Already Four

I have a clear memory of blogging about my first great-niece, E, and how marvelous it was to have a smart phone to receive text messages and photos all through my niece's labor.  The idea of communicating with a woman in the delivery room was shocking and exciting.

In the end, a photo of this little peanut appeared on my blog...

 
It's hard to believe that in four short years I've grown unable to live without my iPhone and totally acknowledge how pathetic it is to admit that... and truly mean it.

And it's also hard to believe that my first great-niece, E, is now a whopping four years old!  I absolutely can't live without her either. 

For her 4th birthday dinner, as usual, our family held hands to say grace before the meal.  E insisted on saying the blessing and took her job very seriously.  After a moment of thought, she took a deep breath and said...  "Dear God...."

And then she proceed to recite the entire Pledge of Allegiance-- After which, we all said, "Amen."

Happy 4th Birthday E.  Make a wish and wish big!

 For more Sundays In My City stop by and say hello to Unknown Mami

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com  -  Joanna Jenkins

Reminder?

It's hard to admit, but the older I get the more I realize my memory isn't what it used to be.  As a result, I've become a "list person".  I have them everywhere.

Colorful Post-its are on the bathroom mirror each morning so I'm reminded of what my day ahead holds (and so I don't go back to bed with the snooze button off).  There's a long yellow legal pad crammed full of "to-do" things to remember.  My iPhone sends me "Reminder" messages literally day and night, and I can't live without the phone's timer and alarm to help me remember the most important things and, when and where I need to make them happen.

In short, the need for all these reminders makes me think I "got stupid" somewhere along the way.

But I felt significantly better, when, on my 55th (gulp) birthday of all days, I discovered this important "reminder" that apparently the general public needs.

This sign was posted on every single pump at a gas station I stopped at when visiting my family last week in Ohio. 

Seeing it made me feel So.  Much.  Better!  It's a note I have never written to myself.  Phew.  Maybe I'm smarter than I thought.

Hope you're having a great Sunday.  Stop by Unknown Mami's for more Sundays In My City.

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com  -  Joanna Jenkins

Mellow Yellow

Several very yellow thing crossed my path today.

I woke up to a bright sunny day so I put on a yellow long sleeved tee shirt.

Then I stopped my BFF's house and she'd just painted her front door a stunning yellow-- similar to this....

Sorry, my photo of her door didn't turn out.

And then I stopped by my favorite local coffee shop and who was there wearing a canary yellow sweater??? Oprah Winfrey! She was interviewing Jonah Hill for her upcoming Oscar nominee special.

Later, at my friend's 102nd birthday (!!!) dinner, we had lemon cake with yellow birthday candles in it.

I suppose that means yellow is the color of the day-- Not bad for February!

Here's some yellow to make you smile....

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

Photo Credit Happy Face

Bittersweet Birthday

With great anticipation, I traveled back home to Ohio last week to visit my family. My agenda was full and a variety of important events were scheduled making this an especially jammed packed trip.

Five months ago I made my plane reservations so I could attend my great niece's first birthday party on Saturday. As I've said here before, she's the first of a new generation in our family and the joy she has brought us all has been endless since the day she arrived....

It's been nearly six months since I saw our now still tiny 16 pound sweetie-- all 27 inches of her in person, but her mom, my oldest niece, sends me daily "pictures of the day" to keep me in the loop with her progress through the first year of life. Those photos fill my heart with love and have me checking my iPhone each morning the moment I open my eyes.

Our birthday girl 1 year old!

The birthday bash was filled with friends and our great big, loud family. Held in a beautiful park with old fashioned games for the older kids to play and plenty of food to keep everyone well fed. Our party girl did a great job of smearing cake all over her face and never fussed once at the sweltering hot temps or being passed around to all 45 guests to receive kisses and hugs.

It was a glorious day but one wonderful person tugged at my heart strings as we celebrated-- Did you know blogger Kathy from Four Dog Day? She last posted gorgeous photos of her first grandson, four week old Graham on October 22nd. The week prior to that, Kathy posted about her struggle to keep up with blogging, working full time and the tug of war of activities that come with life in general. And we hadn't heard from her since.

Kathy and I wrote numerous baby related comments and emails as we anticipated our bundles of joy. She could not wait to be a grandmother and share her love with the next generation which is why I thought she had been too busy to blog for the past six months.

Sadly, that was not the case.

Recently Kathy's children posted her farewell. As Kathy questioned the time to blog in October, she also sensed something wasn't quite right and scheduled a doctor appointment.

In a heart-felt message from her family, we learned that appointment lead to not great medical news and of Kathy's brave but short battle with cancer. After four surgeries, 2 trips to rehabilitation plus radiation and chemo, Kathy lost her battle.

My eyes stung as I read the post and the sadness between the lines as her family told her brave story. Kathy was a wonderful, creative, positive person who I miss deeply even though we never met in person.

As I watched my great-niece celebrate with her first birthday cake, I know how thrilled Kathy would have been to participate in baby Graham's first birthday this coming September 24th.

Although I have no doubt Kathy is looking down on her family with pride, I so wish she could be here in person for her grandson to know and love.

If you have a moment, please stop by Kathy's blog and show her family some love. I'm sure it will mean the world to them.

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

A First

Every year, starting with kindergarten, we made a big deal out of his birthday, but every year the party consisted of our Birthday Boy, his mom and a whole lot of adults. Kids never came.

So after a few years we changed it up and took the party to the kids-- At school-- bringing treats to the classroom to celebrate. Elementary school kids love sweet treats, even if they weren't from a "popular" kid. But it wasn't the same as a real party and our B-day Boy knew it. So did his mom and I.

Every year we'd try to think of something engaging to celebrate another candle on the cake-- Miniature golf, the zoo, the movies-- But every year, still no kids.

It got harder and harder to talk up the big day with B-day Boy as if it was a special occasion that everyone wanted to celebrate. Last year, for his milestone 13th birthday, we had a party of three, including the B-day Boy. We decorated like it was a huge bash and made his favorite cake, but he was old enough to know that his invitations had been rejected again and his party with Mom and me felt more like the consolation prize.

It was heart-breaking. For him, and us, but especially for him.

B-day Boy is a special needs child who often gets set aside, dismissed and ignored by typical kids. Over the years they've outgrown him on different levels, in part because they never got to know him in the first place-- but outgrown him nevertheless.

He spends half his school day in mainstream classes with typical kids and half his day in a class with other high functioning special ed kids working one-on-one with teachers and tutors. It's a meaningful combination of learning opportunities and this year has been an especially rewarding experience for him.

I'm not laying blame for our B-day Boy's lack of friends by any stretch of the imagination, I'm simply saying that being "different" is tough for any kid. Being a kid who's "different" and knows he "different" is heart-breaking, confidence-shaking and miserable a good amount of the time.

But this birthday was different, very different. This year, thanks to a great group of kids and an amazing group of teachers in his special middle school class, we had a party and A LOT of kids showed up--

Every one of them had a great time! Every one of the kids will remember this particular birthday party. And every one of them will invite our B-day Boy to their birthday parties in the future because now they'll have their own birthday parties too-- With kids.

Not only was it was the very first "real" party our B-day Boy ever had, we realized it was also the first "real" birthday party any of these kids had been invited to-- Ever! In other words, these kids (and their parents) were all in the same boat we were.

Gulp.

We had an age-appropriate, hands-on, have a blast, kind of birthday party with 12, 13 and 14 year olds (and their parents who sat by happily watching the fun). You would have thought these kids had been to countless birthdays as they easily slipped into party mode laughing, joking and going with the flow. But every now and then someone would hesitate and let out a soft "whoa" in awe at a birthday activity that most kids have come to take for granted. It reminded the parents and adults in ear range how special the day was.

Towards the end of the party, one parent asked B-Day Boy what his favorite part of the birthday was. Without a moment's hesitation he said, with a huge smile on his face, "Having all the kids show up."

At which point I excused myself and cried.

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

Photo Credit: © Thaut Images - Fotolia.com

I'm headed out of town. I'll see you again next week. jj

Sundays In My City #52 - Before and After

I'm a proud participant in Unknown Mami's Sundays In My City.

It's a big weekend at our house. Saturday was Godson's birthday party. Can you guess what we did?

Before...

After...

The kids had a blast and I was relieved that they all left with the same amount of fingers and thumbs they arrived with.

******

Packages in the mail are such a treat and I received a very special one from Nyne at Brilliance Found. I as lucky enough to win this beautiful crystal necklace in her recent giveaway.

Photo Credit: Brilliance Found

Nyne is a very talented jewelry designer who lives in Vancouver, Canada and I thank her for this generous gift. Please visit her site HERE. (And shop til you drop!)

******

The clever and always entertaining Eddie Bluelight at Clouds and Silvery Linings pass the Versatile Blogger Award on to me so long ago I'm embarrassed to say. But better late than never, so I thank sweet Eddie for thinking of me. I'm supposed to share 8 riveting pieces of information about me which the world has been waiting for with baited breath...

1) Nearly everything in my clothes closet is either black, gray or white.

2) Being a cheerleader in high school was not nearly as fun as I thought it would be, but I liked the uniform.

3) I can parallel park (a car) really well. Too bad it's no longer a test requirement.

4) Pumpkin Ice Cream is a favorite this time of year.

5) Growing up I put mayonnaise on everything I ate-- literally, everything.

6) I still need to get a flu shot but I'm not over my cold yet.

7) I'll be heading to Ohio on Wednesday to visit my family one more time before the snow flies.

8) I would really like a crockpot. (Who said I was high maintenance :-)

As usual, Awards come with naming names and passing them on, but you know I usually break that rule, so if you want to play along grab the Award and run with it.

And be sure to check out Eddie's popular Sunday Roast interviewing bloggers from around the world. And if you're up for a good Roasting let me know and I'll introduce you to Eddie or you can email him directly. Seriously-- I did it, you should too.

******

How's your Sunday?

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

Photos

Do you have a photo (or two or ten) of a loved one that seems to capture exactly who they are right down to their soul? I'm lucky to have several of these cherished pictures. They're framed on my bedside table or displayed prominently in my office where I'll see them every day.

This is my newest photo. It's of my Big Sister and was taken shortly after her first grandchild was born....

This photo is of a perfect moment in time for a very proud Grandma-- A moment when all the cares of the world were suspended and the joy in her heart completely surrounded her. When I see this picture I bounce between tears and smiles because I know how very happy she was to meet her daughter's daughter.

Today, September 15th, is my Big Sister's birthday. I won't mention her age but lets just say there will be a lot of candles on her cake. *ahem* She's loving being a Grandma and celebrating with all things girlie and sweet. Although she feels her age on the occasional early morning feedings she helps out with, "Grandmotherhood" suits her beautifully.

My Big Sister knows how blessed she is and her baby granddaughter reminds her of that on a regular basis. Life is good despite the ups and downs of aging.

Please join me in wishing my Big Sister a great birthday and all the happiness her heart can hold.

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

Top Photo Credit: © Elena Schweitzer - Fotolia.com

Blue. Seriously? Last Chance to enter $80 GIVEAWAY!

LAST CHANCE - ENTER $80 CSN GIVEAWAY BY MIDNIGHT, AUGUST 4th - SEE DETAILS BELOW.

With apologizes to all my golf-loving readers....

It was 1979-- A peanut farmer was President, Rod Stewart was belting out "Do You Think I'm Sexy", "Three's Company" was on everyone's televisions, and all I wanted for my 21st birthday was a microwave oven.

Back then, I rarely cooked and the idea of "nuking" dinner was very appealing. All my friends had one and I wanted one too-- Everybody knew it, including my then live-in boyfriend. It's all I'd talked about for months.

The morning before my 21st birthday, I hinted heavily, one last time, and even went so far as to accidentally on purpose drop an advertisement of the model I was hoping for in his briefcase. I felt confident, the next day, frozen heat-up dinners would be gracing my dining table. I was so excited!

Boyfriend got me a set of golf clubs.

@#$%&!

Did I mention I hate golf? Well let me assure you, Boyfriend knew-- Without a shadow of a doubt, that golf was at the absolute bottom of my "to-do" list.

Boyfriend had been around for a couple of years at that point and we'd spent a few (six or seven hundred) afternoons together, while he played and I fanned myself through 18 miserable holes of golf, in the gawd awful Ohio heat and humidity, only to be treated to a beer and a hot dog after the torture. Did I mention I do not drink beer?

Boyfriend was addicted to the game. Me, not even a little. I played a few times but knew instantly it was not for me. But I didn't complain if he played. In fact, I was more than happy to leave him to his game all day long, as often as he wanted to play-- Which should tell you a bit about the quality of our relationship.

Let's just say, the more Boyfriend played golf without me, the happier I was...

But he was having none of that. He wanted me with him for days filled with his cursing, throwing clubs, kicking balls, and nasty sportsmanship that pretty much made 5 hours of golf-togetherness a real picnic.

Boyfriend, despite hours and hours of practice, was a terrible and very frustrated golfer.

The morning of my birthday, and with great fanfare, Boyfriend presented me with a full set of baby blue golf clubs-- Yes, baby friggin blue ones that were actually a couple of inches too long for my short height. I'm pretty sure they fell off a truck somewhere in New Jersey and no receipt was presented to exchange them for the correct size... or a microwave oven.

The baby blue clubs looked like kiddie toys, except I wanted used them as a lethal weapon on Boyfriend who kept telling me how much fun I'd have playing with him. Oh, and the matching baby blue golf shoes that came with the set-- Two sizes to big and also not returnable.

I was not a happy camper sitting there with my new golf clubs-- Stunned, very angry, and with so much steam coming out of my ears, I'm sure my Farrah Fawcett hair do was withering to straight strands of an over sprayed mess.

Golf clubs? Surely this was a joke. So I excused myself and headed towards the kitchen thinking, hoping, praying-- a bright shiny new microwave would be waiting for me with a big beautiful bow on it.

Nothing.

But the birthday gifts continued.

Golf lessons! Boyfriend signed me up for 24, one hour golf lessons and the first one was that very afternoon... Because apparently that's what every 21 year old woman wants to do on her birthday.

Back then, I had a hard time speaking up and expressing myself, so instead of beating him to death with the golf clubs, I smiled, bit my tongue, and agreed to try a few classes.

Over the next month, I literally hit 5,000 golf balls, each time cursing Boyfriend and plotting my escape from our living arrangement. And for the record, I really did try to learn how to swing those ridiculous looking clubs.

I took a few more classes then I'd intended because the golf pro was very sweet and because, after class, I could fain exhaustion and not have to play a round of golf with Boyfriend.

After about a month of frustrating classes, the golf pro sat me down and delivered the bad news. Very gently he explained, trying not to hurt my feelings, that "golf was not my game." Hallelujah! I nearly kissed him on the lips and knew I would never take another blue golf club out of that @#$%^&! baby blue golf bag again.

Golf Pro, bless his heart, also advised Boyfriend that golf was simply not my sport.

Shortly thereafter, a brand new microwave oven was my first purchase for my new apartment-- Which was far, far away from the baby blue golf clubs and Ex-boyfriend.

Seriously. Baby blue golf clubs?

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

$80 CSNStores.com GIFT CERTIFICATE GIVEAWAY ENDS AUGUST 4th. All you have to do is leave a comment here on THIS POST to enter. And for more chances to enter click, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE for complete details. Comment on each of these posts for more chances to win! Come on-- It's $80! Don't be shy.

Photo Credit: © Roger Asbury - Fotolia.com

Sundays In My City #23 - 100th!

Do you know Unknown Mami? She's hosts a great Sunday theme inviting YOU to get out and take pictures of your city and or Sunday to share with the rest of blogland. This is the 23rd time I've participated and I have to say, I've met some really great bloggers and seen parts of the world I might not otherwise ever have had the chance to experience. I highly recommend joining in. I think you'll be glad you did. Click HERE to see Unknown Mami's City today.

Sunday is a big day around here. Beloved Husband and I are going to a party-- A 100th birthday party for our dear friend SG.

I've had the great pleasure of helping SG, along with his daughter, plan his centennial gala for the past year. Every detail has been taken care of, family and friends from across the country have arrived and at 6pm sharp, the celebration will begin. To say SG is excited his big day has finally arrived is a gigantic understatement.

Even at 100, SG has been extremely hands-on with all the party planning. He's burned up the cell phone and his computer tracking details and coordinating logistics. Yes, he's an Internet-surfing, computer savvy wiz with all the latest electronic communications gadgets. Amazing, huh?

When SG and I were at a meeting on Wednesday for a charity we're both involved with, they surprised him with this cake....

He was as thrilled as a little kid and I was choked up with joy for him.

Tonight Beloved and I will "officially" say Happy 100th Birthday and cheer SG on along with 163 of his closest family and friends.

It's going to be a great, great celebration for an amazing man!

Have you ever wished someone a happy 100th birthday?

Welcome to The Fifty Factor - Joanna Jenkins

Photo Credit: Joanna Jenkins

Miss America

That's what we've called her since she was a baby-- Miss America.

My Middle Sister, aka Miss America, is celebrating her fiftieth birthday December 7th, and for the life of me, I simply cannot figure out how that happened! Well, of course I can, but it's hard for me to imagine 50 years has passed since Miss America arrived in our family-- Especially since I don't generally admit to being over 47 years old myself. Which, considering I'm 20 months older is, well, nothing short of "new math". Ha!

A family friend dubbed her Miss America the moment he saw her as a baby and sings the song every time he sees her even to this day. She was a stunningly beautiful child-- Beautiful blond hair with curls down her back. And today, fifty years later, she's still stunning on the outside AND the inside as well.

Middle Sister is the Mom to this guy who's nearly 21 years old now. He came home from hospital after he was born wrapped in this stocking a few days before Christmas. He's a sweetheart of a kid. Hard to imagine she has a son who's nearly "legal" now. Sheesh.

More kids than her son have been touched by her beauty and kindness. Middle Sis is an special education teacher with the patience of a saint. She's the teacher all the moms want their kids to have in school.

Middle Sis volunteers a tremendous amount in her community including training Service/Therapy Dogs at her home. This year, she made arrangements with the school to bring her current dog to work with her one week per month. The dog, named Vinny, is a labrador-poodle mix that has a huge, positive effect on the kids and makes classroom time far more productive and enjoyable for them. Middle Sister knew it would and went out of her way to make it happen. It's been life changing for some of the students.

Middle Sis also taught Vinny how to remove clothes from the dryer one piece at a time-- a little volunteer perk that will help his eventual owner enormously. If she can teach a dog how to fold and put the clothes away, her title will go from Miss America to Miss Universe in my book!

In the past fifty years, Middle Sister has been the very generous "go-to" person in our family for countless favors ranging from school car pooling to helping pack and move houses and apartments more times than any of us can remember. She's also the Auntie at ALL the after school concerts and activities driving near and far to attend.

And make no mistake, Middle Sister the Queen of Concert-going--

Especially if this guy is playing. It's country singer Keith Urban and she's totally crushing on him. I made this picture especially large as a little 50th birthday present for her.

Middle Sis is the voice of sibling reason who always offers a shoulder to cry on or a sympathetic ear to vent to. But the things I love most about her are, her smile and grace that light up a room, her sense of humor that will have you falling on the floor with a perfectly timed roll of the eyes, and her heart-- It's bigger than you could ever imagine.

Yep, she's our family's very own Miss America and today she's fifty. But, she's not thrilled about turning fifty anymore than I was so I'm trying to ease her into it.

Hey Sis, repeat after me-- 50, 50, 50, 50, 50 and FABULOUS!

Happy Fifth Birthday Middle Sister. I love you!

Do you have nicknames for your siblings?

Welcome to The Fifty Factor - Joanna

California Grass & UPDATE

Day Eleven Update on Attila's Son: "Today the docs are going to try to switch him back to the bi-level ventilator. This will be a big step in the right direction." Click HERE for a full report. And please, continue to send prayers and kind words. Thanks, xo Joanna

California has weird grass, or at least my grass in California is weird and the same goes for many of my neighbors. We have what I call "poop grass" and it has nothing to do with the kind of grass you smoke, if you catch my drift.

Every year, starting in early October, our perfectly fine green grass starts getting big brown patches that seem to appear over night. The grass dies regardless how much we water or how perfect the weather conditions are for growing. It's like this every single year and, despite asking countless times, I have no idea what's up with the grass.

When the brown spots start appearing, the "Poop Grass Guy" - aka The Gardener, appears-- usually in mid-October, and cuts all the grass super short. Then he turns the water off so the grass is completely dead within a couple of days. The gardener then returns and rakes up all the dead grass.

Here's the nasty part. The next step in the process is to spread huge amounts of eye-watering, stink to high heaven, fertilizer-- translation-- cow poop-- all over the yard. Grass seed goes on top and the sprinklers are turned back on to water daily for a couple of weeks. Within about three weeks, we have beautiful, green grass again-- Along with a $425 bill, but at least the smell is gone.

And therein lies the problem.

First, Gardener and I have battled over why WE need poop grass when half the neighborhood does not. I've requested changing to the non-smelly grass, no matter what the cost, but he insists-- Once poop grass, always poop grass.

The second problem is, and continues to be, the timing of the poop grass process. I do not want darling trick-or-treaters traipsing across the yard through the "fertilizer" on Halloween so I insist he either spread the poop in early October or after October 31st.

Which beings me to my current poop grass dilemma-- Beloved's upcoming birthday party. It seems Gardener is behind schedule this year and even though I've been telling him about the November 14th birthday party for four months, and the need for no poop smells of any kind, he still has not started the stinky process on our yard-- But he swears he's about to get the job started. That means in 11 short days, 50 people will arrive at our front yard and ask the exact same question...

Ewwww, what is that awful smell?" Just the way you want to greet your guests for a festive evening, huh?

What's a girl to do?

I can make the house smell good-- The simplest trick for that is to saute onions-- which I'll have been doing for days in preparation of the dinner. But the outside-- The front door entrance and the back yard where the bar will be located-- There is not enough onions-- or booze, in the world to knock out the smell of three inches of cow poop spread across your entire yard.

Yes, we are fortunate to have a gardener who handles things like this so I don't have to get my pretty little hands covered in cow dung, but, at this point in time, all the grass in my yard, front and back is DEAD and if I don't get my cow poop when the Poop Guy is available, I'll be spreading the poop myself and that will not be a pretty picture.

So, I'm taking bets Gardener will show up the day before the party with a mountain of cow poop to spread. And I'm guessing Los Angeles will experience a record high temperature that day so the yard is nice and "ripe" for our guests. And I'm guessing the poop jokes will be flying right and left at the party-- along with the flies.

All I can do is laugh.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Do you have any party plans for the rest of the year?

Welcome to The Fifty Factor - Joanna

Photo Credit: James Murphy