La Famiglia

Blogging world meet Naomi & Sam, my niece & nephew. Naomi & Sam, meet the blogging world.

I took this goofy picture of them on my camera phone on Thanksgiving at my mother~in~law's house. Naomi is a senior in college, is smart as a whip, & can play the bass guitar like nobody's business. Sam is a senior in high school, is the captain of the football team, & is fabulous in art. Both are pretty dang cute if you ask me, but I'm biased. I tried to get a "normal" (what is normal anyway?) picture of them, but if one wasn't making a face, the other one was. Since Skip & I don't have kids of our own, this is about as close as you're gonna get, besides my other niece, Grace, or our dog & cat, Lucy & Stella.

Yet another reminder to those of you who read my blog (all 2 of you) to play along with the "One Word" game I posted a few entries ago. Thanks!

Gobble...Gobble..Burp!

Thanksgiving has come & gone. It was nice, unseasonably warm (but no complaints here), & I ate too much of my mother~in~law's delicious cooking. I wandered around my m.i.l.'s backyard, snapping pictures on my camera phone & came up with the 1 above ~ kinda diggin' it myself.

Skip & I have the morning basically off today...not opening the store until 1:00 (no, we're not like JC Penney's or Kohl's who opened at 4:00 am for Black Friday)...but we'll probably go in a little earlier in order to start decorating for....gasp...could it be?......Christmas & Hannukah! Garland & the like will be going up & the holiday toys & treats for the pets will be going out on the shelves today.

Speaking of the holidays, I haven't started any of my own shopping, nor have I decorated my own house yet, but I have started my Christmas cards & am about 1/3 of the way through. Planning on getting those babies out of my hands & into the hands of the postal service on December 1st.

That's all for now. Gotta go shower & get ready to do my part for Black Friday. Hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving! Don't forget to participate in my entry below called "One Word." Later........

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a quick note to wish you all a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

PS Don't forget to check out my post directly below this one & also the poll in the sidebar to the right! Thanks!

One Word!

I stole this idea & graphic from my buddy Bridgett (who's journal is unfortunately private, or I'd link it here), who stole it from someone else. Sooooooooooo.....

You've read this far &......YOU'RE IT! No turning back now!

What you need to do is to describe me in 1 word & 1 word only...then post the same rules, etc in your own journal/blog. Post your 1 word about me in the comment section. I'm so interested to see how others see me! Aren't you curious enough to play along here & at your own journal/blog?

PS Don't forget to vote in the Thanksgiving poll in my sidebar! Thanks!!!!

Blank Mind & Haiku

My Haiku

I sit here trying

I have no ideas at all

How boring am I?

Seriously, folks....I'm at a loss here. Writers' block. Brain freeze. Brain fart. Senior moment. Or, in my New Yawk accent (that Grove loves to tease me about), "whadeva ya wanna cawl it...my mind's a freakin' blank." All I ever seem to talk about anymore is work. I've done some memes & even asked for others to answer the same meme question I did that day (but no one has as far as I know). I didn't want my blog to be boring or depressing. If I had my boring/depressing moments, so be it. But I wanted variety, baby! I don't even know if anyone's out there reading my stuff anymore. So......if you are.....gimme some ideas as to what to talk about. Ask me some questions! I'll answer a new question each time I get a chance to blog.

The only 3 things I could mention for my day today would be: (1) cat show; (2) card swap get together; (3) laundry.

(1) Skip & I went to the cat show today at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. There were some bee~yoo~tee~ful cats there, as well as some interesting, more exotic breeds, like the hairless ones. Mostly we were there on "business," checking out the vendors & seeing what we might like to bring into the store. Got some good ideas & saw lots of stuff that just wouldn't fit in with our kind of store (jewelry, scarves, pet bling ~ yes, there is actually pet bling out there!). It's our first time going to something like this with a particular agenda, so it was a learning experience. Sometime at least one of us is going to have to go to one of the huge industry shows in NYC or Atlantic City or the like.

(2) My wonderful buddy, Phinney, & I were in a rubber stamping card swap this year. That means that every month there's a different theme which you then make about 4 cards & send to a particular group of people who also send you a card in that theme. It's fun & a good way to get my creative juices flowing at least once a month. Today was the year end get together where everyone's cards are displayed, we vote on the best card for that theme (not an easy thing to do ~ they were all great), & suggest possible themes for next year. None of my cards got picked ~ oh well! I'll be doing it again next year & I'm hoping my Phinney~girl (who couldn't make it to the get together) will be doing it, too.

(3) How do 2 people generate so much damn laundry? All I ever seem to do latey (especially on weekends) is play catch~up with laundry. I'm convinced that clothes are throwing themselves out of drawers & off shelves or hangers & into the laundry baskets while we're sleeping or out of the house!

Well.....for someone with nothing to say, I sure said a lot. Go figure! Anyway, in case I don't get to post again before Thursday, I hope anyone reading my humble little blog has a terrific Thanksgiving!

That's My Answer!

I like memes. I like to be tagged by others to participate. You've probably already figured that out, right? Here's another 1 that I found intriguing as I scrolled through recent questions ~ it comes from a meme called That's My Answer!

So, other than family and friends, what do you miss the most about home when you are out and on the road?

This is going to be easy. I miss the comforts of home...the couch, the TV, being able to walk around in just sweats & a t~shirt, the kitchen & the fridge with all my comfort foods/snacks, my own bed & pillow. Some of the definitions of "home" at dictionary.com are: the place in which one's domestic affections are centered; the place or region where something is native or most common; any place of residence or refuge. I truly feel most comfortable, safe & secure when I am home & I guess that's what I miss the most (besides family & friends) when I'm not there.

Now it's your turn to answer the above question ~ if you're reading this, then consider yourself tagged! Just let me know if you've decided to play along so I can see your answer.

By the way.....the picture above is from the side of the parking lot where our store is. I took the picture yesterday while walking our doggie Lucy along here. Lucy loves to go to work (what dog wouldn't like being in a pet supply store all day?) & I was fascinated by this tree & the little river while Lucy was sniffing around in the leaves, so I snapped the picture on my cell phone. I just wish the colors had come out more brilliantly because in "real life" it was a magnificent shade of yellow.

Big Yawn

OK, so I wasn't more "with it" today ~ in fact, I was a lot less with it than I was last night when I did my lists of fours. I'm just not feeling much like anything today, least of all like myself.

To start off with, I couldn't drag myself out of bed until almost 10:30 this morning. Just kept hitting the old snooze button for nearly an hour and a half. So dang tired & the left side of my throat hurts a little; my neck is kind of stiff today, too. Then, after doing my usual morning chores (empty the dishwasher, walk the dog, feed doggie & kitty, etc) & eating some breakfast, I promptly fell asleep on the couch for two & a half hours. I got very little accomplished today, besides a little laundry & putting Halloween decorations away in the attic. Huge sigh!

I suppose my body was telling me it needed the sleep today. Now here it is, almost 10:00 pm & it's telling me yet again to get to bed. I feel like I need an entire day's worth of sleep before I start to feel a little more with it. Oh well........

Have a good night y'all!

Tag ~ you're it!

My dear, sweet friend, Phinney, put this up in her journal & tagged me that way. Unfortunately, her journal is private or else I'd link to it here. She was tagged by way of Nancy, who is also pretty darn cool. Here's my participation in it this Saturday night. More stuff tomorrow when I'm a little more with it.

Four Jobs I've Had
Shipping & Receiving Manager (yup...know the ins & outs of UPS, FED EX, DHL & the USPS...w00t!)

Receptionist/file clerk for an umbrella manufacturer (thanks, Marti!)

Security Guard (desk officer/dispatcher)

Co~Owner of a pet supply store (the latest & greatest!)

4 Movies I can watch over and over
Cars

Maximum Overdrive

Mystic Pizza (YAY ~ young Vincent D'Onofrio)

The Wizard of Oz

4 Places I have lived
Studio apartment in NYC (as a baby)

Grew up in the north end of New Rochelle, NY (from 3 1/2 ~ around 22)

2 apartments across the hall from each other in Mamaroneck, NY

My condo in Tarrytown, NY

4 TV shows I love to watch
Designing Women

Alice

Who's the Boss?

Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations

(plus I've gotta admit to liking the new Bionic Woman)

4 Places I’ve been to on vacation
Montauk, NY (where else?)

Westport, MA

Bahamas

United Kingdom

(plus MANY others, but this only asks for 4)

4 Websites I visit daily
Other people's blogs

Where's George?

Engrish.com
I can has cheezburger

4 Favorite Dishes –
Just about anything Italian

Avocado sushi

Pork Fried Rice

Just about anything chocolate~y

4 Places I’d rather be right now
Montauk, NY (again....where else?)

On a warm, tropical beach, sipping a Pina Colada

In bed....sleeping

Driving around the country in an RV

4 People I’m tagging

If you're reading this (all 4 or 5 of you)......consider yourself tagged....now it's your turn! Let me know if/when you do this, so I can see your answers!

The "New" Store...

Drumroll, please! Ladies & gentlemen, children of all ages.....here it is.....the pet supply store in southern CT that Skip & I are taking over! Hope the picture comes out OK, as I took it on my cell phone from behind the counter.

It's a long & fairly narrow store, that continues on to the right (in this picture) & behind me. In front of me, obviously, there's the windows & doorway where you come in. We don't have any animals in the store, only food, supplies, toys & the like.

Skip & I work 6 days a week, with only Sundays off. We were open from 10:00 ~ 7:00, but starting tomorrow, we'll be closing at 6:00, which is good because we have about a 40 minute drive home. It was tough, leaving at 9:00 & not getting home until after 8:00 ~ all I'd want to do is eat, watch a little bit of TV, & then go to sleep, only to repeat the process again the next day. Sorry if I sound like such a wuss, but I was use to office work, not worrying about certain things because I wasn't "the boss," learning how to do retail stuff, & having certain days off during the week besides Sundays. I really think I need a weekday off every other week, in order to do other things that you just can't do on a Sunday, plus just to save my mental health. I've already discussed it with Skip, since he'd have to go to the store alone if I did something like that, & he seems pretty OK with it. All I keep thinking though is....Liz, you're a wimp...a great big wimp!.....for wanting.....no, NEEDING...to do this.

Any~who....enough of my whining! The Fall weather seems to finally be here in the NYC metro area ~ temperatures are much cooler & the trees are at their absolute peak (if not just a tad beyond) in my neck of the woods. Tomorrow is my 41st birthday & I've got no problem with it. I'm dealing pretty well with the chin hairs (& general facial hairs) that need constant tweezing; the peeing myself when I laugh, cough, sneeze (I actually looked at a box of Depends recently); the beginning to wonder if I need life insurance; the increased need for sleep; the not understanding the attraction to the music that kids listen to nowadays & hearing my favorite music on the oldies or "light" radio stations; the wondering which vitamins to take; the need for regular mamograms; the not knowing what a Bluetooth was until a 23 year old told me & other technology based stuff I just don't get or know about.....I could go on & on! BUT.....I'm much happier with turning 41 than I was with turning 30. Go figure! Skip, my parents, my aunt & I will be going out to dinner tonight to a nice steakhouse near where I live ~ should be good!

S'all for now, gang! Did you remember to turn your clocks back?

Figuring it out?

I know, I know...it's well into Fall, but I just a little look back to summer, when I was out in Montauk, NY & of the Montauk Point Lighthouse (yes, another view like the 1 by the title of my blog). I also wanted to be able to use this picture on my Blogspot profile & if I understand correctly, I needed to post it here. Soooooo....my posting this picture is two~fold.

A longer, more timely post tomorrow........it's time for bed. I hope you all remember to turn your clocks back!