Ten means ten, for ten, of course!!

That's how much these fingerprints cost, one of the steps required to change your name. It is time alas to return to Mary Trivisonno. My kids gave me the gift of name change for my birthday last year, and getting these prints was the final step before submitting the legal paperwork. OK, Ian submitting; thank you Ian!! I really should have had more kids, they are so damn helpful now that they are adults. Had I considered this role reversal, I may have had more. Could have spread out all my SOS calls. But as always, I digress!

The prints are made at Lex. County Sheriff Department, a large complex just a tad intimidating. Three buildings: Court, Detention, and Administration. Obviously, I chose the latter. Nervously, I explained I needed fingerprints FOR A NAME CHANGE, in case anyone in ear shot really cared. I was told "over to detention" (fondly conjuring up high school escapades and the repercussions).

Here, the guys stay behind glass, wielding weapons. Again, nervously I explain I need fingerprints FOR A NAME CHANGE. And here is the scenario between heavily armed man (HAM) and little old me (LOM). Bear in mind HAM is strictly monotone.

HAM: I need your license and ten dollars
LOM: Here you go sir (smiling as I handed him my license and a twenty)
HAM: No change
LOM: Oh, well, OK maybe I can make ten (counting my loose bills and change I only come up with $9.50)

Needing only 50 mere cents, I panhandle attorneys visiting their clients and other fingerprint seekers, with no success--- oh yes I did.

LOM:Um sir, I hate to have to drive here again, I will go look for more change in my car (to which he does not reply!)

I find some change, return, get back in line. I am not sure why everyone else needs fingerprints; normally I would be mildly curious but now I just want to get it done and leave, I am starting to get a little nervous in the detention center for this long.

HAM: You are back
LOM: Yes sir (as I hand him my license, a five, three ones and two dollars in change- change he knows I have been scrounging to get!!)
HAM: We don't take coins, bills only.
LOM: You have got to be kidding, what the hell, take this money, you KNOW I have been looking for change, make my fingerprints...NOW!!!! (OK, not really, but I thought it)

In actuality, I again implore my fellow detainees for help.

Mercifully (a bit dramatic but I am tired of loudly explaining NAME CHANGE, bumming money, and it is getting crowded) someone comes up with two one dollar BILLS and I get fingerprinted!

Ringrazi il dio! A little closer to Mary T.

Just how much these women have in common?

Mary, Sherri & Sherri (or as we call ourselves, the ARIs)

This was our annual Christmas party! Delicious meal courtesy of host Sherri S. We even had three guests; two daughters of Sherri S. and a friend of Sherri R (who agreed to come, as she "doesn't have a life right now"). Hmmm, trying not to take tooooo much offense!!

I decided to bring that sweatshirt out of it's 20 + year retirement.........I know, I am not sure why either. Nor am I sure why I still own it; that thing survived two moves AND numerous closet purgings. The pony tail just added to my 80's look!! I made that awesome original back in my sweatshirt painting days. I wish I had a scanner so I could show you an old family photo where EVERY woman and child was sporting the fruits of my labor!! Yep, 12 of us in wearable art!!! But as usual, I digress!

Just how much DO we have in common, besides of course our rhyming names??
1. We know first hand just how hard divorce is and the impact on our kids.
2. Single, fifty-ish; divorced within a few years of each other. Understand the perils of dating at our age.
3. Were all stay at home moms.
4. Saw the same counselor to maintain some sanity. Questionable results.
5. Hired the same divorce attorney.
6. Hurt and commiserate in a way few others can, especially when our exes mess with our kids!
7. Love and adore our poodle mix dogs! Took dogs trick or treating one year: dogs dressed up, we did not.

I love these girls! We will drop everything for an emergency ARI meeting! Sometimes these meetings make Original Bob look pretty good....... assuming of course I am not the one to call the meeting to order!

I have more than my share of water issues!!

Remember David the water man? He's baaaaaaaaaaaack! Which would explain why early Saturday evening I was standing barefoot in the rain, wearing only a giant robe (commando at last), talking to David on my cell phone and listening to a rock! Definitely no picture with this post, the visual is bad enough!

Explanation: In case my never-at-home neighbors were actually home, or you worry I have lost even more of my mind!!

I was about 60 seconds into my shower when the water stopped. I draw water from the lake and I could see there was still plenty out there! Obviously I called David, who so far still answers my calls 24/7. In an effort to diagnose the problem, he asked me to check if the pump was running. Said pump is under a faux rock in my back yard, and was indeed running! And that explains it.

David instructed me on which breaker to turn off and promised he would be out in the morning. I always confuse the breakers for the water and septic system; could be bad!

Problem resolved Sunday as I was in mass fervently praying for water. Water restored thirty minutes before my two 88 year old church lady friends came over for lunch! And speaking of them, they kick ass at Scrabble!

David tried to explain but it made no sense at all.........really I will just call!

There is no one like mom!

Mom
Next to Mom is my favorite ornament that hung on our Christmas tree while I was growing up. She gave it to me when I left home.

Needlepoint stockings she made. Every grandchild has one!

Ceramic nativity Mom made for me in 1979!

I miss my mom every day, but if possible, I miss her more at Christmas. She loved Christmas! She loved to shop, decorate, and host all of us, especially the grand kids. Mom would wait on them tirelessly hand and foot, she was so proud of them. Nothing made her happier than having the whole group together.

Mom always had a hard time making decisions. That is probably an understatement, she agonized over every decision she had to make. Sometimes this drove me nuts, but never at Christmas! Because..........when she couldn't make a definite decision about a gift, she bought two, or three spares. A regular event of our gift opening (we are a one-at-a-time family) was mom scurrying off exclaiming "wait, I have another____ under my bed"....color, size, whatever was the root of her indecision!

And at the end of it all , she always exclaimed "I'd say we all had a nice Christmas!!"

We still say it of course, and my Dad does a great job of keeping her spirit alive, decorating the house, waiting on the grand kids, etc but.... well, there is no one like Mom.

The three men I admire most (after the Father, Son and Holy Ghost)

Lee, Sam & David

OK, not RIGHT after The Father, Son and Holy Ghost (who can name that song btw??) Of course right after F,S & HG would be the awesome men in my family and wonderful guy friends (who are married to my wonderful girlfriends); but these men are high on my list!!

Lee (the bug man), Sam (the yard man), and David (the water man).

When one lives alone and wrestles seemingly constantly with man issues (not of the dating kind) you must have some professionals to call upon, lest you wear out family and friends. These three guys have been helping me out for 20, 15, and 12 years, respectively. All three are in my cell phone! All three know I am apt to call at any time! I can pretty much fit any "issue" into one of their three areas of expertise. I know it is a stretch, they know it is stretch, but it has been working......... until now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sam is leaving me, for a bunch of bees!! He is getting out of the landscaping business so he can focus full-time on bee keeping. It feels like a divorce all over again, maybe even worse, Sam and I get along great!! OK, not worse.

He promised I could continue to call him, he just won't take care of my yard anymore!! He tried to make me feel better by saying if he kept just one yard, it would be mine. Didn't help!

Not only do I need a new yard man, this could strain my relationship with David and Lee; I will now have to fit everything into only two categories!! Oh my!!

Name that song answer: American Pie

And the three men I admire most:
The father, son, and the holy ghost,
They caught the last train for the coast
(and took Sam with them)
The day the music died.

And we were singing,
Bye Bye Miss American Pie,
Drove my Chevy to the levy...................

God is crafty indeed!!!! Happy Sunday!!

The heavens declare the glory of God,
the sky proclaims its builder's craft.
Psalm 19:2

What happens when you eat asparagus? And I LOVE Google!!!!

I don't eat a lot of asparagus, but when I do it does odd things to my body. If it does the same to yours, then you know EXACTLY what I am talking about here. But, if you have no clue, you are missing either the gene to break asparagus down to it's, uh smelly components, or you don't have the gene to recognize (smell) this urine phenomenon. Apparently I have been blessed with both; lucky me!!!

Seriously, who knew?? I love Google because I knew there was something going on here!!!

Read more: How Does Asparagus Make Urine Smell? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4586963_asparagus-urine-smell.html#ixzz17jurWlER