Day 10 - A Picture of the Person You Do the Most ****** Up Things With

I don't do ****** things. I over-think [most] situations way too much. If I think there is a chance that any kind of trouble could amount from me doing something. I pretty much just don't do it. That being said, I can't not pick someone so I choose my sister...again.

Oh, that's nice, isn't it? She has a way of begging for trouble. And I am usually guilty by association. If I am the over-thinker, she's the complete opposite. Situations where I have been sucked into her trouble-making include (but are not limited to):

• She barked at the new neighbors moving in down the street while hanging out of my passenger side window.
• She mooned people out of the back window while I was driving my mom's minivan down main street in Potsdam.
• She peed in the kitchen sink and blamed it on me because she said I was hogging the bathroom. Seriously, I cam out of the bathroom and she was peeing in the sink.

And the times that the trouble may have been my fault:

• There was the time I was "babysitting" her and she misbehaved. So as punishment I locked her in my parent's room and set the timer on the microwave for 25 minutes. Or atleast I thought it was the timer. I really just turned the microwave on for 25 minutes and almost blew it up.
• I locked her out of the house once after we raced home and I won. So I stood on the other side of the door taunting her while she beat on the window. And broke it.

There is more, I know there is. None of it I would classify as ****** up but it definitely got us into some trouble. Lucky for us my parents were never very good at enforcing that whole "grounding" thing.

Day 9 - A Picture of the Person Who Has Gotten You Through the Most



Husband



Me & Sis

 

And let's not forget the Munchkin :)


I had someone tell me recently that they don't know how I've gotten through what I've been through in the past year. Well, the answer is you just do. You have good days and bad days. But it helps when you have a good support system. I could post other pictures of people too. 



Aunt Bonnie



AJ



You need family when bad things happen and I have a great one. Husband has been really understanding about the times when I needed to go home. Even when it means that we have to spend holidays apart because I needed to go home for Christmas. But he also knows that when I get "one of those" phone calls that I have to go. And he knows I need him with me. My sister and I have been each others sounding boards, I guess that's what you'd call it. I listen to her and she listens to me. Grant always gives me something to look forward to when I'm going through my bad days. Aunt Bonnie not only took care of my parents (managed their finances, made and took them to doctors appointments, cooked for them, got their medicine, etc.) but she's still taking care of my sister and I. We would be lost in all this legal stuff going on but she's helping out and that takes a lot of stress out. AJ's been great with emotional support and it seems like we can read each others minds. Generally what one of us isn't sure about saying out loud...the other one will. Although I think as people get older they lose more and more of their ability to filter what comes out of their mouth. It makes life interesting.

There's lots more stuff I could write. About a lot more people. Like AJ's wife, Melanie, who was always at the house to help. When my Mom was home on hospice Melanie must have been cooking the entire time because she was always bringing yummy food over to the house for us. And she surprised me by joining in on some *ahem* discussions about something interesting things that I will refrain from getting into. But I wish I could. All I have to say is: Have you ever met someone who eats breakfast in the bathroom? Well, some of us have. Humor goes a long way in helping you heal too.

P.S. I picked that picture of Husband because today is the last day of the regular season for hockey and it's a BIG day. Will the Rangers lose this afternoon and get the Hurricanes into the playoffs? Will the Rangers win and push the Canes into a must-win situation tonight? Who knows. But since we're heading out this evening to the Hurricanes game and we're hoping for a celebration!

Day 8 - A Picture That Makes You Laugh

A picture that makes me laugh? How about two?

Look! It's the girl that ate Tara!

 

That's right folks. That's me in my marching band uniform. Please note that
the pants are too short. They only had one pair that fit me in the waist and
they came up above my ankle. Good stuff, huh?

Ok, stop laughing. No really. Stop it. I said stop laughing! Alright, I get it. Can anyone say "Awkward phase"? Let me tell you, it was one hell of an awkward phase. Not only was I an unattractive child, I was fat too. I think it started in the 6th grade and continued straight through to when I graduated high school. The top picture was taken in the 8th grade the night of our "winter concert" (8th grade was the pinnacle of my fat stage - if it wasn't nailed down, I ate it) and I think the next one was taken the spring of 9th grade before the Memorial Day parade. I believe it was when I was in the 10th grade that those uniforms were retired and we just wore black and white. Amen to that. But at least now I can look back at stuff like this (which was morifying at the time) and laugh. Really, really hard.

We came across the marching band picture when we were going through boxes of pictures in search of some of my Gram to use on picture boards for her funeral. My mom pulled this one out of the box and said "Oh look!" so we all did. And then we all laughed. And then my mom handed it to my husband and said "Here, you keep that" to which he replied "Ew. I don't want it!". Thanks dear. (To be fair, I've seen old pictures of him and I had to admit to him that if he still looked like that...we probably wouldn't be together. He had quite the awkward stage as well.)

Day 7 - A Picture of Your Most Treasured Item

Much like with the favorite memory post, I don't have a "most treasured item". I become a little bit of a hoarder sometimes because I tend to keep things that have even the tiniest amount of sentimental value. I treasure a lot of things. But this is what I chose (blurry because I have no idea how to focus the camera on something that small):

It's my Mom's wedding ring. And, no, I don't typically wear it on my left hand. I had to do that for picture taking purposes (I can't do that left-handed). Actually, I don't wear it at all yet. Mom never took off her wedding band so it had to be cut off for a procedure she was having. She had my Dad do it was some kind of metal cutters because she didn't want the people at the hospital to do it. So I've got to find somewhere to get it fixed so I can wear it. My Mom never liked flashy jewellery so it's a simple silver band with a little bit of engraved detail. She always used to tell me that my engagement ring and wedding band are pretty but "too much". However, a few years back when I was having my wisdom teeth removed I had to be sedated. I read all the stuff you have to sign and it said there was a possibility, very small but still, that you could die. So of course I freaked out a little. I started asking people what of my stuff they'd want if I happened to die from complications of wisdom tooth extraction. Mom's reaction? "Oh Tara! Don't say things like that. You're being silly. I want your diamonds."

Day 6 - A Picture of a Person You'd Love to Trade Places With For A Day

I had to really think about this one. Usually if I hear someone say "Oh I'd love to trade places with so-and-so! Even for just one day" I can think of a bunch of reasons why I wouldn't want to be that person. Even for a day. But after a surprising amount of thought, this is who I came up with:

Betty White! I think she's awesome and I freaking love her. She's old so she can say whatever she wants - FUN. She's adorable and I'm sure people tell her that frequently - I could handle that for a day. And did I mention she's awesome? I mean, people started a facebook page just to get SNL to have her as a host. I'm sure that after a day of being Betty White I would have reasons that it's not fun to be her but right now, I can't come up with any.