That said, let’s not forget on this Memorial Day in the United States, why it was was established in the first place: as a special day to remember those who’ve died in our nation’s service.

One can sense the lack of enthusiasm for this as you travel west from the cradle of our nation’s birth (near Boston), and continue as far as the land of the Wild Wild West and the Cradle of our Nation’s Gold Rush. It seems that if a person has grown up in a state that lacks the monuments for the Revolutionary War or the Civil War history, they’re less likely to feel a deep sense of tradition or responsibility to acknowledge those who were tortured, shredded by shrapnel or torn by explosions while serving our country. Even though many did this out of passion for a belief, and to accomplish what they truly felt was DAMN RIGHT on behalf of our country and our people, it’s not something people truly remember or feel something for these days.

I’m not sure WHAT it takes to rally the passions (and actions to back it up) among us these days.  And if you point me to Occupy Wallstreet I will hurl.

Also, if you ask people to participate in your reality or comedy series, or a flash mob you’ve got game.  Talk to them about devoting their life to ANYTHING and you lose them before you can squeak out “devo…”

I’m sure this doesn’t apply to everyone, but it’s prevalent.  Why do you think Occupy Wallstreet was met with such mixed response?  Scratch that.  Don’t answer that. We’re not going there today. Let’s get back to the crux of this piece…

This article is about you and me.  It’s about the connections we’ve made with very important people in our lives, or along the way in our journeys.  It’s about not allowing those memories of people who impacted us to simply sit or fade away.

I love Memorial Day for the depth it can carry. While many people in the U.S. are grilling, socializing and reveling in the fun of the long holiday weekend, I think it is also important to realize the reason we are on holiday.

This Memorial Day I wish to remember people I call heroes in my world.

1) My dad, otherwise known as Orville Joe Sherwood, or Papa Joe to his grandkids is my hero.  He is first here on the list because though he didn’t die in our nation’s service, he served for a full lifetime as an enlisted man, and left the Navy as Chief Petty Officer when he retired.  He is a hero because he was the net that surrounded and supported my mom and kept all eleven of us kids in line when we needed it most. I miss him when I see things happen now in our family that should never happen. I have to ask if he’d been around longer than his short 65 years, would things be different?  Though I’m not sure, I seem to think so.  He is a HERO to me and all of my family, as well as many of his best friends who remembered him well throughout his life.  He was the happy-go-lucky man who was a wonderful compliment to his wife – my mom. My dad smoked cigarettes, and suffered for years through Emphysema and heart disease before he was killed by a cancer none of us knew even existed.  He passed away in March of 1988.

2) My mother Nereide Francis Padalino Sherwood is my hero, God bless the woman.  She (like dad) was raised during the Great Depression in a single parent home. This made for one TOUGH woman. But she held to the love of her life – the Catholic Church – with all its rules and regulations, and despite the trends of the day, kept getting pregnant and HAVING all those kids. THANK GOD, because I am number TEN of ELEVEN kids she had.  I’m sure she THANKED GOD as well, because I was her favorite. Yep.  I said that. But the thing that makes my mom a hero is her attitude.  My mom was the one who made all of us feel as though we could and WOULD accomplish anything we put our minds to. If we wanted something all we needed to do was work toward it to make it happen. There was never a question in her mind, and subsequently in my mind. She is also the one who laughed at herself and at life.  She taught us to laugh at the same things. So of course, we all laughed at her, and then, yes, we laughed at ourselves. A classic line my mom is remembered for, which busted up (for some, to the point of tears), all who were present: “Ohhhh!  What a BONER!”  She MEANT to say ‘what a bummer’, and we knew it but we CRACKED up and never let her live it down. She laughed at herself then too. She was Lucille Ball incarnate, and I like to think that I follow in her footsteps in that regard.  It’s my badge of honor.

3) My beautiful, vibrant and larger than life sister Mimi - or Mary Louise Sherwood Larimore (also known as Maven here in Ms. Cheevious-land). She was the sister who was closest in age to me, so of course she is my hero. Had she never come home from shopping with her girlfriends in eighth grade, having spent her allowance to buy me a Donny Osmond album, it wouldn’t have mattered. I idolized her anyway. But she did that, and I was forever in awe. On top of her good heart and incredibly hilarious wit, she was the one in the family who could cut through all the bullshit and called a spade a spade. PERIOD. No harm, no foul. If you heard the wrath of Mimi it was because you probably deserved it.  On the flip side, if she unleashed on you in error she was the first to inform everyone she’d made the error and ask for forgiveness. She was REAL, FUNNY, BOLD and COURAGEOUS. She took each of those intense qualities with her to the grave when she lost her 7 year battle with Ovarian Cancer. She is my all-time hero. I loved her and the wound is still open and raw, but I remember her and I never want to forget.

Who is it for you? Who are the people in your world who you’d like to remember? Perhaps it’s someone who is still alive, but you’ve lost touch.  Whatever the case, I encourage you to spend a few minutes on this Memorial Day to put some thought and purpose into the holiday – after you’ve had your fun, if necessary. It is so important to remember those people that have elicited change or at minimum, thoughtfulness in our lives.  It is the ultimate show of respect to think of them today, and if they are alive, perhaps even let them know you thought of them in such a way.

Enjoy your day everyone!  Tune in next time for something truly amazing.

Love you people!!!!! Mmmmppphhhuuuhhhh!!!!

xoxo,

Ms. Cheevious

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All Blog content copyright 2012, LISA JEY DAVIS aka Ms. Cheevious

Make it stop.

PLEASE.

I give up.  I don’t want to “explore” this subject any more than to tell you why this should never happen again.

Here is my list as to why I think it’s preposterous to make this into a “THING”:

1. Women look *REALLY* good when they haute-up.  Just sayin’.  I’m one to talk, as a person who barely sports face powder on a regular basis.  But I still maintain that a little somethin’ somethin’ is all it takes sometimes to hide major blemishes from the world. ESPECIALLY when I’m posing for photos, going out to greet my adoring fans (HA), or appearing in front of an audience.

2. It’s almost as if these women waited until they were a) on their period and had menstrual induced breakouts, b) having the worst hair day of record, or c) were pre-pubecently OOgly with acne and all that entails.  Hell, we’d ALL be ugly on those days. Which leads me to number 3.

3. I don’t want to see that. My boyfriend doesn’t NEED to see that.  You don’t want to see that.  Also… my own FRIENDS and FAMILY don’t want to see me looking my worst.  Even I don’t try that at home people.  And admit it.  We kinda LIKE our idea of these women as they are when they’re made up.

4. Why let all the snappy technology of today go to waste?  Hello? It’s there people, for the taking.  Makeups, creams, hair tonics, oh the glorious hair tonics. They’re everywhere and almost FREE in some forms and locations. Get them while you can and use them while there is still time.  PLEASE.

5. I know there will be those naysayers out there who are proponents of this new “THING.” “I think they look lovely and show courage coming out without a stitch of makeup. No one does that in Hollywood or in political office… blah freaking blah…” You can say that all you want, but I DARE any of these women to show up on camera for their SHOW or to a GALA without a stitch.  That’s the point.  They won’t.  Why? Because getting adorned makes them look their best.  So, you naysayers… here, you may make your point, but only if you are known to never shave your legs/armpits, shower, wear makeup, perfume or hair products, and at that – you still look FABULOUS and could go like that to the most important occasion of your life.  Then, and only then will we bow before the idea of dolling up without products.

Because isn’t that the point?  Shouldn’t we view every waking moment as one of the most important, even possibly one of the last moments of our lives?  Shouldn’t we see how we look for our close friends and family as extremely important as well? Not that we have to shellack our faces and hair every day, but geez, put a little effort in.  Show those in your lives you care.  Would ya?

Enough said.

Tune in next time for a fabulous and tantalizing tale of two dates… or maybe something entirely different.

Love you people!!!!! Mmmmppphhhuuuhhh!!!!

xoxo,

Ms. Cheevious

WATCH the related video: http://youtu.be/ObPV0ejuOXo

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All Blog content copyright 2012, LISA JEY DAVIS aka Ms. Cheevious

It was a fun post to write. I really wanted to explore the subject because I feel as though women tend to believe (and promote) ridiculous notions about themselves. It is tiring and embarrassing being held accountable by men for ideas floating around (which sound good initially, but end up falling flat) like ‘women should “become” successful or fashionable or fit, because that is what a man wants’, or even worse, that certain behaviors are okay because we are – well, female – for goddsakes. Not true. Clinginess or nagging is unattractive no matter what sex organs you possess. Yes, there are certain things we can do to rock our partner’s world. The article definitely addressed some of those things (like supporting their passions, even if it involves watching, listening or sacrificing our date night to sports almost every day of the week). Reminder. It wasn’t a list of MUSTS – just what guys secretly wish. Likewise, this is not a MUST-DO list for guys. Guys can take it or leave it with no judgment whatsoever. They may never get lucky again, but hey – it’s their prerogative.

In all fairness, however, women deserve equal time.  I covered things for the guys, so by-god my girls and I get our day in Ms. Cheevious-land too.  Plus, some of you wrote and asked me to do it.

One of the things that crossed my mind when I decided to write about this was “are you friggin’ KIDDING? Women? The list could be endless!”

I admit I think we are a little whacky and our wishes about guys are all over the map.  With men, whittling it down to ten things seemed pretty easy – and I probably covered it pretty thoroughly. They’re pretty simple human beings.  Food, sex, laughs, eye candy and activities they enjoy (reading, athletic, channel surfing – choose the poison) are probably about it for them. Not so for women.  A quick Google search of the things women wish about guys delivered 579 million results.  That’s the actual number people.  One such result was a Facebook page dedicated to the 257 Things a Girl Wished a Guy Knew.  Wow. I wouldn’t want to be a guy.

If you haven’t noticed yet, WE’RE VERY DIFFERENT.

There are some really important differences between men and women (aside from the obvious) that make it truly impossible for me to list ALL the things women wish about men in this article.

EMOTIONS. We women are complex creatures who are not only willing to allow emotions a place of prominence in our decision making processes, we are  hardwired to do so (hormones, cycles, etc). Most men (not all, of course) are simple individuals (see above).  They know what they want and need, and they try to make that happen.  Simple.

BRAINS. Women think differently than men. We access our left and right brains simultaneously. Men use one side at a time. This benefits us often (we’re amazing multi-taskers), but it can backfire as well.  If, for instance, we are compelled by logic (left brain) NOT to text or call the guy — AGAIN — often (at the very same time) the right brain in all its creativity and imagination (fueled by those ooey-gooey, yummy emotions) offers up just as compelling an argument to do so, i.e. ‘but I really like him.. and…[imagining] wouldn’t we make such a cute couple? If I show him how cute I am, he’s bound to see how cute we would be together. I’ll text him this cute picture right now…”

BODIES. Our bodies are different, and have different needs. We possess extremely complex, multi-layered va-jay-jays (and our not-so-complex, but equally tantalizing ta-tas). Men have some pretty basic elements to their physiques – a penis and its – ehem – cohorts.  Once you’ve explored every nook and cranny, there AIN’T much else to discover.  But no one knows or holds the keys to the kingdom when it comes to every undiscovered secret of the great female organ. Not even the woman possessing it. So then, why would anyone expect that from any man (who simply wants food, sex, laughs and enjoyable activities)?

I could go on, but I think you get my point.

Still, in the name of equality, and in an effort to be just as thorough for my girls, I’m diving in.  LORD help me.

1. TREAT ME SPECIAL NO MATTER WHO IS AROUND (DON’T TREAT ME DIFFERENTLY WHEN YOU”RE AROUND YOUR FRIENDS). That’s just weak.  Be good to me.  Period. Not too difficult. Don’t disrespect me. If you need guy time, I get it. Just don’t treat me like one of your locker room buddies when they are around (insults, jabs and wise-cracks about bodily functions included) and expect me to crawl all over you later that evening.

2. DON’T BE A JEALOUS  OR POSSESSIVE NANCY. That’s even weaker.  Be confident in yourself and in our relationship, no matter how gorgeous you think I am (and thank you, by the way, but it’s not a threat to you), or how scandalous and untrustworthy other guys may be.

3. DON’T BE A SLOBBOVIAN WHEN YOU GROOM YOURSELF. You did NOT just clip your nose hairs and leave it in the sink, did you?  Puh-leeez.  I am not your maid, or your mom.  I love seeing you when you’re well groomed (translation: when you look and smell clean and are the HOT guy I am attracted to).  I don’t want to know (or see or smell) how it happened, especially when it’s etched into the grout.

4. IF YOU ASK FOR DIRECTIONS WE WILL LOVE YOU MORE. You might even get a little extra somethin’ somethin’. This one requires no further explanation. Just ask, for goddsakes.

5. SUPPORT MY PASSIONS. Just as I watch and try to enjoy – or fake it  -  your sports, your dune buggies, motorcycles, model airplanes, etc… at least on occasion, I want you to do the same for my shows, my occasional trip to the mall, antiquing…. even daisy picking.    Yep…once more… with feeling.  The “Real Housewives,” “The Bachelor,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Revenge,” are all now part of the deal. And those daisies won’t pick themselves. But seriously men, if we agree to extend each other a hall pass for such activities, well, at least smile and act excited for us as we head out the door to our next chick flick.  When we see you next, maybe even ask about it, and try to act interested.  Don’t let your eyes glaze over.  Hopefully in return we’ll do the same while you’re on your way to hang out with the guys at the Sports Bar all day on a Sunday, or when you launch into a ten minute diatribe on the NFL draft and the doom of first-round draft pick’s career.

6. CELEBRATE MY SUCCESSES WITH ME. Don’t be threatened, even if you are out of work. My good fortune is your good fortune.  We’re a team.  If that means you are on Windex or Pledge duty, well, I’ll cheer you on too.  I’ll be that support you need, but don’t ruin things by handling my good fortune badly.

7. CUDDLE AND TOUCH ME MORE. I’m not saying it has to be all the time.  But geez, how about once in a while?  Maybe after a hard day, while we watch TV, anytime the time is right… caress my cheek… stroke my hair… squeeze my arm gently… hug me…  put your hand on my leg when we sit next to each other…  Once in a while will do.  Just do it.

8. MS. VA-JAY-JAY LIKES “SPECIAL” ATTENTION AS MUCH OR MORE THAN MR. WINKY. Because I am built so that you can please me in a multiplicity of ways, I don’t complain when I don’t get that specific attention.  Just don’t make it rare or never.  NOT ACCEPTABLE. Not only that, sometimes we actually want, or NEED to have that full-throttle orgasm that just won’t happen by the traditional means.  You may have to get creative yourself Mister.

9. SURPRISE ME. Let me know you are thinking of me when I’m not around. Buy me some flowers or do something as a token of your affection… at work or at home… in a restaurant — For no apparent reason.

10. BE MY MAN. And all that entails.  Chivalry is not dead, and contrary to popular belief – I still like it. I am strong, intelligent, independent and an incredible success story in my own right. I’m not looking for a knight in shining armor, necessarily, but if you want to walk on the street side of the sidewalk, and open the door for me, I won’t mind.  I would also greatly appreciate and probably become your love slave, should you find occasion to defend my honor, and do so.  I’m just sayin’.  I don’t need a man to rescue me, but I do appreciate him showing that he can, that he cares  and that he is willing, should he see the opportunity.

So there you have it. I did say there was no way on EARTH to cover everything, didn’t I?

Check in next time for something frivolous and delicious.  I’ll be over here conjuring it up…

Love you people!!!!! Mmmmppphhhuuuhhh!!!!

xoxo,

Ms. Cheevious

WATCH the related video: http://youtu.be/V_eCt04xKak

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All Blog content copyright 2012, LISA JEY DAVIS aka Ms. Cheevious

I chose the powder blue version. It’s a Miller and Jeeves (out of Oxerfordshire England) business or credit card wallet, and the leather on this little guy is so YUMMY smelling!  You’ve got to check it out at www.bottica.com.  They were the gracious people to gift this to me because of my KLOUT score online! Isn’t that awesome?  Yes, I am well aware than many of you don’t know anything about KLOUT scores, and I’m talking gibberish as far as you’re concerned. But think in terms of the word “clout” – what it means – and then, as it relates to “online” or “internet” presence.  My score is actually not very accurate, because it won’t allow me to combine more than one twitter account or more than one Google+ account, and guess what? I have about 8 twitter accounts.  Yes.  8 or so.  Plus or minus…. maybe. Really people. By now you know that I have my OWN online presence, as does Lisa Jey Davis (the other me). So there are numerous profiles running around cyberspace. I don’t blame Klout for not being able to keep up. I’m suffocating in the bytes myself!

Anyway – watch the video. Comment on YouTube if you’d like to get a chance to win, and comment here – because I’m going to pull together a consolation prize for one person who can tell me the very last word I say in the video – and when it appears! This one is fun.

Here’s the video! Click the little YouTube icon on the bottom right of the box to write your comments on YouTube (you’ll need a YouTube account – but that’s super easy, especially if you already have Google+ – which owns YouTube – it’s pretty much done).

For those of you via email, who cannot see the video box, here is the link: http://youtu.be/b74Vvkf7JrY

Good luck everyone!  Tune in next time for an article on those things Girls Secretly Wish About Guys! OHHHHH YEAAAAH.

Love you People!!! MMMPPPHUUUHHHHHH!!!!

xoxo,

Ms. Cheevious

*If you don’t know this already, all of my friends and family are given aliases in Ms. Cheevious-land, unless they don’t care either way. In that case, I happily broadcast their lives here, there and everywhere for all to enjoy.  M.C. Nugget, aka Emcee Nugget, aka Nuggie, is my beau.

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All Blog content copyright 2012, LISA JEY DAVIS aka Ms. Cheevious

Then a little thing like a cult following made a television network like the CW stand up and take notice. They repurposed the storyline for a six year run on primetime television. Only, the television version didn’t come close to what fans of the film had fallen in love with:  the hot, somewhat ditzy valley girl (Kristy Swanson) meets somewhat hot and quirky love interest (Luke Perry), two very likable, ill-intending, yet clumsy vampires (Rutger Hauer & Paul Reubens aka Peewee Herman), and a wise old Vampire-Slayer guide (Donald Sutherland).

Since one of those “other” blog sites (Hello Giggles) out there posted “Five Ways Buffy the Vampire Slayer Ruined My Life” about the television show, I decided someone had to talk about how this film impacted modern-day pathos…certainly my own.

The MOVIE “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” rocked my world, because it came at a time when I was a young mother who was newly married. My life had become very proper, and tame. I was introduced to these SNARKY, HILARIOUS, COOL phrases that made up most of the film, and I was in awe. I had always been one of the girls in my circle who wise-cracked and made silly-as-hell jokes about everything, but now, just as Buffy was always ready and always witty, so too I would always be ready with a quick-witted response. I knew that my wit could some day change the world – and definitely save my life.  I was right, of course. Here are just a few of the ways the film and it’s awesome lines ROCKED my world:

• When something is TOTALLY out of style: What I use to say when something was out of date or unfashionable (oh ten or more years ago) was, like Buffy’s friends in the movie, “That’s SOOOO Five Minutes ago.”  But because the quick wit of the film made such an impression, I’ve become very adept at updating my quips to relate to current culture.  So now I may say, “That’s SOOO five megahertz ago.” OR if I’m REALLY on my game, I’d say (pay attention now, this is GOOD): “That is SO 3G.“
• How I ALWAYS look on the bright side: David Arquette’s character, Benny was best friends with Luke Perry’s character Pike, but he got turned into a vampire early in the movie.  BUMMER.  Later in the movie he says “Come on, Pike! Join me! Live forever! We can start a band!”  That is SO me.  I’d totally be turning life as a member of the undead into something cool. I’d be the lead singer.
• When I want to use hormones as an excuse: Buffy learned that as the “chosen one”, the “slayer”, the way she would know that vampires were nearby is she would get cramps, similar to the kind she got during her period.  Her response? “Great. My secret weapon is PMS.”  So, basically, whenever she got cramps, it was time to KICK SOME ASS. HELLO?  Can you say IRON CLAD EXCUSE for going Bat Shit CRAZY on people? Hormones People!  PMS, Periods, Menopause, Whatever!  Voila!  See why it rocked my world?  Now, before you clue me into the fact that Buffy’s cramps were not her actual period and therefore were no excuse for any behavior (one could argue that actually), let me remind you of something.  This is about how it rocked MY world. You can read all the lines on your own (a link to many of them is below) and draw your own conclusions, but no one ever promised objective or even REAL reporting here in Ms. Cheevious-land.  So for me, the cramps bit was a great way for me to excuse MY ASS KICKING behavior when I’m hormonal, unkay?

Heyyyy… maybe I’m not only “like” Buffy. Maybe I AM a Slayer after all.

But really, the list of comedic retorts and phrases goes on and on!  There are so many great lines in that movie.  It definitely ROCKED my world.

That’s it for now my lovelies!  I’m off to beddy-by, where I can dream about slaying the world with my cool-ass wit.

But before I go… one of the readers of my post “10 Things Guys Secretly Wish About Women” asked me to do a similar post about what Women Secretly Wish About Men. I’m toying with the idea.  But in the meantime, for your reading enjoyment, you can find many of the funny lines from the “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” film here: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer_(film).

See you next time everyone!

Love you people!!!! Mmmmpphhuuhhhh!!!!

xoxo,

Ms. Cheevious

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All Blog content copyright 2012, LISA JEY DAVIS aka Ms. Cheevious