The Thought of Snow Terrifies People...

Even though we live in New York, I swear the thought of snow must just scare people to death around here!  Tuesday is normally my shopping day and I know that I was terrified at the thought of going to the grocery store on a day like today when the snow was just waiting to start falling from the gray pink sky.  

I ran some errands and then headed to the stores; unfortunately, I couldn't help myself from hitting up TJMaxx before buying groceries for the week.  Let me tell you how much of a destresser it is to go and buy stuff when you know you have a gift card!  It's just so freeing!  I was going to head to Victoria's Secret to buy some new stuff, that was much in need, but instead I bought about six bras and twenty pairs of panties for about $70!  Insane right?!  I knew that stepping into TJMaxx would just make my day that much better before heading into a grocery store from H-E-Double hockey sticks!

It amazes me to see the look in people's eyes when they're shopping for a snow storm.  Like if they don't get in two hours of shopping eight hours before the storm starts, then all hell will break loose.  People bump in to you, they push you out of the way for things, and when the cart traffic jams start, no one will budge from their spot in order to let someone pass.  People are crazy!  Who needs four loaves of bread unless you are feeding a family of ten for a week!  It's a couple of inches of snow people, and we live in 2011, you are realistically not going to get stuck inside over a few inches of snow.  

I came home, amazed by my TJMaxx purchases and started up the crockpot.  How can you go wrong with the crockpot when a snow day is going to happen?  You can't.  It's perfect and the house smells amazing.  

I'm just really not looking forward to waking up in the morning to tackle the driveway.  Why can't snow days be like when we were kids and it was actually fun?  Stupid grown-up life.

Tuesday Tea Quote...

"Hair dye gets to the root of the problem."

—Salada Decaffeinated Tea

I Just Love His Eyes by Candlelight...

Sometimes I just need a date night.  Do you ever start feeling like you're in a rut with your hubby and you just need to get off of the couch and get a little dressed up?  Well, I'm one of those people who could go out every week, twice a week, three times a week... but who has the money for that?  Who has the time?  And wouldn't it get boring?  I don't know, but one day I'd love to find out.  I'm just waiting to hit Mega Millions, then maybe we'd have the time, money, and energy for date nights more often than we get them now.

Tonight we went to Nina, our favorite restaurant, well, my favorite restaurant, the hubby favors Peter's just a little bit more.

I love it there, and every time we go, I can't help but picture myself owning a restaurant just like it someday.  I think I have the same conversation with him every time we sit down about how I'd love to own something like it.  At least that's what he tells me.  I can't help it; great service, great atmosphere, and amazing food.  For our first anniversary my dad and his wife gave us a gift card for Nina, and four months later, we finally used it.  The entire $100 gift card, gone in one visit, and worth every dime.  Thanks guys!  We'll be enjoying it for lunch tomorrow too—just too much good food to let go to waste.

Now we're back to reality and date night is over.  I'm back in my sweatpants and his old sweatshirt with my hair twisted up, and he just got back from the gym and started cleaning up the kitchen from our lunch this afternoon.  Tomorrow it's on to the bathroom for me; toilets and tiles are my speciality.

Thank God for a date night to remind us of the days when going out on dates helped us fall in love and get to know each other.  Every time we go out I remember one of those dates and the happiness I felt when I knew I was falling in love with this man.  I always remember the look in his eyes when I knew he was falling for me; that look hasn't gone away.  I guess that's why I love date nights and I'll always look forward to them when they come around.

Happy New Year?...

I may just be one of those cynics who doubts the power of the new year and doubts the ability of people to change once a new year begins.  Everyone is making new year's resolutions and vowing to change for the new year, but over the years, I've finally stopped believing in the power of the new year.  I know that every resolution I've ever made has fallen on my own deaf ears.  I know that if I want to change a bad habit or start good ones, it's not going to happen just because the calendar happens to say January 1st.  

Does this make me a bad person?  Or just honest?

When I was a kid I would spend new year's eve with my Grama and my brother; he always went crazy cutting up confetti and then vacuuming it up later.  I loved watching the old shows that came on TV after midnight and eating popcorn.  I still love popcorn—thanks Gram!

When I was a teenager I was so caught up in the hype of new years.  I remember my parents going out and I was left to watch the ball drop on TV all on my own.  Just me and my teddy bear.  I would cry.  But why was I crying?  I don't think I even knew why other than that everyone on TV was partying with friends and snuggling up to the cutie next to them.  My boyfriend at the time wasn't home and I just felt so alone.  But why does it get so much more heightened because it's new year's eve?  Damn media and advertising.

Ever since I met my hubby I've had a new year's kiss at the stroke of midnight.  That I am thankful for.  I used to think that not being kissed at midnight was the worst thing possible!  Now, I hate to admit, I hate the idea even more, now that I know what it's like to have someone to hold for the new year and for every day after.  It's not about the power of new years, it's just knowing that with each year passing I become happier and happier that I've met the love of my life.  So, I guess I sometimes get caught up in the hype as well, even as an "adult."  After having years and years without it, I need my midnight kiss.

I work every new year's eve and I love to see people having fun.  Now I'm a part of those old memories I have from when I was a kid, I'm just not dancing it up; which is fine by me since I have two left feet.  I look forward to Twilight Zone marathons and Honeymooners marathons.  Now that is the joy of the new year; somethings that are old just never get old.  

So Many Toys to Play With, So Little Time...

This Christmas I received so many gifts that just touched my heart.  My family knows that I'm an old fashioned kind of girl; I love old movies (I finally have Casablanca!  What a beautiful movie!), antiques, and anything that looks retro.  I'm looking around our house right now and I just feel overjoyed with the gifts; my nativity scene is complete thanks to my hubby,

and I have a candle holder that is of Mary and Joseph with baby Jesus thanks to my Dad and his wife

—they're just beautiful additions to our house for the holidays.

I have two presents that I just can't stop looking at and smiling over; a retro phone and a retro radio.  I love them!  The phone is cordless, but looks like a retro rotary phone and the radio plays records, cds, cassettes, and has a hookup for my ipod!  

And today I received a gift from my mom that I just can't stop playing with: tons and tons of records!  They range from Michael Jackson's Thriller to The Carpenters.  Just like I love the smell of a book, I love the sound of a record! 

When I was cooking dinner for my hubby and folding laundry I couldn't stop listening to the raspy sound of the white noise from the records.  I loved every minute of.  Janis Joplin, Simon and Garfunkel, the Beach Boys—every record just makes me smile. 

Thanks mom for giving me a present that just keeps on giving and thanks to my hubby for giving me this retro piece so I have the ability to play them!  The last time I played records was when I was a little kid on my Grama's front porch storage room with my brother playing 45's on one of those small carrying case record players... needless to say, it's been a long time and I've missed that sound.  I can't wait to find old records and play them over and over again.  Now I just need to find a record holder so they don't get too scratched up!  So be on the lookout please... retro looking of course.

Tuesday Tea Quote...

Today's tea quote seems fitting for the conversation that I had with a friend today.  We both love to sing and it brings joy to our lives... sometimes it's just hard to find the nerve to sing your song...

"Those who wish to sing always find a song."

—Swedish Proverb

There Are Only a Few Things I Hate in Life...

Of the few things I hate in life, snow is one of them!  Well, not exactly the snow, but shoveling the snow, driving in the snow, and being just plain cold in the snow!  Don't get me wrong, I love to look at the snow, but when it comes to actually being in the snow, I've come to hate it!

In New York, we missed the white Christmas by a day, but I can't complain too much because there were a few snowflakes flying in the air.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't think I could live in a place where it's warm around Christmas; it's just, weird.  Although, I'm sure they're not complaining right now about the weather like I am.

Every year, my hubby and I argue over the clearing of our driveway.  It's one of the only things that we can't do without at least one spat.  It never fails.  He wakes me up way too early to help him shovel and I bitch and complain, but I put my winter jacket and boots on kicking and screaming!  I absolutely hate shoveling the snow.  My back hurts.  My feet get cold.  My glasses fog up.  The worst part of it all is, he doesn't give me the few minutes to get some warm caffeine into my system before working me to death.  Now, I may be exaggerating, but he's very OCD about how the driveway is cleared.

Now, first I have to say that our driveway is very steep.  If you come up our driveway, you have to use your parking break.  Every time.  And my little civic is not the best in the snow.  We only got about seven inches at our house, but when I came home from work early yesterday with only about three on the ground, my car still couldn't get up all the way.  It sucks!  I guess that's why the hubby insists on clearing the driveway until the blacktop shines.  First, we shovel out our cars, then we snow blow, then we get the shovels out and scrape it down to the blacktop.  Then, we either hope for the sun to shine or we put salt down to melt the last of it.  Then we have to clear a path for our stairs going up to our porch and our back porch and of course to our propane tank (did you know that you have to do that if you receive gas or propane from a company?  I didn't!).  It's just exhausting!  It took us about two hours today and I'm pretty sure that after we had lunch we both passed out for at least a half hour.  Ordering our lunch from the spot we like to go is kind of funny; I place the order and then they ask the name and when I say it's for my hubby they go, "Oh, it's for you guys!  Hi honey, we'll have that ready for you!"  It's kind of comical.  I guess we're eating out a little too much lately.  The ten pounds on my ass kind of helps tell that story a little better than my words could ever describe.

So, our snowstorm is over and our driveway is sparkling.  At the end of the day we're both so happy that it's over; we look at our neighbors' driveways and wonder why they would decide to wait until 6 p.m. to start shoveling and we're thrilled at our accomplishment.  Is it an accomplishment when you have the shiniest driveway on the block after a snowstorm?  Well, we think so.

We live in New York and we constantly wonder why the news overplays coverage of a snow storm.  We live in New York people!  It snows here!  Granted, the city got more than us this time around, but man can they beat a dead horse!  It snowed, wait for it to stop, stay at home until it's cleaned up, end of story, right?  Nope, never.  They need 24 hours of coverage like it's TBS covering "A Christmas Story"!

I survived the blizzard of 2010... or even better, I survived another round of my hubby and I clearing our driveway.  Go me!  Now, get me a heating pad, a blanket, and a cup of tea and I'll be happy.  Maybe some cuddle time too.