Is eBay too popular?

I just don't know anymore. I've been selling on eBay for over five years now. The last month has to be one of the worst sale months on record for me. Last year in January I made almost 5 times the money. I will say I am trying to push things I've had for a while like craft books. I have some really nice quilting books up now with no bids. Should I continue? Should I only list when I have things that have a good chance of getting a bid? That is an open ended question as I sold a wooden bear nutcracker that I bought for $3 (incidently from a lady who said she sold things on eBay) and got almost $350 for it! I like the thrill of the hunt. I just need to find some more interesting one-of-a-kind items. I'm trying to basically save up (never touched the above money) to take Sean on a trip sometime this year for a graduation gift. Guess I'll hang in there. I just don't want to waste my time.

Old tv stars unite

I'm feeling old, really old. Now Happy Days is having their 30th reunion. I swear that show was on when I was in 9th grade, so actually it's more like the 31 year reunion-did they forget last year? We all loved this show in junior high. I remember we started having sock hop dances. My brother and I dressed up for one. There's a photo of us together somewhere, one of my favorite photos of the two of us. Don had his hair greased and parted on the side. I think he had on a sweater vest over his dress shirt with rolled up jeans. I had on a pretty pink dress (one of my mom's) with a pink sweater. My long hair was in a pony tail with a scarf accent.
The other night Brian was flipping channels (as usual) and landed on the TV Land awards show, which turned out to be a year old. (Isabelle Sanford aka Weezie from The Jeffersons made an appearance but died last summer).There was Bob Denver aka as Gilligan from Gilligan's Island, with snow white hair. Dawn Wells aka as Mary Ann looked great, did she age at all ?She has a company called Wishing Wells that help people who have trouble with clothing fasteners like zippers etc. She helped design easy to wear clothes. But all the people from the shows I loved when I was a kid, even Ron Howard aka as Richie Cunningham are getting up there, his red locks gone on the top. Goes to show that even tv stars age like the rest of us, but maybe not Barbara Eden! (Di-trivia-I saw Ms. Eden in a summer stock rendition of The Sound of Music at the Valley Forge Music Fair when I was a kid).

~Update-according to the most recent issue of TV Guide, yes indeed Happy Days premiered in January of 1974! So that's 31 yrs ago. I was right.
~Footnote-2-3-05-watched the Happy Days reunion show (and missed The Apprentice but saw who got the boot in the last few minutes). I was pleasantly surprised by it. They all seem like nice people. Joanie didn't love Chachi as they sat on opposite sides of the room and didn't appear to talk or touch.

Still pondering Paul

So I watched Extreme Makeover: Home Edition tonight and there was my old classmate Paul. Not remembering him is driving me batty. I wonder if he lived in Media his entire life? Was he inspired by the wacky shop teacher in junior high to decide on a career in carpentry? Who taught him guitar? Did he have any of the same teachers that I had that drove me crazy? At least I know he has the same red 'leather' bound diploma and he wore a black cap and gown when he graduated.
Sorry, I'm a detail person and I like to know things.When I find out, I will post. We do have a gap tooth in the front in common though.

Forgot to tell you that my mom looked in the local phonebook and a DiMeo was living on Revere Road in Drexel Hill, PA. That is the same address we had has newlyweds! We lived in the apartments over there for 2.5 yrs.

Here is me in the black cashmere! Bad photo editing here. 

Shopping fix...finally

Since we were stuck in last weekend because of the snow, Sean and I took a drive down to Kohl's in Delaware. Lo and behold, they were having an 80% off sale-woo hoo! I will say a lot of the clothes were picked over, but I looked and looked and sniffed out a black cashmere sweater! And it was only $15.60 and had a price of $88 on it. I think I got lucky because it was marked a size or two bigger than I normally get. I actually tried it on over my other top and it is maybe a little loose, but it's comfy. Heaven. I scored some other tops, a really sexy black one with black lace sleeves for one. Brian liked that one. I also got some really pretty jewelry for dirt cheap. I picked out a few tops and jewelry for my mom too. I think my total bill would have been the original price of 1 3/4 cashmere sweaters! What brought the bill up were the two Eagles championship t-shirts Sean bought for himself and his dad. I need to hit Boscovs or Strawbridges next to be truly happy that I got my bargain/shopping fix. : )

Quote Geek-Ferris Bueller's day off

I am tossing magazines. I had to start somewhere. Lucky for me, the magazines I am tossing had weblinks. Here is a cool one I found. Plus if I want a good laugh, I'll do back to this entry.
(1986) Comedy. Written and directed by John Hughes.

Ferris: Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

Simone: My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with a girl who saw Ferris pass-out at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it's pretty serious.

Ferris: Not that I condone facism; or any ism for that matter. Isms, in my opinion, are not good. A person should not believe in an ism, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in 'Beatles', I just believe in me." Good point there. After all, he was the Walrus. I could be the Walrus, I'd still have to bum rides off of people.

Ferris: Oh, I'm sorry I can't come to the door right now. I feel that in my weakened condition I could take a nasty spill down the stairs and subject myself to further school absences.

Ferris: This is my ninth day missed. Cameron, I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing this for you.
Ferris: If anybody needs a day off, it's Cameron. He has a lot of things to sort out before he graduates. He can't be wound this tight and go to college. His roommate'll kill him. I've come close myself. But I like him. He's a little easier to take when you know why he's like he is. The boy cannot relax. Pardon by French but Cameron is so tight that if you stuck a lump of coal up his ass, in two weeks you'd have a diamond.

Jean: Oh, fine. What's this? What's his problem?Joyce: He doesn't feel well.Jean: Yeah, right. Dry that one out and you can fertilize the lawn.

Heard that you were feeling ill, headaches, fever, and a chill. I've been sent to restore your pluck..cause I'm the nurse that likes to.. (door slam)

Ferris: If you're not over here in fifteen minutes, you can find a new best friend.Cameron: You've been saying that since the fifth grade.

Ferris: Only the meek get pinched. The bold survive.

Girl in hall at the high school talking to Ferris on the phone: Ferris how's your bod? (Brian's favorite)

WRCF

This is the result of the quiz I nabbed from Abby's blog:
20 Questions to a Better Personality
Wackiness: 54/100 Rationality: 56/100 Constructiveness: 56/100 Leadership: 44/100
You are a WRCF--Wacky Rational Constructive Follower. This makes you a Paul Begala.You are unflappable and largely unconcerned with others' reactions to you. You were not particularly interested in the results of this test, and probably took it only as a result of someone else asking you to. You have a biting wit and intense powers of observation. No detail is lost on you, and your friends know it--relying on you to have the facts when others express only opinions. You are even-tempered, friendly, and educated. Foolish strangers may mistake your mildness for weakness--they will be surprised.You entire approach to life is enviable (I don't feel this way most of the time anyway). You will raise good kids (this I agree with) .Of the 83510 people who have taken this quiz since tracking began (8/17/2004), 4.8 % are this type.

Paul from Penncrest!

Well this is totally freaky and without tribe, I wouldn't have found out about Paul DiMeo coming from my hometown of Media, PA.

I joined The Ty Pennington tribe there and was going through their Ty links and went to the Extreme Makeover Home Edition show one. I had just told the gals there that my second favorite person on the above show was, you guessed it Paul! So I went to his bio page and lo and behold, the second paragraph said he was from Media! Now this is driving me crazy because I don't remember him and I liked a lot of people in his class. I saw his name in the Penncrest alumni book and he graduated in '76, the year before I did. Now I am hoping that the kid with glasses who touched the merchandise without asking in the stairwell at the old Media Jr high was not Paul! I told my son this and he got a good laugh. When and if I find the '76 yearbook, I am scanning his photo and sharing!
A little update: Paul probably has a sister Dianne! Now this is getting bazaar!! I happen to be looking at a Penncrest Alumni page and saw a Dianne DiMeo B-something.

Poor deer

Just looked at the thermometer and it's a balmy 14 degrees out. So glad I food shopped yesterday. I ate almost the breakfast I was suppose to-2 turkey sausage links with a regular English muffin and a slice of honeydew. They wanted me to eat a whole wheat muffin. I want to make the beef stew for dinner, so will have to sub the lunch for something else as I don't want to eat beef for two meals in a row.
So I got up and looked out the bay window and there is a deer across the stream and up on the hill. He is just sitting there with his head up like a statue. Brian said he had been there hours! If he wasn't wild, I'd surely him in and lay him by the fire. I wish he would snuggle up next to another deer for warmth!
Yesterday probably the same deer and his sibling walked right through the backyard close to the house. I had to show Cosmo the cat and he was really interested! When they took off down the hill, Cosmo did a double take like, 'what the heck?'
As I said earlier, it's all the new houses around here pushing the deer closer to my house. The land behind us is very hilly, so I don't see houses there in the near future, hopefully. So that means with deer in my yard, I'll have more ticks which can carry Lyme Disease, and I don't care to get a double dose of that. I heard there are Guinea hens that eat ticks, through Christie Brinkley when she was on the Rosie O'Donnell show a few years ago. Seems that both women lived in Connecticut and had tick problems. Christie bought the hens and it helped! I wouldn't mind having them though they are dirty and their coops need cleaning out all the time. I am sure hawks or other wild life would be interested in them as a snack. I wouldn't mind having a few sheep and goats, but don't know if we are allowed to. The guys wouldn't want to be bothered either. What to do, what to do?

Dead or Alive?

This sounds a little morbid, but in fact this is a very interesting website. Not only does it answer its own question, you get to see who has a birthday today, who shares your birthday, who croaked on your birthday, who died young etc. For instance, I believe it was the late Sharon Tate's birthday a few days ago. I only knew this because I was looking at the above site. And by coincidence, Brian was watching 'Valley of the Dolls' which she was in and was she really gorgeous too.
Speaking about celebrities, I've always enjoyed following them because of my mom. She use to play with celebrity paperdolls when she was little in the 1930-40s. (She said she had them for years until they got ruined in a flood or something). Now mom collects the Tom Tierney Dover Publications paperdolls. So through her, I knew all the old time movie stars and all the dirt surrounding them. I had a major crush on Rhett Butler aka Clark Gable. Sounds weird since he died when I was a baby, but he was a dashing gent. And I just read that he died 3 days before my first birthday. And I loved his one wife Carole Lombard.
If you really want to explore dead celebs or famous people look here.

Doing better

I do feel better today. I still am not 100% (still have that burning occas), but that's to be expected. I always hope I don't pick up a companion bug when I have to go to the doctor. I was hungry this morning. Not ready for the ediet yet since I had to go grocery shopping first. I did go and had an elaborate shopping list which I left folded up on the table! I did forget some things like brown rice and tofu (wonder why?), so we had a stir fry for dinner. I wasn't really going to go to the store, but since it warmed up to around 40 I headed out.
I had a piece come off the front of my lower tooth chip off last night. Darn-I was just at the dentist a week ago today and think that's where I picked up the bug I had. It's a filling right next to the gum line. I wondered why it felt like a crater near my gum and some ugly brownish tooth was showing there! So I made an appt to go on Friday to get it fixed. Sometimes the dentist will fix a tooth and if he feels he was the one who messed up, then he won't charge. I'm not holding my breath though.
We got a letter from 'Pillsbury' with the Delaware Valley College address. Seems the Vice Prez of Operations went to the same school and is recommending this. I would have loved to get a little doughboy as a gift from him!
Speaking of college-Sean is pretty sure he is attending Penn State down near my mom's in Delaware County in the fall. He will have to get a car and he wants one really bad.
Did you happen to see Oprah's miracle show yesterday? It was really neat. One couple met because the guy was the woman's only match in like 5 million to be her bone marrow donor. She had leukemia and was given about 9 months to live. Well, Diana and David met, became friends and fell in love! That is truly a Valentine's Day story. Imagine falling in love with the only person who could save your life! Pass me the chocolate please! : )

Just joined ediets.com

This wasn't exactly the best day for me to join a diet group, but seeing the scale at the doctor's office made me realize I need to at least try something. I saw the commercial for ediets on tv over the last few days. One thing I wouldn't want to do is get weighed in front of a group of people and losing weight in the privacy of my own home sounded better to me. ediets.com is less than $12.00 a month. You have to stay with them for at least 3 months. I like that you can change your diet plan, etc. I had the first printed out that included
milk and dairy. I can't hack drinking milk, never could. So I took off the milk and added a few meals of fast food. I have chosen packaged foods and
meals you have to prepare from scratch. What's nice is that you can print out the meal plans, the recipes and the store list-yippee! And the meals sound pretty good. I'll keep you posted on when I actually start. I have a weigh-in on the 1st of Feb. hope I at least lose a few pounds. I told them it was going to take me over 6 months to lose 40 odd pounds. I need to start exercising more too. All this food talk is hurting my stomach. I had a grilled chicken sandwich from McDonalds for dinner and that was on the list, but had milk companion. I had ice tea.

Stomach invader

I had burning in my gut like I swallowed a match this morning. I did sleep well though, but when my stomach was really empty it started to bother me again around 7:30 am. I did everything a person can do with a GI problem-belch, toot, have belly gurgling like a brook, but no cookie tossing-thank goodness! I bit the bullet and went to the doctor because I swear I have an ulcer that acts up when I have tummy trouble. The doc said no ulcer, but a tummy bug! So I have to watch what I eat and drink 'the pink stuff'. I have no fever and my blood pressure was fine. Weight wasn't cool. I don't know where those numbers come from especially when you've been in my predictament.
I screwed up my eBay listings last night. The form was set for 1 day auction, so all of the new ones end today. I am hoping there are some cross stitchers out there who want some new leaflets!
Off to make some soup.

The Great Karnak and Dolly's Boobs

Those are the moments that will always remind me of Johnny Carson. I loved how sometimes he would crack up before he blew the envelope open and read what 'The Great Karnak' (see the comparsion in the link) said. His skits were almost like 'Laugh-in' type humor. Although I like Jay Leno, there was something about staying up late and catching Johnny Carson on 'The Tonight Show' when I was a kid in high school. How could you not remember when he said 'he'd give a whole year's salary' to get a peek under Dolly Parton's top! Wonder if she let him look?
It was a show where Johnny and his guests all smoked like chimneys. Too bad it took him in the end because emphysema is a nasty thing. I guess they went 'HERE'S Johnny!!!!!' at the pearly gates. (I saw this blog at the beginning of Feb. and all the comics did this-put Johnny at the pearly gates!)

Worst day of the year?

I have to admit I felt lousy today. I don't like Mondays as it is, but my gut was doing some 'house-cleaning'. I tried all the remedies so far except Maalox. That is coming next so I think. I am trying to keep busy and all. I took a shower and was standing at the sink and just had a funny feeling go through me. I sure hope whatever isn't happy in there has moved out!
My friend just wrote in my MSN group about the 24th being the worst day of the year. Isn't this a young year though? I guess they mean 'the season' of winter. Her BBC blip was full of math and my head was spinning. Thanks for sharing Charlotte...

Misery is expected to peak on Monday, as 24 January has been pinpointed as the worst day of the year. January has been long regarded as the darkest of months, but a formula from a part-time tutor at Cardiff University shows it gets even worse this Monday. Foul weather, debt, fading Christmas memories, failed resolutions and a lack of motivation conspire to depress, Cliff Arnalls found. GPs say reading up on depression and exercise are ways to beat winter blues. "Yes, we do see lots of people with depression and anxiety in the winter months. "The message is it's not a terrible disorder, people do get better," Dr Alan Cohen told BBC News. JANUARY BLUES DAY FORMULA 1/8W+(D-d) 3/8xTQ MxNA. Where: W: Weather D: Debt T: Time since Christmas Q: Time since failed quit attempt M: General motivational levels NA: The need to take action "Exercise and bibliotherapy - reading a number of books to allow people to understand their own symptoms and how to control them," were initial treatments, he said. The formula for the day of misery reads 1/8W+(D-d) 3/8xTQ MxNA. Where W is weather, D is debt - minus the money due on January's pay day - and T is the time since Christmas. Q is the period since the failure to quit a bad habit, M stands for general motivational levels and NA is the need to take action and do something about it. GPs say exercise will boost spirits Dr Arnalls calculated the effects of cold, wet and dark January weather after the cosiness of Christmas coupled with extra spending in the sales. He found 24 January was especially dangerous, coming a whole month after Christmas festivities. Any energy from the holiday had worn off by the third week of January, he said. By Monday, most people will have fallen off the wagon or abandoned the nicotine patches as they fail to keep New Year's resolutions. That compounds a sense of failure and knocks confidence needed to get through January. The fact that the most depressing day fell on a Monday was not planned but a coincidence, he said. BBC news

Go iggals....I mean EAGLES!!! 

The sounds of silence

Over the weekend we got dumped on with about 12" of snow. That's a good deal of snow for us. We've had more in the past, but you'd think we had a major blizzard the way the news aired all day Saturday with updates. It makes me a little nervous. First I think of what happens if someone is sick and needs to go to the hospital? Then I worry about the power going out since we've lived without power for a number of days, but not in this kind of bone chilling weather.
The most remarkable thing to me about snow is how quiet it gets. Especially having a snowy weekend. Yesterday, hardly any cars went down our usually busy connecting road. It was nice. Just looking at snow is nice, it's like icing on a cake when it first covers the evergreen branches and tree trunks. It can melt whenever it wants though. : )
~~~~~~
Of course I have to give a shout out to THE EAGLES!!!!! It's been 24 years since we've been in the Super Bowl, back when Ron Jaworski was playing. A little remembrance of that time-my mom worked in the career office at Widener College where the Eagles use to practice. One day 'Jaws' came in the office for something and saw my photo on my mom's desk and remarked that I was pretty. Ah, a football moment.

Red sparkles

The other day I was hustling down our long hallway and something caught my eye. There were red dots moving on the wall! An extraterrestrial? Now we have hardly had any sun in 2 weeks, so this was even more dazzling to me. What it turned out to be was my grandmom's necklace! It was hanging down from the front of a birdhouse on a stand I have in our bedroom. Mom decided to give me these round red crystals for Christmas. I'd say they are at least 2 feet or more long, so you can wrap them around or leave them hanging long. Mom, my grandmom and I have all worn them for special occasions. The thing is, the clasp is weak and I am afraid to wear them until they get fixed. So I hung them on this stand on the perch area. On the roof is this jeweled bodice that I found over at my f-in-law's house that belonged to Brian's mom. It's definitely from the 1940s or50s. It's my favorite color mostly of teal/aquamarine with pretty beadwork, etc.
Speaking of Brian's mom, she is in my dreams every once in a while. She passed away in August, 1996. Now the men here had no memorial service or anything, so to me there was never any closure like we had for my grandmom. The dreams are so weird. I tell Brian I think his mom is trying to tell me something. She just shows up and I ask her where she's been. Then I feel strange because I have some of her possessions like jewelry that Bri's dad gives me for almost every holiday. Then I wake up! Dreams are funny things. I talked to my great aunt not that long ago. I found this...
Dreams of Grief 2 Patricia Garfield
Are these dream images of the dead simply memories of them, infused by
our imagination, to help us cope with grief during bereavement? Are they part of
an internal process we employ to adjust to loss and assist us in solving daily
problems? Or are dream images of the dead actual encounters with the spirit of
the deceased? Elisabeth Kübler-Ross thinks they are, calling dreams about the
dead "true contacts on a spiritual plane."1
There is no way yet known to prove either position: that dreams about the
dead are "real" contacts; or that they are images conjured by the dreamer to
meet psychological needs. Regardless of what may be the facts, we know that
bereaved people dream about the lost person; that their dreams are
exceptionally vivid, emotionally packed, and may dramatically alter the life and
belief system of the dreamer.



So the snow is coming. Over a foot maybe? I went to the food store yesterday, that was a smart move! Mom went today and had to wait in a mile long line. I did run out to mail off some eBay stuff and get a few things at the drugstore. I plan to clean while cabin bound.

Sean is finished his midterms and stopped by the video store and rented out three movies, one of which is Garden State. I have Zach Braff's blog over on the side bar there. I like Zach. He reminds me somewhat of a Jewish version of a guy I had a major crush on in college. The guy turned out to be gay. (I still think about him, darn you John!)We watched the movie and it was pretty good. Gee, I'm almost a Jersey girl, ya know? Sean is watching the bloopers now. They were pretty funny.They said the 'f' word way too much. Why is that word so popular? Call me old-fashioned, but as my mom always said, and I agree, it shows a lack of vocabulary. Not to say it doesn't slip out of my mouth once in a while, but I feel guilty saying it afterwards (is it a mom thing?). Anyway, the soundtrack is awesome. And now I want to see Natalie Portman in the movie version of the book I'm reading-Where the Heart is.

Language of Flowers Amaryllis

This is from a lovely book I have.
Amaryllis means:
~~PRIDE~~
The dazzling splendour of the amaryllis in full bloom has often been compared to a haughty, beautiful woman, in her prime and fashionably dressed, who eclipses the quiet attractions of those all around her, although their beauty is often destined to outlast that of their proud and disdainful rival.
"When Amaryllis fair doth show, the richness of her fiery glow,
The modest lily hides her head; the former seems so proudly spread
To win the gaze of human eye, which soonest brightest things doth spy.
Yet vainly is the honour won, since hastily her course is run;
She blossoms, blooms-she fades, she dies-they who admired, now despise."
A humbling lesson to the young and vain. The word amaryllis signifies splendour in the Greek language.

My flowers in the winter-amaryllis. I didn't think they would sprout. A little African Violet food 'woke them up'. Two stems and 6 blooms! 

Rachael Ray-my favorite tv personality right now

I can't get enough of this spunky little chef from New York. It was her Food network show $40 a Day that got me hooked watching Rachael. One of the first on these shows I watched was her trip to Philly and she went to the Reading Terminal Market, a place I've been to and enjoyed in town. If you watch this show, you'll have to eat because along with Rachael's show '30 minute meals, you'll get so hungry. She really enjoys what she is eating, a true 'foodie'.
I did get one of Rachael's cookbooks 'Cookin' around the Clock' for Christmas. I have a few recipes ready to try.
Notice I am utilizing the link feature lately. Thanks to my pal Abby for getting me hooked doing that.

Dare I say snow?

Damn this weather! I had to go out in the white stuff to run some errands, though it had just started. We tend to make a big stink out of an inch of snow. What bugs me is when it is blowing all over the place and in your face. I had to mail off some packages, get some money and go to the dentist to get two fillings replaced. I didn't slip around, but didn't see a white car until they put their headlights on and almost pulled out in front of them.
I really like my dentist, Dr. Paskow. He is so calm and nice, almost like the dentist on the Extreme Makeover show. My mouth is hurting me from where he had to remove the metal rim they put in to help hold the filling in place. My teeth aren't too bad for someone my age. I have my trademark front tooth gappy smile. : )
I begged Brian to run down to McDonalds (I did say I was watching the scale, but no way was I cooking with a sore mouth tonight).
On to a hopefully quiet evening.

Freezing

I absolutely hate this kind of weather. We go from the high 60s not even a week ago to 0 wind chill today. Sean is taking my van every day this week he has to go in. It's mid-term week for him. Tomorrow he doesn't have any. Thursday he is visiting the guidance office to see if she can help him make up his mind about college.
My scale isn't being nice to me. I don't feel like I've gained 5-6 pounds. It's because I am stuck inside and can't walk it off I guess. I have been snacking more too. I am telling Brian to drink water when he feels hungry, and I am not living by my own words.
My mom had wanted me to watch a show on Lifetime called 'How Clean is Your House?' I finally caught a couple of back-to-back episodes last night. It is hosted by two English ladies, Kim and Aggie-60ish I guess. The houses they went to 'inspect' were some of the nastiest places I have ever seen. The ladies actually get down on their knees to smell spots, etc. I guess they have strong stomachs! They also will take dust or pet hair samples and get them analyzed. There was some bad stuff in the two homes-black mold and something else that could make your lung bleed! Now the question to me is how could two fairly intelligent people let their homes go to pot? They weren't invalids. The man was retired but worked on cars all day long. The woman, who was a little younger than me, worked. Who lets cats take dumps under the bed where you sleep? Cat poo is really strong. How could she just ignore that? So they go back to the houses in 2 weeks, and the man kept his looking really nice. The lady had piled stuff in her living room again, but said she is 'going through it slowly' and taking it to the thrift shop. She needs to join 'Hoarders Anonymous!'
~~~~~~~~~
I did call Quiznos, not Quizmos-lol and complain about the sad Philly cheesesteak we brought home Sunday night. The guy sounded like he wasn't that much older than Sean. Said they weighed the meat for the sandwich. I said, no way was that enough meat for a large sandwich. He said I could come in and 'have one on the house'. Said to say 'King' okayed it. I don't know too many people with that as a first name, or maybe it was his last name that he goes by. But then Sean said, 'It's Martin Luther KING day!' I actually made Brian call the place up a few hours later to confirm that King did work there and he did.

Miles and miles....and then the Golden Globes

Our day was a little hectic. We found our way up to the Delaware Valley College (60 miles one way) that Sean was thinking about attending and in the dead of winter, it was nice, small and not really exciting. Beautiful land and lots to do down on Rt 202. Sean and I got out of the car (we had to take the Taurus and it was really cramped for me in the back). I took some photos of the buildings-some were really old and needed paint. Sean even posed in front of the library.
We went down the road 10 miles to a favorite restaurant that serves brunch called 'Cock and Bull' and enjoyed that. It was so chilly today and to walk in and see the huge hearth and a fire burning made it warm and inviting. The food here is I think prepared by cooking students. They have the best pastries and even had red velvet cakes-petite fours dipped in white icing.
We had seen a few places we wanted to go on the way home, but Brian didn't get on the correct road after brunch and we ended up missing the stores. We also got off at the wrong exit on the PA turnpike and had to backtrack. We don't travel that often and seem to always do this everytime. I don't know if this dampened Sean's prospects about going to school there. I told him you just get use to the trip and will know it like the back of his hand in no time.
We stopped at my mom's and did a few things for her-I vacuumed, Brian was checking her older car out, Sean was moving things around. Mom seems better.
On the way home we stopped and drove around Penn State, Delaware County, the college Sean could attend if he lived at home. It's about 18 miles away. Brian went there and said it's much larger (buildingwise) than what it use to be.
We got home and vegged. No one was hungry, but Bri and I split a Philly cheesesteak from Quizsno. It was a joke. Hardly any meat in it and full of that gross white cheese sauce and too many onions. I knew the girl who made it, she's in Sean's class at school. I plan to call and complain about the joke of a hoagie that cost $6.99. Here's what a real Philly Cheesesteak looks like.
We watched the Golden Globes. Of course Robin Williams was hysterical and poignant at the end of his endless 'comedy routine' when he mentioned Christopher Reeve being an angel.
I must be getting old or something, as I didn't see most of the shows or movies that were nominated. I think there are a lot of cable shows we don't get. I like to see what the celebs are wearing too. I could never even afford one of their shoes!

Noah's ark weather

Yet another post about the weather. My friend in Illinois usually sends over her weather, except we haven't gotten any measurable snow yet. Thanks for that Karin! It's been raining since late last night. The wind was really howling and so was Brian! He snores in different styles. Since he's been using his ab-lounger, it's been bothering his knees, so he is having trouble falling asleep. I can't catch the winks before 2:30 am it seems, but last night it was because of my mom.....
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So I went to the doctor with mom, didn't go near the office, but sat in the lobby. The 23 mile trip to her house takes at least 50 minutes now. For some reason, when I was about 10 minutes from her house, I got really bad cramps like when I was a teenager. So I got to moms and begged for a Tylenol which she didn't have. She was hurting herself because she hadn't had a pain pill since the day before. I did find her last Advil and took that thank goodness. It got me through the rest of the day. (Later she bought some Tylenol).
So mom was in and out of the doctor's in 1/2 hour. She lost 3 much needed pounds, from 115 to 112. She is on the old pain killer. We went to the coffee shop there and split a sandwich. Then we drove over to the thrift shop. They didn't have a lot, but I got a 'Trading Spaces' fairly new book for 25 cents. The lady who work there had a familiar name and I went to school with her son. I had another guy in my mind and my mom corrected me! Those two guys looked alike.
Off to CVS for the pills and then to Trader Joes for some cool food items. I grabbed an Arby's roast beef on the way home.
Mom called around 9 and said she had continued her 'crying spell' that she had after I left. Think she is withdrawing from the other pain pill! Said she missed me terribly. Made me feel terrible.
I called her this morning and she didn't sleep hardly at all last night. Hopefully she'll switch gears ok and feel better. I worry so about her.
Sean is home today for a 4 day weekend. We are going to take down the Christmas tree-stop laughing! It was too pretty to take down plus I haven't been up to it.

Pea soup and blah weather

I see Mindy beat me to mentioning about the fog. It's really bad in the surrounding area of Philly all today. And she can quote 'Monty Python' and she did it in two posts! I use to watch all their olds shows on PBS as a teen and didn't miss any of their movies. I had a major crush on Michael Palin and still smile when I see him on talk shows.
I miss the sun! I get really 'foggy' in the brain when I can't sit in the warmth of the sun. I hope I feel more chipper tomorrow as my mom wants me to go to the doctors with her. I am a bit paranoid of hospitals during flu season. Think I will unload her in the waiting room and go sit in the lobby. Hope we can at least go to the thrift shop there. Once I found a bowl that matched my 1960s Franciscan dishes there! Their prices aren't as reasonable as the Goodwill. I need a shopping fix. Our budget has been driving me crazy! I now shop mostly for eBay, but I can't help but buy what I like too.
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My MSN group is so far a hit! I have most of my good stitching friends there, 11 with me so far. We are sharing recipes too. I hope it is popular.

Eating into blogger time...

Things have been moving rapidly here meaning that Sean has heard from 3 out of 4 colleges he applied to. He got accepted at Penn State annexes in Delaware Co and Altoona Pa-got the big 'welcome' package. Then he got two rejections-one on Saturday and one today. Something was wrong with Sunday's letter. Said his academics were not good. Being a doting mom, I just couldn't let that one go. So I wrote a letter to the director of admissions reminding him that Sean has a 3.0+ average. Not only as a senior, but through all this high school years. Didn't the assistant director from the above mentioned school call us tonight! I didn't answer at first because I wanted to compose myself and be able to reply without stumbling as I was nervous. He called back after I had left a message and said that they hadn't seen both Sean's ACT and SAT grades. So he said the director didn't know what to do about Sean and handed him the letter. He said because my boy is so studious, he should be accepted! So he wants me to call tomorrow to confirm Sean's acceptance now. Woo-hoo-where are we getting all the money for this expensive school!? (financial aid would similar to the cost of a modest house). Let's say, maybe Sean will go here a year or two, if he wants to go there.
We were bummed about the other school dropping the bomb on him. I have an email to them too. We'll see if I get another call.
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Also got 'dared' to start a group on MSN because most of my friends from a Yahoo group aren't budging and staying put there. Three of the ladies from Yahoo joined my group! I have all my stitching pals (most of them-hey Mindy!!!) as members. It should be a fun group!
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Almost finished a very involved cross stitch piece for Love Quilts. If I wasn't on here, I'd of finished it up tonight. No more backstitching for a while.

Congrats to my son Sean for his acceptance into two Penn State annex campuses today!  

Did you feel the earth move....?

Ok, I'm just being silly. I mean I was actually sorting and tidying up my desk and eBay stuff. I tossed about 2 yrs worth of old sale receipts from eBay and went through the printer paper and stuff. When we got the new desk, it ate some storage space, plus I wanted to put my 'eBay box' in the corner in the family room out of my living room where it is hidden more. I hope it works out in here as I don't have a great writing surface. Yet another desk with no real writing space. I may set up a tv tray (we have nice wooden ones) or use my lap desk (from Bombay that I haven't really used). It's nice to utilize space and items. The problem is one of our speakers needs to be mounted on one of the walls next to the desk. I'm holding my breath. It's stuck in the corner here right now.
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Brian came home with a swollen right arm! It's below his elbow and is warm to the touch. Maybe he lifted the trash bins incorrectly last night and pulled a muscle.
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One of my friends from a Yahoo groups was bad mouthing blogs. Now she knew me and another lady have had one for a few months and I was kinda pissed about what she wrote. This particular lady has a humorous writing style, similar to Erma Bombeck. I told her a blog is right up her alley. No response yet. This Yahoo group is a nice group of ladies, but I really am getting annoyed by the format. I get 'daily digests' and there are at least 2-3 of them with 25 messages in each. I have to scroll through either really long messages or short ones and many of the ladies have 'signatures' with what they are stitching on, where their photos are, etc. Too much. I complained again about it and suggested they move to MSN groups-nice and tidy. I even sent an example of a site (and I know the moderator too). Let's see what they say. If anything is 'out of style' it's the Yahoo groups. I use to be joined to a dozen and whiddled it down to maybe 5. I am a group leader of a James Taylor group, took it over from someone, and hardly get any posts there. The best find for me was Tribe! I love meeting people and all the quirky groups that you can join.

Searching for potato soup...

Doesn't that sound interesting? We are on a tight budget right now and I am cooking more. So I decided to look for a decent potato soup recipe among my huge cookbook collection. Martha didn't have any, not the soup book I got from Jessica's Biscuit, not in Bobby Flay, not my friend Barb's Headless chicken cookbook (don't they eat potatoes out west?) not even in 1,000 recipes! I couldn't find my beloved Fanny Farmer. Then I found some in the Farm Journal cookbook with the very aged yellow pages. I picked a recipe (there for even about 4) that didn't call for chicken broth. Now that I think about it, chicken broth really gives soup some body and taste. I had to mix butter with 3/4 cups of flour. That made the soup taste very pasty. I when started to throw in some garlic, parsley, dill and finally cheddar cheese which helped. I could have figured that recipe out myself! We also had tuna salad. We have soup and sandwiches once in a while which isn't that easy for me as I make everything from scratch.
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Sean and I started to watch 'The Terminal' with Tom Hanks. Is there any movie he does that he isn't good in? I guess his greatest failure was 'Bosom Buddies' though it really wasn't a failure but a lame tv show. This is definitely one of those movies that you could watch a few times. I asked Sean if he thought I looked like Catherine Zeta Jones (mom told me I was on her line) and he said 'not really'.
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There was a new episode of 'Lost' on. I like that show. It's definitely like a good book. I especially like when they do the 'flashbacks'. Is there anyone on that show who's ugly?
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My mom called and said my Uncle Don is good for the time being. He had to have his bladder cauterized and the doctor said it didn't look that bad. UD had been having some bleeding. He was told to drink lots of water. It was being suggested a few weeks ago that he may have to have his bladder removed. I swear UD is like a cat with nine lives.
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I started to list on eBay again--------------------------------------->Moonlitstitcher
I already have one bid. I really love selling things and wish I could even invent a million dollar selling product. We've got to get the old wheels spinning in our brains.

A weighty issue

I thought that Brian was a certain weight and then it turns out he was about 20 pounds over what I thought! And he's wondering why he has arthritis in his knees! I have some issues, but during the holidays, I eat more and thus have gained about 5 pounds. I'm not proud of it, but I will now go back to my boring eating habits and nibble foods. I am overweight, but have stuck around the same weight for years. Brian got an ab-lounger for Christmas and it's all set up, but he hasn't used it yet. Most of his weight is in the middle. I am flabby there myself. I want to try it too, but I want him to test drive it first since it was his gift. I have gotten him to only eat one serving of dinner for two days. This has been a major hassle. He is also just 'eating foods that grow' as snacks. I hear him out there munching and crunching on carrots and celery. Will it last? I said he really eats too much bread. He'll be in the kitchen and eats a piece or two of bread as a snack. I do mostly buy wheat bread, but I can't believe the amount of bread that disappeared in less than a week. He has his drink orders too. He loves to go in the convenient stores and buy o.j. and diet sodas. I said to try water or green tea. He should be bringing along his own lunch and drinks. After he started this ad job, I noticed he blossomed more from eating out of the car everyday. I have to live by my own rules too. I just ate granola bars and one homemade chocolate chip cookie. I was having a major PMS attack. Better luck tomorrow when I will be home by myself.

HGtv dream house

Like who wouldn't want to win this:
www.hgtv.com
a gorgeous spread on Lake Tyler in Texas. Ok, we are really northerners, but to get a
free1.5 million dollar house,
well who wouldn't want to try and win. Brian and Sean both said they wouldn't want to live there, talk about jinxing us! I will say I loved the houses they had in Maine and Maryland, both a bit closer to Penna. I guess I have a better chance of getting struck by lightning. I wouldn't mind winning a home makeover either. Oh to dream!

Yeah to Diane Sawyer and Ann Curry!

Glad to see the above ladies over in the devastated countries doing what reporting they can. I think Brian Williams is over there doing the news. Wonder what they are staying in? I guess they have to go inland a lot. The report by Diane tonight on the news was about a man and his two kids from Salt Lake City, UT looking at photos of deceased people for his missing daughter. His other daughter only recognized her sister by the shirt she was wearing. So sad. Good for Sandra Bullock for donating $1 million. I hope other celebs follow suit. To see how happy the people are when the choppers come in with boxes of food is heartbreaking.
There are blogs popping up about the tsamani like crazy. I'll have to check some out.

3rd day in January....

...yep and things are getting back in order. Sean heads back to school in a few hours actual. We think he should have had the day off since New Years fell on a Saturday. Oh well. Brian goes back Tuesday. The house looks like it's been cleaned randomly. The tree and everything is still up, why rush to take it down? I remember my Italian friend waited until January 5th, 'Little Christmas'. I'm thinking the 9th or so. : )
Sean and I played a new game 'Scene It' where you get a DVD with film clips, etc. It was hard! He has looked at all his stuff so far. He's good at appreciating most of his gifts.
Please give what you can to the relief effort. I have provided a link through Amazon's fundraising efforts (thanks to Abby for the link)-------------->
Watched most of 'Gangs of New York' on the 'True' network (whatever the heck that is). It was a bit gory in parts, but great acting by Daniel Day Lewis. I can say I am glad I have hot water and soap available most of the time (we have power outages sometimes). Enough said.

Happy 2005 ya'll!

The years are zooming by it seems. Sean said he can't believe how fast even the days go by now at his young age.
Yesterday the three of us went to see Brian's dad and Bri tried to install a new VCR for him. We had given it as a Christmas gift for him. Bri couldn't figure out the cable wires or whatever so it's not hooked up. We went to dinner afterwards like we did last New Years Eve. I keep thinking about how many dinners out Sean will spend with us once he 'spreads his wings'. There were young couples with babies at the restaurant and the memories of when Sean was tiny came flooding back to me. He'll always be my baby.
After dinner we stopped by Kmart. There aren't too many left around here and the one in Exton was deserted too. I like the Martha Stewart stuff and have a growing Christmas ornament collection from years past-all 50% off.
When we got home we just vegged out. I got some Baklava out of the freezer and settled in to watch the different New Year's Eve shows. I had a little Irish Creme and then 'bubbly' later on.
Today Sean and I ran down to mom's to take her out a little while. She seemed really blue yesterday. We got some Chinese and went to Borders and got some half-priced calendars. I got the cross stitching daily one, but just for the patterns. My sister-in-law was taking down her tree already when we ran over to get belated Xmas gifts from my brother Don who lives in Florida. Don gave Sean an Einstein t-shirt and me a tote bag made from vintage 50s fabric. It's cool to see the lights on the way home. There are a few places that look like Christmas palaces with all the lights they have on their houses and in the yard.
One more day for Sean and two for Brian.