A Secret Revealed and a Giveaway!

I've mentioned here several times before, that one of my BFF's in High School was Stefanie Wilder-Taylor. I still consider her a friend today, even though it's been several years since I've seen her. When we have had a chance to talk on the phone in the past couple years, we still manage to talk for hours. I guess sometimes the important, meaningful bonds people make in their lives don't just go away.

I met Stef one afternoon in High School, when we were both serving after school detention. I was sitting behind her and she turned around and asked me something funny like "What ya in for?" I was taken by surprise that this really pretty girl was talking to me. I was going through one of those periods when all my "friends" had turned their backs on me for something silly/stupid (kissed a boy at a keg party,and this boy, unbeknownst to me, was supposedly going to ask out someone better than me from my clique) (little bitches!)and wasn't very trusting of anyone at school. But Stef seemed sincere, so I laughed and answered her.

She saved me from being friendless and we had many fun times over the next several years. After Stef graduated High School and after I dropped out, we moved to California together. She had always planned on returning there and I just wanted to get away from my dysfunctional home life.

Stef has had three books published and a fourth not yet released. The secret I'm sharing today is that I am in her third book It's Not Me, It's You... ! In fact, I'm in the first four chapters! In the book she openly shares stories from her life and I'm in the parts of the book about when we moved to L.A. together. I think I'm one of the "It's You" she's referring to. Heh, heh. I loved all of her books, especially the parts I'm in of course, and I laughed out loud over and over again.

In the book she calls me Beth Moskowitz. She originally wanted to call me "Wendy" but since I always wanted the name Beth, she changed it for me. I'm even mentioned in the NY Times review of the book as "the roommate". If you click on the title link above, it will bring you to Amazon where you can read excerpts from the book. Just search 'Beth' and there I'll be!

Now for the contest. Stef has offered to send one of my readers a signed copy of her third book. All you have to do, if you want a chance to win a copy, (and learn some dish about me and Stef) is leave a comment for this post. I'll leave it open until April 2nd and then I'll have the kids pick a name randomly out of a hat or something, and I'll post who the winner is.

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Stef on our road trip to California. We drove in style!

Me on the way to Cali!
Okay, not really her car.

Me after living in Hollyweird a while. I took rebellious to the max, while Stef tried to actually do something with her life. We both did a good job. I actually shaved the sides of my head every Friday night before going out to see local punk bands play. In this photo, my hair has been growing out for over a week.

Here we are a few years after I had moved back to Mass from Cali. I came to visit her in LA and we took a road trip to Las Vegas. Don't you love our big hair.

Good luck!

Birthday Bitching

It's my birthday today. 42. I don't really care about the number, but I do care about how I feel at 42. Lately, not so good. Tired, forgetful, deaf, fat. I've been working with my doctor to try and figure out WTF is wrong with me, if anything. I had some blood work to check my thyroid etc. and the only thing that came out abnormal was my cholesterol. High of course. So that ruled out Hypothyroidism, damn it. My numbers were closer to HypERthyroidism, which should mean I would be thin and overly energetic, damn it.

I'm going to have a sleep study done to find out if I have apnea or Restless Leg Syndrome or any other thing keeping me awake at night. Even if I get enough hours of sleep, I wake up several times during the night and wake up tired and "foggy". The most bothersome symptoms are the fatigue and what I call "Brain Fog". These could be from lack of sleep or side-effects of Peri-Menopause-which I do know I've started. Damn it.

I have gained a lot of weight over the last 10 years. I really want to exercise and eat better but I am just too tired to care enough. I've started increasing my vitamin intake but that doesn't seem to help. The other day I tried taking a caffeine pill and guess what? Still tired. Damn it.

Maybe I just need a really long nap, like until Spring.

Me, 40 years ago, still the same attitude as today...

20 Years ago, looking skinny in horizontal stripes...

Another of me 2o years ago, because 22 was good year for me...(Hus hates this photo of me;The big hair scares him!)

And me today...

The side effects of peri-menopause suck. Weight gain, unwanted facial hair, irritability have lead me to a life of crime...Do you think I'll be able to take a nap in prison?

Happy Fucking Birthday to Me!

Miscellaneous Manure

(I drafted this May 7)

As I write this post, I am sitting on the sidelines of a grade school softball game. It’s E’s 10TH Birthday and as a way to be nice, (besides the presents, homemade strawberry shortcake, brownie pizza for school, friend over after school and upcoming sleepover party) I took her to her friends game. I am the only one not actually watching the game. E played last year but towards the end of the season she was hit in the face with a ball ending up with a bloody split fat lower lip. She is still afraid to play.

I am in a bad mood today, maybe because I am tired, but more likely because my period is due. I’ve been bitchy and short tempered with T all day, apologizing every other sentence. Right now I am thinking mean things about almost everyone I see. I would say everyone, but I did say Hello to one woman who I like. I can’t remember where I know her from, but I have a feeling that I liked her. Of course, as I sit here judging everyone else, I am the only one sitting by myself. I see a couple moms from my town but I don’t have anything in common with them and since I rarely talk to people just to have someone to talk to or to prevent myself from looking like a loser, I will stay sitting where I am and wave from a distance. I might also look less like a loser if I was typing on a Dell Notebook instead of writing in a black paper notebook with the words “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” on the cover in bright hot pink letters. My pencil is also pink. (Really the notebook and pencil are E’s)

Answers You’ve Been Dying to Know
1) In my Vermont Views 4 post, I asked what is missing from the picture of the mailbox. The person who came the closest to the correct answer was Amy Cates . What I was looking for was NEIGHBORHOOD. The sign says “Neighborhood Watch” but there are no neighbors! The owner of the mailbox doesn’t even live there. He put the sign up when he also put up a new mailbox after vandals smashed the first one. He is building something across the street from the box, but I can’t tell whether it is a garage or house yet. I am waiting for the police to come to my house and question me about the pictures I took.

2)In my post One of These Husbands is Not Like the Other the answer was B) Mullet. Fold my Laundry Please was the first to guess that one correctly. Yes my Hus had a mullet when I first met him. His hair was gelled and spiky on top and when I first saw him I thought(hoped) he was a British Rock Star! (Just slumming it in a dive bar in the country ya know) Don’t really know why I thought that. I can’t really judge hair as I did have a Mohawk once a long long time ago.

Oops, I am such a goof. I just noticed I am sitting on the wrong side of the field.

40 is NOT the New 20

At 20...

I could drink a can of Slimfast and lose 5 pounds.

At nearly 40...

I could live on water alone for a week and gain 5 pounds.

At 20...

Men would stare at me at the supermarket and I would think they were admiring my beauty and thinking about how to get me into bed.

At nearly 40...

When men stare at me at the supermarket I think my hair must be sticking up, or I have something in my teeth,or a booger on my nose, then I look down to make sure I remembered to put pants on that morning.

At 20...

I took laxatives because I wanted to.

At nearly 40...

I take laxatives because I have to.

At 20...

I colored my hair to be fun and try something new.

At nearly 40...

I color my hair because I have to.

At 20...

I wore a bikini because I looked good.

At nearly 40...

I wear a tankini because it is much easier to go to the bathroom in one.

At 20...

I could dance and party in high heels until 2AM and wake up in the morning feeling great.

At nearly 40...

I could lie on the couch reading until 2AM and wake up in the morning feeling like I partied all night in high heels.

At 20...

I was asked once if I was a ballerina.

At nearly 40...

I was recently asked if I was pregnant.

At 20...

I could wear high heels all day and all night if I chose to.

At nearly 40...

I have to put orthopedic inserts in my shoes so my heels won't hurt all day.

Honestly I would never want to go back to being 20, but I wouldn't mind having my 20 year old body again.

The Good,the Bad and the Ugly...Hair Pt7 Finale

When I was 17, I moved from Massachusetts to California with my friend Stefanie. She was from LA so she wanted to move back. I went with her to keep her company and because I thought that if I stayed home with my parents I was sure the CRAZY would suck my soul away and I would lose my mind.
Stef did her best to keep the crazy away from me. However, being that I was a teenager without any goals at the time, a different kind of crazy found me. I could write several pages on the short time I spent in California, but this is a hair post. Maybe I will write more about those days another time.

This is no faux-hawk this is the real thing people. I would shave my head Friday nights after work and by Monday it would look like this. On weekends I frequented a club called Fenders , somewhere in Los Angeles,where they had local punk bands play. I also went into the Pit once to slam dance. Only once because at the time I weighed under 100lbs and kept getting knocked over. The people in the pit were nice enough to pick me up, but I was scared I might actually get injured.
Well, now you know my favorite hairdo of all time. I also still love punk rock music. Maybe one day I will give myself another Mohawk.

"I'm not crazy...institution... your the one that's crazy...institution!"...Suicidal Tendencies

The Good,the Bad and the Ugly...Hair Pt6

I have posted everyday for 6 days and I have one more hairdo surprise for tomorrow. It has been fun, but I will probably have to go back to just once a week posting. We will see.

This funky flip hairdo is apparently from 1983 which is time stamped in the corner of the right picture. Of course it is a bad replication of the famous Farrah Fawcett flip. I used to love Charlie's Angels.

These pictures were taken while I was on a trip to Texas visiting family. I wasn't really drinking beer. And that is the one and only time I ever wore a cowboy hat.

I just noticed the tie which was made up of different color ribbon like strings tied together. Anyone remember those?

Oh, and how many of you had braces? I had to wear the ridiculous headgear prior to having mine. What a Dork, E would say. When they finally were taken off I was supposed to wear a retainer. I didn't like that at all. Once on another family vacation to Florida, I left it in the hotel room hidden under the mattress. OOPs. Too late to go back when I finally admitted I had "forgotten it" half-way home!

The Good,the Bad and the Ugly...Hair Pt5

I have always liked this picture of me. I would of course like it better if my hair wasn't 2feet tall. And it is quite frizzy. My hairstyle these days is pretty similar only much less tall and much healthier.

I think I made a mistake when I wrote that the first hairdo I posted was from the late '80's. This in fact was my hair in the late '80's. The other was a few years later. I remember having this and other black and white photos taken of me by a friend who was taking a photography course. I was majoring in fine art. I wanted to be an artist, painter, sculpter etc. But after I graduated changed my mind. Mostly because I just didn't think I was good enough. Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't. Now I just mostly do crafty things and I am good at that.

Recent conversation with my husband regarding this photo:

Hus: "Are you going to put that picture out?"(I was holding it and also a frame)
Me: "Yeah, why? You don't like it?"
Hus: "It's a bit scary"
Me: "What do you mean?"
Hus: "Your hair"
Me: "When I first showed you this picture many years ago, you said I look pretty, so if you say I look pretty in a new photo, maybe your just saying that?"
Hus: "Of course I think you are pretty, I think your beautiful, I love you"
Me: "Alrighty then"

He can really turn things around, can't he? Pretty slick.

The Good,the Bad and the Ugly...Hair Pt4

I really am hesitant to post this picture. I am not sure why it bothers me more than the rest. Maybe because it is the most recent (7 years ago) one I have posted. And I think I should have known better. Confession: Sometimes I cut my bangs TOO short! And WTF? Is that a SKORT? (Hey that sounded like a Dr Seuss Rhyme) What was I thinking. I guess I was going through a "I want to look like a normal clean cut mama"? And it's any ones guess what color that is. Loreal #24,357,890,787.54?

Sorry I can't show my little mini-me. Hus would be upset. She also has bangs which are too short and also crooked, but her natural color. I think she is around 2years old in this picture. I was doing Weight Watchers at the time and had lost most of my E weight. I had gained 10 back by the time I got preggo with T. And I am not saying how much I gained while pregnant and that I still haven't lost it! Needless to say, this may be the most recent picture you see until I join WW again...

Or let my bangs grow.

The Good,the Bad and the Ugly...Hair Pt.3

Quick post tonight as I just got home from work and I am really fucking tired! We were busy all night and I had no free time to email or blog.
Woo Hoo, a double theme tonight! Bad hair and a bad dance recital costume. Tell me everyone has had this haircut, please. Named after the famous ice skater, who it actually looked good on. The Dorothy Hamill. YOU know you had this one.
I have only had my hair short (above my shoulders) three times in my life and this is one of those unfortunate times. My face is not right with this or any other short style. Even if it was a better rendition of the cut.
I danced for almost 10 years. I took tap, jazz and ballet. I was, and still am, slightly good at tap, but I am horrible at ballet. I don't want to write about how I am at jazz. I always liked to dance but hated the recitals. I still plan on someday taking tap again, but no recital.
My mom had these yearly pictures taken of me in my costumes. She framed them and hung them along our hallway. As soon as I started dating, probably before the first date picked me up, I took them all down and refused to let her put them back . Who would not have been embarrassed? I suppose E will make me take down her dance pictures one day...

I also remember one of my friends mom commenting that I had short legs. What a BITCH! My legs got much longer and really they ended up my best feature, I mean besides my hair.

The Good,the Bad and the Ugly...Hair? Pt.2

Wow, mama is posting two days in a row, this is a first. Apparently my hair troubles started at an early age. I used to stay overnight with my grandma sometimes when I was little. She told me that once she had to call my mom and have her come and get me early. She was forced to do this because I would not let her comb the snarls out of my hair. Heavens forbid she should take me out in public with my hair looking like this.

I really don't blame my grandma for being so impatient with me. There have been plenty of times I wanted to smack E over the head with the brush while while attempting to de-tangle her mop.

Nice pleather couch huh?

The Good,the Bad and the Ugly...Hair? Pt. 1

I have been reminded once again by Lainey-Paney that it has been over 20 days since my last post. I was going to wait until both kids were back in school to start blogging weekly again but decided to just do a short one tonight. I have been feeling way too stressed lately to blog and thought one less thing on my mind would help. Of course I still thought of blogging everyday, but didn't feel pressure to post something. Even now as I am just trying to do a short non-substantial post, my 4 year old son keeps trying to get my attention, which is very distracting. By the time my kids go to bed I am too tired to write. Anyways, I hope to get back into weekly posting when T starts his second year of preschool next Wednesday!


I have been thinking about doing a post on all of my ridiculous hairdos throughout my life. However, I have had too many bad hairdos to only post once, so I decided to do one at a time. This first one is from the really early '90's if not late '80's. I hope you all get a good laugh. Maybe I will even eventually show a recent picture. I am not planning on doing pictures in any certain order. This one was picked out by E for tonight's post. She said "WOW, you had a really small waist". Had being the operative word.



I have a lot of pictures where my hair is swept back away from one side. WTF? Did I sleep on that side and just leave it? How about those shoulder pads? And we mustn't ignore the heavy eye brows.
Also just an FYI, my dad still has the same couch! He upgrades his computers and other electronics at least yearly but still has the same furniture. Yikes.