Break a leg....NOT (I hope!!!!)

I love my husband. I love that he works hard to provide a wonderful home for the three of us. I love that he doesn't care whether I work or not. I love that he spends time with our son doing their antique car thing. And I love that he is supportive of me to pursue interests that I have that he doesn't share.

I off for a few days of skiing. Without my husband. I am off in a little while to go skiing with a couple of friends. Skiing is a sport that I enjoyed before I met and married my husband. Like most newly married couples, I gave up things that he didn't enjoy to spend time with him. And a year and nine months after we married, we became parents. And resuming those activites was pushed further back on the burner to the point that I thought I would never do them again.

Then a few years ago, I met some new people who shared my love for skiing, tennis and other pursuits. By then, hub was deep into a job the required many hours of his time a week. Our son was in high school and pretty self sufficient, so when these new friends invite me to go skiing, I accepted and it was just as much fun as I remembered. Of course, my first time out in over twenty years was not with out incident - I managed to fall (from a stationary position, not while skiing) and fracture a bone in my hand. No big deal - a splint and it was good in about three weeks. The next time out, I suffered from muscle pain from taking cholesterol medication - I can attest, that the warning they give about unusual muscle pain is for real - it was some of the worst pain I have ever felt.

So, it has been two years since I last skiied. So I am looking forward to schussing down the slopes and, hopefully, on my feet and not my rear and with out any thing getting broken.

Oh, and by the way, he's going on a golf outing next month! And not with me!

Clean House

Today, I stopped by the rental property that my husband and I own with another couple that our friends, the nuns, lived in. Two sisters from their order were cleaning out the last of the things left there.

It's been three months since Sister R passed away. Since then, Sister C has been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimers and will now be living at the mother house (which we affectionately call the mothership!) for the order. Sister C was at the house last week with another Sister to pack her personal belongings. Sister R's family came shortly after the funeral to go through her personal things that they would be taking with them. So now, the house contains furniture and lots of odds and ends that will either be taken by other Sisters for their residences, or taken to the mothership to a building that the Sisters call "the ark" where all the extra furniture and household items are stored and then used when needed or, finally, things to be pitched.

It was sad to be there and see the house in disarray as it is ready to be emptied. It was such a short time ago that they were moving in. It is hard to believe that they moved in the middle of August, Sister R got sick the end of September and passed away in October and here it is, the middle of January and we will be looking for new tenants. We were so looking forward to spending time with "the Sisters" who had become such special friends to all of us. And now, we are coming to the final chapters of that part of our lives as one is gone physically and one is going mentally. We will visit Sister C as she is less than an hour away and take her out for ice cream - her one and only vice.

Normally, a clean house is something that I look forward to. In this case, I would rather the house be filled and messy with the Sisters there.

1,2,3

Fr. Daren tagged me for this book meme.

Here are the rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

From James Patterson's "Double Cross"



"...God, how many memories were here - his father screaming at him until his veins looked like they would burst, the general striking him so many times he lost count. And Miriam - never saying a word, pretending that she didn't know about the beatings, the tongue-lashings, the years of constant abuse.
"Boo - Mommy!" Kyle said as he popped up behind the old girl."

I tag Barb, Christine, Michele, Kimberlee and the Kitchen Madonna.

More useless information about me!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE ? Kind of - a hybrid of my grandmothers' names

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Yesterday

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Sometimes.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Ham - very thinly sliced.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? One red head - and if you don't have one, you don't know that one read head equals about six non-red heads!

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I'd like to think so

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Every chance I get!

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? No - got them out when I was twenty four - it was me and the eight year olds in the waiting room - needless to say, I felt a little out of place.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No way, no how, not ever!!!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Corn flakes with no sugar!

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? For the most part - probably more physically than emotionally.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Coffee

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their smile.

15. RED OR PINK? Pink definitely - though I am about as non girly girl as they come.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF? My body.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My best friend who live across the country.

18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Green pants, no shoes.

19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? An apple - I'm trying to eat better!

20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? A show about helicopters.

21. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Periwinkle

22. FAVORITE SMELLS? Cookies baking, onions and celery being sauteed for stuffing and, believe it or not, bleach - it makes me think things are clean.

23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Maria

24. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Baseball.

25. HAIR COLOR? Dark brown with streaks of gray - and I've earned every one of them.

26. EYE COLOR? Dark brown

27. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes, but not all the time any more since I now need reading glasses with them.

28. FAVORITE FOOD? Chocolate - not good for a diabetic.

29. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings

30. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Ratatouille

31. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? White.

32. SUMMER OR WINTER? Both - I like to swim and play tennis in the summer and ski in the winter.

33. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs

34. FAVORITE DESSERT? Tiramisu

35. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Legacy by Belva Plain

36. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Don't use one!

37. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Monk and Las Vegas followed by the inside of my eyelids.

38. FAVORITE SOUNDS? The ocean, quiet music.

39. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Neither is my favorite, but the Stones are the one I can tolerate more.

40. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Hawaii

41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Listening.

42. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Chester County PA

Hillary for President - NOT

No, I don't support her, but I thought this bumper sticker was pretty funny.

Hi ho, Hi ho it's off to work I go...

I am back to working part-time again. Last week a job offer fell into my lap and I decided to take it.

So what am I doing? I am the new secretary at my parish!

Our parish is merging with the other parish in town. With the merger comes two of everything, including the office staff. Our parish secretary decided to look for another job since she was not guaranteed a position after the merger takes place in July. She got an offer for a great job with great benefits that was just too good to pass up.

Our new pastor, realizing that our parish office is a pretty busy place, decided to keep the office open for part of the day and when he asked the prior secretary if she could think of any one who would want the job and know enough to provide for a smooth transition, she suggested me. I was caught a bit off guard when I got the call, but since I was already thinking about looking for a part-time job, I decided to take it.

I don't know if there will be a position for me after July 1st,Or if I would even want a permanent job, and I do know that I don't want something full time, but for now, I am enjoying my new job.

An empty nest - again!

All is quiet at our house tonight. We drove our son back to college today. It was wonderful having him home on semester break, but he was anxious to get back to his friends and start a new semester. No tears were shed. In fact, we had to drag him away from a room down the hall to say good bye. The boy whose room he was in brought back a 42" flat panel TV to school. I assume that his room will be the designated hangout on the 4th floor of the dorm!

I am happy that he has adjusted to college so well. He had a good first semester earning 2 A's and 3 B's, joined the crew team and is a freshman class senator in the student government. We are proud that he is participating in some extra-curricular activities, something neither my husband nor I did in college - my husband lived at home and commuted to school while working to pay for it and I went only 14 miles from home which made it too convenient to come home every weekend and not getting involved in anything. I applaud our son for going far enough away to not be tempted to come home too often and getting involved at school.

So, while we will miss him, we are so glad that he is a good student. And he goes to mass too!

Useless info about me!

1. Do you wear a name tag at work? No

2. What kind of car do you drive? Toyota Highlander

3. What do you order when you go to Taco Bell? I value the lining of my stomach too much to eat there.

4. Have you ever had a garage sale? Yes

5. What color is your iPod? White

6. What kind of dog do you have? Bichon Frise/Poodle mix

7. What's for dinner tonight? My son and I ate out - I had seafood cannelloni and he had (politically incorrect) veal Verona

8. What is the last alcoholic beverage you had? Wine on New Years' day

9. Stupidest thing you ever did with your cell phone? Took pictures of a grill our parish rented for a picnic - it was filthy (the grill, not the phone)

10. Last time you were sick? From just after Thanksgiving until almost Christmas

11. How long is your hair? It's more like how short is my hair!

12. Are you happy right now? For the most part....

13. What did you say last? No, Dairy Queen is closed for the winter.

14. Who came over last? My niece

15. Do you drink beer? Occasionally

16. Have your brothers or sisters ever told you that you were adopted? Probably

17. What is your favorite key chain on your keys? The Toyota one that came with my new car in '06

18. What did you get for graduation? It's been too long for me to remember

19. Whats in your pocket? Chapstick and keys

20. Who introduced you to Dane Cook? I stumbled across him while channel surfing on the HBO channels

21. Has someone ever made you a Build-A-Bear? No

22. What DVD is in your DVD player? The last two discs of the sixth season of "24"

23. What's something fun you did today? Went to dinner with my son

24. Who is/was the principal of your high school? Mr. "Fig" Newton

25. Has your house ever been TP'd? Not my house, but my parent's was when I lived at home

26.What do you think of when you hear the word "meow"? Chinese food!!!!

27. What are you listening to right now? Psych on TV

28. Drinking? Just finished a glass of water

29. What is your favorite aisle at Wal-Mart? The one with the bargain bin of DVDs

30. When is your mom's birthday? January 21

31. When is your birthday? January 9

32. What's the area code for your cell phone? One of the NJ area codes

33. Where did you buy the shirt you're wearing now? Land's End

34. Is there anything hanging from your rear view mirror? No - too distracting for me

35. How many states in the US have you been to? Probably almost half

36. What kind of milk do you drink? 1% or chocolate soy milk

37. What are you going to do after this? Go to bed and read

38. Who was the last person you went shopping with? My son - time to stock up for the second semester!

39. What is your favorite fruit? Strawberries

40. What about your favorite dessert? Tiramisu

41. What is something you need to go shopping for? A new sofa and chair for the family room

42. Do you have the same name as one of your relatives? No

43. What kind of car does one of your siblings drive? Acura

44. Do you like pickles? Not only do I like them, but I make my own

45. How about olives? Only black olives, the green ones gross me out

46. What is your favorite kind of gum? I don't chew it - too much dental work for it to stick to

47. What is your favorite kind of juice? Juicy Juice fruit punch mixed with seltzer

48. Do you have any tan lines? Yes - my tan never completely fades

49. What hospital were you born in? One in Pennsylvania

Now, are you ready for the quiz?

Celebrating an anniversary

Tomorrow I will be celebrating an anniversary. The anniversary of my 29th birthday. Yes, I've decided that I won't celebrate birthdays any more, just anniversaries of my 29th. It sounds more interesting and doesn't make me feel as old.

Okay, I'll admit that tomorrow is my birthday. My 48th birthday. There, I've said it. My name is Ellen and I am 48 years old. Ow. See, it sounds better if I say that I am celebrating the 19th anniversary of my 29th birthday.

I have nothing spectacular planned for tomorrow. My parents will bring my niece to my house and we will go out to lunch. My son too if he gets back from the shore in time. My husband is away for work and won't be home until tomorrow night, so he won't join us.

My niece is visiting from Texas. We picked her up last Tuesday night and she has been staying with my parents since then. She is 21 years old and is a real piece of work - she has inherited the gene for comedy and witty sarcasm from my mom's side of the family. I have the gene too, so when she and I are together, it usually makes for a lot of laughs. My brother (her dad) has the gene too as well as one of his sons and my son. This gene causes us to find humor in some of the stupidest things and gives us the ability to think quick when a funny situation is upon us. Unfortunately, with the gene come sarcasm. For the most part, it is good sarcasm, but occasionally it gets us into trouble.

So tomorrow, we will have an interesting lunch. And hopefully there will be no food coming out of any one's nose.

What's going on....

Six days into the New Year and already I feel like I am behind. My husband and son have both been home the past two weeks, and while I love them both very much, I have gotten used to having the house to myself during the day over the past few years, so when they are both home, I don't seem to get much done. But tomorrow my husband will go back to work and my son will go back to school next weekend and in about two weeks, I'll be complaining that the house is too quiet.

The Christmas season has been filled with some highs and lows. Most notably, that our pastor has moved to a neighboring community and we now have a new pastor along with our parish merging with another.

We met our new pastor on Saturday night. He was very nice although he was definitely overwhelmed when we met as he just moved into his new home that day and was saying mass as some family and friends were unpacking for him. He is quite different from our last two pastors as he is definitely very traditional and conservative. We will certainly be in for more changes, perhaps some going back to the way we did some things just a few years ago.

Tomorrow will be a day of helping to put away the decorations at church. Then I must tackle that same job at home. I have started to undo the trees, but it will take some more time to complete this. Since I was so sick before Christmas, I didn't do my normal amount of decorating and so putting things away won't take as long as in prior years.

I have a few projects on the back burner including some sewing projects that I am looking forward to starting. I will take my first try at making a garment with out a pattern, using an existing garment as the pattern. Wish me luck! I really enjoy sewing and have missed it over the past few years.

With 2008 comes change

Yesterday, our pastor said his last mass at our parish. Because of mergers within our diocese, our parish is being merged with another in town and in order to provide us with a fresh start, we have been assigned a new pastor who will begin this week.

It was a sad day yesterday as I thought about how this will be the last time that I will walk in for mass and see him in the sanctuary saying mass and delivering his awesome homilies. His presence in our parish came at a real challenging time. During his tenure, our school was closed by the diocese, the deanery study began and most of us realized that our parish would be changed forever. And as if the past few years have not been challenging enough, he is being reassigned to another group of parishes that are being merged and twinned. So his plate will be full and he will once again step into a less than perfect situation. Please pray for him as his job will not be easy. But the bright spot of all of this is that his new parish is only about 10 minutes from where we live in the next town to the north. So while we will be losing him as our pastor, our friendship with this spiritual man will continue.

The parish was once a mission of the other parish in town, started almost a hundred years ago by Polish immigrants that wanted a parish where they could worship in their native tongue and celebrate with familiar customs and traditions from their homeland. Over the past 18 years that we have been parishioners, we have seen the ethnicity change to more of a melting pot with fewer parishioners who spoke only Polish in the parish.

So now we reunite with the other parish in town. It will be a merger that will not be free of compromise, hurt feelings and probably a little bit of animosity thrown in to challenge our new pastor. And to make the merger even more fun, there has been some animosity between the parishes over the years. We were often seen as the "poor immigrant parish" and have been often treated as the "poor relations" by many. The attitude of some parishioners was the main reason we chose to join our parish and not the other in town.

It will take a lot of prayer to get through the next few months and maybe even years. But with God's help, we will become a united parish of people who put differences aside to worship the Lord. Pray for us, that God will help us to set aside the past and begin a new chapter in our spiritual lives.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all of you in the blogosphere. I wish all of you good health and much happiness in 2008.

After reading resolutions written by many of you, I have been inspired to write some of my own:

1) Healthier eating at my house - hopefully this will lead to some weight loss.

2) More exercise - I need to get back to swimming. Two years ago, I faithfully went to the YMCA three days a week and was swimming a mile and a half each day.

3) Make time to sew - something I enjoy doing and haven't done much of in the past few years.

4) Work on organizing the house - including massive pitching and donating.

I am hoping that I have not set my goals so high that they are unreachable. I am definitley one of those people who see a setback as failure and often just give up. I guess this is something I should work on too.

Enjoy the day.