My Resolution?

My resolution is to make none. That's simple enough. Right?

As the clock ticks down the remaining minutes of 2007 I find myself asking why we make resolutions? Is there a significant purpose? Has anyone EVER successfully carried one out 365 or in this upcoming Leap Year 366 consecutive days without fail? Naaaaah.

C'mon, even something as vitally important as taking my heart medication gets forgotten a day every now and then.

My resolution (if I were to try to make and keep one) is to appreciate each day, look with eager anticipation to the next day and it's rewarding surprises and reflect back with a smile knowing I gave it my all.

Raise your glass with mine!

Let's bid adeiu to 2007 and welcome 2008.

Merry Christmas to All and to All ..............

Joyeux Noel to my mother and Froehliche Weihnachten to my dad.

A Feste Natalizie and Nollaig Shona Dhuit in memory of my husband's deceased parents.

Sung Tan Chuk Ha to my nephew defending our Country, serving in Korea.

To my bosses Happy Holidays and Feliz Navidad. And to those who celebrate a festival of lights, Mo'adim Lesimkha, Chena tova.

No matter your heritage, the sentiment is universal.

From my house to yours,

Best wishes, Happy Holidays ........... Merry Christmas!

The Gold Ball

Several years ago, 7 to be exact, for Christmas of our 25th wedding anniversary year, my husband, Ed, decided to surprise me with a new diamond. What I hadn't realized was how much I'd unwittingly helped him. While at the jewelers, he was given a choice between the usual presentation box or a gold ball to house the ring. He choose the gold ball. Several days later, I took to the task of tree decorating. Much to his delight that was one year of many that I picked to decorate the Christmas tree in gold balls.

Christmas Eve night after our family get-together and gift exchange Ed calmly asked me to stand by the tree so he could "take my photo", but before doing so, he insisted one ball needed moved because of it was too close to another and left a gap. It was just ruse to get me to notice one very special gold ball with a red velvet bow holding it to a branch. I had a little holiday cheer earlier so neither my vision nor common sense were functioning at 100%.

It was minutes before I zeroed in on the "odd" ball. I removed it from the tree, opened it and voila! Nestled inside the red velvet lined box was a beautiful past-present-future ring. Who'd have thunk the shy, sometimes backwards, hometown boy I married would turn into such a romantic?

Each year since I've joked about returning the gold ball to the tree to see if Santa would fill it with another treasure and each year it remained empty.

Maybe this year?

Major Motion Picture Disappointment

What constitutes a 4-star rating from critics? Who determines the criteria for one, two, three or more stars?

The movie to which I am referring starred Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin and Woody Harrelson. I list those names because I recognized them as "star" quality actors. Do they each get a star, giving No Country for Old Men three and the moronic ending constituting the fourth? I sure hope it wasn't a deliberate attempt to leave the door open for a sequel. The world definitely doesn't need that!

I go to movies to be entertained and occasionally educated. No Country for Old Men was neither educational nor entertaining. What it was, was a waste of $20 and two hours of my life that I will never get back.

Saying I was disappointed is a major understatement. I understand Josh Brolin has been absent from the public's eye these days and that Woody disappeared after Cheers went off the air and they may have been persuaded strictly on a monitarily basis. What, may I ask, was Tommy Lee Jones excuse? He's a smart talented man. Why lower his standards this significantly? Did he lose a bet???

..... Anyway, for those of you who have discretionary cash to blow on foolishness, send it to me rather than waste your time and money on this movie.

I welcome comments and look forward to other's perspectives.

I give it a thumb's down.

Winter is for Wimps!

I'm a winter wimp. I am a proud card-carrying member of the "I Hate Winter Club"!

Winter is my least favorite season; hence, the "Bah Humbug" t-shirt on the profile. And you thought it was because I am a Grinch and hated Christmas. Not true. I enjoy the Christmas holiday and everything it encompasses.

Today was the first of many winter storms that I will be forced to endure until the end of March 2008. Winter arrived at approximately 7 am with a mixed blessing of rain, sleet and snow. The accumulation was minimal in comparison with previous years but .... this is just December and this storm will be followed by many varied and amusing challenges testing my driving acumen. Commuting to work is SUCH fun! After many years of trekking the mountain to and from work, I've learned to keep an overnight bag in the trunk in case traveling home becomes impossible. The mere 25 miles can seem like 250 when visibility is decreased, the wipers refuse to provide a nice field of vision and steering into and out of skids gets tiresome.

Oops, I digress ---

I don't mind driving on snowy or even icy roads, I don't mind cleaning off the windshield or starting the car and letting it idle 15-20 minutes (never mind how expensive it is with gas prices soaring) allowing it to warm up. What I do mind is ... shoveling snow, wearing layers and layers of clothing, boots, gloves and scarfs. My favorite, warmest leather jacket has a nice thick pile lining. It's ohhh soooo comfy. However, this wonderful jacket has a most annoying habit of taking my sweater and tugging it northward and pulling my sleeves up to my elbows. Drives me crazy .. but not enough to pass it to my daughter. LOL

In a perfect world other than seeing snow in a movie, of my choosing, it would arrive Christmas Eve and magically disappear to be replaced by sunshine and warmth on January 1st.

Winter would be more enjoyable in an 80 degree climate sitting in these vacant chairs or walking along a white sand beach with the blue Caribbean splashing my toes, a rum enhanced drink in one hand and my flip-flops in the other.

My Roots

Now that I've gotten two blogs under my belt, I'll give you a little insight on their author. I was born and raised in small-town USA nestled in a sleepy valley of approximately 2,000 people and two traffic lights.

Our claims to fame include and are not limited to:

The Patton Clay Manufacturing Company which was incorporated in 1825 and later became one of the largest clay manufacturers in the world making clay products that were used world wide to build such things as the Panama Canal.


The Van Heusen shirt factory and ... Patton just happens to be the place where the legendary Bobby Lee Guitar Straps were made and sold to both famous and not-so-famous guitarists worldwide.

Two hundred plus a few years ago, we were a whistle-stop for rail travelers flocking to the Sunset Ballroom a few miles away. The Sunset Ballroom hosted many entertainers including Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, Tommy Dorsey, the Ink Spots and perhaps Benny Goodman, too. This once booming town has fallen into obscurity. With the closing of said industries followed by the demise of union supported coal mines, most of the working class have been forced to seek alternate employment. The fortunate were able to find work close enough to remain here; others moved away.

My husband and I are a mixture of both. I work within 25 minutes of home but he's not as fortunate, hence my frequent trips to Hershey. Although maintaining two households is quite expensive and leaves little in the way of nest feathering, it's necessary evil at this time.

This town, which I affectionately refer to as "Whoville" ... (minus the Grinch) ... is home.

Kisses

Kisses come in many forms. Angles kiss little ones and leave freckles, or at least that's what I was told as a youth. Frost kisses our winter windows. Lovers kiss, friends kiss and Italians kiss both cheeks. Then, there are the best kind ............... chocolate kisses.

I've taken quite a liking to those little gems wrapped in foil. A fun part of my many trips East are sampling the "limited edition" selections. Last year, or the prior year, they had cherry-filled ones. I don't like chocolate covered cherries, so those weren't appealing. This year, however, I happened across their two newest flavors. After I've sufficiently sampled and taste-tested them, I'll let you know my preference between the toffee chip and those filled with cheesecake. Yes, that's right! Cheesecake! Who'd have thunk it? Both are sinfully delicious and full of calories.

Hershey, Pennsylvania is a running theme of chocolate. Most street lights on Chocolate Avenue are replicas of the ever familiar Hershey Kiss with the little white flag. Several establishments incorporate cocoa and/or chocolate in their titles such as the Cocoplex, the Cocoa Grill, the Chocolate Avenue Grill and the world famous Hotel Hershey just to name a few. I haven't had the privilege of dining at Hotel Hershey, but I understand the cuisine can't be beat.

Ohhhhh.....and the aroma as one drives past the Reese's plant will knock your senses for a loop. The pleasant blend of chocolate and peanut butter fills your senses and creates a high that can't be duplicated. It's addicting!

The Hershey Theatre hosts a wide variety of entertainment from musicals, to magicians; from Broadway plays to showing vintage movies. Those are, by far, my favorite. There's something about watching an old black-n-white movie on the big screen. It sucks you in and captivates you.

I'm not thrilled by the circumstances responsible for my frequent trips here, but I am quite taken by everything it offers. Each trip uncovers a new treasure to savor and enjoy.

Sheesh's Arrival to Blog-World

Hello, and welcome to She-She's first blog. I was told (by a dear friend) recently that the best way to clear my head is to type my thoughts. She (poor dear) thinks I have a pseudo-flair for writing. Time will tell.

I'd like to address my most recent upsetting experience and title it "No good deed(s) go unpunished. Let's start with Monday morning. I arrived at work at the wee hour of 7 am, not by choice but because I drew the short straw for the schedule that day. I'll go into more details about my job later.

Anyway .. back to my first good deed for the day. I opened the refrigerator and was greeted by an aroma one can only describe as blech! There were numerous left-overs in varying stages of penicillin preparation sooooo, I decided if I didn't toss out the offending foil-wrapped packages, no one else would. Long story short -- in my haste to pitch the old to make room for the new, I tossed a co-workers lunch and ended up buying her something from the Greek cafe next door.

That was just the beginning of what would be a costly Monday morning on the path of doing good deeds.

The finale started when I'd overheard a different co-worker asking her family for a ride home from work. As I drive directly past her street, I offered to drop her off. She accepted and we were set. Keep in mind it's the end of November, it's raining, it's foggy and it's dark. I made my way up her driveway and let her out. As I sloooooowly backed down the unfamiliar driveway I happened to notice that there seemed to be an excess of pavement to my left. I braked a little more, allowing myself to slow drift down the grade only to be halted by a telephone pole that jumped out of nowhere.

This is a good place to put my visual demonstration of the damage since I've FINALLY stumbled upon a way to attach it.