Jellie Beanie

Please forgive me if I've let you down by skipping a day or two of writing but I've been a bit busy and haven't had a lot of blogging time these last few days.

Tis the season for being extra busy we all know, but my niece Irene, who will be 30 in just a week, was not surprised yesterday by her "surprise" birthday party. She said she calculated when it would be. My sister Linda has a family Christmas party a week before Christmas so she knew it wouldn't be then. It hadn't happened yet, and there's no way her 30th birthday wouldn't be considered the event of the decade for those who love her. So yesterday she "kinda" knew.

But I had to make a favor for her party, it's my thing, you know, especially for my family.

Jellie Beanie is Irene. As a baby we would sing "Reenie, Reenie, jellie beanie". You know silly things you do and say, sing or act out for a baby and sometimes they just last. Reenie, Reenie jellie beanie lasted for a long time and even her nickname "Reenie", but she grew up and now she's Irene. Irene's younger cousins have all heard the jellie beanie name and called her that, all but Jessie. Jessie is my brother Bob's daughter and 7 years younger than Irene. Jess could not say Irene or Reenie. Called her DiRene. For years. We would say Jess, say "I" and she would. Then we'd say, say "reen" and again she would, but as soon as we said, now say "Irene" she would look up, say DiRene, and her face showed her bewilderment as to what these silly questions about Irene's name was all about.

So anyway, I needed jelly beans and then what to put them in?

I was thinking and at the time saw that I had a little brown paper bag sitting on my printer. I bought batteries for my camera and am just in the habit of saving the paper bags that still look like you can fold them up and they look like new. I also save the big brown paper sacks (so hard to come by these days) because they drain the oil off french fries better than anything you've ever used and makes them taste better! Try it!

So anyway I see the little brown bag and folded up it looks like an envelope so I decide to run it through my printer and see if it is something I could print on. It was. I headed off to Michaels craft store and bought small white paper sacks and also little plastic candy bags for the jelly beans. I printed the same design on both sides of the bag just in case the two-sided printing caused any problems, this way I could at least have the printing on one side.

I again used a picture of Irene and with a print shop program used color saturation to make it look like a cartoon or drawing and matched it to a picture I found on line and just cropped Irene's head into the picture. I loved the way it came out and this is easy, you don't have to even get fancy. Just put names on the bags and I bet kids would love opening up their personalized brown bag lunches. Or even as a gift wrap for those tiny gifts you put in a tiny box, this is a little unique.

By the way, the brown bags come out really cool when you print on them, has an old fashioned look.

Here's Reenie, Reenie, jellie beanie's party favor.

My Family T

Not "T" for tree, like my family tree, but "T" as in "t-shirt".



This is a fun project I made one year for Christmas for all the kids, though it is out of date now since my niece Irene is married and Lanigan now belongs on my Family T.

I highlighted the last name for each of the kids in yellow. When I did this, I bought the shirts and did the ironing but a cheaper (and much easier) gift is to just make the iron on transfer and let each person take home the transfer and put it on their favorite "T". So easy, you can pick different fonts for all the names, your favorite colors, whatever. Not this year, but I'm going to get around to doing that myself!

A great gift to share with your family and wear for your holiday get together, and of course the family picture.

Bath Time

When I was growing up we didn't have a shower, only a bathtub. We finally got a shower, well a fake shower, when I was about 10. The shower was a hose hooked up to the faucet and it ran up to a shower head that was like a hanging lamp over the tub. You had to have a shower curtain surrounding the tub or there would be water all over. Of course in my house there was always water all over anyway.

But I remember enjoying my bath time as a kid. I remember spending so much time in the tub that my fingers would get all wrinkly and the water almost cold. Being from a big family it was probably the most time I spent alone.

Although we didn't get a shower in our home until I was about 10, I still remember the first time I took a shower. It was at my Aunt Ruth and Uncle Tom's house in Deer Park, Long Island. There's a big blog behind Aunt Ruth and Uncle Tom and their family, the Young's. There's a book in them! They are not related by blood, they were our neighbors when we lived in Long Island, and I will get back to them someday soon. But I was probably about 6 or 7 and we had gone to the beach, probably Jones Beach, and I was taking a shower when we got home, just to get the beach off of me. I remember being nervous, like water was going to hurt. Aunt Ruth just told me to get in the shower, not realizing that I had never done it before. I didn't say anything, just went upstairs and did what she said. I didn't know what I was doing but somehow figured it out and I remember putting my hand under it, when again, it was just water. I got under and was in my glory, it was awesome! After I took my first shower I told Aunt Ruth that it was the first time and I remember being so proud of myself. Big deal right? Taking a shower. It's funny the things you remember, huh? But having a shower was a big deal when I grew up.

I started working as a secretary at RKO Radio Networks when I was about 20, so 1980. I met a friend, Cindy. When I first met Cindy, she had an apartment in the west 50's, just a few blocks away from Central Park in New York City, with two roommates. I remember one night going out after work and being invited to stay over. Don't worry Tricia, they told me, we'll find something for you to wear tomorrow to work. They did, only nothing fit! Cindy and her roommates and pretty much the rest of the world are taller than me, every pair of pants I tried or skirt looked ridiculous, I finally ended up wearing my clothes from the day before. There are worse things.

Cindy eventually got her own apartment, on the east side of Manhattan in the 80s. A walk up, only second floor, but it was hers. One tiny drawback, no shower. Okay, no shower, so what. Well also, the bathtub is in the kitchen. The bathtub is in the kitchen? Really! Yes. See taking a shower was a big deal.

It was a beautiful apartment, great neighborhood and though Cindy was a bit put off by the tub in the kitchen, she decided it was worth it. Also, the rent wasn't that bad either. Cindy eventually did some handy work in the apartment. Raised her bed up to a loft, kinda, and her dresser and desk were underneath, with a closet too, it was a nice sized bedroom. Then she took the closet, which was next to the bathroom, bathroom being only the toilet, and installed a shower.

The tub in the kitchen was one of those old fashioned ones and she put a big finished wood block over it and it was a great counter top, and a great conversation piece!

Well even though I grew up taking baths all the time, after our shower was installed, that was the end of bath time for years. Showers were faster. And you know how we all get caught up in faster. And you also know how that catches up to you and you slow down, smell the roses. I eventually got back to bath time. Bath time is longer. Things change huh!

Go take a bath!

PS, I created the card above. The kids had taken a bubble bath and were having so much fun as you can see. I added the caps and then had them all sign their names and tried to match it into the bubbles as best I could though I don't think it matters, their signatures do. I love them all, but especially Bella's, it looks like a foreign language. Someday I hope they love looking at their signatures from this age.

Tis the Season

Tis the season for holiday cards.

Molly was my subject for many of my cards over the years and I honestly haven't made a card or sent out any since then. I mean for myself. I know everyone just can't wait for a picture of me for the holidays. At my age, you can see how much I'm shrinking over the years! That's what I should do, I should get one of those "how big are you cards" and mark myself off over the years. And I don't have to go far to get one, I've received lots of cards over the years for my birthday with the measuring tape in them. Ha ha ha. Yes I'm small, but you all must know that good things come in small packages. I'm just full of goodness.

So how tall will I be in my 90s? Mmmm. I'm 5 foot nothing now, although I haven't checked that in a while. But I'm guessing I'm gonna lose an inch or two? Whada ya think?

From the oldest of my nieces and nephews to the youngest, I have been the comparison mark to how tall they are getting. I'm taller than Aunt Tricia. Aunt Tricia, I think I'm taller than you now. Aunt Tricia, were you always that short? Irene, the oldest of my nieces and nephews who will be, I cannot believe this, 30 this month, always said I'm going to be taller than you Aunt Tricia, I'm going to be tall like Aunt Debbie. My sister Debbie is not tall, just next to me, she's tall. And Irene, well she is pretty much exactly the same size as me. Again good things come in small packages.

Growing up my sister Linda was a big John Denver fan. We all loved his music as well and continue to do so. My brother Bob took her to see him in concert I think two times when she was in her young teens, and he was pleasantly surprised at how much he enjoyed the shows. Can't beat John Denver in my book, he's one of the greats!

One year for Christmas I bought Linda a John Denver t-shirt. Just a small gift, not much money, but boy did I look forward to giving her that present more than anything I have ever given her.

I knew she would love it but I didn't want her to know what it was by just looking at the wrapped box. I wanted to torture her. And I did! I rolled up the t-shirt into the tiniest box it would fit into, wrapped it, and until Christmas morning I would give the box to Linda and have her try and guess what it was. I always had the biggest smile on my face while she was making her guess. She knew it was something she was going to love and was excited but just couldn't figure it out.

She did love the t-shirt, it was yellow and I can still picture her face that Christmas morning when she opened that little box. I can still see her in that yellow t-shirt as it became her favorite and she wore it until it fell apart. And me, well I felt like the greatest sister that Christmas.

I think those are always the best gifts. Big or small. When you buy a gift that you just know is going to make someone you love over the top happy, you feel as good as they will when they open it. How good is that!

So I don't make holiday cards for myself anymore but I do make a holiday card each year for my brother Joey and his kids. Below is a card I designed from a couple of years ago and the kids are smiling in this picture, but we went through many frowns and arguments before we got the smiles. In the end Joey had to scream to get them to calm down and smile. Very stern. SMILE! They laughed! The mood was lightened and we got a great shot.



I took the picture from my MAC. There's a program called Photo Booth which takes pictures and video and gives you lots of different effects to pick from. I used the mirror image effect and then in a print shop program I added the background and tree and then it's hard to see but the tree is inside the tree, inside another tree.

Tis the season, gotta call Joey and get my act together for his holiday card!!!

I Believe. It's Silly, But I Believe

Did something ever happen to you and you're like, wow, this can't be true, what a coincidence. Well, I don't believe in coincidences. I believe. It's silly, but I believe.

What do I believe? Oh too many things to tell you in one post!

My brother Michael used to tell me that I lived in a dream world and I guess I did. I'm glad I did. That dream world is hard to find when you grow up and life slaps you in the face with one thing after another. I'm glad I lived in a dream world where I believed in everything and more important, everyone. And though I don't live there anymore, I visit.

First I must say that Facebook has been a wonderful place where I have been able to connect with so many, so many, I mean it's almost unbelievable, but so many wonderful people who have passed through my life, some for a long stretch, others for a moment only, but they are part of me, part of who am, and they are my friends.

Second, this morning my friend Mary, who I have not seen since 8th grade and is another wonderful person I shared time with in my journey called life, posted a spiritual message on her wall and I then copied it and posted it on my wall. This is it:

Just have to pass this along.... I have so much going on in my life right now... I need a blessing and cant afford to not pay it forward... so here ya go... If you have taken a minute to read this... God has seen YOU struggling with something. God says its over. A blessing is coming your way.... If you believe in God send this message on, please don't ignore it, you are being tested. God is going to fix two things (BIG) tonight in your favor. If you believe in God… drop everything and re-post it. Can't hurt...I Still Believe in Miracles..

Now I don't believe that God is testing me, but I do believe, you may think it's silly but I do believe, that somehow I was meant to copy that post. Hey, I believe in "the force" from the movie Star Wars. I think it's a beautiful message about "the force", we are all combined in some way. Not a coincidence. So I reposted and then my friend Betty, who by the way I probably met once or twice when I was about 10 or so, as she dated my brother Michael when they were teens. Is that a coincidence with the Michael connection? No I don't think so.

So again, I repost and then I'm sitting at my computer and I see that someone commented on a post that Betty posted on her wall. Have I confused you? I hope not, I really want this to be clear, it happened so quickly. Okay, so first I repost Mary's post. Then Betty posts "Breathe" on her wall and her friend Alice comments and all I see is Betty's comment, cause I don't know Betty's friend Alice. Are you still with me? Betty's post was, "Amen Alice". Two seconds later, my friend and Betty's friend, another Alice, puts a little hands up "I like" sign next to my post. I'm surrounded by Alice!

Alice was my mom's name. I had the most wonderful mother you could ever know. I truly was blessed in every way, except that she died too young, only 57, and unfortunately had to suffer through so much pain. Her death destroyed me for way too long. But I got through it. Molly Made Me Do It! It was a long road for me, but I found myself. I remembered and keep on remembering every day how blessed I was and continue to be. I am forever the daughter of greatness, she is me, I am her, "we" will always be.

And then there's the connection to my brother Michael, who unfortunately also passed away much too young. I kind of feel like Michael was telling me to make a visit to my dream world. More to believe. I believe. It's silly, but I believe.

I also commented back on my wall to the post I quoted above. I said, this is working already because of all the Alice reminders that were popping up, not a coincidence to me. Betty believed too. She said it was divine and not divine like in the "Divine Miss M" for Bette Midler! She meant heavenly, celestial, "the force", God. She even said to say hello to my mom for her. I did. Somehow I believe my mom will find a way to say hello back. Nothing obvious but it will be there. And I also think Betty will know. Why? She's my friend, that's why.

I believe. It's silly, but I believe.

If you don't know by now where that quote is from I'm so sorry that you never enjoyed one of the most magical movies ever. Miracle on 34th Street. They remade it, like they try to do with so many, and as cute as it was, nothing can compare to the original.

Please join me in my visit to my dream world and believe!

I See You

I started wearing eyeglasses about the time I was in fifth grade. Both my sisters grew up wearing eyeglasses and my four brothers all got away with it, not fair! We're all older now so I don't count reading glasses, although I'm almost 53 and still don't need reading glasses, unless I'm wearing my contacts, then I do the arm stretch, holding the paper so far away and still not seeing clearly so I need the reading glasses.

When I first got my eyeglasses I needed them for seeing the blackboard in school, watching TV and at the movies, otherwise my eyes were fine. I didn't have those first pair of eyeglasses very long, seriously, maybe only a week or two, and I lost them. I remember exactly where I left them though, down "Rubber Park" in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn by the big swings. Of course they weren't there when I went back for them.

I didn't take care of my glasses from the start and that neglect continued until I was out of secretarial school.

I didn't want to tell my father that I lost that first pair, not like he was going to kill me, but I knew he would be angry and I'd have to hear a whole lecture again about taking care of my glasses, and then that would lead into another discussion about responsibility and what kid wants to hear all that. So I squinted in school, sat right in front of the TV and the same at the movie theaters. My father finally noticed me sitting in front the TV, which I would do with my eyeglasses, so I had been getting away with it for some time. I don't think there's a kid out there who hasn't been told a gazillion times to sit back away from the TV. So my father tells me to sit back from the TV and then notices I'm not wearing my glasses and tells me to put them on. Now I have to tell him. When, is his first question and I'm like, a while now. Now he's angry about the glasses and the fact that I didn't tell him for so long! You think I would have followed that thought process through when I decided not to tell him right away. Never smart enough to know it all, as I know I had told my parents a gazillion times. I know, I know. Yeah I knew.

It ended up that my eyes got worse and I needed to wear my glasses all the time. Well at least I wouldn't lose them. But boy did my glasses, and I had many, many pairs, go through the ringer with me.

First they were always filthy. I remember my Uncle Richie, who wore glasses, was always looking at my mine and saying, do you ever wash your glasses. No. Never. Put them on in the morning and put them in various places before bed. I slept on the top of our bunk beds and not having a nightstand, I just left them wherever. I stepped on them, dropped them, but I didn't lose them. I remember, I was in high school, and had glasses with a clear frame and the lenses would pop out because they weren't sized right, which I should have told my father right away. Not me. I taped them back together, it matched the clear frame, well not really, but kinda.

One day I was getting a drink at the water fountain and a lens fell out and broke. I put it back in and taped it til it finally just wouldn't stay. I know I had been begging my father for wire-framed glasses all the time, which weren't on the plan. And plus he was always reminding me that I didn't take good care of my glasses. And, anyone remember that? Now kids can get contacts on the plan. The "plan" glasses for us were the ugliest, and wire frames were not on the plan. Of course he bought me wire framed glasses, spoiled me rotten that wonderful man. Yeah the wire frames didn't work either. The nose pieces, kind of a cushion for your nose, those were gone pretty quick, so the wire prongs that the little cushion sat on, they just ground more deeply into my nose, making that eyeglasses' mark even worse. And they were much more fragile than my pastic frames, I did in wire frames really quick, they didn't stand a chance with me.

I don't remember feeling nerdy wearing glasses but I do remember girls in grade school that did feel uncomfortable (or not pretty) when wearing eyeglasses. I remember one girl would put them on and keep her hands around them the whole time, trying to hide them. She just stood out more. I still remember all these years later that one thing about her. Not her name, not what she looked like with or without glasses. All I can remember is her hiding her glasses.

Now as much as I didn't think I looked nerdy I didn't think I was pretty either.

Have you ever seen Molly Shannon playing Mary Katherine Gallagher on Saturday Night Live? She even had a movie, Superstar, and played Mary Katherine too. Now I wasn't as nuts as Mary Katherine Gallagher, well okay, I was and still am a little nutty, but I've never smelled my armpits, well okay, just not in public! But I do look the same don't I?! And at this age I too thought I was going to be a superstar, just like Mary Katherine Gallagher, again not thinking I was so nerdy.



When I got my first job, I bought my first pair of contacts. I started to care. Eyeglasses were now an obstacle because I had bad vision and now for meeting guys. Do men make passes at women with glasses? Oh yes they do! And vice versa. But at 19 and 20, I still didn't know, that everything I thought "I knew", I didn't know. Got that?

I loved contacts, and, then, when they came out with the ones you could sleep with, I was even happier. I didn't have to wear glasses anymore. I could see clear all the time!

It's funny, but my whole life I have pretty much felt that people who wear glasses look very attractive, pretty, handsome, cute, adorable, etc., but not me. Again I didn't think I looked nerdy, but I never looked in the mirror and saw them as attractive, cute, etc. I saw them as an obstacle and as not pretty.

For the last few years I have stopped wearing my contacts. It ended up like I said above that I needed to wear glasses with my contacts and ended up always searching for them and getting so frustrated not being able to see right away. An obstacle. It's easier for me to just wear my glasses when I need them and take them off for everything else. What's the difference. Right? I can watch TV without them, work on the computer without, just not drive. I wear my glasses to parties, on dates, I don't care. I don't need them to see the person in front of me, but I do need them for distance and outside my "safe zone", wherever that might be, I'd rather have my glasses on to see everything as far away as possible. I wonder if all people who wear glasses, with my kind of vision, do the same?

I am much more careful with my glasses than in the past. I pay for them. My father used to like that, used to tease me all the time, "oh, you buy no frills for your apartment, you take care of your things now." Now I can say I know. Somewhat.

I also do know now that, I look pretty, cute, sexy, smart, silly, insane, whether I wear my glasses or not and everyone who does, or does not, the same!

To all my fellow four-eyed beauties, young and old....I see you!

A little more of Mary Katherine Gallagher, a skit from Saturday Night Live. Whitney Houston was the musical guest, so she's in the skit as are Rosie O'Donnell and Penny Marshall as the nuns. This clip doesn't show enough of the scene, they were all cracking up at Molly playing Mary Katherine. Try to catch a repeat on TV or maybe you can find it on line?! Enjoy!

It's The Least I Can Do

ARME (Animal Resue Media Education) www.arme.tv

ARME's mission is to eliminate the suffering of all animals. This goal is achieved by rescuing unwanted and homeless animals and by educating the public of the vast extent of the suffering animals endure in our society. Through its actions and words, ARME advances the freedom of all animals.

ARME is a 501(c)(3) organization which relies on the kindness and consideration of the public's donations.

Sometimes I just don't want to know or think about things because it hurts to face the truth, within and outside myself. But then something gets put right in my face and I can't ignore it. Yesterday was one of those days. One of my friends on Facebook posted the attached video from ARME. It's about nine beagle dogs who see sun and grass for the first time having spent their entire lives in a research lab. I wanted to ignore the video. I knew the story was about their rescue but I know me, I wouldn't be able to just see their rescue, I would be thinking about what they went through before their rescue. I bawled my eyes out! Sobbing and talking to the video at the same time, saying come on out when the dogs looked so scared and unsure. And still crying when I watched them walking on the grass and being in the sunshine for the first time. When they were being loved by their rescuers. This video is beyond touching.

I shared it with my friends on Facebook and noticed so many of them doing the same. I received so many comments, so many of my friends outraged that animal testing still goes on. Glad to call these people friends. Some of them have themselves rescued their own pets, gladder still to call them friends. So many have their pets' pictures as their profile picture because they just love them so much and want to show them off.

Some people don't get it, don't understand why some people are so into their pets, and you know what, I can understand. What I don't get is how anyone can be cruel to animals. That I will never understand. How do people like Michael Vick ever live with themselves. Yes I know he does some kind of community service but in my book it's not enough and the fact that he's able to play professional football again sickens me, it's always about money. He should be the one working at places like ARME, he shouldn't be allowed to return to professional football and make the money he does, and all his money should be going to all of these organizations that help animals. Sorry, I'll never feel different about him. Isn't cruelty to animals one of the traits of people who end up killing people?

I spent hours after watching that video on line searching out companies that continue to do testing on animals and you know what, there are so many of them! So many products you wouldn't even think about. But, there are so many companies that don't. Go on line, check out PETA (People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals - www. peta.org), they have a list there of companies that "do" and companies that "don't" use animal testing.

There's not a lot I can do to help others, I'm not money rich, but I am rich in heart and can help in other ways. We all can help in small ways that can make a BIG difference. I have passed along this video and their website and PETA's website.

It's the least I can do.