Wicked, Weird and Wonderful

 

"RUN DOROTHY RUN!"

When I watch The Wizard of Oz, still to this day, I get a little nauseous.  You see one of my earliest memories is hiding behind a chair at my babysitter’s house while the other kids watched the movie.  I could not close my eyes tight enough.  She was coming for me in all her green glory and I couldn’t get the image out of my head.  No matter how tightly I closed my eyes and even with covering my ears, so as not to hear her voice, I still would go home at night and have nightmares.  It’s silly really, all the other kids could sit and laugh at the flying monkeys and sing along with the munchkins, while little Lisa sat cowardly in the corner.  Then it happened, I would get a burst of braveness and squint open one eye, look at the screen and cry.  I would go home and continue on like nothing had happened.  Playing with my Barbies and going about my business.  My Mom would put me to bed, tuck me in tight and I would snuggle up with my stuffed friends, finally fall asleep, only to be awakened by her again.  The green, ohhhhhhh the green and her pointy nose and her jagged teeth and that ball of fire.  I hated her.  She was ruining my life.  As soon as I fell asleep and started to dream about playing outside, sleepovers with my friends or getting a new doll, she would creep into my mind and “Poof” ruin everything. 

    

She's one bad a#$ witch!

It started the same way each night.  I was sitting in the living room of my Grandpa and Grandma  Someone would call me so I would run up those iconic 1960’s stairs, only to find myself inside a small restaurant with a few cozy, red leather booths.  There’s a bar but it’s unattended so I sit down in the booth. I can hear my family’s laughter and see rays of light streaming in from the living room below.  Suddenly that familiar puff of smoke and crimson flame appears in front of the bar and she would be peering her beady eyes out at me.  Her broom reaches out like it’s going to touch me and I scream!  My stomach starts churning, even in the dream, my legs cannot carry me back down those stairs fast enough.  When I would finally wake up out of the nightmare, I would be at the side of my Mother’s bed, sobbing. 
Lento’s house, only it wasn’t their house, it was The Brady Bunch House.

Just a dream... perhaps?  But then why did I continue to have that dream till I was a senior in high school? Not only would I have the exact same dream, over and over and over and over again for years, but I could almost feel her breathing on the back of my neck. For some kids it’s the boogie man or the monsters under the bed, but for me it was the fear of the Wicked Witch of the West, grabbing my arm and whisking me up into the sky by broom. 

 

Best musical EVER!!!

As I matured into adulthood, the nightmare faded away.  Even so, I had a hard time watching the movie. Even when the previews flashed across the screen showing that it would be played on a cable channel around Thanksgiving, I felt a little sick.  Knowing that I had this phobia, a friend told me to read the book “Wicked”, the evil witch’s version of what happened in Oz.  So I borrowed the book and quickly became obsessed.  Such a classic story told from the villains viewpoint was absolutely enchanting to me.  This modern day version was darker and much more poignant.  As I would flip through the pages and read about how the Wicked Witch had been born with emerald hued skin, razor sharp nails and jagged teeth, which led to her ostracism from birth, I began to feel less afraid of the character and instead felt for her.  I grew sympathetic to her cause as a misfit while I continued to read.

She's really not so scary!

     Yes, I know that the Wicked Witch or Elphaba, is a fictional character. I know she isn’t real and I  Margaret Hamilton, in the 1939 original. Margaret Hamilton who was actually a young Kindergarten teacher before portraying this role. In fact she later stated that she regretted taking the part because of how badly children were scared of her. How do I know all this? Well let's just say I have spent many nights researching The Wizard of Oz and specifically the actress herself.
know that she was portrayed by a regular woman,
 
It's beyond strange to be so affected by a movie for such a large portion of my life, or to be so scared of a woman who taught 5 year old children how to read and was a Mother herself. But hey I'm weird! Maybe somewhere in my nightmare there was a hidden meaning or some subconscious thought trying to get to the forefront of my mind. I guess I will never know. But here is what I do know, my kids love The Wizard Of Oz and all the spin offs and we even just bought the first five books in The Wizard Of Oz series written by L. Frank Baum. Despite my fears I do find the world of Oz wonderful and can't wait to read the books to Gabby and Colton. So I guess I have no choice but to get over my issues with the Queen of Green and soldier on. 

 A little light reading for the summer!

Vacation Part 2

Captains Log Day 2, March 29, 2014

Honestly, these kids would be happy with a hose in the
backyard... they just love life!

We should have went to Disney, I repeat we should have went to Disney! Normally at Spring Break, we would have taken the kids to Orlando. In fact we originally planned on going to Walt Disney World, but there is no beach! Gabby and Colton always complain that they want to go to the beach and play in the sand. So in prepping for our vacation, I logged on to Dewey's reward points account, to book a fabulous beach trip in Panama! Since he stays roughly 200 nights per year in a hotel, we had enough built up to stay in a beautiful Holiday Inn, beachfront! I didn't even have to tap into our timeshare, which was awesome, because after this trip we are going to need ANOTHER vacation!

Ron Jeremy would
feel right at home!

The first hint that I had towards something being fishy (pun intended), as Dewey was checking in, was the endless train of teenagers parading through the parking lot half naked. Though, I wasn't going to let that dampen my laissez fair attitude, I mean come on, I'm a liberal, free spirited, just on the forefront of my thirties kind of girl! Plus we aren't naïve, Dewey and I both realized it was Spring Break and have been to Florida during this time before. But college Spring Break is over and this was what appeared to be a very family friendly hotel. Yet as we approached the front desk to have wrist bands snapped on us and the girl working had to question if the nine month old needed one... they haven't had any babies? I admit, I started to get nervous! Yet up to our room we headed. As we filed onto the elevator with about 10 other people, I had to clench my kid's hands tightly and say a quick Hail Mary, I was questioning if we were going to go down. I wanted to scream, please don't jump in the elevator, pleaseeeeeee quit touching buttons and it didn't help that we were way up on the 15th floor. Let's just say it was the longest, alcohol drenched, chaotic elevator ride of my life. Ahhhhhhhh! Finally we entered our room, sanctuary, peace, our own private retreat in paradise or so the website said. What I walked into was what Ron Jeremy would have thought was paradise, not me.
A lovely suite decorated in cheetah print carpeting, gold accents and floor to ceiling mirrors around the bed. Ok, I know what you are thinking, YES, Dewey was excited! As a mother there with her three children, one of whom was asking why there was a mirror above the bed, I cringed.

Maybe something to eat and a good night's sleep would make everything better! Off to the Pita Pit for dinner, which was fantastic, they need to put one in Toledo ASAP. Then a quick stop at Target to replenish our pool gear and a lengthy, entertaining drive back to the hotel. I swear to you at every corner we turned there was a Panama City Police Officer arresting someone (with a silent cheer from me). Again, we expected it, we did not however, expect there to be a swat team in the lobby when we returned. "That's it, we are going home", my eyes were literally swelling with tears. So as I frantically tried calling to find another place to go in the area, I was sorely disappointed, everything was booked. Thirty-nine minutes later, I was on the phone trying to get some help from the IHG Priority Club while the kids cried in the backseat that they wanted to swim. Then just at the perfect time, sarcasm alert, Colton's nose started gushing blood. With the phone to my ear I ran him past the security to the bathroom in the lobby for some paper towels. Mind you I was still on hold, with an extremely helpful manager who was looking at every hotel within a two hour drive for us. Back to the van, bloody nose in check, when Dewey looks at me and asks, "Where is your wallet?" OMG, I left it in the cart at Target! So back to Target we flew to luckily find it at the front desk. I just looked at the girl working and sighed, "You will never believe our day"!

With no other hotels available in the area, we cranked up the fan for noise blockage and hunkered down for the night. Although, with every toss and turn all I could see was my reflection staring back at me and saying, "Never again Lisa, never again!"

Captains Log Day 3 March 30, 2014

The amazing view from our balcony!

As the sun began to rise over the beautiful ocean view from our balcony, I almost forgot where I was. Dewey and I had decided that we were here and going to make the most of it, so I showered off the negative feelings of yesterday and got dressed. With our little bathing suit cladded brood, we hit the hotel restaurant for a delicious buffet. Hey things were looking up. There were a few other families in the restaurant and the food was amazing! The view from our breakfast table revealed a white sandy beach that was empty and calling our names. The kids couldn't get their flip flops off and wiggle their bare feet into the sand quick enough. Shell after shell fell into their buckets as they were completely oblivious to what was unfolding on the hotel balconies. As a mother it was hard to ignore the young men screaming "flash your boobies" from their balconies at 10:00 am.


Nothing bothers this baby... so happy!

So with the pool being empty (because they were all too busy sleeping off the night or yelling random things off of the balconies) we pulled up some lawn chairs and enjoyed the sun. Then the DJ opened up his booth and as he played The Lion King's "Circle of Life", which apparently is the Spring Breaker's anthem because it drew them out of their rooms faster then a race car in the Indy 500. One of the hotel managers came over and was kind enough to offer us complimentary drinks. Probably because he figured if we had a few in us, it wouldn't be so bad (LOL)! The drinks were great and we did enjoy hearing lots of hilarious stories from a few of the security guards. The best story of all though was the legend of Spring Break Jared. The man who booked a room for a week by himself just to dance pool side all day long in his Crocs. Lucky for us, Jared was about to make his Sunday morning appearance. I don't know if Jared was on an acid trip or just socially awkward? Maybe he just really, really, really likes to dance... but Jared deserves his own reality show. Seriously, if he is not a YouTube sensation already then someone needs to post quick because it was unreal. Shirtless, lobster red from too much dancing in the sun and croc adorned Jared, broke it down all day long with his sweet moves. He may be the first person to use a towel as a stripper pole and if he wasn't the teenage girl with "Lick Me" across her stomach probably was the first.



Shrimp Boat Restaurant

We made it through though and cultured our children as well. Ending the day with a fabulous dinner at The Shrimp Boat located on the bay in St. Andrew's. It was quiet, had a breathtaking view of the sunset and most of all FAR AWAY FROM SPRING BREAK CENTRAL! With a good nights sleep and a ton of checkouts today I am hoping for a much better Tuesday!!!
To Be Continued...

Are We At The Beach Yet? Vacation Part 1

Captains Log Friday March 28, 2014

Day 1:

All packed!

Vacation, vacation, vacation! Yeah the beach, the sand, the sun on my face. One week of pure relaxation, right? I would say that “relaxation” is a questionable term when you are talking to a mother preparing to take a family of five out of town for a week. Though, I am a seasoned pro at traveling with kids, I still struggle to get out the door and I don’t think we have ever left the house on schedule. Take this morning for example, our time of departure was set loosely between 6-8:00 am. What time did we actually leave the Toledo area you ask? Well at exactly 1:19 pm we pulled out of the Perrysburg, OH, Panera Bread and onto the highway. Ultimate FAIL... six hours behind schedule and the start to a veryyyyyyy interesting vacation.

It might seem strange to some that we set a time to leave and COULD NOT stick to it. But here’s the thing… I did not want to leave the house a mess, because who wants to come home to a messy house after a nice getaway? So I ended up running around like a crazy person trying to finish packing, cleaning, running that homework assignment that Gabby should have taken in on Thursday out to the school and did I mention that I had to squeeze an appointment in at the vet for our cat, Sophie, to get her nails trimmed? Then as we were loading the car, I caught my breath, hooray we were ready to go!  I walked back in to grab one last bag and by God there was a tube of toothpaste in the middle of the floor with no lid, ooooozing out blue paste onto my dark hard wood floors. Are you freaking kidding me? So as I'm on my hands and knees scrubbing it off, Gabby walks in and says, "Are you ready to go yet?" What went through my head at that moment was a slur of bad words that I will not repeat. Bottom line, maybe if I had tidy children and eight arms, I would have gotten out the door on schedule, realistically those things are figments of my imagination.

Finally, we hit I-75 full force because we were long overdue for some fun in the sun. If you live anywhere in the Midwest, you feel me on this, LONGEST WINTER EVER! My children who are naturally olive skinned and maintain a tan all year long, looked sickly this winter. It's like the Polar Vortex took every single bit of color from our bodies along with all the color from every plant, tree, flower and lawn. Everything has just been WHITE, people included!!! Maybe the cold, snowy winter also froze my children's common sense, because I have never heard them ask the same questions so many times. What questions you may ask? "Are we there yet?" or "How much longer?" Usually these questions start midway through the trip, this time they started in the driveway. "We are just as eager as you guys, we will get there as soon as we can!" So with the peddle to the medal and a great song on the radio, we tuned out the kids and set our sights on a halfway point, Nashville, TN.

Did I have a little motivation for getting there? Definitely because it is home to one of my favorite people in the whole world, my bestie Jen! Trust me when I say that this stop was a impromptu (we decided that morning) and that she could not have been more surprised when I snuck up behind her in her living room... creeper alert! Although, I will say that I know she loved every moment of my sneak attack and the look on her face was priceless.

Our first day, although starting out a bit crazy, being filled with endless repetitive questions and leaving me exhausted from the start, ended out on a high note! A great visit and a huge start on our drive to the sunshine state. It's a good thing too because Day 2 was a N-I-G-H-T-M-A-R-E!

TO BE CONTINUED...

(TBT) Easton's Baptism and How We Forgot We Had a Third Child!

How could I forget
about this face?

   In honor of Throw Back Thursday I would like to tell you a little story about the time I left my baby in the car. That's right, sweet precious little Easton was left to fend for himself in the back of the cold van. WORST PARENTING MOMENT EVER!

  
   The day started out great, it was December 29th and we headed out the door to Easton's Baptism. Of course we were having 30+ people over afterwards for a dinner so I had been scrambling all morning to finish things up! Though I had to apply my makeup in the car, in the church parking lot, we were early. (Insert choir singing hallelujah here!) The whole family came out to witness our handsome little man entering into the church family, it truly was a beautiful day. Minus the part where the priest called him "Eaten" a few times. Dewey had to lean over and whisper, "Ummmmm we pronounce it EeeeeSton". When the Baptism was over we bee lined it home to get the food going and to await the Genoa Care Center transportation van, which was bringing my Papa who is wheelchair bound. The entire two minute drive back to the house I kept telling Dewey to drive faster and hurry up. He pulled the van up in front of the house, so other people could park in the driveway because we have a relatively deep front yard and its a walk up to the house! 

                                             So I ran across the yard and into the house,
                                             turned on the oven, thinking about nothing but the fact that I

Easton and his Godparents
Uncle Rudy & Aunt Erin

needed to feed these people ASAP! Dewey and my brother were helping Papa get into the house, which also is a challenge since we do not have a ramp, they have to lift him in. Once Papa was settled in enjoying some appetizers and the food was on its way to being served, I relaxed a little! "Hey let's get a picture with all three of our kids and their Godparents." I yelled into the living room! Since each one of our kids has a different set of Godparents and they all happened to be in the house at the same time, I thought, what a brilliant photo opportunity! In my mind all I could think about is how stinkin' cute that pic would be in a Baptism frame on my new white mantel!


Easton napping with
Uncle Rudy!

   We all lined up in the foyer and started pulling the Dunn children three into the pose. Gabby lined up, Colton lined up, "Who's holding Easton?" I yelled out to the group again, "Hey who has Easton, we are taking a group picture?" All of a sudden Dewey whipped himself around and bolted out the front door... it hit me like a ton of bricks, WE LEFT THE BABY IN THE CAR. I've never seen Dewey run so fast and the entire time he was running to the van (which had to of only been 10 seconds), I was screaming, "Is he in there, is he in there?" Sure enough that ridiculously laid back child was just chilling in his little car seat, bundled up and sleeping. We of course felt horrible, the other two had ridden home from church with grandparents and apparently we forgot we had a third child for a moment!

Easton and Poppy!

   Once he was inside we snapped the pictures while everyone else told their "I left my kid at home" stories. Honestly it made me feel a little bit better, but I couldn't help shake that horrible nagging in my gut that something could have happened.
Parents you know what feeling I'm talking about, it literally makes you sick thinking about the what ifs. I think that day Easton had a guardian angel looking after him because even though it was freezing out, he came into the house snug as a bug in a rug. Maybe Papa Craig made a trip down from Heaven, to wrap his arms around him and keep him warm while he waited for Mom and Dad to come back. Some how, some way, someone kept him safe and comfortable during his parents parental lapse in sanity. now when I'm getting in, out or while I'm driving, I do double and triple checks to make sure all of my children are with me! Risking overusing this phrase, which I think people do online wayyyyy too much, We truly are blessed!!!

 

 

Gabby with her Godparents Josh and Angie plus their

handsome boys Jackson & Grayson,

Easton with his Godparents, Uncle Rudy and Aunt Erin,

Colton with his Godparents, Uncle James and Aunt Jenna and

the proud parents of all three Dunn children in the back!

This One's For the Teachers

   I'm a little late to the party today, but this morning was, in the words of my eight year old "Cray Cray"! Actually the craziness started when I heard the news last night that school was closed AGAIN or as a friend stated on FB, day #7,000 and I about lost it. Do not mistake this for whining about being stuck at home with my kids either. I am a stay at home Mom so I am used to that, however, I am also used to being able to get out of the house with them at least a few times a week for activities. Whether its helping at school, cheer practice, church or a playdate. With this winter we have barely left the house.


Another Snow Day!

My one big venture out two weeks ago was to Columbus for a shopping trip. Sure it was cold and there was a little snow on the ground, but by God I was not for all the rubies in the world going to miss out on that! So my Mom and I piled the kids in the van and took it slow. Slow may not be the word for it, it was more like a white knuckled, migraine inducing, saunter along US 23! I literally started smelling something and wondered what the foul odor was when I realized it was me sweating! I had full blown BO leaking out of the sides of my blouse. A new blouse by the way that was a lovely, teal silk with little gold buttons, the exact thing one would wear to rid them of the winter blues. I mean I was looking pretty snazzy all dressed up for my shopping spree until I lifted a pit at a rest stop and saw the sweat stains. Good lord, I hadn't sweat that much since I "attempted" to run track once in High School.


The Cheesecake Factory Columbus, OH

 Since that horrific drive, (in the end totally worth it since I got to eat at The Cheesecake Factory and have a piece of Chocolate Tuxedo Cheesecake) I have barely left the house.
   
   On days that I have managed to run an errand or two, it's so cold that when my body hits the frigid air I gasp and cough and contemplate calling the doctor to get an inhaler because I am convinced I am having asthma attacks. Probablyyyyyy NOT! Its just sooooooo cold that the air hits you like a freight train and knocks the wind out of you!!!

   Which brings me back to being snowed in yet again with the kids. It is frustrating a bit, enjoyable yes but very frustrating! Of course everyone is duking it out on Facebook and venting to their friends on the phone, "I love being home with the kids, its so nice why are people complaining?" or "I'm a teacher and I have been able to spend each day relaxing with the kiddos, bring on the snow days!" versus "These kids are driving me nuts, I can not wait till they go back to school." I get both opinions and fully feel for each side of the battle, but in the meantime while we wait to discover when we will return to a normal routine, my kids need socialization! I mean lets be serious, school isn't just about scholastics, its about learning how to socialize, making friends and exerting themselves through play at recess, gym and in other aspects of the classroom. I took my kids and a friend to the Dollar General today just to have something to do (keep in mind that there is not a whole lot close to our house and driving into the city is not an option) we bought balloons to make stress relievers, hair detangler, snacks and hangers so I can organize my closet. So $28.00 later plus a trip to McDonalds for lunch and they were still bouncing off the walls. I actually had to look at the cashier and apologize saying "can you tell we are going stir crazy, no school again" adding a cheesy smile and a thumbs up!

I'm not worried about going to school in summer, what's important is that the kids have enough time to soak up as much knowledge as they can. Heck... this Mom is an advocate for school all year round for so many reasons that I will leave it to another blog on another day. But I have to say I am a little excited to wake up to an alarm at 6:45 and spend twenty minutes yelling at the kids to get out of bed, argue with them on what they are wearing and have sticky morning hands from digging into the jelly jar while packing lunches! I promise I will not complain about having to get up and move their slow, little butts along anymore. Mother nature has slammed us with an important lesson this winter, appreciate your teachers!



 Gabby's Wonderful Teacher!

Family Drama (sigh)

   Well yesterday although my intent was to blog away, I was sidetracked with family issues. I never in 8 years of having FB have ever posted about personal family problems, but I snapped! You can judge me all you want but I know and you know that we have all been there. If you can name a family in America that is perfect I will give you $100 right now. I guarantee you can not. They may have the appearance of perfection, but you never know what's going on behind closed doors.



No perfection here, just LOVE!

   Take the Kennedy's for example. A wealthy, good looking, political family with a golden future knocking at their door. I am certain that in the 50's other families looked at them and were envious of all they had. A multitude of children, beautiful home, probably a vacation home, etc. but if only they knew what was happening behind closed doors. Infidelity for one and a father who taught his sons that it was the norm no less. All the while the wives knew what was happening and allowed it to go on. Not the happiest of family situations, especially with Irish tempers brewing. You can take a popular family today, The Kardashians. Talk about having it all and still having nothing, they are a prime example! I would rather be poor and happy then as rich as they are and deal with the mess that is their lives (all on national television no less).

VACATION

 

 

   Then there is my family, Dewey, myself and the kids. Yes we have a lovely home in a nice subdivision, new cars, a time share and can do what we want when we want. However, we sacrifice time with Dewey for that. He travels a lot for his job and I stay home while the kids are young. This is a family decision we made together and it works but isn't always easy. Sometimes I feel isolated and think I might as well be a single parent and sometimes Dewey just wants to be home. Not too mention starting life at 22 with a baby and no house wasn't easy. We worked hard together to build our life but we sure as hell had struggles. If you lived in our old neighborhood, you probably heard a struggle or two ;) I also consider myself to be a good Mom, not a perfect one. I love my kids more then anything in the whole world but I lose it like we all do and I'm not proud of it but I have once or twice went into psychotic Mom mode. So although I may post on FB about a fun family vacation and hashtag it #familyfun #lovemyfamily #vacation, you will still see the real side of me when I post about my kids driving me nuts #ineedadrink #thesekidsarekillingme!

   I know my Mom has dealt with the same complications in life. I admire her for never letting us go to bed angry, supporting us through all of the good and bad and being the referee through our family complications. Every family has a matriarch, from Ethel Kennedy to my Mom, its a tough job. So no matter who you are or who your matriarch, patriarch, husband, children, etc. are and ALL the differences you share, remember we have all been there at some point.
  
So the moral of this blog? Wealth, beauty, the appearance of perfection is never really all of the story. We are human beings. We have emotions. God gave some of us stronger emotions then others. No two people in a family think the same, feel the same or deal with problems in the same way, ALL OF THE TIME. Look for the good and get passed the bad because life is too short! I can safely keep my $100 right?

A recent trip to The Cheesecake Factory with Nana

Sunday Morning Madness and The Art Of Reading the Paper

Funny Stuff!

   Most Sunday mornings are a mess in our house. One kid has to be at Catechism by 8:45 am the other at 10:15 and mass starts at 10:30. In the meantime I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to shower, get the kids ready, pack the "quiet" bag, remember the envelope for offering, etc. Organized people that are reading this will think, why not get it all together the night before? I do sometimes but more often then not we are busy all day Saturday and Saturday nights are the one night a week where we can just hang out as a family and chillax. So usually I am on the couch with the kids, hubby and a bowl of popcorn! Pulling myself away to lay outfits out  is out of the question! Then the alarm goes off and the chaos hits. If we get a bite of toast and a bowl of cereal in each kids mouth before we leave its amazing, yet alone the adults getting fed. Several times Dewey has attempted taking an actual mug of coffee and drinking it en route to church.... FAIL! Why is this an epic fail you may ask... running late, slamming the breaks, whipping the car around corners and into a parking lot is possibly the worst situation ever for an open cup of coffee. Don't get me started on how I have perfected the art of applying makeup in the car. I will do an entire separate blog entry on Mom Makeup On The Go! Bottom line, Sunday mornings are hectic!

The kids discovering the Comics!

   Obviously we have gotten away from relaxing on weekends in general and Sundays (though being a day of rest) are no exception. Parents with small children going to church everywhere can I get an AMEN!!! However, if you are living pretty much anywhere other then the West coast or Florida you  are probably like me and have been snowed in! Church was even canceled today which was definitely a disappointment for my soul but a relief for my sanity LOL! With my Sunday being free I did something that I haven't done in years, read the newspaper! Ok... I read parts of the newspaper not the whole thing!!! When I was little I couldn't wait to get up and read the Comics (or the funnies as we called them). Honestly, I don't even think my kids knew what they were? Between there DS's, iPads, Disney Channel, Netflix what child needs to read the paper for entertainment? But as I read For Better of For Worse and The Family Circus while enjoying (that's right enjoying not scarfing down) a hot cup of coffee, I really felt like this was a lost activity in most homes. Personally my information comes from Yahoo News, I barelyyyyyyy watch the actual news and I never read the paper. Boy have I been missing out! Reading the actual paper to get informed was relaxing and catching up on those classic comics was FUN! There is something about your fingertips brushing against the newspaper and its inky smell that is so calming. So next time you have a Sunday morning free whether its during your vacation to the beach or because you went to church on Saturday night, grab a paper and a hot cup of Joe for an old fashioned (yes newspapers are a bit old fashioned with this digital age) moment of Sunday relaxation!