Flashback Friday: Quiet V-Day

February 2006:
D received an unexpected phone call:  Would he be willing to go to Ft. Wayne and help build a center wall for the highway?  With money being tight, and our tax refund not back yet, he jumped at the chance to return to work.  Since he didn't know how long he'd be gone, we mapped out a plan for keeping track of expenses.  He packed his bag, kissed the kids goodbye, and took off.

The kids and I spent a solitary Valentine's Day.  I made them a special meal, and had gotten them each their own candy.  Being alone with five kids wasn't easy, but we resumed our routine, and for the most part, it wasn't too bad.

Next Month:  Youngling's 2nd Birthday!

************
Present Day:
My good friend RM's daughter lost her battle with an undisclosed medical issue, and her Celebration of Life is tomorrow.  I never knew K; she'd moved to Texas the year before I met her mom.  Our choir is singing at the Mass, then heading over to the Parish Center for lunch.

I did manage to compose a poem:

             Kathryn's Song

Oh beautiful daughter, our bright shooting star

Comfort your family wherever you are.

Your parents, your brother, little Ollie your son,

Those who knew you the best, all grieve that you're gone.

(Now you're gone??)

You've touched people's lives with your various gifts

Tormented in secret you did your best to uplift

Sewing costumes and clothing, fine linens and things

You've left quite a legacy for others to sing

Of your talents and beauty, your personal charm

Your love and your wit, no one wished you harm.

So fly high our dear angel to your heavenly Father

No longer in pain, you were never a bother.

Some of the wording will be changed; RM is reworking it to her liking:)

Karaoke Songs:

(Last Night):

You Give Love A Bad Name  Nailed it!!!  Someone even yelled, "You ROCK!"

Miracle  Due to the large crowd, was only able to sing two songs, so chose this one as my last.  Was told it was good; I couldn't hear myself.

(Tomorrow):

Bartender (Lady Antebellum)  Did well!

Key  Largo (Bertie Higgins)  Nailed it:)

The Kid is Hot Tonight (Loverboy)  Little rough, and camera batteries quit.  Will resing in a couple weeks!

Have a great weekend!  I'll be back early next week with the March schedule:)

Flashback Friday: My Worst Valentine's Day EVER

Feb 1996:
Recap:  I'd angered my spouse for not inviting him to the Olive Garden with me and an old friend.  It caused a huge rift in our marriage, and I was ready to walk out.  He convinced me to stay, but we barely spoke to each other the rest of the month.  Meanwhile, my mother had enlisted my help in finding my great-grandmother an assisted living place....

D continued to fume as my weekly visits with Mom and tours of various assisted living places continued.  When we did settle on a place, we then took on the task of cleaning out her house and getting it ready for sale.  I was still going over weekly to do laundry and pour out my heart on paper.  D came across my scribbles and on Valentine's Day, informed me that as soon as he returned to work, he was going to contact a lawyer and file for divorce.  I was distraught, and sought refuge at Grandma's, not wanting to upset the kids.  While Mom was downstairs, I called my friend to vent my frustrations.  He called me back and calmed me down, telling me not to look at it as a negative, but as a positive:

"Now you can get on with your life and stop making each other miserable.  Chalk it up to a learning experience."

I agreed with him, but still worried about being a single mom with two children under the age of 5.  Could I do this?  I'd have to get a job....possibly move back home.....and with the allegations D was claiming, I stood a chance of losing my kids in a custody battle.  My pride was at stake; what mother wanted to be declared unfit?

I decided since V-day was basically a bust, I'd go all out for the kids.  I made a nice meal; bought them (and myself!) some chocolate.  And tried to ignore the ache in my heart.

The kids and I visited Grandma every week, bringing her raisin bread, grapefruit, and strawberry ice cream.  She was furious at the locked ward, where they kept her temporarily until a room at American Village opened up, and while she wasn't too thrilled at the change of address, she enjoyed our visits.

I grew concerned when she obviously confused me at times with my mother, and at times, didn't recognize the kids.

Next Month:  House Hunting begins!  Plus, What NOT To Do When Emptying A House For Auction....

***************
Present Day:

Karaoke songs:
Karma Chameleon (Culture Club)  Surprisingly, this wasn't too bad!
Keep On Loving You (REO Speedwagon)  Very good!
Kerosene (Miranda Lambert)  Flubbed a few lines, but everyone hi-fived me!

Flashback Friday: One of My Better Valentine's Days!

Feb 1986:
Brief Recap:  After BG disappeared and no one telling me where he'd gone or why, my spirits were lifted when roomie BJG's boyfriend came to see her, and she not only broke up with him, but encouraged him to pursue me.  While I wasn't thrilled at the prospect of being 2nd choice, I nevertheless didn't discourage him either, and agreed to give it a try....

JD is lucky I continued our 'relationship'.  Anyone who's been around me very long knows I don't like practical jokes.  The morning after our first two days together was nearly our last.

It began with a phone call.

Is this Molly?  Mr.(JD) was in an accident and your name was found in his wallet as 'next of kin'.  How soon can you be up here to identify his body?  (Or something to that effect!)

I was not amused.  1) The phone call had woken me out of a sound sleep and 2) I had the presence of mind to realize I would NOT be his 'next of kin' after only 48 hours!  I excused myself, called out to BJG, who'd handed me the phone, and handed it to her, telling her to hang it up.

Instead, she spoke to the person on the other end, and then revealed to me who it was.  I took the receiver again, and told him in no uncertain terms he was damn lucky I had not climbed out of bed and slammed the receiver in his ear!  He apologized.....and two weeks later, sent me a beautiful red rose, the first one I'd ever received from the opposite sex.

Valentine's Dance By Proxy
Campus held a Valentine's Day dance, and since JD couldn't get the time off from work, he agreed for me to go  with a trusted friend.  BJG had begun seing EY's brother, so the four of us went and had a good time.  My proxy-date was Steve "Guido" LeCoque, and he showed up with a beautiful, long-stemmed red rose:)  How sweet!  Two roses in one day!

The following week, I went home for the weekend, and JD came up to spend the day with me.  We drove back to his house and went roller skating.  His mom had made chili for dinner, and even though she'd toned it way down (seriously, everyone but me was dumping hot sauce into their bowls!), it was still too spicy for my wimpy taste buds.

Next Month:  Spring Break!

***************
Present Day:
We're trying to stay warm.  The temps have dipped into the teens this week, a long with about an inch of snow that finally melted yesterday.

What does V-Day hold for me this year?  I'm cantoring at church, and the spouse says he's got something up his sleeve.  I would just like a small shopping spree at Kohl's, for a necklace and some lady things.  Maybe he'll go to karaoke with me again?  I also need to make an appointment to get our taxes done.

Karaoke Songs:
Last Night:
You Belong With Me-Taylor Swift  I thought it was passable; Brower and one other person seemed to like it, so a keeper:)
You Can't Hurry Love-Supremes  Messed it up in a few spots, but over all thought it was okay.  Probably never sing it again though!

Tonight:
Just Like A Pill-Pink  Wasn't too bad!
Just To Hear You Say That You Love Me-Faith Hill  A keeper; I was cheered! 
Silver Springs-Stevie Nicks  Did well:)
Just When I Needed You Most-Randy Vanwarmer  Definite keeper!
Just Like Jesse James-Cher (Back up)  Always good:)

Flashback Friday: 'Love 4th Grade-Style'

Feb 1976:
My Valentine's Day in the 4th grade was different from years past.  After the Valentines had been passed out, in which my 'boyfriend', AF, had given me a beautiful handmade Valentine made of tissue paper and a shoe box lid (and believe it or not, I still have it!), we played a game.  All the boys lined up at the blackboard with their faces away from us.  The girls, meanwhile, each had an empty seat next to our desks.  Two of the boys were designated to pick out two girls, who whispered the names of their chosen boys into their ears.  All boys then turned around, and the two 'messengers' would take turns calling out the names of the two chosen, who would then go sit by the girl he thought had picked him.

I wasn't expecting to be questioned, so when KH came over, my mind locked up.  I couldn't even think of a boy's name, so I blurted out the first name which came to mind, someone I couldn't stand!  Fortunately, he did not choose me, so for the next round, BH came over and I told him AF.  A was too shy to sit by me, but EM's choice was correct.  I think we only played two rounds before the food arrived.  We were told to line up girl/boy, and AF came over and told me he hadn't want to let the entire class know of us yet.  I whispered back I was relieved, and we had a good feast.

Walking on stilts during recess was popular, and there was only a limited amount available.  Since we were now at the other end of the school, our playground was the baseball field and the parking lot.  I must have voiced my desire to have stilts, because soon my dad made me a pair.  I took them to school and for a while, enjoyed my new-found 'popularity'.

Later that month, the Winter Olympics were televised, and my sister and I were soon fascinated with Dorothy Hamill's ice skating.  My sister even soon got her hair cut like Dorothy, who went on to win the gold medal.

Mom was also ordained as a deacon in our church:)

Next Month:  Easter!

************
Present Day:
Today I'm doing laundry.  I'm also hooked on That 70s Show on Netflix.  I know; I know....I SHOULD be writing.

Tomorrow's Karaoke Songs:
Just One Look-Linda Ronstadt
Just Give Me A Reason-Pink
Just Like A Pill-Pink
Just Like Jesse James-Cher
Just To Hear You Say That You Love Me-Faith Hill
Just When I Needed You Most-Randy Vanwarmer (Back up song)

February Reading Schedule

February Goals:
-Write Heart Song
-Pay for Writer's On The River  Check:)
-Buy Inventory  Some.....
-Find a publisher for KiRah
-Attend E'ville authors meeting  Cancelled, due to Tammy's family emergency

I was able to set up at the Women's Expo in Indianapolis this past weekend, and I don't know if they had recently started it back up or switched organizers, but was disappointed in the turnout.  I heard from others say it had not been advertised; things were disorganized as far as parking, vendor placement, etc; not to mention the fact we were competing with the Home Show.  I was able to sell two books, plus I had many people take samples of my work or at least my card.  I was even thrilled to meet a reader, who was unaware of my other books:)

Hopefully next year's event will be better organized.

Books Read:  8
Print:  1
E-book:  8
DNF:  2

Reading Schedule:
Print:
Cell-Robin Cook  Very good, even though I figured out the plot on pg 112!  Ending was weird...

E-Books:
Seasons of Darkness-Belinda Buchanan  Enjoyed this! Looking forward to #2:)
After All Is Said and Done-BB  Hard book to read, but very good:)
Going Solo-Tara Mills  Excellent!  DRR!
Taken By the T-Rex-Christie Sims  Very weird....see 'review' on GR....
A Chimerical World-BC Brown, et al  Some stories very good!  RR
Brody:  The Montana McKennas #2  DRR!  Loved this book!!!!
Love Is Deep-Kathleen Ball  Wonderful story!!  DRR!
The Coriola Saga-Melinda Rossi  DNF  This book 'wandered' too much for me.
Pete Sebastian, Coach-Jean Joachim  DRR!  Loved, loved, LOVED this!



Karaoke Songs (Thurs):
Back on My Feet Again-Babys  DNH
Every Time I Think of You-Babys  DNH
Hungry Eyes-Eric Carmen  Good:)
Baby Baby-Amy Grant  Not bad....a little flat in places.
You Are My Sunshine-Elizabeth Mitchell  DNH
You Belong To The City-Glenn Frey  Not bad....
You Belong With Me-Taylor Swift  Not bad....
You Can't Hurry Love-Supremes  Not bad....
You Don't Bring Me Flowers-Neil Diamond/Barbra Streisand  Good, though at times I butchered Neil Diamond's part....no duet partner.
You Don't Own Me-Lesley Gore  Not bad....
You Dropped A Bomb On Me-Gap Band  Bleh.
You Give Love A Bad Name-Bon Jovi  Nailed it!  Someone yelled, "Molly ROCKS!" when  I was finished:)



Karaoke Songs (Sat):
After All-Cher/Peter Cetera
Hello-Adele 
Just Give Me A Reason-Pink  Think it sounded okay:)
Just Like A Pill-Pink  Not too bad:)
Just Like Jesse James-Cher  Always good:)
Just One Look-Linda Ronstadt  Not bad!
Just To Hear You Say That You Love Me-Faith Hill  Definite keeper; was cheered!
Just When You Needed Me Most-Randy Vanwarmer  Another keeper:)
Karma Chameleon-Culture Club  Surprisingly enough, it wasn't too bad!
Keep On Loving You-REO Speedwagon  Crowd pleaser!  And people even danced!
Kerosene-Miranda Lambert  Was hi-fived and told to keep it:) 
Key Largo-Bertie Higgins  Nailed it:)
Bartender-Lady Antebellum  Did well!
The Kid Is Hot Tonight-Loverboy  A little rough in places, and my camera batteries died halfway through.  Will sing this again in a few weeks.