Life’s Little Moments

It seems like it’s been a while since I posted a non-music/personal blog. Believe me, it is not because of a lack of things going on! It seems like my wife and I have been on the go constantly with the craziness of every day life. So here is a brief update:

Happy Anniversary!

It certainly does not feel like it has been seven years, but who am I to question WordPress? Today marks 7 years of blogging on this platform for me.

This blog has been such an important part of my life the last 7 years. Those who have been with me from the beginning know that it started as my place to vent. Then I began sharing memories that I wanted to document before I couldn’t remember them anymore. Then I began to sprinkle in music, movies and entertainment themed pieces. Over time, I added features and that sort of brings us to where this blog is today.

This blog began shortly before I got remarried. The story of our courtship, proposal and wedding are chronicled here. The roads that led to the excitement and wonder of the birth of our two children are also well documented. Highlights from the last 7 years are here for future reference. The blogs here hold answers to questions my kids might have. These are for the future, just in case I am not around to share them.

I am so grateful to have this place in the Blog-o-verse/Blog-o-sphere to share things. I am happy to have connected with wonderful people – LIKE YOU – who interact with me, share your stories and offer encouragement. Thank you!

Kid Stuff

The entire country is experiencing the cold weather and many places are seeing snow for the first time in ages. I was surprised to see the snow on Pensacola Beach! There were plenty of snowy photos from my friends in the southern states on Facebook.

The cold temperatures canceled the entire week of school for my daughter. She loves school, so she was sad to miss. However, it did allow her and my son to join my wife and her mom at the local Children’s Museum. They had a blast spending the day there. She told me all about it when I got home.

They had a dress up area and a “carriage” that she got to ride in. All princesses need a carriage, right?

We have been waiting to get my son in for his CPAP sleep study. Our lab has been so busy that their first available appointment was in February. The problem is, we wanted it done before his appointment with the sleep neurologist next week. Thankfully, I heard that we had a couple cancellations this week. I called my wife and asked if she could come in that night with him. She was at Dance rehearsal with my daughter. So we made some arrangements and were able to get him in.

He wore CPAP for a short while when he was about 2 years old. He has since had adenoids removed and tonsils shaved. There is still apnea, so we thought it best to try the PAP route again.

Side Note: As a sleep technologist, I can tell you that there are plenty of adults who have trouble with CPAP. When people hear that my son (or any child) is on CPAP, they wonder how they do it! I think my son is a bit more prepared as I wear CPAP and my mask every night. He thinks he’s gonna be cool like dad with his mask.

This time around it was a bit more difficult for him. He was waking up WAY more than he did before. It was strange, because he has done it before. This time, however, he comes in with a diagnosis of Restless Leg Syndrome/Periodic Limb Movement Disorder. His arms and legs seem to move constantly!

Midway through the study, the tech asked my wife if this was what he did at home. In conversation, she happened to mention that his breathing looked shallow and wanted to know about any respiratory weakness. My wife said that he was working on core muscles in physical therapy. That was all the tech needed to know.

She returned to the tech room and adjusted the settings to ones we use for people with neuromuscular weakness. With a couple tweaks of the setting, my son settled and slept! Now all we have to do is wait for the doc to finalize the results. When finished, they will send over the script for the new machine. With that, my wife and I may actually sleep at night!

He was SO tired here!

Numb

You may recall that I have been suffering with numbness in my hands since the weekend after Christmas. At one point there was swelling, too. After a visit to my PCP, I was given a referral to another doctor in hopes of getting answers. This might include getting an EMG done.

I scheduled that appointment and it is finally happening next week. The problem I am having is that the numbness in my right hand is almost gone. Now there is just pain in the finger tips. My left had still has numbness mainly in the fingers. The pain and numbness is worse when I get up for the day. As much as I wish it would go away completely, I hope it is still there when I visit the doctor.

Favorite Childhood Book

I will begin posting the contributions from other bloggers for Share Your Nostalgia Part 2 the first week of February. It isn’t too late if you want to take part. The topic is to write about your favorite book from your childhood. It could be one your parents read you or the first book you checked out of the library. It could be one that you read to your children as they grew up. If interested, drop me a note at: nostalgicitalian@yahoo.com

Time Off – But Not For Fun

I am hoping to work ahead on the blog. At the end of February and early March I am taking time off work. My wife is having some surgery and I will need to be home with her. She’s not going to be able to do much, and I will have to play referee to the kids. She’ll be in a lot of pain, and so I need to be there with her. I’d appreciate if you would keep her in your thoughts.

I will try to post updates as I am able during that time.

Thanks so much for reading!

Life’s Little Moments

I woke up yesterday morning to exactly what I expected in regard to social media. One side gloating and the other angry. Honestly, if the outcome had been different, it would have been the same way, just the other way around. It was the same here on WordPress, and because of that, I promise that this will be the last mention of politics on my blog for a very long time! Besides, I have other things to write about.

Bagging It Up

This past weekend, the weather was nice. So I decided that it was the perfect day to rearrange the garage. Every Spring and Fall I do this. I make sure that whatever seasonal machine I need is close to the door (snow blower or lawn mower). In the fall, I also put the lawn furniture and barbeque in the garage, so I need to make room for them, too.

I pulled everything out of the garage and began to go through some of the boxes that were in there. I condensed things from one box to another and rearranged them on the shelf. Then I moved some of the other things closer to the wall to make room for everything else. There were some bags of clothes that I was supposed to take to Goodwill and forgot about, and the mice got to them, so I wound up throwing them away.

As someone who likes to keep things, mostly for sentimental reasons, I admit it was nice to throw a bunch of the stuff away. There was so much cardboard in there, I couldn’t wait to get rid of it. I found a place for my toolboxes that will be much easier to access, and hung a bunch of tools up on the walls.

Once this was done (three hours later), I decided to start bagging leaves. I had gone out and bought bags and was finally able to start getting them up. I must have looked like a fool, as I was using my snow shovel as a “dustpan” for the leaves! It fits perfectly in the top of the leaf bags and makes it a little less messier.

15 bags later, my back was screaming at me to stop. I had really hoped that I could get it all done, but I was done. As I counted the bags, I thought, “Well, I have got to have most of it all bagged up!”

Uh, no. The above piles are just two of the 7 that are still around the front and back yards. Maybe this weekend I can finish?

I Was a Lions Fan Before It Was Cool

As a fan of the Detroit Lions, I have to admit that it is nice to have a team worth talking about! We’ve waited so long for this. Dan Campbell has really got our team doing well. When it came time to play the Packers last weekend, there was plenty of talk about how the Lions would lose on the road.

They came out and played some great football. The games are a lot of fun to watch because I never know what they are going to pull out of their helmets! When St. Brown scored a TD last weekend, I saw the “headstand” he did in the end zone and chuckled. Then I saw the photos online and I thought, “THAT is a fantastic picture!”

During the broadcast, they cut to a Lions fan who was wearing a cheese grater hat. For those who don’t know, the Packer fans are often called Cheese Heads and wear Cheese hats. I love this guy for wearing this and going viral on the internet! He had no idea until after the game, obviously, because he posted this:

Kudos Mr. Bodine! Kudos!

The Lions are 7-1 and I am enjoying the season! I am enjoying it so much, I asked AI to make me a Detroit Lion:

HOLY MACKERAL! I look fantastic!! I’m skinny, muscular, and handsome as ever! Put me in, coach! (Whoops, wrong sport.)

Make Yourself at Home

Sunday night, I got the kids to bed early. The school break was over and it was back into our routine Monday morning. Everyone decided to crash in our bed that night. I guess I woke up about midnight and as I changed positions in bed, I had to laugh. Andrew was next to me, Ella was in Sam’s spot and smack dab in the middle of them was our kitten, Bitsy!

She looks like she is very comfortable! No wonder I was falling out of bed!

Hope you are having a great week!

Cast the Movie of Your Life

The Word Press App on my phone will offer a daily writing prompt to bloggers. I subscribe to a few “prompt” emails and such, and they can certainly be thought starters. Today’s prompt was one I had considered before and I may have even been asked a similar question by a Facebook friend. The prompt:

They are making a movie about your life. Cast it. (Keith adds – with any actors living or dead)

My thoughts on this are to jot down what comes to mind immediately for some (not all) of my family, and a few friends (other friends may request I suggest an actor/actress for them if they really want me to). I will then continue to ponder the question and see if, after thinking it over, I would change any of my choices.

Dom Deluise – No Brainer. This has always been my answer to this question!

My wife, Sam –

This was tough. I tried to think of who might look like her and carry herself like Sam. Toss up between Charlize Theron and Olivia Wilde.

My Dad

I’m not sure there would be any better than Jackie Gleason to play my dad

My Mom

Who in the world could play my mom? Tough question and still not really sure, but I forced myself to pick someone. At times, Cathy Bates’ facial expressions remind me of her, so for now – that’ my pick.

My Brother – Chris

Really difficult pick. So just because it will either make him laugh (and he needs that, because he is recovering from Covid) or it will make him mad… William Shatner (Because I wanted to post this stupid picture!)

My Grandma and Grandpa P

Estelle Getty on Golden Girls WAS my grandma! I always felt Abe Vigoda looked like my grandpa, so there ya go.

My Grandma and Grandpa D.

I have always felt like at times, Betty White reminded me of my grandma. My grandpa was tall, a bit heavy, and always smiling. John Goodman reminds me of him.

My best friend, Jeff

Another no brainer. I’ve said for years that he reminds me of Robin Williams.

My friend Steve K.

Steve always has some sort of crazy fact that seems unbelievable to tell. So, he would be John Ratzenberger – but John Ratzenberger AS Cliff Claven from Cheers.

My friend Joe K.

Joe is probably one of the smartest guys I know. At first, I couldn’t get Jeff Goldblum out of my head, and then I though Rainn Wilson is a bit more “Joe” to me.

My friend Steve M.

Steve and I wear our hair the same. My first choice was Vin Diesel, but then I though Michael Chiklis looked more like him (and he played Curly in a Three Stooges movie, so he wins).

My friend Margaret M.

She’s Italian. She’s fiesty. She is strong. She is an expert at inserting profanity into conversation. Without a doubt – Marisa Tomei.

My friend, Chris B,

Tall and funny = Conan O’Brien

Uh …… I’m Stumped

Now, as far as my kids …. I’m just not sure. My older boys (Dante’ and Dimitri) have personalities that are very established. Ella does in a sense as well. Andrew is just a smiling happy baby. How do I begin to pick who will play them? I just don’t know….

It’s my blog and my rules. Let me think a bit on this ….

If I left you out …. and you want me to think about who will play you – let me know. In the meantime ….

Go ahead and cast YOUR life. Who would play YOU?

My Christmas Wish To You

With Christmas just days away, I thought I would take a moment and write a Christmas wish to you. Yes, you. Many of my followers are friends on Facebook, however, there are many of you who only know me from this blog. I wanted to be sure to extend holiday wishes to you before I got too busy with Christmas things.

I really had hoped to come up with some deep and meaningful wish, but I can’t seem to find the right words. Let me start with this: For my blogger friends – I appreciate you. I am glad to have made your acquaintance through mutual likes (movies, music, TV, etc…). I hope you enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoy reading yours. I may not get the chance to comment or “like” each one of them, but I do find time to read them.

For my family and friends who are connected through Facebook or social media, I am grateful for you, too. Even though we do not get to see each other face to face, I laugh at your funny posts, I smile at your family photos, I pray when you request special prayers, and I cry when you experience sadness or tragedy. I send my love to each of you.

For Christmas 2021, I wish for you:

C – Carols and music. May the sounds of the season accompany your holiday gatherings.

H – Health and happiness. May you be blessed with good health and an over abundance of happiness!

R – Rest and relaxation. May you find time to rest, relax and recharge before heading back to the grind.

I – Innocence. May you take in things that are so often overlooked with the awe, wonder, and innocence of a child. Notice those things – and treasure them.

S – Surrounded by family and friends. May you share all of your holiday season amongst those who mean the most to you.

T – Traditions. May you enjoy old traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation as well as start new ones to pass down next year.

M – Memories. May you make many happy memories together and recall memories from Christmases gone by.

A – Appreciation. May you celebrate this Christmas with an appreciation for all you have, no matter how big or how small.

S – Savior. May you celebrate the Savior this Christmas. Yes, the world is celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, but it is also important to remember that the Baby in the manger grew up to be a sinless Man. That sinless Man, was crucified for you and for me. He bore all of our sins on the cross so that we could have eternal life.

I Corinthians 15: 1-4

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

²By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

³For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

⁴And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

A Musical Wish

I have never heard of Katherine Jenkins. She is a Welsh opera singer who performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns. I was scanning through channels of Sirius XM and heard this song this week. I felt like it was a good one to share and conveyed what I might not be able to put into words.

I wish you starlight on fields of snow
The winter’s morning light and evening’s glow;
I wish you candles that shine from every tree
So all the world can see
The light that there could be

I wish you music, I wish you song
With voices echoing, Joyous and strong;
I wish you church bells, ringing true and clear;
I wish you Christmas, a merry Christmas
A merry Christmas to remember all the year

Old friends smiling
Thinking of times gone by;
Young friends laughing:
Christmas is here
Spirits are bright
And hopes are high

I wish you loved ones around your fire;
May Christmas bring you all your heart’s desire
I wish you children to make the season new
With dreams you help come true
Just like it was for you

I wish you blessings, I wish you love
The sound of angel choirs from high above;
I wish you laughter, happiness and cheer:
I wish you Christmas, a merry Christmas
And may its joy and peace be with you through the year

I wish you music, I wish you song;
I wish you harmony your whole life long;
The warmth of memories that long remain:
I wish you Christmas, a merry Christmas
And may God bless you till we all shall meet again

Merry Christmas from your nostalgic Italian friend,

Keith