songbird's crazy world

(cross posted at Midcentury Modern Moms ) graduation overwith, the summer is now in full swing. that means the girls' lives are taken up with summer jobs and social activities. for Jen, that means she's finished her summer school class (she did very well!) and has started her job as a counselor in a day camp. for Becca, that means working the same part time job at the mall as she's done since last fall, with hopes of picking up additional hours now that she's about to turn 18. and, of course, both girls have cars/friends/social events, so they are like phantoms, floating in and out of the house. and my heart is hurting, because I see my babies growing up and growing away from me. and it doesn't help that I've had nasty arguments with each of my daughters in the last few days, arguments about small things and about funadamental relationship issues. I feel so broken right now.... last night, the Cantor at our temple called me and asked me to be

Inherited a claim file from another analyst. She completely missed the point -- did work that was totally unnecessary and didn't do the work that the file actually required. So now I'm cleaning up her mess.

thinking about NaBlPoMo for July....

Becca and her date mother and daughters the flowers: I love the dress! father and daughters graduation day the formal graduation pose the graduate with her diploma  -- she graduated with honors, of course. and as a member of National Honor Society

(cross posted at Midcentury Modern Moms ) On Sunday Becca will graduate from high school.  There will be a ceremony at the high school, she and her classmates will wear cap and gown, and we will listen to speeches and musical performances.  I will be in tears, my baby girl will be a high school graduate.  I am already in tears over the family drama going on.  Let's just say no one is happy, no one wants to compromise and I am in the middle with everyone mad at me. But on Sunday my baby will graduate.  On Sunday I will put on a smile and be oh-so-proud of my little girl. She'll be headed off to college soon. They say you should give your child roots and wings. I hope I've done both.  Can't wait for her to stretch those wings and see where she flies.

I won't go into details, but let's just say I made a mistake a few years ago that's coming back to bite me hard.  live in a topsy turvey world, where what I believe to be the right course of action is considered "crazy" and where the dysfunction that is my extended family is considered "normal".  So right now I've got seven people mad at me, including both of my daughters.

If you haven't seen the movie yet you may not want to read this blog post right now. I loved the movie.  started crying right at the beginning when we were watching the "video" of Andy as a little boy.  loved how the toys tried to get Andy's attention by stealing his cell phone. so who knew Barbie could be so clued-in on political philosophy?  Loved metrosexual Ken and got a huge kick out of his clothes frm the 60's and the 70's. loved Buzz Lightyear's Spanish mode. Mr. Potatohead's encounter with the pigeon was hilarious. of course the ending made me cry.  but I am glad the toys found a new home with Bonnie.

We are planning to see it tonight. I saw the first two movies with my children when they were little -- the first came out in 1995 and the second in 1999.  those movies were about a boy named Andy and his toys. what I loved about both movies was how the story played out on two levels. the kids took the movie at face value, the parents saw the deeper meanings.  and the jokes that were aimed at the parents, not the kids...well, of alll the movies I saw with my children, the toy Story movies were among the most memborable. In this third installment Andy is now grown up and headed off to college.  Just like my girls. the newsppaer reviews promise the same kind of movie as the first two.... I know I will be in tears by the end of the evening. My review will appear sometime over the weekend.

(cross posted at Midcentury Modern Moms ) Ever notice how kids are so very accurate about how old they are?  As if getting older was reaching a goal.  "I'm 4 1/2"  (and you'd better not forget the "half") "I'm almost 9" (said the day after an 8th birthday). A few days ago Becca told me "I'm 18 years old!'  no she's not...not until July 8, that is. and then Jen said "I'm 20 ...."  and her birthday isn't until November.  My firstborn is still  a teen, at least for a little while. And isn't it funny how that all changes when you turn 21?  I mean, adults are described as being "21+".  Milestone birthdays, like 30, 40 and 50, are cause for fear, panic and midlife crises.  I mean, Jack Benny was perpetually 39, wasn't he?  This is a banner year for me.  I celebrated a milestone birthday this year.  And my baby is about to graduate from high school and go away to college.  I figure

Pete Werner article

Yesterday both of my girls asked me for gas money. In unison.  In clear, stereophonic sound. Lord help me.

well, it's the last day of high school....for Becca. the next two weeks of school are devoted to final exams and statewide testing, but her classes all had final exams during class time, so she has no obligations at school until graduation rehearsal June 24.  the prom is June 25th and graduation is June 27th.  I was all teary-eyed this morning, thinking about my baby back when she started kindergarten....and she told me to stop it and just go catch my train to work.

(cross posted at Midcentury Modern Moms ) Becca's approaching graduation from high school, and all that it represents,  has put me in the mood to reminisce about when my children were little. Summer 1996.  Becca was 4 and Jen was a few months shy of 6.  We took a vacation to Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens, with a stop in Washington, DC on the way home.  there were six of us -- me, the girls and my three sisters -- crammed into my Corolla as we drove from New York to Virginia and back again. For the adults, it was a way to revisit a vacation we'd taken with our parents in 1974.  for the children, it was something new, exciting and fun. some of the highlights of the trip: -- playing carnival games in Busch Gardens.  especially whack-a-mole.  we won several stuffed animals for the girls. -- this was just after the Atlanta Olympics, and we got to see an Olympic-themed display of gymnastics talent at Busch Gardens -- this was also when Disney's Pocahonta

a 2006 camry solara, a two door model, back with gray interior, with a sunroof! my auto insurance just doubled.

so the evening began on the deck outside the theater...local DJ's "the Wise Man and Frank" from B-103 hosted a pre-show party. they asked trivia questions about the music of the 60's...and I won a pass to Dangerfield's Comedy Club because I knew that the Foundations recorded "Build Me Up Buttercup". Westbury is a small venue, theater in the round, with a rotating stage, so everyone gets a good view of the performers. Five acts, each a superstar in the 60's, each performing for 30 minutes.   Mark Lindsay joked "I'm back in the 60's...MY 60's."  and Rob Grill referred to the evening as "the Senior Tour".  Everyone knew the songs, we'd heard them all a thousand times.  I think the best acts of the evening were Mickey Dolenz and The Turtles. If they bring back the tour next year I am sure we will go.

picture it.  summer 1985.  A pair of 20-somethings, anxious to relive childhood memories, head to the Jones Beach Theater (before the days of corporate sponsorship) one evening for a concert featuring The Turtles, the Buckinghams,  the Grass Roots and Gary Lewis. that same couple will proceed to the Westbury Music Fair...er, the Capital One theater at Westbury...tonight to see:

You get up in the morning, take a shower, wash your hair....apply deodorant, body spray, anti-frizz balm...don freshly-laundered garments.... ...and you step outside, into hot, humid, heavy summer air.... and within minutes you look like you slept in your clothes and haven't showered in days....

(cross posted at Midcentury Modern Moms ) So last week I mentioned that Jen was involved in an accident, that her air bag deployed and that she walked away without a scratch. The same cannot be said of her car. I bought the car two years ago, right after Jen got her driver's license.  Paid $2500 for a 1996 Chevy Cavalier -- the car had 150,000 miles on it, but the engine had been replaced when the car had only 70,000 miles on it (that must have been a story!).  I expected the girls to share the car, I never expected Jen to need a car at college, and I expected the car to last about 3 years, maybe 4 if we got lucky.  (I don't believe in buying brand new, expensive cars for teenagers, even if I could afford it....which I can't.) Well, when Jen called me and told me that she had an accident with the car and that the airbag went off....I knew even before I saw the car that it was time to say goodbye to the Chevy. So now she is without wheels.  and she needs a car.  Sh

:ast Saturday night at Meadowlands Stadium...my date with Bon Jovi. The drive to the Meadowlands Sports Complex was easy. Once we got there, once we paid for parking...that's when the oddessy began. Twenty minutes later we finally found the parking lot. Then it was a 15 minute walk from the lot to the stadium. Here's a shot from where we parked: You can see the remnants of Giants Stadium next to the new Meadowlands Stadium. and here's the remnant of Giants Stadium up close: and the new stadium: We sat in nosebleed territory: an usher told us "If you want to work here, they take you up to the very top row of the stadium to see if you freak out...we actually have people freak out when they see how high up they're sitting." Stadium food was...well, stadium food. burgers, hot dogs, pretzels... opening act: Kids of Survival. Not bad but not great. then it was One Republic's turn to take the stage -- they sang for about 230 minu

the season finale...a little anticlimatic I thought.  first America chooses Daris and  Koli is eliminated.  Then we meet all the eliminated players.  no surprise that Kolik wins  the $100k.  then the finalists...Daris, Ashley and Michael...comes down  to Ashley and Michael...no surprise thagt Mikchael wins.  and another season  comes to an end....yawn....