Introducing Ms. Lulu Barlow

There once was a woman, Lulu Barlow. She was an amazing woman; smart, funny. charming and vivacious! Lulu never met a stranger, and if she did, they were not a stranger for long. She had a zest for life, enjoying dancing, music, good food and an occasional white water rafting adventure.

Sounds like a cool chick, huh?

Lulu also had a passion for collecting, ummm, things. Lots and lots of things. Dolls, nick knacks, chachkis (sp?) stuffed animals -- she really had no prejudices. If it was collectible, she collected it. In fact, she collected enough to amass a collection large enough to occupy the entire inside of an 1800 sq ft house. The goodies she collected often substituted for friends socializing.

As gregarious as Lulu was, she sadly lacked the social life that she so totally craved. As a result, she found plenty of ways to fill that void. Delivery people were friends, phone operators were acquaintances, and dolls, oh the dolls -- they were her kids and grand kids.

While this may sound sad, really it was not. She lived every minute as if it were her last and when she left this earth, she did it with little regret.

Now... Lulu left behind this collection of treasures. I have been charged with said collection and its disposal, liquidation and disbursment. To reach this end, I have opened an eBay store, Lulu Barlow Collectibles and am in the midst of developing a website -- lulubarlow.com. You can take a look and see what Lulu has to offer and what tricks she has up her sleeve. New items are posted regularly. This way, not only is the collection being taken care of, but it gives us the opportunity to share Lulu with so many people. A piece of her was in each piece she collected, and now she can be with each person who has a part of the lot.

At last, Lulu Barlow is having the social life she wanted and the adventures of a lifetime.

A new chapter...

There is more to come, but I will give you this as a tasty tidbit and glimpse into what will be coming!

Gobble Gobble

I have been a slacker, I know. No posts in way way too long. I will post an update soon, I promise; cause trust me, I have plenty to talk about! In the meantime, it is Thanksgiving and I needed to do my annual why am I thankful post...

First and foremost I am thankful for my family -- KEN , that has you at the top of the list. I never in my whole life thought I really would end up married to my best friend. But here I am and here you are. You have given me a new sence of the word family and what it means. ALl the rest of the relations are included here too -- Dad, In-Laws, nieces and nephews (the older 19 already! and newer 6 weeks), aunts, uncles and cousins -- you get it, the whole kit and caboodle.

I am thankful that my mom was my mom. She is gone now and it makes me sad on a regular basis, but I am thankful that i had her for as long as I did and that she imparted to me the importance of this holiday and spending it with loved ones.

I am also thankful for all of the people in my life that make up my extended family -- my/our friends, their kids and all their families that fill in the gaps. Friends as family rules!

While I am desperately seeking a job, I am thankful to be in this position. It means that I got to take the time off of work that I needed to put my life back together after a very very rough patch. And I am thankful for the rough patch, cause it taught me to appreciate the smooth times.

I am thankful for the fact that even though the economy is killing us all and things seem like a long dark tunnel, that I have a roof over my head and food to put on my table, and people in our lives to have sit at that table with us. Oh! And eBay, VERY thankful for eBay, as I am finally selling all of my mom's collectibles.

I am thankful for my health -- yes I saiad my health. As not perfect as it is, is as bad as it could be. I am thankful for what I have -- including all ten of my digits in tact, even though I seem to be hellbent on changing that.

I am thankful for Facebook! I have found so many people from past parts of my life that i am so happy to get to know all over again. What a hoot this has been!

And finally, I am thankful for you, dear readers. You keep coming back no matter how long I disapear and you give me a sounding board for random and various other rants. Thanks.

I hope you and yours all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and the start of a beautiful holiday season!

Quoteable Fridays

"I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones."
-- John Cage (American avant-garde composer, 1912-1992)

There is so much to be taken from this one that I will let you all take a go at it first, and respond in kind. But how appropriate it is at this time in our lives, our society and our world...

Hope everyone had a great week and that the weekend will be much enjoyed by all.

Quoteable Fridays

In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary
-- Aaron Rose

I think the important part of this quote is the "at the right time". When my world provides me with drama and uncertainty, I am finding that it is helpful to just kind of sit back -- not in apathy, but in the faith that in the end, everything works out the way it is supposed to. While I may not like the outcomes at the immediate moment, I am finding solace in knowing that when I look back, with just the right perspective, it all happened/happens for a reason. And in that reason, it becomes the perfect thing to have happened at the time, and for that reason it is extraordinary. Sometimes the sunset or sunrise of a new day provides that "right light."

People are not Disposable

I have often said that we live in a disposable society. We throw away everything -- from clothing and shoes to furniture and household goods. Nothing is made with the quality it once was, and if it is, you can bet you are going to pay a VERY pretty penny for it.

We tend to throw away people too. Whether it be because they are old, handicapped, have upset us or our gentle sens abilities, or whatever the reason, we throw people away, end relationships, drop from our lives, ignore, etc.

The sermon in temple a few weeks ago was that we should listen to the rambling stories of our elders, as they have meaning. These are people who have life experiences that they are sharing and we should listen, because these are people, not tape recorders that are to be shut off and put away somewhere. PEOPLE. Listen to them, the Rabbi said, they are not to be thrown away.

That sermon simply reaffirmed my belief that we do indeed throw people away. To drive the point even further home... We were at church yesterday and there was a woman with her, I assume, husband in a wheelchair. He was frail and I am not sure what was wrong, other than he was in a wheelchair. At one point in the service, the priest tells you to offer peace and good wishes to those in the seats around you -- part of community building. Well, not one person extended their hand to this man. Not one! They extended the offer to his wife, but not to him. So I crossed the aisle walked over and extended my hand. He reached out in return and we offered each other peace. Only after that did only one other person reach out to him.

A few moments later when people were walking in the aisles to go receive communion, the woman was having difficulty maneuvering the wheelchair. Again, people just stood there and watched. It was not until I crossed the aisle again to assist her that others finally took action as well.

I am not meaning to be preachy, but this is ridiculous. We need to remember that people are flesh and bone and whether we see the quality in them or not, they are not to be discarded with the trash or put up for give away on Craig's List.

Any thoughts?

New Traditions

I have decided to follow in the steps of Lora and Joe and start a weekly post. As in on a specific day of every week, I will put up a specific type of post. Lora does her "What's on my iPod", Joe does "E Fridays" and sometimes "Video Mondays."

Welcome to Quotable Fridays. There is much to be learned and taken from things said by others. So as we head into what is sure to be a busy weekend for everyone I give you...


Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone
-- Lin Yutang

Gentle reader, before you head into a crazy weekend, be sure to stop and smell the roses, kiss your little ones or just enjoy an extra 15 minutes of sleep. It will still be there to get done tomorrow.