It’s Halloween! Let’s celebrate! Oh, how I love this holiday! I’m bummed that when I’m on the road, I don’t get to dress up and participate. Oh did I have some fabulous Halloweens! As a kid, dressing up and going trick-or-treating with my parents and then with friends. Some years, buying costumes, other years, making them. I’ve been Emmet Kelly, the famous hobo clown, Dorothy Gale from the Wizard of Oz, Charlie Chaplin. As an adult, I got into it all over again, Maleficent, The Wicked Queen from Snow White, Cruella de vil, a little old man, a geisha with a fabulous pagoda at work. Oh my, did I love dressing up and fooling people. My house, oh my house, wow, loved decorating. It was scary and fun, kids loved and were terrified to come to the front door. One year I got a popcorn machine and wagon for my birthday and that was the start of being known as “The popcorn lady”! They loved it, they got candy and hot popcorn! I was sweeping popcorn from my lawn for weeks! I think the birds loved it! Now, I’m responsible for the Halloween costumes for eight fabulous little people! I remember when it started! When EJS was born I asked GES if I could get her Halloween costume and she said yes, if I didn’t, there might not be one! And the tradition was born! What a joy and treat for me! I get to do something wonderful and special and I so love being able to give them what they want to be, to help them imagine what it’s like to be something different, play dress up and pretend. Each year it’s something different. The first year, if their moms don’t tell me what they want to be, then I get something fun, hoping it’s what they might want. No matter what, cuties! This year, EJS was a doctor, MGS a police officer, LB a zombie cheerleader, Princess L was a pirate, Baby A was Sonic the Hedgehog, his baby sister E was Minnie Mouse, CDL was Winnie the Pooh and Miss A, well, she was a biker babe! I talked to MGS right after she got her costume ‘Thank you so much for my costume!” When did she grow up? EJS was tickled to be a doctor! LB and Princess L looked great, a zombie cheerleader? Where did she come up with that! And my pirate princess, priceless! Baby A as Sonic and Baby sister E as Minnie Mouse? They both refused to take off their costumes when they got them! Baby A, he was Mickey Mouse and went through the same thing, LOVE! CDL’s Winnie the Pooh didn’t fit last year, but this year, perfect! And Miss A? I just supplied the biker jacket and tattoo sleeves, SDL, well, she out did herself! She turned Miss A’s wheelchair into a CHOPPER! Headlights and all! Wow! All my babies, wow! They looked so fantastic! I love being a part of it and seeing their faces when they’re in costume and trick-or-treating. I wait all year for this and I’m ready for next year! Happy Halloween my friends and family! Boo! 
What? No!!! Say it ain’t so!
One of my favorite things about an aunt and grandmother, JJ, is, well, making the babies happy! I love getting them birthday gifts, holiday presents, treats from my travels, but one of my favorites, Halloween! With all of the nieces and grand-babies, it’s my responsibility and I wear that badge with pride!
I start asking in the summer, ‘What do you want to be for Halloween?’ and then I’m off! And every year there are new challenges. When they’re little, either mom and dad decide or I get to pick. As they get older, they know what they want and that’s what I get them. Oh yea!
This year, the costume I ordered for EJS arrived and it was the wrong size, what? Ok, return, order new. I ordered the new costume on Tuesday, there was an issue with the payment, fixed it and I also added overnight shipping, great, it should get there no later than Thursday! That works!
So…guess what happened…Thursday comes and goes, no costume, it’s been delayed, should be there by Friday, ok. Then it should be there by Sunday, seriously? Then…delay…it should be there by October 30 or 31st, but no later than Wednesday. Seriously? November 1st? AFTER Halloween? Think I was cool with this? Not a chance!
So…I had a nice little chat with Amazon Prime. You know fabulous this call was, humph…The guy kept apologizing for the inconvenience and putting me on hold and hemming and hawing, nothing they could do, it would be there by Wednesday. I said that doesn’t help, it’s a Halloween costume, ‘oh, I’m sorry’, not sure there was actual understanding there.
I think four times he offered me an extra month of Prime for free, that still doesn’t help me with the costume crisis! Oooh, I could call it it CC2017! The great Costume Crisis of 2017! Such drama! Well, save the drama for your momma!
We went round and round and came up with no solutions. Well, except for me to sit there and click on the update link over and over and over. That and look up as many costume stores near GES that I could find.
FINALLY…it paid off because at 3:37pm, Amazon updated with DELIVERED! I immediately texted GES and waited… until she texted back that it was received and a photo was texted with a very happy EJS! Whew!
Let me just say this, I admittedly sometimes am late with birthday, and holiday gifts and that’s not cool, but…I always think getting a gift whenever is fabulous, not an excuse, but…you cannot be late on a Halloween costume, there is no week of Halloween or Halloween Day 2! Only one day, luckily it’s the same day every year! October 31st! And in this one area, I cannot and will not disappoint the wee tots that I love! One year I missed LB and Princess L because I didn’t see an email about costumes, but I won’t let that happen again!
So…JJ almost missed out and I REFUSE to disappoint my nieces and grand-babies when it comes to Halloween and I’m not about to start!
Oh, how I wish I could show you pictures of my loves, they all look so fabulous!
I can’t wait to see everyone tomorrow! Happy Eve of Halloween!!!
FOUR? Wait, she was just a baby? Now she’s FOUR? WOW!
I still remember the day CS told me she was pregnant with baby number two! LB was going to be a big sister! Oh wow! I also remember being in Las Vegas a few days before she was born, man did I want her to come out so I could meet her! But alas, JJ would have to wait…sigh.
And then I got to meet her and it’s been a treat! It takes her a minute when we see each other, she’s a cautious little person, especially since we don’t see each other often, but when she warms up, oh wow…hugs, smiles, silliness, curiosity, love.
I love seeing what the kids come up with when they play, together and by themselves. Princess L has a wonderful imagination, there are times when I visit and the kids are all doing their own thing, I love seeing what her mind comes up with to do or play by herself.
Sometimes she’s shy and lets others lead and other times she asserts herself and takes control and the lead. She’s creative and cunning, smart and sassy at times, loves learning new things and showing you what she’s learned.
Oh boy, does she love and look up to her big sister, LB! There is nothing like seeing these two doll babies together. She follows her around like a little sister and then she chases her…like a little sister!
When she decides what she wants to be for Halloween or gets something I send her from my travels, or for her birthday, that’s when I get to put a big smile on that sweet face. I love thinking about what I’m going to get her that is just for her. When I was pulling pictures of Princess L together for my Facebook post, it’s amazing the range of expressions and emotions she has, just with a look, a grin, a thought.
This little munchkin is one of the loves of my life and I look forward to watching her grow and learn and become the amazing person and adult I know is coming, but right now, the sweet, happy and special little girls she is.
Happy FOURTH birthday Princess L! JJ loves you oh so very much!
Today, PSM and I attended a family event together.
PSM’s first cousin’s son, JK, became a bar mitzvah today. What an honor to be included in these family events. I’ve been to other family functions, holidays, parties, this is a little different, these events are more formal and special.
I got in last night, did you love my hotel room!? PSM went to the dinner they were having at the hotel where most everyone was staying and got to spend some time with his family, they are a fantastic bunch of people and so close, it’s special.
This morning, we went to the synagogue to watch JK take his place among the congregation, become an adult and lead us through his Torah and Havdalah. He gave a great speech, chanted the prayers and Torah and Havdalah portions so well, he made his family, friends and his congregation proud.
Years of study and practice go into learning the prayers, preparing for this special day, spending time working with the rabbi on the prayers, working with the cantor learning to chant the prayers and readings, working with his parents preparing his speeches. All of this culminating to a very special day for everyone, of course, most importantly, the bar mitzvah himself.
Hard work should be well rewarded and after such a ceremony, we celebrate! The first, was right after the service, we had a small luncheon and then later in the evening, we had a good old fashioned party! It was at the Empire Room on the NY State Fairgrounds.
There were appetizers, drinks, dinner, dancing, games for the kids and time to spend together catching up, making new friends and just enjoying being together and participating in the joy of the day and the pride his parents and family felt.
This was a true celebration! Mazel Tov to JK and his family.
Tonight I made a new friend, introduced them to a new restaurant and went to a concert. This was all after working a full and fabulous day! Not too shabby, huh?
So, fabulous day to start. We went live yesterday with the application I am supporting and that was quite the experience. Some things went better than others and then there were the others, but over all, I’m pleased.
Then, dinner with a new friend! SMH is a new member of the team I am on in Chicago. Tonight we were going to go to one of my favorite vegan restaurants, Kitchen 17, to introduce her to vegan deep dish. Well, before we went to dinner, SMH was given two tickets to the Katie Perry concert! Did I want to go? Sure!
So, the concert started at 7pm, we were hungry and went to Native Foods, another fabulous vegan restaurant I love. I cannot believe I forgot to take a picture of my food! I had their new steak sandwiche and it was fabulous! Enough that I ate it two days in a row, right?! SMH had the reuben, you know much I love that sandwich. I couldn’t finish it like the night before, no idea how that happened!
After dinner we went over to the United Arena for the concert. We got there as the opening act was finishing up, about three songs we heard, Noah Cyrus, the younger sister of Miley Cyrus. She was pretty good, I don’t know her music.
The negative, we waited a little over an hour for the main event. It was after 9:15pm when Katie Perry came on stage, not cool. The arena was packed with all ages, but a large number of kids under 10 years old, think their moms were happy the fact that their kids were up and waiting, waiting, waiting. SMH kept looking at each other, how long do we give it! We are two adult women at a concert on a Wednesday night, have to go to work in the morning. We all know that I don’t sleep much, but still, we felt old asking this question!
The one good thing…all the music that was playing while we waited was 80’s, I was happy! Of course, to SMH and half the crowd these were oldies, as they had not been born yet in the 80’s!
When it started, what a performer and performance! The sets, the musicians, the music, the backup dancers, the lights, the sounds, the effects! I’ll be honest, I don’t know a lot of Katie Perry’s music, more than I thought, which was definitely nice! The first few songs SMH and the rest of the crowd knew, and then she went into some ‘old school’ Katie Perry, ‘Hot and Cold’, ‘I Kissed a Girl’, the sets changed almost every song or every few songs and they corresponded to what she was singing. Really great and simple sets and props to convey the message and tell a story. Sometimes, I’m not sure what that story was, but it told a story!
We gave it until about 10:30pm and then we were out and we were ok with that. Get this, SMH’s mom was invited to the same concert! She had plans and wasn’t there, but how cool would that have been to see her there! Overall, a great night, making a new friend, introducing her to some good food, which she really enjoyed, a great concert to end a great day!
Enjoy the photos and the clips!
October 23rd was a vey special day, my Grandma M’s birthday.
This was my mom’s mom, one of the grandma’s MGS is named for, has her exact name in fact. She definitely takes after her namesake!
She was an amazing grandmother, fun, funny, sometimes when she didn’t even realize it! She taught me to play cards like poker, gin, casino, solitaire. We used to stay up playing gin all night. The woman was relentless! She knew what I had and what I played! “Are you sure you want to play that?” What? It was freaky!
She used to organize trips to Atlantic City for groups, arranged everything, from the buses to the casinos, made sure everyone got there and back. She was politically active, working the voting polls every election, campaigning for Cancer Care.
She was an amazing cook, well, when it came to Jewish food, anything else was a challenge, but her specialties, oh man, wow! We loved to tease each other and it was our thing, she would make applesauce and no matter how much sugar she put in, I would ask her if she added any, not enough! She would gasp and then threaten me with a plau-uch and a chamaliah [spelling not sure!] That’s a back and front handed hit to the tush, all in gest of course! “Why, I’m going to give you such a chamliah and a plau-uch!” Oh no!
There were so many things I loved about my grandmother, she was fantastic and stubborn and smart and traveled and would include me in so much! She would do take me to the theater to see a musical, The Rockettes and the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall in New York City each year was a tradition. I remember her taking me to Coney Island as a kid and riding the Log Flume, the aquarium, the zoo, the park, wherever the adventure took us. Next year, I’ll tell you some more fun stuff! Why give it all away, we’re going to be talking for a long time!
Could we fight and disagree, you bet your sweet bippie! Did we kiss and make up, you bet your sweet you know what! She was fierce and protective and feisty and argumentative and curious and loved life, how could you not love her? I know I did.
Happy birthday, if I could be half the grandmother you were, I’m gonna rock! I love you.
Nope, not a typo! Must be read with a New York accent!
I came into Chicago earlier today, I had a dinner meeting in the office at 5pm. I got settled into the hotel and since I didn’t have a lot of time, I thought a few minutes of culture and art would be nice.
I decided to go to the Art Institute of Chicago and even better…I get in for free with my work ID! A little culture for free, score!
First order of business, go in a different direction than I always do. I tend to stick to just the modern and impressionists. I ventured to the left this time.
Chagall windows, Picasso, Dubuffet and Miro sculpture models for pieces around Chicago. Then some sustenance, a fabulous bowl of sauteed brussel sprouts. Now to walk off the sprouts.
Greek and Roman statutes, different installations, architechture, book covers and sketches, I couldn’t resist the impressionists and modern.
I was there a little under two hours, admired, enjoyed, discussed and pondered. Quite enjoyable!
I don’t know if you have heard me talk about my girls, my nieces, EJS and MGS. Oh well maybe once or twice, ha ha!
This weekend, albiet short, was the chance to spend one on one time with my sister, which you know is rare and a date with just me and my girls. How happy was I?
GES and I went somewhere, more will be revealed later, some quality time at lunch then retail therapy. I’m really good at encouraging her… to spend money! She got some great stuff! For the first time, there were more shoe options for her than me! I’m an eight, she’s a five, what are the odds?
We got home and the parents went out for dinner with friends and it was me and my girls!
Turns out no kid appropriate movies were in the theater so it was mac-n- cheese for dinner and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. They both curled up with me, MGS on my lap and EJS next to me and laughed and talked about the movie.
After, no fights, just teeth brushed, jammies on, hugs and kisses and lights out. That was easy.
I am leaving early in the morning to go back to Chicago, big dinner meeting tomorrow night. Extra hugs and kisses since I won’t see them again until Thanksgiving.
Um…I don’t think so, others might.
I’ve told you, at least I think I have, that if I’m not on a plane every week or every other week, I get a bit antsy. I like my lifestyle and now I’m spoiled. I admit it!
Well, things just got real! I am currently Platinum status on Delta, that’s the third tier and Gold status on United. I was wondering when I was going to catch up to PSM on United and promote to Gold, this was a few months ago when I was traveling back and forth to Hawaii more often then he was and then one day, wow, Gold!
Now I’m Platinum on Delta and Gold on United for this year and working towards Platinum for both for next year. Platinum gets you some nice perks. More upgrade opportunities to first class, better seat options, more free checked bags, boarding earlier, first on, first off, more legroom and some other nice perks.
Well, all of a sudden, I go to check into my flight and bam! Platinum on United! For this year and next! What? When did that happen? Who cares, I’ll take it! Now, all I need is Platinum on Delta for next year and I’m golden! Ha ha!
So… tonight I was upgraded to first class from Chicago to Boston. They serve dinner on these flights, but since I was upgraded, no vegan for me. The flight attendant told me to pick something from the snacks for sale and I got hummus and chips. She was very sweet and took this box and put it on a tray with a placemat, napkin roll with real silver and added a roll for me and the wine glass. Not necessary, off course, I would have been happy just to have the snack, but she made it more special, thank you!
Let the spoiling commence and continue!
And pokey. Sigh…
Today was my last official End User training class with the client before we go- live on Tuesday. That meant my last official song and dance.
Let me explain…
If I haven’t already told you, one of the things I do and I’m known for in the world of training, is singing and sometimes dancing every day at 2pm I’m my class. It started when I got on this project.
Picture it… you’re teaching a class, these are all adults, and you look out and see yawning , eyelids drooping and fidgeting. You may not be bored, just tired, hopefully not bored! I can guarantee that people don’t get bored in my classes! I don’t let them! I have my methods.
I call on people to read, answer questions, cal them out when they yawn! I do the last one with humor, never embarrass anyone, doesn’t accomplish anything. I also tell a lot of bad dad jokes! I also know what I’m like as a student and this would work on me!
So… we get back from lunch at 1pm and by 2pm, fidgeting…I tell them to get on their feet and then I have them sing and add dancing and even hand gestures. We go back to pre-k and kindergarten! The Itsy Bitsy Spider, The Wheels on the Bus, Take Me Out To The Ballgame, You Are My Sunshine, Row, Row, Row Your Boat, in a round!
I go to one site and when I get there…”what are you going to sing today?!” How much do you think I love that!
Lately, with one day classes…The Hokey and Pokey! Oh, it’s awesome! A bunch of grown men and women all singing and putting their right hand in, taking their right hand out, putting their right hand in and shaking it about. They do the hokey pokey and turn themselves about and that’s what it’s all about! Right hand! Left hand! Right foot! Left foot! Finally… whole self! Wahoo!
So, today, being the last official End User class, the last song and dance. Sigh…
Can’t wait for the next training project!
