Boston Strong

I had some vague plans to go to Boston last summer before the Marathon bombing.  And I have to say, I was a little leery after everything that had happened so we scrapped the trip (not the sole reason of course, but it certainly didn't help).  However seeing how the city came back after such an overwhelming obstacle took me by surprise.  They say that terrorism doesn't do exactly what it's supposed to.  Terrorists want to create chaos and pull people apart.  But if the last 10-15 years have shown us anything, it's that it almost never does.  It binds people together into a united front and makes them stronger and more as one. 

I couldn't believe it when it happened one year ago, and I still can't believe it happened today, one year later.  To target such an exciting, and raucous event with anger and hatred is cowardly to say the least.  But the emergency responders, doctors, nurses, and ordinary citizens, banded together and showed those 2 men that the injured and more importantly Boston as a whole wouldn't be brought down so easily.  They showed what strength, kindness and courage could - ultimately heal an entire city. 

What's most telling is the numbers for this year's Marathon.  In 2013 about 23,000 runners participated but in 2014, there are expected to be around 36,000 runners racing.  If that's not Boston strong, I'm not sure what is!  

I know today will be a day of pain and healing for those who lost loved ones and those who are still struggling to mend, but if anything, the love and support of most of the world being sent their way will help them through this anniversary which I'm sure is something the terrorists never anticipated.

Sending love and prayers to Boston and all the marathoners.  #BostonStrong

Happy Easter!

Wishing you and yours a beautiful and blessed Easter!

Easter Sweets

For the record, I can go months without eating candy, but come Easter time, it's all I crave! Today was officially Easter baking day and of course I turned to Pinterest.  Where in the world would I be without it?!  All of the recipes turned out pretty well, I think.  The Bunny Tails are super sweet so if that's your thing, they're perfect for you but I'm not such a fan. Other than that, my track record was much higher than usual.  All recipes can be found below - Enjoy!

Coconut Bunny Tails      Butter Creams     Peanut Butter Bon Bons     Hot Cross Buns

Friday Five

1. Spending a day with the cutie patootie niece who, as the saying goes, says the darndest things.  Today's winners were:
After the waitress at a pizza place dropped ketchup to the table - "Seriously, ketchup?" Complete with eye-roll and hair flip.

After waiting just a bit too long in the wind for the boat to pick us up: "My eyeballs are cold."

And my personal favorite, after giving my go to answer to "You know what? (Yeah, he's a good friend of mine.): "....Huh?"  I think I may have stopped her dead in the tracks with that one.

2. All sorts of fun house fixes that should have been done 4 years ago.  I now have a trash can that rolls out from under the sink, a pot rack to hang all my pans on and a new completely comfy sofa and chair set in the living room.  I'm so glad I have my own personal handy-man, he certainly comes in handy : )  Thanks bud!

3. Seriously, how cute is this guy?  How in the world can anyone think he's a deadly beast?

4. Jim Henson's Creature Shop: I'm sort of obsessed with all things Jim Henson but I'm so not a fan of reality TV.  However, SyFy has seemingly created the perfect reality show for me based on Jim Henson's creature shop.  The talent of these fabricators and creature builders is pretty darn impressive.  Having the chance to create monsters and skeksies all other sorts of creatures in Jim Henson space, and based on his works has to be about the most fun ever.  

5. I'm not sure when all the Mason Jar love started but I do know that this idea is close to being the cutest ever!

Looking for Inspiration

In the maze of my brain, lately it seems that actual topics for blog posts have some how been lost in the labyrinth.  I suppose that's just my way of saying I have some serious writer's block.  So I jumped on my trusty Pinterest boards of inspiration and found a list for April of Blog Ideas. Perfect, right?  Well, actually, kind of not perfect as you'll see what today's idea is.  I don't want to take a break, that would ruin my whole darn streak.  So I'm stealing one from last month's list mostly because it seems fitting since next week is World Book Night.

My favorite Children's Books:

As a recovering Pre-school teacher and hoarder of all things Kid Lit related, this one might be a bit difficult to nail down.  I love lots and lots of books, for lots and lots of different reasons.  When I finally do get that Prince Charming and 2.5 kids I'm hoping for, the kids better gosh darn like to read, because I've pretty much filled their entire library already. They will have no choice : )

Anything by Dr. Seuss: I've ALWAYS treasured any Dr. Seuss story.  His works are just so much fun for kids.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who has tried to read the stories as quickly as possible in funny voices without stumbling over all the craziness.  He showed kids that reading wasn't boring,.  It was fun and crazy and could be anything you wanted it to be. 

"A Midsummer Night's Fairy Tale" by Wendy Froud and Terri Winding: If you know anything about Jim Henson's studios, the name Froud should stick out.  She's the wife of Brian Froud who is responsible for all the creatures in "Labyrinth" and "The Dark Crystal".  In other words, the Frouds are amazing!  The story pretty much mirrors "A Midsummer Night's Dream" so I was already pre-destined to like it.  But what I love about this book (and the next 2 in the series) are the photographs.  Instead of using illustrations, she created the creatures and their environments, then photographed them.  They are stunning and you can just see the influences of Brian Froud's creatures.  Also, faeries.  What's not to love about faeries?!

"Harry Potter": What kind of anglophile would I be if I didn't mention Harry Potter?  I just found the first Harry Potter book on a shelf in a book store by accident before the craze hit and long before there were to be 6 more books.  I instantly fell in love with everything about it - the story, the message, the characters, Hogwarts - Everything!  Discovering it for myself before the whole world fell in love with it, made it that much more special.

"The Littlest Angel": My most favorite Christmas book is a children's book.  The message that even a little person can do big things will always hold a special place in my heart.  Not to mention the tradition of my dad reading it each Christmas Eve.  I fell in love with books hearing it read each year.

"Paddington", "Babar" and "Madeline": There's just something about the stories that hold up after so much time.  I remember falling in love with the bear from darkest Peru in his little galoshes and rain hat then watching the snazzy elephant on PBS each week.  My love for Madeline was more recent after discovering her stories while teaching.  Who's to say oldies aren't goodies?

Wishful Wednesday

For the most part, I'm most often wishful about England.  I spend most days dreaming I was walking along the Thames, or grabbing a bite at a pub or just seeing a show on the West End.  However, just about this time each year - spring time right before it gets all scorching hot and too humid to even think about going outside, I start dreaming about the beach. 

I have always liked going to the beach, but it's never really been my go to travel destination.  I'd much rather visit huge cities or historic towns than spend hours upon hours rotating between sitting in the sticky sand and bouncing in the waves.  It's fun in small doses but after a few hours I'm done.  I think it may have something to do with growing up so close to Ocean City, MD.  It's within a 3 hours drive so it wasn't a HUGE deal when we picked up and made the trip, unlike someone living in landlocked Iowa, for example.

But, contrary to today's 30 degree temperatures, yesterday's 80 degree temps made me long for some sun, sand and surf.  I'm craving a good book, a comfy beach chair and some serious sun to give some color to these ghost white legs of mine. I want to jump into the waves and not freeze when I do so - though it's usually a pre-requisite in the chilly Atlantic.  Then I want to hit the boards and scarf down some Boog's BBQ & lemonade and top it all off with some Fisher's Popcorn and Dumser's Ice Cream.  (I never said it was a healthy fantasy). 

Come June, Coastal Highway will be inundated with senior weekers, bike weekers and family vacationers, thus making it a bit more overly-crowded and a lot less fun.  But for now, the beach is the perfect escape for summer dreamers.

Happy (Or Unhappy, I suppose) Tax Day!

There are things I just don't understand.  Things that are a normal part of life, that I accept, but don't fully get.  Taxes are one of those things.  Oh, I get the money part.  I realize that the government needs money and it's our job to give them some of ours.  But past that point, I'm lost.

- How does one actually commit tax fraud?  I mean, taxes come right out of my paycheck each week.  Even if I wanted to not give the government my money, I couldn't succeed.  But hundreds (maybe thousands) of Americans go to jail each year for committing the act. 

- Why do so many people wait until April 14th to do their taxes?  I mean, seriously?  Aren't you scared that your computer is going to break or the internet is going to go down or an asteroid is going to hit the mail box that you've just used to mail the papers?  Wouldn't life be so much less stressful if you just did it months ago when you got all the docs in the mail?

- What exactly is a tax break and how can I get in on that action?  I know millionaires get them but I'm thinking they're rich enough to pay the same darn taxes all of us average people are paying, right?

- How does one even succeed in "doing" one's taxes?  There are an awful lot of numbers, letters, symbols, etc. on those darn documents that come in the mail. One false move, and you're in the poor house instead of living the high life.  I know TurboTax looks simple and I'm fairly good with a computer, but the accountant has some fancy letters after his name that tell me he's not going to screw it up as royally as I am, therefore, I'm willing to pay anything he asks. 

In hindsight, I probably should have gone the accounting root - I wouldn't have to write a post about all the things I didn't understand about taxes, and I'd be rolling in the dough of all the schmucks like me... 

Here's hoping all of our refunds are big and our losses are tiny. Happy Tax Day!