Are you serious?

Tonight after work I headed up to West Farms (why do I say "up" to West Farms when it's south of here?) to see if I could find a gown for an upcoming gala we're attending on May 9th. Let's face it - there's really not much hope of finding anything locally. I was able to find a fancy top at Lord & Taylor to go with a black taffeta skirt I have from a previous gala. Not my fave, but it'll do.

A must these days is a pair of these...


After purchasing my top, I went over to the hosiery area and picked myself up a pair. I brought my purchase over to the closest register. It's important to note that this was the only item I was purchasing. The service associate (is that what they're called these days? I think I was called a cashier or clerk or something....) proceeded to offer me a Lord & Taylor charge, which I politely declined. She then proceeded to ask me a question which proves that they are completely on auto-pilot....she asked me if I'd be needing a gift receipt. Really, lady? Do you really think I'm buying these as a gift for somebody? Geez - who in my life would possibly want to get these as a gift from me? Happy Birthday, dear. I thought you'd enjoy a nice pair of Spanx.

Seriously....feel free to pay attention to what you're doing before you just run through your litany of questions. Man, that irks me.

Take Me Back Tuesday

I've been waiting for just the right time to post this picture. This is Dennis with his Uncle Matt (Matthew's namesake), after a fishing excursion to a beautiful little stream in Tyringham. Some of you may remember I posted about it once before. We took a ride out there again on Saturday, and this time stopped for lunch at the Monterey General Store, the very same spot where Dennis and Uncle Matt had lunch after catching all these fish. Hence, the perfect timing for this post.

This is a treasured picture, proudly displayed on our mantel. Dennis and his Uncle Matt had a very special bond. Sadly, he passed away much too young, but pictures like this help to relive the wonderful times they shared.

Thanks for your support!

We'd like to thank everyone who supported us in our March for Babies today. We truly appreciate your generosity. We had a beautiful day - little warm for April, but we are definitely not complaining! Here a few shots from the day....

Waiting for the go-ahead to step off

Moms and boys

Dude, are you ready for this?

Matthew clowning around - dancing to the blaring music

The home stretch - coming through the arch at Bushnell Park

Another successful year for Team Squeaks!

Happy Earth Day!

Please do your part.

Take Me Back Tuesday

Date Taken: May 10, 1986

This picture has a permanent place in a frame on my nightstand. It was taken the afternoon of my junior prom. I was dressed and ready to go, my date waiting, and I posed for this picture with my mother before leaving home. I was SO excited about my dress (and my fabulous accessories - gloves, cameo, corsage, hair helmet!) We had shopped and shopped, and were so thrilled when we found this dress at the Holyoke Mall. It was pink with an overlay with raised tiny white polka dots, with a crinoline underneath and tons and tons of lace - so Victorian. Got itchy by the end of the night, but I loved it just the same.

Hard to believe that my mother will be gone 22 years this Thursday. My God, how those years have flown. Feels like only yesterday, and yet a lifetime ago just the same.

Had I given it some thought....

I'm a big fan of orange juice. Wasn't always that way - it used to be that I could take it or leave it, kinda like lobster. But when I was pregnant with Matthew, it was one of the few cravings I had. I couldn't get enough of it. I'd have it every morning, but would also buy a small bottle any chance I had - at work, the convenience store, the gas station, while grocery shopping. I even filled my big Nalgene with it one time. Now that's a lot of juice! My affinity continued, even after I had Matthew, but in an effort to cut back on calories, I stopped drinking it so frequently. I'd rather be consuming those calories in other ways.

So, imagine my delight when I got a coupon a few weeks back for this.....


HOLY CRAP! O.J. with 50% less sugar and calories? Are you kidding me? Who's the friggin genius behind this?! I was beyond excited. I've been looking and looking for it, and I finally found some this week at Big Y, and could not wait to try it. Naturally, I didn't have my coupon with me, but that's another story. It's a bit more expensive, but I figured - hell, it's worth it.

Well, I tried it yesterday, and the taste was O.K. at best. I started to read the package to figure out how they made it with 50% less sugar and calories. I was thinking maybe it was something like making decaf coffee, where the beans are roasted longer which pulls out the caffeine. I don't know, maybe some special squeezing process, with some special kind of filtering or something? What the heck do I know?

Well, mystery solved....here's how they do it.


Ummm....yeah.....it's only 42% juice. The main ingredient? You guessed it - good old fashioned H20. Well, damn, I could have done that myself. And for a whole lot less to boot! Seriously. Not only do I not have to pay extra for this "special" juice, but my big old 89 (used to be 96) oz. jug will go twice as far. If I want to drink watered down OJ, that is...

Soooo disappointed....
.

Take Me Back Tuesday

Date Taken: Sometime between November 1974 and February 1975

Place Taken: Saint Francis Hospital

I came across this picture, and thought it would make a timely TMBT, seeing as how my sister was just out for a visit (with her family, of course). I was in the hospital, recovering from a dog bite accident, and my sister was keeping me entertained with a game of Scrabble. I'm sure our words weren't too advanced back then (being only 5 and 9 years old), but we were clearly having lots of fun!

Easter Tidings

Wishing you all a Happy and Blessed Easter.

Looking for a new recipe?

I tried a new recipe tonight for Eggplant Rollatini. Don't these look yummy??


Yeah....too bad they S.U.C.K.E.D.! What a friggin waste of perfectly good eggplant, ricotta, fontina and parmesan. Ab-so-lutely terrible. The recipe didn't call for salting (or pressing) the eggplant, so I should have known I was going to hate it. It was so tough and fibrous, we could barely cut it with a knife. Nevermind have Matthew try to chew it.

Right down the disposal. Buh-bye.
.

March for Babies

We'll be participating again this year in the March of Dimes March for Babies. I've posted a widget on my Facebook page, but wanted to post one for Dennis here on my blog.

I hope you'll please consider making a donation.

No amount is too small.

Let's help babies be born healthy.

Thanks.