E is for Embarrassing High School Moment

For most of us, high school is full of embarrassing moments.  The day of my most embarrassing moment started out like any other of my high school career.  I got up, met my friends at a the corner candy store and we all walked the mile to Grover Cleveland High. My third period was gym followed by dreaded history. The gym bell usually rang five minutes before the end of the period to allow us to run to our locker and get dressed, so we could get to our next class.  Very quickly I realized that day the five minute bell had failed to ring and this was actually the end of class bell.  The next gym class was already rushing into the locker room. I had seconds to get dressed.  I scrambled to take off my gym uniform and get into my blouse and skirt. I grabbed all my stuff from my locker and ran to history.

As I approached my class I could see that everyone was already seated and Mr Goldberg was starting the lesson.  I entered the classroom like a cat burglar, hoping no one would notice my entrance. I was inches from my desk when very loudly Mr Goldberg said "Miss Raber we will all wait for you to get dressed before we proceed with the class". The class roared with laughter as I looked down and saw that in my haste, I had failed to close the zipper of my skirt and my flowered undies were exposed for the world to see.  I went totally red as I fumbled to close my zipper with shaking hands.  I threw my things into the desk, shrunk down in my desk and tried to disappear.

I was mortified for the rest of the day and could not sleep that night, replaying the event over and over in my head.  So the next morning the thought of going to school again was the the last thing I wanted to do but of course off I went.  I was hoping that all would be forgotten and I could just move on from my embarrassment.   Luckily the five minute gym bell rang and I hurried to history class wanting to get into my seat early so I did not have to walk past anyone.   I sat with my eyes down sitting quietly waiting for class to begin, averting eye contact with anyone.  The starting bell of class rang and immediately Mr Goldberg's voice boomed over the classroom  "Is anyone missing this?"  As my eyes looked up I saw Mr Goldberg holding up  my white lacy slip that I must have left  behind in the desk the day before.  The entire class turned and looked at me waiting for me to claim the slip.  I sat frozen unable to speak.  There was no way in hell that I was going to admit that slip was mine.  So I just sat like a horrified mute until Mr Goldberg took my slip and threw in the garbage.

Mr Goldberg 

I was not a fan of Mr Goldberg from that point on and was very happy when the term ended and luckily I never had Mr Goldberg for any other class in high school.

Did you have any embarrassing high school moments?   Please share.

Mary Ann

D is for Daughter Of My Dreams

As far back as I can remember I would dream of having a daughter.  In my dreams I would dress her in adorable clothes and she would always be the most perfect of babies.  I married young and by 21 I was pregnant.  There were no tests back then to determine the sex but I was sure it was a girl.  My labor was rough,  I was so young and really had no idea what to expect.  The pain of labor was not part of my dream but the first sight of my daughter's beautiful face made all the pain a distant memory.

The stressful life with a new baby was certainly also not part of my dream.  I had not realized how tired I would be.  Months and months of no sleep.  She was opinionated from that first day, so often, just one little thing would set her off.  Hours upon hours, holding her when she was crying for no reason that I could figure out.  I would be so frustrated and cry right along with her.  There were times when I thought I was the worst mother in the whole world,  I felt like I just could not keep her happy.  Finally when I thought I couldn't take another minute, she smiled.  Her sweet face lit up and I was back in my dream state.  This was going to be OK.  I made her smile so I must not be such a bad mom.

So life with my daughter from that point had its ups and down. Still opinionated the clothes thing was always an issue, fighting over wearing ruffled socks when she was two, of course the more I insisted, the more she resisted.   Thinking back, why was I so stubborn?   I should have just let it go, not fighting with her over a stinking pair of ruffled socks.

As time went on, of course, there were usual growing up mishaps. She broke her collar bone at three running into a door frame.  Cut open her chin and needed stitches during gym in 2nd grade. When she was 17 her car was hit by a deer and thankfully she was fine but the deer and car did not fair so well.  It all went by so fast.

Over the years I have seen her grow up to be one of the most awesome people I know.  She is dedicated to her family.  She never sweats the small stuff and is constantly giving me good advice to keep my sometimes hectic life in order.  She is funny and makes me laugh all the time.  I see her with her children and I am so touched by the love that she shows them every minute of the day, from all the hugs and kisses to sewing quilts and knitting blankets so they are surrounded by that love, even when they sleep.

So through it all, she is without a doubt, daughter of my dreams.

Mary Ann

C is for Crafty

Crafty, that's me. I have always I loved to create things, but because work, family, and chores got in the way I had put it on the back burner for years.  In 2010 when I quit my highly stressful job  I decided it would be a great opportunity to do something that I love.

I started my crafting journey by designing pictures for family and friends.

I went on to make some pictures  for myself.

Along the way I decided to try my hand at making jewelry.

Necklaces and pins

 Loved designing them so much I decided to create item to sell on Etsy.

Besides selling my jewelry I also sell pictures.

During the holiday I sold Christmas ornaments and tags.

Some ornaments I specifically created for my grandchildren trying to capture some of their personality.
 

                                                         

I continue to design and create.  My mind is always thinking about what to do next.  I am working on some more jewelry designs and also key chains that I will be selling on Etsy and some craft fairs this summer.  Life is certainly what you make it and I have decided to make mine full of color, creativity, and most of all fun.

Mary Ann

B is for Baby Ruth, The Tale Of TMI

 I was brought up in Queens, NY which is a stones throw away from New York City.   On special occasions, as a family, we would trek into the city.  Some of those special occasions for my sister and I were going into the city with my parents to attend live TV kids shows.  For whatever reason my mom must have thought my sister and I deserved to be seen on TV because she would get tickets for all the local NYC TV shows.  We were on Romper Room, Wonderama, Little Rascals with Officer Joe Bolton and my favorite appearance for my sister and I was Kartoon Klub.

Kartoon Klub was a local live TV show that was on everyday.  The host was Ted Steele who at one time was a very famous band leader.  For the hour preceding the Kartoon Klub, Ted hosted a live American Bandstand type show and when it was over it went right into him hosting Kartoon Klub, a kids show.  Now poor Ted must have done something very wrong in the universe because he was stuck with a bunch of teenagers for an hour and then he was thrust into a world of screaming kids for an additional hour.  I was so little but I remember how cranky he was.  The only time he smiled was when the camera was on him.

Just before the American Bandstand type show was over my sister and I and about fifteen other kids were led into a large studio with bleachers that faced a big screen.  I was so little and my mom that day had put my blond hair in a huge array of banana curls.  Very stylish at the time, I guess.  They sat me right in the middle of the bleachers telling me to make room for Mr.Steele.  From a distance I could see the teens dancing to the last song of the teen show.  Ted Steele came toward us as his first show ended looking none to happy to have to spend the next hour with us.  He climbed up into the bleacher and sat right next to me saying nothing to any of us kids.  I heard one of the guys yell, "we are on in 10 second,  10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 ,4, 3, 2, 1" and pointed to Ted.  Ted immediately went from grumpy to Mr Happy.    He started to explain who the shows sponsors were, one of which was a Baby Ruth candy bar.  He announces "every kid loves a Baby Ruth bar and all the kids here will get one to take home with them".   Now, little did poor Ted Steele know but I had some issues with eating nuts of any kind and was forbidden to eat them.  So as he was talking I tugged on his suit jacket, he did not respond, I tugged again and again.  He finally looked down at me not looking very happy and I said "excuse me but I can't eat  this candy bar".  He says "well little girl save it for later" and starts talking to the camera again.  That answer obviously was not good enough for me because I continued to tug away at his jacket.  He finally looks down at me again and with gritted teeth he says "yes little girl" and I quickly tell him that I can't even eat it when I get home because it has nuts in it and it will make me constipated.  Now remember this was live TV and none of this could be edited.  The entire staff was horrified, constipated was not a word that was said on TV back then.  My poor mother and father sat in the green room watching mortified as the other parents let out a collective gasp at my bold, bathroom, problem, confession.

Not sure if poor Ted was ever the same after that. My potty talk may have been the straw that broke Ted Steel's back because not long after that the show went off the air.

                                         

A is for Avid

So I am new at blogging, so one would think I am nuts to tackle the A through Z blogger challenge but I went for it and here I am on the first day. Believe it or not I had issues with picking an A word.  It seemed simple but no word really came to me.  There were suggestions online to go with a theme but since I live a scattered life it would be hard for me to stick to one thing.  I may regret this decision as I move forward with this challenge but I will just learn as I go.  The word that seemed to pop into my head more then any other A word was Avid.  Hmmm so how can I incorporate that word in my blog?

Well I know that I am an avid reader.  I am a regular visitor to our local library and read at least a book a week.  I am absolutely sure I am an avid TV watcher. I hate to admit it but I love my TV shows, using my DVR to record  shows because at that particular time I am probably watching another show, sad but true. I know its a time sucker but I can't seem to stop myself.  I am also an avid crafter.  I enjoy making things from nothing and creating something unique.  I am way too often an avid worrier. Worrying about things that I am sure will never happen but I still think about them anyway.  I have gotten better as I have gotten older but I still struggle with it.

I would love to be an avid runner or walker.  A facebook friend posts her running activities everyday.  She does tons of marathons and seems to really enjoy it.  I often think about running or even walking but I think deep down I am just an avid sitter.

Every spring I dream about being an avid gardener.  I can picture the garden in my head, flowers of different colors, vegetables of every kind, ripe for the picking but as spring fades so do my thoughts about my garden, and I become an avid buyer of vegetables at our local stands.  I usually find time to plant some flowers early spring and I become an avid caretaker of them but then by August, I get tired of watering them so my poor sad flowers never make it all the way through the summer.

I am trying to be and avid blogger I guess that's why I decided to take this challenge.  Only time will tell.

WHOO HOO the first one is done only 25 more to go.  YIKES what will my B word be?  Come back tomorrow and see.

Mary Ann

Ready to Rumble

Well in a few short days I will be knee deep in writing posts for the A - Z April Blogger Challenge.  The challenge is to write a post everyday surrounding a different letter of the alphabet.  April 1 is A, April 2 is B and so on, posting everyday except on Sunday.  I feel like Rocky Balboa waiting on the ropes for the bell to ring so I can start my first round.  I am not sure whats up ahead but I am looking forward to the fun.  I have taken in all the suggestions that the A - Z mentors have given me and have a number of posts already done.

Many of my fellow bloggers that have joined the challenge have already stopped by to say hello and I have done the same.  So I am at the ropes looking across the ring at Apollo Creed, he looks daunting and I can't wait to get my gloves on him.  I am sure he will be a challenge but like life, if its not a challenge its not worth the effort. The difference in the A - Z challenge is that there is no loser. It's about sparking creativity, learning new things and meeting new people.  It sounds like a win, win to me.

Trying Something New, Collar Necklace Design

Everywhere I look on the streets, in the stores, on TV I see ladies wearing collar necklaces.  I have designed jewelry for awhile now and my necklaces  are usually more simple.  The largest that I have done is about the size of  golf ball but I felt inspired to go big and decided to put my skills to the test.

Using my favorite medium,  heavy duty scrapbook paper and my Cricut cutting machine I cut coordinating scrapbook paper into different size circles .  Not sure how many I cut because I was't sure where I was going. I just wanted to have enough.   My first thought was that I could layer the different circles on top of each other but noticed right away that I would need some kind of a back to it.   So I looked through my Cricut cartridges and found  a half moon shape that I could use for the base.  I had to tweak it a bit to get the right curve that I was looking for.

This is it from the back.  I cut the half moon shape twice and glued them together with mod podge so I had a nice strong base.

I then went to work stacking and layering the circles.  Finishing off each one with a few coats of mod podge. It took me awhile but I had my radio on and was singing along to some tunes as I glued.  I am sure it was annoying to anyone in earshot of my not so good voice but I was enjoying myself.

I started placing the circles in a pattern that was appealing to me, gluing as I went.

I decided to go with yellow because it seems to be a very popular color for the spring.  Some of the circles I sanded to give that more of a rustic look and others I shaded with black to give it some dimension.  I then mod podged the entire piece.

I had my daughter model it so I could see how it would look on.  She was surprised at how light weight and comfortable it is.  I have to say I love it.  I may be doing some bigger pieces from now on.

Thanks for stopping by.

Mary Ann