To blog or not to blog...

Do you ever have something you are struggling with? Trying to figure out what to do? There are thoughts chasing each other around in your head and you can't grasp one before the next one is there, shoving it's way into your brain. And you just know that blogging about it would really help and getting comments from readers might help you see the light. It just might point you in the right direction and help you actually make a decision.

But you don't blog about it?

Because you know some of the people who actually read your blog. They are real life people who are your friends or family or partner (not that you all aren't "real people" too). And your intention in blogging is not to hurt anyone's feelings. You just want to work through whatever it is you are struggling with.

I am feeling confused about somethings in my life right now and I just want to let it all out. But I can't. Because I know who reads my blog and I love them and wouldn't want to hurt them just so I could work through my "issues".

Please send good juju my way and hopefully everything will just work itself out!

Interview with Aunt Becky

Aunt Becky over at Mommy Wants Vodka is having a give away on her blog and one of the ways to be entered is to answer her most awesome questions and post them on my own blog. And I kind of want to win so, here ya go! You're welcome.



1) Do you like sprinkles on your ice cream?

Nah, not really. I like my ice cream pretty plain or maybe with chocolate syrup (I also just about spelled chocolate wrong. How can I call myself a fat kid?!)

2) If you had to choose one word to banish from the English language, what would it be and why?

Well I really like words so this is hard for me, well except for the taboo words. We could get rid of those, but then people would just create new ones. Okay I really dislike cunt, so we can get rid of that one.

3) If you were a flavor, what would it be?

Sarcasm, oh wait that’s not a flavor (but it should be, sweet in the mouth, bitter in the heart).

4) What’s the most pointless annoying chore you can think of that you do on a daily/weekly basis?

Making the bed. I mean seriously, I am going to mess it up in less than 12 hours. What’s the point?

5) Of all the nicknames I’ve ever had in my life, Aunt Becky is the most widely known and probably my favorite. What’s your favorite nickname? (for yourself)

Perky. Apparently I was a really happy child and one of my little friends couldn’t pronounce Erica (it’s a 3 syllable word and that’s hard for the little peeps to handle when they are first learning to talk, yo) so he called me Erky. My nickname quickly became Perky Erky. As I got older the Erky seemed to drop off and now my mom and a few close friends from childhood call me Perky. Or Perks or Perkster, etc you get the idea. And it is also the reason for the name of my blog.

6) You’re stuck on a desert island with the collective works of 5 (and only five) musical artists for the rest of your life. Who are they?

*Mariah Carey
*Rascal Flatts
*Michael Jackson (although I would only listen to his older stuff)
*Stevie Wonder
*Britney Spears (SHUT THE HELL UP! She is entertaining and makes me smile and if I am stuck on a desert island I want some upbeat dance music.)

7) Everything is better with bacon. True or false?

True, but as a Jew I am pretty sure I am supposed to say no because bacon isn’t kosher. Good thing I don’t keep kosher! Phew!

8 ) If I could go back in time and tell Young Aunt Becky one thing, it would be that out of chaos, order will emerge. Also: tutus go with everything. What would you tell young self?

Relax, don't be so serious. And study aboard in college, take that extra year in school, you will never regret it and lots of people take more than 4 years for one degree, let alone two.

I like shiny things :)

Jen and I survived Black Friday. We were up at the crack of dawn...wait, no, it wasn't even close to dawn when we were up. It became dawn as we were wrapping up our adventure. We set out at 3:30 am, armed with coffee and an agenda.

We hit 8 stores in 5 hours, including drive time and breakfast and coffee stops. And we managed to find everything on our list. We also decided that Wal-Mart is not worth it for the most part. We found the stuff we were looking for in the most random places in Wal-Mart, but we found them relatively quickly and then spent about 45 minutes in line waiting to check out, lame. Wal-Mart took us the longest and Home Depot was our quickest and most impressive store. It opened at 6am, we walked up to the door as they were opening them, slipped in through the exit, found an associate to help us find exactly what we were looking for, and checked out at customer service. It took a whooping 7 minutes! *ARM PUMP*

I have to say, that although I am not normally a fan of rising before the sun on any occasion I did enjoy Black Friday. It was fun. And we will probably do it again next year. And the KEY is to have a list and plan out which stores to hit at certain times.

Then on Sunday I hung up my Christmas lights outside. There was some arguing between myself and Mike, but in the end they were put up and all are straight and the timer is working.

And as Jen says...Nothing says the Hauks (pronounced hawk like the bird yo) like Christmas lights on the house and Hanukkah "shit" in the window. Aw yeah, aw yeah!

Don't hate. My mom may be Jewish but she loves any holiday where she can decorate her house, especially if it means she can bring out all the bells and whistles AND string lights along her roofline. And I learned from the best.

So Sunday night my house is completely decked out for the holidays. Monday morning I wake up to my alarm and feel like I have been hit by a freaking bus!

My throat is sore, my nose is all congested, my eyes are watering, and I am utterly miserable. Calling in sick on the Monday after a long weekend always makes me feel a little guilty. And I think that everyone else thinks I am really trying to sleep off a hangover (pssh, I wish).

I basically slept through all of Monday and most of yesterday. And drug my sorry sick ass into the office today. I am tired, but definitely on the mend.

When I get to the office I am clearing out my emails and there is one letting us all know that mice have invaded the building. About ten minutes after reading that email I turn to my mini filing cabinet and as I go to pull out the top drawer I hear the scrambling on little feet as they scurry away.

Awesome-sauce, I have mice in MY cubicle, in MY filing cabinet, munching on MY oatmeal packets! And no I am not scared of mice so it didn't freak me out. I am a little sad knowing they are going to be killed. I mean they are just doing what mice do, but hey, I know we really can't have them running free and loose all over the office. Besides, I want to know my oatmeal is safe.



And Christmas lights are pretty and make me happy and help me feel better.

YEA for the holidays!

Oh and P.S. My jack russell is insane and currently running around the house and growling and barking at miss Margaret (the cat). She is less than amused, but I am laughing hysterically!

Yeah, I love turkey day!

I love Thanksgiving. Seriously, I love it!

I mean, what other holiday is centered solely around eating until you can't breathe, then take a nap or watch some football or take a nap while watching football, then go back for more food? I mean really?! (HELLO, Ima fat kid!)

I like that Thanksgiving is about being thankful for what you have, not focusing on what you still want. It's not a holiday about giving and receiving presents. It is about family and friends.

Sometimes I think Thanksgiving gets lost between Halloween and Christmas, but it is such an important day. Of course we should be thankful everyday, but life can get busy and we can get caught up in the daily hustle and bustle and we forget to acknowledge those things that are truly important. And Thanksgiving offers us that day to remember to be thankful.

I hope you all have a great day! And I am now off to watch the Macy's Day Parade and then it is time to get my eat on :)

**I am thankful for all of you!**

The Little Things

Over at Manic Mother Beth is giving thanks for the little things. As she says, of course I am thankful for a roof over my head, food on my table, and all my friends and family. But what are the little things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving?

I used to try and post daily on myspace 5 things I was thankful for but then I started "really" blogging and kind of fell out of the habit. So, here is a list of 5 of the little things in life I am thankful for:

1. The smell of coffee brewing. Simply the smell makes me smile and my eyes crack open just a smidge more in the morning. Even when I attempt to stop drinking it, the smell is still fabulous.

2. My DVR. Completely shallow and materialistic, but it makes me happy. My life can get crazy busy, as I am sure yours can as well and it is nice to know that the shows I love and yes, crave, are there for me when I get a moment.

3. The feel of my little munchkin aka Jackie snuggled up next to me while we snooze and the little groans he makes whenever I dare to disturb him.

4. Sweater season. I love sweaters and frankly I rock the sweater look. I anxiously await the coming of fall and winter every year so I can pull out my old favorites and hit up the stores to add new additions.

5. Tweezers. As much as I hate to admit it, I have some funky chin hairs. The satisfaction I get from tweezing those bad boys is overwhelming. I hold the offending hair between my tweezers and look at it while cackling maniacally "muwah ha ha ha! I am victorious you evil chin hair!"

So what are some of the little things you are grateful for? Come play along and link up with Manic Mother! All the cool kids are doing it.

Sleeping Beauty

I love sleep. Like, seriously love it. Maybe my love of it comes from not always being able to get it. Having nights where I toss and turn or wake up every few hours.

Weekends make me happy because I don't have to set an alarm. I can wake up leisurely and on my own time...well okay the animals who choose to live with me occasionally demand to be fed or let out to go potty. Gah, they are SOOOO demanding!

This morning I slept in later than I normally do, mainly because I stayed up way later than my usual 11pm bedtime. As I slowly came to consciousness, registering the light peeking through my blinds, the sounds of the world being awake around me, I felt the warmth of my munchkin aka Jackie snuggled next to me. It made me smile. He is the best little snuggler and my own personal space heater. Then I opened my eyes and what do I see? Jack Russell butt inches from my face! Not his best side.

He is now laying on my bed licking his butt. Little butthead (ha ha, see what I did there) why does he have to lick his butt on my bed? There is a reason he has a DOG bed!

Oh well, he knows he's cute and he knows that allows him to get away with things like sticking his butt in my face first thing in the morning and then licking said butt on my bed.

Sticks and Stones...

...may break my bones but words can never hurt me.

This is a lie. Words can hurt the most and leave wounds and scars much deeper than those left by sticks and stones. Some words can leave festering wounds that only appear to have healed, but that can be ripped open with the tiniest whisper. Some words are deemed to have so much negative power that it is taboo to speak them.

They are words that strike at the core of who you are. They attack an essential aspect of your being, your make up, your you-ness. They attack a part that is integral in who you are, but also a part that you have no control over. A part that was not picked, but a part that you were born with. The part of you that carries all your family history and that part of you that will pass onto future generations.

The other day I was called a cheap Jew, after I had been told to take my star of David and shove it. It was hurled angrily at me by a person I considered a friendly acquaintance. It was thrown out with the sole intention of causing hurt and pain. It was a sucker punch to the gut, a low blow.

The hurt was instantaneous and the rage was only half a second behind. I was livid.

ASSHOLE! HE CAN GO FUCK HIMSELF!

Then the red haze began to lift and I realized he was sad and pathetic. He knew he had nothing else with which to hurt me so he went to this dark ugly place. He is unhappy with his life and chose to lash out at me in such a way because that was his only weapon.

And that is when I realized all he warranted from me was pity. He is a sad, small little man. He is nothing to me and he doesn't matter anymore in my life.

My Jew self is awesome!

And P.S. Jerkface, I'm a broke Jew, not a cheap Jew. There's a difference, learn it.