Dear IPhone....

I have one question for you:  WTF?

I upgraded my iTunes on my phone as well as the OS- and somehow- you messed up my whole phone!  Any changes to my contacts, texts or photos from May 2013 through Dec 2014- gone. GONE!

I've hot most of my contacts back but not all. 

Basically it took me way too long to try it get it situated.  So while I love my phone, lesson learned. You are a rock star of a phone- so long as I don't connect you to ITunes!

Aargh!!!

Say something....

Today was one of those days that I sensed my mother around me. 

It doesn't happen often; actually I rarely feel any semblance of her presence which makes me doubt my hopes in the afterlife. 

But today, I did. It started with a song on the radio during my drive in.  And then it happened again with a phrase that I said during the day that was hers incarnate. 

But the real kicker was when I logged into my Facebook account for a minute. I don't go on often or post hardly ever- but I try to check it every other day or so. Today, my cousin posted photos of my family from waaaay back. The first one that popped up on my news feed was.... My mother.  Smiling. Something she rarely did in pictures because she didn't like her teeth. 

It was shocking and reaffirming at the same time. 

Happy Valentines Day Mom. 

I love you. 

When you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you....

There's nothing wrong with being someone who smiles at a stranger.   There is a strength in kindness, and in happiness. Being happy or kind, is not weak or naive.  I always tell my kids, if you're smiling - then people can't help but to smile back at you.  It's almost instinctive, infectious even.  It's as if smiling is a reflex that we're born with, rather than a learned behaviour.

In some ways, isn't that the truth?
We have to actually work at being unhappy or dissatisfied.  It's so much easier to smile and make light of things rather than to hang on to the things that make us less than happy.  Who wants to hang onto all of that heaviness?  That, is work and effort - and almost counterintuitive, never mind counterproductive.

Life gets in the way of our own personal happiness sometimes.  It's easy to get jaded and bored; it's easier to be grumpy and go the path of least resistance....give in to being that mouse on a wheel circling mindlessly, endlessly....with no real endstate to speak of.  What's there to be happy or excited about when it's the same thing day in and day out....or you feel like nothing is exactly the way you thought it might be.

That's why it's always important to rise above.  It's always important to smile - even when you don't feel like it.  It's not just for the outward appearance you give to others; but most importantly for youself.  Sometimes, if you keep on smiling - you just won't have to work at it so much anymore and then suddenly....you're just happy.

It's been such a long time....

I miss blogging.
I really do.

I miss alot of things actually...yoga, Saturday fun day trip adventures with the kiddies, monthly potlucks with the girls.

They've been traded for new business ventures, weekend sporting events for the kids, and select television shows which has become my latest guilty pleasure.  

It's all good though.  Just.... different. 
It's busy and yet sometimes unusually quiet at the same time.

It's a Wonderful Life....

So while that seems to be tops on everyone's Christmas Movie list- that is not on mine, actually. 

My favorite?

Miracle on 34th Street. 

Magic and miracles and Santa - are all real. You just have to believe....

'Tis the season....

....to unsubscribe.... fa la la la la...la la, la, la.....

Last week I obliterated my inbox.
Erased every email I had.
Global delete.

And this was no epic fail.  Oh no, my friends - this was a calculated and precision move on my behalf.

I had not checked my email from the day before Thanksgiving Eve - to the Monday afterwards.  That's what, 5 days?
I had 1325 new emails.
Shut the front door!!!!

I'd be getting more and more frustrated over the past few months with emails anyway considering it seems I get more solicitation emails than real ones, and whats really frustrating is that I'm on lists for companies I've never even heard of!  And because I get so much junk, spam and solicitation emails, sometimes I miss a real one. I don't know how these companies even get my email account; there must be some sort of list that gets sold, like phone numbers did "back in the day" before the "do not call" rule.

Dear God, I could never have my email linked to my phone like most people do -- the damn thing would run out of charge with all the notification alerts.

So I decided that I am going to start over and with every incoming email I'm making a decision to determine whether I want to unsubscribe or keep them.  So far, I haven't kept very many.

Oh, and for the record - out of those 1325 emails, 8 of them were really relevant.
Isn't that obnoxious?

I just hope that the unsubscribe feature truly works.  Some of them have the disclaimer of "please allow 48 hours to 14 days for the change to take place...".  Really?  Do they think we're stupid?  It should be an automatic ping to the mail server and be instantaneous.  It's not a manual process anymore, so basically these companies are just hoping that people will "forget" that they unsubscribed.

We shall see how it goes...

Ummmm...

Gypsy Sisters. 

Oh my. 

Almost there....

Today was supposed to be the permanent crown day.   And it started off pretty good...

But the crown isn't quite right. And because it's a front tooth it's a rather big deal. The photo I'm about to show doesn't look too bad actually but in person you can definitely notice the shape and sizing isn't right. 

The best part though is that I get to keep this porcelain crown as my temporary. Usually they take the crown back to the lab but the lab rep who was there was nice enough to not make me have another temporary one made- and truthfully my dentist wasn't prepared to make one. So while this one isn't perfect-- it's far better than what I had. 

By Christmas I should have my smile back again! 

Blessed be....

It seems that the trend is to tick off lists of what we're thankful for at Thanksgiving. 

I look at it this way....

What aren't I thankful for? 

I'm blessed with healthy children. I have a handsome and incredibly thoughtful husband. My immediate and extended family are healthy and hopefully happy. 

I have two businesses with my husband-- potentially a third in the immediate future.   And I love every minute of the imperfect chaos that I call life. 

I am blessed, I am grateful and I am thankful. Not just on thanksgiving....but always 

That's it - I'm officially addicted.....

Shahs on Sunset. 

I love you guys!!!!

You are my new imaginary BFFs. 

(What....is that wrong??😳)

These are the days I live for....

Football in the yard. Turkey in the oven. Cabernet in the glass. Hot tub and fireplace calling my name. 

Ah, but Sundays are my favorite days....

Something new and exciting?

Sometimes opportunity knocks when you least expect it....

And I'm ready for it!

It's all turkey to me...

So I'm not really a fan of Thanksgiving dinner. It's my least favorite holiday meal.  

However....

I love turkey on just any random day! So I figured I'd make a turkey for Sunday's Pats game. Except....

They're playing on Monday night football. 

Oh well. Sunday dinner it will be....

Um....

So in one week, I've gone from....

Never having a cavity to...

Having a broken tooth.

Having a root canal. 

Having a temporary crown....

....the final replacement will be on 12/2.

Who knew stocking wine would be such an occupational hazard!?!

I have very white teeth so the temporary definitely doesn't match.  But that's ok because the final one will. My dentist is fortunately a cosmetic dentist and he has a team (yes I said "team") of ceramic specialists who come to his office with their own kiln to color match the teeth!! 

Yay!  I have very white teeth. (Though the photos don't reflect it well, I don't think.) 

But it was not comfotable. I'll take 5 root canals to 1 temporary crown. No lie. (Mmmkay, so these pics are not taken in the most optimum of circumstances. Just sayin'.   I'm no Gisele!)

 It's not perfectly shaped or colored or sized-- but it's better than a gaping hole like before!!! 

I'm just dreading the work again. 

I'm on my third glass of wine and I STILL have a headache. 

Ah, the pains you go through to be beautiful -- as my mother would've said.

Persian Jews?!?!

So, I'm finally watching Bravos "shahs of sunset" and I'm trying to catch up on the story lines. 

Wow. I'm a little overwhelmed. 

And confused....

They're all Iranian - but some are Jewish!?  I thought Iran hated Israel?  But they're celebrating rosh h'shana, and having people convert to Judaism!! 

Huh!?!?

I mean- that's awesome!  But can someone please explain this to me because I've always heard the complete and total opposite. 

Thank god for google....

Dear lawmakers,

How many shootings have to take place before you acknowledge there is am issue?  Since last October, we've had so many mass public shootings and attempts- that we've become jaded to them. 

Jaded to them?!!

What is going on in this world?

Anyone...anyone?

My most favorite time of year....

Fireplace crackles. Kicking through leaves. The crisp sting of cold air. Pumpkin candles. Hearty stews and chilis. Football parties. The warmth and coziness of falling asleep at night - and waking up slowly in the morning. Frost covered grasses. Cinnamon rolls. 

You're never fully dressed without a smile....

The freakiest of things happened to me on Halloween. 

A bottle of wine fell and broke my eye tooth. (Insert puzzled look HERE--I totally expect it. )

I was stocking bottles that rest on the shelf about shoulder height- and a 1.5 bottle started to fall. I could hear it fall-- I was bent down in front if it, taking another bottle out of the case to stock; but I turned my head to catch it and must've been smiling-- the bottle fell, nicked my lip but hit my tooth straight on!  Random, right!?!

I heard the crack and pop- knew my tooth broke - but would you believe I actually picked the bottle up and stocked it before actually reacting to my mouth!?!? It just all was so fast....

Needless to say that while I ended up bring fortunate enough that my tooth could be saved- the nerve was exposed and me- the girl who still hasn't had a cavity- experienced her first root canal yesterday.  (Truth-- it wasn't bad at all. I didn't even need a Tylenol or anything after. Pretty darn painless!!)

I'm not even going to go into the whole dentist debaucle- that's a blog post all in if itself!  

The worst part of it, from a physical aspect- is over. It could've been worse. But the part I'm most sad about is that I can't get even a temporary crown until 11/15!  Smiling is such a big part of who I am-- I'm almost always happy and sociable and I work with the public- so to have to cover my mouth when I talk or to not be able to smile- makes me feel like I didn't just lose my tooth, but like I lost a little bit of ME. 

I'm hoping they get a cancellation I can squeeze into...

Dear Home Beautiful....

....I was drawn to your current issue as I stood in line at Whole Foods; the pretty bedroom on the cover with it's cooling tones of lavendar drew me right in. 

But to my dismay, I had to get to page 77 before I could see any beautiful homes. Sadly, the preceding pages were full of advertisements. And while I do enjoy a good ad or two- mmm, that wasn't exactly what I had in mind.

Seeing more of THIS was what I'd been hoping for: 

Sadly, I don't think I will be buying you anymore. 

Opening up my world...

Pinterest is really fabulous. I know I've commented previously however...aside from being just mindless relaxation, every single thing I've tried from other pinners has been wildly successful. 

From THE most delicious chili, to the simplest of cakes- to designing collages or tablescapes- it's really never let me down. 

I highly recommend it. 

If for nothing else but to admire the creativity of others. 

It's just very, very cool. 

Gathering of the Girls....

I don't get to see my friends really but once or twice a year. Gone are the monthly potlucks, weekends visiting friends at the beach or even the quick dinners occasionally. Life is full of sporting events, homework, and other gatherings involving little people. I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world- and we have plenty of time to do those things once the kids get older- but I'm not going to lie...I miss my girlfriends. 

So I decided to plan a get together that was unlike any other we've ever done. And with some assistance from Kitchensurfing, we found a fantastic private chef to come and cook for us a fabulous plated meal. We set the budget, we work on a menu- and they make the magic happen. 

Almost best of all, was that for the first time ever- I got to enjoy my dining table, my meal and my company- without having to clean. That's right... My kitchen was left as pristine as it was when they arrived. Mmmyeah, I'll be doing this type of soirée again. 

What WAS best of all....was the laughter. Oh, I loved the laughter. Hearing it. Participating in it. Thinking about it again now. We laughed and laughed...and that my friends, was exactly what made the whole night worthwhile. 

So now I share with you a few snapshots of our Real Housewives of the North Shore- but without all the drama! 

Bread of life...

Making bread is a labor of love. 

I discovered this tonight as my son and I made two loaves of home made bread for his humanity class. They're donating a loaf to charity- and we get to keep the second loaf. 

This, my friends- has been a 4 hour project. 

But the house smells soooo good. 

It also further reaffirms why I cook, rather than bake. I don't have the patience for it! 

That being said, while the dough was rising, I took a moment to do something I've always wanted to do but never have--and that is to sage my house. 

There's no negative energy here, outside of typical famijy tensions- but it just made me feel like it was a fresh start to the season, and I look forward to winter to do it again. 

Nothing like a little warm, fresh bread and a smudge of sage to say "happy autumn". 

It's hard being at the top of the food chain...

You always hear that moms "don't get time off..."

Ain't that the truth. 

I've got myself a lousy cold- that I actually think is becoming an ear infection- and I'm just really tired. Tonight, I'd love to go to bed at like 730 and just try to get a good nights sleep....

But between the kids, dinners, homework (thank god we have no activities this evening)-oh and the dog- I'll be lucky if I make it sleepy time before 930. 

Thank goodness for Advil and extra strength Tylenol to get me through the duration.....

Nom nom nom...

I equate food with happiness. 

Not in the sense in that I eat to feel happy or that I'm an emotional eater; but in the sense of sharing food. 

Cooking makes me happy. I look forward to football Sundays and thinking about what I want to make. Or holiday dinners and a room full of people. 

Food shopping makes me happy or rather the look of the cabinets full afterwards. 

Food is a gift that we can share- it binds us and bonds us closer together. 

And- it's delicious! 

Mary Catherine Elizabeth Cheyenne Louisa Theresa Anne Marie!

I am cracking up right now. 

I'm watching the show that's on CMT about the Dallas cowboy cheerleader auditions. 

Let me tell you- the names are a riot!  Everyone either must want to be a model, an actress or they just don't believe in last names! 

Ashley Lynne. Tessa Christine. Paula Marie. Jennifer Kathryn. Jenna Denise. 

You get the picture. 

It's really, really funny.