Book Review!

 If you have a teenage daughter at home or if you are still a teenager at heart, I highly recommend It's A Mall World After All by Janette Rallison.  I just read this book yesterday afternoon and laughed, sniggered, swooned and blushed the whole way through! 

It was very clean in content, which for me is a definite plus.  It is not a literary masterpiece if that is what you are looking for, but rather, it is a fun, escape your day with something light kind of a read.  

I love that the main character, Charlotte, turns her nose up at all things snobbish, but then in turn realizes that she herself has been a bit of a snob all along.


Let me know what you think!


Happy reading!

You want emberrassing? I'll give you emberrassing!

My husband and I went to dinner and a show with some very good friends.

Apparently I took the "very" part a little too seriously because when we got to the movie theater and walked in my friends husband announced he was going to use the restroom.  "Oh!  Great idea, I don't want to leave during the show!"  I said enthusiastically. 

I turned to get my ticket from my husband, then walked to the bathroom and went right in.  

I stood there for a minute stunned.

"This is strange" I thought to myself.  "Why would Lisa's* husband be in the womens bathroom?"

Even stranger still was the fact that there were urinals in the womens bathroom.

It took a few too many seconds for everything to register.

A few too many seconds as I inappropriately stared at my friends husband standing in front of the urinal.  But I wasn't looking, I was more in a state of confusion. And no I didn't see anything I shouldn't have!  It was more of a "one of these things is not like the others" kind of stare, while my brain was trying to catch up to the situation.

I turned bright red as the realization of everything hit me.


Then I started laughing.

Bob* turned to look at me.

He raised his eyebrows and gave me a look of confused wonder.

I laughed again, said sorry and ran out as fast as I could.  I went across the hall to the womens bathroom and I could not stop laughing.


Sigh.

I never did ask if he got gun shy after that.  That would just be too much information!

The rest of the night I would laugh whenever I looked at him.  I don't think he appreciated it too much towards the end. 


*names have been changed for privacy!

Forgetful and Judgy....

My husband forgets things all of the time.

And when I say "things" I mean things like his pants, a belt, shoes, a shirt, or his underwear kind of things.


You have to know something about him before you make any snap judgments about his forgetfulness.  He leaves for work at 6 a.m. each and every morning and heads straight to the gym.  He gets ready there, so he really has to pack a small suitcase every night before he leaves.

For whatever reason he has been quite forgetful this past week and a half.  (Which when I think about it, he hasn't really gone more than 6 weeks at a time without something that was forgotten.)

Last Thursday I got a phone call from my embarrassed husband who forgot his underwear.  He told me about the strange looks he got from everyone else in the gym as he put his pants on in what he refers to as the "free-ball" style.


Monday he calls to tell me he forgot his belt.  (not so bad, right?)

Yesterday, he called me in a panic and needed to know where the nearest Walmart was.........He forgot pants.  (He would be mortified if anyone knew he was buying pants at Walmart.  He is a bit of a clothes snob.  But hey, they are open 24 hrs. a day!)

Today, well, today was just as much fun.  He forgot his COMPUTER!  Hee, hee, hee!  I realized this before he even got a chance to call and let me know.  Me, being the nice person that I am, thought that I would run it to his office (35 miles away) before he even noticed that he didn't have it.  (He was still at the gym during this time).  In my haste I didn't worry too much about my own appearance or of my 4 year old daughters.  We hopped in our car, zipped up the freeway, and waited.  

Forever.  

I called.  No answer.

I called again and again.  Still no answer.

I looked at my daughter and thought I might as well make this little trip of ours fun, so I left my husband a message and drove to the nearest McDonalds.  

Walking into the McDonalds I wasn't too worried about my appearance.  It's still early, most people are in a hurry and I don't know anyone anyway so it doesn't really matter.  We order, sit in our booth, relax a bit and then I start to take in my surroundings.  


That is the time that I start to realize that pretty much everyone in there looks like they spent a cold hard night on the streets.  The restrooms near where we were sitting had some sort of contraption on the doors that you needed to insert a token in order to unlock the door to go in and use the bathroom.  My daughter and I were just one of a few females.  The rest were men.   Tired, hungry looking men.


Oh my.


I was a little nervous. 


I kept watching the door, waiting for my husband to get there.


Minutes take a really long time when you are just a tad bit nervous.


My daughter was blissfully unaware of our scenario.  Which to be honest was probably not that bad.  I just have an imagination that will bring out all of the possibilities of any situation.  


We waited and waited and waited.


Finally, my husband came.


"Glad you are here!  I am having breakfast with all of the homeless people."  I said to him.


He looked at me, looked around the room and said "You fit right in."


I realized in that moment that my daughter and I were dressed like we had spent the night on the streets as well.  She had on a dirty long sleeve shirt, long pink camouflage shorts, dirty moon boots, a stained red jacket and a rats nest in her hair.  I sported my husbands too big black sweats, my brown ugly boots, my sons fur lined hoodie, and an equally impressive rats nest pulled up into a pony tail on the top of my head.


"Oh!  I guess you are right!" I said.  


Then I started laughing.  I remembered the cute "showered" family that had been in the restaurant earlier.  They had looked at me with sideways glances, but I had assumed it was because of everyone else that was there.  

Nope.  I was scary too!


I wished I could have had someone take a picture of us.  My husband all clean and dressed in nice work clothes eating breakfast with us.  It probably looked like he found us outside and wanted to make sure we had at least one good meal for the day.  


Here is what I learned.  I need to make my husband a check list and I still need to work on not being judgy.  (If you read earlier posts you will know what I am talking about)  

I have far to go!

I am slow I know....

Have you read These Is My Words by Nancy Turner?  I just did and WOW!  

I had a hard time at first because of the "uneducated" type writing style (I am not sure the best way to describe it).  I didn't think I was going to like it, but then I got swept away into what I would say is now one of my favorite books.  

Talk about a love story.  

I loved that the book made me angry, scared, sad, irritated, anxious, excited, thrilled and thoughtful.   

I also loved that after I finished reading it I could not stop thinking about it!

If you have not read this book, run as fast as your legs can carry you to get it.  I am behind the times because it has been out for quite a while, along with books 2 and 3 (I have them on reserve at the library).  I will let you know what I think of those as well.

If you don't have plans for Valentines read it!  
 
LOVED IT! LOVED IT! LOVED IT!

4 down, 2 to go.

Four of us got the stomach flu within 4 hours of each other.  Pretty awesome huh!  

Only two people left in our family to get it.  

It has been more than 4 hours.

Maybe they are safe.


(yes, it is the both end variety)

I am Woman. Hear me Roar. Sort of.

My 3 1/2 year old insinkerator kitchen disposal died a sad death 2 days ago.  I discovered it by the water dripping onto my feet while I was at the kitchen sink.  I did what comes naturally and called a plumber.

He looks.

He tinkers.

He gets a frowny face (for my benefit I am sure).

He announces that I will need a new disposal.  (No surprise to me, I am smarter than I look).

How much? I boldly ask.

Depends, says he, you have two options. 

They are?

Option 1 will be 849.00.  Option 2 will be 775.00.

Oh.  Says me.

Of course there is always option 3.  Says he.

3? says me.

Yes.  Says he. You can go to the Home Improvement store and buy your own and I will install it.

Great!  How much to have it installed? (I ask with much enthusiasm)

400.00. Says he.

Huh.  Says me.  I will have to consider my "options" and get back to you on that one.

He left and I went straight to Home Depot (after calling the 1-800 number on the disposal first of course, to find out which models are compatible with my plumbing).

Guess what I find out at Home Depot!  My exact same model is 99.00 and an upgraded model is 119.00!  Wow!  (I think) If I could install this myself I would save about 700.00!

I look.

I think.

2 men approach.

Do you need help? Says man one.

I am trying to decide how hard it is to install a garbage disposal.

They are very easy if you don't have to change the plumbing.  Says man 2.

Oh?

What are you considering?  Says man one.

I have this one under the sink.   But I am considering this one to upgrade to.

I did just that in my house not too long ago.  Says man 2.

Was it an ordeal?

It took me about 15 minutes.  Says man 2.

(I consider offering a batch of cookies if he will follow me home)

Do you think I could do it? Says me.

I don't see why not. Say They.

I am going to do this!  Says me.

I run home with my purchase.  Get out the tools and get to work.  I disconnect the dishwasher hookup.  I undo the waste hookup.  Then I get stumped.  I cannot turn the thing that needs to be turned to get the disposal down.  My fifteen year old son tries with the same results.  Sigh.  I realize that I am not strong enough to do everything.  But at least I tried!

My husband gets home, chuckles at my frustration, and wonders at my willingness to attempt.  Takes the old disposal down, puts the new disposal up and we save ourselves 700.00!

What a day!

Should be fun...

Last week my son and I went out looking for a piano.  3 of my kids have been taking lessons for a year and a half and practicing on what I had named the "Hunk of Junk'.  I call it Hoj for short.  Anyway, we had been looking at all of the ads online, we went to several piano stores that sell new and used, and we even went to some homes trying to find something that would fit our needs and our budget.

It was discouraging.

Everything I touched sounded like it was coming out of a tin can.  The pianos all looked like they had fallen off the back of a truck.  There is something you need to know about our Hoj.  It is a 103 year old, 57" tall mammoth and it looks very cool.  So I was having a hard time with everything I saw and heard, because even though Hoj has seen better days, it looked so much cooler than the squatty little pianos I was looking at.  (I even thought to myself that the Hoj even sounded better.)

This story is long so hang on.

I had been told by several piano tuners that our Hoj was nothing more than an intricately carved piece of firewood.  They are the professionals, so I was trying to follow the advice I had been given, but ignored for the last several years.   So anyway, my son and I finally came across a piano that looked really nice, was only 10 years old, and I couldn't believe the price.   The owners hadn't advertised it on the more popular sites, but I found the ad none the less.  We went to see it and I was excited.  It looked to be in perfect condition, sounded nice and I was ready to strike a deal when I asked where they bought it.  (This is where the music would go DUH Dun DUH!)

It was purchased in Wisconsin,  then the family moved to Hawaii for four years, and then they moved to the desert that I live in.  Hmmm.  I had to stop and really consider for a moment.  That was a red flag for me.  If you know anything about pianos, you will know that humidity and climate change can really destroy one fast.  I told them that I would like to find a piano technician to come back with me.  We agreed on a day and time.

Stay with me, here is where it gets interesting.

I phoned several piano techs but something in my gut told me to keep looking after each one I spoke to.  I followed my gut, searched the internet some more and came across someone with the longest list of credentials I had ever seen.  My eyes really popped out of my head when I saw that he is the head technician for 2 major Universities nearby and for the Symphony in our state.  I laughed thinking that it would be fun to get him, but it was not likely to happen.

I called and his wife answered.  She was very nice, very helpful and thought that her husband wouldn't mind stopping by on his way home from the University to see the piano I was interested in.  We talked a bit more and I briefly mentioned that I would need to figure out what to do about my Hoj.   She asked me a few questions about it and then told me that she was going to have her husband stop by my home within an hour.   I thought it was strange, but agreed to let him come.   She also thought it was curious that I had come across her husband since he isn't listed in the phone book.  But, she said it was my lucky day because she would have him help me in my search.

He stopped by soon after that.  He is quiet and looks like a music professor with round rim glasses, a short, neatly trimmed beard and a presence that demands respect.   He began to take my piano apart, plunk around on the keys, tune a little here, tune a little there and then stopped and gave half a smile.

Here is what happened next...

Him: What kind of piano did you want me to look at?

I told him, showed him the picture on line and gave him my reason for real concern.

Him:  You asked very good questions about that piano and you were right to be concerned.  It could be rusted out, but we will look.

He got quiet and then began again.

Him:  Can I ask you a question?

I nodded yes.

Him:  Why aren't you going to fix this piano?

me:  I was told it wasn't worth anything more than firewood.

him:  (laughing) Who told you that?

me:  Several piano tuners.  All but one and he was 83.  He loved this old thing and I thought that he loved it so much because it wasn't that much older that he was.

him:  (laughing again)  This isn't firewood.  This is wonderful.  Do you realize that your old piano even with all of its problems has a better sound quality than an entry level Yamaha. (They are 3000.00!)  This piano has the sound board space of a 7 foot grand and the string length of a 6 foot grand.  You will not get that with these newer pianos.  These old piano were also very strong, sturdy, well built and made to last a long time.  The newer pianos today are made to be replaced.

me: But I've been told that it doesn't make any sense to sink money into these old pianos.  I would never be able to sell it for what I put into it.

him:  Why would you ever sell it.  Even if you get the other piano you are interested in, you must keep this one.  If you got this piano restored it would be the quality of the 16,000.00 Yamahas.  Nothing today can compare to these old pianos.  Not all of them are worth fixing up, but a lot are and yours definitely is.  It is the piano manufacturers who have convinced people to believe otherwise.

me: But this isn't really a name brand that anyone would recognize.

him:  I would rather have the quality of sound and performance than a name.

me:  What do you play on?

him:   A 1901 Steinway grand that I restored.  But I just sold it so I could redo the outside of my house.  So I am now almost finished restoring a 1910 Weber grand that I think sounds better than my Steinway did.

me:  (feeling very confused) Can we still look at the other piano while I decide?

him: Sure, but don't get rid of this one.  If you do decide to restore it you should never get rid of it.  Pass it down.

me:  Ok.  I will let you know what I decide after you see the other piano.

I paused for a minute and looked at him.

me:  If you were me you wouldn't even bother looking at the other piano would you?

him: No.  I would put everything into this one.

me:  How much is everything?

him:  It can be done in stages, but from start to showroom condition finish you would be looking at about six thousand dollars.

me: gulp

him:  That sounds like a lot, but it can be spread out over a few years and that includes the exterior restoration which would be 2500.00.

me:  I would be more concerned about the interior right now.  The exterior would be the last thing on my list.

him: (smiling at my comment) Glad to hear it.  And keep in mind it would be 10,000.00 less than buying a piano that would come close to it sound and performance wise.
 

me: ok.  I'll see you again Thursday.

He left and I was confused.  I called my dad who really had got me thinking about getting a new piano to begin with and told him the story.  I wasn't sure what he was going to say because you need to know something.  We grew up playing on a Steinway grand piano.  My dad knows what it means to have sound quality.  He got quiet and I told him to go to the computer and look up this technicians credentials and to call me back.

I thought about it for  a while a decided that no matter what anyone else said I was going to trust this piano technician whom I had had the luck of coming across.  I called his wife back and told her that I had decided I didn't want to go look at the other piano with her husband.  I would rather not waste his time and that I wanted to get started right away and spend the money on my piano instead.  She laughed and told me that her husband was going to be so excited.  When he had gotten home that day he had told her about my wonderful piano! She told me that she was so glad that I mentioned my Hoj when I called her the first time because it would have been so sad to have gotten rid of something so wonderful without really knowing what I had.

After hanging up with her I was so excited and my gut told me that I could trust this guy.  Then my dad called.

I was nervous.

me:  Hi dad.  What do you think?

dad:  I think you should trust him.

me: (in total disbelief)  Really!  You really think that?

dad:  I didn't think so at first, but after reading about what this man knows you have to trust him.  I am excited for you.

me: (still in shock, you just have to know my dad to really understand this) Thanks dad, I am a little nervous about this, but I feel really good about it as well. 

So on Thursday last week instead of keeping my appointment to see the other piano I sent mine off to the piano technicians shop!  It will be a few years before I can restore everything, but I am so excited.

When I get it back I will take a picture and post it.  If you have one of those old American pianos, don't believe the technicians who tell you to throw it out.  Find someone who really knows and who will take the time to look at it.  You might just have a Thing Of Beauty!  (That is the new name for mine!)