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Thursday, December 31, 2015

Molar Madness

     True to my word,  I bravely made myself a dentist appointment.  The only time they could offer me was for 8 o'clock this morning.  What a gross time to go to the dentist. Up and at 'em by 7:15, I shook off the morning grog, gulped down coffee and mouthwash, put on semi nice clothes, plus shoes without manure on them, and off I went to solve the mystery of my upset molar.

   This was my first time at South Aiken Dental.  Upon arrival I was given the usual forms to fill out in the gently lit waiting room.  After a short wait I was summoned to enter the hallway by a squat woman in her 30's, who informed me that her name was Tina, and I was to follow her.  Tina sat me down in a chair, and I began to fill her in on my dental history, which is long and detailed.  I've had a significant amount of dental work, from implants, to bridges, crowns, root canals, fillings, you name it.  I have two implants that are still patiently waiting for implant crowns, which Tina nicely pointed out that they could do that work for me.  I felt like saying, "Great news! Do you want to front me the 3.5k that'll cost to get the work done? "  First bristle of irritation.

  Tina proceeded to take her tiny mirror and explore my upper and lower teeth.

"Hmmm, them two are a bridge," said Tina.  "That ain't a problem."

My eyes popped wide open. Immediately, in my head I repeated "them two" "ain't"????  Seriously???  How about some attention to proper grammar to project a modicum of confidence in your professional skills???  If the lady at the convenience store uses improper grammar it's not a red flag, but the dentist office?  I began to feel uncomfortable.

"Ima need to take an x-ray now, Mizz Edel," said Tina with a pinched smile on her pudgy face.

    I held my cool while she wedged an x-ray plate the size of a notebook in my mouth.  The first one she took was too dark so I was fortunate enough to repeat the procedure.  Well, there it was in black and white.  The tooth that was bothering me has already had a root canal, as well as the one in front of it.  Gee, so glad I spent 1k to save that little bugger only to have it fail me now.

  Tina turned to face me with her serious dental person face on.

"Do you brush and floss?" she said in a pandering tone, like she was talking to a 6 yr. old.
"Of course, I do!" I said indignantly.  Who doesn't brush their teeth?? Gross!

"Do you know why your teeth have had so many problems? How's your diet?" She leaned down closer to my face for my answers.

I stared blankly at her heavily made up eyes. My mind began to whiz.  Do I know why my teeth are so crummy? Uh, I think it's called genetics?  Just like some people have kidney issues, or arthritis.  I have bad teeth.  And my diet?? I took a deep breath and fought back the urge to tell her that I sustain myself with crystal meth, cotton candy and Coca-cola. Instead, I smiled sweetly, batted my eyelashes and said:

"My teeth have had many issues,  none due to lack of proper hygiene, or attention.  I was born with bad teeth.  {I added You Dumb Bitch, but only in my head, cuz I was raised properly}  And as for my diet I stay away from junk food, I don't drink soda, or eat many sweets. It's not like I've had all of this dental work, because I find it so enjoyable."

     I mean, I'm 5'8 and about 125 lbs. I do not look like an unhealthy person.  I let my eyes peruse her figure to let her know that I was taking note of her fat gut and thighs which clearly indicated she visited the drive thru more than a few times per week.  Gee, how's your DIET, Tina???  Can you say GLUTTONOUS?

  On that note, she took her leave so I could have a private consultation with the actual dentist, Dr. Miranda.  He was a baby faced, little Spanish fellow, very polite, and I appreciated the confidence in his voice while he spelled out a few options for me.  Turns out an endodontist might be able to save my tooth, but if not he could extract the damn thing.

  The best part of the whole experience was paying the bill. I had received a coupon in the mail from this place that offered a $1 emergency consultation. I know, right??!!!  You can't use the bathroom at the dentist for less than $50.  I could've complained about Tina's bedside manner, but if these people are going to pull my tooth I don't want any behind the scenes scuttlebutt about me being a whiny bitch.  Better to just keep quiet and hope that Tina's Big Mac gives her heartburn this afternoon.

Have a nice day, y'all!!

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Deep thoughts from a shallow well

   Have you ever met someone who annoys you just by the very sight of them?  One minute you're in a good mood, thinking happy thoughts and then you spot him/her and it's like a switch is flipped.  Your eyes become narrow slits, lips tighten and your mood goes dark.  You begin to pray that they don't come over and talk to you, but they always do.  People like this are akin to cats who sense the non cat person in the room and then proceed to rub all over them, until they are shooed away.

   I have one of the above mentioned people in my life.  I'm a fairly tolerant person, but I have a low capacity when it comes to listening to someone brag about themselves.  It really grinds my gears.  This person really, truly has no cause to brag, but they do...shamelessly, incessantly and mercilessly. When it starts up  I end up clenching my teeth so tightly I fear they may crack. Because I'm a terrible actor I cannot even remotely pretend to be supportive of the brags that bubble forth from this person's maw.   Usually, I mumble something like, "how nice", or  "good for you" then I hurry off before I punch them in the throat.  I'm trying to be positive about this person appearing in my life as an opportunity for me to grow and become more tolerant and accepting,  less judgy.  But it's very, very difficult.  I've come close to calling them out on the brag-a-thon's more than once, but each time I hold back not wanting to come off like a giant bitch.  I know myself.  If I react out of hostile emotion I will say things that aren't nice, and I don't want to be that person. I never want to hurt a person's feelings.  This person is a harmless soul and perhaps not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so I need to let it go.  But it's very, very difficult.  We all know that bragging stems from insecurity.  I need to find some empathy for this person's insecurity issue.  Find a deeper understanding into what the bragging does for this person, not what listening to it does to me.  Can I do that? Any suggestions?  Most days I'm pretty sure I can manage to pull it off.  I'll just have to rearrange my schedule if PMS comes into the picture.

  December has been kind of a shite month.  Jonathan's Dad had a quick, but serious bout with bronchitis that landed him in the hospital.  He's doing great now, thank goodness.  We had to say goodbye to lovely old Zeke, the 21 year old cat who was featured in the prior blog.  He was doing well and then one day he decided he didn't want to eat.  Our lovely vet friend gracefully assisted him over the Rainbow Bridge from the comfort of his window bed.  No scary last vet visit for my animals if I can help it.  I mean, we know he was incredibly old so his passing away wasn't a major shocker, but it still was very sad.  Jonathan made the comment that if he was our child he'd be graduating from college.  Cue:floods of tears.

  Also in Dec, my horse received a routine vaccine which gave him a terrible reaction so he was very muscle sore for about two weeks. That sucked (more for me than him, since he got good meds and no work).  Fortunately, he's fine now, but it's been raining like a SOB in Aiken for the last couple of weeks, which has made consistent training a challenge.

  Two weeks ago, one of my lower molars has decided to abscess.  I caught it in the nick of time with antibiotics, but that's not a perma fix.  It needs to be addressed by a dentist. I decided to give myself until after Christmas to have anything drastic done to it. It's now after Christmas, and I still haven't called for an appointment. I guess it's time to be a big girl and make the call.

  And last but not least, our car is having some sort of oil pressure issue. I'm waiting to hear what the report is from the fancy German car mechanic. Gulp.  I've done a lot of research on the problem so I know two things. It can be an easy fix, or it will be an expensive fix.  Fingers crossed here.

 All in all, I'm feeling good about the arrival of 2016.  We're really excited about all of the horses we're working with at the moment.  Our house has two rooms that are ready for color to go on the walls, to be followed by redoing the floors, which I happen to find very satisfying and fun.  It's a good time right now.  Life will always have blips and hiccups.  Sometimes it seems like enough is enough, but I try to look for balance.  Find something good that makes me happy, like making a video of Miles while I'm having a solo dance party (which I promise I'll stop posting those vids on FB).  I recently read a meme that said something like, "You don't live once, you die once".  It's important to be nice, do what makes you happy and the rest of it just sorts out somehow.  At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.  Time to go call that dentist...

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Top Cat

Twenty one years ago we adopted a fluffy little grey and white cat. She was ever so feminine, with large green eyes and perfect pink lips, and I gave her the name Miss Girl.  Not long after she moved into our tack room Miss Girl began to expand in her mid-section.  Though a vet assured me that wasn't with child, one month later she gave birth to two tiny kittens.  Pictured above is "Big Zekie", one of those tiny kittens, now at age 21.  Much like his mother, Zeke has always been a hardy sort.  He spent his early years as a barn cat, with no rules.  He crossed the street, he roamed the fields, dodged coyotes, was picked up by a great horned owl and lived to tell the story.  The cat was always smart and knew how to stay alive.  When we closed our barn, Zeke became a house cat.  He learned quite quickly that sleeping on beds and couches was fairly wonderful.  He adjusted to the rules of staying in at night, with free rein to come and go during the day.  He endured four moves during our years of living in the northeast. Each time he'd survey the new domain, pick a comfortable spot to sleep, make sure he knew where the litter box and food bowls were located and that was that.  Two years ago he survived the trip from NY to SC, while in a crate with Miles in the the peak of a horse van.  And he came out of that with his usual aplomb.

  About a month ago I started to think that Zeke might be losing weight.  Well, he's old, I told myself. I know he won't last forever.  Then I noticed that he was losing hair.

"It's his thyroid," said my pet savvy older sister, Pam. "Go get him tested at the vet."

Off we went to the vet.  While in the examining room I heard the vet outside the door talking to the tech.

"The cat is 21??", he said.  "Wow."

  Zeke and I left the vet office with a bottle of pills meant to balance his thyroid levels.  Within a few days I began to see a difference.  His hair started growing in and he didn't look quite so gaunt.  Another thing began to change, too.  Giving Zeke the half pill every morning began to be progressively difficult.  At first he ate them in his food. His appetite was so voracious that he was unaware he was taking his medicine.  Then one day I noticed a little white sliver being left behind in his bowl.

"Bastard," I muttered, grabbing the slimy sliver and forcing it between his teeth. That went okay at first, though he didn't like it any more than I did.

"It's for your own good!", I'd yell, as Z clenched his jaws and pawed at my hands.  This went on for a couple of weeks, but at least he was getting his meds and looking so much better.  Then he started a new trick.  I'd walk away from one of our pill forcing sessions, feeling victorious that I'd properly medicated my old kitty, only to return and find the pill on the floor, or in his dish.  He'd apparently learned how to mimic swallowing it then spit it out, like a petulant child.

   My frustration level reached a crescendo yesterday morning. Zeke is now so much healthier from having a balanced thyroid that he can actually claw the crap out of me.  Basically, I have an ancient kitty that I can only medicate while he's sick. Once he's healthy, it's like trying to pill a crotchety, angry mountain lion. It's ridiculous.  I can manhandle a 1200 lb horse with no trouble, but this senile, deaf, nearly blind husk of a cat is beating the shit out of me.  Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that Zeke is doing so well. He's rather miraculous to still be such a force at his advanced age, but there has to be an easier way.  After hearing me complain about it last night, Jonathan agreed to help me with the "pilling of Freddy Cougar".  We're going to start giving him the pill before his dinner this evening.  If no one hears from us for a few days, please send help.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

And we're off!

   A year ago Jonathan and I were hired by a racehorse training center to work in the barn taking care of the horses.  Jonathan ended up spending most of his time working out of the barn fixing fencing and repairing the long driveway with the Bobcat, a machine which he became very skilled at operating. I spent most of my time in the barn with the racehorses.  After a  full year, I can say that I don't care for looking after racehorses. They're all a bunch of nut jobs.  It's not their fault that they're nut jobs, because they're cooped up for 23 hours of the day, fed tons of high octane grain/vitamins, never turned out and the only time they do get to go out during the day is to gallop around the training track.  Handling them requires finesse, strategy, bravery and skill.  It's very easy to get hurt around horses, even quiet riding horses.  Young thoroughbred race horses are like ticking bombs. Anything can (and will) set them off.  Oh look, a bird! cue:rearing.  Oh, here comes a car down the driveway! cue:bolt sideways, then segue way into rearing. Oh, a big gust of wind! cue:hang the fuck on, because I'm going to go apeshit.  You get the message.  Either you learn quickly how to keep their feet on the ground and away from your body, or you get injured.  I've been lucky in that I've kept myself out of harms way, with the exception of one dislocated knuckle in my second week of working there due to a rearing fit from a spastic filly.  The one predictable thing about these youngsters is that you can never assume that they're going to behave.  I operate under the boy scouts motto in that I'm always prepared for a fit.  I've learned to tell them how good they are in a soft, gentle voice, and that a hand on their neck can keep the savage beast that lives within them at bay. I've also learned that not having a chain shank is a dumb idea.  It's not like you have to be rough with a chain over the nose, but having it there helps when the flying monkeys in their heads start buzzing around. Our time is now over at the race farm. It was a fine job and it helped keep us afloat while we established ourselves in a new area. Recently, we've been teaching and riding more, which feels much more like home. In order to move our own business forward it became clear that we needed to stop the morning hours spent at the race farm.  I could say that leaving will be bittersweet, but it's not.  With the exception of one person that we've worked with for the last several months and the two roosters (Comanche and Rupert), I'm not going to miss that place with its daily series of chores and the death defying antics of the Thoroughbred's.  We've met a lot of good people at this job and made some very good friends, so it wasn't all bad, but it sure feels good to be moving on!

Friday, June 12, 2015

An unexpected getaway

   Life presented an impromptu opportunity for us last week.  We were offered the chance to have two days off in a row!  IN A ROW!  That is a rare luxury in the horse business.  There is no such thing as TGIF when you work with horses, no weekends "off", more often it's no days off for weeks at a time. It was a special offer, one not to waste.  Jonathan suggested that we go to Savannah, do a little city time, then some beach time.  I weighed the options of staying home vs. going away.  I don't make split second decisions very well. I'm getting better with age, maybe by the time I'm 80 I can add spontaneous to my character traits, but not quite yet.  I pictured us staying home with me feeling guilty for not vacuuming, or writing, or paying bills and that did it.

"Yes! Let's go to Savannah!"

  Sunday morning we took to the road on a drive that drove us through the Savannah River Project, the super secret, supposedly defunct, hinky feeling nuclear facility that is buried deep in the SC wilderness.  It was a very pleasant meandering road, with little to see except for woods and open fields.  There were occasional residences and series of abandoned, dilapidated shacks and mobile homes, which is sadly common in SC.  Poverty and abundance are separated by very little in the south.  I always feel a little sad when we pass houses that are falling in, with masses of foliage growing all over the front yards, rusted cars and other detritus getting overtaken by vines with each passing day.  Who lived there? And why did they just leave it all?

But that's not what this blog is about, so back to the trip.

   Soon we were in sight of a giant, arching bridge that spanned the Savannah river itself.  The bridge is something to see, with it's mid section peaking sky high to allow for very large boats to pass under it.  Our GPS very nicely got us into town and since it was too early to check into our hotel we decided to hit the first stop on our tour,  Bonaventure Cemetery.   I realize a cemetery might not be an ideal place to visit while on vacation, but this cemetery is like no other I've ever been in.  The grave sites are decorated with all manner of ornate sculptured marble, crosses, huge angels, obelisks, large tombs, cherubs, all are beautiful.  Designed more like a park, people are encouraged to walk through the various sections, with certain grave sites being highlighted for various important historical figures.  There are gigantic live oaks everywhere, with copious amounts of lacy Spanish moss draping from their limbs adding to an air of solemn mystery.  A storm front crept in while we were there giving the atmosphere an ominous tone under a deep purple sky.  As the first rain drops fell, we took our cue and headed out.

   We located our hotel, the B Historic Hotel on the edge of downtown Savannah, and we were pleasantly surprised with it.  A wicked deal on Hotwire had landed us a room for almost half price which made us raise our eyebrows a little, but this was an authentic, clean, well appointed hotel. Big score for Hotwire!   When you visit Savannah the first thing you need to do is make sure that you're wearing comfortable shoes. It truly is a walking city and well worth the effort we made to walk the entire city.  There are squares every third block, or so, set up like mini parks, with tall shady trees, benches and well tended gardens.  We made sure to stop, sit and inhale the vibe more than once.  The residential sections of Savannah are just stunning.  The architecture is so beautiful, with stately Greek revival home fronts, hidden back gardens and secret alley ways.  Passing a bed and breakfast that was up for sale had us dreaming of running a B & B for all of ten minutes, until I looked up the price and at $1 million bucks that'd be a lot of waffles to make before we saw any return.  Maybe it's because we were away from real life for the first time in a long time, but Savannah seemed to be wooing us as a couple.  It's urbane enough, without the actual grit of a bigger city, while maintaining a quaint, historical aspect that is reminiscent of the small New England towns we grew up in.  Jonathan has always said how much he loves this city, and now I can say the same.  A lazy early evening walk on the busy Savannah river showed us the tourist and local color.  Another chance to have a seat and soak it in.  A delicious dinner at a tapas based restaurant and a last stroll in dusky light ended our day.

   After a restful night, we awoke the next morning and promptly headed off to Tybee Island, approximately 25 minutes from our hotel.  Once we were in the car I began to whine about getting coffee,  but Jonathan adopted a "Dad" approach and told me I'd just have to wait till we got there.  I'm not one who does well in the morning without my first cup of dark brown brew, so my mood was less than cheery for the entire drive.  A stop at a seedy diner buoyed my spirits with a styrofoam cup to go, and in no time we were parked at the beach.  A breeze off of the ocean seasoned the air and kept us cool under the bright June sun.  The beach was expansive, but not overly populated. Still we got in some excellent people watching, particularly from a rather squat woman in her mid 30's I'd guess, who stood talking non stop to an older woman seated beneath a vibrant blue umbrella. Her topics were wide and varied, from recipes, to Boy Scout trips, to various past vacations, which included restaurants and menus and who had ordered what.  Her attention to detail was riveting and Jonathan and I kept bursting into giggles at the absurdity of it all.  For me half of the fun of the beach is observing our fellow beachcombers.  The various body styles and bathing suits, from the magnificent to the cringe worthy all mingle together in one unabashed group just there to have a good time and enjoy the experience. I absolutely love it.

   After about two hours of enjoying the surf and sand, we decided it was time to head back to Aiken. I looked wistfully over my shoulder for a last glance at the ocean as I exited the boardwalk.  It might've been one of the shortest vacations we've ever taken, but it certainly was one of the very best.


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Friday, February 27, 2009

Spring forth from my rib.

About one or two thirds worth of the holy trinities days ago I had a conversation with my roommate when I epiphanized all over my stomach, chest and a dribble on my chin.

We were watching television when the treehouse South Park episode came on. A vision struck me. I saw myself years down the line talking to mustache-jr and he wanted a treehouse. Me, being a cock wielding human knew I could build it myself without any help from professionals. Then about 20 seconds later my vision showed my son being crushed to death by my work.

This actually isn't a vision, it is how my first 4 born died.

Well, kind of. The third also died of not having a mustache. He was kind of a dick.

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Sunday, March 8, 2009

Hazzuh, yeah fuck that guy.

My nipples can't nurse a child. But my spleen can fuck a czech.

T. James said...

Other functions of the spleen are less prominent, especially in the healthy adult:

Production of opsonins, properdin, and tuftsin.
Creation of red blood cells. While the bone marrow is the primary site of hematopoeisis in the adult, the spleen has important hematopoietic functions up until the fifth month of gestation. After birth, erythropoietic functions cease except in some hematologic disorders. As a major lymphoid organ and a central player in the reticuloendothelial system the spleen retains the ability to produce lymphocytes and, as such, remains an hematopoietic organ.
Storage of red blood cells and other formed elements. This is only valid for certain mammals, such as dogs and horses[citation needed]. In horses roughly 50% of the red blood cells are stored there. The red blood cells can be released when needed [6] These animals also have large hearts in relation to their body size to accommodate the higher-viscosity blood that results. In humans, however, the spleen does not function as a depository of red blood cells, but instead it stores platelets in case of an emergency. Some athletes have tried doping themselves with their own stored red blood cells to try to achieve the same effect[citation needed], but the human heart is not equipped to handle the higher-viscosity blood.

AND czech fucking. God damn eastern europeans and their night clubs and greasy hair and their skewed view of american culture.

Derg said...

Yes fuck those American Cultures and whatever he said bout Checks, them no-account sons of bitches with half a soul and the balance owed to Judas..


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Friday, October 28, 2011

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 28

"How To Make a Monster" is superfun for any fan of 1950s horror movies, particularly the "I Was a Teenage [fill in the blank]" ones. When a movie studio vows to stop making horror movies, their resident special effects make-up guy gets his revenge, via monster make-up of course!

In black and white and color! Watch it at 4:45 A.M. on AMC.

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Hiring A Cleaning Company

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Friday, 8 February 2013

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Item Reviewed: XARM Extreme Arm Wrestling Free Download. Rating: 5 Reviewed By: Jignesh Davda


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Wednesday, 20 March 2013

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Item Reviewed: Sling It! (Pollushot 2) Free Download. Rating: 5 Reviewed By: Jignesh Davda


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Friday, February 5, 2010

10 Ways To Wake Up Beautiful

Hello Divas!

First off let me apologize for not posting regularly in recent times. I have been very caught up with work and although that is not an excuse it has really prevented me from blogging.

And now on to the tips for the day. Over at MSN you can find the article 10 Ways To Wake Up Beautiful which gives you some tips you can use to look your best in the morning.

The tips are as follows:
1. Get An Early Start. Wash your face at night so you remove makeup and toxins and give your face a fresh start.
I already do this one so I guess I am on the way to waking up beautiful already.

2. Sleep On Your Back. They say you should avoid sleeping on your face because it causes wrinkles.

I sleep on my side and sometimes on my back so I am halfway there.

3. Get A Lift. They recommend sleeping with your head elevated to allow the fluids in your face to drain so that you do not wake up puffy.

I sleep on two pillows when I sleep on my back but for side sleeping that is not very comfortable.

4. Save Money, Not Wrinkles. Put on your richest eye cream at night to thoroughly hydrate your face.

I do not use an eye cream but I guess I should start right now.

5. Sneak A Glow. Add some self tanner to your night cream and work on your tan overnight.

I do not use self tanners so this is not a useful point for me.

6. Avoid Carb Face. If you can avoid high carb food late at night this will ease some of the puffiness in the morning.

I need to work on this I am sure we all do.

7. Wrap It Up. Tie your hair in a silk scarf to protect the hair from friction at night. The other alternative is to have a silk pillowcase.

I have a satin pillowcase and I always tie my hair up at night so this works for me.

8. Find Your Inner Ballerina. Along with sleeping on silk or satin it also helps to put your hair up on top of your head at night if it can reach.

I slip my hair up in two buns at night and clip them on the top of my head.

9. Turn On The Hair Conditioning. Apply an overnight treatment to your ends at night and rinse off in the morning to get well conditioned hair.

I have done this sometimes and it really works. Just be sure to secure your hair so that you do not get the pillow dirty.

10. Pop A Rooster Pill. This supplement supposedly helps you wake up better. A good night's sleep is essential to you looking great during the day.

I do not take anything to help me sleep so this tips falls flat for me.

Adri said...

amazing tips, i already do some of the things you mentioned, but i have to work on some... thanks great blog.

Diva In Training said...

Thanks for stopping by Adri. I hope the rest of the tips work for you as well.

Keep your fabulous Diva self looking great!!!!

beautifullyrandom said...

these are great tips. I've never heard of rooster pills! what are they?

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District celebrates new Lynndale Elementary School with dedication ceremony

After close to three years of planning and construction, Lynndale Elementary School, located at 19030 72nd Ave. W. in Lynnwood, celebrated its grand re-opening Thursday night.

The new, 68,000 square foot, two-story building was constructed on existing school grounds and boasts many new amenities, such as increased daylight areas, temperature-controlled rooms, open grounds, improved vehicle traffic circulation and storm water management facilities.

Visitors were free to browse around the two-story complex between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. as part of a dedication ceremony on Thursday night.

Present at the 7 p.m. dedication ceremony were School Principal Chris Fulford, Superintendent Dr. Kris McDuffy, School Board Member Diana White, Project Executive Jason Limp and Mahlum Architects’ Principal in Charge David Mount.

Visitors commented on the beauty of the building, while children beamed with pride. Many young visitors were from previous school years who wanted to take a look at their alma mater’s new campus.

The $36 million project was funded by a voter-approved 2014 Capital Construction Bond.

For more photos from Thursday’s event, click here.

–Story and photos by David Carlos

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Saturday, December 5, 2015

Farrah Fawcett are by Olivier Coulon.

Olivier Coulon is a Paris based artist that works with the most renowned French singers and entertainers. These beautiful illustrations of Farrah Fawcett are by Coulon. Visit him on facebook or his instagram account to see more of his amazing work.

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Cupcakes All Dressed Up

SOOO excited to have our Mom, Betsy, with us today teaching us an old Southern Living recipe for cupcakes with no icing but cheesecake inside!! This is definitely not a low calorie treat, but we talk about planning for indulgences and this is a great one. As a matter of fact, we’re not even going to calculate the calories on this one! (Note: That does not mean eat the entire batch!!;)

Let us know your favorite indulgent treat you enjoy with your friends and family in the comments here and at YouTube! Here’s the recipe…

1 Package Devil’s Food Cake Mix
(+ 1 Cup Water, 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil, 3 Large Eggs for mix)

1 Package Cream Cheese
1/3 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
Dash of Salt
6 oz Chocolate Chips

Prepare cake mix according to instructions on box. With mixer whip cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Then mix in egg, salt and finally chocolate chips. Line muffin tins with paper liners and fill each about 2/3 full of cake mix. Place heaping teaspoon of filling right on top of cake mix. Place in 350° pre-heated oven for 25 minutes. Enjoy every bite of this treat…Merry Christmas!!

8 thoughts on “Cupcakes All Dressed Up”

  1. Dear girls! I am 2 pounds away from 40 pounds….. Woo Hoo! Hannah’s comment about for the first time facing the New Years without having “losing weight” as a resolution SOOOOOO resonated with me. I will face the New Year HALF WAY TO MY GOAL! So excited for BL new season. Plan on Gym time during the show so I can watch. Love you both 🙂

  2. So much fun watching you together with your mom, she seems like a very special lady. My mom’s indulgent recipe that everyone wants is her carrot cake with amazing cream cheese icing. (such a delicious cake… smooth, not lumpy, her secret is baby food carrots!)…anyway, loved meeting your mom on this video. Have a wonderful Christmas with your family….looking forward to a new year filled with more of your videos…we really look forward to them.

  3. “Ain’t nobody got time for that!” Hahaha oh Hannah you’re hilarious! Great video, can’t wait to try these out. I would love to see more videos with your mom! 🙂

  4. O M GEEE!! funniest video by far!!!!!!!
    Hey mama Curlee welcome to the blog and thanks for giving the world such wonderful girls. They changed my life!
    Now this recipe looks soo good dangerous at the same time but I MUST try it and I will so!
    can I use any choc cake batter or does it have to be the pre mixed? and Hannah I know of an easier way to clean off those beaters.. as you finish beating the mixture you just take the beaters out of the batter and you let it spin in the bowl but not while its in the batter, you will see everything wiill fly off.. but youre hilarious!
    Olivia I am waiting for your mani tutorial.. loved loved the color youre wearing in this youtube video!
    anyways gotta run!

  5. OMG. I love Betsy. She’s like the southern mother I never had (I mean, my yankee grandmother taught me to bake just fine, but it’s not quite the same)! Love it. And these lil treats look SO tasty! I might just have to take them to the man friend’s family Christmas eve celebration….. 🙂

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Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)

Introduction to Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)
Cardiovascular diseases are caused when the blood vessels providing blood to the heart, brain or other vital parts of the body may be narrowed, blocked or stiffened. This causes a lack of oxygen to the tissue or the organ causing it to die slowly.
Risk for cardiovascular diseases is more often seen in individuals leading an unhealthy lifestyle such as being overweight, smokers, heavy drinkers or in persons having a family history of a heart disease, hypertension or diabetes.

Types of Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular diseases include the following:-

  • Aneurysm- A sac-like widening of an artery resulting from the weakening of the artery wall
  • Angina pectoris- A heart condition marked by an uncontrolled attack of chest pain due to reduced oxygen to the heart
  • Atherosclerosis-Fatty deposits inside the arterial walls, thus narrowing the arteries
  • Cerebrovascular Accident (Stroke/ Apoplexy)- Sudden loss of consciousness resulting when the rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel leads to oxygen lack in the brain
  • Cerebrovascular disease-Disease of the brain and its blood vessels
  • Congestive Heart Failure- The inability to pump enough blood to the heart tissues
  • Congenital heart disease- Genetic heart disease inherited from birth
  • Coronary Artery Disease- The disease of the artery that supplies blood to the heart
  • Myocardial infarction (Heart Attack)-Destruction of heart tissue resulting from obstruction of the blood supply to the heart muscle
  • Peripheral vascular disease- Hardening of the arteries that supply blood to the arms and legs.

Signs / Symptoms of Cardiovascular Disease

  • Pain or discomfort in the centre of the chest
  • Pain or discomfort in the arms, the left shoulder, elbows, jaw, or back
  • Shortness of breath
  • Severe headache with no known cause
  • Jaw pain
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Sweating
  • Heartburn and/or indigestion
  • General malaise (vague feeling of illness)
  • Difficulty speaking or understanding speech
  • Difficulty seeing with one or both eyes
  • Difficulty walking
  • Dizziness
  • Loss of balance
  • Coordination
  • Fainting or unconsciousness
  • High LDL-(bad cholesterol)
  • Hypertension

Related Tests to Cardiovascular Disease

  • Apolipoprotein - A1 (APO-A1)
  • Apolipoprotein b (APO-B)
  • Chol-cholesterol total
  • High sensitivity c-reactive protein (hs-CRP)
  • C-reactive protein (CRP)
  • Cholesterol HDL – direct
  • Ldl-cholesterol LDL – direct
  • Lp(a)-lipoprotein (a)
  • Triglycerides
  • Vitamin B12
  • Homocysteine
  • Lipid profile
  • CPK-Creatinine phospho kinase
  • LDH-Lactate dehydrogenase

Synonyms : Coronary Heart disease (CHD), Angina pectoris, Atherosclerosis, Stroke


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Monday, August 30, 2010

My Surprise Florida Weekend

I'm back in the Big Apple after my surprise Florida weekend, and I had a great time! As usual, I'm completely worn out - those visits at home sure are exhausting. It's a good exhausting, but exhausting nonetheless.

Obviously the Main Event of the weekend was the surprise for Heather. She had no idea I was coming, and didn't think I would be able to get to Florida to see her show at all. I didn't think I'd be able to, either, but several weeks ago my dad called to see if he could fly me down to see the show as a surprise for her. Um, yes, please!

My dad picked me up from the airport at 2:00 on Friday afternoon and brought me back to the house. He had a whole plan worked out for how the surprise would play out: I would hide on the front porch, and he would go inside and tell Heather she had a package on the porch. Then when she came outside, SURPRISE!

So, when we got to the house, I assumed my porch position and my dad went inside to get Heather. A moment later, however, he came back outside and said, "she's sleeping!" Well, that was unexpected! I was hungry, so we decided to run out and grab lunch, hoping that would give her time to wake up. So, I got my lunch and we came back to the house and tried again. I assumed the position, my dad went inside, then..."she's still sleeping!"

On to Plan B. I went into the house and hung out in the family room and basically just waited for Heather to wake up. To aid in that process, my dad started unloading the dishwasher rather loudly. When she still wasn't waking up, I sent her a text message wishing her good luck for her second weekend of shows. She texted back! She said thank you, and told me she was just waking up from a nap. I responded that I hoped I didn't wake her, and she replied that no, in fact Dad had woken her with his loud dishes! Ha!

Finally, she emerged from her room. My dad reverted back to Plan A then, and told her a package came for her and he put it in the family room. She walked into the room and saw me sitting on the couch, and her jaw dropped! She was so thrilled! She said that she figured I had been texting her because I felt badly that I would not be able to see her show, so that improvised plan had really helped the whole thing - she was even more convinced I would not be coming to see her. It was so great to see how surprised and excited she was, and Dad and I were excited, too! It was a great family moment. I wish I had a picture of her face when she saw me! But, I do have this picture my mom took of her after her show this weekend, and really her face wasn't all too dissimilar from this, to give you an idea:

Yay for surprises!

We hung out at the house a bit then, before Heather had to leave for that evening's show and I had to beautify myself. Dad and I got to the theater (the Jaeb Theater at the Straz Center) a little early, got drinks and popcorn and found our seats. The theater was set up cabaret style, so we shared a little table with two other women.

 The Respect stage

I was super excited to see Heather's bio in the Playbill - it's so official! I helped her write her bio, by the way. It's like I'm famous by association now!

Respect in the Playbill (my autographed copy, of course) and Heather's bio! (Click to enlarge)

As you already know from my last post, I loved the show. I laughed, I cried, I sang along, I danced, I felt empowered, I felt moved. Heather did a beautiful job, as did the other three girls. My favorite song Heather sang was "You Don't Own Me" in the second act - it's very powerful, and she's incredible. Heather's castmates made the same comment about me that her friends on the cruise ship did: that I'm funny because I just sit in the audience and stare at her the whole time with a big ol' grin on my face. I tried to actually be conscious of it this time, and not sit there like a grinning idiot for two hours straight, but apparently I failed. I'm just so proud.

After the show, the cast comes out into the lobby to mingle with the audience and sign autographs. Do you have any idea how cool it is to watch your sister sign autographs? She's amazing.

Heather autographing more Playbills after the show

After the show

Heather (out of costume), my dad and me!

Yay for Heather and yay for Respect!

When Heather finished with all she had to do, she and I went to downtown St. Pete to Ceviche for tapas and cocktails. We had some amazing food and I had a delightful glass of sangria (Heather had wine), then we walked to another bar for another glass of wine before heading home. It was so nice to be out on the town with my sister!

My pretty sister eating some kind of amazingly delicious spinach thing at Ceviche

That afternoon I took my dad to work so I could use his car to go - where else? - shopping at Target! Gotta love it. I ran some other errands, too. Other than that, it was a lazy afternoon around the house.

My poor, sweet, old dog Lucy, and Heather's cat Rodney enjoying some downtime around the house

That evening my mom was going to Heather's show, so beforehand she and some of her friends picked me up and took me out to dinner at Olive Garden. We had a very nice meal, and it was nice to get to see all of them, too!

Gary, Mom, me, and my mom's friend Wilma at Olive Garden

I had considered going out on the town that evening, but I was just too tired. Plus, it was pretty rainy out and I don't do well with driving in the rain, especially at night. So I just picked my dad up from work at 9:00, then relaxed around the house for the night.

Sunday morning I got up and went over to Eric's sister Kelley's new house for breakfast with Eric's whole family. Toni was even able to join us! She is doing so incredibly well. It's just remarkable. Her face lit up when she saw me and that is just the greatest thing in the whole world. It was so wonderful to see her and see how she continues to improve - what a woman she is!

We had a great time at breakfast. Kelley and Susan prepared a wonderful meal, and it was so nice to see the whole family. We even got to talk to Eric on Skype for a bit! Some of the family also played some ping pong and Wii Fit (Ronnie tried his hand at hula-hooping), then soon it was time to go. Thanks for putting the breakfast together, Kelley!

Susan and Kelley playing ping-pong

Gramz (and her dog) and Toni watching the Wii Fit action

After leaving Kelley's I went back home to get ready for a second showing of Respect. I met up with Lauren, a friend of mine who actually is friends with Heather from college, too. She agreed to see the Sunday afternoon performance of Heather's show with me, which was great! We met up at Chili's in Tampa for appetizers and margaritas first, then went over to the theater. Once again, the show was awesome. I was so glad I got to see it twice, because I definitely missed stuff the first time around (while I was staring at Heather and grinning), because apparently there was other stuff going on onstage in addition to what Heather was doing. Who knew?

With Heather and Lauren after the show

After Heather's show, she and I went home to meet up with Dad, who took us out to dinner at The Hurricane on the beach. Unfortunately, the sky was dark and stormy so we didn't get to see the sunset, but we ate seafood until we could not possibly eat another bite, enjoyed some great oldies music and just had a nice time together.

Out to dinner with family

After dinner we went back home and Heather and I watched the Emmy Awards, then I packed up my stuff and went to bed. I got up early this morning to catch my 7:15 a.m. flight back to NYC, and just like that, the weekend was over!

Thanks again to my dad for making this weekend happen - I can't even say how grateful I am that I got to see Heather's show and spend this unexpected time with family! And thanks to all of the rest of you who helped make the rest of the weekend so awesome. I am so lucky to have all of you in my life!

And P.S. - Go see Respect!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

SURPRISE! I'm in Florida!

I haven't mentioned my plans for this trip on the blog because it was a surprise for my sister. She recently started performing in a new show called Respect: A Musical Journey of Women at the Straz Center in Tampa, and my dad generously decided to fly me down to surprise her so I could see her show. I was really bummed that I wouldn't get to see it, so I was very excited about this surprise! It really was as much a gift for me as it was for Heather.

And last night, I saw the show! If possible, it exceeded my expectations. It was a great look at the struggles and successes of women in the 20th century, and the music was great! The audience got so into it - we clapped, we cried, we laughed, we sang along. It was really a fabulous show, and I am here now to highly recommend that any of my Tampa area readers make the time to go see it. Here's a little bit about the show, if you're interested:

From "Someone to Watch over Me" to "I Will Survive," Respect is the journey of women told through the music of the Top-40. It's a show that is a journey from the codependence of "I Will Follow Him" to the anger of "These Boots are Made for Walking," to the cynicism of "What's Love Got to Do with It," and finally to the strength of "Hero." Combining excerpts of 60 songs with women's own stories about finding dreams, lost love, relationship issues, entering the workforce, gaining independence and more, Respect is an exhilarating must-see, must-hear evening of theater.

Vanderbilt University professor Dr. Dorothy Marcic created the show based on her book, "RESPECT: Women and Popular Music." For more than the first half of the last century, the voice of women in Top-40 popular music has been one of neediness and dependency. By the end of the century, things were quite different. Popular music had come far enough that women looked for the hero within themselves, were urged to get on their feet and make it happen and were ready to stand on their own with or without a man. Messages in the music encompassed everything from "I am woman - hear me roar" to "I will survive" and encouraged women to find their own dreams.

The show runs through September 26th, with performances every Friday, Saturday and Sunday (with the exception of Labor Day weekend). Tickets are not very expensive, and they also offer "Girls Night Out" packages that include tickets and drinks. All the information you need is on the Straz Center website.

Let me just say again that it was an absolutely fantastic show. I realize I am biased because one of the four women in this show is my sister, but I loved it and I don't think you'll be disappointed if you make the time to see it! Please go, and enjoy!

The women of Respect - go, Heather!

Friday, August 27, 2010

The Colbert Report

Wednesday night we crossed yet another item off our NYC To-Do List. Man, we are just knocking 'em out, aren't we? At this rate, we'll be through that list in no time! Hmmm, maybe I better start adding some new things to it...

Anyway, this week's list item was attending a taping of The Colbert Report. We live ridiculously close to the Colbert studio, so it seems crazy that it has taken us this long to get inside. Tickets were pretty hard to come by, though. But, we finally made it happen thanks to their ticket mailing list and good timing. Hooray!

We were instructed to be in line no later than 5:15 p.m. However, it's a "we-overbooked-so-if-you're-not-early-you-might-not-get-in" kind of situation, so we wanted to be earlier than that. I arrived at 4:40, and Eric and our friend Jose joined me around 5:00. We waited in a little covered hallway outside the studio. Around 5:15 they made some security announcements, then a little after 5:30 they came through and handed out our actual tickets. Jose and Eric managed to look super uninterested, but I suck at being fake serious, so I could not hide my excitement.

Eric and Jose are totally not excited about seeing Colbert.

I AM excited. I'm not ashamed.

The waiting really was the worst part of the whole Colbert experience. This is the third talk show taping we have attended (the others being The Daily Show and The Late Show), and the wait time for Colbert was by far the longest of any of the shows we've seen. After passing out tickets, they very slowly started letting people inside to the holding room, pretty much one group at a time. When you got inside you went through security, then just stood around in this holding room, watching old Colbert episodes and waiting for everyone to get in. We were able to briefly entertain ourselves with some fun photos, and of course the old episodes were entertaining, but dude. It took forever.

With the man of the evening himself. Well, a painted-on-the-wall version of himself.

It looks like Colbert finds Eric funny. The feeling is probably mutual.

Once everyone made it through security, they gave us some more rules and pep talks (LAUGH! GO NUTS! HAVE FUN!) then there was more waiting around. Finally they opened up the doors and let us in to the studio! We were seated on the far right side against the wall, three rows from the top. By the time we got in and seated, it was 7:30. I had already been hanging around there for three hours! The wait wasn't over yet, however - we continued to wait for the show to get on the road.

At long last, the warm-up comedian came out to get things going. He was actually very funny. He talked with the crowd for some time, then finally it was time to bring out Stephen Colbert! He came out and the audience was allowed some time to ask him questions out of character, which was fun. Then finally it was time to start the show!

When the show started, the audience immediately went nuts because Colbert opened with an "inside joke" relating to an audience member's question during the Q&A question. This woman in the audience had informed Colbert that some elephant seal somewhere is named after him, and Colbert later mistakenly referred to it as a "sea elephant" instead (a combination of "sea lion" and "elephant seal," apparently). Then when he opened the actual show he said, "I give you answers, but I also ask questions on a nightly basis, the eternal questions like: there are sea cucumbers, there are sea lions. Why no sea elephants?" The crowd went crazy! Of course, it sounds terribly unfunny all written out here, but it was a great way to get everyone excited at the start of the show!

The guests that night were Andrew Hacker, who discussed the negatives of for-profit universities, and Heidi Cullen, who discussed climate change. We found Colbert very funny, of course, and more "off the cuff" than Jon Stewart was - Stewart had nearly all his jokes on teleprompters, but Colbert was much more improvisational. It was also very fun to see him dancing and joking around during breaks. He was highly amusing.

If you missed last night's show and would like to watch it (and listen for us laughing!), click here to watch it on Colbert's website.

Of course, no photos were allowed inside the studio, but Jose did manage to snap this one photo of the set as we were leaving:

Illegal set photo

We didn't really get on TV this time, at least not like we did on The Late Show! At the beginning of the show and after Heidi Cullen's segment they very briefly (and quickly) panned the audience from a distance, and since I know where we were sitting, I can pick out which pixelated blobs are most likely us. You can't recognize us, but take my word for it:

There we are at the start of the show!

Oh hey, there we are again! Well, kind of. I promise we're in there somewhere.

All in all, long wait time aside, we had a great time. We did wait forever, but we had so much fun at the show that it more than made up for it. It's so cool to be able to be a part of something, then go home and watch it on TV. It's fun to see which jokes made it to air, which were cut, and remember seeing it all live. We had a great time!

After the show

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Let's See How Many Sights We Can Cram Into One Weekend

This past weekend, we had a new set of visitors staying with us: my Aunt Rachel, Uncle Mark, and cousin Sarah, visiting from Pittsburgh. They visited us in Washington, D.C., and we were happy they were able to make it to New York, too. We took them all over the city and gave them all our best tours - hopefully we didn't wear them out too much! That's an awful lot of walking.

They arrived by cab from JFK Airport around 10:00 on Thursday night. We spent some time chatting and developing a plan for the next day, then went to bed. We would need our rest!

Friday, Eric left for work and I prepared to take my guests on our Downtown Tour. Once we were all awake and ready, we took the subway down to High Street in Brooklyn for pizza at Grimaldi's and a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. We actually arrived shortly before Grimaldi's was open, so we walked down to the water and checked out the newly completed Brooklyn Bridge Park, which is very nice. I had never explored it before, and it definitely is a beautiful park. New York, man. They know their parks.

Me, Sarah and Uncle Mark in Brooklyn Bridge Park

Because we were so early to Grimaldi's, we were able to get in with hardly any wait at all. However, we did wait quite some time for our pizza. You can't rush greatness, I suppose. As always, I found it to be well worth the wait. I hope my guests agreed with me!

Aunt Rachel, Uncle Mark and Sarah waiting for a table at Grimaldi's

Sarah and me waiting for our pizza

After finishing our pizza, we made our way across the Brooklyn Bridge. That is one thing I just never get tired of doing, no matter how many times I make that walk. It's just so scenic and such a cool thing to do.

Walking across the bridge with Sarah and Uncle Mark

Our visitors on the bridge

Once we made our way back into Manhattan, the rest of our Downtown Tour could commence. We wandered through City Hall Park, then made our way over to Ground Zero and St. Paul's Chapel. We also stopped in to the temporary 9/11 Memorial, which I had never visited before. We spent a lot of time talking to Sarah about what happened on 9/11, since she was too young when it happened to really remember. The rest of us remember it vividly. It was hard for me to look at the pictures in that memorial.

Views in City Hall Park

Construction at Ground Zero

This helmet was in the 9/11 Memorial. It was worn by Lt. Mickey Kross of FDNY Engine 16 when he responded to the North Tour after Flight 11 struck. He and his company were inside the tower when it collapsed, but he and 13 others survived. Incredible.

Statue of Liberty figure in the 9/11 Memorial, covered in memorabilia

From there we continued on to Trinity Church, Wall Street, the Stock Exchange, and the Bull. We also strolled through Bowling Green and on to Battery Park, where we checked out The Sphere and The Immigrants statue. Of course, we also saw the Statue of Liberty from afar and the East Coast WWII Memorial.

The ladies in Bowling Green

Uncle Mark and Sara at The Immigrants statue

It was then time for the Grand Finale of our Downtown Tour: a roundtrip ride on the Staten Island Ferry for closer views of the Statue of Liberty. Both trips on the ferry were so nice - peaceful, relaxing, and with gorgeous views. It was enough to nearly lull us to sleep.

Aunt Rachel, Sarah and Uncle Mark on the Staten Island Ferry

Uncle Mark with the Statue of Liberty

By then we were beat, so we hopped back on the subway to head home, making a stop at Crumbs on the way (duh). We had considered going to Movie Night on the Intrepid that evening, but we were both A) exhausted and B) feeling bad for the poor dog who had been crated all day, so we scrapped that plan. Instead, we picked up dinner at Daisy May's BBQ and had a picnic by the river (and took Achilles with us!). I just love doing that! We watched the sunset and enjoyed the beautiful park.

Sunset over the Hudson River

Looking back towards the city, with the moon rising over the buildings

Fountain near the Intrepid

Intrepid at sunset

When we got home we played a little Rock Band - a first for Aunt Rachel and Uncle Mark! They really picked it up well. We played a little regular and a little Beatles Rock Band, then it was time for bed.

Sarah on guitar, Eric on vocals, Aunt Rachel on bass and Uncle Mark on drums

More Rock Band fun

Saturday was another busy day. I planned to take our guests on our Midtown Tour, and Eric was able to join us! We started off with our usual tour of the lower quarter of Central Park: The Dakota, Strawberry Fields/the Imagine Mosaic, Bethesda Fountain, the Conservatory Water, Hans Christian Andersen Statue, Naumburg Bandshell, Literary Walk, Wollman Rink, and the Bridge.

Bethesda Fountain

At the Bethesda Fountain. Hey, look! Eric's there, too!

At the Hans Christian Andersen statue

Bubbles at the Naumburg Bandshell!

Uncle Mark and Sarah walking along The Mall

Uncle Mark and Aunt Rachel by the Bridge

After exiting the park at the southeast corner, we started our "Midtown East" part of the tour: FAO Schwartz, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall. At St. Patrick's, we actually saw a wedding procession! I never thought that weddings there would have to be subjected to tourist onlookers, but they didn't close off the church so we onlooked (is that a word?). And you know what I realized this weekend? I realized that one of the coolest things about this city is that no matter how many times I take guests on the same tours (which has been A LOT of times), I always end up seeing something I've never see before, or doing something I've never done. Just with this weekend's visitors, I saw Brooklyn Bridge Park, the 9/11 Memorial, and a wedding at St. Patrick's. These are all places I've been to tons of times, but still I am seeing new and different things. How cool is that?

See the bride coming down the aisle?

Bride and groom at the altar at St. Patrick's

VIDEO: Wedding procession in St. Patrick's Cathedral

Summer foliage at the Promenade at Rockefeller Center

A very tired group at Rockefeller Center

We took the team for lunch at Tri Tip Grill in Rockefeller Center, our favorite local french dip sandwich place. Then we walked briefly through a street festival on Sixth Avenue, then over to Times Square. We stopped in Toys 'R Us for a quick look at the ferris wheel, then spent some time shopping in Times Square's new Forever 21 store for Sarah while the boys relaxed on the chairs outside. Eric said they saw a number of different bridal parties (apparently mid August is an awesome time to get married, but DUH we already knew that), including one where each bridesmaid had a black dress with different colored shoes. Love that!

I am currently lusting over those blue shoes. Love this bridal party look!

While we were in Times Square, my guests also ran into friends of theirs from Pittsburgh who were also visiting NYC this weekend! What are the odds of that?!

After all that, we spent some time debating the evening's plans: Top of the Rock at dusk (which Sarah really wanted to do) vs. TKTS booth for tickets to West Side Story (Aunt Rachel's preference). We reached a compromise that everyone ended up being very happy with: Eric took Sarah and Uncle Mark to Top of the Rock, and Aunt Rachel and I went to West Side Story (that's another NYC To-Do List item for me!).

From what I hear, the Top of the Rock folks had a great time, although apparently they had a difficult time getting up to the edge for good pictures. They did discover that if you go to the far east side of the building and look down, you can see St. Patrick's Cathedral - another tidbit we didn't know! See? You always learn something new when you lead tours!

Uncle Mark and Sarah at Top of the Rock, looking north over Central Park

Southeast view from Top of the Rock

Dark, but Sarah and Uncle Mark with the Empire State Building

Sarah in "The Breezeway," which identifies visitors as they walk through the space and assigns each a color. She appears to be "red."

Meanwhile, Aunt Rachel and I had a wonderful time at West Side Story. It was so beautiful! I know the movie practically by heart, and there were some differences in the live performance, but I loved it. I had heard they added more Spanish to this version, which they did - when the Puerto Ricans were together, they mostly spoke in Spanish and many of their songs interspersed Spanish with English. I actually thought that was a really nice touch. Also, we had fantastic seats! We were technically in the 8th row at orchestra level, but we were actually on a little raised side platform which put us a little higher than orchestra level and we had only two seats in our whole row! We were so close, it was really great. I also just enjoyed spending time with Aunt Rachel. I'm not sure we've ever spent one-on-one time together like that before, and it was really nice! Thanks again for taking me to the show, Aunt Rachel!

West Side Story at the Palace Theater in Times Square

Aunt Rachel in our seats

View from our seats

At the show. (I really need to master how to do a self-taken picture without increasing my number of chins.)

By the time we got home we were absolutely exhausted, so we went to bed pretty quickly.

Sunday was a more leisurely day. We slept in a bit and took our time getting moving in the morning. We didn't really have anything planned, and the weather was pretty dreary so we considered hitting a museum. Ultimately we decided to do a little more sightseeing instead.

Achilles liked Sarah. Here he is practically sleeping on her head.

We went back to Times Square to hit the M&M Store we missed on Saturday, then walked south to Bryant Park, stopping at the Pop Tarts Store on the way. And guess what? I got my Pop Tarts Sushi! It was surprisingly not as disgusting as it sounds. It was several fruity flavors of Pop Tarts all minced up and wrapped in a Fruit Roll-Up. Altogether, not disgusting. Terrible for you? Yes, I'm sure. But not super gross. And now I can say I've had it!

The girls in the M&M Store

My first bite of Pop Tarts Sushi

Everyone inspecting the sushi. I don't think they were convinced.

After Bryant Park we tried to visit the New York Public Library, but it was closed. We continued on the Grand Central, where I showed them the Whispering Gallery and we had lunch. Then we got on the subway down to Chinatown and Little Italy, so Sarah could check out the discount shopping. She successfully haggled for some perfume (seriously, her negotiating skills left me wishing I had used her when booking wedding vendors - color me impressed), and I went off in search of a new hat. However, my plans were thwarted by the rain (which hasn't stopped since, actually) and a band in Little Italy that was just marching along with a big statue of Jesus covered in dollar bills. They would stop every few feet and play a short little tune, then continue on. It reminded me of the scene in The Godfather when Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) gets married in Italy, and there's a little band that marches along (this band might have even played the same tune, but I'm not sure). Anyway, I had never seen this sort of thing in Little Italy before, so chalk that up to yet another new experience while tour-guiding.

Little parade in Little Italy

VIDEO: Band in Little Italy

As the rain started to come down, we hurried back to the subway and made our way home again. Our guests had tickets to see In the Heights that evening, so they got ready and went to that while Eric and I relaxed, had dinner, and I called my mom to chat for a bit (as I am apt to do on Sundays). Apparently they really enjoyed the show, and had even closer seats than we had for West Side Story! They also saw Jordin Sparks (the new "Nina") after the show, so I think they had a pretty good time.

Monday was their last day, and Aunt Rachel wanted to check out The Today Show. It was still raining, but we went out there anyway. The crowds were pretty light, so we actually had some great views. We saw Matt Lauer and Ann Curry come out onto the plaza, and we were able to see Martha Stewart filming inside. And, we got on TV! Well, Uncle Mark and I did, and only very briefly. But you know how I love to take pictures of myself on my TV (see here and here, for example), so it was good times.

Filming The Today Show in the rain

Martha Stewart and Matt Lauer sharing a laugh (while he gets his makeup touched up)

Aunt Rachel with the Today Show folks

Hi there, Uncle Mark!

There I am!

After we had our fill of Today Show fun (or more so, our fill of rain) we headed back home. We spent the rest of the morning relaxing at the apartment, then my guests packed up their things and I hailed them a cab to the airport.

Aunt Rachel, Uncle Mark and Sarah - it was so great to have you all here! Please feel free to come visit any time. Actually, that goes for any of you out there! We love having guests and our door is always open.

(Note: In the next day or two, I'll be adding more pictures from this weekend to our photo share site, if you're interested!)


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Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Rub some dirt on it and get back in the game.

When you own a Boxer, you do so with the understanding that there are requirements that come with the breed. For example, Boxers are not what you'd call "low-energy" dogs. They need lots of exercise, play time, and of course, lots of room in your bed.

The other thing you accept is that they are right there with Golden Retrievers when it comes to developing cancer. When you have a boxer you understand that, while little lumps or bumps probably are just that, if those lumps or bumps get bigger, it may mean something nasty is coming your way.

That being said; a couple of weeks ago, I took Leia to th vet for her rabies shot and pointed out a couple of lumps that we were concerned about to the doctor. Dr. Clayton is a great vet and always lays it on the line. He told me that he didn't like the look of the lumps, and that he wanted to take them very seriously. He gave us the choice of either having them removed and biopsied, or leave them be and see what happens down the line.

(in the picture, the lump on her leg is barely visible about 3 inches below my thumb. there's another on her other leg.)

We opted not to wait.

Looks brutal, right? Try being in the same room with her. Leia's a very healthy dog, so it's unusual to see her moving a little slower than usual. She's also sleeping quite a bit, but who can blame her? After the kind of day she's had, I'd be zonked too.

We have to keep her from chewing on the stitches (not a problem so far), so an e-collar may come into play, but otherwise she should bounce back pretty quick. I know she'll feel a lot better once she can eat again tomorrow morning.

Stayed tuned for more updates this weekend, as we find out her test results.

zztopdog said...

Poor little girlie! Hope she's back to her old self soon!

Anonymous said...

Poor thing - those boo boos look rougher than when Shane had his removed !! I will keep her and you all in my thoughts and prayers.

P.S. We miss you at yoga, but certainly understand that staying home and taking care of Leia is way more important.

The Mrs. said...

Praying for good news from the vet and for a speedy recovery!

pseudored2 said...

Poor baby! I know the problems and keep an eye on Spenser. I hope that sweet miss Leia is soon feeling better she just needs some love and cuddles.


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Friday, August 23, 2013

Mini Mania Maddness~Bren's Origami Owl Special, while supplies last!

Get a Mini locket (the size of a dime) with two charms and a chain like the ones pictured here. While supplies last! (comes with the charms pictured) Great gifts! $22 includes tax and shipping!!! Wahoo! (you must contact me to get this special, not available online)

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Giveaway from Mountain Rose Herbs – Win Ingredients to Make Cough Syrup

My all-natural cough syrup has been a big hit in our house as we all just got slammed with colds. It is very effective in soothing sore throats and helping to reduce symptoms by boosting the immune system. So, for my last giveaway of my 1-year blogaversary month-long celebration, you can enter to win the ingredients you’ll need to make your own cough syrup at home using licorice, echinacea, cinnamon and ginger. You’ll just need honey, which is best if bought from a local farm.

Giveaway from Mountain Rose Herbs to win ingredients to make your own cough syrup

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Sara McFall

Sara is the owner and founder of My Merry Messy Life, which started in 2011 as a way to chronicle her journey to a natural, chemical-free lifestyle and to share her passions of mothering, real food, homeschooling and crochet. She is a mama to three precious and energetic little boys and wife to a university professor who loves to sing, dance ballet and ballroom, and live simply and naturally.

  1. chamomile. it has been great for my daughters respiratory issues

  2. Lavender smells great, relaxing, and great for cleaning your home! I love cutting bushels of lavender in the summer for the house:)

  3. I would love to try these!!

  4. I love love love chamomile because of its soothing benefits.

  5. We’ve been lucky so far this year. No one is sick yet. But time will tell. Would love to win.
    Thanks for the offer.

  6. Cinnamon. I love cinnamon, all good things have cinnamon, mom’s kitchen- for one! Honey and cinnamon tea in the morning! honey and cinnamon by the spoon for itchy throats, and sorry but good cinnamon buns are the world’s best yumm!!

  7. I like cooking with thyme and sage – so many wonderful herbs. I might have to try the homemade cough syrup. I like home remedies. We do warm honey and lemon for scratchy throat. Also, if you mix 2 parts eucalyptus oil to 1 part peppermint oil in a little spray bottle and give a couple of spritzes in your steamy shower, it is great for clearing your sinuses.

  8. Anne Perry says:

    rosemary for clarity

  9. I love peppermint and lavender!!

  10. I like the idea of making my own cough syrup. You never know just what is in the bottle of manufactured cough remedies. My favorite
    herb would be ginger. I like so many but ginger has so many uses and tastes great too.

  11. It’s okay to heat honey (not in microwave) as long as you don’t boil it. Great recipe.

  12. Favorite herb is Cilantro for cooking. And Ginger. 😀

  13. This would be great to win! Good luck to everyone entered! 🙂

  14. I love basil. It is so versatile and adds great flavor.

  15. Great giveaway!

  17. My favorite herb has to lavender. I love all the uses for it (soap, scrubs, EO’s, bath teas..etc). It’s my total de-stresser and pick me up on those depressing days. One sniff and it just brightens my day.

  18. Cinnamon & Lavender!!

  19. Debbie N says:

    It would have to be lavender! Love the smell!! But to cook with I like basil. Love that smell too!

  20. Sage and citrus are fantastic together ….

  21. My favorite herb is cinnamon. It smells great, enhances food and enhances metabolism.

  22. Susan H says:

    I would say it would be lemon balm. I love to use it to make tea.

  23. Peppermint makes everything taste better!!!

  24. That’s hard. Ginger and Cinnamon are my top spices. They are strong and very versatile in how to use them.

  25. I would love to win this giveaway! I love making my own products. I love peppermint!! :]

  26. I love sage. I add it to everything… soap, food, potpourri.

  27. Melissa S says:

    My favorite herb is basil because I make awesome pesto.

  28. What a great giveaway! I found you off of Pinterest when I was looking for lip balm recipes and checked out your blog!

  29. Ginger! It helps my stomach.

  30. Michelle Applegate says:

    I would love to win this. I have been wanting to make this cough syrup.

Speak Your Mind


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Saturday, 5 October 2013

Muskoka Trip Part II: Bondi Village

Nancy, and her brother, Bryan, run Bondi Village. We stayed for a week with the kids one year, just after we left Muskoka.  I try to visit her whenever I am back in Muskoka.
The lodge - look closely at her 'friends'
Her friends visit, just like ours!
I love her chickens! Worth it for sheer entertainment value, let alone the eggs!

Nancy has a new project: growing Magic Mushrooms! Ask her about THAT story: getting them across the border!
King Stropharia mushrooms, also called Wine Caps, or (as we now find out) the Godzilla Mushroom. Yes, edible, both caps and stems. And apparently they pop up out of the ground like, well, like mushrooms...
Yes, we'll be selling them...
Hubby adores horses, back from his childhood days on the farm (no running water or hydro)! We had a lovefest!

Nancy is a great riding teacher. Taffy wanted to show off.
Taffy is a wonderful companion!

Veggie garden, jumping ring and Taffy!

Bondi Village always is candy for the eye.
Lovely colours, as Taffy hustles down to the water
for a drink!

One of the cabins
Visit more

Camera-Critters #287.

Nancy has some new sculptures
Blog buddies and friends!

eileeninmd said...

Your friend has a fantastic place. I love the animals. Taffy is a cutie! The Autumn colors are beautiful. Lovely post. Happy weekend to you! said...

What a beautiful array of nature photography ~ love all the animals ~ carol, xo

Betty Manousos said...

what a gorgeous blog!

visiting via camera critters to say hi.

happy weekend~

Gunilla Bäck said...

Wonderful critters! The horses are so beautiful.

retriever said...

Lovely blog and fotos, with a weather fall, colores and in middle lovely animals, Dog , horse.;
Have a nice weekend ,greeting from belgium, and my twoo golden cerise and Zitablue