Hi,
Valentine's Day is going on forever in my life... every day a new special gift.
Marshall went all out and whole hog this year. A true romantic in every sense. He came home with fresh flowers on the 14th. We got the new Dyson vacuum cleaner that night. I'm throwing in the Rowenta iron & kitchen scale into the fray and to today was the topper.... a new diamond tennis bracelet. I'm good to go for the rest of my life.
We bought the bracelet over the Internet. It's amazing what you can find. Everyday the on-line suppliers make it easier & easier to get exactly what you want, at the price you want to pay. Marshall found a site called "Anjolee". They are a manufacturer in California of fine diamond jewelry. You pick what kind of piece you want: ring, earring, bracelet necklace. Choose the style, type of gold or platinum, the diamond carat weight, size, cut, clarity and "voila", the computer creates your piece and spits out the cost. Too expensive, change the gold content. Want more or less carats, slide the scale on quantity or size of stone. Need to alter the price, choose higher or lower quality stones... you play with the concept until you get it where you want it, at the price you are willing to pay. They make it up and ship it out within a week of you plugging in your credit card number. Could they create this any simpler or faster? I doubt it. My bracelet is exactly what I wanted and Marshall even found another site with a 5% discount coupon for this site. Can we bargain shop or CAN WE BARGAIN SHOP!!!!!!!!!!
Tonight we have tickets to see Itzak Perlman in Princeton and I will proudly wear my diamonds..... just call me "Lil".
xox
m
Day Lily!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
check the calendar
Hi,
it is Thursday, February 17, 2011, 2:51pm... I want you take note of this because I just finished sweeping out the garage and washing my car by hand. Yes, I washed my car, wearing a t-shirt & sweat pants (me, not the car), outside, on a bright, sunny, 65° day... in mid-February! I find this totally amazing because just a few weeks ago we were getting buried in snow & sleet. As a matter of fact there is still a ton of snow on our lawn, piled up along the driveway and every where else you might think to see life. Peeking out from a soggy patch by the mail box are miniature hyacinth making an early appearance. I am sure winter is not over, not by a long shot, but it is so encouraging to see a hint of spring in February. It gives me hope.
Since it is so beautiful out I thought I'd get a head start on the spring clean up. It is a lot of work to keep up with this place. It's amazing what builds up after only a few months. The garage had 2 dead mice (blech!) and more leaves then we own that must have blown in from the entire neighbourhood of trees. Salt, soot, sand, dirt.... we have a grime magnet in the place. This was my first pass through since last October. In another month or so I want to haul everything out of the garage and power wash the floor. Call me crazy, but I feel better when it's not so filthy in the garage. When it's dusty & dirty I think it all gets tracked into the house. If I could, I'd put a big bubble over our property. We may live in suburbia, but the dirt & grime are just as prolific here as it was when I lived right on the main drag in Toronto. I don't even have a bus or streetcar to blame, but a lot of trucks pass our house on a regular basis.... maybe it's all the deer traffic?
My little Honda is happy now. It drives better when it's clean and boy, was it dirty! I couldn't stand it one more day. The Husky power washer is my favorite toy (next to my Dyson vacuum cleaner... do you see a trend here?) I schlepped out the power washer and doused my car, blasting all the schmutz* away. Inside & out I have a sparkling vehicle that will get an extra 4 miles per gallon... okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration but I think there is less drag with less dirt and it's my feeling about a clean car that it goes faster when it's shiny. Zoom, zoom.....
I am all cleaned-out for the day but it feels good to have accomplished some spring cleaning jobs in February. Tomorrow I may tackle the windows.....
xox
m
*schmutz-one of the best Yiddish (Jewish) words to describe anything really dirty
it is Thursday, February 17, 2011, 2:51pm... I want you take note of this because I just finished sweeping out the garage and washing my car by hand. Yes, I washed my car, wearing a t-shirt & sweat pants (me, not the car), outside, on a bright, sunny, 65° day... in mid-February! I find this totally amazing because just a few weeks ago we were getting buried in snow & sleet. As a matter of fact there is still a ton of snow on our lawn, piled up along the driveway and every where else you might think to see life. Peeking out from a soggy patch by the mail box are miniature hyacinth making an early appearance. I am sure winter is not over, not by a long shot, but it is so encouraging to see a hint of spring in February. It gives me hope.
Since it is so beautiful out I thought I'd get a head start on the spring clean up. It is a lot of work to keep up with this place. It's amazing what builds up after only a few months. The garage had 2 dead mice (blech!) and more leaves then we own that must have blown in from the entire neighbourhood of trees. Salt, soot, sand, dirt.... we have a grime magnet in the place. This was my first pass through since last October. In another month or so I want to haul everything out of the garage and power wash the floor. Call me crazy, but I feel better when it's not so filthy in the garage. When it's dusty & dirty I think it all gets tracked into the house. If I could, I'd put a big bubble over our property. We may live in suburbia, but the dirt & grime are just as prolific here as it was when I lived right on the main drag in Toronto. I don't even have a bus or streetcar to blame, but a lot of trucks pass our house on a regular basis.... maybe it's all the deer traffic?
My little Honda is happy now. It drives better when it's clean and boy, was it dirty! I couldn't stand it one more day. The Husky power washer is my favorite toy (next to my Dyson vacuum cleaner... do you see a trend here?) I schlepped out the power washer and doused my car, blasting all the schmutz* away. Inside & out I have a sparkling vehicle that will get an extra 4 miles per gallon... okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration but I think there is less drag with less dirt and it's my feeling about a clean car that it goes faster when it's shiny. Zoom, zoom.....
I am all cleaned-out for the day but it feels good to have accomplished some spring cleaning jobs in February. Tomorrow I may tackle the windows.....
xox
m
*schmutz-one of the best Yiddish (Jewish) words to describe anything really dirty
Monday, February 14, 2011
Why Worry?
Hi,
why worry?
I asked myself that today: why worry?
Will worrying solve a problem, make you feel good or deliver a divine intervention? I haven't been able to conjure up anything even remotely useful from worrying. Ever. Yet so many people I know spend an inordinate amount of time "worrying". I don't understand why.
Pennsylvanians love to worry about weather. Too hot? They worry about the air conditioning not functioning or their lawn drying out. I've yet to see grass not come back from a drought around here. Too cold? They all fret over possible sickness. If they dressed warmer it wouldn't be an issue. Too much snow? They have a melt down at Walmart stocking up on food to get past the 3" of powder that threatens to shut down the state for a month. Weather is going to happen no matter how much you worry about it, so why bother. Buy snow tires and get on with your life.
To worry is to waste time and energy on things beyond our control. I would rather spend that time & energy on trying to solve problems that arise and deal with events as they unfold. "Would have", "could have" and "should have" are not worth thinking about, yet I know so many individuals who will dwell on either what has already happened, or might yet happen. If it's already over & done with, why worry, you can't change it. If it hasn't happened yet, worrying won't stop the train on it's tracks, get out of the way if you don't want to get hit.
My cure for worrying is the use of some good old common sense. Don't do it if it might hurt. You know that too much of anything is not good for you, try moderation instead. Listen to that inner voice when it's screaming "this is a bad idea". When I pay attention I have less need to worry. Focusing is far more profitable.
I have to admit that I do have my worry moments, but they are trivial. Will I let them rule my day? Nope. I try to take care of what is my responsibility the the best of my ability. Do I mess up? Sure. Do I worry about it? No, I will aim to fix what ever I didn't do right and try not to make the same mistake again. Does this worry me? Not a lick. As long as no one died, I will try again and hopefully be better the second time around.
To quote one of my favorite musicians, Bobby McFarren, "Don't worry, be happy"
The man is a genius.
xox
m
why worry?
I asked myself that today: why worry?
Will worrying solve a problem, make you feel good or deliver a divine intervention? I haven't been able to conjure up anything even remotely useful from worrying. Ever. Yet so many people I know spend an inordinate amount of time "worrying". I don't understand why.
Pennsylvanians love to worry about weather. Too hot? They worry about the air conditioning not functioning or their lawn drying out. I've yet to see grass not come back from a drought around here. Too cold? They all fret over possible sickness. If they dressed warmer it wouldn't be an issue. Too much snow? They have a melt down at Walmart stocking up on food to get past the 3" of powder that threatens to shut down the state for a month. Weather is going to happen no matter how much you worry about it, so why bother. Buy snow tires and get on with your life.
To worry is to waste time and energy on things beyond our control. I would rather spend that time & energy on trying to solve problems that arise and deal with events as they unfold. "Would have", "could have" and "should have" are not worth thinking about, yet I know so many individuals who will dwell on either what has already happened, or might yet happen. If it's already over & done with, why worry, you can't change it. If it hasn't happened yet, worrying won't stop the train on it's tracks, get out of the way if you don't want to get hit.
My cure for worrying is the use of some good old common sense. Don't do it if it might hurt. You know that too much of anything is not good for you, try moderation instead. Listen to that inner voice when it's screaming "this is a bad idea". When I pay attention I have less need to worry. Focusing is far more profitable.
I have to admit that I do have my worry moments, but they are trivial. Will I let them rule my day? Nope. I try to take care of what is my responsibility the the best of my ability. Do I mess up? Sure. Do I worry about it? No, I will aim to fix what ever I didn't do right and try not to make the same mistake again. Does this worry me? Not a lick. As long as no one died, I will try again and hopefully be better the second time around.
To quote one of my favorite musicians, Bobby McFarren, "Don't worry, be happy"
The man is a genius.
xox
m
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
monster dust bunnies
Hi,
happy February.
I hope the ground hog does his act tomorrow and that the outcome is that winter will end ASAP. I've had enough of this crappy weather. Enough about things I can't control, on to something I can.
Yesterday my darling husband bought me the most fabulous Valentine Day gift. Not jewelry, not furs, not even flowers : a new vacuum cleaner!
Don't groan. This is the best thing on the planet. We bought a Dyson. Yes, you have all seen the ads for this funky machine with it's cyclone technology and the handsome guy, James Dyson, who engineered it. He is my new hero. As you may know, if you have been to our house, I am a clean freak. I take great pride in having a neat and tidy home. I also used to think it was pretty spic & span. Boy did my eyes get opened last night.
Yesterday I gave up on both of our old vacuum cleaners. One had lost it's suction ability, the other snapped it's belt. I had had enough of these useless gadgets. After dinner Marshall & I headed out in search of a better solution to the problem... dust bunnies. At the new H.H.Gregg store in Yardley we started our search. Yes, you can get a decent vacuum for under $100.... but they aren't going to tackle the problem with gusto. Marshall had done some research on-line and noted that everyone was pitting their machines against the Dyson. It seemed to be the new 'standard' to match. We looked at Hoovers, Eurekas, LG's and finally the Dyson. Being the engineer he is, Marshall was impressed with the thought and design put into the Dyson cleaner. It is a better construction, has a 5 year warranty and it won our hearts when the salesman miss quoted the sale price by $40. When we pointed out to him that he goofed on the price he quickly said he'd sell it to us for the price he miss quoted. We just couldn't pass that bargain boo-boo up.
Home we trot with our new baby. I had 'vacuumed' the main floor rugs that morning... at least I thought I had, until we set up the new Dyson to test it out. Holy CRAP! That new little sucker found dirt I didn't think we owned. We re-vacuumed the whole house, which didn't "look" dirty, but were we mistaken. The Dyson pulled 2lbs of dust, dirt and god knows what else, out of the carpets and off the floors. So long Eureka, hello Dyson baby!
This vacuum cleaner deserves all the awards it's won and then some. The extension wand was able to reach from the bottom of the stairs all the way to the top so you don't have to schlep the whole machine up or down. The nozzle lets you get behind furniture and under places no vacuum every dared go before. The attachments are perfect for tackling baseboards, drapery, furniture... nothing is safe from me and my Dyson.
At the top of the page is photo that may scare small children but I thought it was necessary. It's a shot of what came out of the carpets with the Dyson, AFTER I had vacuumed this morning. Can you believe what my old cleaner was NOT picking up. UCH! Plus, it happens to look like a bunny (sort of a dust Rorschach Test... do you see it?)
The biggest win will be if this new machine helps Marshall with his dust mite allergy. He's my main man and he bought me the best V-day gift I could have every imagined. I have cyclone power, look out bunnies.
xox
m
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