I was so young when I lost my Mom that it’s sometimes a challenge to hold onto the memories. I mostly remember her through stories my Dad and Niles have told me through the years.

Mom always had a way of making life a little more sparkly. Presents would be wrapped in unexpected ways using comic books, photos, feathers, flowers, glitter, balloons — and they’d be hidden or hanging from the ceiling.

On April Fool’s Day she’d send me to school with a cardboard sandwich in my lunchbox, a note written backwards: “yad sloof lirpa yppah” and three yummy desserts.

On Halloween we cooked an entire orange dinner together: pumpkin soup in a carved-out pumpkin, carrot bread, paprika fried chicken and orange popsicles.

A Contest She Knew I’d Win

One of my best memories is our flower planting contest. I think I was about four.  I definitely remember going to the nursery and buying my own gardening gloves with yellow flowers printed on them and picking out a bright yellow watering can and a rake that was just my size. Keep Reading»

Promising Young Woman is a rollercoaster ride disguised as a thriller-dark comedy-revenge flick? As someone who used to be a Promising Young Woman I related, though Cassie’s situation is wayyyy different from mine — with a different ending, hopefully;)  But, we were both on the road to success before WHAM! Something happened to change everything.

Enough on my situation — let’s get to why this film affected me so profoundly. Like life, it never goes the way you expect it to. Like an old Hitchcock film, it keeps you on the tip of your toes from the beginning to the end. And like any really good film, it makes you think about it for a long time after.

It’s not what you think —

I thought I’d be watching a woman’s revenge vigilante pic, but it’s not exactly that. You’re never quite sure what Cassie (played by the mega-talented Carey Mulligan) is up to — maybe it’s because she’s not sure how far she’ll go herself. Keep Reading»

Yesterday as I watched the Inauguration and wished with all my might that things would go smoothly and safely, my happy tears went through a box of Kleenex and I went to bed feeling peaceful. It was the first time I’ve felt that way for 4… no more than 5 1/2 years — basically ever since a certain someone came down the escalator and people thought it was funny (fyi — I NEVER thought it was funny.)

We got through it, even though it seemed very touch-and-go till the bitter end. Thank you National Guard, for protecting our country, our Constitution and our future.

Today I’m grateful to HEROES President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for bringing back —

Democracy

Hope

Unity

Optimism

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2021 will be better… it must!

Since this year is different from all other years (except maybe 1918) here are 5 superstitious ways to welcome in 2021.

1. OPEN YOUR PANTI DRAWER —

Normally there are many considerations as you select your 12/31 panties. Even though red is for passion and pink is for love, tonight BLUE is the clear choice.

BLUE panties bring GOOD HEALTH, and that’s the #1 need for ourselves, our loved ones, our country and our world. So get out your blue panties to parrr-ty — alone, or with someone in your bubble. (I know, I know, it feels depressing, but guys — next year will be better.)

2. GRAB A SUITCASE —

After we get through the contagiousness of Covid, we’ll all need to get away. Tonight at midnight, lug a piece of luggage around the block. Make sure it’s packed with your needs for a dream vacay. (Let’s plan it! Woo-hoo!) Keep Reading»

help is here!

Great news! Volunteers at my hospital get to be in line for vaccinations. Yay!

I just filled out a “Covid-19 Vaccine Interest Questionnaire” answering questions like :

“Do you come in contact with patients where you’re less than 6 feet apart? YES.

“Do you work in areas where there are known active Covid-19 cases? YES.

Not sure how long the list is, but it’s exciting to be on it. Dr. A and Anthony Chan got the vaccine yesterday and feel great.

Hope it’s like the flu vaccine where it helps to relax your arm when you’re getting it to avoid later aches. Will do my best.

I told Charlayne I’m ready and excited to come back and help! It’s a weird feeling to want to come back, but I do. I really do. Keep Reading»

Niles, my hairdresser-bestie, and I live in the same building. He’s in my “bubble” so we have dinner together a lot. Monday before last dinner on his balcony was like any other since March. His housekeeper, Hortensia, was there cooking, cleaning…

On Tuesday Hortensia’s sister was sick, so she got tested. On Wednesday sis learned she’d tested POSITIVE. So Hortensia tested, and yes, unfortunately: POSITIVE.

Niles got tested and said it was “easy-peasy” at the drive-through set-up at the Veteran’s building, plus he got his NEGATIVE results within 24 hours.

I went to the website,  filled out the forms, watched the video twice (“don’t drop anything”) printed the receipt with my number… so far so good.

On Saturday I was psyched to go. The line was long, but kept moving. It took about an hour to go through. One of the masked guides told me to go to Tent #1. When I got there, I asked the next masked guide if there would be another Tent #1 and she told me there would be. She asked if I’d been there before.

No it’s my first time.

She explained that up ahead they’d tell me what to do… piece of cake, right? Uhhhhh… not exactly for me.

Passing a sign PUT ON YOUR MASK, I eventually I got to a window where a guy asked for my number and then attached a sealed plastic bag with the test kit on one of those extended grabber things and pointed it to me in my car.  After I grabbed the plastic bag, he told me to roll up my window, which I did.

After that something went wrong, because I followed the car in front of me for awhile without stopping and noticed that the driver dropped something in a receptacle and continued to drive on. I had no idea what he was doing since no one had told me to take the test yet and there’d been no place to stop and do what was shown in the video. I continued in the moving car line, a little nervously…

The next masked guide told me to get into Row 3, which I was aware wasn’t Row 1, but I figured maybe I didn’t have to get to Tent #1 after all.

Then, after I’d been there an hour my car line exited out! I FREAKED and pulled over to the side as quickly as I could.  Frantically I opened my plastic bag, but in my nervousness, the white gauzy circle-thing fell to my car floor. Noooooo! (“don’t drop anything.”) I speed-dialed Niles.

Am I supposed to take my test in the car and send it somewhere?!

No– didn’t someone watch you take the test?

No, and Niles —  I accidentally dropped my white gauzy-circle thing!

Keep Reading»