Random Ramblings

Confession

OK... I admit it... I lied about posting the rest of my family tree blog the "next day". The thing is, I'm still doing my research and my family tree is probably not interesting to anyone else but me. I'm sure I'll blog about the subject again, but I've got to get my mind organized first. It's amazing how many branches diverge off of one tree trunk... I can hardly keep track of who is who in my family anymore.

My Cat

We got our kitten a few weeks ago. She is adorable! She is also, I'm noticing, a bit mentally-challenged. The first time she saw herself in our full-length mirror and attacked the "other cat" in the reflection was cute and funny. Well, she is still attacking herself. And by "attack", I mean full-on, high-speed, battering-ram, flying into the mirror cat-fight! It's still funny. It's not so cute anymore. I worry she is going to shatter the mirror with her head!

She can also be found chasing her tail... while trying to balance on the top of a chair back. This usually results in a nasty spill. She has fallen into the water-filled bathtub a few times, much to the boys' delight. She likes to lick. She especially likes to lick my legs after I go for a long, sweaty run.

Speaking of Run

I went for a great run today! I went longer than I had planned but it was worth it. I discovered some new trails and the weather couldn't have been better. My heel has been bothering me (I have a bone spur in my heel) but I've decided that I might as well get used to it. I've had physical therapy and a cortisone shot and neither has completely taken away the pain. It's sort of a trade-off... my heel hurts when I run but the rest of me hurts when I don't. So, I guess I'll run.

Virtually Me

I love Facebook. Where else can you become "friends" with people who hardly gave you the time of day in high school? Where else can you connect with people who actually live only a few doors down from you? For a phone-hating, verbally-challenged individual like me, Facebook is a social paradise. If only I could include my Facebook life on my job resumes! Who wouldn't want to hire someone with the following qualifications?

• Voted "Nicest Person" -by people who don't really know me- several days in a row
• Successful farm owner who took a small, four-plot farm and turned it into a thriving business worth millions of "coins"
• Winner of numerous Bake-Offs in the town of YoVille
• Supporter of and participant in several worthy committees, such as "We Hate the New Facebook Home Page", "Six Degrees of Separation", and "I Don't Care How Comfortable Crocs are, You Look Like a Dumbass"

It takes a lot of time to have such a successful Facebook life!

So, yesterday I decided to quit two of my three Facebook farms. I gave away all my Yoville merchandise to a friend and will move out totally once all my cakes have finished baking. I purged myself of my Roller Coaster Kingdom and got rid of my aquarium. And you know what? It felt good! I only have one farm now and it has no crops so all I have to do is water my flowers and I'm free.

Insomnia?

I don't have it. Good night!

Messed-Up Families Have Trees, Too

This has the potential to turn into a long blog. I'll do my best to keep it from turning into a long story turned longer... but I do need to include some personal history, so please bear with me.

What I'm Doing
For the past week, I have been trying to research my family ancestry. No, I haven't converted to Mormonism... although, I do appreciate their excellent family-record keeping skills. There are reasons for doing this and reasons for not having done it before.

Why am I Doing This?
As I was lying in bed last Sunday, unsuccessfully fighting off the onset of a cold, I saw a news report about a group of Cherokee Indians in San Diego County getting together for the day to celebrate their culture. This caught my attention because, supposedly, I have a small amount of Cherokee blood running through my veins. It also occurred to me that I have no proof of this Native American ancestry. So, I figured I might as well try to find it.

What Makes this a Difficult Task?
Here is where the story has the potential to get overly long. I come from a pretty messed-up family. Basically, I don't know most of my family. I haven't seen my biological mom in over 30 years... I don't associate with any of my living grandparents because my two grandmothers are not very nice people.

I have four full-blooded siblings. I have relationships with none of them. I have a half-brother and a half-sister and they are awesome, so we are pretty close. I have some uncles, aunts, and cousins but I don't really know them because they live in other states.

I pretty much grew up with my Dad and my Stepmom. I know I can get some information about my Dad's side of the family... but even that will be scarce, due to fact that my Dad didn't even really know his dad. Heck, the last name I grew up with isn't even my Dad's real last name- the story is my Dad took the last name of his favorite step dad (my grandmother was married five times).

Thanks to a kind step-grandfather I never met, my maiden name was Kish. This is apparently a common Hungarian name. I am zero percent Hungarian. I dated a guy who was Hungarian once but that's as close as I ever came to being one. I've never felt any attachment to that name... I felt no remorse when I became a Jones on my wedding day. Besides, nobody could ever pronounce or spell it. It's just not that hard, people!

Get Out the Violins...
I'm just kidding... leave them in their cases. I really dislike pity and I don't want it but I'm going to tell you all something sort of sad about me. Growing up, I never really felt like I belonged to a family. There I said it. Now, wipe your eyes and read on. I always felt like I was on the peripheral of someone else's family... sort of able to be a part but never feeling totally connected.

I'm sure I am totally messed-up now as a result. I mean, this has got to be the reason I can never seem to get the clean laundry put away. Right? Go along with it, folks... I need an excuse.

Cliff-hanger
I'm going to finish this tomorrow. I'm tired and I'm still trying to get over this cold so I'm off to bed. If you are still reading this, thanks for hanging in with me. I still have lots to tell about my search for a familial identity... including a trip to a cemetery, walks down memory lane, and lots and lots of time spent on the computer.

Meanwhile, please enjoy this picture of the bottom of my shoe.

It's Official- Fall is Here!

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the way the air feels as the summer heat gradually surrenders to the cooler temperatures of autumn. It is bliss to have to pull the bed covers up to my neck in the early morning hours when the chill settles into our bedroom. What a perfect setting for sleeping in (if only I could).

I love the anticipation of the coming holidays... Halloween and visits to the pumpkin patch, candy corn, apple cider, and trick-or-treating. Thanksgiving and family, turkey, pumpkin pie, and stuffing. Christmas and... oh, better not go there. Yet.

So, what happens when the arrival of my favorite season is combined with my favorite grocery store? Autumnal enlightenment. Since most of Southern California isn't blessed with the stereotypical signal of fall's arrival, I have to rely on Trader Joe's to announce that, in spite of the non-changing color of the trees, summer is gone and autumn has taken its place.

Sure, there may be a change in the temperature and the days may become noticeably shorter, but when Trader Joe's displays its annual giant logo-pumpkin and has orange and yellow geraniums for sale, I sense a change in the air... fall is here.

For the past few years (since they opened our neighborhood Trader Joe's) I have found that- for me- autumn officially begins once I can purchase Trader Joe's Pumpkin Bread Mix. I went to Trader Joe's yesterday, hoping to get my hands on a couple boxes but they were all out. I found out from one of the helpful employees that they were getting another shipment in that night.

There was no question in my mind... I would be back at Trader Joe's the next morning to get my pumpkin bread fix.

And that's what I did. I picked up two boxes of the pumpkin bread mix... along with a box of their new apple spice bread mix, a box of pumpkin pancake mix, and a bottle of apple cider.



I baked the apple bread tonight. It was a hit with the entire family and it left the house smelling the way a Norman Rockwell painting looks: Homey, warm, and simple.

I have not tried the pumpkin pancake mix (I think it's a new item) but I've been assured by a reliable source that it is "rather yummy". I think pumpkin pancakes will be on our morning menu within the next few days.

I am happy that fall is here. I will savor it. I will enjoy being able to wear a sweatshirt. I will look forward to the holidays and all my beloved family traditions associated with each.

I will enjoy this short period of time... because I know that in about a month, my signal that Christmas is on its way will arrive at every Starbucks in the nation in the form of a caloric little beauty known as the Egg Nog Latte. Mmmmmm...

Oreolicious

Right now, I should be cooking dinner. Heck, I'd be happy to even know what we're having for dinner!

Am I the only one who gets tired of planning meals? I just cooked dinner yesterday. Maybe I should give the boys Double Stuff Oreo Cookies for dinner. With a glass of milk, it would be a healthy meal... and I can guarantee there would be no complaining.

Just a thought.