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.

Wednesday Hodgpodge-Vol 8 Days of Auld Lang Hodgepodge

Welcome to the first Hodgepodge in 2011...so glad you played along today. Be sure to add your link at the bottom and then hop around and visit 'your neighbors'. Daughter2 and I are spending the day with my mom so it might take me a couple of days to read all the entries but I'll do my best. Happy New Year Hodgepodgers!

1. What three words would you use to describe 2010?

confusing, busy, blessed

2. If fear were not an issue what is something you'd like to try?

Scuba diving. I'm a good swimmer and I love pools, lakes, rivers, and oceans so it's not the water or the creatures lurking beneath that make me anxious. What concerns me is the part about no air. I'm a teensy bit claustrophobic so that whole mask over the face thing makes my heart beat fast. Hubs is certified to dive and says I'd love it. Hmmm...would I...or does he just need a diving partner?

3. What do you add to your coffee or tea?

I like a small splash of half and half in my coffee and will also go ahead and tell you that I am not at all a fan of flavored coffees. I drink my tea (preferably Earl Gray) with half a teaspoon of sugar and a little bit of milk. I don't like cream in my tea so if milk isn't available then I drink it plain. Sometimes I skip the sugar too. If I'm not feeling well I like tea with lemon in place of the milk. I also love iced tea and prefer that sweetened. These days, for the sake of my waistline, I drink it mostly unsweetened... either way it must have lots of ice and lots of lemon. I am not high maintenance.

4. What historical sporting event would you like to witness?

I'd like to have seen Mary Lou Retton earn her perfect 10...

I'd also like to have been in the stands when the Tennessee Volunteers beat Florida State for the National Championship in 1998...I'd like to have seen Secretariat cross the finish line in 1973...and I'd like to have seen the 1980 US Hockey team's unlikely win over the Soviet Union at the Lake Placid Olympics.

Well now, who knew I was such a sports nut?

5. What is one piece of advice you would like to give your sixteen year old self?

Be true to who you are~don't try to be something you're not. And you might also want to try developing some self discipline...your 50 year old self is going to need it.

6. Are you a planner or do you prefer to fly by the seat of your pants?

Is it possible to be a planner who flies by the seat of her pants? 'Cuz that's what I think I am. I plan...oh how I love to plan. But I'm not always good at the follow thru which is why I sometimes end up flying by the seat of my pants.

7. What is one thing you are looking forward to in 2011?

How about filling a blank slate? For the first time in a long time we have a year stretching out in front of us without a lot of big plans. Hubs and I would love to take a nice holiday somewhere but so far we haven't put pen to paper. Or credit card to internet if you know what I mean.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm going with friends next week to a taping of the Dr. Oz show. I've never actually watched his show so I only know what I've read, but I think it's safe to say he's not going to be happy about all the sugar I consumed in December. What do you think?

Auld Lang Hodgepodge

One of my favorite poets, a Scot by the name of Robert Burns, is credited with writing Auld Lang Syne, although some of the words are not his original work. How's that for a piece of trivia to kick off the new year? If this is your first time playing along then welcome. You probably were not expecting the Hodgepodge to be both fun and educational, were you?

On to this week's questions...the first in a brand new year. See you back here tomorrow (Wednesday) when we'll meet to link answers for all the world to see. Or maybe just some of the world but it's still fun so don't miss it!

1. What three words would you use to describe 2010?

2. If fear were not an issue what is something you'd like to try?

3. What do you add to your coffee or tea?

4. What historical sporting event would you like to witness?

5. What is one piece of advice you would like to give your sixteen year old self?

6. Are you a planner or do you prefer to fly by the seat of your pants?

7. What is one thing you are looking forward to in 2011?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Routine? What's that?

It feels like its time to get back into some sort of routine doesn't it? I mean a routine other than the one we've been on which has consisted of eating and napping followed by more eating and more napping. Hubs returned to work today but daughter2 is still home so we have another week to squeeze in some fun. She has probably had her fill of parental fun but such is life when mom and dad move house and city and country while you're in college...'going home' now means spending a month in a town where mom and dad are all you've got. I'm sure she is not sick of me. Pretty sure anyway.

We didn't do much more this weekend than eat (still!), watch football, and hang out. Hubs has some truly exhausting travel coming up in the next couple of months and he really needed some down time at the end of this very busy year. Saturday morning we did take the pup for a nice long walk in 'the glen' near our house. Where was daughter2 you may ask? I'll give you three guesses...

Apparently hubs is not the only one around here needing down time.

The temperature was in the 40's this weekend so really nice. Dixie loves to chow down on the snow, chase birds, run ahead of us, and sniff out the contents of the woodlands. It felt great to move and get some fresh air.

Can you tell she thought so too?

I spent the afternoon making enchiladas from scratch and they were so good. Putting them together takes a half a day but it's worth it and they're hubs favorite meal...his new year was off to a good start. He took the outdoor lights down since the weather was so nice but all of my indoor decorations are still in place and I'm just not ready to face the taking down bit yet. I know some people approach that task with glee but to me its depressing. I love it when its done but I hate the doing. Does it ever go back in the bins the same way it came out?

Here's a bit of happy news...the new season of The Bachelor starts tonite and I have a daughter at home to watch with me. Oh and we'll insist hubs will watch it with us too. I'm pretty sure reading this will make his day.

Enjoy this first week in a brand new year...Joyce

10 in 11

Happy New Year! We had a quiet evening but still the new year came. Hubs dropped me at the grocery store yesterday morning along with 8167 other shoppers while he went to wash the car and run a couple of errands. Everyone had their carts piled high with party food and drink and the lines were ten deep. It made me a little sad to think that this time last year we were all together welcoming 2010 with friends in Times Square and this year we're home on the couch with one daughter many states away.

But quiet felt right this year. Daughter2 may not agree but she was a good sport. We're tired. And did anyone else feel a little bit old when they saw The Backstreet Boys at age 30+? Once upon a time there were some little girls in my house who loved The Backstreet Boys. How many of you can say you've seen Aaron Carter in concert? At least I think it was a concert. Mostly what I remember is the shrieking and the subsequent hearing loss but my then 10 year old girl and her pals were ecstatic. Aaron wasn't part of the group but was Nick's brother and used that fact to make his own 'career'. Who thinks I know too much Backstreet Boys trivia?

Anyway, we finally made it out of the grocery store and out of the parking lot and off the road that felt like a parking lot. We went to see True Grit yesterday afternoon and again, daughter2 was a good sport because I'm pretty sure this was not on her list of 'must sees'. That being said, we all really liked it. We came home and daughter2 made dinner...it's so nice to have my own personal chef and I'm going to miss that when she goes back to school in another week.

She made a recipe we'd seen on Pioneer Woman's blog for spicy lemon garlic shrimp. Yum! Definitely a keeper...

You must have some really good bread with this dish in order to appreciate all the juices and we added a green salad to counteract the artery cloggy-ness of the butter. That's how it works, right? Besides it was 2010 so we were still in the 'I give up' mode of last year's resolutions and the new ones hadn't technically kicked in.

Speaking of resolutions...I've challenged my girls to join me in setting some goals for the new year. I prefer the term goals as opposed to resolutions because goals feel like something to aim for and resolutions feel like something else. We're calling it 10 in 11...10 things we want to make happen in this brand new year. I'm not posting my list but will share it with my girls so they can
make me do stuff help me stay accountable. I know it must seem like I blab about every last detail of my life but believe it or not there are one or two things I manage to keep to myself.

Happy 2011...I wish you all a new year filled with peace and joy!

"For last year's words belong to last year's language and next years words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning." T.S. Eliot

You want Christmas, I've got Christmas

NJ is a long way by car from Tennessee but I'm so glad we decided to drive rather than fly this year. The airports were most definitely not the place to be Christmas weekend. We headed south on Wednesday and when I say we did not have one spare inch of space I am not kidding.

Oh the pup had plenty of room...it was just us humans who were jammed in with bags beside us and between our feet and piled up over the windows and on top of the car. Dixie slept peacefully for most of the 12+ hour drive and that's what's important, right?

Daughter1 had to work up until Wednesday so she was making her own way over the mountain from South Carolina on Thursday. The weather cooperated and she arrived around lunchtime. Hubs was going to meet her so she could follow him up the mountain to the house but her gps told her to exit the highway far earlier than we anticipated and it brought her to us on some small winding mountain road that we'd have preferred she not navigate. Hubs and I passed the time wrapping, cooking, fretting and pacing. Do you ever stop worrying about your children? I'm afraid the answer to that question my friends, is no.

Now that daughter1 has left university life and entered the working world this is how holidays will unfold. Letting that thought sink in has been a process for hubs and I. A gradual awareness and acceptance of a new stage in life. But for the sisters this is a new thought. At some point during the morning daughter2 chimed in and said, 'I can't wait for daughter1 to get here!' My girls live in the same town and spend a lot of time together. I know mothers who say they feel like they are part referee but I have never experienced that with my girls. They are best buds and have been from the word go. Daughter 2 had been at home in NJ for over a week before Christmas and was missing her sister. And sister was missing her too.

The idea that one day they may not spend Christmas Eve and day in the same house is something they hadn't considered until recently. It dawned on them this holiday week that one day in the not too distant future they will spend Christmas in two different places. They will have homes to decorate and in laws to share the years and children of their own to create traditions and memories for too. We're all learning as we go in this growing up business.

Christmas Eve was so nice...we spent the day together enjoying the beautiful views from the cabin, finishing up the last minute wrapping, and preparing a big turkey dinner with all the trimmings. We ate late in the afternoon then headed down the mountain for church.

I think the Christmas Eve service is my favorite part of Christmas. I love the music and the calm and the quiet and the candlelight. The retelling of a story I've heard thousands of times that never gets old. The chance to step back from the activity of the holiday and think about why we are even celebrating in the first place. Life has a way of getting knocked off kilter sometimes and this is the moment I feel myself regain perspective.

Afterwards we headed back up into the mountains for the traditional opening of the Christmas Eve pjs, setting out treats for Santa, and finally Grandpa reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas with everyone gathered round.

Its special for my in laws to have all their children and grandchildren in one place. We're all so spread out and have been all of our married lives which means this doesn't happen very often.

We woke up Christmas Day to snow. I mean SNOW!!! It was absolutely beautiful. Truly, words do not do it justice. However, lots of snow means lots of inconvenience particularly when you are perched atop a mountain. We had hoped to just hop in the car and be down at the main house to open stockings at 7 am (little boys in the house can't wait much longer ya know!) but the icy weather and steep steep hills made this impossible. Thankfully the snow plow operator came to our rescue with door to door service...he brought the plow up the mountain and we followed him down. He did this several more times during our stay and not only that, he did it with a smile...gotta love that Southern hospitality!

Stockings were opened while we snacked on coffee cake followed by our traditional breakfast of sausage and egg casserole. More presents were opened...

and modeled...

and played with...the uncles used the excuse of 'playing with the nephews' but secretly they couldn't wait to get their hands on this particular toy.

We had lots of hors d'oeuvres later in the afternoon along with the leftovers from our turkey dinner and a honey baked ham thrown in for good measure. I feel like we should have purchased stock in Kraft back in November because my goodness, the amount of cream cheese we consumed over the holidays was staggering. I am happy to see lettuce and raw vegetables this week.

There is still a bit more to tell but I think I'll save the rest for part 3 since per usual, this post is getting long. I'm sure it would be better to record the Christmas festivities as they unfolded but who had time to be on their computer?

Technology is a beautiful thing.

So is real life.