Man I miss F*R*I*E*N*D*S. being on. Sure, I can watch it anytime I want since I have all 10 seasons on DVD, but I miss it being on Thursday night. There was excitement leading up to Thursday night TV, knowing that all 6 of my friends would be in my living room. You know what I mean… I loved them all and can’t imagine the show without any one of them. Monica, who clearly I am most like given my need to be in total control, was great. I loved her little quirks. Rachel, who I always strived to be. Great hair and all, she had to be my most favorite as far as her character. Phoebe, well, she was classic – who didn’t love her blond-ness and her always catchy “Smelly Cat”.

If I had to pick a least favorite, it would have been Ross. But I loved his character and the chemistry between him and Rachel. Chandler was so fantastic, I just loved his sarcasm. And Joey, well he was just plain funny. “How you doin’?” hehehe….

Dare I pick a favorite episode?? I would probably have a different answer each day someone asked me this, but right now I would say the one where Monica proposed to Chandler, “The One With The Proposal”. Could it have been any better?!

They were great as individual characters and even better as the six of them together. I miss that show. Might have to pull out those DVDs again soon….

On Sunday, we went to my mom’s to help her out for a bit. Preparing for a yard sale,getting stuff together for that, and such. Autumn, my super adorable niece was there when we arrived, returning from a walk around the neighborhood with Grandmommy. My mom told me that when she arrived that morning, she said “Pop Pops doesn’t live here anymore?”. She had not been to my mom’s in awhile and walking in she could see that my dad’s desk was not in it’s usual spot. Such a precocious little girl. Later on, I was out in the garage and she followed me out and she pointed to my dad’s wheelchair. She said to me, “Is that Pop Pops thing?” I said yes it is, it’s his wheelchair. She then told me he didn’t need it anymore. “No honey, he doesn’t”, I said to her. She then said he doesn’t need it because he’s in heaven. That’s right, he doesn’t need it in heaven.

Such a smart little girl she is, very tuned-in to things happening around her. She knows Pop Pops was sick in the hospital and afterwards, she knows we went to the beach to throw roses in the water for him. A couple weeks ago we went to the beach to watch the sunset, my mom, Autumn, and I. On our way there, I told her we were going to the beach and she asked if we were going to throw roses in the water again. My heart just swelled.

I am glad that Autumn knew who Pop Pops was and will hopefully remember the memories she has of him as she gets older. There are adorable photos of the two of them, even more special now. And there will always be reminders of him around.

It is sad that my dad will not see Autumn grow up, or Cooper and Cole. He knew and loved Cooper, always had a smile to match the smile on Cooper’s face. He did not get to meet Cole, born the day before my dad was rushed back to the hospital, two weeks before he passed away. But he did see a photo of him on the cell phone and smiled so I am confident that he knew who he was and loved him.

One thing is for sure, Pop Pops will always be looking down on Autumn, and Cooper and Cole, just as he is the rest of us. I sure wish he was here with us, but since he can’t be, I take comfort in knowing he is looking down on us and will be a part of us wherever we go.

I love and miss you very much, Daddy….

It has occured to me as of late that I have some odd little quirks. Well, I’ve always known that I’ve had them and that they’re odd, and that in turn makes me odd. But I decided that I should share some of them, just to bring someone some laughter on a Tuesday, or even to make someone feel better that you don’t have the little quirks that I do. Here goes…

• I have to make the bed every morning. I cannot leave my house with making the bed. In fact, it happens between drying my hair and using the flat iron – always.
• Everyone knows how much I love Starbucks… Hot or cold, I am always up for one. If it’s a hot drink, though, it must be what I like to call OCD-compliant. The drinking hole in the lid must be in perfect alignment with the logo on the cup and the sleeve. The holiday cups can make this tricky since they aren’t always as simple. I cannot drink it until it is OCD-compliant. And my husband (love you honey) knows to make it OCD-compliant should he get one for me.
• While we’re talking about OCD, I absolutely am. I don’t count or wash my hands a bazillion times, but I have issues being the one to lock the door when I leave the house. This poses a problem Monday – Friday when I am the last to leave the house. I will check it and re-check it. If I am rushed or distracted when I leave, I will drive back to make sure it’s locked. Just for the record, I’d like to state that never once have I gone back to check in a moment of panic to find it unlocked. It’s ALWAYS locked.
• I try to not drink soda too much (need to get back to that now) but there are certain foods I have to have soda with… Pizza, tacos, and popcorn. Water or ice tea or whatever will not suffice. It has to be soda.
• Speaking of popcorn, when I go to the movies, I have to have Nestle Bunch A Crunch with my popcorn. I eat them together. I can’t do just popcorn and I can’t do just Nestle Bunch A Crunch, no that won’t work. I have to have them together.
• If I find a shirt that I like, I will buy it in multiple colors which seems odd because my most favorite color shirt to wear is black. You know, it’s the most slimming color.
• I am obsessed with my iPhone – this really isn’t a quirk, I just wanted to state the obvious.
• Not new to anyone who knows me, but I cannot stand American cheese. It offends me. It is the most disgusting thing ever. It’s not real. And even worse, white American cheese. OMG.

Be thankful you aren’t me. Happy Tuesday!