I did it my way!

As Frank sang " I did it my way"! My friend Libby would make these delicious Italian cookies every year for Christmas and Easter. Every time she made them I would ask her for the recipe and she would always put it off and I never did get the recipe before we moved and so I no longer got my own plate of these wonderful treats that she would make up for me. So I found a recipe that is just as good (sorry Libby). The other night while I was making them I was saying to myself, "that little shit never did give me her recipe", when the phone rang and to my amazement it was my friend Libby. I know she would not agree with me that they are the same because, according to Libby they had to be oval and they had to have colored sprinkles. But hey, what do you expect from an Irish women! Miss ya Libby and every time I eat one I will think of you!

Happy Birthday Nicole!

Happy Birthday my little Christmas baby! I thought the name Nicole (St. Nick) was appropriate for you since you were our special Christmas package. We spent many nights up together with just the lights of the Christmas tree glowing as I tried to rock you to sleep.

I thought my Daughter-in-Law was crazy!

In Whitney's blog, "20 things you might not know about me" this one I thought was the weirdest:

7. I hate fish when cooked, but if it's raw, I could eat a hunk of fish like an apple.

Last night I made myself a nice piece of Salmon and when eating it I realized she is right! Although it was very good it was nothing like the dinner we had at Sasabune (See Ryan's Blog) in Santa Monica last week. I had never eaten so much raw fish in my life and needless to say it was the best and now I will always be searching for a Sushi restaurant like that.

As you can see from the sticker above I Voted Today! This is the first time I have voted early and also the first time I ever had to fill in the ovals on the ballot. In all the states and precincts I have ever voted in, it was always done by machine behind a curtain for privacy. Here I was filling out my ballot with only a small partition between myself and the other voters next to me and voters walking behind me. I don't know if this is because it is essentially an absentee ballot. Anyway, I finished and went to turn in my ballot, which I then fed it into a machine when the lady behind me says "that was a good vote"! What! You weren't suppose to see! Then she offered to show me hers! Back in the day, you kept your political affiliations to yourself. With such a emotional election this year everyone is wearing there heart on there sleeve. Everyone but me!

You would think that there is a major thunderstorm in the area! There have been loud booms and the house has been rattling and shaking now for the last few days. The reason, we are within distance of Ft. Bragg, although not that close. They must be having maneuvers because for the last week you can literally feel the house rattle and the earth shake. The first time it happened after our move here, it scared the hell out of us. It was late and we actually thought someone was on the roof of the house and jumping on it!

Ft. Bragg is the Home of the Airborne and Special Operations Forces!

And today there is a benefit golf tournament for the families of soldiers and I was hoping to see the Golden Eagles drop in. They were suppose to parachute in and around on the course but it is drizzling and overcast so I don't know if they will still be doing it. Would be nice to seem them come down in the yard.

Babies, babies everywhere!

It was good to see all my niece's, nephew's and all their kids. Spent the week in Michigan visiting family while Jeff was in China. The first pic is Jan and her grandchildren the 2nd is Grandma H's great grandchildren (missing Jackie O). The 3rd is Alex and his new truck with a plow so he can make some money this winter plowing peoples driveways. It was good to see everyone!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA!!

Happy Birthday Ryan

It's that time of year! Apples, lots of apples and ever since I can remember (except for the Ghost buster cake) I had made Ryan a Swedish Apple Pie for his birthday. It's not just any old Apple pie either, it is a pie that makes it's own crust and wonderful warm out of the oven. Now that Ryan is married and living in sunny Calilfornia I no longer have to make it for him but I have had a craving for it. This is the time of year I love, cool crisp fall days and visits to the local cider mill. I would love to post the recipe but I don't have it here in Ohio. So Ryan if you could please post the recipe I would appreciate having it! The picture of Ryan under Grandpa Harrington's apple tree is one of my favorites. I think this was taken the first time Dad brought you over to my house to meet my parents and it was just before your first birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN!

Love You,

Mom

Where am I?

We are back at our little home in Cleveland after spending a lot of time on the road. We were in Michigan for my Family reunion, Chicago to visit with Margy and the kids while they were there visiting Erin then to Florida for a business/pleasure trip in which we got to visit Nicole and Jeff's Mom, Dad, brother Greg and Jeff.

It was good to be home but I have to admit that I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and have to think of where I am. And when I sit down to watch TV, I can't remember what the major networks channels are, again I have to stop and think of where I am. Last week I had to give someone our Carolina phone number and I couldn't remember it! I can give you the phone number for the last 7 house but I couldn't remember our current number. We went to the mall recently and had to stop and think of what mall, and in what city we were in. Am I loosing it?

We are off again this weekend, Jeff to China and I am off to Michigan to visit family and friends. I'll update again soon...........

Oh, Hi Bob

Kids, Remember Bobby Gardner? Well he lives in Ohio and we met him about 1/2 way for dinner on Saturday night. We met his girlfriend Meg (very nice) and had a good time talking about old times. Bob and Dad reminisced about their days at Stanley Tools and old friends.
Bob's oldest daughter Abby will be a senior in HS and Gwen will enter the 8th grade. He is considering locating to Huntersville after Abby graduates next year. Asked about you all!

P.S. And I missed his giggle!

My 52nd Birthday Card

This is so not me!!!

Cleveland

Hey Everyone,
We made it into Cleveland last night around 10PM. I plan on staying through the summer unless the house sells, then I will go back. Looking forward to being able to visit family in Detoit. We are planning on going to Detoit tomorrow and then I will go again next week while Dad is gone on business. We had a great visit in Chicago last weekend, it was good the see Erin and Margy. Dad doesn't have any pics on this computer so I can't upload any images of our trip. But I will when he loads some on his computer.

I do have to tell you about this young gentleman that I sat next to on my flight to Chicago. He was working on his Master's in Psychology. We talked about all different things and what kind of research he wanted to work on. One was relationships. To make a long story short, he told me that he and most guys look for one thing in a women and it wasn't to be friends. He said if a chick says to him that they want to be friends and hang out he bolts! If he wants to hang out, he would hang out with his guy friends. This is what Jeff has been telling the girls for a long time.
I think that that all changes when they meet the right women, otherwise no guy would ever be married! Men and women can hang out together when they find the right one. I hope he meets someone that changes his mind.

Bacon- Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies

One of my favorite blogs is the Pioneer Women. She has all sorts of great photo's and tutorials, stories and recipes. I found this recipe and decided to try it out on Jeff last night. All I can say is they are addictive, you can't stop eating them. The first one was not hot at all and the second had a little more heat but not too bad!
The recipe says to leave some pulp and seeds (the source of the heat) if you want lot's of heat. But, I was too chicken! I see now she baked them on a rack, I didn't and they didn't get too crispy on the bottom sitting in their own juices, next time I will put them on a rack. Click on the link to get a printable recipe and while your there look around at her interesting blog. Enjoy!

P.S. I found a little worm in one of the jalapenos, what kinda worm likes the fire of a jalapeno?

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/07/bacon-wrapped_j/

25th Silver Wedding Anniversary

Jeff just happened to have to be in Las Vegas for our 25th Wedding Anniversary so we thought why not have all the kids meet us for a nice weekend celebration. Ryan & Whit from Santa Barbara, Nicole from Tampa, Erin from Chicago, Jeff from Cleveland and me from North Carolina. It was great to see all the kids together, seeing that we are all so far away from each other. We had fun playing the slots and walking around Vegas before our Anniversary dinner.
We had reservations at Rao's in Caesar's Palace for Saturday night. We all went to our rooms to get ready and when the kids knocked on the door I was so surprised to see them all standing there looking like a million bucks all dressed in silver. I wanted to cry, for 2 reasons. 1st is they all looked so great and went to all the expense of getting new outfits and 2nd because I didn't bring anything dressy to wear and looked like a frump next to them! Well, we had a great dinner at Rao's, everything was wonderful and the pasta was exceptional!

Ryan and Whit had to leave Sunday since the are leaving next week for China, Jeff worked the Show and the girls and I hung out around Vegas. Didn't get to lucky this trip, Jeff won $550 and I won $500, which is not to bad but I usually get luckier than that. But I couldn't of been happier than to have all the kids together with us to help celebrate our 25th.

Young@Heart sing 'Fix You' by Coldplay

I saw a segment on CBS Sunday morning on tis choir. This is the kind of choir I want to be in when I am old and gray. No, I'm not there yet but it will be sooner than we think.

HARLEY DAVIDSON'S

I really don't get into the whole motorcycle thing like Jeff would like me to, but I do enjoy this little drink called the Harley Davidson. Do you guys remember the Christmas that we decorated the tree while enjoying a few of these yummy shots. I remember Jeff and Ryan (wimps)each passed out on the one of the couches while Nicole and I enjoyed the Christmas tunes and singing along as we decorated the tree. (I think Erin was out that night) This came to my mind because we were able to finally find one of the main ingredients after a long search and enjoyed a few with Margaret and Steve the other night. So here it is:

Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey
Yukon Jack Canadian Liqueur
Lemon Wedge

It's Jack on Jack ( Greg & Jeff, I guess this could be a gay drink) 1/2 Daniels and 1/2 Jack. Just pour straight up, shoot right back, then suck on the lemon to help you enjoy it going down.

Now don't go riding after these, you want to live to ride another day!

Clouds of Pine Pollen

We got home this past weekend and immediately my eyes started itching and my head was all stuffed up. Now look carefully at the picture. I thought that there was a fire or something, then I saw these huge clouds of pine pollen (sneeze) falling off the tree's, it wasn't smoke at all but clouds of pine pollen.
When I went out this morning to meet a friend for coffee, my nice Vanilla Chrysler 300 is a pretty shade of lime green. It was cloudy and drizzly all day yesterday so the pollen sticks nicely to the paint job.
Glad to be home, although I do miss you Jeff!

Happy Birthday Erin!

< Hope you have a great day Erin!
Love and Miss You!

Bon Jovi & Chris Daughtry Concert

The Bon Jovi/Daughtry concert was awesome! That's the only word a woman my age can come up with that doesn't sound to corny! There is something about loud, live music that makes you feel so, young & alive! And yes I apologize now for the phone calls and text messages, but I just couldn't help myself. I drove up to Greensboro with Margaret and Lauri and we met up with Lauri's daughter and a few of her friends and had dinner at PF Changs. Then on to the concert for 3 1/2 hours of non stop music. My favorites were Living on a Prayer and Wanted Dead or Alive. Oh yeah, then there was Want to Make a Memory where Bon Jovi came out and sang from the audience. Yes, I think I will have to do this more often!

Ricky Nelson - I Will Follow You 1963

Another thing we couldn't do when we were young was to leave the house if your favorite heart throbs show was coming on. No VCRs or Tevo. We new on Sunday nights we would be in front of the TV at 8pm to watch our favorite show. This clip is from 1963 when I was just 7yrs old and knew that someday I was going to marry Ricky Nelson.

I called Ryan today, I didn't leave a message because he never listens to them, he sees that I've called and just calls me back. This made me think about growing up with one phone in a house of 10. There were no cordless phones, call waiting, caller ID, call forwarding or message machines. If someone said they were going to call, that meant they were going to call and you had better be home or you might miss their call. And if they didn't call you could be sure they would hear about how you waited for their call and they never called. They use to fib, "I called and it was busy" or "no one answered". And you knew that they probably called during the 5 minutes when your sister was on the phone. You would then be this annoying person and call them and ask, "did you try to call? I was just checking because my sister was on the phone". Never could you wander more than 4 to 6 feet from the phone, depending on how new the cord was and if it was new you could be sure you would be pulling the phone off the stand all the time because the cord wasn't broken in yet. Mom and Dad were always in ear shot of your conversations, they knew and got to talk to all your friends when they called. Sharing a phone meant that you could not have any long conversations because someone was always waiting for a call and you couldn't tie up the line. A busy signal was so annoying, it meant someone was at the home where you called and talking to someone else. You just had to keep dialing (no redial, and remember that they were rotary phones). When I was little I remember having to memorize our phone and the prefix was TU, which was 88. But I didn't know that and when I got lost at the mall and they asked my number I said TU1-5555. And she kept repeating you mean 88, I cried and said NO!
I just recently signed up for a phone number that I can have forwarded to any phone anywhere I want for the rest of my life. No more changing numbers with every move we make! So give me a call, I will forward my phones to my cell phone and if I am on the phone, leave a voicemail or don't, I will still see that I have missed a call and call you back anyway.

Hi All,
I have to join Ryan and post some pics of the Camelia's in bloom out front. This is for all you guys living up north. Spring is coming soon!
I'm just fooling around on the blog waiting for Jeff/Dad to return from Daytona. They left at 5:30 this morning hoping to avoid the rain and storms that are suppose to be up and down the southeast coast today. Should be here soon and I'm sure you will be able to check out his blog for all the new scoop on Daytona Bike Week soon.

Dog Whisperer: Jumping Border Collie

This is a great show! I really enjoyed watching it even though I don't have a dog. Nicole, this is a show you would really like!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fAD2T_bAdY

Back Home

We got back home last night around 7PM. It took about 11 hours door to door. We had a few close calls! I had to swerve to avoid a 3 x 2 foot piece of sheet metal that was flying through the air at us and I had to slam on the brakes and swerve from the left lane to the far right when I saw a Semi out of control, dirt flying, bouncing all around and heading straight for the center guard rail at us. I thought is was coming over the rail into on coming traffic. Luckily it stopped and as we passed I caught a glimpse of the driver who looked so relieved. Nicole said her heart stopped both times. It sure got my adrenaline going.
I also saw something I have never seen before, pigs. There were 4 pigs grazing by the side of the freeway. I wondered if they were wild and Nicole thought they must have escaped their pens.
Anyway, we are home safe.

YouTube - Belly Dancing 1 of 4

YouTube - Belly Dancing 1 of 4

Belly Dancing 1 of 4

I was watching fit TV when I saw a commercial for this show called Shimmy. I watched and was so excited to know how they did it.I think this is an awesome way to get a good workout. I was always amazed at the Belly Dancers down in Greektown, and I use to wish I could do that. I still might try! What about you girls?

YouTube - All You Need Is Love - The Beatles

I was watching CBS Sunday Morning and they did a piece on The Grammy's 50th Anniversary tonight. It really made me feel old when they said that The Beatles album Yellow Submarine won 40 years ago. They were so right in choosing that as the winning album, even after 40 years my kids can even relate to the great songs on this album. Enjoy!

Love you all, and Happy Valentines Day!

P.S. Notice in the video how John Lennon is chewing gum and singing! And guys guess what my favorite movie this song is in.

Yes, the girl is fine

Just a quick post to let you know that I got a letter regarding my mammogram results and yes, everything is fine. Just have to go back in 6 months to make sure there are no changes.

The Girls get a Mammogram recall

I went yesterday for a recall on a Mammogram I had a couple of weeks ago. The technician showed me two little spots on the xray that they wanted to get a better picture of. One was the size of kosher salt and the other the size of table salt. So she took more pics and this time she really squeezed the right girl. She developed them and then told me to wait while she took them to the Dr. When she came back all she said was," I could go, the Dr. had all the info she needed". Well I got dressed wondering what all this meant. Before I left I asked the women what was next? She told me that I would get a letter in about 2 weeks or a call and a letter. So now I wait!! I did do some research on calcifcations and feel a little better about it now. I've attached the link if you are curious as to what they are.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/breast-cancer/AN00049

P.S. This is not my boob.

Spicy Shrimp with Andouille Sausage on Grits

We had the most wonderful dinner last night at the De Rose's house. Chef Rick outdid himself with the wonderful dish. I would highly reccomend this recipe even if your not from the South. The grits were so rich and creamy and the shrimp and sausage had just the right amount of heat.

Bon appetit.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/103619

North American International Auto Show

Here we are in front of the new Chrysler 300 Hemi. I had a few favorites that I would like to consider the next time I'm in the market for a new car. The Cadillac CTS is pretty sweet and so was the Bullet Mustang. I'm sure I will change my mind by the time I'm ready for a new car, that runs in the family. Living back in the cold North there are things we have to consider now. Someday it would be great to have a fun car to cruise around in on a warm summers day. And yes Jeff, I prefer a cage.

MENOPAUSE SUCKS!

I woke up this morning and had lines in my face from my pillow case. I went about my usual routine, emptying the dishwasher, making the bed, answering emails and a few other chores. Then I went to take my shower and son of a gun, they were still there! I tried to cover them up with make up the best I could but you could still see them! Now I know why they tell you not to sleep on your stomach. I have always had the luxury of good skin, it's genetic. I always slept on my stomach, used Ivory soap and never had a problem. Menopause has change all that. Estrogen help keeps your skins elasticity, and without it your skin doesn't bounce back as it should. Now I am getting a chicken neck, saggy knees and the damn lines in my face. Add to that the hot flashes I have been having for 12 years and I'm surprised I am still sane!

When men age and get wrinkles, it looks distinguished, unfortunately it's not the same for the ladies.

Well, It's frustrating but I resolve to grow old gracefully!!

Welcome 2008

We spent the Christmas holiday in Florida with all our kids and Jeff's Mom, Dad, Greg & Jeff. Lauri and Barbara too! It was so nice to have us all together, and the first since Ryan & Whitney got married. Next year we will hopefully have a white Christmas in Cleveland.

Now that the holidays are over and I am looking forward to a eventful 2008. All the usual resolutions, take better care of yourself, exercise and all the rest of the usual. I am looking forward to moving to Cleveland and another new adventure with Jeff. Even though I spoke to Jeff and it was overcast, gray and raining, here it was sunny and a cool 44 degrees. I will surely miss all the sunny days here in the Carolinas.

Happy New Year!