Yep, I am bored in this empty house, fell asleep way too early last night, and now wide awake at an ungodly hour. SO, being so professionally efficient, decided to create this post:

1) It was very hot when I got home here in “Eastvale”. The house was about 97 degrees inside! I turned on the upstairs air conditioning, closed my bedroom door, and prayed that it would get cool soon. Ironically, I woke up freezing this morning! LOL

2) Yes, Kenny and Josh are currently in Texas! I know this has caused concern for some of you but no worries! It could be temporary or I could move to Texas depending on my ability to find affordable housing in Cali (well, is there such a thing???). But since Stepha is my nanny and she moved to Texas, well, summers in Texas aren’t that bad right?

3) Why, yes, I am very gorgeous – thanks for asking!

4) Yes, what you’ve heard is very true – left handers ARE consistently high achievers and hold higher than average IQs. (So maybe they spell aisle like isle but you know what it means……) Plus, they are way too sexy.

Okay, well, I have adequately tired myself out with the internet so I think I am going to try to go back to bed! Let me know if you have any other questions that need to be answered!

I have truly been blessed for years, but I would like to focus on the last several days and those who have made a huge difference in my life:

Wanda – mi vida, thank you for being a true friend, giving me support (emotional, physical, and spiritual), love, and understanding always. You and your family have been ingrained into my heart and life and I know you will remain there forever. Thank you for keeping me sane after Deana’s departure and for keeping me on the lunch schedule! Oh, I wanted to tell you too that you were great on the drums this week! I love you.

Liz B. – Thanks for silly things like singing Veggie Tales with me at work and trying to teach me and Cat how to do the Roger Rabbit dance. Thanks for sending me emails when Deana moved, for listening to my drama recaps, for making me laugh, for being appropriately incredulous when I am venting, and for being cool throughout. I am so thankful that our friendship has grown over the last several months.

Cat – Woman, you need to work on your Roger Rabbit!!! But thank you for encouraging me to exercise, for allowing me to vent so often (and occasionaly throw out some bad words), for not being afraid to do goofy things with me in the isle, and for having curly hair to offset mine! I am picturing you singing “bring ya to your kna kna kna kna knees!”

Rona – thank you for your understanding and support during the transition of Deana’s move. I know you miss Deana too and that helps me. I also really appreciate that you know many of the feelings I am going through and anticipate how you can help – thank you for that.

Heather – Thank you for your blog posting competition, for always making me laugh, for your willingness to help, and for being left handed! I love being your big sister! You rock!

Allie – Thank you for being just a little bit of stubborness, and ready smile, and for offering to do my laundry! I will probably take you up on that! I am proud to be your big sister and will help teach you the benefits of the shredder…..soon!

Aunt Kay – thank you for your directness and continued love. While I haven’t seen you for years, I appreciate that we keep in touch via the internet. I love that you are not afraid to share your feelings but that you always include how much you love me and I know that is real.

Dad – I know we haven’t seen each other for a while and, well, you know….but I love you very much. You have always been my #1 and remain so. Thank you for always loving me, for being a wonderful father, for sacrificing so much for me, and for being someone I can emulate in so many ways. You are truly a gift from God and I love you.

Okay, if you weren’t mentioned please forgive me – I have work to do!

G

Okay, a few people have been riled up by my anonymous mention of a family member that has an issue with some people in my life. While this is my blog and I can and do post whatever I want, I don’t want to talk about the definition of family anymore. While I opened the Pandora’s box, I am now closing it. No more need to defend me or anyone els based on how you see the issue that I mentioned previously.

Some things take too much time to express online and too many blanks are filled in through the internet. While this site has always been therapeutic for me – and will continue to be – I don’t want it to turn into a debate room. So for a while please refrain from discussing family. As for me, a good portion of my family now lives in Texas. My focus is now on readjusting my life to deal with this.

Thanks!

Gina

Per the Merriam-Webster online dictionary:

Main Entry: 1fam·i·ly
Pronunciation: ‘fam-lE, ‘fa-m&-
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -lies
Etymology: Middle English familie, from Latin familia household (including servants as well as kin of the householder), from famulus servant

1 : a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head : HOUSEHOLD
2 a : a group of persons of common ancestry : CLAN b : a people or group of peoples regarded as deriving from a common stock : RACE
3 a : a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation : FELLOWSHIP b : the staff of a high official (as the President)
4 : a group of things related by common characteristics: as a : a closely related series of elements or chemical compounds b : a group of soils with similar chemical and physical properties (as texture, pH, and mineral content) that comprise a category ranking above the series and below the subgroup in soil classification c : a group of related languages descended from a single ancestral language
5 a : the basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children; also : any of various social units differing from but regarded as equivalent to the traditional family (a single-parent family) b : spouse and children
6 a : a group of related plants or animals forming a category ranking above a genus and below an order and usually comprising several to many genera b in livestock breeding (1) : the descendants or line of a particular individual especially of some outstanding female (2) : an identifiable strain within a breed
7 : a set of curves or surfaces whose equations differ only in parameters
8 : a unit of a crime syndicate (as the Mafia) operating within a geographical area
– fam·i·ly·hood /-“hud/ noun

It’s funny that the definition many of you thought of first ended up at NUMBER 5……out of 8……..not much more above the Mafia…….

Food for thought…….

Well, Deana’s last weekend in California, also known as her Birthday Weekend, was a success! Amid the frantic sounds of packing and grunts as her brother’s moved furniture into the garage, festivities flowed like the Colorado River!

First, a recap of Saturday:

2 pm: Baby Shower for Beautiful Victoria, who thinks she’s having a girl but Anthony insists she’s having a boy. Too many laughs to recount but a wonderful time was had by all!

7 pm: Reservations at Tu Tu Tango in Orange, where the birthday festivities for Deana began. Our wonderful server was Sandy, daughter of Rona, who made us feel like royalty. And boy, she has lungs! She yelled very well to the room to announce Deana’s birthday!

9 pm: Reservations at Lucky Strike Lanes, where there were no 300 games in view. However, the company was awesome, the beat of the music addicting, and the laughter consistent.

Sunday:

2 pm: Deana’s birthday party begins (ironically, only the kids went swimming!). It was a quiet affair with reminiscing and laughter. There were times of bittersweet emotions as everyone knew Deana would be driving away for Texas within days. Including me!

10 pm: Gina, after taking a wonderful nap because she was still tired from the night before, actually packed up the computers and printers! Now what is Deana going to stress about????

Sounds kind of benign, but it was non-stop and LOTS of fun this weekend. Deana truly has A-Class friends and family that are loving and sincere – real people and that is wonderful. Each and every one touched her heart in a special way this weekend, and I was blessed to be able to witness it (and, at the the same time, have fun with them as well!)

Only one “down” moment for the weekend. I received a phone call at about 1pm on Sunday from a family member. Said member represents a huge portion of my heart and whom I have held in great favor my entire life. This person was who I modeled most of my adult life after, hoping to emulate all the qualities I found exceptional. However, this same person apparently refuses to want to have anything to do with Deana and her children. I am only speculating here, but I don’t know, it’s becoming more obvious. I mean, when we got back from Russia and I excitedly said “we’re coming over to see you!” so that Zack and Sophia could meet them, and I was told to only bring family members, I was stung (and, incidentally, did not go over). Well, actually quite devastated. Then, I hear from my EX-HUSBAND that this person’s spouse called him to say, “hey, can you visit with the kids, we would love to see you?” What the hell is THAT about since my ex is not “family”????? And then, I get a call at 1pm, very cold I might add, and hear “I said we would be coming today but will not be – just wanted you to know.” So, without hearing the exact words of rejection, I feel nothing but……and this time I am not hurt, I am not devastated! I am PISSED (excuse me French). This person represented so much to me and is someone I have loved completely my entire life. I will continue to love them, of course, but that doesn’t mean I have to continue letting them break my heart. and again, I am merely speculating at the reason of the rejection, but it seems tied to the fact that Deana adopted two wonderful children. And that, in itself, makes me utterly pissed off.

Now, if said family member reads this blog, which I highly doubt, feel free to let me know if my perception is wrong. But I have to say, I thought we were closer than that! I am tired of the games! And if this is coming from your spouse instead of you, shame on you! Because I have not done a damn thing wrong and I honestly am tired of the emotional games and obvious judgment being placed on me or Deana……if I wanted that I would not convince my own mother that I see her every week while it has actually been months!

Oops, I wrote way too much on that one so I better get back to the happy portion of this post!

Deana is happy, her kids are blossoming into extraordinary people, my own kids are thriving despite what others may think, and my life is wonderful……except that I will be missing Deana and she drives off into the sunset of Texas! Sigh. And today is my first day or working without her two rows away……so I think Wanda will be bugged so much that she will have to use her ruler! LOL

Thanks for reading. Oh, and thanks for the speech topics! I will let you know how that develops!