Saturday, March 12, 2011

HV Faves Week 6 (EEK I'M LATE POSTING!)


Yes, I know.  I'm a day late.  Quite possibly a dollar short too. I COMPLETELY spaced out and forgot to post.  

So I will just shut up because I have nothing clever to add and just dive into the topics.  

Favorite Blog (not your own)

I don't think I can pick a favorite.  I love all my fellow HV Nestie blogs.  I like getting that glimpse into our lives every week.  I also check this blog:  Three Cheers for Babies  I started following this blog because of my connection to the Nestie board What's Cooking and I've been following the lives of Lilly & Charlie and their sweet departed sister Annabelle from when they were born.  It's nice to watch them grow and see what amazing parents they have.  Brooke & Joe are so loving and have amazing strength. I've laughed and cried reading their blog.

Favorite Sport

So easy for me to pick.  Baseball.  I love baseball.  I love baseball season.  I absolutely LOVE the New York Yankees.  Baseball to me is borderline religious.  There is just something about watching these men on the field.  The pitches.  The strategy that does go into the game.  You have to THINK when you play this game.  Not just run out on the field and smash someones skull in.  I'm like Annie from the movie Bull Durham. I love baseball and baseball players. I played softball from when I was 5 years old till I was about 30-something.  The sport just makes me happy.  I've been up and down with the Yanks over the years and every year, I'm back cheering on my team.  I have tons of happy memories of ball games.  The first time I brought my son.  Hanging out with my Uncle Pete. The last fun thing I did with my Grandfather.  I was devastated the day the old stadium went down.  I still have yet to go to the new one (so expensive!).  But I will go one day.  Baseball is Summer to me and I love Summer more than anything.  Baseball binds us.  Baseball brings us all together to cheer our team and boo our enemy teams (BOO STINKY RED SOX!).  I just love it.

Favorite Memory

This is hard. I  have so many.  I was just talking about Baseball and the Yankees.  One of my favorite memories is the first time my son realized we were walking into Yankee stadium.  He was so excited.  He had his shirt on and his hat.  He brought his glove.  He was like 4 years old. I think I got tickets for his birthday, I do remember it was a night game.  We walked through the tunnel to find our seats and as we left the tunnel and saw the field, my little guy just stopped and said "Wow" it a low whisper.  He was amazed to see the guys out on the field warming up.  The green of the grass and the lights.  He LOVED every minute of the game and when he was getting too tired and I decided to go home, he fought me all the way.  I have many moments with The Boy when he was growing up.  The smiles. The laughs. Even the tears and the fear.  So many of my best moments in life were shared with him.  I'm lucky to have him in my life.

So there it is.  I ended on a mushy note.  Even got myself a little weepy.  But I'm a Mom. We do that sometimes.

Friday, March 4, 2011

HV Favorites Week 5

Five weeks.  I don't know about you all, but I'm quite impressed with myself that I have written a post every week.  Yay me!  Yay to all my friends participating in this little project as well.

Favorite Possession (and it can't be photographs)

I had to think about this a bit.  I have some photos that are just really special to me.  Like one of Brad Pitt snapped when he was filming a movie in Yonkers, one of Jerry Garcia 6 months before he died and a great photo of my grandparents at my parents wedding.  But since I can't pic these, I had to think about it a lot more. I believe I'm going to go with a Venetian mask that my son brought me from Italy.  When the J-man was in 10th grade, he was lucky enough to go on a trip to Italy. I had to work a LOT.  I mean A LOT. I had 2 jobs.  Took on side work.  My parents, his Dad and step-mom and even my best friend Angel all helped to pay for him to go on this trip.  But we did it.  We got it paid for and he was able to have a trip of a lifetime.  They landed in Venice, which is the one place that if I had unlimited money, I would want to visit.  My boy bought me a tiny purple mask from that city so I had something of my beloved Venice to keep at home.

Favorite Holiday

So many to choose from.  I think my favorites are 4th of July and Halloween.  

I love 4th of July but not for Red White & Blue reasons.  I love that it's Summer.  There are cook outs and more importantly, STUFF BLOWS UP!!!  4th of July is always a good time.  Living here in the Hudson Valley and pretty much living on the River for practically my entire life, the best part is not only do you see your local show, but you watch a bunch of them all at once along the River.  I think my love of this holiday started around my teen years.  I began to appreciate the fun aspect of it more.  My boyfriend at the time, Candyman (my little nickname for him still), and I would go down to a little beach in Tarrytown and watch the firework displays up and down the river.  As I got older, my Dad always had cook outs.  We'd go to Pearl River and watch the fireworks there too.  Once, when J-man was a little guy, Candyman was away and came home just before I was to leave for Pearl River.  It was a total surprise and we had a lot of fun.
Now 4th of July is spent on the Rockland side of the bridge.  Bear works the Haverstraw Bay Park 99% of the time when the town of Haverstraw has their display.  We (J-man and I and friends) go to the park, and get to watch.  Plus, the best part is, I get to see the display with Bear and that always makes me smile.  Last year on July 4th, he wasn't working and when it began to get dark, we walked down to the River and watched the displays in Croton and Peekskill and one of our neighbors private display.  He always knows how to make me smile.

I love Halloween because it's just so dang fun!  My kid brother was born the day before Halloween and my first memory of knowing I had a brother was when my Dad took me to Nyack hospital, dressed in my little witch outfit.  This was 1973 and the rules for visiting new Moms were insane.  Kids didn't get to see their Mothers when they gave birth.  So my Dad and my Mom arranged it that he'd take me to parking lot and she would wave out the window at me.  I remember seeing her in the window.  I didn't understand back then why she couldn't be with me, but I was 3, so ya know.  I work for HHV now and the Fall holidays are HUGE.  There is Blaze (pumpkins!), Horseman's Hollow (scary) and the event at my site Legends.  Washington Irving gave Halloween a great story with "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and since I work at Sunnyside, WI's home, we make sure we celebrate with everyone else.  When I lived with my Dad in Garnerville, he was like the traffic cop in our neighborhood.  He'd stand in the road with a big flashlight making sure no one went speeding up the hill so the kids walking around would be safe.  
I love the meanings behind Halloween.  THE TRUE MEANINGS...not the messed up meanings that so many seem to think are truth.  Halloween or Samhain, was a time to HONOR your ancestors that passed before you. I love that there is a day to do that.  Halloween is so beautiful, well, when the weather cooperates it is.  It's fun to hear the kids laughing and screaming.  Parents are usually smiling.  Everyone has a good time.  The food is great too, I don't mean just the candy either.  It's Fall and there is early squash and stews and soups.  And for some, Halloween means, IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS!!!

Favorite Gift

Tickets.  Concert tickets.  Specifically, a ticket to the Dead show on June 15, 1995.  My 25th birthday.  I went up to Highgate VT with The Boy and Candyman.  I didn't tell Candyman

Well, not that bad for Week 5.  Challenging for me but I guess that's the point.  Everyone enjoy your week!