Coincidences

I was reading Lyndy Lou’s post about it being a small world and as soon as I saw the title, a story (more like a series) popped in my head that I thought I’d share with you.

Before Boyfriend and I started dating, we did not know each other at all. (You can read the story here) We talked on the phone for a while before we started dating and then a few weeks later I asked him if he wanted to go to my little sister’s birthday party. It was actually a cook out at my mom’s place and he agreed to go. It was the first time he would meet everyone.

We pulled into the driveway and he gave me the strangest look. He said, “Um, this is your mom’s house?” I looked around and nodded my head, but wondered what was wrong with it. I mean, she has a nice house.

He laughed and got out of the car. We were still new, so I was nervous and now extremely self conscious.

Before I could even get over to him, my step dad, his sister and a couple of his nieces and nephews flanked Boyfriend, some even giving him hugs. WTF?

Come to find out, my step dad is Boyfriend’s cousin. He knew more people at the party than I did. It was as if I was his guest.

Then I found out that his dad had been my sister’s and my step brothers’ teacher.

A few weeks later, he took me to his house to meet his mom (we’ll call her Betty). Betty was going through a divorce and I’m telling you, this woman is like an open book. Even at our first meeting, she shared very personal details with me and started telling me about her ex boyfriend. Her ex boyfriend (Jack) was mean to her and would push her around when he was drinking, but she claimed that he was the love of her life. She swore she’d never get back together with Jack because of his anger issues, but she knew in her heart of hearts that he was the love of her life.

Months and months and months later, while talking to my aunt about Boyfriend, she suddenly gasped when I mentioned his last name.

Her son, my cousin, is Jack. The same Jack that owns Betty’s heart.

Then even later in the relationship, we discovered that our grandmas had worked together at the same place and the same time...twice. They were like work BFF's back in the day...before we were ever thought of.

It definitely is a small, small world.

Appreciation

How was everyone's Easter? Mine was fantastic except for the whole eating too much thing. And my big sister moved about four hours away last week and this was the first holiday I've spent without her. And there was no Easter egg hunt, because it rained all day. Other than that, though, we got loads of candy and got to spend time with family.

I would like to thank all of my guest posters that reached out to help me. It was very much appreciated and I'd love to give you all great big hugs, but since I can't, here's an award instead.

The rules are simple this time around. Stand up and do a happy dance!

And if you haven't already, be sure to check out the award recipients.

Everyday A
A lot of Layers
Awesome Title Here
Life's Journey With a Smile
Dangerous Leanings
Dribble...
The Loaded Handbag 
A Bitch Called Mom
The Giggle Fest
Bursts of Bubbles
It's a Big Deal, It is to me!
Conquering the World

Again, thank you all so very much.

Late

My sincere apologies to my next guest poster, Pencil Girl, because this was supposed to be posted four hours ago. It's kind of fitting though, that this particular post is late. :) Enjoy!

Hey there, JumbleMashers!

When Tress  asked for guest posts, I signed up for it without a second thought. Maybe I should have given it a second thought though, because I'm like.. the laziest person on the planet, and barely manage to make myself type out a post for my own blog. :\

Moreover, I've never ever done a guest post, and have no clue as to what I'm supposed to crank out. :|

But since I did volunteer myself, I had to write something. A week later, I decided that I might as well justify why couldn't write this post last week itself. :P

Top 10 Reasons for not writing this guest post earlier

1.       The UFO!- I think the aliens have finally discovered our planet (not that we worked particularly hard to keep ourselves hidden :| ) and are circling around, trying to figure out whether our planet worth taking over. I was super busy trying to give them the impression that we really aren't worth the trouble. (Don't thank me yet. I don't know if it worked. :\ )

2.       Power failure- In my head. Honest. I wanted to write the post, but the very idea of a guest post made me blank out. :| :|

3.       The little monkey. That's what I call my brother. Apparently, his staring at Russell Peters make a fool of himself is more important than me sitting and staring at the screen with my fingers frozen over the keyboard. (I know!! :\ )

4.       The Big Three- Sleeping, Eating, and watching TV. I know you get this. Don't pretend you don't. Obviously, they're the most important things to do in the world. :|

5.       Because of 5. Whenever I need to start doing something, I'm always doing something else.  Obviously, I can only start after 5 minutes. Those 5 minutes never end. Ever.

6.       My cat wanted me to spend some time with him. Any cat owner will tell you that is on extremely rare occasions that your cat decides to give you some attention, and that you dare not displease his majesty by daring to ignore him. :|

7.       Because it's summer. That means it is hot. Very hot. I live in India. Indian summers? Not nice. Unless you count the mangoes. Mangoes are nice. :d Err… I kinda forgot why this was a reason for my not writing the guest post, but there was a reason. I swear.

8.       The delete key. That has got to be the suckiest key on the keyboard. It can eat up entire articles that you've painstakingly typed out to save Jumble Mash. (Who me? No I didn't even touch the Delete key! It ate up my post on it's own, I swear!! I guess it must have gotten hungry.. :\ )

9.       Because of top 10 lists. They suck you in. You read one, and then you have to read the next. And the next. And the next. And before you know it, it's one week later. :| I'm going to add facebook quizzes  to this one as well.

10.   That's it. There are only nine reasons. But you can add laziness as number 10. I won't mind. :P

That's all I have for now.

Anything you have to add to the list, feel free to do so.. :) Bouquets, or brickbats, I'll take them all.. :) :)

--
Love,

PencilGirl

Conquering the World

Best Wedding Movies OF ALL TIME

I am so happy to bring to you a post from my BBFF, Jess. Most of you probably know her, but if not, go over there and say hello and check out her awesome blog.


Hey guys, Jess here from It is a big deal, it is to me! As soon as I saw the Project Save Jumble Mash post, I felt that it was my duty - nay, my CALLING - to support this most benevolent of causes. The best way to do that, you ask?

Why, a Top 10 List, of course....The Top 10 Best Wedding Movies OF.ALL.TIME. Yes indeedy. Here we go!

10. Made of Honor

Stars: Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan

Plot: Tom and Hannah are BFFs, and Tom thinks he's got it made, until Hannah is suddenly engaged to a Scot. With Hannah's wedding only weeks away, Tom realizes she's the one for him, but now he's got to break up the wedding....although he's the "Maid of Honor."

Favorite Scene: In the bar when they kiss. HOT.

Favorite Quote: "Nobody in the world makes me laugh the way you do. You're my best friend. I just wanna be with you."


9. Wedding Crashers

Stars: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams, Bradley Cooper

Plot: Best friends John and Jeremy spend their weekends crashing weddings by pretending to be different people in order to hook up with women. They're having the time of their lives, until John finds himself fascinated with the attached, beautiful daughter of a senator.

Favorite Scene: The dinner scene. Awesome.

Favorite Quote: In response to "..you got a f**** problem with that?":"Not nearly as much as I do with the attire that you have on, or just your general point of view towards everybody. But let's go kill some birds. I'm psyched."


8. Meet the Parents

Stars: Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Owen Wilson

Plot: Pam's sister is getting married, and Greg wants to meet the parents to ask for their blessing to ask Pam to marry him. Things don't go according to plan, however, when Pam's father turns out to be the suspicious, secretly retired CIA agent guy who hates Greg.

Favorite Scene: When Greg attempts to say grace before dinner. Best prayer ever.

Favorite Quote: "I have nipples Greg. Can you milk me?"


7. My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Stars: Nia Vardalos, John Corbett

Plot: Greek girl Toula meets non-Greek Ian, and they soon fall in love and plan to marry. However, the Greeks do weddings in a....different....sort of way.

Favorite Scene: The engagement party at Toula's parents' house.

Favorite Quote: "Inside the lump he found teeth and a spinal cord. Yes. Inside the lump was my twin."

6. Monster-in-Law

Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Michael Vartan, Jane Fonda and Wanda Sykes

Plot: When Charlie meets Dr. Kevin Fields, she believes she has finally found true love. Unfortunately her dream romance soon turns into a nightmare when Kevin's mother, dramatic former actress/talk show host Viola Fields, suddenly decides to break them up.

Favorite Scene: Every scene with Wanda Sykes.

Favorite Quote: "Fix your hair, you look like a damn cockatoo!"


5. The Proposal

Stars: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Betty White

Plot: When generally grumpy publisher Margaret learns that her visa is about to expire, forcing her to return to Canada, she makes her assistant Andrew pretend to be engaged to her. Margaret accompanies Andrew to his family's home in Alaska for his grandmother's birthday party, where everyone learns of the "engagement" and subsequently plan a quick wedding.

Favorite Scene: The bachelorette party.

Favorite Quote: "You can do this, but that would require you to stop snacking on children while they dream."

4. Sweet Home Alabama

Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Patrick Dempsey and Josh Lucas

Plot: Up and coming New York designer Melanie is engaged to dreamy Andrew Hennings, but before she can marry him she has to end her first marriage to Jake Perry. In order to do that, though, she has to go home to Alabama.

Favorite Scene: Opening scene

Favorite Quote: "What you wanna be married to me for, anyhow?" "So I can kiss you any time I want."

3. The Wedding Singer

Stars: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore

Plot: Robbie Hart is the upbeat wedding singer who believes in true love until his fiance leaves him stranded at the altar. The only person who can bring him out of his depression is Julia Sullivan....who is also engaged. To a jerk.

Favorite Scene: Airplane.

Favorite Quote: "Please get out of my Van Halen t-shirt before you jinx the band and they break up."


2. Father of the Bride

Stars: Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Kimberly Williams-Paisley

Plot: Tightwad George Banks is having to plan a lavish wedding for his daughter, and hates every single minute of it.

Favorite Scene: When they visit Bryan's parent's house.

Favorite Quote: "Well, that's the thing about life, is the surprises, the little things that sneak up on you and grab hold of you."

1. My Best Friend's Wedding

Stars: Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz, Rupert Everett

Plot: Jules and Michael have been best friends for years, but when Michael is suddenly about to be married, Jules realizes she wants him for herself. She goes to Chicago to be in the wedding - and to break it up.

Favorite Scene: When Michael and Jules are dancing on the barge while Michael sings "The Way You Look Tonight."

Favorite Quote: "It's amazing the clarity that comes with psychotic jealousy."



Well there you have it - my list of the top ten best wedding movies. Makes you wanna make out with someone right now, doesn't it? That's my cue...

A Letter

Good morning Jumble Mashers! My next guest post is brought to you by Bubbles. She is incredibly talented, creative and very sweet. She chose to write about something that she is passionate about. Enjoy!



Dear Nobody in Particular

How are you today? I've been wondering how people in 2011 feel about good old fashioned snail mail.... I can hear you say what! Why on earth would I consider writing a letter when there are a million other ways to communicate, why should I spend my time with pen and paper....

Imagine receiving a letter that isn't a bill, isn't a bank statement, isn't a leaflet selling something.....

Imagine a chapter of a book but its not black and white and smelling stale

Imagine each and every word and letter formed especially for you...

The writing on the envelope isn't a typed address but a beautiful hand written piece of text which makes your heart leap because you know who its from.

the envelope is a dirty brown but a beautiful decorate piece of art work....

the stamp itself is unique and fun and you actually stop and think for a moment that maybe you should start a stamp collection...

or maybe not as it looks great just where it is....

Then you actually open the envelope....

the words leap out at you and you're already in your mind replying to each and every word!

That's what makes a great letter you know, where you sit down and before you know it you've written a chapter...

Its where you can write everything and anything down on paper

and someone somewhere is reading every word and taking their time to reply and give advice whether or not its what you want to hear.

You will find you share more with this friend then you do with people right in front of you,

it will help put situations niggling at the back of your mind in to better perspective.

The friendship doesn't stop there it continues when they are on holiday and send you a postcard and occasionally buy you a special gift like any other friend.

For me it doesn't stop there,

I love shopping for cute writing paper to match my mood,

the loves of my friend

or just the season at that time.

To decorate my letters with colourfully writing

stickers and tapes...

The only problem is that before I sit down to write I try and choose the paper that seems right at that time

but it turns in to a struggle as I want to use them all... maybe next time only next time I go through all the same thing again.

I wrap the letter up and send it on its way and my friend has now got a similar situation to face...

its just all goes around in one circle..

Still I prefer it to a phone call where there are constant boring pauses

you run out things to say but you want the other person to put it down,

the time isn't right when they phone...

Its better then an e-mail that you can never seem to find the time to reply to because you want to

blog,

look for a holiday,

buy something....

I'll reply to it tomorrow,

ok I'll reply to it tomorrow

only tomorrow never comes....

If you still aren't convinced that snail mail is great

why not take part in make my day

and I will share a tiny ounce

of what my life is about.

It is my life since writing letters is something I have done for the last 20 years!

So what do you think of snail mail in 2011?

Yours

Bubbles.

A Hero's Speech

Lynne over at Giggle Fest will be your entertainment for today. If you haven't read her blog, please please do so. She is quite the inspiration and an incredibly addicting read. Enjoy!


By nature, I am a lively bubbly person but I don't really like to draw attention to myself because I am actually quite shy. I just cover it up with my humour.

So imagine my surprise when Holly, my daughter put me forward as an unsung hero in her English class at High School. I was so so chuffed cos well, to be a hero in your daughter's eyes is no small thing but I didn't realize that there were strings attached. I was still basking in the glow of being her 'hero', was grinning from ear to ear so I missed most of the next sentence but then 3 words penetrated my brain.........give a talk! WTF?

Eh? Whaaaaaaaaaaaat? Who me??? You are kidding right? That's when I really started paying attention and felt real fear! It turns out that the teacher had been so impressed by Holly's description of me and my life that she asked would I be willing to talk to the class about it. Holly, still seeing me as her hero said "oh I definitely think she would, when do you want her to come in?".

I was driving while she was telling me all this and I was gripping the steering wheel as if my life depended on it! Oh to have her confidence but I was struck with such nerves I could barely speak! I know, I can hear you all laughing now but for days after I had nightmares about being heckled by a class full of teenagers. They were coming to get me! The mere thought brought me out in a cold cold sweat. I wonder if teachers get like this after a while?

What made it worse was that the other parents asked to give a talk were a fire fighter and a nurse. They save lives for a living for god's sake!!! They were definitely going to be much more interesting and be able to captivate a teenage audience far better than little old me whose life consisted of dirty nappies, seizures, drool and at times some impressive 'comedy' sickness.

The day dawned bright and Holly reminded me that today was the day, as she left for school. I did lurch between 'it'll be fine' and running hell bent in the opposite direction at various times throughout that week but every time I looked at Holly and saw how proud she was, I would berate myself for being such a wimp!

I decided that the best way, was to just go without notes. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! Yeah well, I'm a hero don't ya know, no props for this girlie.

I walked into the school, informed them at reception that I was here and Holly came down to meet me. I was so wishing that I had a wee smidge of Southern Comfort to help with the nerves but hey that would have to wait.

When I walked into the class, I could feel my face get red. The teacher, Miss Innes, shook my hand and gave me a stool to sit on, in front of the white board. She explained that she would let me speak first but then the class would ask some questions which they had come up with in their groups. As I looked around the class, I started to relax when I realized that I knew at least half of these kids from primary school.


Once I started talking, you could have heard a pin drop as I explained Jack's diagnosis, what it meant, how it presented, how it affected us as a family, how many times we'd done the emergency ambulance dash. Once I got going, I found I had so much to say.

Fifteen minutes later I finished. I looked at Miss Innes and she was crying! I think maybe I explained things too well. I looked over at Holly and she was grinning from ear to ear so I knew that I'd lived up to her expectations. I found myself grinning back. I totally relaxed then.

The question and answer bit was a breeze. The questions were really interesting and funny, there were a couple that stuck out.

One table asked me whether I would ever put Jack into care, as one of the teenager's brother had been put into care. He had cerebral palsy. I told him that "at the moment, it isn't what I want for Jack but that you can never say never because my health could change and I might not be able to look after him then".

The funniest question was "who is easier to look after, Holly or Jack?". "Oh" I said, "that's easy, Jack definitely because he doesn't give me heaps of cheek, talk back and tell me that he hates me like most teenagers do!".

The class all looked at Holly and fell about laughing. Job done :)

The Art of Bitchdom

I can absolutely depend on my next savior anytime I need a laugh. She is blunt. She has a potty mouth. And she is downright hilarious. Introducing (if you aren't already blessed to know her) Mrs. Hyde from A Bitch Called Mom.

The Art of Bitchdom

This is only my second ever guest post, so I'm not completely familiar with the etiquette of it. Come to think of it, I'm not all that familiar with etiquette period. But Jumble Mash is very busy right now, so I thought it would be exceptionally classy of me to help her out. I am awesomeness dipped in chocolate and served on a bed of diamonds. I know.

Let me warn you that I'm not anything like Jumble Mash. I say that because you guys are used to her sweetness and sunshine and I'm mostly a...um..well, I'm a bitch. Hence the name of my most popular blog, A Bitch Called Mom. Insert shameless self-promotion here.

Bitchin' ain't easy. You'd think it would be what with celebrities running around making it look like a piece of cake. Like Ellen Degeneres. Helping people and giving away prizes on fake game shows and dancing her skinny ass all over the place...What a bitch, right? It takes finely-honed skill, nay, talent to perfect the art of bitchdom. I should know. I practice my craft every single day.

Just the other day, for example, I was in one of my "classes" (I parenthesize the word because I have no intention of telling you what kind of class it is. I can't have you all up in my business. I don't know you like that.) and the "teacher" was trying to recall a certain song that would go a long way toward helping her make her point. I thought I might know the song, as did several others, but none of us could think of the name. Except this one woman.

I want to interject that this woman is a psycho. Her very existence depends upon her getting married and having kids before she turns 40. She'll be thirty-nine in a couple of weeks. Needless to say, she drives me batshit crazy with her incessant whining about not having a man and not being married and not having kids. She asks everybody for advice and we all try to help her, but all she does is piss and moan some more. Maybe if she'd shut the fuck up for two seconds, she could get a man to do her. There are plenty of ways she could use her mouth to land herself a man and none of them involve whining. Just saying. Also, she doesn't listen and she always has to be right. Always.

Now for my part, I was going nuts trying to think of the name of this song. You know how you're trying to recall some tidbit of information, but it's playing hide and seek in the crumbling crevices of your rum-soaked brain? No? It's just me? Well, anyway, the teacher and I had already established that she and I were thinking of two completely different songs, but it was still driving me crazy trying to remember the name of my song, the one that was sitting on the tip of my tongue taunting me with its elusiveness. 

Psycho Betty, not her real name, decided that the song we were both looking for was "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus. I said, "No, that's not the song I'm thinking of. The song I'm thinking of is sung by a dude." 

She says, "No, it's not. It's "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus." Wow! I didn't know that bitch could read minds. Even so, her skills are grossly underdeveloped because I hear a man's voice singing in my head. I think I know the difference between Miley Cyrus' annoying feminine twang and the smooth baritone of a man.

By this time, I had completely given up on the teacher's song. I tried to relay this to Psycho Betty, but she didn't hear me. All she heard was her inner psycho telling her that she was correct. I went into the hall to call home and ask my ten-year-old if she could remember the song that was, at this point, about to cause either a psychotic break on my part or an early death on Psycho Betty's part. That's how much both the song and the bitch were getting on my nerves.

"'Live Like We're Dying' by Kris Allen, my brilliant daughter says.

Yes! I can relax now.

Not quite.

Psycho Betty insists, "Mrs. Hyde, the song you're looking for is "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus."

I lost it. "That's not the fucking song, you neurotic moron! If you say "The Climb" one more time, my foot is going to climb right up your ass." The whole class went silent, even Betty and the teacher. Oops. Let that be a lesson to all you Psycho Bettys out there: just shut the hell up and listen sometimes. 

I didn't mean to go off on Betty. I actually like her and I did apologize to her later. I normally try to restrain my bitchdom in public. But sometimes...every now and then when the psychos threaten your sanity, you just gotta let that Bitch roam free.

Read what I have to say this week at www.thewellfedspirit.blogspot.com. OR if you're in a bitchy mood, check out www.abitchcalledmom.blogspot.com.