Work

"We, the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful.  We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing."  -- Mother Teresa


I'm just saying, I wonder if the leadership of my organization has decided that they are Mother Teresa . . .

TGIF

Hello everyone!  I'm back again on my poor neglected blog.  It's Friday (wahoo!!), so I thought I'd share this cute video.  For those of you who are fans of LMFAO's I'm Sexy and I Know It, you'll appreciate this video that changes the lyrics.  Even if you're not a fan, I think this is so cute and worth watching.  These guys are brothers and farmers and created this video, check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48H7zOQrX3U

Have a great weekend!

xoxo

Gifts

Midlife:  when the Universe grabs your shoulders and tells you “I’m not f-ing around, use the gifts you were given.”   Brené Brown

There is just something about this quote that smacks me in the forehead!  Like any quote you read, I think they speak differently to each person depending upon where you are in your life.  Well this one speaks to me, so I thought I’d share it with you. 

Happy Birthday Dad!

My dad, who signs his emails with Dad, GR, PopPop, Uncle Glen turns 75 today!  I can hardly believe that he is 75 already . . . I'm sure he probably feels the same way!  My dad started his working life as an electrician in the Navy and is one of those guys who can fix just about anything.  As a kid I remember asking him to fix various things that were broken (probably by me!) and he seemed to have this magical touch.  It wouldn't work until dad touched it, then it was just fine.  So given that, you can understand why my brother and I both remember a couple of my dad's favorite sayings.

"You've got to be smarter than the gear you're operating".  If we heard it once, we heard it a thousand times over the years.  Well dad, I guess in most cases that "gear" was smarter than me! 

The second saying was "You need to turn the O-N, O-F-F switch O-N".  Now while that saying seems self-explanatory, apparently we needed reminded of it on a regular basis!

So to the Mr. Fixit in our house, Happy Birthday Dad!  Hope you don't have to fix anything today!

xoxo

PicMonkey

Happy hump day gang!  For those of us in the work force or school, we're half way there!  For those of you who don't fall into either of those categories, it's Wednesday. :)

So at lunch today to amuse myself I was playing with a monkey.  Actually that's PicMonkey.  PicMonkey.com is a fun and free photo editor.  It let's you do basic stuff like crop and adjust exposure.  But it also let's you do some really fun stuff like applying different effects, textures and/or colors to your photographs. 

So this is a macro photo of a rose that I took and then applied an abstract looking paint.  While I don't always go for abstract art, I really like this effect.

For those of you who know me, you know I love pears and this is a photo I took a while ago.  I actually applied two effects to give it a very aged look.  I'm loving this one!

So check out www.picmonkey.com some time and have some fun with your photos!

xoxo

Happy 56th Anniversary!

Here's wishing my parents, Glen and Jo, a very happy 56th anniversary! 

Here they were on their wedding day . . . wow they were so young, 18 and 19.

Here they are in Hawaii.  The family all went together to celebrate their 50th anniversary!  Even better looking!!

Here's to many more years together.  Happy Anniversary mom and dad!  Love to you both.

xoxo

Spring Cleaning

Hello and happy Monday!  I spent my weekend doing some Spring cleaning.  Let me first say, that I am not one of those diligent people who scrub my house from top to bottom every Spring.  While it could use it, I'm usually pretty good at finding other things to do.  However, I am very willing to admit that all of my closets need a thorough cleaning.  So this weekend I decided to start this monumental project with the coat closet in our entry way.  One look below and you'll see why I use the word monumental.

While some people would be mortified to show this photo, I choose to believe that I'm not the only person on the planet with incredibly messy closets.  If you are not one of those people, avert your eyes and scroll down.

Actually after looking at this picture, I can't believe someone hasn't been seriously injured simply opening this closet!  Yep folks . . . lots of stuff, stuffed in there!

So step one was building this cute little storage cubby.  I love using tools and it was actually  fun putting this together . . . especially since all the predrilled holes actually fit together!

I felt a strong need for something to hold all the scarves, hats and gloves.  Wow it is fun finding all them shoved into various nitches it the closet. 

Then the real fun began.  Just like an episode of Clean Sweep, everything got sorted into keep, trash or give to the Goodwill.  I'm happy to report that I had a pile of 10 coats and/or jackets that are off to find new homes.  Le Husband will have some choices to make when he comes home.  

And TA-DA, here's the end result!

 
It feels so nice opening an organized closet.  Also, if I'm out shopping with any of you and you see me reach for a vest . . . please stop me!!

xoxo

Random Fact #1452

A cat's short term memory is 20 times longer than yours.

xoxo

Monday, Monday

Today it was back to the salt mines, back to the rat race, back to the SSDD . . . choose your favorite cliche.  However, this past weekend was a ladies' weekend.  My lovely mom and my Aunt Darlene spent the weekend with me in Pittsburgh.  My mom usually makes a trip over to see me when le husband is away at work.  Sometimes she gets my dad to come and sometimes it's one or more of her sisters.  But whoever joins her, it's always a good time. 

When it's just the ladies, we do get to do some fun shopping.  While I'm a person who loves to shop, even if it's just window shopping, my mom is not quite as avid a shopper.  However, when she's with me, she does a very good job; even comes armed with coupons!  Aunt Darlene on the other hand, can rival anyone when it comes to power-shopping.  I take her to Pamela's for breakfast; she's fueled and ready to go!  While I'd love to share with you some of our great finds this weekend, I've been sworn to secrecy.  Dad it wasn't mom who invoked the secrecy rule, it was Aunt Darlene and you won't get any more out of me than that!

We did manage to get some exercise in other than miles of walking while shopping.  We did some serious armchair point guarding.  I'm sure my neighbors thought I was have a wild party with all the noise coming out of our house on Saturday night, but it was just us ladies enjoying a little March Madness!

Then there was the food, ugh!  The "ugh" has nothing to do with the yummyness of the food, but is a comment on the quantity of food consumed.  Let me just say that we'll all be living on carrot sticks this week to make up for it!

So this morning I got up and headed off to my day job and the lovely ladies headed back to Ohio.  Thanks for another fun weekend ladies . . . looking forward to the next time!

xoxo

Spring?

OK it's the middle of March and it's in the mid-seventies in Pittsburgh?!  Like everywhere else, we are having some crazy weather here.  While I really want to embrace the beautiful warm weather we're having and break out all my warm weather clothing . . .  the pessimist side of me is still waiting for that other shoe to drop.  That March snow storm that dumps a ton of snow.  The optimist side says I should enjoy the early Spring and dust off those golf clubs!

While it's not officially Spring on the calendar, all the signs are pointing to Springtime.  Our Harry Lauder Walking Stick (I refer to it as our curlicue tree!) gets these green fuzzy dangly things all over it in the Spring.  By the way, I think the official gardening term for green fuzzy dangly things is "catkins". It looks like someone decorated it just for Spring.

The hardwoods are also starting to bud.

Daffodils are coming up in the yard.



The ice skating ring outside my office at PPG Place is now being dismantled . . . it's been melting all week!

But while you're breaking out your flip flops, here are a couple of reminders of what our Harry Lauder Walking Stick and the neighborhood looked like a year ago at this time!!

Enjoy the warm weather!

xoxo

I'm a Fan

Recently le husband turned me on to The Black Keys.  I know, I know . . . where have I been?  I will freely admit to being behind the curve when it comes to music.  Thanks to my mom, my taste in music ranges from classical to heavy metal (probably my brother's influence growing up!).  However, le husband is the guy who keeps me somewhat current; even though I drive him crazy because I can't remember who sings what! 

One of my new favorite songs is Lonely Boy by The Black Keys.  These guys are from Akron, Ohio . . . right up the road from where I grew up.  In this video of Lonely Boy (not actually a Black Key singing) check out the dance moves.  Hey shout out to cousin Mark; you will recognize that second move as one you and I were pretty good at back in the day!!  One of these days, you and I will break out our moves.  I think we should wait until one of the kids is getting married and see if we can't embarrass them!

Anyway, have a listen to a couple of the Black Keys songs.  Let me know what  you think!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_426RiwST8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yCIDkFI7ew&feature=related

xoxo

A Squirrel, a Chipmunk and a Fox

I thought I'd share a couple of photos of a Colorado squirrel that I recently took while on vacation.  When I spotted this guy, I immediately noticed how different he looks from the squirrels in my neighborhood.  Dare I say that this guy is much cuter?  Not to offend my local squirrels, but come on, this guy puts my local squirrels to shame.  He has those great highlighted eyes and nose that just pop out at you.  Also his general shape is rounder and fluffier . . . maybe I can relate to that since I'm round and fluffy! 

I was surprised that this guy let me get within about 4 feet of him and didn't budge.  Very cute.

Now on to our chipmunk encounter.  Le Husband and I were skiing down a trail that had tall pine trees lining either side, it was bright and sunny, beautifully groomed snow and I was in the zone . . .  when out of nowhere comes one of the biggest chipmunks I've ever seen.  He was hauling ass (sorry but there's no better way to put it) right across the ski slope carrying a pine cone in his mouth!  Now I'm sure you're thinking that the altitude must have been messing with my head, but I am totally serious.  I came really close to running the guy over and immediately stopped and burst out laughing.  Le Husband stopped immediately as well and said "Did you see that?!!"  I've never experienced any local wild life on the slopes and of course Le Husband was not filming this particular ski run so we don't even have video evidence.  Apparently he was late for an important date on the other side of the slope!

My last encounter with Colorado wildlife (other than the human variety) was spotting a beautiful and large fox on the hillside directly outside of our condo.  Of course at the time I spotted this fox, I was on the phone with this lovely older gentleman who owned the condo we were staying in.  He had called to see if we were enjoying our visit and was in the middle of a story about how much his grandchildren loved staying at the condo.  My fellow vacationers were involved in various acts of watching TV, reading or looking at their computer when I began to frantically wave my free arm and point at the hill outside the condo.  After determining that I was indeed trying to communicate with them and was not having some bazaar seizure, they all gathered around the sliding glass door to check out the impressive fox.  Of course by the time I was able to politely extricate myself from the phone call, the fox was long gone.  Did anyone think to grab my camera and snap a photo . . . nope!  You'll just have to trust me that he was one very good looking fox!

xoxo

Ahh Vacation

I can't believe it's been over a week since we got home from our vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado.  Le Husband and I headed out West with our very dear friends, Dave, Tina and their adorable son, Henry.  Le Husband has been skiing now for two complete seasons and was definitely ready for something more challenging than the local bump where he learned to ski!   

Here is a shot heading into the mountains. There was a storm front moving through . . . gee can you tell where it starts?

We stayed at a great ski in/ski out condo on the Four O'Clock ski run (Appropriately named since it looks like the L.I.E. at rush hour come 4 o'clock when the lifts stop running!) and we skied down to the snowflake lift to start our days.  Here are a couple of photos of part of the gang heading out to ski.  How cute is Henry . . . we love that kid!

Le Husband looked great and was definitely easy to spot on the mountain.  That growth out of his helmet was his Go Pro.  We now have some great video of the skiing experience thanks to his and Dave's helmet cameras!  (Romayne and/or Tina said they look like Teletubbies!)

Here's Dave heading out on his snow board.  Both Dave and Henry ski and snowboard . . . yes they are talented guys!!

The altitude was between 10,000 and 13,000 feet.  You think you're doing great until you reach a catwalk on the mountain and have to pole and skate across it . . . pole, skate, pole, skate, stop and suck in air. . . continue and repeat until reaching the downhill slope!  It's funny how gentle these slopes look when you photograph them from a distance; not so when you are actually on them!

We all carried trail maps, but also found it helpful to have these big maps at the top of the ski lifts.  Here's Le Husband and our good friend Romayne charting a course for us.

Speaking of Romayne, she is a good friend of ours from back in our New Jersey days when I worked at that Corn Fairy place.  She is now a pilot and is based in Denver, so she got to come up and spend a couple of days with us.  As always Miss Romayne, it was wonderful seeing you! 

Needless to say we all had a wonderful time!  I'll end this post with a panorama photo looking out at the range across from Breckenridge.  Just beautiful.

xoxo

Go Emma!

Today my beautiful niece Miss Emma is swimming in her District Division 1 swim meet.  I want to wish her good luck!  I'm so proud of what you've accomplished already.  Let's all send Miss Emma some positive thoughts this afternoon.  I woke up this morning with the feeling that things are going to go well.  She's worked hard to get where she is.  My advise to her was to just breath and let the hard work pay off.  Miss Emma just believe in yourself . . . we're all out here cheering for you!

xoxo

Murder Most Foul

The other night, le husband and I came home to discover that a murder had taken place in our home while we were out. It was quite a shock to walk into our home and discover the victim lying on our living room floor!

The victim, Ted E. Bear, was an upstanding member of the community. There was no apparent motive for this murder since Ted was described by most people as an extremely “cuddly” guy. He lived a quiet life, didn’t bother anyone and was always ready to comfort a friend.

Please excuse the graphic crime scene photo of the victim:

There are three suspects to this gruesome murder. All three suspects were in the home at the same time as the victim. Meet the suspects:

Tarquin – The Queen “B”. Known to be quite assertive when her reign as queen is threatened. According to Tarquin “Ted and I were simple acquaintances . . . we didn’t associate in the same social circles”.

 



Clancy – The Player. Lover to anyone willing to rub his belly. Clancy commented “Ted E. and I were friends. We hung out together and he was great company whenever I wanted to sneak in a cat nap. The guy was a great cuddler!”

Keely – The Kid. The tough and street-smart kid, who came from the wrong side of the tracks. Keely was the closest to Ted E. and they played together on a regular basis. Keely was overheard saying “That Ted is so adorable I could just eat him up”!

So who do you think is the guilty party?

My Latest Addiction . . . Pinning

Like all addictions out there, they start out small.  Just a little experimentation or fun with friends.  The next thing you know, you can't go without it even for a day.  If you don't have a fix in a certain amount of time, you start to get nervous, even jittery.  And like so many addictions, you try and keep it a secret.

This past weekend I was at the home of some friends in DC and was talking to two 20 something ladies when one of them asked me the question, "have you ever been on Pinterest?"  I cautiously admitted, that yes, I had tried out Pinterest . . . thinking to myself that I can always say it was just that one time with friends.  They both quickly smiled and said "we're addicted"!!  I felt the relief wash over me, I could finally admit that I too am addicted to Pinterest . . . my response "Oh my gosh, so am I"!

We launched into a rapid fire discussion about how often and how much we used . . . or in the case of Pinterest addiction . . . how much we pinned.  Each of us exclaiming about our favorite part of pinning.  I must say, it felt so good to know that I am not alone in this addiction.   Le Husband sent me this article about others suffering from this addiction.  http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-01-17/how-to-pinterest-mark-smith/52615856/1

I really want to tell you to try out Pinterest; pinning is such fun!  However, I feel I am obligated to tell you that pinning is known to be addicting.  So pin at your own risk!

Welcome 2012!

Happy New Year everyone!  Like allot of other folks out there it's that time of year when I end my gluttonous holiday season and attempt to go back to healthy eating.  I must say that any pounds I packed on were completely worth it and I'm sure there's a personal trainer out there right now who wants to slap me for saying that.  In fact, my personal trainer may do just that tonight when I see her.  But come on people . . . who can pass up mom's homemade rolls or shortbread cookies!  Especially my beautiful niece Taylor who didn't save me any shortbread cookies.  Ok, ok I should probably be thanking her for that. 

The wonderful thing is that while I'm munching on a carrot stick, I can remember all the yummy meals.  Speaking of which, let me share Christmas dinner with you all.  My sister-in-law is a fabulous cook.  I'd share one of the 100,000 photos of her standing in front of the stove . . . but she'd probably hit me with a wooden spoon, so instead I'll share some of the food pictures.  You can all drool along with me!

Here are the beautiful Florida lobster tails before cooking and after my brother grilled them . . . yummy!

We also had roasted asparagus, shown here being prepped . . .

and served.

And her traditional Brussels sprouts; don't they look beautiful in the skillet.

She serves them with bacon, shallots and toasted pecans! 

These are some of the best potatoes you'll ever eat.  They're made with leeks and Gruyere cheese.

Then are baked to a bubbly, crispy golden brown and are sinfully good!!

And finally, to go along with the surf, there was some turf . . . wonderfully cooked filet's!  Great job done by my brother the grill master!



That's just a sampling of some of the wonder food I thoroughly enjoyed over the holiday season.  Ok, time to munch on another carrot!

xoxo