Poiple (a.k.a. Purple)

That's how my grandfather used to say it when he wanted to be silly: "Poiple". Curly, of the Three Stooges, also said it that way on occasion. Curly and my grandfather, to me, are one in the same person. My grandfather slightly resembled Curly, with his peach fuzz hair, crooked grin, and general goofiness.

And my personal favorite "poiple" relevance:
My father works at SJMMC (St. John's Mercy Medical Center, for those of you not familiar with the acronym) in Safety and Security. Since both of us have desk jobs (me more so than he), we sometimes spend a good deal of our respective days at work sending each other silly emails, quizzes, and forwards. I have to say, I've learned a lot about my father through these goofy quizzes he always responds to. Anywho. One day I sent him one of those generic "Things You Never Knew" emails with all kinds of random facts: i.e., you can't lick your elbow. (Go ahead and try, for shits and giggles.)

One of the "things you never knew" was, "There are no words that rhyme with 'purple' or 'orange'." And my father responds with, "Who wrote this thing, anyway??? Don't they know there IS a word that rhymes with purple??? 'Purple, purple, had to burple.' DUH."

Did anyone else ever hear those monster "rhymes" in grade school? We had a different color each week, in Kindergarten, I believe. The teacher would pass out a picture of a monster with a different color rhyme, and we had to color the monster correctly. For instance:

Red, red, lost his head.
Orange, orange, squished an orange. (Clever, huh?)
Pink, pink, sat in the sink.

And this was always my favorite:
Purple, purple, had to burple.

I always loved that one because "burple" was just such a cool word, and oh so much fun to say!

BLUE!

I think I'm a week behind the other color-blogging posters. So this week, folks, you get a DOUBLE DASH of color!!! *oooooh*

My favorite color just so happens to be blue. It is also Dustin's. Hence, one of the main colors...

...at our wedding!

Dustin's a HUGE New York Yankees fan (I don't mind them so much, either ;-) so we agreed on "Yankee blue" and silver as our colors. (The bridesmaid's dresses weren't quite the same color as the Bronx Bombers' uniforms, but it was too pretty of a color and style to pass up!)

Blue flowers and ribbons in the bouqets...

...and on the home-made pew decorations (thanks to my creative-savvy mother-in-law, Donna):

There were also BLUE and silver balloons, confetti, tissue paper in decorations, etc.

Blue was also the color of the shirt...worn by our very dear friend who ALSO agreed to be our FABULOUS pianist for our wedding...

None other than Mr. C2 himself!!

Hope everyone has a better Monday than I'm having so far!!!

I Love My Husband

Surprise, surprise, right? You might even be thinking, "Well, duh. Isn't that why you married him??"

To our close friends, it's no secret that we have had some financial troubles since...oh, well, since we first got together. We FINALLY came to realize the error of our ways a few years back, and are now slooooowly taking steps to right the wrongs. Anywho. Valentine's Days are usually traditional "dinner and a movie" nights for us, seeing as all the extra hullabaloo (roses, chocolates, cards, etc.) can get pretty pricey. That, and the fact that I have threatened my husband bodily harm if he were to spend an exorbitant amount of money on roses for Valentine's Day.

Let me digress for a moment on that topic. As much as I hate to admit it, I secretly LOVE flowers. LOVE getting them, looking at them, smelling, ooh-ing and aah-ing over them. However, my theory for no roses on V Day is this: 1) they are too damn expensive, seeing as many florists buck up the cost simply because it's Valentine's Day; 2) if you want to get me roses, get them on your way home from work and surprise me--don't get them because it's something you're "supposed" to do; 3) if you REALLY MUST get me flowers on V Day, get ANY OTHER KIND of flowers other than roses at the grocery store for $10--my faves are Gerbera Daisies, by the way. :-) Tulips are nice, too...

So last night. We go to dinner at Friday's--all the way out on Olive bc the one on Lindbergh is closed...unbeknownst to us until we had already driven there. On the way there, I come up with a game: tell me 26 things that you love about me (and I'll do the same)...in alphabetical order, one word or quick phrase for each letter of the alphabet. Some included "attitude", "beautiful", "I love you", and "laugh".

After dinner we head to Target, as I have a gift card. I buy a little somethin' somethin', then we head to the Valentine's section--which I may add will be HUGELY discounted tomorrow. (People, stock up for next year NOW!! ha) In lieu of buying each other little gifts and cards (we do that enough throughout the year), we each pick out a card for the other...and read them right there in the store! Cheesy, maybe. Money saver and goofy? Yes. :-)

I'm so glad I have a husband who's as big of a kid, and as goofy as me!!! Love you, dear. HOpe everyone had a nice Valentine's Day, however you chose to celebrate it.

It's Not Easy Being Green

So many things come to mind for the color green...

St. Patrick's Day, of course.

Generally seen by the frat generation in St. Louis as just another "holiday" excuse to get drunk (especially for those in Dogtown), St. Patty's Day is a little more somber for me. My grandfather (on my mom's side) passed away on that day eight years ago. I try to have a good time on St. Patrick's Day--on the rare occasions we go out and celebrate with various assortments of green food and beverage--but I can't help but think of him even more on that particular day. (More so than usual.) What a wonderful guy he was. There isn't a day that goes by that he's not in my thoughts and in my heart.

Four leaf clovers.
I find them every now and again; the most recent time being when DB's SAT did "Cats" 2 years ago. Back to grandpa for a minute, he used to come to my shows for the Sunday matinee performances. Every matinee show I've performed in since he's passed has been difficult, because part of me still expects to look out and see him smiling proudly in the audience. So during "Cats", the final show, I was sitting outside on the picnic table and happened to glance at the ground. There, right next to each other, were two perfect four leaf clovers. Call me silly, call me a dreamer, call it reaching. But I KNEW in my heart those were from my grandpa. One to wish me a good show, the other to tell me how proud of me he was, is, and always will be.

St. Timothy Catholic Church & School
My grade school. Once St. Timothy closed to merge with 2 or 3 other local parishes, the building became a gym / sort of rec center / worship center(?). I grew up in the parish, played soccer, softball, and basketball, and was proud to wear the green, white, and yellow uniforms with the 3 leaf clover on the front of the jerseys. I remember the typical Catholic school girl uniform (DEFINITELY not looking like some men's sexual fantasy version of said uniform) that was a jumper / blouse combo from K - 4th grade, and a skirt / blouse combo from 5th-8th. Penny loafers and knee high socks completed the jumper look, while Umbro shorts were all the rage to wear under your skirt once you hit the "big time" side of the hall.

Kermit the Frog
Because after all, it's not easy being green.

The Wizard of Oz.
A classic children's tale that's been somewhat reinvented with the introduction of the musical "Wicked" a few years back. I've always loved this movie...
world weary, lifelong friends you stumble across in the woods (my favorite was always the Scarecrow :-)

an ENTIRE city made of green

Ms. Margaret Hamilton as the Evil Ms. Gulch / Wicked Witch of the West

"Wicked", I have to say, has brought it to a whole new light for me. I fell in love with the original story all over again, as well as falling in love with the story of "Wicked"--what happened before Dorothy dropped in.
After all, the lovely and ever so talented Idina Menzel plays my favorite character (Elphaba)--and thereby sings, in my opinion, the best songs in the show.

...and have since become slightly obsessed.
I have the Wizard of Oz collectible Barbies

Wizard of Oz Cherished Teddies

Salt & pepper shakers from Avon--one being Glinda's crown, the other being the Wicked Witch's hat
Not to mention tin signs, plastic figures, and several ornaments.
If anyone would like to shop for me, I really REALLY want this:

The smaller, desktop version would do as well. :-)

"Lello"...

...is how my younger brother used to say "yellow" before he mastered the correct pronunciation. (How quickly time flies...I can't believe he's 20...)

...reminds me of foot cramps from dancing. And only because I JUST found out early last year that the potassium found in bananas helps ease said cramps.

...makes me think of monkeys, too! For no reason other than the fact that they EAT bananas.

...is also how certain members of my immediate and extended family answer the phone: "Yello?"

...we color code our doctors folders here at the office, just to keep things flowing a little more smoothly. (i.e., DePaul doctors' folders are purple, Kindred are red, Missouri Baptist are green, etc.) Christian Northeast's folders just happen to be yellow. And right now they are bursting at the seams with paperwork!! Looks like I have a busy week ahead of me...