after that.

Maybe next time I should ask him to give the "don't dig in the mud" speech to that stubborn little wiener dog. 

Fancy Friday...Come back to me, Spring!

Brrr. Who turned off the heat? It was 31 degrees in the car when I drove the boys to school this morning and the upcoming forecast says Spring has temporarily left the building. 

But aside from that and the fact that I will finally, finally, have the most dreaded and blogged about root canal this side of the Mississippi this morning, the Fancy Friday show must go on so let's just get right to it, shall we? 



Leather And Satin d'Orsay Wedge Sandals
I spotted these adorable yellow things at Spiegel and they just shout "Spring" to me! Come back, Spring, come back!  We were just getting reacquainted! 

Chandelier Earrings
$18 at Urban Outfitters.  Love, Love, Love!  And they also come in a delicate pink.

Contrast Sundress
The possibilities for this sundress are just endless and the straps?  Detachable. 

English Rose Kimono Blouse

This Anthropologie top is probably one of those things that you'd just have to try on but the combination of those ruffles, that silk and that ribbon just sucked me right in.

Well-Grounded Heel
And wouldn't it go perfectly with these smokin' leather platforms from ModCloth? 

 
Coconut Cream Bangle Set

I'm been searching high and low for the perfect bangle set and this one is definitely in the running.  $16 at Lulu's. 
 
 

Fossil Natural Mystic Vintage Flower Necklace
Van Morrison's Into the Mystic just suddenly popped into my head after typing that.  Mystic, Vintage and Natural in one description?  Now that's my kind of necklace.  Also comes in yellow or white. 
 

Tied Down Dress
This Anthropologie dress just makes me smile. Also comes in navy. 

Fossil Stella Watch
I am so into this watch.
 

Embellished Getaway Tunic
I would get away with this flowing feminine tunic from Boston Proper anytime.  Anytime.  

Too bad the only place I'm going to be getting away to today is the endodontist's office.  Unless, of course, he comes down with the flu again but I find that highly unlikely. 


Y'all have a great weekend and if you see Spring around your way, send it on back to North Carolina!   

Talkin' Bout My Generation

I struggled a bit this week with Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday.

The letter is X.

What starts with X? Hmm...

Well, there's the Xbox that my little XY chromosomes are currently grounded from due to unacceptable behavior but since I've never actually played it myself, I didn't think I could construct an entire post based on that. 

Oh, I know!  Xerox.  I used that big, obnoxious Xerox copier daily back when I worked in an office.  Surely, I can recall a good story about that.  Um. Nope.  Not so much.  Too many years gone by, apparently, because I couldn't recall a single Xerox story worth re-telling.

Then it hit me.  Of course!  Generation X!  

So I googled it.  And while the birth years classifying someone as a Gen X-er vary from source to source, most all agree on including the years from 1965-1976. But some even say 1961-1981 and I fall  smack in the middle of that span, with a birth year of 1971.  

Here are some of the repeated words and phrases I found that are commonly associated with members of my generation X...

*"latch-key" kids
*better educated than previous generations
*Individualistic
*flexible
*divorced parents
*t.v. dinners/t.v trays
*"work to live" instead of "live to work"
*skeptical
*not easily impressed
*informal/casual
*adaptable
*realistic
*pragmatic
*eager to learn but resist being "bossed"

I have to say, while I have never given much thought to the fact that I'm a member of Generation X, I can absolutely relate to most all of those words/phrases above because just about every single one of them does apply to me.

Well, all except the "latch-key" kid.  I had to practically get down on my hands and knees and beg my mother to allow me to ride the bus home at the age of 14 and stay alone for a couple of hours until she got home from work.  Up until then, I still had to go to my "babysitter's" house after school.  And not that she wasn't a wonderful woman because she was.  I just thought 14 was entirely too old to be "babysat".  

But as far as all the others go?  Wow. I found myself nodding in agreement at almost every article I read describing a Generation X-er.  And by the way, this Generation X-er just happens to be turning 40 next month. 

Did I mention that?  Oh, only about a hundred and fifty nine times? I must've forgotten. I hear the memory is one of the first things to go. I couldn't even recall a story about the Xerox monster who gave me fits every day for 5 years back in the 90's.  

I'm kidding. I'm kidding.  Relax.  I know 40 isn't old.  Well, I guess it depends on who you ask... "Forty is the old age of youth; fifty, the youth of old age." ~Victor Hugo  Hmm...


Here are just a few of my favorite Generation X peeps who are also turning 40 this year...

John Hamm (who plays Don Draper on AMC's Mad Men) LOVE that show!  Genius.

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Amy Poehler (Hi-Larious! Love her.)

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Winona Ryder (I will always think of her as Lydia Deetz, "the weird and strange" girl in Beetlejuice)

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Mark Wahlberg (or the artist formerly known as Marky Mark!) 

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Taye Diggs ( While I watch him play Dr. Sam Bennett on Private Practice every Thursday night, I can't help but remember him as the fine young thing who gave Stella her groove back!)

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Christina Applegate (she's come a long since Kelly Bundy)

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Alternate names for my generation:

*The Reagan Generation
*The MTV Generation
*"Baby Busters" (due to the decrease in births following the baby boom)
*The 13th Generation (because it's the 13th to know the U.S. flag)


More Gen X Facts:

*The term was first used in the late 70's by the Billy Idol led punk rock band, Generation X.

*Most educated fielded U.S. military force to date.

*Often known as "Generation E" in continental Europe

*1970 had the lowest birth rate of the generation.


Attributes identified with Gen X:

~War on Drugs
~Desert Storm
~Dot-com bubble
~1980's hair bands (Bon Jovi, Motley Crue)
~Rise and fall of disco
~NYC blackout of 1977
~Punk rock
~Heavy metal
~end of the cold war
~fall of the Berlin wall
~Rap
~Iran hostage crisis
~Grunge/alternative rock bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam
~Hip hop culture
~Inception of home computer,
 video games,
 cable t.v.,
 and finally...

 the wonderful world of internet! 

And how did any of us ever survive without that?!

My ABC's of Spring

Adirondack Chairs made by our good friend, Paul.  

Baseball. Two boys=Six practices per week!


2010



Cherry Blossoms abound.  

Doors with screens.



"Let us in!"

  Easter. 





2008

 

Flip flops.





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  Green clover. 

Holes dug by bad little Dachsies!

Insects. The bloodsuckers are back already.





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  Jumping on the trampoline. (I had to sneak this shot from the deck but Devin was too quick for me, hence the giant ball in front of his face.)

Knockout Roses budding.

Longer Days.




My attempt at a shot of the rising moon...didn't quite capture it.



My ..ahem.. 40th Birthday in April.




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 North Carolina Wiener Roast in May.  Few things excite me this much! It's a little piece of Dachsie dog heaven.



2010 wiener dog race..We lost but we'll get 'em this year!

 Open sunroof on the Saturn.



2007...They look so small!

 

Pollen. (Achoo!)



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  Quote I love: "It's spring fever.  That is what the name of it is.  And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!"   ~Mark Twain

 Road trip for Spring Break in April. Where the road will lead us, only God knows.  



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  Sniffing for squirrels.

Trees blooming.

Uplifting words. "The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring."   ~Bern Williams

View from my kitchen window.

Warmth.

X cited tails.

Yellow daffodils.

Zyrtec D.  Ahh... I can breathe.

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Happy Spring!