Are you famous if you have the same birthday as Jon Bon Jovi?

That is the million dollar question.... the question I asked my Mom the day she gave birth to my sister, Holly Suzanne. On March 2, 1977 I remember daydreaming about what it would be like to run my fingers through Jon's glorious locks while singing happy birthday to him Marilyn Monroe style. I was brought back to reality when my Nana entered the room to tell me I had a new sister. Now, Holly was my second sister. I was already accustomed to acting obnoxious to get attention... a strategy I still perform to this day.....so, I wasn't too concerned about how her birth would affect me. But I should have been.....






Holly and I shared a room for many years. It was a Raggedy Ann/Holly Hobbie room. Yes, of course, we all had a special theme that we collected from curtains to underwear. That way you never got confused on what things belonged to you. The themes were as follows....





Kim - Raggedy Ann




Shannon- Betsy Clark (most of you probably don't know who that is.... and they stopped making her stuff a long time ago...so, Shannon switched to Strawberry Shortcake.




Holly- Holly Hobbie




Kristen- Peter Rabbit




David- Snoopy




Bethany- Carebear





If we all liked the same thing... such as Strawberry Shortcake... then we would pick a character that represented us and we would collect everything with that character. I was Blueberry Muffin....(she smelled so good and I always had to remind myself not to eat her.) Everything was always very organized... and it was also easy to know if someone took something of yours - which of course, would result in a battle... which would result in my parents making us hug one another and say "I love you". That was the worst punishment.... I would have rather been spanked. Why would you want to tell a sibling that you loved them when they took your favorite toy? I guess that was the point of the punishment.

When Holly was young, I was more of a nurturer... always wanting to take care of her and such. When she became a teenager our relationship turned in to a friendship. We would go out to dinner, go shopping, listen to music... etc. She is hilarious... by the way! Always the entertainer. We used to go on these month long cross country trips when we were younger. We had a huge "bus" ( everyone had their own bench) that would pull our pop up camper. We didn't have ipods, dvd players, game boys... we just had our imaginations and talent for performing. Everyone except for Holly would gather on my bench. We would watch her perform puppet shows, karaoke, tell jokes... it was crazy entertainment. I will never forget her performance of "red red wine" by the UB40's performed as a Muppet. Priceless!

She is also an amazing commentator! You will never experience the zoo, a tour, sitting in the car the same way again. She always makes up stories, voices, and words for any one around her. We have video tape after video tape of us on historical tours where she is telling her own story. I'm telling you.... you will laugh so hard around her that your eyes will pop out!

Things we have in common.....

1. We both LOVE to cook. She really got in to the whole recipe collecting, creative cooking before I did. She went all out for my 20th birthday and made me a Mexican dinner that my mouth still waters for. She is a vegetarian and she can still cook MEAT! That's a pretty cool talent! She just sent me a recipe for vegetarian sausage balls! I'm actually making them tonight and can't wait! Me and Kev LOVE appetizers.... so much so that we have appetizer dinners quite often...(just like Cher in the movie Mermaid). You can imagine that sausage balls are one of our favorites. With this recipe (made with vege burgers chopped up instead of sausage) it will be healthier and as Holly says... it can sit out on the counter all day or you can carry a ball around in your pocket without having to worry about the meat going bad. That is TWO wins in one recipe. I love to keep food in my pocket in case I have an emergency of hunger... and with real sausage balls, I would always have a grease stain on my pocket. That is not very appropriate for where I work.

For the record, she says she too can only cook quantities for a family of eight. It is that fear we have of running out of food.... even though we never ran out growing up. Maybe it is because we lived during the depression... who knows.

2. We both like a lot of the same music.... old country, Dixie Chicks, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. I've always loved music and dancing... except not dancing in public. I dance for very few people.... my family, Kev, and some of the girls at work - if they are very lucky! I can do the moonwalk, the soldja boy, and the boot scoot boogie. I taught Holly all of these dances. She tells me that she used to put on my favorite pair of pants ( bright yellow and black checked ) and would dance around in them while I was at work. This was not recently, by the way, as I'm sure that is what you are thinking. It was when I was in highschool. I had a 80's wardrobe to die for!

3. We both have a pet named Kevin. :-)



4. We both have an intense drive to succeed. We have a strong work ethic and competitive nature. We both had jobs at a very early age and were determined to be independent. We also have a "we can do nothing in moderation" policy. Once we get involved in something.... we are involved hook, line, and sinker. ( that example was super cheesy.... but leads me in to my next commonality.. sort of)



5. We both do NOT like swimming in the ocean... or lake... or sewer systems. The only ocean I felt ok swimming in was when I was on the North Shore in Hawaii. It was so beautiful and clear and you could see right down to the bottom. I refuse to swim in water I cannot see in to. REFUSE! I was doing just fine ... floating around.... and then this boy yells... "hey lady! there is a sea turtle swimming under you". Every one else thought it was so cool and starting diving down to see it. Well.... I made a complete fool of myself. I started screaming and kicking my legs all around and flashed my chest to anyone that cared ( which was NO ONE, by the way). We were in pretty deep water and the turtle was WAY down at the bottom... couldn't touch me and probably wouldn't if given the chance... because I am so ridiculous! They had to pull me out of the water with a crane - a huge piece of construction equipment and not a bird. My family would not let me sit on their picnic blanket after that... I had to eat in the car.

What we do NOT have in common....

1. Holly is a SERGEANT in the ARMY! How cool is that!!! She was once in retail like me... we even worked for the same company (me in Columbia and her in Louisville, KY). With the ever changing retail market... she suddenly decided to join the army. Now I would have maybe decided to be a chef, a pro volleyball player, or a Sasquatch before I would have joined the Army... it totally freaks me out. But not Holly... she is so independent and tough and is AMAZING at what she does! We are SO proud of her and all she has accomplished... not to mention what she does for our country! She was stationed in Hawaii first... that is where she met her husband of 3 years - Kris Craighead. Now they are stationed in Cuba. The scenery is amazing and they have a beautiful home. They also have adopted a dog named Poncho. His real name was Kevin but Holly changed it for fear there would be confusion if Kev and the dog were in the same room together and one of them pooped on the floor. The crazy thing about it is that I call Kevin... Poncho when we are eating Mexican food. I'm starting to wonder if they are the same person/dog.

She has also learned many uses for Cuban cigars.

2. She is a vegetarian... as I mentioned before. I could never be one of those kinds of people. I was born with such huge strong teeth... and it would be a waste to only use them on bread, cheese, and pasta. There are FOUR vegetarians in my family.... Holly, Kristen, and Bethany and Kristen's son Elijah. My Mom always says that they are vegetarian for very different reasons... Holly is because she hates the taste of meat. Kristen is because of her love for animals ( Elijah feels the same way) and Bethany is because she wants to be difficult and annoying. I believe everything my Mom says... mostly.

I'm sure she could tell you a lot more things that we do NOT have in common for fear of being associated with a "civilian". But that's ok.... I LOVE my Holls, Hoshtie, HollDoll, and Hamburgler. I hope you had a great birthday!

This is a pic of my family.... a million years ago. Holly is the one on the far right sitting in front of my Dad. This pic was taken at my Aunt Laurie's house in Georgetown SC. I bet you can't guess which one I am.... hint: BIG TEETH! :-)

PS- I will be going to visit Holly in a couple of weeks.... not in Cuba - they won't allow me to enter the country- but in Florida. Stay tuned for some great Switzer shenanigans!