Gone Home to Shorty
Fly me to the moon
And let me play among the stars
~Frank Sinatra
My Grandpa is taking Old Blue Eyes to heart today. He passed away at 105am this morning. Besides this heavy feeling in my chest, I have all these random thoughts rushing around my head. Like how much he loved Sinatra. And how anytime you went to the garage you could hear Sinatra blaring on the radio and smell cigar smoke wafting through the air. I think about how much he loved ice cream and he'd split the gallon right down the middle for "Equal Shares" taking half for himself and splitting the remaining half between whoever else was eating it. I remember getting tractor rides. I remember his thousands (yes, thousands) of videos he had copied so that no matter what you wanted to watch... grandpa had it.
I remember how hot he'd get the wood stove in the winter. Poor Grandma would be roasting with the window open and the snow falling and Grandpa and I would be just perfect. I remember watching Good Morning America and Entertainment Tonight with him on the "divan" while he rubbed my head. I remember sitting on his lap in "his chair" while he shared the Sunday paper Funnies with me. He'd share his apple with me too. He sliced off bits with a knife. I never knew anyone else who ate apples that way. I swear the slice I plucked off the knife from him tasted better than any other apple.
I love how he called me his "Bethy Wethy Doll". He used to say I was the cutest little boy ever. I'd always loudly protest that I was a girl. He'd tell me to look into his eyes and then "realized" his mistake and say "Oh you ARE a girl!" He was always patient with me. Much more so than with the boys. I remember him letting me brush his hair and put clown makeup on him.
Camping just wasn't camping unless Grandpa took me to get soft serve ice cream from McDonalds. Grandpa never liked going out to eat. He preferred McDonalds or a Whopper from Burger King. He loved katchup on everything and claimed he hated pineapple... though he loved Hawaiian pizza. Grandma just told him the pineapple was potatoes and he seemed okay with that.
I remember visiting my grandparents when I was little. To get to their house you had to drive up a very large hill. My grandpa would make signs from cardboard with a greeting to each of us and something silly to say and he'd post them on trees on the way up the hill. It was so exciting to read what he took the time to write for us on each trip. I remember I used to fill up a ziplock bag with my own kisses for them so that they could have a kiss from me when ever I wasn't around.
I remember how much he loved grandma.They were together for around 60 years. No matter what hard times they faced my Grandpa never lost sight of the fact of how special she was to him. If she was gone for even a weekend he missed her terribly. And I guess that's what I'm holding on to. The fact that he is with her now again. That he is by his "Shorty" once more. Even as I sit here with tears in my eyes , I at least have a little smile knowing they're side by side right now.
As my grandpa wrote to my grandma on August 15th, 1945 (as a Marine stationed in Hawaii):
Gosh darn Shorty, but just think that you and I will be together very soon now and there won't be anything to keep us apart.
I love you Grandpa. I miss you already.
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Exhausting Week
What a week! Wheeeew. Last weekend was great. I went to Seattle. By myself. Well, that part was sad because Mark couldn't get the time off work. But the fact that I gt to go to Seattle was great. My dad and Debbie picked me up at the airport about 12am on Saturday and we headed back to their house and visited for a bit and looked through some of Grandma's old things. We finally went to bed about 130am. The next morning I woke up about 730am and dad and Debbie were gone to the ferry dock to pick up Debbie's daughter, Raina. (I think I spelled that correctly...) Dad came home soon after (Debbie and Raina were going to meet up later for lunch) and dad and I looked through some more stuff and waited for Josh (Who had woken up at one point but then fell back asleep). He finally got his ass over to the house about 1115am and we met up with Debbie and Raina at the Olive Garden. Dad bribed the waiter to not stick us next to a crying child. Lunch was yum and then Dad, Josh and I were off to see my Grandpa.
But first... an important stop to get coffee (for us) and black licorice (for my grandpa). Then we went and signed in at the facility where he stays and then went to look for him. We found him sitting alone in a nice room with sofas and chairs. We found out that he had just stolen some other woman's remote control. LOL! Just like grandpa. In case you don't know, my grandpa is suffering from Alzheimer's and is in the very late stages of it. But it was very exciting because he was having a really good day today. We visited for 2 hours and my dad said he was amazed at how much my grandpa talked. He said usually he'll just get a "sure" out of him every 10 times he tries to talk to him... but he laughed and winked and ate his black licorice (his very favorite). I told him about all the things I could remember that we used to do together. I told him he was my favorite grandpa and he said "You're my granddau..." and just kind of trailed off. And I said "Yep, I'm your granddaughter. Your FAVORITE granddaughter." and he laughed and winked. He said my dads name 3 times and my dad said it was so great because my grandpa hasn't said his name since November or something. Anyway when we left I gave him a hug and he kissed me on the cheek. I told him I loved him very much and he said "I know." LOL! It was sad but good at the same time.
Josh, My Grandpa and I
After visiting with grandpa, my dad and brother decided that there is nothing better than shootin' off some guns. Yeeeeee Haaaawww! LOL! So I complied and showed off that I'm a terrible shot and have poor aim but I did look bad ass sO I guess that's what matters. Do I ever want to have a gun in my home? Nope. But I'm glad I got to go do something with Dad and Josh that they like to do together. Even if a stray bullet shell thingy did burn my boob.
We picked up Debbie soon after and then went home again and then went to eat Simply Thai which was good but Josh couldn't get his Beef and Broccoli which was sad. There was more visiting when we got home and then bed time. Molly slept with me and she is a bed hog! Mable never takes up that much room. LOL! And neither does Mark for that matter.
The next morning I got up, showered, packed and then said my good byes. Mom came to pick up Josh and I and we went to check out her and Dave's new house which was awesome! Dave had appointments to make so he couldn't join us for lunch. Boo! Mom suggested Gordito's for lunch. Mmmm... you don't have to ask me twice. I got a yummy steak burrito wet and a very yummy horchata. After lunch we went back to mom's and she showed off her new bar and she and I had a little taste of some Starbucks Liqueur. All too soon it was time for me to go back to the airport.
When I landed in Ontario my Marky was there to pick me up. YEAH! A big hug and a kiss and we were ready to eat. He waited to eat till I got home because he's awesome like that. So we had In N Out. MmmM! Did I ever say that I love my Marky. Cause I do.
THEN... Oh what a week.
MONDAY - Get into a car accident with a semi. Luckily he's only going about 10mph and my car just had a big ugly dent/gash in it. Waiting to hear about his insurance to cover it. I hope they do but as there were no witnesses its my word against his.
TUESDAY - Mark's phone craps out and the computer goes all wonky.
WEDNESDAY - Take Mark's phone in to Verizon and they won't do anything about it. They tell him he's got to buy a phone at full price.
THURSDAY - Finally some good luck. I get a little bonus at work, Mark gets his phone to work and he works his magic on the computer as well and beats it into submission.
FRIDAY - Traffic sucks so we say in Anaheim. I get free food from work and bring extra to feed Mark. We go see Premonition which we both like a lot even though it has plot holes the size of Canada. Stop at the book store, get a book about cats and new glasses. Head home and relax.
My New Glasses
SATURDAY - Mark works but he gets off early. YEAH! I was going to make Corned Beef in honor of my Irish side and it being St Patty's day and all but realize I forgot to ask Mark to get the Crock Pot down and I can't reach it. No matter because when I go to the store later for Guinness I can't seem to find any corned beed at all. L.A.M.E.! So pizza it is. We eat Pizza, watch TV, bake cookies and eatch Office Space which was so much like my job it was depressing. LOL!
And now today is Sunday and I'm waiting for Marffy to get off work. OH! And we found out today that his vacation was for sure approved!!! 46 Days baby! Our vacation is almost here.
As always... you can look at all my pictures from my Seattle trip HERE.
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Workin' at the Car Wash
Its been a while since my last post. Things have been good. WDW is coming up soon! We hit the 60 day mark today. w00t! We're going to have to start our paper chain soon to count down the days. LOL! We've made some reservations for some nice eateries. One of the places we're going to try Boma which supposedly is awesome. Its African food. How often do you get a chance to try that. And of course we're sticking with some old favorites like the 50's Prime Time Cafe.
In other non-Disney related news, I spent all day yesterday with the Adams. Mark worked till noon but I was there at 8am. They helped me get my car ready to sell (as soon as my title gets here from Washington). We took out all the seats and rented an upholstery cleaner and cleaned it all out (and still found a few shards of glass under the seats from when my car was broken into) and scrubbed the floor mats and washed,clayed and waxed it. It looks beautiful. So if you want a Kia Rio for about $4000 or so let me know. LOL!
Then Mark got off work and was there by about 1pm and they washed his car and changed his oil too. Then we headed to the San Diego area to visit Mark's great aunt and uncle for a while. Brian we think we passed your off ramp! We waved to you. Did you see us? LOL!
Its supposed to be really nice today so we're going to have a little BBQ at home I think, once Mark gets off. I think thats about it. Its been a busy past few weeks. I think I'm going to Seattle soon to see my Grandpa, who's not doing very well.
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Week in Review
So our Valentine's Day celebration on the 13th was a lot of fun. We slept in and then exchanged cards in the morning. Marky's card that he got me was really sweet and its now hanging on the wall at my desk at work. We got ready and then headed to Disneyland.
When we walked in we saw Mickey Mouse and I don't think we'd ever had our pictures taken with him so we decided we'd do it. He was all dressed up in his fancy "Year of a Million Dreams" tux. After our "photo shoot" We rode Buzz and "Not-so-Rockin' Warehouse".
Us with Mickey (I look gross!)
Ch-ch-ch-chip and Dale!
After a coffee pit stop for Mark we decided we'd head off to eat Mexican food. Mmmm! I had the flautas, a margarita and chips and salsa that I'd been dreaming about for days. We just had a really great day.
The rest of the week was rather uneventfull. I was feeling like crap the next day so Mark went to his parents house for dinner by himself (that sucked... I wanted to go to.) but when he came home we watched Lost and it was pretty freakin' awesome. The work week was looooooooong and I hate my job. But then finally the weekend came. We had Friday night off together and that was happy! And Saturday was totally beautiful with weather in the 80's. I wanted Mark to call into work so bad so we could go do something fun, but alas, the need for money won out and he went to work. Today was pretty nice, weather wise, too. We got up and got ready, cleaned the house and then Matt and Braden came over. Braden is in town for the weekend visiting his brother. We all went out for a yummy Thai food lunch. (Our beloved Thai resturant got a health rating of B. LOL! Well, it was still good)
Tomorrow, Mark and I both have Presidents Day off. w00t! Too bad its supposed to rain. Grrrr! Oh well, we will still have fun!
Me and My Prince Charming
As always, the rest of my Valentines Day pictures can be found HERE.
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V Day is on the Way!
true to our nature of never celebrating holidays on their appointed date, Mark and I will be having our Valentines Day on Tuesday (the 13th). I have the day off work so we've planned to go to Disneyland (because we couldn't think of anything else that wasn't expensive. LOL!) and then dinner at El Torito. AND I get a 10% discount there with my AA card so you can't beat that. I'm sooooo looking forward to mexican food. It's my one day I can cheat. I have to be good for the next 3 months until WDW so I can be beautiful for my Marffy AND so that when I look back at pictures of myself I'm don't think "Ugh. I'm fat!" AND so that I feel better and am healthier because I can always eat better. My new favorite snack is a tomato sliced and sprinkled with a little bit of salt. Mmmm! Its better than potato chips.
And speaking of WDW, the room is reserved. We ended up with All-Star Sports which isn't what we really wanted but CM discounts were fillng up fast and that's what was left. But on the bright side its the first on and first off on that bus route and we paid about 6 bucks more a night to upgrade to the "premium" area which is themed to Surfing. So that is pretty cool. I'm glad about that. And plane tickets are bought. Now its time to go into super save mode (which is a heck of a lot harder to do if Ramen isn't on your diet.)
Hope you all have a super duper Valentines Day!
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