preview.....
unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how much or how little you enjoy reading my nonsense) i will not be blogging again for 1 week. so, i am going to take my crystal ball and look into the future and tell you what is going on in the next 8 days.......ok, i am looking into the ball....and this is what i see.....
after spending two hours packing up the cooler, ari leaves it in the driveway....no one panics or loses their temper but ari is annoyed that now we have to pay for drinks....
the boys spend 45 minutes bickering over who is sitting where in the minivan....we leave later than planned and get to atlanta monday morning, instead of sunday night....sleep in the van to get the full road trip experience...Banji calls a lawyer....
son #3 has nightmares and cant sleep for 5 days because his brothers have made him watch the past 3 seasons of 24.....
banji gets arrested in the cocoa cola factory for trying to smuggle free samples out of the factory so ari wont have to pay for drinks at the braves game even though he is the one who left the cooler in the driveway....
mets sweep the braves....(wouldn't that be nice...)
the hotel in tampa was condemned for rats...must sleep in the van again....Banji's lawyer calls her back..they set up a meeting....ari is getting the kids...and the van....
we arrive in boynton beach to spend the weekend with ari's parents......tune in for that blog.....
happy friday.....
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
thursday july 29, 2010
and....they're back
i would like to apologize for not blogging yesterday. i was reacclimating to motherhood. i am happy to report that the boys have been home for almost 24 hours and i haven't screamed once. dont get me wrong...when i was outside in the heat and humidity emptying all of the crap out of their trunks and checking for anyway stow-a-way rodents and no one was offering to help....i wanted to scream...but, i went to my happy place....and i took a deep breath and a valium and remained calm. and then i very calmly opened the door and said, in my indoor voice "oh boys, could you come and take these laundry bags down to the laundry room please."
can you believe it? one month with no one home, one month of rejuvination, and i was able to delegate and THEY ACTUALLY CAME AND HELPED!!! chanukah miracle comes early this year.....lets see what the next 24 hours brings...
gotta go do laundry....
happy thursday
i would like to apologize for not blogging yesterday. i was reacclimating to motherhood. i am happy to report that the boys have been home for almost 24 hours and i haven't screamed once. dont get me wrong...when i was outside in the heat and humidity emptying all of the crap out of their trunks and checking for anyway stow-a-way rodents and no one was offering to help....i wanted to scream...but, i went to my happy place....and i took a deep breath and a valium and remained calm. and then i very calmly opened the door and said, in my indoor voice "oh boys, could you come and take these laundry bags down to the laundry room please."
can you believe it? one month with no one home, one month of rejuvination, and i was able to delegate and THEY ACTUALLY CAME AND HELPED!!! chanukah miracle comes early this year.....lets see what the next 24 hours brings...
gotta go do laundry....
happy thursday
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
tuesday july 28 2010
closing ceremonies for the summer of banji
if you are sick of reading about the summer of banji....dont you worry, because it is over in exactly 25 hours. and dont be jealous because in the next 72 hours i have to pack for 12 days on the road, figure out how to use my new cooler, find my kosher for passover toaster oven(why do i have a toaster that is kosher for passover??) so we can feed the kids pizza bagels in tampa(which they will complain about and probably not eat anyway), pack snacks and drinks for the kids, and for ari, go to the supermarket at least 4 times, do 10 more loads of laundry when the trunks come home...when are the trunks coming home? and, just to make the kids feel like they are still in camp, i am thinking of throwing urine all over the toilets and the bathroom floor so the smell they are used to from the last 4 weeks will stay with them and maybe they will behave as well at home as they do in camp...yuck yuck yuck.....
as for my last 25 hours....walking, walking and more walking...picking up my car(all ready for the road trip-yippee!!), last minute errands...the way i am carrying on you would think my kids are coming home as infants again-OF COURSE I CAN DO ERRANDS WHEN THEY COME HOME!!!! what is wrong with me? will i remember how to be a good mother?(was i a good mother before they left?) will i remember how to make wacky mac? will i magically turn back into the screaming moody tyrant that i was when they left?? (and when did i turn into a sweet, smiling princess who hums show tunes all day? oh right, the day they left for camp...)
it will all be good and the way it should be. i have had a taste a freedom....and man did it taste good.....now, it's back to reality, clean slate....lets see how long i can go without yelling at anyone....tune in tomorrow....
happy tuesday
btw..my last meal was at fish of the c's and man were those onion rings awesome...i might never go to deli kasbah again!!!!!
if you are sick of reading about the summer of banji....dont you worry, because it is over in exactly 25 hours. and dont be jealous because in the next 72 hours i have to pack for 12 days on the road, figure out how to use my new cooler, find my kosher for passover toaster oven(why do i have a toaster that is kosher for passover??) so we can feed the kids pizza bagels in tampa(which they will complain about and probably not eat anyway), pack snacks and drinks for the kids, and for ari, go to the supermarket at least 4 times, do 10 more loads of laundry when the trunks come home...when are the trunks coming home? and, just to make the kids feel like they are still in camp, i am thinking of throwing urine all over the toilets and the bathroom floor so the smell they are used to from the last 4 weeks will stay with them and maybe they will behave as well at home as they do in camp...yuck yuck yuck.....
as for my last 25 hours....walking, walking and more walking...picking up my car(all ready for the road trip-yippee!!), last minute errands...the way i am carrying on you would think my kids are coming home as infants again-OF COURSE I CAN DO ERRANDS WHEN THEY COME HOME!!!! what is wrong with me? will i remember how to be a good mother?(was i a good mother before they left?) will i remember how to make wacky mac? will i magically turn back into the screaming moody tyrant that i was when they left?? (and when did i turn into a sweet, smiling princess who hums show tunes all day? oh right, the day they left for camp...)
it will all be good and the way it should be. i have had a taste a freedom....and man did it taste good.....now, it's back to reality, clean slate....lets see how long i can go without yelling at anyone....tune in tomorrow....
happy tuesday
btw..my last meal was at fish of the c's and man were those onion rings awesome...i might never go to deli kasbah again!!!!!
Monday, July 26, 2010
monday july 26, 2010
what makes me happy...
though some of you may think this is a short list due to my cynical, sarcastic nature, i am only making it short for the interest of time....and now i will begin.
what makes me happy
by, banji D. latkin ganchrow
1. sitting in central park admiring the beauty of nature(and some hot guys jogging...)
2. eating perfectly created onion rings....
3. watching skinny minnies sneak in some extra cookies to their pocketbooks when they think no one is looking.
4. having my boys be happy to see me on visiting day and then dont start fighting for almost 42 minutes into visiting day....(world record?)
5. the look on their faces when they see a new baseball stadium (and i have already had a few drinks....)
6. watching all of the jappy moms on visiting day who decided, that even though major thunderstorms were predicted, they are still wearing their ultra-hip and pricey flip floppy shoes, getting these shoes all muddy and disgusting.....too bad, so sad....
7. seeing some of these previously mentioned moms wearing shorts that are so high you can see their undypants...i dont care if they can pull it off, it still makes me happy to see how idiotic they look.(what would have made me even happier was if ari would let me tell them that their undypants were showing...but, alas, he did not....and that is why i married him...and i guess he liked the undypants....)
8. having my boys laugh and get along with each other....
9. saturday afternoon naps and walks with friends
10. having all of my boys in sleepaway camp......but all good things must come to an end....
happy monday
though some of you may think this is a short list due to my cynical, sarcastic nature, i am only making it short for the interest of time....and now i will begin.
what makes me happy
by, banji D. latkin ganchrow
1. sitting in central park admiring the beauty of nature(and some hot guys jogging...)
2. eating perfectly created onion rings....
3. watching skinny minnies sneak in some extra cookies to their pocketbooks when they think no one is looking.
4. having my boys be happy to see me on visiting day and then dont start fighting for almost 42 minutes into visiting day....(world record?)
5. the look on their faces when they see a new baseball stadium (and i have already had a few drinks....)
6. watching all of the jappy moms on visiting day who decided, that even though major thunderstorms were predicted, they are still wearing their ultra-hip and pricey flip floppy shoes, getting these shoes all muddy and disgusting.....too bad, so sad....
7. seeing some of these previously mentioned moms wearing shorts that are so high you can see their undypants...i dont care if they can pull it off, it still makes me happy to see how idiotic they look.(what would have made me even happier was if ari would let me tell them that their undypants were showing...but, alas, he did not....and that is why i married him...and i guess he liked the undypants....)
8. having my boys laugh and get along with each other....
9. saturday afternoon naps and walks with friends
10. having all of my boys in sleepaway camp......but all good things must come to an end....
happy monday
Saturday, July 24, 2010
saturday/sunday july 24-25,2010
visiting day....oy vey
ari and i just finished watching the classic film "she's outta my league" which is basically a movie about our courtship (ha ha ha) and i realized that tomorrow is visiting day. of course i am excited to see my kids, but they are coming home on wednesday...so instead of the kids being teary because they aren't going to see me again for a couple of weeks, since they are only staying one month, i will be teary because THEY ARE COMING HOME...i am not ready for the summer of banji to end.....
that is really all i got....gotta go to sleep...see ya all on monday....
happy saturday-sunday
Thursday, July 22, 2010
thursday, july 22 2010
this one is serious...
at 12 this morning ari and i were discussing all of the things i could write about today. many of them,surprisingly, involved making others laugh at his expense (well, if you wouldnt give me so much material, darling....) but i decided to go another way....
last night, after a mishap at clubhouse cafe (the mishap being that they ran out of 1/2 the things on the menu and this big girl was tasting her dipped roast beef sandwhich which they didnt have either so i pulled poor hungry ari out of there....)we were walking towards times square and heard singing and chanting...when we got closer, we saw that it was closed off and saw a sea of blue shirts dancing and jumping up and down. being the hip folks that we are, we had to go see what was going on. Camp simcha (which is chai life line's camp for kids with terminal illness') was having New York day for its kids...first they went to a show and now they were putting on a show for all of new york to see....i get chills thinking about it. every kid was smiling and participating to the best of their ability...every counselor was demonstrating such warmth and enthusiasm...it was incredible.
as some of you know, for son #1's bar mitzva he wanted to participate in the chai lifeline half marathon...i even blogged about the experience (archives jan 30-feb 1, approximately) and this year we are doing the marathon again. I even saw the little boy whose picture i walked with..and then i just cried....
after seeing this display that one just cant put into words, i realized why i am doing it....even though i complain (who me?) about the fundraising and the fact that i couldnt walk for two days....this is why i raise all the money...so these kids can have a "normal" summer experience, so their parents can get a much needed and well deserved break, so these kids can have the time of their lives....
and it doesnt hurt to get hit in the head by god to make you realize how lucky you are and how you shouldn't take things for granted.
happy happy thursday
to sponsor Jack and myself in the marathon, please go to teamlifeline.org click on sponsor and enter ganchrow for the last name. if you dont want to sponsor us, you can make a general donation
(no goods or fees or services were received for this posting...this will be my only attempt to solicit all of you....but your donations are much appreciated....)
at 12 this morning ari and i were discussing all of the things i could write about today. many of them,surprisingly, involved making others laugh at his expense (well, if you wouldnt give me so much material, darling....) but i decided to go another way....
last night, after a mishap at clubhouse cafe (the mishap being that they ran out of 1/2 the things on the menu and this big girl was tasting her dipped roast beef sandwhich which they didnt have either so i pulled poor hungry ari out of there....)we were walking towards times square and heard singing and chanting...when we got closer, we saw that it was closed off and saw a sea of blue shirts dancing and jumping up and down. being the hip folks that we are, we had to go see what was going on. Camp simcha (which is chai life line's camp for kids with terminal illness') was having New York day for its kids...first they went to a show and now they were putting on a show for all of new york to see....i get chills thinking about it. every kid was smiling and participating to the best of their ability...every counselor was demonstrating such warmth and enthusiasm...it was incredible.
as some of you know, for son #1's bar mitzva he wanted to participate in the chai lifeline half marathon...i even blogged about the experience (archives jan 30-feb 1, approximately) and this year we are doing the marathon again. I even saw the little boy whose picture i walked with..and then i just cried....
after seeing this display that one just cant put into words, i realized why i am doing it....even though i complain (who me?) about the fundraising and the fact that i couldnt walk for two days....this is why i raise all the money...so these kids can have a "normal" summer experience, so their parents can get a much needed and well deserved break, so these kids can have the time of their lives....
and it doesnt hurt to get hit in the head by god to make you realize how lucky you are and how you shouldn't take things for granted.
happy happy thursday
to sponsor Jack and myself in the marathon, please go to teamlifeline.org click on sponsor and enter ganchrow for the last name. if you dont want to sponsor us, you can make a general donation
(no goods or fees or services were received for this posting...this will be my only attempt to solicit all of you....but your donations are much appreciated....)
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
wednesday july 21, 2010
summers gone by....(and the summer IS going by....)
Memories of summers past...we all have them. My dad's parents used to have a boat that they lived on at the paradise yacht club in brooklyn. once or twice a summer we would spend the day on the boat...i think i might have even slept over a few times...i remember the cute italians who worked there and always being afraid of the diving board...my sister getting bit by the bait we used to go fishing and the first time z100 premiered on the radio-think it was the summer of 82....
camp ramah in nyack..oy vey...i dreaded the zimriah, which was a camp wide singing event, because i never quite fit into the t shirt that we had to wear...(guess i still have that problem...)
and then there was the first time my parents sent me to sleepaway camp. the summer after i graduated elementary school. back in the 80's, it was not the best idea to send your newly teen-aged daughter to camp for the first time, for the second month. Girls are mean (still are) and they were horrendous that summer, to me. ari enjoys telling the boys that the only girl who was nice to me used to run around camp with a butterfly net, but i have no recollection of that. (though i do remember the girl who was nice to me...the one who accused me of stealing, well, lets just say i didn't feel badly when i heard she got divorced....like i said, girls are mean....)
fast forward to this summer....first month, gets an A+...i did almost everything on my list(dont come over if you have asthma, haven't gotten to dusting yet....) as for the second month....cant wait to spend it with the boys....in the car.....at batting practice....rain delays.....my in laws house....it's all good.....
happy wednesday
Memories of summers past...we all have them. My dad's parents used to have a boat that they lived on at the paradise yacht club in brooklyn. once or twice a summer we would spend the day on the boat...i think i might have even slept over a few times...i remember the cute italians who worked there and always being afraid of the diving board...my sister getting bit by the bait we used to go fishing and the first time z100 premiered on the radio-think it was the summer of 82....
camp ramah in nyack..oy vey...i dreaded the zimriah, which was a camp wide singing event, because i never quite fit into the t shirt that we had to wear...(guess i still have that problem...)
and then there was the first time my parents sent me to sleepaway camp. the summer after i graduated elementary school. back in the 80's, it was not the best idea to send your newly teen-aged daughter to camp for the first time, for the second month. Girls are mean (still are) and they were horrendous that summer, to me. ari enjoys telling the boys that the only girl who was nice to me used to run around camp with a butterfly net, but i have no recollection of that. (though i do remember the girl who was nice to me...the one who accused me of stealing, well, lets just say i didn't feel badly when i heard she got divorced....like i said, girls are mean....)
fast forward to this summer....first month, gets an A+...i did almost everything on my list(dont come over if you have asthma, haven't gotten to dusting yet....) as for the second month....cant wait to spend it with the boys....in the car.....at batting practice....rain delays.....my in laws house....it's all good.....
happy wednesday
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
tuesday, july 20, 2010
i can be serious
As today, in the Jewish calendar, is one of the most serious days of the year, i will try to keep this post serious. I joined the gym today.(THE gym, thanks to my friend who gave me the gift of membership, where the only clause is that i have to pretend that i dont know who she is while i am there....so if you see someone wearing one of those pairs of glasses that has the nose and mustauche attached to it, that would be me...but dont tell anyone. )
I seriously almost hyperventilated as i entered the air conditioned, skinny walls of the establishment, filled out the forms, got the key card(where the nice lady showed me how to scan it when i come in, clearly feeding into my fears that she thinks i have never been to a gym before...even if i haven't been, i know how to use the scanner thing-self check out at the supermarket and CLEARLY i have been to a supermarket before....) so i will seriously get myself started there on thursday.
there is only one week left to the summer of banji. after my beautiful boys come home next wednesday, it will be a laundry marathon and then in the car we go on sunday to begin the fifth annual ganchrow family baseball trip. i have bought blue ice to put in my cooler, i will soon be faking an injury so i can get some narcotics (kidding mw, just kidding...) and off we will go. In all seriousness, these trips are great....we get to bond with eachother and make memories that will last a lifetime, or until the boys get married and their wives convince them that the trips were just ways for us to brain wash them into thinking that we really are good parents, but in reality, we really sucked...so i guess i will just enjoy them for now...
hope you all have an easy fast and a day filled with reflection on how we can A. become better people or B. think of new ways to alienate friends and neighbors....you choose!
Happy Tuesday
As today, in the Jewish calendar, is one of the most serious days of the year, i will try to keep this post serious. I joined the gym today.(THE gym, thanks to my friend who gave me the gift of membership, where the only clause is that i have to pretend that i dont know who she is while i am there....so if you see someone wearing one of those pairs of glasses that has the nose and mustauche attached to it, that would be me...but dont tell anyone. )
I seriously almost hyperventilated as i entered the air conditioned, skinny walls of the establishment, filled out the forms, got the key card(where the nice lady showed me how to scan it when i come in, clearly feeding into my fears that she thinks i have never been to a gym before...even if i haven't been, i know how to use the scanner thing-self check out at the supermarket and CLEARLY i have been to a supermarket before....) so i will seriously get myself started there on thursday.
there is only one week left to the summer of banji. after my beautiful boys come home next wednesday, it will be a laundry marathon and then in the car we go on sunday to begin the fifth annual ganchrow family baseball trip. i have bought blue ice to put in my cooler, i will soon be faking an injury so i can get some narcotics (kidding mw, just kidding...) and off we will go. In all seriousness, these trips are great....we get to bond with eachother and make memories that will last a lifetime, or until the boys get married and their wives convince them that the trips were just ways for us to brain wash them into thinking that we really are good parents, but in reality, we really sucked...so i guess i will just enjoy them for now...
hope you all have an easy fast and a day filled with reflection on how we can A. become better people or B. think of new ways to alienate friends and neighbors....you choose!
Happy Tuesday
Monday, July 19, 2010
monday july 19 2010
take me out to the ball game.....
so in attempt to get revenge on me for making him climb a mountain and gaze lovingly at polar bears and penguins, ari's activitiy pick for our last sunday alone until next summer was the yankee game. he even made sure the temperature was going to be in the 90's just so we had the full effect of summer in the bronx....now, as some of you know, i am no stranger to baseball games. in fact, out baseball trip this summer is jam-packed with 7 games in 12 days(and 31+ hours of driving)so games dont scare me...
did you ever notice that when the home team players come up to bat, they display their age, height and weight? back in olden days, i would not have noticed this..but now, since every player is younger than i am, i am just happy to hope that i weigh less than they do...(i am happy to report that i weigh less than every yankee that played yesterday....thank god)
anyway, yankee games have a special place in banji and ari ganchrow's courtship history. our first "date" was to a yankee game. we took the subway there(should have know then....uggg) and i wore white shorts.(it was the 90's..)apparently we had a wonderful time.....still madly in love a year later i was at a double header yankee game a week or so before the wedding.....apparently there was a lot of gazing into each others eyes and hand holding....talking about our futures..the wedding...how in love we were...blah blah blah....fast forward 15 years and the scene at this yankee game was a little different. "please dont touch me...its 100 degrees..." "honey, where are the other water bottles, this one isn't fully defrosted" "uh, moron, look in the bag=would that be too much for you since i have been carrying them??" "stop leaning on me its 100 degrees" "is the game almost over?" "why do you keep texting people, cant you just talk to me?" "the kids have been gone for almost 3 weeks, havent we talked enough?" "can we leave yet?"
no gazing...no hand holding....no cooing....i managed to escape for 40 minutes to find ice cream(and he called me to see where i was....isn't that just adorable?!?!)....i felt like the afternoon was one big hot flash..even with the fan i brought that sprays water....but, it was a very pleasant day. and even though our relationship has gone the way of an old married couple, it only felt like it had been 16 years since our first date as we limped back to the car and glanced in the mirror....
so in attempt to get revenge on me for making him climb a mountain and gaze lovingly at polar bears and penguins, ari's activitiy pick for our last sunday alone until next summer was the yankee game. he even made sure the temperature was going to be in the 90's just so we had the full effect of summer in the bronx....now, as some of you know, i am no stranger to baseball games. in fact, out baseball trip this summer is jam-packed with 7 games in 12 days(and 31+ hours of driving)so games dont scare me...
did you ever notice that when the home team players come up to bat, they display their age, height and weight? back in olden days, i would not have noticed this..but now, since every player is younger than i am, i am just happy to hope that i weigh less than they do...(i am happy to report that i weigh less than every yankee that played yesterday....thank god)
anyway, yankee games have a special place in banji and ari ganchrow's courtship history. our first "date" was to a yankee game. we took the subway there(should have know then....uggg) and i wore white shorts.(it was the 90's..)apparently we had a wonderful time.....still madly in love a year later i was at a double header yankee game a week or so before the wedding.....apparently there was a lot of gazing into each others eyes and hand holding....talking about our futures..the wedding...how in love we were...blah blah blah....fast forward 15 years and the scene at this yankee game was a little different. "please dont touch me...its 100 degrees..." "honey, where are the other water bottles, this one isn't fully defrosted" "uh, moron, look in the bag=would that be too much for you since i have been carrying them??" "stop leaning on me its 100 degrees" "is the game almost over?" "why do you keep texting people, cant you just talk to me?" "the kids have been gone for almost 3 weeks, havent we talked enough?" "can we leave yet?"
no gazing...no hand holding....no cooing....i managed to escape for 40 minutes to find ice cream(and he called me to see where i was....isn't that just adorable?!?!)....i felt like the afternoon was one big hot flash..even with the fan i brought that sprays water....but, it was a very pleasant day. and even though our relationship has gone the way of an old married couple, it only felt like it had been 16 years since our first date as we limped back to the car and glanced in the mirror....
happy monday
Friday, July 16, 2010
friday july 16 2010
its official....i am white trash.....(no offense to those of you who already are white trash....its still better than being a white supremist....)
for the last four summers, the ganchrow family has taken baseball road trips. this began when banji realized she was never having a girl and that the boys had finally out-grown sesame place(even though i am soooo thin there...) and what a great way to see the country and go to games since the whole family likes baseball(different teams, but the same sport...cant win them all)
the metamorphisis into white trash has been slow....it started three summers ago when we discovered that packing in garbage bags was so much more convenient than shlepping proper suitcases....it became a bit more obvious when after entering our hotel room and discovering a sock on the floor that no one seemed phased by, even when i pointed out it wasn't our sock...(perhaps motel 6 shouldn't leave the light on so you cant see previous tenants dirty laundry in the room)..and then there was the acquiring of the fuzzy dice for the rearview mirror...a tell tale sign that the person driving the van is wearing too-tight cut off jean shorts and a def leppard t shirt...but the final straw...the final induction into the hall of fame was today.
ari and i figured out that there are going to be a bunch of days when we are going to have to buy lunch and dinner in the morning....we wondered how we were going to keep the food from spoiling...(though, if any of you know my boys eating preferences...dunkaroos probably never go bad....) and then it hit me...we...need.....a.....cooler. this is going to kill my mother. she didn't raise me in florence eisman dresses with matching ribbons in my hair to travel the country with a cooler in tow. i am sorry mom...its either that, or we are all getting salmonella poisoning....
and off to campor i went, where the helpful staff helped me pick out a cooler and explained to me that the cooler only works if you put ice in it (who knew??) the lovely lady at the cash register then wrote out a detailed description of what my husband should get to put in the cooler (ha ha ha) and now the ganchrow family is the proud owner of a cooler that holds, according the stoned guy who helped "lots and lots of beer..." (guess that would make me real white trash....maybe i am not there just yet...)
and so there you have it.....today a cooler...tomorrow a snake tattoo....anything is possible.
happy friday!!!!!!!!!!!
for the last four summers, the ganchrow family has taken baseball road trips. this began when banji realized she was never having a girl and that the boys had finally out-grown sesame place(even though i am soooo thin there...) and what a great way to see the country and go to games since the whole family likes baseball(different teams, but the same sport...cant win them all)
the metamorphisis into white trash has been slow....it started three summers ago when we discovered that packing in garbage bags was so much more convenient than shlepping proper suitcases....it became a bit more obvious when after entering our hotel room and discovering a sock on the floor that no one seemed phased by, even when i pointed out it wasn't our sock...(perhaps motel 6 shouldn't leave the light on so you cant see previous tenants dirty laundry in the room)..and then there was the acquiring of the fuzzy dice for the rearview mirror...a tell tale sign that the person driving the van is wearing too-tight cut off jean shorts and a def leppard t shirt...but the final straw...the final induction into the hall of fame was today.
ari and i figured out that there are going to be a bunch of days when we are going to have to buy lunch and dinner in the morning....we wondered how we were going to keep the food from spoiling...(though, if any of you know my boys eating preferences...dunkaroos probably never go bad....) and then it hit me...we...need.....a.....cooler. this is going to kill my mother. she didn't raise me in florence eisman dresses with matching ribbons in my hair to travel the country with a cooler in tow. i am sorry mom...its either that, or we are all getting salmonella poisoning....
and off to campor i went, where the helpful staff helped me pick out a cooler and explained to me that the cooler only works if you put ice in it (who knew??) the lovely lady at the cash register then wrote out a detailed description of what my husband should get to put in the cooler (ha ha ha) and now the ganchrow family is the proud owner of a cooler that holds, according the stoned guy who helped "lots and lots of beer..." (guess that would make me real white trash....maybe i am not there just yet...)
and so there you have it.....today a cooler...tomorrow a snake tattoo....anything is possible.
happy friday!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
thursday july 15 2010
who knew...
space...the final frontier...to go where no man has gone before...blah blah blah. yesterday, banji dawn latkin-ganchrow went to the american girl doll store. a store she thought she would never go into until she became a grandmother...a store she only heard about from friends' daughters and her niece...and yet, there she was. (and was actually surprised that the security guard didn't come over and say "maam, clearly you dont belong here...the NBA store is just around the corner.....")
i gotta say..it is quite a racket they have got going there. you can have your doll get a mani-pedi(whatever that is)they can have their hair done (another thing i dont do) they have matching outfits for not only the dolls, but for your entire family..and they also have dolls and accessories for every type of individual...black dolls, asian dolls, skinny dolls, fat dolls, dolls that come with braces, bulimic dolls that come with their own toilet bowl..i mean they do not discriminate...if you have a little girl who is chubby with pimples and low self esteem-there is a doll there for her! i have never seen anything like it in my life. though i only lasted in the store long enough to see my sister and my niece...it certainly was an experience...seeing all of these young girls, holding their dolls, enter the store with their moms with that look on their faces...that look of awe and wonder and excitement...i have seen that look before....where?...on my boys faces every time we go to a new baseball stadium....the exact same look....to each his own...
happy thursday
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
wednesday july 14, 2010
oh boy....its been a great day
sorry for blogging so late in the day. i have spent the last 4 1/2 hours watching old tv shows at the museum of tv and radio. my butt(which still hurts from tennis yesterday)was literally molded to the chair by the time i was ready to leave. We started with the love boat...man i miss that show...then we dabbled with some facts of life, one day at a time (had to see valerie bertenelli after reading her very compelling and life changing autobiography...i learned she made out with rick springfield, so now i like her even more...) silver spoons, taxi, family ties and different strokes-as i needed to pay my proper respects to gary coleman, god rest his soul.
what did i learn....i learned that bonnie franklin, the mom from one day at a time and ricky schroder, in silver spoons had the same exact hair cut. i wanted to find out if the same hair dresser worked on both shows, but was not privy to the information. i noticed that alex p keaton wore a calculator watch-when oh when did those go out of style? and those facts of life girls....did they realize that mrs garrett was drunk the whole time? that was some good tv...
but this is what i would like to discuss..one of the episodes of one day at a time was about ann romano(bonnie's tv name) celebrating her 36th birthday...and how depressed she was about it. this episode aired in 1977, when i thought 36 was close to 100, and my mom was 38..which, as you all know, is younger than i am now. when i turned 36, i became a woman 35 and over...well, i became the over-no longer was a number assigned to me, just a warning about certain side effects for various medications advertised on tv. so poor ann is going on about being 36 and having to date (thank god i dont have to subject anyone to that anymore, just poor ari) and how her girls were almost totally independant (if they made the show about a single mom and two sons she wouldn't have that problem....the opposite problem, perhaps....) so the whole episode was both funny and ironic, especially since i have this ridiculous blog going on about how i am almost 40.....what can you do.
tomorrow i will be blogging about the american girl doll store....that one should be a doozy.
happy wednedsay
sorry for blogging so late in the day. i have spent the last 4 1/2 hours watching old tv shows at the museum of tv and radio. my butt(which still hurts from tennis yesterday)was literally molded to the chair by the time i was ready to leave. We started with the love boat...man i miss that show...then we dabbled with some facts of life, one day at a time (had to see valerie bertenelli after reading her very compelling and life changing autobiography...i learned she made out with rick springfield, so now i like her even more...) silver spoons, taxi, family ties and different strokes-as i needed to pay my proper respects to gary coleman, god rest his soul.
what did i learn....i learned that bonnie franklin, the mom from one day at a time and ricky schroder, in silver spoons had the same exact hair cut. i wanted to find out if the same hair dresser worked on both shows, but was not privy to the information. i noticed that alex p keaton wore a calculator watch-when oh when did those go out of style? and those facts of life girls....did they realize that mrs garrett was drunk the whole time? that was some good tv...
but this is what i would like to discuss..one of the episodes of one day at a time was about ann romano(bonnie's tv name) celebrating her 36th birthday...and how depressed she was about it. this episode aired in 1977, when i thought 36 was close to 100, and my mom was 38..which, as you all know, is younger than i am now. when i turned 36, i became a woman 35 and over...well, i became the over-no longer was a number assigned to me, just a warning about certain side effects for various medications advertised on tv. so poor ann is going on about being 36 and having to date (thank god i dont have to subject anyone to that anymore, just poor ari) and how her girls were almost totally independant (if they made the show about a single mom and two sons she wouldn't have that problem....the opposite problem, perhaps....) so the whole episode was both funny and ironic, especially since i have this ridiculous blog going on about how i am almost 40.....what can you do.
tomorrow i will be blogging about the american girl doll store....that one should be a doozy.
happy wednedsay
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
tuesday july 13 2010 happy birthday mom
who's next??
i would like to begin this blog by giving a shout out to the grandmother of three who whooped my fat ass in tennis today. the reason why she beat me is because she runs after and hits every ball, instead of waiting to see if the ball is out or not. I take the other approach and wait to see if the ball is out or not and if it isn't out, make a desperate, albeit humorous, attempt
at running after the ball...apparently, more unsuccessfully than not. but a good time was had by all, at least it was had by me....final score-6-0, 6-1,6-0. better luck next time....
onto today's topic....when my beloved grandmother passed away in 1983, Ethel Merman died a few weeks after she did. though i was heartbroken when my mamma died, i got some comfort in knowing that ethel was joining her up in heaven because my grandmother was a huge fan. so this past week, when the highlight of the news was the passing of "the voice of god" (really?) bob shephard...the yankees announcer...when i turned on the news today and saw that george steinbrenner died, i thought-well at least now they have eachother (though after the interview with yogi berra...i am kind've hedging my bets on who's next....with all due respect to the berra family, though i am pretty sure that none of them read this...)
last night at my parents house, my dad was watching the golden girls. "what episode is it?" who cares, they are all in the golden house with a lanai, in the sky..except for dear, dear betty. years after joyous occasions, it becomes depressing to watch the videos (dvd's for those of us who have working dvd players...hint hint...)because they have become a who's who of who's dead...so very sad.
so let us all enjoy each day, whether we get beaten by old ladies in tennis(kidding! you totally rocked your tennis/golf outfit and you know who you are...) or taking our mother's beading for their birthdays...i, for one, am not ready to keep mr steinbrenner company...especially because i hate the yankees....
Monday, July 12, 2010
monday july 12,2010
really???
i believe is was three summers ago when son#1 decided he wanted to play goalie. while he was already in camp. 2 1/2 hours away. "mom, could you please send me goalie pads and a blocker." of course, my precious angel, whatever you want. and off to the store i went...how difficult could it be? "mom, the pads are too big and i am a lefty and the blocker is for a righty" the equipment magically reappears at my door step. of course, my precious angel, i will exchange them and magically get them back to you. "mom, the pads are too small" and they magically appeared once again, on my door step, along with the giant bruise on my forehead from banging my head against the wall....
last night, after spending an almost lovely day with son#1's father(shlepped the poor guy to the central park zoo-but those polar bears are so darn adorable and who can resist a penguin-now i know what i look like when i try walking when i get out of bed in the morning...)anyway, the texts started coming fast and furious "mom i want a 12 pack of mini gatorade" "mom i want vienna fingers" "mom i want double stuff oreos..." and then, the piece de resistance....the text to beat out all other texts...the text that will remain in infamy "mom can you get me a mini fridge?" huh? are you kidding? i still have the mini fridge that i used in college, but that is kindve heavy(and old, yes, i know it is old....at least it isn't obsolete...yet...) i entertain the text for a moment...what kind of minifridge, my precious angel?(while his father is growling in the background "just say no to him why cant you say no?" clearly coming from someone who didn't nurse their kids....neanderthal..)
"mom, its really small, it only holds two or three drinks...you can ship it to me fedex in a flat rate box." a flat rate box? this coming from a kid who thinks the laundry room is the landing on the basement stairs...this coming from a kid who doesn't know what a toaster is....a flat rate box? i would love to know who fed him that line, probably the same kid who has a minifridge in camp(not that there is anything wrong with that.) so there i was, torn between the child i love and adore more than my own life "please mom, please with a cherry on top" and my husband, whom i will eventually be stuck with when the boys all move to japan with their wives "just say no, he can have one next summer when it wont cost three thousand dollars to ship to camp!!" WHATS A WOMAN TO DO!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
so i googled mini fridge...the options weren't pretty. i tried son#1, i really tried...i put you before your father(nothing new there...but thats another story) but i couldnt find what you wanted. my heart is breaking...they had a minnesota vikings mini fridge, a team i know son#1 adores, he would love it, but i have already sold so much blood to pay for camp that it just wouldnt be possible to cough up enough to pay for the minifridge....please forgive me....please come visit me in the nursing home....please send me mothers day cards and remember my birthday...please please please.....
mini fridge, in camp...really? be happy you're getting the oreos kid....
i believe is was three summers ago when son#1 decided he wanted to play goalie. while he was already in camp. 2 1/2 hours away. "mom, could you please send me goalie pads and a blocker." of course, my precious angel, whatever you want. and off to the store i went...how difficult could it be? "mom, the pads are too big and i am a lefty and the blocker is for a righty" the equipment magically reappears at my door step. of course, my precious angel, i will exchange them and magically get them back to you. "mom, the pads are too small" and they magically appeared once again, on my door step, along with the giant bruise on my forehead from banging my head against the wall....
last night, after spending an almost lovely day with son#1's father(shlepped the poor guy to the central park zoo-but those polar bears are so darn adorable and who can resist a penguin-now i know what i look like when i try walking when i get out of bed in the morning...)anyway, the texts started coming fast and furious "mom i want a 12 pack of mini gatorade" "mom i want vienna fingers" "mom i want double stuff oreos..." and then, the piece de resistance....the text to beat out all other texts...the text that will remain in infamy "mom can you get me a mini fridge?" huh? are you kidding? i still have the mini fridge that i used in college, but that is kindve heavy(and old, yes, i know it is old....at least it isn't obsolete...yet...) i entertain the text for a moment...what kind of minifridge, my precious angel?(while his father is growling in the background "just say no to him why cant you say no?" clearly coming from someone who didn't nurse their kids....neanderthal..)
"mom, its really small, it only holds two or three drinks...you can ship it to me fedex in a flat rate box." a flat rate box? this coming from a kid who thinks the laundry room is the landing on the basement stairs...this coming from a kid who doesn't know what a toaster is....a flat rate box? i would love to know who fed him that line, probably the same kid who has a minifridge in camp(not that there is anything wrong with that.) so there i was, torn between the child i love and adore more than my own life "please mom, please with a cherry on top" and my husband, whom i will eventually be stuck with when the boys all move to japan with their wives "just say no, he can have one next summer when it wont cost three thousand dollars to ship to camp!!" WHATS A WOMAN TO DO!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
so i googled mini fridge...the options weren't pretty. i tried son#1, i really tried...i put you before your father(nothing new there...but thats another story) but i couldnt find what you wanted. my heart is breaking...they had a minnesota vikings mini fridge, a team i know son#1 adores, he would love it, but i have already sold so much blood to pay for camp that it just wouldnt be possible to cough up enough to pay for the minifridge....please forgive me....please come visit me in the nursing home....please send me mothers day cards and remember my birthday...please please please.....
mini fridge, in camp...really? be happy you're getting the oreos kid....
happy monday...only 16 days left of the summer of banji......
Friday, July 9, 2010
friday july 9 2010
more random thoughts and other stupidity....
last night i had an out-of-body experience. i was sitting at the kitchen table, the tv was on, and i was anxiously awaiting lebron james decision's for next season. I felt myself float above my physical self(which is no easy feat after eating pasta AND white chocolate mousse cake at my most favorite)looked down at me sitting at the table, waiting for the announcement, re-merged with my physical self and said "what the freak am i doing? i dont even watch basketball, i didn't even know who lebron james was before my kids told me he might be playing for the knicks...hell, i have to go to the bathroom, can we get someone to ask me if i think it is going to be a number 1 or a number 2? i am sure there are people on pins and needles waiting to hear about that as well!!!"
what has become of us people? this is news???? who cares?? i mean, i guess it is better than something bad happening, but who really cares? what brought me to that kitchen table anxiously awaiting the words that were to leave this man's mouth? who knows...perhaps it was because i was so tired from walking all over nyc that i was just too lazy to walk upstairs....
lets discuss the museum of natural history....i was excited about seeing lizards and snakes...i felt a kinship with the boa constrictor...big, fat and lazy...only moves when it needs to eat...i could have stared at that thing all day long. but i was wondering why i had to pay 12 extra dollars to see 10 lizards and 5 snakes...but it was interesting. as for the rest of the museum, you know you are getting older when you feel the museum isnt air conditioned well enough, unless i was just having a hot flash...and there were too many annoying children running all over the place-doesn't anyone have parents anymore?!?!?!?! and while im complaining...in some parts of the museum i felt like i was in the basement of the concord hotel with all of the wood paneling and bad carpeting...i think it is time they made a museum about this museum....was not impressed....next cultural event will be the guggenheim next week.
i know you will be waiting to hear all about it.....
happy friday
last night i had an out-of-body experience. i was sitting at the kitchen table, the tv was on, and i was anxiously awaiting lebron james decision's for next season. I felt myself float above my physical self(which is no easy feat after eating pasta AND white chocolate mousse cake at my most favorite)looked down at me sitting at the table, waiting for the announcement, re-merged with my physical self and said "what the freak am i doing? i dont even watch basketball, i didn't even know who lebron james was before my kids told me he might be playing for the knicks...hell, i have to go to the bathroom, can we get someone to ask me if i think it is going to be a number 1 or a number 2? i am sure there are people on pins and needles waiting to hear about that as well!!!"
what has become of us people? this is news???? who cares?? i mean, i guess it is better than something bad happening, but who really cares? what brought me to that kitchen table anxiously awaiting the words that were to leave this man's mouth? who knows...perhaps it was because i was so tired from walking all over nyc that i was just too lazy to walk upstairs....
lets discuss the museum of natural history....i was excited about seeing lizards and snakes...i felt a kinship with the boa constrictor...big, fat and lazy...only moves when it needs to eat...i could have stared at that thing all day long. but i was wondering why i had to pay 12 extra dollars to see 10 lizards and 5 snakes...but it was interesting. as for the rest of the museum, you know you are getting older when you feel the museum isnt air conditioned well enough, unless i was just having a hot flash...and there were too many annoying children running all over the place-doesn't anyone have parents anymore?!?!?!?! and while im complaining...in some parts of the museum i felt like i was in the basement of the concord hotel with all of the wood paneling and bad carpeting...i think it is time they made a museum about this museum....was not impressed....next cultural event will be the guggenheim next week.
i know you will be waiting to hear all about it.....
happy friday
Thursday, July 8, 2010
thursday july 8, 2010
i tried
i am happy to report that i lasted an entire week without wanting to kill my spouse without the kids home. which just proves to me that when we get frustrated with the person we married and the kids are not home, it has nothing to do with the kids but with the person we married. i am a joy to live with. i am always in a good mood, i always wear makeup and am perfectly put together, i always smell like vanilla and lilacs, i always have a hot meal waiting on the table for my family, i am always available with a witty, non insulting comment...but that's just me. i also know how to problem solve and get things done without pacing the room, scratching my head and wondering where or where did i go wrong??
i think day 8 of the summer of banji started to go downhill when i let ari choose the restaurant and he chose one that i didn't like, one that wasn't even on the radar. why is it that husbands tell you they are sick of chicken and meat, but then want to go to a meat restaurant...oh, maybe it's because they are sick of the chicken and meat that WE make them...ok, now i get it. when i go out to dinner, i want to eat something that i would never make at home. i want to eat something that jillian michaels will tell me is killing me, destroying my heart, clogging my arteries, making me an obesity statistic-then i know i am eating something really good. i can make chicken and rice and mashed potatoes....i cannot make rich, creamy, gastrointestinal distressing-but-oh-so-good food.....and that isn't even what i was in the mood to eat for dinner yesterday...i would have been thrilled with sushi or a tuna melt...but, whatever....that was just the tip of the iceberg...and lord knows you people dont really care what i was in the mood to eat last night...
i havent written a food-is-love blog in a while...but, it remains true...i will never look at a devil dog and call it a moron because it never lets me down....the cream filling is always there and it always makes me smile. i will never drink an orange coolata and tell it that it is so stupid that it should leave the house and figure out how to get it's son his glasses...because it is always refreshing and delicious....food might make for a hard time fitting into a pair of pants, or a dress for your son's bar mitzva, but it is always there for you...it listens to you....it knows what you want even when you don't....
time for breakfast.....
happy thursday
i am happy to report that i lasted an entire week without wanting to kill my spouse without the kids home. which just proves to me that when we get frustrated with the person we married and the kids are not home, it has nothing to do with the kids but with the person we married. i am a joy to live with. i am always in a good mood, i always wear makeup and am perfectly put together, i always smell like vanilla and lilacs, i always have a hot meal waiting on the table for my family, i am always available with a witty, non insulting comment...but that's just me. i also know how to problem solve and get things done without pacing the room, scratching my head and wondering where or where did i go wrong??
i think day 8 of the summer of banji started to go downhill when i let ari choose the restaurant and he chose one that i didn't like, one that wasn't even on the radar. why is it that husbands tell you they are sick of chicken and meat, but then want to go to a meat restaurant...oh, maybe it's because they are sick of the chicken and meat that WE make them...ok, now i get it. when i go out to dinner, i want to eat something that i would never make at home. i want to eat something that jillian michaels will tell me is killing me, destroying my heart, clogging my arteries, making me an obesity statistic-then i know i am eating something really good. i can make chicken and rice and mashed potatoes....i cannot make rich, creamy, gastrointestinal distressing-but-oh-so-good food.....and that isn't even what i was in the mood to eat for dinner yesterday...i would have been thrilled with sushi or a tuna melt...but, whatever....that was just the tip of the iceberg...and lord knows you people dont really care what i was in the mood to eat last night...
i havent written a food-is-love blog in a while...but, it remains true...i will never look at a devil dog and call it a moron because it never lets me down....the cream filling is always there and it always makes me smile. i will never drink an orange coolata and tell it that it is so stupid that it should leave the house and figure out how to get it's son his glasses...because it is always refreshing and delicious....food might make for a hard time fitting into a pair of pants, or a dress for your son's bar mitzva, but it is always there for you...it listens to you....it knows what you want even when you don't....
time for breakfast.....
happy thursday
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
wednesday july 7, 2010
tennis anyone?
i have always told my kids that before you go somewhere that you have never been before, just don't think about it. if you have no expectations, you can't be too disappointed, but you can also be pleasantly surprised(guess that applies to life, as well.) so before i left for their school's golf/tennis/eating festival outing, i had no expectations. i wanted to spend the day playing tennis with my friends and even though it had the potential to be a dreary, continous eye-rolling, what-the-hell-am-i-doing-here day, it turned out to be an absolutely terrific day and i might even consider going again next year...(miracles do happen)
raising kids in this neighborhood means praying that your children not only like sports, but are half decent participants in the game. between hockey and soccer and basketball and baseball, you hope that your kids can play a good game or at least talk a good game. now for the parents, the moms in particular, we never really have the opportunity to discuss our athletic prowess. you wont see the moms playing basketball (or baseball or soccer or hockey)none of us sit around discussing what position we played on our high school's basketball team(i was on the volley ball team...dont ask) but the game of tennis always comes up. now, my mom had me taking tennis lessons at a young age. i even had a racquet that had a "b" on it (for billie jean king, not banji..) i would go to the fair lawn racquet club in my cute little tennis outfits(as i said, i was at a young age...dont be scared for the others who were around me, but thanks for the vote of confidence)
and play for hours...when we went to the concord and grossingers, tennis was always part of the schedule. i even remember the tennis underwear that had pockets in them so you had a place to keep your balls( little did i know that after having three boys, i would develop those all on my own-sorry, had to get that one in there....)
point is...there are lots of women in my community who play tennis...some like to talk trash "when are you playing with us...scared you aren't as good?" well, after yesterday, when i havent laughed so hard in quite some time, i realized that, though not as good as the person who drove me(who tried really hard not to totally demolish me and make me feel even more inadequate than i usually do)i am not as bad as i would have thought. because, to me, there is nothing funnier than watching a skinny minnie actually miss the ball when it is hit right to her...(i am referring to many skinny minnies, not one in particular so dont try to figure out who it is ....) it is good to know that even though they have more will power than i do, they can fit into a smaller size than i can, they just can't play tennis(please let me have this moment...i know it is more important to have will power...it's my blog and my fantasy world that i am living in....)
so day 7 of the summer of banji was a really good day. i laughed with good friends, i ate good food, i sweated like i have never sweated before in my life, but it was a great. here is wishing that all back to you....(well, except for the sweating part..)
happy wednesday
i have always told my kids that before you go somewhere that you have never been before, just don't think about it. if you have no expectations, you can't be too disappointed, but you can also be pleasantly surprised(guess that applies to life, as well.) so before i left for their school's golf/tennis/eating festival outing, i had no expectations. i wanted to spend the day playing tennis with my friends and even though it had the potential to be a dreary, continous eye-rolling, what-the-hell-am-i-doing-here day, it turned out to be an absolutely terrific day and i might even consider going again next year...(miracles do happen)
raising kids in this neighborhood means praying that your children not only like sports, but are half decent participants in the game. between hockey and soccer and basketball and baseball, you hope that your kids can play a good game or at least talk a good game. now for the parents, the moms in particular, we never really have the opportunity to discuss our athletic prowess. you wont see the moms playing basketball (or baseball or soccer or hockey)none of us sit around discussing what position we played on our high school's basketball team(i was on the volley ball team...dont ask) but the game of tennis always comes up. now, my mom had me taking tennis lessons at a young age. i even had a racquet that had a "b" on it (for billie jean king, not banji..) i would go to the fair lawn racquet club in my cute little tennis outfits(as i said, i was at a young age...dont be scared for the others who were around me, but thanks for the vote of confidence)
and play for hours...when we went to the concord and grossingers, tennis was always part of the schedule. i even remember the tennis underwear that had pockets in them so you had a place to keep your balls( little did i know that after having three boys, i would develop those all on my own-sorry, had to get that one in there....)
point is...there are lots of women in my community who play tennis...some like to talk trash "when are you playing with us...scared you aren't as good?" well, after yesterday, when i havent laughed so hard in quite some time, i realized that, though not as good as the person who drove me(who tried really hard not to totally demolish me and make me feel even more inadequate than i usually do)i am not as bad as i would have thought. because, to me, there is nothing funnier than watching a skinny minnie actually miss the ball when it is hit right to her...(i am referring to many skinny minnies, not one in particular so dont try to figure out who it is ....) it is good to know that even though they have more will power than i do, they can fit into a smaller size than i can, they just can't play tennis(please let me have this moment...i know it is more important to have will power...it's my blog and my fantasy world that i am living in....)
so day 7 of the summer of banji was a really good day. i laughed with good friends, i ate good food, i sweated like i have never sweated before in my life, but it was a great. here is wishing that all back to you....(well, except for the sweating part..)
happy wednesday
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
tuesday july 6 2010
no problem
for most of us "good natured" folk, people pleasers, middle children always seeking that never attainable acceptance, individuals with low self esteem...you know the type i am talking about...we are always the first to say "no problem."
"can you pick me up and take me to the mall because there wont be any parking and i really need to pick something up and i know you hate shopping so you can just wait in the car for me?"
"no problem."
"the refrigerator door is making a funny noise...can you take care of that for me?"
"no problem"
"all of the light bulbs in the bathroom are out and i know how much you hate cleaning the pee from the floor when i miss the toilet because i can't see...could you get new ones and change them?"
"no problem."
so when sons #1,2 and 3 were getting ready to leave for camp...they all left me with things to do while they were gone....
"could you recharge my ipod and keep checking on it to make sure it is ok?"
no problem
"could you organize my baseball cards alphabetically and according to batting average ranging from lowest to highest factoring in their likelihood of making the hall of fame?"
no problem
"could you please hang up these banners in the basement...if you can't get to all of them, I have left them in piles ranging from the most important to the least important...now mom, please do the most important ones first and if you have time, do the second pile and if you have more time, do the third pile."
no problem.
the not so funny thing is that the third request is ACTUALLY TRUE!! and i have a pile of mini-banners...dont know if they are nba, mlb, nhl, nfl , cia or fbi, sitting here, in three piles, that i agreed to nail into the walls of our basement. did he leave me nails for this task? no. did he bring down the hammer from his room?no (dont ask why the hammer is in his room...i have no good answer...and you wont be able to find the bruises)
so part of the summer of banji will be taking a trip to the home depot, or as i like to call it "the scariest place on earth" (besides the apple store) to purchase nails to hang up the banners.... because when it comes to my kids...of course it's no problem....(it's only a problem when we dont do what they ask us to do.....and after all of the "no problems" my boys will still all move to countries far far away......but at least i tried....)
happy tuesday
for most of us "good natured" folk, people pleasers, middle children always seeking that never attainable acceptance, individuals with low self esteem...you know the type i am talking about...we are always the first to say "no problem."
"can you pick me up and take me to the mall because there wont be any parking and i really need to pick something up and i know you hate shopping so you can just wait in the car for me?"
"no problem."
"the refrigerator door is making a funny noise...can you take care of that for me?"
"no problem"
"all of the light bulbs in the bathroom are out and i know how much you hate cleaning the pee from the floor when i miss the toilet because i can't see...could you get new ones and change them?"
"no problem."
so when sons #1,2 and 3 were getting ready to leave for camp...they all left me with things to do while they were gone....
"could you recharge my ipod and keep checking on it to make sure it is ok?"
no problem
"could you organize my baseball cards alphabetically and according to batting average ranging from lowest to highest factoring in their likelihood of making the hall of fame?"
no problem
"could you please hang up these banners in the basement...if you can't get to all of them, I have left them in piles ranging from the most important to the least important...now mom, please do the most important ones first and if you have time, do the second pile and if you have more time, do the third pile."
no problem.
the not so funny thing is that the third request is ACTUALLY TRUE!! and i have a pile of mini-banners...dont know if they are nba, mlb, nhl, nfl , cia or fbi, sitting here, in three piles, that i agreed to nail into the walls of our basement. did he leave me nails for this task? no. did he bring down the hammer from his room?no (dont ask why the hammer is in his room...i have no good answer...and you wont be able to find the bruises)
so part of the summer of banji will be taking a trip to the home depot, or as i like to call it "the scariest place on earth" (besides the apple store) to purchase nails to hang up the banners.... because when it comes to my kids...of course it's no problem....(it's only a problem when we dont do what they ask us to do.....and after all of the "no problems" my boys will still all move to countries far far away......but at least i tried....)
happy tuesday
Monday, July 5, 2010
monday july 5, 2010 just couldnt wait til tues
she'll be coming down the mountain when she comes.....
people often talk about "bucket lists"...the lists of things they want to do before they die...seeing the great wall of china, meeting a president...i dont really have a list like that (unless you include what i would like to do after meeting rick springfield on the great wall of china...but that's another story) anyway, climbing bear mountain was never on my bucket list, it was just something i really wanted to do because, in theory, it sounded like fun. (it also sounded better than after being asked what we were doing july 4th weekend without the kids home, saying "sitting on the couch staring at each other..."
without the kids with us, the first thing ari and i thought when we started climbing bear mountain was "thank god the kids aren't here..who would start complaining first?" i have to say, i was really proud of the two of us...athletes we're not....you wont be seeing us on the cover of Mountain Climbers monthly anytime soon(though, after we were done, there was a photographer there from aarp magazine, but even they passed....) but as we were climbing up the rock stairs...and climbing...and climbing...i realized that the only way off of the mountain was to go back down said stairs. i am afraid of heights and afraid of stairs..HUGE fear of mine..not climbing up the stairs but walking down stairs. it could have something to do with the time that while chasing after my parents to say goodbye before they went out one night when i was little, i fell down a flight of stairs..it wasn't pretty(though after complaining to my mother that my foot hurt, and her not believing me, i had broken it....whatever)
so the vision in my head was as follows...i refuse to walk back down the 3 million stairs. ari has to send a smoke signal to get help because we have no freakin cell reception with at&t...help arrives, takes one look at me and says "would it be ok if we just rolled her down?" ari is not embarrassed by the fact that the 20 pound back pack is still on my back and he still has not offered to carry it(the only true part of this scenario)..... i got my head out of this fantasy gone awry and started down the steps...talking to myself as i went down. and i made it. thank god because the thought of being stuck up there was not pretty...though, on the way up, i was waiting for allison sweeney from the biggest loser to tell me i was winning the challenge and if i made it to the top first, i could win 10,000 dollars or immunity for my team!!
so bear mountain is officially crossed off the non-bucket list, and as soon as i get feeling back in my legs....i am ready to continue the summer of Banji....though i would like to thank ari for coming with me...this was not on any list he has ever written, EVER....hope you all had a great weekend!
happy monday
Friday, July 2, 2010
friday juy 2 2010
and then what....
yesterday, my sister and i spent some time together. actually, we went out to dinner with my parents and then we went to a show...but, the meal turned in to a "who has more ailments" contest...it was actually kind of funny, and sad all at the same time....3 of us get leg cramps, but all in different parts of our legs...she can't feel part of her ankle...i think i have a neuroma in my foot....both of us tend to waddle like our mother....our mother has a spur in shoulder and can't turn her head.....but, thank god, none of these ailments are serious...but it was a far cry from when the biggest concern we had was me wanting to borrow her orange terry cloth shorts outfit(yes, it was really orange, yes, it was really terry cloth, no, it wasn't juicy...no juicy in the late 70's..unless you are thinking of juicy fruit gum...) and she wouldn't let me wear it (surprise surprise...)
we left dinner and walked to the theatre...passing brookdale hall along the way. for those of you that don't know, brookdale hall is the original dorm building for stern college for women and others. it was my dorm...room 3d for 3 years.....walking past it, i said to my sister that college was great, but you were always worried about the next stage...getting a graduate degree...getting married....getting something....did we ever take the time to enjoy where we were? to enjoy the little responsibility that we had? and now, i feel that the "next thing" is...what? dying? ari, my very wise husband, who is doing a fantastic job "wooing" me(get your minds out of the gutter....) told me that i shouldn't clump post graduate into 60 plus years of "waiting to die..." and he is right. (maybe he won't read today's blog and see that i said he was right....) though, it seems, that a lot of living we do, is through our kids....helping them succeed and reach the next levels in their lives, using our lives and examples of what they should or shouldn't do.....blah blah blah...i just want them to be happy and healthy and put their laundry in some form a receptacle and not on the floor or on the stairs or by the door.....
lets all enjoy our "post graduate" life....this weekend, ari and i are going hiking in bear mountain. no, that wasn't a typo...in anticipation of all the material i will have after this "hike"...i will not be blogging again until tues....unless, of course, we get eaten by a bear and then...well, that would suck for us...but anyway....have a great july 4th everyone...the summer of banji continues....see ya on tuesday....
happy friday
yesterday, my sister and i spent some time together. actually, we went out to dinner with my parents and then we went to a show...but, the meal turned in to a "who has more ailments" contest...it was actually kind of funny, and sad all at the same time....3 of us get leg cramps, but all in different parts of our legs...she can't feel part of her ankle...i think i have a neuroma in my foot....both of us tend to waddle like our mother....our mother has a spur in shoulder and can't turn her head.....but, thank god, none of these ailments are serious...but it was a far cry from when the biggest concern we had was me wanting to borrow her orange terry cloth shorts outfit(yes, it was really orange, yes, it was really terry cloth, no, it wasn't juicy...no juicy in the late 70's..unless you are thinking of juicy fruit gum...) and she wouldn't let me wear it (surprise surprise...)
we left dinner and walked to the theatre...passing brookdale hall along the way. for those of you that don't know, brookdale hall is the original dorm building for stern college for women and others. it was my dorm...room 3d for 3 years.....walking past it, i said to my sister that college was great, but you were always worried about the next stage...getting a graduate degree...getting married....getting something....did we ever take the time to enjoy where we were? to enjoy the little responsibility that we had? and now, i feel that the "next thing" is...what? dying? ari, my very wise husband, who is doing a fantastic job "wooing" me(get your minds out of the gutter....) told me that i shouldn't clump post graduate into 60 plus years of "waiting to die..." and he is right. (maybe he won't read today's blog and see that i said he was right....) though, it seems, that a lot of living we do, is through our kids....helping them succeed and reach the next levels in their lives, using our lives and examples of what they should or shouldn't do.....blah blah blah...i just want them to be happy and healthy and put their laundry in some form a receptacle and not on the floor or on the stairs or by the door.....
lets all enjoy our "post graduate" life....this weekend, ari and i are going hiking in bear mountain. no, that wasn't a typo...in anticipation of all the material i will have after this "hike"...i will not be blogging again until tues....unless, of course, we get eaten by a bear and then...well, that would suck for us...but anyway....have a great july 4th everyone...the summer of banji continues....see ya on tuesday....
happy friday
Thursday, July 1, 2010
thursday july 1, 2010....4 months to go....
culture shmulture...whats with the boobs?
i am hoping that since camp has started, there wont be any young ones reading the blog....if there are...there might be some inappropriate content...please be advised...
the summer of banji began yesterday at approximately 9:05 am, when even though the camp buses were still in the lot....ari and i got the hell out of dodge before anyone changed their minds..and off to the city we went. i was dropped off at the metropolitan museum of art and i practically skipped up the stairs with a big smile on my face..you heard me...there was skipping...my feet practically floated off of the ground....my healthy snacks in my bag and off i went to explore art.
there is currently a picasso exhibit going on and, at the same time, an american woman's fashion exhibit. so on one end of the museum, you have picasso drawing these big breasted women(granted, the boobs are square or rectangular)and then in the fashion exhibit they show costumes that not even the skinny minnies could fit
into. Then there is the painter Rubens..he loves the large ladies..in all of their glory. I have a feeling that mr. rubens and i would have been great friends. back to picasso for a minute...i learned that he had a great affection for women of ill repute, that being said, there is a beautiful painting of a woman doing ill reputed things to her customer...was hoping to get a post card in the gift shop of that particular drawing-but, alas, would you believe that didn't sell that one?!?!
then there was the modern art....a shark, a real shark but dead, floating in a tank...totally cool and then up on the roof these brothers are builing an exhibit called "big bamboo"....a scultpure made totally out of bamboo that people can climb up 20-40 feet about the roof of the museum. looking at it...i was thinking it was a bad idea and i was waiting for the whole thing to crash down, but hey...whatever floats your boat, that is what makes art, art...you see in in what you want. I chose to see the portraits of the big naked ladies as my friends...and picasso as a horny old man.....if you get a chance to go the museum this summer, you might see something altogether different...and that is what makes the world go round.
happy thursday
i am hoping that since camp has started, there wont be any young ones reading the blog....if there are...there might be some inappropriate content...please be advised...
the summer of banji began yesterday at approximately 9:05 am, when even though the camp buses were still in the lot....ari and i got the hell out of dodge before anyone changed their minds..and off to the city we went. i was dropped off at the metropolitan museum of art and i practically skipped up the stairs with a big smile on my face..you heard me...there was skipping...my feet practically floated off of the ground....my healthy snacks in my bag and off i went to explore art.
there is currently a picasso exhibit going on and, at the same time, an american woman's fashion exhibit. so on one end of the museum, you have picasso drawing these big breasted women(granted, the boobs are square or rectangular)and then in the fashion exhibit they show costumes that not even the skinny minnies could fit
into. Then there is the painter Rubens..he loves the large ladies..in all of their glory. I have a feeling that mr. rubens and i would have been great friends. back to picasso for a minute...i learned that he had a great affection for women of ill repute, that being said, there is a beautiful painting of a woman doing ill reputed things to her customer...was hoping to get a post card in the gift shop of that particular drawing-but, alas, would you believe that didn't sell that one?!?!
then there was the modern art....a shark, a real shark but dead, floating in a tank...totally cool and then up on the roof these brothers are builing an exhibit called "big bamboo"....a scultpure made totally out of bamboo that people can climb up 20-40 feet about the roof of the museum. looking at it...i was thinking it was a bad idea and i was waiting for the whole thing to crash down, but hey...whatever floats your boat, that is what makes art, art...you see in in what you want. I chose to see the portraits of the big naked ladies as my friends...and picasso as a horny old man.....if you get a chance to go the museum this summer, you might see something altogether different...and that is what makes the world go round.
happy thursday
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