Caution: Hard Hat Area

Let's see...it's Monday...what shall we talk about?

How 'bout we shift gears and discuss something besides all the snow?

How 'bout we discuss all the ice?

Does this look like a problem to you?

Did you know ice is frozen water?

Just call me Mr. Wizard.

Someday it will warm up enough to melt all of this ice.

And we really need that someday to arrive gradually.

If ice in a gutter melts too quickly it may very well decide to run right down the inside walls of a house.

We need to avoid the rapid melt.

We are hoping for a gradual melt.

The weather forecast is calling for snow on Tuesday and ice pellets on Wednesday.

I don't think we're in danger of a rapid melt.

Hubs took the painting pole that extends and swatted some of these bad boys down this weekend.

It required a great deal of finesse not to be speared by the falling ice.

Which is why I watched from inside the safety of the house.

In other fun this weekend the steps re-iced and this required chipping and salting and shoveling and hauling and perhaps a teensy bit of swearing.

Is anyone else just a little bit tired of the very exhausting 2011 winter weather?

She's not.

She loves to run and prance and stick her face in the deep snow.

And trust me...it's deep.

You know, sometimes you have to work to find the joy in winter.

I think I may have found a little here.

New York minutes

Where was I?

Oh yeah, it was snowing.

A lot.

Two feet of snow dumped into a city of over eight million people.

Plus all the surrounding boroughs too.

Plus all across nearby New Jersey.

On top of the umpteen inches already on the ground.

Walking around I was amazed at the amount of work it takes to keep the city operating when it snows. Besides the plows there were literally hundreds of people working to shovel sidewalks and crosswalks all around town.

The intersections where road meets curb were trickiest and often deep but everyone seemed to tread carefully and managed to hold on to an extra measure of patience which is not always the case even on a sunny day in NYC.

Don't let that blue sky fool you...it lasted all of about thirty seconds.

The Empire State Building looks lovely though, don't you think?

Wednesday evening we had reservations to dine at one of Bobby Flay's restaurants, Bar Americain. If you don't know who Bobby Flay is you must not watch the Food Network because he's all over the Food Network.

We were supposed to have three friends join us but only one ended up making it due to the pesky weather and cancelled flights.

That was disappointing.

So disappointing in fact, I was forced to order an amazing and ginormous piece of German chocolate cake with coconut whipped cream to keep from completely falling to pieces.

You know you would have done the same.

I really loved the menu at Bar Americain...modern flavors combined with a splash of comfort food. I had rack of pork with double apple butter and brussel sprouts and it was all fabulous.

Bobby's dishes were beautifully presented too, and yes we're on a first name basis.

Well, I'm sure we would be had he made an appearance at our table.

Course if I were Bobby Flay I would not be in my midtown Manhattan restaurant in the middle of a January snow storm.

I would instead be checking up on the staff in my Mesa Grill, which just happens to be located in the Bahamas.

I'm positive that restaurant would require checking on in mid-January every year.

Thursday morning hubs once again had to get to his meeting and oh guess what?

There was more snow.

Seriously, it's been ridiculous.

I did my part and hung out at the hotel until things dried out a bit and then I headed down Broadway towards Times Square.

I wanted to take more pictures but I was carrying my purse and a tote bag with some things I wanted to work on and walking thru the slippery slushy intersections really did require my complete and undivided attention.

I did not want to be that person falling awkwardly in front of millions.

That could so easily be me.

I did a little shopping and then parked myself in a window booth on the 8th floor lounge of the Marriott Marquis overlooking Times Square.

A perfect place to have a light lunch, to write and think and people watch.

Hubs and I decided to have dinner before leaving the city since we knew traffic would be a nightmare. We let the commuters get out before we made an attempt and really had no trouble with the roads.

Our front porch was another story altogether.

Once home I opened the front door and saw this....

My front steps are under there somewhere.

And then I looked up and saw this...

I surely hope no one needs to knock on my front door.

If they don't slip and fall on the skating rink that is my porch they might be knocked out cold by a falling icicle.

And the back door view wasn't much better...

Who else thinks we're a long, long, long way from al fresco dining here in Northern NJ?

That's my table under the cover which is under at least a foot of new snow.

I'm out of adjectives when it comes to describing this stuff.

Hubs did what all good husbands do and donned his snow gear and cranked up the snow blower and cleared the walkway and the porch and a space in the backyard for the dog and a path off the deck and called it a night.

I'm glad there are some things husbands just do.

Well, my husband anyway.

Had he not been home I would have done it but oh I would not have liked it.

At all.

He didn't complain and as such thinks he should be rewarded with a brand new mega monster snow blower.

Wouldn't a week on a beach someplace warm and sunny be a better reward?

In the City

'It's survival in the city....' I wonder if The Eagles might have been in the middle of a New York snow storm when they wrote that song lyric? Hubs had a meeting in the city this week and he asked me to tag along. Everyone knows when I say 'city' I am referring to 'the city' as in New York City, right? Moving on.

Did you know it's been snowing a lot here on the East Coast? Well it has. And we just can't seem to get away from it. It snowed almost two feet in Central Park while I was there. Do you know how many sidewalks and streets and crosswalks there are in NYC? There are many. Do you know how many people need to make their way along these sidewalks and streets and crosswalks on a daily basis? More than many. Its amazing you can get around at all but New Yorkers are nothing if not plucky and they do not let a little snow keep them down. Or in.

Hubs meeting was midtown in the Chelsea section of the city so we stayed there, actually not too far from the Empire State Building and the Fashion Institute of America. Tuesday night we decided we'd like to have Italian food for dinner and fyi- you pretty much cannot go wrong with Italian food in NYC. I consulted an app on my Ipad which is a restaurant finder. You enter your location and the type of food you want to eat and the distance you're willing to travel and it gives you restaurant names and details. I entered Italian restaurants within one mile of the hotel. It gave me 365 choices. I love this city.

Wednesday hubs had to skedaddle off to his meeting so I was on my own for the day. It was snowing so first thing I did was stay in my comfy hotel bed and sip coffee and read. What good is it staying in a hotel if you do not make full use of the amenities? I finally pulled myself together and walked about a block to a nearby coffee shop for more coffee and a freshly made bagel. Bagels are also something it is hard to get wrong in NYC. The snow was falling steadily but it was beautiful and I managed to hail a cab and ride it all the way to 89th and 5th. I've never been to The Guggenheim and it was a good day to be indoors.

The museum building itself was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and is uber cool. You might recognize it if you've seen The International or Men in Black. They were in the process of installing something new so I couldn't go all the way to the top but essentially its a big spiral with artwork along the ramps and in special annexes off the ramps.

I could stand in front of The Hermitage at Pontoise by Pisarro all day...makes me long for a trip to the French countryside. Well, the French countryside on a sunny spring day anyway. Sigh.

After I left the museum I decided to walk for a bit. It was snowing steadily but it was nice. I walked about 40 blocks along Fifth Avenue, which runs parallel to the Park at that end. And by park you know I mean the park as in Central Park, right? Anyway, Central Park in the snow is stunning.

There were people walking dogs, sledding, cross country skiing, and of course there were still the usual crazies out for a run.

This girl looked like she needed a calorie laden four course meal but instead she was out for a run with bare ankles in the middle of a snowstorm.

I walked on past the zoo...

and continued down Fifth, past the lovely Plaza Hotel...

I strolled thru Tiffanys and admired the windows at Bergdorfs all decked out for Chinese New Year...

...then took a break inside Trump Tower. The Donald is over the top in many ways but this building is really beautiful. If you go all the way thru the lobby you'll come to an enormous atrium and it feels like you're sitting outside except its January and its snowing and you're warm and dry.

I ordered a salad from a little cafe in the back of the atrium called Obika, aka The Mozzarella Bar. They import mozzarella and prosciutto from Italy on a weekly basis and yum!

Why do I need so many words to tell a story? Good question. I don't know the answer but I just know that I do so I think I will tell you about my delicious dinner at Bobby Flay's restaurant in part two. Oh, and the snow. More snow. Lots of snow. Mustn't forget the snow.

Can we talk too much about the weather?

No we cannot.

And here ya go...you're welcome!

A Super Day in the Wednesday Hodgepodge-Vol 11

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge...everyone is welcome to play along!

Be sure to link your post at the bottom of mine so friends and neighbors can come visit.

1. Will you watch the Super Bowl? If so, who will you cheer for? If you are not from the USA what is the 'big deal' sporting event in your own country?

Yes we'll watch the Super Bowl and in fact hubs and I are hosting a little Super Bowl party. We were hoping our home town boys, aka The NY Jets, would be playing but sadly they were beaten by the Pittsburgh Steelers which is why I will be rooting for the Green Bay Packers. I have zero ties to either team but I am looking forward to having friends in the house and making it a fun evening.

2. Is ignorance bliss?

Sometimes. Is it healthy? In general, no. I like to see life through my rose colored glasses but reality has a way of forcing itself in from time to time. I'm sure that's a good thing.

3. Which of the seven dwarfs are you? (and just in case your Disney is a little bit rusty, here they are-Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, and Sneezy).

Happy of course.

4. When you are riding in the car with another couple how do you organize seating? (Men up front? Women up front? Couples sit together?) And thanks to Lori at Mountain Woman at Heart for the question. Everyone go say hi to Lori.

My answer depends on the couple. If its a couple we know well then sometimes the guys ride up front and the girls ride in the back. If we're dressed up for an event or we're going somewhere special we definitely ride as couples because hubs enjoys admiring my legs and the scent of my perfume. That's not tmi, is it?

5. What is beauty?

How to answer this question without sounding like a cliche...hmmm...cliches are cliches for a reason ya know!

I think beauty is radiated from within. At a glance someone can appear to be 'beautiful' but as you get to know that person, if you find they lack inner beauty, you will begin to see them as less than beautiful. The opposite is also true-I've known women who don't meet the world's definition of classically beautiful yet they radiated such inner beauty that if I had to describe them I would say they are beautiful.

6. If someone asks you to bring an appetizer or a dessert to a party in their home, which would you choose?

Normally I'd choose an appetizer.

7. What is your crowd pleasing go-to appetizer?

Either a warm artichoke dip, my fruited cheese ball, or this pesto dip which is so super easy and delicious...

Spread one 8 0z package of cream cheese in the bottom of a dish (I always use a pretty quiche/tart dish so something about that size). Top the cream cheese with a small jar of pesto. Top that with a jar of drained and chopped sun dried tomatoes. Finally top that with a handful of toasted pine nuts. Serve with crackers.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm in The Big Apple today and I'm wondering if you have ever been curious as to why New York City is sometimes referred to as The Big Apple? Well wonder no more...

Here's what the trusty internet tells me-Back in the early 1920's, "apple" was used in reference to the race courses in and around the city. Apple referred to the prizes awarded for the big races and a writer by the name of John Fitzgerald referred to the city's races as 'Around the Big Apple". He supposedly got the term from jockeys and trainers in New Orleans who hoped to race on NYC tracks, which they referred to as The Big Apple.

Okay, now why were the prizes referred to as apples? That my friends will have to be a random for another day.

Super Questions for the Wednesday Hodgepodge

Greetings from the frozen tundra, aka, New Jersey. Here are the questions for this week's Hodgepodge...see you back here tomorrow (Wednesday) to link up our answers. Don't forget to add the button code to your blog or a link to my Wednesday post so your readers can join in the fun too.

1. Will you watch the Super Bowl? If so who will you root for? If you are outside the USA what is the 'big deal sporting event' in your own country?

2. Is ignorance bliss?

3. Which of the seven dwarfs are you? (and just in case your Disney is a little bit rusty, here they are-Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, and Sneezy)

4. When you are riding in the car with another couple how do you organize the seating? (Men up front? Women up front? Couples sit together?) And thanks to Lori at Mountain Woman at Heart for the question! Everyone go say hi to Lori.

5. What is beauty?

6. If someone asks you to bring an appetizer or a dessert to a party in their home, which would you choose?

7. What is your crowd pleasing go-to appetizer?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Manic Monday

I am a little late posting my weekend update because for some reason I scheduled an appt. to have blood drawn first thing this morning leaving just enough time to come home and gulp some coffee before heading to the dentist. Why did I do this?

Hubs also had to have blood drawn this morning so we went to the lab together. The receptionist thought that was cute. And fyi-this is all just routine stuff but who knew there would be so much 'routine stuff' once you hit the big 5-0? I remember when 'routine stuff' was my doctor telling me I could stand to gain a pound or two. Sadly that is no longer the kind of 'routine stuff'' my doctor tells me.

We had a quiet weekend but sometimes a quiet weekend is necessary. Especially when one of you has been on the other side of the world all week and upon coming home feels like a newborn baby with their days and nights mixed up. Plus, it's cold here so it's not like you really want to leave the house anyway. The thermometer said -7 en route to the doctor's office.

We did get a few miscellaneous errands taken care of on Saturday which consisted of a trip to the billiards shop to get a pool cue repair kit (who even knew such a thing existed?) finally putting away my Snow Village, and returning a couple of tops I'd received for Christmas that didn't fit. Yes, we are still dealing with Christmas here. I think we're done now.

Since we were at the mall we had lunch at Johnny Rockets and I'm wondering if anyone else has trouble choosing a grilled chicken sandwich over a big juicy burger when you're in a place like this for lunch? In the end the thought of having my cholesterol checked on Monday won out and I ordered chicken. You did come here today to find out what I ate for lunch on Saturday didn't you?

After lunch we went to see the movie Country Strong. The music was good although the story line wasn't quite what I was expecting. Neither were the ticket prices...two tickets for the bargain price of 22$. At first I thought the cashier misunderstood me and was charging me for three tickets. Nope. Two tickets. 11$ each. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Ridicunkulous yes? With practically everyone now owning their own big screen HD tvs and the the quick theatre to DVD release dates on top of cheap snacks at home, will people continue going to the theatre? A small drink was $4.25. I tried not to think about how many ounces I could buy for that amount anywhere but in a movie theatre.

We had a little time to kill between running errands at the mall and the movie start time so we were just kind of hanging around the lobby when we spied a Pac Man game in the arcade. I have not played Pac Man in over 20 years. Do people still play Pac Man? I mean people besides those for whom the game conjures up 'wasting time in college when you should have been studying' type memories? Pac Man is not sophisticated or violent nor does it contain a super cool soundtrack with life like graphics. Its still fun though...and a little bit addicting too. Question for you-why is it I can remember the Pac man game pattern but I cannot remember why I walked into the kitchen this morning? I think this post has now come full circle and we're back to the joys of being 50.

In other news, hubs has a two day meeting in the city this week and he has asked me to tag along. In case you're wondering, he didn't have to ask me twice. I am always up for a night or two in the city and a change of scenery on a cold January day sounds pretty nice right about now. Of course it would be nicer if the change of scenery involved a fruity umbrella laden drink and my toes in the sand somewhere warm and tropical but hey, I think I'll take what I can get.

730 Days

Yesterday I met a few friends at a local restaurant to celebrate the birthday of another friend. Unfortunately the birthday girl friend had to miss her own party because her daughter was sick.

Awww.

Naturally we did what all friends do in circumstances such as these...

we had the party without her.

Sad, but true.

Hey, the forecast was for more snow today and since we fully expected to be housebound AGAIN we saw the open window of opportunity and we jumped.

These are desperate times people.

Anyway, at the get together a friend asked me how I came up with something to blog about every day. I thought that was a good question and I gave an honest answer which was this-

I don't know.

I'm deep aren't I?

Two years ago today I started my blog.

Two years sometimes feels like ten minutes.

You know what else?

A whole lot of life happens in two years.

If I ever doubt that I need only read back thru my very own words.

I started blogging for a variety of reasons and at the time I was completely naive about what I was getting in to...I still make a lot of blog mistakes but I think my reasons for sticking with it have become crystal clear.

I love having a place to put every random thought that enters my head.

I love having an excuse to write.

I love the way memory stirs emotion when I scroll back thru the pages of time.

I love the recorded nonsense of my life.

I love the connections I've made with people I have yet to meet 'in real life'.

I love the people I know 'in real life' who read my blog.

I love the people I know 'in real life' who do not read my blog too

but I have to wonder...why don't they read?

Mostly though, I love the way blogging has opened my eyes to the small moments...the many, many small moments, that when linked together, make a life.

It's not that I missed those moments before I started blogging.

I know they've always been there, making up the days and hours and years...

but blogging has given me a place to set those moments to words.

A place to examine and reflect and truly see the gift of a moment.

I don't need to over think what I'll write about tomorrow.

Life unfolds minute by minute.

And somehow...the words follow.

Ice Ice Baby in the Wednesday Hodgepodge-Vol 10

We had more snow overnite Monday which is not really news I know but on top of that snow we now have a miserable icy ice falling. It's crunchy. And slick. And heavy. And quite often when there is ice the power has no where to go but out. Hopefully that won't happen here today but I'm answering my questions early and setting it to auto post just in case.

1. Do you like your name? Were you named after someone? If you have children how did you settle on their names?

I don't dislike my name, how's that? My family calls me Jo and I like that. Hubs and I were in complete agreement when it came to choosing a name for daughter1. We both loved her name even before we had children and while it wasn't unusual it wasn't a name you heard often. It still suits her.

Daughter2 shares her name with my paternal great grandmother and hubs paternal grandmother...it makes life a little bit simpler when there is a relative on both sides of the family tree with the same name. We love her name and it fits her to a T.

2. How do you define success?

Knowing my purpose and accomplishing what I set out to do, never mind the reward. There may be some missteps along the way and likely some failures too, but at the end of it all, knowing that whatever I've achieved was done while always remaining true to my convictions.

"The secret of success is constancy to purpose."

Benjamin Disraeli

3. Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy?

I like them both which should come as no surprise since I like words and word puzzles. I don't watch Wheel of Fortune very often because it frustrates me when I see the puzzle and they don't. Hello! Why are you buying a vowel when the puzzle is already practically solved??? I like to play along with Jeopardy in the privacy of my own kitchen, however I would never make an attempt at being a real live contestant on that show.

4. If you could own any single object that you don't now have, what would that object be?

Wow, this question could go a million different directions...I'm going with a house on the water. A house is an object, right?

5. What is something that inspires you?

People who quietly serve...unselfish hearts make me want to do better.

6. Meatloaf-yay or nay? If its a yay how do you make yours?

Yay! I don't make it very often though. I like to use a combination of ground beef/pork/veal and add finely chopped onion and green pepper, some bread crumbs combined with a little milk and a beaten egg, parsley and pepper. Before I bake it I add a mixture of ketchup and brown sugar on top. Yum!

7. Which is more admirable-the ability to organize and be methodical or the ability to adapt and make do?

I had to really think about this one but I'm going to say the ability to adapt and make do. I feel like organizational skills can be taught but the ability to adapt and make do comes from inside of us. Somehow, adapting and making do implies hardship may be involved and I admire those who are able to make the best of things in difficult circumstances.

8. Insert your own random thought here-

Because my husband had a lot of travel this month he felt he needed to show me how to operate the snow blower. This is something I've had absolutely zero interest in learning because, really, why? We have a long drive which is auto plowed whenever it snows. By auto plow I mean I don't even have to pick up the phone and arrange it. We go to bed with snow falling and we wake up to a plowed driveway. We do need to clear our walkway though and that's mostly what we use the snow blower for. And I suppose it's possible there could be some sort of emergency requiring me to leave the house before the trusty plow shous up but still, eh. Hubs sometimes uses it on the backyard too so he can clear an area for the dog. Yes, he snow-blows the yard...I couldn't really see myself doing this but he was insistent. Whatever.

Before he left on his first trip out of town this year he pestered asked me at least 72 times to come outside for a demo. Daughter2 was home at the time and she encouraged me to humor him so I did and guess what? I liked it. I really did. There was actually something quite satisfying about operating gasoline powered machinery.

And that my friends is me in a nutshell. Why does hubs always have to pester, cajole, and in general talk me into doing something I think I don't want to do-won't enjoy-or that will be too much effort/work/trouble when I know I almost always end up liking it. When he says I sometimes make him crazy I don't think he is referring to the 'good kind' of crazy, do you?

No one was hurt in the making of this blog post

Note: if you are looking for this week's Hodgepodge questions, they are in a separate post here.

I feel like I need to tell you about my very first Zumba experience since I had quite a few comments about it yesterday. Many of you said you were thinking about giving it a try and a few of you had no clue what I was talking about. Zumba is an aerobic dance program done to a Latin beat. A loud Latin beat. And, if you've been on the fence about giving it a try perhaps my post today will convince you to be like Nike and just do it. Here we go-

1. 'Everyone leaves smiling'.

I'm pretty sure what they meant to say was everyone leaves sweating.

2. I lack rhythm.

3. Its true-nobody is paying any attention to you and your two left feet so no need to worry about how you look.

4. That's because everyone is concerned with shaking their own booty in the right direction.

5. There is much booty shaking.

6. I enjoyed that.

7. I had no unintentional solos.

8. Did I mention you sweat a lot?

9. The 20-somethings sweat too.

10. The class lasted one hour and fifteen minutes.

11. I thought the class was one hour.

12. Fifteen extra minutes is a lot of minutes people.

13. There were no breaks.

14. Not one.

15. Oh my word, the sweat.

16. My ears are ringing.

17. It was fun so I bought ten passes and am going back on Friday.

18. They took my picture for my id.

19. They took it after class.

20. My cheeks are red and my hair is sweaty...but I am smiling.

This week in the Hodgepodge

Here are the questions for this week's Hodgepodge...see you back here tomorrow (Wednesday) to link our answers.

1. Do you like your name? Were you named after someone? If you have children how did you settle on their names?

2. How do you define success?

3. Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy?

4. If you could own any single object that you don't have now, what would that object be?

5. What is something that inspires you?

6. Meatloaf-yea or nay? If its a yay how do you make yours?

7. Which is more admirable-the ability to organize and be methodical or the ability to adapt and make do?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Apparently the rhythm is gonna get me

As you probably know, today is Monday. I think I'm gonna make a list because I have various and sundry thoughts in my head and a list helps to clear the cobwebs.

1. I am trying a Zumba class for the first time today. Anybody out there Zumba? Its supposed to be a lot of fun and is billed as an exercise class where everybody leaves smiling. Hmmm...that sounds suspicious to me but I have a free pass and a friend to go with and a few pounds to shed so I'm in.

2. If I'm not around for the Hodgepodge this week you'll know I had a Zumba mishap.

3. My hubs is in China. He left on Friday so goodbye weekend. Last week he was in Mexico and had to leave on Sunday for that trip. He has traveled all of our married life and I really don't mind the weekday travel but those lost weekends are hard. The problem with China is its a long way from here. And weirdly, it's already tomorrow there so you have to arrive a day earlier than your meeting because if you don't it will be yesterday. Something like that.

4. When the hubs is gone for a full week I make lists so as not to be a sloth.

5. Items on my list this week include: call the eye doctor, clean out the refrigerator, clean out the other refrigerator, clean out the pantry, organize my knicker drawer and while I'm at it organize my sock drawer too...anyone else have issues with their sock drawer? arrange for a professional to look at the gas fireplace, figure out what sort of professional that would be, follow up with the plumber, vacuum every ceiling, corner and baseboard in the house, carry on with my couch to 5K workouts, go to bible study, get back to yoga, stay away from sugar and carbs, don't hurt myself Zumba-ing, figure out what there is to see and do in a certain section of NYC since I'll be there soon, celebrate a friend's birthday, write letters to my girls, sort thru and purge my 2010 office files...there's more. Hey, I'm nothing if not optimistic.

6. I said I made a list. I didn't say it was an interesting list.

7. I went to church by myself on Sunday. Two little girls in pretty pink dresses sat behind me. I miss my girls on Sundays. The pastor reminded me I'm not the center of the universe. Well, technically he was speaking to the entire congregation but it sort of felt like he might be talking just to me.

8. I watched the Miss America Pageant Saturday night and was remembering how much my sister and I loved to watch the pageants when we were growing up. We would make lists of our top 10, then edit them with each round of competition. Daughter1 and I may have done the same thing via text on Saturday night. Sometimes I really love technology.

9. I made a pot of homemade vegetable beef soup last week and it was really delicious. I used beef short ribs in my soup and followed this recipe, more or less. I omitted the macaroni and added half a head of cabbage to mine instead because I think cabbage is a must in vegetable soup. I didn't have beef bouillon cubes in the house so I added some beef stock and just cut the water back by an equal amount. I also didn't have black eyed peas or okra in the house but I think you can pretty much toss in whatever veg you like or have on hand. It made a huge pot and I froze some to have this week too. The recipe is from The Lady and Sons restaurant in Savannah (Paula Dean) and I will definitely be making it again.

10. I wanted to make some chocolate chip cookies but I didn't because it wasn't on my list. See how that works?

The gift of now

The deer danced a ballet thru my yard on Wednesday night.

I didn't see it happen but they left their hoof prints in the clean white snow.

I love the way their paths crisscross.

Some went up into the woods on the left...

others on the right...

And two made their bed right here in the middle of our front yard.

It appears there may have been a scuffle to see who would get the spot closest to the house.

I imagine there was some head butting involved.

While I was investigating, my big beautiful hawk stopped to watch.

Look hard and you'll see him in the middle of the tree. (You can click on the picture for a better look). Technically he isn't 'mine' but he lives in the treetops around our house so we claim him as ours. He is enormous when he spreads his wings but is shy around the camera so this is as close as I could get. He is beautiful.

It's been a tough week hasn't it?

I like to keep my blog light hearted but sometimes I am overwhelmed by all the sadness in this world.

I'm trying to read through the Bible this year in chronological order which means right now I'm in the book of Job. I have to say it's a hard book to read. There are some books of the bible I like to read over and over again but I tend to avoid the book of Job. Reading Job reminds me that bad things happen to good people. People like Job.

And innocent little girls in Arizona.

And moms who blog.

A popular blogger and author (Joanne at The Simple Wife) suffered a major stroke this week. She is not even 40 years old and has two young daughters. I don't know Joanne personally but I really enjoy her writing and her story has touched many. Her condition remains very serious and I know her family appreciates your prayers.

So many times when we hear about something awful happening we somehow take comfort in the idea that it could never happen to us.

But not this...this could happen to us, to anyone.

All week I've been thinking about how much we all count on having tomorrow.

We are so sure we'll have tomorrow.

We say later...tomorrow...to so much of life.

Later I'll do it. Tomorrow is the day I'll get to it. Tomorrow I will start fresh...

do better, work harder, be kinder to my husband, more patient with my children, more patient with the people I meet as I go about my day... more diligent in living a purpose filled life.

But then tomorrow comes and then another tomorrow and we carry on as if there is always tomorrow.

Until something comes along and reminds us differently and only then it seems

do we really step back and take stock of how we are spending the days and hours and minutes of our own lives.

It's Friday.

A new day.

A clean slate.

Full of hours and minutes and moments.

Full of God's grace and forgiveness.

Full of possibility and opportunity and hope.

A gift.

A gift meant not to be squandered or wasted but instead,

opened and savored and used.

What will I do with today?

Whatever it is, I want it to be on purpose.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Wednesday Hodgepodg-Vol 9 Snow Day

It's a snow day here in the great white northeast. Come on in and link up with this week's Hodgepodge...

1. Every January 1st since 1976 Lake Superior University has published a list of words they'd like to see banished from the Queen's English. Words may be banished due to misuse, overuse or just general uselessness and they receive over 1000 nominations. Here are the fourteen words/phrases they'd like to see banished in 2011-viral, epic, fail, wow factor, a-ha moment, back story, BFF, man up, refudiate, Mama Grizzlies, The American People, facebook/google when used as verbs, I'm just sayin', and Live life to the fullest.

What word or phrase would you like to see banished from our everyday vocabulary in 2011? You can choose one from the 'official list' or you can get creative and come up with your own.

I'd like the word 'like' banished from like our everyday speech. Unless you are like truly stating your admiration of some person place or like thing then please stop saying like every like third word. It makes like all the hair on like the back of my neck stand on end. The American People are tired of this overused, misused word.

2. Do you consider opportunity something that comes to you or something you create for yourself?

I think it can be both...sometimes opportunity falls in your lap and sometimes you dream dreams and set goals and make it happen.

Here's the one thing I do

know about opportunity~it must be seized. Carpe diem. Or as some would say, live life to the fullest.

3. Since we're all eating healthy this month, ahem, what's included in your favorite salad? Is there dressing?

I love salad and Greek salads are probably my favorite....a little bit of romaine, cucumbers, tomatoes, black or kalamata olives, red onion, and a little feta in a light oil and vinegar dressing. It has the wow factor.

4. The fourth Monday in January is said to be Blue Monday...aka the most depressing day of the year. The date was calculated using many factors including weather, debt level, time since Christmas, time since we've failed at our new year resolutions, low motivation and feeling a need to take action. Do you get the blues this time of year and if so what is something you do to lift your spirits?

As long as the sun peeks out on occasion I'm okay. In the US even when it snows and is bitterly cold outside we usually still see a bright blue sky every now and then. One year when we were living in England my daughter and I were in the car at the end of January and we heard the radio dj say, 'We've had three hours of sunlight this month." Three hours? You've got to be kidding me. That is really hard. Really, really hard. I think the best thing to do is get out in it. Take a walk...even if the weather is bad a walk is always good for a perspective shift. I'm just sayin'.

5. Do you wear a watch? Any other everyday jewelry essentials?

I wear a watch every day. I love my watch and don't feel completely dressed without it. Young adults today (just call me mamaw) don't seem to feel the need to wear a watch because, in the words of my daughter, "Why do I need a watch when I have a phone?" My younger daughter did finally ask for a watch on her birthday last year. She is doing some practicum hours out in the public school system as part of her coursework and had an a-ha moment when she realized she needed to tell time while teaching. Using her phone wasn't going to cut it so now she wears a watch. A very cute watch.

I wear my wedding and engagement rings plus a ring hubs gave me as an anniversary present a few years ago, all the time. I rarely take them off. Unless they are smashed in a car door but other than that I pretty much leave them on all the time. You can go here to read the back story. I also wear two pair of earrings every day. I have some sapphire studs my parents bought me for my 16th birthday and they stay in...I rarely take them out. I change the earrings in front every day.

6. What is something useful you learned in high school?

Be kind.

Who wrote these questions today? They're hard.

7. Do you use an accountant when completing and filing your income tax returns or do you attempt to muddle through all by yourself?

An accountant. A whole team of accountants in fact. We are like BFF's with our accounting team. I expect them to facebook me one of these days. Not really. We are actually what they like to call a complicated case. We complete an online organizer and they prepare the tax book and send it to us for approval. Yes it's a book. And they always say something like, "Please read this 200 page return and sign that its accurate." Alrighty. Like I'm going to refudiate what they tell us? Isn't that why we pay the professionals? And yes I know its repudiate.

8. Insert your own random thought here-

One of the things I love about waking up to freshly fallen snow is that we can see 'who' has traipsed across our yard during the night. We know for certain that our friendly neighborhood bear is still around. There is no mistaking his paw prints in the clean white snow. And he is not little. Just sayin'.

Yes, I used that phrase twice today.

I'm just not ready to let it go.

Grab your snow shovel...the Hodgepodge questions are here

Is there snow in your neck of the woods on 11111? According to our trusty weathermen we can expect another 6-8-10-or 12 inches beginning tonite and on into Wednesday morning. Sadly a Wednesday morning snowstorm is going to run headlong into my Wednesday afternoon plans to see a taping of The Dr. Oz show in NYC. The weathermen are never wrong when we want them to be, are they?

Since we cannot control the weather lets answer the Hodgepodge questions instead. The great thing about the blogosphere is that even if there's a foot of snow at my house tomorrow you can still come visit and link your post.

1. Every January 1st since 1976 Lake Superior University has published a list of words they'd like to see banished from the Queen's English. Words may be banished due to mis-use, over-use or just general uselessness and they receive over 1000 nominations. Here are the fourteen words/phrases they'd like to see banished in 2011-viral, epic, fail, wow factor, a-ha moment, back story, BFF, man up, refudiate, Mama Grizzlies, The American People, facebook/google when used as verbs, I'm just sayin', and Live life to the fullest.

What word or phrase would you like to see banished from our everyday vocabulary in 2011? You can choose one from the 'official list' or you can get creative and come up with your own.

2. Do you consider opportunity something that comes to you or something you create for yourself?

3. Since we're all eating healthy this month, ahem, what's included in your favorite salad? Is there dressing?

4. The fourth Monday in January is said to be Blue Monday...aka the most depressing day of the year. The date was calculated using many factors including weather, debt level, time since Christmas, time since we've failed at our new year resolutions, low motivation and feeling a need to take action. Do you get the blues this time of year and if so what is something you do to lift your spirits?

5. Do you wear a watch? Any other everyday jewelry essentials?

6. What is something useful you learned in high school?

7. Do you use an accountant when completing and filing your income tax returns or do you attempt to muddle through all by yourself?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Paraphrasing Forrest Gump

Life is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're gonna get.

Except actually it's not because first of all, is there any such thing as a rotten piece of chocolate?

I think sometimes life is like a box of chocolates and sometimes life is like a bowl of olive pits.

Today was more of the pit variety.

We had hoped to do a couple of fun things this weekend but Daughter2 ended up with the stomach bug starting Thursday night so she laid on the couch and I waited on her hand and foot and pretended she was six and not twenty.

While daughter2 was down for the count hubs and I finally got the Christmas decorations put away.

Hmmm...I wonder if she planned it that way?

Today was the big airport run aka not my favorite day.

You get so used to having kids in the house again that you kind of forget they don't really live here anymore.

I know it seems like that is something you couldn't possibly forget but honestly, they just slip right on back into the household routine and it's like they never left.

Except they did.

And they do.

Normally hubs and I make the back to school airport run as a team and once we get back home we'll go see a movie or have dinner out or make plans for something fun in the future.

As luck would have it hubs was also heading out of town today so I said my goodbyes to both of them on the curb at Newark Airport and came home to an empty house.

Well, not quite an empty house.

She looks excited to see me, no?

Since I was already feeling a little bit blue I decided to get online and deal with the UK tax return.

I'm a big believer in not spoiling a perfectly good mood with tax mumbo jumbo so today seemed like the perfect day to cross that off my list.

Yes I said UK.

No we do not live in the UK a-ny-more.

Yes we have been back living and working in the US for approximately eighteen months and no my hubs does not work in the UK anymore either.

But the tax man?

HA!

The tax man just laughs at that.

In a funny turn of events this little activity really did make me feel better.

While I hate slogging thru the forms it makes me happy to know that its done so yay me!

Hey, I've got an empty empty nest here...

if I don't cheer for myself who will?

The Cake Boss

It's a brand new year, a year when we're all resolving to do better, eat healthy, exercise more and skip dessert. So naturally Daughter2 and I did what all normal, determined, self disciplined people do post-Christmas holiday...

We headed to a bakery.

Not just any bakery mind you~

We headed to this bakery~

Carlo's Bakery

aka The Cake Boss

Here you can buy all manner of deliciousness along with merchandise like this talking Buddy...he says 'Holy Cannoli'.

Speaking of cannolis...

Oh my!

We brought this one home as a surprise for hubs. Right after he finished telling us how proud he was of himself for eating a light lunch consisting only of tuna fish we said, 'Oh by the way, we brought you a large cannoli from Carlo's Bakery but if you don't want it we can probably take it down to my mom.'

He wanted it.

It could have been worse.

For a second we considered bringing this home...

They call it a cannoli cake.

I cannot imagine the calories.

Nor do I want to.

Incidentally I read where they will have to change the name from Cake Boss to something else due to some copyright issues but I suspect people are still going to refer to Buddy as The Cake Boss.

If you haven't seen The Cake Boss on TLC then you're probably scratching your head right about now. You'd be in the minority though, because thanks to the miracle of television everyone seems to know Carlo's Bakery.

This place hops!

We arrived about 11 am on Tuesday.

It was really cold so we were happy to discover the line had not begun to stretch outdoors and around the building and down the street.

Yet.

Most people I know who've made the trek here tell me they had to wait in a long line outside.

The place was packed so we had plenty of time to carefully consider our options before we had to commit...

In the end we chose cupcakes because we're all about the healthier option and believe it or not that seemed to be it.

Better than bringing home an entire cake, right?

See, we do have some self discipline!

The cupcakes were a good call...we chose one red velvet with cream cheese icing and one chocolate with peanut butter icing.

We also had to buy two of these ginormous chocolate covered strawberries.

Yes.

Had to.

Fruit is part of most healthy diet plans isn't it?

We didn't see Buddy but his sister Mary was in the shop.

She was in the back but she smiled and waved from around the corner.

If you watch the show you know she is a tough cookie.

We walked and window shopped and had lunch nearby in a little restaurant with definite shades of The Sopranos and that's all I'm gonna say about that.

You never know who reads your blog, right?

After lunch we browsed thru a gourmet food market we'd noticed earlier and what a find!

It's called The Garden of Eden and there are several of these scattered around the NY City area.

It was too inviting not to go inside and we're so glad we did.

Big baskets hanging from the ceiling, produce of every kind beautifully displayed, a wonderful olive bar, deli and lots of European delights we recognized and have missed.

It felt a bit like Marks and Spencers meets Whole Foods.

No Marks and Spencers in our little town.

No Whole Foods either.

So sad.

Carlo's Bakery is just across the river from Manhattan in a town called Hoboken.

Hoboken is the birthplace of Frank Sinatra, home to the first recorded baseball game ever played and it used to be more of a rough industrial area.

It's had a renaissance of sorts in recent years and now its full of shops and great restaurants and lots of night life.

The view from the riverfront walkway is none too shabby either.

Daughter2 and I both love to cook and we've watched more than a little food programming this Christmas break.

As a rule I should not be hanging out in bakeries after all the holiday indulging...

But when daughters come home some rules are meant to be broken.