*tap tap tap* Is this thing on?

 Its been a few minutes since I've published a post.  Years.

In the meantime, a lot of life has happened, and a lot of moments in the universe have pointed me in the direction of "YoU ShOuLD JorNAl"  but I haven't since I despise being told what to do, even by the universe. Maybe you could say blogging is akin to journaling, so I suppose I'll take this step and see where it lead me.

Today, earlier this afternoon, my Aunt Joni left the earth.  Passed away.  Went to heaven.  Joined the angels.  Sashayed to the great party in the sky.  Kicked the bucket.

Ugh.  There are no words that make it sound OK.

She is a grandmother, a mom, a wife, an aunt, a Godmother, the very best sister.  She leaves so many broken hearts behind.

But I keep thinking about her finger nails.

I know, it doesn't make sense.  Not a lot is making sense at the moment.  Death is strange because it has the ability to bring up old shit settled deep into your soul, and you're not sure if you're grieving the person who is gone - the people they've left behind - or the people long gone before them.  It makes sense it is a little of all of that.

Back to Joni's nails. She wasn't always "Aunt" Joni because "she is my friend!!", as a toddler me used to cry out when people tried to tell me she was my aunt.  She had this way of moving her fingers, gracefully and deftly, but so delicate and gentle at the same time.  Almost like someone would move when their nails were wet, and they didn't want to muss them up.  She did it when she talked, when she crocheted, helping kids with shoes, and even when she was pulling lice out of my hair at her dining room table when Karli gave those buggers to me during college.  She had pretty hands (did she love her nails?) and in my memory they were well kept and shaped nicely, sometimes painted (but I can't remember if they were always so).

I'm so thankful I had a couple days with her this summer.  One last big hug to last me....well....forever.

I love you, Joni. Thank you for being my friend.

Tracking Traffic.....

A while ago I put code in my blog so I could track who was coming to visit and read.....its a pretty cool system, and after I installed it I was obsessed with checking my traffic stats. I can proudly say I've gone from approximately 8 visitors a day to over 14. WHOOO HOOO! I've always been hesitant to mention it because it feels kind of "Big Brother" ish, you know? But what the heck - there are pretty much trackers on EVERY website you visit, so why should mine be any different? The cool thing about it - besides the fact that you can see what city and country they are visiting from, how long they were reading, when they left, the IP address - is seeing how they arrived. I see if the readers arrived from a click on an email I sent, or from a link on a message board. I get a lot of random visits from people searching google. Some of the most recent searches..... "Pilsbury Sock it to Me" "Love Toe Socks" "Porristas Big A$$ Bums" <-- porrista is the spanish word for Cheerleader There has also been a lot of searches for Christmas Music - from Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers to the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Pretty interesting actually. Recently I noticed I link from another Mexican website, so I went to visit. Apparently it is a listing of all the English blogs that are written from Mexico. Both Keith and I made the list - you can see it here --> BLOGS OF MEXICO Pretty cool how its all interconnected, eh? ::::::::::::::MUSICAL INTERLUDE:::::::::::::: So my brother Kyle has been working at his music from the second he learned how to play a guitar (maybe 14, 15 years old ish?). I've always enjoyed listening to his music, even if its not really "my style" per se. He recorded a CD with a friend, Jim Baker - but it was never released to due publication issues...... Jim moved from GRap to Chicago, and is working with another group (which apparently started back in Flint Town way back in the day) - more of a hip-hop rap jazz fusion sound - called The Massey Trio. They released an album called "The City of Ill" and you can purchase it on iTunes (sorry I don't have the link - iTunes is blocked from work. Dammitall anyway!)....or you can hear some samples on their myspace page or CDBaby - a review site for independant music. Kyle is featured on a couple songs, although not an official member of the group. I was just amazed and blown away by the track called "Lost Apostle". The other track he sings in is called "They Think They're Soliders". Check it out - Kyle is the one singing the vocals (not the rapper dude). The rest of the album is OK, (Like I said before, not really my gig) - but the Lost Apostle really caught my ear. They are playing next Friday night, the 15th at THE NOTE in Chicago (Wicker Park area). If you have a sec check them out! ::::::::::::::SELF ESTEEM:::::::::::::: You know, for not having a lot to say today, I sure do have a lot to say! I decided to run and experiment this week.....I was going to see if I could go every day this week with doing my hair, dressing not frumpy and wearing makeup. The truth is I never saw much benefit in getting all hussied up every day just to make yourself easier on the eyes of other people. I'm not big on doing things just for someone else, you know? But, when Pat O'Brien is around I find myself trying to be more presentable, just cuz it feels good, you know? Not like I need to impress him, but I guess I was just doing it unconciously (until I noticed it last weekend). So I started my experiement Monday. Well, I didn't do it Monday because Pat O'Brien left super early and I was tired, but every other day I did. Now, I didn't get all hooered out or anything - just a couple swipes of eyeshadow, a scoshe of mascara & eyeliner, blush and some lip gloss. And you know what, I felt pretty good about myself all week. I looked nice, I got complements from random people....I think it was not just because I actually did look that good, I think it had to do with the attitude I was portraying. I smiled more, stood taller, etc etc. So my experiment showed me that 10 minutes of primping in the moring is actually good for the rest of the day. Hmmm....maybe it will become a habit.

I have a new best friend.

And his name is Tide To Go :) Sweet lord - that thing is amazing! A definite must for me and my messiness...and now that I'm driving more, eating more in the car, that means more Taco Bell red sauce drips. So I'm driving, and even after I had devoured my bean burrito (minus onions) i noticed I could still *really* smell the red sauce - but I didn't have any on my hands and the bag was neatly tucked away in my car trash. Then a look down, and see my fate. A nice big drip on my shirt, and another on my jacket. Luckily, I had already seen customers for the day, and was on my way home. But still, I didn't really want to stain my new preggo girl shirt, know what i mean? So, I remembered I bought the Tide to Go stick a while back and stuck it in my car, just for this occasion. So I used it, as I was driving - and at the next stop light I looked down - and it was gone! HOORAY! *This Product Offically Has the Karin Seal of Approval* Not much else new - The Massey Trio is playing tonight at The Note with special guest Singer Kyle Mayer. So Pat and I will go down there tonight.......I had a good OB appointment this morning, heard the little blob's heartbeat :).......and now I'm tired and hungry - so its time to stop blogging and go take a nap.