Jersey Girl

I've never been to New Jersey, but I'm going this week. So, in preparation for my trip, I've been doing a little reading. A few "Fun Facts For Ya..."  (name that movie!)

Did you know that:

1) New Jersey has the highest population density in the U.S. An average 1,030 people per sq. mi., which is 13 times the national average. (Franklin has 71.3 people per square mile)

2) North Jersey is the car theft capital of the world, with more cars stolen in Newark then any other city. Even the 2 largest cities, NYC and LA put together. (WE WILL BE IN NEWARK THE WHOLE TIME. Note to self: leave NOTHING of your personal belongings in the rental van.)

3) North Jersey has the most shopping malls in one area in the world with seven major shopping malls in a 25 sq. mile radius. (Not that we'll have time, but this might be kinda fun to explore!)

4) New Jersey natives you may have heard of: Jack Nicholson, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Jason Alexander, Queen Latifa, Shaquille O'Neal, Judy Blume, Whitney Houston, Eddie Money and Frank Sinatra. (Everybody's gotta be born somewhere, right?)

5) New Jersey has 108 toxic waste dumps. Which is the most in any one state in the nation. (awesome)

6) Software and software-related companies account for nearly 2,700 companies in New Jersey. (Good to know in case we have any IT issues while we're there...)

7) New Jersey is home to the Miss America pageant held in Atlantic City. And Atlantic City is where the street names came from for the game MONOPOLY. (Kinda cool)

8) New Jersey has the most dense system of highways and railroads in the U.S. (Glad I will not be driving the rental van)

9) New Jersey has the largest petroleum containment area outside of the Middle East countries. (What does this mean, exactly...?)

10) The light bulb, phonograph and motion picture projector were invented by Thomas Edison in his Menlo Park laboratory in New Jersey. (Brain power)

***SMALL TOWN Utah/Tennessee girl travels north***

OKAY...so the top things I'm looking forward to:

* Traveling with my DVL film crew buddies (always a HOOT!)
* Filming CorizonTV at Essex County Juvenile Detention Facility
* Avoiding having our rental car stolen
* Taking in some northeastern sights, like those exciting petroleum containment areas
* Wearing 'lay-ahs, lay-ahs, lay-ahs" to stay warm in projected 30-40 degree weather this week (feels colder by the water, I'm told). I think that with ALL THOSE PEOPLE we will be walking shoulder to shoulder at any given moment, so we should be fine.
* Getting some kind of New Jersey magnet for my collection
* EATING dinner at Fornos of Spain Restaurant, which comes highly recommended by our NJ Corizon team.

And you should know the biggest thing I'm excited about is:

* Using my new PINK travel bag for the first time! YAY! :) Seriously, you have no idea how COOL this bag is...

Happy Hearts

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day. I was surprised at work when I got a message that I had a flower delivery at the front desk. That NEVER happens (I get flowers at home, but at work...?) So I confirmed that it was indeed Lynette Harris, not the "other" Lynette (Corbitt) at my office. And I had beautiful roses and chocolate covered strawberries, and a couple of other little surprises at the front desk. They looked so lovely on my desk all day (the flowers) and I enjoyed a couple of the BIG strawberries during the very hectic, pressure-filled, slightly frustrating day. I brought the roses home to enjoy for the next few days before I head out of town.

I gave Steve (well, I gave US) tickets to see WICKED at TPAC in April. So excited, and glad he's excited, too! I had a couple of friends on standby who would go with me if he didn't want to go! HA!

Steve and I and Sam then enjoyed the new LEGO movie (Grayson went to the CHS hockey game). Wasn't sure what to expect of a LEGO Movie, but what a crackup! Several out-loud laughs! I felt like a little kid at times. And at other times I missed having little kids...(sigh)...sometimes my 'phase' of life hits me at weird times and places. But gratefully, Grayson and Sam still like putting together Lego sets, and our bonus room is still filled with the huge "epic" creations they've made. And they will occasionally still even play with them. *SMILE* And there's always the grandkids...

It was a good heart day.

EAGLE Review!

Tonight was Grayson's Eagle Scout Board of Review. He actually finished his project over a year ago, and through some bookkeeping mishaps, had to repeat a merit badge and a couple of other minor requirements, which made him totally lose any steam he still possessed...so here we are over a year later FINALLY getting to this point. But now, you know what? WHO CARES?! We're there!



Aaron Hart and Grayson on their way...

His scout leader, Aaron Hart, came by and picked him up to take him to the Board of Review. It was held at the Franklin People's Church just across Mack Hatcher Pkwy. from us. He was the only one from our troop being reviewed tonight; there were three from other denominations.

We grilled him with interview questions, asked him details about his project, merit badges, the scout oath/motto/law, all those things hoping he would be ready.

He was. He says everything went well and he had no difficulty answering any of their questions. We enjoyed hearing all the questions, how he answered them, how his leg was shaking because he was nervous...Good stuff!

The final Eagle Award will be given in a couple of months, but HE HAS EARNED IT -- he has passed all the requirements and exams and questions and reviews and analysis and letters of reference and everything else! And we have the paperwork to prove it! Woo-Hoo!

Click HERE to see photos from his Eagle Project.

My son, the EAGLE. (Two down...one more to go!)

Harris II

Just want to include some of these darling family photos of Chris & Nathalie's brood so they'll be here on my blog. Love every one of these peeps! (well, not sure yet on the new puppy, "Bolt," but I'm sure he's great)

Out on the North Carolina property

With the new puppy, "BOLT" -- those kids (all 4 of them) aren't excited, are they?!

Cuter than cute! Addie, Colton & Rogan

So-Long, Curly Top!

I remember watching Shirley Temple movies as a kid, and thinking she was adorable then. Now looking back at those movies, she seriously was adorable -- and incredibly talented for a 3-4-5 year old! My favorite movies of hers were the ones where she was really young, like "Curly Top" and "Bright Eyes," (remember "Good Ship Lollipop?).  Coached? Yes. Choreographed? Yes. A little "too cute" sometimes? Yes. But sweet and enjoyable still...

I don't remember much about the movies, just that she was in them, they were cute, she brought sunshine wherever she went, I liked watching them, and they always had a happy ending. My kind of movie!

AND...another notable thing about her, is that she 'RETIRED' at 22 from show business. She was married to Mr. Black for 55 years, she was a mother of three...and she was a U.S. Ambassador twice. I didn't follow her life closely, but looking back at it now, I can't think of many other child stars who 'turned out so well' -- actually, can't think of ANY.

She passed away yesterday, at 85 years old.

Hats off to Shirley Temple -- may she rest in peace.

Slanted View

I wanted to try a new recipe Saturday night. It sounded good, I had all the ingredients, it uses one of my favorite things (Diet Dr. Pepper), and I'm still in my temporary state of eating less healthy than my new years resolutions require. [Yes, that phase is quickly coming to an end, but that's another blog post...]



So, I made this delicious recipe:

Diet Dr. Pepper Cake
1 box yellow cake mix with pudding in the mix
1 box of instant vanilla pudding (or 4 packets MF vanilla pudding, which is what I used)
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 can Diet Dr. Pepper (DDP)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
Mix liquids together, then add dry stuff. Blend with beaters until smooth. Add nuts, stir.
Bake for 40 min. at 350. Cool. Top with cream cheese frosting, or make this Glaze: 1 c. powdered sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, enough DDP to make a thin glaze. Drizzle over cake.

So I baked it, it turned out fabulous, EXCEPT it came out of the oven looking SLANTED like this: (!)

WHO KNEW my oven had a slant? When did that happen?

Later, when Sam saw the cake and I told him something was 'with' the oven he opened and looked in. He grabbed my phone, and took this photo:

And said, "Hey, mom. I found the big problem with your oven..."

Okay, I don't want to hear it! I was putting the cake in the oven (and taking it out) from the side, not looking directly into the oven, not seeing the rack in full view, blazing heat hitting me in the face...I didn't notice, okay? And I didn't take the time to look in there afterward, either, okay?!

It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't posted the cake photo on Facebook, then I had to post the stove photo and take all the brutal comments about me being a dumb blonde or something. Sheesh.

It's a moist, dense cake that has those yummy walnuts which make it even fabulous-er. So I frosted what was left of it this morning, sliced it into small pieces, and took it to work. They loved it and it disappeared! Like I said, it is a delicious recipe!

Bag Lady

I remember when I was growing up that my mom used to have SOOOO many purses! It seemed like she had lots of different colors, but all similar in style in the top of her closet. And she was always looking at purses at stores. I remember thinking, "Sheesh, mom, how many purses does a girl need?!"

I found these random purses online, and they all remind me of her olden-day purses. Seriously, I can see her carrying any one of these circa 1975...

Well....I have realized recently that I've become a bit of a purse girl myself! Not quite sure how it happened, because forever I've been like BUY A PRACTICAL PURSE, USE IT TILL IT RIPS APART, BUY A NEW PURSE, REPEAT, WHO CARES?

But over the past few years, something about having the 'right' purse has become desirable. I like lots of pockets, and everything in it's place. It makes me feel organized, even though I'm not. But I'm NOT one of those who changes purses DAILY to match an outfit...that's a bit much. I go in phases. I use them for 2-3 weeks and then change out.

Here are some my 'current' purses... They all have a story or a purpose, or something that made me get them!

 1 - This is an awesome, large BLACK purse with no interior divider, but a couple of pockets. And...SCORE...Jennie Latimer at work GAVE it to me because "it's a cheap Target purse" and she only got it because she didn't want to take one of her $300-$400 purses with her on vacation where it might get damaged. HA!

2 - I love the BROWN color of this one, fairly new, and it's basically just a huge hobo bag with one zip pocket inside. I got it because it's great for travel because I can fit my Surface in there with all my 'purse' stuff and all the stuff for the airport, etc. But it's a little floppy, and inconvenient being so unorganized and pocket-challenged.

3 - I've had this RED leather purse for probably 8-10 years, and it's a little small, and just open inside. But the color is great, and it's fun to use for a couple of weeks around the holidays.

4 - This one -- HAA! I got it FREE a couple of years ago at Sally's Beauty Supply with a $25 purchase. It's huge and open and trendy, but not real practical looking and not enough pockets -- none on the outside, and that's deadly. But it's kind of fun and flashy, etc. See it HERE at the Imagine Dragons concert...

5 - I got this BLACK/WHITE 'satchel' at a recent after-Christmas clearance at Belks at the Mall. I hardly ever go in there, and I never buy purses at the mall! But this one screamed out me, and since it was $22 I thought I'd give it a try. It's big, it stands up on its own (which I like) and it has good pockets, looks dressy like an executive bag. I like it! Haven't used it yet, need to!

I have more in my closet -- too many, I'm sure. And for someday down the road, I have my eye on this bag THAT I LOVE...(London Fog):

And these new little purses that look like books are totally cute (Kate Spade and the likes), but not practical for me, size-wise or price-wise. HA!

 

 

I have gotten organized to the point that this is generally all I have in my purse at any given time...plus my phone and car keys. Still wouldn't fit in that book.

1) Zipper pouch with pain relievers, protein bars, mirror, gum, cough drops & dental floss. 2) Wallet. 3) Altoids
4) Frequency cards & travel point cards (hey, there's an app for that now so this may be going by the wayside)
5) Business Cards;  6) Pens; 7) Lip Gloss, chapstick, nail file & tiny clippers

With these bigger purses, I may actually have to start using this handy-dandy thang (below) that Mr. Gadget got me a year or two ago...it's still in the box. But I'm now ready to break it out! You just put all your stuff in it, and lift it all out at once when you change purses! That could make a girl's life very easy, and I may start changing purses with every outfit! (ha)

And another after-Christmas 'find' was this great taupe patent leather bag -- perfect for my CHURCH BAG! My other bag's handles were worn, torn, and coming apart. It gets just a little heavy usage... :) So I was excited to find this cool thang...and only $20!

AND A SIDE NOTE: if Nathalie lived nearby, I know she'd TOTALLY make me a designer bag CAKE for my birthday...in chocolate brown, not purple.

And now...for the BIG KAHUNA OF BAGS...I saw it online several months ago and mentioned to Steve that it would be cool in PINK to match my cell phone and my Surface:

No, my phone is NOT scaled in size to my Surface in this photo...

...and he got it for me for Christmas! It is so cool because it is a large, luxury, LEATHER briefcase travel bag on wheels for convenience at the airport, fully lined with a gazillion pockets -- but when you get where you're going, you just ZIP it off the wheels and use it as a briefcase! WHAAA...? Is that genius or what?! And it's PINK! Coolest. Thing. Ever. Can't wait to use it when I go to New Jersey next week! (You'll probably be treated to some photos of the FAB BAG in action later!)

And I did not appreciate Lori's reference to this looking like a
vacuum cleaner. It is far too cool for that...



Okay, so now I've got to come up with a better way to store all these and the many more bags I have for ease of access and quick-change. I'm getting more excited about more bags the more I blog about them! :) We have a very small walk-in closet, and I'm thinking I may have to resort to something like this:

The pink travel bag definitely WON'T work on the back of the door, though! Haha

Okay, so now my genetic BAG-FETISH is revealed. I'm sure you're tired of hearing about purses, hobo bags, satchels, totes, travel bags and the like. In fact, if you made it through this entire post, you're probably ready to BAG this blog altogether (heh, heh)...

Davy Crockett

I've never quite understood the appeal of CAMPING in the WINTER. But for some reason, the Boy Scouts like to do it. So when Sam went with his troop mid-January, on one of the COLDEST WEEKENDS in recent Tennessee history, I was a little concerned.  I guess I "get" the whole winter survival thing...the hiking 7.5 miles up a mountain trail in cold weather carrying heavy stuff, the fire building, the layering...yada yada yada.

But when he got back, he modeled the HAT Steve had gotten for him, his thick orange coat, and I had already seen him practice putting together the 'waterproof' pup tent. So he assured me that he was toasty warm, most of the time. And he actually had fun -- and got a sunburn! HA!

BOYS.