Right Now

This winter has been pretty brutal for us here in Cincytucky! We actually have a considerable amount of snow on the ground. Temperatures have been unbelievably below average. It has been below freezing for most of January and February. Having grown up in Vermont I should be accustomed to below zero temps, but I'm not. I blame it on my summer living in California. 

  

Pretty much in hibernation mode right now. I haven't had any motivation to do much of anything.  The "winter blues" are hitting me hard this year. The fog has slowly been lifting the past few days,it is slow going. Getting restful sleep has been EXTREMELY helpful. 

We joined the church that we have been attending for the past year. After six years of looking for a church home it is good to finally have a place to call home. I have begun volunteering in the children's ministry. This was my first week of actually teaching the lesson. I was a little rusty. I am more in practice of working with the under 5 set. It will take some time to get back into practice being with older kids. It will come. 


A wonderful teacher from one of my schools surprised me with a church cookbook. I had mentioned that I collect church and community cook books. It was such a sweet surprise. One of the recipes in the book is for a Swedish Nut Cake. It was super sweet and super delicious. Not exactly Weight Watcher friendly, but a nice treat. 

At work I have been trying to come up with crafts to go through my large collection of paper plates. One week the kids made winter hats out of paper plates. Another week we made paper plate cupcakes to celebrate the birthday of my storytime puppet. 

I am getting ready to put together a post about the books I am currently reading and books I plan to read in 2014. That post should be up tomorrow! 

What are some of your helpful hints to beat the winter blahs?

80 degrees in October?

 Growing up in Vermont I never really appreciated the wonderful autumn weather. The cool crisp mornings. The comfy sweaters! Here in Cincinnati the weather does not seem to understand the concept of cool and crisp! In fact, I am wearing shorts and flip flops today. It's getting a little bit ridiculous!  

Anyway, I decided to enjoy a little autumn fun, even if the weather isn't cooperating!

 A family in our neighborhood set this up on their lawn! I couldn't fit the giant spider in the picture! So fun!

 The apples waiting for the caramel! Finding the caramel candies was practically impossible. When I did find them I let out a triumphant " Ah ha!" right in the middle of the grocery store!

 This treat is brought to you by the letters C and A ( Candy Corn, Caramel and Apples)

 A few pumpkins for my trifle bowl!

Thanks to my ultra tall husband for tacking this up above the kitchen cabinets!

Cincinnati Sunday: Kentucky Symphony Orchestra

Cincinnati Sunday is dedicated to the best of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and Indiana! Each Sunday, I will feature an event, location, store, restaurant, or product that is unique to this area!

Date: August 7^th, 2010

Event:  Fun Fun Fun

(The Kentucky Symphony Orchestra Boogie Band

 returns to the simple '60s)

Location: Devou Park Bandshell

Covington, KY

After what seemed close to a month of unbearable humidity in Cincinnati, the weather finally took a turn towards the delightful! A slight breeze and the sounds of the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra set the stage for a great date night with my husband!

When you think of Kentucky, you don’t usually think of something as cultured as a symphony orchestra. Honestly, I was downright shocked and delighted to find out that we have one here. There wasn’t a whiskey jug or a banjo in sight. Sorry, but I bet I wasn’t the only one thinking that!

This was the second of the three part summer series sponsored by Toyota! Michael and I were two of thousands of other music lovers who made their way up to Devou Park. We spread a blanket out on the hill overlooking the band shell and ate our dinner of chips and sandwiches.

The concert featured special arrangements of 1960s classics by pianist, conductor, and arranger Terry LaBolt. Singers in sparkly dresses were included to offer up an exceptional show! A personal favorite was a rendition of “Fun, Fun, Fun!” It was impossible to not sing along or at least tap your toes! A large group of exuberant kids danced and twirled along in front of the stage! Adorable!

This series is an excellent family friendly event. What is better is that it is free! There is nothing quite as good as free cultural activities!(Donations are welcome)  To top it off, Tank offered a free shuttle service from Covington Catholic High School!

The third concert will wrap up the 2010 summer series on September 4^that 7:30pm featuring a circus theme! So bring your family and a picnic dinner out to Devou Park for unique family friendly event.

Check out the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra website for further information!

Games, Yummies, and a History Buff!

Here are a few pictures of the game I came up with for Candy Land Theme Week. 

I attached balloons to beanbags. I wrote numbers and letters on  the balloons using a sharpie. Then I made alphabet cards with the same letter that were on the balloons.

The younger children got to choose an alphabet card out of the bag. I gave them a bean bag and they had to find the balloon with the same letter on it. They then threw the bean bag at the balloon.

With the older children also chose an alphabet card,but I didn't let them look at it. Instead they were given the letter sound and had to find the balloon with the corresponding letter on it!

Michael and I went to Findlay Market to have waffles at our favorite place! Taste of Belgium has the best waffles I've ever had! If you are in Cincy you should give them a try. Be warned..they are addicting!

Michael was given a huge collection of National Geographic magazines. He is having a lot of fun going through all the issues.

An open letter to the lady who talks on the cellphone in the public restroom

Dear  Lady Who Talks on the Cellphone in the Public Restroom,

I just wanted to take this opportunity to address you openly. I know that there must only be one person in the world who has the disgusting audacity to actually talk on the phone in a public restroom, so this letter is directed to you!

I most recently came across you in the restroom at the library. You were talking away on your phone to a friend describing in excruciating detail the goings on of your day. No detail seemed to be left out. You told this “friend” about your excursion to the mall to buy your daughter a bra. I am the lady in stall #1 who kept flushing the toilet.

So let me get to the meat and potatoes of why I felt it necessary to write this letter. I hope I need not have to tell you the main use for a public restroom.  The public restroom is not the modern day version of the phone booth.  The sounds of the natural digestion process are not meant to be background of a polite phone conversation. I am sorry that you have such a busy life that you cannot put down your phone for a few brief moments to eliminate your body’s waste products. If you don’t care about the sounds of your own elimination, please offer others the courtesy. Everyone participates in the digestion process sometime, and I doubt that your social life would come to an end in a brief five minute unplug. 

Please take your conversation to your parked car. I might also suggest the bathroom in your own home if you must multitask. I hope that this letter has been informative to you and that you will discontinue your use of a cellphone in the public restroom. If by chance this letter has not impacted you, I will continue to flush the toilet until you get the hint!

Sincerely,

The Lady in Stall #1

PS: I noticed that you did not wash your hands when you exited the bathroom! Thanks so much for sharing more of yourself with the public

A Trip to the Zoo

We spent the late morning and the early afternoon at the Cincinnati Zoo! The weather was incredible and we were actually able to see the animals! Not crowded at all! Monday is a perfect day to visit the zoo!

An adorable sloth!

I

Isn't He adorable!!

Grrr...My Mom in front of the polar bears!

Miniature Cows!

I wanted to take one of this adorable little guys home!

Shame on Walmart in Florence, Kentucky

I am a bargain shopper. In this day and age we are all looking for the best return on our money. To be honest Walmart does have good prices, it is not worth the rudness and general mistrust of customers by the staff.

I have had many unpleasant experiences at this store, and have now decided not to spend my hard earned money at this establishment any longer. I have decided to put my money where my mouth is and not shop at stores that treat me like a criminal.

Experience #1: I purchased a scrapbook from the craft section. I grabbed it quickly and did not pay much attention to the condition that it was in. After inspecting the item in my car, I went back into the store to return the item. I was hassled for 15 minutes by two employees about wanting to return an item that was clearly damaged. I was told, "How do we know you didn't damage the item yourself?". Pleasant Customer service staff is not available at this store.

Experience #2: I purchased a bra to go with a dress that I had at home. When I got home I realized that the bra would not be appropriate for that particular dress. So I brought the bra back to Walmart. I waited in line for 20 minutes in the returns department only to be told that I needed to get a ticket from an associate at the door. When walking into the store I was clearly caring a Walmart bag and was not stopped by any associate at the door. So I went to get the ticket and was given the ticket with no questions asked by the associate at the door. So I walk back to the returns area and waited another 10 minutes for service, I actually go up to the same woman who had originally told me to get the ticket. She looks at me and says, "They actually gave you a ticket? I wouldn't have. You could have gone into the store with a bag and then put the bra in there and are now trying to get money back for the bra." I told the lady, "I had the receipt right here!" This lady fought with me for 10 minutes about the bra. I was finally given my money back after asking for a manager and arguing with them for 5 minutes. I was very upset.

Experience #3:(Today 4/17/10) I normally park by the tire section because I am able to get a parking space close to the building. I do my shopping and head back to the tire section. It was before 9:00pm when that area usually closes it's doors. Anyway I try to go through the doors and they would not open. There was a cashier at the check-out who was helping a customer and I asked if he could open the door for me. He told me, "We are closed!" I asked again several times if he would open the door. Each time I was rudely told that they were "closed". If they were closed why was he cashing out some customers? I asked him one more time if he could please open the door for me. He said, "Do you have the number for Bentonville, AR , maybe they can help you? I was already in the store! They could have let me out!

These are only three of several more unacceptable experiences that I have had at this store. Customers are the bread and butter of business. If businesses continue to offer poor service and substandard products than they will no longer be in business. We as consumers need to stand up for our rights and no longer put up with crappy service. If we keep letting business get away with this behavior, things will not change.