What To Do When the Weather is Too Hot and the Pool is Too Cold

Often times, we have no control of the pace and the intensity that life comes at us.  We are a mere feather in the wind running a course that is decided by "others".  No one is immune. 

What we can control is our reactions to the life that is put in front of us.  We can alter the direction slightly and we can choose the emotion we will show to the world when we are confronted by awkward life occurrences.

Phoenix is a funny town.  When the weather is nice enough to sit outside and maybe catch some Vitamin D...and some sun rays......the pool water's temperature is way too cold to get in and swim!  When the water hits an acceptable temperature that people, other than those residing in Maine, can enjoy.............it's blazing hot outside.  And there's really not much you can do about it.  In the summers here, we put on our suits, head outside, jump in and swim around for awhile, get out, remove the suit, wrap a towel around the body and then, head back into the house.  When the weather is perfect, you can relax for awhile and when you start to get too hot, you can spray yourself with a hose or just head back inside.

It would be nice to change the dynamics of the situation above that would make life that much better in Arizona, but you cannot.  You can buy misters, you can sit in the shade to prolong the time outside or you could pay a fortune and heat your pool for the months when it's needed.  But that's about all......

So, how are you going to share your emotions to your friends around you?  In the situation stated above, I used to complain....and complain loudly.  That is, until I noticed that no one was listening to my grouchy comments.  Then, I secretly went about complaining but people could see right through my demeanor.  Now, while I still don't like this fact about living in Arizona, sometimes I joke about it and sometimes I ignore it.  I become a sticky feather that when the wind blows at me fiercely, but I stick to the branches of a tree....in defiance.  I am learning in my old age, er, older age, that it's better to accept the things I cannot change.  Maybe later in life, I may be able to actually enjoy these things.......but I am not there yet!

MOTG Diet Starts Today..Feel Free to Join in the Fun

It's the first of March and hope you remembered to say "rabbit, rabbit, rabbit" when you woke up....'cause this is going to be one hectic month and we are all going to need all the LUCK we can get!  Right?!

I have officially started the MOTG wedding diet......alert the media!  It's been almost a year ago when I ended my HCG diet and reported the exciting measurements from the beginning to the end.  This time around, I am taking a more spiritual approach (thanks, Gabriella for the book).  That's BS, you say?  Well, let's find out. 

I have motivation to lose, and I have a short little lady working in the woman's department at Saks Fifth Avenue to thank.  You see, I went to try on a few dresses, take my picture and then show them to my sister to decide which one I should buy for the wedding in May.  I asked her if she minded taking the pictures for me....her mouth said yes, but her eyes and body said, no F----G way!  Seeing as there was no one else around I begged her and she dragged that lumpy little body back to the dressing room with me.

I will be the first to admit that it's no real treat attending me in the smallish dressing room, unless you like seeing naked strangers in odd lighting and gigantic 3-way mirrors!  I tried on the greenish one first and it kind of reminded me of Elizabeth Taylor....in her latest years!  I was pouring out in every direction.  And it kind of reminded me of a sleeping gown you might have worn on your honeymoon night...back in the '50's!  She took 3 pictures and said she needed to gag or something like that....and left the room for a few minutes.

Next, I put on the beautiful coral dress.  It has rouching all around which I thought could hide many areas of trouble.  Turns out 'rouching' actually means "placing dramatic emphasis on a woman's most vulnerable areas".....I think! The color was nice (Mom was right) and maybe I could get it for my next Halloween costume as all I saw in the mirror was a 'HUGE, round and rouching PUMPKIN'! 

My friendly sales person came in and giggled or was that her throwing up in her mouth?  It was kind of hard to tell; she looked pained.  Again, she took a front, side and back side picture, handed me the camera and ran out the door to find a paying customer.  "Thanks", I said.......For making this middle-aged, empty nest Mom feel just fabulous while trying to find the perfect dress for her oldest child's wedding! 

The next day, I flew to my sister's house for our WORTH Collection trunk show.  I hadn't taken the time to see the shots.  And here is number #4-Million why I love my sister more than life........

We pulled up the shots on her computer and she said, "Pretty colors for spring.  You are going to look great at the wedding.  You can find better dresses, though....that material will be too hot for late May, in Arizona!"  And that was that.  No, ha ha...look at those fat arms.  Or, are you pregnant?  Thanks, Sis!

I do want to look great for my son's wedding; doesn't every Mom want that?  At least, look the best I can.  So, I am focused on eating right, sleeping well and exercising.  A lot!  ( the exercising part, not the eating part!) When it's time, I am going to search out that one woman and make her help me again, for the fun of it.  Looking back, I think she's probably a kick...just stuck in a job that's less than fun sometimes.

Seeing the World Through Arizona-Colored Glasses

Once again, calls from friends and family came in over the weekend asking how it feels "living in the wild west" due to the tragic events of a 22-year old, unstable, grammar-defending, pothead who decided to take his newly-purchased gun from the local Walmart store out and kill the Congresswoman with whom he had a beef with since 2007 and a group of innocent bystanders for good measure. (Look, stories like one this are hard to even make up!)

Well, my answer is: it feels awful..........

Awful, because once again, the devil lies in the details and are compounded due to the fact that they have occurred in Arizona.  And it seems, to plain and simple me, that all of Arizona's problems are interrelated.  Without jumping on some partisan rant here, I just think that our location just north of Mexico, such a poor and troubled country, has created a weird culture for the people of Arizona.  The illegal immigrants are more prevalent, the recreational use of drugs from Mexico, especially pot and crystal meth, is heavier and more accepted in the border states and the desire to own and use firearms is more accepted here, too.  With so many crazed individuals high on meth in town, who has time to track down all the black-clothed potheads running around town?! 

I remember when the whole Martin Luther King Day was a big issue here and we were pegged as problem state.  Most of us are transplants from other states and all of us had experienced far greater prejudice behavior in the other states and were frankly shocked.  Also, we were the only state brave enough, er stupid enough, to bring it to a vote. When it passed, I thought we might hear some good news about this great state  of AZ, but there was none...


In my opinion, everyone feels weird and uneasy about the people who have elected to cross the border illegally to work here because we understand how bad it must be to live in Mexico these days.  But in our hearts, we know the nation and our state cannot afford to just let everyone in, so therein lies the problem.  And no President seems to have the balls to tackle such an enormous problem.....so we suffer.  And are the brunt of the nations' jokes and comments. 

We figure out how to make due...just like in the old wild west movies.  We are on our own and we are trying so hard right now to show that we are a loving and caring tribe to the rest of the nation.  We pray every day for Gabrielle Giffords and the innocent folks who have been injured or killed by this senseless act of violence.  And, all we ask is to try to put yourself in our shoes and to be understanding of our unique set of consequences.  

A Good Soaking

Jonathan flew back to Ohio two days ago.  Mom and Ed left early this morning to fly back to Florida.  Bill has returned to work and has taken my daughter with him (he gave her a temporary work assignment during her college break).  And yes, Wrigley and me are home alone, watching the skies open and the rain pouring down.  It's a perfect day to end the Holidays!

In Arizona, it's really quite rare to get a whole day of rain, especially a steady flow like we have experienced today....this downpour.  I find it refreshing and quite soulful.  Perfect for killing time around the house...............................

I have spent the last hour looking at striped ties for Andy on the Internet.  I can waste so much time on this machine.  I rarely get bored skipping from site to site. Know of anyplace I should look for striped ties that have navy, pink and green colors?

Have a pleasant night, y'all!

Shopping, Planning, in Empty Nester Style

I just have a few minutes before I am off to finish stimulating the economy with Christmas presents for family, friends and charities.  The last day of shopping always seems so strange to me.......how many gifts is too many?  If Billy gets 4 presents, must Susie get the same?  Or should you spend the exact amount on each person?  I hate thinking about these things.  I prefer impulse buying which can sometimes lead to an inequality of gift allocations.  Shame!

I am definitely stopping by Trader Joe's on the way home. They better have those sea salt chocolate caramels or I might just have a personal meltdown right there in the middle of their recycled floor.  I wrote a poem about these delicious morsels a few years back......yes, they are that good!  

I have become quite an efficient little empty nester when it comes to planning and preparing for the return of my household, even if it's just for a few days.  Most meals are planned, the house is ready and screw the Christmas cards for now; I'd rather get a picture of all the kids home for a picture and maybe send out cards later.  I know the time when everyone is here will fly by at record speed, so I am already prepared for the letdown when they leave.  I have scheduled an afternoon at the spa.  Truth is, I miss the flurry of activity that exists when children live with you.  The most I can get out of Bill these days is a 'harrumph' and Wrigley is only excited when his dog food comes out or just before we go on our daily walks on the golf course.  I am perhaps the most boring and blah one in the bunch, too.  But that is going to change after the new year.

The Arizona sky is clouding up with a 10% chance of rain tomorrow, not exactly a winter wonderland, but it'll just have to do.  At least it looks a little more like Christmas everywhere I look!

Why We Clean Our Homes and Party Planning

Image via Wikipedia
I am now planning a 60th Wedding Anniversary party for my husband's parents to be held in my backyard in about a month.  Thank goodness, we have decided to host the party here, as it will make me clean this pig-sty of a home.




My windows are so dirty I thought I saw Jesus in them the other day.  In my defense though, I thought the dirt was actually  acting as a shield from the blazing Arizona summer sun....therefore using less electricity to cool my house down.  See, there is a method to my madness.

Image via Wikipedia

There is a bit of a problem with the party, though.  I was told that the guest count was 60 and I had down a basic layout of the party and had just figured out how I could fit that number of people in my backyard when I then learned that number did not include the 20 extra family members!  Back to the drawing board.



It would be nice to have a household of people in the house again.  My empty nest home has three very sad and lonely bedrooms with adjoining bathrooms just dying to be filled with out-of-town family members!  But as family politics come into play, the rooms may remain empty.  I cannot worry about family politics anymore than Federal politics; I am just one person in a sea of people with opinions and ideals. But I will still scrub and clean each room.....just in case.

I decided to take the covers off the cushions of my outdoor furniture this weekend, and wash/bleach them before the big event.  What a fiasco!  It took about an hour to actually get them off; they are very tight.  Then, the filling has basically disintegrated so putting the covers back on was a major task, taking two people and another hour of labor on Labor Day to get them back on. A few of the cushions now look like I have stuffed the neighbor's cat into the cover or something equally as lumpy!  These are expensive Gloster cushions, too.  Just goes to show you how very brutal our weather is here in sunny Arizona.

Writing this blog post is actually my little stall tactic.  I need to contact the caterer, the guitarist and the photographer.  I need to find more rectangle tables to borrow.  I need to do another layout.  I need to decide on the food and wine to be served.  Minor details, really.  But thanks for allowing me that extra twenty minutes before the real work begins.  And, wish me luck.....

Writing Your Own History

History has a way of putting things in perspective that is very hard to achieve in the short term.  An event in your life that seems catastrophic this week pales in comparison to the events over a decade of time.  And no matter how hard you try to manage and control the story, some events will alter your history whether you like it or not.

Take for example my divorce back in the early 90's.  I was devastated.  My whole wonderfully-planned life as I had planned came crashing to a halt when it collided with my husband's newly-planned life.  I described it as the end of a chapter, and yes, still today...almost 20 years later, I still think the "D-word" event represents a chapter in my life story.  Maybe the chapter isn't as lengthy or as meaty as I may have once thought because there are other juicier stories in my personal history story now.

And maybe President Obama will get off his fat, pompous ass and take on the responsibility of a comprehensive immigration program and the American public will understand exactly why Governor Brewer was left with little choice than to try to make things better in Arizona by signing the 1070 bill into law, thus forcing the Federal government to do its job. If he was successful in an election year, history would be kind to him for placing the public good over partisan politics.

History is funny, too, because no matter hard you try to affect what your history, you cannot.  I have tried to paint as nice a picture on the whole divorce topic for a myriad of reasons, but when I am dead and gone, there is little I can do.  The story lies in the facts and the outcomes surrounding the event.  Obama should understand that even as eloquent as he speaks, the actions are really the only things that matter when it comes to history.

So what can you do to affect your history?  I'd say that the best thing to do is to try to always look in the long-term and what the big picture shows and to do what's best in these terms.  Be faithful to yourself and what you believe in, no matter what the consequences.  But, always be willing to listen and learn from others and thus, be able to change your beliefs and who you are inside. 

One can only hope that our poiliticians can be big boys and girls and do the hard things such as comprehensive immigration reform and once and for all have a system that works.  The history books are waiting.............................................

Political Ranting From a Different Perspective

Today, I would like to introduce you to my mystery guest.  The person has a political angle that is always interesting and though-provoking. Because of the high-profile position this person has, their identity must be kept a secret.  And their views may or may not be similar to my own.  But, who wants to read only posts that are exactly like their own all the time?  How can your political mind expand and learn anything that way?  I know you will enjoy this first guest post........

What was Jan thinking?

Unlike most of my Republican friends, I didn’t want Governor Brewer to sign SB 1070, the anti-illegal immigration boogeyman that continues to frighten good citizens everywhere.  Its not that I’m soft on illegal immigration. Rather, I just don’t like to aggravate liberals and do-gooders.  There is nothing more dangerous to the cause of freedom than a do-gooder with a cause.  And SB 1070 has brought them out of the woodwork by the thousands.  Along for the ride of course are the political and economic opportunists who are now taking free shots at Arizona in order to establish their own civil rights bona fides and hopefully steal our All Star and BCS games, not to mention our tourists and convention business.  These political tick birds get to sucker punch us because no matter what the facts are, America loves to have someone to hate on.  And for now at least, that someone is Arizona.

Oh sure, there are people coming to our defense, or trying to.  But too often the voices of our defenders, the ones carefully and adversely selected by the media, have a hillbilly drawl or are wearing a gun or, even worse, are the good sheriff himself – Joe Arpaio.  That guy gets on TV more than a BP exec and is equally unconvincing.  If you had to select a single person to go on national TV and discuss the how and why of SB 1070’s passage, to explain that really, after all, most of what it does is already allowable under Federal law or to admit, as few are willing to do, that its provisions are not as groundbreaking as its critics and supporters allege, or to put in perspective the frustrations of a state long ignored by the Federal government, better a horse tapping out Morse code with its hoof than Joe Arpaio.  Repeating over and over how he is going to keep doing what he’s doing no matter what the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division says is not the best way to convert the masses.

I think Jan should have vetoed the bill.  If only because it was a Pearce Bill.  Who signs anything from Russell Pearce anyway?  She should have vetoed the bill and blamed President Obama for it.  And while she was at it, blamed Janet Napolitano too.  Immigration, after all, is a uniquely Federal responsibility and Obama and Napolitano are uniquely responsible for it.  If the immigration situation in Arizona is in disarray, why should the Governor have to solve the problem?  Given the tremendous amount of national attention that preceded her signing of the measure, a veto would have been equally newsworthy, especially if it were accompanied by a promise to call a special session to re-pass the bill if Washington did not get busy doing its job. 

Giving Obama and Napolitano a specific length of time, such as 60 days, to do their jobs would have allowed Jan to own the political high ground, highlighted Washington’s indifference to our problems and given us an elevated platform from which to demand the same level of border security afforded California and Texas.  Brewer could have used the SB 1070 boogeyman as leverage, while looking like the reasonable and able person she is.  At the end of 60 days, she would either be signing a popular and populist bill or taking credit for securing the border.  Either way, she wins.