That’s life

If something didn't go wrong, would it be a Mangiaracina holiday?

Hours of preparation yesterday. Dealt with Operation Cold Turkey (aka the bird did not want to thaw). Today, I woke up with a cold, the kitchen sink flooded out on the floor and now something fell into my chimney and is quite loud.

Yayyy.

I mean, I could feel defeated like the universe is out to get me. But it's life. In just a few hours, my home will be filled with chaos, love and laughter.

Not much more you need than that. Ok, well, I also made some pretty epic mashed potatoes…so there's that.

It’s that time of year

House full of joy, check. Unexpected, but welcome visitors filling the space. Priceless.

Go Birds

Me: I'm not going to watch the whole game bc I need to be up early.
Also me at 11 pm: ahhhhh, gooooooooo!!!

I don't know who the Birds have as a silent pharma partner, but they definitely have a BP drug bc they're killing me.

One of the best things that have happened over the past two years, has been having my family loving the game. When it’s not a late game, we’re together and when it is late, the text chain is fire. It’s been a blast watching my parents be so excited to the point that I got calls that my mom didn’t socialize last Christmas bc she was glued to the screen. 

So much fun. 

Ever wish

I just want to yell "Don't walk. Run. Danger!" I wish I could warn people who don't deserve to be hurt. I wish I could reach out. Just let it go.

If you leave, don’t look back

IYKYK… if not, it's a movie education moment. 

Blane: You couldn't buy her, though, that's what's killing you, isn't it? Stef? That's it, Stef. She thinks you're shit. And deep down, you know she's right.

Be the change

"To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." 

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sweet. Baby. Jesus.

"So, a convicted felon, bear-shooting vaccine skeptic and an alleged human trafficker walk into a bar"… except that bar is what governs us… yay, 51% of America.

To one person, you may be the world

Random memory…when I was 15ish, my parents gave me free rein (3rd child, with a 10 year difference). Any who, I spent the weekend down the shore. My friends and I wound up at a surfers' crash pad.

We were up very late. All of us walked around ocean city for hours. There was the sweetest guy who was part of the group and walked along side of me picking a flower from every house we walked past until he had a bouquet to hand to me.

Did I realize how sweet that was? Nope. Instead, I called my ex who took his current girlfriend to the U2 concert that came and met me at the house. But I remember it. I'm grateful for it. He was so proud of himself.

Reasons I'm an idiot. Better headline.

Taking it on the chin

I'm processing many emotions today. For whatever reason, this loss felt worse than Hillary's. Maybe it's because during 2016 I was in upstate NY and realized there was no way she would win. Or it could be my hope that 8 years and one female VP later I thought maybe we evolved.

As I said to my friends this morning, it's nothing new, that a significant amount of men don't think women can lead. The shocking thing is how many women feel the same. That's where the devastation comes in.

But, I think it may be more than that. I was trying to remember the last time I felt this sad, confused and dejected. I got it now. It was when a female judge sentenced me to a year of hurt because she didn't want to deal with the awful, annoying, destructive male lawyer involved. If it wasn't for the retired male judge and spending most of my retirement savings, I'd be going through a trial as I write this.  

The majority of Americans chose a convicted felon over a woman. Convicted of hush money and sexual harassment. How do you even begin to explain that to the young woman in your life? 

And potentially worse, he promises to unleash a man with no healthcare background to "go wild" tearing up healthcare, banning vaccines and removing fluoride from the water. W.T.F. 

And, perhaps, worst of all, when I brought these simple points up to Republican friends, they either didn't know them, didn't care or said "well, he may not do that."

People. The man has promised one thing... he does exactly what he says he's going to do. 

The proof is in the p****y grab.

sigh... 

Just keep swimming

I'm trying so hard to avoid the news since the only thing I can guarantee is that we won't know who our next president is anytime soon.

I double downed on random acts of kindness instead. I treated the front desk lady at my salon with bubbly and gifts tonight. It was nothing crazy, but apparently it was what she needed.

Win, lose or draw, we will never get better as a united people unless we realize we're all human, we all just want a random act of kindness.

I don't care who you voted for, I'm glad you voted. I care that you do your best to make the world better than how you found it.

Be nice. Even if all you can muster is a smile or a good morning. Just do it.

After all, we're all we got.

Forever your girl

1/2 of my boys in one shot. Can't thank you enough!

Where's the fire?

This has been bothering me for a while now. I had an amazing divorce party after my first. It took years, but the lawn returned to replace the hole where my friends burnt everything that remained. I was so eager to have that party, I even had party favors which were countless pictures of me that were left behind and we played a game of "is that smile real?" (Spoiler alert: not many were.)

You would think for the second time, I would want to go bigger. I had plans to rent hatchet-throwing cages and a food truck. There is much more to burn this time as well and the group of people that have been waiting grew well beyond the last group. So what happened?

I'm not sure. Hosting a party is not a problem, I still have my annual set list of ugly sweater, Thanksgiving and Super Bowl. Nothing has changed, save for all my friends from different parts of my life are much closer and know each other much better. My friends are all friends, which I love. It's rare that I go out, like to a brewery with one group and don't bump into the other. 

After thinking about this for a bit, I think the issue is that as much as I want to have that rage release for my friends, I don't want to give the situation any more of my energy. A fire grows when it has oxygen and enough of my air supply was stolen for 18+ months - in addition to my bankroll. It's no longer worth it to me. I've already donated most items including my wedding dress and tossed what no one would take. 

I guess it's true that the opposite of love is indifference. I have no feeling left and certainly nothing that warrants a celebration.

We'll stick to the other parties for now... I'd rather spend my time making new memories than relieving crappy old ones.

Onward!

-G

Past lives

"We are evaluating all of the factors to see whose behavior fault can be assigned to." 

This quote sums up both my marriages and thankfully, I'm at the point where I find it funny. 

Consistency is key

I found myself saying "oh to be 16 again..." during a recent conversation. Before I could even say "meh, nevermind" my bestie chimed in with "who are you kidding? you're exactly the same!"

That's quite a compliment to me. Some may take that as "oh, she never grew up," but that's not what she meant. She meant that I've been the same person with the same qualities of loyalty and unconditional love…oh and fun. I would rate my fun-ness above all else.

Antidotes to antioxidants

I've had some great produce this summer, but too much for one person so I decided to freeze what I didn't eat. I've made some great protein smoothies, but who would I be if I didn't decide to experiment!

I can confirm that using frozen blueberries in bourbon is fantastic.

Antidote!

I finally found an antidote for my sports Tourette's…assembling furniture! Another weekend of watching my birds play like hot garbage, I decided to do some home upgrades. It turns out that if I have to concentrate with an Allen wrench, I'm less likely to break things. Woohoo!

Yes.

Still gets me…

I say this at least daily.

Holly Hunter

Almost a year with this sweet angel who is an amalgam of all my dogs and so much more. This sweet, not as advertised, girl is my world. She makes me laugh daily, loves unconditionally and manages to fill a hole in my heart. I wasn’t looking for love, but she found me anyway. My Velcro pup who is a social butterfly and on the downside a hunter. We’re working on the live food diet of squirrel and rabbit…

Grateful every day for the people who knew I needed her before I realized I did. 

Sunday funday and more!

Is life perfect? Never. Is it peaceful and fun? Yup! Another beautiful weekend…going bananas. Literally! 

When I was a little PR baby in NYC, it came with ridiculous perks…art openings at the Guggenheim, galas at Tavern on the Green, SNL tickets. 

I was too tired to enjoy how cool these things were but my sister loved them. 

Working with small biotechs do esnot come with the same treats - not that I don't love what I do, tut here's not much wow factor unless someone wants to join a clinical trial. 

Anyway, I overheard my bestie had extra Savannah Banana tickets and I nearly took out the person to whom she was speaking to grab them. My sister has been obsessed since the dawn of TikTok, so much so that when I said this was her birthday gift, she was thrilled.

What. A. Show! We were able to take my favorite little man's mom with us for a simply delightful night and also pregame with my bestie's entire fam including my 1/3.

Just a blast. Then I had arranged for Birds watching on Sunday Funday here, complete with my famous Hawaiian pork. Thankfully, both turned out to be winners. (My TV is more thankful than me).