Time Marches On....

Tonight is the night when many people start reflecting about time and how quickly it passes. My grandma used to say that the older you get the faster time goes. Wow, was she right! I always imagine time as "If someone..." For example, "If someone had told me that I would be..... I would have......."
I have always had a fascination with time travel in the screen version.... I am not smart enough to realize it scientifically. I love the thought of changing history or affecting the future by one small moment or gesture. And don't get me started on my view of the whole paradox, time-space continuum thing . Anyhow, I thought I would share the top Movies and TV shows that I have loved that deal with Time Travel in one form or another...... Rate them as you will.

In no particular order.....


Time Bandits

Kevin, a small boy from England, embarks on a time traveling adventure with a group of dwarfs hungry for treasure. They have a map that they have taken from their boss, The Supreme Being, that leads them through time by way of time-holes. Awesome tale woven by Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin. Mix in Sean Connery, Ian Holm, David Rapport and half the cast of Monty Python and you have a grand adventure.

Favorite quote: "Mom! Dad! It's evil! Don't touch it! "

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

Well, aside from the fact that this is early work of Keanu Reeves, this is a fun trip through time. Bill and Ted are dangerously close to failing out of high school when suddenly Rufus ( George Carlin) shows up with a time machine to help them pass their World History report. Why? you ask? So that they can stay together to create the music that brings World Peace and align the planets!

Favorite quote: " Strange Things are afoot at the Circle K"

Quantum Leap

This is one of my all time favorite shows!! It brings back so many memories. Sitting on the floor of my little apartment my first year in the classroom , figuring out lessons for the next week. Sam and I traveled across time, and "made right what once was wrong". Never was there a more awesome series finale either. You had to have seen the whole series to fully appreciate it. I did and still do!! Love me some Scott Bakula!

Favorite Quote: " Oh Boy!!"

Tru Calling

This was a show that lived only 3 seasons. It is along the lines of Quatum Leap, but with a little tweak. Tru is a medical student who works in the morgue. Instead of leaping through time. She touches a corpse and is whooshed back a day to prevent that person from dying. Add in a hysterical Zach Galifianakis as her co-worker in the morgue and handsome Jason Priestly who ends up being her nemesis and you don't care that it always starts with a dead person.

Favorite Quote: "Dude, I'm still alive. I died yesterday.

Millennium

Yep, this one is a little out there. It really isn't that great of a movie, but the plot has such great potential! Forget that Cheryl Ladd and Kris Kristofferson play the leads. So Bill is an airline crash investigator who happened to have been the lone survivor of a plane crash as a kid. Louise is from the future. A future soo polluted that she has to chain smoke in our time to survive. Bill doesn't know this when he meets her, but can't help but think he has seen Louise...... On the plane right before the crash! I love this movie for two main reasons. One: People don't die in plane crashes! and Two: The future, though bleak, has figured out how to fix the bad and save mankind. You'll have to watch it to get the whole gist.

Favorite Quote: "It is not the end. It is not the beginning of the end. It is the end of the beginning. "

Back to the Future

OK, Who could NOT love this movie? A chance to travel back and figure out what your parents did to make your teenage life suck so much, only to find out that one or two changes could either delete you from history or get you a rockin' truck!! Sorry, but Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd really sold this whole trilogy!

Favorite Quote: "You are my density! "

Dr. Who

Okay, I am a newbie to Dr. Who. Here is the scoop. The Doctor is a Time Lord who travels through space and time in his Tartis saving worlds and strange species from evil things like the Daleks. He always has a companion with him who assists him on his adventures. Most often a female. This is a great show for many reasons. It has been on since the 1960's. There have been upward of 11 Doctors. Apparently, Time Lords regenerate into a new person when injured. Brilliant concept! My favorite Doctor is definitely David Tennant, but Matt Smith is growing on me. It is also a show that we watch as a family.

Favorite Quote: "Bow ties are cool!"

So as you reflect on this past year, take a moment to think about which moments you would relive, and which you would change. You never know what possibilities the future may hold!! Happy New Year everyone!

"It's Ok it's what Moms do...."

Recently, my child became ill in the middle of the night which is when kids mostly get sick. So, I tended to her needs and mothered her. She proceeds to apologize for waking me up in the middle of the night. I tell her, "It's ok, 'cause that's what Moms do."

Today, my mom would have celebrated her 81st birthday.
And although she has been gone for 3 years now, it is comforting to recall all that she did for me because she was my mom. She also taught me many things throughout the years. Of those, I share the following........

Never be afraid to try new things, even if you don't know you want to try them. Mom was always finding activities for all of us kids. Arts and crafts, reading clubs, and all kinds of unique experiences. She totally took advantage of our local Parks and Rec programs.

You are never too old to learn new things. Mom went back to get her Masters degree when she was 53, graduated and started working full time after being out of the work force for 18 years to raise her family.

Don't be afraid to be who you are. My mother did not have a demonstrative personality, but she could sit down at a table of strangers and have new friends in a matter of minutes. She was smart, quick witted and genuinely kind hearted.

Children will be your biggest joy and can also be your biggest heartache. No matter what we children did or how we treated her, it was obvious she loved each one of us unconditionally.

Find something you are passionate about. My mom found her passion in art. We had always joked about her idea that when she retired she was going to take painting classes. Well, she did and she was great at it. Several of her paintings adorn my walls.

Enjoy the good things in life around you regardless of the bad. My mom was never a healthy person, but it never stopped her from doing what she loved, whether it was traveling abroad or to the local art gallery, or volunteering at the senior center. I think that positive out look is what helped her survive all the bouts with cancer and such and allowed her to live to a good old age of 78!!


I was fortunate that I had the opportunity to thank my mom several times for all she did for me before she passed. She never said much during those times, but would nod, blink and give me that beautiful smile, which to me always meant, " It's what Moms do. "

Love and miss ya Mom! Happy Birthday!

"Tradition.............Tradition"

Well, now that the holiday season is close at hand, one hears the word, tradition, a great deal. And although the first thing that pops into my head is a burly Jewish guy singing, I always end up laughing when I think of traditions.

I love traditions! And the wackier, the better. But my idea of a tradition is that you only have to do it once then it becomes a tradition. This became evident, in one of my I'm going to tell you every good thing that comes to mind conversations with my mom when she was near the end. I commented on how I always loved the tradition we had of driving around the local lake the day before school started each year. She stared at me for a moment and proceeded to inform me that we did that ONE time. "Seriously?" I ask. "Are you sure?" "Positive". So, now the running joke is if we did it once, it is a Tradition! Sometimes the list gets pretty long that way, but it also gives one a large selection to choose from. Below are some of my all time Holiday favorites..

We always name the turkey we buy for Thanksgiving. Yeah, I know naming your food is a little creepy, and I'm sure some of my Vegan friends are choking on their tofu right now. But it's something my mom always did. Yeah, and it's not just naming it. You gotta talk to it too using it's name. "Tom, you're cooking up nice and juicy! Tom, can't wait to see how you taste!" Tom was one of the first, but we have had a wide variety of names over the years usually starting with a "T". This year's turkey, however, has been dubbed, Larry, by my 8 year old. "Larry, you and I will working closely together in a few days!"

Eating cornbread. I know you're thinking, "What!?! Lots of people have cornbread on Thanksgiving." Ahhhh, but do you have a reason why you do? In my house, it all started in a grocery store parking lot Thanksgiving Day, circa 2007. It was the year my parents had passed, and we had rented a beach house and invited my brother and girlfriend-in-law for the weekend. We decided to have the standard meal on Saturday when everyone was there. So, on Thanksgiving Day, we headed out to Geo-Cache. Around noon-ish, we became hungry. We spotted a McDonald's that had a line at the drive-thru. Attempting to enter the restaurant, we soon realized the door was locked. So we assumed that maybe they were just providing Drive-Thru service being Thanksgiving and all. We hopped in line and waited our turn. We drove up to the speaker and proceeded to hear, "Welcome to McDonald's Drive-Thru. Please let us know when you are ready to order. " So I ordered and........... dead silence. "Hello, H-E-L-L-O?!?!" Nothing. A minute later, "Welcome to McDonald's Drive-Thru. Please let us know when you are ready to order. " "I'm ready!!" I yell. Still no answer. Drive around to the window. Everything is black, and dark inside. It has now become obvious that they are closed. Drive away passing a continuous stream of cars entering the line.

Luckily, next door is a Food Lion grocery store. We go in and find some food at the deli, of which my husband chooses some cornbread. We proceed to eat in the car and find a very good view of the perpetual drive-thru line which continues to circulate cars. It is quite amusing. Suddenly, my husband states that people are giving us a strange look and he proceeds to commentate what their conversations might be, "Look at those poor people eating cornbread in their car on Thanksgiving Day. They must live in their car. That's so sad. We should invite them to dinner." As he says this a couple does approach the car, but I give them such a look of horror, they run the other way. Through all this the drive-thru continues to circulate. So, we always have cornbread on Thanksgiving, just not usually in a parking lot.

The Christmas Eve dinner: The first Christmas Eve my husband, then boyfriend, came to my house I had to warn him about the menu. He thought I was kidding, but alas, I was not. The menu always consisted of Oyster Stew (semi-normal), rolls (normal), and potato chips and red Jello (not so normal). Who came up with that one? Well, my mom told me that Oyster Stew was a German tradition and well, what kid wants to eat oysters? So she added the jello and potato chips for us kids. Occasionally, we would even have a birthday cake for baby Jesus! This went on for years. I still remember having that meal in my early 30's.

My husband and I perfected this menu into what we call, The Seafood Trifecta! One of the first years we did not travel north for Christmas, we had recently discovered how to harvest our favorite crustaceans from the sea. That year began the menu of steamed clams, boiled shrimp, hot crab dip, and of course Oyster Stew. Originally, all self-harvested. It was cheaper that way. Now-a-days, we go to our local seafood market. When she was 3, my daughter ate all of it, now she's pickier. Looks like I'll be adding the Jello and chips!

So, what is it about Traditions? I think it is my way of holding onto the good memories of the past. Now that my folks are gone, I have lots of moments to reflect on which are based in traditions. My hope is that we create as many for my daughter to build on. I can't wait to see what new traditions we start this year. Hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday Season!

Gotta go check on Larry....

Dear 16 year old self

Recently, I had the opportunity to reconnect with some high school people at an informal reunion. It was fun to catch up with people that experienced the same set of walls and adults for at least 4 years. Of course one topic of conversation that came up was the If we knew then, what we know now .............would things be different? Ummm yeah, they would.

But it made me think of a recent posting on a blog I follow religiously, The Creative Junkie,
(which makes me laugh hysterically every time, BTW thanks for that Andy!) So she wrote a post addressing her 16 year old self. And in an effort NOT to plagiarize ('cause that is a pet peeve of mine), I think I'd like to try the same.............. PS: I am not changing the names to protect the innocent and the possibly not so, but will use initials instead.

Dear 16 year old Meg,

Yes, it is me. I know, I know. You are totally blown away that you have lived to be 43 ' cause we always thought we'd be dead by now, but it has actually happened. Anyway there are a few things we need to discuss................so listen closely.


The whole punk, neon, million earrings, fishnet stocking thing you got going on, Yeah, that will be mild in 25 years! However, it did achieve the goal you were shooting for. People do remember you because of it.

You know that family drama right now? Well, it will get worse, then better, then worse and then much, much worse and then you'll be so over it.

Stop! Seriously, Stop and take a look around you. You are surrounded by great guys. You should appreciate a few a little more like JW, CS, EH, and PM and possibly some you are not aware of!

You really need to walk (or sever with a knife) away, from the BH situation, you'd be much better off. Trust me!

Friends are going to come and go. You cannot stop that or rescue any of them. Give it up!

That body you loath right now, and in your 20's, you will yearn for in the future!

Don't bother asking DN to the senior ball. He's just going to blow you off and go with someone else. Plan on going stag from the start. It's way more fun!

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

Oh and the smoking thing. So NOT cool. It will be a habit that will take you over 15 years to break.

But the reason you quit smoking, is because you have a little girl. She is all girl however including all the drama and this is just from the perspective from when she is 8. You will constantly wonder where she came from. God help us.

Unfortunately, you will not be the next Quincy. Come on seriously!? Look at your math skills and your effort in school.

Don't worry, you will be very successful in your career. You will start as a special education teacher, work at the district office teaching teachers, become a curriculum coach for your school , and become an elementary school librarian. ( Stop laughing because you love your job and are passionate about it which is more than most people can say)

You do not need to worry about your big brother so much. He will figure it all out and be way more than OK.

Sorry to inform you but, MJ will break your heart and you will be devastated, but I won't tell you to avoid him, because 1. You will have lots of fun with him and 2. You will learn a great deal and grow from the whole ordeal.


Your mom and dad aren't focused on you right now because they know you have a good head on your shoulders.

Sometimes you forget that and do very, very dumb things. Like, don't leave your friends at a party with some guy you just met. Not the best choice.

Oh, and you do not always have to do things just because you think that others think you should do them. The "Others" do not always know what you need.

Believe it or not you do end up with a nice family and live in a neighborhood very similar to the one you grew up in.

There are things that you will experience that are not fun or even close, but you will survive and it will shape who you are today which in my opinion is not such a bad person.

So when you wake up and think you had a weird dream, I hope that at least one or two of things has been absorbed. Maybe that did happen and that is why it is written here. hmmm? See ya in about 27 years.

From Maine to Madness

I was planning on detailing our trip to Maine and the fun things we did , but I need to tell this horror travel story first......

After a wonderful week of relaxing our time to travel home drew near. The night before we're supposed to leave, my husband comes up with the idea, that instead of getting up at dark-thirty, we should right then and there pack up and drive to Portland to find a hotel room near the airport. That way we will have a good night sleep in air conditioning and not have to get up quite so early for our 7:00 am flight. Great idea! Only he throws this out at 9:30 at night which is when ideas like that are hatched. So we scramble to finish packing everything, which means I am throwing stuff in bags without thought ( note this for later). Drive to Portland, find a room and get to bed around 11, I'm guessing. Up again at 5:10 and out the door. Get to the airport and drop off the rental car and begin to check-in at 5:45 am. This is where the fun begins........

Expedia with whom I booked the flights, changed a flight way back in April. I vaguely remember receiving an email about it. Well, apparently Delta never confirmed the change and won't reissue a new ticket. The young lady at the counter assures me we are on the flight and proceeds to wait on hold with the Delta help desk.......for 30 minutes. All the while assuring me we are on the flight. Then she hangs up and states that she can't help me. Delta won't reissue the tickets. I have to call Expedia and get them to fix it. I become very irate which is rare for me. So much so that my husband takes our daughter and they move out of earshot. Mind you, I'm not using profanity, just good old sarcasm as I attempt to get hold of someone at Expedia and express my wrath at the same time. Of course I am put on hold for 20 minutes.....It is now 6:40. A nice young man answers and I blurt out my problem, he puts me on hold and calls Delta. At 10 minutes to 7 he instructs me to approach the counter and to have them print out the tickets which they do. We then run to security. Strip as instructed and go through the detectors. Then one of the TSA guys asks, "Whose bag is this?". Of course, it's mine. And of course he has to take it into custody and go through it. Meanwhile, I hand the tickets to hubby and tell him to run to the gate to hold the plane.

Well, remember the throwing stuff in where ever? Yeah, I packed a very dangerous bottle of Blueberry syrup in the carry-on bag. Do I want to send it? I don't have time for that! I tell him to throw it away. He zips up my bag , releases it from custody. I grab it and run like the wind to the gate, just in time to see the gateway tunnel pull away and the plane door close. I know we're not getting on that plane, but I feebly walk to the window and wave my ticket hoping the pilot will see and take pity. No such luck. So then a Delta employee comes out and we ambush him. He gets his update from the people downstairs, who I'm sure have filled him in and given me a few choice names. He informs me that they will have to reschedule us on the 1:30 flight to Atlanta. I'm resigned at this point. But what makes me and my husband enraged is that the plane we're supposed to be on doesn't pull away from the gate for another 15 minutes.

So we get tickets re-issued for the 1:30 at no extra cost to us the agent explains rolling his eyes. He is lucky I have snapped back to calm self, 'cause I had a quick flash of pinching his little head off. How can I be upset, when they have even been so kind to give us each food vouchers? So we wait for the next 6 hours in the tiny airport of Portland. It's not too bad. I have the opportunity to shop and buy another bottle of Blueberry Syrup in the gift shop that bares a resemblance to one I lost earlier. Hmmm? Apparently, this bottle has been given the TSA sacred blessing to go on the plane. The little one has her DVD player, and hubby has his new Iphone to play with. I do have a new book to read thanks to my sister in-law. The time passes s-l-o-w-l-y, but it passes. We have lunch at the small pub with our vouchers. Upon showing them the waitress says, "Oooo, that means you are having a bad day." She has no idea how bad it will get.

The next plane arrives on time. We get our things ready to board when they announce that there is a maintenance issue, and 20 minutes later that maintenance issue (a crack in the windshield) cancels the flight. Mind you I am NOT going to get on any plane that has a crack in the windshield or had a windshield just replaced anyway!!! We approach the counter to our eyeball rolling guy, again, and figure out how to get back home. One more flight to Atlanta at 5:55, but nothing to Myrtle Beach. We have to choose another airport. The closest is Charleston, which is a 2 hour drive, but Delta will pay for a cab, and the cabs have to accept the voucher, he says. We take it along with more food vouchers, and hunker down to wait another 4 1/2 hours.

I have to say my kid handled all of this very well. We take her out for a walk or two. We each wander away several times. Time is drawing near to the next flight, and while we are eating dinner, we hear that due to severe weather in Atlanta all incoming and outgoing flights are suspended. Our flight is now scheduled to leave at 7:09. They are calling customers up one by one to check connections based on the new time. When we are called, I have decided that I want to try again tomorrow. The travel Gods are speaking, and I can't ignore them. I can try again tomorrow, says the new agent, who is cuter and more personable, but since we would be able to make our connection 'cause it too is delayed, I would have to pay for 3 new tickets, and that there are no openings on flights until tomorrow afternoon, and no hotel rooms. Another common unknown is that if your flight is delayed or canceled due to weather, the airline doesn't have to pay to put you up any where.

So we are at the mercy of Delta, which by this point my husband figures out stands for Don't Ever Leave The Airport. Going into hour 13, we have seen businesses open and close, and shifts change. At some point, the weather clears and we all board in a mad rush and take off from Portland around 8 ish. We land uneventfully, Thank God, at 10:15, but we don't get a gate for another 20 minutes. Luckily (as if luck had anything to do with this day) our connection has been delayed until 11:20, and is close by.

I'm not sure when we board and take off, but when we land in Charleston it is 1:20 am. Little one has slept the entire flight. We of course have to wait for our luggage which surprisingly arrives. Sigh of relief, right? Wrong!! Remember when that guy said they have to take the voucher for payment? Yeah, that is true, but what he didn't say is that the cab doesn't have to accept the fare to take us two hours away at 2 am. So after waiting 30 min. A cab is found and the driver is an older southern woman named, Bernice. We load up the van and head out. Great I think, I'm going to sleep. Well, Bernice is not the stellar driver we had hoped for. In fact, she is weaving between the lanes, slows down at odd places, and decides to straddle the center line on our two lanes going north. If I didn't know better I would have said she was drunk, but I'm guessing just tired. As the trip goes on, I'm trying to talk to her to keep her awake. Of course, she has to turn to look at me so she swerves into the grass every so often. I never thought I would be more scared in a van than flying. I was terrified! Thankfully, my daughter is sound asleep, unaware! About 30 min away we call our friend and ask him to meet us at the mall instead of the airport. Bernice is not phased and states it will give her a chance to rest a little so she can drive better.... uhh, yeah.....

Well, we made it home alive at 5:00 am, just shy of 24 hours after we began. Dropped dead into bed. What a way to end a vacation..........But on the upside, Maine was great!

Flying? Yeah, hate it!

I am not a big fan of flying. Anyone who knows me, knows that. It is not bad enough that I don't fly. I flew all the time when my mom was sick But these days, I do try to avoid it as much as possible. On the other hand, I am a firm believer that the more you do something you fear the better it will be.

I can tell you my issue with it. I have no control. 'Cause you know planes just plummet out of the sky. When I fly, I HAVE to sit next to a window. I need to be able to see something out the window. Whether that be the ground or the tops of the clouds. I need to see my impending doom, I guess. This becomes a challenge when flying with my daughter who wants the shade down.

I have to tell you my "worst" flying story.......... We were headed to Rochester, NY for Christmas several years ago. Flying up north in the winter can be a challenge. We had flown into Philly which is not typical. Anyhow, our landing was very bumpy. Very windy and only going to get worse. See, I always know the weather when and where I am flying.

So it's bad enough that we will be flying a prop plane, but our crew sits next to me in the gate area. The pilot is very busy trying to find a safe route, a tidbit I overhear. So our plane arrives and I watch as our pilot goes out to talk to pilot who landed. Can't hear anything, but watch as one uses the iffy hand gesture while the other crosses his fingers.

At this point I figure we are going to die... just then Sean yells, Hey, look Santa. and there is Santa, who is taking pictures. I pose with my daughter with the thought that this is the last picture I will ever take.
Well, we survived, although I couldn't see anything out the window, and I clung to the armrest until I was white knuckled. Our luggage did not come with us due to the weather. But we were there alive, Yeah. Why this now? Getting ready to fly this weekend. Low Key. That's what I'm hoping for. But you never know................ and those of you who say,"just take something". Yeah, I am watching my kid....cause my husband, well ya never know when he might not be available..........that's another plane story.

In search of.....

So now that my child is at the age where she can go off down the street and spend the afternoon with her friends, I have a great deal of time on my hands, especially in the summer. So I have decided to try and find a hobby or something that I have passion for aside from work and my family. Something that says, "That's Me". So my first attempt actually started a few years ago was quilting. I took a class and made a quilt which I thought was ok.... take a look:Then I tried one on my own..... and while I felt a great sense of accomplishment, I wasn't super excited to try another one right away.

Well, my next thought was glass mosaic. As I do with most things I jump on the internet and 1. looked for a class nearby, and 2. start buying all the things I need. So I was just about to push the "Purchase" button when I changed my mind. I thought, "You know, look around you and what is it that you like to do, but could learn more about and it wouldn't cost a whole lot? The first thing that popped in my head was photography, Digital Photography. So I went back online and found a place to learn more, Digital Photography School , and began to read and then experiment. Here are some of my attempts.... feel free to post tips. Please note that I do not have a fancy digital camera (YET) just a Canon PowerShot.

So, the last two I took before I wanted to delve further.. thought they were great shots!

Back Again

Thought I would try this again... I still have a hard time thinking anyone will want to read what I have to say, and maybe that is not the point. So, I guess I need to think about a specific topic? No, I think that I will write about my interpretation of the world around me.

Today my thoughts revolve around people in our lives. I have a bad habit of putting people in my lives in groups. Well, putting is the wrong word. My life consists of groups of people which I am sure most people have. However, my groups tend to be very isolated from each other. Very rarely, do the groups intersect, and it is not uncommon for an entire group to leave my life at once. I am a firm believer that people come into our lives for reasons and in my case stay until that reason is no longer. Or maybe it's just a rationalization for people leaving. I don't know.

What I do know is that if given the choice to reconnect with people from my past, there are a chosen few with whom I would want to recreate a connection, a real friendship. You are probably thinking, "probably with those who just drifted apart" That is actually not the case. Facebook has allowed me to reconnect with many old acquaintances. But the beauty is I can choose who to establish a deeper friendship with, if they are willing.