STRESS AND THE HOLIDAYS

Here we go again, the holidays. A time when I become that shy, insecure teenager all over again. I am what is called a Type A personality also I am Analytical and not Creative. I’m not complaining because that is who I am.

My sister is creative and my daughter is creative, I, however, need instructions, directions and recipes. I cannot make a bow, I cannot make a centerpiece, and I cannot whip up a meal with whatever is in my cupboards. I do make a great Christmas ham though (my family has even tried to get me to market it and compete with the spiral sliced hams).

My sister leaves me in awe of her. She has a Christmas tree in her living room that will take your breath away it is so elegant. She creates vignettes (a vignette is a short impressionistic scene that focuses on one setting or object) throughout her whole house (even the bathrooms). She also has a Christmas tree in her basement that is decorated whimsically for children. On the other hand I have a wreath with a candle or two in the middle as a centerpiece and figures of Three Wise Men standing on a shelf somewhere.

This Thanksgiving while setting the table my head had ramblings in there “What would Judy do? How would Judy do it?” Just so you know, my sister was Martha Stewart before Martha was Martha Stewart. I love her dearly and just wish I could be more like her.

Anyway, back to the stress. Why do we set ourselves up to disappoint ourselves? I know my limitations but I guess when it comes to a holiday I strive to do what I know I cannot do. (Isn’t this ironic, I just blogged about Shyness & Self-Confidence and not being frightened and diving in and trying new things and here I am...) Well, I guess this is just life and that's what makes everyone their own unique person.

So, if you get a present from me and it has a stick-on bow, I hope you know that I still care. I just don’t want to stress myself out trying to make a bow that will end up looking like a three-year-old made it.

Want to hear something funny? I got a gift from my sister one year and saved the beautiful bow she made for my present. Some time later I gave her a gift and was able to reuse that same bow. My sister started raving about the beautiful bow and what a great job I did making it. I can’t lie, so I confessed that it was a bow she had given me previously and that I reused it.  So, we had a good laugh. I guess instead of a regifter, I’m a “re-bower.”

I think I’ll take a class on bow-making then hopefully next year I’ll feel a little less stressed. And so the journey begins...

SHYNESS VS. SELF-CONFIDENCE

How many of you have been accused of being stuck up, a snob, or aloof? I was. It was some 40 years ago, and the accusation flabbergasted me. I was 18 had just started a new job and a girl that I went to school with was working there. We became good friends and one day she said to me “You know, you were stuck up and a snob in high school.” I was shocked, you could have knocked me over with a feather. I thought about it a second and said to her “You know I was so shy that I never spoke to anyone unless they spoke to me first, because I was afraid they wouldn’t want to talk to me.” 

Recently, I watched the TV shows about Regis Philbin retiring and there was a segment where he returned to his high school, Cardinal Hayes High School, a Catholic school for boys in the Bronx. He gave a speech to the young men at Cardinal Hayes that made me think of my own youth. So, I wrote down the words he spoke and posted them on Facebook as follows: 

TO MY GRANDCHILDREN:  "Something I would like to pass on to you. How sorry I am that I didn’t participate in something that I wanted to be a part of. I could have learned it here (in school) and if any of you have any of those dreams and you are doubtful that you have the ability or the talent to fulfill that dream, don’t be frightened by it, just dive in." - Regis Philbin.

The words that Regis spoke that day really touched my heart. Because I remember when I was in school not trying out for a play, not becoming part of the Yearbook Class, not getting involved, because I was afraid. Then I find out later that some classmates thought I was stuck up when all the while it was just my fear and shyness.

Recently my granddaughter and I were out running errands and I was telling her the story about my friend accusing me of being stuck up. She said to me “I never thought you would ever have been shy Grandma.” I laughed and told her “honey, you are seeing the older, wiser person, not the teenager who lacked confidence in herself.”

So this Blog is two-fold:

One part is talking to the younger generation - encouraging them to “dive in” and not be afraid. Try something new, put yourself out there.

The other part is talking to people who think someone is stuck up, a snob or aloof. You may have just encountered a person who is shy and all they need is someone to come up and say “Hi.”

And so the journey begins...

FITNESS AFTER AGE 60

Oh dear, where has the time gone? You’re always being told “take care of yourself while you’re young because it will come back to haunt you when you get older” and you scoff at the idea. “I’m young, I’m healthy, I have all the time in the world to worry about that later.” Well, it catches up with everyone.

Two years ago my 75-year-old brother-in-law took a very nasty fall from a ladder and had to have surgery. My brother-in-law has had a gym membership for over 30 years and he used it faithfully three times a week. Following the surgery to repair his broken bones and fractures, the doctor spoke with my sister and told her that most people my brother-in-law’s age have bones that are like balsa wood, however, his bones were like working on oak. Additionally, my brother-in-law healed so quickly and bounced back so fast that everyone was in awe.

That was all I needed to hear to get myself going to a gym. I wanted to be just like my brother-in-law and have strong bones. I joined Fitness USA http://www.fitnessusa.com/ and began my journey to becoming fit and strong. I worked out faithfully three times a week for almost a year. Then my husband suffered a heart situation called A-Fib and I put my fitness on hold until he was better.  After about two months of convalescing, the doctor gave my hubby the okay to join a gym and he joined Planet Fitness http://www.planetfitness.com/. So, he and I started working out together at his gym.

So here we are in our 60s trying to get in shape. “Lord, why didn’t I do this when I was young?” It is not easy and I admit sometimes we come home after a workout and take a nap but we’re trying. Running on the treadmill causes our knees to hurt. The elliptical kicks our behinds but it works the heart muscle and doesn’t hurt our knees. Weights are great, you just have to start out light and work your way up, but we’re doing it.

I am truly surprised at the changes taking place in our bodies. I honestly didn’t realize you could change the way your body is shaped. I always thought that what you inherited when you were born is what you had to live with. Not so! I am pear-shaped but the pear is beginning to change. It is slight but I can see the changes.

And so, I want to say a big “thank you” to my brother-in-law, George. My goal is to get healthy and fit and I owe it all to you. And so the journey begins...

WATCHING OUT FOR NEIGHBORS

Twenty-one years ago we moved to our present home. We were the new kids on the block. Many of our neighbors were in their 60s and already retired. My husband and I were in our 40s and both worked so we never had the opportunity to really get to know our neighbors. Time has passed and we are no longer the new kids on the block, however, we have gotten to know our neighbors.

One summer when we were new to the neighborhood, our neighbor came over and mowed our lawn while we were on vacation. He wanted to keep our home from looking like we were gone. We didn’t ask him to do this because we barely knew him, he just did it. He was watching out for us.

Our next door neighbor is a widow whose bedroom window I see from my bedroom window and somewhere in the back of my mind I noticed that every day she puts her shades up. One day, however, the shades were not up, the next day the same thing, so I called to check on her. It turns out she was sick with a cold and staying in bed. She was so thankful that I was watching out for her.

While driving down the street one day I noticed the screen door and a window broken on another neighbor’s front door. I called the police who came to investigate. Turns out the neighbor had to rush off to work and didn’t have time to get it repaired before leaving. She called to thank me for watching out for her.

One late evening as my husband and I were going out I noticed another neighbor’s side garage door slightly open. I called and told them about the door and they thanked me for watching out for them.

In the morning while sitting on the front porch reading I heard a loud noise come from a neighbor’s home where the husband had been ill lately. I kept watching to see any activity. Nothing. Finally, I called and asked if everything was okay. It seems tree branches fall on their roof and that is what I heard. They thanked me for watching out for them.

Our neighborhood is going through a change now as younger families move in. One day I noticed our new neighbor’s garage door open all day but never saw any other activity. We went over, introduced ourselves, gave him our names and phone number and told him we were just checking to make sure everything was okay. 

I guess what I’m saying is that no matter how well we know, or don’t know, our neighbors we can still watch out for and keep each other safe. Many of these neighbors watched out for us when we were new to the neighborhood and now it is our opportunity to watch out for them. And, hopefully, the circle will continue and the new families moving here will watch out for us. And so the journey begins...

FACEBOOK and FAMILY

How many of you have a Facebook account? A friend sent me a request and I thought “What the heck, I’ll give it a try.” Well, now I’m sorta/kinda hooked. I log on several times a day just to see what is going on in the lives of family and friends. I love checking up on my family.


I have a niece who lives out of state. She and her husband are now empty-nesters and his job affords them the ability to travel the world and travel they do. She tells us in great detail about hiking, sailing, rafting, scuba-diving, sleeping in ice hotels and the list goes on and the pictures she posts are breathtaking.

A chilly bed for two

This cozy accommodation can be yours for only $600 per night

Chena Hot Springs http://www.chenahotsprings.com/- Fairbanks, Alaska

Practice ride in the dog mushing sled

If it wasn’t for Facebook I wouldn’t know about the little things in the lives of my family. For instance, yesterday my granddaughter posted “EXTREMELY HAPPY!!!!!! BANANA TOOTSIE ROLL POP, YUM!” How wonderful is it that I get to know my granddaughter is enjoying a banana tootsie roll pop?


My seven-year-old grandson, who lives in another state, has a Facebook account which is very closely monitored by his mom and dad, and I got to see his new puppy the day he got him.


So Facebook, I thank you for bringing me into the 21st century and allowing me to keep up with my family. And so the journey begins...

"AS SEEN ON TV" JUNKIE and RETURNS

I admit, I am an “As Seen On TV” http://www.asseenontv.com/ junkie; hook, line and sinker these things are the best thing out there since sliced bread. I have purchased many, LOVED many, been disappointed in many and, yes, returned many. 

How many people out there never return items? I, on the other hand, have NO problem returning items. My family jokes that I am one of those people that the stores have compiled lists about who are habitual buyers and returners (and they are more than likely correct). If I don’t like it, can’t use it, doesn’t work they way it was supposed to, it goes back. Does it cost me in postage/shipping? Yep. But at least it is not cluttering up my house, sitting on a shelf to be long forgotten about and then, if I stumble upon it at some later date, makes its way into a garage sale for pennies on the dollar. So, I do ship things back. 

BUT, the things I have gotten and kept! I can’t begin to tell you how many people I have shared with about these beloved items that have made my life so much easier and have cleaned my stains so miraculously. I am sure if the manufacturers knew about me they would hire me to be a spokesperson for their product! Hmmm, maybe I could get a job with a television network and become a product tester for a news segment? And so the journey begins...

HIGH TECH CHANGES

Just the other day my husband and I were talking about the changes in the world since we were born and fantasizing about what the world would be like for our children and grandchildren. It is mind boggling. When we were kids we had a 10-inch TV screen and one phone for the entire house.

It’s funny looking back; 40 years ago my husband said, “You know one day we will be able to hang a television on our wall just like a picture” and I looked at him thinking “OK, we have one off his rocker here.” 

I remember one Christmas, when I was very pregnant with an overdue baby (back then they let you go until the baby decided it wanted to be born) anyway, I digress, I was picking up pine needles that had fallen from our Christmas tree and I fantasized with my husband “Wouldn’t it be nice if someone came up with an artificial tree that already had lights on it.”  He looked at me thinking “OK, we have one off her rocker here.”

I remember attending a seminar back in the early 1980s at some hotel in Southfield and the person was pitching the idea of selling “Machines that answered phones for businesses that would direct the caller to the appropriate person/department just by pushing the corresponding number.” I remember thinking “OK, we have someone off his rocker here.”

Sixteen years ago my granddaughter was crying in her crib in a back bedroom and I said to my husband “I wish we could hook up a camera in there so we could check on her and make sure everything is okay without going in.”  Again, the proverbial “OK, I think this person is off their rocker here” look.  But look at us, in 40 short years all of these dreams have come to fruition. What will it be like in the future? And so the journey begins...

EXTREME COUPONING

How many of you clip coupons? I do but inevitably wind up throwing most away because they've expired. But worse than that is when you go through the store and get to the checkout and are so proud of your accomplishment and then the bubble bursts when you are told “This coupon can’t be used on this item because....” What a blow to the ego and right then and there I swear that I’m never clipping coupons again. 

My daughter, on the other hand, is a coupon diva. She has a loose-leaf binder with plastic sheets with little pockets in the sheet (like the ones boys use to save their collection of baseball cards), categorized by canned goods, boxed goods, baking products, and on and on. She does her homework and is completely prepared when she goes shopping and when she comes home it is with several hundreds of dollars of food products that she pays pennies for. I am in absolute awe of her. She has taught several of her friends the ins and outs of couponing and recently had a free training class at her home for whoever wanted to learn.

The photo above is a savings of $51.95 - out of pocket $12.01. Not a bad start to the sale.

The photo above is $70.00 in grocery...with the greatest coupon teacher in the world (Debi).

This only cost me $6.52!!! Love ya, Tricia

However, what's the old adage? You can't teach an old dog new tricks. She hasn't been successful with good old mom. Possibly because my husband and I don't need that many groceries and are set in what we eat and don't eat, so we aren't as flexible. But she's still trying to work with me. And so the journey begins...

My First Journey

Hi, my name is Sue Philips. I have lived Downriver all my life and presently live in Trenton. I am married, have three married children, five grandchildren and one great grandchild. I have four siblings and I am the youngest. I had 16 aunts and uncles and so many cousins that I don’t know all of their names. 

Wednesday, I attended an event at The News Herald http://www.thenewsherald.com/ to learn about becoming a blogger. Who would have thought that sharing your thoughts would become popular? Anyway, I started jotting down ideas on what I would like to blog about and rattled off a few to my husband. His one comment was “just make sure that they don’t turn into a b***ch session” which I completely agree. I will try my hardest to make sure that when I am blogging I don’t get, you know. Well, feel free to call me out on it if I go there.

One thing I noticed that I do because I am “old school” is end a sentence with two spaces before starting my next sentence and that is no longer the practice, so I am constantly going back and removing that extra space. Anyway, I am looking forward to my adventure into blogging and I hope that you enjoy what I have to say. And so the journey begins...