Paper Cut

We have all had them. The annoying paper cuts that seem to linger on for days. With the cold weather this month, everyone's skin is drying out. I have three cuts on my fingers that are in places that just won't heal. They are on the joints of my forefingers and hurt each time I bend my fingers. It is amazing that such a tiny cut can be such a nuisance. I equate the winter paper cuts to the summer mosquito bites. Both are small and certainly not life threatening, but they are still annoying and inflict pain.

Passwords

When I first started using the internet I needed a password for my email that was easy to remember. One password. As the internet grew so did my number of passwords. I now needed passwords for work, healthcare, banking, linked in, blogging and so on and so on. I tried to use the same password so I could remember it but then passwords became specific. One needed a capital letter. One needed a number. One needed a character. After being locked out of a site more than once, I had to start a password book. It is a running log of every site I have joined. I cannot believe how many pages it now is. I never realized how much I do on the web. I would now be lost without my log book.

The Nook

I love to read. Years ago I belonged to a book group. As I get older, I find that I read less and less. My eyes strain to see the print and the pages seem so dark. For the holidays I received an Amazon gift card and decided to by myself a Nook Reader. I ordered it Sunday and it arrived yesterday. I charged it and began the set up phase. I needed to connect to the internet to register the Nook and begin downloading books. I tried my Verizon password and it would not connect. After trying ten times I called Verizon. They tried also but to no avail. I then called the Nook help line. They also tried but nothing would connect. I was at a standstill. Then the Nook representative said in order to fix the issue I need to do an update from the web. How do I update from the web if I cannot get on the web? After going back and forth a few times he said I have to go to the Barnes and Noble store and they will set it up for me. It was now 6pm and freezing outside but I wanted to use my new Nook. I got into the car and drove to the nearest B and N store. I did not have to put on the heat in the car as I was fuming with steam coming out of my ears. A new product should work properly from the start. I got to the store and a nice man registered the Nook in 5 minutes and gave me a lesson on how it works. I downloaded a book and got a coupon for some free books too. I went home and began reading. I love the new reader but wish that we started off our relationship in a better way.

Four Digits

I have reached the four digit mark. I just realized that I have written over 1000 entries on this blog. One thousand short and sometimes very short stories. Sometimes it is not easy to formulate a thought that would be of any interest to anyone. Other times, I have a few thoughts and jot them down for future entries. I have chronicled important events in my life and trivial happenings. My intention was to write this blog daily for one year and print it out for my children as a keepsake. One year turned into three in a blink of an eye.

School Lunch

I work four days a week. I take my lunch to work on two days and order in the other two. My staff got into a conversation about school lunch when we were little. We reminisced about the smoky bathrooms in high school. We laughed about the sulphate smell when a hard boiled egg scent mixed with a brown paper bag. Then, we got to the tuna sandwiches and found that we were divided into two groups. The ones that hated the wet spot in the center of the white bread after the sandwich sat in our lunch bag for 4 hours and those who loved the wet spot so much that we saved it for our last bite. It was a 2:1 ratio of wet spot lovers to wet spot haters, with the 2 representing the ones who loved it. I was in that group.I rarely have a sandwich like that any more because I eat my tuna sandwich as soon as I make it or put it into the refrigerator at work as soon as I get in. One day I will let it sit in my drawer for 4 hour just to create the wet tuna spot, for old times.

Special Occassion

Last night we took our younger son out for his 30th birthday. The actual date was a week ago but we were away then. He has been talking about a steak house called Blackstones for months and that is where he chose for his dinner.We had a six o'clock reservation and when we arrived the place was almost full. We were seated in a great spot that had room for the baby stroller. The room was dimly lit and had a cozy feeling with a fire burning in the fire pit. We ate salad, filet mignon, lobster mac and cheese, roasted asparagus and hash brown potatoes. The food was wonderful and the steaks were so soft you could eat them without your teeth. The only part that was totally absurd was the price. The rent for my first apartment was less.

Commonality

When advice columnist Ann Landers was asked what topic was the most popular in her advice column, she answered "fear". The one thing that we all have at one time or another is a fear of something. What I am afraid of you are not. What you are afraid of does not bother me. I am lecturing on "Fears, Worries and Concerns" in a few school districts this Spring. The brochure was mailed to one district this week and within a few days the class is filling up. The school called to ask if I had a limit on class size. I never do. The more the merrier. No matter how different we think we are, we are all "hard wired" the same.

Getting There

I usually see my grandson a few days a week. Sometimes it is only for five minutes as my son leaves for work and before my daughter in law arrives home from work. Since I was away in Florida I did not see him for a week. It is amazing how much a baby changes in that time. He got bigger and has more hair. The most surprising part was how his skills developed in one week. He has turned into an inquisitive baby who plays for hours. He has become very aware of his environment and wants to touch everything. If it is out of his reach, he rolls and stretches and is on the verge of crawling towards it. I babysat last night and he amused himself from after dinner until bedtime. I did not even turn on the television. He was better entertainment.

Too Cold

It is too cold out there. I know it is cold when I have to put a jacket on Shelby when I walk him. I wish he could wear shoes. I feel bad when he has to walk in the snow with his bare paws. He never complained, but if I am shivering, he must he too. I double layered my clothes so when I get to work I can remove one layer. I sit in front of an atrium type window, so the sun heats up the area. It is great in the winter but unbearably hot in the summer. The air conditioning cannot even lower the heat. I tell my staff that one day I will be sitting at my desk in a bathing suit.

White Out

I woke up to a blanket of white snow. The storm was as bad as predicted and I thought I would have to take a snow day. I stayed in bed a half hour longer than usual and then I called my morning receptionist. It was a bit before 8am. She answered the phone and said she was already at work! I jumped out of bed, got dressed and was on the road in 15 minutes. The only place the snow looked bad, was on my block. For once, my street was plowed and so was every street and parkway leading to work. I got there in 20 minutes. When all of the doctors and patients called to cancel, I told them that if they got on the roads they were all clear. Everyone showed up.

Waiting It Out

My day tomorrow revolves around the weather today. Mother Nature will make my decisions. I had my schedule perfectly in place until a snow storm appeared on the radar. If it does not snow, I babysit my grandson in the morning, go to work late and give a workshop in the evening. If it does snow, I have to postpone the workshop, call up all of the participants and cancel, but now I have a problem with work. I can't go in early as I have to watch the baby. I can't go in late because that time was contingent on the workshop. If it snows a little I will have to take off to be with the baby. If the snow is very bad, my daughter in law will not have school, so she will be home with the baby. Then again, if it is that bad, how will I drive to work? My head is spinning. I guess I will not know what I will be doing until later. By that time I will have a pounding headache.

Back To Work

After being off for ten day, I return to work this morning. It feels strange. I never take this much time off and it seems like it is so much longer. The first day back is always hard. When I am away no one does my work. No one opens the mail. No one returns the telephone calls. I will walk in to a pile of papers sitting on my desk. I am sure that by lunchtime everything will be in it's proper order but I still do not like looking at a mess. Since today is a holiday, at least the commute to work will be better. So, off I go to face the day.

Back Home

I returned home yesterday afternoon and it seems like I was never away. The days just flew by. We did a lot of eating and talking. January is a tough month to go to Florida as the temperature went from 84 to 51 overnight. One day we swam and the next day we bundled up in winter coats. I had a wonderful time anyway, just being with my parents. We never run out of things to talk about and most subjects have been reviewed at least a hundred times. Getting back into the New York routine is the hardest. In Florida every day is the same. Here the days matter more. Here I have responsibilities.

Emergencies

I love the word emergency. There are so many different examples of what constitutes an emergency. I always believed in carrying $20 hidden in my wallet in case of an emergency. I pretend I do not have it and it has been there for many years. I gave my husband a $20 bill for the same reason. One day he called me and was stuck in a store that did not take charge. He had no money with him. I told him to use his emergency money. He said he no longer had it. I asked where it went. He said that a few months ago he wanted White Castle, so he used it there. He never mentioned that to me so the $20 was never replaced. He had to leave the store without buying what he went in there for. Next time he will evaluate what a real emergency is.

Full

There are three ways to eat. One is until you are full. The next is until you finish what is on your plate. The third is when you overeat. Overeating never feels good. It is unhealthy to consume more than is needed. It is like filling a balloon. You know the right amount of air to put in and if you overfill it, it will burst. My younger son always lived by one rule. Eat one portion and wait 14 minutes. That is the time it takes for your stomach to let your brain know it is full. If you are still full then, get up from the table. If not, eat a bit more.

Clean Fun

I was flipping through television channels last night and came across a Bill Cosby comedy special. I thought I would watch it for a few minutes, but wound up watching for an hour. He was very funny in a wholesome way. The old fashioned type of comedy that did not need any offensive language. The kind of comedy that related to everyone. He spoke about things his children did. He joked about his wife. He talked about car repairs and missing house keys. I am not usually the type of person to laugh out loud, but I found myself doing it more than once. He told the kind of funny stories you want to repeat to friends. He sat in a chair for the entire show. He did not need to pace the stage. His words alone, riveted you to him. I totally enjoyed his show. I wish I would have recorded it.

Media Withdrawal

For the first time in ten years, I have no internet connection in Florida. The neighbors that allowed me to use their wireless network have moved. I am not a person that is addicted to the internet, but you realize how much you need it when it is gone. For example, I wanted to know where the nearest Walmart was. Everyone knew there was one close, but no one knew how to get there. I called the Walmart that was listed in the Yellow Pages and told them where I was located. They had no idea how far away they were. Finally I gave up and decided to just get in the car and stop someone in the street. I used the old fashioned way and it worked.

Guessing

As technology increases, the element of guessing has fallen by the wayside. If we have a question we can immediately go to the source of the answer. Having the means to find out a correct answer can also save relationships. Ask any man who has gone to the supermarket and finds that the item his wife wants is out of stock. Years ago he would buy an alternate item and sweat all the way home. It was a 50/50 crap shoot as to whether or not he would be yelled at for being dumb or credited for good thinking. In reality, the odds were 99/1, with 99 being the odds he would be in the wrong. Now all it takes is a dial of the phone and another argument is avoided.

Traveling

I am up as early as usual, but today I will pass my regular exit on the parkway and head further west to the airport. It is supposed to be a nice day, but it is hard to tell since it is still dark outside. I have my pre flight jitters and can't wait until I am past the security point. After that I relax a bit until we board. My flight will only be a bit over two hours and it will seem long. I don't know how people can fly across the world. I would need a morphine drip if I had to do that. Drug me and wake me when we land. So, off I go. By lunchtime I will be driving on I-595 to see my parents.

Pack It In

Years ago, my husband's grandfather had an expression, "Pack it in". When he was ready to leave someone's house and go home, that is what he said. That statement has become part of my family's vernacular. Today I will begin to pack it in and get ready to go to see my parents in Florida tomorrow. This is my usual January visit and I can't wait to see them. As they get older, I feel the need to see them more frequently when they are away. This year I will make three trip to them. I am charting tomorrow's weather and it looks good. Shelby left for vacation yesterday and I already miss him.

New Rules

Beginning January 2014, many people have new rules and regulations with their insurance companies. Obamacare has turned over the apple cart and now the apples are rolling on the floor. People's plans changed or were eliminated altogether. When he promised that everyone could keep their old plan, he did not do his research. If the insurance companies got rid of their plans to conform with his guidelines, the plan no longer existed. He never had a contingency plan. In most companies when you cause such utter chaos and effect lives so negatively, it would call for automatic firings. So now many people are scrambling for new doctors. They have to start over with new Rx plans. Many did not realize that when your plan ends, you do not have refills on your medications. You need to start new. What a mess. I hope no one dies from this disaster.

Still A Thrill

Some things are as exciting now as they were when we were younger. We have all had the experience of looking down when we were walking in the street and seeing a dollar bill laying there. For some reason, the moment we make eye to dollar bill contact, we are filled with excitement. We stop in our tracks and take a better look just to see if our eyes are not playing tricks on us. Then we look even more closely to see if it is a one or five or ten dollar bill. We look around and slowly go in for the kill. We grab and go. We feel as if we won the lottery. No matter how old you are, finding money in the street is still thrilling.

Minutia

I am a person that pays attention to minutia. I can easily gloss over major discrepancies, but I tend to focus in on the little things. If I am watching a television program and they show the outside of the character's house, in my mind when they show the inside scenes, I try to match up the windows. If they do not match up, it bothers me. Last week I watched a Barbra Streisand concert on public television. It was a two hour concert that was supposed to feel as if you were watching it live. It started off well until midway through a song I saw a slight change in her jewelry. Her ring was missing. One verse it was there and the next it was not. Well, that now opened up a Pandora's box. For the next 2 hours, all I focused in on was the jewelry and clothing discrepancies. One outfit had a white camisole then it was a black camisole. One scene she had on a pinky ring and the next scene it was gone. I lost the continuity of the show because I now felt that they patched it together. I like consistency. It just feels right.

It Doesn't Take Much

It doesn't take much to make someone happy. It doesn't take much to have a good day. It is the simple things that make the difference. Yesterday I baked an apple pie for a co worker. Her birthday was over the weekend and her first day back to work was Tuesday. Her face lit up when she saw the pie in a round aluminum pan. It was a bit scraggly looking, but to her it was wonderful. She was so excited. We started to discuss the small things that matter. The one thing we all agreed upon was a smile. As simple as it sounds, if you smile, someone smiles back. Even a baby will follow your lead. When people say they had a bad day, I wonder how much negative energy they themselves added to it.

Three Dog Night

I spent most of last night laying awake listening to the howling wind. The previous day it was 50 degrees, but Mother Nature has her own agenda and today it will be around 10 degrees but feel much colder. In the early 1970's, there was a band called "Three Dog Night". Most people thought it was a quirky name for a rock band. I guess it was no quirkier than the " Loving Spoonful" or the "Turtles". The name "Three Dog Night" actually has a meaning. In the midwest when nights get cold, people used to have their dogs sleep under the covers with them to create more body heat. A dog's core temperature is about 101 degrees, so any help was great. If the night was cold, it was a one dog night. When it got colder, it was a two dog night. When the temperature dropped to unbearable lows, it became a three dog night. Last night Shelby slept under the covers with me. He finally earned his keep.

Our Words

Words have power. Other people's words have the ability to raise us up or shoot us down. What most people do not realize, is that the words that have the most power over us, are our own words. Our self talk. We can take the good and turn it into the bad. We can say it so many times in our heads that we escalate a thought until it changes our demeanor. We twist the truth into fabrications. Our words are linked to our self esteem and happiness. If you tell yourself you are unhappy, how else can you feel? This is the concept of the glass being half full or half empty. Life is how you look at it so why talk yourself into negativity?

Cold Day, Hot Soup

Years ago, I fould a recipe for Lobster Bisque. It was extremely easy but tasted like it was from a restaurant. Every time I make it, I set aside a portion for my sister. Yesterday one of my friends asked for it. I decided to give the recipe to everyone as it is so good and so easy. I am making it for lunch today.

Lobster Bisque

Cook Time 15 minutes

Makes 4 cups

Ingredients:

1 to 2 cups cooked crab or lobster or shrimp or imitation seafood

1/3 cup dry sherry (or Marsala or white wine) Cooking wine is good too.

1/4 cup butter

3 tablespoons flour

3 cups milk (even skim milk is good, just simmer a bit longer for it to thicken)

1 teaspoon steak or Worcester sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

In small bowl combine seafood and wine and set aside

In a medium saucepan over a low heat, melt butter. Blend in flour and cook stirring constantly until smooth and bubbly. Gradually add milk stirring constantly.  Continue cooking and stirring until mixture is thickened; stir in steak sauce and salt and pepper. Add the marinated seafood with whatever wine remains, cover and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Enjoy!!

The Day After

I woke up this morning to bright sunshine. It is accompanied by 1 degree weather and a sheet of ice. It doesn't matter though. The sunshine makes the day positive no matter what. The snow that looked so foreboding while it was dropping, looks so beautiful as it sparkles. The gray skies are clear and blue. In the next few days the temperature will rise into the 40's and all of the whiteness will melt away. I spoke to a customer service person from Arizona yesterday. I said he was lucky to be in the heat. He said he envied me in the snowstorm. He said that constant heat gets tiring and he would love to see a change of seasons and weather. After I hung up, I was glad to be watching the storm.

Snow Day

Just as predicted, the snow arrived. In fact, it is still here. They say that it will clear at 9am, but the winds will still be blowing for a while. With the exception of one of my sons, everyone in my family is off today. He drove home in the height of the storm and will return to work later this afternoon. That is what his job requires of him. When you sign on to protect the city, there are no excuses why you cannot make it in. At times like these we need to remember all of the workers that endanger their lives in order to keep ours safe. Police, fire and sanitation do their part to make it easier for us to go back to normal.

Hercules

I got up this morning and Hercules has arrived. Even the name seems foreboding. It is strong and scary. As of this moment there is a dusting of snow on the ground, but the forecasters say there will be close to 8 inches when the storm pulls out of our area. Since Sandy, we all take the weather channel warnings seriously. I will be going to work in a few minutes and hope that there is no ice beneath the snow. Tomorrow we will see if Hercules was as bad as it sounded.

Crossroads

Today is the first day of 2014. It is a good time to reflect upon the past year. Many times in life we reach a crossroad and we realize that changes need to be made. Crossroads happen in our family lives, our work lives and in our relationships. Crossroads can be scary and no one can tell you what the correct path is. Only you can do that. The key to facing a crossroad is to do something about it. The worst thing is to do nothing. If you are miserable at work, do something. If your relationships are doing more harm than good, do something. If you are not feeling well, do something. No matter what the situation is, just do not stand there like a deer in the headlights. If you do, life will run you over. Forget about things that you cannot change. It doesn't matter what you could have or should have done. What matters is now. All of the wishing in the world cannot change where you are now. Trust that you have what it takes to make a move, even if it is a wrong one. The mistakes we make become life lessons. Reaching a crossroad does not mean you are reaching the end of the road. It is a time of uncertainty and challenge that shows us what we are made of.