Candy

I realize Halloween is over and folks are already moving on to Thanksgiving. But remnants of candy surround me at work: Tootsie Rolls, Butterfingers, Nestle Crunch bars, even Sweethearts. Note to self: find a route that avoids the candy. So do you still have left over candy? Better yet, if you had a chance to have your pick what would you choose?

Happy Birthday Pooh and the Gang

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picture Courtsey of Disney's Facebook Page

 

On October 14, 1926 A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh was first published! One of my favorite books that even after 84 years is still entertaining.

 

Fitting I discovered this tidbit as I’m washing the Eyore sweatshirt that got hungry at dinner. Oh Bother. Fortunately, I was able to change into my fleece featuring Piglet, Pooh, Eyore, Owl, Tigger and Rabbit.

 

Most people go to Disney to see Mickey … I’m all about the Hundred Acre Wood Gang. Do you like old pooh, reinvented new pooh? Who is your favorite character?

Making a list, checking it twice …

Opps. Sorry, wrong holiday, even if I have most of my shopping done. Excel spreadsheet in place (laugh, I'm not offended just organized), and since grandma is in town and says she “needs” a chore while we’re at work – my best elf wrapper.  I admit, I need to start early, it’s the only away the holidays happen.. Especially, with shipping and spending it this year in FL with grandma. But, I’m kind of freaked out. Today, people at work are planning holiday parties – not to be confused with Halloween parties. Boyfriend just sent me a picture from his lunch trip to Home Depot. I’m not ready for decorations or music in the stores yet.

Sticking with the holiday that is quickly approaching – and one of my favorite holiday classics - here is the link to “The Great Pumpkin Countdown.” http://greatpumpkincountdown.com/

Who would have thought Snoppy and the gang would be turning 60! The link has cute wallpaper, cartoons and while I haven’t figured out the game, it has a lot of fun stuff if you want to break into the Snoopy Dance.

Theme Parks

Roller coasters, bumper cars and twirl-a-whirls. Sunday boyfriend and I spent the day with friends at Hershey Park. Chilly, but a great weather to walk around, take in rides. Boyfriend won prizes playing skee-ball and tossing rings on top of bottles. Yay, more bears for me. I, on the other hand, felt like Charlie Brown and the football, my skee-ball game had so much promise and fizzled out midway through. It’s the one came I stick with as I’m not very good at the hoops, roll the bowling bar so it doesn’t hit the light and come all the way back or shooting.

Chocolate screamed our names at the Chocolate World – Kisses, Mounds; Almond Joys …the list goes on. While we got our fill of the Hershey classics, we were disappointed to find that they didn’t have some of the unique things they used to have that you couldn’t find in the food store. In years past we’d go home with bags filled of unique treats. We did manage to find a new flavor of Good & Plenty – it was supposed to be hot but everything tasted like the fruit flavors mixed with cinnamon and was rather strange. The consensus was stick to the original.

What is your favorite amusement park? Do you stick with rides, play games or both?

Flintstones … meet the Flintstones …

Happy Birthday to one of my favorite cartoons!  I realize my love stems from reruns. I could watch hours of Fred and Barney and their antics. I admit I haven’t seen the motion picture out of fear. Fear that yet again Hollywood butchered another one of my favorite Hanna Barbara cartoons.  Seriously, I could watch Hanna Barbara Cartoons all day.

We have a plethora of ornaments at my parents. We’re at the point of rotating them but every year I hunt through boxes upon boxes just to find Fred, Wilma, Barney and Betty. The tree isn’t the same without them. I’m excited to learn now there are DVDs! If Google is celebrating the Flintstones, maybe they’ll be some cool merchandise to add to the collection …

What's your favorite cartoon?

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I love airports. (Not to be confused with airlines who charge obscene fares, strand you on airplanes, bad food or charge you for bags.)

Airports provide fodder: people watching, conversations with random people – I must have the sign on since usually they reveal things, most people wouldn’t tell friends. Not to mention time to write and edit without the usual interruptions or distractions. I’ve somewhat made peace (used very loosely) with Newark: use off-site parking and Terminal C is better than A (more food and shopping options). In the rare instance I can check a bag, plan on an extra hour for baggage if on Continental. Charlotte, Orlando and Tampa are my favorites for food and shopping and free Internet.

Next week I need to go to Boston and will end up on Amtrak. While it will take longer than flying hopefully I will make good use of the time. Either way, it beats driving.

What’s your preferred method of transportation?

Nonpaying tenants

If you had to choose from the following, which would you like to come home to?

A.      Bats

B.      Mice

C.      Birds

D.      None of the above is not a option

I came home to boyfriend walking up to me and announcing we had nonpaying tenants. A brief panic set in. I refer to bats, mice and other grossness as nonpaying tenants.  Fortunately, he wasn’t referring to bats which migrate and are expensive to remove ($14k at sorority house) so it’s like they’re charging you rent. Or mice. Seriously, I don’t think I could tell my parents I was moving home. Yes, I actually moved out of my meticulously clean apartment and paid rent until my lease ended since I refused to get a fury feline creature. And all my messy neighbors had one.

Birds, not of Hitchcock’s variety, entered through the living room AC. Boyfriend removed (safely), cleaned up after and removed their portal.  Thank no name birds for not destroying any of the furniture and for vacating the premises before my arrival. Please note your new location should be the bird feeder in the back yard.

Maybe next time I’ll come to hear about the rabbits eating the garden or the bear that took a bite out of garbage can a few weeks ago. Seriously, I could get on board with the bear. Yes, I realize they can be dangerous creatures but they’re so cute.  They wouldn’t have to pay rent. It could live in the yard. Note, if the other nonpaying tenants offered rent, the answer is still no – there are no vacancies.

Garden Variety

Spring reaped strawberries. Shortcake, tossed in salads, topped on ice cream, even plain. I remembered to freeze some future use in baked goods or beverages – smoothies or ones featuring umbrellas. Take your pick. The strawberry patch was a nice bonus that came with the house. Since well houses usually feature "surprises" not to be confused with "prizes."

We decided to try our hand at vegetables. We started small since we spent the spring replacing the roof. It is bad enough the garden contends with us forgetting to water it, adding tossed shingles to the mix was just too cruel. The menu now features tomatoes, oregano basil and peppers. I think we lost the zucchini to the frost. We don’t discuss it since I told him it was too early to plant the little plants we started inside. He opted to listen to the weather forecast. The beets survived. Boyfriend wanted beets. He will get to eat them. I’m applying my lobster theory: he doesn’t like lobster = more for me. I don’t like beets = more for him.

So far we’ve made sauce. I don’t think we’ll harvest enough bounty to freeze for the winter. Next year, I want to try lettuce, cucumbers, sting beans, maybe a watermelon or pumpkin. Does anyone else garden and am I missing anything from the list?

Good Will

The last time I was in a Good Will when I was back in college in desperate need of 70s attire for a sorority party. Note, nothing against Good Will, just I wasn't a fan of 70s clothing when I was little so having to scrounge for it in the 90s wasn't ideal.

But, as my boyfriend says, all the bags of clothing in the back of the car as I try to catch the Salvation Army or Good will isn't "good will" if I'm still driving around with it 3 months later. I know, I know there are those bins but they are usually full. And leaving stuff outside even in trash bags so nothing gets dirty in the bins seems counterproductive.

Fast forward and I discovered a Good Will Store on my way to work. Fancy displays in the windows and it included a donation center. Inside looked like a department store featuring a wide range of men, women's and children's clothing, house wares, books, DVDs, accessories, etc. Including suits and cocktail dresses!Seriously, I could have used that during the 18 month stretch of 26 weddings. Since those dresses are still expensive even if the bride isn't picking your attire. I digress.

More importantly, a packed parking lot meant people were utilizing or contributing to its services. Needless to say, I feel productive since the car is now empty and hopefully, the clothes I dropped off will find a good home. Now to tackle the rest of my weekend to do list!

Unplugged

Just returned home from visiting my grandmother in FL. Dillards was very good to us. Love getting two pairs of shoes for less than the price of one. I’m hoping this means I didn’t jinx myself for my next visit. We got all the errands done. I didn’t get to write as much as I planned but spending time with her and hearing all about family history make playing catch up well worth it. Definitely book fodder which is a bonus.


But I forgot to load the software on the doohickey that I plug in for wireless access when I can’t find a wireless network. No Internet. I tried using my phone to connect with my web access. The polite way to put it was that it was not user friendly. I get points for not destroying my phone out of frustration. However, it probably will go to the phone afterlife since I’m due for an upgrade.

In the big scheme of things, lacking Internet access wasn’t a big deal. I panicked a little until I realized the boyfriend could check me in for my flight home. Kudos since he did a great job getting me a good seat. Silly, but I like checking in the minute they let you so you don’t end up squished in a middle seat next to the bathroom in the back of the plane.

Four days without blogs, Facebook, Google, yahoo, e-mail, etc. It was strangely refreshing. I may have to try it again sometime. Now I’m going to try to spend one hour catching up and leave for tomorrow anything I don’t finish. This little unintended experiment demonstrated I could survive unplugged and perhaps I could successfully limit myself to an hour in the morning and in the night so I have more time for other things.

Lost: Summer. If Found Please Return ASAP.

Maybe it is me. (Really, it’s OK to agree. I won’t be offended.) Traffic to work is already starting to return to fall-like volume, Halloween candy is on display and weather is cold and rainy. Perhaps if I were meeting up with McDreamy I wouldn’t mind. Delusional but humor me. I want more time to enjoy deck weather. Instead of jumping from one weather extreme to the other. Ironically, my friends with kids couldn’t wait for school to start are now complaining about having to help with homework. Note: I am very grateful I don’t have to help with homework but can just contribute cool school supplies.


This leaves me wondering where did summer go? I had all these grand plans and in reality have only accomplished about ½ of my list. I.e. book stuff, house sprucing: aka touch up paint and finish organizing, host BBQs, etc. Maybe there is still time since Fall officially doesn’t start until Sept. 22. I better get cracking. Hope you all enjoying your summer. What is left on your summer to do list?

Get This Party Started!

Welcome. Grab a drink, an app, mingle.

Summer is winding down, BBQs are in full force and some are already planning tailgates. I haven’t plan housewarming yet as there are still a few things to do before the unveiling. Right now I should be working on my book. Instead, I’m thinking of food: burgers, pizza, lobster bakes.

I was traumatized by a recipe that involved brown rice pizza - the brown rice served as the crust and featured the typical pizza toppings. I’ll pass, I'm already on brown rice overload – think of it as more for those who may love brown rice pizza. Which leads me to … what is your favorite type of party food?