Tonight I missed you.
I had no intentions either. No plans for the emotional roller coaster that would take me on a tearful ride. But, I felt my stomach drop and a knot build in my throat as I carelessly scrolled though my Facebook wall. I merely was passing time. No real rhyme or reason. But, as I scrolled through my year, our year, the memories came rushing back.
When I get hungry you know what I crave? Well, besides homemade mashed potatoes, brick oven pizzas and wings… sweets! Yep. Anything sweet. That is why the Double Stuffed OREOs don’t last in our home. Ever.
But besides my sweet tooth, I am actually trying to get better at not being so wasteful. Especially when it comes to food. So, when some ripe bananas hanging out on my kitchen counter caught my eye, I thought, “I better use them up.”
I met Deanna in college. She was the beautiful, charismatic, popular girl with the infectious smile. The other cool thing about Deanna, she was warm and welcoming. Folks, now that is one great package of characteristics not a lot of people can boast.
I went through a bit of a “what am I going to do with my life?” crisis during my early college years. Maybe you can relate? I had aspirations of being an architect and if I had followed that route I probably would have never met so many wonderful people, including Deanna. After one semester in college I decided to change career focuses and well, the rest is history!
Back in April I shared my very favorite, super easy, go-to dessert / snack recipe, Protein Bites. It was a hit! By hit, I mean I had more people actually stop me or mention on social media either 1) how they could not wait to make them or 2) how they trusted me, tried the recipe and are now hooked.
In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue looking for the perfect Fall Flannel, jewels and shoes!
I refuse to get into the Columbus Day debate on the Blog. Don’t know what I am talking about? Just Google Columbus Day and you will see. Instead, I plan on discussing the Columbus Day holiday for the pure fact that many retail stores mark the three-day weekend with sales, which there are many! Here is a roundup of great sales from my favorite retailers.
Source (Isn’t this dreamy?)
I LOVE the Huffington Post’s Community Kindness section. You hear so much backlash on today’s youth. How they are selfish, entitled, spoiled, etc. This Story is what I think of when I think of our youth. Don’t let the media full ya. There are BIG hearts out there. They do exist.
I cracked up when I read This! Could you seriously imagine? Checking into a Hotel with Pool Noodles, Painter’s Tape and Baby Gates? I mean I get it. Better safe than sorry. But, c’mon people! I feel like I turned into my parents after reading this. “Well, when I was growing up my parents never did that and I turned out just fine.” Oh, my gosh.
I am a pretty impatient person.
It is my downfall and the one characteristic that I know I posses that needs a little love and attention. You know some emotional massaging. I did not become impatient overnight. It developed over the years as a result of my environment. Working in a “high-demand,” customer-focused position, sense of urgency is quite simply a protocol and necessary for success. With this “go, go, go” attitude and way of life, I have become someone who demands the same from my co-workers, peers and even family (oh, poor Nathan and Baby Lo!).
So, what does this mean? Well an impatient person translates into someone who is always mentally and physically rushing on to the next thing. Time shall not be wasted. When I am committed to a cause, in the moment and have a clear objective, a hiccup can frustrate the heck out of me.
I use to say Summer was my favorite season but as I get older, I am pretty sure that Fall has my heart. I don’t know, maybe it is the festivals (many of which I am eyeing up for our calendar), the sweaters and scarves, hot chocolate and coffees, boots, pumpkins, or the holiday season which is just around the corner! I love Fall.
Dear Lauren,
I never knew you, and you never knew me. But somehow over the course of the last few years of the nearly 3,000 people whose lives were so tragically taken from this earth on 9/11, your name keeps presenting itself to me.
The first time I learned of your story, I was volunteering at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanskville, PA.
September 11, 2001:
I remember. It was picture day at my high school. I was in the school’s auditorium waiting for our classmates to finish up so we could be dismissed. The initial whispers of what had occurred began here. A few minutes later the hallway bell rang loud and we were scattered, heading into different directions to our next class. The memory that forever exists in my mind like an image that has been burned into a TV screen, was in those moments. I was walking past a fellow classroom and as I looked in I noticed the usually rowdy bunch of upperclassmen were still, all faces glued to a TV. And, in my memory, I swear it was slow motion, I looked ahead and my Spanish Teacher, whose class I was heading to, came running from the classroom across the hall and into a fellow teacher’s room exclaiming, “Turn on the TV.”
I saw the World Trade Centers on fire.
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