AND we’ve found our way to Friday once again!

It’s been a good week…

Monday began with a smile as I opened up my email at work and saw a message there from our good friend, Paul, along with a picture that he had attached. My boys had been hunting with him the previous weekend and he managed to capture a rare moment on camera – my two boys, standing together and appearing as if they actually like each other. There are very few such pictures in existence, so this was a treasured gift. I may have to frame it in spite of the presence of dead animals in the picture.

Wednesday brought an opportunity to spend time with the two best girlfriends I’ve ever had. Gina, Kendra and I met at the bowling alley. (I know, I know. The bowling alley. Big surprise, right?) After Kendra finished her league games, the three of us bowled a few games just for fun, then went into the bar to find a table and just talk, since we couldn’t seem to keep the game going for all of our gabbing. That night, I realized how lucky I am to have such amazing friends. Gina has been there for me for over twenty years. She knows me and gets me in a way most people don’t. Kendra is the person who filled those same shoes in an earlier part of my life. We kind of forgot how important we were to each other for a few years and I feel extremely blessed to have been given a chance to renew that friendship. And as the evening wore on, I realized that Gina and Kendra seemed to like each other just as much as I like each of them. How cool is that?

Speaking of long-lost friends, Facebook brought me another blast from the past. Becky is a coworker from the bakery where I worked during my teenage years. The bakery was a family owned place, and those of us who worked there were sort of like a little family. We have such good memories and so many stories from that place. (Suffice it to say that when the owners left teenage girls in charge of the place for the evening, there were plenty of antics.) Kendra was one of my coworkers there and so was Marilee, who now lives just a few miles from me and whose daughter is one of Kacey’s best friends. I haven’t seen or heard from Becky since she left her bakery career to go to college. She contacted me on Facebook yesterday and said she was trying to organize a little reunion of all of the people who worked at the bakery during our years there and wanted to know if  I would be interested. I responded something to the effect of, “BECKY! OMG! HOW ARE YOU! IT’S BEEN FOREVER! WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO? AND OF COURSE I’M INTERESTED!” And soon, we were walking down memory lane, catching up on each other’s lives and promising to stay in touch from now on.

And finally,  I’ve been thinking this week about how much I love my daughter and how lucky I am to have her. I was talking with a coworker this week about daughters; particularly teenage daughters. They are famous for causing their parents much angst and frustration. But Kacey isn’t your typical teenage girl. She’s so easy-going and yet so responsible. She’s an excellent student and she has a great sense of humor. She’s a good person and likes almost everyone. She talks to me with ease (and often in Spanish, just to keep me guessing.) I am blessed to have such a great relationship with her. I know not all parents are so lucky. I love that kid.

La vida es buena!

Bowling was a blast last night, as always.

Shannon and I have developed a routine of going straight from work to the bowling alley. We order dinner and a beer and wind down a bit before the games begin. I guess we’re becoming regulars. It’s gotten so that we’ve hardly pulled up a seat before two Mich Golden Lights are plopped down on the bar in front of us along with a couple of menus. Ben, the bartender, even went so far as to let us know that he charged us for our second beers before we finished our meals because that way we’d get the happy hour price on our next round. We love Ben! I told Shannon we’ve become Norm and Cliff and Ben is our Sammy.

We were pitted against the Mattie’s Lanes team again last night and though we fought hard, they kept us pinned securely in that second place position. But the Ball Busters know what’s really important and in spite of the scores, we had a good time.

It seems that every week, there is some story, the retelling of which requires me to protect someone’s anonymity. This week there was an incident with the under wire in one of the girls’ bras earlier in the day. Rather than spend the day having her boob poked, she simply removed the bra and kept a hooded sweatshirt on all day. She made the mistake of sharing this story with the team and for the duration of the evening, there were nippin’-out and sweaty-boob jokes aimed at this particular woman. Any time she bowled a bad frame, it was blamed on her boobs.

Another team mate may have had a little too much to drink. I’m not saying who, but her name starts with “Gina.” (Oops! Oh well…) Thankfully, this week she didn’t belch at the top of her lungs, then point at me when the guys from the men’s league looked over in shock.

Gina kept wandering over to the table of “more mature” women, the team with whom we had so much fun two weeks ago. These women have taken to referring to Gina as “Ohio” since there’s been so much talk of her moving there, yet she returns to bowling week after week. (Looks like she’s staying through the end of the school year now. YAY!) Anyway, Alishea and I had to keep calling Gina back to our lane to take her turn. At one point, she was sitting on the lap of a tiny little older woman who didn’t look equipped to have anyone sitting on her lap, even a petite little thing like Gina. Those women were like a magnet for Gina. It got so that every time we turned around, she was gone again. Alishea and I were shouting out in unison, “GINA” when it was her turn to bowl again. And when that didn’t work…”GYNA!” (As in vagina. She loves it when we call her that. <=== Sarcasm again…) I’m not sure why, but Alishea and I found this so funny and we were laughing so hard, our stomachs hurt. Apparently, I am a third-grader at heart.

Tune in again next week at this time for more adventures in bowling!

The family dinner last night was great. Actually, the food wasn’t so great, which was disappointing since we were at a "good" restaurant, but the company was good. I sat near the sister-in-law with whom I’ve always gotten along very well. She kept us entertained with stories of her new boxer puppy and sprinkled the conversation with sarcastic comments which she knew I’d appreciate. She made use of the word "fecking" a couple of times, only she didn’t really say "fecking" if you know what I mean, and what made that so funny is that she is a very professional and proper woman and that word is very uncharacteristic of her, but give her a little wine and watch her go! Great fun! I love her. She makes me not care so much that there is another who hates me.

Mark’s mom tried to pin everyone down as to their Thanksgiving plans and whether or not she should plan on them. Mark was evasive in his response. I don’t know why. Sometimes he just likes to be difficult, I think. I mean…I KNOW. He seems to forget that I don’t find this behavior funny, especially when it turns the heat on me. Assuming his vague reply meant he thought he might be working that day, mom-in-law then hollered down to me, "Terri, are YOU coming for Thanksgiving?" I kicked Mark under the table as hard as possible without drawing surprised stares and said, "We’ll check Mark’s work schedule and I’ll let you know."

I love when he does that. <=== That is sarcasm, in case anyone was wondering.

I like the word "fecking." I think I’ll use it all day. Feel free to join me!

Another Halloween has come and gone. Kacey made the most of it. I hadn’t hauled out a single decoration as of yesterday, so she went in search of our stuff and put a few things out around the house. She carved a pumpkin and baked a batch of homemade sugar cookies, cutting them into Halloween shapes and frosting them with colored frosting. Thank God for that kid. Sometimes I think if it weren’t for her, one day would just run into the next around here without anyone bothering to stop and take notice of special occasions.

Kacey invited a bunch of girls over in honor of the day. They played Wii for a while, then went trick-or-treating. Yes. This bunch of sixteen-year-old girls actually went trick-or-treating. My mother never would have allowed it when I was that age. But considering the fact that the girls could have been out, driving around, going to the big party that even I caught wind of, and doing god-knows-what, I actually decided that trick-or-treating wasn’t such a bad idea. They didn’t go far and just seemed to enjoy running around and being silly.

I had a couple of invitations to go out and celebrate last night, but passed on them since Mark had to get up early for work today. He’s always willing to go out with friends even when he’s got to get up for work the next day, but either he starts to mention going home just as the fun begins, or he sucks it up, stays late and goes to work exhausted the next day. So I stayed home and passed out candy. There were far fewer kids coming to the door than in years past. The neighborhood is growing up. We used to get well over a hundred kids. Last night there were only about sixty. And there’s too much leftover candy.

I felt good when I woke up this morning. I slept all the way through the night. It was a good feeling. I’ve been battling a bit of insomnia lately, waking up feeling anxious and panicky and unable to shut down my brain. It’s nothing more than the usual worries, but they seemed to be weighing on me a little heavier than normal.

I felt rested enough when I woke up to go for a run outside. I figure there probably won’t be many more days where running outside seems appealing. I wanted to take advantage of pounding the pavement before it gets too cold. It was thirty-seven degrees this morning when I left the house. Perfect running weather for me. I threw on a pair of wind pants, a warm hooded sweatshirt and an ear-band. I’ve come to realize that I run much better in the cool weather. I’m slow but steady. It works for me.

When I first stepped outside, the sky was a solid wall of clouds, making everything a little gray and gloomy. Eventually, the wall began to break up, creating popcorn clouds, allowing a bit of sun to shine through.  The gray was still there, the sun appearing a little weak today. Many of the trees are suddenly bare of any leaves. There was a hefty wind the past few days and those leaves just couldn’t hang on. It makes me a little sad. I like the fall weather, but it doesn’t last long enough. It always gives me a sense that things are ending; like we’re all closing up shop for the winter.

It’s November first already. It’s already snowed a couple of times, but thankfully, the temperatures haven’t stayed cold enough for the snow to hang around long. Everything seems to be changing. My parents leave for Arizona for the winter in two days. Halloween is over and the race to Christmas is on. At least, if you’ve set foot in any of the stores over the past few days, that’s what the retailers would have you believe. Kacey and I were at Target yesterday – on Halloween – and already, the Halloween and fall decor was being pushed aside to make room for the Christmas stuff. I like fall. I enjoy Thanksgiving. I wonder why we can’t dedicate a few weeks of the month to thinking about and preparing for Thanksgiving. These days, Christmas is shoved in our faces so early that I’m tired of it by the time the actual day arrives.

It’s one of those days when it’s almost too quiet in the house. Jake has been hunting for the past few days. He’ll return later today. I haven’t seen Brad since he left for school in August and I’m really missing him. He has met up with Mark and Jake a few times on their hunting trips, so they’ve been able to see him, but he hasn’t made the drive home since school began. I talked to him today and he says he doesn’t plan to come home until Thanksgiving. Sigh! It seems so far away. Even Kacey misses him. Since my kids generally sort of hate each other, the fact that she willingly admits to missing him is huge.

Tonight Mark and I are going to dinner with his parents and six siblings and their spouses in celebration of his dad’s eightieth birthday. Remember me talking yesterday about how silly and juvenile my family gets when they get together? There’ll be none of that when we’re with Mark’s family and not just because we’ll be at a restaurant. There’s always a slight underlying feeling of tension when we get together with his family. Maybe it’s just me. Sometimes I care too much what other people think of me.

I wish it were Monday.

My parents are preparing to make their annual migration to Arizona. Those lucky retirees get to escape Minnesota before Old Man Winter settles in for the next few months. They make their departure on Tuesday.  Dang, I’m going to miss them.

My sister, Cory decided that a going-away party was in order. And so we all gathered at her home last night for the celebration. There was a LOT of food. Too much food. I pigged out on Cory’s homemade guacamole before we even ate dinner! The food was simple but good. Food always tastes better when shared with the people you love, doesn’t it?

My family can be kind of… strange… at times. Really, it’s my brothers, Jim and Craig who are weird. Certainly not Cory or me. (Don’t worry, Cory. You’re dead-on imitation of the Mick Jagger chicken dance, complete with chicken lips isn’t considered weird at all! You just keep stickin’ that butt out and strutting! And everybody LOVES my Chubby imitation!) But it’s this weirdness that can and often does make our family gatherings fun.

During the party, the little kids mainly hung out in the lower level of the house where there were toys and a television. The adults stayed in the upper level, holding polite conversation and/or trying to see who could do the best imitation of Go Go Gophers and Tennessee Tuxedo while Mom rolled her eyes and shook her head with an ever-so-slight hint of a smile on her face.

We were knee-deep in politically incorrect cartoon impressions and reminiscing about the time when we were young and were supposed to be getting ready for church when Mom yelled at Jim and Craig because Craig, dared by Jim, was running around his bedroom naked and wearing nothing but a football helmet.

Suddenly, the youngest of the kids, Josh appeared with what appeared to be a child-sized megaphone. Holding it to his mouth and pointing it dangerously close to Craig’s ear, he spoke into it, but the sound that came out the other end was a far cry from Josh’s voice. He sounded like a miniature Darth Vader. The toy was a voice changer!

Soon, a second voice-changer was produced and for the next hour, we took turns trying to produce the creepiest of voices. The main entertainment was provided by Jim and Craig as they sung old Billy Squier and Queen songs into the voice-changers.  Little Hannah later came and confiscated one of the toys from her dad, Craig and before we knew it, she and Jim were arguing with one another through the voice changers.

But the *highlight of the evening came when Craig felt a bit of flatulence coming on. (Which happens quite frequently. Where there is Craig, there is flatulence.) Everything suddenly seemed to be moving in slow motion as I caught sight of Craig, sitting on the couch, voice changer in hand… my mouth had forgotten how to form words and I couldn’t find my voice to protest as he lifted his butt-cheek and his hand guided the voice changer to… to… you know… yes… there…

All other conversation came to a screeching halt as the sound of the Darth Vader fart filled the room. A collective groan was heard as I fought back the urge to vomit. No one wanted to play with the voice changer anymore, even after an attempt to sanitize it with Clorox wipes. Mom must have been SO proud.

Please… tell me you have weird family stories too!

*”highlight” is to be taken with a grain of salt.

Honkies: honky, white people, crackers, whitey, crackas, racist, white, cracker, the man, l.l. bean, crackabugs, crazy ass crackas, honkey, abercrombie and fitch, white bread

*

1. honkies - The plural of honky. Honkies: The whitest of meats.

*

2. honkies – an acceptable term for a group of white people, specially for description purposes, e.g. reporting to the police. Look they were honkies, you know pig looking officer!

Sue then asked, “So, let me see. ‘Cracka’ or ‘cracker’ is sufficient? I don’t have to say ‘white cracka’?”

And Jane responded, “I would like to modify what you are required to say at my good-bye party. It needs to be ‘Oh for f*ck’s sake, you crazy-ass cracka! Let’s Party!”

And Sue again, “If you ask me to say it, it’s gonna be ‘Oh for f*ck’s sake, you crazy-ass white cracka!’ I don’t want anyone mistaking your white honkie ass.”

Have I mentioned before how much I love my coworkers?

 Or potential plumbing problems…

The water in the toilets in the office restroom is hot. Feels kinda nice, actually. I was tempted to hang around a bit longer than usual, but didn’t want to cause any concern among my office mates. But one has to wonder why the plumbing there is carrying hot water.

Yep. That’s all I’ve got today. Carry on…

It’s been a long time since I wrote one of these, hasn’t it? It usually takes months of reading before I get a real feel for a blogger’s personality and style, enough to “blog” them. So imagine even my surprise when I woke up this morning thinking it was time for another episode of Get Blogged by Terri, and the subject is a girl who introduced herself to me just this week.

It was one of those “Possibly Related Posts” links that brought her to my blog. It was her comedic introduction of herself that drew me to hers:

I just discovered your blog through mine. Serendipity? You’re funny! I think I’m gonna propose…

Imagine me down on my knees as I say to you:

“I’m not a one-night-blog gal. I’m into long-term relationships. Would you, Terri, take this blog, ONE MORE BITE, and put it on your page as a symbol of everlasting fun, health, wealth, and mutual respect? I promise to reciprocate with equal loyalty, support, and always fresh recipes as long as I shall write.”

Yours Truly,

Agi

Who could resist such a proposal? I quickly said, “I do” and a blog marriage was born!

As you might guess from Agi’s introduction, she writes about cooking. And her creations look and sound incredibly delectable! But Agi is more than just her cooking. She’s refreshing, sincere and witty and her writing flows with an ease that draws the reader in. Upon my first visit to her blog, I was reluctant to stop after reading her latest post. Other responsibilities prevented me from prolonging my stay, but I was back again as soon as I had time to linger a while.

I soon learned that Agi is in love not only with cooking, but with a couple of hotties. One is named Jason and the other, Cosmo. Guess which one this is…

I consider myself to be fairly competent in my cooking abilities, though I rarely have the opportunity to prove it. The nature of my life leaves me feeling limited in my own kitchen. Though I try my best, my family doesn’t expect much more than the tried and true simple standards; some soups, some chili, a few casseroles, a good burger or steak now and then, and plenty of … umm… adventures with chicken.  But a girl can dream and so I continue to follow the culinary pursuits of others. Agi now joins the ranks of the other talented chefs whose creations over which I regularly drool , De-I and Kuckie.

I love the way Agi intertwines the simple moments of her life with her love of food. In Is that a Pita in your Pocket? Jason’s early arrival home from work due to a headache inspired these gorgeous grilled salmon and pesto dressed salad pita sandwiches. (Is your stomach growling yet? Mine is!)

Wrestling with Chocolate appealed to my Polish heritage. You see,  Agi grew up in Poland and lived a very different life than the relatively comfortable ones that most of us knew. One of her pleasures from those days was a simple mousse called Kogel-Mogel and it involves an egg yolk, a few teaspoons of sugar and some cocoa. Not only did this appeal to my Polish background, it appealed to my love of all things simple and easy, not to mention, my affinity for all things chocolate!

Even if you’re not into culinary adventures, you’ll find yourself unable to resist reading further when you see titles such as Agi’s Got Balls, in which she tries to convince us she’s a cow, or at least has four stomachs like a cow. It seems Agi over-indulged just a bit at dinner that night. In addition to the drooling you’ll soon get used to, you’ll be giggling when you realize that Agi’s balls are made of vegetables and even a meat lover like me will find the idea of spaghetti and veggie-balls oddly appealing.

I could go on and on, tantalizing you with descriptions and pictures of Agi’s culinary creations.  But I think you’d be a lot better served by just heading on over there and checking out the menu for yourself! I promise, you’re going to love it!

Kendra was my closest friend through all four years of high school. (Pardon me if I’ve told this story before. I think I may have…) We met in a drawing class on the first day of ninth grade. She couldn’t find her pencil and borrowed one from me. She promised to return it the next day, and she did. But it looked a little different than it had when it left my possession. When she gave it back to me, it was all bent out of shape and curly. She had baked it in the oven at home that night and proudly presented it to me with its new look on day two of high school. And thus began a friendship that has endured the test of time. In the years ahead, I would come to realize that the baked and twisted pencil was typical of Kendra’s sense of humor. We shared much laughter, a few tears and everything in between.

We remained close after high school for a few years, but our lives took very different paths and we lost touch. It’s been years since we’ve seen each other or even spoken. I feel guilty about that. After all, it’s not like she lives out-of-state or has ever been any great distance from me. A few weeks ago, I mentioned here that Kendra had found me on Facebook. We soon discovered that we both bowl at the same bowling alley, and I’ve been telling her that I’m going to show up on a Wednesday when she’s bowling in her league. This week, I finally had a chance to really do it.

I poked my head through the door and saw her immediately, but she didn’t see me. She was seated at a table talking with two of her team mates and watching the other one bowl. I approached her from behind and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned, and a smile lit up her face. She stood and hugged me and I hugged her back tightly. It was SO good to see her! We talked for a few minutes, she hugged Mark too and I introduced her to Gina. Then I told her we were going to go bowl a few games for fun, and would catch up with her when she was done with her league games. As luck would have it, we were assigned lanes just a couple down from Kendra’s team. After finishing our first game, she caught my attention and said, “Pencil me in, Terri. I’m coming over to join you guys!”

It was perfect timing. Gina’s husband Jeff had just arrived and was ready to join the game as well. We bowled a couple more games, but it soon became clear that Kendra and I couldn’t stop talking long enough to concentrate on bowling. Gina suggested we call it quits and go find a table in the bar instead. Everyone agreed it was the right thing to do.

Soon we were seated and the conversation was full of “remember whens” and laughter…

I asked, “Remember when you were dating the guy that looked like Jon from the t.v. show, CHiPs?”

“Oh, you mean Darrin?”

“Yeah! Remember when Darrin had dinner at your house and you got mad at your dad for embarrassing you because you took so many potatoes and so much gravy that he asked if you needed a bucket?”

“Oh, I wanted to kill him for saying that in front of my boyfriend,” she laughed!

I said, “Remember how you always got the cute guys and I would get stuck with their ugly friends because your mom wouldn’t let you go out on a date all alone?”

She laughed.

“Who was that friend of Darrin’s that you made me go out with on a double date?”

“Ugly Gary,” she replied.

“Yes! Ugly Gary. He had that cool, souped-up Road Runner. That’s the only thing I liked about Ugly Gary. I stopped seeing him when he sold that car.”

“Remember prom,” she asked?

“I do, but the real question is, do you?”

“Well, since I never actually made it to the actual prom, I’d have to say no.” (Long story…)

She asked, “Remember when we went to the Bruce Springsteen concert and we asked Connie to go with us because she could drive? We didn’t even like her all that much, but we liked that she could drive.”  (No, we weren’t always the nicest people back then…)

I asked, “Remember the Bruce Springsteen concert t-shirts that we constantly wore?”

Mark, Jeff and Gina watched and listened with amusement and eventually wandered off to play some games, leaving Kendra and I to our catching up. We barely noticed. It was like we hadn’t missed a day. Our friendship was as comfortable and familiar as it had ever been.

I wish I could find a picture of us in high school, but I don’t know where I put them. I had to settle for a snap shot from my wedding reception instead:

Have we changed much?

I posted this picture on Facebook Wednesday night with a note saying, “Had a great time catching up tonight with my high school BFF.”

She left a comment below mine saying,

Last night made me realize how much I’ve missed being around you… It’s just like they say…True friends are the ones who never leave your heart. Even if they leave your life for a while, after years apart, you pick up with them right where you left off.

And so we did…