Random Mad-Doms. Random Happy-Doms

Ha. Mad-Doms are things that make me irritated. And of course, Happy-Doms make me happy. Here are a few:

1. (This applies to no one who posts here normally.) If you are a Trump supporter and you jump on my personal Facebook page with a video or story that appears to be in response to something i posted you will not have the last word with me.

Explanation: This hasn't happened too often but my husband has a cousin who passively aggressively jumps on my Facebook page about some stuff i post. He is a born-again Christian and likes to take issue with me, as he did recently when i posted the funny GIF about the Poland First Lady passing by Trump's extended hand and instead shook Melanie's hand.

2. Three reasons i liked that handshake GIF a lot: The first being that she appears to snub Trump. The second is  that i like to think maybe she really didn't (Trump's hands are so tiny, maybe she didn't  see his little tiny hand!). And number three: If she later was mortified that she broke some protocol only to find out that so many of us made her some kind of hero and made a joke of it, because the GIF is hilarious...well then maybe that takes the sting out of her error.

3. So i turned 60 and my hands turned 85. Seriously after this blog i am going to take a photo of my hands to prove it. I understand why Diane Keaton always wears gloves! My doctor told me she could tell by looking at them they are getting arthritis. My knuckles are swollen and i can no longer get my wedding ring off though i have not gained weight.

My wedding ring is actually a man's ring that i had sized for my own because i don't like big diamonds. But those hands look 25 years older than i am and they feel it too.

4. It kind of creeps me out (in a claustrophobic way) that i can't get my ring off right now. I don't like feeling trapped our bound. I hope if i ever die it's not by being buried under rubble.

5. Ok, time for Happy-Doms! I've talked about my favorite nephew's (Brian) son Brady - the one i babysit with the Cheeto colored hair. Brady's sister turned 1 on July 7 and has THE EXACT SAME hair as Brady. (In secret i call them the Cheetos. As in "I'm babysitting the Cheetos today." But i don't say that to Brian or his wife Adrienne cause i'm not sure they would think it's as funny as i do.) I didn't know if i could love a kid as much as i did with Brady but Lauren is fabulously happy and so fun to babysit and i see now how you can be a parent and love your kids equally.  Because her initials are LOL, we call her Lolo.

6. Happy-Dom: When i rock Lolo to sleep i like to sing her the song by the Kinks "Lola". I change it to LoLo. And yes, it's about a transvestite, but she doesn't know that.

Ok, her hair is covered but i love this photo of her. Her dad is pulling her in a wagon.

6. Another Happy-Dom. I am remodeling my kitchen with custom built cabinets, quartz counters and subway tile wall backsplash and new electric can lights. Last time i did this i hired a contractor but my kitchen is so small and i'm retired so i'm organizing it. I love all four of the guys i hired. And their communication so far has been excellent. I don't even mind having to do all the weird little stuff buy all the lights, knobs, and i get to use their accounts where applicable. So yeah, lots of running around and what feels like100s of hours of Pinterest and Houzz research but i have to admit, i like having the project.

7. I can't spend all my retired time reading! Well, actually i can. But i'm not sure it's a good thing. And i'm behind on my one day a week goal that's i've met for awhile now. Just as i've been on this blog.

8. Happy-Dom: Great books i've read this year - Some of them heartbreaking like "Just Mercy"by Bryan Stevenson about the lack thereof of mercy for many minorities in the south. "Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk"; "Option B" - if you are dealing with grief, this book might really help. It helped my friend Rita who lost her daughter to breast cancer. And "Eleanor Oliphant"....

9. Happy-Dom: What i love most about retirement. My mornings. About half of the time i get up Brian is still home reading yesterday's newspaper before getting ready for work. I make coffee;  turn on all the lighting that i like and sit down to the newspaper (once it finally arrives from our disabled carrier) and after that i look online on my iPad, or read part of my book or watch ER reruns i've DVRd. Later I do some cleaning, laundry, researching stuff, or calling Sarah, anything to procrastinate going for a run. I go for a run about four days a week, sometimes five. (Edited to add : I don't know why i wrote 'five', i haven't run five since i quite training for that race.  And right now my other knee is also starting to bother me worrying me about how much longer i can do this.)

Sometimes I meet friends (Sarah and Drew and Marie) for a walk or lunch. I pop over at the pool if i see the screaming meanies aren't there or if some of my condo friends ARE, i babysit a few times a month. And in between all that other time .....i read books. And Facebook. And look up stuff online i want to know. (Right now my remodel is taking a lot of that time.)

10. Somewhere there was a survey... on Facebook i think...Probably...Most likely...Because i don't usually take surveys or tests anywhere but on Facebook... Anyway, on the survey the question was : "If you could have one superpower, what would it be?" ....For me that answer is so simple!  It would be "To remember absolutely everything i have ever read." I honestly don't get why some folks might want super strength or to fly or be invisible. I want instant recall.

Ok, on that note, i'm going to sign off and go scan a couple of photos not on Facebook and talk about those.

I am so proud of my nephew Brian! I always had hope for Brian since he was teenager when so many of us thought he was such a slacker.  Even though he lived a few miles from us I actually wrote him a couple of letters when he was a teen once after he got fired from a job.

I believed in him because even when he was only about 11 years old  he was always a kid who asked so many questions and seemed to care so much about what was going on in the world. Then his younger brother Josh committed suicide in 2009, in a way that nobody saw it coming. And i worried that he wouldn't make it either. But he did. It's probably a testament to his dad, my brother Troy, who has also amazed me in how he has recovered. They are both very close.

I am close to him too. I don't think of him as just my nephew - he is also like a close friend. Brian calls me often on his breaks between Comcast appointments and we love to talk about politics, football, books, movies, tv shows (he's the one that tells me about the best TV shows), stuff in the news, what happened on Bill Maher, etc. .. I learn a lot from him. I also get a lot of my political news from him because i quit watching much of it.

He is now 35. He married the right woman, (his long time girlfriend, who is a nurse who works graveyard shifts) so he has become a super-hands-on father of a boy and a girl. They bought a nice house in a nice neighborhood. And he has become very committed to the extended family. Many of our conversations are about Elodie!

 He's also a really good writer. I wish he wrote more. We used to talk about collaborating on a book of chapters about our family. Maybe we will someday. Anyway, his  35th birthday was July 14th this week... so that is a Happy-Dom. I am so happy he and my brother Troy are doing so well.

They do love their plaid. It's the Louvrak favorite family color!

Lolo is wearing Brady's old hat.