The Denora

The Jen

Denora — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:07:33 +0000

Today is my sister’s birthday.

Happy Birthday, Jen!

Mia Monday!

Denora — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:18:20 +0000

Mia adores Donald. When he gets home from work, she runs in circles at his feet as he walks through the house. She won’t let him kiss me hello until he’s acknowledged her presence. Then she’ll wait for him to sit down on the couch before she runs to bring him a toy. The great thing is that he loves her just as much as she loves him. They’re very cute together.

Vacationing

Denora — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 04:11:48 +0000

When I was growing up, my mom’s parents took lots of trips with their friends. They always took thousands of pictures of the trip, and we were always subjected to looking at the entire photo album before being released to go do whatever it was we were waiting to do (usually go swimming, or just go upstairs to the “playroom” and not be around adults). It wasn’t until I got older and more appreciative of the vacations that I started asking questions about who they went with and why. Sometimes it was just the two of them, but often their trips included my grandma’s sister and her husband, or another couple that they were close friends with. I remember thinking as a teenager that I hoped to have friends like that someday.

Thankfully, I have them now.

Last year 6 of us went to Pittsburgh for 5 days and had an amazing time. We toured Heinz Field, drove into Canton to see the Football Hall of Fame, and capped off an amazing weekend with a Steelers vs. Vikings game (Steelers won, of course, and now I can say I’ve seen Brett Favre in action). It was the best vacation I’d ever been on, and the main reason was because of the people we went with. Since we got back we’ve been talking about doing another trip, and I’m SO happy to say we’ve got our destination.

Jamaica.

Next year is Jamey & Jeff’s 10th anniversary, and the 4 of us are going to Jamaica to celebrate. It’ll also be Donald’s birthday while we’re there, as well as the 3 year anniversary of us dating, so we’ll have loads to celebrate. I could not be more excited. The reservation was made this morning, and now there’s no turning back!

303 days!

Step Out Yet Again!

Denora — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 13:50:08 +0000

For the last two years I’ve been participating in Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes put on by the American Diabetes Association, and for the last two years, you’ve all been amazing when it comes to supporting me. I’m hoping that this year you’ll do the same. This year I’m getting my donation page up a little earlier since this year I have a bigger goal to reach. Not only did I bump up my monetary goal (and my goal to get more donations than Donald), but this year I made a new personal goal of running or jogging throughout the entire course.

Yes, you read that correctly. I’m not walking this year, I’m running/jogging. I’ve been working on the Couch to 5K program for the last few weeks, and by October 16, I’ll be fully able to run an entire 5K. Since the route we use has a lot of hills, and my practice route has exactly none, I decided I’d be safer to give myself some wiggle room when it comes to running the entire thing. I will run as much as I can and jog the rest if I need to. The downside to this plan is that I’ll be doing it on my own. My friends will all be walking the route while I run. I’m hoping that with enough training, I can run through the entire 5K, and then catch up to my friends and walk the rest of it with them. Since it’s July, and the event is in October, I won’t make any promises just yet. But that’s my ultimate goal.

So here’s where you guys come in. I need support. Monetarily and emotionally. If you can come and walk or run with us, that’d be great! I could use a partner or two to come run with me. If you can’t be there in person, I hope you can support us with a small donation. Every dollar counts, and if you can only spare a dollar, it’ll mean just as much to me as if you can spare $100. Last year our team raised the 4th largest amount at the event, and this year we want to do better. This year my unofficial niece, Kyla (a sister of my unofficial nephew, Jaxson) is representing the American Diabetes Association as the 2010 Step Out Youth Ambassador! Kyla is the main reason we all participate every year, and I’m so proud of her for taking on this leadership role!

The link to donate is on that big button up there on the right sidebar, or you can click the link below. I appreciate anything you can donate, whether it be money, time, or just your good wishes. Here’s to hoping that we find a cure!

Donate or Sign Up here:

http://main.diabetes.org/goto/denora

The Stupids

Denora — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 23:33:49 +0000

Despite the floundering economy and important issues that need to be attended to, some cities across the nation are tackling the REALLY important issues:

The city council in Elmhurst, Illinois has asked the City Attorney to look into the possibility of making eye-rolling illegal. Yes, you read that right. Apparently a woman at the city council meeting was seen rolling her eyes and sighing at something a council member said, and was then ejected from the room. Holy sensitivity Batman! She dared to roll her eyes? and SIGH? Perhaps they would have preferred that she jump up and interrupt the statement while gesticulating wildly? Now the city council would like to create a disorderly conduct violation, and get eye-rolling included in it. I cannot even fathom the level of stupidity needed to come up with that idea.

Sullivan’s Island in South Carolina has passed an ordinance that adds hooting, singing, whistling, and hollering to the list of noise disturbances that you can be fined for. I can understand this particular ordinance if it was strictly in a residential area between 11pm and 7am. Sadly, it’s not. The ordinance is in effect 24 hours a day and especially at night. If you are near a home or office during the day and are singing and someone feels you are annoying them, you can be fined. Really? There’s nothing more important to be worried about than if someone is singing as they walk down the street?

I know there are ridiculous laws on the books already, otherwise sites like dumblaws.com and stupidlaws.com would not exist. I just figured those were old laws that never got removed (my favorite being the one where it is illegal to bring a live fish on a bus without any water). I never figured people were STILL making completely stupid laws…

Jaxson

Denora — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:38:18 +0000

This.

This is Jaxson, the cutest toddler I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. He is my unofficial nephew, and I love him to pieces.

He belongs to Jason and Kathy, Donald’s sister. He’s also the first baby I’ve ever seen or held on the day of their birth. (Also, he was 11 lbs 4 ozs at birth, so he’s by far the heaviest baby I’ve ever held.) He, as well as his family, spent the week at the river with us, and he was so much fun to watch. Last year he was only 3 months old, so he did a lot of laying around staring at us. This year he was off and running at every opportunity.

He’s almost 16 months old, and he eats constantly. I’ve never seen a kid eat as much as he does. He knows the sign for “more” and can say it more clearly than any other word in his arsenal. When he gets going, he sounds a little like the seagulls in Finding Nemo. If you try to put the food away, he’ll walk over to your cooler and open it for you, and ask for more.

If I could pick what my future kids would be like, I’d want them to be exactly like Jaxson. Blond hair, big bright blue eyes, chubby cheeks, and completely laid back. He doesn’t get upset at all. The only time I’ve seen him cry was when he’s tired, and even that was unimpressive.

Our vacation was fabulous, largely in part to the simple pleasure of watching this little wonder. It’s hard to worry about anything when this is what you see:

*All photographs courtesy of Jason Ginger

Days of My Life

Denora — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:08:02 +0000

Some weeks just suck. Nothing goes the way you plan, life kicks you in the shin, and simple things just get you down. But it’s those weeks that make you appreciate the better ones.

This has been a great one.

Saturday, Donald and I had a barbecue at our house with our friends and family. It was the first time our parents had met each other, and I was nervous. As it turned out, I had nothing to be nervous about. Everyone appeared to have a great time, the burgers and hot dogs were delicious (even the first round of hot dogs that Donald sorta burned because he got distracted), and several livers were further damaged by copious amounts of alcohol. The last guest left at 2am, after many hours of Beans being played in the backyard.

(Let me take this moment to abandon all modesty and point out that I am the reigning queen of Beans. Donald and I beat Pitter and Jen 4 games in a row, and then Jen and I beat Donald and Pitter 2 out of 3 games. For the math challenged, that means my team won 6 of 7 games. I’m posting this here for historical purposes, because it’s not likely to ever happen again, and dammit I want it noted that it happened at least once.)

(Also, my apologies to my neighbors for the noise level until 2am. They were drunk, and I can only muzzle them so much.)

***

Monday was Donald’s birthday, and many of our friends joined us at Claim Jumper for happy hour (which ended up being a happy 4 hours for us, and likely a LONG 4 hours for our server). I don’t think there’s been a time when we’ve all come together that I haven’t end up laughing to tears at one point or another. Monday was no exception. The first time was thanks to JAMEY (who would like to be mentioned in this blog so she can be famous. Here you go, Jamey. Now you’re famous among the 6 people who read it. Congrats!) who made a joke that whizzed right over my head and literally took me a full minute to figure out. Of course, once I got it I laughed. But man, did I feel dumb for a moment. We spent what felt like forever just hanging out, and once again I was reminded of what great friends I have.

Thanks to JAMEY (look Jamey! Twice!), Jeff, Jaden, Joshua, Jen K., Jen S., Katie, Owen, Vinne, Kaleena, Jason, Kathy, Bryana, Kyla, Byron, Johnny, and Sheri for coming by to celebrate. I know Donald had a great time and loved that you could all be there.

***

Last night I went with a group of friends to see the 1am showing of Eclipse. No, I’m not a Twi-hard. I would have been completely content seeing it today, tomorrow, or even on DVD in a few months. But it sounded like fun, so I decided to take advantage of my open schedule and hang out with the ladies. We made plans to meet at the nearby restaurant/pub first, but that turned out to be a bust. Not one of us knew that the Irish pub turned into a 18+ dance club on Tuesday nights. Since we had 4 kids with us (two 13, and two 12), we had to find another plan. We ended up sitting in the theater for over an hour before the movie started. That wasn’t bad since I’d seen a line around the building at a different theater at 2pm! There’s no movie on the planet that I’d wait 10+ hours in line for. There’s pretty much nothing I’d wait in line that long for. The previews started at 1, and I was happy to see the trailer for the last Harry Potter movies. Eclipse finally started 2o minutes later, and I really enjoyed it. I mean, Taylor Lautner’s abs alone were worth going for, as evidenced by the theater-wide female gasp when he appeared on the screen. (I was right there with them, for the record.) I thought the movie was a little slow, but certainly better than New Moon. I think the people I went with (Jamey! Kathy! Tawny!) made the evening worth the staying up late, coming home at 3:45am, and not being able to fall asleep until after 5. Thanks for the fun, ladies!

***

Friday we head for the river for a full week of laying around doing absolutely nothing. It’s my favorite week of the year, and I am chomping at the bit to get going. I plan on reading a lot of books, spending a lot of time in the sun, and hanging out with my peoples. When we get back, I will be rested, tanned, and ready to bust my ass to find a new job. I’m going to stop dwelling on all the “we’ve decided on someone else” phone calls, and start focusing on how to make myself an irresistible candidate. Because I am, dammit.

Mia Monday!

Denora — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:14:01 +0000

As a general rule, Mia is not the outdoorsy type. She goes out there to do her business, and then comes right back inside. If Donald and I are working out back, she’ll come out to take a quick peek at what we’re doing, and then trot back inside to the comfort of her couch. Lately, however, I’ve caught her sunning herself in the backyard. She lays down, closes her eyes, and points her face toward the sun. It’s so cute.

The Life List – Part 3

Denora — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:50:51 +0000

Part 1 Part 2

Try all types of Bowling: Tenpin, Ninepin, Fivepin, Duckpin, and Candlepin – It’s no secret that I love bowling, so I want to expand my horizons and try all 5 major types.
Get my name in the credits of a movie – I know someone with his name in the credits of a movie, and I thought, why not?
Own my own business – I’ve thought about this a great deal lately, what with my not working and all, but I can’t find something I’m passionate enough about to start my own business. Unless I can somehow have a Bejeweled Blitz store?
Bake fresh bread once a week for a year – I’ve baked fresh bread on a number of occasions, and it seems like there are very few smells that make me as happy as freshly baked bread.
Take pictures with all of my friends - While trying to fill my picture frames with pictures, I discovered that I have very few shots of me with the people I love. I’m fixing that.
Make ice cream from scratch – For years I’ve wanted an old fashioned ice cream maker, or at the very least, the ice cream attachment that goes with my mixer. How awesome would it be to make your own ice cream?
Learn how to play softball & play for a full season – A good portion of my friends play softball together once a week, and it sounds like so much fun. I, however, have never played softball and have no idea how different it is from baseball. I used to be athletic once, and I think I might actually have a chance at being decent. Of course, I’d have to get on a team that’s ok with not winning, because there’s also a good chance I’ll suck.
Have a signature dish that’s requested at family or friend events – You all know someone who makes that one dish that people love (Donald’s is Spinach Dip, for some weird reason). I want to have one of those dishes. Of course, that means I’ll have to let other people taste my food…maybe this wasn’t a great idea.
Attend a taping of Craig Ferguson’s show – I love him. LOVE. I only wish he was on earlier so I could enjoy him more often. He’s just hilarious, once you learn to understand the accent.
Host a Beans tournament in my backyard, complete with food and prizes – Beans is a bean bag toss game that’s popular amongst my group of friends (also called Cornhole, but Beans sounds nicer). It can get quite competitive, depending on who plays (you know who you are), but it’s a whole lot of fun.

Things I Question

Denora — Thu, 27 May 2010 14:52:19 +0000

Why do cities/states/counties/whoever spend so much time decorating the sides of roads, but not fixing them? I see tons of money being poured into extravagant landscaping, fancy brick work, designer tiles, and outlandish signage on the same streets that have huge potholes, or flood when it sprinkles. I appreciate that they’re trying to make the city look better, but its hard to enjoy the scenery when you’re trying not to rupture your spleen while driving down a road that badly needs resurfacing.

***

Why are certain housing communities able to declare themselves 55+ senior communities? I’m not talking about Leisure World or assisted living facilities either. I mean home builders who only sell homes in a particular area to the older set. Isn’t that descrimination? You can’t just decide to only sell certain homes to white people, so why can they do that with older people? Is there a law I’m unaware of that makes this ok?

***

Why is it ok for cops to break the law in non-emergency situations? I cannot tell you how many times I see a police car driving down the street and making lane changes or turning corners without a turn signal on, or even talking on their cell phone. That’s something they wouldn’t hesitate to give me a ticket for, so why is it ok for them to do? Shouldn’t they be an example to the general public?

***

Why do things that are happening live on the West Coast get taped delayed for those of us living here? For example, an awards show (Grammy’s, Emmy’s, Oscar’s, etc) starts live here at 4pm, and is shown live on the East Coast. But those of us who LIVE HERE have to wait until 3 hours later to watch it. Why can’t it be shown here at 4pm too?