Underoos and the like

Ahhh, Snoopy Underoos! Those were the days!


Okay, so sometime last August I told my mother that if she would give me all of her old family photographs (boxes and boxes of them), I would get them organized and into albums for her. It only took me around a month to get them all organized -- (If I've never explained to you how I MUST do things like scrapbook, knit, and sort pictures while I work to remain awake, I'll explain that part later. I'm not REALLY just a glutton for punishment.) -- but then I had this BRILLIANT idea (read: more work for me) that in the year of 2006 and all of it's technology for preserving history, that I would also SCAN all of the pictures in an organized fashion so that they wouldn't get any more faded than they already were, PLUS this way, I get a copy; Scott gets a copy; Munner can have a copy, etc. Great plan in theory, but I discovered that the actual scanning will take me much longer than just getting them into albums becuase I can't SCAN while I'm working. Needless to say, that even though the pictures have been "organized" since September-ish, I'm just now starting to scan them. I finished scanning the "Scott" seciton, got them into an album, and am about halfway through the "Leslie" section. After that, I have "Ricki and Sheri before kids", "Our family (McKee)", "West Family", "McKee (extended) Family", "McKee/West families together", and "CCHS/Friends" left to go. :-) [Should be done by the time Drew finishes his doctorate. :-) ha!] Anyway, it has been tremendously entertaining to sort through the old pics of Scott and me and so I thought I would share just a couple of the "gems" to provide you all with a laugh break. :-) Enjoy!




Paris, look out because "That's hot!"



First of all, note that this is a SUPER-COOL Polaroid pic. :-D
Secondly, I ask you, should 3 year olds really be giving "come hither" looks? :-D ha!



In the realm of really cool things, this would be my brother and cousin Robby playing their horns as part of the "entertainment" at one of Scott's birthday parties -- and his friends are ENJOYING IT! That is some serious fabulousness right there!



Words can't express... :-D

Love & Shipoopies,
Leslie

Advice to clueless men (not relationship related)

Men,
I understand that you live in a world where most things are not truly threatening to you -- and I don't mean threatening in an "I must prove my manhood and increase my testosterone" kind of way, but in a "my life might just be in danger" sort of way. I think that's great for you! Really, I do. Yea, men!
The thing I think you DON'T understand is that most women feel threatened WAY more often in life. If a strange man starts approaching us (even if the real intent is to innocently pass by) while we are at the ATM, getting into our car, going into our house/apartment, etc. we feel threatened. Our brains (or at least most females I know) are genetically formed to flash warning signs in any of these situations. Now, that's just the normal woman. Add to that that some women have TRULY been injured or violated by a man in some similar situation like this - whether it be rape, stalking, or just serious aggressiveness. For these women (and they are a larger percentage than you would probably think), these events don't just send off a chorus of "Danger, Will Robinson! Danger! Danger" in our head. For these women, these "innocent" moments can instill TRUE PANIC!!! Irrational though you may think such a fear is, it's there and for pretty good reason. Women are attacked DAILY at ATMs, while getting in to cars and apartments, etc. by random men who appear to be simply walking by.
PLEASE keep this in mind ANYTIME you see a woman alone. Don't walk right beside her. Don't walk right past her car door or her apartment door. Don't approach her at the ATM -- even if you are TRULY just trying to get a deposit envelope to save some time or trying to get to the other side of her car or apartment door. WALK AROUND. Pass through the cars a couple of cars over. WAIT until she is done to get the deposit slip. Go another way past her apartment door or wait out of the way until she is safely inside. You may think that you are just passing by her, but to her, you may be the guy who is fixing to force his way into her car/apartment/bank account/life and that is NOT good.
This all comes from the fact that I truly believe some guy was fixing to force his way into my apartment as I unlocked the door to go in and something made him not. I don't know what. Of course, for all I know (even though he did about 8 fishy things before this moment that I saw), he could just be Joe Schmo trying to get to his apartment 3 doors down.

Just a tip from a lady to men that I know don't mean to frighten strangers.

Love & Shipoopies,
Leslie

One Year

This Sunday, it will be a year since my sweet Anna Banana died. There are things that make me feel it must have been just yesterday, like when I do something stupid and want to call and tell her about it and other things that make it seem like 10 years, like when I try to think of the last things we did together or the sound of her voice.

What an angel. Man, I miss that smile. I even miss the 17-year-oldness that used to drive me crazy.

Those of you who are prayers, please pray for our family -- especially the Withams -- this coming week. I'm sure this entire spring has been hard for them with all of her friends going through senior activities and graduation, but there's something about marking a year that makes it hard to believe. I know it is a hard thought for me to wrap my head around and she was only my "pretend child", friend, "sister", cousin. I can only imagine the sorrow of marking a year without your child.

Love & Shipoopies,
Leslie