A Day In The City

I grew up in the northern part of New Jersey. We lived probably just an hour out of New York City. I went periodically, but as with most things, anything too accessible is often taken for granted. I moved to Florida in 1990. I love it here. I do miss my home state, family and friends left behind and oh do I miss New York City!! It is truly the city that never sleeps. Anything is acceptable and there is an endless supply of things to do.

On our recent vacation to New Jersey, we spent a day in the city. It was a tremendous day. We went on a guided "Gossip Girl" tour. Have you ever seen that show on the CW? Rachel and I love it! Here are a couple pix from that tour of the upper east side.

I love the skyscrapers!

Where else but Park Avenue in NYC could you get fined for honking your horn? I wonder if that rule is enforced. . .

Believe it or not, it only took a couple minutes to get through this mess.

Times Square was great! The Mayor recently instituted this large area to be classified as a "resting" area because the people of New York need a place to sit, relax and enjoy their surroundings. It was great! Rachel loved everything about the city.

In the evening, we went on a Circle Line Harbor Lights cruise. For all the years I lived right there, I had never been on a Circle Line cruise on the Hudson River. It was phenomenal!

You can play golf in the screened-in area in this next picture. Why should you be deprived of playing golf just because you live in the city???

The financial district of New York City.

Skyscrapers by sea, um, well, by the Hudson River.

The sun sets behind the Empire State building. It was beautiful.


And our glorious Statue of Liberty!

It was a magnificent day as we toured the city twice - once by bus and once by boat. It was a wonderful vacation!

Amish Friendship Bread

Have you ever made Amish Friendship Bread? I recently finished my second go-round with it and am now out of starter bags and cannot continue. Boo hoo!! It is such fun and very tasty!!

I was given my first starter bag in early June and enjoyed the days of "mashing the bag". On day six you have to add a couple of ingredients, mash the bag for a few more days and then day ten is the best!!!

Additional ingredients get added to this thoroughly mashed bag, then divided up into bags to share with your friends (be sure to keep one for yourself so you can continue) and then you get to bake two loaves of this yummy bread.

I'm hoping that one of the recipients of my starter bags has one saved for me so I can continue this fun little ritual of mashing the bag, adding ingredients, mashing the bag, sharing the starters and enjoying this tasty cinnamony bread that disappears faster than time!! If anyone ever offers you a starter bag, grab it - you'll love it!!!

Oh Geeze, I Was Tagged and Have To Be Honest

My dear friend, Cheryl, from Gratitude Gal, tagged me. I have to list ten things about myself that you may not know, tag ten others and link back to Cheryl. Mmmm. What unknown entities do I wish to share . . .

1. I am the third of four siblings and was always the most social and outgoing, smartest, prettiest, etc., etc. (None of my siblings read this so I can say what I want)

2. I am claustrophobic and afraid of heights.

3. I have been Rachel's Girl Scout leader since she was in Kindergarten. She's now going into 10th grade.

4. I went to sleep away camp every year when I was a kid. I even won a free week at camp for bringing the most kids to Sunday School.

5. I love to do laundry, but hate to mop the floor. I do it, but I hate to.

6. My very first job was at Hot Sam, a pretzel shop at the Livingston Mall. At the end of the night, after everything was all cleaned up and put away, I had to mop the little floor in front of the shop. I hated it. That's probably why I hate to mop the floor now. I was able to bring leftover pretzels home at the end of the night. My dad loved that!!

7. My favorite number is seven. I was born in the seventh month. My dad passed away at 77. Whenever the temperature in my car reads 77, I think of my dad.

8. I really do not like to travel. The furthest I've ever been from home is Toronto and that was a recruiting trip for work. I've never been further west than Tennessee.

9. I used to have a plum tree in my backyard as a child and I planted 300 red tulip bulbs beneath it. It was just gorgeous when all were in bloom. I miss it every Spring.

10. While it really stinks to not be the youngest wherever I go anymore, I really like the person I've become.

Okay, now I'm supposed to tag ten, but I'm only going to tag seven because that's my favorite number. Only do this if you want to. I won't be insulted, but I'd like to read your list too!

1. Glenda - Many Fond Memories

2. KeKe - In My Sepia Studio

3. Deb - Garage Sale Gal

4. Cheryl - Mommy and Me

5. Michele - Country Vintage

6. Kay - Musings

7. Sherri - Sherri's Jubilee

I leave tomorrow for New Jersey. I haven't seen Rachel since June 22nd. I'm missing her quite a bit now so I hope she's ready for some cracked ribs - not really, but she will be getting a gigundo hug from me and kisses galore!!

And The Winner Is . . .

Thank you all for leaving your comments and sharing your talents. It's always nice to hear people give credit to themselves for something they're good at. To select the winner, I entrusted the help of my co-worker, Cynthia. She has worked with me for the last five years, helping to keep our office running smoothly. I am very proud of Cynthia because while she was working full time with me, she attended nursing school full time also and just graduated! Cynthia is now an RN and is getting ready to start her nursing career at a local hospital within the next couple of weeks. So after a couple of years of hard work learning how to be a nurse, Cynthia has more than doubled her salary and will soon be at a hospital near you. Hard work and perseverance does pay off.

Now for the giveaway winner . . .

My trust little handmade bag . . .

All of the commentors names in the bag . . .

Cynthia selecting a name . . .

And the winner is . . .



Oh wait. I can't see it. Let me put my glasses on . . .


Yeah!!!

Victoria Lynn of Sweet Victoria Antiques!!!

Your package is packed, ready to go and will be in the mail to you tomorrow! I hope you enjoy.


Had to share this picture of my Logan with Katelyn. We went out to dinner tonight and I thought this was a cute picture so had to share.


Katelyn was Logan's first girlfriend in 8th grade. They say they're just friends now, but they sure make a cute couple to me . . .

Time For My Giveaway

I love this "little" blogging community of ours and I am happy to be a participant. It is such fun to see what people found thrifting over the weekend, or who rearranged a room, purchased new bedding, created new artwork, made a tasty dish, had a memorable family celebration, shared a woe, took us on a sightseeing tour or any one of the many things we all blog about. Who doesn't feel they have friends here in blogland? I remember when I first started, I had the hardest time keeping people straight and remembering how I got to certain blogs. Now I love to find new blogs and make new blogging friends.

To thank you all for bringing joy to blogging, I am having a little giveaway. Just leave a comment between now and Saturday, July 4th, and I will enter your name. I have a few things to offer, so read all about it . . .

First is this adorable milky white pedestal with a lace edge. I found this at Home Goods and couldn't resist.
I love little creamers. I think it's fun to have a variety to suit your mood on any given day. This one is made in Portugal.


Don't you just love these dinner napkins?


Here is a nice little memory book you can make with lots of embellishments included.


I love chipboard! You can do so much with it. I just found this little set of seven sweet birds on a little chain. This would be really cute dressed up to highlight special photo's.


Have you ever used Grunge Paper? I just found this Tim Holtz paper and had to get another package to include here. You would not believe all the things you can do with this. It is really fun to work with.



There you have it! If you would be interested in being the recipient of these goodies, please leave me a comment and tell me about one of your talents. My background is Human Resources and I am always trying to find out what people are good at. It's amazing the hard time people have coming up with a talent! We all have them. For me, I am a positive person. I can always see the good in people or situations. I love to tell someone when they've done something great, or that they look good, or that they're really good at something. It makes me feel good to make others feel good.

All commentors will be included, but if you do share a talent, I'll add your name twice.

Celebrate 147 posts with me and my one year blogaversary back in April. I hope you all have a great week!!

My New Purchase

Guess what I bought today?



I have been wanting this Trek Hybrid Bicycle for quite some time. I think I first started dreaming about it a year ago. I spoke to lots of people about road bikes and Trek came in as the most recommended.

Rachel and I have been riding a Schwinn, but it's too big for me and makes me nervous. This Trek is 14" and fully adjustable so it fits me perfectly. I got the whole works - the lock, the handlebar bag, the computerized odometer, helmet and car rack. I have been saving my money for this and it was the highlight of my day to put this bike on the back of my car and drive away.

I went for a nice ride around 8pm tonight, but that was too late. It got dark while I was out and until I'm more used to riding, I'd rather ride during daylight. I plan on getting up early tomorrow to hit the road before the sun is too high.

It's amazing how good this bike feels. It handles so well, looks really great and makes me feel like I've found my niche. The guy that owns the bicycle shop told me about a really great bike trail on the island of Palm Beach. The trail goes along the intracoastal down to the inlet, for a total ride of ten miles of beautiful scenery. This is going to be fun and I'm so excited.

So Much To Say

First of all, is this not the cutest???

I'm not ready to hit the highways or byways just yet, so Rachel is practicing driving in the church parking lot across the street from us. It's fun, well at least for Rachel. I'm still jumping and braking and breathing heavy, but it's cool.

Next, remember how I was kinda looking forward to Rachel going to visit my sister in New Jersey? Well, the day came and she's off . . . Here's a shot of Rachel and my sister, Lisa, getting ready to board. They flew up together to my other sister, Carol.

Logan is on his way to Lake Erie tomorrow with friends. My darling son is amazing in many ways, but he's always gotta be doing something to kinda drive me nuts. He went through the long hair stage in high school and I so totally hated it. He finally cut it right before graduation last year. I was thrilled. Not to last, though, of course! He looks like a mountain man in this picture at the airport when Rachel was leaving. I always cut the top of his head off in pictures. I'm 5'2"; he's 6'5".

He decided to spruce himself up for his trip tomorrow so he cut his hair. Yeah!

But, Logan!!! You forgot to get rid of the hair on your face!!!! Ugh!

So now that I have ten days without children, I have incredible plans! I'm so excited! I have a really cool purchase that I will be making on Saturday, which I will share with you then. And I plan on creating! I have been buying so many supplies that my cupboards are overflowing. Now I need to use them and I cannot wait.

If you want some inspiration, go check out Jennalee at Artrageous Afternoon. She's looking to see if anyone is interested in her newest creative swap. I think it looks like a lot of fun. She hosted the Easter Egg Swap not too long ago and I still can't bring myself to put those darling eggs away!!

Next, I joined my first E-Zine that Teresa McFayden offers. It starts next Monday and it's called, "A Journal of Interest" and looks to be a lot of fun. Teresa is a very talented lady and has much to offer at her Paper Bella Studio.

I'm looking forward to my "me" time. I don't get much of it and I'm one of those people that's always thinking of others and not enough of myself. I am now going to be selfish. I can't wait!! And I'll share all the details with you, so stay tuned . . .

Oh No!!!!!

Yep. She's cute. She's got a nice smile. She's well liked. In volleyball, her coach calls her "the beast"! Andddddddddd . . . she now has her permit!!!! That means she can drive! How can that be? Didn't I just give birth to her a mere 15 years ago??? She's not old enough to drive!!! Look at how sweet and little she is!!!!! She's my baby and she now can drive a big ole car????? Lord, help me!!!!!

In the wonderful State of Florida, you can get your driving permit at the age of 15, after successful completion of a four hour drug and alcohol test, as well as a written test. She did all the requirements, went with all documents in hand and that Kodak moment above, was my sweet Rachel posing for the photo for her driver's permit. She can't get her actual license for one year, so there's plenty of time to send her to driving school and get lots of practice before she's "let loose". She's already got her car picked out. Again, Lord, help me!!!!!

On a lighter note, today Tom and I are married 26 years. That's a looonnnnngggg time! A good day to get a learner's permit.

Where For Art Thou?

Don't know why I've had such a hard time blogging lately. It's not like I don't have things to write about. I've been busy - going places, doing things, creating, rearranging. Perhaps I'm too busy? I've been reading blogs, but not commenting much. I guess I'm just in a blog-slump. I have great items I've been collecting for my giveaway that I've spoken about. Now I need to get my act together and post about it. Giveaways are such fun! They strengthen the bonds of friendship.

In a recent issue of Somerset Life, I was reading an article written by Rebecca Sower. Have you visited her blog? Visit her here. She said that there are so many things she could blog about, but she sticks to the creative part of her life because that's what her readers want. I'm all over the place. Is that my problem? I can't analyze it. I love my blog - though I want to make it prettier. I love to blog - though I haven't been good about it lately. I like writing about whatever strikes me as interesting on any given day. And I guess that's the way it shall be. Happy Tuesday!

Sweet Summertime

I thought I'd be relieved when school was over. I thought life would be a little easier, less of a commitment to get somewhere by a certain time. I thought there would be relaxing summer nights, gabbing outside with my sister, watching the birds come home for the night. But nooooooo. "Mom, can you take me here?" "Mom, we're all going to Janie's." "Mom, can you take us to the beach?" "Mom, can you take us to the mall?" "Mom, can you pick me up at 11:30pm when Lindsay's birthday party is over?" "Mom, there's volleyball practice tomorrow. I need knee pads." "Mom, can I sleep over Vickie's?" "Mom, can we go to Walgreen's for the new Seventeen magazine?" School's not even out for a week and I'm exhausted already!!

Can I change my name?? Can I tell you how I'm counting the days until my darling daughter goes to visit my other sister in New Jersey for three weeks, count em . . . three weeks!!!!! At least I don't have to rush around in the morning like a madwoman trying to get the dear to school by 7:15am. I don't have to worry about making nutritious meals as soon as I walk in the door. I don't have to worry about homework or studying for exams, uh, hers, not mine. No more track meets, after school study groups or signing this or that which must be handed in yesterday, or $5 here, $10 there, and the yearbook is only $85.

Yes, I know. It will soon be over. Freshman year flew by in a flash and I know the next three years will zip by also. For now, I'll try to enjoy the sweet summertime. Pina colada anyone?

Bella

Remember Bella?

Bella was 9 months old on May 1st. We had her spayed this past Friday. I was a nervous wreck all day, because, after all, my baby was having surgery. She came through fine.

As you can see, I wasn't the only one worried about her. Logan was worried about Bella.

And Rachel was worried about Bella.

It's amazing how attached you can get to a dog!!