The Holidays

Tomorrow night is the beginning of Passover.... I have all ready made the chopped liver..............G Man's grandma Matie's recipe....there is a secret ingredient she shared with me......imagine a shiksa she shared her famous recipe with.......I have made it every year for the past 26.....the same way she made....hand grated chicken livers...sweet onion......finely chopped hard boiled egg and the secret ingredient........I have also mastered the matzo ball...the soup part was easy had that before I married G man........the matzo balls were a process....not even Grandma Matie could make them as light as me......G man's father loved my matzo balls as does G man, the cousins, our kids and most anyone that has eaten them.....I know this is bragging but I don't care.....I really do make great chopped liver and matzo balls....so I toot my horn a little bit...God doesn't care....It is an honor to make the chopped liver.....Matie was special.....a Jewish grandmother I loved.......she wasn't thrilled when G man and I announced we were getting married....but she accepted it....I will never forget her excitement about me being pregnant with Jenny G and her happiness when she held Jenny G for the first time......her kiss and hug given to Jenny G for the first and the tears that flowed.......her caress of my stomach when we told her I was pregnant with Double G......we knew he was going to be a boy......Matie was exuberant with that news....she waited until Double G was born and held him before she died shortly thereafter....I miss her........G Man and I talk about her often... he loved her with all his heart.....she was the best grandma.

So Sunday we go to my mom for Easter.......my idea...her house is central for all of us....very small....but we manage.......I planned to have a brunch...have my Nephew Jacob help with the cooking and give my mom something to look forward to and participate in........well the event has gone from a brunch to a lunch with ham, scalloped potatoes, salad, asparagus, multiple desserts....deviled eggs.....that was yesterday....today my mom said she wasn't going to make her famous scalloped potatoes, instead she was going to put cut up potatoes put them in the crock pot with butter....no salad either....just carrots sticks and celery sticks with dip.......no asparagus to difficult to make.....wait what???????......it's not the money because I was buying everything at the market on Saturday.....and it is not the work load I am going to her house Saturday to set up the table and do all the prep with the food........I hate it when she gets lazy like this....she just says I hope this is ok it's so much easier........EASIER !!!!!!!! I HATE EASIER.........this is so typical.....make plans amend them then destroy them............I don't know why I involve her...this drives me crazy.....it's not like we do this all the time...Thanksgiving and Easter that's it........Thanksgiving is at my house...so she can't destroy that holiday......uuuughhhhhh I am so frustrated......If I say anything she just gets defensive and sulks.....so I go around her....my sister in law a fabulous cook....will make the potatoes...I will do the asparagus....salad we can do without.....then I will have to listen to her say how much work all the preparing is for me...how she doesn't know how I do it....she is getting to old for this it's to much .........I hate that speech....

Well at least I will see my brothers and their families......my niece The Redhead will be with her dad's family.......I'll suck it up and be a gracious daughter and smile, enjoy the cooking I will do and thoroughly enjoy the Easter egg hunt.

Happy Holidays to all

NYC

G man had a big road trip last week...started Monday and did not end until this Monday.....he is on the road again left yesterday will be home Friday night. The life of a salesman.

The good news is.....I met him in NYC on Thursday last week, we had a great weekend. Although he was on his blackberry for most of Thursday, Friday and part of Saturday we were able to have time here and there for us. (I truly hate that blackberry)

We took the subway, for the very first time. Can you imagine being 50, going to a large city several times a year that has a subway system and never using it? The cabs are very expensive so I decided our mode of transportation was walking and subway. We saved a ton of money and had a pleasant experience using the NYC subway.

We went to the Chelsea Market in the West Village which was a somewhat of a disappointment only because my expectations were completely different then reality. But the food was fabulous and the atmosphere was very big city. The Food Network studios are on the upper floors, but no one can get to them unless you have an electronic key to let you in. The Chelsea Pier was interesting and the surrounding area was residential but still big city.

Central Park proved to be lively on Saturday. Alot of families, bicyclists, rollerbladers, joggers, and strollers.

We did not eat in fancy restaurants instead we ate in local small mom and pop type places. The food was delicious. Our friends did take us to Smith and Wollensky steak house which was nice.

Sunday was our day of departure, as we had to be in Poughkeepsie for a food show. Nasty!!!!! This is another post.

St. Patrick's

West Village

Rockefeller Center

The Lincoln Tunnel

Central Park

Along the Hudson on Route 9 going North

4 am wake up .......

I am the one that usually get sup in the middle of the night to let the dogs out.....so Wednesday morning when I realized G man was up I felt guilty....he had a road trip and should have been up at 6am to get going......I came down stairs and saw G man sitting on the couch with one of the dogs waiting for the others to come in....being the nice loving wife every one knows me to be......I told him to go back to bed.....he didn't say anything just got up and walked around....weird but ok it's 4 am........all the dogs were in, alarm set, Lucy pushed up the stairs, and G man says....."I think you better take me to the hospital, my heart is racing and I can't get it to slow down"......I looked at him, he was dressed in grey undies, and black socks with a yellow towel across his shoulders for warmth. The only thing I said was "OK lets go...let me get dressed" He got dressed too and away we went, but not before I grabbed his meds, a book and my purse.

He wanted to go across town to the hospital his doctor was affiliated with, but I had other plans. The closest hospital and one that his doctor is NOT affiliated with. ( Gman's doctor is another post, just know I think he is a quack.)

We arrived safely, after running a few red lights, and G man was seen immediately, but not before the receptionist asked if we had time to fill out paper work. To which my reply was "hell no he is having heart problems."

Heart rate 101, blood pressure 194/110.......this after he took a second pill for high blood pressure.......hhhhmmmm a little tad high for the pressure and slightly fast for the heart rate......abnormal ekg, no pain, or other typical signs of a heart attack. Possibly iskemia....lack of oxygen to the heart....blood tests......nitro patch, 3 more aspirin, lots of very kind and soft spoken nurses, residents and one attending physician. There were several discussions about the medicine for high blood pressure G man takes.....( another post about our managed care program), we know and the doctors know the FDA took the med off the market, but the new medicine did not arrive so G man had to keep taking the old.

The decision is to have G man stay the night, have a stress test, wait for blood work to come back, and send him to the observation unit. Ok good thing I brought a book with me. The overnight did not happen, G eman's blood work came back all normal, and his ekg after second and third opinions was more likely normal for him than abnormal, but the stress test is a must.

By 11:30 am G man and I were in the stress test lab, he was injected with a radioactive dye to help illuminate his heart and away he went on the treadmill.....after the test we went to t he observation unit to wait for results. At 4pm we were on our way home, the stress test came back normal.

The conclusion reached by the doctors is the medicine is not working and uG man has way way way to much stress going on....which he does... in part because he owns his company which is slow due to the economy and because he drives himself crazy with worry about stupid stuff he can not control. He has to slow down on the partying with the 20 year olds, rest more ( ha like that will happen) loose some weight (about 20 lbs)and get the medicine issue resolved.

So far he has been good about following the hospital doctors advice and has decided he may need to get a different doctor. The new medicine arrived, we bought a blood pressure monitor, and G man has been going to bed around midnight instead of 2 am.

Today Friday the 13th

Do You Suffer From Paraskavedekatriaphobia?

I forgot to mention

On my goodness I forgot to mention I went to see The Watchmen..........It was HORRIBLE>>>>>>people were walking out half way thru the movie. I am not sure why my group sat thru the entire movie. All 5 of us said it was the worst movie we had seen in a long time.

Is it wrong for a mom>>>>>

Is it wrong for a mom to be angry with her child over money, work and responsibility when the child is 22.?


A blow out of epic proportions occurred yesterday when I was notified that Jenny G had a parking ticket from early Feb....unpaid. The car is registered in my name so the late notice came to me. The fine had doubled. When I called the college parking bureau to find out if they would waive the fee, she got it the first week of the semester, they said no and that a second ticket was given 5 days ago. The fines are at $75. If the fines go unpaid the car can be towed, and I may not be able to register the car or get my license renewed.


Jenny G has been at school for 8 weeks, she will be starting a great job next week. During the lull of unemployment she refused to take a job in a fast food restaurant to make some money. She claims she put applications in at other places, but not the fast food restaurant that was advertising for help. She has no money now. Her reason for not atking the fast food job is she did not want to work there for a few weeks and then quit if she got this other job. She said it's not right to do that to an employer......so keep both jobs....you are a poor college student.

She is a great kid for the most part. But earning her own money has never been a focus. Her attitude of paying for a hamburger on Thursday that she ate Tuesday is the problem. She thinks that future income will pay her debts and expenses from the past. Where that thinking came from I do not know. If G man and I can't pay cash for something we don't buy it until we can. We thought Jenny G man the same view. Boy were we wrong.

So I really let loose on her over the phone....telling her the princess attitude needs to be gone, that paying with future income for current and past debts is stupid, stop being lazy and park in free lots at school and walk and pay her bills on time. I don't feel to bad for telling her how I see the situation. Her response was that I am right, she's sorry, she doesn't know why she does this....blah blah blah blah.....

AAAGGGHHHHHHH..... I get so angry when this stuff happens. It can be avoided with simple accountability for actions taken or not taken.......why oh why oh why has she not learned this.

Today was the day I learned something new

Eating olive tapenade on triscuits and a bowl of cheerios before working out is not a good idea......

TO

Great just what the Bills needed......T.O. Another wasted season ......

Terrell Owens
#81
Wide Receiver

T.O. shuffling off to Buffalo
AP, Mar 7, 2009
Terrell Owens needed only two days to find another place to play. The Buffalo Bills decided to take a chance on the talented but high-maintenance receiver, signing Owens to a $6.5 million, one-year deal Saturday

The good news just keeps coming

In one of the more bizarre free agent signings in club history, Fitzpatrick is now a member of the Bills, leaving everyone asking why and wanting more.
In terms of experience and chronological age, the former Ram and Bengal hardly fits the bill as someone capable of filling a mentoring role. Fitzpatrick, 26, has started five fewer games than Edwards and he’s less than one year older.
As far as viewing him as an upgrade over Losman, critics are snickering over GM Russ Brandon’s assessment of Fitzpatrick: “Over the course of Ryan’s career, he has been a very productive player and certainly brings many positives to our organization.”
Really?
Compared to Losman, Fitzpatrick has started 18 fewer games, attempted 434 fewer passes, thrown for 3,529 fewer yards and 21 fewer touchdowns, and won seven fewer games.

Confused

I am in a frazzle today....my cavalier was up 10 times in 3 1/2 hours last night. I haven't had coffee yet and it's 2:19 pm.....uuuggghhhh. I gotta talk to the vet again...getting up for hours sucks.......the dog is confused I think...he goes outside and sits....looks for a chewy that he left out there and 20 minutes later he is ready to come in.....then he must remember he left another chewy out there or just wants to make sure he has them all and the cycle starts again....sometimes just 5 minutes after I get back in bed......but last night was the worst.....10 times !!!!!!! the little piss ant has the nerve to sleep all day. Thank god I do not have a job that I have to go to in the AM.

I am almost 100% certain he is not sick.......just has his days and nights turned around...

And it's the chewys.......he must have them all....doesn't like to share with the other dogs.........this dog will look for all the chewys...carry them one by one to his bed and sleep on top of them.....if the other dogs take a chewy the cavalier cries and whines until he gets it back....he is very selfish.........

I need coffee....bad

Good Food and dollars

I read an article in a local magazine, appropriately named after our city. Rochester Magazine. The magazine is snooty and is FREE to households over a specific annual income. A 6 figure income. I get it FREE because I use to advertise my store in it. The powers to be at the magazine company must not have updated the database as my store has been closed for 6 months.

Moving on......an article in the magazine has made me aware that I have some sense of what good food is all about and how grateful I am to be able to purchase good food. AND how our government has interfered with farming through subsidies ( our tax dollars) which has allowed for a more cost effective production of food but at the expense of our health via inferior nutrition, chemicals reaping destruction on the environment,and mistreatment of animals.

The article went on to point out that BIG is not always better. (Don't we know it now with all that is going on with Wall Street, big banks, big insurance companies etc.) If we shop our local farm markets, participate in community gardens, plant our own back yard gardens, buy locally grown meats and let our politicians know that this is how we want to get our food, we may be able to shift the subsidies from industrialized food production ( high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils) to sustainable farms that do not use chemicals or inhumane treatment of animals. What a concept! I'm in.