Rob bowls on Thursday nights. As soon as Bobby goes to bed, it's Colleen time. I usually do some cleaning and laundry, but I always watch "The Office" and now am addicted to certain shows on VH1. Am I an unsupportive fan if I watch Celebrity Rehab and now Sober House on VH1 while relaxing with an Iron City
It's been a long week. On Sunday night, my mom called me pretty late--which is never good. She told me my 88 year old grandma had fallen and she had a fractured pelvis. She was in the hospital and in a lot of pain. My grandma, whom we call "Mom" is the only grandparent I really ever knew. I am her youngest grandchild of 7 and Bobby is her youngest great-grandchild of 14. My grandfather, her husband, died 2 years before I was born. My other grandparents, Mom-Mom and Pap-Pap died when I was very little and I have no memories of them. I have always been close to "Mom". She came and lived with us when I was about 6 years old. She stayed with us until the month before I got married--24 years later. At 83 years old she decided to move to a senior-citizen apartment and be on her own. She flourished. The independence and her "own space" did wonders for her outlook on life. I usually go and visit every Sat. with Bobby. I was just there the day before the fall. She really loves Bobby and looks forward to our weekly visits. They have a routine and she really perks up when he is around.
Anyway, I was really upset and anxious to get in the hospital and see her. I went in after work on Monday. She was obviously in pain and I knew it would take her awhile to get back to her usual self, but she was as perky as she could be. After talking with her for a while, I knew she'd be just fine. In spite of everything she was going through, she managed to tell me that 1) I needed to dye my hair back to blonde because the brown was not a good color for me (even though it's now close to my natural shade) and 2) she told me that I didn't really need that piece of candy I was eating. Yep. She'll be just fine in no time. I hope when I'm her age I am as strong and feisty as she is... Here we are together on my wedding day 6/26/04: Keep up the hardwork at Therapy, Mom. I love you!
And it goes to......drumroll, please........................................ME!!!!! It's Mine. All Mine!!! Muwhahaha!! Meredith over at 24hours... gave me an award! WooHoo--what a great surprise! Take a Look: Here are the rules for these awards: a) List 10 honest things about yourself - and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep! and b) Pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap.
Ok, so now I have to share 10 honest things about myself....
1. I refuse to wear pantyhose ever again. They are uncomfortable. When I did wear them, I got snags and runs in them ALL the time, which just made me look trashy. I don't think they serve a purpose. I am old enough to decide now that I am not wearing them, and nobody can make me.
2. Whenever I have a court appearance, no matter if it is a walk-through uncontested motion or a full-blown argument, I have to allot myself an extra 15 minutes so I can arrive early enough to have time to go to the bathroom beforehand. I have gone to the bathroom in every county courthouse in Western Pennsylvania. I know, that is TMI, but you wanted honesty!
3. I really like my name, and always have. I was usually the only Colleen in my class. Also, I don't mind the nickname, "Coll". It's what everyone eventually ends up calling me. Even teachers, and my boss now.
4. I had a truly wonderful childhood. Even Rob refers to it as "Camelot". Sure, I had my moments of typical teenage angst and misery, but looking back, it was a cherished time.
5. My sister and I have gotten along a lot better since she left for college. Once we didn't have to live together, we could become friends. Although, I do have fond memories of sharing a room and playing games when we were supposed to go to sleep. Sock Baseball was classic--no touching the floor-you had to jump from bed to bed etc. and of course, "I see something..."
6. Rob is 100% my "type". Tall. Very tall. Hairy Chest (just like in B.J. and the Bear). Smart. Professional, but with a family-friendly career in Education. He wears glasses. He doesn't take himself too seriously. He makes me laugh. He likes to travel. Most of all, I can be my goofy self with him and he likes it.
7. I am a very even-tempered, laid back person. It takes A LOT to "push my buttons".
8. I am a big procrastinator. I can only really get motivated when there is a set deadline looming. I work well under pressure.
9. I fell instantly in love with Bobby the moment he was born, even though he peed on me the first time I held him. That was just his special way of saying "Thanks, mama!" I was worried for a long time that I had absolutely no maternal instinct because unlike my sister, I am not a "baby person", which is still true. I don't really like to hold other babies, besides my own.
10. I know this is so politically incorrect to say, but I am kindof grossed out (freaked out) by pregnant bellies. I was more than a little concerned that when I got pregnant, I would be disgusted by my own body. I wasn't, and I got better overall. I also surprised everyone when I said I was going to breastfeed because I had an aversion to that as well--at least until it was my own reality.
********************************************* And Now I pass on the awards to:
Wait. Don't answer that. I know Rob and I are a bit, shall we say, quirky...but when this song comes on Noggin, we both stop whatever we're doing to sing along. Bobby loves watching Noggin, although it's not the shows so much as the mascots, Moose A. Moose and Zee--they are my favorite too!
I don't want to get all political, but I did have a thought about yesterday. I didn't get to watch the Inauguration yesterday, but I did watch some of the news coverage last night, and I read some online articles updated throughout the day. I don't understand the people who were crying during the ceremony. Tears streaming down their faces. The time to cry was not yesterday.
It was 8 years ago.
And again 4 years ago when the mistake continued...
It's kindof funny how your life can take you in such an unexpected direction. Although I now enjoy being an attorney, I never dreamed of this career growing up. It was something I just decided to do so I could have a stable job and support myself--it seemed interesting and I knew a lot of people who I didn't think of as exceptionally "smart" who were successful attorneys...how hard could it be?
If you look over to the right, you'll see a link for Momgenerations.com (a very informative and fun site--check it out, but not right now, ok?)...anyway, one of the mom-bloggers on there, Audrey, is married to my childhood next door neighbor, Matthew. (That's how I came to know about the site). He is 6mo. younger than me, and we played together all the time growing up.
Around age 4 or 5, I remember planning our future together. Of course we would get married, but we were each going to remain living in our own house with our own moms-neither one of us was willing to leave our mother at that point. We would stay right next door to each other though. How would we support ourselves, you may ask? Well, my dream was to work the Pennsylvania lottery machine at DiStefano's drug store--which I could walk to from my house. I loved that the lottery had its own little checkout line, and all those fun buttons to push and noises from the machine. Plus, DiStefano's had the world's greatest candy aisle! Seriously.
Once we started school, Matthew and I didn't really play together anymore...I went to Catholic school and he went to public school so we never had the same friends or activities. Eventually, DiStefano's closed. My parents moved away. We all grew up. Today, I'm happily married with a child and not living with my mother...but if I could work a lottery machine that would be a dream come true.
For this momentous occasion of my 100th post *Applause, Applause*--I give you Colleen's Top 10 Top 10 Lists:
NUMBER 10-Top 10 "Bobbyisms" 10. "Mulk" (translation: I want a bottle, mama!) 9. "BBO" (Bobby trying to spell out his name like we do B-O-B-B-Y 8. "mote" (a noun- meaning the t.v. remote, or a verb- meaning turn on Noggin right now so I can see Moose and Zee) 7. "Hewwo" (Hello, said from his crib in the early morning hours) 6. "Hand" (translation: give me your hand and follow me so I can show you what I want) 5. "Pus" (Referring to Gerber Puffs snacks) 4. "Butt" (dual meaning word--it can be referring to his grammy Pat (Pat pronounce Butt), or a lightswitch (called a button) 3. "O's" (referring to Cheeri-o's) 2. "Pup" (refers to "Freny" his lovie) 1. "Mama" said 100s of times/day and I never get tired of it
NUMBER 9-Top 10 Things About Rob That Make Me Smile 10. His eternal optimism when it comes to any Pittsburgh sports team 9. His 100% enthusiasm and dedication to whatever he's doing at the moment 8. He believes he can convince me that his farts don't smell 7. He always remembers important dates and anniversaries of milestone events in our lives 6. He still calls me "Murray" sometimes 5. He insists on having an "arm pillow" between us at night but always ends up on my side of the bed anyway 4. He is a big kid at heart 3. His worst vices are watching sports and selling memorabilia on Ebay 2. He is the best Dad to Bobby 1. He loves me unconditionally
NUMBER 8-Top 10 Places I've Been Post-Rob 10. Cleveland, OH 9. Toronto, Canada 8. Rochester, NY 7. New York, NY 6. Las Vegas, NV 5. South Bend, IN 4. Surfside/Myrtle Beach, SC 3. Chicago, IL 2. Boston, MA 1. San Francisco, CA
NUMBER 7-Top 10 Places I've Been Pre-Rob 10. Rancho Cucamonga, CA 9. South Bend, IN 8. Disney World, FL 7. Amsterdam, The Netherlands 6. Antwerp, Belgium 5. Ocean City, NJ 4. Surfside/Myrtle Beach, SC 3. Monterey, CA 2. Rome/Florence, Italy 1. Buenos Aires, Argentina
NUMBER 6-Top 10 Places I've Been and Never Want to go Back to: 10. Istanbul, Turkey 9. Casablanca, Morocco 8. Cairo, Egypt 7. Moscow/St. Petersburg, Russia 6. The Grand Canyon 5. Uruguay 4. Athens, Greece 3. My former employer 2. the single world of dating 1. High School
NUMBER 5-Top 10 Favorite Foods: 10. Mashed Potatoes 9. Kirkland Light Salted Kettle Chips (sold at Costco--Yummmmeee) 8. French Fries 7. Vanilla milkshake 6. cheeseburgers 5. My mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies 4. My dad's breakfast combo 3. Anything Somebody else has cooked for me 2. Grilled Cheese 1. Mack and Manco Pizza
NUMBER 4-Top 10 Favorite Movies of All-Time 10. Rudy 9. Sixteen Candles 8. The Lion King 7. The Notebook 6. The Great Escape 5. Private Parts 4. Dazed and Confused 3. Swingers 2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 1. My Dog Skip
5. Mario's-Pittsburgh, PA (Only because I met Rob there!)
4. The Linebacker Lounge-South Bend, IN
3. The BA News-Buenos Aires, Argentina
2. Lefty O'Doul's-San Francisco, CA
1. Sullivan's Tap Room-Boston, MA
NUMBER 1-Top 10 Random Things about ME:
10. When I eat alone, I have an unhealthy fear of choking and nobody being there to perform the Heimlich to save me.
9. I have not see my natural hair color in 19 years...
8. I once had an entire drawer devoted to just blue shirts. (my favorite color)
7. I have an intense fear of walking on bleachers due to a nasty incident as a child where I fell and knocked out a whole mess of teeth
6. Due to a short upper lip (the space between the bottom of your nose and your mouth) I can't fully close my mouth without concentrating on doing that, and it looks really unnatural.
5. I never, never, ever run in public thanks to my friend Tom who at age 14 told me I really shouldn't because I looked "oafy"... (thanks Tom for forever scarring my psyche...)
4. I can eat grilled cheese anytime, anyplace...and often order it out at restaurants...(I'm a cheap date fo sho!)
3. I hope to visit every continent before I die (I've already been to Europe, Asia, Africa, South America & North America--only Australia and Antarctica to go!)
2. I have always regretted not practicing piano when I took lessons and have wished all of my adult life that I was able to play an instrument proficiently.
1. My first t.v. "crush" was on Greg Evigan when he was on "B.J. and the Bear"...due to this fact, I still like men with hairy chests...
Goodbye 2008. Hello 2009. I realized yesterday that I was completing my first full year as a mom. It was quite a year having Bobby go from a teething infant to a running toddler. Sometimes it feels like some days go so slowly, but really, this year flew by. I still can't believe my baby isn't a baby anymore. wah. Although I do enjoy his emerging language development, sense of humor and quirky personality. It was fun spending a "pajama day" with him today. We played ball in the hallway. Much to my chagrin, he seems to like to kick the ball. Soccer is the one sport I didn't want Bobby to play, because I really can't stand to watch it and I don't understand it. To me, it's just a bunch of people running around. I used to have to go watch my brother and sister play in high school. Maybe it's the bad memories of sitting on that field afterschool and being bored silly. As much as I don't like the sport in general, don't get me wrong, I love Becks! I would probably be able to sit through a game or two watching him. Pure Torture, I tell you. Come to think of it, if Bobby could be an early prodigy ala Tiger Woods, Soccer could become a lucrative passion...and with me as his agent, of course.
Rob bowls on Thursday nights. As soon as Bobby goes to bed, it's Colleen time. I usually do some cleaning and laundry, but I always watch "The Office" and now am addicted to certain shows on VH1. Am I an unsupportive fan if I watch Celebrity Rehab and now Sober House on VH1 while relaxing with an Iron City 
Keep up the hardwork at Therapy, Mom. I love you!
Here are the rules for these awards:
Maybe Rob and I can reach this stage and then I won't feel so guilty over my lack of motivation...
I was just thinking I could go for something sweet. I thought of jimmies. A bowl of jimmies. With some whipped cream. Yeah, that would do it.
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