For anybody reading this (besides me!) you have probably noticed I have been gone. Well, not really gone, but gone from here...this place I record my thoughts, musings, memories, etc. Life has been busy, but then when is it not?!
So, I am here, for now and this is what is happening with me and mine.
My oldest is almost ready to graduate from college and I should be cleaning the house for all the people who will be here sooner than I will be ready for. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed! I start something, find an item that belongs somewhere else in the house, go to put that item away and...hours later I have done a lot, but not what I set out to do! Ack! Again!
Less than a month after she graduates, my oldest, my first baby, one of my darling girls will be moving away. Wow! I am excited for her and somewhat sad for me. I remember when I first moved out on my own...all the new things to do and learn, some scary, but mostly just exciting. You may have caught that I said "moving away". She is not just leaving home, she is "moving away". That is the hard part. Not in the same city, not in the same county, not in the same state! She is following her dream and that will take her many states away. Again, excited for her, rather sad for me. Ok, let's not dwell on that!
So, this Spring, besides planting flowers, readying my garden for veggies and cleaning all the cobwebs out of the corners, I will be helping this child of mine pack up her belongings (Most of them anyway! How many moms out there have a couple of boxes, at least, tucked away from a child no longer living under your roof?) and driving with her to sunnier climes. <sigh>
Again...let's not dwell on that! Too many things to accomplish before then!
Wish us both luck!
The Hopeful Romantic
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
New Year's Eve Tradition
Yes, I know the year is almost a whole day old, but I faded fast last night and was snoozing well before the midnight hour. I normally stay up until around midnight, but a couple of nights with less than perfect sleep left me wanting a nap yesterday. Unfortunately, I never got there. (Knew that already, huh?) Also, my youngest had plans with friends to celebrate the year in and couldn't be two places at once. So, tonight it is!
My family doesn't have a lot of traditions we stick to, but tonight (a day later than usual) we will have our New Year's Eve fete. Many years ago, my youngest came down with Fifth Disease the 30th of December. We had been invited to my aunt and uncle's house, but with a very contagious child, we had to come up with something else quick. My daughters were not very old, around 6 and 8 as I recall, but they knew that New Year's Eve was a big deal. Their father and I had promised they could stay up to usher in the new year (if they could stay awake!) and now with no party to go to we decided to have our own party.
We wanted to do something different for dinner and snack food wasn't special enough to make up for having to miss the party. After a bit of discussion we decided to have fondue. The search was on for the fondue pot. Tucked up on a shelf in the garage storeroom, we found the green fondue pot complete with color coded forks. After a good bath in the sink for the washable parts and a test run of the base, we were ready to go.
Now, for those thinking of cheese fondue, STOP! It was all the rage when I was in high school and I couldn't stand it then and certainly wasn't going to serve it up now. I am not against alcohol, but please don't put it in my food! To me, it is just a good way to ruin the cheese and the wine!
So, now that we are clear on no cheese fondue, you have probably figured out we had the hot oil fondue type or fondue bourguignonne. Meat and veggies cooked in hot oil. We had sauces for dipping...a garlicky sour cream, a ranch style and a hot one with a bit of punch! The meat and veggies were all cut into bite-sized pieces and we were ready to eat! The girls were thrilled to be able to "cook" their own food. There was a bit of a campfire feeling, just on hot dogs or marshmallows. There were a few "floaters", food that came off the fondue forks, that had to be rescued, but all in all it was fun and yummy.
We even made a chocolate fondue for dessert. We moved that to the living room coffee table so we could watch the festivities on the TV. We sat on pillows and noshed on bananas, pound cake and apples. So good!
When the next New Year's Eve rolled around the girls were raring to go with another night of fondue and a family tradition was born.
Tonight we are having chicken, beef, potatoes (sweet and white), mushrooms, red pearl onions and Brussel sprouts. The sauces are made and the food cut and waiting in bowls in the fridge. Time to go plug in the fondue pot and enjoy our New Year's Eve celebration!
Wishing you the best of 2012 and your own traditions!
The Hopeful Romantic
My family doesn't have a lot of traditions we stick to, but tonight (a day later than usual) we will have our New Year's Eve fete. Many years ago, my youngest came down with Fifth Disease the 30th of December. We had been invited to my aunt and uncle's house, but with a very contagious child, we had to come up with something else quick. My daughters were not very old, around 6 and 8 as I recall, but they knew that New Year's Eve was a big deal. Their father and I had promised they could stay up to usher in the new year (if they could stay awake!) and now with no party to go to we decided to have our own party.
We wanted to do something different for dinner and snack food wasn't special enough to make up for having to miss the party. After a bit of discussion we decided to have fondue. The search was on for the fondue pot. Tucked up on a shelf in the garage storeroom, we found the green fondue pot complete with color coded forks. After a good bath in the sink for the washable parts and a test run of the base, we were ready to go.
Now, for those thinking of cheese fondue, STOP! It was all the rage when I was in high school and I couldn't stand it then and certainly wasn't going to serve it up now. I am not against alcohol, but please don't put it in my food! To me, it is just a good way to ruin the cheese and the wine!
So, now that we are clear on no cheese fondue, you have probably figured out we had the hot oil fondue type or fondue bourguignonne. Meat and veggies cooked in hot oil. We had sauces for dipping...a garlicky sour cream, a ranch style and a hot one with a bit of punch! The meat and veggies were all cut into bite-sized pieces and we were ready to eat! The girls were thrilled to be able to "cook" their own food. There was a bit of a campfire feeling, just on hot dogs or marshmallows. There were a few "floaters", food that came off the fondue forks, that had to be rescued, but all in all it was fun and yummy.
We even made a chocolate fondue for dessert. We moved that to the living room coffee table so we could watch the festivities on the TV. We sat on pillows and noshed on bananas, pound cake and apples. So good!
When the next New Year's Eve rolled around the girls were raring to go with another night of fondue and a family tradition was born.
Tonight we are having chicken, beef, potatoes (sweet and white), mushrooms, red pearl onions and Brussel sprouts. The sauces are made and the food cut and waiting in bowls in the fridge. Time to go plug in the fondue pot and enjoy our New Year's Eve celebration!
Wishing you the best of 2012 and your own traditions!
The Hopeful Romantic
Monday, December 26, 2011
It's The Little Things
OK, so I am probably like a lot of others out there that don't get around to wrapping Christmas presents until the last possible minute. I always start out thinking I will wrap them as I buy them, but that never seems to happen.
So it was Christmas Eve and I had just started to assemble everything I needed. Scissors, tape, name tags, ribbon, gift bags (oh, where would we be without gift bags?!) and, of course, wrapping paper.
I like wrapping presents more than just sticking them in a gift bag, but that is why they were invented, right? To make it easier to wrap those things that are hard to disguise, hard to wrap, or for those of us that wait until the last moment!
I had bought a multi-pack of wrapping paper a few weeks earlier and since I wait (got that now right?) that paper was already open so I didn't have to remove the wrapping that would have told me about the wondrous surprise awaiting me! This was no ordinary wrapping paper. Yes, it was pretty and sturdy and plenty long, but...BUT, there was something about this paper I had never seen before. It had a graph-like design on the back. Yup, perfectly straight lines to assist those of us that tend to whack a length off and try to make up for less that perfect cutting with tape and creative folding.
I was so impressed with my find that I left the sewing room (wrapping room for the season) and went to tell my elder daughter how pleased I was with this paper. Apparently, we have had paper like this before. She told me so. She didn't discount the design, but it wasn't new. Oh well, new or not, I was pleased. Am pleased. From now on when I buy wrapping paper I will not just grab whatever looks pretty, but I will look for whatever clue I missed this time out and be sure to get the paper with the helpful cutting graph on the reverse.
Sometimes, just sometimes, it is the little things!
The Hopeful Romantic
So it was Christmas Eve and I had just started to assemble everything I needed. Scissors, tape, name tags, ribbon, gift bags (oh, where would we be without gift bags?!) and, of course, wrapping paper.
I like wrapping presents more than just sticking them in a gift bag, but that is why they were invented, right? To make it easier to wrap those things that are hard to disguise, hard to wrap, or for those of us that wait until the last moment!
I had bought a multi-pack of wrapping paper a few weeks earlier and since I wait (got that now right?) that paper was already open so I didn't have to remove the wrapping that would have told me about the wondrous surprise awaiting me! This was no ordinary wrapping paper. Yes, it was pretty and sturdy and plenty long, but...BUT, there was something about this paper I had never seen before. It had a graph-like design on the back. Yup, perfectly straight lines to assist those of us that tend to whack a length off and try to make up for less that perfect cutting with tape and creative folding.
I was so impressed with my find that I left the sewing room (wrapping room for the season) and went to tell my elder daughter how pleased I was with this paper. Apparently, we have had paper like this before. She told me so. She didn't discount the design, but it wasn't new. Oh well, new or not, I was pleased. Am pleased. From now on when I buy wrapping paper I will not just grab whatever looks pretty, but I will look for whatever clue I missed this time out and be sure to get the paper with the helpful cutting graph on the reverse.
Sometimes, just sometimes, it is the little things!
The Hopeful Romantic
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Homecoming!
My eldest got home last night from a week long trip. We were all happy to see her, but oh my goodness, our dog gave her the welcome we were all feeling!
Wiggling, wagging, running circles around her, all with that joyous "You're home!" attitude!
Everyone should get that sort of welcome when they return home. I am not so good and wagging and wiggling, but I will be sure that the joy shows on my face! How about you?
The Hopeful Romantic
Everyone should get that sort of welcome when they return home. I am not so good and wagging and wiggling, but I will be sure that the joy shows on my face! How about you?
The Hopeful Romantic
Thursday, December 15, 2011
An Off Day
I have a new favorite website - Pinterest.com!
So fun and such a potential for spending far too much time cruising through the photo, ideas, recipes, etc. For this site it is a must to watch the clock so I don't get carried away and forget to do anything else!
There was a saying I saw there yesterday that could apply to my today. "You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day." Yup, that was me today...all day.
It was my day off (from my paid job) and I had a list a mile long. OK, not really a mile long, but long enough I really needed to make a serious dent in it. Baking, decorating for Christmas, shopping, wrapping presents...you get the idea.
Problem was I was also trying hard to recover from whatever has crawled into my bod and kept me under the weather for the better part of a week. Why do we say 'better part of the week'? It most certainly was NOT the better part of my week. Oh well, another thought for another time.
So the moment of knowing that nothing more productive was going to get done came early, very early. Right after I crawled out of bed. I felt cruddy and one look in the bathroom mirror confirmed I looked cruddy too. Yuck!
So the list was set aside and replaced by a cozy comforter, a hot cup of tea and the TV remote.
Good thing it is almost tomorrow!
The Hopeful Romantic
So fun and such a potential for spending far too much time cruising through the photo, ideas, recipes, etc. For this site it is a must to watch the clock so I don't get carried away and forget to do anything else!
There was a saying I saw there yesterday that could apply to my today. "You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day." Yup, that was me today...all day.
It was my day off (from my paid job) and I had a list a mile long. OK, not really a mile long, but long enough I really needed to make a serious dent in it. Baking, decorating for Christmas, shopping, wrapping presents...you get the idea.
Problem was I was also trying hard to recover from whatever has crawled into my bod and kept me under the weather for the better part of a week. Why do we say 'better part of the week'? It most certainly was NOT the better part of my week. Oh well, another thought for another time.
So the moment of knowing that nothing more productive was going to get done came early, very early. Right after I crawled out of bed. I felt cruddy and one look in the bathroom mirror confirmed I looked cruddy too. Yuck!
So the list was set aside and replaced by a cozy comforter, a hot cup of tea and the TV remote.
Good thing it is almost tomorrow!
The Hopeful Romantic
Sunday, December 4, 2011
A Sad New Discovery
I was just in the kitchen getting ready for Sunday dinner. I love Sunday dinner! It is a time when all four of us try our darnedest to sit down together for a meal. The meal is not so important as the time together. Still I do try to cook something we all enjoy and usually something out of the ordinary.
The menu tonight includes Lemon Roast. It is my husbands favorite and the rest of us would never pass on this yummy dish. (This post is not about the recipe, but I will post it at another time.)
As the onions getting translucent in the pan, I unwrapped the roast and there was my sad new discovery. Under the label, on the side unseen until you peel off the plastic, was a small metal thingamabob. It only took a second to recognize the its function. It is designed to set off the alarms as you exit the store if the package has not gone through a scanner.
Now, I know that people steal and that they do it for all sorts of reasons. I will not condone those actions, but that this grocery store felt it necessary to insert this tiny device into the packaging made me sad.
Just one more time I feel the sadness at what our world has come to.
The (usually) Hopeful Romantic
The menu tonight includes Lemon Roast. It is my husbands favorite and the rest of us would never pass on this yummy dish. (This post is not about the recipe, but I will post it at another time.)
As the onions getting translucent in the pan, I unwrapped the roast and there was my sad new discovery. Under the label, on the side unseen until you peel off the plastic, was a small metal thingamabob. It only took a second to recognize the its function. It is designed to set off the alarms as you exit the store if the package has not gone through a scanner.
Now, I know that people steal and that they do it for all sorts of reasons. I will not condone those actions, but that this grocery store felt it necessary to insert this tiny device into the packaging made me sad.
Just one more time I feel the sadness at what our world has come to.
The (usually) Hopeful Romantic
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Learning To Say No...Sometimes!
I love learning! Let me repeat...I LOVE learning! There are lessons learned that I like more than others, but I like expanding my knowledge base and challenging my gray matter! OK, too many exclamation points, but that is how I feel!!!
Learning some things is certainly easier than learning other things. But you already knew that, huh?
There is one thing I have been wanting to learn for many years now. How to say "no". I had a boss many years ago that tasked me with saying 'no' to every salesman I had contact with for an entire week. I had just been promoted and being able to say 'no' seemed like a silly thing. What if they offered an wondrous deal? What if it was a limited time offer? But, I completed the task. I would listen to the pitch, ask questions and then say 'no'. Was that ever hard! I felt foolish at first, but as the week went by I began to see my boss's way of thinking. Even wondrous deals or limited time offers don't always deserve an answer in the affirmative. Being able to see beyond the snap judgement was a great thing.
So, I had learned to say 'no'. Right? Well, yes and no. I don't jump at every offer and I can tell you that early experience taught me that all deals are not as wondrous as they might initially seem and even limited time offers can magically be extended. Learning to say 'no' in those situations helped my career and my personal life. How many moms have said 'no' to one of their children to have the retort, "You're mean!" thrown at them? I count myself in that group! But saying 'no' to a child is not as easy as saying it to an adult, especially if that adult is your boss.
I am a people-pleaser. I want to do things that others ask of me; I want people to be happy and think well of me. Even so, being able to say 'no' can save your sanity.
"No, I can't work 2 hours past my scheduled quit time." "No, I can't add one more task to my day." You get the idea. The list is long and I am sure we have all found ourselves in that position. This is your boss asking, maybe telling you that something has to be done and now. I am not suggesting saying 'no' all the time or even most of the time. I just want to learn to be clear about the expectation held out to me.
The reason for this topic? I am running myself ragged! I love my job, but I am there more and more well past quitting time and my reward? More tasks to be completed in the same time that I am to perform my normal duties. I can't throw my hands in the air, so I will be practicing saying 'no', but being clear that I want to get all the work done, but just not right this moment. I don't think this makes me a bad employee, I think it keeps me happy about my job and not hitting the streets in search of one with less stress.
Tomorrow is Monday and when I get to work I will add one more task to things I want to get done everyday. Learning to say 'no'.
The Hopeful Romantic
Learning some things is certainly easier than learning other things. But you already knew that, huh?
There is one thing I have been wanting to learn for many years now. How to say "no". I had a boss many years ago that tasked me with saying 'no' to every salesman I had contact with for an entire week. I had just been promoted and being able to say 'no' seemed like a silly thing. What if they offered an wondrous deal? What if it was a limited time offer? But, I completed the task. I would listen to the pitch, ask questions and then say 'no'. Was that ever hard! I felt foolish at first, but as the week went by I began to see my boss's way of thinking. Even wondrous deals or limited time offers don't always deserve an answer in the affirmative. Being able to see beyond the snap judgement was a great thing.
So, I had learned to say 'no'. Right? Well, yes and no. I don't jump at every offer and I can tell you that early experience taught me that all deals are not as wondrous as they might initially seem and even limited time offers can magically be extended. Learning to say 'no' in those situations helped my career and my personal life. How many moms have said 'no' to one of their children to have the retort, "You're mean!" thrown at them? I count myself in that group! But saying 'no' to a child is not as easy as saying it to an adult, especially if that adult is your boss.
I am a people-pleaser. I want to do things that others ask of me; I want people to be happy and think well of me. Even so, being able to say 'no' can save your sanity.
"No, I can't work 2 hours past my scheduled quit time." "No, I can't add one more task to my day." You get the idea. The list is long and I am sure we have all found ourselves in that position. This is your boss asking, maybe telling you that something has to be done and now. I am not suggesting saying 'no' all the time or even most of the time. I just want to learn to be clear about the expectation held out to me.
The reason for this topic? I am running myself ragged! I love my job, but I am there more and more well past quitting time and my reward? More tasks to be completed in the same time that I am to perform my normal duties. I can't throw my hands in the air, so I will be practicing saying 'no', but being clear that I want to get all the work done, but just not right this moment. I don't think this makes me a bad employee, I think it keeps me happy about my job and not hitting the streets in search of one with less stress.
Tomorrow is Monday and when I get to work I will add one more task to things I want to get done everyday. Learning to say 'no'.
The Hopeful Romantic
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