Commencement

It's hard to believe, but my youngest brother, Jake, will be graduating from high school tomorrow evening. I still can't believe it.

I remember exactly where I was when I was told that Jake was born. I was sitting on the glider in the garage at momo and papa's house. Momo came out of the house and said, "Mom just had the baby. It's a little boy." I cried. I screamed. I was ten years old and dying to have a little sister. I remember I yelled "put him back where he came from and get me a sister." I was so devestated. But as soon as I saw him, it changed. He was the most adorable baby. Big brown doe eyes (we were used to blue eyed babies in my family) and the longest lashes I've ever seen...Im still jealous of them. He was tiny to me. I loved holding him in the rocker with Joe. We have lots of pictures of that. We used to put bonnets on him because he had such a pretty face. He hated it and would cry...he knew we were doing something we shouldn't.
As he got older, he got more defiant, of course. He and Joe used to fight worse than Tanner and I, which I didn't think possible. They caused each other to have more stitches, black eyes, and goose-eggs than any other two children I have yet to come across. Those two got themselves into more trouble than anyone else as well. I still remember the time Tanner and I came downstairs and found our huge kitchen floor covered in baby oil. They were playing slip and slide. We fell for months after; hitting slick spots that we thought we had cleaned. Or the time we couldn't find the boys and saw smoke coming out of the barn. They had taken gasoline and created a circle on the concrete floor and lit it on fire and were standing in the giant circle they had created. It's a wonder they survived childhood.
Jake was only 8 when Kevin and I started dating. I would take him with me on my dates with Kevin at the beach. We would play in the sand, take turns burying each other, and then go run into the water. It was fun times. He was impressed and in awe of kevin's four wheeler. He thought he was the coolest thing ever.
Jake was the chubby kid in elementary and junior high. He was awesome at basketball...the three point shooter of the team. When he hit high school, he got his growth spurt. He got super tall (for our family) and very handsome. All of a sudden all my cheerleaders were in love with my brother. It was funny. They all listened in awe when I told them about the time I took him and his buddies to the movies in Tiffin for Jakes birthday (to see Anchorman) and they had a mooning contest between my car and my mom's car on the ride home. They were jealous that I had gotten to see all the 13 year old butts pressed against glass. I still laugh about it.
Jake struggled with school a lot. He has a horrible learning disability and I know it got frustrating for my mom working with him every night. I recently helped him to complete his senior project for one of his classes. He still amazes me at how hard he tries. He is a lot smarter than he gives himself credit for. A lot of other people would have just given up and dropped out. He had to be pushed from time to time, but he put in the work, the do-overs, and the studying he had to to make it by.
He is by far one of the hardest workers I have ever met. How many 18 year olds do you know that can take over a business and still maintain a busy schedule while still being in school? Not too many. He does great work, he excels at landscaping...he learned from the best and has a natural eye for it. He will do great after high school. I think he will really come into his own and show everyone that ever doubted him just how talented he is. Book smarts don't count for everything.
I'm pretty proud of my family. I think we have all turned out great. We are all our own individuals with different talents. We don't compete with each other, we support each other.
Good luck Jake, Kick some ass!

Eff you Barbi, Part Tres

In my effort to change the crazy poor self images that women have...my weekly "props" to myself and to a friend...

I am a tomboy. Or as I like to put it...I'm like a man. I think like a man (but not with my penis, however, if I had a penis, I am sure it would be huge! Ha!) I don't let petty shit get to me. I don't over analyze things and become all frantic because my husband said I looked "fine" and not "beautiful." (Oh my God, does this mean he doesn't find me attractive anymore? Do I need to lose weight? Is he cheating on me? He's going to divorce me because he isn't attracted to me anymore! ect...) I take things in stride. I look at the big picture instead of obsessing over the details. I can run a chainsaw, well, I might add. I can stack, and throw firewood, and start fires if my husband isn't home. I can drive a stick. I can drive a motorcycle. I can drive a four-wheeler. I can shoot a gun. I lift like a man. I work like a man. I impress my husband's friends with my strength of character, my quick-wit, and the ability to keep up with them physically. Plus, I can hold my own in a fight. I think that that is a huge compliment!

Lora, over at the newly renamed Fever, is amazing. She is also quick-witted, moreso than myself. She has the most randomly beautiful train of thoughts and I love that she shares them with us. She is a great mother who teaches her child tolerance and that all people should be accepted, but still tells him the dangers of people touching him inappropriately. She is an educator and an advocate for getting others educated. She is a kind soul, who cares for people she doesn't even know, but is sharp-tongued when she needs to be. She is brilliant in my opinion. She comes up with great ideas and puts them out there instead of leaving them trapped in her head. She has beautiful thoughts, can put those thoughts into beautiful words, and creates beautiful blogs, even though she sees them at crazy, jumpy thoughts....that is what makes them beautiful. She is not afraid to say she is attractive, she is not afraid to say she wants attention. I absolutly love the person that she is. Her little Jake is so lucky to have such an incredible mother.

Till next time.

Ribfest!!

One of the many fun events that I partook in Memorial day weekend was the Cleveland Ribfest....aka, a reason to celebrate meat. Fun

Here I am enjoying my meat...it was by far the largest rib I had ever seen in my life...so large that people were asking to take pics of it...it was delicious! Love my double chin in the photo...makes the ribs look even better! Ha!

After we gorged ourselves on ribs, we went and watched Third Eye Blind. Great show...too bad most the crowd had no clue what they sang outside of "Semi-charmed Life." They really are a great band and I am way excited about their new album. I got to spend some time with my friend, Jen, who is a HUGE 3EB fan, and by huge I mean Steven Jenkins always finds her and sings to her...they know her face from being at so many shows! It was awesome hanging out with her though...have to make it a point to do it more often.

Heartbroken...

So, I was notified yesterday by a dear friend, that the love of my life (joke) got engaged. Yes, Trent Reznor got engaged. I am devestated. A. He was supposed to marry me (joke, again) and B. he once stated that once he gets married he is no longer going to make music so he can be a family man.

My world is shattered.

sorry

Sorry Ive been away so long...waiting for my film to get developed so I can catch you all up on my crazy life...yes, I still use a camera that uses film...call me old fashioned...I call my too cheap to go buy a new camera!

Just sad

While on my way to work, I realized I left my phone on the kitchen counter...I had a mini panic attack. It is sad that I am that reliant on my phone...what the hell did we ever do before they were invented?

Eff you Barbi! Part Deux

In my effort to change how women look at themselves...one tinee tiny step at a time...

I am a smart cookie! I am not only book smart, but I have common sense too! That is sometimes hard to come by. I am able to pick things up quickly and retain them. I graduated with two majors, not even closely related, from college and did it cum laude, all while working 2 jobs and putting in at least 40 hours on top of that in the training room. I am the go to person at my job when it comes to questions about different medical procedures, diagnosis, or just the "what the hell does this say or how do you pronounce this word" questions. I don't settle if I don't know something, I find the answer and then educated everyone else...we call it "Doctor Kline's educational segment" at work...where i try to educate everyone! I love doing it too! I am a smart cookie.

Brandi at Live, Laugh, Love is also smart, and creative, and amazingly funny. She doesnt think she is creative, but read her blog...she is. Her blog is one of the blogs that made me want to join this community and put my ideas our there. She is down to earth, truthful, and insightful. She sees things the way they really are and does not sugar coat them, and I love her for that. She isn't afraid to say what is on her mind and does not apologize for feeling the way she does. Honest people are the best. Though she appears slightly OCD when it comes to her house, she still manages to read more books than most people in college do and that is amazing. She loves getting others excited about reading as well; that is a feet in itself. She is a beautiful soul, an animal lover, fellow cat-talker to'er, reading junky, window-washing, book club inspiring, thought provoking woman. In short, she is awesome.

Have a wonderful day all you beautiful women...love yourself everyday!