Chaos I Call My FaRmily: February 2012

I'm an aunt, daughter, sister, friend, believer, etc. There is a long list of words that make me giggle. I believe in having ice cream for dinner, making strangers smile and finding magic in the smallest of moments. Let's face it, if you found your way here, you probably already know me... I have nothing significant to offer the blogosphere, so this is my online diary so when I'm insane one day and lost all my real diaries that I started a million times and never finished - I have this.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Ketchup... because it's my favorite pun and condiment

My buddy Blane visited me with mom the other weekend. By far one of the funniest weekends I’ve had. Between his mispronunciation of Charrette and Hayree to his long story about how a Tiger bit him (thanks Charlotte) – he was the source of a ton of laughter. He was a good sport putting up with 4 women all weekend. Such a trooper.

We all miss him so much already!

It was one of my favorite people in the entire world’s birthday this past week! Yup – Robert Downey Jr. celebrated his… oh waitttt nevermind. It was Hayley’s J Just kidding love. She graciously let Charlotte and I be a part of her celebration and we had a wonderful time at the Fat Cat (for out-of-towners… go ahead and laugh – their food/drinks are to die for but they DO have fat cats everywhere – I’m sure that was Charlotte’s favorite part).

Besides the small hiccup of Charlotte singing “Happy Birthday to Holly” it was good times per usual. (A.k.a she'll be lucky to be invited to her 26th). I bombarded her with birthday messages every hour because saying it once just isn’t enough… HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAYL!!!!!! Love you-xo.

Well for all of those worried: the double trouble Tavares weekend was a success. Yup my dad and I managed to not get into too much trouble and got a lot done and even though it was a short amount of time - it was just long enough to:

Make me realize no amount of gym time will make me fit enough to compete with him/walk where he walks.
Have basically agreed/signed into stone that I would forever be cutting my own cheese from here on out.
Have almost killed my cat by sleeping on top of the box spring and mattress she was under. Yup. Under.
Bow to the skills of dad in his ability to back his dually into my hard-to-fit-a-Subaru-parking-space
Get blown away (literally) by the gale force winds (that dad brought with him) while trying to carry a mattress. Mr. Lightweight didn’t help much.
Play a prank on mom. She’s so easy.

It was a great weekend full of life lessons.

*It has come to my attention that I don't take enough pictures. I once had a friend who took so many pictures I wanted to SCREAM and break her camera... but now - I realized how many photo-ops I miss in one day. This is my new goal for the week.

I guess this could be considered a traffic report:

This morning on my way to work, during my half hour, 30 mph, normally boring ride on I-93, I saw the greatest inspiration for a story line than I could have ever imagined. On the side of the road one after the other: a pink wig, a whip, a muscle shirt and a shoe. NO LIE folks. Pinky swear. Now what in the HELL happened there? The commute went by SO FAST after that that I didn’t get enough time to imagine all the scenarios that involved those items… I was going to list some here, but I’d like to keep this family-friendly. Plus – I gather your imagination will do most of the work for you. Thank you Wednesday-morning-blues-Gods.

Side note: I miss chicken noodle soup day in our caf. I don't even want to talk about it except to say... who the hell eats Mulligatawny soup or US Senate Bean Soup? Who even knows what it is??

I WISH I WAS LYING:

Soup Sensations
Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle	Hearty Beef Vegetable	Split Pea with Ham	Mulligatawny	New England Clam Chowder
Vegetarian Black Bean	Cream of Broccoli	Curried Vegetable	Chunky Vegetable Orzo	US Senate Bean Soup

Simply based on this I need a new job. Anyone who knows of one should let me know immediately. (Chicken noodle soup availability isn't a requirement, just a perk).

I believe I had avoided my homework long enough.

May the rest of your Wednesday and week be full of inappropriateness.

xo.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Inspired...

It’s the only way I can describe how I’m feeling without lulling you all into a positivity coma.

There are moments I believe, in life where God just looks right at you. I mean, stares you in the face and you have no idea it’s Him when it’s happening, until you’re replaying your day later. Then you think of all the things you should have said or thought about. Well, God’s been looking me right in the eyes lately and I just started feeling so lucky and… inspired.

A couple weeks ago I was driving to Hayley in Belmont to go look at bridesmaid’s dresses. I was running late (for the first time in my life) and was sitting at a light impatiently waiting for it to turn green, when I saw a homeless man pacing up and down the road yelling. (For those of you not familiar with the city… this is more than normal and I’ve come to barely notice them anymore). However, because it was a beautiful day and my window was down, I actually heard what he was saying. Things like “it’s too beautiful a day to be inside, make sure ya’ll enjoy it” and “life’s too short to be angry and sad, make the best of your day”. As he got closer to my window, I rolled it down more and got a dollar out (as a thank-you for the inspiration. I hardly EVER do this by the way). When he saw my window down, he came over and said “it’s a beautiful day to be joyful young lady and aren’t you a beauty - inside and out I’m sure”. Well – I mean, a compliment to boot? He earned the dollar. But when I stuck it out the window he backed away and wouldn’t take it “oh no, Miss, that’s not what I’m here for. Just spreading joy and love on this fine day. Not necessary”.

The homeless man refused my dollar. God visited me on Storrow Drive that day.

A few days later on a Thursday, it was almost 50 degrees outside and Renata ( a new friend) and I decided to take a break from work and go for a walk on the harbor. Not only was it the perfect break that helped rejuvenate me, but… God visited me on the harbor that day.

Since then we’ve tried to go on multiple walks and although some days are colder than others, I always look forward to them and am always grateful that this year has been so calming and full of things to be grateful for. So calming, in fact, that I’ve had a chance to notice the beauty right outside of the place I work but used to dread so much.

Not to mention how many wonderful blogs there are out there that not only contain inspired writing and living, but they absolutely inspire their readers. (Chelsea Talks Smack and Enjoying the Small Things) Thanks to Hayley for sending these to me as daily reminders.

Most recently, God visited me at my mechanic’s. Go ahead and laugh… those guys are ANGELS. Not only are they the sweetest most caring and conscientious people ever, they saved me money and wished me a Happy Valentine’s Day. Priceless.

In keeping with the serious tone of this post, I can’t leave out… Whitney. I think it’s one of those things that I will remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when it happened. I rarely feel effected by celebrity deaths and am frustrated when people act like it was their literal family member. But she’s different. So gifted, so gracious, so eloquent. Of course it’s sad that we lost her and won’t get to benefit from her voice or talent, but at least we have our memories of what each of her songs means for us. Even without being here, she inspires and that never dies.

What will I do with all this inspiration? I’m not quite sure. Right now I’m enjoying spending more time playing my guitar, working on exciting crafts, looking for jobs or future opportunities, enjoying the weather and looking forward to all of the wonderful things that will come this year.

In the dullness of winter, I hope each of you find God giving you little moments that inspire you.

xoxo

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

I Have A Fever…

At this point I’m hoping you’re all worried about me, wondering if I’m laying down, taking Tylenol, holding a washcloth on my head, if not… it’s either because you know me too well, or you’re a jerk.

Either way… no need to fear folks, I’m talking about BIEBER FEVER. Yup. I caught it. Bad. No room for judgment here, so if you insist on judging me for this you should do one of two things: either turn on Never Say Never and get in the game, or stop reading right now because I don’t like dis-believers. So from now on if you’d like to send me tickets to his shows or perhaps a t shirt from his fan site, you can go ahead and do that. He literally makes my day and my Pandora station of his makes me smile – what more could you ask for? Now for all you pervs wondering… he’s going to be 18 this year and we all know I don’t look my age, so put the two together and you get a VERY normal admiration of an artist/inspiration to us all. That is all I have to say about him at this time. Stay tuned though – it comes in waves.

Moving on… I’m sure you’re all wondering how my positivity train is going. Well, we lost a couple of cars and we’ve slowed a bit, but we’re still on the tracks and chugging along. (Please be patient with me as I milk this metaphor for all it’s worth).

-So far, school is actually going pretty well and I’m on top of everything. I actually even answered a question correctly the other day which not only shocked myself and my classmates but my Professor as well. Good thing he’s not shy about his shock…

- Work – is not a topic I like to dwell on and having recently been told “we love you for your hard work, but please do less and stop helping”… they’re lucky they see me at all during the day. I have included so many walks, breaks, friendly visits and musical intermissions in my day, it’s a wonder I get ANYTHING done for work or appear to be present at all.

- The exercise thing… is coming slowly. I’m not beating myself up about the irregularity, but I AM working on it. ESPECIALLY because I’m about to be trying on quite a few dresses in public – now I’m not a huge fan of doing many things in public, let alone changing or trying on clothes. So, trust me, it’s a priority.

Also helping my positivity and ability to move above and beyond work crap is how much other stuff is going on! So many wedding-y things happening. Hayley and I started attempting some crafts for her wedding. Let’s just say we learned A LOT in a short amount of time and now we’ll be on a roll and practically experts at DIY projects, so look out wedding world.

Actually I haven’t done one of these in a while:

Traffic report:

Car: Green Subaru. Driver: Me – 7:30am commute.

Incident: Singing at the top of my lungs, while incorporating dance moves I should patent.

There was a guy who literally was staring at me for like 2 miles. Now, I didn’t know this because I was STARING back, but it’s hard not to notice the SAME car by you with the SAME guy who is just relentlessly gawking at you.

You would think this would cause me to be embarrassed and stop. Nope. That guy could learn a little fun from me. Not only did he almost get into an accident by not stopping when the car in front of him did, I hope he spilled his coffee in his lap. Dude - unless you’re going to join in the song or catch the arm wave I’m passing to you with my free hand… don’t stare. It’s not nice.

Lesson of the day/week/month:

My mom is literally going to kill me for this, but the last time I laughed so hard I cried was the other day at Friendly’s with my mom where she practically announced she had a rash. I almost just spit out my coffee typing this and reliving it. Anyway – OBVIOUSLY she doesn’t have a rash people, I’m not an a-hole who would put that crap on the internet, but she was playing with the word and it went very wrong. I post this so we can all learn lessons about playing around with words in public.

Well I have a boring meeting to get to that I don’t contribute anything to but am expected to be at so… I guess this break is overJ

Have a blessed day!

Meet The Fam

Mom- The strongest woman I know. I attribute my humor, sarcasm and momentary lapses of sensitivity to her. My neurotic organization and timeliness could also be traced back to her, easily. I keep telling her I will make a shirt that says “only my Mother gets me”… She not only has the ability to laugh at herself, but the suspense of what may come out of her mouth next is completely worth every minute you spend with her. Every day I aspire to be as selfless as she and hope to have the same energy that she has every day! The time we spend together is rarely productive, but most often taken up by running to the bathroom with tears of laughter streaming down our faces. Or… spitting things out of our mouths- which dad loves.

Dad- The person I most often, unintentionally mirror. So many ways to explain him, but none more effective than: a Portuguese, work-a-holic, addicted to caffeine and nicotine, impressed by callouses and blood, who doesn’t know what it feels like to sit down, be bored or not know something. The man carries the most random, seemingly useless, facts and knowledge around with him. I joke that there won’t be much more room left in there if he keeps memorizing what I call “trivial” and he calls “necessary” facts about life and the world. Although he IS very handy when converting units for recipes, etc. He, too, is able to laugh at himself and always finds time to teach a good lesson. His wilderness skills are something to be admired, although his instinct to seek medical attention should not. He prides himself on still being able to run faster than me and beat me up, regardless of my age or weight. I’m still waiting for the day he isn’t expecting me…

Shauna- The milk man’s delivery, as I like to call her- Like every abnormal family, sibling rivalry was at its finest until we both traded in our stone-washed flared jeans for our big girl pants. We couldn’t be more opposite, she and I. Some of you would think, “Well, opposites attract” - you’d be wrong. We’ve worked through the years to a place of acceptance and support that is coated with humor and tough love. She’s always been a 40 yr old stuck in a whatever-age-she-was-at-the-time’s body and I exist as the sister to bring comic relief and nonsense to her carefully arranged life. But her protectiveness and respect for her family is unmatched by anyone I have ever met. She is widely known for her smile and constantly takes you off guard when she trades in her pensive stare for a witty one-liner. My victories with her stem from how many abnormal acts I can talk her into doing (which is a lot). Although her life always seems to be enveloped in constant chaos she has a resilient way of finding the blessing and purpose in every day.

Derek- The brother-in-law. We have always wanted a boy in the family. Until Derek came, I was the closest thing to it and played the role accidentally when it came to following dad around covered in grease. Derek or “the trainee” as I so lovingly like to refer to him, is carefully walking the line between finding his new family quirky and loveable and… crazy. It’s not a secret (or won’t be for long) that I play a rough game of tough love and hard-ass. As he works at earning every inch, he is finding our humorous and good-intentioned family a place where he belongs. As with every boy, he has his set-backs, but I think we will find that if he can handle us, he can handle anything. We all have to give him some credit for sticking with it and not to mention he contributed 50% of himself to my favorite treasure… my nephew.

Blane- Who knew the above two could create such a nugget of perfection. He is 4 and already such a wonderful human being! It’s all happening so fast! He seems to fit in juuussstt fine and already spends most of his time organizing his cars and using sarcasm. (I have no clue where he got that from by the way). He is SO smart and SO sensitive and caring. He's not a huge fan of sharing with his brother, but hey, I'm 26 and I still don't have the sharing thing down.I spend most of my time imagining the days when I will be able to take him to do all of the things Shauna/the law won’t let him do. What are Aunts for anyway?

Brooks- AKA Mr. Snarky-pants.What a handful! He reminds me of myself as a monstrous child. He is, however, the most polite little snark you'll ever meet. His adorable pronunciations of things and his constant questions won't keep you mad for long. In his almost 2 years of life the only thing that can get him to sleep when he's having one of his meltdowns is my singing to him. Melt. My. Heart. He has SO MUCH personality and his voice has one volume. Loud. What an entertainer though. I could watch him for hours.

Hayley- You know that best friend in every movie that every girl wants? She’s wild, unpredictable, endlessly supportive, loving, hilarious, and driven and always finds an adventure out of a mere walk down the street. She vocalizes things most people just think, finds people she encounters fascinating and always makes time for everyone. Well… not to brag, but that’s my best friend Hayley. She is my conscience, my support, my free therapist, my teacher, my patience. No one loves life more. She is constantly challenging herself, improving herself, keeping an open mind about everyone and their beliefs and is never afraid to admit when she just “doesn’t know”.She is currently engaged to someone who literally fits her so perfectly, I would gag if I didn’t love her so much and I wasn’t so grateful to God that she can be blessed in this way. A day without a thought, message or text from her is a day you have missed out on. Her Hayley-isms keep everyone guessing, laughing and appreciating her.

Charlotte- Charlotte, Charlotte, Charlotte… where do I begin with her? Think of the last person on earth you would ever imagine getting along with, understanding or appreciating… and then meet Charlotte. No one has taught me more than she has. In the past 4 years that I have known her, I have watched her go from a tough-as-nails, pessimistic, don’t-need-anyone, who-needs-a-direction type; to a goal-oriented, independent, selfless, thoughtful, hilarious, irreplaceable person in my life. Most people that interact with us agree that we should have our own reality show, but that usually leads into a fight about who would be the star. Her Puerto-Rican/Southie accent lends additional humor to whatever she is saying and makes you want to know her, if not, be her friend. As all roommates require, we have a routine that seems to work and although there are the moments we would like to kill each other, it’s hard to hold a grudge with someone who forgets what the issue was 30 seconds after it’s over. I thank God every day that I did not follow my instinct to run from her the day we met, but chose to stay and am grateful to be included in the people who get to watch her daily performance.

Lindey - Partner-in-crime doesn't even capture the things I have talked this girl into doing with me. She's the Bonnie to my Clyde. We go wayyyy back. Back to the days of dances, horrible bangs, skipping class and going to each others' sporting events. Life eventually got rough (as it tends to do) and we broke up... (any "we were on a break, Friends fans?"). However, we found our way back to each other, picked up right where we left off and I wouldn't have it any other way. I still cannot believe we're allowed to be grown-ups. And even though she is one of the most amazing mothers ever, I still have SUCH a hard time believing she is a wife and is a mother of two! She's literally super-woman and I'm just blessed to be in her presence. Whether I have an awful impulse to do something dumb or a thought out impulse to conquer the world, she always supports me. I've never been so proud to be friends with someone who grew so seamlessly with me from immature tweens to grown-ups with joys and struggles. Since moving back home to PA, she has been my backbone and I'm so lucky to be a part of her life and beautiful family.

Joyce- It’s funny to think of our relationship at its beginning. As hard as it may be to be intimidated by someone with such an infectious warmth and laughter, there I was. She found me as a young student and gave me an opportunity that I didn’t even know I would rise to. As my supervisor, mentor and leader, our relationship only evolved out of the uncanny similarities that we share and perhaps by her nature of wide-acceptance. To this day, I owe her thanks for my full-time job, my Graduate Student status, comic relief from daily struggles, her constant support and much more. There are no two other people on earth that can cover more random topics than she and I can in 20 minutes. She’s almost angelic in her care, concern, empathy and support for others. Anyone who places us both on the same committee or even in the same room usually appreciate our productivity and similar thinking, but also regrets our A.D.D tendencies, our need for constant sugar and our inability to stay on topic. She is truly someone that has blessed my life.

Melissa- Melissa is the the best part of any day she and I get to interact. Her resemblance to a beautifully formed porcelain doll should not be mistaken for instability or frailty. At first, second and third glance you realize how selfless and sensitive she is to everyone, while still maintaining an instinct to preserve her charming and carefully formed life. Her work-ethic guides her tendency to be hard on herself while always keeping in mind her priorities. Most would describe her as shy and introverted, but those who get the great pleasure of getting to know her, quickly find that her wit and sarcasm are hidden jewels that immediately inspire and comfort. She also just got married in the most beautiful ceremony in the most beautiful place. Everything was perfect and so... "Melissa". I am forever grateful to her that I was able to share in her day.

Renata - A new addition to the family, who easily fits in anywhere like the perfect accent to any outfit you have and think to yourself "what would put this over the top?" She is a whirlwind of laughter, wisdom, care, cheerleader and intellect. I almost forgot to add her because I forgot she wasn't always listed here. I feel like I've known her forever. Like that old soul that felt like it was never missing, because you can't remember the last time it was. She seemed to have entered my life at a time when I most needed the words only she can phrase and the support and laughter only she can offer. She is literally the reason I haven't committed a crime at work and puts me in check daily about my expectations and my hopes. She inspires me to trust what I know and dig deeper into what I question. Any day without an interaction is a day I haven't laughed hysterically or thoroughly looked into my moon-sign. You're a rockstar Tutko.