Bfth's Boring Blog

While we observed Memorial Day on Monday (the last Monday of the month), originally, Memorial Day was observed on the 30th (from 1868 to 1970).  The day is one of remembrance:  honoring those who perished while on active duty.  I am lucky, and so were my ancestors (or at least the ancestors that I know of); while I have had many relatives who have served in the military, I can't recall one that died while on active duty.  While my husband had an uncle who perished at the Battle of Anzio (WWII), as far as I know my ancestors survived the Revolutionary War (albeit by switching allegiances after being captured and settling in New England after the war) and the Civil War (although not living well afterwards, a result of being imprisoned in either Andersonville or Libby Prison).  My grandfather was too young to serve in WWI and too old for WWII, but my father served in the reserves, my uncle (his brother) made the Army his career (retiring as a lieutenant colonel) and my father

Note:  I'm usually an upbeat and positive person (or at least I'd like to think I am!), but everyone has their limits. It's not one thing or one person...it's EVERYTHING. It's not the straw that broke the camel's back...it's the straws that break the camel's back over and over again.  It's the camel's back that heals and then is broken over and over again in a neverending cycle that wears you to the bone.    Some days you've just got to scream, cry or whatever.  I'd like to think of this as vomiting up my pent up feelings and frustrations.  Hopefully, once I do this, I will be able to move on without the anger, sorrow, etc.  (I usually do.)  As Paul McCartney so eloquently once said/sang:  "I've had enough; I can't put up with any more.  No, No, No, No, no, no."  We all get to that point...and, for the most part, then we go on and we DO put up with more...until we get to that point again.  So with that said, I giv

This is NOT a secret.  I am a screw up.  I make mistakes.  I make a lot of mistakes.  I do the wrong thing; go the wrong way.  Some days I seem to do absolutely nothing right. This is NOT me putting myself down.  This is me being honest.  This is me being human. I make mistakes.  I try to learn from those mistakes.  Sometimes I don't and I make the same mistake again. Sometimes I second guess myself.  I try to be two steps ahead, which actually sets me 5 steps back. Recently I've been doing a lot of spreadsheet analysis.  I've been checking and double checking numbers to make sure they match up and align.  I can't tell you how many times I've thought I've gotten it right only to find out I didn't.  I've screwed up more times than I'd care to admit. But I DO admit it. I OWN my mistakes.   I don't pass the buck.  I don't try to blame someone else.  I may point out an error on my part was not completely my own, b

While I've got nothing against the weekends, I don't shout, Thank God It's Friday because my Fridays are usually pretty crazy.  In the workplace it means consolidating a half dozen reports and comparing them to two other reports, which don't come in until at least 6 PM, doing an analysis of the data before passing it on to my boss for a Monday morning meeting.  So while my Friday mornings start at the same time as every other weekday (that would be around 4:30 AM), they wrap up later.  Can you see why I don't sing the praises of Friday?   Weekends are great, but almost always crazy busy.  Before you know it, Monday is here again.  And for me, Monday is just as crazy as Friday (though thankfully not as long, at least not work wise.)  Thursdays are also busy work wise for me with Wednesdays not being quite so hectic, but I do have choir rehearsal in the evening, so it's a long day too. Which brings me to Tuesday.  It's the quietest work day of t

I'm disappointed in last weeks’s town council election.  But my disappointment has nothing to do with the candidates.  As a matter of fact, while I'd like to congratulate Christine McGrath on her win.   I'd also like to congratulate Alex Roman  (who was not declared a winner until 3 days AFTER the election and won by TWO VOTES!  That's right TWO VOTES!  Don't tell me every vote DOESN'T count.  IT DOES!) Thanks also need to go out   John  Quattrocchi, Michael Nochimson and John Fio Rito.  It is obvious that all of you care deeply about this town; so much so that you put yourself out there in a way that few would want to.  (I know I wouldn't.)  You were (and I hope still are) ready to serve Verona and do your best to make it a community that would benefit ALL its residents. That's something that the current council strives for and I know the next council will too.  If you did not win a seat, I hope you will still be active, in whatever way possible, so

My world has been filled with stress lately; so much so that if I blogged about it, no one would read all that I'd write.  So instead, I wanted to write about some changes that aren't earth shattering, but deserve a shout out.  With all the ups and downs and craziness of life, I need a little constant.  Something that I can rely on.  Something that gives me perspective in the world.  For me, at least on weekdays (and sometimes Saturdays), that comes at 7:00 in the morning with CBS This Morning and my "fix" of "Your World in 90 Seconds."  I can't tell you how much I love those 90 seconds.  I OBSESS about getting downstairs and in front of the big screen tv by 6:59 so that I don't miss this segment.  Most Saturdays I make sure I am up and in front of the tv at the same time so that I can Saturday's segment.  I am very much addicted to "Your World in 90 Seconds."  And if I miss it (which hurts...it hurts!), I TRY to catch the "

Its spring in NJ, but this year there will be no CCRAP (ok, so it's really called PARCC).  Instead we have SLA.  (For those of you who are of a certain age, that is NOT the  Symbionese Liberation Army, but Student Learning Assessment.) In my eye, it's the same thing.  Or as the saying goes:  "you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig."  My own take on that is "You can put lipstick on a pig, but who the hell would want to kiss it?"  (Sorry pig lovers!) I think I  hate the word "assessment."  It’s beginning to make my skin crawl.  Our children as constantly being assessed.  But what does this really mean?  Does it tell us anything that we DON'T already know?  Does it tell us WHO are children really are?  The answer to both is NO! With that said, my son IS currently "participating" in the NJ SLA.  Although he'll spend LESS time SLA-ing than he did CCRAP-ing; he'll still be sitting there NOT being engaged and

Bless all the mothers The caregivers who need to give care to themselves. Who put everyone else first. Remind them not to be last. Grant them peace where there is chaos. Love where there is anger and hatred. Strength when the world makes them weary. Let them find a shoulder to cry on. Have a friend to laugh with. Provide a safe space where they can scream in frustration. Remind them of joy when there is sorrow. Teach them love of self when they have beaten themselves up. Let them carry hope and the knowledge that they are NOT alone in the world where we can all feel so lonely. Grant them faith in themselves and their convictions Knowledge that they ARE good enough. Comfort them; as they have comforted countless others. Bless all the mothers For they are the ones Without whom; there would be... Nothing.

By all accounts he was a good student.  He was a nice kid.  But he's not going to graduate high school.   He's dead. If you've read the news about the latest school shooting (although who knows if by the time I finish writing this and publish it if there will be another...or more), you know the name Kendrick Castillo.  He's being called a hero and this 18 year-old (only 4 years older than my own son) died when he was shot tackling the gunman. I've heard his parents are proud of his actions.  I've also heard his father say that he wished he'd run away.  Can you blame him?  Their only child is dead.  I cannot imagine the pain they are in.  I cannot ALLOW myself to imagine it.  He died a "heroic" death, but he's DEAD.  HE IS DEAD.  He was just days away from graduation and now he's dead. He did the "right" thing.  His actions certainly saved others’ lives.  But he's DEAD.  DEAD before he even had the chance to gradua

My local elections are less than a week away.  So I'm asking my local friends and readers? Have you done your homework?  Did you attend the candidates forum or viewed it on line?  Have you looked at the answers that the candidates have given to the questions posed by local media?  Have you even checked out the candidates’ webpages and/or social media?  If you haven't?  What are you waiting for?  Your vote DOES count!  (Don't believe me, just ask ANY of the five candidates and I'm sure they will agree with me!) Before casting your vote  I want to share some don'ts with you. DON'T vote for Candidate A or B because they are incumbents DON'T vote for C because she is a woman. DON'T vote for D  because he was the President of the Board of Education DON'T vote for E because he is a veteran. Those things aren't important.   All the lawn signs and banners in town aren't important.  Who your neighbor is voting for isn'

...then why am I still alive? I've been under A LOT of stress lately.  That's not to say my life is more stressful than yours, or yours mine.  I've just been dealing with a lot of "stuff."  Its work stuff.  It's hormonal teen stuff.  Its parent stuff.  There's my own hormonal "stuff".  There's house stuff...Enough with the stuff, right? I haven't been dealing with it in the most productive way:   https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2019/05/stress-eater.html .  And even when I've vowed to do better I haven't.  Or should I say, I haven't yet... Each new day brings new stress and challenges.  While it may knock me for a loop (and believe me it has!), it hasn't knocked me DOWN.  Because I am just like a Weeble.   You have to be of a certain age to get that.  Weebles were egg-shaped toys from PlaySkool.  They were not unlike the Fisher-Price's little people.  But the cool thing about Weebles, is they wobb

All my life I have faced a challenge with my weight.  This is not news to anyone who reads this blog.  I've been on and off weight watchers.  (It works, WHEN you work with it.)  I've successfully lost a total of 44 pounds (from my highest weight) and as of this moment, I have lost a total of 34.  I never quite met my goal (although I did come close) and I continue to struggle. Since I always try to be honest, I'm going to fess up and say that I've been battling the same 4 or so pounds since February.  I go down; I go up.  I am on weight watchers, though I confess, that for the past few weeks I've been throwing most of it out the window.  Which is why I can honestly say that the program DOES WORK; it's ME that is not working right now.  Even though I know what I need to do, I'm not doing it.  And while I fully admit that is DUMB.  However, it doesn't change the fact that I'm still not doing it. I KNOW I need to modify my behavior.  Mentally