Pinterest

Hello Pinterest! My friend recommended I start utilizing this application/social media phenomenon. I didn't get it at first, but once I played with it for 5 minutes I was hooked.

Everywhere I look - Twitter, Facebook, someone has just joined, and the most common status update is:

"I'm obsessed with Pinterest"! People are tweeting that they "need a Pintervention!

It's been fully up and running since August 2011. I've never seen anything/webpage catch on faster than Pinterest. According to Wikipedia: It had more traffic than the social network giants like Linked In, You Tube and Google+ on January 2012. 


Thanks to social media, Pinterest has spread like wildfire. I'm still a "virgin" when it comes to this website. I only have 12 boards, 181 pins, and 7 likes. I have 23 followers and I'm following 33 people. I think it is just the beginning.

My most popular "repin" (almost 30x) is:

http://www.afarmgirlsdabbles.com/2011/03/24/lasagna-soup/

Forget the Facebook IPO, Pinterest is here to stay!

Superbowl Sunday

Rematch time! Patriots-Giants!

I remember the last time these two teams played in the Superbowl. The Patriots HAD IT! It was going to be a WIN!! My dad even called to say "Congratulations, your team is going to win". And then the unspeakable. The Giants win by 3.

I told my dad this year not to call. AT ALL. I won't answer the phone if he does. Now I'm not superstitious. Not really. Except for when it comes to football and baseball. Not as extreme as: I'm going to wear the same Wes Welker jersey to every game because they keep on winning. But close.

Do I like that Tom Brady is on the cover of SI? NOPE! Everyone knows it's a curse to be on the cover!

I quote wikipedia: The Sports Illustrated cover jinx is an urban legend that states that individuals or teams who appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated magazine will subsequently be jinxed (experience bad luck). This is an example of confirmation bias.


Here is the current one:

Should I be worried?

I'm not worried. At the end of the day, Brady is one man, the other 45+ players and Coaches make the TEAM. Defense, Offense, Special Teams. Each one of them will either win or lose on Sunday. (I'm for WIN)

9 days and counting. I hope to say goodbye to the 2008 memory of that horrible loss. And HELLO Vince Lombardi Trophy #4. (I think someday they should have a Bill Belichick Trophy..I'm just sayin')

Cinque Terre, Italy

Sunset in Mararola

MH (My Husband) and I said HELLO to the  Cinque Terre for our honeymoon last Sept, 2011. It's one of the most beautiful places I've visited. We visited all five (Cinque in Italian) towns, and I highly recommend it as a place to vacation to for R&R and a little bit (or a lot) of hiking. And LOTS of eating and drinking, but I'll save that for another blog. 

More importantly, I'd like to let you know about the disaster that hit Cinque Terre on October 25th, 2011. A massive flood hit the towns and several of the residents had to be evacuated and are still unable to return.

I've been following the tragedy and the repair efforts. I've told myself how lucky we were to have visited and experienced such a beautiful place before the flood. The people are generous, the stories behind the towns are enthralling.

Riomaggiore

The views are breathtaking....

Sunset from our balcony in Manarola

Lovers walk from Manarola to Riomaggiore

I recently read an article from Rick Steve about the efforts the community has taken to restore the towns. More than 50 artists gathered in Vernazza to paint the boarded up store fronts.

Take a look at these article when you have a moment. The pictures say volumes - here is a sneak peek at their work (photo credits within the article).

http://www.ricksteves.com/news/cinque-terre/art-reviving-vernazza-slideshow.htm

I'll say goodbye to Cinque Terre for now, but someday we will come back - and hopefully soon.

This is how I'll always remember Vernazza:

Don't wait for "some day" to visit "some where." GO NOW!

The Work Workout Challenge

THIS is MY Elliptical

I bought an elliptical over 2 years ago. I easily justified it's cost by saying if I use it X number of times it would easily pay for a gym membership. I've used it. Just yesterday. After say 6-8 months of being a clothes dryer.

I've used it because we have started a workout challenge at work. It's not about losing weight, and who loses the most pounds. It's just about trying to get motivated again to even be fit. 30 minutes of uninterrupted activity. It can walking, running, elliptical - any speed, any resistance, anything as long as you are moving for 30 minutes. I wanted to make it easier for everyone in our office. Ok, easier for me. 

There are 6 of us, plus my sister. $10.00 each person, the one who works out the most in 4 months (Jan-April) gets the pot of money. It helps to have incentive!

Not a New Year's resolution, but my metabolism betrays me even more every year. And I like food. I like alcohol. To eat and drink the same, I need to get moving more than I do. 

Hello challenge, and being healthier. Goodbye pounds (I hope!).

Wish me luck!

MH (My Husband) vs. the Screaming Lady

Published in 2003, and sells on Amazon for $25.00. MH bought this to learn about our heating system

My husband disappears every now and then when we are in the house. All of a sudden he gets up from the couch, grumbles and goes into the depths of the basement. There is this huge knocking in the house and the floor shakes a little. Welcome to Steam Heat.

When we first moved in, we didn't even have insulation. Did I mention our house was built in 1900 or so?

We just switched from oil to gas and have a fancy brand new furnace, tankless hot water energy saver system. And it knocks, and screams. We had the screaming lady in the bedroom. Every morning the heat would come on, and the vent was turned just ever so, where it would literally sound like there was a lady screaming to her death. EVERY MORNING.

Hours on the internet later, we have the most expensive vents ordered. And I have to give him credit (yes MH, write this down), he learned how to change the vents. Now the Screaming Lady is gone. MH 1, Steam heat 0.

Oh wait, we have radiators that only heat up 1/2 way, and some that don't heat up at all. Have you seen MH lately?

The Traffic Signs of Life

Start a project, stop a project. How many projects, ambitions have we all started and then just forgot. Unfinished scrapbooks, photo albums, knitting projects (I don't knit). My last entry was on Feb 2 of 2011. Almost a year later, here I am. I'm pretty good at that - starting something with such ambition, and then it comes to a screeching halt. I don't believe in New Years Resolutions, but it is a good time START again.

The question of blogging came up at the office - Why do it? Why not?  I like to write (when I feel like it) and I like to be creative. Am I "entertaining enough" in my writing? Will you, the reader, continue to follow me?

Today I challenge you to start something you have stopped.

Grand Central Station

I found myself in Grand Central Station yesterday at 6:55am. It wasn't as busy as this photo, but about 20 minutes later it was! I wasn't supposed to be there until 7:20am , but I couldn't sleep. There was a snow storm/ice storm coming through NYC and I needed to get out to CT then home later on that afternoon. I was worried about getting home. I found myself with time to kill in one of the most beautiful buildings in NYC. I usually take NYC in stride, at times more as a second office for me. So I never stop to look. Until yesterday morning. 

The detail of the brass window coverings. The chandeliers, the hustle and bustle. I sat down at the local coffee shop near track 102A. The details in every part of the building were beautiful. I wish I had my camera. What I also noticed were the commuters. Everyone in the same routine. The people behind the counters knew their orders before they said anything. They greeted them with a smile. I hadn't seen that for a while, maybe the last time in a move. It was refreshing. 

Needless to say, I made it home through ice and snow, and only 20 minutes late. 

Next time I'm in the city, maybe I'll take an official tour, or if time doesn't allow it, maybe just wander around. Never know what your eyes can see or find.

So I leave you with one of the more recognizable photo's. Next time you are in NYC, take a look around!