Eight Years Ago Today.....

I finally got it right. I married my wonderful LSH, Michael. Happy Anniversary. I'd do it all over again.
The photo above is a bouquet Michael put together of wildflowers from our backyard. He actually made two, one for home and one for my office. We were going to go out to dinner, but I'm very tired. I'd rather go this weekend when I'll, hopefully, be more awake!
I'm very excited. My delivery of Holey Donuts arrived today! I haven't had any yet, but I hear they're spectacular. They're gourmet, low-fat donuts, handmade, nothing artificial. They're pretty expensive normally, but I got them on sale.
If you shop online, you just have to try Ebates.com You go on their site and link to any one of 100's of stores, from Walmart and Lowes to Kate Spade and Sephora. If you buy something, you get a rebate back, anywhere from 2% to 10%, and sometimes more. They send you a check every month. I was suspicious at first, but there really isn't any catch. When you link through the Ebates website, you go to the same website as if you didn't. Prices are the same. You get a rebate on whatever you buy, even clearance sale items. BTW, I'm not being paid by Ebates or anyone to promote them. Just wanted to share this great find. Check them out and tell me what you think. I don't shop any site without checking first if they're part of Ebates.
Thanks to everyone who commented, emailed or phoned with your thoughts and best wishes in regards to my health. It's greatly appreciated.
I hope to get back to posting on a somewhat more regular basis. Hope everyone is doing well.

Calling All Teachers

This is for all my teacher friends:

Cut & paste:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1212601907690

Kudos To A Family Member

Congratulations to my bro-in-law, Mike Siegel. Mike is a cartographer at Rutgers and, along with a few others, has published his second book, "Mapping New Jersey." Mike's part was to create new maps based on various facts, like the area code changes over the years in NJ. Even if you're not a "map person" (like me), it's full of lots of interesting info about NJ. Here's a recent book review:
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/life/article_6614a799-ca92-589c-bd18-71c37f3becea.html#user-comment-area

This is the second book Mike has contributed to, his first being "The Encyclopedia of New Jersey."

Hey, fellow Jerseyites, it's never too early to start your Christmas shopping!

I've Got A Case Of The Pity-Mes

I'm sitting here looking at 2 tickets for the Springsteen concert at Giants stadium, Section 120, that I purchased on 6/1, that went unused last night. It's joining a growing collection of other tickets/invites that went unused because, when the day of the event finally arrived, I wasn't well enough to go. Whatever this thing I have is, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, MS, or the newest opinion, peripheral neuropathy, it's ruining my life and making it impossible to commit to anything ahead of time, not to mention the lost money spent on events never attended. Last night's tickets cost $235. Within the next month, I have two family weddings and my class reunion.
I saw a new specialist, a neurologist, last week and had some tests; still waiting for the results. Meanwhile, it looks like another weekend spent in bed, hoping I can accumulate enough rest to make it through the next work week, which is not really how this undiagnosed malady works because, no matter how much rest I get, I never feel rested. I'm in constant pain, from my toes, feet, hands, fingers to even my mouth and tongue. I'm down to eating only soft foods because anything else hurts my mouth. My head hurt so much the other day, I took one of my husband's migraine pills.
On the days this past week I worked a full day, I went directly to bed each night. This is no way to live. I'm praying that this new doctor will be able to help me.

Just Checking In

It's been a week since my last post. Things have been crazy, just too much to do and not enough time to do it. But I just wanted to check in and let anyone who cares, know that I'm alive.
Hope the video below puts a smile on your face, like it did mine!

Honest Scrap (Crap?)

A few weeks ago, my friend and fellow Jersey girl (although she landed in Jersey via Massachusetts), Donna, presented this challenge to me, in the form of the "Honest Scrap" award.

The Honest Scrap Award rules are as follows:
1. “The Honest Scrap” award is not one to hold all to your self but it must be shared!
2. The recipient has to tell 10 true things about themselves in their blog that no one else knows.
3. The recipient has to pass along this prestigious award to 10 more bloggers.
4. Those 10 bloggers all have to be notified they have been given this award.
5. Those 10 bloggers should link back to the blog that awarded them.

WARNING!

FAMILY MEMBERS

I’M QUITE CANDID. IF YOU REALLY DON’T

WANT TO KNOW ANYMORE ABOUT ME THAN

YOU ALREADY DO, DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER.

10 things about myself that I haven't shared with you guys yet. Well, here it goes:

!. I was President of my sixth grade class. I won this prestigious post over two challengers. I'm sure it had everything to do with my creative campaign motto. My last name was Rooney, so the hallowed halls of my parochial school were plastered with posters advising my classmates "Don't Be Looney; Vote For Rooney!" Hey! It worked!
2. I've tried some illegal drugs in my time, during my late teens, early 20's. Mostly pot and hash. (I actually had my own hash pipe). I was afraid to try anything harder, particularly after seeing the effect acid and mesc had on some of my college buddies. I did try coke once, but it didn't do much for me. I believe pot should be legal. Free up some of the law enforcement folks to go after the REALLY bad guys.
3. In my 20's, I was attracted to married men. Not proud of it, but I was one very confused chick. And I'm not talking brief flings; one lasted 3 years and another 2. And this was a girl who always said all she wanted to do was get married and have a family. Obviously, I had major man issues.
4. I lost my virginity my freshman year in college to the soundtrack of Santana's first album. "Soul Sacrifice" is one hot song, let me tell you!
5. I was the first female sales representative for, what is now, the world's largest food company. This was way back in the olden days, before women did such things. In fact, I started as a part-time merchandiser. In less than a year, i was hired as a full-time sales rep, their first female rep ever and eventually became a sales manager. For many years, I was the "token" female. Some male customers refused to talk to me because "I was taking a job away from a man." It took quite awhile before that mindset changed. I don't think the young women to day realize what their moms, aunts, etc went through to get where we are today. Of course, NOW I would just LOVE to be able to stay home.
6. I met Bruce Springsteen once. Not just a "I saw him in a restaurant/store" story (just about everyone who lives around here has one of those). No, this is a "I was introduced to him through a mutual acquaintance and Bruce got up from his chair and shook my hand and said 'Nice to meet you" story. Happened a few years ago at an after-school program for disadvantaged kids in Red Bank that I volunteered at. Bruce was a great supporter of the program and would occasionally stop in to read or sing to the kids.
7. When I was 19, I got locked in a building on the Rutgers campus overnight with an instructor. I think it was a grad student union or something like that.
8. Again, when I was 19, my father had me arrested in Dover for stealing a car. It had been my mother's car prior to her passing a few months earlier. Since that time, it had become my transportation. However, Daddy-dear was very po'd with his little girl and figured he teach me a lesson. The Dover police convinced him to drop the charges (via the phone), told me to go home and gave me a police escort out of town. How's that for service? Your tax dollars at work.
9. I have recently become obsessed with watches. Not expensive ones, more costume-like jewelry in different colors and unique designs. I just bought two today online.
10. I owned a travel agency for over 7 years. I had been contemplating selling it. Then, one day, we were held up by a masked gunman. I was out of there 3 months later.

Was this a little more information than you needed?

I'm supposed to tag 10 fellow bloggers. Instead, I'm going to leave it for those of you who wish to take on this exercise.

Opinions Please

How many of you are familiar with this song? Is it too "60's" or "hippie" for wedding ceremonies in the 21st century? I always wanted it to be played at my (first) wedding, but, for various reasons, it didn't happen. What are your thoughts?

See WHO In My Dreams?

Have you ever fallen asleep with the tv on and find that your dreams are incorporating some of the things happening on the tv? I was home from work for a day and a half this week, suffering through another flare-up of the inexplicable malady, fibromyalgia, and most of my time was spent in bed, dozing in front of the television. And, let me tell you. the dreams I had! One involved David Caruso (I assume I was sleeping through a rerun of CSI Miami).
He was telling me how concerned he was for "Mother", who lived with him and wasn't well and he just wasn't sure what he was going to do. We ran into Eva La Rue, who plays Natalia on the show, and he repeated the same thing to her. Eventually, he asked me to stop by his place later so I could see "Mother" for myself. I went over and a stranger answered the door and said David was downstairs with "Mother." So I headed down the stairs and found David and "Mother," his aging Boxer dog.
During my nap-a-thon, I also had that old stand-by dream, going to school and forgetting my locker combination. I must have that dream 2 or 3 times a year. What's THAT about? The last dream I remember had something to do with the Holocaust (Schindler's List? Sophie's Choice?), but I don't really remember much about that one.
Also, generally, in all my dreams, when I dream about some male celebrity, I'm ALWAYS their best friend. I've been the BFF for Jon BonJovi, Springsteen, Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Patrick Dempsey, among others. Maybe my sub-conscious believes I'll be around longer as a friend, rather than a lover, which is probably true. But c'mon. Just once, can't I be the hot, trashy one night stand? My sub-conscious & I are going to have a good heart to heart very soon, so I can remind it that I'm not getting any younger and the only shot I have with these guys is IN my dreams, so it's time to lighten up and let mama have a little fun!

The Dress

Well, I got a dress to wear to the weddings and reunion. When I asked your thoughts about wearing the same dress to both weddings, which will be attended by many of the same people, some of you gave me some good suggestions like, buying something somewhat simple, ie. a little black dress, and accessorizing differently. Makes a lot of sense. But, instead, I bought a dress that has a print that will NOT be forgettable, no matter what I wear with it. But, MOM, I REALLY like it! I like it so much that I may even buy another of the same style with a different design that Nordstrom's has an exclusive online. AND, if my class reunion does happen, it will be perfect because it's so retro 60's.
Now, I've still got decent legs, so I think I can pull off the length. And with a little Spanx (ok, Otin, this may be more information than you want to know), I think I can pull it off.
Here's the Nordstrom's exclusive I'm considering.

Remembering

It was going to be a lovely, late-summer day. The weathermen promised blue skies, temps in the high 70's. Alarm clocks around town began to wake the weary, letting them know it was time to begin the Monday through Friday routine again - shower, dress, maybe some time for breakfast or, at least a cup of coffee, kiss the spouse and kids good-bye, and head out the door to begin their commute; some by car, some by bus and some, even by ferry. Thirty-seven residents of my town headed to the train station for the 80 minute trek into NYC. Within hours, they were all dead.
September 11, 2001. Nothing in our past could have prepared us for what happened that day. My town, Middletown, lost more residents that day than any other town. The morning of 9/12, one couldn't help but be aware of the cars still in the station parking lot, waiting for the people who drove them there the previous morning.
To remember these residents and give those left behind a place to reflect and perhaps find some comfort, Middletown designed a memorial garden. The memorial features a landscaped walking path with individual memorials for each resident lost, where visitors can reflect about the loss Middletown suffered. Here are a few photos I took during my last visit there in July.

Tiffany Blue - Part II

Back in November, I posted about receiving a gift card for Tiffanys from the company I work for. Would you believe I finally used it? It turns out, it was for $125, not $250, as I posted. I wondered what the chances were to find something I liked that I wouldn't have to put out much of my own cash. Actually, it wasn't that hard. Sure, I saw plenty of other things I would have loved to have, I know I have champagne tastes; without knowing the prices, I gravitated to some of the more expensive items, like this bracelet and this ring, which, it turned out to be from the same designer, Jean Schlumberger. However, I came back down to earth and got this simple, little bracelet. But, whether it costs $125 or $20,000, it will still arrive in that little, blue box which, for me, is almost as good as the bracelet itself.

And How Was YOUR Weekend?

Well, my 5 day stay-cation (it's amazing how quickly that term has become part of our everyday speak) is about over. It was so nice to have time to do the "should-dos" like cleaning, grocery shopping, etc. and the want-to-dos, like ballgames, reading and just chilling out.
On Saturday, the LSH & I attended the Mets vs. Cubs game at Citifield. We got there early and played tourist. The area where Shea Stadium once stood is now a parking lot. But they have marked where the infield was, first, second, third base, home and the pitcher's mound. I made sure I had my pic taken at home and third base. However, I hate my pictures, so I refuse to post them.

I bought the tickets on StubHub. Many of the season ticket holders are selling their tix at quite a discount, just trying to recoup some of the cash they laid out. When I printed them, I saw that these tickets entitled us to access to the Acela Club. Now, since the stadium opened, I have been somewhat vocal regarding what I saw as "elitism" with certain bars and/or restaurants allowing only customers who had purchased tickets in specific seating levels, entry. That exclusiveness just didn't sit well with me. I mean, this is baseball, the All-American game, the game of the people. But, I admit, I was curious and, at the suggestion of a friend, I found myself calling to see about getting a reservation. And we were not only able to score a res foe 12:45PM. but our table would be on the outdoor patio overlooking the field. The reservationist assured me that we could sit there and watch the entire game, if we wanted.
So, as conflicted as I was, that was where we were for the entire game. And, I admit, both of us enjoyed it thoroughly. I guess this officially makes me a phony-baloney. If it helps, I'm still very conflicted. And, honestly, I've felt very bad for the owners of the Mets, The Wilpons, who lost, reportedly, over $700 million in the Bernie Madoff rip-off. So, I'm glad I could do something to help them, by enjoying the most expensive French Toast I have ever had.

Morro Castle Anniversary

I don't know if I'm in the minority in my interest with such things, although I don't think I am, considering the success of the film "Titanic," but there was another, lesser known cruise ship tragedy that occurred off the Jersey Shore coastline in the mid 30's. My local newspaper, the Asbury Park Press, is featuring a three day series on the story of the Morro Castle. For those who might find this interesting, here's the link.
I've always thought that people today were more selfish and eager to make a quick buck than those in the past, but, sadly, it appears, folks back in our parents and grandparents' times were not so different.

Happy Hour Friday!!!

The Wonderful Wizard of Otin and his sidekick, RxBambi have decided that every Friday should be the day we share a few things that make us happy. And I'm "happy" to be participating in the first Happy Hour Friday.

Some things that make me happy:

1. A 3-day weekend.
2. A Mets win. (I know, there hasn't been much happiness this season :(
3. Red velvet cupcakes.
4. Losing 5 pounds (by not indulging in those red velvet cupcakes).
5. My 13 year old Sheepdog getting a clean bill of health from the vet. (According to the vet , the only disease he's suffering from is old age, just like me).
6. Having time to put my feet up and read a good book.
7. Knowing I have tickets to see Springsteen in a few weeks.
8. My boss being out of the office.
9. Chocolate, any type of chocolate, in any form - candy, ice cream, cake. You name it. It's all good.
10. Enjoying a meal (and a margarita or two on the rocks with salt) sitting outside, with views of the water, with fun friends and my sweetie.

Happy Holiday!

To all you hard-working bloggers out there, enjoy the holiday. Stay safe and let's all relax!

A Woman's Dilemma

Today was the start of a 5 day weekend for me. Yay!
I have 2 weddings to attend in October and a possible class reunion in November, so today i went looking for a dress with no success. But my usual dressing room frustration returned, as I brought in 6 different pieces of clothing, 5 of which were a size 12 and 1 a size 10. Two of the size 12s were too big, two were too small, and the size 10, which, when I brought it in to try on, I thought "who are you kidding?", fit perfectly. Men, when they go to buy a pair of jeans/slacks, know they're a 34W 32L, or whatever. Women's sizes don't even make any sense - size 8, size 12, size 18W. What do those numbers mean anyway? Then, you break those sizes down even further. Are you a Junior, Misses, Petite, Woman?
I noticed a lot of the clothes they're showing for the fall reminded me of my hippie days - paisley, multi-colored designs. A lot of animal prints too. Not sure if I can pull that look off anymore.
I have one dilemma. There will be many of the same people at both weddings. I'm having a hard time finding ONE dress; do I now have to get two??

PS. This is NOT my new blog design. I just wanted something else while I'm trying to figure out what to do.

Miscellaneousness

I attended a bridal shower yesterday for Kelly, the fiancee, of one of Mike's brothers. To be honest, I hate showers (unless they're for me, of course). But, I really had fun at this one. I went with the sis-in-laws (Kelly will be #7) and all the nieces (6), most of whom are playing some part in the wedding. It was the first time for us meeting her family and friends and we seemed to hit it off well. No stuffy people, just a lot of laughs. Someone made this dessert called White Trash (love the name).

My cellphone rang earlier and the female who was calling asked "is this Kathy R***** (my maiden name)?" It was a girl I went through elementary and high school with. We actually were close friends in grammer school. She said, one of her best childhood memories was coming over my house and reading all my Nancy Drew books. One Christmas, my parents bought me the complete Nancy Drew library. God, why didn't I save any of this stuff???
Anyway, she was calling to see if I was planning on going to our high school reunion in November. I'm leaning toward yes, although the place where it's being held, wants a guarantee of 200 people. That seems rather high to me. We did have, believe it or not, over 500 kids in my graduating class. But, 200 still seems optimistic.

I don't even want to admit how many years ago I graduated. As I've gotten older, I'm surprised how sensitive I am about my age. I have to admit, if someone gets me at a weak time and I do tell, they seem surprised. Of course, I realize the standard, politically correct thing to say when someone tells you their age is "Gee, you sure don't look it." My problem is I want to believe they really mean it. Maybe it's because, for years, I really didn't look my age; I was carded at bars until I was 30.
When I was young and time was on my side, I used to scoff when I heard of someone having a facelift. I would say "Why can't they just accept themselves and grow old gracefully? I would NEVER have a facelift." Ah, youth. The focus of my beauty regimen then was to stave off crow's feet around my eyes, so I made sure I kept my eye area moisturized. And, overall, it did seem to work. No crow's feet yet. But, no one ever warned me about the dreaded "parenthesis". I look in the mirror and stretch my skin back and instantly lose 10 years on my face. I tell you right now, if I had the cash, those puppies would be long gone.

As a huge Mets' fan (yes, still), I read a lot of Mets' blogs and follow a lot of Mets' beat reporters and I usually find I agree with them. But I cannot believe what I've been hearing lately. The Mets are out of contention. When that fact became obvious, some fans said that the Mets should shut down Johann Santana, our ace, for the remainder of the season (this was BEFORE he actually went on the DL). Save his arm for next year. They've been saying the same thing about David Wright, our third baseman, since he went on the DL a couple of weeks ago after being hit in the head by a 95 mile an hour fastball. First, I believe no one should be rushed off the DL and back on the field until they're 100%. But, if David is cleared, he should play. It's funny, but these two are probably the least likely, of all the Mets, to agree to be "shut down." What message are we sending our kids? That there's no sense playing if you can't win the big one? What about playing for pride? For the love of the game?

About all these Mets' injuries, (I believe there have been 17 players on the DL and many still are), I have a theory. I believe the Phillies, over the winter, hired an old Haitian mambo (that's a Voudou priestess. See, you just learned something; who says reading my blog is a waste of time?) create voodoo dolls in the images of all the Mets players. They're paying her big money and, so far, she's been worth every penny. I was going to say that, at least we still have Mr.Met but...................

Random Tuesday

The name of the drugstore where Michael Jackson got his drugs is the Mickey Fine Pharmacy AND GRILL. Only in LA.

Bob Dylan is in negotiations with some company to be the voice of their GPS system. How many other celebs do you think they contacted before calling Dylan? No way could he have been the first choice.

How many times have you watched the news and thought "Gee, I really like that tie Brian Williams is wearing" or "I wish I could wear what Katie Couric is wearing"? Well, folks, fret no more. You too can dress like your favorite newscaster. Check out TV News Closet. I wanted to see what the dresses looked like, but there weren't any. That proves what I've always thought. Most of these people are naked from the waist down.

Attention, fashionistas! Kate Spade is having an online sample sale. I picked up a lovely little purse. Sale ends 8/28.

Three weeks ago, my cellphone crashed. Because of that, I couldn't automatically transfer my phone book into my new phone. I have yet to start entering my numbers into my new phone. I got a Blackberry (my first). The only thing I know how to do is make a call (and barely that). I think I may have bit off more than I can chew.

Maybelline has introduced a vibrating mascara. From what I understand, they're not the first. Dior has a rotating lip gloss.
It "rolls the gloss on uniformly." Oh, that IS a big problem. How many times have you missed whole parts of your lips when applying lipstick? Happens tome all the time.

Did you know President John Adams had a dog named Satan?

Have you ever looked at someone and thought "I can't imagine that person having sex?" C'mon. I know I'm not the only one who has those thoughts. It came to mind today when I passed a co-worker in the hallway. The woman is so shy and reticent, It's just hard to imagine her doing the nasty. But, she's given birth to two kids.

I'll leave you now so you can start doing your own imagining. You can thank me later.

You Just Never Know Who's Reading Your Blog

This is a shout-out to all my readers at Verizon. A little bird (Barbara) told me I had somehow gotten a following in her office. The mom of the young DW fan (I'm sorry I forget your name) should enjoy my previous post.

Alright now, finish up here AND GET BACK TO WORK!!!

Welcome To My World

For those of us who have full-time jobs, the workplace is a second home, complete with a second family. And, like families, there are different personalities. Fun people, serious people, lazy people, strange people, shy people, bossy people, stuck-up people. There are people dressed to the nines everyday and people who look like they slept in their clothes. People you like and people you don't. People you look forward to seeing and people you avoid like the plague. People you enjoy working with and people that make you bite your tongue when they're around.
My scheduled work hours are 8-5PM with an hour for lunch, Monday-Friday. I NEVER get out of the office before 5:30PM and rarely take a full hour for lunch. Often I eat at my desk or don't have lunch at all. I'm fortunate that my commute is easy, living 8.5 miles from the office, I never have to travel on any major highways.
Most people don't even have offices anymore; it's a world of cubicles, which offer absolutely NO privacy. In my company, only the very top executives have an office that actually has a door that can be closed.
I've tried to personalize my space a bit and I wonder what impression it gives to people who don't really know me. So here are a few pix of my second home:



My "office." I try to keep it neat, so I appear somewhat organized. I'm not always successful. Things to note:

My ever-present water bottle. I drink a ton of water, which I know is a good thing. However, it leads to an inordinate amount of bathroom time. If I'm not at my desk, the odds are I'm in the ladies' room.
My fan. Like every modern-day office building, the heat and a/c systems are horrible. Freezing in the summer, hot as hell in the winter. Or the temperature changes every few feet, literally. I just never know how to dress. I wish there was some way I could get a weather report for work every morning before dressing.
My new phone. Since the lay-offs, I've been given the additional responsibility of overseeing the phone team for our division. You know, the customer service reps we all love to speak with when we call with a question or problem with whatever. This new phone is supposed to allow me to see various phone stats, like how many calls are waiting, how long they've been waiting, who's on the phone and who isn't. The only problem is there was only one guy who knew how to set this up and he was one of the people laid off. For now, I'm just happy I can get and make calls on it.
My Mets teddy bear - a gift from the LSH.

On top of the file cabinet behind me, I have various mementos and photos of people and things important to me.



That handsome fellow in the picture is David Wright, 3rd baseman for my beloved Mets. Everyone that knows me well at work knows about my devotion to the Amazins' and my maternal thing for Mr. Wright. However, a woman from another department who I rarely have any interaction with, stopped by my cube to discuss something. I was on the phone, so I motioned to her to just take a seat. Now, that photo was taken in a prestigious men's store in Manhattan. As you can see, we're standing in front of a display of shirts and ties. After I hung up, she asked me who the young man was. Without any forethought, I said "That's my son, David." She said "My, he's very handsome." I thanked her and then added "He's in retail. We're so proud." The woman looked at a loss for words and then just said "Oh, that's nice." In the meantime, I could hear someone who had overheard me, laughing loudly and I lost it. The woman looked at me like I was crazy (you may be right, I may be crazy), and I admitted the truth to her. I don't think she appreciated my sense of humor. She told me whatever it was that made her stop by and quickly departed. BTW, she no longer works for the company.
A postscript - unbeknown to me, but the NY sports station, SNY, was there and filmed me speaking with David before the photo. A few weeks later, David & I showed up on the show "Mets Weekly."
The other photo is me and "the Girls" on my wedding day. The Girls and I have been friends since kindergarten or 1st grade (except for Candy, who we adopted junior year in high school when she transferred in. Actually, GF Kathy taught me how to tie my shoes.



Next there's a pic of me and the LSH, posing with one of the exotic birds at one of the ports on our cruise last December. Then we have my Billy Wagner bobblehead doll and my commemorative replica of Shea Stadium, both giveaways from games we attended last year. In the background is my boy, Bailey, the shaggy dog.



That's a photo of my previous sheepdog, Patrick, the LSH being captured by some pirates at some port while I stayed on board, hanging at the pool, being waited on by pool boys, sipping exotic drinks with tiny umbrellas, and me and the LSH on our wedding day.



That hand is actually what is known as a former, used to make gloves. (The company I work for makes surgical and exam gloves, among other things). And, yes, those are Mardi Gras beads and no, I'm not going to tell you how I got them! A girl needs to maintain SOME mysteries about herself.