I'd Like To Thank the Academy

Happy Monday Everyone! (yeah, yeah, grumble, grumble) My first order of business is to thank my dear friend, Chrissy @ http://ishouldabeenastripper.com/ for my very first blogging award. It is The Premier Meme Award.







The guidelines for the Premier Meme Award are to list 7 of your personality traits, as evidenced on your blog, & then to pass the award on to 7 other blogs with notable personality.


My list of traits are:

1. Family-oriented-One of the most important things to me is my family.


2. Fun-Just can't sit around & work all day-BORING!


3. Caring-I have a tendency to worry about others more than myself.


4. Intelligent-The Polish, blonde & female thing is just a cover...shhh!


5. Funny-There are times when I just bust out & hilarity ensues! (ok, so most of the time it's when I'm by myself...lol)


6. Giving-I would give you the shirt off my back (& anything else I have on because it's just too damn hot lately! So don't ask because me nekkid is not a pretty picture...lol!)


7. Emotional-I am usually pretty even-tempered but piss me off & Watch Out!




I have so many amazing blogs I read but here are a few that really get to me sometimes!


Ms. Quirky @ Musings of a Quirkyloon

Melissa @ Rock and Drool

Dana @ Life is Good

Chris @ Maugeritaville

Tiffany @ The Water Bottle

Sue @ Farvel Cargo

Margaret @ Nanny Goats in Panties



Thanks to them & quite of few others, my blogging abilities are being honed & perfected all the time. (time to get out the hip boots, it's getting pretty deep in here)

Image by wiccked via Flickr

Now since that is done, (finally, after hours of my internet acting up), I have some bad news for all of you. OK, it's not THAT bad. Sorry to worry you. I am leaving for vacation Tuesday morning. My hubby has 2 weeks off so we are driving to Massachusetts to stay with my cousins for about a week. They were here just over a week ago but now we're taking the fun there. They live in Westfield so it'll be about 11-12 hour drive from home. I'm near well surrounded on 3 sides by Detroit. I probably won't be able to get online, but I will ck twitter from my phone! My name is @rayvenne if anyone even cares...boohoo. I will miss reading all the blogs. So I will be busy reading when I get back.




We haven't been on a real vacation where we left town in quite a few years, so this will be nice. Besides, 2 weeks at home with the hubby would send me to the funny farm! Padded cell, here I come!


My babcia had me take her to the Polish Market here so I could take some kielbasa & other Michigan goodies with us. They have a Polish town near them but nothing is like Hamtramck. I am also taking Vernors ginger ale & Better Made potato chips. Only in Michigan, so anytime we visit family out of town or they come here, that's the "need to have" stuff!


I am pretty much finished packing. Tonight we have to go to my sister's house & trade my car for their minivan for the trip. My '96 Grand Marquis uses way too much gas & hubby's blazer is just not safe enough for that long of a drive. Then, on the road at 6am! I will be sleeping most of the time since it's a non-smoking vehicle. ARGH! Or else I would be pulling my hair out. Eventually, I would like to quit, but on my terms not because everyone wants me to. And of course, the more they bitch, the more I smoke. Maybe if they would just let it go, I'd get the state of mind to just do it. But, since hubby & some family members pick about it all the time, it just pisses me off.


Well, I'm not going to get into a smoking/non-smoking discussion here. It's a personal choice.


SO, that's about it for now. I will post when I get back & show some pics if I can figure out how to put more than the 2 I usually do!


Have a great week everyone!





Wearing the Babushka to keep the sweat from dripping down my face,


Collette

A Tale of Two (three) BBQ's

Image by kristiewells via Flickr

Today is the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing. We sure have come a long way since then, but still have barely scratched the surface.
I am not going to write about space exploration or alien abduction (not today anyway). I'm just going to tell you about my weekend, I suppose. (OK, stop that yawning back there. Yes, you. I don't think it's THAT boring!) Back to our regularly scheduled programming...
Well, Friday was my 42nd birthday. No point in lying. The voices conscience will get it out anyway. No big deal really. We already went out to dinner to celebrate mine & my dad's birthdays last weekend, so we really had no plans. Until...(cue suspense music) my youngest sister called. The call wasn't only to wish me "haapy birthday". She asked me what we were doing & as I told her we had no plans, she proceeded to the other reason for the call. Apparently, my middle sister was moving out of her fiance's place & could we help move some of the bigger stuff. In shock, but jumping for joy & doing the happy dance, I said "YES!" & got some of the explanation "why".
***Reader's Digest Condensed Version***
My middle sister met her now ex-fiance about 2 years ago after an almost 20 years relationship. She had been married about 5 years when she got divorced. Not too long after, she started dating this guy seriously & moved in with him almost right away. Needless to say, we thought it was a rebound thing & didn't like his arrogant, know-it-all attitude. But, "he" was different, she said. "He" treated her like a queen. They talked about everything. But, my sister lost her job & hasn't been able to do much because of a damaged rotator cuff (that she is having surgery on July 30th). "He" has been getting close to his dad, that he never really had contact with till recently & apparently, according to his dad, women pretty much should be seen, not heard & barefoot & pregnant! SO, things have been escalating. "He" told her to shutup, one day & she finally stood up for herself & told him to never speak to her like that again. Friday, he was in a mood & kicked out his brother & his kids & told my sis that she should just leave, too, And she did! Of course, this "house" is his mother's. She is not very happy & cried that he took everyone away from her. I felt bad for her but hope that she kicks his ass to the curb!
He was not there while we packed up & moved my sister out, so that saved a lot of our voices cuz I, totally, would have ripped him a new you-know-what. We tried telling her but now is not the time for I-told-you-so's. We took everything to my youngest sis' house where sis #2 lived before she moved out. Then my bro-in-law bbq'd some hot dogs & we chilled. Happy birthday to me.
Saturday wasn't too busy. I dropped my dd off at the drivng school for her last day of driving lessons (ARGH!), took my babcia to the beauty shop (92 & she goes every other week-grin), picked dd up from driving school & waited for the Polish owner of the beauty shop to call me & say "She is ready, sweetie", so I can pick her up. We went to the bakery for fresh bread, cakes & halka, which is an egg bread with raisins, & then to Kowalski market for some lunch meat. When we got to my babcia's house, I sat & chatted with her for a little bit, like I do everyday & took her out in the yard to check out her tomatoes, cucumbers & flowers. She was all set so I headed home. Later in the day, we went to my sis' house for another bbq & this time my bro-in-law smoked some ribs & then cooked them. They were awesome (as usual). We didn't stay too late because we had church in the morning. After church, we always go to breakfast with my hubby's mom & brother. At 4 pm Sunday, we were at my cousin's new home, for a housewarming bbq (again...lol), with his fiance, her parents from out of state & more friends & family. This time the bbq was steak for fajitas. Also, for a select few of us, the elite, the shunned, THE SMOKERS...there was a table set to the side with an ashtray. Besides myself & my sisters, there were maybe about 6 more people that smoked out of 40. No throwing things, no bitching, no lecturing. I know it's bad for me & others. I want to quit eventually & I will when I am ready. And the more people tell me to quit & nag me, it makes it worse. Subject closed. End of rant.
Everyone started leaving around 7:30 pm, so we all packed up & headed out, too. It rained for about 3 minutes while we were there but it ended so quickly that it didn't even matter.
That was my weekend. Lots of bbq, food, fun...etc. I am exhausted. And, we have stuff going on every weekend for the next few weeks. Hopefully, we will be taking a vacation this year away from home. Then, it will be time to go back to work & school. Nooooooooooooooo! I am not ready. Don't make me do it! Summer can't go by that quickly! I guess I better enjoy it!
P.S. Do you like my new profile pic? That's my light-up tiara! I wore it Friday for my birthday! Ain't I just the cutest thing? (Do NOT say a word! Just nod your head in agreement! LMAO)

In Search of Birthday Babushkas,
Collette