i don't know how she does it

Last night some friends and I went to see I Don't Know How She Does It, which is the new movie by Sarah Jessica Parker.

Tagline: A working mother strives to balance her demanding career with the stress of raising two young children and maintaining a healthy marriage

The movie irked me. It did a disservice to working moms everywhere. So cliched and simplistic. I hope the real world doesn't think that's what it's really like for 'us'. Two separate times I was ready to walk out.

My advice to the main character Kate, who finds herself way too frazzled over self created drama:

Get yourself a full time live-in nanny. The movie family suffered many times due to a nanny who was habitually late and had to leave at 5:00 pm. That's totally unrealistic. As a former nanny, I know. I understand finding a caretaker who holds a special place in the children's lives, but she's there to do a job for the family and if she can't be there when the family needs her, she's got to go.

Buying bakery made desserts is not the end of the world. Staying up late and stressing yourself out by trying to make a store-bought pie look homemade is just stupid. Seriously. Especially for a school bake sale, which is voluntary. Order from a local bakery who delivers or better yet ask the full time, live in nanny if she could take on the task.

If you are lucky enough to have a high powered career that you love, rejoice. Do not buy into the guilt about 'not being there for your kids'. If you're successful in talking a billion dollar company into investing in your mutual fund proposal, you're smart enough to know that your children have a tremendous advantage over millions of other children in this world.

It is very possible, without much effort really, to have a friendly and platonic working relationship with an attractive co-worker without either of you signing your emails with 'XO'.

In the business world, brushing your hair is pretty much expected.

Cha has not once ever said she wished that I stayed home. She knows a world where both of her parents have jobs during the day and the family is home together at night. It's natural and Matt and I have never apologized to her for it. She is aware that some of her friends have a parent who stays at home but we have never told her that one is better than the other. Just like some are happy in the city and others in the country, people are different. If you continually apologize to your kid for having to work and not be home, they're going to use that against you.

If a child is having a near mental breakdown over her mother not being there to build a snowman with her, there are much bigger issues than the mother having, wanting or needing to work. The child needs to know that sometimes mom and dad have to say no, but that doesn't mean the child is any less a priority.

One thing I will agree with are the sleepless nights due to the lists that never seem to shorten. I can keep myself up all night thinking about the 500 things that need to get done asap. My current stresser is that my list is scattered among four different notebooks. One of my top five to-do items is consolidating the list so nothing (further) falls through the cracks.

It will get done because eventually everything does.

so here's the story

If you blog I'm sure you're familiar with those spammy emails from people wanting you to contribute such and such to their blogs. One of the things I've learned in this blog experience is that to some blogging is nothing more than a marketing tool. Getting your name out is first and content is second. Feelings, emotions, and keeping up with family and friends come in somewhere near the bottom. That's good for some I guess, but I'm not interested.

Last night however I had a moment of weakness. I've been getting emails from a site that has repeatedly asked me to contribute. I've been getting weekly emails from them telling me how wonderful it would be to share my breast cancer experience with others and help newbies. Thanks to what has become my new normal (insomnia) I was up late and not thinking clearly. So, I signed up with that site. There were policies and agreements and such that I had to digitally sign off on and it wasn't until after the fact that I decided to Google the site. (Note: Google is always your first step in anything!)

The site has been called fraudulent scammers by many reputable sources. Oops! What they do is tell you that your content remains your own and you do nothing other than continue blogging as usual. However, they now have rights to that content. They can do pretty much whatever they want with it and honestly, that makes me very uncomfortable. Yes I understand that my words are out there. My blog is public and pretty much anyone can do what they want with it anyway, but it's different when I sign something agreeing to allow others to do as they wish.

I immediately emailed them and asked to cancel. It was within minutes of when I digitally agreed. I haven't heard back from them and who knows what they'll say when I do. So, I wanted to take back my blog before they had a chance to do anything with it.

It's time for a new blog chapter anyway. Soon enough I'll delete the other blog and be more anon. In the mean time I will be posting away about being a tired, happy working mom who just happened to have/has cancer, a brother who killed himself, a husband with um 'baggage' and lots of funny friends and family who make life interesting.

Thanks for listening.

ugh

I'm suffering from an icky cold and nasty poison ivy.

The poison ivy showed up about a week ago. At first I thought it was a mosquito bite and started scratching in my sleep. One day at my desk I noticed that the mosquito bite was bleeding and spreading and before I knew it the rash was all over my leg. Then it jumped to my other leg and now it's on my arms. This is misery.

I've been covering myself with Benedryl anti-itch gel, which does help with the itching but it's still gross. At night I've been taking Benedryl pills to both help with the itch and make me sleep. Sleeping isn't easy with the cold altho I did manage to sleep from 9 to 1 yesterday. Shocking.

Confession: Drugs, I get it

So Michael Jackson died last week, as the whole world knows. The rumor is that it was a drug overdose which is not shocking but still tragic. It sounds like his drug of choice, and the one that killed him, was Propofol which is puts you under as in anesthesia. Sources claim that MJ had severe insomnia and the only way he could get rest was by going under. Scary stuff.

While I'm sure most people think this is insane, I kinda get it. I've had nearly a dozen surgeries over the past five years and altho none of them were fun, there were some peaceful aspects to them. Going under is a trip. It's a magic carpet ride and except for my recent surgery, I woke up every time feeling mentally refreshed.

I am far from a drug addict. I've still got a few Vicodin from a year ago. The first time I was given Percocet when Cha was born I had a terrible reaction so I'm a bit hesitant about drugs. Add on to that the fact that Heath Ledger overdosed on the same drugs I was taking after my mastectomy while I was still in the hospital and you can see my fear.

But....I can see the appeal of being knocked out at night and waking up refreshed every morning. Thankfully I'm a smart cookie and don't have the foolish resources to buy crooked doctors who would put me in danger for a chunk of change.

I have fond memories of drifting off in a bright white room surrounded by people dressed in paper so I get it.

June 25, 2009 - what a day

I was so sad this morning when I heard of Farrah Fawcett's passing. She had been sick for a long while so it wasn't a shock. I was relieved for her actually. What a long and painful death. She was the coolest chick ever when I was a kid. I loved Charlie's Angels and my brothers had the infamous poster hanging in their room. One of my friends had the Farrah head, which was like the Barbie head where you style hair and practice make up. What an odd thing to remember.

My jaw hit the floor when I heard Michael Jackson died. I was stunned and couldn't speak for a moment. I read it on TMZ and immediately ran downstairs to tell Matt. He asked how he died and I said I had no clue. All I read was the headline and ran to find him. Then I called Kharen in LA to talk to her about it. MJ had great music and I enjoyed him as an artist until he had that giant statue built of himself and then started doing bad things to kids. I'll still enjoy his music when I hear it. It feels that with Farrah and Michael dying a huge part of my childhood is now gone.

Some good news to balance out the day, my niece Andrea got married today. I was unable to attend since it was last minute and I am 1000 miles away but I was there in spirit.

Tomorrow Cha and I are headed to Ocean City, MD with some friends for the weekend. I've got my fingers crossed that we get at least one day of clear skies. It seems like every day for the past month has been cloudy and/or rainy.

Can you handle the truth?

: 0

You want to know how crazy my mind is lately?



Make sure you can handle it.



This is how I've been walking around all day at work.



It took me SIX hours to notice.



Crazy or old - you decide!





Seriously! How could I not know that I was wearing TWO different shoes all day?? And I'm wearing shorts so it should have been even more obvious, right?

I am losing it! I hope that I didn't dress Cha in a ballerina outfit with ski pants today.

Socially appropriate

I saw the following article on Yahoo today and found it very timely. Last week in therapy I told my shrink about an incident at the park with Cha. One of her friends found a caterpillar and all the kids sat around and stared at it. Cha found it so fascinating that she reached down and grabbed it and took off running. All the other kids were screaming for her to come back but she shrieked and smiled. Then she squished the poor thing in her hand and threw it over the slide. My therapist mentioned that that was the perfect opportunity to teach her about what is socially appropriate and what is not. Killing an insect in front of a group of friends has to be socially inappropriate, right?

Therapy has been good lately. I've been examining many of my different relationships with people. There are many in my life who are not good for me or who require much more energy than they are worth. Some friends make me feel bad about myself or cause me to kick and scream. I spent a half hour one day talking about a woman who really, really, really irks me. Ugh, I can go on and on about her and how she drives me insane. Why is this woman in my life? Well, because she's a friend. Huh? Why the heck is she a friend if she makes me feel so awful?! Hmmm. That's a good question. Time to trim the fat.

So, here's an article on toxic personalities. Interesting read....

Here are the worst of the toxic personalities out there and how to spot them:

1. Manipulative Mary: These individuals are experts at manipulation tactics. Is a matter of fact, you may not even realize you have been manipulated until it is too late. These individuals figure out what your 'buttons' are, and push them to get what they want.

• Why they are toxic: These people have a way of eating away at your belief system and self-esteem. They find ways to make you do things that you don't necessarily want to do and before you know it, you lose your sense of identity, your personal priorities and your ability to see the reality of the situation. The world all of a sudden becomes centered around their needs and their priorities.

2. Narcissistic Nancy: These people have an extreme sense of self-importance and believe that the world revolves around them. They are often not as sly as the Manipulative Marys of the world, but instead, tend to be a bit overt about getting their needs met. You often want to say to them "It isn't always about you."

• Why they are toxic: They are solely focused on their needs, leaving your needs in the dust. You are left disappointed and unfulfilled. Further, they zap your energy by getting you to focus so much on them, that you have nothing left for yourself.

3. Debbie Downers: These people can't appreciate the positive in life. If you tell them that it is a beautiful day, they will tell you about the impending dreary forecast. If you tell them you aced a mid-term, they'll tell you about how difficult the final is going to be.

• Why they are toxic: They take the joy out of everything. Your rosy outlook on life continues to get squashed with negativity. Before you know it, their negativity consumes you and you start looking at things with gray colored glasses yourself.

4. Judgmental Jims: When you see things as cute and quirky, they see things as strange and unattractive. If you find people's unique perspectives refreshing, they find them 'wrong'. If you like someone's eclectic taste, they find it 'disturbing' or 'bad'.

• Why they are toxic: Judgmental people are much like Debbie Downers. In a world where freedom rings, judgment is sooo over. If the world was a homogeneous place, life would be pretty boring. Spending a lot of time with these types can inadvertently convert you into a judgmental person as well.
  

5. Dream Killing Keiths: Every time you have an idea, these people tell you why you can't do it. As you achieve, they try to pull you down. As you dream, they are the first to tell you it is impossible.

• Why they are toxic: These people are stuck in what is instead of what could be. Further, these individuals eat away at your self-esteem and your belief in yourself. Progress and change can only occur from doing new things and innovating, dreaming the impossible and reaching for the stars.

6. Insincere Illissas: You never quite feel that these people are being sincere. You tell a funny story, they give you a polite laugh. You feel depressed and sad and they give you a 'there, there' type response. You tell them you are excited about something and you get a very ho-hum response.

• Why they are toxic: People who aren't sincere or genuine build relationships on superficial criteria. This breeds shallow, meaningless relationships. When you are really in need of a friend, they won't be there. When you really need constructive criticism, they would rather tell you that you are great the way you are. When you need support, they would rather see you fail or make a fool of yourself.

7. Disrespectful Dannys: These people will say or do things at the most inappropriate times and in the most inappropriate ways. In essence, they are more subtle, grown up bullies. Maybe this person is a friend who you confided in and uses your secret against you. Maybe it is a family member who puts their busy-body nose into your affairs when it is none of their business. Or maybe, it is a colleague who says demeaning things to you.

• Why they are toxic: These people have no sense of boundaries and don't respect your feelings or, for that matter, your privacy. These people will cause you to feel frustrated and disrespected.

8. Never Enough Nellies: You can never give enough to these people to make them happy. They take you for granted and have unrealistic expectations of you. They find ways to continually fault you and never take responsibility for anything themselves.

• Why they are toxic: You will spend so much time trying to please them, that you will end up losing yourself in the process. They will require all of your time and energy, leaving you worn out and your own needs sacrificed.

All of these personalities have several things in common. 1) the more these people get away with their behavior, the more they will continue. 2) Unfortunately, most of these people don't see that what they do is wrong and as a result, talking to them about it will fall on deaf ears, leaving you wondering if you are the crazy one. 3) Most of these people get worse with age, making their impact on you stronger with time.

Frankly, life is too short to spend your time dealing with toxicity. If you can, avoid spending mucho time with people who are indicative of these behaviors and you'll feel a lot happier.

favorite episode ever

George and the squirrel, Jerry drugging his girlfriend and the Merv Griffin set...this is my favorite episode ever. I just happened to flip on the TV tonight and caught this episode. There was no way I could turn it off. I miss Seinfeld!

After a very long and exhausting week the last two days were perfect. Two birthday parties and Cha being her funny, clever self. The weather almost hit 70 today and the sun felt good.

Our cable went out on Friday so Cha and I went to pick up the Bolt DVD. It's a great movie but after watching it four times this weekend there is no talking that girl out of getting a dog. A year ago I told her she could get a dog when she turns five. She reminds me of it a couple times a week. If someone asks her how old she is she'll say that she's 3 and follow it up with 'When I'm five I get a dog.'

Starting last week she has also come up with an imaginary brother. She talks about 'Sammy' all the time. She claims that she and Sammy live with her grandma and grandpa in a pink house. On the way home from school the other day she pointed at a house and said that's where the four of them live. She's a funny kid.

Next weekend we're having a yard sale with the mom's group. Several of us are getting together kid's clothes, toys, household items and whatever else we can find and selling them. I've been organizing Cha's room all week. I can't believe how much that girl has! It will be nice to clean the clutter.

a wednesday funny

~

So I said to him, "Barak, I know Abe Lincoln, and you ain't him."
~

What a week

I'll start out with a pic of Cha at Paige's birthday party. The party was held at BounceU which was way cool.

As you can see, Cha and I both had fun. Here I am sliding down with Maya while Cha is climbing up the stairs herself. We went down together a couple of times but she preferred to do it herself. She likes to dive down head first or jump down so she bounces real high. She's fearless!

Saturday night we had a Valentine's Day Race for the Cure benefit. It was a family friendly Valentine party but we also sold raffle tickets for several gift baskets that were donated by friends and family. It was fun and we raised $300 for our team. Not too bad for a lot of last minute planning.

Some of my favorite pictures of the night.....

Here's Matt playing with birthday girl Paige. It's heartwarming how well the kids get along with the other parents. We've become a second family.

This summer the family is getting together for a little family vacation. We're planning on meeting somewhere in the middle, which is in or around St. Louis, Mo the 3rd week of July. We've got a small army and I'm having a difficult time finding someplace that has space and availability to fit us in. If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them!

Finally, I posted last week about the passing of 'Asa Buchanan'. I am very sad to say that the actor who played Asa's son on the show also passed away recently. Clint Ritchie was the true Clint Buchanan. (Yes, I'm a total soap opera geek.)

RIP - Asa Buchanan

I am so sad about this! Phil Carey, who played Asa Buchanan on One Life to Life passed away this weekend. I've been watching OLTL for decades and he has always been one of my favorites.

He battled lung cancer several years ago and his character actually died on the show last year. It's very sad.

Do This!

I just got a note from one of my BFFs.

My Amex rate jumped to 29.99%. I just called them for a "temporary reduction" in my interest rate and they dropped it, permanently, to 9.24%!!!!

If you're credit cards are out of control give them a call and ask for help. You never know!

Way to go on 9.24%!

Confession

I am blaming this on the meds and refuse to believe it's age related......

Monday I had a parent-teacher conference at Cha's school. I signed up for a face to face session with her teacher on 2 /2 at 2. Easy to remember, right? I didn't have anything to write on when I signed up so I picked that time so I would remember it until I got back to my desk.

2 / 2 comes and I am sitting at my desk. It's on my calendar and a little reminder pops up on my screen. I grab my coat and bag and head downstairs to the parking lot. I hop in my car and start driving to her school. Only, five minutes from the office I wonder where the hell I'm going. I'm on Trooper Road and can't for the life of me remember why I left the office. There's a WalMart up the street so I think that maybe I needed to pick something up at WalMart. I pull into the parking lot and still can't remember what I needed so I don't even get out of the car. I drive back towards the office and figure I should pick up lunch while I'm out.

When I get back to my desk at 2:20 there is a voicemail from Cha's teacher. She's wondering what happened to me. I slump in my chair. Things like this happen way too often recently. It has to be the meds, right?

I've got an appt with Dr. M next week to discuss a few things. I'm going to ask her to help get me off these things.

Wait, that's not fair!

I was listening to KYW on the way to work today ('two, three, four times a day!') and sometime between the weather and the traffic my ears just about started to bleed. I seriously stared at my radio and said outloud 'What the hell?' KYW was playing a political ad, nearly two weeks after the inauguration. How unfair is that?

I hate political ads. They are nothing more than spin from one party bashing another. The facts are always so twisted that you can't really believe either side. One man (or woman) making another man (or woman) out to be the devil, based on his or her stance on trash disposal or some nonsense. They are so overly dramatic and are only used to scare someone into voting their way. I'd like to think that I'm smart enough to figure out the truth on my own, but I'm sure there are some out there that will do no further research and simply believe the garbage they are hearing.

Anyway, the point is that I was listening to a political ad in February. I listened to the entire spot waiting for the 'this message was paid for by.....' That's when I learned of Americans United for Change, which was previously called Americans United to Protect Social Security. I'm assuming they adopted their new name to jump on the Obama bandwagon (and collect more donations). They are up in arms about the Republicans blocking the current stimulus package so they produced a commercial to bash conservatives for not playing fair. (Quick question for the liberals, how does providing repairs to the Jefferson Monument stimulate our economy?)

Is this what this country has come to? Will we be subjected to slanted, scary political ads 24/7-365, regardless of the year? Don't we get any sort of break? It really isn't fair.

Blah

Let's just say that you've been going to the same coffee house for three years. It's a comfy place and you know all the staff and have become close friends with the other patrons. It becomes a home away from home.

Then imagine one day you get into a little tiff with the barista. You ask for half and half and she tells you that she's anti-dairy and can't believe anyone would allow such vileness into their body. You roll your eyes, make a snide comment and walk out the door. When you return three days later you apologize to the barista and she apologizes in return. You both admit to being a tad sensitive and acting poorly.

Two weeks go by and while you sit in your favorite comfy chair, drinking your latte and reading the paper, you realize that things just aren't as comfortable as they once were. Sure the coffee is still the same and you like seeing your fellow patrons but the tone of the place is different. Then one day you say 'Hey! There's a coffee shop right across the street and I think I see Bob.' You head on over and Bob is there with Margaret and they're waiting for Betty to show up. You sit down and join them and before you know it, you're hooked on a new coffee shop.

That's where I am now. Finding that once I hit 40 I am not as tolerant of uncomfortable environments as I used to be. I'm not talking about the typical joys of a fun, dysfunctional family gathering, or the craziness of the work place but in the places where I go voluntarily. Life is too short and there are too many other positive places to stay where it just doesn't feel right.

I love my husband and my child and the rest of my family. I love my friends and my life.

Life is good. Why go someplace that tries to mess all that up?

Catching up

I miss my blog. Things have been busy lately and whenever I think of logging in something else pops up or I fall asleep.

To 'quickly' catch up, I celebrated my mastectomy anniversary by myself. I don't think I even mentioned it to Matt. It was a bittersweet celebration - cancer free but sliced to bits. That evening I sat in my office at home and started writing out thank you letters. I took it slow and thought of every person that I am thankful for. It's a very long list. I still have many cards to send out but I don't want to rush. I want to appreciate each card and each person.

The anniversary also marked the end of the Bush era and the beginning of Obama. Times are tough right now and I pray that our new President helps to make things right.

Cha had two sleepovers with her Mimi and Pa. The first time Matt and I were blessed with the best date night ever. We dropped Cha off, went to see a movie (Benjamin Button - I wasn't blown away) then went to dinner. We sat at the bar at the Lakeside Inn and watched football. We were in no hurry at all and it was very relaxing. The next morning we slept in. It was fabulous and while I missed my little girl, I know we were both having a great time.

This weekend Cha spent the night with her grandparents again. Matt and I were scheduled to go bowling with friends but Matt got called for a DJ job at the last minute. I organized the bowling night and had to collect money, so I had to go. The night was a huge success and we all had fun. Matt also had fun at his gig, which is a bonus. Being a DJ isn't always a barrel of monkeys.

Anyway, huge thanks to Mimi, Pa, and Buddy the dog for spending time with Cha. She loves you very much (and kept calling me Mimi all day on Sunday).

We are moving Cha into a big girl bed. Her toddler bed is gone and I picked up a gorgeous four poster bed at Liberty Thrift for $20. I've been checking that place a couple times a week since Cha was born. Most of the items are 'okay' but sometimes the deals will take your breath away. I'll have to post pictures of her room when it's done. The bed is a beautiful dark wood and the rest of her furniture is light oak, so I've got to change everything. (Yay Craigslist!)

I've been connecting with dozens of old friends on Facebook. Friends from elementary school all the way up to my nanny days in DC. It's been fun catching up and seeing where everyone landed. It's sweet to think about how many friends I've had in my life.

We're building a nice number of women for our Race for the Cure team. We're working on a few cool fund raising ideas too. I'm excited. Providing Matt and I both don't lose our jobs and come into a million dollars of unexpected bills, we are going to stay in a hotel the night before the race again.

Today's Commute

We got some unexpected snow overnight. This morning's commute was beautiful. I could have done without all the accidents and the 30 minute wait trying to get on 422, but the snow was gorgeous.

Here's the view outside our back deck

More from the deck
The backroads were clear


For a while at least. There was an accident at the bottom of this hill.
The police were on the scene. Very, very icy!

But look at these trees!




Cha's school opened two hours late. All the parents got there at 9:00 sharp not realizing that the teachers also had to get their kids to school, so they were late too. The parents had to hang out in the big play room until there were enough teachers to cover the ratios.

Fingers Crossed

Good luck President Obama.

I only wished he would have had a peppier speech. This is most likely the best day of his entire life. I would have expected a few more smiles. Or at least a 'Yahoo!'

Sunday night ramblings and birthday wishes

I've got a stitch in my abdomen that's driving me bananas. Dr. S. saw it at my last appt. He said it would come out on it's own but I can't stop pulling at it. All the other stitches have come out but that one is evil.

We had a breakfast playdate today. Cha ended her most klutzy weekend ever by falling off the playground equipment face first. She cut her lip, which bled something fierce. Yesterday she fell down the basement stairs trying to carry a mop. She hit her head pretty good on the railing and bruised her arms and back pretty good. Later in the afternoon she slipped on air and fell on the hard wood floor. Not a good day to be 3. One of the moms at the playdate this morning mentioned that maybe her feet were growing and she wasn't used to them. 'Just like a newborn colt' she said. That makes sense to me. I hate the thought of my baby girl inheriting my klutz gene.

Last night Matt had a few guys over for poker. They only played til midnight or so but Matt was so wound up that he couldn't get to sleep until nearly 3:00. When I woke up this morning I found a sink full of empty beer bottles and a floor in desperate need of mopping. 'wound up' = 'drank too much'.

Tomorrow is the first day back to work after the holidays. Please God, let Cha wake up cheerful and cooperative. I really don't want to fight with a 3 year old early in the morning.

I have started weaning myself off anti-depressants. I'm doing 20 mg every other day (instead of every day). I'm on day 6 and I'm feeling icky but I don't know if that's due to the weaning.

Yesterday was my niece Dani's 4th birthday. I was thinking that she's my only blond niece. All the others are dark haired. Here are Dani and Cha several years ago at the cabin in Wisconsin. Cha was such a porker! (Pork chop Iggy!)

Happy Birthday Danielle!

Tomorrow is my niece Kimberly's birthday. She'll be the magical 19, the age where nothing interesting happens. Here we are in DC. She came out to visit me five years ago and it must have been 100 every single day. We toured Philadelphia and could barely breathe due to the heat. Ugh! Smooches to Kimi!


And finally, tomorrow is Nadia's birthday. She'll be celebrating the ultimate mom way by dropping her kids off at school and then spending the day wandering around the mall and then relaxing at home. Happy Birthday girlfriend!


Life is good.

: )

a lady at the park

Matt and I took Cha to the park today. We took a long walk (for her) and then headed to the playground. We met another dad who had a daughter Cha's age. The other girl acknowledged Cha but didn't want to play. Her father said she's home with her mom all day and doesn't play much with other kids.

The five of us decided to walk over to another area of the park where there were more slides and swings. We chatted with the other dad on the way. He's in town visiting his in-laws for the holidays. They have a newborn and his wife needed a break so he and his daughter were out giving the woman some quiet time.

At the other side of the park another family showed up. They had been out walking with the stroller and decided to stop so their two kids could run around. As playground etiquette requires, Matt tried to make small talk with the other couple.

The woman was wearing a Race for the Cure tshirt. It said Denver 2002 so Matt asked if she regularly participates in the race. She simply said 'Yes'. Matt pointed to me and said 'My wife's a survivor.' which garnered even less of a response. The woman didn't look at me or say a word. Strange.

She and her husband were not the friendliest. They put up with our darling Cha trying to play with their kids but tried to steer them clear of her. They had a dog who was leashed and muzzled. Cha tried to pet him but the dad pulled him away from her.

I wonder about people like that. Based on their toddler gear and children's names I would imagine them to be progressive parents. Don't they realize that their kids are learning how to socialize by watching their parents? Do they know what kind of lesson they are teaching? Bah humbug to them!

Let's just hope she raised lots of money for the Cure.