Pointers

I was preparing an omelet for the girls' lunch. Since the dishwasher was running with apparently all the butter knives in it, I was using a HUGE butcher knife. Distracted for one moment, I sliced into my finger and it started bleeding. It hurt so bad but nothing a bandaid couldn't fix.
Anyways, later in the day, when my little buddy came home from school, I started filling him in on all that had happened while he was gone.
"And I cut my finger with a knife by accident" I casually remarked.
He looked at the bandage on my pointer finger and gasped, "Did you cut it off?!"
Ohh, the dramatics of being 7 years old.

The Elephant Walk

Tomorrow after work I am going into the city. At approximately 1:00am, I will see a sight that one would never expect, elephants marching down 32nd Avenue. The Ringling Brothers circus is coming to town and, as tradition, they will walk the elephants through the Lincoln tunnel the whole way to Madison Square Garden. It'll be so cute to see them with their trunks holding on to the tail of the one in front of them. Elephants are so massive, so exotic, so beautiful! I cannot wait for the big event!

Hear more about it, as well as Peta's side of the story, here: http://www.travelistic.com/video/show/2884

Twitter (2)

Follow this link....
perhaps the funniest thing I've seen since the other video I saw right before it that I thought was really funny...
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1892586#1892586

Book it

Before I went back to college to visit, I stopped home (home being PA, where I grew up). I was glad to see my family and friends, of course. But I was also thrilled to see my bookcase. You see, I had left on the day after Christmas, packing only the necessities. I have a pile of unread books that I have now brought back with me! Book club, anyone?

Case of the Mondays (on Thursday)

Hey. Hello. Sorry it's been a long time since I posted. I would never want to leave my three or more readers hanging!
I took a mini vacation back to my alma mater last weekend. Yes, I went back to visit less than three months after I graduated. Get over it, I missed it too much. Turns out that time hasn't changed it at all, and the number one remark people gave me all weekend was "it seems like you never left." Haaa, I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. I had a blast though.
When I came home (home being NJ in this case...I realized about two weeks ago that I started calling the blue house my home), I was warned that I might want to stay away from the babies. Some kind of virus came and took hold of their fragile little bodies. Day in and day out, we've just had to rock them, put them to sleep, soothe them, fill cups with gatorade, and keep Wonder Pets constantly playing on the TV. I feel so sad for them, I just wish they would get better! I miss the days of continuous play, laughter, and sunshine. Because of all this, I had two overflowing suitcases on the floor of my room for most of the week. I became way behind on a bunch of responsiblities because every night I would crash and burn at a ridiculously early hour.
I'm kind of reaching for a theme to this blog here. I guess I just realized when I wrote about our week of sick babies, that it kind of applies to an overall life lesson. I mean, hear me out, we're in a period of waiting. Right now, this is Lent, waiting for the resurrection. Just like my impatience for healthy children, we can grow wishful and complacent in this Lenten journey. I have just been continually waiting for the day that they are not sick, instead of looking to what I have today, and being grateful. I do have to say, I've loved the quiet cuddle time with the girls. And this is helping me remember that they are just vulnerable little babies, so I shouldn't get frustrated with them so often.
I have had horrible anxiety lately. I mean like, I would freak out because of the littlest things. I finally realized that the reason was probably because I wasn't sticking to my Lenten promise. I had let myself get off track and now that I'm back to it I feel much better. Amist the crying babies, and cluttered messes, I'm at peace again.

So I was in a car accident...

I mentioned that I was hit by a speeding car. That is a true story, I wasn't just being ironic. My friend and I were on our way to the mall when a car came out of NOWHERE! The other guy's car is definitely totaled and my friend's car looked pretty bad (I couldn't open my door...) and was towed away. The important thing is that we're safe.
I really don't want to be overdramatic and blow this out of porportion. But I just want to say one little thing. If I HAD died, there would probably be some people out there questioning if I even loved them. So, lesson learned.

I just wanna go home

So, I had my hair cut on Thursday. While Cathy D. (of Cathy D. Hair Salon, naturally...) worked on the finishing touches, she had my chair turned to the wall. After putting down her blow dryer, she spun me around to face the mirror and announced, "There, now you look New Jersey."
It was at that moment that I came face to face with what I am right now- a Jersey girl. Suddenly, I had the urge to run home crying. How did this happen? I am and always will be Laura. I'm just Laura and my home is where my heart is.
I was thinking about home recently. Sometimes as an adult child returning home, I can be driven a little insane. My parents know that I pay my own utility bills on time every month, but I still can't be trusted to remember to put my dishes in the sink? I feel like the repeated phrase from my mouth is always "I knoooooow!" It's frustrating that they don't realize how grown up I have become.
On the other hand, my home will always comfort me. I love love love seeing my brick porch with cast iron swirls guiding my way up the steps. I love opening that big wooden door and walking into the light, smell, and feeling of my childhood. Dinner with my family is the best. My dad goes all out with presentation, the candles and the whole shibang. My mom makes enough food to feed an army, and always remembers to heat up leftovers for those who don't want the meal being served. I was literally dreaming the other day of the shishkebobs my mom puts together and my dad grills. DELICIOUS. Of course, not to sound eck eck corny but everything is made better by the fact that it is my family sitting around the table. Another cool thing about home and food is that the party never ends until the food runs out, and in my family, the party never ends!
That being said, I figured out why I feel very squirmish about ever moving back home. It's because my siblings aren't there anymore for the most part. Everybody has flown the coop. My sisters are married off and having babies. One sister is in college. My brother is away from home and only my baby sister and parents remain. I still love and adore them, but it's not my family as I knew it.
My ideal situation would be this: Everybody move back home. It is possible. Jobs can be changed and (extremely reasonable) real estate can be bought. It is a win/win. I say we're all in this together. If I can talk them all into this, we will have the good life. Think about 50 years ago, mostly because that is the number I just thought of, people didn't move all the time. People graduated from high school, went to college locally while living at home, went into the family business, and moved into their own house in their parent's cul-de-sac when they were married! It's so simple! That way all the cousins can be friends. All the kids can stay in very good touch with Mom and Dad. And best of all, the siblings will be able to lean on each other in a way that is just not possible over the phone.
Life is just too short to forget what's important. I would hate to become one of those families that only see each other once a year. I just wanna go home...but only if my heart can be there too.