bountifulplate

Why are waiting rooms so quiet?  Nobody really talks to each other and if you do talk it seems like everyone else kind of stares at you.  A few months ago I was in a doctor's waiting room with Dominic. When we first walked in it was very quiet and about half the people kind of looked over at us.  I guess it was because I had a child with me.  The median age of the people in this waiting room was about 65.  After we had been waiting a little bit, Dominic started talking really loud. I tried to shush him, but that attracted even more attention. When you are waiting in a doctor's office, it would be kind of awkward to strike up a conversation. You can't really ask the person next to you, "so, what are you here for?" One thing I've learned about doctor's waiting rooms is to bring your own reading material!!  I was in my cardiologist's office a few weeks ago and there was a husband and wife waiting to see the doctor.  The husband said quite loudly, "th...

Last Friday, (ironically the first day of winter), we got our first measurable snow of the season.  Lauren's response when she woke up and saw the white stuff was, "FINALLY!"   Growing up in Maryland, we did get some measurable snow from time to time, but not anything compared to what we get here.  We moved to the Midwest a few weeks before the Christmas of 2001.  The first time we got a significant amount of snow here, I went out to our driveway in my fashion boots (the only boots I owned at the time) and promptly fell on my backside!  Within a week, I marched right to the nearest store and got myself a proper pair of snow boots.  Now, after over eleven years of living in the Midwest, I have come to really LOVE the snow.  I used to dread having to drive in it, but have come to the conclusion that things don't shut down around these parts just because of a little snow. The schools don't close for the day unless it's about six inches or...

Back in the day before "electronic" toys (Game Boy, XBox, Wii, etc.), kids played with games that didn't involve batteries or a plug :)  I came across this box of dominoes yesterday and was kind of scratching my head wondering where they came from.  I asked the hubby and he said they were his.  He remembers playing with them as a child. While doing a little bit of research for this blog post, I got a kick out of the games and toys that popped up when I Googled the words, "classic toys and games."  At least 75% of them were toys and games that I used to play with when I was little, like Monopoly, Yahtzee, the Game of Life, Chutes and Ladders, Candyland, Don't Break the Ice and Battleship.  Wonder if that means I'm a "classic?!?" What's cool is we have all those games in our house and I have played them at different times with my stepson, Lauren or Dominic.  How about an Etch a Sketch?  or needing a View-Master to use these: Le...

Last Friday afternoon, when Dominic hopped off his bus, I gave him an extra giant hug.  I'm so glad that he was unaware of what had happened earlier in the day in Connecticut.  Friday night, we purposely kept the television off for a while.  We talked about what happened with Lauren and my stepson later on in the weekend.  I think whether you have little kids, teens, grown up kids, grandchildren or no children, what transpired Friday morning, will be in our thoughts for a long time.  Children especially are so innocent. I took this picture recently of Dominic. He looks so peaceful when he is sleeping.  When a tragedy occurs like what happened Friday morning, it makes me appreciate every moment that I have with the special people in my life. I have tried to make sense of it all and have come to the conclusion that it makes no sense. We lived back in the Washington, DC area at the time of September 11.  I can remember like it was yesterday, how I f...

One of my husband's nicknames for me is "Honest Abe" as in Abraham Lincoln.  During the summer, while I was in my kitchen, I heard what sounded like a lawn mower.  After looking around at my neighbor's houses I figured out there was a lawn guy mowing OUR lawn!  I went outside and asked the guy what he was doing. He was like, "don't you use a lawn service?"  I said, "no, I do it myself."  I guess I could have let the guy do our lawn, but then my neighbor who did pay for his services would have got the bill and not had their lawn mowed! Yesterday, we got an envelope in the mail.  We didn't recognize the return address, but opened it up anyways.  It turned out, somebody found something of ours that was lost and they took the time to mail it back.  That really meant a lot to me.  This morning Lauren and I were talking about Christmas presents.  A month or so ago she had told me there was a certain book that she wanted.  I guess as a "ge...

I'm kind of bummed.  The last time I washed this sweater (which was probably last Christmas), I think I automatically put it into the dryer.  I tried it on a week or so ago and now it's too small :(   I have had it for about ten years, so I definitely have gotten my money's worth out of it! Since the sweater doesn't fit me anymore and I have worn it around the holidays for such a long time, I had to start looking to see if I had anything that could become it's replacement as "the" holiday sweater this year. I have a couple red sweaters with no snowmen, sleighs, etc. which I guess could work, though they seemed kind of plain.  I then fished around a little more and found this one! One of the local papers around where I live is having a contest to see who has the best holiday sweater. I don't think it's an "ugly sweater" contest, I'm pretty sure they are looking more for ones that are unique.  I have had my "pe...

I know that I'm going to sound ancient, but does anybody remember "S&H Green Stamps?" When you would shop at participating stores, you would get adhesive stamps that you had to stick into a book.  When you got enough stamps, you could redeem it for merchandise at a Green Stamp Redemption Center. The "stamps" went electronic in 2000 and is now called S&H Greenpoints. At one of my jobs when I was in my 20's, I had my boss tell me it was a requirement that I wear pantyhose. I found out about the "Silkies Hosiery Service" and knew it was a service I needed!!  Every five weeks, I received three new pairs of pantyhose.  It was similar to "green stamps" where every time I made a purchase, I would get points.  Once you got enough points, you could redeem it for merchandise.  I was able to get a vacuum cleaner and a kitchen clock among other things. The company is still around and ships out pantyhose to your home, but I'm not sure if y...