I'm Baack

I don’t even know where to begin – whether to discuss the conference last week or the preparations for Hurricane Sandy this weekend. Let me give you a brief overview of last week – I don’t want to jinx myself but I had no issues traveling to San Francisco either from home or from San Francisco. WOW, I know that wasn’t true for many other folks whether flights were delayed or cancelled altogether; but, both Catherine and I found us to be on the good side of the airline gods. And that states a lot as she flew from Newark while I flew out of JFK. Well here I thought that I might get that late suntan in Monterey – was I surprised when it turned out that the weather back East was better than in Monterey. Our weather never got above the low 70’s and many days it was overcast; but, there was only one morning of a major downpour – we were even able to have our beach party on Tuesday evening.

At the conference there is rarely time for me to do anything for myself as I and the other Board Members are so focused on the program, the attendees and our Exhibitors. Catherine and I were able to work out three times at the hotel gym – it was convenient that it was in the same building and down the hall from our room. We also were able to go out to lunch on Saturday and went to a mall about 3 miles from the hotel where Catherine picked up shoes and some clothes – can you believe I did not buy any shoes; but, did get a jacket and a nice sweater set. I was also able to get a manicure at the spa and were my hands nice and soft afterwards. I am very proud of the conference and the program we put together over these last many months. The content was right in line with what people were looking for and at the concurrent session there were double digit attendees and people were truly engaged and asked many questions. Something we have always struggled with was keeping individuals until the end of the last day – this time we succeeded. We had the Industry Experts and Analyst panel conducted like a talk show and everyone was invited to imbibe either on a soda, water or beer during the session; and, then we had one of the Analysts speak from Wainhouse and he was magnificent and engaging.

It was great to get home on Thursday night after having been away for a week. I have to admit that I left my briefcase and suitcase in the foyer and just went into the kitchen to have my breakfast dishes set up for the morning as I was going to the gym in the morning – then off to bed. 5:50 came awfully early; but, it was good to get that high intensity workout done and out of the way. Then home to log on and answer email messages, see how our web ex service was behaving. I had a mammogram appointment at 2:30 and needed to get on a conference call at 3PM to discuss the hurricane situation. I am fortunate that the imaging facility is only 5 minutes away and when they found out I needed to be home by 3 they took care of me quickly. Home to put together communication contingency programs for the health system throughout the hurricane – still tired and have not unpacked my suitcase yet. Saturday morning and I was off to aqua aerobics and to my Zumba toning class – it had started last week; but, because I was away this would be my first one. It was terrific and I had done 2 hours of working out for the day. Some errand to do on my way home and I would finally get that suitcase unpacked – in truth it only took me about 10 minutes to get everything either in the hamper or on the cleaner pile. We received notification that those of us who were non-essential employees should not go into the office on Monday. I advised my team and the individuals who were coming for a meeting that it was cancelled and that I would re-schedule. We are all on call throughout the storm to help with either a video or web ex meeting for the health system and I have received a few requests; but, nothing outrageous.

Sunday and it is evident that Hurricane Sandy will be hitting us; but, no one knows for sure how intense it will be. I went to Zumba this morning, the cleaners and to the grocery store to pick up a few things. It is amazing that the supermarket had no water left and the milk I normally buy was gone. Some of the towns nearby always lose power and people are preparing themselves for the worse. I am of the thought that there is not much that I can do about it so let’s go with the flow. I hope that it is not so bad that the kids cannot “trick or treat” on Wednesday as this would be the second year in a row for them – need I remind you of the freak snowstorm we had last year at this time? To everyone – that has been my week in a nutshell. Be safe, be smart and Happy Halloween.

Family Time

I know, I know – you were expecting this last night. But I spent all day Saturday and yesterday cooking – same meal, two different days. I will not see the boys (Ryan and Callum) before Halloween – next weekend I am in Monterey, CA for the Visual Communications Industry Group conference and I will not return until Thursday, October 25th. Gerard and the boys will be going to Delaware to visit Gerry on the Friday and will not return until the Tuesday before Halloween – hence my not seeing them. I wanted to ensure that we celebrated Halloween, that they had their “trick or treat” bags and the other items I had bought for them.

So why did I end up cooking a family dinner two days in a row? It was necessary to have Gerard and the boys over on Saturday because Ryan who plays hockey had a game on Saturday at 7:30PM; but, the game on Sunday was at 4:15PM. Siobhan and Matt were going to come but she had a slight viral stomach bug and did not feel comfortable leaving the house. I was actually quite proud of myself as after Aqua Aerobics I went to the bakery and picked up the cake I had ordered. I went home and read the Saturday papers and then began prepping to cook. Oh, and on Friday night I had set the table, put together the boys Halloween bags and had done the grocery shopping. Although I had bought a cake for desert – I decided that I would make pumpkin bread because Callum eats it. He has food issues with taste and texture so whenever I find out that he will eat something I make sure I have it on hand for him. I tackled this first since it takes an hour in the oven. Out it came and the house smelled of autumn with the pumpkin, cinnamon and vanilla. Pretty proud of myself. Since I had bought enough food to feed a small army I decided that I would just go ahead and just cook half of everything. Gerard had stated that he wanted to eat at 3PM, so at 1 I began chopping onions, tomatoes, garlic and then I started to brown the meat. I was making Mexican – we would have nachos, salsa, guacamole and then Mexican lasagna. I was so satisfied with myself – by the time Gerard arrived with the boys – the nachos were in the microwave ready to be nuked to melt the cheese. The Mexican lasagna was made and just needed to be placed in the oven to warm up and melt the cheese on top and I was busily mashing avocados to make the guacamole; not only that the dishes were washed that I had used.

I put out the appetizers and Gerard informed me that we did not have to eat until 5PM. For the first time in having a family dinner I was able to sit down and just enjoy talking to him and the boys and catching up – most often I am in the kitchen cooking and missing everything. We ate at 5PM and everyone enjoyed it. Callum will not leave the house until he has his dessert or cake. So I brought it out and everyone had a small sliver except for Ryan who did not want any. However, Callum wanted a second piece – I let him know that I was sending it home and he could have a second piece at home. They were gone at 6 and by 6:10 – the dishes were in the dishwasher, the table was back to normal and the house had been vacuumed. But, by 7:30 I was tired and I went to bed at 8. I have decided that I am becoming a fuddy-duddy as I need more rest lately.

Sunday I was off to Zumba and Matt and Siobhan were coming over for dinner. Well the menu was going to be the same; but, I needed to get dessert since the cake I had yesterday and it was a special order from the bakery. From the gym I stopped at the cleaners, then the grocery store and picked up a dessert from them. I decided to do the same thing and prep the entire meal before they came – this time even the guacamole was done by they walked in the door. I enjoyed just sitting and catching up with them while we first watched the Jets and then the Yankees on TV. We had dinner – I packed a goodie bag for them to take home and I gave them the dessert. Again in 10 minutes I had the dishes in the dishwasher, the dining room table back to order, the garbage out and the living and dining room vacuumed. But, tonight I was sleepy just my body was tired. I was able to stay up until 10PM and was very proud of myself. I don’t know about you – but in our family we make an effort to get together every month, be it to celebrate a birthday, a holiday or like in September there are no birthdays or holidays just to get together as a family and break bread.

I enjoy these times as too soon the boys will grow up and be on their merry way; do the same - ENJOY!!! P.S. Next week I will be at the Visual Communications Group conference hoping for an excellent turnout and will not be doing a blog - stay tuned next one will be October 28th!

It Has Gotten Chillier

WOW!!! What a difference a day makes. On Friday it was 80 degrees and that evening I was running around opening the bedroom windows because I was extremely warm and could not sleep. Yesterday it was 75; but, it was supposed to rain and the temperature was supposed to drop 30 degrees in the evening. I decided it was time to put away the patio cushions, remove the umbrella and cover the patio furniture. Although last week I moved the spring/summer clothes to the spare bedroom closet and fall/winter into my bedroom closet, I did not do the shoes or my draws – I got that done last night and made sure I had long sleeved shirts, turtlenecks and sweaters at the ready. And, boy did they come in handy this morning – once I took my bed covers off I could feel the chilliness in the air. Long workout pants on; and, a long sleeved shirt in my gym bag to wear after Zumba class.

While making breakfast I noticed that the temperature in the house was 69 – time to turn the heat on, I like the house at 70 degrees – although I would put it at 72 if gas was not so expensive. I have to marvel at how quickly the weather can turn. Have you ever pondered what happens in autumn? On the East coast we tend to get a bit of rain which has the leaves falling and turning colors, it is pitch black when I leave the house at 5:45AM and the temperature has already been 45 degrees at that hour in the morning. Then as I sit and watch the 5 o’clock news I have become aware of where the sun is – it isn’t in the same place as in the summer. The front of my house faces East and it is very apparent by 3PM that we are in fall as it is already dark in the front of the house and the kitchen which faces West is nice and bright.

In a few weeks it will be Halloween – the boys will be over to celebrate it next Saturday since I will be gone the weekend of the 19th and the following weekend they will be in Delaware visiting their grandfather. I have their trick or treat bags for them and they are full with Halloween PJs, (Callum’s glow in the dark), a Halloween shirt and their Godiva candy. I will give it to them when they come over for dinner – I have decided to make Mexican lasagna (use tortillas instead of lasagna noodles), chicken fajitas and for appetizers it will be guacamole, salsa, chips and nachos.

I cannot forget to buy candy corn since Ryan distinctly remembered that I had candy corn in leaf bowls last year. I am looking to make a pumpkin bread for them to take home – it turns out Callum likes it and anytime we find a food that he will eat I make sure that he has plenty of it. There is an apple cake recipe that I found that I think everyone will enjoy and then I will have the bakery make me a yellow cake with chocolate icing, a spider web decoration and Happy Halloween written on it. Do my family dinners seem a little elaborate – probably so. I enjoy entertaining - it is a good opportunity to have the boys understand how to sit at a set table and eat properly.

As the weather changes and gets cool my thoughts go to comfort food; stews, casseroles and to baking. I know that Callum enjoys cake, my family enjoys different bread loaves; pumpkin, cranberry and cinnamon swirl; and, I do make a mean cheese Danish. I have baked since I was in my early teens whether it was cookies, cupcakes or a cake I enjoyed making sweet things that my family would enjoy. In the fall there is nothing better than the smell of apple, cinnamon and spices in your house. Enjoy this time with your family – the color of the leaves and marvel at the beauty that Mother Nature is providing us.

Happy Fall – it is here for a very short time.