The Next Generation

I must say that this year so far is bringing a lot of major life cycle events to light and it is really pretty freak'n cool.  This August my nephew Eric will be getting married to his fiance Elizabeth in California where they both live.  The following July will be Jamie's wedding to her fiance Gordon and two months after that in September my 1st born baby boy will become a bar mitzvah!!!  It is really awesome to know that such exciting and happy events are about to unfold over the next two years.   I would also be remiss as a good Jewish mom if I didn't throw in the possibility of a new baby coming into the family after having two weddings take place.  Are you kvelling yet?  I totally am!!

So, today I embarked on an entirely new experience.  I went wedding dress shopping with my niece!!  It was me, her mom, her mother-in-law to be and her matron of honor.  I totally felt like I was on an episode of Say Yes to the Dress.  Luckily I have seen a plethora of episodes so I felt pretty well prepared on the do's and don'ts of assisting the bride to be on her choice of gown.  I did my very best to read her her expressions and wait for her to say how she felt about the dress before opening up my mouth and giving my opinion. The good news is that are tastes aren't too far (which I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing since she's 24 and I'm 40).  Two hours later and a narrowing down to 3 choices, we had a winner!!  Turned out to be the first dress she tried on!

We have a new generation of family members taking part in adult rites of passage and it feels like a whole new world to me.  The last time I was in a wedding dress shop was to purchase my own wedding gown 13 years ago.  Now here I am watching my then 11 year old niece prepare herself to walk down the aisle and recite her vows to her soon to be husband.  On one level it feels like the twilight zone but on another level it is really cool and exciting.  I love my niece deeply and it is truly wonderful to be able to share in such important life events. It really makes me feel special.  Another totally freak'n fantastic thing is that I gave Jamie my headpiece from my wedding to wear and she is going to combine it with the veil from her mom's wedding dress!!  <3  <3

Moments like these make being a grown up not such a bad thing.  Watching the torches get passed down to a new generation of family members is really awesome.  Aren't these the things that we look forward to as we grow up, grow old and move forward in life???  Of course with that being said I have absolutely no fucking idea how the hell I am going to hold my shit together at any of these events!!!  Honestly, I am going to be one hot mess and I don't think there is enough waterproof makeup in all of Sephora to keep me together!!!  Well, like I always say...it is what it is.  I guess I wouldn't be me if I didn't I didn't lose my shit and cry to the point of hyperventilating.  Surprisingly I did not shed a tear at the wedding dress trials today which only means that I"M TOTALLY GOING TO LOSE MY SHIT AT THE WEDDING!!!!!  Fuckers!!!  I guess I'll start researching waterproof makeup now!!!

Tootles
Ro

My super duper niece Jamie on the right - 13 years ago

My other niece, Jamie's sister Rachel on the front left - flower girl

My super duper niece Jamie on the left this past Rosh Hoshanah 2014

Also my other super duper niece Rachel, Jamie's sister on the right.

Man Flu

Yup, I've got it!!  Man flu!!!  For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this particular strain of virus let me demonstrate for you.  Man flu is when your husband, significant other or really any male living in your household comes down with the common cold but retreats to their bed as though they have malaria!  You know, staying in the bed ALL DAY. Sleeping 7/8 of the day away and asking to be waited on hand and foot. Moaning, groaning and looking like they are on deaths door over a stuffy nose and cough.  Now don't get me wrong, the common head cold can feel pretty damn shitty especially in the first 24 to 48 hours but the majority of us (mostly women) still keep on truck'n!   I don't know, maybe that's where we as women have it all wrong. (At least that's what my husband keeps trying to tell me)  Maybe we should take cover (literally) under the covers and rest for a 24 hour period uninterrupted so that we can recuperate better from the common head cold. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!!! (Insert hyperventilating hiccuping belly laughs)  What is so funny you ask???  Well, us women seem to have a very difficult time accomplishing that simple idea of getting some real rest for one full day.  We just can't seem to escape without approximately 4 months of pre-planning just to get 24 hours of uninterrupted rest. There is the job outside of the home, the kids who of course have completely different needs at completely different times, the husband who may be away for work or just too unfamiliar with the rituals that it takes to run the household, the dishes, the laundry, the homework etc etc.  The list clearly goes on and on.  Honestly, in some ways I'm probably jealous that my husband like a lot of men out there can so easily retreat to the bedroom for some much needed uninterrupted rest.

So finally after roughly 40 years I'm deciding that I'll make the attempt to care for myself a little better when I'm unwell.  It won't always be easy but I'll definitely take better advantage.  Today my husband is working away from home on a field exam, both boys are currently in school and I have the house to myself with my fluffy puppers Cooper!  As much as I hate feeling cooped up, I'm going to catch up on the last two seasons of Arrow while sitting on my ass doing NOT A G-DDAMN THING!!!  Yup!  I'm going to claim Man Flu! I'm going to rest up today and enjoy the silence while I actually have it.  Kick back this evening and enjoy a relaxing Shabbat so that maybe I'll be feeling more like myself for tomorrow's wedding dress shopping with my super duper niece Jamie!!!!!!!  At least my stuffy nose might disguise the tears I'll likely shed while seeing her in a wedding dress!  ;)

Tootles
Ro

All that glitters, is sometimes sticky with glue!

So here I am!!!  I have started a blog!!  Whooooooo!! Go me!!!  Now what?  I guess I should write some clever stuff huh?  Hmmm, easier said than done.  Well, I guess I'll just start with what got me here (other than friends and family saying "oh you should really write a blog")  Right here, right now, typing on my chromebook with fifty gagillion ideas scurrying around in my mind like Barry Allen on an episode of the Flash.

in 3 weeks, 5 days and 2 hours I will be.....(insert dramatic music here) 40!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Like a bazillion other women all over the world I am turning the fact that I'll be 40 into a monumental event!  Mostly in my mind of course since I've never truly been a "big birthday" type of person.  I actually often forget that my birthday is coming up.  Honestly it is just another day, we all have birthdays, it really isn't a big deal past the age of 25 roughly.  Yet here I am about to turn 40 AND I'M FREAKING THE FUCK OUT, mostly in my mind!!!!!!!!!!  The majority of this freak out was practically unbeknownst to me until my wonderfully helpful therapist pointed it out.  (Clearly this is why she makes the big bucks and the reason I see her in the first place.)  I suppose if you knew what 40 looked like for the women in my immediate family you too would look down at your feet to make sure your sneakers were on so you could run like the Flash, only screaming while you did it.  I know, I know.  I'm not them.  I'm me. But that doesn't stop the crazy from taking over in my brain!!!!  Soooo, a therapy session later and $60 less rich I now know that turning 40 has had me scared to death.  Ok, so now what.  Well, I decided that I was going to make a conscious effort to focus on what is so great about turning 40.  Honestly, there are a good many things that make me happy about being 40 years old.  Who knew right???  One of the things that I'm truly enjoying about embarking on this new decade of my life is the wisdom that comes with it.  Now don't get me wrong.  I didn't suddenly realize that I'm Einstein or something.  I still have a tremendous amount of learning in life ahead of me.  What I'm talking about is true wisdom.  In 40 years I've experienced a lot, probably a lot more than the average 40 year old and for that I'm glad.  You could even say that I'm thankful.  I've always believed that your experiences shape and mold the person you are.  At 40 years old I am mature.  I'm not a kid anymore. I have knowledge and experience that gives me a lot to offer myself and the world.  At 40 years old I'm no longer afraid to speak up but I'm also wise enough to know when to shut up (or not open my mouth in the first place).  At 40 years old I'm more willing to take certain risks (more calculated risks but risks nonetheless), take on challenges and maybe not take on challenges.  I KNOW that life is short.  I KNOW that life is precious and because of this knowledge that has finally sunk in after 40 years, I understand that making the most and the best of everything is vital.  I suppose this is what brings me to what I have been calling "celebrating 40 with a bang".  I'm going to be 40 and my children although still technically little are not babies anymore and those days are becoming longer and longer behind me.  So I've decided in this new year of 2015 that I'm going to do more for me (mostly for me), for my boys, for my husband, for my friends because that is what I want to do.  I'm going to celebrate 40 because I feel like I should.  I'm at a good place.  Am I where I hoped and dreamed I'd be at 40???  HELLZ NO!!!!  But that's ok, I'm on a good path and continuously working and moving towards better paths.  I try to make sure that in life I'm always moving forward in some fashion.  Learn from the past but always take those lessons and move on in the future!

So enough melodrama for now.  My inner squirrel can't quite take it anymore!  Wanna know what I have planned for my 40th birthday extravaganza????  I thought you'd never ask!!!  My biggest and most exciting activity will be doing my favorite thing with one of my favorite people!!!  I am going away for the weekend to Lancaster, PA with my childhood best friend Elisa aka LiLi (who is turning 40 the following weekend) to go antiquing, drinking, eating and just plain old good times!!  We are staying at a nice bed and breakfast.  No children, no husbands, no laundry, no dishes, did I mention no children?  It will be like old times but better because we're 40.  We have better stories to share now, we can legally drink and technically we can do whatever the fuck we want!!  RIGHT!!!!????!!!  YEAH!!!!  But before that I'm going to play bingo at ETS to raise money for LTEF (Lawrence Township Education Fund) with a bunch of really cool Lawrenceville ladies that I'm friends with!!  I'll also likely have a nice dinner out with my husband and maybe some more friends.  I'm also to enjoy some time with my boys too.  Maybe something fun like a movie!!!  Win-win!!  I'm totally going to celebrate 40 with a bang!!!  Yeah baby!!!!!  Whoooooohooooooo!!  BRING IT!!!

Oh, and if you're wondering why my blog is titled Glitter & Glue...it is not just because that is the name of my home business of making crafty cool stuff.  Actually the real reason is that anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE me some glitter!  If it sparkles, I'm in!  Glitter, glitter, glitter, glitter!!!!  And more glitter!!!  BUT, did you know that in order for glitter to adhere to anything you need......wait for it.....GLUE!!!!!!!???!!!  So all of that pretty sparkly stuff cannot stick around without some glue!!  I also love the dichotomy of it.  Glitter is so pretty, so sparkly and so shiny!!!  Glue is sticky and gets dirty and icky.  Yet when you put the two of them together it works out pretty well.

Tootles
Ro