A Good Day

Today makes me look forward. Whether you were an Obama supporter or not, it should really make everyone look forward. It's a fresh start, one way or another.

Why? Some big reasons, some little ones.

• Our new president represents America as an intelligent individual, with poise and class.
  
• I don't feel like our country will be a bully anymore. I don't like bullies.
• I think that the first family will be a good example--an accessible one--to others in the country.
• 
• It's nice to have a First Lady that I can actually relate to.
• Feels like my family is going to be more important to everyone, not just to me, for some reason.
• I can't remember the last time this much of the country was excited about anything.
• I liked the fact I followed so much of real-people-chat on Twitter and online, in terms of how they felt, how the day impacted them.
  
• LOVE the new White House web site! http://www.whitehouse.gov/
  
• It felt good to have both the kids in the room with me during the oaths.
• What he says makes sense to me, as a person.
  

I hope everyone has good feelings in their heart today. It will not be easy, it will not be fast to fix all that is currently off-balance in the USA. But at least it seems like a good running start.

Great-full

I usually don't get very sappy or emotional in my posts, but you must forgive me on this one.

Everyone by now has heard about US Air Flight 1549 and how it had to make a necessary "ditch" landing in the Hudson River after both engines were taken out by a flock of geese. I now, officially, despise those Canadian geese.

A dear friend, a mentor of mine, was on the flight. I had a call with her that morning to discuss some business-related issues and she noted she was going to be flying home that afternoon around 2pm or so. When my husband called to tell me the news, I was picking my son up from preschool and it just didn't register immediately that the flight was heading to Charlotte. When it hit me, I freaked out.

Photo: J. Krums

Photo: AP

After getting home and seeing these visuals, and waiting for them to confirm that all we off the plane and there were no life-threatening injuries, I seemed to calm down. However, when I recognized her in the NY Post the next morning - I burst into tears.

I'm not going to expose her in a picture, because she deserves her privacy and to handle this event in the way that she needs to. She's gotten enough exposure from the general media at this point.

All I know is that I am eternally grateful to the pilot, the crew, everyone who rallied together both on and off the plane, and most of all, to her, for having the sense of knowing how important every life was on board.

I finally spoke with her this morning, and she sounded great - good perspective, her sense of humor was intact, and ready to head home on a flight soon. She loves travel and this "type of thing" is hardly going to stop her, or as she put it, "it's not going to make me live a type of life I don't want to lead." She is an inspiration.

I love her and I feel so lucky to still have her in my life.

Reveling in a Design Moment

Oh, I am SO happy. I must share this.

You may recall we've recently redone our house. Of course, there is decorating to do...which will undoubtedly last forever. For starters, this includes some relatively major kitchen decisions like cabinet hardware, backsplash and what to do with an entire blank wall across from the island. Oh, and stools for said island.

If you ever read this, you may have picked up that I am an Anthropologie junkie. I love their clothes, shoes, accessories...home stuff. Yes. Home stuff.

So...seeing as I get every catalog and email they generate, I clicked on the new email today and head through to the site. Well, whammo. I find our new kitchen cabinet hardware. ON SALE.

They are actually made of bone. Maybe that's a little crazy, but...whatever.

It fits all the criteria:

• Not boring.
• Not metal.
• Doesn't become the main focus of the kitchen.
• Haven't seen it before. I know...I have issues.

C bought in and we ordered 44 pieces. Score. Happy dance. No fingerprints on the cabinets anymore.

Closing the Door on 2008

Happy New Year! I guess before I start anew with my first official 2009 post with a happy welcome to the new year - hello, it's the 5th of January already - I should make sure that I close out with everything I meant to post before end of year. Yeah, yeah...resolution, shmesolution.

Perhaps the best way to do that is keep with my theme for this past month and not make it just about myself but share a little bit of what we experienced throughout 2008 and especially during this holiday season.

Our first bit of awesome-ness this year arrived on February 21. Little miss G, who is our wee angel & little sister in this house. Hard to believe she will be a year before we know it.


O immediately acknowledged the fact that we had a new addition.


O finished his 3-year-old's preschool class and started "the 4s". He is officially...a boy. And so darn much fun, with a good sense of humor, mischief, and unfortunately he's also a lot smarter than his parents some days. He continues the rock star/surfer look.


G has seven teeth, is cruising, crawling on hands and knees, trying to go up stairs, can't be left alone for a second, and makes us laugh all day. When she meets you for the first time, you get an intense stare for about 12 minutes, then she warms up. She's got a lot to say but we can't understand all those coos and beautiful sounds quite yet. We think she's trying to tell all of us what to do.


C and I had a wild ride, a busy year with a new baby and an almost-conclusion to our house renovation. (Yes, I'll get to that once we get the driveway and landscaping done in the spring).

We got the president we wanted, the economy officially tanked, and I was laid off in September. In the long run, that's motivated me to further improve the work situation to emerge (finally) as a marketing and business development consultant. Economy tanking or not, I am looking positively at the coming year. There are still lots of opportunities out there.

Our trip to Aruba was great, a great underscore to all the family time we had this year. But nothing topped the holidays this year--we got to see so many friends and family, it made us realize how lucky we really are.

Christmas Eve...O with my handsome godson B. Like a big brother, he is. (God, that sounded like Yoda.)


G got her first "dollie" as a gift from her godmother. She loved it. Kissed it. We all fell apart.

Seriously, what kind of four-year -old needs to be woken up on Christmas morning? Mine.


We opened gifts with my parents at our house, had some mimosas, and got on our way to C's family. Little miss G, with so many gifts to open...just distracted by the sparkly stuff.


O goofing around on Grandma's lap with cousin J, entertaining as always...


...and C with our silly little gal, taking her turn at making like Frosty.

Ups and downs come and go but it's the real stuff that sticks. You know what I mean.

It's Not About Me: Santa & Dr. Kaplan

My freshman year college roommate has been recently married to a wonderful man that has been in her life for years now. I think I can speak for all of the college gals that we adore this guy. He is a great dad to her beautiful daughter (who my boy has a major running older-girl crush on) and I have to say he makes a pretty good lasagna, too.

It was a lovely surprise this morning to open the paper and see him smiling back at me.


Turns out the good doctor performed some life-saving surgery on Santa this year, and the big man came back in person to thank him and visit the kids at his hospital. You can read the whole lovely story in the NY Post.

Our friend doesn't seem like the type that would like a whole bunch of news about himself, but it was the sweetest article, and I just needed to share.

If that's not good inspiration for holiday spirit, I don't know what is.

It's Not About Me: Nature

Well, Mother Nature counts as a special person, doesn't she? And we all know her.


This morning we were all finishing up a yummy breakfast of eggs, eggnog donuts and mango while a lovely buck wandered into our yard all by his lonesome. Can you see his antlers?

The snow is just gorgeous in our neck of the woods, even if it does make the roads a bit treacherous here and there. There's no better reason to light a fire and snuggle up together. Or, have a little bit of wine and cheese with the kids. (Yes, yes, the wine is just for me and C...have a little faith, people.)


Stay warm, everyone, and enjoy the snowy ramp-up to Christmas. We are.

It's Not About Me: H1202

You know, I'm a lucky gal. I have some amazing friends (so you've noticed, if you've been reading). There's always a good story or two floating around this house about folks we know.

I've decided for the rest of the month, I'm going to make all my posts about some of my amazing friends or people I know. I'm too busy trying to make this consultant thing work to be of much interest myself, anyhow. (Okay, and maybe the kids here and there; it's the holidays and it would be hard to leave them out.)

Let me introduce you to H1202 (the nickname is...well, don't worry about it). H came into my life as a co-worker and significant other to one of my good friends. H is now considered a full-on close friend, someone I would consider one of my "girls". They live close to us and have two adorable little boys and we get to eat and hang at each others' places every now and again, which is always a good time, and never often enough.

She is smart, sassy (in a grown-up, take-no-prisoners way, not a Bratz doll way) and knows more about more stuff than I think could ever possibly fit in my head.

H went through breast cancer 10 years ago and kicked its ass. She is an exemplary model of what you can do when you put your mind to it.

In honor of this anniversary, she applied for, and got accepted to, run the Boston Marathon for the Dana Farber team. If you know anything about the Boston Marathon or breast cancer, this is a VERY BIG DEAL. H has never run a marathon before.

Check out her new blog, 10 Years Cancer Free and Running the Boston Marathon!, which will exist for the duration of training through the marathon only. Like I said, she's a smart gal and she writes a hell of a lot better than I would about what she went through and why she's doing the marathon.

Keep up with her progress...root her on with us. Check in for inspiration. Make a donation if you're so inclined. And learn something...she is full of info about what is going on around the topic of cancer today. She's also got a facebook group on her effort if you'd like to check that out.

10 years cancer-free and 100 more for you, I hope, H. Best wishes! We are so proud.