Watch out, Sasquatch, You have Nothing on Mothman

A few years ago, we went to Halloweekends at Cedar Point with my cousin* and her husband. Brad was wearing a Mothman t-shirt and I was intrigued. They had just gone to the Mothman festival in Point Pleasant, WV earlier that year. Apparently, Mothman was first seen near Point Pleasant in 1966 near an old TNT plant. Then, in 1967, he was seen near the Silver Bridge. Shortly afterward, the bridge collapsed killing 46 people.

In the years following the bridge collapse, rumors have been flying saying that the Mothman was sighted before the Twin Towers attack, the tsunami in India, Chernobyl, and other disasters. Hmmmm.....

Of course, I'm sure there is a rational explanation for the sightings....over-active imaginations, a large bird, etc. I thought it would be a fun topic for October. So, if you need an idea for a Halloween costume, you could dress up as Mothman!

*She is actually The Man's cousin, but I claim her as my own.

Happy Birthday to my sweet sister!

Today is my sister Margie's birthday. I love that girl! When we were younger, she may have thought I didn't love her so much because of a few horrible things that she *claims* that I did to her....

1. I gave her a concussion (but it was an accident and she really did have fun before she flew off of the chair and landed onto the hardwood floor!)
2. I used to make her cry when we played Barbies. I'm sorry, but it's not MY fault that Barbie and Ken got divorced. Seriously. Why did she feel the need to blame their problems on me?
3. She used to chase me down the street yelling, "DaDa". I didn't hear her. She claims I ignored her and ran and hid from her, but seriously...I didn't hear her!
4. My mom FORCED my best friend and I to take her to see Grease with us. What was my mother thinking? I was only in 6th grade, which made Margie in 1st grade. (however, Margie did tell me recently that she felt totally cool to get to go to the movies with my friend and me. Of course she felt cool. We were the epitome of cool with our braces, Dorothy Hamill haircuts, and matching clothes.)
5. I made her sniff pepper to see if it really did make people sneeze. (I will admit to doing that because I felt really bad that it burned her nose!)

In all seriousness, though, Margie and I have had some truly wonderful times together.

• She was my maid of honor in my wedding.
• We traveled to Walt Disney World together (as adults) and totally made fools of ourselves crying during the opening ceremonies at the Magic Kingdom. (Dad loved Disney World and our parents took us there every year when we were younger.)
  
• We learned to speak Japanese together this summer (Dawn wa suki chocoleto...Dawn likes chocolate...I didn't claim to be good at speaking Japanese!) ;)
  
• We used to get sent to our room when we were younger because we were arguing (or whatever the heck we were doing to annoy our parents at the time) and once there, we would finally laugh so hard at the situation we couldn't stop!
• When we were on vacation one year, our grandmother fell asleep in the hotel room and started snoring. Again, we got the giggles and couldn't stop, so my dad made us LEAVE THE ROOM! hehe
• We used to make each other treats for surprises. Mom had a cake tin and we would put the treat in there and present it to one another with flourish.

She is....

• My best friend
• "Marnie" to The Boy
• Someone I look up to and admire (even though she's my 'baby' sister)
• An incredible mother
• Beautiful inside and out.

I love you, Marjorie! I hope you have a wonderful birthday!
xoxo

Tuesday

I got this idea from my friend who is a fellow blogger. The idea is to post a current picture and then 15 facts about yourself. So, since it's Tuesday, I thought I'd play along. :)




1. I've known the man since we were in preschool.

2. I am the middle child in my family. I have the best brother and sister in the world.

3. Being a mother defines me and completes me.

4. My mom is my hero.

5. I grew up with my extended family all living nearby, so we made wonderful memories together.

6. My dad died when I was 27 and totally rocked my world.

7. I'm blessed to have my mother-in-law in my life.

8. After working with a variety of kids during my adult life, I've gained a new appreciation for my parents and for how they raised me and the sacrifices they made.

9. I'm fortunate to have my wonderful friends.

10. I'm a Christian.

11. I like to read. The book that I'm currently reading is The Last Child by John Hart.

12. I discovered that the Kindle now has word games on it. That could be a problem for me. ;)

13. I love my Dutchie. He's my heart.

14. Fall is a gorgeous time of year. I love the crispness in the air and the beautiful colors it brings.

15. I truly believe that I am the person I am today because of every single thing that has happened to me along the journey of life.

Monday

I have a few errands to run this morning, then I'm going to spend some time in the kitchen. On today's menu is homemade spaghetti sauce with meatballs. I'm thinking that cookies would taste good today too. :) Pretty soon, the house will be filled with some yummy smells!

What's going on in your kitchen today?

Have a great Monday, everyone!

I'm Not a Fan of Spiders!

The sun was shining for awhile this morning, so I took advantage of the cooler temps and the glorious sunshine and did some much needed yard work. As I was pulling weeds in my 'flower' beds (I didn't plant any flowers this year, but the weeds still grew), I saw a couple nasty looking spiders. I did my best to not disturb the hideous creatures. They were HUGE!

Here is a picture of the spider. Anyone know what kind it is or if it would bite? I could just picture it attacking me and planting a huge bite on my body. I'm a drama queen, I'll admit it. Got a problem with that? ;)

It's the Weekend!

I've been slacking with my blogging once again. But now, it's the weekend and I have some free time to devote to updating.

The Man is working tomorrow, so I'm planning on doing some things around the house to whip it into shape. I need to declutter, pull the weeds so that we don't look like the Munsters of our neighborhood anymore (you're welcome, neighbors!), color my hair to cover up these gray roots, possibly pluck my eyebrows (if I get brave...I don't like inflicting pain upon myself.) I'm sure I'll find plenty to do.

I need to make myself a list so that I can cross things off as they get done. It's more fun that way, right? ;)

No News is Good News, but SOME News is Nice.

When The Boy goes away to school, we can go a week or so without hearing a word from him. My philosophy has become 'no news is good news.' I've had to adopt that philosophy after nagging him to please call once a week. I get that he's busy, but I'd like to hear his voice every once in awhile, you know?

He texts his dad with the occasional "I miss you" or "I love you" or "I'm glad you're my dad." No texts to me, though. However, I usually get the phone calls on my cell, like I got today after work. Woot! He was filling me in on every thing that has been going on so far and he sounds great. It feels good to know that he's doing so well.

It's hard to believe sometimes that he's a sophomore in college and will be 20! in two short months. I'm so proud of him and happy that he's happy and doing so well.

xoxo