Krofft Supershow - I am a TV Extra

I came across the opening credits for the Krofft Supershow filmed in 1976 in which I was one of the kids you see running around, playing and following Kaptain Kool and the Kongs to the Krofft Supershow. I had on white shorts, a white top and a white headband...you can actually notice me in the scene when those wacky characters are handing out balloons....I am recieving the blue balloon from the chick in blue far left side of screen...Nashville was her name. What a fun day it was, I still remember. We shot all day, started out in Morningside at a school, went running down a highway off ramp - it was closed, down a railroad track, rode up the Escalator in what is now CNN center to the doomed theme park The World Of Sid and Marty Krofft and went to a farm...where I recieved the blue balloon. I was there with my neighbor and best childhood buddy Jimmy Zoll and my best school friend Bonnie.

I remember later seeing Micheal Lembeck, who played the lead Kong -Kaptain Kool on One Day at a Time and felt like I knew him since "we worked together" LOL. He started acting on Gidget and ended up in episodes of some of my favorite TV classics including Partridge Family, Love American Style, Room 222, Happy Days, Love Boat, LA Law and Mad About You. He went on to direct many TV shows that I liked including Major Dad, Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Coach - love you dobber, News Radio and the list goes on. He also directed the Santa Claus Movies with Tim Allen....He has worked with alot of really great peops....including one cute little extra in Atlanta. The other kongs apparently didn't fare so well.....

Anyway, enjoy a piece of 70s Saturday Morning Americana of which I was a part....a very small part...but here it is.

Hmm, maybe this is why I love the HBO Show with Ricky Gervais extras, man I can so relate.

Memorial Day, A Daughter's Kiss

For some reason the past week I have been really down. I THINK it was the holiday weekend and the fact I basically had no plans. Years ago in my singleness I so looked forward to Memorial Day. It meant the start of summer which was usually kicked off by a beach trip to Destin with my Single buddies.....I could look forward to Braves Games, Cookouts, Laying out, drinking pitchers on decks enjoying guitar music, playing team trivia outdoors at Good Old Days and enjoying the sun.

Since I have become a mom, weekends are pretty much the same as any other day. When I was working I so looked forward to them as time to chill out or party...time to go see a movie, basically do whatever I wanted to do. Well with Sarah, things have changed, which people tell you they will, but until you are living it you have no idea. Don't get me wrong I love being Sarah's mom, its just I sure miss having my veg out time. Of course not enough to not having Andy and Sarah in my life, but I never appreicated the total freedom I had when I was by myself.

So here I was in a funk because we had no plans. Luckily we did get invited to our neighbors and also to my cousin's - it was kind fo last minute so it helped me "have something to do". I will say, it was hard at the neighbor's to relax and enjoy because I had to watch Sarah...there really wasn't that much social interaction time. Everyone was in the kitchen and Sarah wanted to be with the kids watching the TV in another room, far off. She is still too little to be unsupervised, so I had to watch her, which to be honest brought me down. But Andy did help out and we took turns - so its not like I was alone in my childcare. It was wonderful to hear my cousin Kathleen say the next day that she used to wonder if she would ever be able to enjoy going to friends when her girls were little....it was like she was reading my mind!!!!

I really missed having a great weekend and thought about how we have NO plans for a vacation this year. We have talked about going to New England, but have no plans...not a date, nothing. I found myself wondering how long it had been since I had had a real vacation. Last year we went to a wedding - literally just drove up the night before and left the day after and we went to see Andy's family at Christmas. OK, we did do a weekend up in the No GA mountains in the fall....but again it was a short trip....I need a VACATION....where you have many days to enjoy the scenery, exploring and just relaxing.

I guess in my mind I have these images of holiday fun going to the beach as a family or going to the park or doing something special. Other than the 2 dinners, we just hung out at home. Of course some people have NO ONE inviting them over nor do they have food to eat and here I am b*tchin' about not having some "great weekend plans". OK, feeling pretty bad now.

So I went to Target yesterday still feeling a little down and bought Sarah a little plastic wagon to pull around. She loves it! She played with it for like an hour straight, then ran over to me and layed a huge one one me........and I didn't even ask for a kiss. She also fell into me and gave me several big hugs, which is not her normal behavior. Usually I have to ask for a big kisses AND she has to be in the mood, sometimes I ask for one and she tells me "no". I realized at that moment how blessed I am and what a jack*ss I was for being in my funk. Isn't it wonderful how kids can just make you overflowing with joy - I think I actually got teary eyed after her little lovefest.

Thanks Sarah for giving me a remembrance of what matters the most, us having eachother and being able to show how much we love eachother....which doesn't mean going on some great vacation...although Andy if you are reading, sure would be nice!

Tube Socks

I have the same body shape as my beloved Granny Julia who passed away back in '97 at the age of 97. Granny was a real character - I as named after her. She always had a good joke, literally written down in her purse. She loved to entertain by playing the piano and was truly gifted as she played by ear.

I remember her talking about being the mom to 7 and her tube socks. The socks were not her feet warmers, rather they were her sagging boobs. Now that I have surpassed 40 and breastfed, I have noticed my girls are pointing south. They are smaller than they were before I got pregnant, actually my whole body is, but they are definitely the boobs of an older woman. I read somewhere that if you get a boob lift, they tend to not last and you would need another at some point down to road to keep your girls perky.

Funny how I think about Granny relating to my sagging boobs, and yes, tube socks does seem appropriate.

Love ya Granny, rest in peace.

Diet week #5

Total weight loss for week 1/2lb, total so far, 9lbs. I would like to have lost more, but am grateful I am down another 1/2lb. This past weekend was Memorial day and we went out to dinner on Friday...I splurged and got a couple beers, plus we were invited to a cookout on Sunday and dinner on Monday. Now, I did great on my portions, but I ate a little off the South Beach Plan, though not too bad. I drank Friday, Sunday and MOnday, not like a college student, but I had more than one each evening.

Andy lost 5lbs last week...making up for his gain I suppose the last week and is down a total of 10.5.

So we are doing great.....this week, back to being very strict.

Diet Week 4

Down another 2 lbs. Yay me. I have lost a total of 8.5 and now am in the 140's haven't been there in a while. I have lost a little over 5% of my total body weight which is good.

Andy is doing ok, he went to Vegas over the weekend for a bachelor party and is up 2lbs....but I am sure after this week he will be back on track. He really didn't eat THAT bad or drink THAT much.

Susie 1, Chipmonk 0

My dog susie is 9 years old. She is a very cute mutt, part spaniel, sheltie, golden....she is the red color of an irish setter, but only comes up to my knees. She looks like a giant longhaired dachsund.

She has always had it for squirrels and chipmonks. Even in her younger days when we lived in the Condo she would chase squirrels across the courtyard. In our house now, she watches out the back door and will bark crazily when she spots one.

This morning she was doing her little door dance so Andy decided to let her out. She ended up trapping this poor little chipmonk by the brick wall in our backyard after running in circles. she got it in her mouth and tossed it up in the air. Andy said that chipmunk was running noticably slower when Susie grabbed it and literally did a spin in the air feet over head as it went up 7 feet! I had no idea Susie had this left in her.

I am happy/sad to report the chipmunk did scamper off and Susie came proudly in the house. We can't help but be proud of our little wussy dog....this is the dog who will loudly bark at others then retreat to behind your legs. I used to love it at the Condo how she would try to bully the pit bull neighbor and then run behind me.

Anyway, way to go Susie! Not bad bad for a 63 year old. Keep those varmits out of our house.

Healthy Meal

Yesterday I went to the mall after naptime to kill some time and get out of the house....Andy was in Las Vegas for his buddy Bill's Bachelor party.

This kid, a boy about 10 or 11 was at Sbarro and got a slice of pepperoni and a bag of chips. Now even when I was little and ate TERRIBLY I knew you couldn't have chips as a side to pizza.....and I could often polish off a whole bag of lay's or ruffles.... He walked over the Gyro place and I was wondering what he could add to his all american dinner......Large Icee. Nice I thought, that is some healthy eating....NOT!

The kid was skinny so he probably has one of those metabolism's we women who struggle with weight hate - you know they can eat and eat, junk after junk and never gain an ounce....my brother was that way. But sadly my brother died of heart disease at 52 - that unhealthy diet of was his undoing probably.

I guess since I am trying to eat heart healthy I was trying to see how everyone was eating and wondering if I missed freedom of pizza, fries, icee's, shakes', cookies, pretzels, ice cream, cheeseburgers, you name it. The weird thing was I was eating a Chik Fil A grilled chicken salad and didn't even want one of my daughter's fries. Maybe I have reprogrammed my brain for the good......probably not, I just really want to lose some weight also.

Back in black.....

Just got finished watching LOST on abc.com.....our satellite dish seems to have been disturbed by recent storms so TIVO was out of the question. I love this show and it was a great episode....but I have to say, the memorial service scene threw me off.

Jack's dad had died in Austrailia and Jack went to get him back and was on the plane to bring his body back....well, enough of the plot of the show. After Jack and the other survivors get back to the states, Jack has a memorial service for his dad. EVERYONE at the service was in all black, I am talking from head to toe. Jack's mom even had a black hat on.

A veteran of many family funerals including my mom, my son, a sister, my brother, and grandparents I have to say, the clothing at the memorial was a bit over the top. I have never worn all black to a funeral, is that bad? I don't think many people at the funerals in my family were in all black and certainly no one had on a wide brimmed black hat. Now, perhaps being the wife of a doctor, Jack's mom always wore hats but that is not a critical point in the show, so they haven't disclosed it. I mean, for all I know she has a serious skin condition or has suffered with melanoma. Maybe in LA, black hats are considered a must wear....It just struck me as odd. First of all, it was a memorial, his body was lost at the crash, so its not like they are going to pile in the cars for the funeral procession to stand in the blazing son for a burial.

Just weird how things are depicted on TV sometimes...or maybe my family is weird.

Diet week 3...........

So I maintained this week. I stayed on plan, but I think I went over with some portions and snacks. I will try to watch myself more closely this week. The good news is my pants are not as tight as they were so I am shrinking, maybe my body just needed to catch up with the pounds lost. I remember from weight watchers our leader would say, some weeks you lose inches not lbs. So I am down 6.5lbs with 18 more lbs to go to get to my aggressive goal. BUT I don't mind if it takes a while. So this week, i am going to try to step up my exercise.

Mothers Day 23 years later

Monday was 23 years since my mom passed away, which was on Mothers's Day 1985, I was 20 at the time. It was very hard to one minute knowing my mom was there and happy about the cards she got to hearing that she had succombed to heart failure. I still miss her everyday, especially now that I am a mom.

Mom was so nice and kind. She was funny also though I think a little reserved, but maybe this is compared to her 6 siblings who are a very fun family. She endured alot, not the easiest of marriages, but at the end of her life she was happy. She was so proud of me for being at Ga Tech and didn't care that I wasn't the smartest kid there, she just wanted me to do my best and to graduate. My sister Mary Beth died 8 months before mom. Born with Turner's Syndrome, she didn't have the easiest life but her and my mom were very close. I know when Mary died it was a very sad time for my mom, especially since they worked in the same office at church. I used to get on the bus from school and go down to visit my mom, I figured she needed someone to sit with her to take away the lonlieness of losing Mary.

When I was pregnant with Sarah I really missed my mom so much as I thought of her being pregnant with me after having a daughter with Turners and having the German Measles when 5 or 6 months. I was so worried about Sarah after losing Caleb, I would talk to my mom and think that if she were here she would know exactly what to say.

So on Mother's day this year I went to the cemetary alone to take some flowers to Mom and Mary Beth, my brother Jack and Caleb. I sat on Mom's grave and weeped. I still miss her so much. I can get so lonely as a Stay at Home Mom, I would love to call her and just chat or do lunch. Its very hard not to be jealous of so many other moms who have grandma to help out. Of course I realize that my mom would be 79 at this point so not exactly spry. 23 years is a long time to be without a mom. I hope I am around for Sarah Cate.

I offered up the Divine Mercy Chaplet for my special intention..... and asked my heavenly family members to join in. I did feel at peace when I was done, and I cried for about the first third, but then felt calm as I continued.

I feel good that my mom didn't suffer from some long drawn out disease and that she didn't slowly decline. Her passing was quick...she had a heart attack from a blood clot and was in the hospital recovering when she had another fatal attack.

I love you mom and ask for you to pray for me to be as good of a mom as you were. You didn't have a selfish bone in your body and boy were you good at finding bargains. I hope that one day we will all be together again.

Dream a little dream

I had the craziest dreams, I think my feelings of wanting to belong or fit in has surfaced in one evening....2 dreams.

Dream 1: Sorority days, I am getting ready to go to a football game with my friends when Jack Nicholson shows up to go with all the girls. We get to the game and everyone starts to ignore me. Jack is really snubbing me, which I can't understand and he seems to be egging everyone else on to leave me alone.

Dream 2: I am in NYC with Jerry Sienfeld on a subway train. We are talking and then end up at a club with a bunch of my friends. I begin to notice everyone I know is ignoring me. I ended up going home deciding the only life for me was as a stripper.

When I was in middle school I got snubbed by my friends - 8th grade was very lonely for me as none of my friends were talking to me. I asked them before the end of the year what I had done and was told "nothing, we thought it would be funny". It still makes me mad and apparently is deeply seeded in my psyche. I can totally see where these dreams are rooted but what the heck do Jack Nicholson and Jerry Sienfeld have to do with anything.

I have been kind of lonely since I had Sarah Cate, don't get me wrong I love her so much, but I miss alot of my old life. Perhaps deep down I am feeling rejected by people I used to work with - I never see them anymore - I know logically it isn't rejection. For my other friends, maybe I am feeling like I have isolated myself to the point where they don't want to talk to me.

Weird dreams - I know I would NOT make a good stripper though, where the heck did that come from. :-)

Diet Week 2.....

Great news, I am down another 2.5lbs. The 2 weeks I have been on South Beach have lost 6.5lbs total, which is awesome. I do feel less bloated but I know I have a long way to my goal...16 more lbs. I am hoping I can stay strong and stick with it. I am not just trying to drop some excess fat but really am trying to develop the habit of heart healthy eating. I want to be around for a long time with my sweet Sarah.



yay me!

Long Pants

This week I had to get my oil changed so I went to a dealer. While I was in the waiting room I saw a girl I can't forget. She had on these really long pants. Now, being the 40something I am I would say she was young, but now I can't tell you how young I would guess....maybe early 20s. Her outfit intrigued me. I was taken back to the 80s and the Units store at the mall. She had on that type of material....your basic knit with a little cling. She didn't look out of date at on, on the contrary she looked cute and hip. Her outfit just reminded me of Units. Jacket, shirt, pants...contrasting colors, same material.

Her gray pants were wide legged and long, very long. So much so they dragged the floor. I couldn't see her feet. I wondered as her name was called how she wasn't falling down or tripping on those pants. Didn't she know she was in a garage environment and could get some oil or other icky substance on those pants by walking around on them. They didn't appear to be dirty, which blew my mind as they were SO long.

Many questions filled my brain. I wonder if all her laundry was dirty and she knew they were a little long but that was her only choice in legware. Did she borrow those pants from some tall sister or roommate? Did someone tell her, "Umm your pants are too long..." and she said I know and I don't care. Does she always wear pants that drag the ground? Wow, my life is really boring that i am sitting here thinking so much about those pants.

And yet, a few days later, still wondering. I wish I had had that confidence and style when I was younger. You go long pants girl!

Thursday Night TV

Why is it all the shows I like are on Thursday night...well with the exception of Battlestar Galactica. I love Survivor, The Office, My Name Is Earl, Scrubs, 30 Rock, LOST, and ER, yep I am one of the few still watching. I actually dreamed last night I was Pam from The Office....it was alot of fun making fun of Micheal Scott with Jim. BUT the thing I hate is all night I am glued to the TV and since I have no patience I have to watch all the shows which means I go to bed late. I know its my own fault, but I just wish there were a few good shows on other nights of the week.

Although this week I have totally been digging the PBS documentary Carrier...I guess I still have a thing for those navy guys. Its kind of educational and soap opera all rolled up in one show with lots of cute sailors. Oh the drama!

Well better run, gotta give Sarah Cate a bath and put her to bed so I can watch my shows.