The Jersey Short

Times when it sucks being a dwarf

2012-02-29T11:25:00.003-05:00

Here is my new car. My husband and I don’t relish the new car experience like most people because for us it’s a real pain in the ass. When you are a dwarf, you just can’t drive your new car off the lot. So here is my new car sitting at the dealership for another two weeks. We have to coordinate dates between the dealership and the specialty garage to have my pedal extenders installed. It is a crappy situation and one where a lot of begging and pleading occurs.

For many legal reasons, dealerships no longer install the pedals. If I was more mechanical I would install them myself. The friggin extenders just clamp onto the existing pedals. It takes all of fifteen minutes to do. Since we live in a country of flying lawsuits, dealerships do not want to be responsible if you drive off of the lot and get into an accident. Thus you have to wait for your car and sign away your life in order to get your pedals installed.

This is why my husband and I only go for a new car every ten years. Don’t even get me started on how long it takes you to find right combination of pillows and seat adjustments. That takes another two weeks.

What motivated me into buying a car was accessibility. In my old hatchback I had a string attached so I can easily pull down the door. One day the string broke and I was stuck in the Target lot with my car wide open. A good samaritan came to my rescue and closed it for me. From that point on, I couldn’t use my trunk unless Ashley was with me.

My new car has a power tailgate! YEA! The salesman was trying to point out the finer points of the car like the leather interior and the navigation. While he kept giving his sales pitch, I stood in the back of the car raising the tailgate up and down, up and down, up and down. Finally the salesman gave up talking and said ‘Is the power tailgate the only reason why you are buying the car? I almost blurted out ‘No kidding Sherlock’. Instead I politely said ‘Yes’.

So I am sitting here waiting for my cool power tailgate automobile. Hopefully the wait will not be much longer. Thanks for listening to my rant.

Rosie oh Rosie

2012-02-15T17:30:00.003-05:00

I thought I would weigh-in on the controversy surrounding Rosie’s interview with Chelsea Handler. I for one was not insulted by Rosie’s honesty. At least she was able to admit that she has ‘dwarf fear’ instead of acting like it doesn’t exist. In my life I have encountered people with ‘dwarf’ fear. You can tell by their eye contact and facial expressions that they would rather be running as fast as they can away from you rather than having to deal with a dwarf.

Dwarf fear is just having a fear of the unknown. When I lived in Pittsburgh, every time I would go into the local Dunkin Donuts you could hear jaws dropping and eyes bulging out the local's heads. It was like time would stand still and I was the time keeper. Sometimes it was so weird that I was usually allowed to cut line so they can get me the hell out of there as quickly as possible. It was rather cool to have this power to move people in Dunkin Donuts especially on a cold busy morning. It was also rather insulting that these people who live 20 miles outside of a major metropolitan area never encountered a dwarf before.

Now dwarf fear isn’t limited to service people you encounter like the waitress that serves your meal or the plumber who can’t wait to get the hell out of your home as fast as he can. It can also happen to family friends. My mother-in-law had a neighbor who was terrified of us. She would run out of the house when she would hear our voices or see us come through the door. It started to be comical to me and my husband. Sometimes we would say ‘hello’ just to time how long it takes her to come up with an excuse to go home.

My mother-in-law denied what was going on when we asked her. She said that the neighbor just doesn’t want to intrude on our visit. My mother-in-law just sees life through rose colored glasses. She is one of those half full type of gal. I am more cynical than she is, especially when there is a party and the neighbor goes ‘Oh your son is here’ and then runs out the door.

What eventually got this neighbor over her fear was normalcy. Normalcy that she was able to relate one of her life experiences to our life. When we adopted Ashley and became parents something clicked. Parenthood was what she could relate to. She was lovely to our daughter.Soon after Ashley came, she started talking to us about parenthood. Eventually her fear was banished. She finally saw us in a light that she could understand. We were parents just like she. We had all the same issues with raising a child. We had a connection that lead to an understanding. Now when we visit, she talks our ears off about everything in her life! I think I liked the other way better. I kid you really I do.

What Rosie needs is some positive experiences with the dwarf community. If she can see we are just like everyone else, just short, her fear will go away. Human contact goes a long way in breaking down perception and stereotypes. All people need is to see you are a real person. A real person with the same problems and fears like they have. Normalcy is the key to breaking down the fear of the unknown.

Rosie come over to my house. We will have a blast! I make a mean spaghetti and meatballs. We can go shopping afterwards. I am sure after you meet me, you never again have ‘dwarf’ fear again.

Bad day at split Rock

2012-02-03T11:46:00.002-05:00

My partner in-crime and I were out most of the day on Tuesday. In our travels we decided to go to lunch at a common seafood restaurant that begins with the letter ‘R’. I have successfully eaten at this establishment in the past so I was not concerned about my food allergy I have to lobster. The broiled fish I had must have touched lobster in the cooking process. Two hours after we got home, I was sick to my stomach about another hour later I was in the bathroom. My allergy doesn’t cause shock (thank God) but I do get very very sick to my stomach. Let’s just say nothing stays in me! I was so sick that it lasted most of yesterday. I feel a little better today. This has only happened to me 5x in my life.

The last time it happened was when hubby and me planned a romantic evening out. Grandma was keeping our daughter over night and we had reservations in a swanky Charleston hotel. To surprise me, Rich made reservations at a 5 star restaurant. It was a wonderful restaurant. The kind that has maitre’d that seats you and pours the water. One problem with this lovely restaurant, Almost everything contained LOBSTER. I did find a shrimp entree that looked safe. I should have known better when I asked the waitress if it contained any Lobster and she replied ‘I don’t think so’. The last romantic thing we did that night was walked hand-in-hand back to the hotel. By the time we got out the room key, I had to make a mad dash to the bathroom! I mean it was like scene from the Exorcist.Every thing was spinning out of me. Needless to say romance went out the window that night. It is hard to be romantic to a girl who is kneeling to the porcelain god never less wanting to kiss her afterwards. Poor Rich, all that money spent and nothing in return! He was bummed that I was sick as well as concerned. It was a long night for both of us and not the way it was planned.

Things were not that bad the other day. Next time I have to be more careful where I eat and avoid any restaurant that has a picture of a lobster as its’ logo. How dumb was that?

Mid-Life Crisis: Reason Numero Uno

2012-02-01T19:28:00.006-05:00

My mid-life crisis officially started last month when I turned 48. As many who turn the mid-century mark, you wonder 'where the hell did time go?’. In my mind, I am still at St.Aedans getting yelled at by Sister Catherine for standing too long by the pencil sharpener. Sister Catherine frowned upon socializing while sharpening. I was always guilty of the crime.

I still look somewhat the same from my college days and feel the same inside. I play video games,watch Beavis and ButtHead and still love ‘fart’ jokes. I can’t help it, I am my dad’s child. In our family we lived for fart jokes.

Physically though I can’t say I am the same. I have more aches and pains than Bon Jovi in an Advil ad. By the way, did he sell out or what? My boobs have officially joined my stomach in becoming one with the universe. I can’t even have a glass of wine now without falling asleep.Back in my college days, I held my liquor with the best of them.

All my melancholy has been brought on by one blaring reason, middle school. Ashley will attend Middle School next year. Oh my God, she will be going to middle school! Boys with raging hormones, girls with short skirts and make-up and puberty sprouting all over the hallways. I can’t bear the thought of dances and texting. Why do they text so much anyway? Isn’t talking on the phone like we did much better?

She still plays with dolls and watches Spongebob. She thinks boys are cute as well as icky. I told her she is not allowed to kiss a boy until she is in college. For some stupid reason she agreed. The joke is on her! More likely the joke will be on me. She will probably break that one by the end of sixth grade. Oh god, smelly stinky boys(no offense to the mothers of boys, I give you permission to say the same about girls). I don’t think I will be able to handle this.

I have been a ‘helicopter' mom for the past eleven years. When she was a toddler, I used the ‘kid leash’ because I was terrified of her getting away from me and I couldn’t catch her. I became homeroom mom to follow her when she started Kindergarten. I still drive her to school and when she is outside playing, I annoy her at least four to six times to make sure she is okay. I am not ready to let go. How am going to let go? If I am this emotional about middle school, can you friggin imagine how I will be when she leaves for college? I will probably grab her ankles and scream ‘Taking me with you’ while she tells me to stop embarrassing her. Don’t even mention the phrase ‘Drivers License’.

Do you think colleges will let me rent a room on campus? Oh never mind, just get me a bottle of wine. I am going to start drinking like it’s 1985!

Looking out onto the horizon....

2011-06-02T11:22:00.004-04:00

I want to start this post by apologizing for my last entry. After reading it, I thought I was rather rude to my followers. I should have explained more how I felt. I think I am going through some sort of mid-life crisis. I have been really snarky lately and not very patient.

You see I am (gulp) 47 years old and have no direction. I left my career as a Programmer Analyst with a Fortune 10 company about 9 years ago to raise my precious daughter. My days were filled with playgroups, mommy and me activities, taking her to and from school. Now my days are filled with being her taxi and personal assistant. How did this happen?

My child had the nerve to grow-up. She needs her momma less now. I feel more like the sideline cheerleader to her life other than the main character. She is ten and wants to do everything by herself and we are in a power struggle almost everyday. I don’t want to give up control and she wants to be in the driver’s seat. I feel sorry for my husband because he has been getting in the middle of this struggle. Poor guy. I want her to stay the three year old who needed me for everything. From getting dressed in the morning to what should she eat. If I can’t handle her being ten, god knows what I am going to be like when she goes to college. I need a new purpose in life. One that will fulfill me and give me something to forward to.

What can a 47 year old dwarf woman who has been out of the workforce for nine something years do? I am thinking about going back to school. I have been taking a few community college classes to brush up on my programming skills. I honestly don’t like programming but you always fall back to what you know. It is rather tedious work and under appreciated. I thought of getting a degree in history. I love learning about life in the past and how it can impact the future. The only problem what can you do with a degree in history? I really don’t want to be a teacher. Another truly under appreciated profession. I would probably get fired anyway if I was a teacher. I would be telling the parents what I really thought of their precious child. It would not go over well.

Motivation is what I need the most. I need to stop feeling like a cow that has been put out to pasture. I need to tap into my inner youth who was not afraid to try and do anything. A new chapter should start instead of feeling like ending. I will keep you posted on this journey. I am sure it will be a lot of laughs.

In other news, I am going to be updating this blog with new graphics and more tales of what is it really like to be four foot tall and a mom. I still owe you the story of how me and my husband met, adventures in grocery shopping and why dwarfs hate being recognized as someone else. The later is a pet peeve of mine.

Until then have fun and enjoy the weather.

Thanks for listening!

Back from the dead.....???

2011-04-14T21:58:00.005-04:00

I am not one of those bloggers that are compelled to write about every fart, burp or hiccup that occurs in my life. If my life is running on the mundane side, I don’t feel the need to bore you with the details!

That’s how life has been going these days. Running its course without any (knock on wood) farts, burps or hiccups.
I like life this way! I am not a mama for drama.

Ashley is on break so we took a little trip to Charleston, SC and then to Atlanta. While in Atlanta, we visited the Georgia Aquarium. In my honest opinion it is the best aquarium ever. Trust me. You actually feel like you are one with the fish.The aquarium just opened a Dolphin show that is fantastic!If you are in the Atlanta area or going to Atlanta, the Georgia Aquarium is a must!

While in Atlanta, I met up with my dearest friend from High School. She is the only person I am still close to from my childhood. Lisa has stuck with me through thick and thin over the years. She always had my back in High School. Nobody messed or teased me with Lisa around. She would have kicked their butts sideways! It was fun having our families meet at the Aquarium. Ashley loved meeting/playing with Lisa’s daughter and son. It is the best feeling in the world to see your children become friends with
your BFF’s kids!

I try to keep this blog as real as possible. I will not write stories that are not true for the sake of the blog. I want to give you a glimpse of what life is really like for a dwarf. There are no writers or TV producers making my life look glamorous and extraordinary. Sometimes life is boring no matter what height you are. If I don’t write for a while, life is just moving along. After all, dwarfs have boring periods of life just like everyone else!

On that note....

Until the next time something worth writing about happens, take care and be safe!

Monday Morning

2011-02-14T10:52:00.005-05:00

Another Monday morning is here and another week starts with a pile of laundry. Not a very romantic way to start Valentines Day.

One of the best inventions know to man and many dwarfs alike is the front load washing machine. As soon as these came on the market, I wanted one. My top load machine became my enemy over the years. Especially after Ashley came. I used to literally climb into the machine to pull out the clothes. One day I fell in. My legs were dangling out! Yes, it was a hysterical sight to behold! My husband was laughing more than helping me get out. Eventually I wiggled myself out of the machine with the help of God. That was the day that laundry became my enemy!

Happiness was the day that the machine caught on fire. I called the fire department with glee. When the captain told me the machine was kaput, I did the happy dance. The front load machine was within my reach. No more did I have to worry about falling into the wash machine, no longer was laundry my enemy. Anything that makes life easier, is a special occasion for us short people!

Today I am happily doing laundry. It is a good day in the house overall. The sun is shining. I believe the worse of winter is over. Best of all, my husband told me to make sure I answer the door today because I am getting a surprise! I love surprises, especially from my husband.

Take care and have a Happy VD day!

Time

2011-02-04T21:09:00.005-05:00

Time goes through your hands like sand. Honestly it does. One minute I am a girl of sixteen, next I am a middle aged mom of a nine year old. How the hell did this happen. When did my life change 360 degrees without me knowing? It’s pretty scary.

I am going through some sort of mid-life crisis right now. I thought I would blog about it to see if anyone else can sympathize.

The goals I set for myself at sixteen, I never accomplished. I wanted to be a Fashion Buyer for a department store. That never happened. Even though I got accepted to Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, my dad would not let me go. He thought if I wanted to become a buyer, I should just start working the counter at Macy and skip college all together.

I came from an era where if your dad said ‘NO’, no it was. You did not question. You just followed. Unlike today when you say ‘no’ to your child, it’s just an opinion, not law.

This is one of my regrets in my life. I should have figured out a way to go to New York City on my own. I was too scared and too confused.

My new reflections of my life then and now came this week from connecting with an old friend. He was a good friend of mine when I was sixteen and the world was my oyster. Unfortunately I didn’t know it at the time.

I am glad that I had such good friends when I needed them. I wish I could find my inner sixteen year old spirit. She is in there somewhere. I just need to pull her out. My balance is out of whack and I hope it will return soon. I am sure it will.

Sometimes you hate to admit it but...

2011-01-08T21:48:00.005-05:00

Hey All! How is your New Year treating you? I hope you are doing fine.

Gals you know that you are going to cringe with this next statement but it needs to be said. Sometimes I should just listen to my husband. GASP! I know I just broke one of the golden rules of sisterhood.

I had to eat crow this week which is never a good thing in a marriage.

Here is the story. Back when we were deciding what to get Ashley for christmas. Rich and I both thought it would be nice to give her a camera. She has shown an interest in photography. We thought it would be fun for her to have her own.

Richard being of practical mind wanted to get one of those low price digital cameras. You know the ones at the check-out counter in Target or Walmart. I on the other hand wanted to get her a good digital camera. I thought a cheap camera would break easily and we would be buying her another camera in a year. My first error in judgement.

Okay I’ll confess. I really wanted the Nikon Coolpix and I saw a way to get it. There I said it. You see after Richard bought me the Nikon D40, I have been officially banned from any new cameras for the next 200 years. Ashley getting a camera was the light at the end of a dark tunnel. I figured it would be her camera but mommy can borrow it. Pretty clever huh?

My con game worked. Rich agreed to buy the Coolpix for Ashley.

Christmas finally arrived. Ashley had no clue about the camera. She shrieked with delight upon opening the gift. I taught her how to use the camera and gave her the rules. I needed to know when she was going to use the camera. She just couldn’t take it and use it. The photo shoot would have to be mother approved. Ashley happily agreed to the rules.

It was great timing for the camera. North Carolina had it’s first white Christmas in about 40 years. Ashley darted outside and took the best pictures of the snow and scenery. I thought I was raising the next Annie Leibowitz! All was great in the world. Little did I know dark clouds were forming.

Three days later, my budding Annie Lebowitz decided to take the camera with her while she was roller blading. She thought it would be cool to take pictures on her roller blades. Now this was not a pre-approved photo shoot. If it was, the answer would have been ‘over my dead body you are going to take pictures with your new camera while on roller blades’.

Not only was she on roller blades with the camera but rolling blading down the hills. Can you guess what happened next? Oh I am sure you can. She fell on top of the camera and broke the lens. The lens would not go back into the camera. Something I am sure that could be fixed by a professional. Ashley decided to cut out the middleman and try and fix it herself.
This made the problem worse. After figuring out the camera is kaput. She hid the camera in her closet.

Now speed ahead to this week. Ashley and I are going to her Girl Scout Cookie Rally. I told Ashley that she could take her camera to the rally. I trusted her with the camera. Ashley very innocently replied ‘I can’t’. ‘Why’ I asked not so sweetly. ‘Because it is broken’ Ashley said with fear in her eyes.

She finally spilled the beans about the whole situation. I was livid. I told her to go to her room, that I needed to cool off. My husband had the 'I told you so’ expression on his face. I hate that! I don’t know if he was more mad at me for getting her the camera or her for hiding it.

Ashley was properly punished. She has to unload the dishwasher until she is 21 and was grounded from all activities for a week. My punishment was hearing about the ills of buying a 9 year old a good camera.

The camera is now in a box on his desk while we figure out if Nikon is going to fix it or not. Like the mother I am, I bought a replacement camera. Ashley does not know I have a new replacement camera. She has to earn it back. I am thinking by the time she turns thirty, she can have it.

The new Coolpix was 50.00 cheaper than the first camera! Another lesson I learned from this fiasco. If you are purchasing a camera for a Christmas gift, buy it the day after Christmas!

Bottom line, once in every ten years of marriage, your husband can be right.

DJD

I am back!

2011-01-02T10:44:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year to all! I am glad to say ‘I am back’! I took a break for a while to take care of myself. I am happy to say that I am twenty pounds lighter and still going down! I feel a thousand times better too. I am no longer tired and slug like. I am motivated to stay healthy.

I am also getting brave too. As you can see, I finally posted a pic of myself! What a shock! In the past, I have always hated pictures of myself. I just don’t like the way I look. I don’t know if this is a dwarf thing or a woman thing but it’s been a lifelong hang-up. My husband feels the same way too. Believe it or not we have never looked at our wedding video! We really don’t like to look at ourselves. I am getting better though. I allowed this picture to be taken of me when we were at Hilton Head in October. Oh by the way, I am 10 pounds lighter from when this picture was taken.

I apologize for being a bad blogger. I promise that will not happen again! Stay tuned because I feel 2011 is going to be very interesting!

Miss you all!

DJD

Taking a break....

2010-09-22T09:24:00.001-04:00

More life changes have been thrown at me during the past two months. I haven’t had time to blog. Please stay tuned. I will be back shortly. No pun intended!

DJD

I’m bored.....

2010-07-22T20:27:00.006-04:00

This is the battle cry I have heard for the past 4 weeks. Thank-goodness Ashley goes to year round school. I could not handle being camp counselor for 3 months.

I have been wanting to go to a local ceramics shop since moving to Cary. Today with the temps being in the mid nineties and my daughter watching the same Spongebob episode for the 400th time, I felt it was time to go. It also helped that I had a ‘buy one-get one’ coupon. Love those coupons.

Believe it or not Ashley did not want to participate in this adventure. She wanted to watch ‘Phinneas and Ferb’ AGAIN. I did what any mother would do in this circumstance, I threatened her with chores if she did not go. It worked.

Look how miserable she looks. What a mean mother I am. She hated it so much that she did 2 projects. Gosh I am cruel.

I love painting ceramics. As a child I used to go with my mom and paint pots. In a throw back to my childhood, I chose a very cute snowman jar. I hope it comes out okay. I sort of gave him a black freckle under his eye. We get the glazed projects back next week. On the blog next week, I will show you our works of art. Well, I promise they will be ‘works’ not necessarily ‘art’.

It has been almost two weeks since I started Weightwatchers. I am now starting to get creative with my meals. Creativity with the meals is key to staying on the plan. Here is a 5 point sandwich that is really tasty.It is my version of a low fat quesadilla.

To make this sandwich:

You take one whole wheat tortilla, you fill it on one side with two slices of low fat deli ham and one slice of Alpine lace swiss cheese. If you like you can add tomatoes, lettuce and mustard, all of which will add no points to the sandwich. You fold over the tortilla and stick it in toaster over for 2-3 minutes.

You can have it with a side of fruit or baked potato chips. It is really tasty and satisfying.

That’s all that been happening at Chez DJD this week. Hope you are having fun and not working too hard.

When you are four feet tall and feel like a......

2010-07-20T15:02:00.008-04:00

Okay I am not be this big but I am weighing a little more these days. I have been indulging in the foods of the south and now am paying the price. Curse you BoJangles chicken. My weight has ballooned to 150! Weighing 150 and being only four feet tall, is not a good combination.

To get back on track, I joined WeightWatchers. I have had success with the program in the past and hopefully will again. I love WeightWatchers because you can eat real food just less of it. You can even indulge a little and still loose weight. My goal is to get down to 120. Even though I am short my frame is rather big. God Bless the Albers family gene for that! I wish I was built petite like the Italian side of the family. Oh well you can’t change genetics! Sorry mom!

My absenteeism on the blog is due to Ashley being on vacation. We have two more weeks until she goes back to school. While on break, I have been reviewing math and reading with her everyday. She is not thrilled with the idea. When she whines about doing ‘homework’, I remind her that my dad made me do a few math problems every day during the summer. Why do kids always roll their eyes when you tell them about your childhood?

Now it is not all work and no play. Yesterday we went to the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science in Durham, NC. If you live in the triangle or visiting, I urge you to go. It is a cool place. The museum is a combination of a science exhibits and a zoo. There are animals to see, rockets to explore and the best butterfly house in the country. It is worth the trip to Durham.

Tonight there is a new show on Discovery Health channel about dwarfs. The show is called ’I Am Pregnant and...’. It’s about a couple that is going to have a dwarf baby. The couple is a ‘mixed couple’ meaning the mom is average size and the dad is an achondroplasia dwarf(like me). It should be interesting to see. It airs at 9 pm on the east coast.

I heard from my mom that dwarfs babies are painful to give birth to due to the size of our heads. Every mother’s day she reminds me of the agony she went through with me! I think she tells the story so I get her a good mother’s day gift.

On the Discovery Channel tonight, the fleet finds out about Captain Phil on the ‘Deadlist Catch’. Last week’s episode made me cry all over again. Poor Captain Phil. I love the Cornelia Maria. I hope Jake and Josh quit smoking. Every time I see them with a cigarette, I want to rip it out of their mouths! I love the show and have been a fan for several years. It is a great show and if you have never watched it you should.

What have you been up to this summer? Where have you gone? What movies have you seen?

I must leave you and count how many points is in a Oreo cookie. I hope only a few because I REALLY WANT ONE!

It’s been awhile....

2010-06-29T10:09:00.010-04:00

Hey, How are ya? I know I know...I have been a very bad blogger. I haven’t posted in a long time. Life has been moving slow and I just needed time to unplug.

There has not been much excitement going on in North Carolina. In fact, it has been down right boring.The weather has been dreadful. It is hot and I mean HOT! Sunday the temperature was 103 with 100% humidity. We have been staying indoors playing Xbox and scrapbooking. It’s been so hot, that I haven’t cooked much either.

While locked up, I was inspired to do some summer pages.The first page is about my daughter turning 9. I cannot believe that my baby turned nine this year. I wanted to capture who she is right now. What does she like to do and who she is right now. I wrote down some questions and had her in her own writing answer. Ashley does not have the best penmanship in the world, so I had her practice writing the answers before writing them on the actual page. For this project I used my favorite new line Basic Grey ‘Basic’.I love love love this line! It is really cool for school pages or when you want to document milestones. Other page elements are K&Company chipboard and Prima flowers. I wanted a doodling effect for the photo matt. I stamped pink swirls before adhering the pictures. The title was done with a digital font which I enhanced with a gel pen.

The second layout is a vacation page. During the summer we love playing miniature golf. It is our favorite summer pastime! Here is a layout showing our last mini golf outing in Myrtle Beach. For this page, I went retro. I used magic mesh for underneath the title to give a gritty look to the page. Magic Mesh is a product that is hard to find. I used it a lot when I first started scrapbooking. The patterned paper again is Basic Grey . It’s their ‘Boxer’ line. The letters and brads are also Basic Grey. Green was the theme of the layout because golf is the color green!

I also have been getting into some real trashy reality tv. My new favorite is ‘Real Housewives of NJ’. As if you didn’t know that already! As Teresa Guidice would say ‘I love love love this show’. The Manzo family so reminds me of the people I grew up with in NJ. They are just good salt of the earth family types. I would love to sit and eat with this family(especially if Caroline is cooking). Of course there is the villain of the show which is Danielle Staub. Danielle reminds me of the girls who used to hang out in the smoking lounge of my high school. You know the types. Been around the block a few times and stink to high heaven of pot and cigarettes. This is who I hope my daughter doesn’t turn into later in life. Still in all, love all the gals and as they say in Jersey ‘Jersey Girls rule the World’!

That’s been my life in a nutshell. So what have you been doing? What are your summer plans? I promise I will stay on top of the blog this summer. It will be tough but us Jersey girls can do anything.

LOST

2010-05-28T10:38:00.008-04:00

Yes, I have been ‘LOST’, not on the ‘island’ but in the state of North Carolina. I have been busy lately. Ashley is on vacation and I broke a few things around here. Life has had more ups and downs again.

Speaking of LOST, did y’all watch the final episode? I have mixed feelings about the end. I wished the parallel world was better explained. I am assuming the bomb did not work. The parallel world was their version of the after life. The only people that truly got off the island was the pilot, Sawyer, Kate, Claire and Miles. My interpretation of the whole series was that you saw the time line of Jack’s life. Jack’s life was intertwined with life on the Island. Speaking of Jack, what a fine specimen of a man! I would break vows for him. So what are you views on the show? Did you like how it ended? Let’s discuss.

On the topic of breaking things, I side swiped my husband new car. It was lovely. He parked in the driveway which he rarely does. I was thinking of what I had to buy at the store instead of watching backing out of our very narrow drive way. All of sudden I heard ‘BAM’. I thought oh crap! I knew what I did. My car was stuck to the side of his. The worst was telling him I did it. He did not get mad but was upset. The car is only a month old. I now have to find a good body shop in Raleigh. Finding a good body shop is like finding a needle in a haystack. We were recommended one from a neighbor. We now just have to find the time to bring the cars in.

Other than crashing into cars and watching TV, I completed one item on my bucket list. With much begging and pleading with my husband, we took a trip to Asheville, NC. My dream in life was to see the Grand Lady on the hill. I finally got to tour Biltmore. The way some people follow star trek is the way I follow the Vanderbilt family. I am a Vanderbilt family geek. I have read at least ten books on the family and have toured two homes(Hyde Park and The breakers). Biltmore was the gem in the collection of Vanderbilt homes and it did not fail its reputation. What a gorgeous home.

The tour is not for the faint of heart. Many stairs to climb. It was tough but I got through it. George Vanderbilt and his wife had to be the most healthy couple in Asheville at the time. Just to get to the second floor was 4 flights of stairs. At one point I thought a tour guide was going to find me keeled over on the floor. Needless to say Rich did not join Ashley and I on the tour.

Here is a trivia question for you. Guess who is currently the most famous Vanderbilt family member. He is the son of Gloria and the great-great grandson of the family’s patriarch Corneilus.It is none other than Anderson Cooper. As I toured the home, I wondered what his thoughts of the home would be. Did he ever tour it? What does he think of his great-great Uncle’s accomplishments? If you read the blog Mr.Cooper, please drop me an email. I would love to have a cup of coffee with you to talk family.

In conclusion of this long post, I have to tell you about the major spill I had in the kitchen. I was getting ingredients prepared to throw in the slow cooker for dinner Monday morning, when I took a major tumble. I was at the kitchen sink and I mis-judged when climbing down the stool. I thought I was stepping down, instead I tumbled down and twisted my leg. I was laying flat on my back screaming for Rich. I thought for sure I broke my leg. I didn’t break any bones thank-god, but I am still sore. This stool is a death trap and really need to get it replaced. What a few weeks it has been!

I am off to Charleston tomorrow to visit family and to go to Folly beach. I hope you have a good Memorial Day weekend. Please say a prayer for all our soldiers that keep us safe. Take Care and be safe.

Back to scrapbooking...

2010-05-10T10:00:00.010-04:00

I hope everyone had a lovely Mother’s Day. My family took me out to my favorite restaurant PF Changs. My husband had the foresight to make reservations. It was the smart thing to do because the wait was over 2 hours for a table! We were seated as soon as we arrived and the service was first class. The food was awesome and I was very happy being with my family.

Last week, I worked on several scrapbook projects. I would like to show you step by step how I construct a page and where my ideas come from. My inspiration for this project came from my trip to DC last year. Ashley and I took a tour of DC. It was Ashley’s first visit and she loved it.

First step in planning a layout is picking the papers that will be used. All my layouts are 12x12, unless I am working on mini-albums. I usually choose a sheet of patterned paper and a coordinating solid background. For this layout I used pattern paper from Making Memories ‘Passport’ collection and sky blue card stock from Bazzill Basics.

To make the pattern paper ‘pop’ from the background, I inked the edges of the paper. I pick a darker shade than the colors being used but still within the same color palette. I love Tim Holtz’s Distress Inks. The Inks are great for outlining papers and elements.

Next step is to work on the title. You need to choose where your title is going to go on the page. The title defines the layout of the page. Make sure it is what catches the eye first. For this project, I am going to stamp the words ‘Washington DC’ on the map. I first stamped the title on a piece of scratch paper to see if the ink and title will work. It’s important to stamp your colors on a scratch paper first because you can’t erase ink! Once you are satisfied with the look and color then you are ready to add the title to your layout.

Finally it’s time to work with the photos. I first lay all the photos(and I mean all) on the layout. Next I start to move photos around, take photos off and add page elements. This process maybe repeated several times before I start adhering the photos. I want the pictures to tell a story so it is important to get the right placement in the layout.

After I adhere photos, I add my journaling then I am done. Depending on techniques used, it takes me an hour to two hours to do a two-page layout. This is a beginners way of doing pages. More advance techniques will come soon.

On a different note, for safety reasons I had to remove last week’s blog post. I should have thought it through more before I posted. I guess I was just really angry. If you have questions or want information on how to protect your child, please email me. I will be glad to help.

Have a great week and we will talk soon!

Happy Mother’s Day!

2010-05-09T13:06:00.005-04:00

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What....Did you think I would forget to wish you a Happy Mother’s Day?
Happy Mother’s day to all the moms, step-moms,
soon-to-be moms, dad-moms and Grandmoms that read my blog!
Luv DJD

Freebie idea of the week

2010-05-03T12:13:00.002-04:00

The weather was wonderful this past weekend. So wonderful that we just had to get out and enjoy. The question was what activity can we do that is fun and for free? hmmm.... Guess what I found that was fun and free.

Saturday, I went to the Apex Peak Festival. I had a blast. Admission was free and so was parking! We strolled down the street looking at all the craft vendors. There was free music from a great band. People were dancing in the street. It was a great family outing.

I know you are thinking festivals are not totally free DJD. Okay I did buy a lemonade and funnel cake but the costs were still minimal. You can enjoy the music and the atmosphere for free.

To find a local festival near you, go to festivalsandevents.com. All you have to do is plug-in your state and voila you have a big list of festivals.

The weather is warm and the sun is shining. Get out there and enjoy a local festival!

Childhood Time Capsule

2010-04-30T20:59:00.008-04:00

I can’t believe that my baby, the child that screamed through the airport eight years ago, who continued to scream for the next twelve hours in the hotel room, turned nine yesterday! It was Ashley’s big birthday! She told me that this is her last year as a single digit age! I wanted to cry when she announced that with pride at breakfast. Boy did the time fly. She was one years old when we finally got her from Korea. She came on her first birthday. What a way to celebrate your first birthday! Stuck on a plane for over twenty hours then tossed in the arms of a woman you never met. No wonder why the kid cried for almost 12 hours straight.

Celebrating her ninth birthday made me feel nostalgic for when I was nine. What did I love to play with? What was my favorite candy? What was the rage of the day? If you can make a childhood time capsule what would you put in it? What 5 items would remind you of your youth?

Would you put in your collection of Wacky Packages? I loved wacky packages when I was about nine years old. I collected and traded these gross stickers. I remembered that I scored a Skimpy Crummy Peanut Butter sticker. This was one of the ‘rare’ stickers in a package. My cousin offered me 5.00 for it and I said no! Dumb me.

What was your favorite candy that you would like to remember? My favorite when I was a kid was Pixie Stixs. I was all about sour tastes just like my daughter. Ashley doesn’t like Pixie Stixs but she loves those disgusting sour patch kids.As hard as I try, I can’t make her like the classics! BTW, I correctly spelled the name ‘Pixie’. Wonka candy is incorrect with ‘Pixy'!

When I was a kid, I only drank milk with Bosco syrup. Bosco rocked! Hershey syrup cannot even compare to Bosco. I loved it on ice cream. It would cover the ice cream in gooey goodness. While researching Bosco, I found an internet store that sells it! It is not in the glass jar, so I don’t know if it still tastes as good as it use to. I will have to order a bottle and let you know if it is worth it.

Are you old enough to remember ‘Suzy Homemaker’? If you were a little girl during the seventies, chances are you owned a Suzy Homemaker toy. Suzy Homemaker made toy kitchen appliances. I had the oven, sink and wash machine. The oven was fantastic. It made real cakes. It was bigger and better than the Easy Bake oven(which also came out in the seventies). I thought I was the ‘Ace of Cakes’ with my Suzy Homemaker oven.

I wasn’t into Barbies like many little girls. The clothes were to hard for me to put on the doll. The clothes back then had real buttons, zippers and snaps. Today’s Barbie is much easier to dress because of velcro. I did however loved Dawn Dolls. Dawn Dolls would be the number one item in my capsule. The clothes were easy for me to navigate. The dolls were more fashionable then Barbie. Dawn Dolls wore ‘Couture’ whereas Barbie wore ‘Gimbels’. I had every Dawn Doll and most of the designer fashions. Recently, I showed my collection to my daughter. Needless to say, she thought Barbie was cooler. Kids they just don’t understand!

There you have it, my five time capsule items. What are yours? Please tell me your time capsule items. I would love to know. Tomorrow is National Scrapbooking Day. I will hopefully have a layout I can share with you. Take care and have a blast discovering your past!

Freebie idea of the week

2010-04-27T17:48:00.004-04:00

Hey all! Have you been to your local library lately? It’s a wonderful place to go that is totally free! All you need is proof of address and poof you have access to a world of magic. Okay enough with the sticky sweet talk. As I have previously mentioned one too many times, the Davis family is watching our pennies. My new goal is to find great things me and my daughter can do that are either free or can be done with minimal costs.

This week we went to our local library. My daughter is into Nancy Drew and they have the best collection of Nancy Drew books. I have been wanting to read the ‘Lovely Bones’ for sometime and I was happy to find it at our library. I used to buy all the books I wanted to read. I would read the books once and then sell them at a garage sale. What a waste of money! Your local library carries the best in new literature, the classics and biographies.

Libraries also sponsor free programs for children such as book clubs and character read-alongs. It is a great place for kids to discover books and acquire a love of reading. You can also rent movies at libraries and many libraries have books on tape for adults.

If you don’t know where your local library is located, you can look it up at Public Libraries.com.

I am having fun discovering all the things you can do for free or on the cheap. Stay tuned because next week’s is a good one!

Throwing caution to the wind...

2010-04-22T14:04:00.005-04:00

Rich and I have been extremely frugal the past two years. I’ll be honest, we are cheap. We evaluate every dime we spend. Do we really need this item or not. I know most of the country is doing the same evaluation.

Today we sort of threw caution to the wind. We bought this house last summer. The selling point for us was the screen porch. We had a screen porch in Virginia which we enjoyed. We love our new screen porch but it does need some TLC. TLC meaning it needs patio furniture. Outdoor furniture is pretty pricey thus it has been put on the back burner of our house budget.

After shopping around for almost a year, we finally found a set that will not break our budget and will look pretty good on the porch. Home depot has a Martha Stewart four piece patio set for $399.00! Most patio sets retail over 1,000.00. Today, we went to Home Depot to see if the set would accommodate our requirements. I was able to sit in the chairs with easy and so was Rich. No stools required(which is a good thing). The quality is good and I think it will last us awhile. So if you need a new patio set that will not break the bank, you need to go to home depot and check it out.

No, I am not being paid for this promotional announcement. I just like to find good deals and share them with you. Hey everyone is looking to find good deals. I will also share activities you can do for free with your kids or by yourself. I think it will be a good challenge for me to find things to do that are free or for minimal costs. My daughter is tracking out again from school so I will be forced to stretch my entertainment dollar! Check the blog on Sundays and I will post the good deal/activity of the week. This should be fun! You can also share your good deals or free activities in the comments section of my blog.

One more item I would like to share. If you are into chocolate, you must try the new 3 Musketeers Truffle Crisp candy bar. They are to die for! I mean it’s 'better than sex' type of candy bar. Pick one up at the grocery store and I promise you won’t regret it!

Take care and post your good deals on the blog!

Feeling Blue....

2010-04-20T14:17:00.005-04:00

There are some days when the past 2 years just really get to me. I just wish that our luck will change and we can go back to our normal life(whatever ‘normal’ should mean). It has been some roller coaster ride since my husband’s been laid-off. We have had lows and some really low points. I know that the whole country is also on this ride of uncertainty. It sucks to say the least.

My husband started his own media business since TV jobs are scarce and in-between. The business is doing okay. A business is like having a garden. You constantly have to nurture and take care of it. It takes a long time for the roots to take hold. Did I ever tell you that I suck at gardening? Really I do. I think this is why I don’t have patience for business but thank-goodness my husband has patience of a saint. He is great at what he does and is moving the business in the right direction.

It’s tough. Somedays I just get down in the dumps. We are doing okay. We are keeping our head above water which I know is good considering the economy. I just get sad sometimes and worry what the future will hold.

My neighbors are in the same boat. They were also laid-off due to the recession. We all lament together which does help. Misery does love company. Today we decided collectively that things will get better. They just have to.

Friday, I just couldn’t take another day of applying for jobs online, so I decided to take a break. I grabbed my camera and headed to the historic district of Oakview in Raleigh. This excursion was to clear my head and find a positive outlook on life.

I love old homes. They remind me of a simpler time. When life was basic and you didn’t need much to get by. This red roof house was one of my favorites. I can just see Aunt Bee standing on the porch talking to her neighbor about peach pies and when Andy will be coming home.

Remember the Adams family? This home has some Adams family appeal. I bet it’s haunted. I can picture a tall woman with a long dress waiting for her husband to come home. She is looking out of the top window for him. At night, you hear her pacing the floor. She is wondering where did her love go. You can feel her sadness when you go upstairs but you don’t see the grand lady.My imagination is getting carried away now! I just love to imagine who were the first ladies of these homes.

When I look at old houses, I think of the families that had lived there. Families just like mine. They had ups and downs. Struggles and triumphs in their life. They survived tough times and so will we.

No matter what, my family will get through this. What doesn’t break us, makes us stronger, right?

Take care and I hope all is well with your families.

From the heart...

2010-04-12T19:50:00.004-04:00

My daughter taught me a life lesson yesterday and she didn't even know it. Recently Ashley made a new friend at school named Annie. At recess her and Annie play 'habitat'. Habitat from what I gather is a game where the players build various animal habitats. I have to admit when I heard about this game, I thought it was pretty strange. Yesterday, the game finally made sense to me.

Ashley had a play date with Annie. I was excited to meet this new little girl. She sounded wonderful and I was glad that Ashley was making friends more easily since we moved. It so happens that Annie only lived a couple blocks up the street from where we live. This new friend was fast becoming my favorite new friend!

When we pulled into her driveway, I saw the sweetest little girl from behind the glass door. She had a smile that would melt January snow. She was so excited that Ashley had come to her house to play. Her parents were wonderful. Very warm and welcoming. Annie doesn't have many play dates her parents explained. They were thrilled that Annie had met Ashley and that the two formed a wonderful friendship.

Ashley urged(told) me to leave(you know kids don't want their parents around when fun is on the agenda). So I left to do my grocery shopping with the warmest feeling in my heart.

You see Annie has Cerebral Palsy. She walks with a limp and has limited hand use. Her speech has also been affected. My daughter never mentioned this to me. I don't think Ashley even notices. Ashley created the habitat game for something Annie and her can play during recess. A game Annie could play. Ashley has the biggest compassionate heart that I have ever seen.

When I picked her up, I asked her what did she and Annie do together. Ashley told me that they played Elefun and the Wii. She was teaching Annie how to hold and grip the Wii controller. I was proud all over again. Later that night, I told Ashley that I was extremely proud of her and she is a good kid. She looked at me and asked 'why'? I didn't want to tell her why and break the magic of what Ashley is doing. I just shrugged my shoulders and said 'because you are you'. She kissed me good night and I smiled as she climbed into bed.

Who knew that a nine year old can teach an old mom like me such a life lesson. A very valuable life lesson.

long time since we last talked..

2010-04-08T17:51:00.006-04:00

Hi! How was your easter/passover? Did you get anything from the Easter bunny? The Easter bunny visited our home and brought a lot of chocolate. Too much chocolate if you ask me.

Let's catch up. I am working on the story of how Rich and I met. I promise it you it will be good. I am just trying to make events a little less 'family controversial' if you know what I mean. I do have family that read the blog so I have to be careful. It will be ready for posting by next week.

In the mean time, Rich has been patiently waiting for the release of the iPad. He has always been on the forefront of Apple technology. He was one of the first in our circle to get the iPod. A year ago when he read about the iPad, he wanted one right away. So for a year he has been waiting for the iPad revolution.

We are not purchasing an iPad right now,Rich just wants to be part of the revolution. So last Saturday we tracked off to the Apple store in Durham to window shop at Apple. When we arrived , we couldn't get into the store. This was not the line to purchase the iPad but to just 'look' at one! Can you believe it? Mr.Jobs must be doing the 'happy money' dance AGAIN. It was a twenty minute wait just to get into the store and then another twenty minutes to see the iPad. Rich didn't have the stamina to wait that long just for a peak so he decided to go to Maggiano's instead. I was happy with his decision. I don't share his enthusiasm for what boils down to the smaller version of a laptop computer. Really that's all it is.

Ashley and I went on a nature walk the other day. The town we live in has many walking trails called 'Greenways'. The Greenways swirl around the triangle.While walking, Ashley could not shut-up about a boy in her class(I will not reveal his name to protect the innocent!). John this and John that is all I heard. My poor baby has her first crush and it is bad! I thought I would have a few more years before I would have to deal with boys! She finally shut up when came across some ducks.Ducks are a funny creatures. They just mind their business and swim with the flow. I wish I can be more 'duck' like in my life. Then maybe I would get a good nights sleep!

I will try to post more often. It just has been busy around these parts. Take care and have a good weekend.

Happy Easter and Passover to Everyone

2010-04-04T09:20:00.002-04:00

Happy Easter to one and all! My daughter is still looking for her basket. I am not helping her this year. No hints and no "You're getting warmer" help. She officially ticked off the Easter bunny yesterday with the 'egg' incident. Easter bunny is still not over it.

She is now singing 'I don't know where my basket is' song while sitting on the steps. It's an original song only Ashley could think up.

The way she looks for things, it might be Christmas time when she finds it. lol!

Have a great day!