Friday, November 21, 2014
Say Cheese!
Sunday, November 2, 2014
My Secret Struggle
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Facebook Yardsale!? I'm in!
Monday, September 8, 2014
A Birth Story: Em & Zoe
Thursday, July 31, 2014
So THAT just happened...
Friday, July 18, 2014
Ready or not, Here we come!
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
A Blast from the Past : 1987
Today I turn 27 years old...
Born in 1987
In 1987, the world was a different place.
There was no Google yet. Or Yahoo.
In 1987, the year of your birth, the top selling movie was Fatal Attraction. People buying the popcorn in the cinema lobby had glazing eyes when looking at the poster.
Remember, that was before there were DVDs. People were indeed watching movies in the cinema, and not downloading them online. Imagine the packed seats, the laughter, the excitement, the novelty. And mostly all of that without 3D computer effects.
Do you know who won the Oscars that year? The academy award for the best movie went to The Last Emperor. The Oscar for best foreign movie that year went to Babette's Feast. The top actor was Michael Douglas for his role as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street. The top actress was Cher for her role as Loretta Castorini in Moonstruck. The best director? Bernardo Bertolucci for The Last Emperor.
In the year 1987, the time when you arrived on this planet, books were still popularly read on paper, not on digital devices. Trees were felled to get the word out. The number one US bestseller of the time was The Tommyknockers by Stephen King. Oh, that's many years ago. Have you read that book? Have you heard of it? Look at the cover!
In 1987... Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Pennsylvania Treasurer Budd Dwyer shoots and kills himself with a revolver during a televised press conference after being found guilty on charges of bribery, fraud, conspiracy, and racketeering. The last Ohrbach's department store closes in New York City after 64 years of operation. British Airways is privatised and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Supernova 1987A, the first "naked-eye" supernova since 1604, is observed. U.S. President Ronald Reagan addresses the American people on the Iran-Contra Affair, acknowledging that his overtures to Iran had 'deteriorated' into an arms-for-hostages deal. The Simpsons cartoon first appears on The Tracy Ullman Show. Rudolf Hess is found dead in his cell in Spandau Prison. Hess, 93, is believed to have committed suicide by hanging himself with an electrical flex. He was the last remaining prisoner at the complex, which is soon demolished. NASCAR driver Bill Elliott sets all time fastest lap at Talladega Superspeedway, with 212.8 miles per hour. Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka executes a bloodless coup in Fiji. Nineteen year-old West German pilot Mathias Rust evades Soviet air defenses and lands a private plane on Red Square in Moscow. He is immediately detained. The first ever Edgefest festival takes place at Molson Park in Barrie, Ontario. Guns N' Roses release their debut album, Appetite For Destruction. The Federal Communications Commission rescinds the Fairness Doctrine, which had required radio and television stations to "fairly" present controversial issues. Unknown perpetrators hijack the signal of WGN-TV for about 20 seconds, and WTTW for about 90 seconds, and displays a strange video of a man in a Max Headroom mask. The video game of the day was The Legend of Zelda.
That was the world you were born into. Since then, you and others have changed it.
The Nobel prize for Literature that year went to Joseph Brodsky. The Nobel Peace prize went to Óscar Arias Sánchez. The Nobel prize for physics went to Johannes Georg Bednorz and Karl Alexander Müller from West Germany for their important break-through in the discovery of superconductivity in ceramic materials. The sensation this created was big. But it didn't stop the planets from spinning, on and on, year by year. Years in which you would grow bigger, older, smarter, and, if you were lucky, sometimes wiser. Years in which you also lost some things. Possessions got misplaced. Memories faded. Friends parted ways. The best friends, you tried to hold on. This is what counts in life, isn't it?
The 1980s were indeed a special decade. The Soviet-Afghan war goes on. Eastern Europe sees the collapse of communism. Policies like Perestroika and Glasnost in the Soviet Union lead to a wave of reforms. Protests are crushed down on Tiananmen Square in China. Ethiopa witnesses widespread famine. Nicolae Ceausescu is overthrown. The AIDS pandemic begins. The role of women in the workplace increased greatly. MTV is launched in the US. There is opposition against Apartheid in South Africa as well as worldwide. Heavy Metal and Hard Rock bands are extremely popular. The rise of Techno music begins. Originally primarily played on campus radio stations, College Rock enters the scene with bands like the Pixies, REM and Sonic Youth. The Hip Hop scene continues to evolve. Teletext is introduced. Gay rights become more widely accepted in the world. Opposition to nuclear power plants grows. The A-Team and Seinfeld are popular on TV. US basketball player Michael Jordan bursts on the scene. Super Mario Bros, Zelda's Link, and Pac-Man gain fame in video games. People wear leggings, shoulder pads and Ray-Ban sunglasses.
Do you know what was on the cover of Life that year?
Do you remember the movie that was all the rage when you were 15? Signs. Do you still remember the songs playing on the radio when you were 15? Maybe it was How You Remind Me by Nickelback. Were you in love? Who were you in love with, do you remember?
In 1987, 15 years earlier, a long time ago, the year when you were born, the song La Bamba by Los Lobos topped the US charts. Do you know the lyrics? Do you know the tune? Sing along.
Para bailar la Bamba
Para bailar la Bamba
Se necesita una poca de gracia
Una poca de gracia
Pa mi y pa tiv Ahi arriba ahi arriba
Ahi arriba ahi arriba
Por ti sere
Por ti sere
Yo no soy Marinero
Yo no soy Marinero
Soy Capitan soy Capitan
...
There's a kid outside, shouting, playing. It doesn't care about time. It doesn't know about time. It shouts and it plays and thinks time is forever. You were once that kid.
When you were 9, the movie Dragonheart was playing. When you were 8, there was Jumanji. When you were 7, there was a Disney movie out called Pocahontas. Does this ring a bell?
6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... it's 1987. There's TV noise coming from the second floor. Someone turned up the volume way too high. The sun is burning from above. These were different times. The show playing on TV is Remington Steele. The sun goes down. Someone switches channels. There's Thirtysomething on now. That's the world you were born in.
Progress, year after year. Do you wonder where the world is heading towards? The technology available today would have blown your mind in 1987. Do you know what was invented in the year you were born? The Cholesterol Drug Statin. Digital Light Processing. Electronically-controlled Continuously Variable Transmission.
Have you ever seen me? I'm the future
I represent how it's gonna be, I'm the future
Born in 1987, I'm the future
Party people get ready, it's the future
...
That's from the song The Future by Bow Wow.
In 1987, a new character entered the world of comic books: Mister Sinister. Bang! Boom! But that's just fiction, right? In the real world, in 1987, Aaron Carter was born. And Joss Stone. Tom Felton, too. And you, of course. Everyone an individual. Everyone special. Everyone taking a different path through life.
It's 2014.
The world is a different place.
What path have you taken?
To get your own birthyear information, go to:
http://whathappenedinmybirthyear.com/
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Confessions of an Introverted Parent
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Teething is TERRIBLE!!
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
A Day In My Shoes
Sunday, May 4, 2014
I've got birthdays on the brain.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
We made it!!
6 Months!! My twins just turned 6 months old and we are all still alive and (almost) sane. I knew that having twins would be hard, I just didn't realize it would be "I can't take anymore and want to jump out a window" hard.
When they were only a month or two old I frequently had these thoughts: "Why me!?! I never wanted twins. This isn't fair! I didn't ask for this. I wouldn't wish this on my worst nightmare"...and so on. I also greatly envied women who had singleton babies around the twins' age. I would see other moms with their babies out and about and get so jealous. People would tell me how lucky and blessed I am and how they wished that they had twins and I wanted to punch them in the face! THIS is not lucky I would think.... THIS is torture.
Then on top of taking care of the twins, I had my oldest daughter, Lily, to take care of. Sometimes she made life easier by helping here and there and sometimes she made life more difficult by acting out for attention. Overall though, I couldn't ask for a better big sister for my girls. Lily loves her sisters so much and has adjusted so well to having to share mommy and daddy after having us to herself for 3 years.
And the twins, Emma and Zoey, are also very good babies. I really shouldn't complain. I will say though that I am thrilled that we are finally at the 6 month point... and I never ever want to go through having newborn twins ever again.
Oh, its still very hard and I still want to jump out a window some days but at least we are on more of a schedule now. At least they sleep through the night now and at least we have now accepted the craziness and chaos that is our family.
6 months down...a lifetime to go!
Happy half birthday Emma and Zoey!!
Saturday, January 25, 2014
A Little About Me and the Mini Monsters I Created.
My mini monsters are Lily (3 1/2) and the twins, Emma & Zoey (4 months). They are all cute as a button and annoying as hell all at the same time. Lily doesn't stop talking...ever! And her questions are endless. Although she drives me absolutely insane, she often makes me laugh. The stuff that comes out of her mouth is hilarious and I am frequently caught off guard by how smart she is. Lily is also the most loving child I have ever met. She is constantly giving hugs, kisses, and cuddles and I love it!
Emma & Zoey...well what can you really say about a 4 month old. They eat, sleep, and poop. Zoey is a drama queen and is usually the fussier one and Emma is very laid back most of the time. They are fraternal twins (we think-different doctors tell us different things but they had two sacs, two placentas, etc.) but they look ALOT alike. Their daddy still cant tell them apart and even I get them confused from time to time. We were shocked when we learned we were having twins, but I'll tell that story another time.
Well, those are the main characters in this chapter of my life story. Most of the time my life is pure chaos but every now and then, I stop and look around and realize that the life I lead is actually quite charmed. We have a roof over our heads, food to eat, and all the love in the world for each other.
CHARMED
adjective
1. (of a person's life) unusually lucky or happy as though protected by magic.
Synonyms: charm, beguile, bewitch, captivate, enchant, entrance2, fascinate
CHAOS
noun
1. complete disorder and confusion
Synonyms: mayhem, disarray, havoc, turmoil, commotion, disruption
Thanks for stopping by my page! I hope you will enjoy reading about my crazies and our shenanigans. Feel free to leave any comments or just drop a line to say, Hi! Have an awesome day everyone.