Tag Archives: holy crap
So I Broke Down and Tried Botox (please don’t judge me!)
I’m a squinter. Always have been. My Grandma used to caution me, “Quit doing that – your face will freeze that way!” In my twenties, David would affectionately tease me about my “worry line.” He would always know when something was amiss, all he had to do was look between my eyes.Fast forward thirty (or so) years and, still, I squint on. The squinting’s worst when I’m writing – I don’t even realized I’m doing it.
And Grandma was right, my face… CONTINUE READING >>
The Yin and Yang of Parasite “Kids”
Mine! Mine! Mine!
David explores two UNBELIEVABLE stories of greed and selfishness!
Is there a special place in hell for offspring who steal from their elderly parents? Should offspring be required to take care of elderly parents no matter the circumstances? What steps can be taken to ensure that our families don’t end up like this?… CONTINUE READING >>
Smooth Sailing? Not Likely!
I’d been following the controversial Abby Sunderland story with interest. Remember Abby? She was the sixteen-year-old sailor who, while attempting to sail her vessel around the world solo, found herself stranded in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Her parents took quite a bit of flack over the situation. I’d looked at this story from many different angles – and, as usual, my feelings were mixed.The helicopter Mommy in me shouted, “What the &#*% were her parents thinking?!” But after calm reflection I saw things a bit differently. I too have a child with “dangerous dreams.” My son, The Boy, has been flying airplanes since he was thirteen.
Sure, I’ve heard all the arguments… CONTINUE READING >>
I Am NOT a Useless Waste!
Has it happened? Have I become a crotchety old lady? Do I abhor certain kinds of music because I’m too old to get it? Am I shocked at some of the things that “young people” wear these days?
Possibly so. But I’m dead certain of one thing – people are much more rude than they were when I was a young whippersnapper.
Because we have a website I am painfully aware that there are those that don’t treat others with civility. I’ve quit reading the online comments on news stories – it’s horrific.
Then, out of nowhere, cyberspace-type incivility came crashing into Real Life. In a manner that I couldn’t ignore or justify… CONTINUE READING >>
If It Can Kill Me, It MUST Be Good
I like to flip through the channels when watching the evening news. The other night while practicing my thumb aerobics, I noticed that the exact same commercial was on two of the networks at the exact same time. That surprised me a bit.
What didn’t shock me was that it was an ad for a prescription drug.
So I decided to start paying attention. It seemed that at least half of the advertisements were for pharmaceuticals.
I also noticed that I must have at least half a dozen things seriously wrong with me and should be… CONTINUE READING >>
Life After Kids
When Veronica and I began to think about our life after raising kids one of the first things we did was Google “empty nesters.”
We wanted to see if anyone else was looking at this the same way that we were. With a feeling of “isn’t it great that the kids have moved out, and we’ll have life to ourselves again?” To be untethered and free. To wander the globe. To be GypsyNesters instead of empty-nesters.
But no, just about everything we could find was lamenting how terrible it is that the kids aren’t around anymore. Even worse, the biggest item on the first page we clicked into was an enormous ad for an… CONTINUE READING >>
Finding Germany in the Mountains of Georgia
The unexpected surprises that lurk around the next corner are one of the things that can make travel so interesting.Boy, did we get one of those in the mountains of northern Georgia when we came upon the old fashioned Bavarian village of Helen. Tucked into a valley on the banks of The Chattahoochee River, we suddenly found ourselves driving through an anachronism of epic proportions. Every building, down to the gas station… CONTINUE READING >>
The Best? (Worst?) Funniest. Family Portrait. Ever.
Every family has ‘em. Piles of throw-away snapshots that you can’t bear to actually throw away. Before digital cameras our generation put every picture, no matter how bad, into a photo album. After all, they were precious – and we shelled out big bucks to have them developed.Then there are the CLASSICS. The ones you should have thrown away, but instead you frame them. This one is ours.
Think about it, we thought we were sitting for a lovely family portrait. Clearly, all heck is breaking loose and none of us could… CONTINUE READING >>
What’s Really Important: A Black Friday Antidote
I saw this quote and just had to share. It struck me that we may be losing sight on what is truly important this holiday season.Yesterday, in our post-turkey bloat, we grabbed the remote and David and I settled into something we rarely do: We vegged in front of the boob-tube.
Immediately we felt bombarded. The blaring onslaught of Black Friday ads was… CONTINUE READING >>
Talkin’ Turkey: What Travel Taught Us About the First Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is upon us. Cue the pictures of cheery Pilgrims supping with the friendly natives and images of The Mayflower triumphantly landing at Plymouth Rock. Ah yes, all of that happy history we were taught as baby boomer children… and none of it is true.We were not on a quest for truth when we made our pilgrimage to Plymouth, Massachusetts, just taking in a little history, but once… CONTINUE READING >>
You Brought Your MOM to Your Job Interview?
Okay, it’s rave time. Just a warning.I sympathize with helicopter parents, I really do. I was one. I reluctantly stopped hovering once my kids left the nest. I knew that the sovereignty of the Spawns was more important than my own desire to continue colonial rule. Trust me, we’ve ALL benefited from my abdication.
Did I hound my offspring to do their homework when they were kids? You Betcha. Did I have meetings with their high school guidance counselors to voice concerns without the Spawn present? Guilty… CONTINUE READING >>
A Bloodcurdling Buffet – 12 Frightful Foods of the World
How about a terrifying tour of the globe just in time for Halloween?
We’ve consumed these dozen frightening foods from around the world… so you don’t have to… CONTINUE READING >>
A Photo Gallery of Odd Place Names
Sometimes you just have to wonder what were they thinking! Here are some of the weirdest names we’ve come across so far.
If you know of any others — let us know by commenting.
You won’t believe some of these wacky names!
Fear Conquering & Hate Mail
A comment on our site:“In my opinion, anyone who would refer to children in such a disgusting and disrespectful way (adult or not) is an emotionally bankrupt shell of a person…”
BAM! My first hate mail.
I read a lot of blogs. Any of them worth their salt raise strong emotion and spark debate on their message boards. Sometimes it can get a bit heated, but makes for a nice balance.
We have had comments on our website that strongly disagree with our opinions and we relish them, we value every… CONTINUE READING >>
Creating the ULTIMATE College Care Package – A GN Guide
Let’s brainstorm and come up with ideas for college care package for our newly “empty” nested friends!
Our youngest, The Boy, was entering his second year in college. He was third kid that I had gone through the away-at-school process with, so I was starting to run low on the groovy care package ideas.
I really needed some help. I decided that I should hand it over to the experts. Our scholarly readers… CONTINUE READING >>
War & Peace, Volume II
A reader wrote:“The best part is when they finally get it, and tell you sorry for being such pain in the ass during those (teenage) years. My son told me he now understands everything I was trying to convey to his logic blocked brain back then…”
Oh man, I can relate.
I was pretty certain that at least one of my envelope-pushing teens would flee the nest — i-Pod at full… CONTINUE READING >>
Fear Conquering & Paragliding in Lima, Peru
Yup, you read that right!Veronica takes on her biggest challenge yet – strapped on to a parachute high above the beach cliffs of Lima, Peru!
And it’s… CONTINUE READING >>
Veronica’s Hysterical Paragliding Antics
Veronica: I feel like we’re sideways, are we sideways? Pilot George: No. We are fine. We are going in very slow. Veronica: What? It doesn’t feel slow. (petrified laugh) No. Ayhhhhhh… CONTINUE READING >>
Boomerang "Kids"
A recent advice column I read was just plain disturbing.
It involved a mother who is a newly retired homeowner with an outstanding mortgage. Unless she was the CEO of a major publicly traded corporation, this lady is on a whopper of a fixed income.
Now get this – she has two sons, aged 22 and 24, living in her home and she has asked them to pitch in and pay $30 a week.
“Stressed-Out Mom” says that they are now “ranting and raving and calling her a bad… CONTINUE READING >>
Fear Conquering & Writing A Will
In the union of David and I, I am the less fearless. David has always been the adventurer – I am the homebody, the helicopter mom, the worrier. Selling the nest and heading out into the big, wide world, for me, was stepping outside the box. WAY out of the box.My biggest concern was to have our affairs in order, in the event of my certain demise. It’s essential for me to be sure that the kids are not burdened when I go down in flames in a hang gliding / bungee jumping / snowboarding / street food eating episode… CONTINUE READING >>
Boy, Are We Everglade We Came Here!
Your GypsyNesters take on the Everglades – all good fun until a very uncomfortable Veronica gets her hands on an alligator!
We encountered gator wrestling, did some (really fast!) airboat riding and visited the smallest post office in the US.
And that’s just the beginning… CONTINUE READING >>
Gator Wrestling!
Our guide asked for volunteers to give it a try. With no takers, he chose Veronica to be the next challenger. He gave her just enough instructions to have us all questioning how crazy… CONTINUE READING >>
A Little Talked About Sign of Aging
Here’s the thing. My best features come from my Romanian roots. I’ve always enjoyed having dark hair and blue eyes. I am psyched that my “gray” hair is silver, some people pay big bucks for that. Dracula was Romanian, and by most accounts was a particularly handsome man-thing.
That being said, we Romanians are a very hairy people. My beloved Grandpa not only had follicles growing out of his ears, but in his later years his lobes looked like small woodland creatures. My stunningly gorgeous mother had quite the collection of… CONTINUE READING >>
How Do You Poop in Space?
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A little girl asks astronaut John Fabian how one poops in space. Mr. Fabian not only answers the question we’ve all been wondering about – but… CONTINUE READING >>
Grandchildish Behavior
I’ve had two unexpected conversations recently that have given me pause for reflection. The first was with my father-in-law while dining over Mexican food in Kansas. While catching him up with our kids’ lives, he asked me if they were dating anyone of note. I told him that at the moment there were no significant others. Then, the bolt out of the blue,
“Oh, you must be sad that you won’t be having grandchildren anytime soon.”
The next exchange was with my daughters, The Piglet and Decibel.
“All of our friends’ mothers are on crazy grandma patrol. How come you aren’t nagging us about having babies?”
It started out as gentle teasing, but… CONTINUE READING >>
Mardi Gras Chicken Chasing
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Chicken chasing, colorful costumes and dancing on horseback? It’s Courir de Mardi Gras in Church Point! You’ve gotta watch the video to believe it…it’s, well, just watch… CONTINUE READING >>
