Christmas 2009 in Florida

We had a wonderful week in Florida with H&B. Perfect weather, great company, and plenty of delicious food. Spent a lot of time on the beach walking and reading. Saw 'Avatar' one night ... as Bryan says, "It was good but they ripped off 'Fern Gully'" - a popular kid's movie years ago. True!

As usual we went to The Sailfish Marina for our first breakfast. Here's 'casual Santa' with Bryan, Dad, Carolyn & Don:

And we were back to the Sailfish for a stroll on the piers on Christmas Eve, looking at boats worth more than our house. The palm trees were all lit up - very pretty.

Out to dinner on our last night in this last photo. Don showed up minus some facial hair that he'd had for years and years. Here's Don, Mom, Bryan, Carolyn, Dad and me.

Hope you all had a great holiday with family and friends too.

PSU canning weekend

This weekend 10 wonderful kids stayed with us for their PSU fundraising weekend. Most are from NJ and PA, one is from MD, and one is from Cleveland, Ohio. There were 8 guys from the same Frat as Bryan and 2 girls who are in nursing.

As canning weekends go, apparently it wasn't the most successful in terms of collecting donations. They seemed to be competing with the Salvation Army and the weather. About mid-afternoon on Saturday it started to lightly snow, then just dumped down on us for the next several hours. It was still relatively mild so the snow fell in huge fluffy flakes. Pretty to watch; not so pretty to drive in.

Chilling and napping in the family room after fundraising: Rush, Bryan, Brian, Nick, Andrew, Mike & Kyle.

Breakfast group: Brian, Mike, Julie, Nick, Rush, Nicole.

They're all back to school for the last week of classes, followed by a week of exams. Then, home to their families for the holidays.

Bless you!

Sneeze and the whole world says, "Bless you!" Die coughing and no one says a thing. Why is that?

It amazes me how quickly people (even complete strangers) are programmed to say "Bless you!" after a sneeze. Since I am a multiple sneezer this has always been a bit embarrassing. I sneeze once and 20 people say "Bless you" ... but I'm just getting started. Those who really know me don't say "Bless you", they count, "One, two, three, four, ... ten, eleven ..." You've got to really hang in there if you want to bless me.

From wikipedia:
Bless you, or God bless you, is a common English expression addressed to a person after they sneeze. The origin of the custom and its original purpose are unknown.

An alternative expression to Bless you that is sometimes said after a sneeze is the German word Gesundheit.

A legend holds that it was believed that the heart stops beating and the phrase "bless you" is meant to ensure the return of life or to encourage your heart to continue beating.

Workin'

Most days you can find me sitting at my laptop working, emailing, surfing and facebooking. And sometimes Cathy joins me.

PSU weekend in the snow and rain

Last weekend we drove to Penn State to see Bryan and catch our yearly football game. Always an amazing experience at Penn State. This year, due to the snow (arriving a month earlier than usual!), there was no parking permitted on the grass around the stadium. The weather didn't lend itself to tail gating anyway, so we went out to lunch and hung out at Bryan's frat until the game. It was also Homecoming weekend so the frat was ship shape awaiting the return of their alumni that evening.

The game was good - I mean there were two teams running around and jumping on each other so it looked normal to me. PSU won 20-0 against Minn. (I think.) What's with the gopher mascot??? Gee, he looks menacing. No wonder the Nittany Lions won. Roar.

As usual, a few pics:

Those people running around on the field. I was disappointed we didn't get to see the half-time show. It is usually spectacular. Watch this! But Joe Pa wouldn't let them onto his soggy field.

Those people in the stands: Marian, Don, & Dave. (Friends from town also with us - they have a freshman at PSU.)

Snow-filled stands ... my legs, boots, and scarf tassels (purchased at a market in San Gimignano for 8 euro - good buy. Not at all relevant to this post but maybe of interest to the non-football readers.)

Thanksgiving weekend - Canadian style

Last weekend, Oct 2, 3, 4, and 5th, we hosted the Gill Canadian Thanksgiving! Both of Don's sisters and their families motored on down the NY turnpike into NJ for a weekend of turkey eating, scavenger hunting, birthday celebrating, anniversary celebrating, sightseeing, shopping, cocktailing on the beach, coloring and picture taking.

In the month of October there is lots to celebrate with 4 birthdays and 2 anniversaries in the Gill family, as follows:

Oct. 1 - Michael's 5th Birthday
Oct. 3 - Barb & Doug's 11th Wedding Anniversary
Oct. 5 - Cathy & Don's 24th Wedding Anniversary
Oct. 10 - Brandon's 15th Birthday
Oct. 11 - Kathy's Birthday
Oct. 26 - Don's Birthday

In the dining room, from L to R going around the table: Michael (5), Brandon (15), Carolyn (17), Kathy, Don, Bryan (19), Me, Adam (18), Eric (7) and Barb. Missing is Doug a.k.a. Uncle Buck! And 2 birthday cakes.

Cheers to my sisters-in-law, Barb and Kathy!

These are the scavenger hunt teams: Michael & Adam, Eric & Bryan, Carolyn & Brandon. Who won? Well, they were all winners, right Brandon?

Empty Sky

Today Don and I took a drive in to Liberty State Park in Jersey City. It is directly across from lower Manhattan so there are amazing views of the city, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

It was a beautiful, warm sunny day today. We walked along the Hudson River and enjoyed watching the busy harbor and the other walkers, joggers, cyclists and bladers along the waterfront.

A gaping hole in the cityscape is, still, the World Trade Center. They have an interesting memorial planned for Liberty State Park, which is to basically frame the location where the WTC was, and to list the NJ people who died that day. In the meantime there is a hedge representing the 2 walls for now. Here's the current view and the plaque with photos of the 'before 9-11' and 'proposed memorial'.

After our long walk we shared a few appetizers at the Marina restaurant, gawked at the many yachts, and enjoyed this perfect fall day. (Tomorrow is our 24th wedding aniversary.)

Back to School Night - Last time!

Last week Don and I attended our last 'Back to School' night. We dragged ourselves over to the school not especially anxious to traipse through all the classes again. Of course, once we got there we had a great time seeing all the parents we haven't seen since June, and catching up with parents that we are only connected to via the school.

When the evening was over I was actually sad that this was our last ever 'Back to School'. How many parents will we lose touch with next year? It will be much harder to stay connected with our extended community without the necessary school events.

Since then I have mentioned this to several Moms I know who have their last child off to college this Fall. Did they miss 'Back to School' this year for the first time in umpteen years? One friend said, " I do miss the KHS stuff too, but, you know as you move into other realms of your life, it is not all that bad."

So true.

And the summer continues ...

We had a wonderful weekend last weekend in LBI (Long Beach Island) while we stayed with friends, Deirdre and Mark. It was great to catch up on each other's lives. They left Kinnelon about a year ago so we don't see them as often. For 3 years we stood beside or near each other watching hockey games. But, alas, the boys are away in college now.

We arrived on Saturday which was an overcast day. I loved the look of the ocean when the sky and ocean are almost all the same color. It was beautiful. Here's Deirdre and I, followed by Don & Mark who went for a swim. Sunday was sunny but of course I didn't take any beach pictures that day and that was the day Don tried surfing!

By the way, a week or two ago, there would have been many blankets and umbrellas in between me and the ocean. LBI is a popular NJ spot in throughout the summer with many, many shore homes. Its a great spot with views of the ocean or the bay from almost every home. But with school being back, the beaches were wonderfully quiet. Of course the ice cream man was still ringing his bells! For whom his bells tolled, I do not know.

NYC Saturday

Don & I went into the city (NYC) last weekend despite the threat of rain. We found a great French restaurant for lunch in the West Village - Pastis. From there we walked along Bleeker and bumped into neighbors who used to live across the street from us in Baltimore. They now live in Chicago and were in town moving their son into NYU as a freshman! It was amazing to see them! This is Don and I with Kim and Charlie:

From there, Don and I drove across town to the East R. and walked across the Brooklyn bridge - the first time we've ever done that. It was great! Very crowded on the Manhattan side but as we crossed the mid-point the crowds thinned out and it was a nice walk to Brooklyn. Once in Brooklyn we found a little pub with street seating where we stopped for a drink. We met a great couple of "kids" (in their 20's) who were cousins. One was visiting from Houston, a recent grad of Kansas U., and the other was working in advertising in the city and was just newly engaged. We spoke to them for a long time before walking back across the bridge at dusk.

It was a unexpectedly wonderful day!

Moving Bryan back to school

Bryan is living off campus in his frat this year. It was realively painless: one trip out to Bed Bath & Beyond and Target before we left home, one trip out to Mattress World and Target in State College yesterday, and lugging his stuff up 2 flights of stairs on a hot, humid day! The best part is that we purchased his bed at 2:30 in the afternoon and they delivered and set it up by 5:30! Amazing.

His frat has about 20 guys living in it so its reasonably small and less chaotic (I hope). The guys all seem really nice, polite and friendly. Not having much association with Greek life (not big on Canadian campuses in my day), I wasn't sure what to expect. It was actually quite nice ... notice I didn't say "clean", but it wasn't too bad. Here's the front and side views:

Good luck to Bryan and all returning college/university kids!

Visiting John & Vicki, Cole & Haley

We are just back from a fantastic week in San Francisco! We spent a night in the Fisherman's Wharf area and then the rest of the time was spent with my brother and his family. They were all awesome hosts.

The quick details:
1st day: wine & hot tub, dinner & firepit
2nd day: Napa wine tastings (Gloria Ferrer, Orin Swift, J & Rodney Strong), Dinner (tapis and wine flights @ Willi's ... need name, town), back to hot tub
3rd day: Watched Haley exercising her horse. Lunch & shopping @ Rockridge in Berkeley, [Guys @ baseball game], Dinner (Gordon Biersch, San Fran)
4th day: Lunch (Va di Vi @ Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek), massage at luxurious spa followed by shopping in a relaxed daze, hot tub, dinner a la Vicki (yum!)
5th day: Monterey - lunch, strolling, dinner, followed by night cap in Carmel (Hog's Breath). [Guys golfed in Pacific Grove]

Some of the wine purchases:

The cousins, Haley & Carolyn:
The whole gang (minus Bryan who couldn't come due to work):

It was truly a perfect visit!

Birthday weekend

This past weekend we celebrated another birthday at our home - mine. I had a great time!

First, the 4 of us went into the city for dinner and a show. We were intrigued by the pedestrian area where Broadway has been closed off to traffic at Times Square. Hundreds of lawn chairs have been provided for tourists to sit and watch the lights! We saw "Hair" which was enjoyed by us all.

Second, I received lots of funny and touching cards, phone calls and emails. And flowers from my family! Thank you all!

Third, my parents came down for the weekend and took us out for a delicious dinner at the Chart House in Weehawkin (on the Hudson R). You can't tell in these photos, but our table had a magnificent view of Manhattan so as we enjoyed our dinner we saw the skyscrapers go from daylight, to gray with gold reflections from the setting sun, to black with all their lights. Very pretty. Here's Don, Carolyn and my Mom, followed by Me, Bryan and my Dad.

Fourth, we joined the July birthday babies party on the beach with our other young friends and had a great time! Check out the photos taken here.

And lastly, the celebrations continue this week with friends. Getting older is fun when we do it together.

Tims comes to the big apple

Tim Hortons has arrived in New York City!

We look forward to checking it out to see if its the Tims we know and love from home or a modified version. One thing that is different between Tims in Ontario and Tims in upstate New York is the size of the cups. In Ontario a 'small' looks like a thimble by U.S. standards. Either way we will definitely patronize the store whenever we get a chance.

Now we just need Tims to come to New Jersey. And Swiss Chalet.

Timbit anyone?

Birthday girl & brother

Carolyn turned 17 last week!

Paris & Canada Day

Don and I had a wonderful spur of the moment 5 days in Paris about a week ago. Don was overseas for work and had to spend a weekend away. We found enough British Airways points for me to fly over so I did. The trip was perfect.

I missed my opportunity to do a Happy Canada Day post yesterday. I was going to try to find an old photo from a past celebration but that would have required flipping through old photo albums and I didn't have the time. So instead you are getting photos of Paris on the day after Canada Day.

I've been feeling back-blogged lately. If I let it go too long without posting it gets harder to get back into it.

Happy Canada Day to our friends and family at home!

The beauty of book club is ...

... reading a good book that you would never have chosen to pick up and read if not for book club.

Just finished reading our May book (about 2-1/2 weeks too late) but the discussion in May was so interesting. Glad I didn't miss it. For anyone looking for something a little different, try In the Land of Invisible Women by Qanta A. Ahmed.

Carolyn's Jr Prom

May 29th was Prom night in Kinnelon. We attended a beautiful pre-prom party where we took pictures, admired all the gorgeous young couples, and mingled with other parents until long after the kids left for the prom.

Here's Carolyn:

With her date, Justin, very handsome:

They all had a good time and are now down at the Jersey shore en masse enjoying a warm weekend.

A touching read for hockey parents & players

This I Believe - Hockey is the Cure for what Ails America
By Joe Scatchell - 3/2/07

Failing test scores, ill-behaved day care children, gangs, drug use, the list goes on of the ills facing our country. We look for quick answers that many times end up creating new issues and the circle of problems grows wider in an ever-spiraling pattern. So how do we stop the momentum and hope to reverse its damage?

Play Hockey.

I know that most of you are calling up images of stick swinging, lights out punches and bench clearing brawls. You've been fed a lie. That those things occur is a fact. That they occur so rarely to have painted an entirely incorrect picture of the sport is also a fact. Thousands of games are played each week all around the world now and you can probably name 3 or 4 incidents of outlandish behavior, total.

Here's the truth. If you want society to be civil, its citizens polite, humble and respectful of one another get everyone involved in hockey. Hockey is above all else a family commitment that instills the values that our society holds dearest; that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, hard work has its reward, but most important, respect for others.

For the uninitiated, hockey starts at 6, both in age of player and time of morning practices! Moms and Dads, Grandmas and Grandpas, Aunts and Uncles load up the player and equipment and it's off to the rink. Many times the rides to and from the rink are lengthy giving parents and guardians and the children quality time to do the unusual; talk to one another. The conversations are not always deep or life altering but that they happen at all is becoming rarer. How did you sleep? Did you like that cereal? No, I never heard of "Take it Back Sunday", is it a song or a group?" It's all good because you are establishing lines of communication that may be used for much more important matters some day.

At the rink, you get to watch your child learn. The early progress is breathtaking. Remember how you marveled when they learned to walk? Use a fork? How many chances to you get to see something as wonderful? Try skating sometime to see how difficult it is for yourself. It's likely that in a short time, your child will be better at something than you are. Talk about a no lie dose of self-respect!

Teams often play in tournaments that take place over several days and far enough from home to require over night stays. Whole families attend these events providing yet another opportunity to do something that is vanishing from our American landscape; the family road trip. Again, conversation, whole discussions even, stops for meals and potty breaks, arguments over who is touching who and all the other things that those fortunate enough to have taken these trips in our youth, still remember fondly many years later.

Siblings look forward to hanging with all the other siblings, the hotel pool, knee hockey in the halls, and yes, the excitement of the games themselves. Coaches are more than hockey fanatics; they are coaches of life. Players are correctly taught that hockey is a team sport. Everyone on the team contributes. Most teams keep playing time evenly distributed among the players in all but the most competitive situations to instill this fact. Parents are encouraged to bring school and home issues to
the coach so that both the parents and the Coach are consistent. For example, it’s not at all unusual for Johnny not to play if he isn't doing well in school or disobeying at home.

Hockey can be dangerous. Sharp blades, hard sticks and the speed of play demand that players maintain control and respect for themselves and their competitors. Players are taught to "play the body" and not go and "hurt 'em". Indeed, the intention of checking is to separate the puck from the player; take the puck not the player out.

The game's traditions reinforce the basic tenets of a civil society. Before each game, kids as young as 8 years old and already placed in leadership roles as Captains, introduce themselves to the opposing Coaches and Officials and shake their hands. The rules of the game support the development of leadership by allowing only the Captains, not the Coaches, to talk to the officials about game calls. When a player scores, all his teammates join in the celebration. The players who assisted on the goal get the same point the scorer received. Showboating does not occur in hockey. At the end of every game, all players and Coaches line up and shake hands. The same occurs at every level and even at the end of the NHL season.

Lest you think my arguments are specious, I offer these observations. Look at the other professional major American sports and compare them to professional hockey. Most of the players in the NHL and supporting professional leagues have lived away from their families and with host families at some point. Most of us would not think of taking a strange teenager into our home. If you speak to just about any host family, they will tell you that the kid came in with all of the attributes I speak of. They were polite, respectful, humble and thankful for the hospitality shown. Lifelong relationships were made. You don't see professional hockey players being named in bar room shootings or taking steroids or other illegal drugs. Listen to the player interviews. Universally, they deflect any praise to their teammates and coaches. If they have a bad game or they're in a slump, they talk about needing to work harder and blame only themselves. When they receive awards, they start by thanking their parents and talk about those long car rides to rinks early in the morning. They are humble, thankful.
These same things happen at every hockey banquet I've had the honor of attending. I was
privileged to spend as much time as I did with my daughter and 2 sons and have been paid back many times over for those cold mornings when I see them working at something hard, being polite, humble and respectful.

Thank you hockey.

Our cat is a nut

Toby ran up a tree and didn't come down today.

He seemed to ponder his options...

Then, Bryan to the rescue...

Silly cat. He keeps us entertained.

Animals seen today

1. A turtle sunning him/herself on a rock while we kayaked by:

2. Our silly cat lounging in the birdbath:

The northeast is finally enjoying some spring, actually SUMMER, weather this weekend.

Employee of the Month

Congratulations to Carolyn! She sent this to me via her cell from work yesterday.

She works almost 20 hours a week at Staples. It keeps her in spending money and, soon, gas money, as her next birthday approaches and she can take her driving test.

We enjoy the stories about her day. Reminds me of my days at the Busy Bee Car Wash (anyone remember that place beside La Castille on Dundas?!), and my days in the ticket booth at Ontario Place. Customers can be the best and the most frustrating part of any job!

Stress

A lecturer when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked,"How heavy is this glass of water?"

Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it.

If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem.
If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.
If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.

In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later,as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on. "

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again.When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden."

"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can."

So, my friend, Put down anything that may be a burden to you right now.
Don't pick it up again until after you've rested a while.

Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:
* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.
* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.
* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply be kind to others.
* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.
* Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
* The second mouse gets the cheese.
* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once. * We could learn a lot from crayons... Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Thanks for this Mrs. G.!

PSU fun

Bryan just sent this photo of his intramural hockey team. They won the league championship this spring. He just sent it. That's Bryan in the left front row. Congrats boys.

Only 3 more weeks to go and his freshman year is done - already!

Transitions graduation

Last Tuesday was the last of our 12-week Transitions Lifestyle program. We celebrated by eating! Eating low GI (glycemic index) dishes, that is. We each had to bring a dish along with our recipe. I made zucchini boats - not bad.

We also did our final weigh-in and measurement gathering. For me I was thrilled to see that I lost about 11 pounds but more importantly I lost about 7% in body fat. I have gone down a pant size or 2 and feel soooo much better. I hope I can maintain this weight as its exactly where I had hoped to end up. The program was about eating and living well - a lot of info we already knew - but somehow it all made sense this time and having to stick with it for 12 weeks helped to create new, and hopefully lasting, lifestyle habits.

And another benefit was meeting a group of really fun people. Most of the people in our group were already health-conscious, active people who just wanted to be better. I think everyone is pleased with their results. I recommend the program to anyone who is looking for the knowledge to improve their overall health!

Nothing like getting the deck furniture out

Yesterday was one of those perfect early spring days here in the northeast. EVERYONE was outside. It took me 1 hour to do a half hour walk as I encountered so many neighbors out walking their pets, happy to stop and chat.

Often before dinner, Don and I have a drink first to pause and talk about our days. As soon as the better weather arrives we do this outside. Yesterday was our first day of 2009 having cocktails outside. You can see the trees are still bare but the forsythia and daffodils are almost ready to pop.

Yesterday was also my parents' 54th wedding anniversary! To H&B! To Spring! Cheers (from our deck)!

Greed - good or bad?

I love this for many reasons. It is a short discussion on capitalists. And it doesn't make any comment on social safety nets. There is a place for safety nets, but there has to be a place for capitalism for the benefit of us all.

This video is an interview clip with Milton Friedman (July 31, 1912 - November 16, 2006): American economics,statistician and recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

This leads to my other belief "There's no such thing as an altruist," which sounds offensive on the surface, but we're all out to gain something even if its just to feel good about ourselves, and that's okay.

(Thanks Paul for sending the clip.)

When to offer constructive criticism

I saw these in the Sunday Star Ledger, 2 pieces of sage advice -

When to offer constructive criticism: "If it can't be fixed in five minutes, with the materials at hand, then don't mention it. So, an unzipped zipper, donut crumbs on your shirt, parsley in your teeth - all fair game to bring to someone's attention. Height, weight, stain on clothing, size of nose - off limits."

How to tell if one is gossiping: "If I'm not part of the problem and/or I'm not part of the solution, then there is no need for me to discuss it with anyone."

Back from Florida

We had a nice, relaxing week on the beach. Weather was perfect. Lots of walks. Lots of catching up with H&B over delicious dinners, cocktail hours on the beach and lazing in the sand.

Here's H&B and I on a pier overlooking the Intercoastal:

This is Thursday morning after Carolyn & Don joined Bryan & I on Wednesday night. Going to the Sailfish Marina for breakfast is a family tradition.

This is our little boat ... NOT! This boat is worth more than our house!

We spent most of our time at the beach but I didn't take as many photos there. H&B are doing great and it was a really good visit.

We arrived back in NJ yesterday afternoon, just in time to catch the state semi-final high school hockey game. Kinnelon won, so now they are off to the state finals at The Rock, home of the NJ Devils. Two years in a row! Very exciting! Then Carolyn went to the Britney Spears Circus concert. Said it was good.

Today was a day of laundry and saying good-bye to Bryan again as he went back to school. He'll be back next weekend for the state championship game. Last year's seniors have all made it a priority to be back to cheer the team on for another year! (And to heckle the opposing team.)

Off to Florida

I'm off to Florida tomorrow morning with Bryan who is on his spring break. Carolyn and Don are joining us later in the week since Carolyn has school. Her break isn't until April. I'm looking forward to seeing H&B again, and enjoying the beach.

Looks like it has warmed up down there after a few weeks of cold weather. Its in the 60's here in NJ today after a week that started out with temps in the 20's (sry, I'm speaking in the archaic "degrees F", but when in Rome ...).

The news is so bad these days. I feel like this trip will be an escape from reality, where I'll just think about the positives, like being alive and healthy. I just heard that our town lost another wonderful parent to cancer today, after a 5-year battle. We are a small town so we get to know each other or know of each other, without it being claustrophobic! I am sorry for the loss of this mom who I met once at a fundraiser.

We're off to the quarter final state game for the high school hockey team tonight. Bryan and all the other past seniors who are off this week will be going too. It'll be great support for the players. They are doing really well this year and have a good shot at going all the way again! Such an exciting game that hockey!

Back to packing.

Wish List success

It works! This first-time experiment worked well with two out of three wishes coming true.

We had a wonderful day in NYC on Sunday, saw Ali at the Kraine Theater where we enjoyed her mom's play immensely and had delicious appetizers in Little Italy. We didn't encounter any bad weather until Monday morning when we woke up to about 10 inches of snow! That after having lost all our previous snow. Back to a winter wonderland. Wish #1 - check.

On Monday, after shovelling the driveway, our cleaning people came! Yah! We were overdue. Wish #2 - check.

Still looking for the perfect part time marketing job but I have faith. In the meantime I'm enjoying my freedom! Wish #3 - pending.

More Wish Lists to come. The Wish List Mom is onto something.