Kindle Love

I Love it.

I've read two books in one week.
The first was

I'd heard about this book, but wasn't really sure what it was about.
It was very good, I couldn't put it down, however,
it was one of the most disturbing books I've ever read.
It actually made me sick to my stomach at the end. I had
to take a break
That being said, I recommend it.
It's a good study on nature vs. nurture.

The second book I read was

LOVED
LOVED
LOVED IT!!
I could almost pick it up and read it again right now.
So good.

I don't read as much as I'd like to.
I tend to go through spurts.
I think the Kindle may help me out.
I can search for a book, request a sample,
and if I like it, buy it on-line and it's in my
hands right away.
Love it!

Christmas Loot!

I had a great Christmas.
I received EVERYTHING on my list
.....and then some!

Pasta Bowls - everyday white from Bed Bath and Beyond. They are huge and bright. Will look great with my red placemats. Love em.

A Calphalon grilling pan. I've wanted one for a long time.

An immersion blender, for soups and whatever else.

New Mac Make-up brushes!

Yummy Jo Malone Grapefruit Perfume!

Beautiful pearl earrings! (I've had my others since high school. Time for a new pair!)

A "fancy" snuggie in cranberry.
Stop laughing.

And....A KINDLE!! I had actually put it on my list but then crossed it off.
Big surprise!!!! Love it!!

Thank you Santa!

Back on Track

Ok, so it's Wednesday.
I've been sick since Saturday.
Sick like, sick-in-bed sick.
Today is the first day I feel somewhat normal
so I am going shopping
Yesterday I was able to wrap all the presents
I have and see where I have to fill in.

I have a lot of filling in to do.

Note to self:
DON'T GET SICK RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS!

Flu

Yeah, so I got a flu shot.
DIDN'T WORK.
Shoot me.

Sick Day

Home sick today with a cold.
Hate being sick.
I've gone through an entire box of tissues.
Thank God for

Venti Mocha Frappa Fruppa

So what's crazier:
The fact that there were 9 people
on line in front of me this morning
OR
The fact that I waited?!

Thanksgiving

I originally had another entire post about Thanksgiving.
I decided to scrap it and post this instead.

This is Dylan making his famous
Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce.
It's yummy!




I don't have anything else to say except that
next year we're going away for Thanksgiving.

Big Yawn

Seriously, I can't be the ONLY person who
didn't like the movie.
Come on, step up....let's hear from you!

Yesterday

I love fall.

My Favorite App

Yup, that's my favorite app on my iPhone.
It's tag line is..."You're a busy woman, let iPeriod keep track."
It keeps track of your cycle, symptoms and my family's favorite - moods!
And it sends you emails - 4 days until .....3 days until......
Great app.

Jazzy Comfort.

This is my favorite Christmas Record

I listen to it constantly during the holiday season.

Well, the other day, I was looking at something on line
and there was music playing in the background.
It was very "comforting", that's really how I felt, comforted.
It was familiar and it made me smile.
I thought, this is Charlie Brown music.
So I went to iTunes, typed in Vince Guaraldi (he's the composer
of my favorite Christmas album) and I listened to every song
and guess what, I found the "comforting" song.
But all of the songs had that feel.
So what did I do?
I purchased 18 Vince Guaraldi songs.
I listen to them on my drive to and from work,then I plug
my iPod in at home and listen to them while I'm working or
cooking dinner.
It's comfortable, jazzy music that remindes me of my childhood.
It makes me happy.
Go find some and have a listen.

Soup Weather

It was so cold here today and.....
it snowed!
It snowed in NY.

This is soup weather.

I made some FANTASTIC soup last night.
Get a pencil and write this down;

White Bean Provencal

2 T olive oil
1 c chopped onion
2 c chopped celery
3 cloves garlic
6 c chicken stock
1/2 c white wine
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 c white beans - I used Great Northern Beans
2-3 chicken breasts, no skin, no bones
fresh spinach
salt, pepper, whatever spices you feel like adding.

OK, so sautee onion, garlic and celery in olive oil.
add everything else EXCEPT spinach
bring to a boil.
simmer for a long time, or until beans are soft (2-3 hrs)
the chicken will start to fall apart, remove it, shred and put back
just before you serve it, throw in a few handfulls of fresh spinach.
-the recipe doesn't call for it, but I love spinach in soup.

So Good!!!

Getting Crafty

I've been itching to get crafty lately.
I stumbled upon a great project on
Stacy Julian's blog.
It's called a 180 Day Album.
She's making one for her son's senior year in high school.
I'm making one for this kid's freshman year.

Yes, I am aware that I am beginning this album on day 43 or so,
but I've been doing my homework and I can fill in the days I missed.
I'm psyched!

Today

Today I drove to work in the dark.
I love driving in the morning when it's
still dark out and no one is on the road.

Today I was sitting at my desk at 6:58 am.
That's an hour and 2 minutes earlier than usual.
Had a lot to do.

Today I got very frustrated because something
I spent many hours on did not show up on
the computer.

Today I read a terrific book to
the entire student body and they really liked it.
After that, I decided that I didn't feel so bad
about the computer thing.

Today I picked Dylan up from school. I had
to wait a lot longer than usual but when he
finally showed up he was walking with a girl.
It made me smile.


*this is the book I read to the students.
It's about standing up to a bully.
Great book!

Camera Woes

So, let's face facts:
Dylan takes better pictures with
his point and shoot than I do with
my SLR.

I cannot take an indoor shot to save my life.

You know what that means, right?

I have to....READ THE MANUAL.

Look, I've had this camera for almost 4 years,
I really should crack the book, right?

I don't know how to use the camera on
manual setting.
Manual.
NOT automatic.
Ugh, it scares me.
Aperture.
F Stops (F troop for all you children of the 60 and earlier).
Exposure.
Shutter speed.

Should I take a class?

Suggestions??

Through The Eyes of a 14 Year Old

Central Park by Dylan.
He's 14.
He has a good eye, don't you think?!

Saturday in the Park

Dylan and I went to Central Park today
to take some pics.


This woman was checking everyone out through her frame.


There are a lot of benches.
We happened upon these two:


Bethesda Fountain

Strawberry Fields


The Smoke Monster from Lost showed up:

Law and Order does a lot of filming in Central Park:


Dylan spent a lot of time climbing on a HUGE rock





Dylan took some fantastic pictures.
He's an excellent photographer - better than I am.
*I just looked at his pics. I'll post some later.
They are terrific!

Moving On

Well, the biggest event of the year
that my office handles has come and gone.

The Fall Fair.

I survived.

Had the day off yesterday.
Manicure.
Massage.
Nice dinner.
Head cold.

Up next: Yearbook!

The NOW CROWD.

So, as I stated in my last post,
I was feeling a little (a lot) overwhelmed.
New job, so much to do, learning on the spot,
very busy time at work, plus other things
I am responsible for such as the yearbook
and picture day, which had to happen
in the midst of it all.
Now add to that the NOW CROWD.
These are the people who come in to
my office and ask for things NOW.
Can you do this NOW?
Can you get this for me NOW?
I need this NOW!
Now.
NOW!
NOW!!!!!
I do my best to accommodate the NOW CROWD,
but it was so hectic this past week that I came up
with this:

This is me at age 6.
I blew it up and printed it out AND laminated it.
When I am swamped and just can't take on
another thing at the moment and a member
of the NOW CROWD walks in I will hold
this sucker up in front of my face.
DON'T EVEN THINK OF ASKING!

Overwhelmed

I am.

New position at work this year.

Great boss.

Interesting job.

LOTS of work.

Just feeling overwhelmed right now.

Update On My Poor Baby

Saw a pediatric nephrologist.
He's fine.
He has a little thing that happens when he gets a virus.
He just has to wash his hands often and
get enough sleep and he'll probably
just outgrow this.

Good News.

My Poor Baby

So, Dylan got sick on Friday night.
He came home from a school overnight trip
with a fever and well, how do I put this...
his urine was dark and cloudy.
NOT good.
Our pediatrician said go to the hospital.

He was not happy he had to wear a DRESS.

Even though we were seen right away, we had to wait
from time to time.

They took a sonogram of his kidneys and bladder because
his urine looked like this:

We had to wait some more but Dylan came prepared.

Then the fever came back and he was not happy that
I tried to take a picture. He felt pretty crummy.
We were in the emergency room for six hours.

So, more trips to the doctor this weekend, today and tomorrow.
He's feeling better but we need to find out what's what.