It is not where you start, it is where you finish

Lately it seems everytime I go to an event where my daughter is singing with the children's choir I can not make it through the concert without tears streaming down my face and ruining my makeup. I am so grateful for my little one and so proud. I feel like my heart is going to explode with love sometimes and maybe the tears are the overflow valve. All of the children's little voices in song sound like a choir of angels to me and their tiny smiles when we clap for them just pushes me over the edge. I guess I am turning into a real sap as I age. Sometimes I am so embarassed. Do they sell pills that prevent tears??
I came across the picture that is now my blog avatar as I was cleaning out my computer of my Lizzy when she was 4 years old. She was so adorable that day on an open air train in the Amish Country. Sigh......they grow up too fast.

One year at Thanksgiving, my mom went to my sister's house for the
traditional feast. Knowing how gullible my sister is, my mom decided
to play a trick. She told my sister that she needed something from the
store. When my sister left, my mom took the turkey out of the oven.
She removed the stuffing, stuffed a Cornish hen, inserted it into the
turkey, and re-stuffed the turkey. She then placed the bird(s) back
in the oven. When it was time for dinner, my sister pulled the turkey
out of the oven and proceeded to remove the stuffing. When her
serving spoon hit something, she reached in and pulled out the little
bird. With a look of total shock on her face, my mother exclaimed,
'Patricia, you've cooked a pregnant bird!' At the reality of this
horrifying news, my sister started to cry. It took the family two
hours to convince her that turkeys lay eggs!
Yep..................SHE'S BLONDE!

My poor brother who is an amazing carpenter got his thigh sliced open while working on a roof. Thanks to the freezing temperatures and the heat of the saw blade he didn’t bleed to death. He did have to have major surgery to re-attach the tendons and muscles and close the 30 cm gash. He can not move and needs to be still for 8 weeks. His wife works from 5:30 am – 7:30 pm and can not care for him and the dogs and he doesn’t have a bathroom on his first floor. Guess who volunteered!! My father refused because of the dogs so I agreed because I love my brother more than my basement floor. My basement is finished so they can live there for the next two months. It’s not that I don’t love Frankie, Ailee, and Stewie; I just can not stand the smell of them. (As I smell things for a living so I am super sensitive.) I also need to factor in the fact that my cat Lily tries to kill them when they come over. One time Lily cornered poor Ailee who thought if she didn’t look at the cat she wouldn’t be seen. It was so sad to see her shake I had to grab Lily before she clawed the little dear one. To make them feel more at home I will move Chi Chi my chinchilla to the basement because Frankie is in love with her. They stare at each other for hours through the cage and Chi Chi makes the cutest sounds it’s simply adorable. Out come the white sheets to cover the furniture to prepare for the arrival of my family. My daughter dragged out her tea set and many other dolls so she can take advantage of her uncle that can’t move. She heard a rumor that he used to play dolls with me when we are children. I hope he doesn’t forget how to put on the tiny shoes!!!!

I am heading off to Buenos Aires for business after the holidays here.
There is a supplier that needs to get audited because we are finding lots of strange contaminations in their products. Thank God I am not a vegetarian or I would starve to death in the land of steaks. Last time I was there all I could find was meat, meat and more meat. I was looked at in horror when I was at a famous Asados (barbeque) place and had the nerve to ask if I could have some greens and a potato. My Spanish is quite good so I wondered at the looks until my colleague explained this is not the city for salads and potatoes. Many pitchers of Sangria were consumed because that is the only way I was able to get fresh fruit!! So I went on a red wine red meat binge for two weeks. It took a toll and I had to do the master cleanse for 15 days when I came home just to feel normal again. I did have so much fun that last trip 7 years ago because my lover who was my colleague also was with me in Buenos Aires. After our meetings and audits we danced and made love all night every night of the trip.
This trip we be all business as I will be with my boss. He looks like Kenny Rogers and a Yeti combined. He is grouchy and a terrible asthmatic. The weird thing is the travel center booked our hotel rooms in the same hotel I stayed in my last trip. What are the odds?? I hope I don’t get the same suite!

Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and
3 kids each for six weeks..
Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.
There is no fast food.
Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, and complete science projects , cook, do laundry, and pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money.
In addition, each man will have to budget in money
for groceries each week. Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time--no emailing. Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment. He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child
to the Urgent Care. He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function..
Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times. The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done. The men must
shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn himself with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed.
During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties.
They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting. They will need to read a book to the kids
each night and in the morning, feed them, dress them,brush their teeth and comb their hair by 7:00 am.
A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information:
each child's birthday,
height, weight,
shoe size, clothes size
and doctor's name.
Also the child's weight at birth,
length, time of birth,
and length of labor,
each child's favorite color,
middle name,
favorite snack,
favorite song,
favorite drink,
favorite toy,
biggest fear and
what they want to be when they grow up.
The kids vote them off the island based on performance.
The last man wins only if.... ...he still has enough energy
to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice.
If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over
and over again for the next 18-25 years eventually earning the right
To be called Mother!

Marishka was my paternal grandmother that was taken from me far too soon. I often wonder how different my life would have turned out if she had lived longer. She died when I was eight years old and I remember crying for days. When they covered her coffin I refused to leave the grave and begged to be left alone. The funeral director that was driving the family limo carried me to the car and whispered in my ear. “One day you will ride in one of my limos on your wedding day.”
Nineteen years later I called him and asked if he remembered his promise. I explained that my parents were against my marriage and I was hurting financially trying to cover the wedding expenses. He knew me right away asked for the date, times, and locations I would need the limo for. The morning of my wedding, the most beautiful dark grey limo arrived with a friendly driver that refused even a tip. He explained that Mr. Murphy took care of everything and didn't want us to spend one penny and he was at our service the entire day. He even left a bottle of Dom Champagne along with a wedding card.
I remember thinking to myself a man that only knew a heartbroken little girl for less than thirty minutes celebrated her more than her own parents. God Bless you Mr. Murphy may you rest in peace I am eternally grateful to you.

It’s true he even has the permanent rosy cheeks and nose (they call it rosacia) but it works on him. It’s a shame he is such a selfish dick sometimes and so obvious on which children are his favorite. I bet you can guess I’m not one of them.

My idiot brother lost his teaching job for doing something very stupid. He lost his license in all of the US and Canada. I think that is a bit excessive but he knew that there was a zero tolerance clause in his contract so I can’t take pity on him. He has been out of work for a month. You think he could get his lazy ass over to our grandmother’s house and help her out. Of course not! That is my responsibility. I am her lifeline and her connection to the rest of the world as well as her connection to the people I share DNA with. So this past Sunday I went early to do my duty (6am!) so my daughter could stay home and sleep a bit longer . In the midst of scrubbing and cooking, I happened to mention the facts about my brother to my gran and asked her to keep him in her prayers. All she can really do now is eat sleep and pray and she has about 50 rosaries so I figured I would give her some more purpose besides praying that I win the lottery! 
Well this morning my father called me at work and started screaming at me, asking: Who do I think I am telling her that my brother lost his job? Now the whole family is going to know and that he should have been the one to tell her. I let him continue on until there was a pause. I simply said (in a sarcastic biting way) You’re Welcome. I then asked him if he was finished. He started up again and then the big mouth could not be restrained anymore. I said for the attention those clods pay to that woman who made their existence possible she will be long gone before the news spreads to any of them. I also said I needed to go back to work since I am a responsible grownup and know how to keep a job. I then told him, “Go yell at your precious little 32 year old boy that has never held a job in his life until you got him the one he F****ed up.”
Bomb dropped, I quickly hung up and got back to work!

If I am babbling through this blog it’s because I think I am high. I feel that little tingling numbness I used to get on rare evenings at the roadhouse with my friends and their massive crystal bong. They cut a hole in the living room ceiling so the top of the bong could stick through my friend’s bedroom floor!!
When the sun would come up in the morning the entire downstairs was bathed in rainbows. I have no idea where they got the thing but it was marvelous and their basement green house was always well stocked.

I have just finished smelling 103 bottles of botanicals and chemicals used for perfuming and flavor formulations. I often wonder if I am slowly killing myself with this job I have been told that I am crazy and most flavorists and perfumers live to ripe old age. I still wonder….One of the people I work with has been here 30 years and told me that plant personnel that make large batches of perfumes never seem to last six months after they retire. He speculated that their bodies grow used to the chemicals and once they quit their body can not survive without them. I wonder if they will ever do a study about it.
I think the 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol pushed me over the edge today. Our catalogue of raw materials is over 13,000! I am a sensory specialist meaning my nose helps pay the bills. At least this awful looking facial accessory paid off. I am glad I didn’t get the nose job I saved up for! Did you know that there is a 50% chance of losing your sense of smell after a nose job?? Thank God I used the money to go the Bath with a flight attendant friend of mine and flew business class both ways because she knew the crew. I paid 100.00 roundtrip for a standby ticket!! Of course I had to pay for everything else and the dollar always sucked compared to the pound so my money was gone very quickly. The Crown Pub was the best and right across the street from our bed and breakfast. I didn’t know I loved Guinness until I had it the right temperature!!!
I can’t believe I wrote so much nonsense!!!
Back to work the buzz is still on I hope it lasts.

Well Barak Obama was elected as the new African American President of the United States. I think he has really slighted the white family that raised him by failing to mention that he is bi-racial and not simply black. It must hurt the family that raised and nutured him to be denied any recognition. The father that gave him his dark skin left him when he was just two years old and went on to marry three other women and father seven other children and was not present in Obama's life. Maybe I am the only one that feels this way but I think it is wrong to keep hammering in on his genetics. I really hope he does some good for this country now that all of the campaining is over. I guess we will just have to wait and see. One last thought why does he call himself an African American? He did not immigrate from Africa?