18 years ago....at 9:07am...

I went from this:



To this:



In just a matter of minutes, my life changed drastically.

And in what seems like an equally short time, that little 9 lb bundle of joy has become this:



Where did all that time go? How is it possible that my baby is a grown man?

I was going to try to write a blog post today addressed to my son...you know, a letter to my child on his 18th birthday. But I started crying just thinking about it, so I figured I'd better not try it!

I don't need to tell you how proud I am of him. How much joy he brings to me. Every day that I have been blessed to be his mom has been the best day of my life, and I pray every single night that we get to live a long and happy life together. (Although not necessarily in the same house. LOL!)

I didn't exactly know what I was doing on that day in 1990. I was 29, and had obviously never had a baby 24 hours a day, 7 days a week before! But I guess I figured it out, because he has survived having me raise him! And he's an amazing young man, and someone I am devastatingly proud to call my son.

He was so funny last night, he went to a movie with his girlfriend and his best friend, and it got out a little after midnight, so Jordan figured he was officially 18 at that time, so they stopped at the gas station so he could buy cigars for him and his friend to smoke in the hot tub today! He goes up to the counter to pay for them, has his ID out and everything...and they don't even card him. He was so bummed!

I got him two videos that he wanted, and of course his impending tattoo, and am taking him and Steph out to Japanese Steak House for dinner. Not sure what else he has planned for his big day, but I'm sure it will be a good one for him. Do me a favor, if you have a second today, drop Jordan an email at jreeg4365@gmail.com and wish him a happy 18th birthday, will you?

And now...to my son....

I love you, bug. Thank you for being the best kid any mom could ever have. You are my love, and my life, and someday, I hope you have a child who brings you as much joy as you've given me.

Love, Mums.

Christmas photo fun with the Mac Book

Jordan got a new Mac Book for Christmas from the best Mom ever Santa, and we had fun using the photo thing to take pictures.

So here is Jordan and me Christmas morning, shortly after he opened his present. Yes, this is how frightening stunning I am first thing when I wake up. It's obvious, I've brought sexy back, especially with bed head and my glasses on.



(Note to self: Do not use that in personal ads if you want to actually ever meet a guy.)

So later in the evening, when the family was together I started making everyone get into the act...ok well I demonstrated how to do it first, of course. Clearly, I have Warhol issues:



Then my little mama got into the picture with me. My mom is 84 years old, and she was fascinated by the idea she could look at the screen and there was a camera built into there somewhere!!!



And then my two sisters joined the fun. I'm not drunk, I'm just going for the sexy, half opened eyes look. Riiiiiiight.



And then my niece Maggie and her boyfriend Brady jumped in:



Then Maggie and I had more fun with Warhol:



And last but not least, Mom & I went for the cartoon shot:



See, this is why I don't have a Mac Book. I'd sit around taking pictures all day. Yeah, I'm that vain bored. LOL

Merry Christmas, my friends.

I wish for you a joyous, delightful Christmas today. Thank you for being part of my world and making my life a whole lot brighter.

And now, I give you my favorite Christmas song, O Holy Night, as sung by Il Divo. I have a complete crush on the voice of Carlos Marin (who's the Spanish, Ricky Ricardo looking singer in this group!)....his baritone moves me in ways I cannot even tell you. He puts the other singers to shame. So listen carefully, and you will hear his remarkable voice (especially around the 3:49 second mark of this video, he hits a high note that makes my eyes glaze over!!!).

Merry Christmas, everyone.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

Sad news from up North...

Awwww, look what Crystal found!

Many thanks to Crystal (TropicalDreams) for this picture:



I love that you remembered my sister and her story, and sent it to me. It made my day, and I know somewhere Linda is laughing out loud at this right along with me.

Thanks again, doll. Merry Christmas!

Tis the season to be Julie....

Not a lot to write about, or time to do so, until after the holidays.

So I'm just going to post stuff that makes me laugh....

Here you go!

Who wants a present?

This is why we don't let men design gift wrap.

Weekend Update

Live, from Columbus Ohio, it's Sunday Night!

Wow, I couldn't let two whole days go by without a blog. Thanks to those who checked up on me to make sure I was okay! LOL

Busy weekend....Christmas party for work on Friday night, lots of fun. Went to my Mom's Christmas party at the nursing home yesterday, she got a nice gift from Santa and I'll post a picture later. Spent the afternoon decorating iced sugar cookies with my sister and niece, and had a quiet evening at home. Today just basically did my Xmas shopping (yeah, I always wait til the last minute, I did NOT get the female shopping gene at all. I avoid malls like the plague!) and saw the movie "Seven Pounds". It was...different. Haven't decided if I liked it or not!

Got myself a new Coach purse with part of my Christmas bonus! Yes Danica, I will post a picture of that tomorrow as well!

Oh, and Saturday I got a surprise in the mail from a dear friend. Have I mentioned how much I love surprises? Especially those that brighten up what has been a really tough time of year for me since my sister died. Thanks for being my "stand in sister"...and lots of love right back at ya, baby.

And now, it's 9 degrees here in wonderful Ohio so I'm curled up in my sweats, on the couch with the furnace cranked and a cup of hot cocoa with carmel and chocolate vodkas trying to catch up on episodes of The Starter Wife.

How's your weekend been?

A Christmas story I'd like you to know.

I have a special Christmas story I want to share with you guys.

First, a little background...

This time five years ago, my sister Linda was in the hospital fighting for her life. She had a massive stroke on December 15th and needless to say, our holiday that year was spent basically living at the hospital. In fact, my Dad had a minor stroke three days after Linda's so for awhile we had them both in the same hospital, on different floors. Yes, it was awful.

Anyway, several years before this, Linda was out Christmas shopping, and she encountered what she deemed The Cutest Paper Towels Ever. They were Bounty's holiday ones that said "HO HO HO" on them. She, like any good Christmas decorating woman would do, grabbed herself a roll.

So she gets home, and excitedly starts telling her husband Jan how she found these darling "HO HO HO" paper towels, and proceeds to take them out of the bag to show him.

A puzzled look comes over her face as she showed them to him because lo and behold, the paper towels said...

OH OH OH

She looked at them, looked at her husband, looked back at them and said "I swear, in the store these said "HO HO HO" on them!".

She was completely mystified as to how she ended up with a roll that clearly had a misprint on them.

Meanwhile, Jan is looking at her like she's lost her mind. You have to understand, my sister was a teacher, and one of the smartest people I know. Her husband was a teacher as well, so here we have two brainiacs looking at each other...one completely baffled and the other thinking the baffled one has some serious blonde roots showing!

Linda says..."I'm driving right back over to that store and exchanging these for the ones that say "HO HO HO".

Finally, Jan quietly says....

"Linda....turn them over".

It was the funniest thing ever.

So of course that story got out, and from that day forward, everyone bought Linda Christmas things that had HO HO HO on them...and then would proceed to go around her house turning them all upside down. There was never an item in their home that didn't say OH OH OH by the time Christmas came.

Just days before her stroke, Jan had found a lighted HO HO HO to put outside on the front of their house. He was always big on decorating outside...lots of lights and stuff, so this was a perfect addition to his Christmas reportoire. He hung it up the right way, and Linda dared anyone to turn it upside down, including her husband.

So, there we were, in the hospital on Christmas Day, gathered around her bed, and she was finally awake for basically the first time in the ten days since she'd had her stroke. She was, of course, on a ventilator so she couldn't speak, but she could hear us, and understand what we were saying.

I stood there talking with her, and as a joke I said "Hey Lin, guess what? I was over at your house last night, and somebody turned the new HO HO HO that is outside on the house, upside down!"

Let me tell you something, that woman may not have been able to speak, but the dirty look she shot her husband at that moment spoke volumes. We all laughed for the first time in ten days.

We lost her on February 18th. She had just finally gotten off the vent and was able to talk to us, and the next day something happened that we don't know what it was, whether it was another stroke or a clot from where the vent had been dislodged and travelled to her brain, but suddenly she was gone. We were, and still are, devastated.

I have some of her HO HO HO things at home, and every year I try to carry on her tradition and buy something new to add to her collection. And every year, my son walks around my house and turns them all upside down. And we smile, and laugh, and remember the look on Linda's face when she would tell the paper towel story, and laugh at herself for her "blonde moment".

So this one's for you, sis. I love and miss you every day, all year...but at Christmas I miss your beautiful smile and laugh the most.

Happy Birthday, Georgie!

Please go wish Georgie a happy birthday.

I hope she gets a birthday spanking present she'll remember for years to come!!!!

Geography lesson for today.

THE GEOGRAPHY OF A WOMAN

Between 18 and 22, a woman is like Africa, half discovered, half wild, fertile and naturally beautiful!

Between 23 and 30, a woman is like Europe, well developed and open to trade, especially for someone with cash.

Between 31 and 35, a woman is like Spain, very hot, relaxed and convinced of her own beauty.

Between 36 and 40, a woman is like Greece, gently aging but still a warm and desirable place to visit.

Between 41 and 50, a woman is like Great Britain, with a glorious and all conquering past.

Between 51 and 60, a woman is like Israel, has been through war and doesn't make the same mistakes twice, takes care of business.

Between 61 and 70, a woman is like Canada, self-preserving, but open to meeting new people.

After 70, she becomes Tibet, wildly beautiful, with a mysterious past and the wisdom of the ages...only those with an adventurous spirit and a thirst for spiritual knowledge visit there.



THE GEOGRAPHY OF A MAN

Between 1 and 70, a man is like Iran,

Ruled by Nuts.

Bachelor #12....and I almost feel bad for posting this.

OK here we go, Bachelor #12. Now, I'm not sure if this guy is Nicaraguan or not (you know they are always trying to get us amazing American women to send them money to come visit us!), his profile was quite blank! So whoever would like to email him, feel free! haha

Hello Pretty how are you doing today My name is Mike we came across your profile while searching on this site, and saw you so attractive and decided to im you. You are sopretty that i believe God spent extra time creating you and if i were to present your picture in heaven, all the angels would hide their faces in shame.. I am a widower, I Lost my wife 3 yrs ago in car accident.. and since then I;ve been single and lonely . well i don't mind the distance , b cos i don't mind to relocate and meet the right one anywhere in the world ok.. all what matter is to build trust and be honest and caring to each other ok .. Ive a Boy name Loel and he is 12yrs old and am proud to be his father b cos he is the apple of my eyes well am looking for someone that will make happy am looking for the right one now you can IM me on This Yahoo Id lonelymike1958@yahoo.com i hope i will hear from you Thanks you

I'd feel bad dissecting this because of the "lost my wife in a car accident" thing, because it *could* be true. (Although, I doubt it, based on the rest of the email!) So I'm just going to leave this one alone and allow all the spelling and grammatical errors to speak for themselves.

However, I have to say that "You are sopretty that i believe God spent extra time creating you and if i were to present your picture in heaven, all the angels would hide their faces in shame" is possibly the best pickup line I've ever gotten.

I'm feeling all Victoria's Secret'ish right now, picturing myself as Heidi Klum, walking down the runway with my big angel wings, and all the other angels on the sidelines pissed off because clearly, I'm bringing sexy back.



Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?