My place

Well, it's official. I'm an adult now. Although I suppose some might disagree.

I have entered the ranks of the "in debt because of this mortgage" While it's daunting, to say the least, it's cool too.
The first photo is what the house looks like now. The other is what it looked like on the day I signed the papers. And if you think that is a change you should see inside!
And you will. I will post construction photos from the first week to now.
Stay tuned.

Life lesson #4 aka What not to wear

This is another warning. This time it's more like what not to wear. And I swear this happened. I could not make this up.I was checking my e-mail from my newly repaired computer in my new house. And out of the corner of my eye I notice someone across the street.I noticed her because she was walking in high heeled boots and didn't seem too used to them yet. Sort of a wobbly walk.The next thing I noticed were the color of the boots. White. And I am not claiming any great knowledge of fashion, but even I know you don't wear white leather high heeled boots in the winter. And especially not tucked into black jeans. That was the horrifying part. I couldn't believe it. She looked like a go-go dancer or something.So please don't wear white shoes in winter and if you have dress boots wear them under your jeans and not tucked into them. But if you do know that the rest of the world has the right to laugh and point as you walk by.

Loving British Airways

This is more of a plug than advice.You've read the first class lounge story. Still one of my fondest travel memories. But here's another. Last year I decided I was tired of watching Dick Clark's New Year's Rocking Eve on TV. So I decided to go somewhere and have fun. The destination ended up being London. I love London. It's one of my favorite cities. So I booked my ticket. British Airways had the best price for my dates at the time. I chose the e-ticket option. We all remember what happened with the paper ticket. Not that it was a totally bad thing. But I didn't want to be on a first name basis with their customer service reps AGAIN. They even let you print your boarding pass at home the day before. Easy right? Yeah, wait for it. Well, I tell you I was damn grateful I did the e-ticket route. The shuttle pulled into JFK about 70 minutes before my flight was scheduled to board. I still had to check my luggage and find the gate in the horrifically overcrowded airport. I hear from my traveling buddy in Chicago(we were meeting in London) she's fine and boarding her flight to Gatwick. Lucky her. Now they call my flight. I wait for my seating rows to be called and they scan the barcode on my pass. I was in row 36 or something close to it. I upgraded to Coach plus for the wider seat and free newspapers. Hey, with nothing to for 6 hours I wanted something to read. So I bop down the jetway(narrowly avoiding being searched by the non-hunky security) and all the way to my seat. I have my coat off and am sitting down when....the jetway attendent comes up to me and tells me there has been a mistake. So they take me off the plane back to the gate. I will confess to being a little nervous. What kind of mistake? And can they fix it in under half an hour? It wasn't too nerve racking. The computer had a fit. It wasn't used to scanning the e-ticket boarding pass barcode. They gave my seat to someone else. But that was okay. Since it was their screw-up they upgraded me. Business class baby! Which reformed my thinking about just paying for the first class lounge. The extra money for leg room and food is worth it. They hung up my coat, got me a drink, gave me a menu for dinner. It was great! For the first time on an overseas flight I actually got some sleep. Everytime I fly British Airways something good always happens. I mean other than going to London.

If you can't be a good example v.2

Okay jump to mid December. Remember these are real life experiences that I hope you learn from so you aren't the horrible warning.For the last ten or so years the women in my family have gone to lunch and theater in New York City with the children.Most of the time we go to Radio City Music Hall for the Christmas show. But we've seen The Lion King and Mary Poppins and Beauty and the Beast too.My mother has bought the tickets for the kids. This year it was all 5 of my nieces and nephews. And she pays for the train ride, and usually lunch.So, you know, it adds up. Especially for the Disney shows.But most of the time she was glad to do it. Except for this year.First of all, my aunt and cousin get lost and blame Mom. They didn't pay attention to where they were going. In one of the biggest, busiest cities on the planet they let their attention wander. With 5 kids. Smart.Second, they don't understand that when theatre starts at 2, theater starts at 2. So hurrying is a good thing. You don't stop to put on hats or look at store windows or gawk at celebrities. It doesn't start at 2:30 or whenever you decide to get there.Third, please don't stand in the middle of the sidewalk on Broadway and dither about what you want to do next. I mean it's a pretty busy place. Same goes for Times Square. Unless you are taking photos with the Naked Cowboy. ;D But that's different.Okay, fourth and most important. When someone treats you to theatre and lunch and a train ride to NYC thank them. Offer them candy, or to pay for their lunch or buy them a souvenir. SOMETHING for crying out loud. Just to show them that you aren't totally selfish and self-absorbed.And fifth. It's standard etiquette to leave with the person you came with. Check Emily Post, Miss Manners, The Fabulous Girl's Guide to Etiquette, How to be a Lady, ect. So yes, that means sitting with them on the train, unless the train doesn't have enough seats when you get on. That's different.So here endeth the lesson. But stay tuned for lesson 3.

If you can't be a good example...

I read in a Jennifer Crusie novel a great quote. "If you can't be a good example you just have to be a horrible warning."This seems to be very apt for this past Christmas. At least in my family. We had drama this year. Drama that started in mid December and is still going on. The hell with the extra holiday pounds. With us we have extra psychological scars.Now I know why some people work in soup kitchens and hospices instead of going home to family. It's gotta be cheerier than what we went through.Now to be fair, the holidays are stressful. And sometimes little things get blown out of proportion to where they take on a life of their own.But that's not the whole story.The first inkling of trouble came in early December. My cousin Lori wanted to know why my brother and I were depressed(him) and mad at her(me).We had no idea what she was talking about. We assured her that nothing was wrong and forgot about it. But she didn't. She went on to inform her mother that my brother was still pining over his crazy ex girlfriend(HA!) and I was pissed at her for something. I still don't know what. Most likely because I haven't congratulated her on having another kid. So her mom called mine to talk it over and let her know that she was neglecting her kids. Just because she doesn't talk to us three times a day doesn't mean she neglects us or doesn't know what's going on in our lives there people.So this was just act I. Not that we realized it then. But more is coming.

Life lesson# 3

Good manners. They will take you a long way. Right into the first class lounge at JFK in fact. And let me tell you it's worth it. No one in first class is paying for the extra leg room and better food(okay maybe a few) they are paying to get into the lounge. Free food, free drinks, internet access, newspapers in every language, showers! Baggage check, couches and comfy chairs. It has it all. Even a restaurant and smoking area. It was nice. You see, on a family trip to Scotland British Airways made a slight error on our tickets. They printed them twice which drove the computer nuts. So my brother and I had to wait 45 minutes at the check-in counter. The reservations people were very nice about it and kept us up to date with what happened. There was nothing we could do. Yelling and stomping and blaming everyone else wasn't going to get us help any faster.(which is what the guy in front of us did) So we just hung out and waited patiently. Finally our tickets were fixed. We got prime seats in coach too. Near a bulkhead not too far from the bathrooms, but not too close either. See what being nice gets you? And the lounge. Ah, traveling Nirvana. A place we all aspire to, yet the deserving seldom see. As I said couches and comfy chairs with footrests. In leather. That swivel! And the food. Cookies, danish, cheese and fruit. Every type of drink. Juice, bottled water, soda, milk, tea and coffee(they had a do it yourself latte station) and alcohol. It was an open bar. Martini mix, high class rum, single malt Scotch(this was British Air) and wine. Ah, the French chablis. I had two glasses. And they had a wall of coolers with more beer than I ever knew existed. Japanese, Chinese, Belgian, Czech, German, American, British and Irish ales. My brother choose the Tsingtsao. I settled in with a few British tabloids, my wine and some fruit. I didn't even need to go anywhere. I did send a few e-mails to friends. Hey, they had the computers there. It would have been rude not to use them! We didn't use the showers or go to the restaurant. But there's only so much time before they call your flight. And you never have to leave the lounge to get on the plane. There's an elevator that takes you right to the gate. I felt like a rock star. Of course we did thank our mom for all of this. If she hadn't raised us with manners and intelligence we would have been flying strapped to the wings of the 747 that day. And first class would be a forgotten dream.

Life lesson #2

A few tips that I've learned this week. 1) No matter how expensive and fancy do NOT serve grilled cheese sandwiches at your wedding as a first course. Even with tomato soup. Or black truffle oil. Nothing can disguise the fact you are serving 400 people something they can make themselves. At home in their pajamas. 2) No one really wants to listen to Frank Sinatra for 90 minutes at top volume while eating dinner. (Or Barry Manilow, or techno pop, or 80's dance tunes or big band) Turn down the music for dinner. Let people talk for crying out loud. 3) Proofread. If you aren't sure about the spelling or grammar ask someone to look at it for you. Microsoft Word isn't the best guide for grammar advice. 4) Thank you notes are a good thing. 5) Patience and good manners will get you into the first class lounge if you didn't pay for it. I know. But that's another story.

Leadership is practised...

There's a quote I like about leadership. It's on a poster I saw once."Leadership is practised not so much in words, but in actions and in attitude." If only more people followed it.I recently got a part time job. Although calling it part time is a stretch since I put in 40 hours in 3 days last weekend.But the more I see of the managers at this place the more I am convinced that they need to follow this little piece of advice.Take this evening. Everyone is setting up tables for tomorrow. Everyone except the four managers.They are standing around talking amongst themselves and lecturing us on how to do things correctly.And once in a while one of them calls out the time. "It's 12:30. Hurry up you should be finished with this by now."Well, maybe we could all go home a little sooner, if you actually helped.If this keeps up I might offer a little 'constructive criticism'But for now I keep my head down, my mouth shut, and add up my paycheck in my head.

Baking

There's something comforting about baking. At least that's how I feel. And it's not really about the end result. Hey I won't turn down a well baked muffin, or cookie.And I have been known to eat a whole batch of chocolate chip cookies on my own over a week or two.But baking is fun and creative. If more people baked and shared(Important that!) life would be better. Baking teaches precision and patience as well.Ask anyone who missed an ingredient in a cake if precision isn't important. And patience. Have you ever waited for bread dough to rise? Baking bread is an all day affair. Maybe more than a day if you are going for fancy breads or croissants.Gives you a different perspective on people who do it all day. Not to mention I bet if you bake your own croissants you will never again complain about the bakery prices! But really there's nothing like homemade. No matter how long it takes. Okay it's made with love expression is cheesy and trite, but there's something to it.

Pampering

Three of my favorite Friday things. There is little to compete with the joy of having a good baseball game on the tube, a medium double cheese with mushrooms and beef and the current favorite ice cream du jour. Talk about bliss. Now, I don't do this every Friday. Maybe once a month. It depends on the game, what my ice cream mood is, when was payday. The usual variables. If you are ever looking for pampering and relaxation try it. It doesn't have to be baseball, pizza and ice cream. It could be Football, fondue and cheesecake. Or how about soccer, French onion soup and creme brulee? Combine your favorite sport, comfort food and dessert. Hang out in your most comfortable clothes in front of the tube. Invite some friends. Or not. It's up to you. Trust me. It's great.