Friday Funnies

Ten Things Thursday

Easter JOY!

All the bunny pillows on the couch are so cute.

Stephanie made these cute Easter cocktails a few years ago.

My entry decked out for Easter.

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

This has a little to do with What I Buy Wednesday.

Travel Tuesday

Once again, my pictures are out of order. Sometimes, this website just won't cooperate. Here goes.

When we arrived in New York on Thursday morning, I gave Butch and the girls a little card with the itinerary. It's nice to have something to refer to for timing purposes.

Our favorite way to start our trip is a stop at Ellen's Stardust Diner where all of the servers are singers, dancers and actors--all trying to get their start on Broadway. There's a vibe of fun and high energy.

Well, once again, I cannot get a video to work. Anyway, this was our waiter. As he was collecting payment from us, he was singing "Dream Lover" for the whole restaurant. They sing while they are working and finish by going up some steps in the middle of the restaurant to a very narrow stage. It's always so much fun. It just reminds us of the main reason we're here!! We are Broadway lovers for sure!

Mindy went out for her morning walk and decided to go by the GMA studio in Times Square. We stay at Times Square because it is a perfect location to everything! 

She met Rebecca on this morning. 

We stopped for a picture on Times Square on our way to see The Great Gatsby.

Although I didn't know this at the time, but the exact day we were there was the 100th anniversary of the publication of The Great Gatsby. Daisy was played by Sarah Hyland from Modern Family. We enjoyed the show and especially liked the costumes and sets. Plus it was special to have been there on that day.

On our way to The Edge, Sandy saw this French coffee shop that she had read about and added to her list. We stopped by afterwards for their specialty--the pistachio latte. Me, I got hot chocolate. Did I mention that it was cold and rainy? Temps in the 40's. 

This is the view from the 100th floor--The Edge. This juts out from the building and has a large part that is clear glass so you can see straight down 100 floors. Side note: my backpack purse matches my coat--it's not my big behind even though it looks like it!

We went to a really nice restaurant called, The Consulate. The food was delicious. We had lots of good food--as always. There are some places that we HAVE to go to every time--like Zuckers for New York bagels--they really are the best. And, we always make the walk to Schmackery's for cookies after a show. Luckily for us, it was only about 2 blocks from the theater where we saw Moulin Rouge. Sometimes it's a trek to go, but it's tradition now. And the cookies are amazing! I'm a cookie lover.

 

On Saturday, I booked the family for a tour of Radio City Music Hall. I had been there with Janet and the girls 3 weeks prior and knew they would like it. They did!

We have walked by these diamond lights in the diamond district without ever paying attention to them before. I had it on my list to notice them! There is so much see--it's easy to overlook things..

We ALL loved Moulin Rouge. Butch and Sandy had never seen it. I thought it would be fun since we're actually going to the Moulin Rouge in Paris when we go the first week of June.

This was our first time at this old and unusual Victorian restaurant, called Lillies. 

It was beautiful and the food was good. Next time, we're going to go for tea in the afternoon.

Prior to dinner, we stopped at our favorite bar: The Back Pocket.

They serve some of the drinks in gummie bear glasses. We wanted Butch to see it. They also serve popcorn with your drinks. It's a tiny place, but we've always managed to get one of the three tables. Another unusual find by Sandy that has become a favorite.

One of the things I was most looking forward to was the walk from our hotel across the Brooklyn Bridge to Dumbo City and back--7.5 miles. It was raining, so we ended up Lyfting to the bridge and then making the 1.5 mile walk over it. 

We went to Grimaldi's--a pizza place for lunch. It's really old. 

We also had our book discussion here. Since we all love Disney, Mindy suggested Disney High: the Rise and Fall of the Disney Tween Empire. We all enjoyed it and had a pretty lively discussion. Of course, the girls knew a whole lot more about those young stars than I did. I learned a lot. Butch was able to contribute explanations about the business aspect. 

Butch took us to the cleanest bathrooms in New York. We have passed by them dozens of times. They are at Bryant Park next to the New York Public Library.

They have a guard inside regulating the number of people going in. 

There were fresh flowers--pretty fancy. 

Art and coffered ceilings. I just peeked in. A couple of the girls took advantage of the facilities. This is what I mean. There are really cool and unusual things all over the place. You just have to know where to look!

Another fun NYC trip in the books (and how lucky am I to have gotten to go twice in just a few weeks! We girls have been going every year for quite awhile now. This was the first time for Butch since the girls were still all at home. In fact, that's what I liked the best about the trip--all of us--just us--being together! We're definitely going to do it again!!

Me on Monday

So, this past weekend, we were in New York. On Saturday, we were out and about. Butch stopped to look at his map. We girls saw this sign!! And then, this happened...

...before he even knew what hit him!!!

The girls love a good craft project! We got to add as many charms, heat transfers, patches and many other things. We also got to select up to three sets of laces to take home.

All I could think was if I was in charge of this, I would have had it perfectly organized. It was too much stuff kind of jumbled together! They said it would take 10 minutes. 

We spent an hour just laughing and having fun. The people working with us had fun too!! We felt bad for Butch as he pretty much had to just wait for us--but he is always such a good sport! Anything for his girls!

We came away with "tricked out trainers!" 

We sent these pictures to the grands and boys to see if they could guess whose were whose. Morgan is the only one who got them ALL. 

From left: Stephanie, me, Mindy and Sandy.

We all had a fun time decorating our own shoes. Considering it was a rainy day--it was the perfect indoor activity. Actually, the entire trip was rainy, but it didn't hold us back. More on that tomorrow!

Friday Frustrations

Oh, this is a good one! Here's the story:

About two weeks ago, I dropped off two pairs of shoes to The Model Shoe Rebuilders. I have been using them for 40 years--although this was the first time in at least 15 years since I've been there. 

One huge problem with the place is that it smells so disgusting--reeks of smoke. When I tried to drop my shoes off the first time, they weren't open yet. I did notice that the place had been remodeled. I thought that the smell would be gone. Plus, the people who owned it were really old. I figured they had to be dead by now.

Anyway, when I dropped the shoes off two weeks ago, I couldn't believe the smell--exactly as I remembered it. The guy that took the shoes, must be the son of the original owners--although he was probably close to 60. 

On Tuesday, I picked my shoes up. I was shocked when the woman came out form the back and I remembered her from years ago. I have no idea how old she was then, but she looked exactly the same--bleached, platinum blonde beehive hairdo, fake eyelashes and extra long fake nails. 

I didn't think much of it and continued on with my errands. Each time I got back in my car, the smell hit me--again--over and over! Now my car smelled disgusting. I even felt like I was "wearing" the smell.

When I got home, I removed the shoes from the bags and threw the bags away. I put the shoes in my closet and didn't think another thing about it--UNTIL--I got home at 11 p.m. that night after the theater. OMGosh!!! My closet smelled so gross! I went to the laundry room and got some dryer sheets. I put them in my shoes. The next morning, the smell was dissipating--being replaced by the fresh smell of the dryer sheets, but not completely gone. So, I was feeling pretty good about it.

Next, I went in to the kitchen to do some cooking. When I opened the trash compactor, the smell hit me again! I just cannot tell you how disgusting it is. Now I had let it loose in the kitchen! We had a candle lit (as we do every morning), so that helped. But each time we open the trash, the smell escapes again. I have no idea how long it will take for the smell to disappear. The problem is that since we're out-of-town for the next few days, the smell has time to "fester!" I think it will last until that bag is removed. 

I just hope that the odor cannot somehow leach in to the metal and hang around forever! Honestly, I woudn't be able to stand it. It's really that bad. I am not exaggerating! It's so disgusting! And so frustrating!

Travelin' Thursday

By the time you are reading this, we're off to New York. Butch and I are taking Sandy, Stephanie and Mindy for a long weekend. 

We have a packed schedule, but the weather isn't looking too good. We'll have fun no matter what. This is the first time that just the five of us will be together since they all left home. We're really looking forward to the trip.

FYI: We're going to be doing a lot of traveling for the next month. So, my posts are going to be sporadic. 

I hope you all have something fun planned for your weekend!!

What I Didn't Buy Wednesday

I've been holding this picture for over a month now. 

I didn't buy this house, but my niece, Ranya did!! She moved in over a month ago. I asked for more pictures, but she's a pretty busy gal, so I guess she didn't have the time. 

Isn't it cute? Her house is in St. Louis--somewhere in the city. I haven't seen it in person so am not exactly sure where it's located. She does most of her work in the city, so it makes sense that she would live there.

You might recall, she is our concert cellist! Besides filling in occasionally with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, she has her own "gigs" and also teaches! Isn't she pretty?

We're not sure where her talent comes from as her mother, my sister, doesn't have a musical bone in her body!! Neither does anyone else in our family!

I'm pretty proud of her and am happy that she has found her new home! I can't wait to see it the next time I visit!

Travel Tuesday

Well, I just got back from the Beach. 

Me and Pam (I know that correct English is Pam and I---but then it would seem like I was Pam and Pam was me--or is it I? Awww, just forget it. You know what I mean).

Connie and Nancy. After these pictures, we only took the following two.

I had someone snap this as I was cooking dinner. I was making Morgan's Corn Chowder recipe and thought she'd get a kick out of it. 

We divide up the meals including happy hours and desserts--we have delicious food. In fact, I brought home some of the leftovers and served Connie's casserole on Sunday night. 

We went out for pizza one night. 

On another night, we went to a place called Shipwreck. It was a seafood place. I definitely want to go back! 

As the week progressed, we opted to stay in and eat leftovers. With only 4 of us this time, we had a lot of food. In fact, we eliminated a dinner and a happy hour. It was all good.

I only went to the beach once--the rest of the girls went just about every day. It was too windy for me. Besides, I'm a pool kind of gal--which is where I was! 

We developed a fun routine for the day. 

1. Everybody was on their own for breakfast--except for the first day when Nancy brought homemade cinnamon rolls and another day when I cooked.

2. Watched the news and then Kelly and Mark.

3. Beach or pool.

4. Lunch.

5. More beach, pool or just hung out.

6. Happy hour--talk and watch the news. We played trivia once, but it was really hard so we didn't do it again.

7. Dinner,

8. Games.

9. Show/movie.

10. Bed/puzzle working or tv watching--everybody did whatever they wanted. It was book and bed for me! I did stay up one night until midnight with the "night owls." We were hooked on a Dateline only to find it was a two-hour show!! (I'm the "early bird" of the group, but after this night, I didn't get up until 7:30.

We watched a lot of movies and documentaries. I brought a list which saved a lot of time figuring out what we wanted to see. Of the 12 things we watched, here are the 5-star shows--all on Netflix (this is my opinion only--I didn't ask the girls):

Con Mum

The Twister

The Long Shot

A Family Affair

The Devil on Trial

American Murder: The Family Next Door

Piano Lesson

Gone Girl (3 episodes)

We played lots of games/poker.

Can you tell I was the big winner? $34.60 to be exact! Connie had everyone bring a roll of quarters--$10.00. 

I pretty much won it all. I explained to them--because it always seems like I win--how I think it happens. You've heard of that 10,000 hour rule--right? If you do anything for 10,000 hours, you become an expert. Well, you can be sure that I've played games/poker for over 10,000 hours in my 73 years. 

Just for fun, I thought I would do the math and figure it out. It comes out to approximately 137 hours per year. That averages out to 2.6 hours per week. I can assure you that for me--I played games at least 2 hours per day!!! When you grow up in a large family, there is always someone to play with and games were continuous. Yeah, I have way more than 10,000 hours. 

And then there's luck. Lots of games are pure luck. The way the cards are shuffled and dealt, the way the dice roll, or even the trivia card you draw. So, I'm not exactly saying I'm an expert, but apparently, I'm fairly lucky and I know what to do with what I'm dealt or roll! That sounds like a winner to me!

Until next time girls...