Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)

it has been a long time since i heard this tune, but that does not mean that i have not been looking for it. the song is to the left (under music of the moment), so press play. its the words that make me think. so, here they are. maybe you would like it too.
listen to it and read along.

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97:

Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)

From Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich's column on June 1, 1997

Adapted into a song in the album Baz Luhrmann Presents Something for Everybody

Snow, Snow -Go Away!

Well, we woke up to at least 7 inches of snow and it is still coming down. I am so over the winter. Last week we had a 60 degree sunny day and I had soo much energy it was awesome. I know spring will be here someday , it just seems to be taking a REALLY long time.

John started his new job as a web trainer on Thursday. So far so good. His old co-workers met up together last night for him to say good bye. It was nice to see some familair faces. We stayed too long, I think. I know it is showing my age but by 10:oo I was ready for bed. Especially after a long work week.

Anyways, I made up for it today. I slept in for a really long time. We are off to brave the snowy roads and run some errands.

Congratulations to Becky and Tom! We cannot wait to see your little "Sierra". She looks like a doll.

Let's get this show on the road

First of all I feel sad for Regis Philbin and his heart problem, he is a nice guy. We went to his show a few years ago and talked with him. real down to earth guy.

Second, I look forward to the day when I will be able to say that the wait time for Lucy is less than a year. It really stinks that for the past 7 months, when people ask when we are going to China we always say "it is still at least a year away." I want to think that every day is a day closer but it seems like time is standing still.

For the record, if one more person says the long wait time "Is happening for a reason" I will scream, outloud and right at them. I think that expression is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Things do not happen for a reason, they just happen. if everything in life were predetermined than why do we wear seatbelts? if we are meant to get in an accident and hit our head anyways, whether we wear our seatbelt or not. why do we brush our teeth? If are teeth were going to fall out, whether we did or not. Why do we lock our house at night? If our house was going to broken in anyways. Like it was fated to happen. silly. but when it comes to the wait for Lucy that thought process is not silly it is very irritating to me. as you can tell.

I am ready for a vacation. YEA! Italy here we come. very soon.

What is nice is that today a fellow adoptee mother came into where I work and I got a chance to talk with her and try and talk to her baby. Well actually she is 5 yrs old. very small though the size of a 2 year old. It was a nice break in the day. She gave me her website so that has been fun to look at. The little girl was so shy she would not look at me. She did look at my co-worker though, I thought it was because she had given her a lollipop but my other co-worker informed me it was because I am not a mother and my other co-worker is. ... nice huh?

I am constantly surprised by the things people say to me. Until then I will keep counting to 10 and getting ready for meatballs, canolis pasta all the good things to come.
ciao!

i can hear connie francis now...

we read earlier this morning that May 1 is a holiday in italy, so we thunk it a good idea to start booking some things. we finally picked out where we are staying our first 3 days. we decided on sorrento, since it is central to pompei, amalfi and capri. and based on all the write-ups, it has a beautiful little town with some really good eats. hotels are in abundance in a coastal town, but since we are not renting a car until we get further south, we are staying right in town close to everything. walking close to everything. we opted to stay away from the larger hotels, since we probably wont go for a swim on the rooftop pool first week in may.
here is a picture of the place. it is run by an older couple, and everyone who has stayed there loves it. 'amazing breakfast' was in every write up. i am quickly beginning to realize that this trip is going to be about 2 things.. good pictures, and great food. we will have to put in some mileage in our sneakers to make up for it.

left to book:
- train from rome to naples, then naples to sorrento, and back
- train to lamezia term
- car rental
- train from lamezia term to rome

some of the country side as seen from the train should be beautiful, but i think it is a high speed train, which will test the limits of my cameras 'fast action' setting.
tonya is laughing when she sees the little 2 person fiats and smart cars, not realizing that that is exactly what i plan on renting. unless she lets me go on the autstrada. then i am going to splurge a little on a quicker car. probably not going to happen. the thought of me going 120mph freaks her out for some reason. i keep asking her.. whats the worse that can happen? that usually is not followed by a verbal response.
we have the day off together today. as normal, we started it off by spending money. we have yet to do anything real. like leave the bedroom. but we are getting there. since lunch time is right around the corner, my stomach says that it is time to make use of this blustery day. planning on lunch and a movie.
on the adoption front, we are excited for everyone that got their referrals earlier this week. we saw some of your pictures, and whole lot of cute kids are coming home. we have some time left in our process. when we started, we thought that we might have her by this summer, so all our friends who have been holding off saying anything are coming out asking us if we are about ready, and whether or not we have her picture. its a little tough stating that the egg is still splitting and dividing to make her. we are not discouraged. we are not discouraged. chant this. we have been throwing around the idea of going to vietnam in the meantime, getting lucy a sister, while still in the chase for lucy. based on what we read, and a little blurb from our homestudy agent, if we pursue that course, it very likely will hinder our chase for lucy, so we are probably not going to be going down that road.
so, for now.. we lay still. literally. we have to get up.