The gift
To Jason,
Thank you, you will never know how much I loved my gift. It was perfect.
I love you more than I can ever tell you.
"If there's anything that you want,
If there's anything I can do,
Just call on me and I'll send it along
With love from me to you."
And you call your son a freak!!!
First I would like to say Happy Birthday to Alex. I did not forget I just kept remembering at inconvenient times. Fortunately I now live with a computer so I can rectify such situations before the clock strikes midnight (central time of course). So, Happy Birthday!
Next I would like to congratulate Ed and Val on the birth of their beautiful twin boys on October 20th. I would also like to apologize to Val for making her have twins. Ask Jason and he can explain the connection.
Now for the real deal.... What kind of unhealthy environment are you people raising my nephew in that you would put dear sweet Tigger in such a compromising condition? Tigger is a good and wholesome feline with no litter box or water bowl issues.
I want Tigger to be returned.... holeless.... Spell check that!
It is the policy of the United Personalities of Skylar not to negotiate with Tigger terrorists. So I will take my chances that you will come to your senses, look into the loving eyes of my nephew and realize that someday I will tell him about this and even show the pictures. Is that the image you want to portray?
If Tigger is not returned, Tracey has given me alternative costume ideas:
1. Black Eyed Pea - Get a green shirt, paint a black pea in the middle and color my eye black. (Get it mom, I think this is grammatically correct)
2. Chest of Drawers - Safetypin tighty whiteys to my shirt.
3. Identity Crisis - Get a pad of
Hello, My Name is stickers and some Sharpies. Put different names on the stickers and place them on your body. Be sure to include Sybil.
Now that the comedy minutes is over,
I am glad to see that Jaime was not in the Tigger costume or I would then know to abandon all hope. Alex, however, will get hot, tired and itchy within a matter of minutes and Tigger will be strategically placed in a box (lined with
clean trash bags and bubble wrap) and mailed to me!
If this does not work for the kidnappers I do have a neurotic replacement feline with litter box and water bowl issues that I would gladly mail to you as an exchange. I will wrap him in trash bags and bubble wrap if it suits you.
When did 25 get too old?
Ever hear the expression the apple does not fall far from the tree?
When I lived in Topeka my Grandma Veda liked to set me up with "nice Christian boys that maybe could become nice friends". On more than one occasion over the last five years she has handed my senior picture (sadly seven years old now), out with my phone number to "nice Christian boys" and told them to call me for a Coke. These boys never called. It could be that they feared the problems that I might have that would require my seventy year old grandma to get dates for me. Surely it is not the sight of my picture cause I was having an one day when they were taken, that and the photographer had the ability to "buff out" any blemishes.
Last year after meeting the man I was dating at the time, my Grandma gave me my Wedding quilt. I suppose she figured if this was who I was dating then marriage may not be something I would encounter soon.
Moving to PA was a safe distance to move so that I could ensure that there would be no more instances of "nice Christian boys" receiving my photo and phone number.
There was just one error in my planning. I moved in with.... VEDA'S DAUGHTER.
Tonight I was standing at work minding my own business when a tall, blonde and handsome young man came to the counter with a look on his face that told me he was going to ask a question. My first instinct was that he needed help finding a gift for his girlfriends mom and didn't know where to start. WRONG. Instead he asked if my name was Skylar
"Yes" I replied
"Um, well my name is Justin and I know your aunt." Blood immediately drains from my face. "She told me that you might be looking for some good Christian fellowship and thought I should get in contact with you."
Now I am starting to look around for the hidden cameras or waiting for the punch line, something. But there was none. He stood there talking about how hard it can be to be in a new city and he would like to get a group of people together for fellowship, something casual, would I be interested. Here is were I should have taken a moment to step back and breathe before reacting, instead I layed into the tall, blonde and handsome man.
"You have got to be kidding me. What did she give you a copy of my senior picture with my phone number on the back? Cause that's what my Grandma used to do. When did 25 become to old to be unmarried. Why does everyone think I need to be set up? Did she say maybe that I would like to go have a Coke with you? Cause that is what my Grandma used to say. How do you know my aunt? Did my Grandma put her up to this?
This poor tall, blonde handsome man stood there listening to me rant all the while trying to interject...
"Um, well I am seeing someone but I thought maybe we could just be friends."
Oh, okay open mouth insert foot, not that I was thinking about dating this man because I am not interested in dating but it would have been nice to be considered for the position.
After an exchange of phone numbers (mine was undoubtedly thrown in the trash can immediately), he left and I felt like I had been sideswiped. The next guest in line tried to make me feel better by telling me she did not get married until she was 29. Thanks, now I must call the tall, blonde and handsome man and apologize for being a complete spaz. I guess the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree.
Defending Tigger
Now that my brother has posted my cry for help to his blog I must defend Tigger, in all his glory, on my own blog.
Several years ago I was dating a fellow that apparently did not take hints too well. What guy does. We were at the Disney store and they had Grumpy pajamas (Grumpy from the Seven Dwarves). This is perfect for me because, as many know, I am grumpy in the morning and what better way to let people know I am grumpy then to be in Grumpy pajamas. I actually think I said all of this to him in a loud animated voice while tugging him towards the pajamas.
With only two weeks or so left before my 21st birthday, I thought the hint was a good way to get what I wanted without him feeling the need to even think about it. On the way out of the store I faintly remember passing the halloween costumes and hearing him comment that they were great costumes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah but did you see the Grumpy pajamas, aren't those
perfect for me."
Two weeks or so later for my birthday I was handed a Disney Store bag. Not a gift bag but the actual store bag. Inside was.... A Tigger costume. I am sure that the look on my face at the moment was priceless. While I was telling him thank you on the outside, on the inside my mind was saying, "Why would you get me a Tigger costume? I am not a big fan of Winnie the Pooh or Tigger too. Why would you spend
$70 on a Tigger costume to celebrate your girlfriends 21st birthday? That is in August? Where are my Grumpy pajamas? Is this a joke? Why did you give me my gift in the store bag, with the receipt and the price tag? Why are you smiling you dork this is a stupid gift?"
I smiled and made up an excuse as to why I could not try the costume on right then and there. I then shoved the costume into the bottom of his closet and left. Years later when we broke up I fought with him to get the costume back because "I love that costume even though the price tag is still on it".
Tigger has been my costume for the last two years and Fed Ex willing it will be for a third. So yes I am 25 years old and I wear a full Tigger costume (with voice box) while I Trick-or-Treat and yes my
older sister in law is very envious of my costume but I am proud and will not be held back by the evil taunting of my brother.
So drive on Fed Ex man and get me my costume by Halloween!
Forward this...
I always feel bad when people send me chain mail. E-mails that tell you that you are wonderful and we love you but you need to forward this to everyone you plus the person that sent it to you. I do not always like to receive chain mail and I never like to send chain mail but I am torn. Do I return the chain mail to the person that sent it to me for fear that if I do not they will take it as a sign that I do not indeed return the feelings of love and happiness? Or do I delete the message knowing that the person that sent it to me loves me and knows I love them and only sent me the chain mail as a courtesy to the person that sent it to them? Life is so full of difficult choices.
Denmark is better cause...
In Denmark they do not have election campaigns, commercials during shows or Walmart.
Abandon all hope
So I have tried to come to terms with the destruction of me Wildcats. The fact that I leave the state and my team is so distraught that they have to lose to KU was a difficult realization to come to.
I thought however that moving closer to my Yankees would boost spirits and naturally they would want to get into the World Series so that I could come and see them. But no... Everyone has given up on me. I am alone and scared. If you cannot depend on your favorite sports team to stay with you then who can you depend on?
If it wasn't for daily reruns of Gilmore Girls I am pretty sure that this blog would remain unwritten for all of eternity.
Of course according to certain people the end of eternity will come sooner if Kerry is elected. Amazing how one man can single handedly bring down all of civilization.
The Giant and the Bum Knee
This is not another joke so you can stop cringing. Man this is a tough audience.
I was sitting at the computer tonight typing an e-mail when this little, tiny blonde Danish girl comes down the stairs not looking quite awake. I looked at her and asked if she is okay and tears welled up in her eyes. She told me that she was not okay, in fact her knee was causing her so much pain that she was unable to sleep.
She came to me because I am the all knowing (okay I may have embellished that part). So I went to look for some Ibuprofen because I believe that all things can be cured with Ibuprofen.
There is none.
So I awake Marla and she puts on her robe and drives the long back roads, through the rain, to the Giant store. This is the closest thing to Dillons that I have seen. Like Dillons, the Giant store was open and we were able to find medicine and Wheat Thins (it's good to bring back comfort food as well as drugs). This is good because our other option was to drive to the next town over to see if Walmart was open 24 hours.
But wouldn't you know it. Marla then drove home taking a different route than she had taken to get to the store. Grandma Veda is right I will never find my way around in this town riding with Marla. Thankfully we have the internet and the internet has Mapquest!
When we arrived home I tried to explain my reasoning for administering Ibuprofen to her. But how do you explain inflammation to a person that is in pain, speaks Danish as a native language and just wants to stop being in pain?
Fortunately she took my word for it, swallowed the Ibuprofen and finished watching the Friends episode that she had DVRed earlier in the night.
Joke of the Day!
Woman is complaining to her best friend asking "Why did I leave Nicky? Things are lonely without my husband.".
Best friend replys, "Do you want me to tell you the difference between God and Nicky? God never walks around thinking he's Nicky!".
Laugh it's funny.
DVR's!! God bless Topeka!
Okay so God blessing Topeka and DVR's have nothing to do with one another but why waste blog space.
God bless Topeka for building a beautiful library filled with books. Lebanon has yet to receive such a blessing. If you put together the books that are currently in this house we could officially call ourselves the new Public Library. I did not realize that Topeka's library was not only fabulous but also rare. So band together and write many letters of thanks to whomever made that library possible. Also go check out some books and send them too me. I need reading materials!
In lieu of reading materials, we have a DVR now. What is a DVR you might ask? It is cables answer to TIVO. Tonight we paused live TV and went to the grocery store then came back and fast forwarded through the commercials. Gone are the days of VCR's and tapes. we have moved into the next century! Hallelujah!
Bad luck? Check!
So after a long day at work the other night I left (late) only to discover that it was raining. Can anyone tell the class why it was raining?
Cause I left the sunroof open!
Just in case anyone was wondering, your problems do follow you wherever you go!
Things that make you go Hmmmm!
I have a Dillon's card in my wallet but there is not a Dillons in all of P.A.. So what do I do with my card?
Deflated
Today was my second day at my new job. I was trained in the coffee bar by Krista, my 19 year old, engaged manager. Today was a deflating day.
I am 25 and starting a new job in a new city, new state, new life. I live with my aunt and uncle. I own one pair of work pants and next week I am on the schedule for 12 hours. I have to drive my cousins car to work or have someone drive me to work. I feel like I have moved progressively backwards over the last 7 years. 7 that is the number of years since I graduated high school.
My major excitement of the day was getting my package from my grandparents. The package contains my coats, pillows, and dictionary. The most exciting thing is the Down comforter that a co-worker gave me three years ago. I want to curl up in it right now and sleep in it until my life makes sense again. I don't want to do the work. I don't know if I can do the work. To top things off I am crabby now and my cat is trying to comfort me but I keep yelling at him. So I feel deflated and I am trying to make up with my cat.
I fear I will be the old lady that lives
in someone else's house with all the cats.
I miss my nephew. I miss my brother. I miss my family and friends. I miss living a deflated life surrounded by familiarity.
Tomorrow will be better. Tomorrow has to be better.
Chocolate
Before reading this run to your kitchen and grab a Hershey bar (everyone should have some handy). Put said Hershey bar into a small pot on the stove. Turn correct burner to medium and watch Hershey bar melt. Close you eyes and record the smell of the melted chocolate. Remove the chocolate from heat and return to you computers.
Now that you have returned to you computer close your eyes again and recall the smell of the melted chocolate. That is what Hershey, P.A. smells like. Not just the Gift Shop or the tour ride but the entire town. You can spell it from the moment you spot the Hershey Cocoa barberry bushes outside of the factory.
Today the girls left school (for a family situation) and we took a family trip to Hershey. We toured the mock plant that they have made and walked to the obscenely large gift shop. Trisha had to leave Hershey and go to volleyball practice so Kenny, Pernille and I walked rows and rows and rows of old cars at the car show in front of the Giant Center (Expo Center only bigger with better parking and a real hockey team).
I also had my first day at work. I had to ask to leave early (getting off to a good start) so that we could go to Hershey. I had fun on the first day. I feel like I will never get the hang of the register or the wrapping but I'm sure I will. We gift wrap everything for free!!! and everything in the store has it's own button on the register. Don't be surprised if Christmas presents come from a country gift shop this year.
The name of the store is Extra Special but I feel like I will never get the hang of that. Once I answered the phone but was distracted and couldn't remember the name of the store so I panicked and hung up... I have a feeling that could get me fired if I continue.
A bump in the road (and on the head)
I just finished reading my brother's blog and learning about my nephew's first fall from furniture. This makes me sad and I have been doing a fairly good job of not being sad. I am the one that generally stays in arms length (but out of picture focus) and guards David when pictures are being taken of him. In many pictures you can see my shoulder or hand. I have been worried about missing his firsts... first Halloween, first Christmas, first steps... Etc. This has temporarily been somewhat nullified by Pernille being here since this will also be her first (and last with us) Halloween and Christmas. Still to have David fall knowing that I would have been in arms length and could have caught him makes my heart ache a little.
My move has not set in... I still make plans for "when I get home", a Trosper reminded me the other day that this is home. Macaroni is the only thing that has made it feel like home. Everyone is very welcoming but I feel like I am on vacation without the rushing to get to see everything. I think I need a job I spent all day in a chair drinking tea and reading or watching TV. I watched a soap opera voluntarily.... I definitely need a job.
Riding in Airplanes with Cats.
I took Macaroni on the flight with me probably more for my sanity than anything. My sanity went straight out the window when we had to go through security. They required me to
1. remove my laptop from my carry on
2. remove my shoes
3. remove my cat from his soft sided carrier
4. remove my keys from my pocket
5. carry frightened cat through metal detector
all of this while fighting back tears and fears.
Getting to my seat on the back of the plane after all of the other passengers had already been boarded was another task. Despite making my shoelaces loose enough to slip my foot back into the shoe, I could not actually get my feet back into my shoes while shoving my cat into the carrier and my laptop into the carry-on and extracting my boarding pass and drivers license. So I trudged down the narrow isle pulling my carry-on and carrying my cat with my feet falling out of my shoes. We finally made it to our seat only to discover our seat was taken. We took our place on the row behind since that row was empty.
The plane ride was nice. The plane was not full so we had the whole row to ourselves for the entire flight. Macaroni did not cry or whine, not that I could have heard him with the noise of the plane. I don't remember planes being that loud.
When we arrived in Detroit I stayed on the plane until everyone else had exited. The nice Northwest lady at the gate directed me to the tram that runs along the ceiling and that took us to our gate at the opposite end of the terminal. Once I found the gate I started to look for a place to let my cat run. We found a family bathroom so I locked the door and unloaded the cat. He ate and walked while I brushed my hair and lint rolled my bag. We then packed back up and found some food and magazines. I headed to the gate about 30 minutes before the flight time only to find that my flight had moved from gate 73 to gate 23 (after I traveled from gate 6).
Detroit is a beautiful airport. There are plenty of food vendors and shops, I actually wished that my layover was longer so I could shop. We arrived at the gate just before they began to load the first class and special needs passengers. I loaded with the special needs passengers since I had my cat (yes we have special needs). Once again the flight was not full and we had a row to ourselves.
Macaroni was not happy during the second flight or the drive home. Kenny had us stuck in the parking garage for a little while and then we stopped at WALMART. Once we got to the house I unloaded the cat, and he went underneath the bed to hide.
We got unpacked and Macaroni has walked around the house and terrorize the dogs a bit. All the humans like him though. Shawn and Janelle surprised me by being here Saturday but they left yesterday and the girls went to school today. The town in very pretty but some of the countryside looks like Kansas. Yesterday we did go to an outlet mall that had some great deals on books.
I love the house and the neighborhood but I am having a hard time finding my way around the kitchen. Pernille, the foreign exchange student from Demark, is having to show me the ropes. It is sad and strange how well she fits into this family. She had Kenny set up the LCD projector and we watched Big Fish on Saturday night (great movie by the way).
More later from PA.
Yup, Walmart is here too!
On my first night in P.A. (more on the trip later), we went to Walmart. I flew into a dark and rainy state just to go to Walmart. My Pernille, our foreign exchange student from Denmark, commented that there is no Walmart in Denmark. Hmmm that must be nice. Maybe I should go to college in Denmark.
I must go know. There is also still church here and I must attend.
