I'm not a native Upstate New Yorker, but am from RI. The smallest state of all 50 of them.
Coming to NY almost 18 years ago was for work....a stopover, on my career path. I was working for Marriott / Interstate Hotels at the time and my plan was to move from my then home in Pittsburgh to Upstate NY and then head to Florida to be with my sister for a bit and then back to New England. I never truly envisioned myself anywhere else. I had moved from RI to East Rutherford NJ (because I told my company I was relocatable anywhere except NYC and LA...so they sent me to NJ - just 2 miles across the river from NYC). From there it was on to Pittsburgh, and then here to NY.
My plan for Upstate NY, was like most other cities that I have lived in, be here for a short period of time - 7 months to a year max and then move again. Hummmmmm.....where did my plan derail? I'm going on 18 years and my parents have now moved here and my sister has also left warm sunny Florida for Upstate NY. Well, along the way I have picked up a wonderful husband, his entire family is here and my two stepsons were here. So, here is where I call home.
We definately have a bad reputation though - all people know is about the many many inches of snow that we get, and the dreary days of winter. Looking out my window today, I have to remind myself what I love about Upstate NY and why we are blessed in so many ways:
* Great springs, mild summers and spectacular falls that take your breath away with color and magnificence
* Long country roads that twist and turn, with surprises around each corner
* Local farms and farmers markets with FRESH produce
* Places where everyone knows your name
* Finger Lakes where you can still afford to buy a house on a lake and let your children jump off of docks and swim carefree in non polluted water
* Horse farms and corn fields
* Pumpkin patches, apple orchards and dairy farms
* Very little congestion and traffic
* Families and values and comfortable places!
Although it is definately threatening snow and those clouds overhead are dark and dreary....I'm going to remember the things that really make me happy to be here. I'm going to pull out my warmest sweaters and snuggle into them for just a few months and look foward to the calm of winter too.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Oct 23rd - Fall Glory
Yesterday it was close to 70 degrees and today we will be lucky to hit 48! Despite it all, we are so lucky to be able to have such splendid Fall colors! I want to get out and enjoy it before all of the leaves drop and winter is here.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Oct 6th - Wow....
Breathtaking. I was out in Colorado and this was the view on the way into Estes Park. Spectacular for October and so different than what I see back home. The colors of Fall are fabulous in the East, but I never tire of looking at the snow covered mountains - whether it be my trips to Colorado or Oregon.....Love it!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Sep 17th - It's a Snuggle Day!
It was cold this morning! I mean a real autumn day, the air was crisp and even a little dark and dreary with a mist hanging in the air. Erin's alarm clock went off and on this rare morning, I was still in bed. No, I hadn't gotten up on time, and yes, I was still watching the AM news wishing for more time to sleep and contemplating that run to the bathroom for a hot shower! Obviously, I had decided that the dash to the shower would be a cold one and had hunkered down into the blankets for what I called "just a few more minutes."
In paddles my daughter in her footie pajamas! (As we still leave our windows open to take in some of the last shreads of the season, it gets a bit cold in the house and warm pj's are great. Erin decided that last evening was the nigt to pull those out for the first time this season.)
She climbs up on the bed and pulls the covers up and says, "its a snuggle day mom!" How true I thought. It is the kind of day when you just want to curl up and snuggle. Unfortunately, the morning routine on a school day doesn't include much snuggle time, or I'd be driving clear across town to get her to school after missing the bus. So, up we got and into the shower and on our way. As I sit and write this though - I'm hoping that "snuggle time" finds a way into our weekend.
I have a lot of plans for this weekend - a Lazy Sunday and snuggle time. Sounds like the weekend better hurry up and get here! Organization and schedules can pick back up on Monday of next week.
Enjoy!
In paddles my daughter in her footie pajamas! (As we still leave our windows open to take in some of the last shreads of the season, it gets a bit cold in the house and warm pj's are great. Erin decided that last evening was the nigt to pull those out for the first time this season.)
She climbs up on the bed and pulls the covers up and says, "its a snuggle day mom!" How true I thought. It is the kind of day when you just want to curl up and snuggle. Unfortunately, the morning routine on a school day doesn't include much snuggle time, or I'd be driving clear across town to get her to school after missing the bus. So, up we got and into the shower and on our way. As I sit and write this though - I'm hoping that "snuggle time" finds a way into our weekend.
I have a lot of plans for this weekend - a Lazy Sunday and snuggle time. Sounds like the weekend better hurry up and get here! Organization and schedules can pick back up on Monday of next week.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Sep 16th - Hurry up and Wait
Every time I drive up Route 31 near my home I am amazed at how crazy people drive lately. They would sooner cut you off then let you in, sooner pull out in front of you then let you pass, and the they race ahead of you only to slam on the brakes at the next red light where they have to sit (impatiently I am sure) for the light to turn green. Then they weave and bob through yet another string of cars only to get to the next light 10 seconds quicker than the rest of us that they passed and then sit again at a light. I guess that is just our society these days. We race from activity to activity with nearly a chance to stop and enjoy anything along the way.
Now granted, I am a fast driver, and I am definately one of those people that would be considered an over achiever and an over committed soul. Lately, though, this hurry up and wait seems to really stick out like a sore thumb to me. I recognize it more and more when I am out and about. There is a country song that I love and it talks about things that the singer loves about Sunday - waking up late, going to church as a family, and then coming home to a long leisurely meal and sitting outside on a porch swing or even catching a cat nap. I haven't had one of those Sundays in a long time! Have you? I'm not even sure that my daughter has experienced more than a few of those Sundays in her lifetime.
I even remember as a child when many stores were not even open on Sunday. I bet your children can't possibly imagine not being able to go to the store on a Sunday and get what you want right then. I went to our new Hobby Lobby a few months back on a Sunday and was shocked to find them closed. Initially, I was irritated that I couldn't get what I wanted when I wanted it and then I read their sign in the window which stated "closed on Sundays so our associates can attend religious ceremonies and spend time with their families." Amazing and commendable in a age of get rich and materialism! I now find myself planning my visits to Hobby Lobby around Sunday and planning ahead on what I need, or better yet, asking myself if I really truly need that item.
Next week is "National Turn off your TV" week, so I figure it is the perfect time to also try and slow down a bit. I want to remember why I love Sundays too!
Enjoy the rest of the week!
Now granted, I am a fast driver, and I am definately one of those people that would be considered an over achiever and an over committed soul. Lately, though, this hurry up and wait seems to really stick out like a sore thumb to me. I recognize it more and more when I am out and about. There is a country song that I love and it talks about things that the singer loves about Sunday - waking up late, going to church as a family, and then coming home to a long leisurely meal and sitting outside on a porch swing or even catching a cat nap. I haven't had one of those Sundays in a long time! Have you? I'm not even sure that my daughter has experienced more than a few of those Sundays in her lifetime.
I even remember as a child when many stores were not even open on Sunday. I bet your children can't possibly imagine not being able to go to the store on a Sunday and get what you want right then. I went to our new Hobby Lobby a few months back on a Sunday and was shocked to find them closed. Initially, I was irritated that I couldn't get what I wanted when I wanted it and then I read their sign in the window which stated "closed on Sundays so our associates can attend religious ceremonies and spend time with their families." Amazing and commendable in a age of get rich and materialism! I now find myself planning my visits to Hobby Lobby around Sunday and planning ahead on what I need, or better yet, asking myself if I really truly need that item.
Next week is "National Turn off your TV" week, so I figure it is the perfect time to also try and slow down a bit. I want to remember why I love Sundays too!
Enjoy the rest of the week!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Sep 15th - One is Silver and the Other Gold....
Remember that old song: "Make new friends, but keep the old...one is silver, and the other gold"? For some reason that came to me this AM as I was sitting down at my computer to work and got a text from my best friend in the whole world. Unfortunately, we don't live close - I am in Upstate NY and she is in Denver, Colorado. We don't get to see each other every year and we don't really talk on the phone much. Nowadays, it is mostly a text message here or there to catch up or let each other know that we are thinking of the other, or something made us laugh and we wanted to share it, or our kids just did the cutest thing in the whole world and had to tell someone about it! You know the kind of friend that it....there for it all even when the real world is running past you at a million miles a minute.
As my daughter started school again just last week in 3rd grade, we had many conversations about this very thing - new friends and keeping the old. Like many other kids this time of year is rough. New routines, new friends, new classrooms and for many a new school or even a new bus route. She wondered if her best friends would still be there and if they would still be together for lunch and recess even though they were in different classes and may be riding different buses. Well...we are on Day 5 today, and she has reconnected with some friends that she has met in other classes, and has had a great time with some new friends. And, at the end of each day, her closest friends are still there. They share recess time, and one actually got on the same school bus. They talk and giggle and have fun at recess too. The worry that they would somehow fade away if they weren't in the same class is starting to subside and they are each learning to grow independently but still come back together at the end of the day.
So, make new friends every day. You never know when that silver one will become your most trusted friend and turn to gold.
Share a laugh with a friend today and reconnect with your most trusted confidants. I've promised myself that I would take time this weekend to write my friend a real letter. You remember that "snail mail" stuff. The excitement you feel when you go to the mailbox and you find a true letter or card and not just junk mail. You settle into a comfy chair and read and catch up and smile. We may be thousands of miles away, but never far in spirit!
As my daughter started school again just last week in 3rd grade, we had many conversations about this very thing - new friends and keeping the old. Like many other kids this time of year is rough. New routines, new friends, new classrooms and for many a new school or even a new bus route. She wondered if her best friends would still be there and if they would still be together for lunch and recess even though they were in different classes and may be riding different buses. Well...we are on Day 5 today, and she has reconnected with some friends that she has met in other classes, and has had a great time with some new friends. And, at the end of each day, her closest friends are still there. They share recess time, and one actually got on the same school bus. They talk and giggle and have fun at recess too. The worry that they would somehow fade away if they weren't in the same class is starting to subside and they are each learning to grow independently but still come back together at the end of the day.
So, make new friends every day. You never know when that silver one will become your most trusted friend and turn to gold.
Share a laugh with a friend today and reconnect with your most trusted confidants. I've promised myself that I would take time this weekend to write my friend a real letter. You remember that "snail mail" stuff. The excitement you feel when you go to the mailbox and you find a true letter or card and not just junk mail. You settle into a comfy chair and read and catch up and smile. We may be thousands of miles away, but never far in spirit!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Sep 1st - Change
Change....what a powerful word! Most people will tell you that they don't like change. There are thousands of books about change out there on the market. "Who Moved my Cheese" being one of the most popular (my boss' particular favorite). It tells people to think outside of the box and imagine the possibilities. Hummmmmm. I don't get it. People change everyday and they don't even realize how good they are at it, yet when asked, they say that they don't really like change.
Think about it - how many things do you change in the course of a day? You change clothes, and I bet that very few of us can look in our closet / drawers and find similar colors or even the same style. We change our hair - get it cut and for most women - a highlight or a color change every now and again. We change our meals - we have our few staples, but many of us are always on the look out for a great new dish. Unlike our parents, many of us have even changed jobs in the past few years, or even changed your living arrangements - buying a new house or getting a new apartment. Right now, we are learning to help our children work through change as they get ready to head back to school. They have changed teachers, there are new friends in their classrooms, and for some, they are even riding different buses. And, for all of us - we are watching the leaves change from Green to those wonderful Fall colors and we are getting ready for a change in the Seasons.
I personally like Change. It is exciting and new and it brings with it new possibilities. As we wind down the summer and head quickly (especially in Upstate NY) into Fall, it is a great time. The first apples of the season are out, the pumpkins right behind it and the leaves are so breathtakingly beautiful as they go from green to yellow to orange to red. I think it is one of the best seasons to live in Upstate NY. And, with it all - comes that change! It gets darker earlier, the weather turns just a bit colder and we change our wordrobes from shorts to jeans and add those fleece jackets. We change from flip flops to sneakers and shoes and even have to start adding socks! We change our routines to get ready for school and homework and everything else. Change - I love it! It keeps us on our toes and shakes it all up. Enjoy and embrace it!
Think about it - how many things do you change in the course of a day? You change clothes, and I bet that very few of us can look in our closet / drawers and find similar colors or even the same style. We change our hair - get it cut and for most women - a highlight or a color change every now and again. We change our meals - we have our few staples, but many of us are always on the look out for a great new dish. Unlike our parents, many of us have even changed jobs in the past few years, or even changed your living arrangements - buying a new house or getting a new apartment. Right now, we are learning to help our children work through change as they get ready to head back to school. They have changed teachers, there are new friends in their classrooms, and for some, they are even riding different buses. And, for all of us - we are watching the leaves change from Green to those wonderful Fall colors and we are getting ready for a change in the Seasons.
I personally like Change. It is exciting and new and it brings with it new possibilities. As we wind down the summer and head quickly (especially in Upstate NY) into Fall, it is a great time. The first apples of the season are out, the pumpkins right behind it and the leaves are so breathtakingly beautiful as they go from green to yellow to orange to red. I think it is one of the best seasons to live in Upstate NY. And, with it all - comes that change! It gets darker earlier, the weather turns just a bit colder and we change our wordrobes from shorts to jeans and add those fleece jackets. We change from flip flops to sneakers and shoes and even have to start adding socks! We change our routines to get ready for school and homework and everything else. Change - I love it! It keeps us on our toes and shakes it all up. Enjoy and embrace it!
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