I love ironing

It makes me feel productive, organized and gives me a true feeling of accomplishment. I always have a finished product that looks great and I can watch the ballgame at the same time!

vhs to dvd

I have mastered my new "VHS to DVD" machine! I am taking all of the old video tapes of Christmases, my kids' birthdays and concerts and baseball games, and transferring them to DVD.
The machine is extremely easy to use, but it records in "real time"--meaning two hours worth of video takes two hours to record to DVD. And, what it often means is two hours of me WATCHING "Christmas 1987" or "Allison's 12th birthday"...it is so hard to walk away from those!
Today I set it up to record and came down to watch the ballgame...I went up to check it a little later and found Zachary blowing out three candles on his Ghost busters cake...yeah, I stayed and watched for a long time.
People had warned me that the video tapes would be unusable or perhaps would have disintegrated (let's face it, they are 20 years old!) But every single one has been BEAUTIFUL! In perfect shape--picture and sound! And now they will be even better!
One thing I have to share--First of all, I am IN most of these videos, which is great. And though my hair and clothes are pretty dorky I have noticed that I am laughing so much--I am smiling --I was always so happy! I love watching the interaction between me and my kids...seeing myself at 21, 22, 23 years old with those two little babies loving me...and MAN I loved every single minute of being their mommy. Still do.
SO happy to have all these memories back!

I love my friend Laura!

If you ARE a mom or HAVE a mom...this is so great!

GREAT Surprise Visit!

My former Event Concierge partner, Michael, came by Montage for a visit today!
Everyone was so very happy to see him and I was grateful to finally
be able to console him in person regarding his Mets.
People said we looked like brother and sister...some called us Barbie and Ken.

With Sarah.
I called Michael my "soul mate" in a work partner. He was absolutely PERFECT for the position--talent, abilities, experience--
AND perfect to work with me--common sense, music and movie knowledge
and an amazing and TRUE love of baseball!

With Zach.
When Michael worked with me he wore a suit and kept his hair very short. It was SO great to see him in jeans and a teeshirt and long, casual hair! You know how most of the time when someone leaves a workplace, life goes on and you never really miss them? Yeah...not with Michael. Michael is one of those guys who is missed by every single person in the building.
It was so good to see him.

Life's like an hourglass glued to the table

After attending my Grandmother's 94th birthday last night, I came home and Googled
"Things that add years to your life."
Here's the top 20

1. Don't smoke.
   
2. Take a daily multivitamin.
3. Exercise and be active each day.
4. Eat wisely and include tomato sauce in your diet frequently.
   
5. Laugh a lot.
   
6. Drink red wine.
   
7. Have good friends.
8. Eat nuts!
   
9. Be nice and have a positive, flexible attitude.
10. Trim excess weight.
    
11. Love your job.
12. Avoid accidents and violence (duh!)
13. Take time to relax.
14. Spend time with children.
15. Don't be in a hurry.
16. Have a purpose.
17. Eat dark chocolate (delicious with red wine!)
    
18. Eliminate toxic foods, toxic emotions and toxic relationships.
    
19. Change how you feel about aging.
    
20. Keep learning and stay curious about the future! (Eliane, I SWEAR it said this!)
    

The best news: Aging is NOT an inevitable decline in function and ability! I think I am healthier today and have more energy and strength--and I even weigh less today--than I did 20 years ago. Hmmm, I am also very positive and never in a hurry....I love red wine and dark chocolate and have great friends and laugh a lot. And I am certainly curious about the future.
The best is yet to come!