Buongiorno! Siamo tornati dal nostro biaggio in Italia!

Good day! We are back from our trip to Italia!  It was everything we hoped and prayed it would be and more!

We arrived home late Saturday night, headed to mass on Sunday morning,  lunch at mom's, and then started on the massive mounds of laundry.  We did Peter's first as he had to go back to Raleigh Sunday afternoon because he started his internship at the John Locke Foundation Monday morning.  He had a great first day, by the way!

Yesterday Dan and I both took off of work which was definitely a good move because we still had a lot ot do from being gone - more laundry, yard work, bills, etc.  And also just getting these old bodies back on East Coast time was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

Dan's back at work this morning and I'm heading off to work soon as well.  And by the way - I got a new position at work - I will be the person receiving all the product into the store, matching it with it's invoice, setting it up in our point of sale system, setting the price, etc.  I'm excited for this new opportunity but also a little nervous.  I trained with the person doing it before me for a few days and then went on vacation and I'm hoping I remember everything I'm supposed to do!  The nice thing about this position is that once they back fill my old position, I will no longer have to work any Saturdays.  My new schedule will be Monday - Thursday.  

Sarah starts her internship at the Bethesda Center for the Homeless next Monday so she is extremely excited about that.  Thankfully that's in Winston-Salem so she will be here all summer!  

I posted pictures and updates from the trip on my personal Facebook page. I always like to do in-depth blog posts so my family can refer back to what we did and what we saw kind of like a scrapbook  but because I'm no longer sitting on the couch eating bon bons on the daily, it will take me some time. :) In the meantime, enjoy this lovely shot taken in Amalfi.  We passed by these steps each time we went up the 190 steps to our apartment.  

Ciao!

Moulin Rouge! The night the old lady was out way past her bedtime.

Several weeks ago, a friend texted me and another friend to see if either one of us wanted to join her at the Tanger Center to see the Broadway production of Molin Rouge.  Her husband wasn't able to go with her and another friend was going in his place but ended up not being able to go either. So she texted us.

When I got the text I paused.  My first thought was "There's no way I'm going out on a Wednesday night". Because the Tanger is in Greensboro, the show didn't start until 7:30 and I knew I wouldn't be in my bed until Midnight.  That's two hours past my normal weeknight bedtime!  And I had work the next day.

My second thought was "Hmmm...maybe the other person she texted realllllllly wanted to go so I better wait a bit before responding".  But after a bit I thought to myself, "Dan will be out of town, the kids are at school, I never do anything fun any more, it sounds like a great idea!"

So we made the plan to go and I was looking forward to it until the actual day of.  I woke up on the 24th and kept thinking "Why did I say yes???? I'm going to be so tired.  What is this show even about?? I bet it's going to be horrible!"  

And to be fair to my friend Wendy, it had nothing to do with the show or the lateness of it on a week night, it's my old lady brain.  I used to go out on a whim all the time in my 20s but the older I get , the less adventurous I get (and isn't it sad that seeing a Broadway play on a Wednesday night is now considered adventurous?  24-year-old me would be so disappointed in 54 year old me! :)

And to make matters worse, everyone at work kept asking me what I was going to wear?  I hadn't even given that a thought but quite a few customers had been in shopping for outfits to wear to the show.  This is the downfall of working at a ladies boutique - everyone is very focused on clothing and outfits and what to wear and getting new things for every event.  Guess what I am NOT focused on?  Yep....what to wear.  So that added an extra layer of stress worrying that I was not going to be dressed properly.

I got home from work, put on black pants and a sweater and Wendy picked me up at 6:00 pm.  We headed to Greensboro, got parked and went inside.  And the first thing I saw was a woman wearing a bright red ball gown.  And I panicked a bit.  The black pants and sweater was probably not the way to go but then everyone started pouring in and there was every kind of outfit you could imagine.  

There were people in blue jeans, there were groups of women doing a girls night out dressed in cute short dresses, there were older couples dressed like they were going to church, there were trendy couples who looked like they shopped at expensive boutiques in NY City and there were people dressed in shorts.  So, note to self  - wear whatever the heck you want and don't waste a second of worry on it!

We walked in and found our seats and the whole stage was red. About 10 minutes before the show characters started coming out on to the stage and slowly dancing around the props.  The women were scantily clad because the Moulin Rouge in France was the birthplace of the can-can (which at the time was a provocative dance) and I was thinking "What have I gotten myself into?  This is going to be horrible!" 

And then the show started and Y'ALL!  I can not even begin to tell you how FABULOUS this show was!!!!!  The music, the characters, the story line!  It was funny, it was sad, it was AWESOME!!!!!!!!

I was entertained the entire time.  I never once looked at my watch.  I actually would have been fine it was LONGER!  If you get a chance to see this show - do it!!!!!!!!  And I can only imagine how much better it would be to see it on Broadway.

I know I don't have much to compare it to.  I saw Les Miserables in NY City in 1987.  And it was wonderful.  After that show, I immediately bought the cassette tape and played the songs in my car on repeat.  And then the off Broadway production came to Charlotte in the early 2000s and I drug Dan to see it.  The off Broadway version was good but not nearly as good as the original.  I think that was because in New York, they had a fantastic stage that rotated around and the traveling production did not.  

Right around that time, I also drug Dan to see Rent.  We both HATED that (Dan actually fell asleep if memory serves) and I haven't seen any other Broadway play since then. So I was expecting to be completely underwhelmed with Moulin Rouge but boy, was I wrong.  

Wendy, who frequents Broadway shows at the Tanger Center said it was the best one she had seen yet so lucky me that I got to go to that one!

After the show we even got pictures with some of the cast members.  Overall, it was an awesome night!  I'm glad I said yes to something on a weeknight and something that I thought wasn't going to be my cup of tea.  

And here are a few pictures of the event:

You have to take a picture in front of the sign,

We had great seats and of course we got there early because we are old ladies! 

This is Harold.  He was my favorite character in the show so I was super excited that we got a picture with him!

And this is Santiago!  Another great character from the show.  They were raising money for Broadway Cares which uses the funds to support AIDS related causes hence the buckets.

Have any of you seen Moulin Rouge?  What did you think? 

Gold rings, bracelet stacks, and lemon trees! What are you getting for Mother's Day?

Mother's Day is right around the corner!  Sunday, May 12th to be exact.  And since Dan is always traveling and not hyper aware that Mother's Day is right around the corner, and the kids are busy with work and school and their social lives, I thought it might be.... ummmm....helpful, if I listed out some things that would make perfect Mother's Day gifts for their favorite mother. And then I thought it might be helpful for anyone else shopping for their mother so I thought I would share it here. 

So let's jump right in and see what's on my wish list this year....

1. Any ring from this company would be a lovely gift.  They have some really pretty rings that would look perfect in a stack and they are great quality and super affordable. They also have gorgeous diamond and gemstone rings so make sure to check out their page.

 

 

I mean how cute would all three of these look stacked on my right ring finger???

2. And speaking of stacks...you can never go wrong with an enewton bracelet stack.  I've already got a few in my collection but one thing I know about enewton bracelets  is that you can never have too many!

Aren't they so pretty?  And they come in silver and gold (even mixed metal options) and they come with pearls and some have gemstones and then there are also bracelets with colored beads.  There are so many different styles.  And I should know because we sell them where I work.  Everyone loves them!

3. The next item that I would love to see on Mother's Day is anything by Barefoot Dreams. In fact, they have a whole section of Mother's Day gift ideas. They have the best blankets, pajamas and lounge wear.  And this robe is so soft and so cozy!

4. Have you guys heard of Farm House Fresh?  It's an all natural and organic skin care brand.  And right now they have a Mother's Day special. If you spend $110 you will get a free cosmetic bag and card with your purchase.   You could choose several products and put them in the free make-up bag to make a really cute gift.  And don't forget their Bronze Fox tanning drops. You mix a few drops right in your moisturizer and you look glowy  without any makeup needed. And to make these drops even more magical they are enriched with hyaluronic and polyglutamic acids + an antioxidant cocktail of green tea, watermelon, cactus and acai. 

 

5. Have you guys seen this cute Heart Snapshot Mix from Minted? You upload 30 of your mom's favorite photos of you and they print it and frame it.  It's so easy to do that even your husband could figure it out. :) Minted has a whole selection of gifts that can be personalized with your own photos if you don't like the heart shape.

6. For the mom that's always burning candles, how about this candle warming lamp?  The halogen bulb softly burns down the wax without an open flame so you are never in danger of forgetting to blow out your candle! Plus it's really pretty!

7. And a tried an true gift that everyone loves is the Frameo Digitial Picure Frame! We gave one to my mom several years ago and she loves it!  Friends and family can link up to the frame and send photos to it in seconds. And then the photos are always rotating.  It's such a fun gift and I know my mom really appreciates hers.

8. Flowers on Mother's Day are an expected and appreciated gift but what about something that lasts a a lot longer AND produces fruit?  This Grow Anywhere Meyer Lemon Tree would be such a fun and unexpected gift. Put it in a sunny window (just needs 6 hours of direct sunlight) and pretty soon you will be enjoying delicious lemons.  And as a bonus, the white blooms (that eventually turn into the lemons) smell wonderful and are a natural air freshener.

 

 9.And last but not least in a list of great Mother's Day gifts is my favorite gift of all....time spent with my people.  Now that my kids are in college my very favorite thing (any time not just on Mother's Day) is to have everyone home.  I sleep deeper when they are home. Food tastes better when they are at home - even my cooking! Sitting on the couch watching a tv show is more fun when they are all sitting around with me.  Nothing makes my heart happier than being all together with my little family.

Gold rings are beautiful, bathrobes are cozy, pictures are nostalgic, but a hug from my kids is definitely my favorite thing on Mother's Day.

So....what's the best gift you've every gotten on Mother's Day?  What about the worst gift?  I'm sure there have been some vacuum cleaners gifted by some well-intentioned but not so bright husbands. If so, spill the beans, I want to know!

 

This blog post was created in collaboration with Responsival.

Dan and I are working and the kids are just living it up!

 Hellooooooo everyone!  Just checking in with you guys to let you know that I'm still alive

I recently started working 4 days a week and 2 Saturdays a month (as opposed to my previous schedule of 3 days a week and 1 Saturday a month)and while I appreciate the extra money, I really do miss having extra time to get things done.  The house is a mess, the laundry is always behind, and it seems I'm always running to the grocery store on my way home from work to pick up a couple of things instead of doing a real grocery trip.

Anyway, it's all working out fine because Dan is in Charleston - again.  He was home for a week so that was nice but now he's back.  I think it will be like that all summer - gone more than he's home. Heck, it's been like that for the last year. I should be used to it by now!  But I guess the upside is that if the house is a mess, there are no clean cloths, and no food to eat, no one will notice or care but me! 

I am currently in high stress mode for our trip to Italy.  We leave in exactly 19 days.  There's so much to think about, plan, do, etc.  I am very grateful we are going on this trip but a travel agent would have probably been the way to go.  We met with someone at AAA and he was odd and not very helpful...well, unless you consider it helpful that he found us tiny hotel rooms that cost double of what the AirBnBs we booked ourselves would have been. After that we just decided to go it on our own...and now I'm wondering if that was a mistake or not.  But I'm sure everything will work out and be just fine!

Sarah is officially a member of Delta Zeta now and could not be any happier with her decision to join!  

This is Sarah and her Big Sister at the Big Sister Reveal.  They bonded over The Bachelor hence The Bachelor themed sign and tee shirts. Her big sister's name is Natalie.  Sarah was hoping and hoping that her big sister was going to be Natalie so she was thrilled at the reveal!

Natalie and Sarah at the formal.

Sarah and Joe at the formal.  He was sweet enough to drive to Charlotte from Raleigh to take her.

Some of her new sisters.  

This week is Greek Week at UNC Charlotte.  They have events every day this week and the final big event is the Air Band Competition on Friday night.  All the fraternities and sororities participate in the competition.  Each group submits a team that competes.  Sarah will be performing for her sorority.  They have been working so hard on their routine.  Sarah's not a natural dancer but she decided to push herself and be part of the group that competes instead of the group that works on the sets and scenery. 

She said that this week is Polish Week, formerly called Hell Week. They will be having long practices every night this week to make sure all the routines are polished and ready for the competition.  

Peter has been in Hilton Head with his fraternity for their formal weekend.  He texted me on Saturday while I was at work that he got" bitten by a crab or something".  He said he was in a lot of pain and was coming off the beach. I was thinking that must have been some sort of crab pinch to elicit him coming off the beach. But it turns out he was bitten by a stingray!

He had a hole on the top of his foot that bleed initially and then started to bruise a little and swell and hurt a lot.  He said it hurt as bad as having his wisdom teeth out. After we realized it was stingray bite - (the hole is where the barb went it), and not just a crab, I googled what to do and  I instructed him to soak it in hot water.  Apparently the hot water pulls out the venom.  He sat with his foot in a bucket of hot water for about two hours.  His foot was still very sore but he managed to get ready and go to dinner with all the fraternity brothers and their dates.  Here is the only picture I got (other than a gross picture of his foot that I will not share with you.)

 

He said it was still swollen and sore Sunday morning but according to Google that is to be expected.  Now he just needs to watch to make sure there is no infection.  Also sometimes stingray bites can lead to necrosis if any part of the barb is left in the wound. I think he had a fun time any way though and said he didn't know anyone else who has been bitten by a stingray.  I've encouraged him to go to urgent care on Monday if his foot is still in a  lot of pain or swollen or red so we will see what happens and of course, I'll keep y'all posted.

A little bit about cars, Vegas, and basketball.

Only 3 weeks since my last post!  I'm quite proud of myself.

When we last left off, I was hopeful that Sarah's car was finally fixed!  But alas, after all that work it exhibited the symptoms two more times.  Granted, both times, it was very short lived.  Meaning the problem happened and then quickly stopped within a few minutes as opposed to taking 10 to 15 minutes to resolve.  However, when I texted my service advisor (which is the main way we have communicated) there were crickets.  Nothing.  Nada.  Zip. Zero. Zilch. Zed.  

And the same when I contacted our contact at the Better Business Bureau.  Crickets. Nothing....etc.

So, I guess we are on our own at this point.  We purchased a lemon and had we started the lemon law buy-back  request 5 months earlier they would have purchased the car back from us.  Too little, too late on our part.  We were just so hopeful that each fix would be the last. It's just so disheartening...

In addition to Sarah's car issues, mine continues to give me problems.  It currently needs two new catalytic converters to the tune of over $3,000.  Guess what we are not going to replace?  The catalytic converters.  So now we are in the process of trying to find a replacement for my car.  We aren't in too big of a hurry though.  My car just passed inspection so we have a year...assuming nothing else breaks down on it.  It is 12 years old and has over 227,000 miles on it so I'm just holding my breath at this point.

In more exciting news... Peter had a GREAT time in Vegas with his friends for spring break!  

Here's a quick, choppy rundown of some of the things they did.  I was getting updates in the family group text as the trip progressed but since I wasn't on the trip, I can't list everything they did on the exact days they did it.  That's my preferred method for blogging about a trip but this is the best I can do...

They gambled as soon as they got there but quickly realized they didn't have the money for the big casinos so they eventually made their way  to the old strip and gambled in the old casinos there.  Apparently the tables are $5 there versus the $25 and up tables on the strip.  But this group of guys really enjoys The Sopranos and The Godfather and all those mafia type shows so Peter said the old strip was better because it felt like somewhere the mafia would have hung out back in the day (and they they probably did) versus the new casinos. He said his favorite of the old casinos was Binions. 

The boys were on the trip to celebrate his friend Cal's 21'st birthday and Cal's parents were there as well as some aunts and uncles and cousins.  Peter said it was great having Cal's family there because it kept them from getting too wild!  HA!  So I guess I'm thankful they were there too. :)

One night Cal's parents took the boys to an Hofbrauhaus which is an Octoberfest restaurant.  Peter said they had a great time there.  There was a live band and the waiters went around playing alphorns.  And then another night, they went to a different restaurant together and one of Cal's cousins order a ton of appetizers for the table to share.  Peter was very impressed by the quantity of appetizers he ordered as well as how tasty they were. (Not sure of the name of that restaurant.)

One evening they went to the Golden Knights hockey game because they all love the Carolina Hurricanes.  It's hard to get Hurricanes tickets but they had no problem getting Knights tickets. 

Among the many famous casinos they visited was the Tropicana.  I'm glad they got to visit there because it just closed it's doors yesterday.  It was the third oldest casino in Vegas.  It was built in 1957 and was operated by someone with close ties to the mafia.  They will be tearing it down to make way for the new Oakland A's baseball stadium.

One day they went to the Hoover Dam.  Peter was very excited to see the dam but no one else wanted to go.  He basically said he was going by himself if they didn't go with him.  So they caved and went.  Their original plan was to Uber there and back but they ultimately decided on a bus tour.  That ended up being a great thing because not only was it ultimately cheaper than an Uber, the tour guide was very informative and they got to see a lot of the dam up close. And they had lunch at the DAM Gift Shop!  HA!  We were making lots of DAM jokes that day in the family group chat. :)

Here are some of the pictures he texted us during his trip:

Boxing with Joe Louis at Caesar's Palace

Posing with a knight at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino.

This group of guys really enjoys hockey so they went to a Golden Knights game one night.

Peter really enjoyed the tour of the Hoover Dam. He had to convince his friends to do it but he said they were all glad they went. 

View from a roof top bar.

In front of Hell's Kitchen.  No, they did not eat there.  They didn't have the budget for that!  :)

In front of Caesar at Caesar's Palace!

Peter with the World's Largest Gold Nugget at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino!

Peter got a DAM hat!  HA!  I can't stop making DAM jokes!  :)

Peter was excited to try In-N-Out burger since we don't have those here in NC.  He said it was delicious!

Peter's trip was awesome and I think he suffered from trip letdown when he got back to school.  It was such a great trip for him and his friends.  I'm thankful Cal's parents arranged the trip and paid for the hotel rooms (they stayed at the Aria) and were there to just be around in case the guys needed anything. 

But one of the most exciting thing that happened while they were in Vegas was the run that the NC State basketball team went on!  The boys watched all three games at the Aria at the Sportsbook. There were 200 220 inch TVs.  When they beat Carolina to win the ACC Championship Peter texted us that it was the best day of his life.  I was thrilled for him.  He has spent a lot of his youth pulling for very bad teams (Carolina Panthers and NC State Football to name a few.  And now that he's finally in to baseball and watching and pulling for the Red Sox, they are horrible too! ) so it was so nice to get that win.  Also if NC State didn't win the ACC Championship, they were not going to the NCAA tournament.  The only negative for Peter was that he wished he was on campus so he could storm the Bell Tower.

But alas!  NC State proceeded to the NCAA Tournament and has won 4 games to make it to the Final Four so he's been able to storm the Bell Tower a lot! Here's a couple of pictures:

 

And here they are after they beat Duke to make it to the Final Four!

Peter took this picture.  Whenever State wins they light the bell tower red.

And this is a screen shot I took of the live feed from the  Bell Tower Web Cam after they beat Duke.

Peter was wearing his NC State hat and a pair of jeans when he was in Vegas and they won.  So for the next two games in Vegas he went back upstairs before the game and put on those same jeans and that hat.  And guess what he's worn (without washing!) for all the the NCAA Tournament games as well?  Yep! Those exact same jeans and that hat.  And guess what he will be wearing on Saturday when they play number one seed Purdue?  I'm sure those jeans are probably able to walk on their own at this point! 

And I would also like to point out that the NC State women are also in the Final Four!  That's crazy to me!  

And don't just think it's the college kids who are getting excited!  This is a picture of my mom at her senior workout class the day after beating Duke!  There were quite a few Wolfpack fans working out that morning!

Look at my beautiful mom in the middle sporting her NC State gear! 
 

That's it for me now.  Looks like I'm basically blogging once or twice a month at best.  But honestly, if the kids aren't doing something, I've got nothing to write about.  I think I need some hobbies.

And for all of my blogging friends, I'm sorry I'm not getting to your blogs regularly like I used to.  I'm trying to get back in a schedule of sorts and I'll try to do better!

Cars, kids, trips. Oh my!

Sarah's car may finally be fixed.  Hyundai wanted to do what is called under the Better Business Bureaus terms a "final repair" before things moved into arbitration.

She dropped the car off at the service center at the dealership near school (which in my opinion is better than the one near us). They had the car for over 2 weeks and weren't able to duplicate the problem - because it occurs randomly. But finally (and thankfully!) they tried again on the day we wanted to pick it up and all the warning lights came on and it wouldn't go out of park. They were able to get the codes from the warning lights and noticed that after the lights went out the codes were clearing themselves out which was part of the problem and maybe why they weren't believing that there was an issue because they could never see any codes. (Although it does state in the paperwork that the codes were in the code history but I don't know how any of this car stuff works so maybe it's hard to see in the history??)

After reviewing all this data with the Field Service Engineer, they replaced the Body Control Module, the Front View Camera (which had been placed twice before) and the Review View Camera.  And now we are all hoping (and I'm praying) that his car is finally fixed from this problem ever happening again.

Sarah's roommate had to bring her home for Spring Break which started on March 1st and then I drove her back to Concord a few days later to pick it up when it was ready.  And oddly enough, as we were both getting ready to head back home, I started MY car and some warning lights came on. Will the fun never end? 

I googled the warning lights and it said not to drive too far with those lights on so I took my car to the Honda dealership in Concord (a 5 minute drive from where we were versus an hour drive home) and left it with them and then Sarah drove me home. This past Saturday Dan drove me back to Concord and we picked up the car and hopefully we will have no more problems with any cars anytime soon!  

How's that for a very boring update?   

It was so nice to have Sarah home for a week.  Well, technically it wasn't quite a week because once her car was ready she went to Raleigh to hangout with her boyfriend and the rest of the Basement that was home for Spring Break.  And Dan was home as well so it was just so nice!

And then, to make me super happy, Dan's trip back to Charleston was postponed wo when  Peter came home for his Spring Break  there was a glorious 36 hour period where WE WERE ALL HOME TOGETHER!  I was so thankful for this 36 hours together because it wasn't looking like we were all going to be home at the same time.

I was asked to work that weekend and I said NO!  All my people are going to be home and I really want to be there with them to enjoy it.  Someone asked what we were going to do. My response was, "Absolutely nothing.  I just want to look around my family room and see that we are all together." 

And that's pretty much what we did.  We went to Mass Saturday evening, then went out to dinner, and then came home and watched a movie together.  And when I went to bed that night, I slept better than I had in weeks.  There is something so nice just knowing where everyone is...and especially when they are all only a few feet from me.  :)

Sarah's doing well and enjoying sorority life.  Here's a cute picture of her with her pledge class on Bid Day.

 And another picture because why not?

She is really enjoying getting to know all of these girls.  She's been having lunch and coffee dates with the older girls to get to know them before she gets assigned her Big Sister.  She's been attending all the meetings and working on the routine for the Air Band Competition which will be in April.  It's a huge show where all the sororities and fraternities on campus compete.  She's pretty excited about that and I think it will be fun to watch!  

She's also been joining the girls at the sorority house for weekly viewings of the Bachelor and later this week is her first date function.  Joe is coming in to town for that since he is on spring break now.  Shegot a new dress from Amazon and she's super excited.  

It took her a year and a half but I think she's finding her groove now.  All work and homework was wearing thin on my social girl.  I never thought I'd have two kids in Greek life but they both seem to be thriving so what do I know!?

Last week Peter went to a Hurricanes game with a friend.  He was excited because they got beer in a hockey stick.

After he sent this picture he texted me, "Don't worry. We're Ubering home."  

He will be heading to Las Vegas with Cal, the guy in the picture above and 3 other friends, and Cal's parents on Thursday morning for a long weekend of gambling and Vegas fun.  It's a tradition in Cal's family that when you turn 21 you get to go to Vegas.  Peter is beyond excited about this trip.  He has visions of making a lot of money at the Roulette table.  HA!   We all know that's not going to happen.

And speaking of trips, in May we will all be going to Italy for a week.  I am currently in the planning stages but we will be spending 3 nights in Amalfi and 4 nights in Rome.  I am so excited to see Italy but I'm more excited to get to spend this time with my family.  We are squeezing it in right as school is out for both kids and right before they start working for the summer. 

My original plan was to go to Rome with just Dan and do a pilgrimage type trip with The Catholic Traveler.  But then I realized that our time together for trips with just the four of us is running out so I scrapped that plan and invited the kids and am hoping and praying that we have a wonderful time relaxing and exploring together. If anyone has any recommendations for Rome or Amalfi, please let  me know. 

Car issues, A Grammy Sprinkle, Catching Up with Friends, and A Recipe

When I left you last, I had just made some delicious mini cream horns and Dan, who had been in Ireland since the 2nd of January, was set to return home on the 12th.  Well, guess what?  He STILL isn't home yet! (Side note - several of you had never heard of cream horns and I was floored!!!!!)

Multiple issues with his program caused his trip to be extended, and extended, and extended one final time.  He was scheduled to arrive in Raleigh around 3:00 this afternoon but this morning his flight out of Dublin was cancelled and he got rebooked (thankfully) and will now be arriving in Raleigh around 9:00 tonight.  So, fingers crossed, he will be back home a little before midnight.  

There's a lot going on around here and at the same time, not much so let's see what I can find to update you all with. 

I am behind at work so I've been working extra to get caught up.  And honestly, since Dan's been gone, that's not a bad thing. 

I did not have to work last Saturday so I was able to have lunch with Jennifer.  It was great catching up with her and lunch was delicious too! We ate at Midtown Cafe and Dessertery.  Google informed me that it had been 9 years since I had been there. Isn't that funny?

Last Monday, I had lunch with another old friend from my Our Lady of Mercy days.  It was so great to catch up with Denise too. Denise was a parent at OLM but also served as the track coach and I was her trusty assistant.  Her son, who is a senior this year, will be attending Duke next year on a track scholarship!  How cool is that?

And then last Wednesday, I met with my Care Group, and we showered our sweet friend Kendra with a Grammy Sprinkle.  Her daughter is having a baby next month and we wanted to show the first Grandma in our group a little extra love.  Kim hosted and she had a Tea Party theme complete with tea party foods and a tea party themed game of Bingo. (Because no baby shower is complete without games!) Kim, being the ever thoughtful hostess and party planner extraordinaire, even had prizes. And all of the things we gifted Kendra with were things she could use at her home when baby visits.

It is so crazy to me that think that when we all joined MOPS (Mothers Of PreSchoolers) in 2006 we would still be meeting regularly all these years later and would be celebrating a GRAND BABY!!!!

I am so thankful for these 5 ladies and I could not imagine doing life without them. Collectively, we have been through A LOT together. 

In less exciting news, Dan and I have been in a battle with Hyundai - okay "battle" is probably too strong to use but that's what I'm going with.

We bought Sarah a 2020 Elantra in June of 2020.  It had 1000 miles on it and we got a very good deal.  However, this car has been plagued with problems.  Several months after buying it, Sarah started it one morning and four warning lights came on and it would not allow her to put the car in drive.  She waited for a few minutes and the warning lights turned off and she was able to drive.  

This issue contnued to happen randomly.  After multiple attempts to take it in and have it repaired, they finally thought they fixed it only for it to be fine for a couple of months and then boom - it happened again.  Meanwhile, the engine had to be replaced which thankfully this (and every other repair) was covered by Hyunda. The engine repair was done at a dealership near Sarah's school and while they had it, they also  tried to repair the warning light/not being able to drive issue.  They did the same repair the previous dealership had done and once again thought it was fixed only to have it happen AGAIN!

So, in November Dan and I went to the dealership to talk to the service manager and he basically told us (in not so many words) you probably have a lemon and gave us information on how to get it resolved with corporate.  

We called Hyundai and told them we wanted them to buy our car back from us and they opened a case.  However, a few days later we were told they couldn't do anything for us because they only buy back cars in a 3 year window and we had had the car for 3 and half years at this point.

Our next step was to contact the Better Business Bureau.  We've opened up a case with them. This involved submitted all of our records detailing times in the shop, issues with the car, etc.  Hyundai offered us $500 to which we said, "No thanks!"

Earlier this month, we sent them a Final Repair letter (which was the next step  according to the BBB and North Carolina's Lemon Law). They received the certified letter and have requested a Final Repair.  We are waiting to hear back from them on getting this scheduled.

I can't imagine that another repair will fix this issue but I would love it if that happened because I'm not sure what Hyundai will do after that.  If they don't fix this according to our liking, I believe the next step is arbitration. 

All this to say - DO NOT PURCHASE A HYUNDAI.  And if you have one, I'm sorry.  I hope it's behaving better than ours.  (Also please note - the paint on the hood is bubbling up and coming off. This is a known defect that happened on several years worth of Hyundai's and of course ours was one of them!)

On a happier note, my sweet Sarah has joined a sorority this semester!  Her college experience so far hasn't been what she wanted it to be so she decided to take matters into her own hands and jumped into Greek life!  She is now a Delta Zeta! Well, I guess technically she isn't a full DZ yet. That won't happen until the spring but she is so happy meeting new people and having a full social calendar.

Both kids are currently applying for internships for the summer.  I hope and pray they can each find the perfect one! Peter attending the NC State - Miami game last night and sent this picture:

Thankfully they won last night and ended a 3 game losing streak!

Last year, (also when Dan was traveling), I watched season one of Love of the Spectrum. Last week they released season 2 and I watched it.  I really enjoyed it. If you like the romance type shows, I highly recommend it.  But definitely start at season 1.  Season 2 brought back some old characters as well as some new ones.  

I also started watching this season of the Bachelor.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  I tried to watch the Golden Bachelor but just couldn't get into it and I haven't watched for several seasons prior to that.  I'm getting burned out on real crime TV, though, and need something to watch when Dan is gone.   

Before I end this  "all over the place" post, I wanted to share with you my dinner for the last two nights.

Salmon and arugula salad!

I covered the salmon in Dijon mustard and a bunch of Citrus Garlic seasoning from Trader Joe's and popped it into the air fryer for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.  

And the salad is just arugula with shaved Parmesan cheese with a homemade vinaigrette dressing.

Greed Salad Dressing

• 1 cup EVOO
• 1 T. dried oregano
• 1 t. sea salt
• 1/2 t. pepper
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of lemon juice (taste and adjust to your liking)
• 1 T. red wine vinegar
• 3 garlic cloves pressed

Add all ingredients into a mason jar and shake well and enjoy.

The Dijon serves to keeps the salmon moist.  I didn't really taste it when eating the salmon which is fine because sometimes Dijon can be over powering.  And the key to the simple arugula salad is the shaved Parmesan.  Get a block of Parm and use your vegetable peeler and get some nice strips of cheese on that salad.  The more the better and enjoy!

What have you all been enjoying on TV lately?  Do tell as Dan will probably only be home for a week or two before he's off again.

Lady Locks Recipe (aka Mini Cream Horns)

I love cream horns.  Love. Them.  And Sarah has inherited my love for them.  

One time at work in the late 90s, a co-worker popped her head into my cubicle and said, "There's cream horns in the break room!" (After customer meetings, the admins would always put any leftover food in the break room for any one to take. It was a high light of sitting near the break room.

I shot up from my chair, flew out of my cubicle and into the break room at record speed shouting, "There's cream horns in the break room! There's cream horns in the break room!" I gobbled up that cream horn so fast I left  a cloud of powdered sugar in that break room.

So imagine my excitement this past December when I was perusing the leftover cookies from the cookie platter we made for the owner at work and discovered miniature cream horns  among the Oreo balls, jam cutouts, buckeyes, and gorgeous(if I do say so myself) chocolate peppermint thumbprints.

This is the platter of leftovers so you can imagine the beauty of the platter that was given to the owner!

Do you spy the petite cream horns?  My eyes were immediately drawn to them and I had to have one.  Okay...I had two.  It was all I could do not to eat every single one of them.  And I could have done it to because no one else was in the break room at the time. I didn't want to be a pig - but man, they were delicious!

I asked around and found out who made them and then promptly requested the recipe.  Turns out they are called Lady Locks and are a staple on wedding cookie tables.  The woman that made them made a ton of them for her son's wedding cookie table. (He was married in Chicago so maybe it's a thing up there.  I've never seen it here in NC but it's been a while since I've been to a wedding so maybe it's a thing now? A quick google search just informed me that cookie tables are big at Pittsburgh weddings.)

The day after she sent me the recipe, I saw her at work and thanked her for sending it to me and she said, "I was embarrassed to send it to you since it calls for Crisco."  I laughed and said, "I'm from the South!  I'm not afraid of Crisco - I was raised on it!"

Sarah and I finally had a chance to make them this past weekend and they were so delicious and not hard to make at all.  

You can buy "forms" but I went the cheap route and used wooden clothes pins covered in tin foil. Wrapping the clothes pins in tin foil was the hardest part of this recipe.  

This is the dough after I rolled it out. I then cut long thin stirps using a pizza cutter. I then wrapped the strips around the foil covered clothes pins. (Make sure to use old fashioned clothes pins without springs.)

Here's the first batch of dough going in the oven.

 And here's the beautiful finished product:

Don't you hate it when you've googled a recipe and you have to scroll  waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy down through a boring blog post to get to it?  Me too!  And yet, I've done that to you all.  :)

So without further ado....

Lady Locks (Mini Cream Horns)

For the horns:

1 box Pillsbury Puff Pastry thawed.

• Take 1/3 of a sheet of pastry and roll out  to 15x6 inches.
• Take pizza cutter and cut long thin strips.
• Wrap each strip around a clothes pin covered in tin foil.  (I did not flour or spray these and for the most part they came off the form with no problem.  I might spray them with cooking spray next time.)
• Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 - 12 minutes. (The recipe I was given says this but I left them in for closer to 14 minutes. I wanted them to have a little color.)
• Let cool before removing the horns from the forms.

For the filling:

2 pounds Powdered Sugar

1 cup Crisco

1 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup milk

1 7oz jar of Fluff

• Mix first 5 ingredients in mixer for 10 minutes.  
• Then add in the fluff and mix until smooth.
• Use a piping bag to fill the horns with the filling and then try not to eat every last one of them by yourself. ahem... 

Side note:  I cut the filling recipe in half and there was plenty of filling for two sheets (one box) of puff pastry. 

These are the perfect bite.  The dough to filling ratio is spot on. If you like cream horns, you need to give these little cuties a try!